I'm proud of my son simply because he is my son, but I'm also proud because I see God at work in his heart.
Reaching the Lost
Intro: Before I begin talking, I need three volunteers who can read well and they also need to have a bible with them. First _________, you will need to look up Matthew 28:18-20. _________, you can look up John 4:39-42. Finally, _________ (He is leaving space to insert names...love it) will look up Acts 2:41. Okay, as they are looking that up, I will ask you a question. How many people do you think you can change? The reason why I asked that is because this devo is about reaching the lost.
Passage 1: I know some of you want to do something huge for God. Yet, you think you are too young to help. However, there is a simple way to help God's kingdom and it is to reach the lost. You can go into your schools and tell people about Jesus. We will get into that more later. As I was saying, you can make a difference! I know a scripture that can show you what believers can do, if we tell people about Christ. Before I have _________ read John 4:39-42, I need to tell you the context because context is very important (I say that a lot when I preach). Jesus is walking on the way to Galilee and he must go through Samaria. The Bible actually says he has to go through Samaria. If you knew geography back then, then you would know he could actually take 2 different paths, but he has to go through Samaria. Then he meets a woman and asks her for water. The woman asks Jesus why a Jew is asking a Samaritan for water. Then they start a conversation and Jesus tells the woman one part of her past. Soon enough the woman finds out he is the messiah and that is where the story picks up. ________, read John 4:39-42.
39 Many
of the Samaritans from the town of Sychar believed in Jesus. They
believed because of the woman’s witness. She said, “He told me
everything I’ve ever done.”
40 Then the Samaritans came to him and tried to get him to stay with them. So he stayed two days. 41 Because of his words, many more people became believers.
42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said. We have now heard for ourselves. We know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
40 Then the Samaritans came to him and tried to get him to stay with them. So he stayed two days. 41 Because of his words, many more people became believers.
42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said. We have now heard for ourselves. We know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
As you can see from the scripture, the woman got many people from the town to see Jesus. Jesus then saved almost the whole town! This is why Jesus had to go through Samaria; he needed to save the town! There is also one more thing. Her testimony wasn't accurate. She said, "He told me everything I ever did." That is not true! Jesus only told her one sin she had. You don't need to know much. You only need to know that Jesus Christ is the son of God, he died to save us, and he isn't dead anymore! (This is his interpretation without any help from commentaries or me. I love the insight he offers. He definitely presents a close reading of the text). Therefore, if one person can save a town with little information, then what can TYM do with 5 times as much information?
Transition 1: Jesus wants us to reach the lost, as you can see. He tells us how to do that in Matthew 28:18-20.
Passage 2: Before I want ________ to read Matthew 28:18-20, you need to hear the context again. Jesus has just risen from the dead and is about to rise up to heaven. He gathers his 11 disciples together to watch him ascend. This is his final command. ________, read Matthew 28:18-20.
18 Then Jesus came to them. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 So you must go and make disciples of all nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And you can be sure that I am always with you, to the very end.”
Jesus' last command to his disciples was to reach the lost. This is what the church was built for, telling people about Jesus. Jesus once said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick." We must be able to reach the lost. How are we able to do that? We go into the nations and make disciples. As teens today, it might be a little hard to go into the nations, so I have an idea. We should go into our schools and make disciples. It may be a little scary or frightening but we can change people.
Transition 2: Think about how many people we could change if we just tried. Peter, who denied Jesus, changed many people.
Passage 3: ________, before I want you to read Acts 2;41, I need to again tell you the context of the story. Many of the disciples had just received the Holy Spirit, talking in tongues and whatnot (Yeah, and "whatnot"). Then Peter steps up to the stage and explains everything that happened. This passage shows how any people were saved. _________, read Acts 2:41.
41 Those who accepted his message were baptized. About 3,000 people joined the believers that day.
This sermon was only a month from when he denied Jesus. If Peter, who just denied Jesus a month ago, can save 3000 people, what could Jesus followers today do?
Transition 3: I know TYM could change Detroit for the better. My mission is to reach those who are far from God.
Point 4: I have not told anyone this, but I think God is calling me to reach the lost. For those who don't know, I was baptized May 27, 2012. For the first 7 months, I was praying for a mission (He never told me he was praying for a mission. I love how God is at work in his heart). Then in January, God started speaking to me. Not in my head, but through other things (He is C of C and doesn't want you to think he is too charismatic...haha). I realized in May that God wanted me to tell people about him. However, I was too scared and I couldn't do it. God didn't stop there, however. He kept leading me and this video made me turn around and accept the mission.
Watch Video HERE.
Isn't that amazing? If everyone in the group did that, then 1,073,741,824 people would be committed to Christ. That, not the sermon, changed my point of view. Now, I am happy to announce that I will pledge to change one person every 30 years.
Conclusion: I would like for some other people to try to do this too. If we each did this we could change the world! As you can see, Jesus calls us to reach the lost. There is but one question.
Will you accept his call?
