The Hidden Value of One Lost Soul
------------------- by
Bro. Mark Householder ------------------
I’d like to
begin this morning with the profiles of 3 men I know.
1)
a young Christian
honest
hard-working
family man
member of the professional community
fast learner
wants to use all his skills
2)
honest
hard-working but procrastinates his work
has separated himself from the religious community
goes to wild parties
drunk 2-3x per week
spends $20-$30 weekly on alcohol
likes to run around & date around
can’t support himself - no job
has long hair
usually has a 2-day beard - scruff
has an earring
3)
honest
hard-working
beginning to drift from the religious community
desire to do what is right
soul-searching
looking for true love
looking for true peace
looking for true happiness
good athlete
honor student
Would you avoid associating with any one
of these men for fear of your Christianity, reputation, etc.?
*Scripture Reading:
ISam. 16:7
These three men
are NOT fictional characters;
I know them quite well. You see, they
are all me! These three men are
actually me at different stages of my life.
II
But the Lord
looketh upon the heart!
“But the Lord
said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature;
because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man
looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” -ISam.
16:7
We often thinks
too highly of ourselves and feel we can judge the hearts of men. God’s is able to see these things, not
I. His word is able to do this. Listen to these words:
“For the word of
God is quick, and powerful, and
sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul
and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” -Heb.
4:12
III
Each soul has an immeasurable value - each one is
precious. We see the exterior of a man
- we need X-ray vision.
Even so, are
there any people with whom you are hesitant to share the gospel? i.e. Do you avoid this person because of his
race, skin color, hair type (straight, curly, long, short,...), his dress
(leather, jeans, polyester, 5th Avenue finery), his religion (Moslem, Jew,
Hindu, Buddhist, Catholic, Lutheran, Mormon, Jehovah’s Witness, Baptist,
Atheist)? Because of his national
origin (American, British, French, German, Turkish, Luxembourgish, Portuguese)?
I say to you,
Lay your pride aside!
Christ vividly
described his willingness to save the lost soul:
•Story to Pharisees, after having healed the man on the
Sabbath.
•“For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to
all that are afar off, even as many
as the Lord our God shall call.”
(Emphasis mine) -Acts 2:39
•The sick are in need of a physician.
•Jesus’s use of parables in which the Samaritans, despised
group, were lauded for their good deeds and compared to the self-righteous
Pharisees.
•“When they heard these things, they held their peace, and
glorified God, saying, “Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance
unto life.” -Acts 11:18
Let’s face it!
There are
different depths of looking at others:
•EXTERIOR - very shallow:
Clothes, jewelry, patches, insignias, logos, brands, fabric types.
•FLESH/BODY - still too shallow: figure, musculature (muscle tone), skin color/pigmentation, hair
type, color, (discoloration), hairstyle…
•EMOTIONS - still too shallow: disposition, character i.e. joyful, sad, spiteful (hateful), …
•THOUGHTS - still too shallow: logical, illogical, goo/poor debater.
•SOUL - DEEP!: We
need to look at this level! We need to
see the value of that one lost soul!!!
IV
I John 4:7-12 “ 7
Beloved, let us love one another for love is of God; and every one that loveth
is born of God, and knoweth God. 8
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9 this was manifested the love of God toward us,
because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live
through him. 10 Herein is
love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the
propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved
if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 12 No man
hath seen God at any time. If we love
one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.”
I John 3:16 “Hereby perceive
we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the
brethren.”
Luke 15:7 “I say unto you,
that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than
over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”
Luke 18:13 “And the publican,
standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote
upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.”
Philippians 4:12-13 “I know both how
to be abased, and I know how to abound:
every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be
hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
The Road Less Traveled
Robert
Frost
Somewhere ages and ages hence
Two roads diverged in a wood and I
I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference.
INVITATION
April 24, 1994,
New Lexington, OH
Sunday morning,
August 28, 1994, Dublin, OH