The Heart of a Christian (March 25, 2007) 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
The Heart of a Christian
In a small church on the U.S. East Coast a pastor delivered a sermon on abortion, and after the service a German man who lived in Nazi Germany told of hi experience: I lived in Germany during the Nazi Holocaust. I considered myself a Christian. We heard stories of what was happening to the Jews, but we tried to distance ourselves from it, because, what could anyone do to stop it?
A railroad track ran behind our small church, and each Sunday morning we could hear the whistle in the distance and then the wheels coming over the tracks. We became disturbed when we heard the cries coming from the train as it passed by. We realized that it was carrying Jews like cattle in the cars!
Week after week the whistle would blow. We dreaded to hear the sound of those wheels because we knew that we would hear the cries of the Jews en route to the death camp. Their screams tormented us.
We knew the time the train came past our church and when we heard the whistle blow we began singing hymns. By the time the train came past our church we were singing at the top of our voices. If we heard the screams, we sang more loudly and soon we heard them no more.
Years have passed and no one talks about it anymore. But I still hear that train whistle in my sleep. God forgive me; forgive all of us who called ourselves Christians and yet did nothing....
There are people all around us in a similar situation as those Jews in the train cars, but their destination is an even worse one: they are on their way to hell. Are you like those German Christians? Do you only want to ignore the problem, or do you want to do something to help? There should be no question as to what you should do if you are a Christian because you have the one thing that is able to save them from destruction: the gospel.
Vance Havner once said, “We do not have a secret to be hidden but a story to be heralded.”
The act of sharing the gospel is called evangelism.
• Evangelism is the sob of God. It is the anguished cry of Jesus as He weeps over a doomed city.
• It is the cry of Paul, “I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.”
• Evangelism is the heart-winning plea of Moses. “Oh this people have sinned.—Yet now, if thou wilt, forgive their sin—; if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of the book which thou hast written.”
• It is the cry of John Knox, “Give me Scotland or I die.” It is the declaration of John Wesley, “The world is my parish.” It is the sob of parents in the night, weeping over a prodigal child.
The key to evangelism is a burden for the lost.
I have a question for you this evening. Who has become dear to you?
To have the heart of a Christian, which is someone who desires God's heart, you need to love people.
You need to love lost people. So I ask the question again: Who is dear to you?
Is there anyone dear enough to you that you are bold enough to speak about God? (2:1-6)
Because God is interested in people, we should be interested in people.
Your motives must be clean.
Your life has to be genuine.
You desire must be for their well-being. You should not have a desire for their money, for their things, or for wanting to get something out of the relationship. You are not salespeople of a free product. You are discovers of a relationship that changes lives.
You see, many times we don't speak up. There are many reasons that we don't speak up. But I believe we don't have boldness because we are so wrapped up in fear.
1. Fear
EXAMPLE
"Article in Christliches Medienmagazin Pro about the influence of Islam in Europe". The problems that some people have when they try to be bold and speak about Jesus Christ.
2. Indifference:
However, some people don't speak up because they simply don't care. You see, the trap that some Christians fall into is the idea that because I am now a Christian, my life is safe, and so I don't need to care about anyone else. God loves me. But in reality, God loves everybody, not just me. God didn't create just me, He created the entire world. Someone who thinks in their heart: I don't really care about this person, they really are not worth telling about Jesus - what I am really saying in my silence is: "Friend, you can go to hell."
Would you ever say that publicly to someone? Well Christian, if you don't tell someone about your relationship with Jesus, then you are saying that by omission.
Is there anyone dear enough to you that you are willing to nurture a relationship? (2:7-8)
After you have spoken about the fact that they need Jesus, or more precisely how Jesus can help them, you should help someone come to know Jesus as their Leader in life. But to do this, it will take a relationship.
I have said it earlier, there are three primary ways of telling others about Jesus
PASSIVE
PROGRAM
PERSONAL
Each of these ways are useful. The passive form requires almost no relationship skills.
The program form requires limited contact and little relationship skills.
The personal form of evangelism requires contact and a relationship.
How do we show people we CARE?
1. BE FRIENDLY!
2. SHARE YOURSELF!
3. BE HELPFUL!
Is there anyone dear enough to you that you are willing to invest your life? (2:9-12)
Because the eternal state of a person is at stake, you have to be willing to invest your life. God wants us to speak up about Jesus to some people. God wants us to build a relationship with other people, so that they can hear about the message of Jesus Christ. But God also wants me to invest my life with a few people. This means more than speaking up on occasion. This means more than just nurturing a relationship so that I can share with them about my relationship with Jesus. This means that even after they come to Jesus, they need a mentor. You will be a mentor to someone who comes to Jesus Christ. Lost people should become people you love, nurture, and eventually invest yourself in.
I’m not saying you need to move into the inner city. Or go to a far away place like Africa. What I am saying is that you should make it your ambition to reach out to the very people that God has placed on your heart.
We must proclaim the true gospel:
• The need for the gospel—All have sinned.
• Jesus is the only way to heaven.
• Salvation is by faith alone.
An elevator operator at a hospital in Nashville once said, “I’m just a nobody telling everybody about somebody who can save anybody.”
Are you willing to do what it takes to share the heart of God with others who need Him? Don't just be like the people in that church service who sang songs to God but let the lost people take the train to hell separation from God. Reach out to them today.
Never give up on people because Jesus never gave up on you.
