Christ Centered Evangelism Session 6

It's a joy to serve you again tonight. Thank the Lord for His grace to strengthen you to come after I'm sure you've had a long and busy day. And I'm thankful God's graced you to come under His word. We spent last night thinking about three things we are incapable of accomplishing in the conversion of those around us that we long to see come to savingly know the Lord Jesus Christ. And that brings us to tonight. I believe we're on page 20 if that's correct. Three things we can and must do in the salvation of sinners. The first one is obvious, but we need to be continually reminded of the obvious.

Letter A, we can and must pray and seek God for their conversion. Why? Because this is one of God's ordained means in the salvation of sinners. Evangelistic intercessory prayer. We see this clearly, number one, through the example of Paul's life. He says to us in Romans 10 in verse 1, "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel as that they might be saved." The Spirit of God is giving the Apostle a holy anguish, a passion for souls. And that passion, that burden, that holy anguish is leading him into evangelistic intercession for the one to the one and only Savior of sinners.

So he can honestly testify in Romans 10, "I have a profound desire for the salvation of those who are persecuting me. It's causing me to have an increasing burden for the salvation of their souls, and that burden is energizing me to supplication." What do you mean when you use that word, Brother Ed? Letter A, what is supplication? An intense intercession for the answer to the definite issues that are deeply concerning us. And in this case, it is evangelistic intercession for the conversion of souls that God has already sovereignly placed within the sphere of the influence of your life.

Paul says, "My heart's desire is that God would give these folks a new heart. The longing of my soul is that their souls would be saved." That's what he's saying. "The burden of my life is that they might be reconciled to God, but that burden is sending me to my knees." In evangelistic intercessory prayer. This is what Paul is, he's setting the example before us of the letter B coming personally, passionately, and persistently to God to plead for the salvation of lost souls. Our God has found someone in this Apostle Paul who's willing to stand in the gap and plead for God to show mercy on those who deserve his justice.

And brothers and sisters, there's no greater privilege in all the universe than to be used by God in heartfelt intercession, to be his instruments through which God does his work of making sinners his holy habitation. And you and I need to cultivate an unceasing attitude of intercession on behalf of the perishing people that God has placed within the sphere of the influence of our lives. Are you familiar with Hudson Taylor? He's the founder of the China Inland Mission many, many years ago. He's known as the father of the modern faith missionary movement.

He came to China with just himself, his family, but by the end of his ministry, there were 800, excuse me, 200 missionaries, church planning missionaries, and 800 established churches. And he encouraged those fellow laborers that were laboring alongside of him to place definite believing, evangelistic intercessory prayer above every other means in the conversion of sinners. Charles Spurgeon, the great Baptist preacher put it this way, "We must plead with God on behalf of sinners before we plead with sinners on behalf of God." Because it's evangelistic intercession that links our weakness with God's omnipotence.

And it's only God's omnipotence that can overcome the spiritual death, the willful ignorance, and the cherished darkness of the sinners that we long to see converted. Amen? Now notice letter C, on the one hand, Paul knew that God was sovereign in the salvation of souls. This testimony of Romans 10, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel, is that they might be saved as couched in the midst of Romans 8 through 11. And if we had about two years to begin teaching in Romans 8 and conclude Romans 11, and we had any spiritual sense whatsoever, we would see that God is sovereign in the salvation of spiritually dead, blind, enslaved sinners.

Only God awakens. Only God birthed sinners. Only God effectively calls them out of the kingdom of death and darkness and into the kingdom of God's dear Son. God adds to the church, such as should be saved. Amen? God opened Lydia's heart. Paul preached the gospel. Who opened Lydia's heart? The Lord opened his heart. God is sovereign in the salvation of sinners. But don't get out of balance, number one. Paul also had a personal, passionate, and persistent prayer life.

He says, "The longing of my soul, the passion of my heart, the desire in the inner core of my being, is that these sinners would come to a saving knowledge of the truth." Do you sense this passion? What an example to us. What a challenge to us. It was said, Charles Spurgeon said of John Bunyan, he said, "If you could cut him, he would bleed scripture." And yet, John Bunyan made this statement, "It's better to have a heart without words than words without a heart." Paul had a great passion for the salvation of these rebels who were personally persecuting him.

He says in Romans 9, he begins the chapter by saying, "I tell you the truth in Christ, I'm not lying. My conscience also buried me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have a great sorrow and continual grief in my heart for my lost countrymen, these very people. For I could wish that I myself were a curse from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen, according to the flesh. I have such a burden for them, such a passion for them, such a longing for their salvation, that if it were possible, I'd be willing to take their place in hell." Now notice letter D. What am I saying? Paul is challenging us.

On the one hand, Paul knew that intercession was one of God's means in the salvation of sinners. Yes, God is sovereign, but God has means to carry out his mission. And passionate, persistent, evangelistic intercession is one of God's ordained means. So how do we respond to this tonight? Oh, we need to ask the Spirit of God to search us and reveal any obstacles, any hindrances in our heart that is keeping us from experiencing, at least to some degree, this kind of passion that Paul is exhibiting to us, because he was just a man. He's not Jesus. He's a man of flesh and blood like you and I. What a challenge. Are there obstacles in your life?

Just sheer laziness, worldliness, busyness? What is the obstacle that is hindering you from being involved in passion and a persistent evangelistic intercessory prayer? Is it selfishness? Is it apathy? Negligence? Paul gives us a powerful example, but he moves from his example, the example of Paul's life, to number two, the exhortation of Paul's lips to you and I tonight. Yes to Timothy initially, but to every born-again believer, 1 Timothy 2.1, therefore I exhort you that supplications, prayers and intercession be made for all men. This is well-pleasing in the sight of God who desires all men to come to a saving knowledge of the truth.

You know, brothers and sisters, we are never more like Jesus than when we are involved in passionate, persistent evangelistic intercession. Amen? And what is Paul saying? What is God saying? The letter A, we must pray for lost souls. This entire context in 1 Timothy 2 is a context of evangelistic intercessory prayer. And Paul is saying that gospel intercession for lost souls is one of the highest privileges and holiest exercises involved in our communion with God. It is through this evangelistic intercession that God's will is accomplished in the extension of his kingdom into the hearts of sinners.

And when we truly understand what evangelistic intercession means to the extension of the kingdom of God, we realize afresh and anew our solemn responsibility to be pleading with the Lord to send down the power of his Holy Spirit accompanying the gospel into the hearts of sinners. What you trying to say, brother, Ed? We are best equipped to proclaim the gospel to sinners when we've been wrestling with God on behalf of those sinners. We must pray for lost souls. I'm reminding you of the obvious, but we need to be reminded there is nothing that we become more negligent in. We become more distracted away from then this primary issue.

Letter B, we must strive in intercession. That's what he's saying. Agonize in prayer for lost souls. Plead with the Lord. Wrestle with the Lord. Offer yourself in this blessed work of evangelistic intercession. This is what we need at Novobaptist Church. We don't need another gimmick or gadget. We don't need some worldly technique or tactic. We need an army of passionate, persistent intercessors. What would God do with just this bunch in this room if we were baptized with this kind of evangelistic intercessory prayer passion? The exhortation of Paul's lips. That brings me to number three. The explanation of prayers.

How does this work, brother? You've been harping on the fact that sinners are spiritually dead. They're blind. They're bound. And God is sovereign in their salvation. If God's sovereign, then how does this evangelistic intercessory prayer, how is it woven into God's mysterious and majestic work of the new birth? Well, notice Ezekiel 36 and verses 25 through 27, a beautiful picture of that new birth, but painted for us by the infallible word of God in the Old Testament. And notice how many times God says, "I will." "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean.

I will cleanse you from all of your filthiness and from all of your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will keep my judgments and do them. I will, I will, I will, I will, I will. Sounds like God's working alone there. (congregation murmurs) Only He can resurrect, only He can liberate, only He can illuminate. Notice letter A. We see in verses 25 through 27 that God is sovereign in salvation.

But if you drop down to verse 37, notice what else God says in the same context. Thus says the Lord, I will also let, allow, permit the house of Israel to inquire of me to do this for them. You know what the word of God is saying there? God grants us the blessed privilege to employ intercessory prayer, including our request that God would graciously invade the life of a dead, blind-bound sinner. In other words, God's saying I'm gonna allow you to pray and to seek me for the reality of verses 25 through 27. What am I saying, letter B? We are given the privilege of praying for the realization of verses 25 through 27.

And if you continue to read in that chapter, God promises in verse 37, "I will increase their men like a flock." Jesus says, "I will build my church." Oh, but one of the means he uses to build that church is evangelistic intercessory prayer, right? So I've got a question for you. Don't answer it out loud. You may embarrass yourself. Answer it in your heart. Letter C, which is true? Is God sovereign in salvation or does my prayer make a difference? I mean, all that the Father has given Jesus will come to Jesus. Jesus says, "I will build my church." So I'm just gonna sit on my blessed assurance.

I'm not going to be involved in passionate, persistent, evangelistic intercession. Which one is true? The answer is both. Oh, how we need to catch a biblical vision of how our personal intercessory prayer is intimately connected to God's great mission of gathering in the bride that he's given to his son. God mysteriously and wonderfully uses our intercessory prayer as one of his means. Another question. Letter D, will God save souls if I don't pray? Is he gonna do it anyway? I mean, he's sovereign. He's gonna gather in the bride. Every single member of that bride's gonna be gathered in. So will he gather them if I don't pray?

Here's the answer. That is a rebellious question. In light of the truth of the Bible. God is a saving God by nature, so pray. God is on a mission in this county, so pray. God is gathering in a bride for his son, so pray. God is putting the eternal glory of his mercy, grace and love on display, so pray. The question is not, will God do it anyway if I don't pray? The question is, do I have any grounds to claim to be right with God if I'm not obeying what he's commanded me to do? Charles Spurgeon, I'm quoting, he says, "If sinners be condemned, let them not go to hell unwarned by us and unprayed for by us." Amen?

It's well been said, letter E, and I'm quoting, "Evangelism without prayer is presumption." It's presuming on God to run out into this community and evangelize when you're not spending quality time seeking the Lord in evangelistic intercessory prayer. But conversely, prayer without evangelism is hypocrisy. Because if you begin to pray and seek the Lord for the harvest to send out laborers into this community, you know what you've come to the personal realization of? You're one of the laborers you're praying for. We need to pray and we need to go as an answer to our prayers.

The contemporary churches in Brookhaven, all around us, all over the Bible belt, you know what they're looking for? They're looking for another gimmick, another gadget. But God is looking for faithful, fervent intercessors. So let's get personal. Notice number four, the execution of your prayer life. And we're thinking about your evangelistic prayer life. What is God looking for in your evangelistic intercession? Four personal responsibilities. First, our Father, our Lord and Savior, is looking for believers who will exhibit letter a passionate prayer.

The Psalmist said, "He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing precious seed for sowing shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." When Paul was saying, "My heart's desire," the yearning, the longing of the inner core of my being is that my countryman would be saved and it's sending me to evangelistic intercession. Why was he expressing that? Because he was walking in step with the Spirit. Here's a man that was filled with the Spirit.

And when you dig into that word filled there in Ephesians five verse 18, which is a command to every born again believer, he's not describing a half empty cup or an empty cup that needs to be filled. The picture there is the wind filling the sails of an ancient Roman sailboat for the purpose of moving that boat in the direction that the wind purposes for the boat to go. And God commands us to be being moved along by the wind of God. And here was a man whose life was being moved along by the Spirit of God. He's walking in step with the Spirit. And because he's walking in step with the Spirit, he's praying in the Spirit.

And because he's praying in the Spirit, he is experiencing at least to some degree the earnest desires and travail of Jesus for the lost sinners around him. And certainly if our life is being moved along by the will of the wind, we too will experience at least to some degree the travail of Jesus for sinners. And it will cause us to be involved in evangelistic intercessory prayer. I'm speaking to the preacher first tonight and I'm speaking to you. How long has it been since God broke your heart and you wept for a lost soul? I was recently very near the place where Amy Carmichael gave 54 years of her life without a furlough in India.

She wrote this poem. Oh, for a passionate passion for souls. Oh, for a pity that yearns. Oh, for a love that loves unto death. Oh, for a heart that burns. Is your heart burning for lost sinners? How long has it been since your heart was broken to tears over a lost sinner? Passionate prayer, the letter B, persistent prayer. That's what God's looking for. Persistent evangelistic intercessory prayer. Men are always to pray and not faint, not give up. The Bible says pray without ceasing. In Matthew, Jesus describes it in this way when you dig into the original language.

Keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking because as long as that lost person is still breathing, they are a potential object of the mercy of God. We don't give up, we don't give in, we don't give out. I had the joy of being the seed sower when I saw an 88 year old man converted to Christ. I discovered later after his baptism that his wife had been praying for his lost soul for a half a century. I had the joy to sow the seed into a man's life named George who was 71 years old. His sister was a member of our church. She's in heaven now, but his sister Catherine had been praying for George for 38 years. But she didn't give up.

She didn't give in, she didn't give out. Well, brother Ed, I've been praying for a long time for this particular person and it seems as if the Lord has closed his ears, don't close your mouth. Keep on praying. My own dad, my wife Diane and I prayed for the conversion of my own dad for 26 years and God answered the prayer when he was 78 years old. We must not mistake delays for denials. Right? Unanswered prayer is not unheard prayers. They're being stored up in God's archives, amen. We need to learn and to pray in passionate prayer.

This is what we need at Nova Baptist Church, passionate prayers and persistent prayers, but let her see also purposeful prayer. And what do you mean by that? When you are involved in evangelistic intercessory prayer, pray with a clear biblical purpose, a specific direction which is being derived from the word of God. I don't desire random answers to random prayers. No, we need to seek for specific answers to specific prayers. That's what I mean by purposeful prayer. Let me illustrate number one, praying in agreement with the word of God concerning the salvation of souls.

God invites us to make intercession for all people within the sphere of the influence of our life and we can call out to God claiming his own truths from the scriptures concerning the salvation of those sinners. I'll say it another way. I'm painting pictures right now. Number two, I'm talking about praying the promises and the truths of God back to the Lord concerning the salvation of this sinner who is breaking our heart. We love Hebrews four and verse 12 that says to us, the word of God is powerful, sharper than any two edged sword.

But do you know that the word of God is not only powerful in its effect on us, the word of God is also powerful in its effect on God. And we need to pray the word of God, saturate our prayers with the word of God. For instance, let me give you some examples. In light of last night, I'm praying for some family members and neighbors and acquaintances right now. You know, this is a biblical prayer, letter A, God would resurrect, illuminate and liberate. They're spiritually dead. God doesn't resurrect them, they're not gonna be converted. They're spiritually blind.

If God doesn't illuminate them, if he doesn't shine the light of the gospel on their blinded minds, they'll never be converted. They're spiritually enslaved in sin. Only God can set the captives free. I'm talking about, I'm praying biblically to God, praying his own word back to him. I'm just giving you some examples. There are tons of examples we could give. These are only a few. Next page, page 24, I believe it is, is it, am I right? Letter B, that God would send laborers into their lives. Now we must be willing to be one of those laborers.

But we can pray God would send other laborers into that unconverted person's life, another laborer who would tell them the truth and the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Pray to the Lord of the harvest that he would send four laborers into that person's life. We long to see converted. I'm just giving you some examples. Letter C, that God would give them repentance and faith. Because both repentance and faith are gifts from God. We heard that last night. And unless the Holy Spirit comes through the word of God and plants the roots of conviction and contrition and conversion, their soul will never be saved. But we can pray.

And we need to pray biblically, letter D. God would do whatever is necessary to bring them to the end of themselves. You're willing to pray that? Even if it's ICU? For them? Or for you? God often uses crises and catastrophe to awaken people and begin to do a work in their hearts. You're willing to pray that? Even if it means they end up in a pig pen in a far country? In a famine? Whatever it takes to bring them to the end of themselves because their eternal soul is at stake. Amen? We're talking about purposeful prayer, passionate prayer, persistent prayer. And this is obvious, but I needed to put it in letter D, personal prayer.

Praying for the specific people that God has placed within the sphere of the influence of your life. Diane and I are not living at 2948 Cloverland Court because we got a good deal on a house. That's not why we're there. We're there because Bill and Annette next door are lost. And they need somebody to witness to them and pray for them. We're there because Danny and Christy over here are lost. And they need someone to intercede for them and witness to them. We're there because Brent and Sherry, even though they have a little religion in a Methodist church, there's no ongoing evidence that they're converted.

They need someone to live before them, pray for them and witness to them. We're at 2948 Cloverland Court because Bobby Boudreaux from Baton Rouge is lost. And he needs somebody to witness to him and pray for him. Personal prayer. Listen, God is sovereign. He has sovereignly placed you in that neighborhood, in that family, among those work people, among those acquaintances. And he has a purpose for sticking you there. So that you might be involved in passionate, persistent, personal intercessory prayer for them and take opportunities and make opportunities to proclaim the truth to them. Amen? We can and must pray.

And then that brings me to letter B. A few more moments before we take our break. Letter B, we can and must bring the Christ-centered message to sinners where they are. And we'll see that message tomorrow night. We'll be engulfed in it all night. I remind you of the Psalms 126 and verse six again. "He who continually goes forth weeping," but watch this, "bearing precious seed for sowing." Notice letter A. What is the seed? Well, Jesus told us what the seed is in Luke chapter eight. He said, "The seed is the," what? "The word of God." Saving faith doesn't come by seeing a movie.

All these evangelicals, thousands of churches, invited all their lost friends to go see the Roman state Catholic stations of the cross, which is an enemy of the gospel. We're gonna go watch a movie. But saving faith doesn't come by seeing. Does it come by seeing a lost Catholic actor impersonate a man being flogged and nailed to a cross? Saving faith comes by what? What does the Bible say? "Hearing, and hearing by the little Greek phrases, "the words concerning Christ." Notice number two, James 1.18. Are you familiar with this verse? The word of God is speaking.

God says, notice what he says, "Of his own will, he has brought us forth." The word there is, "He has begotten us." He has birthed us by the word of truth. And you remember Sunday night that we said that little phrase, "The word of truth is a synonym "for the gospel truth about who Jesus Christ is, "what Jesus Christ accomplished, "and what of the Lord Jesus terms "to a saving relationship with him." Of God's own will, he birthed the former agnostic argumentative arrogant alcoholic rock and jazz drummer, and he did it by the word of truth. Now, what is God saying there? Notice letter A.

"The ultimate cause of my regeneration, "my birth from above, is the will of God." That's precisely what he said. "Of God's own will, he birthed me." He's begotten me. That's what the verse says, and this is God speaking. I ask you a question, and if there's someone in this room who physically birthed yourself, would you raise your hand? You physically birthed yourself. Because you need to be interviewed by the local TV station. You'll be the first person in history. Anybody in this room spiritually birth yourself? No. And no parent can spiritually birth a child. No grandparent can spiritually birth a grandchild.

No preacher, no evangelist, no matter how, what a good communicator they are, can spiritually birth a sinner. Only God resurrects, illuminates, and liberates. God draws, God quickens, God awakens. And listen, I'll say it again tonight. The miracle of the new birth does not occur through human strategies, human coercion, human manipulation, human gibbings and gadgets of God's own will. He has birthed me, but don't get out of balance. Though the ultimate cause of my new birth is the will of God, notice letter B, the instrumental cause of regeneration is the word of God.

It's the gospel applied in the power of the Holy Spirit that is the power of God unto salvation, amen? It is when the Spirit of God takes the word of truth and brings it not in word only, but a demonstration of his power and deep conviction. God is the one who gives the heavenly call. We're the ones who give the call to the ear. Only God can give a call that performs the miracle of a heart transplant, amen? We're just his ambassadors.

Let's look, we see this clearly in number three, 1 Peter 1.23, having been born again, not of corruptible seed, not of humanistic gimmicks and gadgets, not of the latest technique and tactic, no, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible through the word of God. Just as a physical birth requires two parents, a spiritual birth from above requires two agents. The Holy Spirit mightily applying the gospel to a spiritually dead, spiritually blinded, spiritually enslaved sinner. And what happens when he comes in power? Number four, the Holy Spirit takes the word of God and gives life to the spiritually dead. Gives life to the spiritually blind.

Gives liberty to the spiritually bound. So I'm in Santiago de Cuba, I'm teaching, there's about 200 church planters in the audience, enduring, we're going all day long, but during the lunch break, Brother Gary Morrison, who's the brother who interprets, I see him in a conversation with a young man and they're just going at that young man is just going away with Gary. And after the conversation ended, Brother Gary brings that young man over to me and he says, Brother Ed, you need to listen to this. The young man's name was Nelson, he's 31 years old at the time.

But he said, Brother Ed, 14 years ago, I was a gang member in the streets of Santiago de Cuba. But someone invited me to El Canay Baptist Church on a Sunday night. That was 14 years ago. And he said, Brother Ed, you and Gary were preaching. You preached about the bad news of our terrible problem before a holy God. You preached the good news of God's tremendous provision in the gospel. You preached the gospel terms and that night I came under deep conviction. You won't remember this, it's been 14 years ago, Brother Ed, but afterwards I wanted to talk to you and you did.

You talked to me for quite a while and planted seed into my heart and then you told me, go home and seek the Lord and keep on seeking. He said, I came back the next night and y'all were preaching again. You talked to me again and then you sent me home again. And he said, that night at home, I was born from above and I started telling everybody, my family, my friends, my neighbors. He said, a couple of years later, God called me to be a preacher. I've graduated from the Eastern Baptist Seminary and I'm planting my first church in Baracoa right now. He said, we started with four people. I said, well, how many are there now?

He said, there's four of me. So I said, Nelson, where do y'all meet? He said, well, we used to meet under a tree, but the hurricane blew down the tree. Now we're meeting on a concrete slab. I said, how much would it cost? The bill put some walls around that slab. He said it would cost about 1100 euros, but they're living on the equivalent 10 US dollars per month. It'll be a long time before we get that. I said, no, well, 'cause I've got it right now. And we were able to build that church. What's my point? God did a work in God's timing. Amen? Do you believe God's able to do it? Amen? He's well able to do it. What are we saying here?

Notice number six in just a moment. We'll take a break. Number six, how do we, I missed number five, didn't I? It's through the word of God that the savior is revealed. How do you know about Jesus to begin with? Yeah, but somebody used the word of God. It's through the word of God the savior's revealed. It's through the word of God the sinner is reproved. The Holy Spirit takes the truth, not emotional stories. None of that, He takes the truth and reproves of sin, righteousness and judgment. And it's through the word of God that the slave is released.

We must equip ourselves with a Christ centered message and then be led by the Holy Spirit in gospel encounters. Let's take a five minute pause and we'll come right back if you need to go to the bathroom. And remember, if you have any questions, I'd love to speak with you outside of the teaching time.