2021.10.24 - A Passion for the Lost or A Lost Passion

Text: Mark 16:15-16 Opening Statement: The questions I want us to think about today is this, “Do I have a Passion for the Lost or have I Lost my Passion for the Lost?” However, the truth is that there is another question some of us must ask instead and that is; “Have I ever had a Passion for the Lost?” I pray that the Holy Spirit will help you to answer those questions today. I) Remember You’ve Been Commissioned to Go (Mark 16:15) There is something encouraging to me in remembering that God has specifically commissioned me with His gospel. I am His ambassador. Once you are saved you are transformed into a “new creature” and are given a new mission. You become Christ’s “ambassador.” When we remember that we’ve been commissioned to deliver a message with this urgency and importance, it adds weight to our responsibility. II) Remember You Need Compassion as You Go (Matthew 9:35-38) Compassion is a big deal for the church. Compassion has to be part of a witness of the church. When we look at the life of Jesus, we see Jesus involved in ministries of compassion. The ministry of Jesus was characterized with compassion. He didn’t see people as numbers but as souls. Even as Christ gave His disciples the Great Commission, He reminded them of the eternal needs attached to fulfilling it. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. — Mark 16:16 Remembering this verse makes it clear that, “The reality of Hell is a huge motivation.” III) Remember You Need to Connect with People (1 Cor. 9:22-23) Paul recognized that the Christian ministry was all about adaption. We will want to adapt. But that begs the question here in 21st Century America, how do we become all things to all people? He didn’t change God’s Word; he didn’t change God’s definition of right and wrong; he didn’t change that core, unshakable truth of the complete forgiveness in Jesus. But he adapted his methods to communicate that rock-solid message to different people. Connection takes place in two ways.