[Music]
well it's a joy to see all of you here
tonight we're glad the Lord gave you
traveling mercies and what a privilege
it is to be able to host the RB Net GA
this year it's hard it's hard to believe
that it's already been a year since our
first one and we're looking forward to
what the Lord is gonna do and we just
want you to know that our spirit here at
Grace Emanuel is to be your servants
this week so if there's anything that we
can do to make your week better just see
Greg Nickels he'll help you his
cellphone number is six one six just I
won't go any further
just see me later I'll give it to you
but seriously if there's anything we can
do to make this week more comfortable
you need help in any way please don't
hesitate to grab one of us as pastors or
anyone that looks like they belong here
we'll be glad to help you we just want
to be your servants this week and make
this a great week for you we'll go ahead
and introduce our speaker and then I'm
going to pray before he comes to speak
it is our privilege to have dr. David
Murray with us I was a personal friend
of mine I've certainly enjoyed getting
to know him as he Labor's just right up
the road from us and also Labor's in a
nearby church and has spoken at our
pastors fraternal and blessed us as we
gathered for that man that loves the
Lord and greatly used of God and so
we're so thankful that you said yes to
speaking to us and look forward to what
God has for us through your ministry
this evening and so we're gonna be
blessed to hear from him the Word of God
let's pray
Lord we can't help but to think of Psalm
133 how pleasant it is for brethren to
dwell together in unity and we thank you
Lord for this wonderful gift of unity
Lord we know that it's a delicate gift
Lord you though it is purchased by your
blood and though it is created by your
spirit you have called us and laid upon
our shoulders the heavy weight of
preserving that unity in the spirit and
the bond of peace and Lord we know that
we must have humility and meekness and
lowliness loneliness lowliest of mine
Lord as we seek to preserve it when we
understand there's enough of sin in our
hearts to split up this group and we
pray that you would keep it at bay use
your word tonight to sanctify us and we
pray that we might do much business this
week that would lead to the Lord the
ushering in of many souls into your
kingdom and the birth of many sinners
into your birth of many Saints into your
family now Lord we pray tonight for the
preaching of your Holy Word we pray that
the gospel would come not in word only
but also in the Holy Spirit and power
and in much conviction well we pray that
we would not merely learn more about
missions be more accurate in our
theology but we pray Lord we would have
bigger hearts for this world and we ask
all of these things in Jesus name Amen
thank you Jeff for that warm welcome
it's good to be amongst you and few
weeks ago is doing our confidence on the
covenants and the end one of the
reformed Baptists who were attending
they came up to me and said you'd make a
great Baptist I took it as a compliment
not sure some of my colleagues would but
I did Jeff said thank you to me for
agreeing to come to speak to you and I
did but if the truth be told I made the
mistake of agreeing to come to speak
before I was taught the subject to speak
on is something I would recommend
against because when I did see the title
I must I must be honest I felt rather
unqualified and I mean none of us I
suppose feel experts in in any area
really of ministry but this is one area
of ministry I personally feel I still
have a lot to learn and but all I can do
is bring to you what I believe the Word
of God teaches I commend it to your
consciences and I think we're having a
Q&A afterwards and hopefully together we
can make some progress in understanding
the the best answers to this question
how to foster a burden and vision for
ministry in the local church and to do
so want to read with you in 2nd
Corinthians chapter 5 2nd Corinthians
chapter 5 and we'll read from the
beginning
for we know that if our earthly house
this tent is destroyed we have a
building from God a house not made with
hands eternal in the heavens for in this
we groan earnestly desiring to be closed
with our habitation which is from heaven
if indeed having been closed we shall
not be found naked for we who are in
this tent groan being burdened not
because we want to be unclothed but
further clothes that mortality may be
swallowed up by life now he who has
prepared us for this very thing as God
who also has given us this spirit as a
guarantee so we are always confident
knowing that while we are at home in the
body we are absent from the Lord for we
walk by faith not by sight we're
confident yes well please rather to be
absent from the body and to be present
with the Lord
therefore we make it our aim whether
present or absent to be well pleasing to
him for we must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ that each one
may receive the things done in the body
according to what he has done whether
good or bad knowing therefore the terror
of the Lord we persuade men but we are
well known to God and I also trust are
well known in your consciences for we do
not command ourselves again to you but
give you opportunity to boast on our
behalf that you may have an answer for
those who boast in appearance are not in
heart but if we are beside ourselves it
is
for God what if we have sown mind it is
for you for the love of Christ compels
us because we judged us that if one died
for all then all died and he died for
all that those who live should live no
longer for themselves but for him who
died for them and rose again therefore
from now on we regard no one according
to the flesh even though we have known
Christ according to the flesh yet now we
know him thus no longer therefore if
anyone is in Christ he is a new creation
old things have passed away behold all
things have become new
now all things are of God who has
reconciled us to himself through Jesus
Christ and has given us the Ministry of
reconciliation that is that God was in
Christ reconciling the world to himself
not imputing their trespasses to them
and has committed to us the word of
reconciliation no then we are
ambassadors for Christ as though God
were pleading through us we implore you
on Christ's behalf be reconciled to God
but he made him who knew no sin to be
sin for us that we might become the
righteousness of God in him I mean
neither Lord Artus blessing to the
reading of his word how to foster a
burden and vision for mission in the
local church as I thought about that
title two words jump out a burden and
vision
when we think of burden we're thinking
of the why of mission if what impales us
what what pressures us a what motivates
us it's speaking of overlord that is
bearing down upon us and forcing us into
a particular course of action so the
burden of mission is the why why do we
do this
the vision for mission is really
answering the the what the Wayne the WHO
and the whole questions what will we do
where will we do it who will do it who
will we go to and how will we go about
that I fear most of our attention is
usually focused on the vision for
mission and sometimes we can paint very
vivid pictures very attractive very
compelling pictures of our vision for
mission we can answer these questions
that the war that Wayne the how and the
who but as so often just runs into the
sand the vision just evaporates or feeds
too quickly and I believe the reason for
that is because it's not been properly
founded on the bird and the why question
why are we doing this until we get the
the why question right then is really
pointless answering the other questions
until we have the burden then the vision
isn't there's no point in casting it and
describing it and that's why this
evening I would like to fall
kurz in particular on that first part of
the title how to foster a burden for
mission in the local church and if we
get that rate so many of the other
questions will be much easier to answer
and implement the answer of as well so
we want to focus then and how to foster
a burden for missions in the local
church and there's a number of ways we
could do that and we could we could
point to the example of God himself and
we could encourage ourselves and our
people by showing God to be the ultimate
missionary is showing the missionary
heart of God manifested in so many
different ways in the Word of God don't
be one way another way would be to do a
survey of all Testament examples so for
example we could go to the Abrahamic
covenant if we are right at the
beginning where there seems to be a an
exclusivity developing where God steps
away is that where from the whole human
race and focuses on one man and one
family and yet even there he's seeing in
you Abraham all the nations of the earth
shall be blessed here we have a burden
for missions right at the beginning of
the Abrahamic covenant and then you come
to the Covenant at Sinai I if we're
again there seems to be a more exclusive
focus on a nation a nation Israel is set
up and set apart and yet even at the
heart of that there's a vision for
Israel to be a missionary nation we have
in the words of Exodus 19 setting up the
covenant that Israel will be
a priestly nation a nation of priests a
nation of mediators a nation that will
be God's representative on earth a
nation through whom God will work and
communicate his gospel that was the
vision the burden that Israel was meant
to have was to be a priest to the
nation's not to keep the Word of God to
themselves but to be a channel and a
pipeline for it we can go to the sands
we faint so many Psalms where the
psalmist has a bird and to see the
gospel go out onto into the ends of the
earth and and heathen nations are named
as as coming to to trust and Christ and
His gospel we can go to the prophets who
faint yes great promises for Israel but
much wider than that great promises to
heathen nations great promises of
Gentiles coming in and so we could
survey the Old Testament to show that
the Old Testament itself is burdened
with mission we could easily go to the
New Testament couldn't we we we go to
Christ's example the way he reached out
with Israel here and there giving
indicators of his ultimate purpose and
his Great Commission to go out into all
the air earth and preach the gospel to
every creature we see that implemented
in the book of Acts as the Apostles
spread out with the gospel with this
great burden even as he exemplified in
this chapter knowing the terror of the
Lord we persuade may and the love of
Christ constrains as we are ambassadors
for Christ it's just a whole heartbeat
of the of the New Testament as mission
mission mission and then we could go to
church history and we could find so many
inspiring and motivational examples of
men and
who failed the necessity of the gospel
laid upon them and had to go and and
carry that burden to the ends of the
earth famous names that we know of and
and multitudes of names that we don't
God has used that frequently to stir up
a passion and a burden from mission
among his people the tailing of his
story in church history and then there
are praise of the examples and with the
advent of the internet we have access to
information about missionaries from
every denomination going to every
country following so many different
patterns of mission a seeing and heeding
of God's work almost in real time via
videos we can find out what's happening
with missionaries via sky we piped them
in to our churches or seminaries or
conferences we can hear of the wonderful
works of God as just hearing over the
weekend or the number of Muslims who are
coming to Christ in Iran even Imams who
are coming to missionaries like
Nicodemus by night and asking how do I
get into the kingdom of heaven very
inspiring modern present-day real time
almost examples to to stir us up until
way as day with a blessed wait a blessed
pressure of mission and then of course
there's there's the personal examples of
the pastor and the elders in the local
church and never before have so many
pastors and elders being being
themselves involved not just in local
churches but in their own missions I
know even in this congregation that a
number of the pastors and elders are in
and spreading the gospel a week here two
weeks they had a couple of months there
and and that itself stirs up tremendous
and trace and burden in a local church
when they see the pastor's examples of
going out with the gospel burden to
carry it to other peoples and not just
keep it to ourselves
there's the prayers of the pastor's too
and the elders as they lead the
congregation and and show demonstrate
their own heart and passion for other
nations and other people's as yet
unreached with the gospel all of these
things can can build towards this this
great burden for more missions we can
point to the heavenly example we can
take back the curtain on heaven using
the book of Revelation and sure there
the multitude greater than any man can
number from every kindred tongue nation
and tribe all praising God and all
seeing do the same on earth bring heaven
to earth by bringing the gospel to the
nations and the nations to the gospel
and through that the nations together
with other nations show the wonderful
diversity in the kingdom of God
show the worldwide nature of the Bride
of Christ when we see that heavenly
example we cannot but pray Lord do it
here too and then of course we can show
the example or you might see the counted
example of hell we take back the curtain
on hail and we show our congregations
and ourselves what's there even this
night thousands of people pouring into a
lost eternity from every single nation
in the world many of whom have never
heard the gospel all of these things can
status up and increase that blessed
weight and pressure upon us that impels
us and compared
us to make mission a vital part of the
local congregations witness and work
these are options these are ways we
could go this evening and all of these
are worth exploding but there's one
other that I want to make our focus this
evening and at first at first it might
seem like it's a bit of a strange one on
my field but give me some moments to try
and assure you how I believe this is
central and to me at least I believe
it's the most important of all and it's
this that I believe the best way to
foster a burden and vision for ministry
and the local church is through
evangelistic preaching in the local
church I believe the best way to foster
a burden and vision for mission in the
local church is evangelistic preaching
in the local church and I believe I hope
I can prove it from Scripture I believe
that one of the reasons why there's so
little burden is because there is so
little
or should I say much less evangelistic
preaching than there used to be in our
churches now there's been a welcomed
wonderful resurgence of consecutive
expository preaching in our churches
there's been as created wonderful
Reformation in our churches and then our
people's lives we don't want to get away
from that but times that's been at the
expand
of what you might call as traditional
evangelistic preaching lemme just spend
a moment or two and definitions here
what do I mean by evangelistic preaching
let me give you a couple of negatives an
evangelistic sermon is not a doctrinal
sermon with an evangelistic application
tagged on at the end or inserted
somewhere in the middle that's not what
I believe in evangelistic seminars
neither is it a mere series of
exhortations and imperatives and appeals
and commands and invitations that are
detached from the Word of God that's a
common character of evangelistic
preaching has no substance to it as just
a lot of appealing and persuading that's
not the kind of evangelistic preaching I
have in main tear what is it it's a
cerumen which expands the Word of God
but which has as its primary aim the
conversion of souls now hear both sides
of that it's a sermon that exposes the
Word of God but has its primary aim the
conversion of loss or the premium is not
the education of God's people it's not
the edification of God's people it's not
practical instruction for God's people
it's not the devotional lives of God's
people the the primary in there may be
subsidiary aims but the primary aim is
the conversion of the souls that are
sitting in front of us here so stir
oleate putas a veteran English a pastor
he said an evangelistic sermon is when I
preach from the Bible
with a view to the immediate conversion
of every single person in front of me
ask yourself brothers when did you last
do that I ask myself that it's so easy
to drift away from that saintil cord
aspect of pastoring and preaching
preaching with a view to the immediate
conversion of every single person in
front of me I want to look at this
subject first of all looking at the
rarity of evangelistic preaching why is
it so rare among us why is it become so
much so rare secondly we want to look at
the reason for why do we need it
hey thirdly we want to look at its roots
its scriptural roots scriptural examples
and fourth I want to look at its results
what does this sound like what does this
feel like what does this look like in
reality and I I believe if we can get
back to this if we can restore this to
essential place in the lives of our
congregations we will see a burden and
vision for evangelism grow in our
locality but more than that for the
nations beyond our locality the gospel
is the fuel for this and seeing gospel
their gospel sermons our sermons from
the Bible but I'm using gospel sermons
in this very particular sayings of
sermons that have their primary aim of
the immediate conversion of every soul
in front of us so first of all why is it
become so rare why is it so infrequent
why is there such an absence of this and
I searched my own heart for this as well
as talk
to other pastors voted I believe one of
the reasons the first reason is the
pastor's personal preference the
pastor's personal preference most
preachers prefer teaching to pleading we
prefer teaching to pleading we prefer
explaining to applying the word
we prefer can reasoning to anxious
persuading many of us if not most of us
have a good education in a sense
ministers are a self-selecting group
they love to study they love to wear and
they love to teach it's in the same so
part of being a pastor but your
strengths can become your weakness and
it can it can gradually draw you away
from what I hope was your primary aim
and going into gospel preaching which
was the conversion of souls teaching is
so satisfying it's so enjoy will love
dogs and we love seeing people learn and
grow and appreciate the doctrines of
grace the wonderful confessions and
catechisms bequeath to the church we
love all that as our preference it's
it's it's also much more socially
acceptable it's much more dignified it's
much easier so our personal preference
comes into those secondly our people
come into this if you preach an
evangelistic sermon I'll guarantee you
that much of the time somebody will on
the way at the door a mature Christian
they'll say to you well that was okay
pastor
but there wasn't much in it for me and
mature Christians can become very
selfish Christians and can't bear a
service in which they are not the
primary target the primary recipient of
the Word of God mature Christians prefer
meat to milk and that's natural that's
good
most evangelistic sermons are more of
the milky variety and and this soul of
the mature Christian sees give me meat
pasture and it's a subliminal message
isn't it
I mean it said jokingly or you know it's
not accusative Li but it it gets in
there you don't want to be thought of as
anything waste than uh you know a
sirloin steak and a preacher and then
sometimes for some of us anyway we have
actually very few unconverted people in
front of us that's a sad thing to a the
first congregation i had in scotland as
very small church is probably thirty
people probably twenty-five of them were
christians five or unbelievers very
regular attenders when i preached
evangelist examined there everyone knows
who's the target it's very difficult
when you love these people you meet them
in the village day after day they know
you're you're after then the next church
have entered a few hundred people that
was really easy in a lot more
unconverted people and it's just less of
personal and so but some of our churches
have no unconverted people in them are
not not very many making it difficult to
pursue this kind of ministry and then
you've got people who are very sensitive
to what they may call hyper evangelism
you know they've maybe come out of
situations where the worst kinds of
emotional manipulation have been used to
try and bring people to the front -
alters - decisions and any kind of
emotion and evangelism that's kind of
hey pastor where are we going you know
this is what I came out of and then in
some of our settings certainly hearing
to run Rapids we have a hyper-calvinism
which again is very sensitive us very
delicate and 10 I for any kind of appeal
to sinners to actually seek and believe
and repent and choose and decide for
Christ and and you don't want to be the
victim of a hyper-calvinist you don't
want to be in the wrong side of that so
the we have problems our people can
sometimes cause problems and and then
there's the pragmatism often unspoken we
don't think we're pragmatist but all of
us have a degree of pragmatism that we
think well you know it's better to get
people in a lace get let'slet's scare
them away with things like sin and the
law and Hale and judgment you know if we
can sort of make a very welcoming and
and non confrontational and an
impersonal just get them used to it and
then we can begin to you bring the
gospel to them very gently and gradually
but by that time there's more new people
there and well you can't offend them and
and so the cycle goes on and there's I
can a pragmatism that just blunts the
age of evangelistic passion and and
there's those presumption - we presume
people are converted when they're not
just because people prophase they're
converted makes us think well we don't
need to preach the gospel we just need
to edify and we forget that
that's a sin to presume such a thing and
and then there's pluralism another
reason for the increasing reality of
this and we all might be upper hand see
oh no no stop there muddy and with you
pluralism new nor as we believe in the
exclusive claims of Christ we believe
he's the only way to be saved there's no
other name under heaven by which men can
be saved that's what we confess that's
what we swore to when we redeemed that's
what we believe and yet and yet we live
in such a pervasive culture of pluralism
that not one of us is unaffected by him
all of us to some degree or other have
had that sharp age that clarity blunted
and nor we would never preach it but
sometimes our lack of preaching preaches
it
and of course the devil ultimately as
the ultimate reason why such preaching
is not so common among us as it maybe
once was this is the weapon he fears
most
he knows that more than any other kind
of sermon in the world evangelistic
sermons have pluck'd more Souls out of
his clutches this he fears all sermons
from the Word of God but he especially
dreads
when pastors take the Word of God and
pursue sinners with it for their
conversion to Christ and that is the
40-minute emphasis of the message and no
one's under any illusions as to what the
preachers aim is he's after souls no one
hates up more than the devil the devil
hates nothing more than that and when
you put all that together it's a it's a
recipe for disaster our appearances our
people our pragmatism our presumption
are effective pluralism and a devil
who's opposing at every turn in some
ways it's amazing that our if any
evangelistic sermons left and so I'd
encourage you to search your own hearts
and ask yourselves to what degree have
any of these reasons blunted my age in
evangelizing and preaching evangelistic
sermons because to the degree that we
are blunted to that degree will the
burden for outreach locally and missions
further afield be diminished and
decreased so let's move secondly to the
reason for the Vangelis like preaching
why do we
need this first of all we need it
because if it's absent are preaching
becomes academic and Lake Charlie our
preaching simply becomes load lecturing
we lose the the passion that should
characterize preaching you think me God
blesses the the the exposition of his
word however it is delivered whether
it's a lecture early style
academic style or not but how much more
good as done when a sermon is delivered
with passion and with energy that's
infectious you're not going to increase
long term a burden for mission with
merely academic lectures
it will only be done with passionate
energetic preaching that is infectious
that catches the fire of the preacher
and starts of fire and other hearts when
people hear the preaching and they see
this is unmistakable what this is about
and what he's about and that's what I
should be about if it's absent
Christians become proud we're never
humbled were not brought law we're there
to be students rather than to be
convicted and to be brought to see in
need of the gospel all over again
Christians become pro Christians become
prayerless if we're not healing about
the needs of sinners if we're not
heating about the the nature of sin the
nature of the gospel the nature of Hale
and judgments on prayer
just going to fade away become formal at
least we become proud we become
prayerless we've become unthankful our
gratitude for being we for being saved
diminishes because we're not heeding
what we've been see from and we're not
healing how we've been saved and we're
not hearing who has saved us we can be
experienced and multiple doctrines and
yet the gratitude that floors from a
saints of Amazing Grace as absent it
makes Christians reluctant to bring
frames to church when such preaching is
absent because how are they ever going
to understand the level of preaching
that many of us are preaching at I mean
I've sat there in churches thinking that
there's no way I can bring joy to this
and I don't believe that's unbelief
I believe that's common sense the lack
of this kind of preaching is a huge
deterrent to many people in our pews to
bringing people to the gospel or even
bringing that gospel to the people who
are not preaching sermons that can be
put onto an MP theater CD and hand it is
someone who's never heard the gospel
before and they can understand it at
least the words of it there's something
wrong we become inward looking we just
think of ourselves and our congregation
and we've rarely think outside the walls
never mind outside our country our
continent preaching becomes academic and
lecture like Christians become proud
prayerless unthankful inward-looking
reluctant to bring friends to church our
children assume they're going to have
if our ever children never here you must
be born again I don't mean they never
hear it but they never hear a whole
sermon devoted to that are they ever
going to really grasp the urgency and
the vital nosov this message when this
is absent I believe the church is
declining not reviving the church is
chilling not burning that's why we need
it because we don't want that to happen
we don't want just academic lectures
passionless sermons we don't want proed
inward-looking prayerless thankless
Christians we don't want our children go
to hell I don't want people to perish
all these things happen when
evangelistic preaching is absent from
our churches but let's look thirdly at
its roots what does this look like there
are multitudes of of tax topics that can
be preached with evangelistic
application I'm sure every faithful
pastor here does not whether you're
preaching to God's people or no you will
always I just have an application so
that there's something in there that an
unconverted person if all the here is
not one sermon at least they know
something of the gospel so every subject
every takes can have an evangelistic
application but evangelistic stems are
more than that they are focused on texts
and topics that are primarily
evangelistic that are primarily
evangelistic more suited to evangelistic
ceremonies and there are four kinds of
evangelistic sermons I wish to put in
front of you this
evening just to get you thinking about
this first of all there are what I call
warm-up seramins warm-up seramins these
kinds of sermons prepare the way for the
gospel really their evangelistic sermons
but they're focused on a removing
objections they're focused on erasing
caricatures of the gospel they're
focused on showing the relevance of the
gospel showing the superiority of
Christianity to all other religions you
may have salmon's on proofs for the
resurrection you may have sermons on the
exclusive claims of Christ you may take
on some of the caricatures like only
good people go to heaven you may try and
and apply the word to current topics
current events that are there are much
on people's minds and showing how
relevant and suited and appropriate the
gospel is to these situations this is
this is really all about they are the
very least gaining a hearing for the
gospel dating getting a foothold in a
soul just beginning that connection
trying to try to just take that
preliminary first step to tracing in the
gospel what you may call warm up sermons
secondly there are warning sermons
these are sermons that focus on sin what
is sin focused on the law of God as it
defines sin inwardly and outwardly
focused on the attributes of God that
have a more fearful tinge to them to the
unconverted like the holiness of God the
Justice of God the sovereignty of God
the power of God
sermons which focus on the nature of
this world it's vanity
it's transience how temporary it is
compared with eternity sermons that are
focused on day sermons that are focused
on judgment sermons that are focused on
Hale these are sermons such as remember
Lot's wife sermons such as we have here
in this passage knowing therefore the
terror of the Lord we persuade men based
on this we must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ sermons that may
speak of the dangers of hypocrisy the
presumption subjects like Judas may be
the rich man in hell
they're supposed to Lazarus in heaven
innumerable examples of warning sermons
that we can find takes for in the Bible
and the aim of this there's also much
preparing for the gospel but the
messages repent of your sin or judgment
comes it's a warning sermon then there
are there are wooing ceremonies wooing
sermons these are sermons that that
focus on the more attractive aspects we
might see at least to the unconverted
person of God's character we might focus
on his love on his patience on his mercy
on his compassion his sermons that that
focus on the Father's love their
father's provision of a son to suffer
and die for sinners sermons that are
full of the love of Christ his person
and worker as the Apostle here says for
the love of Christ compels us these are
sermons that will speak of the gracious
mighty work of the Holy Spirit and eras
stubble Grey's salmon said focus on
Christ's acts for sinners and his gentle
gracious dealings with them sermons that
preach and grace not works they're full
of hope they're full of good news
they're full of Attraction full of full
of appeal salmon such as the conversion
of Manasseh the conversion of the
prodigal son the healing of the leper
justification by faith alone no
condemnation in Christ Jesus innumerable
examples of Christ's interactions with
sinners and the Gospels and so on and so
on these sermons have as their big
message believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and you shall be saved and and then
there are will sermons that's the fourth
main category of evangelistic sermons
they are will seramins what do I mean by
that these these are sermons that
address the head and address the heart
but the ultimate aim is the will the
choosing the deciding faculty in sinners
they are very persuasive sermons they
are focused on pleading is like the
Apostle here at the end of this chapter
now then we are ambassadors for Christ
as though God we're pleading through us
will it be wonderful to put that across
our pulpits across our whole ministries
that whatever else people get from our
ministries they wouldn't know this is
how God please
this is how God persuades this is weird
this is this is how God would speak to
me if I if he was here this night you
might think of Salmons like Paul's
cerumen to Agrippa ending up with almost
you persuaded me to be a Christian and a
grip on you huh Griffin you that the the
sword of Paul was poking at his will it
was it was forcing him to make a choice
to make a decision we shouldn't be
afraid to use these words we believe in
the bondage of the will well we also
believe in the power of the word of God
to free the well from that bondage and
it's through preaching that people have
to choose whether they are able or not
they're responsible to do so and we lose
a great to of the gospel only blood that
one we're afraid to preach that and ways
we're thought of as Arminian horror of
Horrors faced our John Murray said that
the it's like walking a knife age the
gospel the sovereignty of God and one
Satan and an responsibility of man and
the other they also said if I'm gonna
fall off that knife I'm gonna fall on
the responsibility of mine don't want to
fall off but we're going to place fall
they are I think of Jesus and it's
persuading of the woman of Samaria we
think of the parable of the waiting
invitation we think of strive to enter
in the straight gate we think of choose
you this day whom you will serve we
think of crazing he who is not with me
is against me with me or against me
numerous examples Jesus and the Apostles
and the Old Testament prophets didn't
seem so hung up on the sovereignty of
God as we are and never blunted they
repeal and their persuade
and their demand that people respond
people say I can't choose you've already
chosen I can't choose god you've chosen
the devil I hope you can see
evangelistic preaching has scripture
doll roots it's not something we make up
something for tailee evangelists or
crusade evangelists
it's biblical it's the Bible shot
through with this so what will such
seramins sound like what would they look
like lastly what are the results that we
would expect to see well I think first
of all such sermons will have much more
present tense in them much more praise
n't tense now every sermon starts in the
past tense because it starts with an
ancient book it starts with going back
and seeing this is what was taught past
tense this is for this mamed teaching
sermons educational sermons we'll spend
a lot more time in that past tense
unpacking explaining going into all the
intricacies of of the culture and the
geography and the history and the
context and and so on and so forth and
all that is good and that's needed to to
some degree in evangelistic sermons but
we want to accelerate through that the
evangelistic sermons have much more
present tense in it it's it's much more
concerned to guess gate that principle
that truth that explanation but then
take it right here right now and deal as
Martin lloyd-jones said evangelistic
sermons should have should be preached
in the urgent tense so that people at a
no mistake we're not talking about there
and then and
then we're talking about here and now
and you and it's about trying to show
people that this ancient world has a
very immediate present urgent
application not for next week but for
right here right now we want to connect
to the praising with introductions and
illustrations and anecdotes and quotes
that are contemporary and up-to-date
they're showing people this gospel has
something to say to this day and to this
generation it will be personal they'll
say very personal it's not the Apostle
said this to the Corinthians yeah where
again we start there he said this to
them the Philistines there and the
Israelites yeah all of that yep all
these distant peoples in these distant
times that's that's where we start but
only as a springboard to get to you and
me and me it's not what the Apostle does
here he says no then he's just done
amazing exposition no no we it's very
personal
yes sir you know preachers are
ambassadors no says it's me this is my
job this is my role we are ambassadors
for God as though God we're pleading
through us we implore you know other
people are saying these walls you right
here
it's very personal as eyeball-to-eyeball
its heart-to-heart it's somebody
persuading and passionately pleading for
souls right in front of them it's not a
bit condemning the culture and
condemning the world is bringing the
condemnation on the people right here
God's condemnation but also God's hope
we want to get inside their manes you're
sitting here tonight and you're thinking
this how do you know that you're feeling
this is my wife speak to these things
aren't happening evangelistic preachings
not happening it's very personal it's
about me and you so if there's no one
else in the room but it's not just me
and you as God and you God through me to
you have we ever ever adequately
conveyed God pleading through us it's
very personal and in that connection
don't let notes get in the way don't let
paper get in the way of this it's just
it's the worst thing in the world
although I've done it I've seen it done
reading pleadings come on brothers can
we no just throw this stuff away for a
few minutes and trust the Lord to give
us words and arguments that were real
and genuine and a same thing that's not
something we prepared air lights are
very hard right here right now for you
it's passionate come back to this
because they must know we had an errand
estat we are anxious for them to be
saved in our words and our torn in our
face and our body language we want them
to know that we've really believed this
and we really want them to be saved they
are people being Nords that this is what
we long for more than anything else in
all the one we want you to be saved not
just God wants that I want it
how do we do that what for myself when I
feel I'm losing this age that's
passionate and I do frequently
I try and go apart to try and go aside
and I think of my twin brother here's an
unbeliever and to think of the phone
call
Kenny's dad and I think if it is
whatever I do that to try and bring the
reality of this trying to do it with
people in my congregation lovely fine
outstanding moral people but going to
hell try and see them burning there we
think they are crying they are screaming
there for ever and then try and preach
coolly and lecture Lee and academically
I cannot be done it cannot be done
this is persuasive it's not you know
take our lever no let's leave it and die
leave it and there are massive
consequences please don't leave it we're
wrestling with men's souls we're we're
grappling with them we're trying to to
to Reysol them to the to face to face
with christ we are praising them yes we
are pressurizing them we're trying to
persuade them with all their money or
mind and later we have a powerful Naut
Naut don't be apologetic don't be
defensive but how preaching just doesn't
wash today
it's got to be authoritative
Proclamation a declaration of the truth
without apology whether a condition with
a hesitation with a note of fear if it's
going to be powerful later be plain
later be simple later be clear that
doesn't mean simplistic but it means you
have to put an extra three hours into
your sermon to bring it from there to
here you martyn lloyd-jones
his practice was every single Sunday one
sermon a teaching sermon and one an
evangelistic sermon every single Sunday
do you know this sermon he wrote in film
his evangelistic sermon that's the one
he worked on most that was the one he
thought was most important he didn't
read it all they wrote it all I that
shows us the work that's required to do
this well so I'm just standing up and
riffing just you know spontaneous ad hoc
C becomes no this is this is sudde work
that's required and it's
persevering preaching exhausts us
evangelistic preaching will come close
to killing you at times I know the
nights the Sunday nights that I have at
the most troubled sleeps if any sleep at
all have always followed the most
advanced elastic sermons I've ever
preached
I think The Devil's in that but I think
also burden is a nod because it's
brought home to me as well as to the
congregation reality and it's made me
think what more can I do what must I do
has preached to myself I hope as well as
to others it makes me yea exhausted on
Monday but the following days as a new
energy there's a new Drive
there's a new passion there's a new
burden and that's what I mean when I see
the evangelistic preaching is the key to
fostering a burden for mission in the
local church I believe with all my heart
that if God would give us this again and
bless it that we would see a new floor
naturally spontaneously we would need
organization we need strategies we need
plans we need to be coercing people into
volunteering we wouldn't have it be
having to leverage money of people
people and money would be flowing into
this because evangelistic preaching
gives people a burden it gives God's
people a burden for the lost locally and
internationally and once we have that
then we can start envisioning and then
the vision will be implemented and
sustained long-term let's pray
our great missionary God ought to have
just even a sliver of your own heart to
have something of what beats in you
beating in ours and that you would you
would use this wonderful genre of
preaching the you would revive it in
ours in our churches in our land and
that you would use it mightily for the
conversion of souls yes you will then
has such a burden for other souls but
also to grow again the burden of your
people for evangelism and mission to the
ends of the earth
in Jesus name I mean