Genuine Worship Series: A Real Compassion for Souls

Genuine Worship Series: A Real Compassion for Souls

Good to be in the Lord's house. Let's take our Bibles and turn to 1 Timothy chapter 2.

1 Timothy chapter 2. When we get there, let's turn to verse number 1. Begin the reading in verse 1 of 1 Timothy chapter 2. And it's here in verse number 1 that we read, I exhort, therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings, and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. And may God bless the word to our hearts this evening.

This morning we saw that worship precedes service, and service ought to be the outflow of worship, and even an expression of the heart of worship to the Lord. It's possible that, well, we know it's possible, what I'm about to say, because the scripture says many will say, have we not done many wonderful works in thy name? And the Lord will say, depart from me, I never knew you. It's very obvious in the scriptures that it's possible to draw nigh with the mouth and yet be far from God in the heart. It's possible to do a lot of seemingly good things on the outside, but not truly do them out of worship, instead to do them that we might be seen of men, and that's not worship, is it? That's not true worship.

But that doesn't mean, as we saw this morning, that the Lord was condemning acts of service and good words and deeds. It's just, He doesn't want us to have dead works, and He saved us from dead works to serve the living God, to worship and serve and glorify Him. But He is glorified when we worship, and He seeks for those that will worship Him in spirit and in truth. In spirit, as we saw this morning, truly adore and stand in awe before Him in our hearts and our innermost being. And then in truth, like we saw with the woman at the well, you know, Jesus said to her, you know not who you worship, what you worship. We must worship, our worship to the Lord must be, what can we say, orthodox. We must follow the Word of God. We must worship Him according to His revealed will, not just however we feel, seeker sensitive. Whatever we feel like doing, we just do that. No, it must be an obedience, trusting obedience to God and His Word. But it must be true genuine spirit spiritual worship.

And tonight I want to take the time to read a few passages of Scripture because before we or as we look at this matter of the need to worship the Lord by having a compassion for souls, I know that my father-in-law said that he was trying to lead people to the Lord when he wasn't even a Christian. As a teenager, he had grown up in church and was familiar with all the terminology and he was trying to be a good youth, a leader among the youth, but he wasn't even saved himself and the Lord humbled him and brought him to see his own need of not just to know about Jesus but to know and truly worship him individually. It would be a personal individual relationship with him not just well I grew up in the church and I know the right things to say kind of.

Well, in this passage we just read tonight, Paul says, we ought to pray for all men. God wants us to have the same heart toward all men that he has. He wants all men to be saved, we read in that passage. He wants all men to come to the knowledge of truth. He doesn't want them to remain in darkness and this ignorance of sin. He doesn't want that. He wants them to be saved. And we ought to pray for all men. We ought to pray that we might lead a quiet and peaceable life. We ought not to be known as rabble-rousers. We ought to be known like Daniel was, even down in Babylon. What was it? God granted him favor with even those that were over him. That he, those that were his peers knew that he was a law abiding citizen, right? He was not a lawless man and the only way they were going to catch him was that they would make some law that would cause his worship of God to compete with his allegiance to the king, right? There would be some conflicts between his worship of God and his loyalty or obedience to the laws of the land.

Well, we ought to pray for peace, just like we said this morning in the Sunday school hour. We ought to pray for our brothers and sisters in places, you know, I think of hard places to live, where the laws are against, are not as favorable toward Christianity. We ought to pray that God would preserve them and keep them and give them and set up a hedge about them that they might be able to continue to shine the light and be salt in those places. Even in the spirit we saw Abraham praying for his, praying for a lot. Praying for the sake of what, five or ten righteous even in the city, that the city would be spared.

But we notice that it's also in these verses that we read here in verse Timothy chapter 2 that the Lord doesn't want these people to remain on that collision course with death and hell. What does it say? He will have all men to be saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth. He also, we would read in a passage like Ezekiel chapter 18. We see there Ezekiel 18 verse 23. In Ezekiel chapter 18 verse 23, what do we read there? It says, the Lord says, Have I any pleasure in the at all? Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die, saith the Lord God, and not that he should return from his ways and live?" The Lord says, even though man is on a collision course with death and his sin, I have no pleasure that he should end up ultimately dying in his sins. I have no pleasure at all in that. If God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, then that thought that men should die without coming to know and worship and love God because of what he's done for us should also cause us unrest of heart.

Jonah was foolish, wasn't he? At least in what we read of him in that particular instance. I'm not saying everything about his life and ministry was bad, but we read what we read of him. What we read of him, he was foolish for wishing the Ninevites would die in their sins. I can understand, as a human being, the Assyrians were cruel people. The Assyrians were bad people, but then again, all have sins. All have sinned. He, you know, in talking to a sister not too long ago, I think maybe I mentioned something along these lines, but that the sister said that one of the harder things for her to come to grips with was, I really need to pray and ask God to show me ways to prepare my heart should He lead some Muslim soul across my path that I would be able to point them to Christ, we might say, well, the ideology, it's really, you know, the political ideology, that whole system is very, and it has a religious component to it, yes, but it's very deeply ingrained in the culture and the way of thinking, yes, it is. And yet, there are souls that,

Well, even, let's even just stop there. Even if no soul ever got saved, does that mean, well, we can become pragmatic, can't we? We can be really good pragmatists as Christians sometimes. Well, I shouldn't witness because I don't think they're going to get saved. I shouldn't tell them about the Lord because I don't think they're going to get right anyway. They're such terrible people. Isn't that the way Jonah was thinking? They're such cruel people. Why should I even waste my time? My hope God just burns all the place down." Well, it is right and it is good to pray that God would judge sin, yes. There's nothing wrong with that. In fact, we should love the fact that God is righteous. We should also remember that God is merciful and if it was not for the mercy of God we wouldn't even be able to pray. We wouldn't even be able to know him and pray for others that they would be spared.

Man is such a respecter of persons. Our human nature, by human nature, we're such respecters of persons. We know those people look respectable, let's go witness to them. They look like they might receive the gospel and yet there's others that, I don't know if I want to talk to them. I'm not talking about, I'm talking about myself. I'm how easy it is for us to just kind of say, well, let's make it easier on ourselves, so to speak. But the Lord says, have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? No, he doesn't have any pleasure in that.

Let's look in Matthew 5 verse 44. Matthew 5 verse 44. It says, Jesus says there in Matthew 5 verse 44, But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you, that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven, for he maketh his Son to rise on the evil and on the good. Well, I think the Ninevites would fall solidly under the category of the evil, right? And on the good and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father, which is in heaven, is perfect."

I think of what we read in 2 Peter 3.9, the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. There was a sister, there was a lady that Brother Bergman mentioned, not Bakita, Anyway, a lady there that they were, he was witnessing to this week in a wheelchair and she was saying something to the effect that, I don't think I'm good enough to become a Christian. And Brother Bergman said, well you're in the perfect position then. And he said, because the Lord saves, he said, you know, he's not a respecter of persons and he doesn't, doesn't matter how, nobody has enough money to buy their way into heaven. Nobody is good enough to earn their way into heaven. And he said, the fact that you understand that you're not good enough is a good starting point, but then you must realize that Jesus paid the price. It's only His goodness, only His righteousness that can save you. And I think about that.

The Lord is wanting that all should come to repentance and realize that we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. We must desire and pray that hearts would turn to God in repentant faith acknowledging the truth. We must pray that people's eyes would be opened to see that God so loved the world that He gave freely His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Remember God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved." God's purpose and His goal and His heart's desire is not to condemn anyone. That's not what He sent His Son for. No, He sent His Son to save men from condemnation.

What I'm trying to get at here tonight is I need this. I need to see. I need to bow before the Lord and see, Lord, what an amazing heart you have for lost, wicked, vile men, mankind, who has done nothing but turn their back and everyone turned to his own way, turned against you, Lord, the one who created us. And yet, you loved us. We love him because he first loved us. How can that be? How can it be that God would love such unlovely people, such as us, lost in our sins because we We are going after the way of our father Adam. The Son of Man has come, we read, to seek and to save that which is lost. To seek and to save that which is lost. It didn't say a certain skin color of people, it didn't say a certain geography, it didn't say a certain social status. He's come to seek and save that which is lost. Of course, we know not all will be saved, right? Few there will be that find it, not because it's hard to find, but because broad is the path, right? And wide is the gate that leads to destruction. There are many things to appeal to the flesh. Many excuses can be made for one to go in the broad way. But that's why we must pray that men would repent and acknowledge the truth. The truth. We talked about the spirit of truth this morning in God's Word. That God would burden ourselves with the compassion for the lost. Our goal should not be to simply win a debate with the lost person. Our goal should be, you're dying in sin and how can I point you to the only one who can save you from that lost, hopeless, without Christ condition that you're in. To have a true compassion for souls. Our Lord so many times in the Gospels was moved with compassion when he saw the multitudes as sheep having no shepherd. He saw them and he was moved with compassion toward them.

Look in Mark 16, if you will. Mark 16. This, what I'm getting at here is the heart of genuine worship toward God in this even, is seen in having what we just read a moment ago. Be ye perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect. We just read just a moment ago those very words from Matthew chapter 5 and what was the context there the context was if you love them which love you what think have you what reward have ye but instead of doing that we ought to love our enemies and pray for them desire that they would be saved desire that they would come to acknowledge truth desire that they would not continue on the path of their own Oh sinful human nature says good I hope they get what's coming for them. Good, I hope they suffer. Good, I hope that something bad happens to them for all the bad they've done. Well thank God that our Savior did not say that when he hung on that cross. He said, Father forgive them for they know not what they do. Well there may be a certain extent to which we know. I I want revenge. I want whatever. I feel like I've been wronged, but no, they don't fully understand the eternal implications of their crucify Him. Crucify Him. Pray for them that despitefully use you. The one who told us that did it. He showed us the example. He didn't just say, go and do it. Do as I say, not as I do. Run along. No, he said, watch me and follow my example. Follow my example.

Well, Jesus says here in Mark 16 verse 15, he said unto them, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to a few elect creatures. Is that what it says? It says, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned." Well, that's pretty black and white, pretty plain and clear, isn't it? God desires that everyone would hear, every creature would hear. That doesn't mean Daniel peed, that doesn't mean that Andy Bohn, doesn't mean that Donna Gupton is personally responsible individually to preach the gospel to every creature on the planet, no, but each one of us have a part to play in that. Each one of us, whether it be personally we're speaking to people or we may by proxy through prayer, financial support, send forth the gospel to others in places that we may not actually ourselves be able to go.

Think about someone like Akbar Masih in Pakistan. If I, a Caucasian male, walked in, they probably wouldn't have me for supper. But he's able to minister in a way to a people that I may not be able to, at least in that context over there, be able to go into and worship, and witness to. But God wants all men to come to him, and he is in the business of drawing men unto himself. He wants all men to come unto him. He would say in Luke 16 verse 9 Luke 16 verse number 9 it says over there Jesus says make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness we saw mammon recently that's talking about assets possessions material things even implies your you know one's net worth right of the of the currency of this earth. Make with that, make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when you fail they may receive you into everlasting habitations. By using and investing material things towards that which has eternal value, do it with the heart of worship unto the Lord that even as I'm investing these monies, these treasures and possessions that I have toward the eternal well-being of souls that ultimately there may be, the prayer will be that maybe somebody would believe on the Lord Jesus as a result of that investment, hopefully more than just one somebody. But that once again, the heart of worship is not based on the results as much as it is not really that, so much as it is, may God be glorified in me doing this. And may it be for the good of souls, but may God be glorified by this investment. Before any desire to be repaid in the form of some soul, and we even, it's in the text here, that they may receive you. I believe those who through the ministry of this mammon come to know the Lord will ultimately…

Well, that, what possible, I don't know, I'm just conjecturing here, will the Lord allow us to know that maybe some soul that got saved, or souls that got saved through not only our individual personal witness, but maybe even money and prayers that we invested in this life, and as a result, in part, that soul came to the Lord because of, in part, through the means of the heart of worship in giving for the glory of God and the salvation of souls that we made an investment in eternal things. It's just a question mark. Will God allow us to see how some of that played out in this earth? Not for our glory, but so that we might say, praise the Lord! Praise the Lord for

In Romans 10 verse 13 we read something very important there as well, Romans 10 13. It says here, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they sent, as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things. But they have not all obeyed the gospel, for Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

Folks got saved through Jonah's ministry. Isn't that something? We might say in spite of Jonah's ministry. Did Jonah give the word of warning about the coming judgment of God with a heart of worship? No. I don't see any indication that he did. He was not worshiping the Lord. He was begrudgingly realizing people were humbling themselves and repenting and right with God. Oh no! That's not what I wanted to happen. That's not what I desired. That's not the heart of worship that the Lord is looking for in the giving of it. It's not a heart of worship if we give the gospel so we can see a number or we can say, look how much I've done. Look how many souls I've saved. No. It's the heart must be, Lord, I'm just amazed that you would love a sinner like me and save me. And I truly desire, like you do, Lord, that No soul should perish because of mine neglect to give, to go, to share, to preach, to make disciples. Lord, send a revival, like the hymn says. Our altars, our love needs rekindling, our altars repair. How weak we are growing in service and prayer. Lord, send a revival. Let it begin in me.

Paul said he was a debtor to the Greeks and to the barbarians, the wise and the unwise. I am a debtor. Woe to me if I preach not the Gospel. Woe to me if I do not share freely that which I have freely received. Woe to me if I do not give the good news. We might say, well, the times are hard, not many people are getting saved like they used to. Well, I don't hear Noah saying that. I didn't read Noah saying, well, only eight people came to the boat and they're all in my family. Well, does the number matter? The faithfulness matters. The number is not what God's looking at. He's looking at what have you done with what I've given you? What are you doing with what I gave you? Jesus preached to the Jews even though they crucified him. His own received him not. I mean, the greatest preacher that ever lived. Even greater than him and yet they they hung him on a cross they crucified him away with him away with him crucify him and so we cannot use that as an excuse well these are hard times people people are rejecting the gospel no that's not an excuse not to send the light to send the blessed gospel light freely we received, we freely must give.

And as we saw there in 1 Timothy at the outset, chapter 2, we saw, Pray for all men. Supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men. Not some men, all men. Pray for kings. Pray for those in authority. Pray for your president. Pray for your Elected leaders, I'm adding some of those things in because those were not terms that existed when Paul wrote this, but leaders, those in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. But pray, pray for these men. Pray to the Lord, the one who wants all men to be saved, in verse four. And he wants all to come unto the knowledge of truth. The peace, as we've said before, we should pray that we might lead a quiet and peaceable life. That's not talking about, so we can have a, you know, pray that things will stay calm, so we can have a bass boat, a summer house, and all these extra things, and we can just have a comfortable life. That's not what that's talking about, but it's pray that we may be able to continue to live for the Lord and do his will and send the gospel light so that people can hear about the truth and they can come to the repentance and acknowledging the truth and they can get saved. That's what we need to pray for. But even in times of hardship, the Lord can save people there too.

There's sometimes situations that the Lord puts us in, even the Lord may put us in difficult situations. I was hearing the testimony of a man who evidently that he he called before the tower was one of the towers on 9-11. He was up at upper floors and he ended up dying and everybody in the in in that floor and in his office area with him they all perished in that tower collapse. But he had witness to a number of them over and over and over again and they and they just they didn't they won't have anything to do with it generally speaking didn't really give him the time of day and I think it was relayed and I'm hearing this from a preacher that was sharing this but evidently this the man who was sharing the gospel was able to call his wife and tell about what the Lord was doing before the tower fell. But anyway, he got up after the plane hit the building, he got up on his desk and he said, we're gonna meet the Lord today, everybody. He says, and I'm looking forward to meeting him. He said, I want you to come with me. And he said, I know I've talked to a lot of you about the Lord, he said, and he's given you another chance to come and put your trust in him or in something along those lines. And it sounded like there were a number that did and the Lord had been working on them for some time even though they were kinda acting like they weren't interested in it. And you know, you just wonder how many people in those towers that day got saved before, at the last minute? Not, and it wasn't, it may have very well been other situations where seed had been sown, seed had been sown, and then they realized, I want to meet the Lord today. And it became a matter of priority to them. At that moment. We don't know. It's not our responsibility. We can't save souls anyway, but we can sow the seed.

How many people? You may have witnessed to somebody in your life and you may find out in glory. I don't know how that's going to work exactly, but it may be that you witnessed to somebody and later on I think Brother Tim was talking about somebody. I know Brother Ed spoke of someone that he used to work with. Those kinds of situations is there are the people that you thought they weren't paying attention then later on you come to realize they did get saved. They did trust in the Lord. And something I said was part of what God used to draw them. And so it's not ours to determine the results. It's just that heart that God wants us to have of worship that leads us and compels us to send the light, sow the seed, to pray for souls, desire that they would not perish in this collision course that they're on with death, but they would come to trust in the Savior.

Let's pray. Father, thank you for these moments we've had in your Word tonight. We pray Lord that I think the most important thing is that our heart is right about this Lord that it's not that we need we need we need to brush up and and know what your word says and prepare our hearts and and maybe have some sort of basic idea of what we're going to say when we speak to a soul, but the greater thing is we need to have a heart that is truly burdened for these souls, a heart like yours, a heart that is truly longing for people to come to know the Savior that we know, that they would not perish eternally separated from the living God, but that they would realize What a joy it can be to call upon the name of the Lord and be saved and to walk with you and to live for you. We pray that you help us to honor you in responding with this kind of a heart, to have this compassion upon souls. We pray these things. We ask them in Jesus' name, Amen.