1. Lack of Knowledge
Acts 18: 24-28
Apollos Instructed at Ephesus
24 “Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures well, had just arrived in Ephesus from Alexandria in Egypt. 25He had been taught the way of the Lord and talked to others with great enthusiasm and accuracy about Jesus. However, he knew only about John's baptism. 26When Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside and explained the way of God more accurately. 27Apollos had been thinking about going to Achaia, and the brothers and sisters in Ephesus encouraged him in this. They wrote to the believers in Achaia, asking them to welcome him. When he arrived there, he proved to be of great benefit to those who, by God's grace, had believed. 28He refuted all the Jews with powerful arguments in public debate. Using the Scriptures, he explained to them, "The Messiah you are looking for is Jesus."
Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”
The prerequisite to being filled is to hunger and thirst.
You must hunger and thirst after righteousness before you can be filled.
I choose to apply this to my life.
I desire to be starved to death.
I desire to thirst to the point of dehydration.
Problems: Not an adequate amount of prayer, not an adequate amount of reading of the Word of God, Not an adequate amount of stirring up the gift of the Holy Spirit. Not an adequate amount of teachable spirit.
2. Carnality
Aka: Bottle Feeding Babies
You lack faith
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. [6] “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."
You lack a foundation
1 Corinthians 3:1 “Dear brothers and sisters,* when I was with you I couldn't talk to you as I would to mature Christians. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life. 2I had to feed you with milk and not with solid food, because you couldn't handle anything stronger. And you still aren't ready, 3for you are still controlled by your own sinful desires. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn't that prove you are controlled by your own desires? You are acting like people who don't belong to the Lord.”
You throw in all religions, all gods, all important books, all religious groups and assume that they are the foundation you are to live upon.
Exodus 20:3"Do not worship any other gods besides me. 4"Do not make idols of any kind, whether in the shape of birds or animals or fish. 5You must never worship or bow down to them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not share your affection with any other god! I do not leave unpunished the sins of those who hate me, but I punish the children for the sins of their parents to the third and fourth generations. 6But I lavish my love on those who love me and obey my commands, even for a thousand generations.”
Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Acts.4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
Problems: Not an adequate amount of prayer, Not an adequate amount of reading of the Word of God, Not an adequate amount of stirring up the gift of the Holy Spirit. Not an adequate amount of Spirit man vs. Carnal man. Put him to rest!
3. Instability
Ephesians 4:11 “He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ, 13until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ."
Instability sounds too much like insane-such unsoundness of mind or lack of understanding as prevents one from having the mental capacity required by law to enter into a particular relationship, status, or transaction or as removes one from criminal or civil responsibility.
You lack substance.
Eph.4:14,15 “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; [15] But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: Grow up in the fullness of God!
Problems: Not an adequate amount of prayer, Not an adequate amount of reading of the Word of God, Not an adequate amount of stirring up the gift of the Holy Spirit. Not an adequate amount of faithfulness.
4. Dullness
Hebrews 5:
A Call to Spiritual Growth
11There is so much more we would like to say about this. But you don't seem to listen, so it's hard to make you understand. 12You have been Christians a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things a beginner must learn about the Scriptures.* You are like babies who drink only milk and cannot eat solid food. 13And a person who is living on milk isn't very far along in the Christian life and doesn't know much about doing what is right. 14Solid food is for those who are mature, who have trained themselves to recognize the difference between right and wrong and then do what is right."
You never do anything to sharpen your relationship with God.
Ecclesiastes 10:10 “Since a dull ax requires great strength, sharpen the blade. That's the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.”
Sharing your faith with an unbeliever is the greatest way to sharpen your relationship in Christ!
We got people more excited about their job promotions, more keyed up about their retirement plans, more thrilled about their children’s accomplishments, more animated about their own accomplishments, more wound up about the new flavor of the month at Baskin Robbins, than we do about God.
Evangelism takes a plan.
Evangelism takes a strategy.
Evangelism- : the winning or revival of personal commitments to Christ. militant or crusading zeal
Reaching the world cannot be done just by throwing together an idea and setting a date.
Careful detailed structure of every moment is vital to reaching people. Timing is everything.
Problems: Not an adequate amount of prayer, not an adequate amount of reading of the Word of God, Not an adequate amount of stirring up the gift of the Holy Spirit. Not an adequate amount of sharing your faith.
Protect your investment!-God, family, ministry, relationships, church, and my witness.
Affect those around you!
Infect those around you!
In your social circles you should be the most influential person in your group. Why?
Because you are made in the image of God this makes you important and makes you unique.
But Pastor Mike I’m not around any people…then this, my friend is a problem.
You need to seek and be around those that are lost.
But Pastor Mike the people I’m around, you just don’t understand what they do to me or how they make me feel.
Shouldn’t that be the way that the lost should feel around us? They should be saying, “What’s happening to me? What is it about (place your name here) that changes me? Why do I feel different around this individual in my life?”
“I can’t save the lost but I can tell the lost how to be saved.”
Mission of Jesus Christ.
Luke.19:10 “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
John 3:16"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. 18"There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God. 19Their judgment is based on this fact: The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20They hate the light because they want to sin in the darkness. They stay away from the light for fear their sins will be exposed and they will be punished. 21But those who do what is right come to the light gladly, so everyone can see that they are doing what God wants."
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