Reach the Lost

By Senior Pastor Prince Guneratnam

 

David said, “Look on my right hand and see, for there is no one who acknowledges me; Refuge has failed me; No one cares for my soul” (Psalms 142:4)

 

Christians need to be reminded of the fact that unbelievers are lost and that they cannot find their way back to God. Paul the apostle, teaching this truth that man needs help to come to God, asked the question, “How then shall they call on Him whom they have not believe? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:14, 15) Christians need to wake up and understand the condition of unbelievers.

 

David right expressed the heart’s cry of the unbeliever. He was able to do this because he realized how hopeless he was and needed someone who could encourage him and believe with him that God would not fail him in his hour of need. But David said, “No one cares for my soul.”

 

The unbelievers are seeking today. They do this by seeking all sorts of religion. They seek men who are possessed with evil powers and almost any other means to find a remedy for their trouble. While the church sings its songs, waiting for the unbelievers to come in, Jesus said, “Go to the highways and by-ways and compel them to come” (Luke 14:23). Acts 1:8 says, “You shall be witnesses unto me.”

 

Let us not be deceived by the wealth and outward appearance of the unbelievers and think all is well. When you see the altars in their homes and hear of all the superstitions that they practice out of fear, they are saying, “Refuge fails me; no man cares for my soul.” Let us go to them with the gospel.

 

Why do we need to go? Paul said that they need to hear the gospel to believe. Let me also point out some truths concerning the condition of the unbeliever according to the Word of God.

 

 

He is Lost

“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

 

Have you ever been lost? It is a terrible feeling.  I remembered the time I landed in Cairo, Egypt. It was on the wrong day and time, and therefore there was no one at the airport to meet me. It was my first time in Cairo. I was lost. How my heart cried for someone to care and lead me. I thank the Lord; I had an address and found the people the next day through the address.

 

Have you seen a child lost in a shopping complex? The cry of a child is a cry of despair and hopelessness. Jesus says that unbelievers are lost. He came to seek them and bring them back.

 

He is Perishing

“For God so loved the word, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3: 16).

 

Have you seen a drowning man? He only has a short time to live, a then he takes his last breath only to die. The drowning man, however, does not give in easily. He struggles to survive but the more he struggles, the deeper he sinks. The unbeliever tries very hard to do everything he can to find life – abundant life. But the Bible says, “The way of the sinner is hard.”

 You can help him because God says, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promises, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

 

 

He is without Hope

“That at the time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the common wealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12)

 

He is a Sinner

Unbelievers are sinners and sin must be punished. “The wages of sin is death but gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). There is nothing the sinner can do to save himself. A drowning man cannot save himself. His only hope is in someone who can swim. The Bible says, “But God commendeth His Love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Christ who was without sin, took our sins upon himself and paid the price by dying on the cross.

 

Now, faith in Jesus Christ will make them a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). The church is the vehicle God will use to bring this glorious message. The church must know and believe. The church is not a building; the church is people – God’s people, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith to obey the Great Commission. You don’t have to go to Bible School to be a witness. Your testimony of what Christ has done in your life is a powerful witness of the gospel.

 

Will you hear the cry of the lost, the perishing and the hopeless? Will you reach out and win your friend, relative or neighbour to the Lord? They are in a serious condition and need help.

 

If you are unable to go as a missionary, will you give so that others may go? One woman was giving her missions offering to support a missions outreach of her church. Later, she discovered that her son received Christ and was attending the missions church she was supporting.

 

Will you pray? Pray for God’s wisdom and protection. Pray for revival in this land. Be missionary in your prayers. Pray for others and pray for the world. Paul, when he was converted prayed, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” Can you pray this prayer today?

 

CALVARY NEWS

Issue No.3, April -June 1986