Fulfiflling The Need. Bryant Hewitt Message

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Fulfilling The Need. Bryant Hewitt
http://www.bryanthewitt.com/

Bryant Hewitt brings this depth of Gods Love through Mark 16. Do join our Peace Tour as we bring the Lords Crusades to Asia Africa, India, Europe. www.bryanthewitt.com

Many are the needs of our day...
   a. The need for peace in war-torn areas around the world
   b. The need for food and clothing in poverty stricken countries
   c. The need for loving families, civil rights, good paying jobs, etc.
   -- These needs are certainly noble and very important

2. Yet I suggest that the greatest need for our world is evangelism...
   a. Sharing the gospel with every person - Mk 16:15
   b. Preaching the word everywhere - Ac 8:5
   -- A need that was met aggressively in the first century AD - Col 1:23

[Why evangelism is "The Greatest Need" may not be apparent to some, so a
reminder of...]

I. WHY THE NEED IS SO GREAT

   A. THE CONDITION OF THE WORLD...
      1. Billions are dying, lost in sin!
         a. For all have sinned - Ro 3:23
         b. Without Jesus, they will die in their sins - Jn 8:24
      2. What this means close to home
         a. Relatives, friends and neighbors will be lost
         b. For many Christians are doing little if anything to teach
            them
      3. What this means in nations far way
         a. Precious souls will die outside of Christ
         b. Because many Christians are unwilling to either go or send
            - cf. Ro 10:14-15
      -- Unless we do something to meet this need, souls will be lost!

   B. THE CONDITION OF THE CHURCH...
      1. Many congregations have lost their focus
         a. They have become little more than a social club
         b. Meeting only the social and emotional needs of its members
         c. They have become burdened by that which is the
            responsibility of others - 1Ti 5:16
      2. Many congregations are declining in number
         a. As Christians die or fall away, little is being done to
            convert others
         b. Where numerical growth occurs, it is often by Christians
            moving in to the area
      -- Unless we do something to meet this need, many churches will
         cease to exist!

[So the need is great, for to save others and to save ourselves we need
to evangelize!  Yet consider...]

II. WHY THE NEED IS NOT BEING MET

   A. FOR SOME, IT IS A LACK OF CONCERN...
      1. Not concerned for the Lord's cause, who came to seek and save
         - Lk 19:10
      2. Not concerned for those lost and dying in sin, unlike Paul
         - cf. Ro 10:1
      3. Not concerned for their own welfare, endangered by failing to
         bear fruit - Jn 15:1-2
      -- Have we become so hardened, that we no longer care?

   B. FOR SOME, IT IS A LACK OF KNOWLEDGE...
      1. Lacking knowledge of God's Word
         a. Perhaps unaware that Jesus calls us to this mission - Mt
            28:19; Mk 16;15; 1Pe 2:9
         b. Perhaps needing to be taught again so we may teach others
            - He 5:12
      2. Lacking knowledge of what to do, what to say
         a. When it can often be as simple as saying, "Come and see"
            - Jn 1:45-46
         b. When it simply involves sharing with others what you have
            believed and done
      -- Are we willing to make the effort to learn, that others might
         be saved?

   C. FOR SOME, IT IS A LACK OF COURAGE...
      1. There is a fear of being:
         a. Rejected by loved ones
         b. Ridiculed by friends and strangers
         c. Reviled by enemies of Christ
      2. Yet there is no need to fear such things
         a. People are not rejecting us, but Christ
         b. If reviled for the name of Christ, we are blessed - Mt 5:
            11-12; 1Pe 4:14-16
         c. If we are servants of Christ, we seek to please God, not men
            - Ga 1:10
      -- Are we willing to overcome our fears, to save those who are
         lost?