Does the Church Care for My Soul — E.A. Johnston

The Church’s Failure to Reach Lost Souls

There used to be a time, years ago, when the churches actually went out to the community and knocked on doors and rang doorbells and told folks about Jesus, told poor lost sinners about the one that came down here so we could go up there.

But most churches don't do that anymore. They just preach to the same crowd every week. It kind of reminds me of the story. I was recently reading the biography of Dwayne Blue, and he said that within three miles of his mother's house in Michigan, there were eight different kinds of churches.

And he said his mother committed suicide, and he said they lived there in that house for seven years, and not once did anyone knock on our door and tell my mother about Jesus. He said the very moment she died, her soul went straight to hell.

Not a church in that town in Michigan cared for her soul. And I'm afraid that's a sad story with a lot of churches and a lot of communities today, friends. My message this evening is called, Does the Church Care for My Soul?

Romans 10 and the Church’s Responsibility

And my text is found in Romans chapter 10. You can turn in your Bibles there now. We're going to be in verses 11 through 14. Let me read this passage to us at this time. And I want to take this time this evening, friends, to read us a little passage from my biography on Rolf Barnard regarding how he got a church to care about the lost souls in their neighborhood, whereas before Barnard's visit to that church, that church was very self-focused and did witness to the lost.

I want to take this time and read you this message by Rolf Barnard because it's so applicable to our sad spiritual declension today and how the church has just refused to go out and knock on doors and tell folks about Jesus anymore.

Let me read you this sermon extract from Rolf Barnard. I hope it'll stir your heart as it has stirred mine. God is not going to put up with this stuff we've been calling Christianity forever. We're headed for judgment like we've never dreamed of, and our only way of escape is for Christians to start acting like Christ.

Jesus came down here because God so loved the world. He didn't come down here to condemn the world, but he came down here that the world through him might be saved. God help us to be a little like the Lord.

I was up in Massachusetts the first time I held a meeting in New England. Being from the South, they found it a little difficult to understand me. I found it very difficult to understand them. They were very nice people, very cultured, very dignified, very quiet and reserved.

As I remember, I started the meeting on Sunday morning. My wife was with me. I preached Sunday morning and Sunday night, Monday night, Tuesday night, and Wednesday night. And after the service Wednesday night, I said to the dear pastor, Brother Pastor, I believe we ought to close the meeting tomorrow night.

He said, Oh no, no, we couldn't do that. I said, I was just making a suggestion. My judgment is we ought to close out and I will go back home. Well, he said, what on earth is the matter, Brother Barnard?

I said, well, we're not getting anywhere. I don't seem to be able to get over to you and the people. And so far, you have not done one thing that I've asked you to do. He said, well, Brother Barnard, you are a little strange to us.

I said, well, I'm going this way and you folks are going that way. We sure won't have the blessings of God that way. Somebody is wrong around here and I'm a visitor at your invitation and my messages and what I ask you to do.

You don't do a thing about it. I think I ought to just go on with it and close it down, close my part of the meeting and you folks can just continue on if you want. He was greatly disturbed, always said it would just ruin everything if you did it.

What on earth is the matter with you, Brother Barnard? Well, you just won't do a thing I ask. And I either ought not to ask you some things or I ought and if I ought to ask you to do some things and if it's right that I do, then you ought to do it.

And if I'm asking you to do things against the scriptures, you ought to run me off. He said, well, what are you talking about? I said, you won't meet to pray. I haven't seen your church on its face weeping its heart to God.

I've been asking you to do it and God is not going to bless people if they're not that kind of people. You might have some more people to join the church, but God's not going to save people in an atmosphere of dry eyes and prayerlessness.

I've been asking you to go out here and talk to people and witness to them and bring them in your cars and invite them to the services. He said, Brother Barnard, we've never done anything like that in our lives.

I said, I'm beginning to believe it. Well, my wife and I are going to go to our room and if it's all right, I'll preach tomorrow night and then we'll close the meeting. We went on to the little apartment they had for us and after a while, somebody knocked on the door and the pastor and the deacons came in.

They were greatly disturbed. They said, Brother Barnard, we just can't afford to close the meeting. It would just hurt everything. People would wonder why. I said, well, I don't know what to do. And they said, Brother Barnard, if you will stay.

They weren't thinking about me, it was the reputation of their church. They said, if you will not close the meeting, we will do anything you ask us to do. Well, I don't want you to do anything just because I ask you.

I wanted you to do it because it's in the Bible and God wants it. Tell us one more time what it is, they said. I don't want you to do it just to save the reputation of the church. But if it is so, if I've asked you to do what God's people ought to do and you don't do it, you insult God by not doing what you said you would do in a revival effort.

It's a shame and disgrace to say we're going to try and have a revival and not have it because that's a slam on God. He's supposed to be a God that hears prayer and a God who works miracles, isn't he?

Biblical Mandates for Evangelism

He used to. Church is under obligation to get its prayers answered. So we turn to Acts 5, 42 and read, and daily in the temple and in every house, they cease not to teach and preach Jesus Christ, they said.

We never have done anything like this, but it's in there, isn't it? I said, yes. And they went out and Thursday night, the church was full because they went out and invited them to come and they began to do what the Bible says.

And I preached that night. And before I got through, before I got through preaching, a little girl began to sob. And when we stood up to sing, she came running down to the front and just fell down on her fours there.

And after a while, I went down and talked to her. And after a while, she stood up and said, Jesus is here. We found out she was a little 16 year old Italian girl. And that was the first gospel sermon she'd ever heard.

Some of the girls went and brought her. She didn't know a from zero, but you could see a sovereign God. He can do things as he pleases. Sometimes it takes him 40 years to save a man. And sometimes he saves him the first time he hears the gospel.

I think the little girl got saved. Of course, I won't know until I get to the judgment. None of us will. But it scared them. They'd never seen anything like that. So I had them to do like the do down south.

I had them come around and shake hands with her. Friday night, the little girl wasn't at the service. And Saturday night, she wasn't at that service either. So I got a little worried. And I went to the pastor and said, I'm troubled about that little girl.

Do you know where she lives? He said, no, preacher. I'm sorry. We got so excited about what happened. We never saw anything like that. And nobody asked her where she lived. We don't even know her name.

I feel awful bad about it. I'll tell you right now, if she's not here in the morning, we are going to organize and we're going to search this city and find that little girl. I'm troubled about her. Well, Sunday morning came and she was sitting in the congregation.

The Persecuted Convert and the Church’s Compassion

And it so happened my wife was sitting close to her. And that morning, I preached on hell, the sinner's long home. And after I'd been preaching about 25 minutes, they said that little Roman Catholic Italian girl, which Thursday night had stood and said, Jesus is in here.

She began to cry. Then she began to sob. And pretty soon, her body was just rocking with sobs. And my wife put her arm on her shoulder. And pretty soon, my wife rose and the little girl. And they broke up my sermon as they came down that church aisle.

My wife brought her up on the platform with me, rolled up her sleeves, had her turn around, and rolled her dress down as far as modesty allowed. And let me look at her face. Her back was just terrible whelps.

And they were festered and fevered. Her arms were cut and her face was cut. And she stood up after a while. And I saw church born. She told what had happened to her, to that nice Sunday morning crowd of Baptists.

She said, Thursday night, I ran home. I was so happy. Mama and Daddy, my brother, and my two sisters were in the front room. I went in and told them that Jesus Christ had come in here. And he is mine.

And I am his. She told them what had happened. And the daddy asked, where have you been? She said, I went down to the Baptist church. They are having meetings down there. I never was in anything like it, Daddy.

All I know is that Jesus is in here, pointing to her heart. And her daddy got up and went and got an old black snake whip. He commanded his girl to stand. And she did. And he whipped her with that black snake whip until she lost consciousness.

She said, I don't know how long I lay there. But I was awakened by pain. And I opened my eyes just in time for my two sisters standing on either side of me, kicking me in the ribs. Then my brother came and spat in my face.

My mother came and cursed me. And my daddy told me to get up. I don't know how I did, but I did. He looked me in the face and said, if I ever hear you talk like that again, I'll kill you. Go to your room.

She said, I went to my room. And he turned the key in the door. I didn't have any medical attention Thursday night. Friday morning, my daddy came, unlocked the door, and handed me a piece of bread and a glass of water.

I stayed in the room all day Friday and Friday night. During that time, those whelps were feverish and festering. And I was in mortal agony. She continued. Saturday morning, he came. And I was waiting for him.

I was desperate. As he turned the key in the lock and as he put his hand on the door, he turned it. I let him turn it just enough. I knew it was open. And then I jerked it right quickly. And he fell in the room.

And I doored it out. I had so much fever. I guess I had superhuman strength. I ran out of the house. I wandered around the city and found an old empty freight car. And I stayed in it all day. When the sun went down, I went to a pharmacy.

The pharmacist knew me. And he treated my wound some. And I slept that night in the empty freight car. Sunday morning, I was hungry. I was sick. And I was hurting. And I said, what shall I do? And then she said, I remembered the Jesus people.

And I said, I will go up where the Jesus people are. They will help me. Then she came to the church and took her seat. She was in pain and feeling sorry for herself and afraid to go back home. She said, I felt so sorry for myself then.

Compassion for the Salvation of Others

I began to listen to the preacher. And he talked about hell, that awful place. After a while, she said, I wish what would happen to me and to you. I forgot myself. And all I could think of was the daddy that whipped me, the mother that cursed me, the sisters that kicked me, and the brother that spat in my face.

And I thought, they are going to that awful place. The preacher is talking about. And then so help me. That little Italian girl lifted up her hands and began to weep. And she broke the heart of that crowd.

I saw them fall on their knees. And I was in a prayer meeting. She said, oh, Jesus people, won't you help me keep my people from being sent to hell? That little Italian girl didn't know much. But she knew Jesus was in here.

And he loved her. And her loved ones were going to be sent to hell. And she didn't want them to go. So she thought she could say, oh, Jesus people, you will help me, won't you? We closed the meeting on Sunday night.

Baptism and the Fruit of Evangelistic Outreach

And I was to get New York on Monday. The pastor said, let me get on the telephone and call them and say you won't be there until Tuesday. You just got to stay over Monday night. We're going to have a baptizing.

And I want you to have the great pleasure. I said, all right, I will. We made the arrangements. And they took a vote that everybody come Monday night that was going to be baptized. The deacon got up and made a motion to authorize the evangelist to bury in baptism.

Well, Monday night came. And I went down into that pool. And five people came there. And I got them all down in the pool together. I baptized them. I baptized that little 16-year-old girl. Then I baptized her mama.

Then I baptized her daddy. Then I baptized her two sisters. Then I baptized her brother. Well, friends, that's the end of that stirring story about how Ralph Barnard stirred a church to do what they should have been doing all the while.

And that's going out into the community and telling the lost about Jesus. That little Italian girl wanted to know, does the church care for the souls of my family? And the people in your neighborhood, friend, are crying out right now, does the church care for my soul?

Does anybody care?