Passion for a Lost World — Paul Washer

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Paul Washer starts preaching about 14 minutes into this service.

I would like to give each one of you the opportunity to make a silent prayer, also his expectation, his expectation for this afternoon, to make known to the gentlemen, and then I will continue with the prayer.

Shall we pray together? Yes, Heavenly Father, we come to you from the silence of the afternoon, when we preach that our help and our expectation is only from you. You know and still around us. You know us sitting and you know us standing.

And you know with what expectation we have come here, whether our heart is burning to hear of the risen Savior, Lord Jesus Christ. Glorify this afternoon, your great name. Bless our brother, if he may share your word with us.

Salve him by your Spirit. And that this afternoon would speak in the glory and in the glory of you, the Trinity God. Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we praise your name. Amen. We want to think together this afternoon about the theme Witnessing with joy and humility, passion for a lost world.

Jesus’ Commission to Preach the Gospel

And I want to give you some thoughts and we are going to read three passages. We start in the Gospel of Mark. Mark 1, and then we read verses 14 and 15. Mark 1, verses 14 and 15. It is about the beginning of the preaching of the Lord Jesus.

And there is the following. And after John had died, Jesus came in Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come. Turn ye and believe the gospel.

The Lord Jesus came into this world to fulfill the will of his Father, and to put people over from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, and to appoint himself a community to eternal life, and all this to the honor and glory of his great name.

And as he went before us, so may we, as his children, also follow him, in going forth into this world, to make known to the world around us, near and far,. And that we may also, in this regard, press his footsteps.

That is the first. The second passage, I want to read from John 1. And that is a beautiful passage, John 1, also a well-known passage, from verse 44. Then you see that when the Lord Jesus goes around this earth, and he preaches, people are touched in their hearts, and their lives are renewed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ, that they also become a blessing for the people around them.

We read there in John 1, verse 44,. And on that other day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and found Philippus, and said to him, Follow me. And Philippus was now of Bethsaida, from the city of Andreas and Peter.

And Philippus found Nathanael, and said to him, We have found him of whom Moses wrote in the law, and the prophet Jesus, the son of Joseph of Nazareth. And Nathanael said to him, Can anything come from Nazareth?

And Philippus said to him, Come and see. And Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said to him, Come and see, truly an Israelite, in whom there is no deceit. And Nathanael said to him, What do you know of me?

And Jesus answered and said to him, Honour your Philippus, I saw you when he was under the fig tree. And Nathanael answered and said to him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel. Beautiful part, in which we see that the Lord God used his servant, his child, Philippus, to bring Nathanael to his son, Jesus Christ.

And Nathanael still has some doubts, you can read that too, when it comes to the background of Lord Jesus, and how he expected the redeemer to come, and he asked the question, Can anything come from Nazareth?

And Philippus said, that beautiful sentence, a single word, Come and see. In Rotterdam there is a municipality, and it bears that name, Come and see. And the question is, whether that can also be hung above our lives, a sign with Come and see.

And what was the secret? We can learn two things from Philippus, that he brought Nathanael to the Lord Jesus. In the end, it comes down to this, that Philippus himself had a meeting with the Lord Jesus.

So Philippus is not a guide, that we sometimes find on a roundabout, and who keeps standing, and who guides the way to the left or to the right. But he himself had a life-long meeting with the Lord Jesus Christ.

And from that meeting, from the teaching that he received, from the salvation that he himself experienced, and that he was preserved, he also received the power to lead others to the Lord Jesus. But it is important, and that also applies to us.

We can be very active in recruiting people for the Lord Jesus. But the question is, did we ourselves have a life-long meeting with him? And do we know what we are talking about, if we want to lead others to him?

And are we then a traffic sign, that remains very static, maybe once heard something from the Lord Jesus, something of salvation, grace, preservation, but did not experience what it is to be separated from the tower of God, to be separated from the guilt, and to be gone like that?

I know from the Rutherford, a well-known preacher, his friends heard him whisper the name of the Lord Jesus in their dreams. And you will say, yes, that is very extreme. But that man was just completely gone from Jesus.

He was occupied in possession of Jesus. And that gave the passion, also for the lost world around him. But then it is important that we had a meeting with him. And the second thing we can learn from this, is that Philippus Nathanael does not bring him into contact with something.

He does not bring him into contact with the institute, or with his teaching, but he brings him to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. And we are always inclined, when we do work of evangelization, or when we have contact with people in our environment, and you quickly fall into it, to expose your vision, your thinking to another.

But the secret of Philippus is that he brings him to Jesus himself. And that is also what we have to keep in mind. Our focus must be, at all times, when it comes to our spiritual life, but also when it comes to the power to throw to this world, be focused on the person and the work of the Lord Jesus.

Evangelism Through the Life of the Church

The third passage I want to read, is the well-known part of Acts 2. And that is the last one. I wanted to give you three things. When it comes to the call, when it comes to the work that Jesus has done here on earth, that has its effect in the personal life of, for example, a Philippus, but you also see it in Acts 2, that the power to throw will also be revealed in the community.

We read from verse 42, Acts 2. And every time again, these are well-known words, but every time again it touches my heart when I read about those first Christian communities. And they were full of heart in the teaching of the apostles, and in the community, and in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers.

And a fear came over all souls, and many miracles and signs took place through the apostles. And all who believed were one, and had all things in common. And they sold their goods and harbors, and they divided the same among all, except that each needed.

And every day, one by one, in the temple, and from house to house breaking bread, they ate together with reverence and simplicity of heart. And they praised God, and had mercy on the whole people, and the lords did daily to the communities that were blessed.

When it comes to the power to throw, then you see that from the personal life, also this community puts the work in fire and flame, and the person of the Lord Jesus. And that also goes out, it becomes visible.

There is power from it, because we read in verse 47, they praised God, they had mercy on the people, and the lords let the community grow. Not weekly, not annually, but daily the people came to faith, and joined that community.

And what is the characteristic of a Christian? We can name a lot of things, but one thing that we, as Christians, have to go through, that is our determination and passion for a world that is about to be lost.

And a well-known statement of Spurgeon is, and I'm not saying that's the standard today, but it is good to take with you, if you, as you are led to be a Christian, Spurgeon says, then you must be able to name at least one person who has led you to Jesus.

I will repeat it again. He says, if you are led to be a Christian, then you must be able to name at least one person in your life of whom you know that you were the means to lead Him to Lord Jesus. Let's think about that together.

What is my motivation with the people around me? Or am I happy that I am preserved? Or does the desire in your heart burn to take as many people as possible on the road behind the Master? And if you hear something about the work, we heard something about it last night, we heard something about it this morning, what He did for us, Lord Jesus Christ, then it cannot be otherwise, or our heart must be burning to follow in the same footsteps as He did, to take all things into account, and to be a blessing to as many people as possible in our immediate surroundings.

Let's open up our Bibles to the book of Malachi, chapter 1. Malachi, chapter 1, verse 6 through verse 11.

Malachi, chapter 1, verse 6. Malachi, chapter 1, verse 11. Malachi, chapter 1, verse 11. Malachi, chapter 1, verse 11. Let's go to the Lord in prayer.

Father, we come before you in the name of your Son, and we praise you for all that you are. We praise you that you have granted us this great privilege of knowing you, but also the awesome responsibility of making your name known among the nations.

Father, I pray that you would strengthen us, that you would give us wisdom, that you would teach us, that you would stir us up by the Holy Spirit, that we would have a passion for the things of God, a passion for the name of God, that we would do all things for the glory of your name, for the edification of your people, and for the benefit of mankind.

In Jesus' name. Amen. Now, many of you hearing this text probably are wondering, I thought this was about evangelism. It is. But evangelism begins with a passion for God. We must have a passion for souls, that is true.

The Glory of God as the Motive for Evangelism

But above all things, we must have a passion for God. I attend many missionary gatherings throughout the world. And whenever people talk about the Great Commission,.

They speak mainly about the needs of men.

We need to go because men are lost. We need to go because people are suffering. All of that is true. If you do not care about the sufferings of humanity, I doubt your conversion. But I think that many missionary endeavors are missing the point.

Although we must care about souls, there is something even higher.

The glory of God. That God's name be great among the nations. Let me share with you.

A young missionary or a young evangelist goes out into the park to preach. And he is very naive. He is very excited. He goes out there with his microphone, and his chair to stand on, and all his Bibles and tracts.

And he thinks that he is going to get up there and start preaching. And that angels are going to descend from heaven and sing the Hallelujah Chorus. And that people are going to fall down and be saved.

And then they are going to pick him up and carry him around the city applauding him. This is the great man who brought us the Gospel. Let me tell you how it is really going to turn out. How it has turned out many times to me.

You walk out there with all your stuff. You stand up on your chair. You bring your own chair. Because the police can't make you get off your own chair. And you begin to preach. And people seem to gather around.

They seem to be listening. Everything is going wonderfully. And then all of a sudden someone appears and begins screaming at you. That you are a demon. You are a heretic. You are lying to the people. You are trying to take them away from their old religion.

And they grab you and your chair and your books and your tracts and they throw you out in the street. It's going to take a lot more than a passion for souls to make you walk back in there again and preach.

It's going to take your passion for the glory of God. It is going to take a passion for the gospel of Jesus Christ. The cry of your heart must be this. That God's name be great among the nations. And that the lamb receive the full reward for his sufferings.

When I love people, I will go back into the park and preach. And when I don't love them very much, I will go back into the park and preach. Because this is not primarily about people. It's about the glory of God.

Knowing God Beyond Theological Knowledge

Listen to me. Especially some of you young preachers. You cannot just be theologians. You must be more than little scribes that write books. You must be men who dwell in the presence of God. Who seek Him in prayer.

Who spend more time with Him than anybody else. Until you are a man consumed by Him. A man who belongs to Him. And a man who is set to doing the will of God no matter what it takes.

And a man who is set to doing the will of God no matter what the price is. That is the way to evangelize. And that is the way to enter the mission. It is primarily a passion for God. I would like to look at this text with you.

A servant honors his master. In this society and in ours there are certain rules of decorum.

There are certain positions of authority that demand respect. Even in the secular west these rules still apply. A son should honor his father. And when he does not it is a shameful thing. And a servant should honor his master.

And an employee should honor his employer. That is God's argument.

Then he goes on to say this. If I am a father where is my honor? First he is talking about all that he has given to Israel in his compassion.

First he is talking about all that he has given to Israel in his love and compassion as a father. And he says to his people Israel. You have sinned against me. Because of all that I have done for you as your father.

You see God has certain claims upon men. He has a claim on all men as their creator. All men alive should honor God because he made them and sustained them.

All men alive should honor God because he made them and sustained them.

But the Christian should be obedient to God even more. Because God not only created us.

He not only sustains us.

But he redeemed us through the blood of his son. And not only has he redeemed us through the blood of his son. But he has been a father to us. He has cared for us. His providence has carried us. Should we not honor him?

Should we not respect him? You were given a heart so that it would beat for God. You were given a mind so that it would think thoughts about God. You were given breath just so you could take it in and bring it back out in worship.

You were given strength to serve him. You belong to him. And you will not find joy. You will not find meaning. Until you conform your will to his. And live as his servant.

According to the calling that he has given you as individual Christians.

Not everyone has the gift of an evangelist. And not everyone is called to go out to a park, jump on a chair and preach. But we are all called to be witnesses. We are all called to be concerned that God's name be great among the nations.

We are not to live for ourselves.

God redeemed Israel out of Egypt. He carried them as a father. He planted them in the land of Canaan. He fulfilled all his promises. He protected them. He cared for them. But they rebelled and rebelled and rebelled.

But they rebelled and rebelled and rebelled.

Finally when the land could not bear their sins any longer. They were vomited out into captivity. But God in his covenant faithfulness brought them back once again. That this mercy would lead them to give their hearts completely to God.

But we can see throughout the minor prophets that they were more concerned with themselves. They were more concerned with building houses. And planting vineyards. Comfort. And ease of life. They were wrapped up in the world around them and they were not giving their heart fully to God.

Prosperity, Comfort, and the Loss of Missionary Zeal

Let me just say this for a moment. It is very dangerous to live in the West.

Because there is just so much entertainment. There is just so many things to do.

There are so many possibilities. The first years that I served in Peru there was a war going on.

Between the Peruvian government and the terrorist group known as the Shining Path.

The country was totally devastated by war and depression.

The country was totally devastated by war and economic depression.

There were times when we would have to stand in line for two hours just to get a bag of rice. And you never knew if the parked car or the building right beside you was going to blow up. There was no security in Peru.

There was little food in Peru. There was no money in Peru. Danger and conflict was everywhere. And our fellowships in the church were absolutely marvelous. Our church services were heavenly. Our ministries to the orphans in the street was just almost like the apostolic age.

Because the Christians had nothing to do with the church.

Because the Christians had nothing but Jesus. And they had nothing but each other.

And they had nothing to do but serve their God. But when the war was over and prosperity began to come once again into Peru.

Much of it was lost.

Do you see how dangerous it is to live in the West? You think more about what kind of car you're going to buy than the glory of God.

And you worry about what label is on your shirt or if it's in style.

We're missing the opportunity to serve our God. And have an impact on the nations. He says to the very priests you are despising my name. He's not just speaking about the common people. But the men who were supposed to be dedicated to the service of God they were despising his name.

But they said how are we doing that? Isn't it amazing how blind we can all become?

We are often so blind to our sin.

We think to ourselves well, we look at the world and see that they're not serving God and at least we're doing better. I'm a moral person. I read my Bible. I'm nice to people. I give a little money to the church.

I'm doing a lot better than everyone else. But everyone else is not your standard. The Bible is your standard. The Bible. In many ways our love with the world demonstrates that we are sometimes despising the very name of God.

That we are not esteeming the value of God.

That we are considering other things as more important.

And yet other things are rubbish.

Compared to God and his will. Verse 7.

God says you are presenting defiled food upon my altar but you say how have we defiled you? In that you say the table of the Lord is to be despised. They're saying we still don't understand.

And he says you're despising me.

Because you are not giving your best. Like the church in Laodicea their hearts were becoming dull. Many times people speak about zeal as something bad. We see a person who gets saved a young man who gets saved and he wants to win the world.

He's reading his Bible all the time.

He's in church every time the doors are open. He goes witnessing in the streets. And we say oh he's just young and naive and full of zeal. And you are old and wise and have no zeal. The old preacher Leonard Ravenhill used to say this.

I would rather have a fool on fire than a scholar on ice. Now I would rather have a scholar on fire to be honest with you. But the point is well taken. Listen to me. I go to conferences and hear all these really big preachers and to be honest with you I don't learn a whole lot.

Do you know when I learn something? Is when during those conferences they let some new believer get up and give their testimony. When I listen to that new believer speaking in that fresh love that he has for Christ I don't learn much but I remember a lot that I have forgotten.

I remember what it's like to be filled with that zeal. To just want Jesus.

To just want to do His will. And to go out preaching actually thinking that you just might win the world to Christ. I would trade a lot of my books in order to have that back. You see God is not condemning them because they're not smart enough.

God is condemning them because they have so little passion. So little zeal.

They have not responded.

To all the good that God has done for them. Look at verse 10.

God says, Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates that you might not uselessly kindle fire on my altar. I am not pleased with you says the Lord of hosts nor will I accept an offering from you.

And there the Lord says Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates that you might not uselessly kindle fire on my altar. I am not pleased with you says the Lord of hosts. Every sacrifice that is brought that is not brought out of a true love for the Lord God is worthless.

What we also see here is this. So many religious things are done in the churches that have no meaning for the Lord God. We focus on things that God doesn't even care about.

Loving God and Loving People

What does God care about? Let me just give you a few. He cares about His glory.

He cares about His name. Do you know what else He cares about? Now this may shock you.

He cares about people. As a matter of fact let me say this. God cares more about cows than we care about people. Have you not read the book of Jonah? He would not destroy Nineveh. Not only because there were a multitude of people but it also says because there was much livestock.

God loves cattle more than we love people. God loves people. He loves religious people who are lost and mean. He loves punk rockers.

And prostitutes.

And everything in between. God loves people and His church ought to be primarily about two things and they are summed up in two commandments. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and then love your neighbor as yourself.

You say, what else? Don't worry, that will take you a lifetime. Someone asked me one time and this is kind of scholastic and philosophical. Someone asked me, Brother Paul Brother Paul and I said yes. What is the greatest sin?

I thought, well that's a pretty good question. And I thought for a moment and then I said this I suppose the greatest sin would be breaking the greatest commandment. Not loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

And I suppose the second greatest sin would be this. Not to love your neighbor. Who is my neighbor? Everybody. Especially the people who aren't like you. When I graduated from seminary I had a lot of goals.

After I won South America to Christ I was going to go to Asia. They were pretty big goals. Do you know what my goal is? And the Lord knows this is true. It's a thing I pray about. To love my wife as Christ loved the church.

Because my wife and I are in the closest relationship possible. Two fallible persons who can disagree. If I could love her then I could love my children. And I could love.

My brothers and sisters in Christ.

And I could love prostitutes. And homosexuals. And thieves. I would trade everything to be able to do those two commandments. You can spend all day arguing about the finer points of theology if you want.

And you can spend all day arguing about what kind of clothes I ought to wear. But all I want to do is to love my neighbor with love. It is so easy to preach. It is so difficult to love. To love God. And to love people.

Churches Without the Presence of God

Another thing that we learn about this verse 10, learned from verse 10, is that some churches just ought to shut their doors. Because they're not churches. Their candlestick has been removed. They are cold.

Without passion. Mean. And do not care about souls. We plant churches all around the world. But we plant churches also in the United States. We help with church plants in the United States. And someone asked me, why do you want to plant churches in the United States?

There are churches on every corner. And I said, no. There are really pretty buildings on pretty yards on every corner. And they have steeples and they have crosses, but they do not have the presence of God.

And you could take a paintbrush and write Ichabod across the door because the glory of the Lord has departed.

Churches are about loving God and loving people.

In the church it is about loving God and loving people. And look at verse 11. It says, from the rising of the sun to its setting, my name shall be great among the heathens, and in every place my name shall be offered as incense and as a pure sacrifice.

Because my name shall be great among the heathens, says the Lord of hosts. Sometimes when I go to mission conferences.

And evangelism conferences, I hear preachers trying to motivate the people. And they say, the world is dying without Christ. And we are Christ's arms and legs. We must go. And if we don't do something, nothing will be done.

And they portray Jesus as though He were sitting there on top of His little throne, scared to death that His commission was not going to be fulfilled. Poor little Jesus. He wants to preach the gospel to the world.

But we just won't go. That's ridiculous. It's absolutely ridiculous. Look at Israel here. Do you see in this description that they care about the nations?

Do you see here in verse 11 that they care about the heathens, about the people? From this we can see that they don't even care about God.

And that they don't care about the temple. They are actually doing nothing but themselves. They won't go to the heathens. They'd rather see the nations destroyed. Yet in the middle of His people's failure,.

God stands up and says, My name will be great among the nations. Let me teach you something about the sovereignty of God.

God's name will be great among the nations. And the Lamb will receive.

The full reward of His suffering.

And there will be a multitude before the throne of God from every nation, tribe, language and people. Whether you want to be a part of it or not. God will raise up a people. And they will do the work.

Whether you want to or not. You see, God's work of evangelizing the nations does not depend on you. He's not begging you to help Him. But instead He is offering you the privilege to participate in what He is doing.

He's offering you the possibility to join with Him and to work in the harvest. He has opened the door and granted you the possibility.

Of having a meaningful life.

Of living for something eternal. It should be the cry of every Christian heart. Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name. What does that mean? Father, it is my prayer that your name be esteemed as unique and special above all other names.

That in every nation in every people group your name be worshipped. That it be revered.

That your kingdom will come.

That Christ's reign will spread throughout all the nations.

And that the will of God be done.

That all men submit their wills.

To the will of God.

And in submitting their wills to the will of God they find true freedom. Evangelism. Missions. You say, Brother Paul, all that evangelism and missions, it seems so complicated. Well, let me simplify it for you.

Going or Holding the Rope

With something of an illustration. There are only two ministries in missions. You either go down into the well. The well, like a well to pull water out of. You go down into the well. Or you hold the rope for the one who's going down.

You either go as a missionary. Or you hold the rope for those missionaries who go. You support them. Financially. Prayerfully. You sacrifice just as much as the missionary.

If he has to give up in order to go, then you need to give up in order to send him.

Anything you have in your hand, use it, not for yourself, but the advancement of the kingdom. Listen to me. As I was teaching the young people this morning, this world is passing away. Not only that, it's very possible that persecution is coming to the West.

There's a good chance I'm going to end my ministry in jail.

We must work while we still have the freedom to work. While we still have the opportunity, we need to go to the places where the gospel is not preached. And we need to go to the people closest to us that have never heard the gospel.

Yes, God is sovereign. And God has made a decree. But he has also decreed to use preachers to gather in his people. And we are those preachers. And we must go forth. And we must preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.

That's not only our task, it's our privilege. Last night when I got up to preach, the first thing I said was, it's a great privilege for me to preach here. And people laughed. Now, that didn't bother me.

They were right to laugh. It was funny. It's funny because they laughed because I say that every time I get up in the pulpit. If you're a betting man, you can pretty much bet that the first thing I'm going to say when I get in the pulpit is,.

It's a privilege to preach here.

Do you know why I say it's a privilege? Because it is. Do you know that angels long to do what I'm doing? Do you know that prophets and kings and scribes longed for the day when the Messiah would come?