No Man Cared!

Psalm 142: 1-4: "I cried unto the Lord with my voice unto the Lord did I make by supplication.
I poured out my complaint before him; I showed before him my trouble.
When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, thou knewest my path.
In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.
I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me:
refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul."

Have you ever been lonely -- really lonely?
Have you ever been discouraged?
Have you ever felt as though you stood in the darkness of the night facing the world alone,
and there was no one to whom you could turn?
No one was interested.
No one was concerned.
Have you ever been in such despair that you felt no one really cared?

Perhaps, that's the way a famous Hollywood actress felt.
Her palatial mansion was filled with closets of costly clothes and rooms of expensive furnishings.
Her schedule was filled with premieres, parties, and people.
Her face and name was recognized by millions.
She was in constant demand for leading film roles.

One night in the midst of all her fame and success, and with all the lights on in her house
and the music blaring from an all-night jazz station, she took an overdose of sleeping tablets
and went off into eternity.
The note she left was very simple.
She was terribly lonely.

That is probably the way a young man felt with his college education behind him,
and had a promising job and huge salary.
He had a new automobile, a closet filled with high priced, designer clothes,
and the title of being "the most eligible bachelor."

On a Sunday morning, while the songs are being sung, the Scripture was being read,
and the sermon was being preached in a neighboring church, the young man stuck a shot-gun
under his chin pulled the trigger and went off into eternity to meet God.
The note he left was very simple.
He was unbearably lonely.

That is how Job probably felt.
He was very sick and he was suffering with unbearable pain, his family was taken from him,
It seemed that even God had forsaken him.
In his loneliness and despair, Job cried out, "Let the day perish wherein I was born."

Perhaps, that's the way David felt.
He had a large family who loved him.
He had scores of servants who waited upon his every desire.
He had a strong government and an army was invincible.
He was successful in every way.

David was surrounded with his family, servants, officials of government, chiefs of state,
and a multitude of people.
But in the midst of it all, David cried, "I looked on my right hand, and beheld,
but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul."

James Ponder wrote, "Early in my first pastorate in a central Texas cotton mill town,
I was walking down the street meeting the people in the community around my church.
Sitting in an old-fashioned swing on the front porch of a cracker-box cotton mill house was
a big, rough-looking man.
I learned that he had lived in that house most of his life.

His parents were cotton mill people before him, and they had lived in the same house.
As we talked, I shared my sample testimony and asked him,
"Has anybody ever told you how Jesus could live in your life?"
When he said, "No," I asked, " Would you mind if I told you how?"
He said that he didn't mind at all.

So, I told him that afternoon, as simply as I could the way to Christ.
The first time he ever heard, Rufus invited Jesus into his heart.
I was elated and excited.
Stepping off the porch, I began walking back to the church.

Next door to Rufus, I noticed the children of our Sunday school director playing in their yard.
The wife of our chairman of deacons called to me from across the street.
As I looked down the street, I saw below white frame church building
to which I had been called to pastor.

Suddenly, it dawned on me.
Rufus had lived here in this small community, near the church, around the people of the church
all of his life, and no one cared for his soul enough to tell him how to be saved."

We have a divine obligation to share the good news of Jesus Christ with every person, everywhere.

In his book, With Christ After The Lost, L. R. Scarborough said,
"To refuse to witness the saving gospel of Jesus Christ is high treason,
spiritual rebellion, and inexcusable disobedience."

Jesus said, "Ye shall receive power...and ye shall be witnesses unto me."
That is not optional.
He did not say that you may be witnesses.
It is mandatory.
Sharing Jesus Christ with lost people is an inescapable responsibility.
"Ye shall receive power… and ye shall be witnesses."

You are not a witness because you are compelled to be or decide to be, or are coerced to be.
You are witness because the indwelling Holy Spirit of God wants to share Jesus
through you to a lost soul.

We must use the Bible.
If the lost multitudes all about us are to know Jesus Christ, we must use God's Word.
The Scripture says about itself: "The word of God, and powerful,
and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit."
(Hebrews 4: 12)

We must use God's Word.
It is divine in authorship, human in penmanship, infallible in authority,
world-wide in interest, personal in application, regenerative in nature,
and inspired in totality.

It is the miracle book -- it is the Word of God.
We must read it.
We must study it.
We must store it in our heart.
We must teach it.
We must preach it.
We must believe it.
We must share it.

We must say that man is a product of a direct, creative act of God because the Bible says it.
We must say that man is a sinner, and is separated from God because the Bible says it.
We must say that man is justified, declared righteous, by faith in Jesus Christ
because the Bible says it.
We must say that there is only one way of forgiveness for sins and eternal salvation
because the Bible says it.
We must say that Jesus Christ is the answer to man's needs and the only way to God
because the Bible says it.

People in Japan bow down before the giant Buddha, believing that gigantic hunk of stone
could give them peace and eternal joy.
On the banks of the Ganges River in India mothers threw firstborn child,
believing they will have peace with their god and forgiveness of sins.
2,000 miles up the Amazon River primitive people fall down before a twisted tree
worshiping it believing the tree would give peace with their god and forgiveness of their sins.

The Bible says there is only one way to God.
"For there is none other name given under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
(Acts 4:12)
Only Jesus gives peace with God, pardon for sins, eternal life, and power for living.
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
(John 14: 6)
We must use God's Word.
We must be witnesses of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The gospel is power.

When Paul bought a ticket on a boat, he shared the gospel with the captain and the crew.
When he bought vegetables, fruits, and produce at the market, he shared the gospel with the sellers.
When he was a prisoner in jail, he shared the gospel with the jailer and the prisoners.
He was not ashamed to share the gospel everywhere to everyone.
He said, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:
for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth."

What is the gospel?
The gospel is the simple fact that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died on the cross for our sins,
that He was dead and buried, but that He rose again in victory over death and sin and hell.
The gospel is good news of a personal God who knows us; who is interested in us;
who is concerned about our well being, and who loves us beyond our understanding.
The good news tells us of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to provide
a way of hope, help, and happiness for sinners bound in the bondage of sin.
This is the message that fallen, hurting humanity needs to hear.

We must get down to business.
This is not a play time.
It is a battle for the souls of men.

If hearts and lives are to be changed, there must be some fervent,
personal witnessing with compassion and concern from men and women of God.
We must tell lost people that God loves them and has a plan for their lives.
We must tell them that although they are sinful and separated from God,
Jesus Christ can pardon their sins, give them peace with God and themselves,
and give them purpose and power for a living, and give them a life in heaven that will never end.

The Bible says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

The Bible says, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

The Bible says, "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us,
and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:10)
Jesus Christ is God's provision for our salvation.

The Bible says, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power
to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." (John 1:12)

The Bible says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
The invitation to trust in Jesus is so simple that even children can understand it.

We must also tell people the terrible news that all who are without Jesus
are destined to spend all eternity in a horrible hell, dying forever and forever.
The Bible says, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 6:23)

The Bible says, "There is not a just man that liveth upon the earth
and doeth good and sinneth not." (Romans 3: 10, 12)

The Bible says, "The wages of sin is death." (Romans 6: 23)

The Bible says, "The soul that sinneth it shall surely die." (Ezekiel 18: 4)

The Bible says, "He that believeth on him is not condemned;
but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed
in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:18)

God is love, but God is just, and that is good news.
The gospel, the good news, tells us that God has provided for forgiveness
and salvation for every person who believes in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.
"The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
(Romans 6:23)
God has provided forgiveness of sin and salvation in Jesus Christ, and that is good news.

An old preacher in North Carolina was known to every one as Uncle Charlie Howard.
Uncle Charlie was asked by a young preacher, "Uncle Charlie, do you witness to everyone you see?"

And Uncle Charlie answered, "No, son, but I ask the Lord if I ought."

Then the young preacher asked, "Uncle Charlie, what should we teach our people to say to the lost?"
Uncle Charlie answered, "They know a whole lot more now than what they are telling."

We have the Word of God.
We have the good news of the gospel.
And we must use God's Word and witness the gospel to the lost.

We must have a compassion for souls.

How many Christians really have compassion for lost souls?
Paul said, "My heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved."
(Romans 10:11)
What is your heart's desire?
What is your prayer for the people that you love, and that you know are not Christians?

We need a compassionate, concern.
We need a deep burden.
We need a deep agony in our souls that fills us with compassion for the lost of our world.

The Bible says, "When he (Jesus) saw the multitude, he was moved with compassion on them."
(Matthew 9: 36)
And in Luke 19:41 we read: "And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it."
We need that kind of compassion.
We must pray for that kind of compassion.

What did Jesus see?
He saw the condition of man -- frustrated, disillusioned, disappointed, in despair,
and groping for a glimmer of joy, wandering aimlessly, chasing short-lived moments of pleasure.
Jesus saw more than that.
He saw the destiny of man -- lost, without hope, now or in eternity, under the condemnation of God,
facing the wages of their sin, living in their own instability, dying in their own insecurity,
dead already in trespasses and sins, and living as the children of wrath, condemned already.
Jesus saw them, and He was moved with compassion.

A pastor was visiting a man in his church who was a consistent witness for Christ.
He asked the man, "What motivates you to be such an active, aggressive witness?"

The man said that after he had been saved, he had often felt impressed
that he should speak to his father about Jesus.
Although his father was a good and honest man, and well-known in the ranching community,
he had never received Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.

The man said, "Each time I felt impressed to speak to Dad,
."
He went on to tell about a roundup one year, and the cowboys and the family were
all on horseback rounding up with the strays.

As his father was riding, a rattle-snake coiled and scared his horse.
The horse shied, and turned quickly.
His father lost his balance, fell from the horse, and broke his neck.

This man told the pastor with tears running down his face,
"That day in that pasture field I cradled my dad's head on my lap,
and thought of how many times I meant to tell him about Jesus, and didn't.
While my tears dropped upon his dirt-stained face, I promised my God
that if He would give me time and ability, and money, I would give it all to Him
and would tell lost men how to be saved so they wouldn't go where my Dad went."

Compassion for the lost demands that we take every opportunity to share Jesus with people about us.
The Bible says, "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men."
(2 Corinthians 5:11)
The Bible also says, "For the love of Christ constraineth us." (2 Corinthians 5: 14)

Knowing the destiny of an eternal soul without God and knowing the love of Jesus Christ
we must be moved with compassion to share Jesus.
If people are to know Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, we must use God's Word,
and we must witness the gospel, and we must have compassion for the lost.

Do You Really Care?

"People grope in darkness
Searching for a way.
Don't you know of someone
You can help today.

I look around in the place that I live.
I see people with so much to give.
Yet there are those who are dying to know
Just that somebody cares.
Do you really care?
Do you know how to share?
With people ev'rywhere
Do you really care?

I see people just longing to know
What they can live for
And where they can go.
We have the hope
And the purpose to share.
But do we really care?
Will you take the dare
Spread good news ev'rywhere
The cross of Christ to bear
Do you really care?"
--- Author Bill Cates, Copyright 1967

Sermon adapted from many sources by Dr. Harold L. White