20 September

20 September 2008
4:52 pm
Joburg

Love.
God loves me. He is holding me in the palm of His hand. He shows me grace and mercy every single day. He protects me and comforts me, He is truly magnificent. God also loves you. Yes, you. He made a way for you when there was no hope. He wants to be close to you. I’d love to share more with you about His love, and so would He. :) All you have to do is ask.

Urgency.
Can you name five people? Of course you can. You can probably name five hundred, or five thousand! Can you name five friends? Five family members? Five neighbors? What about five lost people? Wait a minute; you’re thinking- that was a quick jump. We got ‘deep’ all of a sudden. Yes, we did. That’s the point. This is not something you beat around the bush about, or something you put off. It’s urgent.
You are in one of two boats. Boat one knows exactly what a lost person is. They understand that a lost person is someone who needs the Shepherd and doesn’t know Him yet. Boat two, you have no idea what I am talking about. Please bear with me; you are the guest of honor. Back to you boat one people- you are reacting in one of two ways. The majority of boat one people the world over are thinking “this is nonsense.” Or something along those lines. They don’t understand why we are having this conversation, or they think it’s silly. Or they just don’t care. I’m not making an observation about you personally, just stating the facts. Two out of three Christians do not care about the souls of the world around them. Did you know that Christianity isn’t the world’s largest faith? Did you know that seventy percent of the world is lost? Did you know that of the thirty percent that isn’t, only ten percent care about the greatest command Christ gave us: LOVE ONE ANOTHER. Care about one another. Be concerned that your lost friends are lost. It’s that simple. I’ll get back to you in a minute.
Boat two people, I want you to hear me for a second. God loves you. More than anything. I don’t know what you believe or don’t believe. I don’t know your stories, what you struggle with, what you’ve been through. But He does! He knows who you are- He created you! He wants you to know the peace that comes from knowing Him. He loves you so much, that He sacrificed himself for you, so that your own failures would not condemn you. “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” And when you realize how much you need Him in your life, He made it so simple for you to come to Him. All it takes a decision to believe that He is who He said He is, and that your hope lies in Him alone. If you want to know more about God’s plan or His grace or who He is, please do not hesitate to ask me. I will help you however I can. I love you, too.
Alright, boat one folks, back to you: this problem is bigger than you realize. You either are sharing Christ or you aren’t. I’ve been in both places. I want you to see the reality of the situation. If you think this isn’t important, you are fooling yourself- and you are building a wall between you and God. You cannot call yourself a Christian and not live like Christ. If He is indwelling in your heart, He will show in your life. It’s not about what you do; it’s about what He does. Faith without works is dead. This is what it’s all about: LOVE. Selflessness. Grace. Forgiveness. Quit judging and thinking they don’t deserve His grace or your time. They don’t deserve God’s grace- and neither did you. You still don’t. You never will. We aren’t capable of righteousness on our own; it is by God’s loving nature we have any hope at all. There is nothing more important than sharing the love we have received. That’s it. What life is about. If you think money or power or your own happiness or anything else is more crucial or pressing, you’re wrong. Don’t listen to what I have to say about it, listen to what the God of all the universe has to say. He saved us. He loves us. ALL OF US. Start seeing your lost coworkers and family members and friends for what they are: lost! Start acting like something is wrong- this is an emergency. Realize that God working through you could be their only hope, and speak and live accordingly. Live out your faith, and see what kind of wholeness you find in the One who gave you existence in the first place. He is in control, and He is the point of everything. It’s not about you and I; we are hopeless on our own. It’s about our Saviour.

Tears of the Saints
Leeland

There are many prodigal sons.
On our city streets they run,
searching for shelter.
And there are homes, broken down.
Peoples’ hopes have fallen to the ground,
from failures.
This is an emergency.

There are tears from the saints
for the lost and unsaved.
We’re crying for them,
“Come back home.
Come back home.”
And all Your children will stretch
out their hands and
pick up the crippled man.
Father, we will lead them home.
Father, we will lead them home.

There are schools full of hatred.
Even churches have forsaken
love and mercy.
May we see this generation
in its state of desperation
for Your glory.

There are tears from the saints
for the lost and unsaved.
We’re crying for them,
“Come back home.
Come back home.”
And all Your children will stretch
out their hands and
pick up the crippled man.
Father, we will lead them home.
Father, we will lead them home.

Sinner, reach out your hands.
Children, in Christ you stand.
Sinner, reach out your hands!
Children, in Christ you stand!

There are tears from the saints
for the lost and unsaved.
We’re crying for them,
“Come back home.
Come back home.”
And all Your children will stretch
out their hands and
pick up the crippled man.
Father, we will lead them home.
Father, we will lead them home.

And all Your children will stretch
out their hands and
pick up the crippled man.
Father, we will lead them home.
Father, we will lead them home.