HOW DO YOU FEEL (part-05)

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT PEOPLE WHO DO NOT KNOW THE LORD?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.
(Romans 9:2)

MEDITATION:
Paul is a great example of how a believer should feel about the lost.
Before he was saved, he had a ruthless passion for persecuting those
who identified as Christians (people of ‘the way’). However, once he
himself was converted, he re-channeled his passion in an entirely new
direction. He now had a desire and passion for everyone to know the
Lord as their own personal Savior.

He didn’t have the attitude that some frustrated believers have, which
is to ‘write off’ as hopelessly lost, those who will not listen and respond
to the gospel. It broke Paul’s heart when he knew that someone did not
know Jesus. In Ephesians, he talked about how Christians should live
their lives.
    So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no
    longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.
    They are darkened in their understanding and separated from
    the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to
    the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they
    have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in
    every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. That, however,
    is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ
    and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in
    Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life,
    to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful
    desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put
    on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and
    holiness.
    (Ephesians 4:17-24)

The apostle Paul laid out the condition of the lost with these words:
    They are darkened in their understanding and separated
    from the life of God…due to the hardening of their hearts.

He confessed that he was distressed that his fellow
countrymen had not yet come to know the love of Christ.
    I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience
    confirms it through the Holy Spirit— I have great sorrow
    and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that
    I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake
    of my people, those of my own race
    (Romans 9:1-3)

As we think about the condition of nonbelievers,
we can remember God’s heart toward them:
    The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise,
    as some understand slowness. Instead he is
    patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish,
    but everyone to come to repentance.
    (2 Peter 3:9)

ACTION:
What are your feelings about lost souls? Does it break your heart
to know that someone will spend eternity separated from the Lord?
What efforts are you making to show your concern for the lost? We
should always be prepared to share our own testimony with others.

When we share our testimony, we should never have a attitude that
is condescending; we should never look down on someone who is at
the same place we were at one time; we should be kind and welcome
all to “come join us in worshipping the Lord”.

Until we are given an opportunity to share our testimony,
we have a responsibility to pray for the lost. We may think,
   “What if they are not lost?”
We should pray for them if we ‘think’ they are lost based on
their words, attitudes, habits, and actions.

Let’s be honest, the lost look at our lives under a microscope.
Why? Probably because they are comparing our lives to how
they live in an effort to see what is different about Christians.

If they think something is a sin and unbecoming of a believer,
and they see us doing it, it is natural for them to think,
    “He or she is no different than I am,
      so why do I need the Lord?”
or maybe,
    “He or she is living more like a sinner than I am”

When we belong to the family of God, He expects us to live a
life that is a testimony of our faith. When we have a passion
like Paul had for the lost to be saved, we will make changes
to our lifestyle that could be sending the wrong message of
the gospel of the Lord.

Some things that the lost might perceive as being sinful:
    – Drinking alcoholic beverages.
    – Using profanity,
    – Being inconsiderate and rude.
    – Egotism.
    – Telling filthy jokes.
    – Lust.

We could add many more that could have a negative impact
on those who need to receive salvation from the Lord. How
did Paul adjust his life to prevent causing anyone to fall?
    So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves
    to God.

    Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another.
    Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling
    block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.

    I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus,
    that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards
    something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.

    If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you
    eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating
    destroy someone for whom Christ died.

    Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as
    evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and
    drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy
    Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is
    pleasing to God and receives human approval.

    Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to
    peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the
    work of God for the sake of food.

    All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat
    anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is
    better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything
    else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.
    (Romans 14:12-21)

Paul tells us that we are to focus on living a life that is
considered righteous, peaceful, and joyous in the Holy
Spirit. When we do that, Paul says that we are pleasing
to God and our faith will not be questioned by others.

If we participate in those things that are perceived as sin
by others, we not only have a negative impact on the lost
souls, but we also cause controversies with other believers.
In other words, our actions can cause problems within the
family of God (and that’s never a good thing).

Our actions not only have an impact on the opinion of others
about our faith, but what we do can affect the opinion of others
about the faith of our brothers and sisters in Christ as well.

So, if we ‘think’ someone is lost based on what we see in them,
we need to pray for them. Why? Because God may respond to
our prayers by convicting the person that they need to make an
adjustment (or adjustments) to how they are living out their
faith.

We should never doubt the impact our prayers can have on
others (both the lost and the saved). When someone is in need
of prayer, do you pray for them? Do you let them know that
you are praying for them?

Sometimes a person’s spirit can be lifted simply by assuring
them that we are praying for them. In our world today, we
have the luxury of sending a brief text to say something like,
    “I want you to know that I am praying for you.
      Let me know if there is anything you need.”

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, help me to have a heart for those
who are lost. Teach me how important it is for me to
pray for them, and to share my testimony with those I
believe are lost. Thank you for sending someone into
my life who encouraged me to make You my Lord and
Savior. Thank you for those who proved their faith to
me by the way they lived. Remind me that the way I live
my life can have a negative or positive impact on those
who need to be saved. Help me to prepare and be ready
to share my testimony with anyone at any time, and to
remember that the way I live is also my testimony.”

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