Prayer for … More Believers!

Sermon Summary:

What does it mean to pray with real purpose and genuine love for the people around us who do not yet know Jesus? In John 17, we find ourselves standing on holy ground, listening in as Jesus lifts his voice to the Father on the night before his crucifixion. Remarkably, his prayer reaches beyond his immediate disciples and stretches forward through time to include every person who would ever come to believe through the gospel message. That means his prayer reaches us. And in that same breath, it challenges us to ask whether our prayers reach outward to others in the same way. The spiritual lesson here is profound: prayer for the lost is not optional for the follower of Jesus. It is an expression of whether we truly share God’s heart. Scripture makes clear, in both 1 Timothy 2 and 2 Peter 3, that God desires all people to be saved and does not wish for anyone to perish. When we align our prayers with that desire, something begins to shift inside us. We start to see the people in our lives not as strangers or even as frustrations, but as souls deeply loved by God and worth praying for with urgency and compassion.

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Sermon Points:

Key Takeaways:

• Jesus’ prayer in John 17:20-26 extends beyond his disciples to all future believers, meaning he was praying for Christians across all generations, including those alive today
• Believers should pray specifically for lost people, asking God to draw them to himself, open their hearts and minds, send the Holy Spirit to convict them, orchestrate circumstances in their lives, place faithful Christians in their paths, and give them courage to respond to the gospel
• Adopting God’s perspective means caring about lost people because God cares about them and desires all people to be saved
• Being a good example and praying for the lost, while necessary, are not sufficient on their own — believers must also verbally share the gospel message
• When a lost person comes to faith, everything changes, and God can use that person in ways that are impossible to predict or measure
• The congregation was introduced to an upcoming fall sermon series called “Gone Fishing,” focused on equipping believers to share the gospel in practical, natural, and personal ways
• Evangelism is not meant to be done alone — just as New Testament fishermen worked together, sharing the gospel is a community effort involving different gifts and roles

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Scripture References:

• John 17:20-26 — Jesus prays for all future believers, asking for their unity, their experience of his glory, and their eternal presence with him
• 1 Timothy 2:1-4 — Paul urges prayers for all people, grounding the call in the truth that God desires all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth
• 2 Peter 3:8-9 — God is patient toward humanity, not wanting anyone to perish but all to come to repentance
• Luke 19:10 — Jesus declares that the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost
• Luke 10:2 — Jesus calls his followers to pray for workers to be sent into the harvest field

Stories:

• The Kitten and the Catapult: An evangelist’s story about a pastor who attempts to rescue his children’s kitten from a tree by tying a rope to the limb and pulling it down with his car. The rope breaks, launching the kitten into the air. Later, a parishioner’s daughter prays for a kitten, and one seemingly appears out of nowhere in her garden. The story illustrates the mysterious but real connection between prayer and God’s sovereign orchestration of circumstances.
• Rosalind Picard’s Conversion: A college student who considered herself too intelligent to be a Christian decided to read the Bible through twice in order to critique it. Invited to church by a friend, she responded to a pastor’s question about who was Lord of her life and gave her life to Christ. She went on to become a professor at MIT and the founder of the field of affective technology, and she now describes her former skepticism as arrogance and walks openly as a vibrant Christian in one of the most intellectually influential institutions in the world.
• The Silent Business Partner: Shared by Leighton Ford from Billy Graham’s ministry, this story involves a man who came to faith at a Billy Graham crusade after more than twenty years of working alongside a fellow businessman. When he later discovered that colleague was a church elder, he told him that he had never once mentioned his faith in all their years together — and that he had assumed if a person could be that decent without being a Christian, there was no reason to become one. The story underscores that a silent good example, no matter how consistent, is not a substitute for verbally sharing the gospel.

Sermon Transcript:

Y’†all, we have been to church today with community and Bible study and baptisms today. Casey Fagan in the baptistry today, and the Casey, this whole staff right now, I’m just telling y’, all, they are killing it right now. These new staff members that we’re praying for, they better hit the ground running when they come here because we ain’t waiting on nobody. Just want y’ all to know that I’m so grateful for this team and we’ve had a great day in Bible study and worship and fellowship. All we need is a sermon.

So I’m going to see if I can’t bring one. But just want to say a word of welcome to you all. I know we got some new people here today. I’ve met several guests. Welcome.

I know we’ve already done that. We got college kids that have shown up, brand new Welcome, Y’all and those of you that have been a part of us for a while. We’re praying for you high school kids, junior high kids. We got worship helpers.

We got big enough for big church kids, you know, Can y’ all tell us where y’all are? Can y’all give us a shout out? You little big enough. Big church kids, where are y’? All?

Let us hear from them. We usually hear from you before the service over, so let us hear from you right now. Can we welcome them to church today? We’re so glad to have them. Also, every time we gather, y’ all know there are a lot of folks who can’t be with us.

We have folks in our church family who are at home. And Bill and Ivy Jean Skyeagle minister to all of our homebound folks, and they join us every week for worship through our media ministry. Can we welcome them all to church today and tell them we love y’. All. Glad you’re with us.

So we’re grateful. So y’ all know that we’re on this journey at least three years. It may last a little longer than that about flourishing, flourishing together. And this leg of the journey, we’re focused on prayer. In fact, prayer for believers is our theme for August.

And you remember I told y’ all when we started that it was a play on words where prayer, praying for believers. In other words, how should believers pray? So prayer for believers also. Praying for believers, praying for each other, praying for more believers. That’s our conversation today.

So that’s the title of the sermon today, Prayer for More Believers. So if you have your copy of the New Testament and if you look with me at John’s gospel. Page 17 of John’s gospel. Jesus is on the last night of his earthly ministry, Thursday evening. It’s on the eve of his betrayal, his trial, his crucifixion that will take place on Friday.

And he’s praying. We’ve talked about this already. We looked at the beginning of this prayer last week, or at least we started in verse six last week, and we made our way through verse 19. Today we pick up in verse 20 where Jesus has prayed for himself in the early part of this prayer. Then last week we looked at how he prayed for his disciples, where we were challenged to learn better how to pray for each other, pray for our fellow believers, our fellow church members.

But when you come to verse 20, Jesus makes a transition. It’s almost like he looks beyond his disciples and he sees right through them into the future. And Jesus sees the movement that we now know as Christianity beyond them. And he prays for all these believers. He prays for us.

He’s praying for those who are going to believe the gospel. So this is one of the points in the scripture where we know Jesus is praying for us. So it’s a very beautiful thing. It’s a very personal thing from Jesus, and I hope you’ll receive it today. So with that said, let’s look at this text.

John 17. We’ll begin in verse 20. You know, it’s our custom to stand and honor the Lord whenever we read the Gospel. So let’s, if you’re able to stand. Verse 20.

Jesus says, My prayer is not for them alone. In other words, not just the disciples. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message. Well, that would be us and all the Christians since that first century, that all of them may be one. Father, just as you are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

I’ve given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you love me. Father, I want those you’ve given me to be with me where I am and to see my glory, the glory you’ve given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you and they know that you’ve sent me. I’ve made you known to them and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them, and that I myself may be in them.

Thank you. You may be seated. What a beautiful prayer. Jesus prays for our unity. It is the people of God.

We will experience a certain depth in relationship with one another that crosses all kind of barriers. That’s his prayer for us. He also prays that we’ll be with him one day. Aren’t you glad? That’s his prayer, that we’ll experience eternity with him, that he would be in us, that we would be in him, that we would know God relationally like he did.

He calls him Father, righteous Father. And so Jesus speaks this word in prayer about the future of those who are going to believe this gospel. And in so doing, those prayers touch me and you even today. It’s a beautiful thing. And, you know, we’re focused on prayer right now.

And, you know, prayer is something that we all, I think, would have to admit as Christians, even those of us, those of us who’ve been believers for a long time. Prayer is a little bit mysterious. We don’t fully understand it all, that a sovereign God is at work in this universe. And he’s invited us to talk to him, to share our requests with him, and somehow, in his sovereignty, our prayers connect with his will, and then his will is accomplished. It’s a.

It’s a very mysterious thing, and I don’t fully understand it. There’s an evangelist from England that I enjoy listening to, and he’s a great storyteller. And he tells this story. He says, there was a pastor who bought his children a little kitten. And the little kitten climbed up in a tree in the yard and got out on one of the limbs, and they couldn’t reach the kitten.

They couldn’t get to it. And so the kids were crying and they’re trying to figure it out. So the dad says, all right, I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. He can’t get up there either. So he said, I’m going to tie rope on the limb of this tree, and I’m going to connect the rope to the back of my car, and I’m going to ease it down the driveway, and I’m going to pull that limb down.

And when it gets down far enough, y’ all will grab the kitten and rescue the kitten. And so the dad, he hooks the rope up on the car, he hooks the rope up on the limb, and he starts to go down the driveway. Y’ all know where this is going, right? And so sure enough, he goes and he gets it, and it. And that limb bends and bends and bends and bend.

Right before the kids can reach it, the rope breaks. And y’ all have heard of a catapult, right? So, boom, it flings the kitten, and the kids start crying. They can’t find the cat. And anyway, they lose it.

So not every story has happy ending, Okay? Y’ all are looking at me, and I didn’t make this story up. I’m telling the story that this guy tells. So anyway, about a week or so later, he’s visiting one of his parishioners who lives in their neighborhood. And he goes in, he’s talking to this lady.

She’s telling him about her husband. She’s asked the pastor to come by. Stuff happened with her husband. And he’s watching, and he sees what he thinks is their kitten just kind of running around the living room. And he just says, that’s a cute little kitten.

She said, pastor, you ain’t gonna believe what happened. She said, I’m so glad. I’ve been waiting to tell you this story. She said, our little girl, we were outside working in the garden, and she has been begging me for a kitten. And she said.

I told her, I’m not buying you a kitten. I’m not even sure, you know, I’d take care of a kitten. I’m not doing it. She said, she just wouldn’t quit. And finally I said, if Jesus wants you to have a kitten, if you’ll ask him, he’ll send you one.

Pastor, she got down on her knees and she prayed right next to me. And you ain’t gonna believe this, but a kitten just landed in our garden, and there she is.

Okay, for all you little kids, that’s not a true story. Okay? It’s made up. But you get the point, right? When we pray, somehow or another things just happen.

Kittens land in our garden, so to speak. But here’s what I’ve learned about prayer. If you don’t pray, nothing happens. And I don’t understand it, but I do know that when I pray, sometimes, somehow connections are made. Henry Blackaby used to teach us.

Some of y’ all remember Henry. He wrote, experiencing God. He’s with the Lord now. But Henry Blackaby used to tell us, when you pray, as a follower of Jesus, you should connect what’s happening into your life, in your life, to what you’re praying. You should not be surprised when you’re praying that things start happening.

That’s just how it works. I don’t claim to understand it. I have just lived long enough to believe in it. And I’ve seen God work. And so prayer is an incredibly important part of our journey.

So as I’ve been studying and just preparing for this season with you all, I found numerous quotes about prayer. Let me read a couple of them to you this morning. Max Lucado says this about prayer. He says, our prayers may be awkward, our attempts may be feeble, but since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers make a difference. I love that the power is in the one who actually hears our prayer.

Elizabeth Elliott says prayer lays hold of God’s plan, becomes the link between his will and its accomplishment on earth. Amazing things happen, and we are given the privilege of being the channels of the Holy Spirit’s prayer. I love this quote from Cynthia Lewis. She says, if your day is hemmed in with prayer, it is less likely to come unraveled. So I just want to invite us to hem in our days with prayer.

It’s an invitation from God to pray. Now, our core text for this entire month is Ephesians 6:18, where Paul says, and pray in the Spirit on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests. That means pray every day, pray every time about everything. So there’s all kind of prayers that we should offer up. And depending upon what’s happening in your life, we will pray different prayers.

This prayer in John 17, many scholars refer to it as the high priestly prayer of Jesus. And if you were to take the time to go back and read the entire prayer, so long as prayer of Jesus recorded in the Bible, you’ll discover that it has a certain depth to it. It’s theologically deep, it’s ecclesiologically deep, soteriologically deep, eschatologically deep. In other words, when Jesus prays this prayer, the theology of the Son of God is on display. His understanding of who God is, what God is doing, the relationship we have with God.

Father, righteous Father. But also the whole understanding of redemption is on display in this prayer. Jesus prays for people to believe this message. He prays for them to experience him in eternity. His understanding, if you will, his Revelation about the incarnation is on display in this prayer.

Father, restore to me the glory I had before I became this earthly person, that glory that I had before, and then also the story of redemption. Place this glory in them. Give them this same glory. Eschatology, My hour has come. He says, the beginning of the prayer over and over.

In John’s Gospel, Jesus will Say, no, not yet. My hour hasn’t come. No, not yet. My hour hasn’t come. No, not yet.

My hour hasn’t come. And then you come to John 17, Thursday night before his crucifixion on Friday, and he says, my hour has come. So this, this prayer, glory, the pre existence of the Son, redemption, eschatology, the ecclesiology, praying for new believers who are going to comprise the church, all that’s woven into the fabric of this prayer. It’s an incredible prayer, and we learn a lot from it. But you come to verse 20, and the prayer of Jesus shifts and he prays for the ones who, right then, when he prayed, are lost yet to be saved.

And so here’s the admonition, pray for the lost. So I just want to encourage you as a follower of Jesus, you and I should pray for the lost.

You and I should pray for the lost. Let’s do that one more time. You and I should pray for the lost. Come on, y’. All.

We should pray for the lost. Lost people need Jesus. J. Oswald Sanders says this. The ultimate test of our prayer life is our concern for the lost. If we do not pray for them, he says it proves we don’t care if they perish.

Now, come on, y’. All. Don’t we care if they perish? Surely we do. Jesus himself said in Luke 19, verse 10, the son of man came to seek and to save the lost.

Jesus challenged us in Luke 10, verse 2. Jesus says, the harvest is plentiful, the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out the workers into the harvest field where the lost people are. So pray for the lost. Well, you know, last Sunday, I.

Some of my staff members, we were laughing last week, they kind of poked fun at me. They said, pastor, you had an 18 point sermon last Sunday. And I did. And we got through it. I had 18 points last Sunday.

Any of y’ all remember them? Y’ all want to do real quickly?

Is that a no? Okay. Well, the last nine were how to pray for believers. And I actually wrote those out. I have it in my Bible.

I’ve prayed this over y’, all, but for a long time. But I kind of wrote it all down. And I have a laminating machine at home. If you’ll take a piece of paper and wrap it in Scotch tape, it makes it harder. So that’s my laminated prayer card.

And this is praying for my fellow believers to know God, sense God’s presence, et cetera, et cetera. All those. Well, today I want to give you a list of how I pray for lost people. Can I give that to y’? All?

Can I just show it to you? This is what I’d say. How should we pray for the lost? Well, let me just give this list to you. Jesus said, if the Son of Man be lifted up, he’ll draw him into himself.

So we need to pray for Jesus to draw lost people to himself. Ask him, lord, would you draw these folks, individuals that you know? And then as a group, it’s okay to pray for lost people as a group, for God to open their hearts and minds? You know, some people that are lost have a closed mind toward the Lord. They have a hard heart, and sometimes they.

Their lives reflect it. As I’ve shared with y’ all before, we should, as Christians, we should never be mad at lost people for acting like lost people. They’re lost, so why would I be angry for someone to act like a lost person if they’re lost? So God has to sometimes open their hearts, their minds. Then we pray for the Holy Spirit to convict them.

Because you and I don’t convert anybody. The Spirit of God has to be at work in a person’s life. He’s the one who convicts people of their situation, if you will. So pray for the Holy Spirit to convict them and then ask God to drop a kitten in their garden. In other words, God orchestrates circumstances.

He’s the one that somehow in his sovereignty, just brings things to mind in people’s lives. Only God can do those kinds of things for them to see it, pay attention. And then, you know, if you think about it, God could have done this any way he wanted to. If you think about it, he could have. His plan of redemption could be enforced right now, any way he wanted to do it.

But for whatever reason, he’s chosen to use people. Do you know that I was led to Jesus by other human beings, other Christians who are faithful believers who followed Jesus, who taught me, my parents, people in my church, friends of mine that I went to school with, who were Christians, faithful believers to cross paths with lost people, intersecting their lives. That’s how lost people actually come to know Jesus. By meeting Christians who are willing to share with them who Jesus is. So pray for faithful Christians to cross their paths.

And then sometimes lost people, sometimes because of their family situation, maybe it’s where they live or whatever they can, they need a little courage to step over the line, if you will, and actually accept Jesus. Pray for them to. To be courageous enough to take that step of faith. So y’ all let’s pray for lost people. Because here’s the thing.

When a lost person gets saved by Jesus, everything changes. You have no idea what God’s going to do with a lost person who’s now been redeemed and how he might use them. As I have been studying and working through this series, I’ve come across some pretty good, what I would just call conversion stories. So can I just tell y’ all one real quick just to. Just to document how when a lost person gets saved, everything changes.

There’s a lady named Rosalynn Pickard. She was in college, and she’s brilliant. She was brilliant in college. She’s a college student. She’s still brilliant, actually.

And she decided she was too smart to be a Christian. And as she was thinking about her life, she decided, well, if I’m going to critique Christianity, I probably ought to at least read the Bible. So as a college student, she read the Bible all the way through. Then she decided to just read it all the way through again. So she read it through twice as a college student.

Any of y’ all feeling convicted right now about reading the Bible through? She read it through. She said she was a little surprised at the wisdom she found in it. One of her friends, a college student, I see a lot of college students right here. One of her colleagues in college invited her to church.

So she’s on this journey reading the scripture. So she goes to church. And at church that day, the pastor said this. Who is the Lord of your life? So can I just read y’?

All? What happened to her? Is that okay? Just real quick, she said, I was intrigued. I was the captain of my ship.

But was it possible that God would actually be willing to lead me? After praying Jesus Christ, I ask you to be the Lord of my life. My world changed dramatically, as if a flat black and white existence suddenly turned full color and three dimensional. But I lost nothing of my urge to seek new knowledge. In fact, I felt emboldened to ask even tougher questions about how the world works.

Well, guess what happened to Rosalynn Pickard. She graduated from college, got her terminal degrees. She’s now a professor at mit, and she’s the founder of a field of technology known as affective technology. You can look her up online. You can Google her.

Rosalynn Picard, she’s brilliant. Now she’s. And she’s a vibrant Christian teaching in a very influential field, the field of technology at mit, of all places. She works with kids who have autism. She works in the field of effective technology.

Technology, Affective technology. Technology that touches a person. Here’s what she said recently. I once thought I was too smart to believe in God. Now I know I was an arrogant fool who snubbed the greatest mind in the cosmos, the author of all science, mathematics, art, and everything else there is to know.

Today, I walk with joy alongside the most amazing companion anyone could ask for, filled with desire to keep learning and exploring. Can I just say hallelujah? Aren’t we grateful when people are redeemed? They’re completely redeemed. We have no idea how God is going to use them.

And this lady finds herself now in this incredibly influential spot, shaping the minds of young college students as a vibrant Christian at mit. I think about y’, all, you know, many times when I’m praying through the week for you all. I just imagine and envision in my mind where you are. Because think about this church on a Sunday morning, when we all gather on Sunday morning. We’ve already had a full house in the first service.

Now here we are again in this service. Think about all of y’ all this week. You’re going to scatter all over the Metroplex and beyond. Think about all the places that God is sending you. I think about that when I’m praying for you and I.

Because I know many of you. I kind of know where you are, and I imagine you in those places. And I pray for God to help you be good in the moments that he’s placed you in, in the places where you’re serving him because you’re an ambassador for him as you’ve been sent out across this community. It’s really an amazing thing. And once you get saved, y’, all, everything changes.

And so we need to pray for lost people like Rosalind and others to find Jesus so that they can be used powerfully for his kingdom’s glory. Does that make sense? Y’ all still with me? Okay, so here’s what I would say. Why?

Why should I care about lost people? Why don’t we just leave them alone? I mean, after all, it’s not our business. You know, it’s America. Everybody can do it.

Everybody wants to do. It’s a free country. Why would we worry about lost people? Why would we even bother? Well, I would just encourage you and I to adopt God’s perspective.

We should care about lost people because God cares about lost people. I want you to look at what the scripture says. Look at First Timothy 2, verses 1 through 4. I want you to adopt God’s perspective as a follower of Jesus. Here’s what Paul says.

I Urge then first of all that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people. In other words, all kind of prayers for Kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good. It pleases God, our Savior. Look at this next phrase.

Who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. He wants how many people to be saved? All people to be saved. That’s God’s desire. Well, let’s adopt his perspective and let’s have that same desire.

Listen to what Peter says about it. Do not forget this one thing, dear friends, with the Lord, a day is like a thousand years. A thousand years like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he’s patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

God has a heart for lost people. And if you become a follower of Jesus, you and I should have a heart for lost people as well. His love is powerful, it’s personal. And he desires for everyone to be in relationship with Him. Now, here’s what I would say.

It’s not enough to pray for lost people, okay? We need to. And that’s where it starts. That’s the foundation. Prayer cultivates a desire within us even.

But we’ve got to do more than pray for lost people, y’. All. I want you to look at verse 20 of this passage in John 17. Listen to what Jesus says. Jesus says, my prayer is not for them alone.

I also pray for those who will believe in me through their example. That’s not what he says. There’s nothing wrong with being a Christian example. Those who believe in me through their prayers. That’s not what it says.

Even though we should pray, here’s what he says. I’m praying for those who will believe in me through their message, through their word, if you will. So it’s not enough to pray for lost people. We actually have to proclaim the gospel. You see, a part of our responsibility as followers of Jesus is to share who Jesus is with others.

So here’s what I want y’ all to know. In the fall, starting in September, the first week of September, we are going to begin a new series. And y’ all remember what I’ve titled it. Anybody remember Gone Fishing? And that’s the little note I want you to put on your door every day when you leave your house.

Gone fishing. Because God has you out in his world to fish, to go where the people are so here’s what we’re going to do this fall, Sunday mornings, Wednesday evenings, we’re going to learn more about how to share Jesus, how to proclaim the gospel in a way that’s indigenous to who we are. Because I know that anytime you start talking about evangelism and sharing the gospel, Christians get nervous because they’re afraid we’re going to ask you to be weird, and you don’t want to be weird. And you all know that. Weird Christians, right?

We have our own fair share of weird Christians. Okay? So we’re not going to ask you to be weird. We’re going to ask you to be wired in such a way. I love how I just did that.

We’re going to ask you to be wired in such a way that you can faithfully communicate the gospel in a way that’s indigenous to who you are. And we’re going to learn ways to do it in the fall. And we’re going to talk about things like, this is not something you have to do just on your own. We can do this in community with others. As a matter of fact, when you study fishing in the New Testament, I’m talking about just real fishing.

Fishermen did not fish by themselves in the New Testament. They fished together. They had different responsibilities. So we all have different gifts. There are ways for you and I to learn how to do this in ways that will affect the lives of other people.

And we can do it, and we’re going to learn some methodology, and we’re going to be better prepared to proclaim the gospel because it’s not enough to just be a good example. Should you be a good example? Well, of course it’s not enough to pray. Should you pray? Yes.

But we also have to get involved ourselves in this journey and participate. And one of the ways we do that is by sharing what we know. Loren Sanney for many, many years worked with Billy Graham. Some of y’ all that are older may remember his name, but he says years ago, one of the men who was converted in Billy Graham’s ministry told him this story. He’d been in business for over 20 years, been connected to some businessmen that were good and godly men.

But he went to a Billy Graham crusade, and he gave his life to Jesus. One evening, Loren says this guy, he was visiting a church on and off occasionally, didn’t go very often. But when he went to church one day, he recognized one of the men that he had been in business with for over 20 years, that he had. Not in business with, I mean, but worked Alongside and knew him from in a business relationship. Goes up to that guy and turns out that guy’s an elder in that church.

And Loren Sanney says, this man said to this guy, he said, you know, how long you and I known each other in the business community? And they Both agreed. Over 20 years. 23, 24 years. And this guy said, I want to tell you something.

This last week, I went to the Billy Graham crusade here in our community, and I gave my life to Jesus one night during the invitation. And this guy said, I’m so excited about that. That’s awesome. I’m actually an elder in this church. And the guy said, I’m so happy to hear that.

Then the guy said to him, he said, you know, it’s interesting. You and I have been doing business together for 20 something years, and you’ve never mentioned one time to me that you were a follower of Jesus. So I didn’t know. He said, as a matter of fact, I looked at you without knowing, and I thought, if I can just be that good of a guy without having to be a Christian, that’s probably a good thing, because I had no idea you were a Christian.

In other words, just being a good example is not enough. Should you all be a good example at school where you teach? Well, come on. Sure. Should y’ all be a good example at school where y’ all are going to school?

Yeah. Should y’ all be cheating on your tests and using AI to get your degree? Should you? No. In case nobody’s told you no.

Use your own intelligence. It’s real. Okay. Should y’ all be cheating in high school or junior high? No.

Should you be a good example? Yes. Is that enough? No. We should all be good examples no matter where we are, neighbors wherever we go, and that’s one of the ways that we are salt of the earth.

That’s one of the ways that we stem the tide of evil. That’s one of the ways we stem against injustice. Of course. But, y’, all, we’ve also got to be able to share what we know and why we’re being a good example and ask God to give us those opportunities. I realize it’s not always easy, but I praise God.

Somebody stepped over a little bit of hesitation and shared the gospel with me. It changed my whole life. Because here’s the thing, y’. All, here’s what we believe about this. If you die and you step into eternity without Jesus, we believe the Bible teaches you spend eternity without Jesus.

That’s what’s at stake. And we love People too much to allow them to step into eternity without at least the opportunity to meet Jesus on this side. And so God has put it in our hands and we’ve got to be good stewards of it. So do I want you to pray for lost people? Yes, Individually, as a group, ask God to put them on your heart.

But also I want us to learn better how to proclaim this gospel. And I’m right there with you. I’m going to walk down this path with you and we’re going to learn better how to share the message of Jesus. Make sense? Okay, Now, y’ all know that each week during this series, we’re praying prayer together as a church family.

So the prayer for this week, I’m going to put it on the screen for you. This is our prayer for this week that we want you to be praying together as families, as individuals, Bible study groups, whatever. Here’s the prayer. So let’s just pray it out loud right now, together as a church. Lord, I pray for lost friends, family members and colleagues.

May they hear your call to salvation in fresh new ways this week, week, and give their lives to Jesus. Amen. That’s our prayer this week. And so let’s you and I be committed. Let’s pray, let’s seek God’s wisdom, and let’s keep an eye out for kittens falling in our gardens as we see God’s hand at work.

May it be so. Let me pray for us. Father, we love you. We thank you for loving us. We thank you for the gospel, for the good news of Jesus.

And we thank you, Lord, that good news found its way to us. And there’s so many of us within the sound of my voice right now who’ve already responded to that good news, embraced it, and we’re living fully in it and we thank you for it. We’ve been redeemed, restored and rescued. And we trust you’ll find us useful in, in your kingdom service. We pray for those who are lost today, our family members, our friends, our colleagues, our neighbors.

We pray, Lord, that you will draw them to yourself, that you will convict them, that you’ll enlighten their minds, open their hearts, that you’ll bring circumstances and people in and around them that will allow them to be conscious of their need and give them the courage to hear this good news with, with fresh ears, see it with fresh eyes, and embrace it for their eternity’s sake. And we pray all that in Jesus name, amen.