THE SPARK OF THE LOVE OF CHRIST | sermonsfortheworld.com

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Jesus is not dead, He is alive. The work of Jesus is not segregated to history alone. Jesus is still saving and forgiving and loving people today. Jesus is alive. The gods of ancient history are dead. The gods of the Philistines are dead. The gods of the Egyptians are dead. The gods of the Aztec Empire are dead. But Jesus is alive. Jesus is still catching lives from the death of sin into His life and salvation.

“O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people”
(Psalm 105:1).

The world is cold and dark without the love of Christ. So many wander the wasteland of life without forgiveness. They are entranced by the artificial electric light of the world like a moth scattered in the darkness. They do not know the warmth of the love of Christ. They do not know the living Saviour. They only know the cold and dying gods of this present world which is passing away. They have not felt the spark of the love of Christ on their lives. They are unforgiven. They are eternally homeless. They are like sheep who have lost their way. It is in this world, that you find yourself, having been forgiven and loved. You are a testimony of the boundless everlasting saving power of Jesus Christ.

“O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people”
(Psalm 105:1).

This is a cold and dark world that you live in. And how will this cold and forbidding world be warmed? Through the spark of the love of Christ.

People need Jesus Christ. People need to experience Jesus and His love. Not just people, your friends need Jesus. Your loved ones need Jesus. Your classmates need Jesus. The people you know – they need Jesus. They will never find Jesus on their own. They must be brought to church. They must hear the Gospel preached and find Jesus for themselves. Only then can their world be warmed by the love and forgiveness of Christ. They too may bring their friends and their loved ones to the church and to Jesus. You are a spark. You are a spark that can get a fire going. Therefore, bring someone to church. Therefore, pass it on.

It only takes a spark to get a fire going,
And soon all those around can warm up to its glowing,
That’s how it is with God’s love, once you’ve experienced it,
You spread his love to everyone, you want to pass it on.

I wish for you, my friend, this happiness that I’ve found,
You can depend on Him, it matters not where you’re bound,
I’ll shout it from the mountain tops, I want my world to know,
The love of Christ has come to me, I want to pass it on.
(“Pass It On” by Kurt Kaiser; altered by the Pastor).

“O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people”
(Psalm 105:1).

People are lonely. People need to come to a church with people who love them. If they go to Catholic Mass it will not cure their loneliness because the people hardly speak and often don’t even know each other. It is impossible for them to feel the love of Christ in that situation. There is no opportunity for a spark to ignite a flame in their heart. Sadly, most new-evangelical churches have nothing to offer either. A church that is made up of people who have touched the Son of God by faith has something to offer. There is a spark in those people. There is a spark because Jesus has done something for them. They have experienced the love of God in the salvation in Christ Jesus. The love of Christ burns in the embers of their hearts. A church that is sparked by the love of Christ can reach man’s loneliness.

In the Book of Acts we read, “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship…” (Acts 2:42). The word “fellowship” there means “sharing” and “partnership.” It refers to the love that is expressed in a local New Testament church. People need the local church. People need to be in church to hear the preaching of the Gospel. Paul preached the Gospel of Christ in local churches, like the church at Corinth. Paul was spreading the spark within him, and the world caught fire

People need to come to church to hear the Gospel and get saved. It often takes many sermons before a person is converted, but they will never be converted if they never come at all. The evangelism in the New Testament is local church evangelism. We are told in the Bible that the early churches “increased in number daily” (Acts 16:5). The New Testament knows nothing of evangelism apart from the local church.

“And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily”
(Acts 16:5).

This is the method of evangelism in the Book of Acts. There the people were brought immediately into the church, so that the churches “increased in number daily” (Acts 16:5).

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:19-20).

These words of Christ make it clear that true evangelism makes disciples. But how will these disciples be made? They must be made within the local church. People must be brought into the church. They must be brought out of the coldness of the world and into the local church.

But the church must be different from the world. The church must have the spark of love and unity that the world does not have. Jesus said that when a local church has unity the world will believe that God has sent Him.

“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:21).

When a local New Testament church has unity, the lost world can sense that Jesus and His love are real. Jesus said than they will know “that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me” (John 17:23). Love and unity is of the highest importance in the local church. Revival comes in an atmosphere of unity, “that they may be one.” So, for local church evangelism to be effective, lost people must come into a church where the Christians love each other. Then the lost will believe “that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them” (John 17:23). We can tell lost people that God loves them, but they will not believe us until they see us loving each other. Then they will believe “that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them” (John 17:23).

The local church is the place where the love of Christ can be found and where the Gospel is preached. People need the church. Not just people – your friends need the church. Your family needs the church. Your classmate needs the church. The church is where you found the love of Christ – therefore, pass it on.

I wish for you, my friend, this happiness that I’ve found,
You can depend on Him, it matters not where you’re bound,
I’ll shout it from the mountain tops, I want my world to know,
The love of Christ has come to me, I want to pass it on.

“O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people”
(Psalm 105:1).

“Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see” (John 1:45-46).

“The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” (John 4:28-29).

The woman said, “Come, see a man.” Philip said, “Come and see.” This is the way the early church did evangelism. They said, “Come and see,” and people came by the hundreds to the local churches to hear the Gospel.

“And the Lord added to the church [at Jerusalem] daily such as should be saved”
(Acts 2:47).

“And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily”
(Acts 16:5).

Notice that Philip and the woman did not just pray for the people to come and see. They went after them, and compelled them to come in. Jesus, in giving a parable to His disciples concerning evangelism said, “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled” (Luke 14:23). The word “compel” means to pull, push, and struggle with determination (Strong, 315). Jesus was not telling His Disciples to go out and pray for the people to come in, but to pressure them with resolve to come in.

In our church we understand this dynamic of going out and compelling them to come in concerning bringing in visitors into our church. However, we think differently when it comes to bringing in our friends, our family, and the people we know and love and care for. Instead, we pray for them. We pray for them, and think that this will be enough. The Bible says,

“And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh” (Jude 22-23).

Notice that some are won by love, but others are won by pulling them out of the fire. They are won when someone decides to take a more forceful and passionate approach to winning their souls. Many times our hearts are warmed at the memory of how our pastor Dr. Hymers won his mother to Christ at the age of 80 years old. However, Dr. Hymers did not win his mother to Christ by praying and waiting for the answer to come. Dr. Hymers literally fought to get his mother into church. Sometimes she would scream and yell at him when he tried to get her into church. But he was determined to pull her out of the fire. He was determined to get her into church.

My mother brought her mother to church on Sunday morning and to banquets for many years, but she never got saved. One afternoon, Dr. Hymers told my mother that my grandmother would never be saved unless she brought her Sunday morning and Sunday night. That seemed like too much to ask. My grandmother was in her eighties. She took care of her sick daughters at home. She could not come both Sunday morning and Sunday night. But my mother made her come. She compelled her to come. She pulled her with determination because her mother’s soul was on the line. My mother’s family was very upset with my mother. They thought she was being too extreme. But my mother endured their rebukes, and their fights, and did everything in her power to pull her mother out of the fire. A few months later, my grandmother from El Salvador, deep into her eighties, was saved by Jesus and is now a member of our church.

“And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire” (Jude 22-23).

The church grows only as people come in and see how much Christians love each other. The church grows only as people are compelled to come in. We say, “Come and see,” and they come and hear the Gospel and are saved. That is our purpose in bringing people to hear the Gospel. Bring your family. Bring your friends. Bring your classmates and your coworkers. Bring the people you meet. Bring them, so that they can come and see what you have found. You have found the love of Christ. You have found forgiveness of sins. You have found a family of God. You have found the spark of the love of Christ, therefore pass it on.

“O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people”
(Psalm 105:1).

WHEN YOU WRITE TO DR. HYMERS YOU MUST TELL HIM WHAT COUNTRY YOU ARE WRITING FROM OR HE CANNOT ANSWER YOUR E-MAIL. If these sermons bless you send an e-mail to Dr. Hymers and tell him, but always include what country you are writing from. Dr. Hymers’ e-mail is at rlhymersjr@sbcglobal.net (click here). You can write to Dr. Hymers in any language, but write in English if you can. If you want to write to Dr. Hymers by postal mail, his address is P.O. Box 15308, Los Angeles, CA 90015. You may telephone him at (818)352-0452.

(END OF SERMON)
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Solo Sung Before the Sermon by Mr. Benjamin Kincaid Griffith:
“Blest Be the Tie” (by John Fawcett, 1740-1817).