Reaching the Lost

Our mission at Calvary, as I trust all of you know, and if you're new I'm going to tell you, our mission at Calvary is to be and make authentic followers of Jesus Christ. We want to be authentic followers of Jesus Christ and we also want to be involved in obeying the Great Commission of making disciples, authentic followers of Jesus Christ. So our challenge today is to move, as it were, from our comfort zone, perhaps some of us have got too comfortable, to move from our comfort zone to the front line and to take advantage of the many open doors which God has given to us. I mentioned some of the difficulties of COVID, but one of the things we realized with COVID that God has opened many, many doors and that we have had many opportunities here at Calvary, you've had many opportunities individually to share Jesus Christ. We believe He is the Savior of the world. That's a wonderful description that the Samaritans give of our Lord in John chapter 4.

The woman comes and tells them about Jesus and they say, now we don't believe just because of the woman, but we ourselves know that this one, Jesus, is the Savior of the world. I've called this message, reaching the lost. Yes, people without Jesus Christ are lost.

I believe that. I believe that they're lost now and apart from Jesus Christ, they will be eternally lost. I also realize that most people who are lost don't realize that they're lost. And this is our responsibility as followers of Jesus is to take this message to the lost, to reach the lost. I think most of you will agree with me that certainly here in the United States, the gospel of Jesus Christ is increasingly on a collision course with our world. The opposition to the word of God, the disregard to the word of God, the disregard to the gospel of Jesus Christ is becoming sharper and sharper. This is true even in many of our churches. Many of our churches deny the truths of Scripture.

Many are selling out to the culture. Other churches, while saying they believe the Bible in their practice, in their preaching, if you can call it that, in how they conduct themselves as a church, marginalize the word of God. And what is substituted rather than a proclamation of the word of God, it's inspirational stories, it's how-to techniques, it's political commentary, it's social justice, it's prosperity platitudes, whereby the church has become a mirror of the culture. It seems to me that more and more that the world is setting the agenda for the church.

That's tragic, isn't it? The gospel of Jesus Christ has always been counter-cultural. That our desire for the truth is based not on the consensus of our culture, not what the media or our universities or our politicians are saying, but rather is based on Scripture. And today, we're going to look at three important principles which I think will help us as we share Christ in a difficult culture. Lessons which the disciples had to be taught by the Lord as we shall see, and we will understand as we reach the lost, we cannot compromise the gospel. We are to display Jesus and we're also to proclaim Jesus. One of our themes this year at Calvary is to stand firm in the word of God, to stand firm in the gospel of God. I trust Calvary Church will do that, that we will stand firm in the gospel, that we will not allow our world, our culture, our politicians, our educators, our media to tell us what we believe and we will never ever compromise the truth of the word of God.

We're going to learn a very important lesson. And as a lesson, we need to be reminded of, as we turn in our Bibles to Matthew chapter 15, that people of all nations and people of all cultures need Jesus. We're continuing in our study of Matthew. If you're new, we're going through the book of Matthew and we come this morning to Matthew chapter 15 and we're going to read from verse 21. I encourage you to come with your Bible.

I think you'll learn the Bible much better if you have one in front of you and as you, and you look at it as I read. Matthew chapter 15 verse 21, Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, the Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David.

My daughter is severely oppressed by a demon. But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him saying, send her away for she's crying out after us. He answered, I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But she came and knelt before him saying, Lord, help me. And he answered, it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs. She said, yes, Lord.

Yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table. Then Jesus answered her, O woman, great is your faith. Be it done for you as you desire. And her daughter was healed instantly. What a wonderful passage of Scripture, isn't it? Reminding us that people of all nations, of all cultures need Jesus. Now here, as we look at Matthew chapter 15 verse 21 and following, Jesus withdraws to Gentile territory. He's been in Jewish territory and perhaps Jesus and his disciples moved north out of Galilee because of the mounting opposition from the religious leaders.

We've seen that there is conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees and the Sadducees. And this happened earlier in Matthew chapter 15 and now he moves north. This journey into the district of Tyre and Sidon is in Gentile territory. It's in present-day Lebanon. And there you see the Mediterranean Sea to the left, what's called the Great Sea. The sea down by between Jordan and Jerusalem is the Dead Sea. The little sea to the north there is the Sea of Galilee. That region is Galilee. And then north is what we would call present-day Lebanon. And there is Sidon and Tyre. And it is that district that Jesus is visiting with his disciples.

According to one commentator, Tyre at the time represented the most extreme expression of paganism. And so here are Jesus and his followers, disciples, going into Gentile territory. Now you've got to remember, this is difficult for us in the 21st century, the Jews at that time looked on Gentiles as outcasts, as defiled, as unclean. They wouldn't eat with them. They wouldn't even touch them.

They would have nothing to do with them. I remember during one visit when we were in Israel, we were in Galilee and I was talking to this man who was an Orthodox Jew and we had an interesting conversation about spiritual things. And as I was going, I shook his hand and I was about to shake his wife's hand and he said, no, no, you can't touch you can't touch my wife.

That's the picture, isn't it? The Gentiles and the Jews. And the Jews have no dealings with the Gentiles. Now this woman that we're meeting in verse 22 is a Gentile. She's a pagan. Matthew says in verse 22, she is a Canaanite. These were the enemies of Israel. Mark, in his commentary on the incident, says she was a Syrophoenician by birth.

You get the picture? Here is a woman. Her people, the Canaanites, are enemies of the Jews. She's defiled. She's unclean. She's unholy.

Ceremonially unclean. A woman who's lost. A Gentile.

An enemy of Israel. Now what are the reactions of the disciples? Verse 23, sent her away for she's crying out after us. The disciples don't want anything to do with her. To the disciples, this woman, and she's a woman, and she's a Gentile, and she's a Canaanite, and she's a Syrophoenician by birth.

How bad can you be? Have nothing to do with her. Send her away. She's the most unlikely candidate for salvation. But she hears about Jesus. We don't know how she is heard, but she knows about Jesus.

And she falls down at his feet. Isn't that beautiful? In the previous passage, here are the religious men, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and they have seen the miracles of Jesus. They've heard his marvelous teaching.

And what did they do? They conspire to kill Jesus, but here is this woman who's an outcast outside of the Commonwealth of Israel, and she acknowledges about Jesus, and when she sees Jesus, she falls down at his feet. What a contrast between religion and a woman who desires salvation. What does she do? She asks for mercy. She begs Jesus to cast the demon out of her daughter.

Mark makes that very, very express. Her daughter is oppressed by a demon. So this woman, this outcast, there's no word of the Father, living in a pagan country, is begging Jesus to perform a miracle. She realizes her need of Jesus, and she believes that Jesus has the power to cast out the demon. And as I say, she must have known something about Jesus. Notice what she says in her prayer, verse 22, have mercy on me, O Lord.

Verse 25, Lord, help me. When she comes to Jesus, she doesn't address Jesus as Jesus. Incidentally, the disciples don't either. She calls Jesus Lord, Lord, Son of David. Here is a woman who not only must have heard about Jesus, but understood something that he was different, that he was Lord, that he was the Son of David. But Jesus first doesn't answer her word.

And then in answering the woman, Jesus uses a household scene. Children and their pet dogs, the dogs referred to here are not wild scavenger dogs, these are pet dogs. Last night, Guni and I were over at our son's house for dinner, and we're sitting at the table and being served a beautiful meal. And my grandchildren, unlike my wife, love dogs. And they have two dogs.

You think one would be enough? No, they've got two dogs. And you can guess what happens when we are eating. What are the dogs doing, lying in a corner sleeping? No, they're under the table. They're sniffing around. And if any morsel falls on the floor as it did, these dogs act. Say, don't you feed your dogs? Yes, but they like our food much better. And my grandchildren are there. Could you imagine if my daughter-in-law puts the food on the table and the children, my grandchildren, are about to eat and I take some of it and I throw it to the dogs?

You think, what he's doing? No. Dogs are to be fed. We want to be kind to dogs. Proverbs tells us that. We're to be kind to animals. But the dogs are not going to be fed at the expense of children. No. Now notice, so as Jesus says this, it's not right, verse 26, to take the children's bread, we're going to explain that in a minute, and throw it to the dogs.

Did you get the picture? You wouldn't do that. I'm not taking my children's food and throwing it to the dogs.

That would be scandalous. But here's this woman, beautiful woman. Think of her response. She said, yes, Lord, I agree. I agree that you don't take the children's food and throw it to the dogs. Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table.

That's true. What's the woman saying? This woman is saying, I understand that.

I understand I belong to a pagan nation. But she's looking for grace. She's looking for mercy.

She's looking for that which she does not deserve. And this Canaanite woman is saying to her, Lord Jesus, just give me a crumb of mercy. Just give me a little leftover part of grace.

Just give me a scrap. That's enough for me. I believe that just a leftover of your blessing, just that which is insignificant, just a little crumb of mercy will heal my daughter. That's enough.

That's all I'm asking for. What does Jesus say? Verse 28, Jesus answered her, O woman, great is your faith. Very unusual for Jesus to say that about anyone, great is your faith. Though he had said to the centurion error in Matthew that all of Israel haven't met anyone who's got that faith. Here is a pagan, here is a Gentile, and Jesus is commanding her not only for her faith, but for her great faith.

Be it done for you as you deserve. What humility. What faith. Yes, great faith. The Bible says, Hebrews 11, verse 6, that without faith it's impossible to please God.

So as you sit here, as you listen to this message, you have to ask each of you, do you have great faith? If you don't have faith, you don't please God. You can do things for God.

You can go through religious rituals. You can even serve God, but if you don't have faith, you are not pleasing God. The very entrance into the kingdom of God is what by faith is by believing.

By believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, by receiving him as my Savior, as my Lord, as an act of faith, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you'll be saved. The just shall live by faith is the message of the book of Romans. But this is more, that as those of us who are in the kingdom of heaven, we are to live by faith. The just shall live by faith. I ask you, those of you who are followers of Jesus Christ, if I were to bring you up here and say to you, can you give me an example of your faith where you're trusting God?

Could you do that? Over the last year, has there been an example where you have trusted God in a difficult situation? Think of this woman. Think of her courage. Think of her love for her daughter. Think of her spiritual discernment. You've got 12 men trying to get rid of the woman, and she's persistent, and she falls at the feet of the Lord and says, have mercy on me. Just give me a crumb of blessing.

What does she do? She asks for mercy. Have you ever asked God for mercy? Have you ever prayed, God be merciful to me, the sinner? That's the entrance into the kingdom of God, a humble spirit, asking God not for what you deserve, but for his mercy. And then she prays, Lord, help me. You pray that? Do you live your Christian life?

Lord, help me. Have you ever asked God for help? And you really believe him.

You really trust him. This is the faith of this woman, and Jesus says, it is great faith. I wonder if I have great faith. It's a penetrating question to ask myself. I don't answer it too quickly. It's rather convicting, isn't it?

So easy to get in a rut spiritually, but here is what it means to be an authentic follower of Jesus Christ that day by day I'm living by faith. Now as we think of the Lord dealing with this woman in these verses, you think of his compassion. Think of the Lord's compassion for all natures and all cultures.

I wonder if we like that. I wonder how you would have dealt with this woman. I think many of us would have been like the disciples. Get away. I mean, you're a woman, you're an outcast, you're a king. I mean, go away. You don't belong to us.

You're an outsider. You're not going to be part of following Jesus Christ. Now the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the progress of God's purposes does come first to the Jews. Mark when he tells the incident says that the children are fed first.

Yes, if you've got a pet dog and you have to feed the dog, that's true, but your first responsibility, you first feed your children and then your pet dogs. And the Gospel does come first to the Jews. Our Lord Jesus is a Jew. The Gospel comes first to the Jew, but it also comes to the Gentiles. It comes to people of all nations, of all cultures, of Jews, of Samaritans, of Canaanites, because all people need Jesus. And now the whole world is going to be impacted by the kingdom of heaven, by these apostles that Jesus is training. So historically, the Gospel does come first to the Jews. Notice verse 24, the Lord Jesus says, I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Yes, there are lost sheep in Israel, and Jesus is saying, I was only sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And he comes to his own people, he comes to his own land.

He spends almost all of his time in the little country of Israel, but on this occasion, he's venturing north. And then the progress of salvation and the progress of the Gospel, the Gospel, the good news does come to all nations and all cultures. So at the end of Matthew's Gospel, when Jesus commissions the disciples, he's about to return to heaven, he commands them to go and to do what? Make disciples of just Jews, no, of all the nations. Acts 1,8, you're to stay into Jerusalem, and the Spirit's going to come, and then you're going to take this message first in Jerusalem, where you are, then in Judea, then in Samaria, and then to the remote part of the world. And so Paul says in Romans 1,16, I'm not ashamed of the Gospel, writing to Romans, for it's the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile, also to the Greek. The fact is, Jesus is teaching his disciples that everyone needs salvation. Don't write people off, don't limit God, don't say this Canaanite woman should go away.

Don't say she's intruding. I mean, who would have thought that this pagan, Syrophoenician woman would trust in Jesus Christ? Men who had the Old Testament Scriptures, who knew the law much, much better than this woman, they're rejecting Jesus. They will have nothing to do with him.

They're conspiring, in fact, to kill him. And this very, very unlikely woman is now brought into the kingdom of heaven. How wonderful. Do you notice in the Gospels, the disciples want to send people away? Chapter 14, verse 15, in the feeding of the 5,000. Matthew 14, 15, when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, this is a desolate place. In other words, what are we doing here? Time to go home.

And the day is now over. Send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves. I mean, let's get rid of them. We're tired of them. Send them away. Chapter 15, as we read verse 23, his disciples came and begged him, saying, send her away, for she's crying out after us.

After us. Chapter 19, verse 13, when Jesus bring, when the parents bring the little children to him, and at the 11 o'clock service, I'll have the privilege of dedicating two little babies to the Lord. When the disciples see the parents bringing the children to Jesus, the disciples rebuke the people. I mean, get away.

Interesting, isn't it? Followers of Jesus sending people away. We never do that. We never send people away at Calvary. Do you ever say to people, we've not got room for you. You don't quite fit in here.

I've had people say to me, well, I'm not sure if Calvary's for me. They're from a different culture. It's an American church. I say, it's not American church. Most people who come here are Americans. That is true. But the important thing about Calvary Church isn't that it's an American church.

If that were the case, why does it have a Scottish preacher? But people say to me from other cultures, I don't know if I'll fit in. And you say, well, no, I don't fit in. The Church of Jesus Christ contains a lot of very, very unusual people like the sire of Venetian women. Wouldn't you like to meet her, by the way?

D.L. Moody says, Jesus sent no one away empty except those who are full of themselves. Do you want to send away people? Do you keep your own little group? Here at Calvary, you've got a very, very comfortable little group of friends.

You enjoy them. Perhaps your life group, perhaps that Bible study, perhaps people you invite into your home. In a sense, you don't say to people, go away.

But that's really what happens, isn't it? Like the disciples. Do you ignore people who are different from you? Someone comes to Calvary, you see the parking lot, you sit beside them and they're different from you in some way.

You just ignore them. I'm saying to you today, don't see people in terms of ethnicity, color, political or sexual identity or social status. See them in terms of their need for a Savior.

What do you do to put on your spiritual glasses when you look at people? You know, our world, in fact our country, more and more wants to divide us all up, doesn't it? We now have identity politics and all of that.

And I understand it. But from a Christian perspective, we see people differently, don't we? We see people in need of a Savior, whoever they are. And thousands, yes, thousands of people from all over the world come right to us here in Charlotte. Different nationalities, including some people from Lebanon whom I've met. Perhaps this woman is of their ancestor, I don't know. People of all races, all religions and cultures and lifestyles.

Abundant opportunities all around us. I'm going to ask you to reach out to someone who's different from you. Different ethnicity, different culture, different color of skin, different political persuasion. It's amazing how as Christians that sometimes we divide people even as to how they vote, as if that's the most important thing about us. So, well, this person's a Democrat. Oh, dear, a Democrat coming to Calvary Church. I mean, how could you have a Democrat coming to Calvary Church? Or how could you have one of these right wing Trump guys coming to Calvary Church?

What are we going to do? Isn't it amazing? Again, the world is setting our agenda, and we forget the most important thing about people is not how they vote. It's not the color of their skin.

It's not their language that they speak. It's their need of Jesus Christ. Lost people matter to Jesus and should matter to us, particularly those from other cultures.

You acknowledge your prejudices? You're only sharing Jesus with your own group? See, the need is transcending. And our Lord Jesus Christ, this is wonderful. I love that title of Jesus that is the Savior of all the world, that He transcends all boundaries and nations and cultures and prejudices and social classes. He's the Savior of the world. And we read in Revelation 5.9, people will be ransomed for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.

That's wonderful. And if you're saved by the grace of God, you're going to be there. And as you come to Calvary, I'm asking you to reach out, yes, here at Calvary beyond your culture, beyond your ethnicity and language group.

And this is one of the reasons I love Calvary Church. I was thinking of this as preparing the 15 years ago when I came here, we had not many, but at least two or three couples who left. They said they couldn't understand me. I thought, you know, okay, hey, I was talking like this before you were talking like that. Where do you think you got English from? It certainly wasn't invited in the Carolinas.

But they left. I wasn't Southern. I thought, well, I can't help it. And when I tried to talk Southern, my wife tells me not to do that. I sound really crazy.

I tried it one time. And y'all, and it just doesn't sound real right in my voice. But I try. And I thought, you know, is that important? I mean, I try to understand the culture. I now eat grits, not enthusiastically, but I can. Collards, Jim Cashwell wants me to eat collards.

I'm trying, but I just can't get the thing down. So we're very different. Now, you can look on that as a negative. Would you, those of you who were born in Charlotte, do you really want to come to a church just full of Southerners?

Some of you say, yes, we do. Well, I'm sorry for you. I would not like to come to a church here in Scotland just in the United States and to go to a Scottish church. I thought, that is not what God wants.

The Church of Jesus Christ follows our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Savior of the world. And I realize it's difficult for us to understand and relate to people who are different from us. But I can tell you, as one who's married to somebody from a different culture, as someone who's lived in different cultures, as one who was brought up meeting missionaries from different cultures and traveling overseas, that that is one of the great blessings. And many of you know that. You've reached out to someone who's different from you, an unbeliever in your neighborhood. You've invited them in for dinner. You've reached out to people here at Calvary and got to know them.

Why? Because people of all nations and cultures need Jesus Christ. And just think of the thousands of unbelievers around us. Now, there's a second principle here, and it is to treat each person with compassion and understanding. Verses 29 through 31, and Jesus went on from there, walked beside the Sea of Galilee and went up in a mountain and sat there, and great crowds came to Him. One woman in Lebanon, but now great crowds come to Him, bringing with Him the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others. And they put them at His feet, and He healed them. One woman at His feet asking for mercy. People with all of their physical problems come, and they sit at the feet of the Lord Jesus. So that the crowd wondered when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, the blind seeing, and they glorified the God of Israel.

How wonderful. See, the Gospel is for everyone, irrespective of situation or location. Yes, a solitary woman in the district of Tyre and Sidon meets Jesus, but now great crowds meet Him by the Sea of Galilee.

Different people with different needs, did you notice it? The lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, all are brought to Jesus, and He heals them all. And we're going to read in verse 32 that He has compassion for the crowds.

And what do they do? Verse 31, they, Jew and Gentile, glorified the God of Israel. Isn't that what we do when we come to Calvary? As Tim asks us to stand, what do we do? Whoever you are, whether you've lived in Charlotte all your life, or whether you've come from the other end of this world, whatever your background, we're all saved by grace.

And what do we do? We glorify our great God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We exalt Jesus, the Savior of the world. Will you build bridges to people, relate to them where they are? We're told that between 80 to 90 percent of new converts to the Christian faith are initially contacted by individual believers within their context of their neighborhood, their work, their school, people living their daily lives, you going around your daily life, going for a walk, going to the gym, going to the office, meeting people, 80 to 90 percent of people who come to Jesus Christ have their first contact, not through a church, not through listening to a radio or a television preacher, but by followers of Christ. Getting to know people where they are and relating to them with compassion and understanding. Listen to Paul as he gives us instruction on this in Colossians 4, verse 5. Colossians 4, verse 5. He says, walk in wisdom toward outsiders. The lost have wisdom.

Please have wisdom. Making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious.

Please, please. You disagree with someone? Always be gracious. Season with salt so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Each person is different. So that person is different. You're wondering how you're going to make a conversation to them about Jesus. Ask for wisdom so that you will know how to answer each person. And then Peter, in 1 Peter 3, verse 15, he says, in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, being always prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, do it with gentleness and respect. And respect means that if someone says, I appreciate what you're saying. I don't want to hear it.

You can't force it. Be respectful. They're individuals made in the image of God. And Jesus comes and He heals the mute. And He gives sight to the blind. Their voices now are used to glorify God. Their eyes see Christ.

Is your tongue being used for God? We accept responsibility where God in His sovereign purposes has placed you. Jesus has told us earlier that we are to be salt and light. Not everyone will respond. There will be opposition.

Yes, there will be. Don't expect everyone immediately to receive Christ. You're to sow seed. You're to display Christ. You're to be kind.

You're to be loving. You're to be respectful to every single individual so that the love of Christ and the truth of Christ will circle the world. First principle, people of all nations and cultures need Jesus. Secondly, treat each person with compassion and understanding. Third, look to Jesus for supernatural power and resources.

As you listen to me, you say, John, I understand this and I think you're absolutely right. I should be telling more people about the Lord Jesus. I've got next door neighbors that I've never spoken to. I've got a colleague at work that we get on very well, but I've never shared Christ with him. And quite honestly, this is very, very difficult. You don't know the tough people I work with.

And while I know I should do it, I don't know if I can handle this. All of us are there, aren't we? I'm saying look to Jesus for supernatural power and resources. Verse 32, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, I have compassion on the crowd because they've been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I'm unwilling to send them away hungry lest they faint on the way. Compassion.

I hope your compassion is. And the disciples said to him, where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place? Notice how they always talk about the desolate place. We want to get home.

We want to get back to Capernaum. This is a desolate place. And where are we going to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd? Jesus said, how many loaves do they have? They said seven and a few small fish. And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples and the disciples gave them to the crowds. Notice verse 37, and they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over.

Those who ate were 4,000 men beside women and children. And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan. To meet the challenge, we need the Lord's help. We need his resources.

The Syrophoenician prayed as we may pray, Lord, help me. I cannot do this by myself. Lord, we're in a desolate place. There's no stores.

There's no shops. How can we have enough bread to feed this thousand? There's 4,000 plus women and children.

I mean, this is utterly impossible. And all we have are these seven loaves and a few fish. This is different from the feeding of the 5,000. This is the feeding of the 4,000. You understand it?

In their own power and in their own resources, they're totally unable to meet the challenge. No resources, no shops, but did you know this with Jesus? Every single person ate and was satisfied. The needs of the crowd are met and more. You've experienced this as a follower of Jesus, haven't you? You've asked for grace.

You've asked for help. And the Lord gives you grace upon grace upon grace. So, as the Psalmist says, my cup overflows. I asked some of you how you're doing and you say, I'm overwhelmed with the grace of God. You have experienced that in your family, in your life, haven't you, in a situation where God's grace has been poured on you. I've experienced that. Many of you have experienced that.

You realize, I didn't deserve this. This is of God. Isn't that wonderful to see God at work? Now, think of the thousands around us. And we say, well, what can we do at Calvary Church?

The challenge is immense. I'm reminding you that the Lord's power and the Lord's resources are infinite. All that the disciples needed were given to them by God, by Jesus.

What do you have? Seven loaves and a few, I can take, I can use them. And He gives thanks and He multiplies and multiplies and multiplies. So here's my question for you. As you share Christ, are you drawing on the Lord's supernatural resources? You're asking God for wisdom. You're asking God for help. You're asking God for His grace. You're asking God to open doors. Are you asking God for the right words to speak to that person?

Are you? Hudson Taylor said, all of God's great men have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on His being with them. That's it. In ourselves, utterly inadequate. We cannot handle this God. That's good.

That's good that you acknowledge that. Now, what do you have? Well, we've got seven loaves and a few fish.

Give that to me. What do you have? What resources do you have? What opportunities do you have? Have you got a home to be used for the Lord? Have you got contacts at business?

Have you got unbelieving friends? What are your gifts? What are your talents? What are you good at? You can hit a golf ball pretty good.

Who do you play with? You go to the gym to work out. You like that. God gives you the strength, the ability to do that. What about those next to you? What do you have in your hands? What's your situation?

You're the leader of a project at work and you have an opportunity there. What's in your hands? Give them to the Lord. The Lord will multiply. The Lord will bless you amazingly. That is, you look to Jesus, you draw on His supernatural power. There's an old hymn that says, out of His infinite riches He give, giveth and giveth and giveth again.

God, listen to this, God will give you all that you need to do His will. We're praying for God to guide us in terms of moving to one service, which we all want. Do you think God is going to guide us? Do you think God is going to help us?

Of course He is. You give us some ideas and we say, well, we're not quite sure. No, we're not quite sure, but I know that God will guide us. Because I believe that when we do God's will, if you are before God, if you are honest before God and you say, I want to do your will, I want to reach my neighbors, I want to communicate the gospel to this person, I want to be used by you, Lord.

Here as I serve you at Calvary Church, I feel so inadequate, so small. God will give you, I guarantee it, God will give you all of the resources, all of the wisdom, all of the power to do His will. The question is, are you going to do His will rather than your own? Who does the healing? The Lord.

Who casts the demon out of the daughter of the sire of Phoenician? Jesus. Who feeds the multitude? Jesus.

Who does He use in the feeding of the 4,000? The disciples. And when we understand that by ourselves we can do nothing, that apart from abiding in the vine, we can do nothing, but as we abide in Christ, we will bear much fruit and we'll do that with much joy. So abide in Christ.

I'm asking you to reach out to someone who's spiritually lost. I read this week that Americans' membership in houses of worship, that's churches, synagogues, mosques, not just Christian, but Americans' membership in houses of worship continued to decline last year, dropping below 50% for the first time in Gallup's eight-decade trend. In 2020, 47 of Americans said they belonged to a church, synagogue, or mosque, down from 50% in 2018. And in 1999, not all that long ago, 70% of people said they belonged to a house of worship.

Now it's 47. Less and less people going to church. I assume less and less people going to the synagogue, probably more and more people going to the mosque, I don't know. But in terms of churches, now you realize that's dealing with all churches, liberal and conservative, whatever it is.

Less and less people going to church. What an opportunity to invite someone. Marna Research said on any Sunday morning, one out of four unchurched people would willingly attend a church service if a friend would invite them to do so. You ever invited someone to come to Calvary?

That unlikely character, that sire of Phoenician woman. That person who really seems odd, who really seems out of it. Do you ever think of inviting them? Will you invite someone? Will you engage with someone? Will you share Christ? No, it's not just a matter of inviting people to church. That's a good step, but to build a bridge to them, to pray for the lost. Will you reach the lost? Will you trust God?

Don't write anyone off. We have a great God who loves the world, so great that His love came to very undeserving people like you and me. And the grace of God, God brought the gospel to you and to me. Have compassion for people. Share Christ.

Go into the harvest field. Reach the lost for Jesus. Help us to do that, we pray, our Father and our God. We confess we get very comfortable in our own situation.

We sometimes just deal with our own little group. Thank you for opening our eyes. And I pray here at Calvary we will increasingly have a global vision. We thank you for the many, many from all over the world that you bring here to the Charlotte region.

What an opportunity you give us. We thank you for our servants who go overseas in our missions. May more and more from Calvary Church leave these shores and go to the remote parts of the world with the gospel. Guide us. Help us, Father, we pray. May your mercy be on us. In Christ's name. Amen.