- small group/ministry leaders are like vets trying to help a kicking horse
- unsaved believer believes in the facts, but did not give his/her life to Christ
o salvation requires commitment
o how can this be? An unsaved believer? Well, Judas believed, but he was unsaved
o you are unsaved because of NEGLECT on your behalf
o Hebrews 2:1
o they are around the faith, they speak the language of faith, but they don’t LIVE the faith
2 Demands that must be heated to guarantee salvation
1) Carefully consider God’s Son
a. Want to know what God is like? He is Jesus.
b. Pay much closer attention to Jesus lest we drift away
===>i. Kinda like sailors getting their boats into the docks…they pay the closest attention to the smallest detail and focus all their energy in getting the boat safely docked.
===>ii. Don’t break loose of you anchor and drift away…it’s very dangerous! You may encounter a waterfall
===>iii. Don’t be so intense on fishing that the dock you’re standing around drifts away.
c. What is drifting?
===>i. NEGLECT of God’s salvation
===>ii. Time can cause it – the longer you’re Christian, the easier it is to drift
1. you lose the passion for faith (and also because of familiarity, it’s just not new to you anymore)
===>iii. Being overly busy can cause it
===>iv. Involvement in ministry CAN cause it – you’re so tied up in how to get involved, you can’t see Jesus
d. SOLUTION: LOVE and PASSION for Christ
===>i. Don’t be just a “great group” but a “group for Christ”
2) Pay careful attention to God’s ways
a. The more you know, the greater the punishment dealt when you disobey
b. Salvation was announced by Jesus, prophets, disciples, supernatural phenomenon so YOU KNOW
c. Hebrews 2:2
d. SOLUTION: fixing your eyes on Christ
===>i. Have discussions, meetings, conversations about and for Christ
===>ii. If you’re drifting…um…GET BACK IN THE BOAT!
===>iii. Don’t refuse/deny the changes God makes to you
1. A loving father disciplines the son he LOVES
Who’s going to say that you have the most God-rich message about Christ, but you’re not going to spread the word?
and the moral of the story is...
get off your lazy butt and evangelize!
