OceanSide church of Christ

 Previous Return to Sermons Next  Click to download Audio

THE SHUT-INS, THE SICK, THE UNFAITHFUL, AND THE LOST

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.    Our shut-ins:

1.      Loraine Lyons

2.      Brady and Linda Brown

3.      Loretta Corraspe

4.      Judy Moody

5.      Stan Jones

6.      Catherine Ford

 

B.      When it is comes to serving these individuals, there are two extremes that happen in the church.

1.      Christians never go see them.

2.      Some make these individuals their ministry to the exclusion of other works.

 

C.     Others who need our attention are the sick, the lost, and those who have fallen away.

 

D.    In this lesson, we want to discuss these individuals.  Our title is simply:  “The Shut-Ins, The Sick, the Unfaithful, and The Lost.”

 

I.                   THEY ARE OUT THERE

 

A.    Every church has people who fall into this category.

1.      We have already mentioned the shut-ins.

2.      There are many who are on our prayer list who are sick.

3.      Most of us know one or two who are no longer faithful.

4.      The lost are all around us.

 

B.      These people are real.

1.      They are not just names.

2.      They are not just statistics.

3.      They are not just members of categories.

 

C.     The shut-ins are lonely.

The sick are hurting.

The unfaithful are struggling.

The lost are without hope.

 

II.                GOD CARES FOR THEM

 

A.    Deuteronomy 10:18

 

He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.

 

B.      Deuteronomy 24:19-21

 

When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow:  that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy hands.  When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again:  it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.  When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward:  it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.

 

C.     Psalm 12:5

 

For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord, I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.

 

D.    Psalm 146:7-9

 

Which executeth judgment for the oppressed:  which giveth food to the hungry.  The Lord looseth the prisoners;  the Lord openeth the eyes of the blind:  the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down:  the Lord loveth righteousness:  the Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow:  but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.

 

E.      Matthew 11:5

 

The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

 

III.             GOD WANTS US TO CARE

 

A.    Psalm 82:3-4

 

Defend the poor and fatherless:  do justice to the afficted and needy.  Deliver the poor and needy:  rid them out of the hand of the wicked.

 

B.      Proverbs 31:20

 

She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.

 

C.     Luke 14:13

 

But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.

 

D.    Galatians 6:1

 

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

 

E.      I Timothy 6:18

 

That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate.

 

F.      James 1:27

 

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

 

 

 

 

G.     I John 3:17

 

But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

 

IV.             WE MIGHT BECOME ONE OF THEM

 

A.    If we live long enough, we will grow old.

1.      We will experience the pains of aging.

2.      We may experience the severe breakdown of our bodies.

3.      We may be confined to our homes as some are today.

4.      We may be the ones who are happy to have someone visit and break the loneliness of the day and the silence of the night.

 

B.      Any one of us could experience a sickness or a disease.

1.      It is good to know others care.

2.      It is good to know that they are praying for us.

 

C.     We do not anticipate it, but any one of us could become the next unfaithful member of the church.

1.      At that time, our soul will be in danger.

2.      Surely we will want someone to at least attempt to throw us a lifeline.

 

D.    All of us have been lost. 

1.      We now have hope.

2.      Don’t we think others deserve the hope that we now have?

 

V.                OUR SALVATION DEPENDS ON IT (Matt. 25:31-46)

 

A.    The King Sits on His Throne (Matt. 25:31)

 

B.      The King Separates the Sheep and Goats (Matt. 25:32-33)

 

C.     The King Speaks to Those on His Right Hand (Matt. 25:34-40)

 

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:  for I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat:  I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink:  I was a stranger, and ye took me in:  naked, and ye clothed me:  I will sick, and ye visited me:  I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

 

D.    The King Speaks to Those on His Left Hand (Matt. 25:41-45)

 

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.  For I was a hungered, and ye gave me no meat:  I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:  I was a stranger, and ye took me not in:  naked, and ye clothed me not:  sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

 

E.      The King Sentences Both Eternally (Matt. 25:46)

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.    In this lesson, we have attempted to let the Scriptures speak.

1.      In two sections, we just stated facts:

a.      The shut-ins, the sick, the unfaithful, and the lost are out there.

b.      One day we might be one of them.

2.      In three sections, we read the Scriptures to establish:

a.      God cares for these individuals.

b.      God wants us to care for these individuals.

c.       Our salvation depends on our caring for them.

 

B.      Our salvation is not conditioned solely on our initial obedience to the gospel.  It requires others things of us as well.  Let’s commit ourselves to caring for the shut-ins, the sick, the unfaithful, and the lost.