Have you ever wondered what the most important thing in life is? Some people think the most important thing in life is being a nice person. Others think the most important thing is to raise your family well. Still others think that having fun is the most important thing. And I’m sure there are many other ideas about the most important thing in life.
How can we determine what the most important thing in life is? The most important thing is whatever has the greatest positive consequences if you have it and the most negative consequences if you don’t. There is only one right answer to the question. The most important thing in life is having a relationship with God.
Having a relationship with God is the only way that you’ll fulfill the purpose that God created you for. NIV Acts 17:27 God did this [creation] so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. You were created to seek and find God, that’s your most important purpose. Whether you find God in this life affects your eternal destiny. There is no greater loss than spending eternity without God in hell. There is no greater gain than spending eternity with God in heaven.
If the most important thing in life is finding God, than for those of us who have found Him, we must help others find Him. NIV Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise. Those who are righteous, those who have found God are to be a tree of life to those around them who are still seeking. The wisest thing that you can do with your life is to win souls, that is, to help people discover a relationship with their creator.
Currently, we’re in a message series entitled “Just Walk Across The Room.” In this series, we’re talking about how to help others find a relationship with Jesus. Last week, we saw how Jesus left His comfort zone in heaven to bring us to Himself. We too, must be willing to leave our comfort zones to reach out to others who are far from God. Reaching out doesn’t have to complicated, it can be as simple as just walking across the room to speak to someone.
Today, I’m going to speak about “Three Steps To Reaching Out.” We’re going to look at three practical ways that each of us can reach out. However, before we get to these steps, let’s think about why Jesus reached out to us. The reason that Jesus reached out to you was that He saw potential in you. The Bible says that Jesus died for us while we were yet sinners. Yet, He looked beyond our sin and saw what we could be as forgiven children of God.
When Jesus called his first disciples, they were just fishermen, but He saw greater potential in them. NIV Matthew 4:19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” Jesus saw these simple fishermen with the potential to become fishers of men. Jesus saw that these fishermen had the potential to affect people’s eternal destinies by helping them find a relationship with God. This morning, Jesus sees the potential in you to become a fisher of men. This is not just for a select few, but every believer is to become a fisher of men.
When you become a fisher of men, you see the potential in every person, to become a child of God. No one is so far from God, no one is so deep in sin, that the power and love of God cannot reach them. With God nothing is impossible. So, this morning as I talk about three steps to reaching out, don’t be saying in your mind, “I could never do that.” Be saying, with God I can be a fisher of men, with God I can see lives changed forever.
To hear more about this topic, listen to my January 14, 2007 message entitled Three Steps To Reaching Out