Hebrews 12:14. “Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you’ll never get so much as a glimpse of God.” (The Message)

Good morning everyone. Considering that quite a few of you weren’t able to be here last Sunday, I’m glad I didn’t preach this message then. As you know, I have been pleading, even begging you folks to take time to be holy. If you don’t sincerely struggle and make every effort to become holy, you’ll never get so much as a glimpse of God. That’s why these sermons about holiness are vitally important. The salvation of your soul is my main concern. Jesus says a human soul is priceless. How   can I, a creature He created possibly say He’s wrong? Think about that!

When Jesus arrived in the villages of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “What are people saying about who the Son of Man is? They replied, “Some think he is John the Baptizer, some say Elijah, some Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” He pressed them, “and how about you? Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter said, “You’re the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus came back, “God bless you Simon, son of Jonah! You didn’t get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I am going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out. And that’s not all. You will have complete access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth. A yes on earth is a yes in heaven. A no on earth is a no in heaven. He swore the disciples to secrecy. He made them promise they would tell no one that he was the Messiah.

“Then Jesus made it clear to his disciples that it was now necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, submit to an ordeal of suffering at the hands of the religious leaders, be killed, and then on the third day be raised up alive. Peter took him in hand, protesting “Impossible master! That can never be!”

But Jesus didn’t swerve. “Peter, get out of my way. Satan get lost. You have no idea how God works.”

Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but loose yourself, your true self? What could you ever trade your soul for?

“Don’t be in such a hurry to go into business for yourself. Before you know it the Son of man will arrive with all the splendor of his Father, accompanied by an army of angles. You’ll get everything you have coming to you, a personal gift. This isn’t pie in the sky by and by. Some of you standing here are going to see it take place, see the Son of Man in kingdom glory.” Matthew 16: 21-28, (The Message).

Another fact I want to bring to your attention this morning is that genuine happiness is the only way we can be truly happy. Of course, we can and should be happy over things such as hitting a home run, scoring a goal or bagging a deer but that kind of happiness does not stay with us very long. We must sincerely struggle to be holy while we live on earth, or we will wind up being sad unhappy creatures throughout eternity.

An old Puritan named Thomas Watson provides enormous insight on holiness. He wrote, “…in the spiritual sense, most human beings are unhappy. They’re searching for it but don’t have a clue as to how to obtain it. The salvation of lost souls should be first and foremost on a pastor’s heart. It should always lie closest and warmest upon a minister’s heart. Our Lord Jesus was infinitely tender of the souls of men. He left His Father’s bosom for souls; He suffered the wine-press of His Father’s wrath for souls; He prayed for souls; He paid for souls; He sweated for souls; He bled out His heart for souls; He made Himself an offering for souls. Oh what an encouragement this should be to all His faithful messengers to woo souls, to mourn for souls, to pray for souls, to study for souls, and in preaching to be spent for the salvation of souls! Ah, friends, there is no work or wisdom on earth than that of winning souls!”

³⁰ Godly men are growing a tree that bears life-giving fruit, and all who win souls are wise. Proverbs 11:30 (TLB)

Commenting on that text and the responsibility of ministers to do everything they possibly can to win lost souls to Christ, Charles Bridges who lived in the 19^th century reminds them of the fact that it is Jesus who purchased those ministers by His blood, and it is Jesus who can win the lost to Himself. Therefore, they will give Him all the praise.” He has ordained men for the work of ‘drawing souls to God, and of His love. Then referencing a sermon preached by a man named Bishop Horn, Bridges calls our attention to the wisdom of our Divine Master and the method he used to teach the people. Jesus was never without a story. For instance, Jesus said, “God’s kingdom is like seed thrown on a field by a man who then goes to bed and forgets about it. The seed sprouts and grows-he has no idea how it happens.  The earth does it all without his help: first a green stem of grass, then a bud, them a ripened grain. When the grain is fully formed, he reaps-harvest time!

“How can we picture God’s kingdom? What kind of story can we use? It’s like a pine nut. When it lands on the ground it is quite small as seeds go, yet once it is planted it grows into a huge pine tree with thick branches. Eagles nest on it.”

“With many stories like these, he presented his message to them, fitting the stories to their experience and maturity. He never was without a story when he spoke. When he was alone with his disciples, he went over everything, sorting out tangles, untying the knots.” Mark 4: 26-34, (The Message).

God grant that no Minister of Christ, won’t labor to win at least one soul for heaven! But-blessed be God!-this fruit-this wisdom-is not confined to the Sacred calling. Do we love our Lord? Arise; let us follow in the happy work, and he will honor us. The righteous wife wins her husband’s soul by the wisdom of meekness and sobriety, (1 Peter 3:1-2.) The godly neighbor wins his fellow sinner by the patient energy of faith and love, (James: 19-20). “No man” in the true Church of God, lives just for himself, (Romans 14:7).

The Christian who doesn’t do everything possible to win a soul to Christ runs the risk of losing his own soul. He has reverted to his native selfishness,” Bridges.

¹⁴ Turn from all known sin and spend your time in doing good. Try to live in peace with everyone; work hard at it. Psalm 34:14 (TLB)

“Try to live in peace with everyone.’ Work hard at it. Earnestly peruse it; vehemently, studiously, and industriously. Peace with God and peace with conscience, and peace with men must be sought. The Spirit of God is a Spirit of peace, and Christ delights to be known as the Prince of peace. Where peace is, there is Christ, because Christ is peace. Peace with everyone, meaning all orders, ranks, and sorts of men. However, we must be careful not to peruse peace at the expense of holiness for the sake of peace. Possessing holiness without peace is better than having peace without holiness.

The meaning of Holiness is happiness in the bud and happiness is holiness in full bloom. Happiness is the personification of holiness. Possessing true holiness is the only way to obtain happiness. Praying to His Father on behalf of His disciples, Jesus said,

“I have given them the glory you gave me—the glorious unity of being one, as we are. John 17:22 (TLB)

The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind-So that they may be one heart and mind with us. (The Message)

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul declares the fact that “…God has bought you with a great price. So use every part of your body to give glory back to God because he owns it. 1 Corinthians 6:20 (TLB)

In Peter’s first message to the Jewish believers, he told them “… God paid a ransom to save you from the impossible road to heaven which your fathers tried to take, and the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver as you very well know. ¹⁹ But he paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. ²⁰ God chose him for this purpose long before the world began, but only recently was he brought into public view, in these last days, as a blessing to you. 1 Peter 1:18-20 (TLB)

Godly men are growing a tree that bears life-giving fruit, and all who win souls are wise. Proverbs 11:30 (TLB)

The Message renders the same text as follows: A good life is a fruit-bearing tree; a violent life destroys souls. (The Message)

Do something good, embrace peace, don’t let it get away! Psalm 34:14 (The Message)

You and I must work hard at trying to live in peace with everyone as long as we don’t neglect to sincerely struggle to grow in holiness. As I said a moment ago, Living in holiness without peace is infinitely better than living in peace without holiness. Holiness is happiness in the bud and happiness is achieved when the bud opens and becomes a beautiful blossom for people to enjoy.

As I have been reminding you in these messages, the fact is that most people in this world aren’t truly happy. They may think they are but they aren’t. They’re looking for it, but apart from Christ, happiness always eludes them. I recently received the following from our friend, Terry Dorset. He calls it “Convenience Store Evangelism.” I was uplifted when I read what he wrote. It inspired me greatly! Terry begins by saying:

“My house is located between a Cumberland Farm convenience store and gas station. I go there almost every morning for a large soda because I prefer my caffeine to be carbonated. I have gotten to know the employees and the regular customers. The other day I went in at 3AM. There were a number of people I did not know. Among them was a young man who had been in the youth group at my former church and I greeted him. He did not recognize me. I could not help overhearing the conversations of the customers. They all had a sad and forlorn look in their eyes. I could not help but notice.

I was so taken by their sadness that I hung back for a few minutes, pretending to look at other merchandise, hoping to speak a word of joy into someone’s life. But the ebb and flow of the conversations they were already having with each other did not afford such an opportunity and eventually they all left the store.

In the days since then I have not been able to get the sad look in their eyes out of my mind. Their conversations, which I could not help but overhear, were filled with sadness. Those precious people need a touch of joy in their lives. They need a life changing encounter with Jesus! Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Jesus came to give abundant life. Jesus came for people just like them. Someone who knows Jesus must introduce those precious people to Him.”

Terry was “so taken by their sadness.” In evangelizing the lost, I believe those precious people need to see the light of His face shine down upon them through a Christian. The Psalmist who was sad because he was going through real hard times knew what to ask God for. This is how he prayed.

“Many say that God will never help us. Prove them wrong, O Lord, by letting the light of your face shine down upon us. Psalm 4:6 (TLB)

You and I must take time to be holy. Of course, we will never become completely holy in this world of sorrows. We must pick up our cross of suffering and follow Jesus as He leads the way into the next. We can experience comfort, encouragement and hope by having the assurance that our suffering will not be wasted. Paul explains in his second letter to the Corinthians.

“… What a wonderful God we have—he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the source of every mercy, ⁴ and the one who so wonderfully comforts and strengthens us in our hardships and trials. And why does he do this? So that when others are troubled, needing our sympathy and encouragement, we can pass on to them this same help and comfort God has given us. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (TLB)

O how I wish the light of His face would shine down upon those unhappy unbelievers in the convenience store and get their attention. My daughter once got the attention of a non-Christian woman who was in the same kind of situation as she was. Out of the depth of her pain and soul, she composed the following and sent it to the woman. She named it “My Fathers Eyes.”

My Father’s Eyes

You wonder what there is in me

That brings my words alive?

My answer may surprise you,

I’ve got my Father’s eyes!

When hearts and souls are suffering,

And tears are locked inside,

I feel the grief and see the pain;

I’ve got my Father’s eyes!

I’m flattered that you see in me the beauty that’s inside,

It reaches out and draws you near;

I’ve got my Father’s eyes!

I want to love as Jesus loves,

and in His strength abide.

My prayer is to reflect His grace,

and have my Father’s eyes.

I hope that you will read these words,

and know I wouldn’t lie:

Look straight at me and see His love,

YOU’RE LOOKING IN HIS EYES!!!

My prayer for each of us is to reflect His grace shining through our eyes as we diligently attempt to evangelize the lost souls the Lord causes to cross our path and enter into our lives.

Lord willing, soon….