Sermon Outlines

By Frederick F. Schwindt, Evangelist

PASSION TO SAVE SOULS

1. "I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart."
2. "For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh."
3. Two very special characteristics of a successful soulwinner stand out:
   1. Eternal values were pressing upon his soul. That was true of David's attitude toward Absalom, his son - 2 Sam. 18:33. And that was true, in a special sense, of our Lord's attitude toward Jerusalem - Luke 19:41
   2. Self and whatever life may be had in store for one is willingly laid upon the altar of service. That was true of Moses - Ex. 32:32

1. What it is not:
   1. It is not an outburst of blind human emotions.
   2. Neither is it a temporary excitement that lasts until the excitement has died out.
2. What it is:
   1. When sanctified knowledge of values is involved, self-sacrificing love and an undying faith in human values have been unified in a life of service, the soul becomes aflame with passion to save souls.
   2. All this is exemplified in the life of Paul, as shown in our opening text. His passion for souls was not an outburst of human emotions, but rather the effect of his undying love for his kinsmen.
   3. The Bible is full of examples of real soul passion. You will find a mother pleading for her daughter - Matt. 15:22-28; Abraham pleading for Sodom - Gen. 18:18-26; Paul pleading for Onesimus, his spiritual son - Philem. 16-20
3. This soul passion is generated by the Holy Spirit:
   1. It is the Holy Spirit that made John the Baptist a burning and shining light - John 5:35
   2. That is true, also, of the Lord Jesus Christ in the days of His flesh - Ps. 69:9; acts 10:38
   3. It was true of Stephen, who lost his life when preaching the great sermon recorded in Acts, the 7th chapter.

1. The curse of this generation:
   1. Sensual passion seems to be flooding our younger generation. Statistics show that sensual passion has invaded the lives of untold numbers of teenagers.
   2. Worldly amusements are the main attraction of our times. Many millions and millions of dollars are paid at the gateways of modern amusements.
   3. These and other sinful pleasures are, in fact, the greatest dangers facing the church of God - 2 Tim. 3:1-7
   4. These are some of the things against which our Saviour warns us, who live in the last days of world history - Luke 17:26-29; Matt. 24:37-42
2. Our greatest need as a people:
   1. We need church members that are aflame with a passion to save souls. This passion, being generated by the Holy Spirit will prevent the passion created by the lust of the flesh and the pride of life - 1 John 2:15, 16
   2. We need church members that have grasped the eternal values of a soul for which the Son of God dies.
   3. We need a people that realize that we have lived in the judgment hour ever since 1844 and none of us know when the work of judgment will begin with the living.
   4. The burning question is, do I as a member meet the above qualifications?
   5. One might well re-examine himself in the fear of God to know our state of soul passion.