21 So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23 He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” 25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” 27 They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. 29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him. John 8:21-30
A. The Urgency of the Gospel Work in Jesus: Matthew 9:35-38
1. Compassion for the unsaved
2. Action toward the unsaved
3. Prayer to reach the unsaved
B. The Urgency of Gospel Work in the early church
Early church methods
1. They went into the world: 1 Thessalonians 1:8
2. They had personal conversations with individuals: Acts 16:11-30
3. They practiced gospel hospitality in homes: Acts 10; Acts 16:31-34
C. Seeking a Heart of Urgency for Gospel Work
1. Believe the message of the Gospel:
personal encounter: John 6:66-68
2. Realize the work of the Gospel is commanded:
personal responsibility: Matthew 28:19-21, Acts 1:8
3. Accept the impossibility of the task:
personal inadequacy: 2 Corinthians 4:7-12
4. Give oneself over to the work of prayer:
personal intercession: Colossians 4:2-4
5. Refuse to be passive in the work of the Gospel:
personal intentionality: 1 Corinthians 4:20