Caring for Souls

Take your Bibles if you would please and turn to Ephesians chapter six. Verses 19 through 22 are our text for today. And I'd like to preach to you a message entitled "Caring for Souls." Caring for souls is something that our high priest and shepherd cares about intensely. And we see it lived out in the life of Paul. Before we read Ephesians 6, let's start with verse 18 and all the way down to 22. I'd like to first of all mention how impressed I am with our own flock and how well we care for one another. There are those within our own fold who have some pretty deep needs, and our care team and our people have really stepped up and ministered well. And I'm so encouraged to see and to hear the testimonies and the ministry going on.

You're going to see here in the text where Paul really cares. And in this section there is a bit of a transition to where Paul gets a bit personal, and he is not one to refer to himself. He doesn't like putting himself out there, and by no means near a pedestal. But here he has the freedom to simply open up somewhat and you get a glimpse of his heart for people. And we're going to dive into that and capitalize on the idea of caring for souls.

Now read with me if you would in Ephesians. Let's start in verse 18 and go all the way down to verse 22. Ephesians 6:18 says, "Praying at all times with all prayer and petition in the Spirit and to this end being on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf." And so at this point Paul opens himself up as one who needs prayer. And so he's asking for prayer for himself as well. "On my behalf, that the words may be given to me in the opening of my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I" — another reference to himself — "I am an ambassador in chains, so that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly as I ought to speak. But that you also may know about all my affairs" — so now he's getting a little bit more personal here with his own affairs and what he is doing. And so the ministry that he's doing and also the needs that he has there in prison are spoken to in verse 21: "But that you may also know about all my affairs and how I am doing — Tychicus, my beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make everything known to you. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts."

And so caring for souls is deduced by looking at the fact that Paul cares about what the Ephesians care about. Paul has planted this church in Ephesus and he spent time there discipling the church, leading people to Christ and personally discipling them. And he agonized and spent a lot of energy day and night — his own resources, his own funds, his own time. He did not shrink back from declaring the truth and he spent as much as he possibly could in discipling them.

2 Corinthians 12:15 helps us to see the heart that Paul has. And no doubt his heart was poured out for the church there in Corinth but also there in Ephesus. 2 Corinthians 12:15 says, "I will gladly spend and be fully spent for your souls." And so again, the title is "Caring for Souls." Paul was primarily concerned about souls and he was preaching the gospel to save souls and he was preaching and teaching to sanctify souls. He demonstrates these priorities and the Ephesians were to take on likewise. So Paul was praying along the way and also caring along the way. Even through all of life's strains, Paul did not stop caring for people.

Oftentimes the first thing to go is your concern about somebody else when you're going through pain and suffering. But I'd encourage you to look at this staggering ministry from the Apostle Paul, having been imprisoned from AD 60 to AD 62 — two years, Acts 28:30–31 says. He is ministering while imprisoned.

Now you don't have your favorite foods in your favorite bed. I'm sure there are perhaps even bugs to keep you up at night, so you're losing sleep and it's uncomfortable. There's nothing there in a prison room to cater to his comforts, which Paul would probably be used to. But yet the prison epistles were written — Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. The man is productive even in prison. And I want us to think through the lens of our own uncomfortable circumstances and yet at the same time see that we need to be caring for others at the same time. Don't lose the big idea here — that we are Christians, and Christians are self-sacrificing.

And so while we're fighting the good fight, while we're enduring life's trials, while we're enduring opposition, while we're trying to make a paycheck and raise a family, while we are warning against wolves, dealing with wolves, and warring and fighting against wolves, we're still studying our Bibles and evangelizing and discipling and dealing with the devil's temptations in our own lives, while we're standing firm in the faith, while we're remaining faithful to a local church, while we're trying not to be too busy in this world, while we're trying to keep our sanity and emotional stability and not worry and not be given to anxiety, while we're working on taming our tongue and guarding our hearts and being wise with our time, while we're just balancing all of the responsibilities and obligations of life — do not forget that Paul, dealing with all of these types of things, was a man of prayer and care, even while he was suffering. This is staggering when you look at the facts here. And so this is by way of encouragement to be able to observe what Paul is doing.

And so he's getting very personal with this glimpse into his humanity. In the text in Ephesians 6:19, you see him mention "pray on my behalf." And then in verse 20, he says, "I am an ambassador in chains." And then in verse 21, he says, "That you may know how I am doing." And then in verse 22, "I have sent Tychicus, that he may be of encouragement to your hearts." This glimpse into his humanity is really encouraging.

And so Paul was perhaps one of the strongest and smartest examples of a human being that we can see in the New Testament. And he endured more than most any other Christian we know of in ministry. Paul was perhaps a larger-than-life figure. And sometimes it's easy to take that kind of man and say, "Well, wow," and excuse yourself. But I want to say to you that Paul had limitations just like we do. He had aches and pains and trouble with his eyesight. I mean, with his own feet — probably not bare feet, but his own feet — he walked through the huge mountains of modern-day Turkey, all the way to Rome, all these different places, all the travels, all the agonizing things that come with travel. Temptations go through the roof when you travel. Aches and pains go through the roof when you travel. You don't get the kind of sleep that you do in your comfortable home when you travel. Paul was on the road all the time ministering, and through this humanity, he's still pouring himself out.

And he deals with the crazy Corinthians. He deals with the bewitched Galatians. He deals with the lying Cretans. He deals with the two-faced Sadducees. He deals with the Pharisaical Pharisees. He deals with the wretched man within himself. You see a humanity here. I think Paul was perhaps hard on the outside, but soft on the inside. Paul was soft on the inside for the Gentiles. Paul was soft on the inside for his fellow kinsmen. The Bible says in Acts 26:16–18 that he had a ministry to the Gentiles. And then as well, he had a ministry to his fellow kinsmen in Romans 9:2–3. He had a soft spot for people is what I'm saying — not only the Gentiles and not only his kinsmen, but for people. And so caring for souls is what the Apostle Paul is about here.

And as he is wrapping up this letter to the Ephesian church, you're going to see three things today that I want to capitalize on in brief. He's a man of prayer in verse 18, and he's also proclaiming the gospel in verses 19 and 20. And then as well, he is caring for needs in verses 21 to 22. And so how do you care for souls? Prayer, proclaim the gospel, and care for their needs.

This section helps us to see that Paul's heart was huge for people. People were a priority for the Apostle Paul, and he was one who loved people, and therefore people loved Paul. You can see this in person when you attend celebration-of-life services. If a person loves people, there's a lot of people that come to the funeral or the celebration of life. If a person does not love people and does not interact with people, not a lot of people come generally.

In Romans 16 — turn if you would please. I want you to see how many people Paul has personally ministered alongside, personally discipled, and personally loved. You're going to see 27 different people, several different churches, all kinds of brothers, and all kinds of households. In Romans chapter 16, I'll just read some of the first few verses here, and we'll get a glimpse of the humanity of Paul and how he truly cares for people.

Romans 16:1 says, "Now I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchreae, that you receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints." Here he is asking the church in Rome to care for her, and he also says that you can help her in whatever matter she may have need. Obviously Paul knew something that was a need in her life, and it was up to her then to engage with the church and for the church to meet some needs here. "For she herself has also been a benefactor of many and of myself as well." And so she has served alongside Paul in this church. Verse three says, "Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who for my life risked their own necks, to whom not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles, also greet the church that is in their house."

And you're going to see here: greet, greet, greet — verse six, greet; verse seven, greet; verse eight, greet; verses nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen — greet all of these wonderful people. And I'll spare you the humor as I would not try to pronounce all of these names, but I don't see any of these names used oftentimes in our vernacular, so I'll just say all of these wonderful people. And you can observe that just in one place of ministry, Paul invested himself wholeheartedly in a ton of people. Not only did he know these people by name, but he had spent time with them. This is superbly impressive.

Now you also see another glimpse into Pastor Paul's heart there in verse 17. Skip down to verse 17 with me and you will see how protective he is in caring for their safety. In verse 17 he says, "Now I urge you" — these are strong Greek terms — "I urge you, brothers." So you have an urging, a sense of importance here. This is not really asking, this is telling. This is telling with all of who Paul is, all of what he means to them. He's pulling on the brotherhood between them all. He says, "I urge you, brothers, to keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and stumblings, contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them."

So not only are we to care for one another's souls, but we're also to keep our eyes on those who cause dissensions and stumblings contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. Listen — if someone is intentionally doing damage to the local church, you must turn away from them. You do not give them the right hand of fellowship. You expose that. And you must protect the flock in this way. This takes someone who has a good amount of wherewithal. And Paul is saying, "What you have there in the church of Rome is precious — protect it. I truly care for the souls there at the church. And I don't want to see anybody fall away from Christ because of a wolf being allowed to come in among you and eat sheep. I don't want to see anyone harmed. You have the responsibility to care for each other there in Rome. So care for one another's souls, look out for each other."

And so this is a point from which we can see into a pastor's heart and how they also shepherd like Paul and care for the flock.

We see some more clues into the humanity of Paul in Philippians chapter two. Turn there with me if you would. And this is my way of being concerned and merciful. In Philippians chapter two, verses 19 and following, you'll see that Timothy and Epaphroditus also have caught this heart for caring. And you know that people catch some things and they're also taught some things. Perhaps it's better said — more is caught than taught. And so your example really matters.

Here you're going to see two disciples having taken on Pastor Paul's heart for caring for souls and putting it into practice. And this is incredible. In Philippians chapter two, verse 19, it says, "But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be in good spirits when I learn of your circumstances. For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned about your circumstances." So Timothy is genuinely concerned. No doubt he took that on because of being beside Pastor Paul and doing ministry together. In verse 21 it says, "For they all seek after their own interests" — so most everybody else is self-centered, is what Paul's saying — "not those of Christ Jesus," he's saying. In verse 22, "But you know of his proven worth and that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father. And therefore I hope to send him immediately as soon as I see how things go with me. And I am confident in the Lord that I myself also will be coming shortly. But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker who was also your messenger and minister to my need, because he was longing for you all and was distressed." So Epaphroditus was distressed and Timothy was concerned. He was distressed because he had heard — he was distressed because the Philippians had heard that he was sick.

So Epaphroditus is sick and he heard that the Philippians heard that he was sick, and he was concerned because they were concerned. He was distressed about the fact that they may be worrying about him. In verse 27, "For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow." And so Paul had a lot of concern about Epaphroditus, but God had mercy on both of them. Isn't that neat? And then in verse 28, "Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned." And so here Paul says that he wants to be less concerned by way of sending Epaphroditus over there to Philippi. And then as well in verse 29, "Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and hold him in high regard, because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to fulfill what is lacking in your service to me."

This is impressive because you see Timothy is concerned, you see Epaphroditus is distressed, and you see Paul is concerned. You see their care for souls. And now to do some brief original word work to get the full picture: the word means not only to care, but it means to care with earnest zeal. It means to have a watchful interest over the souls and the lives of those around you. It means to take haste to care for the person in need. And it means to take some forethought in their life so that you can be of assistance. And then mercy means compassion. Mercy is the outward working of being concerned. And so Paul here has two young disciples who have both caught what it is to be a true minister — to care, and to do something about it. To care and to have mercy. To be concerned and merciful. You see, being concerned is an inner thing, but being merciful is an outward thing. To be concerned inwardly is to be contemplative, but to be merciful is to express what you are inwardly dwelling on, to do something about it. And so these ministers — they're not all talk, they're action as well. They care on the inside and they prove it by their actions.

So Timothy caught on to the same authentic care and ministry, and Timothy was concerned about the Philippian circumstances and he wanted to go and do something about it. By way of application: ministry is distributing God's mercy. And you can be male or female, young or old, and be a minister of the gospel. You can administer God's grace and mercy by way of praying and contemplating and then going and doing something to aid the need. Ministering is God's mercy and concern because He is ultimately the one who is shepherding. Ministering is God working His concern and mercy through you to people. Isn't that interesting? And so you are just a vessel. It starts with God. We love because He first loved us, and the love that flows through us is from God, and so is the concern that we have in our hearts, and so is the mercy that flows through our lives.

In Matthew chapter five, verse seven, Jesus started His first sermon by addressing this idea of mercy — this outward deliverance of God's grace and mercy. And He said, "Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy." And if you love to receive mercy and grace and forgiveness when you fall short and when you mess up, you had better be very gentle and kind and forgiving and merciful with others when they mess up.

Jesus quoted Hosea in Hosea 6:6. He said in Matthew 9:13, "But go and learn what this means: I desire mercy." And so this is to say, "I want you to show mercy. Go and learn this. Go put this into practice. Forget your sacrifices. Forget all this other type of religious activity. I don't need that," Jesus says. "I want you to be My hands and feet. I want you to go and display Me. I want you to help. I want you to be a solution to the problems that you can help with. I want you not only to be concerned and talk about the needs, I want you to actually go and do something about it. Distribute Me to them. Distribute mercy. Distribute grace. Distribute."

Matthew chapter 18, verse 33 says this, in a form of a question: "Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave in the same way that I had mercy on you?" Rather convicting.

And then as well, you see Paul speaking to the Thessalonians in that he cares for souls like a mother. Turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter two. 1 Thessalonians chapter two, verses seven and nine. Paul likens himself as a mother. And we just saw how Timothy equated himself as a child and Paul as a father. Now you're going to see Paul likening himself — for our sake to be able to understand ministry, to be able to understand how to care for souls — he likens himself as a gentle mother. 1 Thessalonians chapter two, verses seven, eight, and nine: "But we proved to be gentle among you. As a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children, in this way, having fond affection we were pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become beloved to us. For you remember, brothers, our labor and hardship — how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you we proclaimed to you the gospel of God."

And so Paul mentions here that he is gentle like a mother, and the gospel is not going to be discredited through any type of harshness. Remember that — people will discredit the gospel if we are short and sarcastic and pointed and harsh. We must be gentle when someone opens their heart to hear what you have to say. That open door is not going to stay open if you're harsh. And so Paul was like a nurturing mother in regards to sharing the gospel. Gentleness and the gospel are inseparable. You cannot separate the two. They are inseparable.

But as you continue to read in this passage, you see that not only is Paul caring for souls like a nurturing and gentle mother, but he's also caring like a father. In verse 10, keep reading with me in 1 Thessalonians 2:10: "You are witnesses, and so is God, of how devoutly and righteously and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers, just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory."

This is superbly important to catch on to. In verse 11, he uses two words here — exhorting and encouraging. A father exhorts and encourages. This word "exhort" means to call to one's side. And so a father, acting fatherly, will call his children alongside of him and say, "Watch me as I do this. I want to show you how to do it." And so this is a teaching moment — I want to show you. This will exhort them. And then he goes on to encourage them, which is not only to console them in whatever they may be dealing with, but also to stimulate their walk in Christ. So a father will bring his children close, show them the way, the truth, and the life, and then stimulate them to continue walking in the Lord. Verse 12: "So that you would walk in a manner worthy of God who calls you to His own kingdom."

And so like a father who teaches and instructs well by bringing one close and exhorting them and consoling them in their hardships while also stimulating their walk in Christ — remember this is contingent upon the father's blamelessness, his character. You see that in verse 10: "You are witnesses and so is God of how devoutly and righteously and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers." This is kind of like stacking the emphasis of how he was devout, righteous, and blameless in his behavior. And so caring includes both motherly and fatherly skills and character traits. Remember that. Caring is both mothering and fathering in many different ways.

You see now back in Ephesians that Paul cared about what the Ephesians cared about. And so caring about others means that you're going to care about what they care about. You may have little interest in what they're actually concerned about, but Paul, having known that they were concerned about his welfare, steps into this personal aspect and puts on display and shares with them what he's doing and how he's doing — only because they care about what he's doing. He never would have brought it up had they not been concerned about him. He would never have displayed what he's doing and how he's doing. That's not important. What's important is their souls. What's important is the gospel. What's important is the gospel making progress. But yet he cares about what they care about. And so he goes on to share with them, and he says that Tychicus is going to come and share with them even more.

Now come next week if you would and hear an entire message based upon the trustworthy servitude of Tychicus. A lot of rich information to come next week about the behind-the-scenes service of this wonderful servant named Tychicus.

Here in verse 21 in Ephesians chapter six, you see, "But that you also may know about my affairs" — what I'm doing, what I'm actually working on, and how I am doing. And so I want you to know that Paul cared enough to understand that if he did not speak to the discouragement in their heart, he would not be caring about their heart. How do I know that he knew that they were discouraged? Well, I'm so glad you asked. Look in the text if you would please in verse 22: "I have sent him" — referring to Tychicus — "to you for this very purpose, so that you may know our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts."

They needed encouragement. That is to say they were a bit discouraged. And if you have a loved one about whom you do not know how they are doing, are you not in need of knowing how they are doing? Lest you lose sleep, lest you become concerned, and lest over a long period of time you actually grow a bit disheartened or discouraged. Your mind seems to run off into different speculations: "I wonder if he's suffering. I wonder if he's nursing a stab wound. I wonder if he's being fed." In this type of Roman imprisonment, Paul would have been dependent upon gifts and people coming and giving him food just for him to be able to eat, because they do not provide those types of things in a Roman prison. It's not like cushy American prisons — three-course meals a day, a bed, air conditioning, TV, you can even study. It's not like that. And so the people here in Ephesus would have been concerned and in need of encouragement. Paul knew that, and so he's going to send a personal man named Tychicus to reveal to them how he is personally doing.

Some things, some conversations simply have to be done in person. A letter will not suffice. There's more that needs to be said and communicated than what you can put into print. And so Paul knew this and he gives the Ephesian church the best that he possibly can — a download of himself inside of Tychicus to come and impart how he is doing. This is important to realize because Paul is doing the best that he possibly can to care for the souls in Ephesus while he's also suffering. He's thinking of others. This is incredible. So Paul is not an out-of-touch apostle who stays in like the green room or the celebrity room and doesn't care about people. He is in touch and personal and even reveals his humanity.

And so the three points that I want you to capitalize on and take home are these: biblical care, number one, means that you're going to be a person of prayer. We've already mentioned this, but by way of repetition. Number two, you're going to proclaim the gospel. And then number three, you're going to practically be of help.

Prayer in verse 18 is very specific: "Praying at all times with all prayer, all kinds of prayer and petition in the Spirit and to this end being on alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints." So Paul is a man of prayer and he is given adequate time to lift up the Ephesians. I would dare speculate that there are another 27 people in Ephesus that he is praying for. I would dare presume that not only does Paul have 27 people in Romans chapter 16 as an example of one who is personally engaged in people's lives, but also there in Ephesus as well. And now he is utilizing his time — ha, play on words, you like that pun? He's doing time. He's utilizing his time to pray. And this is encouraging because he is thinking of others while he's going through a trial. Don't waste trials.

Oftentimes when we are hurting, we pray the best prayers. Oftentimes this world that seems to be spinning out of control comes to a screeching halt when you are going through it — you just kind of stick to what needs to be done and everything else is on pause. Don't waste the hardships. I like to say it like this: God doesn't waste a single tear. If not a sparrow falls without God's control, then not one tear comes from your eye outside of God's control, and He doesn't waste trials. He doesn't waste suffering. He doesn't waste anything. Look at what has come from the two years of Paul at Rome — the prison epistles, four letters. It's incredible how productive Paul has been simply by being faithful. And I encourage you to be faithful through the hardships.

Not only to be a person of prayer, but also number two — proclaiming the gospel. Biblical care is not only being a person of prayer, but it is also proclaiming the gospel. It's very important to realize that it is the gospel that meets the desperate need of humanity today. It's very important to realize that you must share the gospel.

Listen, when I first came by way of a call to preach, in view of a call at Powers Drive Baptist Church — and many of you know that we ended up selling that facility and merging in with Beulah Baptist Church, and so now we're here and we're all growing together — at Powers Drive, Dr. Hicks, whom I followed, wanted the vote to be unanimous. Oh man, he just wanted so much for it to be unanimous. He cared so much for that dear flock, for the church, for myself, for my family, and he wanted it to be just glorious. And so I came and preached in view of a call and there was one no. And Pastor Everett, a retired pastor at that time who taught the Sunday School class, said, "I voted against you, but that don't mean I don't like you." So anyway, he really wanted to pastor that church and he could have. He had a wonderful baritone voice, a magnetic personality, and some trials in his own life. His wife could never come to church because they had a daughter who had some things — I'm not sure if it's Down Syndrome or a little bit more — to where she could not leave the house. And so for Pastor Everett's entire ministry, his wife was never able to come to the church. And she was locked in the house, and old Pastor Everett used to tell me about that and pray for her and those types of things, and he would give her some bereavement time and send what time off he could. But he always pastored small churches and was full-time in the medical industry.

So I bring him up to tell you this. One time we made a home visit together. We cared about a family who was losing one of their own. Bob Langley was a member of the church, so we went over to the Langley household, and boy was it full of people. And so I was newly on staff — Pastor Everett knew the family, knew where the house was — jumped in together by his invitation, we go over there. And Bob Langley is passing away — a war hero and a church hero — and he's passing away. And the family is in distress. And I saw Pastor Everett care for their souls in a way that was staggering. Though he was suffering, though he was tired from a full-time job, though his wife was overextended, though things were straining on his own personal side, though he had been spent completely out of energy — God distributed His grace and mercy through him in that room that I'll never forget. I'm telling you, he stood up and he said, "Hey family, I'd like to share just a couple things." And he opened his Bible and he read a psalm and he expounded upon that psalm. And then he prayed with that family. And then he erupted into song.

Glory fell.

He ministered to the family in such a wonderful way. And I could tell that from the depth of his agonizing soul, God was using the pain to distribute mercy. God used Pastor Everett, and I saw there that we really need to be available to go and to care for souls. And so Pastor Everett not only shared scripture, but he also proclaimed the gospel.

In this passage where Paul is caring for souls, you see that we just spent a good amount of time examining what it is to know what the mystery of the gospel is. And so when you go on a hospital visit or when you go on a home visit, we must do three things: we must read scripture, pray and proclaim the gospel, and then sing together. Some of you say, "Sing?" Oh, hey — if all you can do is read a hymn, God will work through that theological hymn to encourage. I promise. God does those types of things. It triggers a wonderful melody within the person's soul. Play it on your phone, sing along to it. Our family one time went and did this very same thing — read some scripture, prayed for the needs of the moment, and then sang the doxology. This is a mini church service. This is truly ministering.

I got a text from Mike Sampaio as he was in the hospital in Brazil. He did the very same thing — he opened up and shared the gospel with a room full of people. Glory fell. God worked. And many others can testify to the same thing. And so we must be people of prayer if we're going to biblically care, and then as well proclaim the gospel. Proclaiming the gospel is essential.

And then number three is to practically help — to be of practical help. Caring is truly contributing. And if you really care, then you're going to do what you can. And as you contribute, you are actually doing something. You are putting your hands and feet to the plow and working in ministry. Sometimes it is something simple and sometimes it's something very, very difficult. But God will equip you to be able to do what you can, and He'll get the glory and you'll receive the benefits from it.

Listen to me: good intentions do not yield results. You see that Timothy and Epaphroditus both caught both the concern and the mercy aspects of pastoring, of shepherding, of ministering. Yes, we're concerned for one another, but we also live it out through distributing grace and mercy. And that, my friends, is where the rubber meets the road. That is where the joy sets in. That's where glory is experienced and that's where people's needs are met. And so good intentions do not produce results, nor are they rewarded. So we can recognize a problem and work towards being a solution. Talking about resolving must lead to doing something. And so we must not skip from one problem to the next to the next to the next and just talk and talk and talk and be all talk and no walk. We must be authentic ones who are the hands and feet of Christ.

And now as I wrap up, I offer you a warning: contributing without proclaiming is a complete waste of time. If you get wrapped up in doing and doing and doing and forget about proclaiming the gospel, you're wasting time. Anybody can do that. Man's greatest problem can only be fixed by proclaiming the gospel.

Take for example a medical doctor who gives morphine to a patient with abdominal pain. Now he may soothe the agony of the one who is experiencing severe abdominal pain. He may be very nice and have great bedside manner. He may be very sympathetic to the person who is in pain, prepared for the suffering and providing immediate relief by giving morphine to one who is in pain. If the doctor gives morphine to one who has abdominal pain and is nice about it and sympathetic and caring and providing immediate relief — I'm saying to you that that is medical malpractice. He's no better than a criminal if he is going to give morphine to someone who is in pain. Hmm, why? Well, to remove the symptom without discovering the cause, at minimum, will make things worse. And if it's something like an acute appendix problem, there could even be death. And so the medical doctor is culpable for the death of a patient if he gives morphine to someone with stomach pains too early. And so we have many Christian criminals.

We have Christians who are guilty of gospel malpractice. I warn you not to be guilty of gospel malpractice and neglect the source of the problem. Do not be ones who are constantly addressing symptoms and trying to solve problems and never proclaiming the gospel. Never getting to the source — original sin. Never getting to that point. And so to treat the symptoms of life is to reduce ministry to moralism — to help in their marriage, to help in their parenting, to help with their budget, to help with their aches and pains, to help with broken relationships, to help them get off drugs, off pills, off porn, off drinking and gambling. If you just do that, then all you're truly doing is bathing a pig, dressing up a pig, putting makeup on a pig, putting band-aids on a pig as the pig goes to slaughter. You must get to the heart of the issue.

And so there is this twofold side of ministry that is essential. If you're going to truly care, not only are you going to be a person of prayer, not only are you going to do that, but you're also going to proclaim the gospel and then also do good deeds — meeting needs and sharing Christ. Not that the person whom you are visiting is always one who is lost and headed to hell and whether or not you share the gospel is a life-or-death situation. But here's the thing — you need practice in sharing the gospel. And then as well, oftentimes there's someone else in the room or within earshot who is going to hear the life-saving message of the fact that Jesus Christ, the righteous One, gave Himself on behalf of you who would repent and believe the gospel.

1 Timothy chapter two, verse four says that God desires all men to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of truth. And so the gospel brings fallen men to the full knowledge of truth. There's a lot of explanation that needs to be done in proclaiming the full knowledge of truth, but I'm going to tell you this — it is the gospel that pierces the heart. It's the gospel that changes the heart, according to Acts 2:37. It is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ that helps someone to see that Jesus is both Lord and Savior, that He's both Lord and Christ. In fact, in Acts chapter two, verse 36, we see that this same Jesus whom you crucified — by way of application, that means you, you crucified Christ, it was your sins that put Christ on the cross — this same Jesus whom you crucified is both Lord and Christ. Lord means Master, it's God, it's an all-powerful One. And then Christ means the anointed Messiah, the Savior.

Today's plague is trying to separate Christ into these two categories — saying "I believe that Jesus Christ is my Savior" and yet living out from underneath the Lordship of Christ. Do they have Christ? I'm saying to you that Acts 2:36 is very clear that if you have been saved by Christ, then He is both your Savior and your Lord.

And if you do not proclaim the gospel clearly and express the full knowledge of truth — 1 Timothy 2:4 — then you are simply dressing up a pig for the slaughter. You are allowing them to go down into the gates of hell. We must proclaim the gospel. Paul is a man who truly cares for souls. He cares for souls enough not only to pray but to proclaim the gospel. And so we need to get very accustomed to regularly proclaiming the death and burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and call people to repent and believe the gospel.

And so you should have in your Bibles marked out 1 Corinthians chapter fifteen, the first four verses — death, burial, and resurrection — so that you can read this and explain it. And then as well a verse like Mark chapter one, verse fifteen, that's easy to go to, that says, "Repent and believe the gospel." And so when you are with someone, if you truly care for their soul — if you're making an at-home visit, if you're visiting the hospital — pray, read these scriptures, proclaim the gospel, and worship your King, and do what you can to meet some needs. This is what it is to be a true Christian. And I want us to get away from yielding to weak Christianity that does not proclaim the gospel regularly.

I affirm those who regularly proclaim the gospel — so proud, so happy — but it's our goal as a church to have everyone ready to share the gospel at all times, because you're going to meet and see lots of lost people that we won't. And so as ones who are to care for souls, we cannot be guilty of helping and helping and helping and helping and helping, being a good neighbor and loving and loving and loving and loving and loving, and not getting to the very center of what is important.

In fact, in the book of Titus, good deeds are the platform for sharing the gospel. Good deeds, your ability to go and help and be a solution — to establish a relationship with someone — is your credibility. Your behavior, your Christlikeness, is your credibility that opens a heart's door to be able to give you a moment in time to share the gospel. And so this is Paul's unfolding of the mystery of the gospel — praying for the Ephesians, meeting needs, and sharing Christ. I hope this has been beneficial for us today.

Let's pray together. Dear God, thank You for the opportunity to serve on Your behalf as also an ambassador. And thank You, dear Jesus, for the conviction to pray for people, to proclaim the gospel to people, and to meet people's needs. This is soul care. And the prayer is, as we continue to extract truth from this text, that You would align us with Your will. May Your glory abound through us to others. Help us, dear God, I pray, to not be ashamed of the gospel, but to proclaim You — Christ as King, as Savior. I pray, dear Jesus, that we would be all about You and not about the things of this world. Forgive us where we have lost opportunities to share the gospel. Forgive us where we have shrunk back and not proclaimed the gospel. And I pray that You would light a fire underneath us that we would be flaming evangelists — not only ones who focus on studying the Bible, but that we live it out and proclaim Your word.

Lord, I thank You, dear Jesus, for our evangelists in this congregation who go out in public and hand out tracts and have gospel conversations and preach the gospel. I thank You, dear Jesus, for our members here who are praying and working on even family members to be saved and are looking forward to the next opportunity to further the gospel in their hearts and minds. And I pray, Lord, that You would work through them. And I pray, dear Jesus, that You would help us to please You in this way, because You came to seek and to save that which was lost and we want to be about Your purposes.

Lord, we love You, and we ask that if anyone here has never been saved, that Your Holy Spirit would draw them closer to You, that they would confess You as Lord and Savior, that they would repent of their sin, that they would turn to You forever. Help them to repent, to turn from their wicked ways, to be sorrowful for their sin, and to cry out to You and to confess You as Lord and Savior. Lord, help them not only to be saved but to follow You in believer's baptism, to proclaim Your gospel again publicly through the act of being baptized underneath the water — symbolizing that they were once dead and now have been raised to newness of life. And I pray, Lord, that they would join a dear church and be committed to that, and that they would invest their lives in serving You through a local church, to be underneath the accountability of eldership, to be encouraged by the saints, to pray for the saints, to put Your number one entity first — that is the church. And I pray, Lord, not only that they would do that, but that they would focus in their own lives on how to study Your word, to be nurtured, to be rebuked and corrected and encouraged by Your word personally, and that they would continue in Your word as John 8:31 says and so prove that they are disciples. Then, Father, as You continue Your wonderful sanctifying work in their life, that they would go forth and evangelize and disciple and make disciples unashamedly. Lord, we do love You. We thank You, Father, for Your blessings upon us, and we ask all of these in Your Son's name, amen.