THINK ABOUT IT              6-9-25

“I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:”Romans‬ ‭9‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭

After reading those words you don’t have to wonder what made Paul the great man he was. He was willing to go to any length and make any sacrifice to bring people to Christ. It was the was the same with other great servants of Christ. Consider these quotes:

David Brainerd, one of the most celebrated Christian missionaries, was labouring among the poor American Indians on the banks of the Delaware River, and he once said these words: “I care not where I live, or what hardships I go through, so that I can but gain souls to Christ. While I am asleep I dream of these things. As soon as I awake the first thing that is on my mind is this great work. All my desire is the conversion of sinners, and all my hope is in God”. 

Listen to Whitefield: “Oh Lord, give me souls or take my soul!”. 

Praying Hyde, missionary to India: “Father, give me souls or I die”. 

John Henry Jowett, that great preacher, said these words concerning passion for souls, it sums up what we have read in verses 1, 2 and 3 of Romans 9. Listen to it carefully, and if you are concerned about your lost passion for lost souls, listen to it and put it into practice: “We can never heal the needs we do not feel. Tearless hearts can never be heralds of the passion. We must pity if we would redeem; we must believe if we would be ministers of the saving blood. The disciple’s prayer must be stricken with much crying and many tears. The ministers of Calvary must supplicate in bloody sweat, and their intercession must often touch the point of agony. True intercession is sacrifice, a bleeding sacrifice”. Think about it! – HDS

David Stone  

Lakeway Baptist Church  

Humble, Tx

THINK ABOUT IT              6-8-25

Do we have a passion for lost souls, or have we lost the passion? Can we say with Mary Booth:

‘Oh! for a heart that is burdened!
Infused with a passion to pray;
Oh! for a stirring within me;
Oh! for this power every day.

Oh! for a heart like my Saviour,
Who, being in agony prayed.
Such caring for others, Lord, give me;
On my heart let burdens be laid’.

‘My Father, I long for this passion,
To pour myself out for the lost –
To lay down my life to save others –
To pray, whatever the cost.

Lord, teach me, oh teach me this secret,
I’m hungry this lesson to learn,
This passionate passion for others,
For this, blessed Jesus, I yearn.

Father, this lesson I long for from Thee –
Oh, let Thy Spirit reveal this to me’.

Think About It

David Stone  

Lakeway  Baptist Church   

Humble,Tx

THINK ABOUT IT                    6-7-25      
POLL BY RAINER

By almost any metric, the churches in our nation are much less evangelistic today than they were in the recent past. In my own denomination ( Southern Baptist), we are reaching non-Christians only half as effectively as we were 50 years ago (we measure membership to annual baptisms). The trend is disturbing.

We certainly see the pattern in the early church where “every day the Lord added to them those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). In too many of our churches today, the congregations are reaching no one for Christ in the course of an entire year.

The Poll

I conducted an unscientific Twitter poll recently to see what church leaders and church members thought of this trend, My specific question was: “Why do you think many churches aren’t as evangelistic as they once were?”

The responses arrived quickly and in great numbers, both in public tweets and in direct messages to me. Indeed, I was still receiving responses four days after I sent my Twitter question.

The Results

The response was highly informative for me. Here are the top fifteen responses listed in order of frequency:

1. Christians have no sense of urgency to reach lost people.
2. Many Christians and church members do not befriend and spend time with lost persons.
3. Many Christians and church members are lazy and apathetic.
4. We are more known for what we are against than what we are for.
5. Our churches have an ineffective evangelistic strategy of “you come” rather than “we go.”
6. Many church members think that evangelism is the role of the pastor and paid staff.
7. Church membership today is more about getting my needs met rather than reaching the lost.
8. Church members are in a retreat mode as culture becomes more worldly and unbiblical.
9. Many church members don’t really believe that Christ is the only way of salvation.
10. Our churches are no longer houses of prayer equipped to reach the lost.
11. Churches have lost their focus on making disciples who will thus be equipped and motivated to reach the lost.
12. Christians do not want to share the truth of the gospel for fear they will offend others. Political correctness is too commonplace even among Christians.
13. Most churches have unregenerate members who have not received Christ themselves.
14. Some churches have theological systems that do not encourage evangelism.
15. Our churches have too many activities; they are too busy to do the things that really matter. – Thomas Rainer

Dear friends, those of us who were in the ministry 50 years ago can attest to how things have changed. Simply put, things today are not as they should be. May God help us to change our ways that we might experience the fullness of God’s blessings. Think about it! – HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
Humble, TX. 77346

I want to remind you that our Evangelism Workshop, with Bro. Murdoch, will begin this evening. In light of that Bro. Kenneth spent a good part of his sermon Sunday night on the subject of prayer. I hope you listened.

The success of these classes depends on prayer above all else. I have confidence that Bro. Murdoch will do a great job conducting these classes. And I suspect that good questions and comments will be heard. I’m also praying that our attendance will be high. But without prayer we can’t expect success. We must pray, and we must pray earnestly. James 5:16 says “…..The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

The Puritan Thomas Brooks said, “Cold prayers are as arrows without heads, as swords without edges, as birds without wings; they pierce not, they cut not, they fly not up to heaven. Cold prayers always freeze before they reach heaven.”

THINK ABOUT IT              6-3-25

DOWN ON YOUR KNEES

For 20 years before moving to Texas I preached revival meetings. For most of those years I carried a copy of the following song in my Bible. While waiting to preach I would often read this song to myself. I did so because I didn’t want any unconfessed sin in my heart that would hinder me. Here’s the song, written by James E. Orr in 1936

1. “Search me, O God, and know my heart today,
   Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray;
   See if there be some wicked way in me;
   Cleanse me from every sin, and set me free.
2. I praise Thee, Lord, for cleansing me from sin;
   Fulfill Thy word and make me pure within;
   Fill me with fire, where once I burned with shame;
   Grant my desire to magnify Thy name.
3. Lord, take my life, and make it wholly Thine;
   Fill my poor heart with Thy great love divine;
   Take all my will, my passion, self and pride;
   I now surrender, Lord, in me abide.
4. O Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee;
   Send a revival, start the work in me;
   Thy Word declares Thou wilt supply our need;
   For blessings now, O Lord, I humbly plead.”

That song blesses me because it reminds me that I don’t always know myself as well as I think I do. I need God’s help to see what He sees in my heart. Thinking all is well doesn’t mean it is.

There is an old song that says, “You got to get down on your knees to find out where you stand”. That’s good advice. We ought to do that everyday. Being comes before doing, so to become the person I ought to be I need to recognize and repent of my sins. Perhaps this would be a good time for you to get down on your knees. Think about it! HDS

The best way to stay on your feet is to get down on your knees.

David Stone  

Lakeway Baptist Church   

Humble, Tx.