Eight Habits Of Highly Effective Christians II Peter 1:1-10 Habit Number Eight: The Highly Effective Christian Demonstrates Christ's Love In his book, " Conspiracy of Kindness", Steve Sjogren tells the story of Joe Delaney and his eight-year-old son, Jared. As they were pitching a baseball in the backyard, Jared asked his dad, "Dad, is there a God?" Joe responded, "I'm not really qualified to answer that question, son. I only went to church a time or two when I was a kid." After a few more tosses of the ball, Jared ran into the house. When he came out, he had a balloon from the circus and an index card. "What are you doing?" Joe asked. "I'm writing a letter to God." In his elementary handwriting, the boy penned, "Dear God, if you are real and if you are there, send people who know you to Dad and me." He attached the card to the balloon and released it. Two days later, Joe and Jared pulled into a church's car wash. Joe rolled down his window and asked, "How much." "It's free," he was told, "We just want to show God's love in a practical way." Joe asked, "Are you guys Christian?" "Yeah, we're Christians." "Are you the kind of Christians who believe in God?" "Yes, we're that kind of Christians." Joe smiled and said, "I guess you're the answer to one of the strangest prayers God has ever received" (Source.. Sermon by Coy Willey, "Becoming An Inside Out Church") God used a local church's car wash, not only to answer a little boy's unusual prayer, but also eventually lead a whole family to faith in Christ. An act of selfless love, unsolicited kindness, undeserved help whether it is a car wash, a pecan pie or a few dollars in a time of need is all God needs to get some people's attention. Far too many churches are not reaching people like Joe and Jared because they are more concerned about themselves than the community. They are self-centered rather then people-centered, introverted rather than extroverted. Peter instructs us to..... "add to our faith". This morning we learned how we are to add "brotherly kindness" to our faith and then note also in verse 7 that we are to add... "charity". The word translated "charity" is from the greek word, agape. Agape is the kind of love that The Lord loves us with. Tonight we have come to the final habit that we need to be building into our lives. The Habit of.... Sharing Christ's Love. I think it is significant to note that... "brotherly kindness" focuses on our relationships within the family of God. We are to love each other. But.... We are also to love the unsaved. How can we show the unsaved, the Love of Christ. I think first we can show them the Love of Christ by... 1. Building Bridges of Friendship Jesus is our example here. He was known as... " a friend of publicans and sinners!" His love and concern for the sinner was evident. Jesus had a heart for the lost. It did not matter to Him ones background or status. Jesus loved them and treated them as friends. Just think of the different individuals we have record of Jesus reaching out to. 1) Legion... a demon possed man. 2) The Woman at the Well... a woman who was living immorally. 3) Zaacheaus... a crooked, theiving IRS agent. 4) Nicodemus... a well respected teacher of the Law. We like Jesus need to be trying to establish friendships with those who are lost. If we isolate ourselves from those who need Jesus how will we ever win them to the Savior? Daniel Lupton, in his book , "I Like Church But..." tells the story of a formal church in a Midwestern college town. The people dressed elegantly and loved the great hymns of the faith that flowed from the pipe organ. Their standards of appearance and formality were deeply ingrained in the culture of the church. Every September, the church's attendance increased dramatically by an influx of college students. On one particular September Sunday morning, the sanctuary was almost completely filled. The ushers had to help people find what little seating remained available. 10 minutes after the service began, a freshman walked through the foyer. He was scandalously dressed in sandals, shorts and a T-shirt. As a startled usher handed him a worship folder, the strange visitor replied, "Thanks, Bro." As he pushed through the ushers and made his way down the center aisle during a hymn, people stared, but no one made an effort to scoot over and let him have a seat. Finally, he arrived at the front, still without a seat. So, he just sat down cross-legged, right there in the middle aisle by the first pew! Gasps were heard all over the sanctuary. The organist lost her place. The worship leader started the first verse all over again! About that time, Deacon Oakly, a stately senior church member began making his way down the aisle. Everyone thought, "Thank God, for Deacon Oakly, he'll take care of this rude young man." The deacon was dressed in a beautiful navy blue suit and a colorful silk tie. He ambled down to the young man on his cane and to the further shock of the congregation, slowly lowered himself to the floor, reached out his hand and said, "I'm Deacon Oakly, welcome to our church." They sat there on the floor throughout the service. I like that attitude. That man had the wisdom to be a friend. Secondly we can show Christ love by... 2. PRAYING FOR THE LOST REGULARLY A huge factor in evangelism is prayer. Psalm 126:5,6 gives the promise that.. "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." Every Christian needs to understand their responsibility to pray for the salvation of the lost. Do you spend time praying for the lost? Have you called any unsaved persons name before the Lord today? You probably won't pray for the lost unless... 1) You have the right BELIEF Do you believe that Jesus meant it when he said to enter the kingdom of God, a person, "..must be born again" (John 3:3-7). Was Jesus speaking the truth when He said, " I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6) I recently read that when W.C. Fields was on his deathbed, a friend of his dropped by and found him reading the Bible. Suprised to see Fields actually reading the Bible, he couldn't help but ask what he was up to. Fields said, "Looking for loopholes, my friend. Looking for loopholes." I hope you don't believe that there are any loopholes for friends and family members who have not received Jesus Christ. What Jesus has said is true! You probably won't pray for the lost unless... 2) You have the right BURDEN Indifference is one of the greatest hinderances prayer. Our hearts get cold about the eternal destiny of others. We let everything in the world keep us so busy that many Christians neglect time spent in prayer for the lost. Paul had a burden for the lost. In Romans 9:2 he described the deep desire he had to see his hinsmen saved by saying that he had a "..great heaviness and continual sorrow.." in his heart. In Romans 10:1 Paul went on to say, "..my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved." Oh let's love the lost enough to pray for them. Let's.... 1) Pray that they will be exposed to a clear presentation of the gospel. Look at Romans 10:13-14:17 2) Pray for the Lord to use the Holy Spirit to convict them of their sin . Look with me at... John 16:7-8 3) Pray for those who minister the word. In 1 Thessalonians 3:1, Paul asked the Thessalonians to "..pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified.." 4) Pray for the Lord to give you opportunities to spread the gospel. That brings me to the final thing I want to say. Let's show them Christ love by... 3. TELLING THEM HOW TO KNOW JESUS AS THEIR SAVIOR. It is not enough for us to be friend the lost. It is not enough to pray for the lost. We need to be willing and ready to speak to them about Jesus Christ. In the Gospel of Mark we have a story that I mentioned earlier of the conversion of Legion... the Demon Possessed Man. Note MARK 5:18-20. Compare that wit LUKE'S account. LUKE 8:38-40. Let tell those around who need Jesus what great things He has done.