Grace and peace to you through Jesus Christ who removes all our fears and showers us with compassion. Amen.

Romans 9:1 I speak the truth in Christ-- I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit-- ² I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. ³ For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, ⁴ the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. ⁵ Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.

Heavenly Father, bless the ministry of our church and each of as individuals as we speak your living-giving good news so that faith may be strengthened and the lost may be saved. Amen.

Remember Steve Austin – the Six Million Dollar Man? "We have the technology; we can rebuild him – faster, stronger, and a better actor!" Well maybe that last part was beyond the technology of the time – but that fictional story involved giving a man enhanced body parts to make him better than he was.

Today some of that dream has become reality – we now have artificial hips, cochlear implants to give deaf people hearing, and even synthetic eyes to give the blind sight. They’re not perfect but they would seem like miracles only a generation ago. You can also enhance your mind by taking certain herbs that increase memory, supposedly – I can’t remember their names – but…

There is such a thing as the enhanced heart as well. I’m not talking about your cardio-vascular system, but the spirit – and this enhancement comes from God himself. God takes our heart which is filled with love only for yourself and your needs and he makes your heart better, stronger, more loving. He gives you a God-enhanced heart that has love for other people and especially for their eternal souls.

If we are going to be a caring church, caring as individual Christians, one of the very first things we must do is to care about those who are without Jesus Christ, those who are lost. We pray that we can be like Paul and have a God-enhanced heart for the lost: having a heart for unbelievers who are lost despite their many advantages in coming to faith and a heart that reaches out to unbelievers with love.

Paul was a Jew and had been a Pharisee, yet when he was converted to Christianity he began preaching a message about Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ, the Promised the Messiah. Christ as the fulfillment of the Old Testament sacrifices and ceremonies seemed to pose a threat to the orthodox Jewish community and their customs. They viewed Paul as being anti-Semitic.

Actually, nothing was farther from the truth. Paul had a heart for his fellow Jews: "I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel." Paul’s heart bled for his fellow Jews. The reason for his anguish is that his own people had rejected Jesus of Nazareth as the Savior of the world.

This caused the apostle fits. When he considered what his fellow Israelites had given up, it nearly drove Paul mad. His heart ached for these people! They were so close and yet so far! He talks about the gracious blessings God had given to these special people: "Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.

Two men were in a boat on the river leading to Niagara Falls. Suddenly, they found themselves out of control and being swiftly carried by the current towards the falls. A safety line was floated out to both men. The first man simply reached out and grabbed, trusting it would save him. The other man saw the rope, but at the same instant he saw the rope, a log floated near him. Thoughtless and confused, the man grabbed the log instead of the rope. It was a fatal mistake. Both men were in imminent peril. The one was drawn to shore because the rope was connected to it, while the other man, clinging to the loose, floating log, was swept away in the foaming current.

Faith has a saving connection with Christ. Christ is on the shore holding the rope, and as we grab hold of it with the hand of our trust in him, he pulls us to shore. Any attempt to look to anything else for salvation is merely a floating log that offers a feeling of buoyancy while allowing one to drift away from salvation. Everything else apart from Christ are the disconnected logs that have no hold on the heavenly shore. Christ is the only way.

Many ropes were cast out to the Israelites. Paul lists them. They were the chosen people of God. This was simply a gift of God’s grace. They had a unique place in God’s heart; calling Israel, "his son." God was especially present among his people as the "glory of the LORD" led this nation through the wilderness as a pillar of fire and smoke. His presence filled the tabernacle and later the temple. We learn that this unique presence of God was, in fact, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, in visible form. All this was meant to encourage the people and lead them to trust their Savior-God.

God made numerous covenants and promises to his people. He said, "I will be your God." No doubt Paul had in mind the wonderful gospel covenant the LORD made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – the patriarchs or forefathers – promising that all nations on earth would be blessed. This was the promise of the Savior. No other nation stood before God as the Israelites did at the foot of Mt. Sinai and heard the very voice of God as he spoke his good and just commands to them.

No other nation worshipped the way Israel did. In fact, they worshipped the living God in a building that he himself designed. God gave them a detailed worship ritual. It included animal sacrifices, a part of the Old Testament gospel promise that pointed their attention to the future sacrifice of the Lamb of God, the Savior of all. The greatest advantage and highest privilege God had given was that they could trace the human ancestry of Christ Jesus back to themselves. Jesus, the Savior of the world and the Son of God, had been present in their midst numerous times in the Old Testament as "the angel of the LORD" and then he graced them with his presence of living among them for 33 years, with his three-year ministry as the climax!

All those safety lines that were cast out to the people of Israel! God had a heart for these people. Yet, they rejected and spurned him. They chose to turn to the floating logs of their own logic and sense of righteousness. As a nation, Israel had turned from God’s grace and to their own ability to save themselves.

The Jews had despised their spiritual advantages and were lost in their unbelief. Paul was frustrated that they had thrown all this away. People in America have also been given countless spiritual advantages: Bibles everywhere, Christian bookstores, sermons, Bible classes, and devotions on the internet; there are about 141 Christian churches in Racine alone; we live in a country of free speech and freedom of religion. Yet so many don’t take advantage of these freedoms and privileges.

We, too, can become frustrated that so many despise God and his blessings. There are many reasons why people have rejected these spiritual advantages and remained in their unbelief. Today we aren’t discussing why they don’t believe, but why aren’t we doing more to help them believe.

We pray that God gives us an enhanced heart that reaches out to unbelievers with love. Paul mourned for his lost countrymen: "For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel." That’s a pretty strong statement – Paul is saying he would be separated from Christ if his Jewish brothers could be saved.

I’m not sure I could say that – but it reminds me of what Moses said to God in Exodus 32 – when God was ready to wipe out Israel, Moses told God to wipe his name out of the book of Life, but spare Israel. Moses had a God-enhanced heart as he spoke this deeply felt desire – just as Paul did. He felt so much love for the people that he would do anything, the worst thing, to see them saved. This is the heart of God – and God demonstrated it himself. Think about it – Jesus willingly suffered hell so we wouldn’t have to. He was separated from God so we could enjoy God’s fellowship. God the Son was cut off from the Father and the Holy Spirit for our sake, for the sake of Christ’s brothers and sisters.

Do you have this kind of love for other people? Do you have a love for lost souls like Moses, Paul, and Jesus did?

It’s easy for us to think of the heathen, the pagans, the unbelievers living in dark and remote corners of the world or in undeveloped third world nations. But are you aware of the lost condition of your neighbors, your co-workers, and your relatives? Are you aware of what they really believe? Do you know where they will spend eternity? Every person you come in contact with has a basic need – a need to meet and know Jesus Christ as Savior. Without that they are hopelessly lost.

Our calling and purpose as followers of Christ is to love God completely, to love self correctly, and to love others compassionately. We are to have a heavy heart until we see the lost come to Christ.

Do you have this kind of love for the lost? Many think that the opposite of love is hate. Actually, the opposite of love is apathy, indifference. George Bernard Shaw once said that "the worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them." Are you loving or are you indifferent? Love will find a way. Indifference will find an excuse.

Jesus once commissioned his new disciples: "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men." Unfortunately, too many of us Christians are no longer fishers of men but keepers of the aquarium.

Does your child have the kind of love for his or her sibling to say to them, "You go outside and play. I’ll clean your room."? Probably not. Do you have the kind of love that says, "Here’s my $100 putter, I’ll use your $3 putter from Goodwill. Probably not. But hopefully you have the kind of love that says, "I’m increasing my offerings. I’m sending more mission money to the Synod. I’m going to make it a priority to speak to my lost friend and relative about Christ. I’m going to give more money so my church can better share the gospel. I’m going to give up more time to teach VBS and clean the school and sit down with my difficult family member, all so more people can learn about Jesus the way I have. I am willing to give up my life for someone else. I’m even willing to give up heaven – if that were possible – to save someone else’s soul."

That may sound like you are willing to give up a lot. And it is. But it is nothing compared to what Jesus gave up for you. He gave up a home of peace and comfort and praise in heaven. He was surrounded by saints and angels and yet he came to earth to be spat upon and cursed. The Creator of the Universe lived among his creations. The perfect, sinless Son of God lived among lepers, tax collectors, prostitutes and Pharisees. The eternal Son of God allowed himself to taste sin, to suffer and die. He gave up everything so we could enjoy everything. He suffered hell so we could enjoy heaven. It is all about love.

If only all of us as Christians had this kind of love and concern for lost souls. There would be no need to preach about love. There would be no need for an evangelism committee or mission festivals. Our Synod’s worker training schools for pastors and teachers would be filled, and there would be more than enough funds to send their graduates around the world.

In Matthew 25:6,10 we read: "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut." I believe that we are living on the edge of that midnight cry. For many, the door will soon be shut. Now is the time - the time for those without Christ to come to Christ! Now is the time - the time for those who know the Savior to proclaim Christ! Now is the time - the time to go to a lost world with the love of Christ! Do you have a God-enhanced heart like Paul? Broken and burdened for the lost? Do you care? Do you love? Will you go? Amen.

1 John 3:23 And this is [God’s] command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Amen.