1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,600 Welcome to the Rheem Sound Church of God podcast. 2 00:00:02,840 --> 00:00:05,360 Wherever you're listening from, we hope you are blessed by 3 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:08,119 today's message. So yeah, it was good. 4 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:09,120 It was good to be here yesterday. 5 00:00:09,120 --> 00:00:11,480 I want to thank the pastor for allowing me to come and share. 6 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:16,560 I've been blessed to equip over 46,000 people in 4 / 40 states 7 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:18,840 to begin sharing their faith in Christ every day as a lifestyle. 8 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:21,440 And as he said, Sunshine is really my last name. 9 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:24,200 Let's just say it was a great name when I was in sales. 10 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:26,480 It was a terrible name when I was a police officer on a SWAT 11 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:29,840 team in New Jersey. OK, I'm not a minister, don't 12 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:31,760 have any seminary degree, no Bible college degree. 13 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:34,360 God taught me this through the school of Hard Knocks, and I'm 14 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:36,160 blessed to be able to share this a little bit with you today and 15 00:00:36,160 --> 00:00:38,640 challenge you. How many of our football fans 16 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:40,160 people like football. OK, cool. 17 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:41,320 Can tell you a little football story. 18 00:00:43,480 --> 00:00:45,840 One of my older brothers played on our high school football 19 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:49,560 team, and we were the Verona Hillbillies. 20 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:50,760 Oops. That's not what's supposed to 21 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:55,000 come on. There we go. 22 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:57,080 I'm entitling us back to the basics. 23 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:00,160 OK, so he was on the football team, and they won a state 24 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:01,840 championship at Verona High School. 25 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:04,080 Now, we were the Verona hillbillies. 26 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:07,880 You didn't know there were hillbillies in New Jersey, did 27 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:10,520 you? Is this the most politically 28 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:15,800 incorrect logo you've ever seen? As the PC culture came into 29 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:17,280 being, they said, whoa, whoa, whoa. 30 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:18,560 This guy's got a gun on his shoulder. 31 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:19,920 We can't have that. So he took it off. 32 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:22,720 They put a fishing rod on and they said he's got moonshine in 33 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:23,960 front of him. We can't have that. 34 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:25,760 So he took that away and put a puppy there. 35 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:27,480 Then he said he's got a pipe in his mouth. 36 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:28,840 He can't we can't encourage smoking. 37 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:30,960 So he put a a piece of grass sticking out of his mouth. 38 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:33,480 And finally they said, let's just trash the whole thing. 39 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:36,760 And the new logo now has a big V and it just says hillbillies on 40 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:39,160 it. But anyway, between the time my 41 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:42,520 brother graduated from high school and I got into high 42 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:45,720 school, we had amassed the longest losing streak in New 43 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:48,760 Jersey State history. And we brought a football coach 44 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:50,480 in from Erwin. Erwin, TN. 45 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:55,160 His name's Al Rotella. He came into the fall of 1968 to 46 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:58,120 turn our program around. And I remember as a freshman 47 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:01,280 going into the cafeteria and he went around and taught every one 48 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:02,760 of us how to shake hands like a man. 49 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:05,400 Stick your hand in, lock your thumb and shake. 50 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:07,280 None of this dead fish stuff, OK? 51 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:11,640 And then he took us out. We had a week of conditioning at 52 00:02:11,640 --> 00:02:13,640 football camp. That's all we did was 53 00:02:13,640 --> 00:02:16,680 conditioning, nothing else. A lot of limping, a lot of 54 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:19,280 dragging of limbs. OK, but that's what we did. 55 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:22,800 Went back to Verona and we started doing basics of 56 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:25,040 football. We got back to the basics. 57 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:28,200 We learned how to protect the ball, how to hand it off, how to 58 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:31,320 block, all the things you need to do to have a successful 59 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:34,760 football team. And then in the fall of 1968, 60 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:37,800 November of 1968, there was an article written in the Newark 61 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:39,760 Evening News, and here's what it said. 62 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:43,800 The Hillbillies long losing streak of 32 games was the 63 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:45,560 longest in New Jersey State history. 64 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:48,240 And what made losing even worse was the manner in which it 65 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:50,760 happened. Opposing teams ran roughshod 66 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:54,120 over the Hillbillies by embarrassing scores of 75 to 67 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:58,960 nothing, 64 to 661 to 0, and 59 to 6. 68 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:02,520 Things became so bad at Verona two years ago that Sven 69 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:05,840 Peterson, the AD, had to recruit players from the student body. 70 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:08,560 We didn't have too many boys on the team to begin with, recall 71 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:11,760 Peterson, and with injuries and illnesses it left us with only 72 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:14,720 about 16 players. So we had a forfeit our game 73 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:17,040 with Milburn. I really hated to have to play 74 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:19,520 Verona, said one of the more merciful Suburban Conference 75 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:21,360 coaches. I was afraid we'd injure some of 76 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:24,160 their boys. So we punted on 1st and 2nd 77 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:27,640 downs, drew deliberate penalties, used every substitute 78 00:03:27,640 --> 00:03:31,000 we had and just ran simple plays into the line to keep from 79 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:34,240 beating them too badly. Rival coaches still hate to play 80 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:37,000 Verona today, but for a very different reason. 81 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:39,400 Verona. Verona's lost losing streak is 82 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:42,320 all but forgotten. Verona has won six of his first 83 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:45,080 eight games this season. The following year we won the 84 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:48,360 New Jersey State championship. OK, and what happened? 85 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:51,400 Well, we went back to the basics and so first, second. 86 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:54,240 Peter 112 says. Therefore, I will always remind 87 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:57,640 you about these things even though you already know them and 88 00:03:57,640 --> 00:03:59,400 are standing firm in the truth you've been taught. 89 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:01,920 And it is only right that I should keep on reminding you as 90 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:04,320 long as I live. So you believers must not 91 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:07,840 neglect the basics of our faith even as we go on to study deeper 92 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:09,960 truths. And just as an athlete needs 93 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:13,920 constant practice, we need constant reminders of our faith 94 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:16,720 and how we came to believe in the in the beginning in the 1st 95 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:18,959 place. So here's a tough thing, if some 96 00:04:18,959 --> 00:04:21,240 were to ask you what's it like being a Christian? 97 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:25,480 If your answer immediately isn't it's the greatest adventure on 98 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:29,600 planet earth, you are not going back to the basics because when 99 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:31,760 you go back to the basics, that's going to be your answer. 100 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:35,640 You know when I say the word copilot or Co worker, some 101 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:37,680 thoughts come to mind, right? It's a partnership, people 102 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:41,520 working together. When Matthew 28 God gave us or 103 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:43,920 Jesus gave us the great Co mission. 104 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:48,440 Sadly, it's more actively called the Great Omission or the Great 105 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:51,560 Suggestion or the Great Commission for him. 106 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:53,760 But it's not a Commission because we're not involved in 107 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:55,800 it. And every follower of Jesus 108 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:58,000 Christ is commanded to be involved in that. 109 00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:01,280 And a more accurate storm. We talked about that. 110 00:05:01,280 --> 00:05:03,040 So, you know, here's the question, who's that command 111 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:05,720 given to? It's getting to every single 112 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:08,480 follower down through the centuries, including you and me, 113 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:10,600 young and old. There's no excuse. 114 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:14,200 We are part of that Commission and our purpose in life is to 115 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:16,200 know Christ and to make him known. 116 00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:19,200 That's why we're on planet Earth and understand this is a 117 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:21,880 command, not an option for every follower of Jesus Christ. 118 00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:24,000 And sadly, a lot of us aren't doing it. 119 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:27,120 So here's a question. Are you being obedient to this 120 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:31,160 command? Making disciples begins with us 121 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:35,080 actively talking about Jesus. How many people did you talk to 122 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:38,080 about Jesus this week? How many people did you have a 123 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:41,160 little conversation with or they asked you a question and you 124 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:43,840 didn't recognize that that was a divine appointment by a 125 00:05:43,840 --> 00:05:46,480 sovereign God? He constantly connects us with 126 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:50,120 people every single day in hopes that we'll recognize why we are 127 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:52,600 where we are and say this is a divine appointment. 128 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:55,240 Let me tell him about Jesus and let me give him something to 129 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:56,440 read that they can take with him. 130 00:05:56,880 --> 00:05:59,360 You see, if you're not doing this, if you're being 131 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:03,000 disobedient to this command, do you really believe that when you 132 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:05,000 stand before Him at the judgment seat of Christ, you're going to 133 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:07,520 hear him say, well done, my good and faithful servant. 134 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:11,520 See, in Acts 18, Jesus told his disciples that they would 135 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:14,280 receive power from the Holy Spirit to help them tell others 136 00:06:14,280 --> 00:06:18,520 about him and make disciples. God's given us this same power 137 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:21,440 through the Holy Spirit for the exact same Commission. 138 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:24,480 And this verse indicates that the evidence of being filled 139 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:26,920 with the Spirit is the power to witness. 140 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:30,640 So if we claim to be filled with the Spirit, and we really are, 141 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:33,200 we have the power to witness. So why aren't we doing it? 142 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:35,480 What are the fears that are stopping us? 143 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:37,080 And see, there's a problem there. 144 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:39,880 See, a disciple is someone who has moved from being the 145 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:43,480 recipient of the church's mission to being responsible for 146 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:46,000 the church's mission. And Jesus has instructed his 147 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:48,200 followers down through the centuries to evangelize the 148 00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:50,200 world. However, the church in America 149 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:52,760 has largely forgotten this mission because we're giving our 150 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:55,120 attention to lesser things like running the church and raising 151 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:57,640 money and buildings, and we've got all kinds of meetings and 152 00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:01,480 activities, and few people go. Therefore, there's little church 153 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:04,080 growth. And Barna recently did a survey 154 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:06,320 that a survey, I don't know how many 10s or hundreds of 155 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:10,120 thousands of pastors, but they said only 1% of all the pastors 156 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:12,920 surveyed in the United States said their people are very 157 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:16,120 effective at evangelism. That means 99% or not. 158 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:19,320 That's kind of scary. It's a sad fact that only 2% of 159 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:22,840 professing followers of Jesus Christ consistently tell others 160 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:26,160 about him. Where do you fit in As a result, 161 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:29,680 only 1% of all the quote evangelical churches in America 162 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:33,240 are growing numerically because the congregation is being 163 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:35,720 obedient to the commandment of Christ to go and make disciples, 164 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:37,360 which begins with us talking about them. 165 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:41,920 See, healthy churches grow when every person, every member is 166 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:43,920 leading people to faith in Christ and discipling. 167 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:46,800 So we must get back to the basics of what Jesus left us 168 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:48,840 here to do. So the first part of God's plan 169 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:51,320 is to go from the previous stats I mentioned. 170 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:55,160 Most Christians don't go to others with the gospel, and the 171 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:57,600 best definition I've ever heard of successful evangelism is 172 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:00,000 this. Successful evangelism is simply 173 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:03,080 taking the initiative to share Jesus Christ and the power of 174 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:05,680 the Holy Spirit and then leaving all the results to God. 175 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:08,680 It takes all of the pressure off of us and puts it on His Holy 176 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:10,640 Spirit. See, understand, it's not our 177 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:13,440 job to convince people. It's not our job to convict 178 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:15,240 people. It's not our job to convert 179 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:17,400 people, nor is it our job to save people. 180 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:20,960 Our only job is to tell them. And the Holy Spirit does all the 181 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:24,120 hard work. Now we've fallen into rock call, 182 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:26,720 the corporate Christianity trap, because it's easier to serve on 183 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:28,880 a board than it is to go and make disciples. 184 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:30,920 It's easier to give money to send others. 185 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:33,679 But Jesus didn't say write a check and you're absolved of any 186 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:35,760 responsibility. It's easier to leave it to the 187 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:37,320 pastors, right? They're the professionals. 188 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:39,480 They got all the training. Well, I'm living proof you don't 189 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:40,720 need all the training to do this. 190 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:44,200 Well, I average about 35 people a month every month that I share 191 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:46,560 the gospel lift. Last month I shared with 41 192 00:08:46,560 --> 00:08:50,600 people and I am nobody special. Every single person in this room 193 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:53,800 who follows Jesus Christ can do that if you let the power of the 194 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:56,480 Holy Spirit work through you and take away the fears that keep 195 00:08:56,480 --> 00:08:58,800 you from doing this. And so we're so busy with 196 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:02,400 schedules that we forget why we are here to share the good news, 197 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:05,440 effectively keeping the church solvent instead of sinners out 198 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:07,040 of hell. It's easier to do almost 199 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:10,160 anything than to go. But when the church begins to 200 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:13,400 go, it's going to begin to grow. David Platt wrote a book called 201 00:09:13,400 --> 00:09:14,400 Follow Me. I love this book. 202 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:17,320 He said you'd take a big chance if you ignore your assignment 203 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:18,640 given to you from your boss at work. 204 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:20,560 Most of us would never consider it. 205 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:24,960 So how can we ignore the King of the universe who one day return 206 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:26,960 as judge? You read the Bible and believe 207 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:28,520 that Jesus is the only way to heaven. 208 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:31,520 You fear that those who die apart from Christ face a 209 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:34,520 horrifying future. Yet for whatever reason, you've 210 00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:37,080 made little effort towards your family and friends. 211 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:40,240 You have neighbors, coworkers, and others who pass by daily 212 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:42,200 without saying a word to them about Jesus. 213 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:45,080 So you look at your life and you think this doesn't make sense. 214 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:48,920 Either I really either I really don't believe the Bible or I'm 215 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:51,880 extremely unloving because I'm more concerned about being 216 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:54,760 rejected than I am about someone else's eternal destiny. 217 00:09:55,160 --> 00:09:57,080 All of this makes me wonder what we're missing. 218 00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:00,920 When I look at the church today, it seems like we've caught taken 219 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:05,680 the costly command of Jesus to go baptize and make disciples of 220 00:10:05,680 --> 00:10:09,200 all nations, and mutated into a comfortable call for Christians 221 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:12,000 to come be baptized and sit in one location. 222 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:14,680 And if you ask individual Christians what it practically 223 00:10:14,680 --> 00:10:17,800 means to make disciples, you'll likely get jumbled thoughts, 224 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:20,520 ambiguous answers, and probably even blank stares. 225 00:10:20,680 --> 00:10:23,760 We seem to have exempted one another from any responsibility 226 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:27,680 to fish for men, and I'm convinced that the majority of 227 00:10:27,680 --> 00:10:31,480 professing Christians would not say that their purpose in this 228 00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:33,440 life is to make disciples of all nations. 229 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:37,320 Biblically, isn't every single disciple of Jesus intended to 230 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:40,760 make disciples of Jesus? Those first disciples on the 231 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:44,320 mountain in Matthew 28 didn't have to be superficially cajoled 232 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:46,800 into making disciples. They were supernaturally 233 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:49,280 compelled to do it. So what is keeping us from doing 234 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:51,760 it today? I mean every single one of us. 235 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:55,880 So, I mean, so many of us supposed Christians are sitting 236 00:10:55,880 --> 00:10:58,880 in the church on the sidelines, maybe even involved in the 237 00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:02,440 machinery of the church, but not wholeheartedly, passionately, 238 00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:05,600 sacrificially, and joyfully giving their lives to make 239 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:07,800 decisions to make disciples of all nations. 240 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:12,440 Could it be that so many people in the church have settled for 241 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:16,080 superficial religion instead of supernatural regeneration? 242 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:20,360 If you are truly a disciple of Jesus, you'll be supernaturally 243 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:22,400 compelled to make disciples of Jesus. 244 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:26,040 True followers of Jesus do not need to be convinced, cajoled, 245 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:29,040 persuaded, or manipulated to making disciples of all nations. 246 00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:32,080 Everyone who follows Jesus biblically will fishermen 247 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:33,800 globally. So why don't we go? 248 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:36,640 Let me suggest three possible obstacles #1 we got the wrong 249 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:39,320 priorities. We're often focused more on life 250 00:11:39,560 --> 00:11:42,200 chasing the American dream. We've keeping up with our busy 251 00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:44,520 schedule, we got family, we've got work, we got chores, 252 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:47,960 socializing, parties, meetings, sports dinners, recreational 253 00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:50,440 pursuits. And the good things often crowd 254 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:55,080 out the most important things. In John chapter 15, Jesus gave 255 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:58,000 kind of his last will and testament to his disciples in 256 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:00,760 the garden. And Bruce Wilkinson wrote us a 257 00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:02,840 book, a little short, hard covered book called Secrets of 258 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:04,280 the Vine. It's very interesting. 259 00:12:04,680 --> 00:12:07,840 And what he talks about is the vine dresser pruning healthy 260 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:11,280 branches off the vines to make room for greater growth. 261 00:12:11,680 --> 00:12:14,840 And the challenge is look at your life, look at the good 262 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:17,760 things you're doing. Could you prune any of those out 263 00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:21,000 to make room for what's really important, eternally important. 264 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:23,720 So I looked at my life. I was a deputy game warden in 265 00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:26,960 Pennsylvania and I moved from Berks County up to Tioga County. 266 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:30,000 And the the full time officer up there wanted me to be in, wanted 267 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:31,600 me to be one of his deputies really badly. 268 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:35,320 And I said, I'm sorry, I can't. I said, I read this book and I 269 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:37,480 realized this is a good thing to do. 270 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:41,320 We're protecting the wildlife. I'm I'm enforcing the law, but 271 00:12:41,920 --> 00:12:43,440 there are more important things I need to do. 272 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:46,560 And I was taking a lot of time. So I pruned a bunch of things 273 00:12:46,560 --> 00:12:48,360 out of my life so I could make room for what's really 274 00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:50,320 important. And sadly, if we're to raid our 275 00:12:50,320 --> 00:12:53,520 priorities, the Great Commission is very low on our list, if it's 276 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:56,280 even on there yet. It's a command of Jesus to do 277 00:12:56,280 --> 00:12:58,560 it. Why is it the churches will fill 278 00:12:58,560 --> 00:13:02,760 every single seat for Tim Hawkins comedy show, but only a 279 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:05,120 small percentage of the people in the church think it's 280 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:07,920 important enough to show up to learn how to be obedient to a 281 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:11,000 commandment of Jesus Christ? You see, we have apathy. 282 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:13,400 That's another hindrance. There's no real interest in 283 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:15,200 winning souls or the eternal needs of others. 284 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:19,320 Charles Spurgeon said, mark my words, if you are not concerned 285 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:21,160 about the lost, you are not saved. 286 00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:24,640 And he said you have never truly found Jesus until you tell 287 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:26,760 others about him. Boy, that not is scary. 288 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:29,440 If you're not doing this, see if your heart doesn't ache for 289 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:32,000 people who don't know Christ. You may not know Christ 290 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:33,840 yourself. You may think you know him. 291 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:35,920 And how about fear? There's a whole host of them. 292 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:37,880 What if they reject me? What if they laugh at me? 293 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:39,880 What if they make fun of me? What if they won't be my friend 294 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:41,160 anymore? I haven't memorized enough 295 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:42,960 scripture. That person's really smart. 296 00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:45,160 Maybe it'll ask me a question. I won't know the answer to it. 297 00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:47,680 I'm going to look stupid. These are all lies from the pit 298 00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:50,480 of hell, and you can beat every single one of them. 299 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:53,040 And it's not hard to do. I do the exact same training in 300 00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:56,280 Christian middle schools and high schools. 7 year olds and 10 301 00:13:56,280 --> 00:13:58,120 year olds take this training and go out, start sharing their 302 00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:00,560 faith in Christ. It's not that hard to do. 303 00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:05,120 So how do we overcome these obstacles? 304 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:07,480 Well, priorities. We need to refocus on biblical 305 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:09,680 priorities. The Lord has set our example in 306 00:14:09,680 --> 00:14:12,600 Luke 1910 where He said for the Son of Man came to seek and to 307 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:15,560 save those who are lost. If I put my hand up and say I'm 308 00:14:15,560 --> 00:14:18,320 a follower of Jesus Christ, that's exactly what I should be 309 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:21,120 doing, yet we're not doing it. How about the worth of a soul? 310 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:23,400 Matthew 1626? And what do you benefit if you 311 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:25,840 gain the whole world and lose your own soul? 312 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:27,880 Is anything worth more than your soul? 313 00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:30,800 Matthew 419 Jesus calls us to be fishers. 314 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:33,960 As I'm walking out the tarmac towards the towards the plane, 315 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:37,000 the Holy Spirit popped this thought in my head said tell the 316 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:39,600 man in front of you about Jesus and he said I blew it off. 317 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:41,760 He said I don't know this guy. I haven't had a conversation 318 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:42,760 with him all what am I going to do? 319 00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:45,880 Welcome say Sir, Speaking of Jesus, how am I going to do this 320 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:48,920 went up into the plane. God put these two men right next 321 00:14:48,920 --> 00:14:52,080 to each other on the plane. They put their luggage or the 322 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:54,440 computers in their overhead compartments and they sat down. 323 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:58,360 The Holy Spirit saying tell him about Jesus and he says, Lord, 324 00:14:58,360 --> 00:14:59,800 it goes. I, Ivan said 2 words. 325 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:01,880 This guy, the turbo props are starting up. 326 00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:03,280 It's getting really noisy in here. 327 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:04,640 I don't want to yell at this guy. 328 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:07,920 So they take their 15 or 20 minute flight, they land, they 329 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:09,840 take the stuff out of their overhead compartments. 330 00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:12,840 They walk down the aisle, down the steps, across the tarmac. 331 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:14,360 And he dropped dead right in front of that guy. 332 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:18,600 He started to weep and he said, I stood there and begged God to 333 00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:21,040 bring him back so I could tell him they couldn't save him. 334 00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:24,680 We don't know how much time we have left or the people we care 335 00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:26,760 about have left. You know, every one of us has an 336 00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:30,080 hourglass and our sand is slowly drilling out and only God knows 337 00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:32,080 the date and the time that you're going to stand before 338 00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:34,240 him. And the people that we love and 339 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:36,840 are concerned about, we don't know their dates and times 340 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:38,760 either. So there's a sense of urgency 341 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:40,960 here. Obedience demands commitment. 342 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:44,480 First Samuel 1522 What is more pleasing to the Lord, your burnt 343 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:47,520 offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to the Lord? 344 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:51,720 Listen, obedience is better than sacrifice and submission is 345 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:54,560 better than the offering of the fat of Rams fear. 346 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:56,920 Sadly, almost every day we believe the lies of the devil 347 00:15:56,920 --> 00:15:59,400 that you can't do this, everybody can do this, it's not 348 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:01,320 that hard. And God has not given us a 349 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:04,040 spirit of fear and timidity, but a power, love and 350 00:16:04,040 --> 00:16:06,560 self-discipline. So never be ashamed to tell 351 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:08,800 others about the Lord. Do you ever notice that new 352 00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:11,840 converts are often the most zealous soul winners? 353 00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:14,200 You know, I remember I was raised Catholic. 354 00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:17,200 When I heard the gospel at Premarital council in 19. 355 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:20,240 I was a raving maniac. I wanted to tell every single 356 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:22,440 person I knew you can know for sure you're going to heaven. 357 00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:24,080 All these people thought I went crazy. 358 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:25,880 I lost a lot of friends because I had no tact. 359 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:29,080 And then I moved into the secret agent Christian position where 360 00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:31,080 if you give me the secret password and a handshake, I'll 361 00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:32,840 tell you about Jesus. Otherwise, I'm not saying a 362 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:35,400 word. And then I moved into where I 363 00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:38,560 should be, which is just recognizing why I am where I am. 364 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:40,640 I know that when I go out into the lost world, God's going to 365 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:43,120 bring me people every single day, and all I want to do is 366 00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:44,560 plant a gospel seed in their heart. 367 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:47,240 I'm 100% successful. The Holy Spirit takes it from 368 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:49,880 there. Go and tell people what Christ 369 00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:51,840 has done for you. No one can argue with your 370 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:53,960 story. The second part of God's plan is 371 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:55,560 weeping. Jesus wept over the city of 372 00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:57,840 Jerusalem. Yet most of us don't go because 373 00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:00,560 we don't care. Do we care enough to weep for 374 00:17:00,560 --> 00:17:03,440 those who don't know Christ? Jonathan Edwards, probably the 375 00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:05,920 most famous American theologian, described Hill vividly. 376 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:09,680 Think about this, he said. Consider the torment of burning 377 00:17:10,359 --> 00:17:15,240 like a livid or a living coal, not for an instant or a day, but 378 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:20,359 for millions upon millions of ages, at the end of which they 379 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:22,440 would know that their torment was no nearer to an end than 380 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:26,119 ever before, and that they would never, never be delivered. 381 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:28,400 I got loved ones. They're headed there. 382 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:32,520 I've got friends that are headed there, and that breaks my heart. 383 00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:35,080 And I beg God, do whatever you have to do to get their 384 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:37,160 attention. Draw them to yourself and save 385 00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:39,120 them. Do you have that kind of love 386 00:17:39,120 --> 00:17:41,680 and concern for your friends? It should frighten you See, a 387 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:43,880 genuine concerns for souls is needed. 388 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:46,920 Paul had a broken heart for his lost brothers and sisters in 389 00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:50,000 Romans 9/1 through three, he said, with Christ as my witness, 390 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:52,680 I speak with utter truthfulness. My conscience and the Holy 391 00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:55,360 Spirit confirm it. My heart is filled with bitter 392 00:17:55,360 --> 00:17:58,360 and sorrow and unending grief for my people, my Jewish 393 00:17:58,360 --> 00:17:59,960 brothers and sisters. Here's the key. 394 00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:04,680 I would be willing to be forever cursed, cut off from Christ if 395 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:08,200 that would save them. Wow, I don't have that kind of 396 00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:10,280 love. I want to have that kind of 397 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:13,320 love, and I hope you do too. Paul showed a rare depth of 398 00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:16,760 love, and like Jesus, he was willing to sacrifice so others 399 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:19,960 would be saved. How concerned are you for those 400 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:21,680 who are lost in your life who don't know Christ? 401 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:25,560 Are you willing to sacrifice any of your time and of your money 402 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:29,120 and of your energy and of your comfort or safety to see them 403 00:18:29,120 --> 00:18:31,560 come to faith in Christ? These are tears of the heart, 404 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:33,040 seeing the lost as God sees them. 405 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:35,080 The third part of God's plan is sowing. 406 00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:36,840 We don't know. The parable is sowing, sowing 407 00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:38,960 the seed. We don't know the site, type of 408 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:41,920 soil that the seed is being planted on, so we must spread it 409 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:44,080 liberally. Greg Laurie wrote a great little 410 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:45,920 book called Tell Someone. He said, hopefully you've 411 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:48,880 discovered that sharing your faith is not an option for us as 412 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:52,280 follows of Jesus Christ. The Lord has commanded us to go 413 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:54,240 into all the world and preach the gospel. 414 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:57,880 In other words, He's told us to tell someone, and each of us has 415 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:01,040 a strategic part to play. Some sow the seed of the gospel, 416 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:04,040 others water the seed, others have already sown, and even 417 00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:06,560 others reap or other people have already sown and watered. 418 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:08,360 First Corinthians 3, five and six. 419 00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:11,480 I planted a policy word, but God gave the increase. 420 00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:13,440 That's right, God gives the increase. 421 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:15,640 Here's the key. The Lord does not hold us 422 00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:18,760 responsible for how many come to Him through our sharing. 423 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:23,000 That's His job, not ours. We are called to faithfulness on 424 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:25,840 that final day. Jesus will not say well done my 425 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:30,160 good and successful servant, but rather my good and faithful 426 00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:32,400 servant. We are to be faithful to share 427 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:34,520 this message and leave the results in the hands of God. 428 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:37,400 Do you ever notice how hard it is to talk about Jesus? 429 00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:41,120 Oh yeah, God's OK, but Jesus seems to be the threshold that 430 00:19:41,120 --> 00:19:44,240 we have a hard time crossing to say it's Jesus Christ that 431 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:47,200 changed my life. We choke on the name of Jesus. 432 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:50,840 But see for 2000 plus years the order from hell has been edit 433 00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:53,120 out Jesus and he's telling us to do that today. 434 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:55,760 Now the challenge is with those of us who love the name of 435 00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:59,920 Jesus, be as bold to speak that name as those who defile that 436 00:19:59,920 --> 00:20:01,560 name. Unbelievers are bold. 437 00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:04,240 They'll talk about Jesus all day long, irreverently. 438 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:06,600 Isn't time we quit choking on that name? 439 00:20:07,120 --> 00:20:10,520 Jesus is a stranger in our world because we don't talk about him. 440 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:13,360 We don't talk about his love, his life, his personality, his 441 00:20:13,360 --> 00:20:15,320 death, his explosion from the grave. 442 00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:17,680 And if there was ever time for boldness, we are living it 443 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:19,520 today. So then where can we go? 444 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:21,600 Well, there's no limits. We can go to all the world. 445 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:23,800 We go and organize visitation programs. 446 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:26,040 We can go through those who are hurting in hospitals. 447 00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:28,560 These people are often low hanging fruit and their hearts 448 00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:30,760 are ready to hear the good news if we'll share it. 449 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:34,720 What I teach is we can go to people that God brings to us 450 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:37,160 every day. Every person in this room has 451 00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:39,400 multiple divine appointments every single day. 452 00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:41,520 You just don't know why you are where you are. 453 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:44,080 So when someone comes to you and they ask you a question, you 454 00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:45,600 have a little simple conversation. 455 00:20:45,920 --> 00:20:48,400 You need to have your spiritual radar and go, wow, this is a 456 00:20:48,400 --> 00:20:50,920 divine appointment. And be prepared to say something 457 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:52,560 and give them some gospel literature. 458 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:55,520 So you're 100% successful and the Holy Spirit can take it from 459 00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:59,600 there and cause the growth. But the key is to go. 460 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:01,920 Don't leave sharing the gospel to others. 461 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:03,680 Get on. Get in on the excitement and the 462 00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:05,480 blessing. So what will happen if we start 463 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:07,000 going? Number one will become obedient. 464 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:09,480 The guilt of not going will disappear. 465 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:12,880 And you're going to find out that evangelism is the greatest 466 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:16,160 adventure on planet earth. And our fears will be replaced 467 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:18,040 by joy. And you look, you can look 468 00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:21,360 forward to hearing say Jesus say, well done, my good and 469 00:21:21,360 --> 00:21:24,720 faithful servant David Jeremiah was commenting on the on the 470 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:26,520 church in Acts chapter 2. And here's what he said. 471 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:30,000 Evangelism was not a program in the Jerusalem church. 472 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:32,800 It was a way of life. Whenever a group of believers 473 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:36,000 return to their foundation to the basics, they find the 474 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:39,080 strongest connection to the heart of Christ, and seeing His 475 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:41,360 heart on display will draw others to Him. 476 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:45,080 Believers have but a few days to serve the Lord, and then He will 477 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:47,640 return. Whatever they should do for him, 478 00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:50,680 they need to do it now. We need to get back to the 479 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:52,280 basics. There's very little time in the 480 00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:54,000 last days that we're going to have on planet earth. 481 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:55,960 Think about some of these questions. 482 00:21:55,960 --> 00:21:57,920 This is from Kyle Adelman's book One at a Time. 483 00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:01,760 These are haunting questions. Can you imagine how it'll feel 484 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:06,480 to look back at your life and realize they were adventures God 485 00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:09,520 intended for you to have, but you never experienced them? 486 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:13,920 There was a purpose God made you for, but you never lived it. 487 00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:17,360 There were opportunities got in front God put in front of you, 488 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:20,640 but you never took them. There were stories you were 489 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:23,880 meant to be a part of, but you turn and ran the opposite 490 00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:26,120 direction. I don't want that to be any. 491 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:29,560 Anybody have to think on that. So I'm assuming you're a Christ 492 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:31,560 follower and you're going to stand before Jesus at the 493 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:36,080 judgement seat of Christ. He says He gave you something to 494 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:39,480 do, and if you're being disobedient, that's called sin 495 00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:43,760 by not doing it. And you know, God sent one of 496 00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:47,640 his servants, me here yesterday to help equip you to do what he 497 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:51,000 commanded you to do. A lot of people weren't here, 498 00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:53,640 but it's pretty consistent when we do this on a Saturday. 499 00:22:54,120 --> 00:22:56,320 So assuming you're going to stand before Jesus at the 500 00:22:56,320 --> 00:22:58,880 judgment seat of Christ, if you want to hear, well done, my good 501 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:01,400 and faithful servant, then you need to get back to the basics 502 00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:04,040 of what Jesus commanded us to do and left us here to do. 503 00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:06,520 See, I believe there's three kinds of believers. 504 00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:09,200 They're true believers who surrender their lives to the 505 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:11,480 lordship of Christ. They've repented of their sins. 506 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:13,800 They've put their faith and trust in Christ alone to save 507 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:17,160 them, and they've committed to follow him and they follow Jesus 508 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:19,840 when everyone is looking and when no one is looking, then we 509 00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:21,360 have the unbelievers. We all know who they are. 510 00:23:21,360 --> 00:23:23,000 Unfortunately, we have lots of them in our lives. 511 00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:26,440 The third group is the group that I would submit to you, 512 00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:29,520 Phil's churches in America. And this third group is going to 513 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:32,440 hear these 7 scariest words in all the Bible in my opinion from 514 00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:35,560 Matthew Chapter 7 where they stand before Jesus at judgment 515 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:37,960 day and give amazing reasons why you should let them in. 516 00:23:38,120 --> 00:23:39,840 Lord, I cast out demons in your name. 517 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:41,720 I perform miraculous signs in your name. 518 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:45,120 I healed the sick. I served in VBS for 36 years. 519 00:23:45,120 --> 00:23:48,080 You know how hard that is? And he says depart from me. 520 00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:52,840 I never knew you. Now, sadly, I call this group 521 00:23:52,840 --> 00:23:55,720 the make believers, and I think our churches are full of make 522 00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:57,800 believers. And so the question is, which 523 00:23:57,800 --> 00:23:58,800 one of the three of these are you? 524 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:00,240 I don't know this between you and the Lord. 525 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:03,960 The apostle Paul said, examine yourselves to be sure you're 526 00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:05,800 really in the faith. Test yourselves. 527 00:24:06,360 --> 00:24:10,720 And how do you do that? Well #1 acknowledge to God that 528 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:13,320 you're a Sinner #2 repent of your sin. 529 00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:14,960 That's a Greek word called metanoia. 530 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:16,720 It means you change your mind about sin. 531 00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:19,040 You have a heart's change about sin. 532 00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:22,160 From Romans 10/9 and 10 your life is going to change, you're 533 00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:24,440 not going to live like the world anymore, you're going to go 534 00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:27,280 against the flow and your purpose for being on planet 535 00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:29,880 earth will change. What is my purpose for being on 536 00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:31,080 planet earth? Pre Christ? 537 00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:34,120 There's a beautiful wife, a nice family, a nice house, a nice 538 00:24:34,120 --> 00:24:37,000 job, a vacation, good salary and retirement. 539 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:39,520 How did it change? When I became a follower of 540 00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:43,160 Jesus Christ, the Bible said I was a slave to sin and he 541 00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:46,760 purchased me with his blood. Now he, I have a new master. 542 00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:48,760 You know we throw the word Lord around. 543 00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:49,960 Don't you think about what it means? 544 00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:53,160 It's a Greek world called curious and it means owner, 545 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:55,200 master, someone in control of me. 546 00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:58,480 So when you acknowledge Lord in a prayer, you're saying you owe 547 00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:00,840 me Lord, you're in control of me. 548 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:05,240 I'll follow you and that changes your heart and your life. 549 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:06,720 The Holy Spirit comes in and dwells you. 550 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:09,680 He gives you a new title. You become a full time 551 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:13,000 ambassador for Jesus Christ. So you share the gospel wherever 552 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:14,760 he takes you. That's what an ambassador does. 553 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:17,560 He represents someone, in this case the King of Kings and the 554 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:20,080 Lord of Lords. So my challenge to you is get 555 00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:21,960 trained. You blew it yesterday. 556 00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:23,560 If you didn't come, I can't change that. 557 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:26,520 But there's training online. Let me suggest there's a what 558 00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:29,440 real good one on YouTube called 3 Circles in 3 Minutes. 559 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:32,480 Anybody can do that. You watch that 3 minute video 560 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:34,520 and you'll learn how to share the gospel in 3 minutes. 561 00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:36,120 You don't have to memorize any scripture to do it. 562 00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:38,560 It's awesome. I taught some of that yesterday. 563 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:42,480 You can go to Just witnessing by Ray Comfort on YouTube, another 564 00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:45,920 way to go, or we have a a mini mad training out there on 565 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:49,360 YouTube called Make a Difference light version. 566 00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:53,080 That's like 90 minutes. Get trained because if you're a 567 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:55,080 follower of Jesus Christ, you're going to have to stand before 568 00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:58,640 him and give an account and ain't going to be pretty OK. 569 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:01,440 And sadly, I mean, this is epidemic in churches across 570 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:03,840 America. I mean, we average 10% of the 571 00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:06,000 Sunday morning attendance no matter where I go in the United 572 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:08,440 States on a Saturday. It was, it was equally true 573 00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:10,680 yesterday. We had about 10% plus some 574 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:12,520 guests from some other churches that thought it was important 575 00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:14,560 enough to come from other churches to come and be trained. 576 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:17,120 So let me close in prayer and I'm going to turn over the 577 00:26:17,120 --> 00:26:20,280 pastor. Oh, by the way, before I go and 578 00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:22,840 pray, I give these out to everybody. 579 00:26:23,120 --> 00:26:26,240 These are what I call, they're called pretender cards, and 580 00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:29,440 everybody in Tennessee believes they're a Christian unless you 581 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:30,880 ask him a few questions beyond that. 582 00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:33,840 OK. And on the back are 5 fruits 583 00:26:33,840 --> 00:26:35,760 that should be in your life if you're following Jesus 584 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:38,120 biblically. If these five fruits are not 585 00:26:38,120 --> 00:26:40,760 evident in your life, you better make sure you're really saved 586 00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:42,520 because you're probably not. OK? 587 00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:45,320 I have these in the welcome center out there. 588 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:46,760 I've got over 300 of them out there. 589 00:26:47,080 --> 00:26:50,080 Everyone should take one of these, take it home, look it 590 00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:52,920 over, examine yourself to be sure you're really in the faith 591 00:26:53,120 --> 00:26:55,640 and then make a decision. Now, if you realize that I 592 00:26:55,640 --> 00:27:00,200 wasn't saved before I thought I was, I was a make believer, you 593 00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:01,840 need to confess with your mouth. You've done that. 594 00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:05,040 That's Romans 10/9 and 10. You tell your pastor, you tell 595 00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:07,880 your friend, you tell your loved 1 Today I gave my life to Jesus 596 00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:09,880 Christ. It is nothing to be ashamed of. 597 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:11,680 It's the most important decision anybody can make. 598 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:14,120 So these are for free out there. I'll leave them out there and 599 00:27:14,120 --> 00:27:16,320 let me pray. Father, I want to thank you for 600 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:19,400 the privilege of being here and God, I can't examine hearts. 601 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:21,320 Only you can. And you know every single heart 602 00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:24,040 in this room and God, I'm sure your Holy Spirit has been 603 00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:26,120 present here. I'm sure he's spoken to hearts. 604 00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:29,200 And if there are people that are convicted because they are not 605 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:32,600 following Jesus Christ, they realize I am a make believer. 606 00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:34,560 I've been fooling everybody, but I can't fool you. 607 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:36,600 And they want to make it right right now. 608 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:39,440 I pray that they would make that decision with their heart to 609 00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:42,600 repent of their sins, put their faith and trust in Christ alone 610 00:27:42,600 --> 00:27:44,680 to save them, and commit to follow Him as Lord. 611 00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:47,680 And Lord, for those of us who are your children, you've told 612 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:49,760 us in Your word that if we confess our sins, you're 613 00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:51,920 faithful and just and will forgive us and cleanse us from 614 00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:54,080 all unrighteousness. So we need to confess. 615 00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:56,520 We have not been full time ambassadors for Jesus Christ. 616 00:27:56,880 --> 00:27:59,560 In fact, we have not even been part time ambassadors for Jesus 617 00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:01,480 Christ. We've been ashamed to name His 618 00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:04,040 name among the people in our lives that you've connected us 619 00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:06,080 with, and we've been downright disobedient. 620 00:28:06,520 --> 00:28:09,800 So we pray right now that you'll forgive us for this, that you'll 621 00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:12,680 fill us with Your Holy Spirit. We know that power will give us 622 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:17,080 the power to witness and we pray that you will open doors, open 623 00:28:17,080 --> 00:28:19,520 hearts for each of us. Help us to see those doors open, 624 00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:22,040 and then give us courage and boldness to open our mouths and 625 00:28:22,040 --> 00:28:24,320 engage people in conversation and share some literature. 626 00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:26,520 And we're going to thank you in advance for what you're going to 627 00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:30,840 do in Jesus name, Amen. Thanks for joining us today. 628 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:34,640 If you'd like to connect, visit us at greenstownchurchofgod.org, 629 00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:38,160 follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and subscribe to this 630 00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:40,360 podcast so you never miss an episode.