If For Only A Few

Two things are changing. And you know, people people, you

can read books on digital and digital formats and things like

that. I still prefer to read a book

out of a actual page off of an actual page then on something

digital but I know that it's still the word of God whether

it's on your phone or whether it's in the pages of a book.

But there's just something special about being able to

carry the word of God With Us and some something of a

testimony of that as well, right?

When people see you walk out your front door in the morning

carrying rival. There's not really much of a

question Where you're going right?

They don't think. Oh, I'll bet he said it down to

the bar for the afternoon, right?

They say he's all he's going to church, right?

Same thing. When you dress up and walk out

the front door, you know, I've said this many times, I hope the

neighbors aren't listening, but if they ever wanted to Rob us,

they would know exactly the time to do it because we walk out the

door. At the same time, every Sunday

morning, every Sunday night, every Wednesday night, if they

wanted to Rob us, they sure would know how to do it.

So, but it's a testimony, it's a testimony and so I love to see

the Bible's here. And Acts chapter 16, by the way,

Acts 16 · chapter mention

when I started getting all these alerts and messages from

everybody about about the Facebook being hacked and all

the stuff that was that was going on and there and

everything else I was in the middle of working on my message

here and I ended up taking two, three, four hours, trying to

deal with this whole situation and trying to get it resolved

and everything else. And I think it's just the devil

trying to get the way. Storm going on somewhere.

Good but except sit maybe see what I mean.

The got the devil doesn't want you to hear this message this

morning. I think.

But Acts chapter 16 is a pretty familiar story to us especially

Acts 16 · chapter mention

as we get near the end of the chapter.

But I want to, I want to start back a little bit farther than

maybe we normally would to kind of give you a little bit of a

background in to this passage course it.

We're talking about Paul here, Paul and Silas.

But it says in verse number 16 and it came to pass, as we went

to prayer, a certain damsel possesses Zest with a spirit of

divination met us, which brought her master's much gain by

soothsaying. The same followed, Paul and us

in Christ saying, these men are the Servants of the most high,

God would show unto us, the way of Salvation.

And this did, she many days but Paul being grieved turned and

said, to the spirit, I command thee, in the name of Jesus

Christ to come out of her and he came out the same hour, by the

way, these soothsayers, these fortune-tellers.

And these, you know, people who do Magic and everything else.

They're not you know they don't have some special powers other

than the powers that are given to them by Satan and I do

believe that some of them do have powers.

I do believe that some of them can tell fortunes and some of

them can do those things but doing it in the power of Satan.

And so that ought to be a warning to any of us, that would

even think about getting involved in all of these

different these things. And you know, I hear people

talking about their what their sign, what is the sign, the

astrological sign or something like that astrology.

Angie is all part of that whole Mystic.

You know, demonic religion, if you will.

And all it's all done through the power of Satan.

And it's and, and this passage proves that here's this woman

who had the who had the spirit of divination.

She was able to tell the future, she was able to give people

their fortunes and she's following them around,

essentially mocking them. These guys are giving you the

way of Salvation, huh? And Paul finally turned around

and cast the spirit out of her eyes.

A demonic Spirit, but verse R19 and one her master's saw that

the hope of their gains was gone.

They caught Paul and Silas and Drew them into the marketplace

unto the rulers and brought them to the magistrate saying, these

men being Jews, do exceedingly trouble, our city and teach

Customs, which are not lawful for us to receive neither to

observe, being Romans, and the multitude rose up together

against them and the magistrates rent off their clothes and

commanded to beat them. When they had laid many, Types

upon them, they cast them into prison charging, the Jailer to

keep them safely who having received such a charge thrust

them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the

stocks. Now, let me give you a little

bit of background into this. They were so mad at Paul and

Silas for what they had done in casting out this demon.

I these people obviously were pretty well known in the city.

They probably had plenty of money that they got from this,

that they made off of this girl. And now they're there.

Their livelihood has gotten their business is gone because

now this girl Have the ability to tell fortunes anymore,

doesn't have the ability to predict the future anymore.

There was so mad. Not only did they condemn them

to be whipped, they rip their clothes off to whip them and

they beat them. And then they said you put these

guys in the jail and you mr. Jailer, you better, make sure

they don't get out. Now, we're not talking about, I

mean, I know our prisons in America are not nice, but

compared to the prison's back, then you might as well be

staying in the Hilton. These were not and it's so by

them being cast. Into the inner part of the

prison more likely. It was like a dungeon.

There would have been no light. It would have been Mucky and

nasty and probably, you know, rats running around and who

knows what other kind of Filth in the inside of that prison and

to make sure that they definitely couldn't get out.

They put their feet in stocks, which means after they had been

whipped and who knows what their backs looked like that, that

point they're sitting on the ground more than likely with

their backs and leaned up against the wall.

In the middle of this prison, not a great situation if you're

Paul or Silas but they were going to make sure that they

didn't get out. But the Bible says verse number

25. And at midnight Paul and Silas

prayed and sang, Praises unto God, and the prisoners heard

them. And suddenly, there was a great

earthquake. So that the foundations of the

prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors

were opened and everyone's bands were loosed, and The Keeper of

the prison awaking out of his sleep and seeing the prison

doors open Drew out his sword and would have killed himself.

Supposing that the prisoners had been fled.

By the way, if he was charged with keeping this prisoners and

one of those prisoners, even one of those prisoners escaped, the

penalty was death. And so, rather than going

through all of that public humiliation and the public

hanging or however, he was going to be executed.

He decided he was just going to end it right there for himself,

because all of these prisoners are gone verse 28, excuse me,

but Paul cried with a loud voice saying, do thyself, no harm for

we are all here, then he called for a light and sprang in and

came, trembling and fell down before Paul and Silas and

brought. Them out and said, sirs, what

must I do to be saved and they said believe on the Lord, Jesus

Christ. And thou shalt be saved and thy

house. And I started thinking this week

about what Paul must have saying, they're in that

jailhouse to have caused that Jailer to want to know the same

savior that they knew. What must they have said in

their prayer? Because he didn't get saved,

because he was grateful for what they did in getting the

prisoners. Now, I'm sure that helped he was

glad that he didn't have to take his life, but he didn't fall

down on his knees and say, oh, you're such a wonderful nice

guy. You saved the prisoners.

What do I have to do to be saved?

No, he got saved because of the witness in the testimony of Paul

and Silas before the earthquake. Could it be?

I started thinking about this, could it be that the Lord

allowed Paul and Silas to go? Through all of that, so that one

Soul could be saved. I think it's very possible.

That's exactly what it was think about everything that they went

through, they were whipped they were beaten, they were putting

this prison, they were putting stocks.

Sure. Paul had times when groups of

people accepted Jesus Christ, but most of the time Paul LED

people to Christ one or two at a time.

Look at, look at Philip the Evangelist.

He was sent out into the middle of the desert because there was

one Ethiopian eunuch who needed to know Jesus Christ as his

savior He suffered, Paul suffered, all the hurt, all the

heartache, the imprisonment he was willing to do it for only

just a few people to accept Jesus Christ, it was worth it to

him. And let me say this, we've been

laboring in this Vineyard for a while now.

And we've put a lot of time and effort into trying to reach the

souls in this area and we've been able to see several of them

get saved, and we're thankful for that, but it would be great

to see multitudes, you get saved.

Absolutely, it would be great to see something like, Pentecost,

where 3,000 people get saved at one time, or just after that

were 5,000, people got saved. But I want you to know this, all

of the effort that we put in when we were still at the hotel

and many of you were not there when we were at the hotel but we

were there for two and a half years and we moved over into

this building. We've been here for three and a

half going on for years. And all of the effort of putting

the the time and the money and everything into this building,

to get it, what it is and all the effort that's going to come,

when we end up in another place, wherever that happens to be,

it's worth it. All if one Soul comes to know

Jesus Christ as their savior, I wear a life-saving station or at

least we should be. This is a lighthouse.

Obviously, we come to church because we need it for

ourselves, we need the growth. We need to be challenged

spiritually. We need all of those things, and

that's a huge part of what church is about edification and

all of those things. I'm not saying that that's not a

part of it, but we, as the church, when we leave, this

building are still the church. This is not the church.

This is where the church is housed.

We are the church, and when we leave this place, our job is to

go out and be Lifesavers. Our job is to go out and bring

people into the life-saving station and even if one person

gets saved all the effort all the time, all of the

embarrassment, whatever you want to say, is all worth it.

If just, one Soul comes to know Jesus Christ as their savior,

I've only just a few come to know, Jesus Christ, it'll be

worth it all. We all have that responsibility

to win, souls to Jesus Christ. I said this many times before,

but if the whole point of us, being saved, was for God, to

take us to heaven. The moment, we accept him as our

savior, then he would have done that at the moment, we got

saved. He has a job for us to fulfill

on this Earth. He has a commission that he's

given to each one of us as part of the church and that is to go

and tell them that they need. Jesus Christ as their savior, we

want to be as effective for crisis, we can be while We're

here on this Earth. As a church as families as

individuals. I hope you.

I hope that's the, the mindset that you have.

But there are a couple things that we need to realize that

will help us be more effective. And if the title of the message

is simply this. If for only just a few We need

to do the things that are necessary to be effective for

the cause of Jesus Christ. If for only just a few, let's

pray. And we'll look at a few things

here. This morning, Father, we love

you and we thank you so much for your goodness to us.

Thank you for the fact that we can be here this morning and

that we can look at these things in your word.

I pray that it would be a motivation and a challenge to us

to do everything we can to win the souls around us.

God, they're in your hands. But the responsibility is ours.

We must tell them. We must go.

I probably should help us to not fail in that responsibility and

God made a message this morning challenge us to do everything.

We can to win souls for Jesus Christ with the time that we

have left. Well, thank you for what you do

in Jesus name. Amen.

The first thing that that we must understand.

If we're going to be more effective at reaching Souls,

that we need to get a picture of how bad he'll really is.

I think. The same way that we view

Heaven. A lot of times we don't we don't

really have a true view of what heaven is going to be.

Like we don't have a true view of what God is like and what his

Holiness really is. We don't we don't have that true

picture and I think we fail to give God the glory in so many

ways. And we fail to understand the

the Majesty of God in so many ways because we are finite.

And because we do have a small view of what heaven is.

I think our view of Heaven should be bigger.

Our view of God should be greater, but I think we do the

same thing when it comes to hell.

Yeah, hell is a horrible place. You don't want to go there.

If everything that the Bible says about hell is true and I

believe it is. Why would we not believe that?

But if the Bible, if everything the Bible says about hell is

true, hell is a horrible horrible place.

The Bible says there's weeping and gnashing of teeth, there's a

lake of fire that burns with fire and brimstone everybody

ever experienced brimstone. I did when I was in, when I was

in school, we had a chemistry class and we had a big chemistry

lab and sulfuric acid is. What was is essentially what

Brimstone is? That's the by Brimstone is the

Bible word. Sulfuric acid is the common

chemical term today, but we had this big hood that you could

work with some of these chemicals and watch how they

interact with each other and everything else.

But they it was a it was It was a big glass case and you would

stick your hands into it through these glove things.

So that way, you know, the the smell or the anything couldn't

escape into the room and it had a big suction thing on it,

that's sucked it right outside will somehow when we were doing

this experiment with some of the sulfuric acid, some of it

escaped into the room and I'm telling you, there were some

people that were standing closer than I was and, and they really

got it, but it literally is like breathing in pins and needles.

It feels like you're trying to swallow a buck.

Set of needles. That's what it that's when it

feels like and can you imagine being in a place where there is

a lake of fire that burns with fire and brimstone?

Hell is a horrible horrible place.

And what I'm telling you this morning is that you need to

imagine your loved one in hell. Imagine them in that place.

Somebody that you're that, you're related to somebody that

you work with somebody that you claim to be a friend to

somebody. That is even an acquaintance.

Imagine imagine even your worst enemy in a place like that.

I couldn't imagine. You know, sometimes you hear

about such a gruesome murder or something like that that takes

place and you wonder, how could somebody do that to another

human being? How can you treat somebody that

way? But now I imagine that person or

any person somebody that you know in that Lake of Fire.

Looking into the fire. I was looking in the fire in my

backyard. Not all that long ago and and

and I started to think, you know, some people are going to

go to a place just like that and even worse.

This just a little fire in my backyard but some people are

going to spend an eternity in that place.

There are no exit signs. There are no fire escapes and

held there is no way out. And if they go there because you

failed to tell them that, that's where they're going to spend an

eternity, they will be there forever.

The rich man and Lazarus, we have the example of them.

And, and he looked up and he saw Lazarus and Abraham's bosom.

And he said, if you could just dip the tip of your finger in

water, and give me just one drop on my tongue.

I'd be so grateful. He didn't ask for a glass of

water. He didn't ask for a stream

flowing into hell or anything like that.

He wanted one drop of water. That's a horrible that place is

William Booth. He was the founder of the

Salvation Army. He said, if we could put a

Christian in hell for 24 hours, it would make a flaming

evangelists out of everyone. I know it's kind of a little bit

of a play on words, but if we could see how bad he'll really

is, we would tell everyone. We know you don't want to go

there, you don't want to spend an eternity in that place.

Imagine your neighbor in hell. Imagine your coworker inhale.

Imagine your brother or your sister.

Or your father or your mother, or your grandkids, imagine them

in that place. They'll never Escape.

No amount of embarrassment or shame should ever keep us from

telling others about Jesus Christ.

I've told you this story before about Edward Kimball he was just

a layman in the church but he taught a Sunday school class and

he got a burden for the boys that he taught in that class

there were teenagers young men Edward.

Kimball decided that this young man that had been attending his

Sunday school class needed to know Jesus Christ as his Savior

and he didn't feel like he was a great speaker, he didn't feel

like he was even great at giving out the gospel, but he walked

over to the place where this young man worked and it was a

little shoe store. He walked into the back where

this this young man was fixing shoes and he started to talk to

him about his need for Jesus Christ.

Every Kimball walked out of that shoe store that day, feeling

like he had done a horrible job at sharing the gospel.

Feeling like he had just messed the whole thing up.

But that day that day, d.l. Moody accepted Jesus Christ as

his savior. And deal Moody, obviously, you

know, went on to shake continents, America and England.

He shook continents for the cause of Jesus Christ, and

countless people accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, but it

doesn't stop there deal Moody. LED FB Meyer, the Jesus Christ,

maybe you don't recognize that name.

But if B Meyer was a well-known name back in that day and FB

Meyer LED J Wilbur Chapman to Jesus Christ and J Wilbur,

Chapman LED Billy Sunday to Jesus Christ and Billy Sunday.

Obviously quit. Baseball went into the ministry.

Was a was a one of the early fundamentalists but Billy Sunday

influence. Mordecai ham.

Who preached the message. In which Billy Sunday.

I mean Billy Graham. Sorry accepted Jesus Christ as

his savior. Billy Graham didn't stay

faithful the way that I wish you would have but Billy Graham.

Preach the gospel for a lot of years and many, many people got

saved, including my own father-in-law who went to a

Billy Graham film and accepted Jesus Christ, as his savior.

Of course, he influenced my wife.

She got saved. And now my God, my kids.

His grandkids are sitting in church as Christians today.

All because of a Sunday school teacher who felt like he botched

the job. Imagine how many millions of

people millions of, people have come to know Jesus Christ as

their savior, because one man got a burden.

For the kids in his Sunday school class.

He got a burden to see them. Stay out of hell.

It's not our job to win them. It's our job to tell them.

And then let the Holy Spirit. Do the work in their hearts.

I can't make somebody gets saved.

That's one of the amazing things about Christianity.

Christianity could never be an official religion.

Because how do you make somebody accept?

Jesus Christ, it's a heart decision.

It's something that they have to do for themselves.

You can force somebody to conform to a religion and they

can say, all they want you that. Yeah, I'm a, I'm a Catholic, or

I'm a, I'm a Methodist or I'm a presbyterian or whatever because

they're conforming to the rules of that religion.

But you can never Force somebody to become a Christian because a

Christian is a decision that you make in your own heart.

It's a decision to accept Jesus Christ.

As your own personal savior, I can't make somebody get saved.

But I can tell him and I can tell him and I can warn them.

And I can share the gospel with them, and I can pray that the

Holy Spirit would do that work on their heart.

If you know, Jesus Christ as your savior, then you're assured

of your home in heaven and most people are fine with that.

Well, I've got my own fire insurance, so I'm good and maybe

my wife and, you know, maybe my kids that their, we're good.

The rest of everybody else that's on them, whether they

Accept Jesus Christ as their savior or not.

Don't you want everyone to know what?

You know about Jesus Christ. Don't you want everyone to know

how they can escape that horrible place?

Don't you want everyone to know how they can spend an eternity

in heaven? Don't you have any desire for

them to be saved the same way that you are?

Well if you really do know, Jesus Christ as your savior and

you know, the peace that comes when, you know him and you know

the comfort that comes and, you know, the the the satisfaction

that you can lay your head down on your pillow at night.

Night and I don't have to worry about tomorrow because if I die

today, I know exactly where I'm going.

My first, my last breath on this Earth is going to be my first

breath in heaven and I'm fine with that.

That's such a peace in that but don't you want that for

everyone? Can you imagine the shame and

the sorrow that you're going to feel when you see them as they

stand in judgement before God? And he has to say depart from

me, ye cursed into Everlasting, Flames prepared for the devil

and his angels. and you're standing there and you watch

them and they look over in your direction and they say you knew

Why didn't you tell me I want to listen?

What were you ashamed of what are you embarrassed?

So we were friends, we were family.

Why didn't you tell me? I didn't know that this was

going to be my end. Imagine the look on the face of

that one that you love and care about when they see you in

heaven. They scream about.

The fact that you knew, and you didn't tell him all the pastor,

there are no tears in heaven. Revelation 21 verse 4 says, and

Revelation 21:4

God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

I believe there will be Tears in Heaven.

Before that point is we hang our heads in shame for the sins.

We have committed and for those that we did, not share the

gospel with Now, we're going to enjoy heaven and our tears will

be wiped away in. The Bible says, there's a great

golf that's fixed between those that are in heaven and those are

in hell and I don't think we're going to see them forever and

ever and ever. But I think they'll be able to

see us. You think about the fact that

the rich man in Hell, lifted up his eyes, and he saw Lazarus

there, and he knew instantly that he had made the wrong

decision. Lazarus was there in heaven, he

was spending an eternity in hell and he know that that rich Manet

and and that rich man, that's not in this.

Not a parable that Jesus gave us a story that Jesus told that

rich man is still burning in hell today.

He didn't go there for a short time and get his sins burned

off. He didn't get he didn't go there

a short time and have a little bit of purgatory where he made

pennants and made up for a few of the bad things that he did in

his life that rich man is still there today.

And that's where your loved ones will be a million years from

now. If you don't tell them, Well, if

we could get a picture and may, I say that there's no better

time to share the gospel with someone in someone and invite

them to church. Then at Easter people are often

a lot more receptive around the Easter, take the time to share

the gospel. Take the time to invite them to

church. Take the time to think for just

one moment about that person burning in the Lake of Fire and

then let that motivate you to do whatever you can to share the

gospel with them. So they don't have to spend an

eternity there. turnover, if you want to Acts chapter 1, We must

Acts 1 · chapter mention

get a picture of how bad he'll really is, but also, we need to

realize that we can make a difference.

We can make a difference. There are some Souls that we can

never reach because of where we are and where they are sitting

over there in India, trying to reach souls for Christ, I don't

know the language, I don't know the Customs.

I don't know the people and I'm going there, but it's a billion

people in India. I'll never be able to reach

those people. The Bible says in Acts 1:8 but

Acts 1:8

you shall receive power after that.

The Holy Ghost is come upon you and you shall be Witnesses unto

me, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto

the uttermost part of the earth, We Can Make a Difference by

supporting and praying for those who are going to those places

but never forget. That you cannot buy.

Soul winning. Your responsibility is not over

because you sent some money to somebody who was going somewhere

across the ocean or across the country, to share the message of

the Gospel. No amount of money.

We give no amount of missionaries are Church

Planters. We send can make up for you.

Going to the people that, you know, and love because those are

people that very likely. You are the only one who will

ever have an opportunity to reach them.

That is your mission field. Your neighborhood is your

mission field. Sure.

There's a possibility that somebody that lives in your

neighborhood is is Works somewhere where there's happens

to be a Christian or may go to church or something like that.

There's always that possibility. But there's also a very strong

possibility that you are the only true Christian, who knows

the gospel, and who has the gospel that they know And you

very well might be the only one who can ever share the message

of the Gospel with them. Won't you?

Won't you do it? An old Deacon was leading in

prayer and use using one of his stereo typical phrases and he

said, oh Lord touch the unsaved with thy finger.

He had a kind of the same way that he said it, he used that

phrase a lot and just gone to the way that he toned his voice

and everything else but then he stopped And a few of the other

people, you know, after a few seconds, they started looking up

and they said something wrong with this guy.

He just stopped in the middle of his prayer.

So one of them walked up to where he was standing, he was an

older man and one of them walked up to where he was standing and

asked him if he was okay. He said, are you sick?

And he said, no, no, but something seemed to say to me,

thou art the finger Oh, Lord, touched him with my finger in

the Lord said your the finger. You go touch him.

How can we reach a world will never touch?

Isn't that a song that we sang? But a thought, how can we reach

a world that we never touched Every Soul?

That is saved. Is one more that does not have

to spend an eternity in hell, I think I've told you this story

before as well, but an old man was walking along the beach one

morning and he noticed that young man was picking up

starfish and throwing them back into the ocean.

And as he walked along the beach, he watched this young man

for a few minutes and and the boy explained that he was trying

to to save those stranded starfish and they because they

would die if they were left on the beach in the morning sun.

And and this boy that lived down there, he knew that to be a

fact. And so, but this man, he just he

had watched his boy for a little while.

And he saw how many starfish were there on the beach and he

saw how far the beach extended down the down the coastline.

And he told that little boy said, but the beach the beach

extends for miles. But what difference is it going

to make? There are so many starfish and

nothing you can do is going to make a dent in that.

And that little boy, without really even hesitating picked up

another starfish, and threw it back into the ocean.

He said, it made a difference to that one.

You look at the world. There's eight billion people in

the world today and we think, you know, we lead one soul to

Jesus Christ. It's not even making a dent, we

lead a thousand. Souls are a hundred thousand

souls to Jesus Christ, out of 8 billion.

We're not even making a dent. But then you lead one sort of

Christ. And you think it made a

difference to that one? Aren't you?

Glad that? You accepted.

Jesus Christ. That somebody told you how you

could be saved made a difference in your life. once you make that

difference in somebody else's, Turn over second Corinthians

2 Corinthians 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11 and I want to share with you the last Point here

this morning. Did you get a picture of how

bad? He'll really is.

Need to realize that we can make a difference.

But the last thing I want you to see is this you have to realize

that it will be worth it all when we see Jesus, I need to

tell you that it's not an easy job.

It was an easy job to share the message of the Gospel.

Everybody would do it. And I think probably to our

shame. There's probably a large handful

of people in this room this morning that I've never shared

the gospel with somebody. It's not easy and those who do

it know that it's not easy. I can't I've shared the gospel

with, with hundreds or probably even thousands of people and as

much as I know what I'm saying. And I understand the Bible and I

am concerned about their souls. It's not easy to tell somebody.

Hey, by the way, you're on your way to hell because of your sin.

It's just not an easy thing to do.

You don't want to offend somebody you don't want to hurt

their feelings. Things.

But the same way that a doctor has to set a bone and it, and

you have to go through a little pain to for that to start

healing. That's the same way honestly, in

a lot of ways that the gospel is, they have to have that

painful reality. Hey, you're going to spend an

eternity in hell, if you don't accept Jesus Christ, as your

savior, Your sins are going to go Unforgiven though.

They've already been forgiven. There's no need for you to die

and spend an eternity in hell. And as I've said, many times

before those who died in spending eternity in Hell, die

and go to hell with their sins. Paid for Jesus.

Christ has already done the work.

Nothing else has to be done other than for us to tell them

that they need. Jesus Christ.

But I can promise you this no amount of embarrassment.

No amount of Shame, no amount of persecution.

Can override the feeling of joy that we're going to feel when we

stand before Christ. And we see those that we've won

to him standing around with us. What a, what a what a thought.

But I want you to consider for just a minute, as we close here,

the Apostle Paul, you're going to be rejected, you're going to

face some persecution, you're going to, you're going to be

ridiculed. And at the moment it may not

feel like it's worth it. But look, what happened to Paul

here in second Corinthians chapter 11 and verse number 21.

2 Corinthians 11 · chapter mention

I speak as concerning our approach is that we have been

weak, howbeit wheresoever. Any is bold I speak foolishly.

I'm bold also. Are they Hebrews?

So am I. Are they Israelites?

So am I are they the Seed of Abraham?

So am I, are they Ministers of Christ?

I speak of I speak as a fool. I'm more in.

Labor is more. Abundant in Stripes above

measure in prisons. More frequent, in deaths, soft

of the Jews five times received. I forty Stripes, save one

Thrice, I beaten with rods once was I stoned Thrice, I suffered

shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep in

journeyings often. In Perils of waters in Perils of

robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the

Heathen, in perils in the city, in perils, in the wilderness in

perils in the sea in perils among false brethren in a

weariness and painfulness in watchings often in hunger and

thirst in fastings, often in cold and nakedness.

Besides those things that are without that which cometh upon

me daily, the care of all the churches.

Churches. That doesn't sound very fun.

I don't know, if any of us can say that we've been to really

any of those things, let alone all of them.

The way that ball was right now and as the think of Paul, we're

being honest in that moment, I'm not sure that he would say that

it was worth it. Then Paul leads one.

Soul to Jesus Christ. After he's been whipped and

beaten and said in the middle of a prison.

The one's Soul comes to know Jesus Christ and he goes back

and he tells his family and that whole family comes to know.

Jesus Christ I'm sure then. Look back and Paul says it's

worth it all let's look what Paul says about that.

Go to 2nd Corinthians chapter 12 in the next page over He says

and I'm verse 15 and I will very gladly spend and be spent for

you though. The more abundantly I love you.

The less I beloved children, Philippians chapter 3, I think

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

it was Ronald Reagan, who's credited with saying, Something

along the lines of the fact that there's no amount of, there's no

telling how much can be done if nobody cares who gets the

credit. And I think that's exactly what

Paul's mindset is here. He says in Philippians chapter

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

3, and verse number 7, but what things were gain to me those, I

counted loss for Christ, ye doubtless and I count all

things. But loss for the Excellency of

the knowledge of Christ, Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have

suffered the loss of all things and do count them.

But dung that I may win Christ and be found in him not having

mine own righteousness, which is of the law.

But that which is through the Faith of Christ, the

righteousness, which is of god, by faith that I made, I know him

and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship

of his sufferings being made, conformable unto his death, Paul

was saying, it doesn't matter what I have to go through all of

those things, even things that I consider to be gained their loss

for the cause of Christ. I'll gladly go through all those

things. If I can have Christ and if I

can have his power and if I can share him with the world, that's

what Paul's mindset. Wasn't that ought to be our

mindset as well? No, my friends.

It'll be worth it all. When we see Jesus.

Life's trials will seem so small when we see Christ, one glimpse

of his dear face, all Sorrows, Willie Race.

So bravely run the race till we see Christ, Luke chapter 15 and

Luke 15 · chapter mention

verse 10 says, likewise I say unto you, there is joy in the

presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth

Can you imagine the joy around the throne?

when one sinner repents can you imagine the joy around the

throne when that Philippian Jailer got down on his knees and

accepted, Jesus Christ, as his savior, the angels in heaven

Rejoice over one soul that comes to know Jesus Christ as their

Savior and so can wait. We may never see the great

numbers. Come to know the Lord as their

savior. We have to keep working.

We have to keep praying, we have to keep going and keep telling

the good news of the Gospel. They haven't seen the great

numbers that. I think we're hoping for when we

first started, I thought that you pass out, 25,000 John and

Romans and the people are just going to flood here and, you

know, get saved in droves and and, you know, it doesn't happen

that way, didn't happen that way.

Now, I'm not saying that I couldn't God could do it. but,

God's moved and God is worked in Gods.

Helped us to lead souls to Christ.

And God God has put us in a position to be able to grow into

what he's playing for this church.

The Bible says in Luke chapter 19, and verse number 10, for the

Luke 19 · chapter mention

son of man has come to seek and to save that, which was lost.

That's why Jesus came Adrian Rogers told a story of a

brilliant but a tragic event. But a father went to the

hospital to pick up his newborn baby and his wife and he left

the car running with a three-year-old in the back seat.

And ran in there to get the baby and his wife.

And when he came out, the car was gone, turned out.

That somebody had jumped in and stolen the car.

Obviously, there's a huge Manhunt.

They need to find this car. But even more importantly, they

need to find little three-year-old.

That was in the back seat of that car.

Not too long after they found the car abandoned and no child

in the back seat. And so a whole group of people

came out there and started to search and hunt for this little

boy. And, and one man in particular,

that was out there, helping them search thought, you know what,

maybe, maybe this guy realized that there was a kid in the back

seat and just abandon the car and jumped out.

In this kid, got out because he didn't know where he was at or

what to do. So he started looking around in

that area and he was shining his flashlight and his house, his

flashlight. Shined on to an old And in

house, it's all a bunch of newspapers up there on the porch

and a little porch swing. And then he saw some movement.

And next thing, you know, the little boy was sitting there on

that swing sliding back and forth.

Little boy's name was Billy and he started shouting Billy Billy.

And Billy said, is that you Daddy, he jumped off of that

chair. And then the man said, no, no

Billy, I'm not your daddy, but I'm here to take you to your

daddy. And that's exactly what the job

of the church is to rescue. The perishing to care for the

dying to find them, to bring them to Jesus Christ.

That's why Jesus Christ came to this world.

He's come to seek and to save that which was lost and that

ought to be our main motivation as well.

I'm not God, we're not Jesus Christ, but we are here on this

Earth to take them to him and I want to bring as many people

with me as I can imagine what it would be like on that day when

we stand before, God, And all of those people that we were able

to influence for the cause of Jesus Christ and some that we

didn't even know that we influence for the cause of Jesus

Christ because we shared the gospel with somebody who was it.

Somebody else happened to stand by there and hear it or we gave

a track to somebody as we pass through a drive-through or a gas

station and they read that and they got saved and we may never

know the amount of people that were going to influence.

But I can tell you this, if you don't ever try to influence

people for the cause of Jesus Christ, nobody will ever get

saved. And you're going to be said,

There you've got your ticket to Heaven.

You're on your way there, you've got your Mansion for all of

eternity. But nobody's going to be there

with you. In fact, you're going to watch

as one by one. All the people that you did know

and all the people that you did have an opportunity to influence

and all the people that you did have a chance to share the

gospel with that, you never did. It condemned to spend an

eternity in hell. You have to watch them walk over

that precipice. Be cast into the Lake of Fire.

Spend all of eternity there. I want you to look at one last

verse and we're done turn over to Acts chapter 26.

Acts 26 · chapter mention

Paul as he stood before Agrippa and testified of the Gospel

before this King Paul told about his salvation experience on the

road to Damascus. And in answer to Paul's question

about who this was that was standing in front of him.

Jesus Christ, the lord. And if you have a Bible that has

words in red, you don't see very many words and read in the book

of Acts. But you do right here because

these are the words of Jesus Christ to Paul as he was on the

road to Damascus. and Jesus said I am Jesus whom thou persecutest

and then Jesus gave him a mission statement Acts chapter

Acts 26 · chapter mention

26 and verse number 18, To open their eyes.

And to turn them from Darkness to light and from the power of

Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and

inheritance among them, which are Sanctified by faith.

That's in me. Take that Satan.

And take that message to as many people as we can.

Our job is to share with them, the gospel, so that they'll go

from Darkness to light. So they'll go from the power of

Satan to the power of God that they can receive the same

forgiveness of sins that you've received and that they can have

the same inheritance among all the rest of those that are

Sanctified by faith. That's in Jesus Christ.

That's a mission statement. If I've ever seen one and take

Heart Christian. Keep going for Jesus, Jesus

Christ, even if only a few people of all the ones that you

tell accept Jesus Christ as their savior, it's worth it. if

we're only just a few, And that may be all that ever comes to

know Jesus Christ as their savior.

I can't help that. My job is to tell him they say,

well, you know, nobody gets saved anymore.

Tell you this, you give the gospel out enough times, people

will get saved. You stay at it, you keep on

them, you keep meeting with them.

You keep talking to them, you keep sharing the gospel with

them. They will get saved.

They will get saved. And if not, then at least we've

done our job in warning them. listen, you're going to spend an

eternity in hell, if you don't know, Jesus Christ as your

savior, What a warning that is, how many people have you warned?

How many people have you told? You get a picture of them in

hell and make a big difference in being effective as a

cylinder. For Jesus Christ.

You realize that you can make a difference and make a big

difference and you've been effective being a soul winner

for Jesus Christ. You may not be the next Charles

Spurgeon, may not be the next d.l.

Moody. But you can influence somebody.

And I guarantee you that that one or two or ten out of a

billion people that you influence for Jesus Christ that

gets saved will be glad you did. And you just got to realize that

one of these days when we stand before quite Christ, you'll be

so glad you did. He'll be so glad you shared the

gospel with that person. You'll be so glad that you dealt

with the embarrassment that that literally is the most

persecution. We have so embarrassed You know,

you know, you know how Petty that sounds in relation to

everything that Paul went through to get the message of

the Gospel out. Oh, it's so embarrassing to tell

somebody about Jesus? I'm so ashamed.

It's nothing that we deal with to be able to share the gospel

with somebody. It all comes down to this.

How much do you really love soles?

I love souls. I want to see people get to

save. That's the job of the church.

That's my job. As a Christian.

I was how many times have you shared the gospel with somebody

this week? Many times.

Have you shared the gospel with somebody this month?

many times, if you share the gospel with somebody this year,

You're being honest, that number is probably pretty small.

Let's add to it. Hey, if you share the gospel

with one person last year, at tri-five this year, You share

the gospel with one person this month.

Try three this month. Share the gospel with somebody

this week. Try to next week. but just make

sure that we're spreading the message of the Gospel, that's

our job, it's our responsibility, it's our mission

statement, that we've been given And I for one don't want to

fail. And making sure we do everything

we can to influence. Even just a few.

Because one day, we're going to stand before God and will be

worth it all. Let's pray.

Father, we love you and we thank you for your goodness to us.

I thank you so much for allowing me to hear the gospel.

And allowing me to be saved. Forgiven me salvation.

Thank you so much for that. Forgot.

I pray that if there is somebody in here that still doesn't know

for sure that they're on their way to heaven, what a shame, it

would be for them to hear the gospel so many times and not

accept it. But God, what a shame it is.

For those of us who do know that we're on our way to heaven, and

have accepted the gospel, and not share it.

And God, I pray that you put the burden on our hearts so

strongly. I pray that you would impress on

our hearts people right now. That we know that we can witness

too. And I pray that you'd help us

not to fail in the responsibility that we have to

them to warn them. And to share with them the

greatest news they'll ever here in their life, they can be

saved. And God I pray that you would

convict our hearts to be better Witnesses For You especially as

we're moving into Eastern next week.

God, I pray that you're not supposed to use that as an

opportunity to share the gospel. To invite people to your house.

Ogawa may we be effective as a church and sharing the Gospel of

Jesus Christ. Thank you for what you do for us

in Jesus name. Amen.