1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,520 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church Podcast, 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,480 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,720 My name is Pastor Josh and I want to thank you for listening to 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:10,480 this podcast. 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,680 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:16,080 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,120 Now come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has 8 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:21,440 for us here today. 9 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:27,760 We're going to conclude our series looking at church culture. 10 00:00:28,420 --> 00:00:31,020 And it's been something that we've been looking at since the beginning 11 00:00:31,020 --> 00:00:31,620 of the year. 12 00:00:31,940 --> 00:00:34,900 And we've been talking about what it means to be a biblical church, 13 00:00:34,900 --> 00:00:38,180 what it means to follow scripture, what it means to follow 14 00:00:38,260 --> 00:00:40,060 in the will of the Lord. 15 00:00:40,060 --> 00:00:43,220 And when we look at the will of God, we. 16 00:00:43,220 --> 00:00:46,180 We need to find the will of God from one place, and that is scripture. 17 00:00:46,340 --> 00:00:48,100 So what does scripture say about the church? 18 00:00:48,100 --> 00:00:51,580 What does scripture say about what our desire should be, what our 19 00:00:51,580 --> 00:00:52,740 direction should be? 20 00:00:53,140 --> 00:00:56,740 And what we can see is in 2026, we're looking at three words, 21 00:00:56,740 --> 00:00:57,780 up, in and out. 22 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:01,960 It's God's will that we first of all have a relationship with him. 23 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:05,720 Secondly, that our relationship with him is growing. 24 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:10,040 And then in the next step, we know that that relationship overflows 25 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:12,960 into our relationship with others and our relationship with 26 00:01:12,960 --> 00:01:13,880 others within the church. 27 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:14,840 That's where it starts. 28 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:16,640 If we love God, we love others. 29 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:19,080 And if we love God, we will serve others. 30 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:23,360 If we love God, we will forgive others, we will be able to 31 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:25,160 have those relationships within the church. 32 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:29,680 But then we see that last word in our vision for this year, the 33 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:30,000 out. 34 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:32,800 How do we deal with those in our community? 35 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:35,120 How do we deal with those that are not believers? 36 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:38,960 Well, there's a few different ways that we can approach a non believer. 37 00:01:38,960 --> 00:01:42,960 We can see them as an enemy and we can see them as hopeless, 38 00:01:42,960 --> 00:01:46,680 or we can see them as an opportunity to share the gospel, 39 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:50,440 to have compassion, to live the truth in front of them. 40 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:52,400 And that's what we're going to be talking about here today. 41 00:01:53,220 --> 00:01:56,420 And I think that it starts here this morning with some idea 42 00:01:56,420 --> 00:02:00,780 of what God tells us about this going out into the world, preaching 43 00:02:00,780 --> 00:02:01,460 the gospel. 44 00:02:01,460 --> 00:02:04,700 A couple verses that I want you to see when it comes to the heart 45 00:02:04,700 --> 00:02:05,100 of God. 46 00:02:05,100 --> 00:02:06,580 In this is Luke, chapter 19. 47 00:02:07,460 --> 00:02:09,220 Luke, chapter 19, verse 10. 48 00:02:09,940 --> 00:02:13,060 This tells us what the heart of Jesus was when he came to this 49 00:02:13,060 --> 00:02:13,340 earth. 50 00:02:13,340 --> 00:02:17,540 And I think that as our greatest example, we should follow 51 00:02:17,700 --> 00:02:18,980 the path that Jesus took. 52 00:02:18,980 --> 00:02:19,450 Now, we. 53 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:21,760 We know that we are not the ones doing the saving. 54 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:23,720 Only Jesus could do the saving. 55 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:28,000 But we are ultimately responsible as Believers to point 56 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:30,280 people to the one who does the saving, that is Jesus. 57 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:34,560 And so in Luke chapter 19, we see verse 10, the reason why Jesus 58 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:34,800 came. 59 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:39,840 It says, for the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which 60 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:40,400 was lost. 61 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:43,560 And so we have a problem in this world today around us. 62 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:46,200 So, so I think a lot of times when we think about church, we think 63 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:48,170 about the internal workings of church. 64 00:02:48,170 --> 00:02:51,890 And that is one major element to church is the family of God, the 65 00:02:51,890 --> 00:02:52,570 body of Christ. 66 00:02:52,890 --> 00:02:55,250 But we also have to think about how the church interacts with 67 00:02:55,250 --> 00:02:56,010 the world around us. 68 00:02:56,010 --> 00:02:59,090 And so the world around us, I think we could all agree, is dark, 69 00:02:59,090 --> 00:03:00,010 it's, it's lost. 70 00:03:00,650 --> 00:03:03,570 And so there's a way that we deal with those that are around us, 71 00:03:03,570 --> 00:03:04,090 that are lost. 72 00:03:04,090 --> 00:03:07,650 It says, Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. 73 00:03:07,650 --> 00:03:11,970 And so it is our goal, it's our marching orders to tell the world 74 00:03:11,970 --> 00:03:16,260 about Jesus, to tell him, to tell them about him and about what 75 00:03:16,260 --> 00:03:17,980 he can do for them in their lives. 76 00:03:17,980 --> 00:03:20,980 And so a lot of times we think about the, the spirit of compassion 77 00:03:21,060 --> 00:03:22,340 which we're going to talk about today. 78 00:03:22,660 --> 00:03:25,500 But I want you to see another passage of scripture in First Thessalonians 79 00:03:25,500 --> 00:03:28,460 chapter 2, if you will go there with me. 80 00:03:28,460 --> 00:03:31,500 I just want to start out with a few of these build up verses and 81 00:03:31,500 --> 00:03:33,860 then eventually we're going to get to our main text first. 82 00:03:33,860 --> 00:03:37,300 Thessalonians, chapter 2, verse 8 tells us something else about 83 00:03:37,620 --> 00:03:40,500 the sharing of the word of God with other people around us. 84 00:03:40,500 --> 00:03:41,980 The Gospel of Jesus Christ. 85 00:03:41,980 --> 00:03:45,550 And so there is this element of love and compassion that we are 86 00:03:45,550 --> 00:03:46,470 to have for the lost. 87 00:03:47,190 --> 00:03:52,150 But sometimes in our church cultures we see the love kind of 88 00:03:52,390 --> 00:03:56,270 excusing the sin and excusing the problems and saying, hey, you 89 00:03:56,270 --> 00:03:58,710 know what, we need to just love on them and do things for them, 90 00:03:58,870 --> 00:04:00,550 but we don't need to tell them that they're wrong. 91 00:04:00,550 --> 00:04:03,470 What we're going to see here in this passage is that yes, the 92 00:04:03,470 --> 00:04:06,430 heart of the gospel is love, but also the heart of the gospel 93 00:04:06,430 --> 00:04:07,110 is truth. 94 00:04:07,510 --> 00:04:11,340 And so in First Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 8, it says, so being 95 00:04:11,340 --> 00:04:14,580 affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted 96 00:04:14,580 --> 00:04:18,940 unto you not the gospel of God only, but also our souls because 97 00:04:19,420 --> 00:04:20,780 you were dear to us. 98 00:04:21,340 --> 00:04:23,460 Meaning it's, it's, it's based in love. 99 00:04:23,460 --> 00:04:27,700 So the reason why we share the gospel with people around us is because 100 00:04:27,700 --> 00:04:28,780 hopefully we love them. 101 00:04:28,780 --> 00:04:31,300 And the Bible says that if we love them, we'll tell people the 102 00:04:31,300 --> 00:04:31,580 truth. 103 00:04:31,580 --> 00:04:33,860 If we Love them, we will sacrifice for them. 104 00:04:33,860 --> 00:04:37,060 And sacrificing for them means sometimes going through difficulty 105 00:04:37,060 --> 00:04:38,660 in sharing the truth of the gospel. 106 00:04:38,980 --> 00:04:40,792 So in First Thessalonians, chapter 2. 107 00:04:40,848 --> 00:04:42,820 8, it says it's based in love. 108 00:04:42,900 --> 00:04:43,220 It's. 109 00:04:43,220 --> 00:04:46,900 It's based in the fact that their souls were dear to us. 110 00:04:47,780 --> 00:04:51,380 It says, so being affectionately desirous of you, that. 111 00:04:51,380 --> 00:04:51,700 That's. 112 00:04:51,700 --> 00:04:54,620 That's strong way to say that we cared for you so much that we 113 00:04:54,620 --> 00:04:55,620 brought you the Gospel. 114 00:04:56,020 --> 00:04:59,060 But I want to see another verse that's very close to that. 115 00:04:59,060 --> 00:05:01,564 That's 1 Timothy, chapter 2. 116 00:05:01,702 --> 00:05:06,620 4, 1st Timothy, chapter 2, verse 4, tells us that, yes, sharing 117 00:05:06,620 --> 00:05:09,220 the Gospel does have an element of love. 118 00:05:09,220 --> 00:05:11,020 It must be based in love. 119 00:05:11,180 --> 00:05:13,020 It must be based in compassion. 120 00:05:13,020 --> 00:05:16,100 We have to care for the person that we're sharing the truth with. 121 00:05:16,100 --> 00:05:19,660 But then in First Timothy, chapter two, verse four, it also 122 00:05:19,660 --> 00:05:21,900 tells us that God would. 123 00:05:21,900 --> 00:05:23,740 And this is speaking of the will of God. 124 00:05:23,980 --> 00:05:26,940 Verse 3 says, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God 125 00:05:26,940 --> 00:05:30,070 our Savior, who will have all men to be saved. 126 00:05:30,070 --> 00:05:33,630 And so it's the desire of the Lord that all come to him in salvation. 127 00:05:33,870 --> 00:05:37,470 We know not everyone will, but God wants us to have the same heart 128 00:05:37,470 --> 00:05:40,510 that he has when it comes to trying to lead everyone that we can 129 00:05:40,510 --> 00:05:40,910 to Christ. 130 00:05:40,910 --> 00:05:43,950 And then it says, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 131 00:05:44,830 --> 00:05:46,830 And so it's that same principle that we've talked about 132 00:05:46,830 --> 00:05:47,150 before. 133 00:05:47,550 --> 00:05:50,670 Speaking the truth of the gospel means to speak the truth in 134 00:05:50,830 --> 00:05:51,230 love. 135 00:05:51,470 --> 00:05:52,510 Truth and love. 136 00:05:52,590 --> 00:05:53,910 How we deal with other Christians. 137 00:05:53,910 --> 00:05:54,880 Truth and love how. 138 00:05:54,950 --> 00:05:56,190 How we deal with the unsaved. 139 00:05:56,190 --> 00:05:59,190 Truth and love, how we deal with our family. 140 00:05:59,270 --> 00:06:01,710 Truth and love, how we deal with other Christians within the 141 00:06:01,710 --> 00:06:03,190 church, that we're having conflict with. 142 00:06:03,190 --> 00:06:04,150 Truth and love. 143 00:06:04,230 --> 00:06:07,270 And so I want you to see as we're building this case for going 144 00:06:07,270 --> 00:06:11,310 out and going and sharing the gospel and evangelizing the lost 145 00:06:11,310 --> 00:06:11,670 and. 146 00:06:11,670 --> 00:06:16,150 And going across not only Middletown and Townsend and Odessa 147 00:06:16,150 --> 00:06:19,350 and Newcastle county and Delaware and America, but all over 148 00:06:19,350 --> 00:06:19,830 the world. 149 00:06:19,910 --> 00:06:23,030 But all of this has to be based in truth and love. 150 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:27,080 The truth of Jesus Christ, the truth of his word, and the love that 151 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:29,840 God has for us and for the lost. 152 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:33,400 Another verse that many of you are familiar with, and I think that 153 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:36,600 this is a verse that we use quite frequently when it comes to 154 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:37,440 evangelism. 155 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:39,840 And That's Mark, chapter 16, verse 15. 156 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:44,040 He says, and he said unto them, go ye unto all the world and 157 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:46,320 preach the gospel to every creature. 158 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:48,800 That word preach just means to proclaim. 159 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:50,800 It doesn't mean to Preach a sermon. 160 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:54,520 As, you know, three points in a poem or whatever that you think 161 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:54,800 of. 162 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:56,000 When you think of a sermon. 163 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:59,480 It means to proclaim the truth of God no matter where you are, whether 164 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:02,720 it's your workplace, whether it's in your home, whether it's in 165 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:05,880 a setting that is comfortable for you or a setting that's not comfortable 166 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:06,320 for you. 167 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:10,280 The whole goal of a disciple of Jesus Christ is to proclaim to 168 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:12,560 everyone that they can the truth of Jesus. 169 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:13,600 Now, how do we do that? 170 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:17,550 Well, the first step of that would be just simply sharing what 171 00:07:17,550 --> 00:07:18,830 Jesus has done for us. 172 00:07:19,710 --> 00:07:20,030 The. 173 00:07:20,030 --> 00:07:25,390 The average Christian, every Christian should be able to at least 174 00:07:25,550 --> 00:07:30,270 explain the gospel, to at least explain the good news of Jesus 175 00:07:30,270 --> 00:07:33,750 Christ, what saved me, what I'm trusting in to save me. 176 00:07:33,750 --> 00:07:38,990 Every Christian should be able to clearly explain Jesus came to 177 00:07:38,990 --> 00:07:39,550 this earth. 178 00:07:40,350 --> 00:07:42,590 He's not just a good teacher, but he is God. 179 00:07:42,590 --> 00:07:46,330 The Bible says in John chapter one that the Word was with God and 180 00:07:46,330 --> 00:07:47,770 the Word was God. 181 00:07:48,170 --> 00:07:51,050 So every Christian should be able to explain who Jesus is, what 182 00:07:51,050 --> 00:07:52,930 he did for us by coming to this earth. 183 00:07:52,930 --> 00:07:54,170 He lived a perfect life. 184 00:07:54,170 --> 00:07:55,530 He committed no sin. 185 00:07:55,770 --> 00:07:59,450 The Bible says that he came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill 186 00:07:59,450 --> 00:08:02,810 the law, meaning he did everything in the eyes of God, in 187 00:08:02,810 --> 00:08:04,330 perfection, complete holiness. 188 00:08:04,490 --> 00:08:06,530 But then the Bible says that there's a problem. 189 00:08:06,530 --> 00:08:08,330 And the problem in this world is sin. 190 00:08:08,730 --> 00:08:12,820 And the Bible says in Romans that the wages of sin is death. 191 00:08:12,820 --> 00:08:14,340 The payment for sin is death. 192 00:08:14,340 --> 00:08:18,500 And so everyone who commits a sin, whether it's one sin or a million 193 00:08:18,580 --> 00:08:21,460 sins, all of us are guilty of sin. 194 00:08:21,460 --> 00:08:25,340 Therefore, the Bible says that all of us deserve hell. 195 00:08:25,340 --> 00:08:26,940 All of us deserve punishment. 196 00:08:26,940 --> 00:08:29,460 All of us deserve separation from God. 197 00:08:29,540 --> 00:08:31,860 But then Jesus offers that gift, that. 198 00:08:31,940 --> 00:08:34,180 That payment for our sin on the cross. 199 00:08:34,340 --> 00:08:36,380 That's why we have crosses up in our building. 200 00:08:36,380 --> 00:08:38,300 That's why we focus on that. 201 00:08:38,300 --> 00:08:40,520 It's not because it's a cultural symbol. 202 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:42,240 It's not because it's a fashion statement. 203 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:42,960 It's a. 204 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:43,680 It's a symbol. 205 00:08:43,680 --> 00:08:46,600 It's a picture of the death that Jesus gave for us. 206 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:47,520 He wasn't killed. 207 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:50,400 A lot of people think that Jesus was killed against his will. 208 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:55,640 No, Jesus willingly gave himself for us so that we could have 209 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:58,960 that payment on our account, so that he, the only one who could 210 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:00,840 pay that punishment for us, did that. 211 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:04,120 And so therefore he bore the wrath of God. 212 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:05,280 He paid the price. 213 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:07,740 But the Bible says that that's not where it ended. 214 00:09:07,740 --> 00:09:10,980 He stayed in that tomb only three days, physically speaking. 215 00:09:11,140 --> 00:09:13,780 But three days later, he resurrected and conquered death and 216 00:09:13,780 --> 00:09:16,660 offers that gift of eternal life for all of us. 217 00:09:16,660 --> 00:09:20,580 And if we believe in faith, the Bible says Ephesians 2:8:9, for 218 00:09:20,580 --> 00:09:23,540 by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. 219 00:09:23,620 --> 00:09:26,420 It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. 220 00:09:26,740 --> 00:09:28,980 So it's a gift of grace that is the Gospel. 221 00:09:29,140 --> 00:09:32,980 Another succinct, very clear presentation of the Gospel is really 222 00:09:32,980 --> 00:09:35,980 in the first four verses of First Corinthians, chapter 15. 223 00:09:35,980 --> 00:09:38,710 I would encourage you at some point to read that and understand 224 00:09:38,710 --> 00:09:40,670 that, because what Paul says is this. 225 00:09:40,670 --> 00:09:44,630 Basically the gospel is the good news of Jesus from, from beginning 226 00:09:45,030 --> 00:09:45,910 and not to the end. 227 00:09:45,910 --> 00:09:48,630 Because what we can see is that it never ends because we all 228 00:09:48,630 --> 00:09:50,790 are offered everlasting life in Jesus Christ. 229 00:09:50,790 --> 00:09:54,630 So that's one way that we can share the gospel, just by simply 230 00:09:54,870 --> 00:09:59,590 sharing with people what God has done for us, how he saved us, 231 00:09:59,670 --> 00:10:02,790 how he transformed us, how he gave us everlasting life. 232 00:10:02,790 --> 00:10:05,680 But then another way that we can share the gospel, that is by 233 00:10:05,680 --> 00:10:06,520 the way that we live. 234 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:10,960 The Bible always emphasizes that we're to live in word and in 235 00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:13,720 deed, that that we are to love in word. 236 00:10:13,720 --> 00:10:14,720 And indeed. 237 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:19,400 And so what we see In Matthew chapter 5, verse 16, it says, Let 238 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:22,400 so let your light so shine before men that they may see your 239 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:25,080 good works and glorify your Father, which is in heaven. 240 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:27,960 And so it's not just about what we say, even though that is 241 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:28,440 so important. 242 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:31,160 I've heard some people say, well, just live your life in the 243 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:32,360 gospel and don't say anything. 244 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:35,760 Well, that's, that's a problem because the Bible does say in word 245 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:39,600 and in deed, so you can live a good life, you can live a godly life, 246 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:42,600 but people are going to ask you why you have the hope that's 247 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:42,960 within you. 248 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:44,920 That's first Peter, chapter three, verse 15. 249 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:49,080 The Bible says to be ready to give an answer for when people ask 250 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:50,600 you, hey, why do you have hope? 251 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:51,480 Why are you different? 252 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:54,080 Why are you not doing the things that we're doing? 253 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:55,080 Why are you forgiving? 254 00:10:55,240 --> 00:10:56,360 Why are you gracious? 255 00:10:56,520 --> 00:10:56,840 Why. 256 00:10:56,840 --> 00:10:57,800 Why are you loving? 257 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:00,530 And the Bible says that we're to give an answer with meekness and 258 00:11:00,530 --> 00:11:00,930 fear. 259 00:11:01,010 --> 00:11:03,810 We're to give an answer with, with gentleness and respect. 260 00:11:04,130 --> 00:11:07,890 To say the reason why I'm different, the reason why I have 261 00:11:07,890 --> 00:11:11,450 hope, the reason why I can live in a dark world with hope and 262 00:11:11,450 --> 00:11:14,650 joy and peace is because of Jesus Christ. 263 00:11:14,650 --> 00:11:18,050 And so Matthew chapter five tells us that our actions matter 264 00:11:18,050 --> 00:11:19,730 when it comes to sharing our faith. 265 00:11:20,290 --> 00:11:24,450 And so again, it's love and truth, word and deed. 266 00:11:25,010 --> 00:11:27,770 That's what we talk about when we're talking about presenting the 267 00:11:27,770 --> 00:11:28,290 gospel. 268 00:11:28,290 --> 00:11:32,690 And so God says, we all have the great commission, the great job, 269 00:11:33,010 --> 00:11:35,090 the great responsibility as a Christian. 270 00:11:35,090 --> 00:11:38,890 And the great responsibility is this, to share the gospel to the 271 00:11:38,890 --> 00:11:39,130 world. 272 00:11:39,130 --> 00:11:41,170 Acts, chapter one, verse eight says this. 273 00:11:41,970 --> 00:11:44,490 And I think that this is important to note, because the Bible 274 00:11:44,490 --> 00:11:48,050 tells us not only what we are to do when we go, but it tells us 275 00:11:48,050 --> 00:11:48,770 where to go. 276 00:11:49,890 --> 00:11:51,130 Acts, chapter one, verse eight. 277 00:11:51,130 --> 00:11:53,260 But you shall receive power after that. 278 00:11:53,260 --> 00:11:54,580 The Holy Ghost has come upon you. 279 00:11:54,580 --> 00:11:57,220 And by the way, everything that we do when it comes to sharing 280 00:11:57,220 --> 00:12:01,060 our faith is not based in how good we are, how smart we are, how. 281 00:12:01,060 --> 00:12:02,860 How attractive we are. 282 00:12:02,860 --> 00:12:07,140 The Bible says the power that comes with our preaching, our proclamation, 283 00:12:07,140 --> 00:12:10,380 our evangelism comes from the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit. 284 00:12:10,380 --> 00:12:12,980 So he says, the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and ye shall be 285 00:12:12,980 --> 00:12:15,820 witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem. 286 00:12:16,060 --> 00:12:16,820 What does that mean? 287 00:12:16,820 --> 00:12:18,580 That means the first place you have to go is Jerusalem. 288 00:12:18,580 --> 00:12:20,620 So all of you need to sign up for the Israel trip today. 289 00:12:20,990 --> 00:12:21,270 And that's. 290 00:12:21,270 --> 00:12:22,670 We know that's not what we're talking about. 291 00:12:22,990 --> 00:12:26,190 Jerusalem for them in that context was right there, right where 292 00:12:26,190 --> 00:12:26,750 they were. 293 00:12:28,270 --> 00:12:29,550 They were in Jerusalem. 294 00:12:29,550 --> 00:12:33,990 And so the first place that you go in evangelism and going out 295 00:12:33,990 --> 00:12:35,790 is where you're currently at. 296 00:12:35,950 --> 00:12:37,510 Your first place is your family. 297 00:12:37,510 --> 00:12:40,270 The first place is your community, who you come across every 298 00:12:40,270 --> 00:12:40,910 single day. 299 00:12:41,470 --> 00:12:43,310 But then he says, that's not where you stop. 300 00:12:43,310 --> 00:12:44,350 That's where you start. 301 00:12:44,670 --> 00:12:48,030 Then he goes to Jerusalem and all Judea. 302 00:12:48,750 --> 00:12:50,230 Judea would be the surrounding areas. 303 00:12:50,230 --> 00:12:52,190 And so taking it out a little bit further. 304 00:12:52,830 --> 00:12:57,030 And in Samaria now, most of you know, the implication there is 305 00:12:57,030 --> 00:12:59,910 that Samaria was not a place that these people would have been 306 00:12:59,910 --> 00:13:01,070 comfortable going to. 307 00:13:01,150 --> 00:13:01,470 They. 308 00:13:01,470 --> 00:13:03,430 They would have not liked the people in Samaria. 309 00:13:03,430 --> 00:13:04,190 They would have been different. 310 00:13:04,590 --> 00:13:06,910 There would have been a great conflict between these people. 311 00:13:06,990 --> 00:13:10,030 And so what we see here is he says, don't just go to people that 312 00:13:10,030 --> 00:13:13,790 you feel comfortable with going to go to people that are different 313 00:13:13,790 --> 00:13:16,830 than you, that are outside of your comfort zone. 314 00:13:16,830 --> 00:13:17,050 And. 315 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:19,880 And then he says samaria, and then unto the uttermost part of the 316 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:21,920 earth, meaning as far as you can go. 317 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:23,840 We want to have this message spread. 318 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:27,120 And what an amazing truth it is that these folks did listen to 319 00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:29,720 the Lord, even though there was a lot of struggle in the early 320 00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:34,600 church, we know by way of proof that the word of God spread 321 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:35,680 all over the earth. 322 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:36,760 That's an amazing thing. 323 00:13:36,760 --> 00:13:38,880 It started in Jerusalem and it spread. 324 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:39,920 And. 325 00:13:39,920 --> 00:13:41,280 And there's more in the Great Commission. 326 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:43,160 We know that in Matthew, chapter 28. 327 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:47,190 This is really the verses that I've been studying the last. 328 00:13:47,590 --> 00:13:50,230 I don't know, about two years, really. 329 00:13:50,230 --> 00:13:52,950 What does this passage in Matthew 28 talk about? 330 00:13:52,950 --> 00:13:54,870 Well, it's the last three verses. 331 00:13:55,110 --> 00:13:59,870 And in Matthew, chapter 28, verses 18, 19 and 20, Jesus gives 332 00:13:59,870 --> 00:14:04,830 us a very clear plan of what he calls us to do as his disciples. 333 00:14:04,830 --> 00:14:08,310 Now, yes, this is directed to the disciples there, right at the 334 00:14:08,310 --> 00:14:10,110 right before Jesus ascends into heaven. 335 00:14:10,110 --> 00:14:11,350 But what I will say is this. 336 00:14:11,350 --> 00:14:13,910 I think all of us have this great commission that we're called 337 00:14:13,910 --> 00:14:14,830 to follow in our lives. 338 00:14:14,830 --> 00:14:17,790 Their church has this great commission to follow in our lives. 339 00:14:17,790 --> 00:14:19,110 And so it says here. 340 00:14:19,110 --> 00:14:22,110 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, all power is given 341 00:14:22,110 --> 00:14:23,230 unto me in heaven and earth. 342 00:14:23,230 --> 00:14:26,270 So, by the way, what God is calling us to do, it starts with 343 00:14:26,270 --> 00:14:28,190 the power of the Lord. 344 00:14:28,190 --> 00:14:29,990 It starts with the indwelling of the Spirit. 345 00:14:29,990 --> 00:14:31,030 It starts with Jesus. 346 00:14:31,030 --> 00:14:33,470 He doesn't expect us to do something on our own strength. 347 00:14:33,470 --> 00:14:35,670 He expects us to do it in his strength. 348 00:14:35,910 --> 00:14:40,110 But then he says in verse 19, go, go ye therefore, and teach all 349 00:14:40,110 --> 00:14:40,510 nations. 350 00:14:40,510 --> 00:14:41,590 The idea there is God. 351 00:14:41,740 --> 00:14:42,620 Make disciples. 352 00:14:43,340 --> 00:14:45,100 Don't just teach them the facts. 353 00:14:45,100 --> 00:14:49,180 Teach them what it means to follow Jesus, to be a disciple. 354 00:14:50,300 --> 00:14:54,220 One element of sharing our faith is telling people facts. 355 00:14:54,300 --> 00:14:57,979 The facts about who Jesus is, the fact about what he did for us. 356 00:14:57,980 --> 00:15:01,740 But also part of evangelism is teaching people what it means to 357 00:15:01,740 --> 00:15:03,020 grow in their faith. 358 00:15:03,020 --> 00:15:06,580 I think so many times we forget about sharing what it means 359 00:15:06,580 --> 00:15:07,900 to grow in our faith. 360 00:15:08,170 --> 00:15:10,210 We tell people how to come to Christ, which is great. 361 00:15:10,210 --> 00:15:11,210 That's the first step. 362 00:15:11,370 --> 00:15:16,690 But the next step is teaching people what it means to walk as disciples. 363 00:15:16,690 --> 00:15:18,010 And so he goes on to say this. 364 00:15:18,170 --> 00:15:21,170 He says, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son 365 00:15:21,170 --> 00:15:22,170 and of the Holy Ghost. 366 00:15:22,250 --> 00:15:25,170 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever. 367 00:15:25,170 --> 00:15:26,170 I have commanded you. 368 00:15:26,490 --> 00:15:29,210 And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. 369 00:15:30,170 --> 00:15:32,810 So he says, my power is with you. 370 00:15:33,050 --> 00:15:34,250 Go make disciples. 371 00:15:34,950 --> 00:15:35,910 Share the gospel. 372 00:15:36,390 --> 00:15:38,070 Show them what it means to follow me. 373 00:15:38,070 --> 00:15:40,390 And then he says, at the very end, lo, I'm with you always. 374 00:15:40,470 --> 00:15:41,910 So Jesus's promise is this. 375 00:15:42,470 --> 00:15:47,510 In this pursuit of going out, he's going to give us power, and 376 00:15:47,510 --> 00:15:48,870 he's going to give us his presence. 377 00:15:50,070 --> 00:15:52,110 And so therefore, there's nothing that we have to fear. 378 00:15:52,110 --> 00:15:55,150 Because the success, the success is not based in us. 379 00:15:55,150 --> 00:15:57,350 The success is based in relying in Him. 380 00:15:58,550 --> 00:15:59,510 So how do we do this? 381 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:02,080 What does this look like? 382 00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:03,680 How do we preach the gospel? 383 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:07,200 Well, I want us to go back to the motivation of doing it, because 384 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:11,920 a lot of times we reduce sharing the gospel down to a formula. 385 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:15,440 Well, if you go up to someone and you got to go to point one, point 386 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:18,560 two, point three, get them to sign the paper, and then we're done, 387 00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:19,120 we're good. 388 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:21,720 But no, it's more than that, because a lot of times what happens 389 00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:25,320 is that the individual Christian lacks the motivation to 390 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:25,760 do this. 391 00:16:26,310 --> 00:16:30,510 And sometimes we blame it on fear, sometimes we blame it on maybe 392 00:16:30,510 --> 00:16:33,390 just not being educated enough to be able to share our faith with 393 00:16:33,390 --> 00:16:33,910 other people. 394 00:16:34,070 --> 00:16:35,950 But I think it goes a little bit further than that. 395 00:16:35,950 --> 00:16:39,670 I think the motivation goes back to what Jesus talked about in 396 00:16:39,670 --> 00:16:40,630 Matthew chapter nine. 397 00:16:40,630 --> 00:16:42,950 And so I want you to go to Matthew chapter nine with me. 398 00:16:42,950 --> 00:16:44,230 That was a long Runway. 399 00:16:44,230 --> 00:16:46,230 But we're going to get to our main text here this morning. 400 00:16:46,470 --> 00:16:50,910 Matthew chapter nine speaks of seeing the lost through the eyes 401 00:16:50,910 --> 00:16:51,670 of Jesus. 402 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:56,680 If we see the lost as just something that we do to check the 403 00:16:56,680 --> 00:16:59,520 box in our Christian life, we're going to miss the whole point 404 00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:01,640 of what it means to share our faith with other people. 405 00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:05,240 Jesus sees here in Matthew chapter nine, the lost. 406 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:07,320 He sees the multitudes. 407 00:17:07,320 --> 00:17:11,080 And his response to the multitude is what I really believe 408 00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:15,000 we should respond to when it comes to our motivation to sharing 409 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:15,440 our faith. 410 00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:20,449 And so In Matthew chapter 9, verse 35, it says, and Jesus went 411 00:17:20,449 --> 00:17:23,769 about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues 412 00:17:23,849 --> 00:17:28,009 and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every sickness 413 00:17:28,009 --> 00:17:29,609 and every disease among the people. 414 00:17:30,089 --> 00:17:32,089 So needless to say, Jesus is busy. 415 00:17:32,089 --> 00:17:34,729 Jesus is doing the work of His Father. 416 00:17:34,889 --> 00:17:36,569 He is preaching the gospel. 417 00:17:36,569 --> 00:17:37,609 He's healing people. 418 00:17:38,009 --> 00:17:42,169 He's proclaiming the truth in a place that really needs the truth. 419 00:17:42,169 --> 00:17:44,569 It's dark there, and he's busy. 420 00:17:44,569 --> 00:17:45,649 And so what did Jesus see? 421 00:17:45,649 --> 00:17:47,049 Well, he saw a need for preaching. 422 00:17:48,180 --> 00:17:48,340 He. 423 00:17:48,340 --> 00:17:49,620 He saw a need for service. 424 00:17:50,500 --> 00:17:50,820 He. 425 00:17:50,820 --> 00:17:53,460 He saw a need to do the work of the Father. 426 00:17:53,460 --> 00:17:55,300 And so where we start is really this. 427 00:17:55,300 --> 00:17:55,580 It's. 428 00:17:55,580 --> 00:17:56,980 It's obedience to the Father. 429 00:17:56,980 --> 00:17:58,860 It's obedience to His Word. 430 00:17:58,860 --> 00:18:01,700 If we say, well, I gotta do this because Pastor Josh is really 431 00:18:01,700 --> 00:18:04,020 gonna get on my case if I'm not doing the vision this year. 432 00:18:04,420 --> 00:18:04,780 That's. 433 00:18:04,780 --> 00:18:05,700 That's missing the point. 434 00:18:06,180 --> 00:18:06,540 It's. 435 00:18:06,540 --> 00:18:06,780 It's. 436 00:18:06,780 --> 00:18:09,860 It's our relationship with God that drives us to follow Him. 437 00:18:09,860 --> 00:18:11,660 It drives us to serve Him. 438 00:18:11,660 --> 00:18:13,420 It drives us to obey what. 439 00:18:13,490 --> 00:18:15,010 What he calls us to do in our life. 440 00:18:15,010 --> 00:18:18,530 And so Jesus, we know, perfectly submitted himself to the 441 00:18:18,530 --> 00:18:21,410 will of the Father, even if he was physically fatigued. 442 00:18:21,410 --> 00:18:23,010 The Bible says that he was going everywhere. 443 00:18:23,010 --> 00:18:26,130 He was preaching the gospel, he was teaching in the synagogues, 444 00:18:26,130 --> 00:18:27,810 he was healing every sickness. 445 00:18:27,810 --> 00:18:32,450 And ultimately we know that sometimes it does in some ways, as 446 00:18:32,450 --> 00:18:35,810 a Christian, especially in a church as busy as ours, sometimes 447 00:18:35,810 --> 00:18:40,250 there's easily a temptation to be fatigued in the work of the ministry. 448 00:18:40,250 --> 00:18:41,520 So what does he say here? 449 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:43,080 He says, no, there's something more there. 450 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:43,720 Verse 36. 451 00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:47,120 But when he saw the multitudes, Jesus looks out and he 452 00:18:47,120 --> 00:18:47,880 sees the people. 453 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:50,560 He sees those people that need a savior. 454 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:53,720 And it says this phrase, and I think this is the core phrase that 455 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:55,600 I want us to grasp you this morning. 456 00:18:55,600 --> 00:18:59,560 He says he was moved with compassion on them. 457 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:04,240 And so Jesus did not just see a need for preaching and a need for 458 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:07,780 ministry, but he saw the need of the people, the greatest need. 459 00:19:07,930 --> 00:19:08,730 Need of the people. 460 00:19:09,050 --> 00:19:12,010 Verse 35 states that Jesus preached the gospel to the people. 461 00:19:12,170 --> 00:19:15,290 But we see in verse 36 that he was moved with compassion. 462 00:19:15,290 --> 00:19:18,850 So the motivation was not just, hey, I need to check a box 463 00:19:18,850 --> 00:19:20,490 to make sure I'm doing all of my work. 464 00:19:20,730 --> 00:19:22,570 No, he was moved with compassion. 465 00:19:22,570 --> 00:19:26,410 It was a heart of love for those that needed a Savior. 466 00:19:26,410 --> 00:19:28,690 And so we can't be effective soul winners. 467 00:19:28,690 --> 00:19:31,690 We can't be effective proclaimers of the gospel without 468 00:19:31,690 --> 00:19:33,850 a true passion for the lost. 469 00:19:34,910 --> 00:19:39,430 We, we must love those who need Jesus and love them enough to 470 00:19:39,430 --> 00:19:40,430 tell them the truth. 471 00:19:41,230 --> 00:19:42,550 You know, what did Jesus do? 472 00:19:42,550 --> 00:19:45,110 Jesus gives them the greatest thing that they needed, and that 473 00:19:45,110 --> 00:19:45,870 was a savior. 474 00:19:46,190 --> 00:19:48,390 We look at our society today and there's a lot of things that 475 00:19:48,390 --> 00:19:49,390 people around us need. 476 00:19:50,110 --> 00:19:51,190 I mean, they're, they're, they're. 477 00:19:51,190 --> 00:19:52,230 You guys know this. 478 00:19:52,230 --> 00:19:54,830 We all have needs, but particularly there are some people 479 00:19:54,830 --> 00:19:58,870 that are in great need of, of physical, material, wealth. 480 00:19:58,870 --> 00:20:00,230 There's people that are. 481 00:20:00,230 --> 00:20:01,660 Need of housing. 482 00:20:01,660 --> 00:20:03,620 There's a people in need of a lot of different things. 483 00:20:03,780 --> 00:20:07,900 And as a church, we could look to the symptoms and we can say, well, 484 00:20:07,900 --> 00:20:10,380 you know what, we can just give somebody something and make 485 00:20:10,380 --> 00:20:11,620 them feel better about themselves. 486 00:20:11,860 --> 00:20:13,180 But then that would not be enough. 487 00:20:13,180 --> 00:20:15,940 I think that what we need to do as a church is to give people 488 00:20:16,100 --> 00:20:19,500 the greatest need, and that is the need of a savior, and that is 489 00:20:19,500 --> 00:20:20,660 to proclaim the gospel. 490 00:20:20,660 --> 00:20:23,900 Now, I don't think that means that we should be void of compassion 491 00:20:23,900 --> 00:20:24,980 in the physical realm. 492 00:20:25,300 --> 00:20:28,140 I think that what that means is as we go into the world and share 493 00:20:28,140 --> 00:20:31,180 the gospel, and that, yes, we do meet people's physical needs, 494 00:20:31,180 --> 00:20:33,620 but at the same time explaining why we're meeting the 495 00:20:33,620 --> 00:20:37,020 physical need by sharing with them their spiritual need of a Savior. 496 00:20:37,740 --> 00:20:41,060 All of us can understand that we're going to face issues in our 497 00:20:41,060 --> 00:20:45,900 life, but the biggest answer to all of our problems is having 498 00:20:45,900 --> 00:20:46,980 that walk with Jesus. 499 00:20:46,980 --> 00:20:49,980 Because the walk with Jesus gives us something, as Philippians 500 00:20:49,980 --> 00:20:52,940 says, is the peace of God that passeth all understanding. 501 00:20:53,420 --> 00:20:56,380 Meaning that no matter what we're facing in our life, whatever 502 00:20:56,380 --> 00:20:59,420 circumstance it might be, whatever hardship we might be in, 503 00:20:59,630 --> 00:21:00,990 the Bible says that we can have peace. 504 00:21:01,070 --> 00:21:01,430 Why? 505 00:21:01,430 --> 00:21:04,910 Because we don't just have the peace of God, we have the peace with 506 00:21:04,910 --> 00:21:06,150 God in salvation. 507 00:21:06,150 --> 00:21:09,510 Therefore, we can say, yes, I have a physical problem going on 508 00:21:09,510 --> 00:21:11,510 in my life, and I'm not happy about that. 509 00:21:11,510 --> 00:21:13,790 But I know that God is with me through this. 510 00:21:14,350 --> 00:21:17,870 I. I know that maybe I'm in a financial hardship right now, and 511 00:21:17,870 --> 00:21:19,990 I know that there's going to be some issues and maybe some things 512 00:21:19,990 --> 00:21:20,950 that I have to give up. 513 00:21:20,950 --> 00:21:23,910 But at the end, I know that I have Jesus as my savior and that 514 00:21:23,910 --> 00:21:27,530 if everybody took everything away from me, the only thing that 515 00:21:27,530 --> 00:21:30,210 they can't take away from me is my relationship with Jesus Christ. 516 00:21:30,370 --> 00:21:33,690 The Bible says Jesus speaks that the things of this earth, moth 517 00:21:33,690 --> 00:21:34,850 and rust, can corrupt. 518 00:21:34,930 --> 00:21:37,810 They can, they can come in, they can steal things from us. 519 00:21:37,810 --> 00:21:41,010 But as a believer, the thing that no one can steal from us is 520 00:21:41,010 --> 00:21:42,610 that personal walk with Jesus Christ. 521 00:21:42,610 --> 00:21:44,290 That's what we need to give to the world. 522 00:21:44,450 --> 00:21:45,730 That's what we need to proclaim. 523 00:21:45,730 --> 00:21:46,690 That's what we need to live. 524 00:21:46,690 --> 00:21:50,370 And so Jesus says here he's moved with compassion on them. 525 00:21:50,930 --> 00:21:51,330 Why? 526 00:21:51,730 --> 00:21:56,360 Because they fainted, they were weak, they didn't have direction 527 00:21:56,360 --> 00:22:01,800 and were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd, Jesus likened 528 00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:03,680 the people to sheep having no shepherd. 529 00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:07,240 A shepherd guides, a shepherd protects. 530 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:10,560 A shepherd looks out for what's best for his sheep. 531 00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:13,840 And so a sheep without a shepherd has no hope of life, no 532 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:15,000 hope of survival. 533 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:19,240 And we must see the lost the same way the unsaved have no hope 534 00:22:20,370 --> 00:22:24,930 on their own to reach some sort of peace, some sort of protection, 535 00:22:25,170 --> 00:22:26,690 some sort of satisfaction. 536 00:22:27,090 --> 00:22:31,570 And so it's our goal as believers is to share with the lost 537 00:22:31,570 --> 00:22:36,210 sheep the only good shepherd who can protect them, who can sustain 538 00:22:36,210 --> 00:22:39,770 them, who can feed them, who can give them everlasting life. 539 00:22:39,770 --> 00:22:42,130 And so Jesus saw the need of the people. 540 00:22:43,330 --> 00:22:46,570 But not only did Jesus see the need of the people, verse 37, he 541 00:22:46,570 --> 00:22:48,230 sees a problem. 542 00:22:48,310 --> 00:22:50,150 He sees an issue at hand. 543 00:22:50,230 --> 00:22:53,510 He says in verse 37, then saith he unto his disciples. 544 00:22:53,510 --> 00:22:54,750 So he looks to his disciples. 545 00:22:54,750 --> 00:22:56,630 Now remember, who are the disciples. 546 00:22:56,790 --> 00:22:59,830 Most of us see the disciples as the 12 that followed him. 547 00:22:59,910 --> 00:23:02,390 And though they were disciples, there were more disciples 548 00:23:02,550 --> 00:23:02,950 there. 549 00:23:02,950 --> 00:23:04,430 It was, it was who followed him. 550 00:23:04,430 --> 00:23:06,790 And so Jesus looks to his disciples and he says this. 551 00:23:06,950 --> 00:23:08,790 The harvest truly is plenty. 552 00:23:08,950 --> 00:23:10,150 What's he talking about there? 553 00:23:10,790 --> 00:23:13,790 He says there's a big group of unsaved people out there. 554 00:23:13,790 --> 00:23:16,390 There's a great need for preaching the gospel. 555 00:23:16,390 --> 00:23:18,950 There's a great need for those who are lost. 556 00:23:18,950 --> 00:23:22,950 He says the harvest is truly plenteous, but the laborers are few. 557 00:23:24,390 --> 00:23:26,630 He realized the need of the people. 558 00:23:26,870 --> 00:23:28,590 He realized how great the need was. 559 00:23:28,590 --> 00:23:31,150 And he realized that there's not enough people to get out there 560 00:23:31,150 --> 00:23:32,110 and preach the gospel. 561 00:23:32,110 --> 00:23:35,670 So for the need of the gospel is still important today as it was 562 00:23:35,670 --> 00:23:36,710 back at the time of Christ. 563 00:23:36,710 --> 00:23:40,950 And so he says, hey, there is a lot of people that need Jesus, 564 00:23:40,950 --> 00:23:42,990 and there needs to be more people going to them. 565 00:23:42,990 --> 00:23:48,320 And he says, verse 38, Pray ye therefore, pray ye therefore, that 566 00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:52,720 the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth laborers into 567 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:53,520 his harvest. 568 00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:54,640 So. 569 00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:56,640 So we have to understand that there's a problem today. 570 00:23:56,720 --> 00:23:57,120 The. 571 00:23:57,200 --> 00:23:58,120 The problem is this. 572 00:23:58,120 --> 00:24:00,399 We've got so many people walking around that are unsaved in 573 00:24:00,399 --> 00:24:04,080 America today that have not heard a clear presentation of the 574 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:05,120 gospel of Jesus Christ. 575 00:24:05,120 --> 00:24:06,640 And then what's the other problem? 576 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:08,000 We've got a bunch of churches. 577 00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:11,530 Depending on where you're at in our country, you can drive and 578 00:24:11,530 --> 00:24:13,050 see a church almost on every corner. 579 00:24:14,250 --> 00:24:18,810 Now, not all of those churches are actively proclaiming the gospel 580 00:24:18,810 --> 00:24:21,810 message, but every gospel preaching church should see that 581 00:24:21,810 --> 00:24:22,330 as a. 582 00:24:22,330 --> 00:24:23,130 As a challenge. 583 00:24:23,130 --> 00:24:26,090 It should see that as an opportunity to say, you know what? 584 00:24:26,090 --> 00:24:29,170 How many people in our community have never heard the gospel 585 00:24:29,170 --> 00:24:29,930 of Jesus Christ? 586 00:24:30,330 --> 00:24:34,250 How many people in our community have heard a twisted gospel? 587 00:24:34,570 --> 00:24:39,300 I guarantee you somebody has preached some type of gospel to every 588 00:24:39,300 --> 00:24:40,500 single person in our community. 589 00:24:40,980 --> 00:24:44,180 Whether it's the gospel of money, whether it's the gospel of 590 00:24:44,180 --> 00:24:47,460 a twisted Jesus, whether it's the gospel of works, whether it's 591 00:24:47,460 --> 00:24:51,940 the gospel of flesh and pride and humanism, whether it's the gospel 592 00:24:51,940 --> 00:24:52,819 of whatever. 593 00:24:52,980 --> 00:24:55,780 We know that people are hearing some type of news. 594 00:24:56,180 --> 00:24:58,940 Now it's a matter of, are we as Christians going to be willing 595 00:24:58,940 --> 00:24:59,820 to say, you know what? 596 00:24:59,820 --> 00:25:00,900 Our news is different. 597 00:25:00,980 --> 00:25:02,180 Our news is better. 598 00:25:02,340 --> 00:25:02,500 We. 599 00:25:02,570 --> 00:25:03,810 We need to share that good news. 600 00:25:03,810 --> 00:25:06,090 And so Jesus says, hey, there is a problem. 601 00:25:06,090 --> 00:25:08,010 We need more laborers. 602 00:25:08,890 --> 00:25:10,330 But Jesus had the plan. 603 00:25:10,330 --> 00:25:12,250 Jesus says, pray, ask the Lord. 604 00:25:12,250 --> 00:25:15,090 And not only ask the Lord, Because I think in context here, 605 00:25:15,090 --> 00:25:18,890 what we have to understand is that he's assuming that these disciples 606 00:25:18,890 --> 00:25:19,690 are going to go. 607 00:25:20,010 --> 00:25:22,330 So he says, hey, pray that there's more. 608 00:25:22,970 --> 00:25:26,170 But we know that when we pray, we also need to follow God in faith 609 00:25:26,170 --> 00:25:29,130 by saying, okay, what do I need to do to help other laborers 610 00:25:29,130 --> 00:25:30,075 come into the harvest? 611 00:25:30,075 --> 00:25:30,220 What? 612 00:25:30,290 --> 00:25:31,810 Well, number one, I need to share my faith. 613 00:25:31,810 --> 00:25:33,330 Number two, I need to encourage others. 614 00:25:33,410 --> 00:25:36,330 I need to disciple others to become a disciple just like me, so 615 00:25:36,330 --> 00:25:39,450 that I can share my faith with other people and so that they can 616 00:25:39,450 --> 00:25:40,610 share their faith with other people. 617 00:25:41,410 --> 00:25:45,090 Jesus tells us to pray for more workers to share God's word 618 00:25:45,090 --> 00:25:45,730 and his love. 619 00:25:46,210 --> 00:25:51,010 And so it starts with prayer, but it also goes to us as a responsibility 620 00:25:51,010 --> 00:25:55,890 to take it upon ourselves to do our part as laborers in the harvest. 621 00:25:56,840 --> 00:25:57,560 And so, so we. 622 00:25:57,560 --> 00:26:01,600 We looked at Jesus and how he viewed this situation, and we see 623 00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:03,240 that he's moved with compassion. 624 00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:06,080 The question that I would have for all of us here this morning is 625 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:06,360 this. 626 00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:10,320 When we look out and we see the world the way that it is, what 627 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:11,240 is our response? 628 00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:13,800 For many of us, it's this. 629 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:16,920 It's like disdain, it's hopelessness. 630 00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:20,680 It's kind of writing off and saying, well, the world is going 631 00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:22,680 down in fire and we just are going to give up. 632 00:26:23,270 --> 00:26:25,750 And that's sometimes what we see within Christian circles is a 633 00:26:25,750 --> 00:26:26,710 sense of defeatism. 634 00:26:27,190 --> 00:26:30,030 But what I would say for us today is that if we truly believe 635 00:26:30,030 --> 00:26:33,430 the message that we're trusting our life in, hey, that message 636 00:26:33,430 --> 00:26:34,750 is a message of hope. 637 00:26:34,750 --> 00:26:36,790 That message is a message of truth. 638 00:26:36,870 --> 00:26:38,470 That message is a message of love. 639 00:26:38,470 --> 00:26:41,590 And if it's transformed our life, it can transform others. 640 00:26:42,230 --> 00:26:45,030 You say, pastor, I've shared it with this person a hundred times, 641 00:26:45,430 --> 00:26:47,550 and he or she hasn't still not listened. 642 00:26:47,550 --> 00:26:50,480 That's okay, keep sharing it, because it's not on us. 643 00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:54,080 It's not our responsibility for them to make the decision. 644 00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:58,000 That's the responsibility and the power of the Spirit changing 645 00:26:58,000 --> 00:26:58,720 their hearts. 646 00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:02,480 The Bible speaks of the parable of the sower, right? 647 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:04,320 It's our job to sow the seed. 648 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:08,600 It's our job to distribute the truth and to live the best way that 649 00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:11,560 we can to show that Jesus Christ has changed our life. 650 00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:14,240 And so what I would challenge you to do is not look at results 651 00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:16,280 as much as look at faithfulness. 652 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:18,640 And so how can we do this practically? 653 00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:21,440 Well, as the church, we have corporate events in which we come 654 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:23,960 together and we say we're going to go and do something. 655 00:27:24,200 --> 00:27:24,640 And we. 656 00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:27,960 We have mission strips we have local service opportunities. 657 00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:31,800 But what I would say is that, yes, even though the church has corporate 658 00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:37,080 action that we do as a ministry, I think that it should 659 00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:38,120 go further than that. 660 00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:40,960 I think that all of us should take as a responsibility to have 661 00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:42,760 a lifestyle of going right. 662 00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:47,000 So as we grow together within discipleship, within the church. 663 00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:50,280 Discipleship doesn't end with just what we teach within these four 664 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:50,840 walls. 665 00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:52,120 Discipleship is this. 666 00:27:52,120 --> 00:27:53,960 We take what we've learned. 667 00:27:54,120 --> 00:28:00,760 We take things as we grow, and then we go in service and in sacrifice 668 00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:04,600 and in the Gospel to share what it means to know Jesus. 669 00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:07,040 And so how can we have this Christlike perspective? 670 00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:08,280 I think it goes like this. 671 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:11,440 So serving others, right, starts with service. 672 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:12,800 Jesus was willing to serve others. 673 00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:13,640 Verse 35. 674 00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:18,920 If we have a selfish view of life, we miss opportunities to serve, 675 00:28:19,080 --> 00:28:20,840 we miss opportunities to share. 676 00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:25,040 And so Jesus was serving in this passage, even though he had 677 00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:25,960 already done a lot. 678 00:28:26,840 --> 00:28:30,920 We, we never should be saying in our life, well, I've done enough, 679 00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:32,360 I've reached it. 680 00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:34,680 I, I've hit my service quota for the month. 681 00:28:34,680 --> 00:28:36,040 I'm just going to give up serving. 682 00:28:36,230 --> 00:28:38,110 We never know what God is going to bring into our life. 683 00:28:38,110 --> 00:28:39,750 And so we always have to be ready to serve. 684 00:28:39,750 --> 00:28:42,830 And so if God has blessed us with salvation and he's blessed us 685 00:28:42,830 --> 00:28:46,150 with service, we should return to the best of our ability in service 686 00:28:46,230 --> 00:28:48,870 and, and sacrifice for Him. 687 00:28:48,870 --> 00:28:51,670 But then we see serving others and then seeking the lost. 688 00:28:52,470 --> 00:28:53,350 Seeking the lost. 689 00:28:55,110 --> 00:28:56,950 I, I don't think that we should. 690 00:28:58,470 --> 00:29:01,590 Like, for example, I don't think we should assume everyone's 691 00:29:01,590 --> 00:29:02,070 unsaved. 692 00:29:02,070 --> 00:29:05,070 Like, you walk up to someone and say, you're a sinner and you're 693 00:29:05,070 --> 00:29:05,630 going to hell. 694 00:29:05,630 --> 00:29:06,630 Ask questions, right? 695 00:29:06,630 --> 00:29:09,150 I think, I think the biggest thing is seeking lust, looking and 696 00:29:09,150 --> 00:29:11,470 asking God for you to have open doors. 697 00:29:11,630 --> 00:29:15,070 Paul called them doors of utterances, which means opportunities 698 00:29:15,070 --> 00:29:16,110 to share the gospel. 699 00:29:16,270 --> 00:29:18,110 Pray for opportunities to share the gospel. 700 00:29:18,270 --> 00:29:21,470 You know, a lot of times it's, it's us initiating the conversation. 701 00:29:21,550 --> 00:29:24,150 But if we're really perceptive, sometimes there's opportunities 702 00:29:24,150 --> 00:29:27,110 for us to have someone else ask a question that could bridge 703 00:29:27,110 --> 00:29:28,590 a gap into sharing the gospel. 704 00:29:29,340 --> 00:29:30,780 Maybe it's just where you go to church. 705 00:29:31,740 --> 00:29:34,380 Maybe if a conversation comes up and you say, well, I can't come, 706 00:29:34,380 --> 00:29:36,060 on Friday night we have a church event. 707 00:29:36,540 --> 00:29:37,540 Oh, you go to church? 708 00:29:37,540 --> 00:29:38,540 What church do you go to? 709 00:29:38,620 --> 00:29:40,620 Well, I go to so and so, whatever, church. 710 00:29:40,620 --> 00:29:45,020 And then from there it's, hey, what do you guys, you know, have 711 00:29:45,020 --> 00:29:45,700 you ever been to church? 712 00:29:45,700 --> 00:29:46,500 Do you go to church? 713 00:29:46,500 --> 00:29:48,620 And there's an opportunity to ask questions and hear. 714 00:29:48,620 --> 00:29:52,460 And so seeking the lost, Jesus was filled with compassion. 715 00:29:52,620 --> 00:29:54,420 He knew that those people needed the gospel. 716 00:29:54,420 --> 00:29:56,080 He was hoping that not. 717 00:29:56,080 --> 00:30:00,040 Not just hoping that they would come to him, but he was looking 718 00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:03,960 for people to actively look and to minister to those people that 719 00:30:03,960 --> 00:30:04,560 needed him. 720 00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:08,120 And so as Christians with a view like Christ, we have to actively 721 00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:09,320 be pursuing the loss. 722 00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:13,000 But then what I would say is pursue the loss, but also sow the 723 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:15,200 seed, sow the gospel. 724 00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:18,760 It's one thing to recognize that someone's unsaved and know that 725 00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:19,600 they're not a Christian. 726 00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:21,400 You know, we could identify that. 727 00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:23,720 Maybe, maybe they're not private about it. 728 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:25,440 Maybe they just say, yeah, I don't go to church. 729 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:27,240 I don't believe in all that mumbo jumbo. 730 00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:28,520 I don't believe in anything. 731 00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:28,840 I'm. 732 00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:32,080 I'm an atheist or I'm whatever, okay, we've identified 733 00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:32,720 that they're lost. 734 00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:34,520 We've sought after them, we've found them. 735 00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:35,480 But what do we do? 736 00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:38,440 Well, the culmination of all this would be to sow the gospel, 737 00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:39,880 to spread the seed. 738 00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:43,480 It's not upon us how they receive it, it's how we share it. 739 00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:47,040 So Jesus saw a need for more workers to sow the good news of the 740 00:30:47,040 --> 00:30:47,480 gospel. 741 00:30:47,490 --> 00:30:48,880 And, and we've all been given gifts. 742 00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:51,720 We've been talking about that for now, almost over a month. 743 00:30:51,720 --> 00:30:54,600 We've all been given gifts, and God has called us to use them 744 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:59,640 to the best of our ability to preach the gospel, to evangelize 745 00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:05,040 the lost, to edify the saints, and to exhort others to love and 746 00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:05,960 to good works. 747 00:31:06,120 --> 00:31:08,360 And that's really the model of up, in and out. 748 00:31:08,840 --> 00:31:13,200 It's first and foremost, I'm growing in the Lord in my walk with 749 00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:13,480 Him. 750 00:31:13,780 --> 00:31:15,420 How do I grow in the Lord with my walk with him? 751 00:31:15,420 --> 00:31:16,580 You grow in your love for Him. 752 00:31:16,580 --> 00:31:17,860 How do you grow in your love for him? 753 00:31:17,860 --> 00:31:20,940 I believe is to follow what he has called us to do in obedience, 754 00:31:20,940 --> 00:31:24,460 to study his word, to communicate with him in prayer, to 755 00:31:24,460 --> 00:31:26,860 serve him, to love him, to spend time with him. 756 00:31:26,860 --> 00:31:30,020 And as we do that, it will reflect to how we deal with other 757 00:31:30,020 --> 00:31:30,500 Christians. 758 00:31:31,620 --> 00:31:32,860 We must love one another. 759 00:31:32,860 --> 00:31:34,220 We must be serving one another. 760 00:31:34,220 --> 00:31:36,020 We must be edifying one another. 761 00:31:36,180 --> 00:31:39,660 We must be educating one another when it comes to small groups 762 00:31:39,660 --> 00:31:43,690 and, and service projects and Bible studies and Sunday school classes 763 00:31:43,690 --> 00:31:44,690 and everything like that. 764 00:31:44,850 --> 00:31:47,690 But then eventually, what it means is that our church has to be 765 00:31:47,690 --> 00:31:48,290 mobilized. 766 00:31:49,330 --> 00:31:53,370 Our church has to leave these four walls, this property, and go 767 00:31:53,370 --> 00:31:55,250 and be a gospel witness. 768 00:31:55,250 --> 00:31:57,330 To be a light in this world. 769 00:31:57,970 --> 00:31:59,970 The Bible speaks there in Matthew, chapter five. 770 00:31:59,970 --> 00:32:00,890 I wish we had more time. 771 00:32:00,890 --> 00:32:03,890 But it speaks of a Christian not being a light that's hidden under 772 00:32:03,890 --> 00:32:07,840 a bushel, but to take the bushel off into hold that light up 773 00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:08,520 into the world. 774 00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:12,000 It doesn't mean that every one of us is called to be a street preacher, 775 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:13,800 even though some of you might be called for that. 776 00:32:13,800 --> 00:32:15,520 I'm not saying that that's a bad thing. 777 00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:17,800 I'm just saying that not everyone's gifted in that capacity, 778 00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:21,520 but all of us are gifted in the capacity to shine the light of 779 00:32:21,520 --> 00:32:22,759 Jesus Christ to this world. 780 00:32:22,759 --> 00:32:25,920 If we want to see Middletown Baptist Church grow, which I hope 781 00:32:25,920 --> 00:32:28,480 that all of you want to see Middletown Baptist Church grow, because 782 00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:29,480 that would be the will of God. 783 00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:32,520 I believe that it's God's will that we grow to whatever capacity 784 00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:36,070 he wants us to grow in, both physically and more importantly, 785 00:32:36,070 --> 00:32:36,710 spiritually. 786 00:32:37,110 --> 00:32:40,190 But if we want to see Middletown Baptist Church grow, how 787 00:32:40,190 --> 00:32:41,350 do we see that happen? 788 00:32:42,310 --> 00:32:45,670 Well, Pastor, we just advertise more in the local newspapers. 789 00:32:45,910 --> 00:32:47,990 One, I'm going to tell you that that's probably not going to 790 00:32:47,990 --> 00:32:48,990 be the most effective route. 791 00:32:48,990 --> 00:32:51,350 Okay, we'll have a good website. 792 00:32:51,350 --> 00:32:53,990 Well, that might help get people through the front door. 793 00:32:55,270 --> 00:32:57,990 Have a good sign out by the road that that might help initially 794 00:32:57,990 --> 00:32:59,510 for people to know that we're here. 795 00:32:59,910 --> 00:33:04,230 But knowing that we are here and attending a service is not growth. 796 00:33:05,110 --> 00:33:08,710 I could put out in the local news that we're giving away a free 797 00:33:09,030 --> 00:33:13,110 car and everyone that shows up gets a raffle ticket. 798 00:33:13,110 --> 00:33:16,270 I bet you that there will be a lot more people that show up to Middletown 799 00:33:16,270 --> 00:33:19,190 Baptist Church that Sunday and we could say, look at this growth. 800 00:33:20,950 --> 00:33:21,670 But that's not. 801 00:33:21,670 --> 00:33:22,790 That's not biblical growth. 802 00:33:23,830 --> 00:33:27,670 We could focus on one element of entertaining people and say, oh, 803 00:33:27,740 --> 00:33:28,340 okay, you know what? 804 00:33:28,340 --> 00:33:32,500 We're going to bring in a new music artist each week, and people 805 00:33:32,500 --> 00:33:33,660 might come out for that. 806 00:33:33,980 --> 00:33:37,020 And I'm not saying that that's in and of itself wrong, but what 807 00:33:37,020 --> 00:33:40,500 I am saying is that if our ultimate goal of growth is just bringing 808 00:33:40,500 --> 00:33:43,420 people in and finding different ways to bring people in, 809 00:33:43,420 --> 00:33:44,380 we're missing the point. 810 00:33:44,380 --> 00:33:48,140 Because the point of growth would be for people finding who Jesus 811 00:33:48,140 --> 00:33:51,980 Christ is and being deeply rooted into a relationship with him. 812 00:33:52,140 --> 00:33:53,180 That's true growth. 813 00:33:53,880 --> 00:33:55,320 And what we do, how do we do that? 814 00:33:55,720 --> 00:33:59,520 Well, the best way for the word of God to be spread and for 815 00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:02,920 people to come in and be deeply rooted is for individual Christians 816 00:34:03,160 --> 00:34:07,520 to reach other people, to bring them in, to lead them to Jesus 817 00:34:07,520 --> 00:34:07,800 Christ. 818 00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:09,880 That's the way it happens. 819 00:34:09,880 --> 00:34:11,560 That's how it happened in the early church. 820 00:34:12,200 --> 00:34:13,280 That's the way that it happened. 821 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:16,760 They didn't have to advertise in the local newspapers. 822 00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:18,240 They were talking word of mouth. 823 00:34:18,240 --> 00:34:19,400 They were sharing in their life. 824 00:34:19,610 --> 00:34:21,890 And so what I want to encourage you to do is first and 825 00:34:21,890 --> 00:34:24,090 foremost bring people to church, invite people to church. 826 00:34:24,650 --> 00:34:26,370 But it's more than inviting people to church. 827 00:34:26,370 --> 00:34:28,250 It's sharing the gospel with them. 828 00:34:29,370 --> 00:34:29,730 It's. 829 00:34:29,730 --> 00:34:32,730 It's sharing the truth and then discipling them along the way. 830 00:34:32,810 --> 00:34:35,050 That's true biblical evangelism. 831 00:34:36,650 --> 00:34:38,370 I'm not against tent revivals. 832 00:34:38,370 --> 00:34:42,130 I'm not against any type of big services and bringing special 833 00:34:42,130 --> 00:34:42,970 speakers in. 834 00:34:42,970 --> 00:34:45,930 But what we have seen, and I think some of you might agree with 835 00:34:45,930 --> 00:34:49,540 me on this, is that we've had big motions and movements to get 836 00:34:49,540 --> 00:34:51,700 people in and make people have professions of faith. 837 00:34:51,700 --> 00:34:54,020 And I'm all for having those professions of faith. 838 00:34:54,020 --> 00:34:55,340 I want us to come to Christ. 839 00:34:55,580 --> 00:35:00,180 But I think where as a church we can do better is by finding these 840 00:35:00,180 --> 00:35:04,140 babies in Christ and then formulating a plan for them to have 841 00:35:04,140 --> 00:35:05,660 and find spiritual growth. 842 00:35:06,620 --> 00:35:09,380 Because what we've seen in the American church is a lot of stunted 843 00:35:09,380 --> 00:35:12,460 spiritual growth because we're excited about people coming, which 844 00:35:12,460 --> 00:35:13,180 we should be. 845 00:35:13,570 --> 00:35:16,250 But then we forget about that step of nurturing them and raising 846 00:35:16,250 --> 00:35:19,890 them into maturity, into being a mature believer in Jesus Christ. 847 00:35:20,370 --> 00:35:23,010 I remember all three of my children's births. 848 00:35:23,010 --> 00:35:27,090 The days of them were we were celebrating, we were excited. 849 00:35:27,650 --> 00:35:30,610 Others had more complications than others, especially our most 850 00:35:30,610 --> 00:35:33,370 recent one, Silas, because some of you know, Silas has some 851 00:35:33,370 --> 00:35:33,850 complications. 852 00:35:33,850 --> 00:35:36,250 Some of you know, or maybe didn't know, I had some complications 853 00:35:36,250 --> 00:35:36,850 on that day. 854 00:35:37,010 --> 00:35:39,010 So I was a day I will never forget. 855 00:35:39,620 --> 00:35:41,900 But what I will say is that those days that my children were 856 00:35:41,900 --> 00:35:43,220 born, I was super excited. 857 00:35:43,540 --> 00:35:48,940 We were laughing, crying, cheering, thinking about their names, 858 00:35:48,940 --> 00:35:50,180 thinking about all these different things. 859 00:35:50,180 --> 00:35:52,260 And what if, though, we had these children? 860 00:35:52,260 --> 00:35:54,020 And we said, okay, that was a great day. 861 00:35:54,100 --> 00:35:54,980 There was new life. 862 00:35:54,980 --> 00:35:57,380 And then we just said, okay, figure it out. 863 00:35:57,460 --> 00:35:58,820 And we just left them. 864 00:35:59,220 --> 00:36:02,700 And we didn't nurture them to a place of spiritual growth, on physical 865 00:36:02,700 --> 00:36:06,740 growth, feeding them, preparing for them, getting them 866 00:36:06,740 --> 00:36:08,780 a nice place to live and keep warm. 867 00:36:08,780 --> 00:36:10,340 And you guys understand the principle there. 868 00:36:10,340 --> 00:36:14,100 It's a very simple principle of maintaining and nurturing a child 869 00:36:14,100 --> 00:36:17,420 to a place where they become functioning, independent adults. 870 00:36:17,660 --> 00:36:19,980 That's what it looks like within the church as well. 871 00:36:20,540 --> 00:36:21,860 We have to come alongside. 872 00:36:21,860 --> 00:36:26,380 And I don't care if someone's been saved for 50 years or 50 minutes. 873 00:36:26,460 --> 00:36:29,220 What happens is that sometimes people that maybe have been saved 874 00:36:29,220 --> 00:36:32,500 for a long time have not had the opportunity to see that spiritual 875 00:36:32,500 --> 00:36:32,700 growth. 876 00:36:32,700 --> 00:36:35,930 And so what I would encourage us to do is not only go out and share 877 00:36:35,930 --> 00:36:39,450 the Word, but as we go out, share the Word and then bring some 878 00:36:39,450 --> 00:36:41,050 along with us and say, look, you're. 879 00:36:41,050 --> 00:36:41,530 You're my. 880 00:36:41,530 --> 00:36:42,490 You're my disciple. 881 00:36:42,970 --> 00:36:45,570 I. I want to walk through with you these questions. 882 00:36:45,570 --> 00:36:48,010 I want to walk through with you these concerns. 883 00:36:48,010 --> 00:36:50,489 And then if I don't have the answers for this, we'll find it together 884 00:36:50,489 --> 00:36:51,770 or we'll find someone who does. 885 00:36:52,170 --> 00:36:54,810 And I think that's an exciting thing for us to see in Middletown 886 00:36:54,810 --> 00:36:55,370 Baptist Church. 887 00:36:55,370 --> 00:36:58,050 So as we conclude here this morning, I want you to think about 888 00:36:58,050 --> 00:37:00,330 those three words, up, in and out. 889 00:37:02,220 --> 00:37:03,820 Where is my relationship with God? 890 00:37:04,460 --> 00:37:06,780 First of all, do I have a relationship with God? 891 00:37:07,020 --> 00:37:09,420 Have I trusted in him in faith? 892 00:37:10,380 --> 00:37:11,860 It's not about being a good person. 893 00:37:11,860 --> 00:37:13,260 It's not about working my way. 894 00:37:13,260 --> 00:37:14,860 It's not about being a church member. 895 00:37:14,860 --> 00:37:16,060 It's not about any of those things. 896 00:37:16,060 --> 00:37:19,860 It's about, do I have faith in Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone 897 00:37:19,860 --> 00:37:20,620 for salvation? 898 00:37:20,620 --> 00:37:24,380 Have I trusted in the gospel that's laid out in scripture, then? 899 00:37:24,460 --> 00:37:26,660 Okay, yes, I do have that. 900 00:37:26,660 --> 00:37:26,980 Okay. 901 00:37:26,980 --> 00:37:28,220 Now, what does that mean for growth? 902 00:37:29,210 --> 00:37:32,770 Well, just like any other relationship you've ever had, spending 903 00:37:32,770 --> 00:37:36,730 time with a person, getting to know their needs, getting to know 904 00:37:36,730 --> 00:37:39,250 their wants, getting to know their desires, getting to know them 905 00:37:39,250 --> 00:37:40,290 in every personal way. 906 00:37:40,290 --> 00:37:43,130 And the way that you can become intimately aware of who God 907 00:37:43,130 --> 00:37:45,130 is and what he has done for us is through His Word. 908 00:37:45,690 --> 00:37:47,770 Grow in a love for His Word. 909 00:37:47,770 --> 00:37:50,010 Grow in a love for the preaching of His Word. 910 00:37:50,010 --> 00:37:53,050 Grow in your love for the study of His Word. 911 00:37:54,020 --> 00:37:57,140 But obviously, we know that just knowing the Bible doesn't transform 912 00:37:57,140 --> 00:37:57,620 our lives. 913 00:37:57,780 --> 00:38:01,540 It's about knowing what the word of God says, believing it and 914 00:38:01,540 --> 00:38:02,980 applying it to our lives. 915 00:38:04,020 --> 00:38:06,380 And then, of course, from there, it's communicating with God. 916 00:38:06,380 --> 00:38:07,300 It's talking with him. 917 00:38:07,300 --> 00:38:08,260 It's serving. 918 00:38:08,260 --> 00:38:09,859 It's being around other Christians. 919 00:38:09,859 --> 00:38:10,259 It's. 920 00:38:10,259 --> 00:38:12,980 It's understanding that my brother in Christ, though I might 921 00:38:12,980 --> 00:38:15,420 not necessarily agree with everything, I might not like the 922 00:38:15,420 --> 00:38:16,740 football team that he follows. 923 00:38:16,900 --> 00:38:18,740 I might not like the job that he has. 924 00:38:18,980 --> 00:38:22,770 I might not like necessarily some of the things that he does or 925 00:38:22,770 --> 00:38:23,090 says. 926 00:38:23,250 --> 00:38:25,450 At the end of the day, he's my brother in Christ. 927 00:38:25,450 --> 00:38:28,970 And we have to find that commonality in the bond of the spirit 928 00:38:28,970 --> 00:38:29,490 of Christ. 929 00:38:29,730 --> 00:38:32,490 Now, if there's conflict, we deal with that biblically, if there's 930 00:38:32,490 --> 00:38:33,490 conflict, we deal with it. 931 00:38:33,490 --> 00:38:34,210 Truth and love. 932 00:38:34,210 --> 00:38:35,650 We deal with it with Matthew 18. 933 00:38:35,810 --> 00:38:37,890 We deal with it with love and with grace. 934 00:38:37,890 --> 00:38:41,170 And Ephesians 4:32, to have a spirit of forgiveness. 935 00:38:41,170 --> 00:38:41,410 Why? 936 00:38:41,410 --> 00:38:42,770 Because God has forgiven us. 937 00:38:42,930 --> 00:38:44,210 And so we deal with that. 938 00:38:44,450 --> 00:38:47,200 But we should see the church family not as our competition. 939 00:38:47,910 --> 00:38:49,750 We should see the church family as our. 940 00:38:49,750 --> 00:38:52,990 Our teammates that we're working all together with, one at 941 00:38:52,990 --> 00:38:55,990 a time, with different purposes, with different skills, 942 00:38:56,070 --> 00:38:59,230 but ultimately under the same great shepherd of Jesus Christ. 943 00:38:59,230 --> 00:39:01,950 And so what I would encourage you to do is think about your relationship 944 00:39:01,950 --> 00:39:02,710 within the church. 945 00:39:03,510 --> 00:39:03,950 Where's. 946 00:39:03,950 --> 00:39:05,030 Where's my role of service? 947 00:39:05,030 --> 00:39:05,550 Where's. 948 00:39:05,550 --> 00:39:06,790 Where's my small group? 949 00:39:06,790 --> 00:39:07,750 Where's my community? 950 00:39:07,990 --> 00:39:10,310 I would tell you here this morning, I love church. 951 00:39:11,190 --> 00:39:15,230 Church, for me is something that I think, obviously where I'm 952 00:39:15,230 --> 00:39:17,990 at in my life is a priority for me. 953 00:39:17,990 --> 00:39:21,310 And the priority for me and my family is not to see church as just 954 00:39:21,310 --> 00:39:23,550 a place that we go on Sunday mornings. 955 00:39:24,990 --> 00:39:27,750 We got to go to church like we go to the basketball game, like we 956 00:39:27,750 --> 00:39:29,630 go to, you know, the grocery store. 957 00:39:29,790 --> 00:39:33,630 No, I want my family and I want for myself to see church as 958 00:39:33,630 --> 00:39:34,910 my family, My. 959 00:39:35,070 --> 00:39:39,710 My community that I come to, not just to find spiritual teaching, 960 00:39:39,710 --> 00:39:42,660 even though that's amazing, that's what we need in the church, 961 00:39:42,660 --> 00:39:46,500 but also where we find community and edification and exhortation 962 00:39:46,500 --> 00:39:47,500 and being challenged. 963 00:39:47,500 --> 00:39:49,700 There should be accountability within the church. 964 00:39:50,500 --> 00:39:54,020 I know that's not what we want to talk about, but every individual, 965 00:39:54,100 --> 00:39:54,500 every. 966 00:39:54,500 --> 00:39:56,660 Including myself, we all need accountability. 967 00:39:57,460 --> 00:39:59,300 Set up accountability in your life. 968 00:39:59,860 --> 00:40:03,100 Where we see problems is when someone doesn't get to a place of 969 00:40:03,100 --> 00:40:05,060 accountability with other people in their life. 970 00:40:05,220 --> 00:40:07,620 And it's so easy to drift when we have no one to be accountable 971 00:40:07,620 --> 00:40:07,940 for. 972 00:40:08,600 --> 00:40:09,440 Folks, I'm your pastor. 973 00:40:09,440 --> 00:40:10,680 I want you to keep me accountable. 974 00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:11,720 Talk with me. 975 00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:14,760 That's why we go above and beyond with transparency of the church, 976 00:40:14,760 --> 00:40:17,120 because we don't want ever there to be a temptation to think 977 00:40:17,120 --> 00:40:20,200 that someone owns a certain part of the church or that someone 978 00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:23,800 is void of the instructions that the word of God gives. 979 00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:26,280 So find accountability somewhere within the church. 980 00:40:26,680 --> 00:40:28,800 But then we also see that it doesn't stop there. 981 00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:30,760 And this is, again, this is where we end. 982 00:40:32,200 --> 00:40:35,410 It's deploying being the salt and light into the world. 983 00:40:36,770 --> 00:40:37,370 You know, we. 984 00:40:37,370 --> 00:40:39,210 We have a few opportunities this summer. 985 00:40:39,210 --> 00:40:41,890 Not everyone's going to be able to be a part of all of them. 986 00:40:42,290 --> 00:40:44,930 For example, we have a missions trip that we're taking to 987 00:40:45,170 --> 00:40:45,570 Africa. 988 00:40:45,650 --> 00:40:47,810 We have different service projects. 989 00:40:47,810 --> 00:40:50,770 That we're going to be trying to accomplish here at our church, 990 00:40:50,770 --> 00:40:53,770 but I would want us to say here is that we don't need to wait 991 00:40:53,770 --> 00:40:56,210 for a church project to come up. 992 00:40:56,530 --> 00:40:56,890 Be. 993 00:40:56,890 --> 00:40:59,730 There's a little song that we used to sing when we were kids, and 994 00:40:59,840 --> 00:41:01,600 we should probably sing it as we're older. 995 00:41:01,600 --> 00:41:02,720 Is be a missionary. 996 00:41:02,720 --> 00:41:03,280 Every day. 997 00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:04,960 We're all you. 998 00:41:04,960 --> 00:41:07,680 You guys may or may not know it, but you have an opportunity to 999 00:41:07,680 --> 00:41:09,440 be a missionary in Middletown, Delaware. 1000 00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:10,880 You know, we, You. 1001 00:41:10,880 --> 00:41:11,680 You guys are. 1002 00:41:11,840 --> 00:41:13,360 God has equipped you. 1003 00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:16,800 God has commissioned you to be a missionary. 1004 00:41:16,800 --> 00:41:20,200 Wherever you are in your Jerusalem, you say missionary. 1005 00:41:20,200 --> 00:41:20,440 I'm. 1006 00:41:20,440 --> 00:41:22,000 I'm not qualified to be a missionary. 1007 00:41:22,080 --> 00:41:24,560 You're qualified because you have Jesus Christ as your savior. 1008 00:41:24,720 --> 00:41:27,570 Now, maybe you're not called to foreign missions, maybe you're 1009 00:41:27,570 --> 00:41:29,570 not called to go and preach behind a pulpit. 1010 00:41:29,650 --> 00:41:31,810 All of us are called with the mission of the gospel. 1011 00:41:32,530 --> 00:41:36,890 And so I would encourage you to think about how you, in your sphere 1012 00:41:36,890 --> 00:41:39,770 of influence in your life, whether it's your workplace or your 1013 00:41:39,770 --> 00:41:43,570 home life or your neighborhood or your hobbies or wherever you're 1014 00:41:43,570 --> 00:41:46,490 taking your kids or your grandkids or wherever you come across. 1015 00:41:46,490 --> 00:41:49,610 Some of you guys go to a restaurant every single day and they 1016 00:41:49,610 --> 00:41:50,290 know your name. 1017 00:41:50,450 --> 00:41:52,570 They walk in and they say, hey, brother so and so. 1018 00:41:52,570 --> 00:41:54,210 Or they might not call you brother, they might say Mr. 1019 00:41:54,210 --> 00:41:54,770 So and so. 1020 00:41:54,770 --> 00:41:55,930 And you know them by name. 1021 00:41:55,930 --> 00:41:56,370 Okay. 1022 00:41:57,210 --> 00:41:57,410 Do. 1023 00:41:57,410 --> 00:41:58,730 The question would be is this. 1024 00:41:59,210 --> 00:41:59,530 Do. 1025 00:41:59,530 --> 00:42:03,970 Do the people in your life know that Jesus is real to you, that 1026 00:42:03,970 --> 00:42:05,290 you have a relationship with him? 1027 00:42:05,690 --> 00:42:08,850 And if so, I would encourage you to continue on in that. 1028 00:42:08,850 --> 00:42:11,490 But if not, let's look to be the salt and light in the world that 1029 00:42:11,490 --> 00:42:12,090 we are in. 1030 00:42:12,090 --> 00:42:14,890 Well, I'm asking if you're able to just stand with me, every 1031 00:42:14,890 --> 00:42:16,970 head bowed, every eye closed as the music plays. 1032 00:42:17,210 --> 00:42:17,850 Hear this. 1033 00:42:17,930 --> 00:42:18,570 This moment. 1034 00:42:18,570 --> 00:42:21,370 In a few moments, we're gonna have a time of invitation. 1035 00:42:21,610 --> 00:42:22,890 A time of invitation is. 1036 00:42:22,890 --> 00:42:24,290 Is nothing for guilt. 1037 00:42:24,290 --> 00:42:28,290 It's nothing for anything other than for you to respond to 1038 00:42:28,290 --> 00:42:31,490 the preaching of the word of God, to take a level of commitment 1039 00:42:31,490 --> 00:42:32,010 to him. 1040 00:42:32,170 --> 00:42:36,410 Because I know how easy it is to hear preaching, to hear teaching, 1041 00:42:36,650 --> 00:42:39,770 agree with it, and then just move right on to the day to day. 1042 00:42:40,570 --> 00:42:43,090 What I would challenge you to do here this morning is we've gone 1043 00:42:43,090 --> 00:42:45,730 through a lot of sermons on church culture, on. 1044 00:42:45,730 --> 00:42:49,570 On what it means to be a church, what it means to be a believer, 1045 00:42:49,570 --> 00:42:53,290 what it means to be a teacher, what it means to be anything within 1046 00:42:53,290 --> 00:42:53,835 the church. 1047 00:42:53,835 --> 00:42:55,730 And, and so what I would encourage you to do is think about 1048 00:42:55,730 --> 00:43:00,370 those things and in, in, in a way personalize it to you and say, 1049 00:43:00,370 --> 00:43:03,570 lord, what do you want from me when it comes to the church? 1050 00:43:03,570 --> 00:43:07,890 What do you want from me when it comes to going up, in and out? 1051 00:43:08,210 --> 00:43:11,090 And if there's any of those areas that God is speaking to you 1052 00:43:11,090 --> 00:43:13,850 about, I would encourage you to move on that, to obey Him. 1053 00:43:13,850 --> 00:43:17,130 If you have some questions, maybe you need some direction, I 1054 00:43:17,130 --> 00:43:20,330 would love to personally speak to you and see what what God might 1055 00:43:20,330 --> 00:43:23,890 have for you within Middletown Baptist Church or or elsewhere. 1056 00:43:24,850 --> 00:43:27,250 And another thing I would say here this morning is that I never 1057 00:43:27,250 --> 00:43:29,690 want to assume that every single person here is a believer 1058 00:43:29,690 --> 00:43:30,530 in Jesus Christ. 1059 00:43:31,090 --> 00:43:32,930 Maybe God's been pressing on your heart. 1060 00:43:32,930 --> 00:43:37,170 Maybe God's been bringing to you questions and concerns here this 1061 00:43:37,170 --> 00:43:37,490 morning. 1062 00:43:37,490 --> 00:43:39,170 Jesus can change your life. 1063 00:43:39,170 --> 00:43:41,530 Jesus can make you have the peace of God. 1064 00:43:41,530 --> 00:43:42,930 He can give you eternal life. 1065 00:43:43,010 --> 00:43:47,120 He can give you comfort and joy when nothing else can Here this 1066 00:43:47,120 --> 00:43:50,000 morning, what I would encourage you to do is pray and ask 1067 00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:51,520 God to save you. 1068 00:43:51,520 --> 00:43:55,080 Ask God to give you that peace that passeth all understanding through 1069 00:43:55,080 --> 00:43:55,880 salvation to Him. 1070 00:43:55,880 --> 00:44:00,720 The Bible says it is but by faith no work can save us, only the 1071 00:44:00,720 --> 00:44:02,720 work of Jesus Christ and we trusting in Him. 1072 00:44:02,720 --> 00:44:04,920 So if that's something that you need here this morning, either 1073 00:44:04,920 --> 00:44:09,080 you could come forward and grab somebody here, a man could go 1074 00:44:09,080 --> 00:44:10,520 with a man, a woman could go with a woman. 1075 00:44:10,520 --> 00:44:12,570 And we can show you in the word of God what it means to know 1076 00:44:12,570 --> 00:44:13,970 Jesus Christ as your Savior. 1077 00:44:14,370 --> 00:44:16,490 Lord, I pray that you be in this time of invitation, working 1078 00:44:16,490 --> 00:44:17,170 hearts and lives. 1079 00:44:17,250 --> 00:44:19,570 Pray that we can follow you in every single way. 1080 00:44:19,570 --> 00:44:21,250 We ask all these things in Jesus name. 1081 00:44:21,250 --> 00:44:21,610 Amen. 1082 00:44:21,610 --> 00:44:23,890 As the music plays, follow as the Lord leads here today. 1083 00:45:53,130 --> 00:45:53,450 Foreign. 1084 00:45:57,610 --> 00:46:00,250 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 1085 00:46:00,250 --> 00:46:00,810 podcast. 1086 00:46:01,130 --> 00:46:03,450 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 1087 00:46:04,170 --> 00:46:06,450 You would like to find out more information about our church 1088 00:46:06,450 --> 00:46:09,930 or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org 1089 00:46:10,170 --> 00:46:12,730 or find us on Facebook or YouTube. 1090 00:46:13,450 --> 00:46:17,890 You can also email me directly at Josh Massaroiddletownbaptistchurch 1091 00:46:17,890 --> 00:46:20,580 dot com if you've enjoyed this podcast. 1092 00:46:20,740 --> 00:46:25,140 Please subscribe and follow along for future podcast and updates. 1093 00:46:25,860 --> 00:46:26,820 Thank you so much. 1094 00:46:26,980 --> 00:46:27,780 God Bless. 1095 00:46:28,020 --> 00:46:29,300 Have a wonderful day.