Love One Another

Temple Baptist Church - 3-17-2019

Romans 13:8-10

Introduction: 

A.  Churches are known for several things:

1.  There are great soul winning churches.  (I want this church to be one for the souls of men!)

2.  There are great mission’s hearted churches.  (I want this church to be one for God’s glory!)

3.  There are great preaching churches.  (I want to be a great preacher for my people!)

4.  There are great loving churches.  (I want this church to be one!)

1 Corinthians 13:13  And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

B.  According to our verse for tonight, there is only one debt that you will never get paid.  The debt of love.  The fulness of the Spirit is show in its fruit.  One fruit, manifesting itself in 9 aspects.

1.  Three inward – love, joy, and peace

2.  Three outward – longsuffering, gentleness, goodness

3.  Three upward – faith, meekness, temperance

C.  The first aspect of being Spirit filled is love. 

D.  Of all the gifts given to the church, the greatest is that of brotherly love.  No bickering, no fighting, no hurt feelings, no clicks, no murmuring and complaining, no gossiping, no backbiting, just loving one another in the Lord and getting the job done for the Lord.

1.  Christian Love Is Given At The Moment Of Salvation - Romans 5:5  And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

2.  Christian Love Is One Of The Most Visual Signs Of Salvation - John 13:35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

3.  Christian Love Is A Sign Of Knowing God (many saved do not know God!) - 1 John 4:8  He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

Philippians 3:9-10  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 may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

2 Timothy 1:12  For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know (present tense—at the end of Paul’s life) whom I have believed (Past tense—on the Damascus Road), and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

E.  Christian Live Is A Sign Of Abiding In Christ – 1 John 4:16  And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

1.  We Are To Love Our Neighbor As Ourselves (The Bible calls this the Royal Law) - James 2:8  If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:your Neighbor Can Be Either Saved Or Lost!

Leviticus 19:18  Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

Luke 10:29, 33, 36  But he, willing to justify himself (Jewish Lawyer),said unto Jesus, And (shows an attitude) who is my neighbour? . . . But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him . . . Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

a.  Your Neighbor Is A Person Of Any Religion

b.  Your Neighbor Is A Person Of Any Race

c.  Your Neighbor Is A Person Of Any Region

2.  We Are To Love One Another As Ourselves

a.  This Love Is Expressed In Unity –2 Corinthians 13:11  Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

1 Timothy 5:1-2  Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;  The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.

John 13:33-35  Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

b.  This Love Is An Expression Of Service - Galatians 5:13  For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

1 John 3:16  Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

c.  This Love Is An Expression Of Purity – 1 Peter 1:22  Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

1 John 3:11-19  For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.  Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.  Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.  Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.  Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.  But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?  My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.  And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.

d.  This Love Is Expressed In Forgiveness – 1 Peter 3:8  Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:

Ephesians 4:32  And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Colossians 3:13  Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

A Compassion That Makes A Difference

Temple Baptist Church - 7-6-2016

Jude 22-23

Introduction:

A.  As a general rule, these verses are too often preached out of their context.  They are used as “soul winning” verses though nothing in the Book of Jude alludes to winning the lost to Jesus Christ.  I actually have no problem with a preacher making a spiritual application of these verses as long as he makes a Biblical interpretation (which is what I am going to do tonight).

B.  With that said, let us notice the people that are mentioned in Jude:

1.  Those that are saved but not contending.  Jude 1-2  Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: (2)  Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.

2.  Those that are saved and willing to contend.  Jude 3  Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

3.  Those that are lost and destroying the “faith once delivered.”  Jude 4  For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

C.  Jude gives Old Testament examples of those who “left their first estate” or, to use a modern term apostatized.  Again, the word “apostasy” simply means, by my definition, to “stand away from a former position.”  They once stood for truth and the faith once delivered but now have becomes the enemy of the truth and the Bible.

D.  Jude gives the Old Testament of Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesying the “falling away” of his day and the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and the final, eternal judgment of the ungodly.

E.  I see no place in the Book of Jude where we are to sympathize with the apostate or try to win them to Christ as they are under the eternal judgment of God.  Apparently, according to Jude, they have “crossed a line” with God!  At this point, let me say that I will witness to anyone anywhere as I do not know who has crossed a line with God of the difference between the true apostates and the ignorant believer who is led astray by them.

F.  There is no mention of the unsaved in general in the Book of Jude nor of the Great Commandment or Commission to win the world to Christ.  Jude is all about contending or not contending which brings us the context of verses 22-23.

G.  Verses 20-21 are the mature Christians who are self-starters, self-feeders, and walking with the Lord.  Walking with the Lord is walking with and in the Word of God.  Jude now admonishes the mature Christian who is earnestly contending for the faith once delivered to help those who are not!  Too many churches run off the people who do not “conform” instead of trying to be an encouragement to them and help those who get into trouble.

H.  I believe the two questions found in Genesis 4 can be applied at this point.  Genesis 4:9  And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?

1.  The Lord asked, “Where is Abel thy brother?”  I understand the interpretation but, by way of application, I believe that we are responsible to know where our brother is spiritually!  I believe that it is important that we watch, not in a critical way but in a loving compassionate way, over our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Why?  Because sometimes they cannot see the forest for the trees.  When they get involved in things that they should abstain from, they see through clouded eyes.

2.  Cain asked, “Am I my brother's keeper?”  We live in a day where “what I do is my business” or “MYOB!”  We are each other’s business spiritually.  Now, by that statement, I do not mean that you are accountable to me or report to me but what each of us does directly or indirectly affect others.  Plus, we do love each other and want the very best for each other.  

James 5:19-20  Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;  (20)  Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.  (In order to convert the sinful one, we must be able to observe their error.)

2 Thessalonians 3:13-15  (13)  But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.  (14)  And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.  (15)  Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.  (In order to “note that man,” we must be able to observe that man.)

I.  Now, I want to look at three points found in these 2 verses.

1.  “And of some have compassion, making a difference”  Not all Christians are the same and not all grow at the same rate.  Some reach a plateau of spirituality that they are comfortable with and want nothing else. Some are in good, fundamental churches.  They are taught by good pastors for many years and fail to grow spiritually.  Saved 50+ years and, when they should be teachers, still have need of the milk of the Word instead of strong meat.

2 Timothy 2:24-26  And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,  (25)  In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;  (26)  And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.  (What do you do for them?  Be compassionate and loving with them.  Be patient and gentle with them.  If they never grow, just love them!)

Hebrews 5:11-14  Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. (12)  For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.  (13)  For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.  (14)  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.  (Leave their spiritual state between them and the Lord but be there with them and for them.  I am so glad that God never leaves us nor forsakes us!)

1 Corinthians 12:25-26  That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.  (26)  And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.  (Make sure that they are as loved as the most spiritual or most talented member of the church.  Compassion can make a difference!)

1 Peter 3:8  Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, becourteous:  (The “Golden Rule” was taught to this pastor long before I came to know the Lord.  “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”)

2.  “And others save with fear … hating even the garment spotted by the flesh”  When we see a brother/sister walking in a sinful condition, we need to be careful while restoring them.  At this point, we need to be assured of our own personal spiritual state before making such a move.  A good “rule of thumb” is to alert the pastor with your concerns and allow him to assess the situation.  Pastors have to be careful at this point also as they too are susceptible to sin also.

Galatians 6:1  Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.  (We who offer help to the fallen need to “hate even the garment spotted by the flesh.”  True hatred for sin is a necessity for restoring a drifting or fallen brother/sister.)

Romans 15:1  We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. (“We that are strong” does not mean that, if we think that we can handle sin, then we can sidestep “abstain for all appearance of evil” and get involved.)

2 Corinthians 12:10  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.  (Spiritual strength is show when one realizes that, without Christ, they are as weak and susceptible as anyone else.)

1 Corinthians 10:12  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.  (Be careful and scriptural when trying to help some who has spiritually stumbled!)

Proverbs 16:18  Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

3.  “pulling them out of the fire”  We save them by pulling them out.  We have to pull them because they either will not come out or cannot help themselves.  Too often, God’s children drift to the point of “jumping from the frying pan into the fire.”  Eventually, there sets in a sense of helplessness and hopelessness.  At this point in time, we MUST be there to help and encourage them!  They have no one else.

2 Thessalonians 3:14-15  (14)  And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.  (15)  Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

a.  Note them – watch, in a right way, those who sit around you; watch, in a right way, when we shake hands before the preaching!  When someone misses a service where they had been faithful before hand, tell them that you missed them and are praying for them. 

2 Thessalonians 3:14  “And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man …”

b.  Keep yourself clean and on a high spiritual plane.  This does not mean that you avoid them.  Notice the word “company” that the Holy Spirit used.  It means to mix and mingle.  Company is when someone comes to our home.  “We have company!”  Evil communications still corrupt good manners! 

2 Thessalonians 3:14  “and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.” 

Galatians 6:1-2  Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

c.  Love them!  He/she is not your enemy but you brother/sister in the Lord!  Charity covers a multitude of sins.  Charity thinketh no evil!  Charity is longsuffering!  Charity is kind!

2 Thessalonians 3:15 “Yet count him not as an enemy”

d.  Admonish them!  To caution or gently reprove.  It does not mean to rebuke them as that comes under the heading of church discipline.

2 Thessalonians 3:15  “but admonish him as a brother”

e.  Pulling them!  Not pushing them but pulling them.  The Bible is always perfectly correct.  In order to pull someone from a fire, you have to keep the fire closer to them than it is to you.  They are between you and the fire.  The closer to the fire and the hotter the fire, the longer the rope!  Keep a safe spiritual distance from all types of sinfulness.

Jude 23  And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

d.  Disciplining them!  This is always a last resort and is to be beneficial the the sinful and as a protective measure for the people in the church as well as for the protection of the church’s testimony.  The Bible clearly names the sins that, when not repented of, bring about church discipline.  Church discipline is always to be done Scripturally, in love, and with repentance/restoration/reconciliation in mind!

1 Corinthians 5:4-7  In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,  (5)  To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.  (6)  Your glorying isnot good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?  (7)  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:  (Sometimes, you just have to let the fire either purge the sinful or destroy them!  Chastening is a sign of sonship and love.)

A Tearless Church

Temple Baptist Church - 9-19-2010

Lamentations 3:42-54

Introduction: This message will be a tough one tonight because it will greatly touch each and every one of us in one area or the other, but I believe that it is a very necessary message.

A. We find in these verses the Prophet Jeremiah weeping over the condition of Israel. The people were gone into captivity and the city of Jerusalem lying in utter destruction as a result of the sinfulness of the nation.

B. His eye affected his heart and the result was manifested in brokenness and weeping. Tears are a result of a soul’s sensitivity toward the unsaved, an attitude of brokenness, a heart crushed by the plight of the unrepentant.

C. There is a great need in the Church for a revival of tears. When we become deeply enough burdened for lost men and women until we weep over the needs of men, we will begin to bring them in.

D. Tearlessness is a result of selfishness! Many times our thoughts are upon our lives and not upon the lives of others. We move through the mechanics of living for Christ and evangelism without a heart moved with a burden for the less fortunate. There needs to be a true revival of tears in our churches.

E. Jeremiah expressed a similar sentiment in the familiar passage: "Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!" (Jeremiah 9:1).

F. Tears are important to the Lord. Even our Lord wept over Jerusalem and at the tomb of Lazarus.

Psalm 30:5 Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. (Tears often precede joy. Burden often goes before blessing. Groaning before glory.)

1. God Sees Our Tears - Isaiah 38:5 Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.

2. God Remembers Our Tears - Psalms 56:8 Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: [are they] not in thy book?

3. One Day God Will Wipe Away Our Tears - Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

1. We Should Weep For Our Sin – Ezra 9:15-10:1 O LORD God of Israel, thou [art] righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as [it is] this day: behold, we [are] before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this. Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore.

Matthew 26:75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

a. You see, sin isn’t really SIN anymore.
b. You see, the Bible isn’t really RIGHT anymore.
c. You see, men no longer “escheweth” evil!

Job 2:3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that [there is] none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.

GOD, HELP US TO WEEP OVER OUR SIN!

2. We Should Weep For Our Children And Our Families - Luke 23:28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.

a. Because Of The Sinful Society That They Are Being Subjected To. (The days of both Noe and Lot simultaneously coupled with Laodicea and the falling away.)

b. Because Of The Lack Of Godly Examples Being Set Before Them. (They are choosing the role models of the world instead of men and women of God.)

c. Because Of The Lackadaisical, Lukewarm “Christians” In The Church. (By example, they are following the “do nothing of a spiritual nature” attitude of the church.)

GOD, HELP US TO WEEP OVER OUR FAMILIES!

3. We Should Weep For Our Brethren - Job 2:12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.

a. We Should Weep Over The Fallen. (Those who are into gross sin and reproaching the cause of Christ. But for the grace of God go I!)

b. We Should Weep Over The Failing. (Those who are out of church, either hurt or disgruntled, and reproaching the cause of Christ. But for the grace of God go I!)

c. We Should Weep Over The Floundering. (Those who are still in the church but will soon be casualties and will be reproaching the cause of Christ. But for the grace of God go I!)

GOD, HELP US TO WEEP OVER OUR BRETHREN!

4. We Should Weep For Our Nation - Nehemiah 1:4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned [certain] days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,

a. We Need To Pray For Those In Authority Over Us. (Like them or not, they are our elected officials. Pray for them now and change them at the polls!)

b. We Need To Pray For The Sinfulness Of Our Nation. (God expelled and godlessness exalted for sea to sea. The Word of God rejected and Madonna “crucified!” May God help our country!)

c. We Need To Pray For The Innocents Who Are Suffering Because Of It All. (Both in the classrooms and in the womb!)

GOD, HELP US TO WEEP OVER OUR NATION!

5. We Should Weep For The Lost - Luke 19:41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it.

a. Because Hell Is Still A Real Place. (The liberals have not cooled it off by one degree with their denials.)

b. Because The Harvest Is Ripe For The Harvest. (The problem is still the lack of looking upon the harvest and the lack of laborers in the harvest.)

c. Because Sinners Still Die Without Christ Every Day. (They deserved to hear the truth and have it ringing in their ears as they live and die.)

A hundred thousand souls a day
Are passing one by one away
In Christless guilt and gloom.
O Church of Christ, what wilt thou say
When in the awful judgment day
They charge thee with their doom?

GOD, HELP US TO WEEP OVER THE LOST!

Witnessing For Jesus Christ And The Local Church

Temple Baptist Church - 7-25-2010

Acts 5:41-6:1

Introduction:

A. Churches today have become “numbers orientated.” Much emphasis has been placed on numbers with many churches having a statistics board in the front of the sanctuary, displaying attendance and offerings.

B. The early church did not endeavor to multiply the number of the disciples. What it does say is that every day, publicly and privately, they told people about Jesus Christ.

Acts 5:42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

C. I am not against inviting people to church. I am not against membership campaigns that churches may carry out. These things are necessary tools in reaching people by getting them under the sound of preaching.

1 Corinthians 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. (It is the Word of God that brings about saving faith.)

D. One of the mistakes of church building is that church growth should not be the primary goal. We should not wait until we get enough good workers to start a soul-winning program. We should be winning souls no matter how many people we have in our churches.

E. There are several misconceptions concerning soul winning that I want to look at this morning that will give each of us help in this area.

1. Many believers believe that they are not capable of witnessing effectively. Witnessing, at this point, becomes a special gift of boldness and “gab” that only a few have. Witnessing is a command of God! Witnessing is not a special spiritual gift. Matthew 28:19-20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

a. We all need to carry out the Great Commission! It takes every believer to “go into all the world.” Witnessing is not something that we pray about doing (though prayer should be involved). You just witness. Witnessing is simply telling others about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and what it did for you.

b. We need to teach our converts to win souls - Matthew 28:20 Teaching THEM to observe ALL things whatsoever I have commanded YOU!

2. Witnessing as become almost a thing of the past in our day. If the salvation of souls was the number one priority of the Lord Jesus Christ, then it should be at the top of our list also. 1 Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

a. It was the priority of Christ!

1) He came into this world to save sinners.

2) He lived without sin so He could die as a sacrifice for sinners.

3) He died on the cross for sinners.

4) He rose again for sinners.

b. It is to be the mission of the church

Matthew 4:19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

2 Corinthians 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

3. Witnessing is a sign of our love for both Jesus Christ and the souls of men! Witnessing is not solicitation! Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (To solicit is to ask for or plead for, especially in reference to receiving payment or money.)

a. Soul winning is the offer of a FANTASTIC gift – “eternal life”

b Soul winning is the offer of a FREE gift – “gift of God” (Free but not cheap! It is free, but it's not cheap! It was paid for by the most precious substance in the universe -- the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. You can't buy it. You can't earn it. You can't work in order to get it. You can only get it by receiving it as a free gift from God by faith in Christ Jesus.)

4. Witnessing is a corporate effort, not the efforts of a select few! 1 Corinthians 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. (It is everybody’s job, either by visitation or giving out tracts.)

a. We cooperate with our Savior - 1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.

b. We cooperate with other soul-winners - 1 Corinthians 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

Luke 10:1 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.

Ecclesiastes 4:9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.

5. Witnessing is a continuous effort, not a sporadic one! We are to be living epistles, read of men. We re the only Bible that most people read. “A life lived is worth a thousand sermons preached!” Acts 5:42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

a. It should be daily - Acts 2:47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. (I believe in organized visitation but we are to be soul winners every where and every day.)

b. It should be deliberate - Mark 1:17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. (When I go fishing, it is planned! I do not accidentally end up in a boat on a lake. Fishing is a deliberate act. Fishers do not catch fish by accident!)

Conclusion: Years ago, Dr. Jack Hyles, years ago, wrote the following little poem:

INCOMPLETE

Like a fire with no glow,

Like a winter with no snow,

Like a river with no flow,

Like a conviction without a "NO,"

Like an oar without a row,

Like a wind without a blow,

Like a pitcher without a throw,

Like a harvest without a sow,

Like a trip without a go,

Like a kneader without dough,

Like a Santa without a Ho,

Like excess without overflow,

Like a foot without a toe,

Like a gardener without a hoe,

Like a cock without a crow,

Like a con without a pro,

Like a high without a low,

Like a truth without a know,

Like a fast without a slow,

Like a buck without a doe,

Like an actor without a show,

Like above without below,

Like a to without a fro,

Like violins without a bow,

IS A CHRISTIAN WHO WILL NOT GO.

Romans 10:13-15 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! (May God bless the beautiful feet of the winner of souls!)