Alright, well it's great to be here and I always appreciate the opportunity to preach
and this is I think the third time I've visited here and every time I come here everyone's
really welcoming, everyone's really friendly.
I know Pastor Amero, he really reached out to me as a friend before I really knew him.
That just shows kind of the character that you have as a pastor here.
He's an extremely friendly person, extremely giving person and I know that that culture
has fit everyone within this church.
This is a great church, it's great to be here, I really appreciate this.
We flew overnight.
When I was a single guy before I had kids, I loved overnight flights because I didn't
like losing some of the day and I realized when you have a child, it's not a good idea
because you don't sleep at all and then you just sleep throughout the entire day.
But I think I'm awake now, so I think I'm good to go here.
So we're here in Song of Solomon chapter one.
Let me just say this to start out that it's really exciting this movement of like-minded
churches we have because you can meet people literally for the first time and there's an
immediate kinship there because we're the few and far between.
You don't even know people well but immediately you feel really close to them because we're
really the vast minority.
I mean within this country, obviously less than 5% I would say of people in this country
are saved and amongst people that are saved, I mean what percentage really want to live
for God?
It's the very few, very far between, not many people at all.
Now it just kind of shows you how we have really reached people through the online ministry
and all the documentaries and the preaching and just to start out, could I get a show
of hands of if you got saved as a result of the online preaching or you became an independent
fundamental Baptist as a result of the online preaching, do you mind just raising your hand
real quickly?
So we got probably more than half the room, okay, you can put your hands down.
What if you were already a saved independent fundamental Baptist before you ever found
anything on the online ministry, could you raise your hand?
That's myself.
A good mix, some of you are already an independent fundamental Baptist and you were looking for
good preaching, I know that was myself, I was already saved looking for good preaching
but a lot of people have gotten saved through the documentaries and you know all the sermons
online and that just shows how we're reaching so many people.
Let me say this, that if you were already a saved independent fundamental Baptist and
then you came to this movement, you could have an improper perspective on the online
ministry.
I know me and my natural personality, I'm like man I just want to preach sermons and
I'm just happy to go soul winning, I really don't want to have to do promotions for events,
I don't even want to put stuff online, I'm just happy to go soul winning and try to bring
people to church and preach sermons.
But you know the online ministry is reaching a ton of people and so you know the old IFB,
they had the wrong perspective on the online ministry and they got passed by and praise
the Lord for it but they took no stock in it.
I think a lot of them looked at it and said man I'm going to stick to the old past, you
know I'm not going to put stuff online, that wasn't in the days of Jesus, the online ministry,
we're not going to have it now.
But that's foolish because it's an avenue to reach people that wasn't there before.
So like I said, me and my natural personality, I could have the wrong perspective on the
online ministry.
But let me say this, if you were reached through the online ministry, you could also have an
improper perspective.
And that's kind of what I'm preaching about here tonight and the name of this sermon is
Keeping the Vineyard of Steadfast Baptist Church.
And what's going to guide this sermon is this understanding that when it comes to the online
ministry, that is an excellent and amazing supplement to the work that should already
be being done by a church.
But if the online ministry was gone tomorrow, this church would still exist because you
still have soul winning, you can still get people baptized, you can still bring people
to church.
And I remember the book of Romans, it says their faith was spoken of throughout the whole
world.
They didn't have the online ministry but the Word of God still spread to everybody because
they were zealous, they were bold, and churches were started.
And if the online ministry was gone tomorrow, this church would still exist, Verity Baptist
would still exist, and we could still get churches started all throughout the entire
world.
So the online ministry, it's great, but we need the right balance on this.
And the first vineyard you've been given as a church is your local area.
We're going to look at five points of focus on this today.
Look at Solomon 1, verse 5, where it says, actually look at verse 6, it says, Look not
upon me because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me.
My mother's children were angry with me.
They made me the keeper of the vineyards, but mine own vineyard have I not kept.
And she says, you know, I was in charge of all these vineyards, and as a result of being
in charge of all these vineyards, mine own vineyard I did not get to keep.
Now the first thing we're given is our own personal vineyard that we have.
As a church, it's here in Fort Worth, Texas.
This is the vineyard God expects you to go so when you reach every door, give everyone
a chance to be saved, try to zealously bring people to church, and get this church to grow.
That's the vineyard.
Now when she says, mine own vineyard have I not kept, this kind of has a dual meaning.
Because if you look at Song of Solomon, chapter 8, she says that she actually has a vineyard.
But I do not believe that's the primary application.
We have to understand the Song of Solomon is a song.
There's a lot of poetic and symbolic and figurative language.
When she's saying, mine own vineyard have I not kept, primarily she's talking about
her body.
And the reason why we know that is if you go to the verse before, she says, I am black
but comely.
When she's saying she's black, the next verse in verse 6 clarifies, look not upon me because
I am black because the sun hath looked upon me.
So she's saying, I've been outside working on vineyards all day long.
I'm not even taking care of mine own body.
So she's saying, mine own vineyard, there's a literal vineyard she has, but her own vineyard
she hasn't kept.
One mistake we can make is getting involved in so many other vineyards and be excited
about this movement that we forsake the local vineyard that we've been given.
And what's made this church so great for four years is because of the fact you've hit this
local vineyard really well and God has blessed and given you opportunities to do bigger and
better things.
But we can never forget that.
You see, when a church starts, it really hits its local area.
Then you start getting lots of activities and all these other events and things like
that and you can start to let it slip your own local vineyard.
That's something you never want to have happen because if you let that slip, then you lose
the blessing of God.
And if you can't reach your own local vineyard, God's not going to use this church to reach
the world.
That's just the way it is.
God expects you to be appointed faithful in something small and then you can reach bigger
and better things.
So turn to Acts chapter 1.
And so I don't want you to think I'm down on the online ministry today because it's
amazing.
I could have never guessed that it would have reached so many people years ago.
It's just amazing how many people have gotten saved, how you meet people and you ask them,
well, how'd you get saved?
It's like, well, I watched after the tribulation.
How many times have you heard that?
They watched after the tribulation, they heard the gospel presentation at the end of it,
they ended up getting saved.
I mean, it's amazing how many people have reached.
So I'm not down on the online ministry, but it needs to have its proper, we need the proper
perspective on it.
And I'm also not preaching this sermon to say, you know, oh, wow, this church is failing
because if you look at this church, you know, every year you kind of take stock of how things
are going from the zero to one year mark.
This church was flourishing, you know, a new church, you never know what's going to happen,
but people were getting saved.
The church was growing the one to two year mark.
Things are going well.
The two to three year mark.
Things were going so well that God gave you guys an opportunity to start a church plan
in Jacksonville.
He said, I got you have this then you're here in Fort Worth.
I'm going to give you another one because you're faithful in what you've been doing.
And the three to four year mark, this church is growing every time I visit here.
I mean, it's a full room.
There's a lot of people here tonight, so you guys are doing a good job, but we need to
remember this and we need to take this as a personal thing that even though the church
is doing really well, you personally have to realize what your vineyard is.
In Acts chapter one, verse eight, notice what it says, but you shall receive power after
that the Holy Ghost has come upon you and he shall be witnesses on me both in Jerusalem
and in all Judea and in Samaria and onto the uttermost part of the earth.
When it comes to our local vineyard, the first thing we need to realize is with soul winning,
we need to keep the vineyard that we've been given.
And as a church, it's here in Fort Worth, Texas.
When it comes to soul winning, you got to keep the vineyard of your local area.
You got to hit this area hard.
Notice what it says in verse eight.
It mentions four different areas.
It mentions at the end the uttermost part of the earth, but it mentions at the start
in Jerusalem.
That was their local area.
When this is a church, your first area you try to reach is your local area.
As a church grows, it can do, you know, mission trips to, you know, South Dakota, was it?
South Dakota, you know, great mission trip.
Lots of people get saved.
You know, you're able to do other things like starting a church plant, but it starts with
your local area in Jerusalem.
That's the area you're meant to hit.
And as you hit more areas, you never neglect the local area.
Turn to Acts chapter five.
And one mistake people can make is when you have exciting events like going to South Dakota,
man, you're so excited.
You're pulling out invitations and just yelling at everyone riding by on a bike, you know,
hey, did you get one of these?
And then you're trying to give them the gospel.
But in our own local areas, sometimes we don't have the same zeal.
You go on mission trips or other areas, man, you have all the boldness in the world.
But you come here to your own area and it's hard to get that zeal and that boldness.
But you have to realize this is the vineyard you've been given.
You need to bring that zeal that you have on the mission trip here to Setfast Baptist
Church in Fort Worth and be that everyday soul winner, not just on a mission trip, but
here in your local area, trying to get those divine appointments that God gives you because
you're looking for them and you're ready for them.
We need to all be like that.
Acts five verse 42, and daily in the temple and in every house, they cease not to teach
and preach Jesus Christ.
Acts 542, in every house.
You have to realize it is impossible to reach a whole area with the gospel unless you have
a church that's knocking every door and trying to give the gospel to everyone.
I'll be honest with you.
I do not believe I would have gotten saved through the online ministry.
I don't believe that would have happened.
I got saved because somebody gave me the gospel, somebody I met in college, but I was not someone
who was into conspiracies.
You know, a lot of people, they king this movement because they're obsessed with like
Alex Jones, and if you still are, it's time to get off that thing, but a lot of people
came here because they were obsessed with conspiracies.
That wasn't me.
I was just a college student trying to get a degree, and my natural personality, man,
I'm going to work, you know, I'm going to get married hopefully at a young age, work
50 hours a week, and then go live up on a mountain and never come down until the next
day where I work my 10 hours.
My natural personality is not really one to just always be social and things like that,
and you have to realize there's a lot of people out there like that, that they might not have
got to reach through the online ministry.
I did not ask Pastor Romero ahead of time, but he would probably say something similar
because somebody actually gave him the gospel.
They brought it to him, and one thing that can give us the wrong perspective, if you
got saved through the online ministry, you are probably already actively seeking for
preaching and trying to find the truth, but you have to realize there's a lot of people
out there.
They're not really actively seeking like that, but you can still bring the truth to them,
and they can still get saved, and you know, one reason why so many people in this church
were already, you know, got saved through the online ministry, you're already searching
for stuff, since you were already looking for the truth, it wasn't hard for you to start
coming to this church and hear the truth preached all the time, but you know, we still reach
people more door-to-door than on the online ministry.
I believe that.
I mean, so many people get saved just one-on-one, so many.
So many people get saved that way.
Just because they don't come to church doesn't mean they didn't get saved, and it's very
easy for you if you're listening to all these conspiracies, like, man, I found the truth.
I'm going to start going to church.
A lot of people who get saved at the door, they might not start going to church, doesn't
mean they didn't get saved, though.
And we will reach a lot of people in our local areas, and you cannot reach every house if
you forsake the door-to-door venue that you've been given.
Turn to 1 Corinthians 3.
We had some moron that we kicked out of, or not steadfast, I mean, Verity Baptist Church.
This was a guy who, when he was kicked out, he said, you know, I think we should pretty
much forsake the one-on-one soul winning, and just focus on, like, the online ministry.
He's like, the online ministry reaches more people.
We should just upload all kinds of content, put the gospel presentation on the end.
There's a couple problems with that.
One, you will not reach everybody like the Bible commands you.
And another thing is this, if you forsake soul winning in your local area, the blessing
of God will be gone, and you'll reach no one through your online ministry.
The online ministry is a great supplement, and it works because you're doing a great
job in your local area, but you forsake your local area, God's blessing is going to be
gone.
And this church will probably be gone in a few years, because God will look down and
be embarrassed at the fact that this church doesn't even reach its own area, and yet it
thinks it's going to reach the world.
It's like, man, I'm going to reach the world with the gospel, and yet there's people dying
and going to hell right outside, you know, that aren't saved.
First Corinthians chapter 3, look at verse number 3.
Notice what it says in verse 3, for a year yet carnal, for whereas there is among you
envying and strife and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
For while one sayeth, I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos, are ye not carnal?
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believe, even as the
Lord gave to every man?
Do you realize that every single person in the world, God has someone appointed to give
them the gospel?
Everybody in the world, God wants somebody to give them the gospel, God wants everybody
to be saved.
He's not willing that any should perish.
The problem is, people aren't hearing the gospel.
I don't care what country it is, God wants those people saved, and He's appointed someone
to give them the gospel.
But I was kind of thinking about this idea of being an everyday soul winner, and when
I was writing this sermon, I was kind of thinking of some examples, because I had a good friend
of mine who died in college, and this is a guy I went soul-willing with a couple times
a week.
It was a tragic accident.
He was living for the Lord, but he had an ex-girlfriend who didn't care about the gospel
at all.
He had tried to get her saved.
He was not interested in the slightest bit.
There was no door of opportunity.
When my friend died, there was a window of opportunity that opened up where she was thinking
about spiritual things.
Because when something tragic happens, you're going through trouble or transition, you either
turn to God or away from God.
It's usually one or the other.
And there was a window of opportunity where one of my friends gave her the gospel like
three weeks after or two weeks after, and she got saved.
But I'll be honest with you, I think that window would have probably closed shut again,
just like a month later.
Because she's not interested in spiritual things today as far as I know, you know, last
I heard.
And so this idea of being an everyday soul winner is extremely important.
Because there's certain people that right now they might be receptive, but that door
might shut in another month.
That door might shut in two months.
And if you're the person expected to give them the gospel, you're the coworker, and
they're talking about the Bible, and you don't give them the gospel, you know, that blood's
on your hands.
Because it's probably not somebody else at this church meant to give them the gospel.
And if you're that cousin of theirs, who your cousin's, you know, talking to you about the
Bible, and you're just too embarrassed or shy to give them the gospel, that window could
shut and you're the one who's responsible.
See, the Lord gave to every man somebody, and sometimes that window, it shuts.
There's a person a year ago, my wife and I were knocking in an apartment complex in Sacramento,
and this guy was working, and he listened to the whole gospel, which surprised me, but
then he kind of told me his story.
And just a few days before that, his wife had left him with their child, and he had
no idea where his wife was or his child.
You know, he was completely distraught, but, you know, he's just trying to work to make
his meet.
He drove down two hours a day from the Bay Area to work in Sacramento.
He was working on this building.
But he was interested in the gospel.
This guy was Catholic.
He was interested in the gospel, but I think the reason why he was interested is because
of what had just happened to him.
He was going through trouble, and it made him think of spiritual things, and I was just
thinking in my head, man, this is probably the best thing that ever happened to this
guy.
I mean, his life's going to be miserable on earth, but, man, he's going to go to heaven
one day, and he probably would have died and went to hell, but a window opened up.
You have to realize with certain people, you better be zealous looking for those opportunities
because that window could close before you know it.
We kind of think that, man, I have until the end of my life to try to give this person
the gospel, but that window might end up shutting.
You might have no opportunity.
We must be everyday soul winners, and we have to have this idea that I'm the one who's expected
to preach the gospel to them.
Don't just pass the buck and give it to someone else.
Just have this attitude that when you see somebody and you have an opportunity, you're
walking by them in the park, hey, that's me, God expects to give them the gospel.
Not Brother Steve, not Brother somebody else, but I'm going to take responsibility for myself
and give them the gospel.
Turn to Titus chapter 1.
Now obviously we've all had situations where we could have given someone the gospel.
We knew that God wanted us to give them the gospel, and we chose not to.
And then we walk by them, and at least for me, when I have those situations, I'm thinking
when I'm walking by them, just like, oh, you know, man, I need to turn around, but no,
that'll be embarrassing.
And I let it go, and then I just hope, man, God sends somebody else.
But that's not something you want to have happen.
That's always terrible when it happens, when I know God wants me to give.
I pray for opportunities, and I have one, and then I just pass it up.
And we've all been there, but we need to try as much as we can to always be looking for
those opportunities.
And the reason why some people never get those opportunities is because they never pray for
them, and they wouldn't take them if they had them.
Because sometimes you'll tell people stories, and they're like, man, I've never had opportunities.
It's like, no, you either didn't have the opportunities because you weren't looking
for them, or because God just didn't give them to you.
Because if you're an everyday soul winner, you will get those opportunities.
God will give you those because of the fact He wants people saved.
He will have the person walk by at the perfect time and hear the gospel.
My wife and I were watching a documentary from the Philippines.
It was in Tagalog.
I wanted to listen and learn the language.
And there was this group of tribal people that kind of lived up on a mountain away from
everybody.
And they said they were completely isolated.
It had been like 30 years since they had ever been down.
They made it sound as if this person, they could have never heard the gospel according
to the way they made it sound.
But this reporter went up there, and then they had this video they were showing them
of all the big events that had happened in the last 50 years.
And they were showing it to them, just kind of asking, hey, have you ever heard about
this before?
And, you know, one of the things they showed was, you know, us landing on the moon.
And I'm not trying to argue conspiracies, I don't care what you think, whether we landed
or didn't land.
Obviously, that's one of the big events, so to speak, in, you know, U.S. or world history.
But they were showing all these big events and asking, hey, have you ever heard about
that?
And there was always going to be like one or two people that raised their hands that
they had heard about it.
And you say, I thought they were completely isolated.
Yeah, but every once in a while, they have to go down that mountain to get certain supplies.
And that time, God could send somebody across the perfect time.
They're not 100% isolated.
I don't believe anybody's 100% isolated completely.
I believe God can find a way to get in the gospel.
Well, what's interesting is, then they showed them Michael Jackson dancing.
And like everyone's like, oh, I've heard of Michael Jackson.
It's like these people are completely isolated, no TV up in the Philippines, and yet every
single one of them knew who Michael Jackson was.
I mean, don't give me this belief that people are completely isolated and could never hear
the gospel.
That deep, dark person in the jungle, I just don't buy it.
I don't believe it because I see examples like, you know, Cornelius in the Bible, someone
that feared God and God found a way to get him the gospel.
But, you know, we're going to have a lot more of those opportunities if we actually take them.
In Titus chapter 1, notice what it says in verse number 4.
To Titus, my own son, after the common faith, grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.
From this cause left idea and creed that thou shouldest set in order the things that
are wanting and ordain elders in every city as I had appointed thee.
You see, the secret to reaching the world with the gospel is getting churches started
everywhere.
Because this church only has a certain vineyard it can reach.
You know, you're not really responsible for people that die and go to hell that live in
Kansas, that live hours and hours and hours away.
It's not like God expects you to just say, well, you know, you guys, here's your soul
winning map for the day.
You know, here go to Wichita, Kansas.
I don't know how far away that is, but you're expecting, I mean, that'd be ridiculous, right?
And so the secret to reaching the world is getting churches started everywhere.
Yes, we use the online ministry as a supplement, but if we're going to reach the whole world,
we need to get churches started everywhere, and every one of those churches has to take
soul winning very seriously and try to reproduce itself.
On to Matthew 28, Matthew 28.
And so the first point was a pretty basic, I mean, all these points are pretty basic
to be honest, but the first point is one that most of you could probably say, amen, you
know, that makes sense and everything.
The next one is where I kind of step on the toes a little bit, and you got to be ready
for it.
If it applies, you got to apply.
But the first point was when it comes to soul winning, we need to keep our local vineyard.
Number two is this, when it comes to bringing visitors to church and getting people baptized
in the church growing, you need to remember to keep your local vineyard, which means you
do not rely on people moving to be a part of this church, enjoying the church, but that
you personally take it on your responsibility to bring people to church and get them baptized
and have them grow in the Lord.
Notice what it says in Matthew 28 verses 18 through 20.
So the Great Commission, yes, soul winning is the first thing, it's the big thing, but
it's also bringing people to church, getting them baptized, and having them grow in the
Lord.
Now the great thing is, at a church like this, part of this is going to be fulfilled just
through the preaching.
Because I've been at churches where you bring people to church and you know they're learning
nothing.
IFB churches that are lame.
I remember when my friends and I started bringing Brother Richard Simes to church, you know,
and he was, you know, a new convert, and it's like, man, we were actively like teaching
him the Bible outside of church.
Because I knew, man, he's not going to grow that much because the church wasn't preaching
that much.
That's the average IFB church.
They just don't preach that much.
It's not that exciting.
They don't preach hard doctrines.
They aren't willing to say what needs to be said.
This is a church you don't have to worry about that.
Your pastor will preach what needs to be said.
He's going to preach the whole council, whether it's popular or whether it's not popular.
He will preach the whole council.
And honestly, even within our movement, he's willing to preach what the church needs to
hear, even if some people in our movement would be upset at what he has to say.
And that's what you want in a pastor, that he cares about you more than anybody else.
That's the truth.
That's what you have as a pastor here, Pastor Romero.
So you know what?
The teaching, that's going to happen from being at church, but we need to get them to
come to church and get them baptized.
And you say, wow, Brother Stuckey, I think it just comes down to whether or not we go
soul winning.
And if they want to come to church, they're going to come to church.
I mean, they have the invitation, they have the service times, and they're going to just
make it happen.
So you know, when you have a newborn baby, do you just expect your baby just to make
it happen on its own?
I mean, it's just going to feed itself.
It's just going to dress itself.
I mean, that doesn't make any sense.
Why would God use that analogy with a baby, I mean, a baby Christian?
They rely on the people that want them to the Lord.
And if you're their spiritual father or mother, you're the one expected to try to bring them
into church.
Now, obviously, we can't force them to come to church, but don't tell me that our work
is in vain.
I don't believe our labor is in vain in the Lord.
I don't buy that for one second.
You say, well, I just believe that they're going to make it happen on their own.
If they really want to come to church, it's going to happen.
Well, let me just take that a step further.
That's an interesting philosophy.
I think that if they're going to get saved, it's going to happen on their own.
I mean, it doesn't matter what we do, because we're Calvinists here, right?
I mean, that's what a Calvinist would say.
I mean, are you a five point Calvinist, or are you taking an in between position?
I mean, either go all the way where you're against Calvinism, or just go full blown Calvinism,
because I believe our labor is not in vain.
I believe that if we try to bring people to church and pray for them, I believe prayer
makes a difference.
I believe if we try to bring them to church, it makes a difference.
Look, when we go soul winning, you know, you might knock 25 doors.
One person wants to hear the gospel, and they get saved.
That's only 4%.
That's a really small percentage, but you still got one person saved.
You say, man, I've been trying to follow up on converts, and I've had like six straight
and none came to church.
Well, if the seventh one comes, that's 14%.
I mean, when it comes to soul winning, we zealously go soul winning for that one that
wants to listen.
It should be the same way bringing people to church, because bringing people to church,
you can make a difference by praying for them and actively trying to bring them to church.
Turn to John 1.
We're going to see this in the Bible.
Honestly, the person who led me to the Lord is also the one who started feeding me IFB
sermons.
He taught me about the King James Bible.
He taught me why we need to go soul winning.
He taught me about the post-trib rapture.
If he hadn't helped me grow a little bit before I started coming to church, I don't think
I would have ever started going to church.
If I was just a random person saved door to door and nobody followed up with me at all,
I would not have come to church.
He was a friend of mine in college, and so each week he's motivating me.
I remember telling him, man, I'm never going to be that person that tells someone how to
get to heaven.
That's great that God gave you that gift, Mike.
I don't have that gift, because I was a baby Christian.
Babies need a lot of help from their parents.
We get people saved.
If we follow up, they could eventually come to church and really grow.
That's the truth.
Pastor Romero would have a similar story, because he had people that were trying to
He got saved four years later so that he started coming to church.
People were trying to get him to come to church.
Look, when somebody's a new Christian, they need somebody to help them along.
If we go soul winning every week and don't make a real effort to bring people to church,
every once in a while you might have someone come to church, but it's not going to happen
very often.
We cannot rely on the online ministry to get people to move to churches.
It's great if they come through that, but realize there's more and more churches out
there.
The devil might try to really shut the online ministry.
Are you going to really just rely on the fact, well, just expect God to just send people?
God expects you to bring people to church.
Look at John 1, verse 40.
It says, One of the two which heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's
brother.
He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiahs
which is being interpreted, the Christ.
And he brought him to Jesus.
And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon, the son of Jonah.
Thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation a stone.
So you look at Peter.
I mean, Peter was a pretty godly Christian, right?
He wrote books of the Bible.
He was one of the great soul winners who ever lived.
Guess what?
He had somebody who brought him to Jesus.
He didn't do it on his own.
Somebody actually brought him to Jesus.
You could even look at the life of Paul the Apostle, and there were people along the way
that helped him, because a lot of people were afraid of Paul the Apostle.
They didn't know if he was the real deal, so he had people helping him, even from the
beginning as well.
But look at the next verse, verse 43.
The day following, Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto
him, Follow me.
Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses and the law
and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?
Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
So Philip is really zealously trying to bring him to church.
He's like, Come and see.
Just check it out for yourself.
And that's the way we need to be at the door.
We need to be really friendly.
When we get people saved, we should actively try to motivate them to come to church.
Now I'm sure your pastor has a lot of techniques, but let me just help you with something really
quickly.
When we go soul winning, a lot of people are not interested in the gospel.
We're looking for those that are interested.
When we get people saved, most of them are not going to come to church.
A lot of them are just not that interested.
And so one way you can do is when you end the conversation, just say something like,
Hey, you know, if you came to church on if I give you a ride to church on Sunday, would
you come?
And if they say, Well, you know, maybe that means no, they're not coming.
If they say, Yeah, I want to come, there's a chance they're going to come.
So here's the thing.
If you end the conversation and someone says, Well, you know, maybe, you know, I wouldn't
necessarily spend my wheels just following up on them a lot, because they're not going
to come to church.
You know, I've never I've never seen.
When people are just not that zealous for wanting to come, it doesn't happen.
Even when they are zealous, something usually changes before Sunday.
Yeah, they're not used to waking up early in the morning, and then they end up changing
their mind.
But if they say, Yeah, you know, I'd like to come to Sunday, and then you say, Okay,
great.
And then you just walk away.
Man, you did a bad job ending that conversation.
You should say something like, Hey, you know, do you mind if I get your phone number?
I'd like to pray for you.
Is there anything that you need help in something that that you need me to pray about?
Something like that.
And then you can call them or text them on Saturday and remind them and probably wake
them up on Sunday morning when they're still sleeping, you know, about an hour before the
service, an hour and a half to remind them, Hey, you're coming.
And you know, hopefully they'll come.
I have someone I'm gonna be calling tomorrow that I hope she ends up coming on Sunday,
you know, to very bad.
I don't know if she will, but we'll see.
But you know, we need to put in an effort to bring people to church.
We cannot simply rely on people moving.
And if you want to be a pastor one day, you have to realize that, you know, certain pastors
are probably gonna get more people to move than others.
And you know what?
I don't think any of us should just rely on the fact that I'm gonna be so popular that
people are gonna move here to be a part of my church.
No, we need to try to just get people to church, come to church that are in this local vineyard.
That's what God's given you to do.
Turn to Romans 1.
And I mean, honestly, if you personally go soul winning a lot, but you never put in any
effort to bring people to church, you're really not doing anything to help this church
grow numerically.
You know, it's great that you're going soul winning.
It's great to get people saved.
But you need to try to help out this church in all areas.
We need this church to grow and so we can train people and more people will be soul
winners.
But you know, when it comes to being an everyday soul winner, a lot of people don't get those
opportunities because they're not looking for them.
And God doesn't even send them because they're not ready for them.
But I believe it's the same way when we go door to door.
If you're someone who will not follow up on people that are really interested in coming
to church, then God's probably not going to give you that door.
You say, man, I've never had anyone come to church.
Well, that's because maybe you would never put in any effort to get them to come to church.
So God's like, well, I'll give them to brother so and so because he does bring people to
church and he will call them and he will try to motivate them to come to church.
We all ought to look at ourselves and say, man, what effort am I doing to bring people
into church here?
And here's the thing.
You go to a church that will change people's lives.
I get it if you're at a lame church, like, you know, I went to a church in West Virginia
and I just thought to myself because, you know, there are people I brought to church
and they didn't really grow.
I was like, man, even if they come, they're not going to grow.
So it's like part of me is like, what's the point?
You know, the odds of them actually growing.
But at this church, if you can get them to come in and they get connected with the fellowship,
man, there's a good chance they're going to stick around because this sort of preaching
they've never heard before.
If this was someone who wanted to get saved, was interested, and then they came to church,
they're probably going to love the preaching.
There's a pretty good chance they're going to stick around.
That's why we need to actively try to bring people to church.
And notice what it says in Romans 1.
I talked about this earlier, but it says in verse 7, to all that be in Rome, beloved of
God, called to be saints, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ.
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all that your faith is spoken of throughout
the whole world.
You know, YouTube and this online ministry has been around for like 10 years.
What do you think people did for 1950 years?
I mean, they went soul winning, and they actively tried to bring people to church.
That's what they did.
They put in a real effort.
Yeah, I get the fact that in today's world, people aren't that interested in church.
Maybe you just need to put in twice as much effort then.
If people aren't interested, double the effort so we can fill this place.
Because we need to get all of our churches filled so we can get more churches started
and people can get saved all throughout the entire world.
Because outside of our movement, I'm not relying on anybody to get the job done.
If they're IFB, I really don't trust them to get the job done in their local area.
It's going to be churches like ours, which means we need to multiply ourselves and bring
people to church and get people trained up and the churches started.
Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 3.
And honestly, the reason why a lot of people don't follow up much on converts is because
it's difficult.
It takes time.
It takes effort.
And honestly, we put effort when it comes to soul winning, but we need to put the same
effort when it comes to bringing people to church as well.
And honestly, every single person in this room, I believe, believes in follow up.
The reason why people don't do it is because they just don't believe in it enough.
Everybody realizes, well, if I really try to bring people to church, it's going to make
a difference.
But a lot of people just don't think it's worth the effort.
That's why you don't do it, because you just don't think it's worth the effort.
It's like, well, in my time, I don't think it's worth that extra 30 minutes a week or
whatever to send text messages, calls, or visit or whatever.
But honestly, it's going to make your soul winning a lot more exciting when you're bringing
people to church and they're getting baptized, and it's going to help you be motivated to
stick with this thing.
Because soul winning will start to get boring at times.
It's not always just exciting.
When you first start going soul winning, man, it's exciting.
But you're going to have those times it's not that exciting, and you just do it out
of due diligence.
It's not going to be exciting every single week.
And honestly, when you've been doing it for a while, it becomes kind of like a routine,
which is good.
It should be a routine, but sometimes you can go out without the excitement that you
once had.
If you're bringing people to church, it's always fresh and new.
It's always exciting.
So the first thing we saw is with soul winning, we need to remember to keep our local vineyard.
Number two, when it comes to bringing people to church, getting them baptized and trained
up, we need to remember to keep a local vineyard.
Number three, though, when it comes to sermons being preached, we need to remember what our
local vineyard is.
Which means when you preach a sermon, you're not preaching to the internet.
You're preaching to the people that are here.
Now I know that Pastor Romero preaches the vast majority of the sermons here, and he
gears those sermons towards the congregation.
But you that are preachers here, and you preach at the men's preaching night, when you preach
a sermon, you should stop and think, is this an edifying sermon?
Am I preaching to the people at church, or am I trying to get a lot of views online?
I promise you, I could have preached a sermon tonight that would get a lot of views online.
I could have preached a sermon called Take Back the Rainbow by the Sodomites.
That would have gotten a lot of views.
But I'll be honest, when I prayed about and asked God, what would you have me do?
This is what I felt like God wanted me to preach.
This might not be the most exciting sermon, but honestly, these are the sermons that I
think will change your life, the practical sermons.
And we need both.
Because obviously, in today's world, you just step outside, there's a bunch of freaks
and weirdos, so we need sermons against that.
But it's not all about excitement, it's about personal growth.
And honestly, when you preach a sermon, it should not be to be preaching to the internet
and trying to get a lot of views.
And it is a real problem, because sometimes you can look at people's sermon titles.
They've never preached before, and then they preach on just a ridiculous topic for a first
sermon.
Some of my first three sermons I preached were about salvation.
The first three sermons I ever preached.
And you say, why did you just preach on salvation?
Because it's a topic I knew pretty well, and I knew it would be helpful.
Just a helpful reminder of the things we already know.
Preach things you know.
Don't preach to the internet.
Preach to try to help people out.
And honestly, there's a preaching night tomorrow night.
Make sure if you're preaching, that your sermon is not to try to get the most views on YouTube.
Because you're going to end up getting a prideful head, and it's going to destroy you.
Just to try to edify and help the people that you're preaching to.
Notice in 1 Corinthians 3, the church at Corinth, verse 1, And I, brethren, could not speak
unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
I have fed you with milk, and not with meat.
For hitherto you were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
This church at Corinth, did they need to hear an end-time sermon?
Like an in-depth sermon from the book of Zechariah?
That's not what they needed, is it?
They needed the milk.
That's the sort of sermon that would have been appropriate for preaching to the church
at Corinth.
They had sinned in the church.
There was strife.
There was envy.
The church needed to hear the basics.
They didn't need to hear something really complicated.
They needed to hear the basics.
And you know, when you start a church, you've got to think about what do people need to
hear.
And honestly, when you start a church, people probably need the basics.
And this church, unfortunately, they weren't growing, and they needed the basics again.
Turn to Galatians chapter 1, Galatians 1.
Obviously as a church, there's a balance between the milk and the meat.
I mean, honestly, you can never forsake the milk, because when you look at the churches
in the Bible, even churches that were once great, they needed to be reminded over and
over and over again about the things they've heard over and over and over.
You say, oh man, another sermon on false prophets or wolves in the church.
But then you find out, man, I needed that, because they're going to be among us.
You need to be ready for that.
You need to be reminded of the same things.
It's not like you hear a sermon about how to be a good father, and it's like, oh, that
was great.
Now I'm good to go for the next 50 years of my life.
It's like, it doesn't work that way.
You need to be reminded over and over and over.
I mean, unless you have a perfect memory, and it just is always, you know, on the front
of your head, that's not like me.
I need to hear these things over and over and over again.
I need them pounded in.
The church of Galatia, notice what it says in verse 6, I marvel that you are so soon
removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel, which
is not another, but there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
But though we are an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which
we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
As we said before, so say it now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than
that ye have received, let him be accursed.
See this church, they needed to hear the gospel over again.
They didn't need an in-depth sermon on the end times either.
They needed to be reminded about what salvation is.
Now I don't anticipate this church having a problem with people thinking, man, you got
to get baptized to be saved.
But you know, if that ever happened, I'm sure Pastor Romero would be preaching a lot of
sermons about baptism, and you get reminded about the basics because some crazy doctrine
started to come in.
Now I don't expect that to happen, but you never know.
In our movement, there's some weird doctrines that have come in, it's like, man, I never
would have even imagined that or dreamed that up, just weird things that are out there.
You never know when it might creep into church, when a wolf comes in.
So this church of Galatia, they needed to hear about salvation.
Go to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, 2 Thessalonians 2.
And another thing you should make sure when you preach a sermon, make sure it's something
that's established doctrine that Pastor Romero believes.
And if it's something you've never heard him teach on, you might want to run that by him
first before you get up here, because you might end up making a fool out of yourself.
I mean, when I preach at Verity, there's things like I'm 90-whatever percent sure that Pastor
Jimenez agrees with me on, but I still will say, hey, this is my opinion on this verse,
this is what I was going to say, I just wanted to run it by you to make sure this is what
you believe.
You want to make sure that whatever's being preached, that you know your pastor agrees
with you on, because otherwise you could end up making yourself look like a fool up here
by saying something that's not true, that is not something the church agrees with, and
even if you think you're right about it, if the church doesn't agree with it, you don't
preach it.
It works.
2 Thessalonians 2, verse 1.
And so Paul makes it very clear, I already told you that Jesus will not come back until
the Antichrist comes first.
I mean, it's so clear in the Bible.
In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, he says, I've already told you this, that it's not just
going to come out of nowhere, you know, the rapture, but they needed to be reminded of
this.
Honestly, these old IFP churches, most of them need to be reminded about this.
Because it's like, man, have I not told you this?
I mean, did you not read Matthew 24?
I mean, did you not read any of the Bible?
I mean, where are you getting this idea?
I mean, honestly, they need to be reminded about a lot of stuff.
So I don't know, that might not even be at the top of their list.
I mean, maybe these other things.
Unfortunately, salvation, with the repentance of sins topic, that's probably more of a priority
for a lot of these old IFP churches.
It's getting reminded about the repentance topic.
That's what they need to hear over and over and over again, because people are dying and
going to hell in these churches, because they make salvation confusing.
And honestly, this person that I hope comes to church on Sunday, that I do not believe
is saved.
You know, this person went to North Valley Baptist for a couple years, before they moved
down to Sacramento for a couple years under Jack Treiber, and I don't believe they're
saved.
They weren't clear on eternal security.
They said you have to repent.
And it's like those IFP churches, they don't make salvation clear.
And people are in their midst, unsaved all the time.
And they do need to be reminded about their repentance topic.
It's like, how did you forget this?
Because you know, some of the pastors from the past, they might not have been perfect,
but at least they were clear on repentance.
I mean, you look at Jack Howes or Curtis Hudson, at least they were clear on repentance.
And now it's just like, show me the IFP pastor that is clear about it, and he's willing to
preach it boldly.
You don't see it.
I mean, it's like, you go on vacation, you're looking for an IFP church to go to, and you
call the pastors, and you're like, man, I called three churches.
I'm not really sure if any of them are clear about it.
I mean, usually they're vague about it.
And they don't want to tell you.
Even if they agree, they're just like afraid.
They're just like, well, you know, repentance and faith is like this coin that has two sides.
You know, it's ridiculous.
It's like it's so clear in the Bible, whosoever believeth is like, what don't you get?
That's what they need to be reminded of.
The Church of Thessalonians was a pretty good church when you look at the Bible and
the scope of things.
They were a church that was doing some things, but they had gotten mixed up on the end times.
They did need a reminder on the end times.
And so when you preach a sermon, make sure it's something that's going to help people,
and make sure it's something that Pastor Romero in this church stands for and agrees.
If you say, man, this is the thing, this flat earth, it's like, man, the one thing Pastor
Romero is missing in his ministry, it's like maybe there's a reason he's never preached
it.
You might want to run that biome first.
Turn to Ephesians chapter 4.
The fourth thing we're looking at tonight in terms of remembering our local vineyard
is this.
When it comes to spending too much time on social media and just knowing everything that's
going on in this movement and, you know, everything, you know, all the, you know, all of Pastor
Anderson's kids' names, you know, their ages, their birthdays, but it's like you don't know
half the people's names in this church.
It's like, what is wrong with you?
It's like you don't even know the people in this church, but you know everything that's
going on in this movement.
You know, sometimes people visit our church and they'll tell me all the stuff and I'm
like, I have no clue who you're talking about.
It's like so-and-so got kicked out of that church.
It's like, that sucks.
I don't even know who that person is, but it says in Ephesians 4 verses 11 through 16,
and by the way, Ephesians 4, we're talking about a local church.
You're going to see that very obviously, you know, people have brought in false doctrines
on this oneness stuff.
Go into Ephesians 4 and we're talking about the body of the church.
That's what we're seeing here in Ephesians chapter 4, but look at verse 11.
And he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and
teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying
of the body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge
of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness
of Christ, that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about
with every wind of doctrine by the sight of men in cunning craftiness whereby they lie
in wait to deceive.
But speaking the truth in love may grow up in them in all things which is the head, even
Christ, from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every
joint supplyeth according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh
increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
Listen to verse 16, talk about the body, the local church, how it's supposed to be fitly
joined together.
You see, every person in here matters.
Everybody's got different abilities.
We're all commanded to preach the gospel, but you all have various different skills
that you have that are useful for a church.
And it says that every joint supplyeth and it says the effectual working in the measure
of every part.
See, every single part, whether you're the ear, whether you're the toe, whatever part
you play in this church, you're important to this church.
Now if you spend all your time caring about social media, you're forsaking your responsibility
at this church.
You're supposed to be devoted to this church.
And look, I pray for the pastors in our movement, but honestly, I pray more for the people in
my church than I do other churches.
I pray for all the members of my church.
I don't pray for everybody at this church.
You know, I pray for Pastor Romero and I pray for certain people I know want to become pastors
and things like that.
But it's just like, you know, there's a local vineyard you've been given.
And you know, I'm not going to be praying for six hours a day, like every single church.
It's like, you know, I got to decide what's the vineyard, who am I supposed to be praying
for?
And number one is going to come to your local vineyard, which is your local church, which
means you need to get to know these people at your church.
You need to know their names.
You need to know everything about them so you can pray for them.
You need to get to know them and not just say, well, I'm just here for the preaching.
It's like you need to be here for more than that.
You need to be here to be a blessing to this church.
Not just, well, I'm here for the preaching and I come so any.
You need to get to know people at this church.
You need to be a blessing to this church.
And it says, fitly joined together.
But you know, if you got those puzzle pieces that just aren't there, it's not going to
work very well, is it?
And unfortunately, that's what you see with a lot of churches.
You got a puzzle that's missing like half the pieces.
That's not the way it's supposed to be.
Every single person is supposed to be unified on doctrine, on belief, on praying for one
another and caring for one another.
That's the way a local church is supposed to work.
And that's the local vineyard you've been given.
And so I'm not saying you shouldn't be on YouTube or Facebook, but you know, you shouldn't
spend an hour plus a day worrying about things that mean nothing to you in the long run.
You spend all your time just caring about, I mean, there's so many churches now.
You literally spend all your time just focusing on all these people that got kicked out of
churches.
Like, who cares?
Mark them and avoid them.
Forget about it.
I mean, I know people that listen to every sermon from these false prophets and I'm not
even going to name their names because they're not worth it.
But it's like, it's been over a year and you're still listening to the sermons and you know
he's a heret.
What are you doing?
I mean, you're wasting your time.
I mean, why not listen to a pastor that's going to edify you?
What a waste of time listening to false prophets.
Go from the presence of a foolish man, the Bible says, will now perceive us not in him
the lips of knowledge.
If you realize he doesn't have the lips of knowledge, you mark them, you avoid them,
you ignore them, you quit wasting your time.
There's things that are far more important like your own local vineyard and things that
matter about this church.
And like I said at the beginning, this church is doing a great job.
And proof of that is the fact that God appointed you guys faithful to do a church plan in Jacksonville
and he's so many marathons and mission trips.
So obviously he's looking down saying you're doing a good job.
We need to be reminded of these things though.
And at a church, even if most people are on board, if you're someone who's not on board
with stuff like this, it's like you need to get on board with these things and be a church
member that's effectually working and helping everybody out.
Our fifth point is also looking at Ephesians 4, but our fifth point is if you focus too
much on other vineyards, you're going to start falling into the problem of comparing vineyard
to vineyard.
And when I say vineyard, I'm talking about the vineyard of Steadfast Baptist Church.
But if you focus too much on all these other vineyards like Tempe, Arizona, Faith Ward
Baptist Church, or Sacramento, California, Verity Baptist Church, what's going to happen
is you're going to probably start comparing vineyard to vineyard, and that's a big problem.
Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 10.
You have to realize that you're a member of Steadfast Baptist Church for a reason.
There's a reason why God said, you know, I want you here.
I mean, I believe there's lots of great churches out there that you can choose from.
But it's like, you know, for me it's just like, you know, my wife and I were led to
Verity Baptist Church.
That's where God decided He wanted us.
And it's like, wherever you go, if it's a great church, be happy about the vineyard
you have.
And realize that is the vineyard you have.
You know, I've literally heard people say this in front of their pastors or church leaders
about how, you know, they're like, yeah, I really want to move to this other church.
And it's like, man, that is so rude.
And it's unbelievable.
Or I say, I hear people say that to other church members.
And it's like, what is wrong with you?
It's like, yeah, I really like, you know, this pastor's preaching, but you know, man,
I really like the preaching over here.
It's like, what is wrong with you?
For one, that's where God puts you at that church.
You know, if you're at this church, God has placed you here.
Be happy about that.
You have a great church.
You have a great pastor.
People that love the Lord.
This is where God wants you.
He saw fit to put you here, not somewhere else.
But man, that's ridiculous to say that and insult your pastor or church leader.
Tell that to other church members.
It's like, are you kidding me?
Be happy about the church you've been given.
Notice what it says in 2 Corinthians 10, verse 12.
For we dare not make ourselves of the number or compare ourselves with some that commend
themselves.
But they measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves
are not wise.
See, the Bible says it's foolish to compare yourself versus someone else.
Honestly, that's something you see a lot of people do.
They compare themselves to other, you know, Christians or church members.
You need to realize, you know, if you've been saved for a year, you're probably not going
to be spiritually as strong as someone who's been saved for 10 years.
Or 20 years.
And God doesn't expect you, if somebody's been soul winning for 10 years, and reads
through the Bible a couple times every year, they're probably going to grow quite a bit.
It'd be kind of ridiculous.
And turn to 1 Kings 21, 1 Kings 21, it'd be kind of ridiculous to compare yourself that's
been around for a super long time.
Or like a new church that's starting.
You can't expect a new church that's starting to be running as many people on a Sunday morning
as a church that's been going on for 6, 7, 8, 9 years.
It wouldn't make any sense.
But there's really two problems when it comes to comparing, and one is this, that you can
easily become envious of somebody else's vineyard.
Notice what it says in 1 Kings 21, verse 1.
And it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which
was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
So this guy Naboth, he has a vineyard.
This belongs to him.
And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden
of herbs, because it is near unto my house, and I will give thee for it a better vineyard
than it.
Or if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.
So Ahab says, I don't like my vineyard, I want your vineyard.
Now Ahab should just be happy with the fact that he's rich, and he's got plenty of vineyards.
But he wants that one vineyard, he's kind of like Haman, he's like, man, I gotta have
that one vineyard, I gotta have that one thing that I'm not getting.
He should have been happy with what he had.
Naboth was happy about his vineyard.
And notice what it says in verse 3, And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid of me that I
should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.
And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased, because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite
had spoken to him.
For he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers.
And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.
You see Naboth, I bet he realizes, you know what, maybe he could give me a better vineyard.
Maybe he could give me a lot of money for this that it's not even worth that much.
But he says, you know what, I just like the vineyard I've been given.
I'm just going to keep the vineyard.
And Ahab on the other hand, he's envious of Naboth's vineyard.
He says, I want your vineyard.
I have all the money in the world, everything I could possibly ask for, except obviously,
you know, I've got a Jezebel for a wife, but outside of that, man, I got everything.
But man, I want that vineyard.
You know, he should have just been happy with the vineyard he was given.
Naboth was happy with what he had, and you have to realize something, the grass is always
greener on the other side.
You say, well, man, I really like Pastor So-and-so's sermons.
You know, man, I really would like to be a part of that church.
You know, once you got there, you start seeing the same problems.
You see, if you're right beside a vineyard, you can see the problems in it.
You know, my backyard looks pretty nice from a distance, but when I get up close, I'm like,
man, there's a lot of problems with it.
The closer you get, you start seeing those problems.
And from a distance, you're like, man, that church looks amazing.
That looks like a great vineyard.
But once you got there, you'd be like, oh, wow, a lot of the same problems that are here.
You know, man, I didn't realize they'd have false prophets, too.
You know, people are there having to kick out of church, stuff like that.
Look, the same problems that happen here are the same problems that happen in Sacramento
or Tempe or wherever you go.
It's going to be the same things.
And honestly, if you find a problem with your pastor, you would find a problem with Pastor
Jimenez.
If you can't be happy with the church you've been given and the pastor you've been given,
you would find a problem at any church you went to.
That's the truth.
You need to learn.
Didn't Paul say, I've learned to be content?
You can learn to be content and be happy.
You say, man, I got into this move and I was listening to all these sermons.
Well, be happy that you're here and this is where God has appointed you.
Be happy with the vineyard God has given you.
Learn to be content if you're not.
Be happy with what God's blessed you with.
Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 4.
And honestly, people take this to extremes in other areas.
People can be like, oh, man, brother so-and-so's wife is so nice, you know, man, I'm, you know,
envious.
I mean, that's a wicked attitude.
Having this attitude to say, man, they look so perfect.
It's just like, you're going to have the same problems no matter where you go.
And it's like, if you can't learn to be happy with the wife that you have that already goes
soul-winning and comes to church, it's like, you're not going to be happy with anybody's
wife.
That's the person God gave you and you're expected to be a good husband, you know, or
a good wife if you would have a problem with your husband.
Don't be envious of somebody else's vineyard, but the other problem can be this.
Not only can you become envious of someone else's vineyard, you can also get puffed up
about your own vineyard if you spend all your time comparing your vineyard to another vineyard.
Look at what it says in 1 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 1, let a man sow account of us as
the ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
Moreover, it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.
But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you or man's judgment.
Yea, I judge not mine own self.
For I know nothing by myself, yet I might not hereby justify, but he that judgeth me
is the Lord.
Therefore judge nothing before the time until the Lord come, who both will bring to light
the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the heart.
And then shall every man have praise of God.
As what Paul's saying is this, you know, I'm not judging anything before the time.
He's like, God's the one who's going to judge me.
And it's like it would be very easy to look at another vineyard and say, wow, you know,
we're doing more than this other church.
Maybe I'm more zealous of a pastor.
Maybe I'm better at preaching.
Maybe we're a better church.
That is a bad attitude to have.
And it's like judge nothing before the time.
You know, don't worry about being like lifted up in this world.
Whatever people think about you, just serve God.
Go to church, read the Bible, go soul winning, bring people to church.
Don't worry about being lifted up in this world or trying to compare and try to judge
people like, I think so-and-so is going to get this many rewards and this person this
many.
We don't know, because God's going to judge the hidden things of the heart.
And I can't see what's inside your heart.
You know, I don't know whether you're doing it just to be puffed up or vain.
I mean, people go soul winning just to be seen of men.
People do it.
And it's like they get their reward here, and some of those are saved people.
They're not all bad people.
Some people just go because they want the attention.
And it's like you got your reward here on earth.
And they might look like they get a lot of rewards, but you know what?
One day they're not going to get those rewards because of the fact they were doing it for
the wrong reason.
You know, God knows what's inside the heart.
Notice verse six.
And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself into a pause for your
sakes, that you might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no
one of you be puffed up for one against another.
For who may get thee to differ from another?
And what hast thou didst not receive?
Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it?
So if you've been given a vineyard, or you're part of a vineyard, and God has placed you
here, be happy about the vineyard you have.
Don't have this attitude, I want to go somewhere else.
But don't get lifted up and compare yourself.
Because if this is something you receive from God, and God placed you here, it would be
a foolish thing to start looking and trying to compare vineyards to vineyards.
It's a bad thing to fall into.
Look at chapter 16, and so the five things we looked at tonight in terms of remembering
to keep the vineyard of Steadfast Baptist Church, when it comes to soul winning, you
need to remember to keep the vineyard.
You need to put as much zeal and effort into soul winning here as you would anywhere.
You need to give it your all in Fort Worth, Texas.
But also bringing people to church.
You need to put in an effort to bring people to church.
Also if you get up here and preach sometimes, make sure you preach a sermon that's edifying
and helpful.
Don't try to preach a cool sermon that's going to get a lot of views on YouTube.
Yeah, I mean the cool sermons need to be preached sometimes, but when you're new at preaching,
you should just be preaching the basics, the things that you know well.
Don't try to lift yourself up and be a star in this movement.
Preach something that's just going to help people.
That's what you're expected to do.
But also, number four, we looked at spending too much time on social media, but also this
idea of comparing.
We need to remember in all these things what your local vineyard is.
Notice what it says in Luke 16 verses 10 and 11.
He says in verse 10, he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much.
And he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous man, then who will commit
to your trust the true riches?
God expects you to be faithful in what he's given you here in Fort Worth.
This local vineyard.
And like I said at the beginning, this church is doing a great job.
This church is being used to reach people all over the world.
This church is doing big things.
God's looking down and saying, you know what, this church is doing a good job, but you know,
churches always eventually, it seems like, go south.
You know in the Bible, there's good churches, you look in Revelation, churches go south.
That's why you need to be reminded of these things.
Because what got this church to be successful is the fact that it really hit its local vineyard
hard.
Say, I want to reach the world with the gospel.
Hey, that's great, but it starts in reaching Jerusalem.
Turn to Luke 10.
I mean, I would hope that if you're in this room, you would say, you know, yeah, I want
to do something big in my life.
I want to really, you know, be successful in terms of reaching people with the gospel
and really living for the Lord.
And that's great, but you have to realize first God expects you to be faithful in what's
least.
And honestly, there's a lot of people I know who, they would probably preach a sermon if
they got an opportunity on like a Sunday night or Wednesday night at our church.
They have something they want, but at the preaching nights they just don't take it seriously.
And it's just like, man, if you would take it seriously, what would happen is God would
see in heaven and say, you know what, that person's ready for it.
But it's like, you know, people are waiting for this big opportunity.
You shouldn't be waiting for a big opportunity, you should just be faithful in what you've
been given.
Now look at Luke chapter 10, the last place we'll look tonight.
And I want you to notice in verse number 38, now it came to pass as they went that he entered
into a certain village, Luke 10 verse 38, he entered into a certain village and a certain
woman named Martha received him into her house.
And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word.
But Martha was cumbered about much serving and came to him and said, Lord, dost thou
not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?
Bitter therefore that she help me.
And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about
many things, but one thing is needful, and Mary hath chosen that good part which shall
not be taken away from her.
See Martha was focused on something that was a good thing, but it wasn't the most important
thing.
And when it comes to this online ministry, there's a lot of things out there that are
good things that you can be involved in in terms of praying for other people, but you
cannot forsake what's the most important thing.
And the most important thing is just the local vineyard you've been given here at Fort Worth,
Texas.
And you know, I'd like to see this church in another couple years just double in size,
just grow more and more, more soul winners, more people being rich with the gospel.
And I would love to see this church have opportunities to have a lot of great church plants, because
you know, Steadfast Jacksonville is doing an awesome job.
They're knocking it out of the park right now.
They're getting so many people saved.
And I'll be honest with you, I didn't really know Brother Finn in that well until he came
to the Red Hot Preaching Conference.
I was like, man, Brother Finn is awesome, and he's knocking it out of the park.
He's doing a great job.
And I'd like to see this church have lots of church plants, because you look around
the U.S., you look around the world, there's so many areas that do not have a church that
is really focused on hitting their local vineyard.
Let's close in a word of prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here tonight, and I ask you to help
us all just to think about these things that were preached, including myself, about really
focusing on the local vineyard that God has given us, and never forsaking that God.
And I ask you to continue to bless this church, help it to continue to grow, bless Pastor
Romero and his family, and help tomorrow and this whole weekend to have a great weekend
and have many souls saved tomorrow, God.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.