So in Matthew chapter 18, beginning in verse 10, the Bible reads,
Take heed, and despise not one of these little ones.
For I say unto you, that in heaven there are angels,
do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
But the Son of Man has come to save that which is lost.
How think ye, if a man go, having a hundred sheep,
and one of them be gone astray,
doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and go into the mountains,
and seek that which is gone astray?
And if so be that he find it,
verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of the sheep
than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.
And the title of the sermon this morning is
Seeking Those That Have Strayed,
Seeking Those That Have Strayed.
And of course we see here in this verse that
that was Jesus' mission, that it was Jesus' mission
to seek that which was lost.
And that he, it says right there in verse 11,
The Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.
So that was the very mission of Christ,
that's why he came to earth to seek and to save that which is lost.
And of course it just goes without saying that
in order to save that which is lost,
that which is lost must be found,
meaning that the lost must be sought.
You're not going to find something that's lost if you never look for it, right?
I mean that sounds pretty reasonable, right?
I think about the fact that I don't have my wedding band on,
because we lost it, you know.
I set that thing down and it's been missing for a while now,
and there's one place we haven't looked,
and that's the couch.
And I told my wife we're not going to look in that couch,
because that's the last bastion of hope of where that thing is, right?
Because we have another theory of what happened to it,
and if that's what happened then it's gone for good.
So we're holding out hope, I'm just thinking maybe one day
we'll get ambitious probably when we move and take that thing out,
we'll turn that couch upside down and shake it,
and hopefully I'll hear something clanking on the floor.
Well here's the thing, that ring's going to stay lost,
as far as I know, until I look in that last place
and it might even stay lost after that.
So that's just kind of a pretty obvious illustration that
if you don't seek for something that's lost, you're never going to find it.
And again, that is the mission of Jesus Christ,
that He came to seek and to save that which is lost.
The Bible says in Luke 19, and if you would turn over to Luke chapter 14,
turn to Luke 14.
The Bible says in Luke 19, you're going to 14,
but the Bible says in chapter 19,
the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost.
So in order to save something, in order to find something,
you have to seek it.
And that demands effort, doesn't it?
That means you're going to have to go out
and you're going to have to put forth some effort.
And it's going to demand that you be sent,
it's going to demand that you be, in order to put effort,
you're going to have to be exhorted to do so.
We're going to have to be exhorted, we're going to have to be encouraged.
And really that's the point of the sermon this morning,
is to encourage you.
I really don't think that we're struggling in this church
area of soul winning.
We've pretty much got that down.
But here's the thing, this sermon is really to remind you
of why we're seeking the lost.
Remind you why we're going out week in and week out,
some of us multiple times a week to go out and seek that
and save that which is lost.
Why are we doing that?
That's what I want to remind us of this morning,
is why we're doing it.
Because here's the thing, when you set out to be a soul winner
and you determine that you're going to be part of a soul winning church
and you're going to continue in a soul winning church
and you're going to soul win for the rest of your life,
you understand the importance of going out and seeking that which is lost,
there's a danger of falling into ruts or maybe seasons in your life
as a soul winner where you start to just do things out of routine.
Where you just start to say, well it's just what I do.
And it can just turn into something you're doing solely out of habit.
And we can all fall into that.
And that's probably perfectly natural to do that.
Just like you would do anything else.
Anything else in life that you're going to do over and over
for a long period of time,
you know, the newness wears off
and it can just turn into a little bit of just doing things out of duty.
And by all means, you know, we should have the character
to pull ourselves through those type of seasons
where we feel like we have to force ourselves to do certain things
and soul winning is no exception.
Sometimes we have to just make ourselves go and do it
because we know it's the right thing to do.
Maybe we're not excited about it.
But that's the point of the sermon. I want to encourage you,
I want to exhort you, and I want to remind you
not to just fall into this routine of soul winning.
And I don't know that any of us are there,
but it's always good to, you know, try to have some preventative maintenance.
So, because here's the thing about seeking those that have strayed.
Seeking the loss. Seeking those that have gone astray.
It's inconvenient. It's not easy.
It was easy for everybody to do it.
I mean, there's a reason why this church, as small as it is,
has more soul winners in it than some Baptist churches that have hundreds of people in it.
I mean, there's Baptist churches out there that are running hundreds
and they have less soul winners than we do.
And I don't say that raggedosiously. I don't say that to lift us up.
I speak that to their shame.
Then here's why is that?
Because it's not easy. Because it's inconvenient.
It requires effort.
And a lot of times, the efforts that are put forth in soul winning,
they're not going to be exalted before man.
They're not going to be lifted up.
And you're not going to get the recognition on this earth.
But, you know, seeking that which is lost is difficult.
I mean, Jesus, in the parable where we read, I'll remind you what it says.
He says that if He leaveth the 99 and goeth into the mountains.
You know, we're getting ready to have that camping truck there in Mount Lemmon.
I'm glad we're driving up there.
Because I probably wouldn't make it halfway.
I probably wouldn't make it a quarter way before I had to turn back around
and go back down and give up, basically.
It's difficult to go up into a mountain. It's not convenient.
The sheep had gone astray somewhere that was difficult to go find it.
So, you know, that's why a lot of people are not doing it today.
It's not convenient. Because it requires putting forth some effort.
Now look here in Luke chapter 14 and verse 6 and it says,
Then He said unto them, A certain man bade a great supper and bade many,
and sent his servant at suppertime to come to them that were bidden.
For all things are now ready.
And they all with one consent began to make excuse.
The first said unto them, I have bought a piece of ground.
I must know if you need to go and see it.
I pray thee have me excused.
Another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen and I go to prove them.
I pray thee have me excused.
Another said, I have married a wife, therefore I cannot come.
So that servant came and showed his Lord these things.
Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant,
Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city,
and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.
And the servant said, Lord, it is done. It is now as commanded.
And yet there is room.
And the Lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges,
and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
So in this example here, of course the primary application of this passage
is dealing with the fact that God is going from those that were bidden,
the nation of Israel is turning into the Gentiles, those that were not bidden.
But there's also, I believe, a principle that we can use here
to apply to soul winning, and the fact that it's not easy,
that it's something that requires effort,
because in this example we see here that the difficulty seems to increase, doesn't it?
I mean, first the people that are, I mean, goes out to seek and to save
are those that were bidden.
I mean, they had already gotten the invite, they already knew the date,
they already know where to be and when to be there.
I mean, they really didn't have to put any effort at all.
And then, of course, it goes on there, you know, they didn't show up,
so what does it say down there?
In verse 27 and 21, towards the end, it says,
Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city,
and bring in hither the poor and the maimed and the halt and the blind.
So you see, it gets a little bit more difficult.
Now he's going to find people that had no idea about the marriage supper.
They had no idea about the wedding that was taking place.
They were just, you know, going about their daily lives.
Now he said, well, now you need to go find these people.
But even then, they're going into streets and lanes, aren't they?
They're going into places where it's paved, maybe,
where there's a road they can walk down, there's a footpath,
you know, there's no obstacles in the way, there's a lot of people already there.
But it's not as easy as going and getting those that were already bitten
just going to remind somebody that already knew what was going on.
So the difficulty gets a little bit more difficult.
But then, of course, there at the end, it gets even more difficult where he says,
And the Lord said unto his servant, in verse 23,
Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in.
So now they're going a further distance,
maybe where there's not as many people, they're going into the hedges,
you know, having to go through these difficult obstacles.
But in both examples, the one of the mountain and the one here
is that the difficulty of the journey is worth the result.
And that's what I want to remind you of this morning,
is that, you know, it's getting hotter out there in Tucson, you know,
and I know we like to brag down here that it's a little bit cooler than Phoenix,
but it really doesn't matter that, you know, when it gets over 110 degrees,
I don't care how it's two degrees cooler, it's still hot, right?
But the difficult, you know, the journey's going to get a little bit more difficult
over these seven months to go out and be faithful to the soul with him.
But you know what? The result is still the same.
The result is just as rewarding as we were doing it in the middle of January.
You know, we're seeking those that are lost,
those that might never come to the Lord otherwise.
See, because here's the thing.
The people that are being sought out in these parables,
they cannot find their own way.
A lot of them cannot find their own way.
Think about that sheep lost on a mountain.
I mean, sheep are pretty dumb animals from what I've been told.
They don't necessarily know where they're going or how to get there.
That's why they require shepherds and things to, you know, corral them
and bring them to certain places, otherwise they'll just wander around
and they'll remain lost.
That's like that sheep, and that's what we're dealing with
with people out in the world today.
They're like sheep scattered without a shepherd.
These people can't find their own way.
That's why we need to put forth the effort.
Although it's difficult, although it gets hotter,
although, you know, maybe we've been doing it faithfully
and we feel like we're just starting to do things out of routine,
let's not forget that the result is still the same.
We're still finding sheep. We're still bringing them into the fold.
They're still being saved for eternity.
Another example there in Luke.
Who do they go and seek?
The poor, the mean, the halt, the blind.
I mean, the poor, they can't hire a guy.
They don't have the money.
They can't pay some man to show them the way.
The maimed and halt, they're incapable of walking.
They can't even physically get to where they need to be.
And you think about the blind.
I mean, unless somebody comes and takes them by the hand,
they're not going to get where they need to be.
You know, and spiritually speaking, that's what we're dealing with.
We're dealing with people that can't buy their way into heaven.
We're dealing with people that, you know,
have a lot of sin that's, you know, damaged them.
They're damaged goods.
You know, maybe they don't think straight in certain ways.
And they're blind.
They spiritually can't understand the gospel.
And except some man should come and show them,
they're not going to understand these spiritual truths.
That's why we have to put forth the effort,
although it's difficult.
Because if we don't endure that hardness,
if we don't go out and do it,
they're just going to remain like that sheep that's out there.
So seeking those that have strayed, you know, it's difficult.
It's something that is inconvenient.
It means going out of the way.
But also, seeking those that have strayed is a big mission.
That's a big task.
And if you would, you're in Luke, turn over to chapter 10.
Luke chapter 10.
You're going to Luke chapter 10.
But I'll remind us just how big the task is before us
of seeking those that are strayed.
It says in Mark 16, of course we all know this verse,
and he said on it,
Go ye into all the world,
and preach the gospel to every creature.
I mean, there's no clause in that verse.
There's no exceptions.
It's all the world, it's every creature.
That's a big task.
You know, and it's going to take a lot of people to accomplish that.
The task of seeing those that have strayed is large
because everyone has strayed.
Why do we have to reach the whole world?
Because everybody's lost.
Until they get saved.
The Bible says we know these verses in Romans.
For death passed upon all men for all that sin.
We know the Bible says in Romans that
there is none righteous, no, not one.
They are all gone out of the way.
That all of sin comes short of the glory of God.
That there is not a just man upon the earth
that doeth good and sineth not.
Why is the task so large today?
Why is it so inconvenient?
Why is it so hard?
Because they're all lost.
Because we've all gone astray.
Because we've all wandered from the fold.
So we have a large job to do.
I mean, we think about just that map back there,
the city of Tucson.
I'm looking at just within the city limits right now.
And that map doesn't even encompass everything.
It's probably another third of that city that's east of there
where we don't even have them.
And you know, brother Fabian and I were out to dinner here
up on that mosaic cafe up there.
What did we have?
Bischetto?
Am I saying it right?
I'm probably butchering that.
How do you say it?
I don't know.
Bischetto or I don't know.
It's number 11.
That's right.
This is where I go up there.
Number 11, right?
But we came out after supper
and I remember we looked out
and you could see that whole city of Tucson at night.
And I just thought, man, that's our city.
That's the city we've got to reach.
That's the city that we've been given to go out.
I mean, that's over a million people represented.
And we've got to go out and reach them.
That's a big task just for us, just for this church.
And I remember I said it to him
and I said it to my wife in the past.
I said, you know what?
I mean, it's good for us to have goals in life.
We ought to have, you know, especially as men,
we have to have some, you know,
tasks that's bigger than ourselves to accomplish.
You know, we have to have some kind of a battle.
We have to have some kind of a goal in life
to keep us motivated and enthused and occupied
and something to strive for and to work for.
You know, turning that map red,
not saying, hey, I was part of a church
and I helped knock every door in Tucson.
Men.
That's a worthy goal.
That's a big task.
But I'm up for it.
And I'm glad that I'm in a church full of people
that have the same vision and have the same desire.
I mean, who knows?
Maybe we'll knock it twice.
You know, we could knock that thing three times.
I mean, I'm not even 40 yet, right?
I still got time.
We could do it.
We could get at least once.
I'm sure we could get at least once.
We've already put a dent in it.
But, you know, it's a big task.
It's a big mission.
Jesus said all the world.
Of course, he doesn't expect
just any one group of people to do that.
But we all have to do our part
in order to reach the whole world.
And you know what?
Tucson is the corner of the world that we have to knock.
And I don't want us to get discouraged
just by thinking,
oh, we're just filling in the map or just painting.
You know what?
At least we get to go back
and just take the marker and color it red.
And then next week we'll do it again.
Let's not get discouraged.
Let's not let routine just bog us down.
Let's not forget that the gold
and the results are still the same,
that souls are still being saved.
So yeah, it's a big task.
But you know what?
Jesus, he set the example, didn't he?
He set the example of seeking out and doing the work.
He didn't just say,
hey, go do this.
And I'm not going to show you how it's done.
He led by example.
That's what we see in Luke 10.
Look at verse 1.
After these things,
the Lord appointed other seventy also
and sent them two and two before his face
into every city and place.
I love this next phrase.
Whether he himself would come.
It wasn't that he was just going to send them out there
and do nothing
and just sit back and let them do all the work.
No, you know what?
He didn't.
He said, I'm going to, and I'll follow you.
Therefore he said unto them,
the harvest truly is great
but the labors are few.
Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest
that he would send forth labors into his harvest.
So it wasn't that he just sent people out
and didn't do likewise.
He sent them out
and then he followed right behind them.
And elsewhere it says that he himself
went out and preached.
And of course we know that's what he did
for those three and a half years.
He went out throughout all the cities and villages
and into the hill country
and preached in multiple places.
And that's what he spent his time doing.
The man was homeless while he did that.
He had nowhere to lay his head while he did that.
That's how dedicated he was to the task.
So Jesus, yeah, he gives us a big task
but he set the example, didn't he?
He appoints others and then he joins in the work.
And then of course we have to consider the fact that
we might feel like we're kind of going out of our way.
And we are.
I mean we are.
We're going out of our way
but that's the point, isn't it?
We don't want to turn to these Calvinistic churches
that just thinks that the lost
are just going to walk through those doors
and then we can just have altar calls
and just bring people down the aisle.
It doesn't work.
I mean I'm sure you can get some people saved that way
but are you going to get entire cities?
Are you going to get every creature saved at an altar call?
You're going to have to go out of the way.
You're going to have to be inconvenienced.
And Jesus set the example.
And let's not forget that Jesus went farther out of the way
than anyone ever will.
I mean Jesus, you want to talk about somebody
going out of their way for another person.
It's Jesus Christ.
Go ahead and turn it over to 2 Corinthians chapter 8.
You're going to 2 Corinthians chapter 8.
I'll read it from Philippians 2.
The Bible says in Philippians 2,
Look not every man on his own things,
but every man also on the things of others.
Let this mind be in you, which also was in Christ Jesus,
who being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God,
but made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant,
and was made in the likeness of men.
Now that's crazy.
Think that our Lord, the God, the universe,
the creator of heaven and earth,
took upon him the form of a servant.
I mean he's worthy of praise and service
and just to be exalted throughout all of eternity
and to have people come and serve him.
But what did he do?
He went way out of his way.
I mean he left glory.
He left heaven.
He left his father's throne and came down to earth
and took on sinful flesh like you and I,
of course, yet without sin.
And it wasn't tempted in all points like as we are,
and knew all the same struggles and trials and temptations
that you and I go through,
and was made in the likeness of men.
I mean you feel like you're going out of the way,
go knock at the door,
you can stop and consider the fact that our Lord
went much farther out of the way,
and not just for that person at that door,
but for you yourself.
He did all that,
because here's the thing,
he did that.
He went out of his way to seek those that are straight,
and that includes you,
and that includes me.
That includes everybody in this room,
because all is straight in heaven.
Look at there in 2 Corinthians chapter 8 verse 9.
For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that though he was rich,
yet for your sakes he became poor,
that ye through his poverty might be rich.
So whose sake was it for that Jesus came
and was made in the likeness of sinful flesh?
For your sakes.
For our sakes.
For me and you, even in this room.
You see, Jesus sought us out
when he came and died for our sins.
When he was dying on the cross,
when he suffered,
and was buried and rose again,
he did all that for us.
And not only that,
in all likelihood,
someone went out of their way to preach you the gospel.
Someone maybe came to your door one day,
or took the time to make a DVD with the gospel on it,
and publish it,
and put it out there,
and promote it,
and things like that.
Or somebody took the time to sit down with the Bible
and open it up and explain to you how to be safe.
Someone did that for you.
So let's not forget that we need to be doing that for others.
We should be returning the favor.
And again, I'm not trying to say that we're not doing it,
because we're doing it.
I'm just trying to avoid us
from falling into just doing it simply out of routine.
We want to always keep our burden
and remember why we're doing what we're doing.
The Bible says in Romans 10,
how shall they hear without a preacher?
It takes a preacher,
it takes somebody going and preaching the gospel
in order to get somebody saved.
It all rests upon those that are willing to preach.
The Bible says if our gospel be hid,
it is hid to them that are lost.
It's great to know the gospel,
to know that you know it,
you understand it,
you get it,
you're saved,
you're on your way to heaven.
But what about those around us?
There's certain people in your life
that probably only you can reach.
Or you have a much better opportunity to reach
that I can never reach.
Your relatives,
your friends,
the people that you associate,
the people that you know,
I might never run into them.
I might never get a chance to give them a gospel.
And don't ever feel like,
well if I fall out of soul waiting,
or if I don't do it,
somebody else will.
And that's a mentality that's out there.
That's a mentality that was expressed to me
very on in my Christian life
and it didn't do me any favors.
To hear this mentality of,
well, if they're really supposed to get saved,
God will send somebody.
They'll get saved if they're supposed to.
And then you'd ask that same person,
are you a Calvinist?
No.
Are you sure?
Because you sound like one.
When you say,
oh, they'll get saved if they're supposed to.
And that sounds like a Calvinist.
How can you just say that?
Well, if I don't give them the gospel,
somebody else might come along and do it.
Yeah, they might.
But then again, they might not.
You might be just that one person
that they're willing to listen to.
So, just remember that.
That, you know,
yeah, it's difficult.
Yeah, it might be awkward.
Yeah, it might require us
having to go out of the way.
But without us seeking,
they might just remain lost.
And somebody did the same for us.
Our Lord did it for us
and we need to return that favor.
You know, and you know,
maybe by chance there's people in here
that, you know,
that are able to go out slowing.
And I understand not everybody
can get out week in and week out.
You know, that people are busy
with their lives and things.
You know, moms and raising kids and stuff.
You know, they're raising soul winners.
Praise God for that.
You know, but if you are able
to get out and go soul winning
and you're not,
you know, my question is,
why not?
Why aren't you doing it?
Why aren't you learning how to
go out and give the gospel?
You know, a lot of people don't do it
because they're afraid.
Just because they,
you know, it is awkward.
I remember when I first started,
I was like, we're going to go knock
on a stranger door
and ask them if we could talk to them
about the Bible.
You know, I got nervous.
I had butterflies in my stomach.
I didn't know what was going to happen.
And I found out real quick,
you know, a lot of it is just
my own imagination.
You know, Rambo isn't going to answer
the door and be like,
what are you doing here?
You know, sharpening his knife
or something.
A lot of people,
the worst thing I've ever had happen
is somebody just slammed a door.
You know, I slam doors.
Not that often.
And when I do, I'm wrong.
Right?
But that's the worst thing
that's going to happen.
Someone's going to say no.
Someone's going to slam a door.
Someone's going to call me a name.
You know, you learn to get over that.
You know, you might even get to the point
where you kind of enjoy it a little bit.
It's kind of entertaining, you know,
until you break up the mundane.
You know, people are just not interested.
It's good to get that one every once in a while
that's just, no!
You jerk!
You know, you've got a story to tell
when you come back, right?
But when you start soul winning,
you don't have that mentality.
You're like, oh man,
we're going to go soul winning?
What's going to happen?
You know, so maybe that's why
some people don't go.
You know what?
Here's the thing.
You can go,
and you don't even have to do the talking.
You know, we can pair you up with somebody
that'll do all the talking for you.
You can just sit back and enjoy the show
and learn how to do it.
But here's the thing.
I'm guessing that,
in fact, I almost know for a fact
that pretty much everybody in here
is going soul winning.
So, you know,
I'm kind of preaching the choir on that one,
but, you know,
the application for you is, you know,
don't let seeking those that have strayed
just become a matter of routine.
Just become a force of habit,
and you'll lose your burden.
And that's easy to do
because soul winning's hard work.
It's not easy,
especially in the heat,
especially when you're doing it consistently,
especially if you're going into an area
that's not as receptive.
You know, but you need to not weary.
Go ahead and turn over to Colossians chapter 4.
Colossians chapter 4.
I'll remind us Galatians 6.
We know this verse where it says,
And let us not be weary in well-doing,
for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.
So, how are you going to avoid
like, uh,
soul winning just become
just something you do out of habit
or being just routine?
You're going to get weary
when you get weary.
So don't be weary.
Well, how do you avoid wearying yourself?
Because that's easy to do.
It's easy to say,
well, you know what,
I'm going to go out
soul winning two, three times a week
for multiple hours on end,
and you do that long enough,
I guarantee you're going to reach a point
where you start to get weary.
You know, especially if you do go
to somewhere that's receptive
where you're given the gospel a lot.
Well, here's the thing.
Here's what you need to do.
Pace yourself.
You need to pace yourself
in your soul winning.
You know, only doing what you can.
You know, sometimes we all, of course,
we want to push ourselves and do more,
but we have to remember that
we're trying to do this for a lifetime.
We're trying to knock that whole map,
not just part of it.
You know, we're trying to reach
the whole world,
not just, you know, one street.
So you need to pace yourself.
You need to make sure that
you're being consistent, yes,
and there's times to ramp it up
and there's times to scale it back
a little bit,
but we always need to be pacing ourselves.
Look there in Colossians 4 verse 5.
It says this,
walk in wisdom toward them that are without.
So you need to walk in wisdom.
He didn't say sprint,
he didn't say run,
he didn't say, you know,
an all out dash that's not a marathon.
He didn't say you need to walk
in wisdom towards them that are without.
Let your speech be all the way
with grace, season with salt.
They may know how you ought
to answer every man.
See, people burn out
and you know what they do?
They cease walking in wisdom.
They stop to have the wisdom
towards them that are without.
Because you have to be wise
a serpent and harmless as doves
when you're out there.
You have to be wise about
how you're going to go soloing.
And what I mean by this
is when they lose their wisdom
at the door is they're losing
that burden.
They're not being wise
about how they're representing
the gospel of Christ,
how they're trying to implore
somebody to hear the gospel.
That takes a certain level
of wisdom.
It takes a certain level
of people skills,
of having the right attitude, right?
And people, when they burn out,
when they don't pace themselves,
they lose that wisdom when they
walk towards them without.
And here's what happens,
they become robotic.
And I've seen this,
and I've done this,
and I've been guilty of this.
You just turn into a robot
at the door.
And I've pointed this out
to different people
that I've seen it in
because I know exactly
where they're at.
They're faithful soul winners,
they go, they've got a burden,
they want to do the work,
but they're burning out
and you can see it.
And they're going,
they're in an unreceptive neighborhood
and they're burning out
and they become robotic.
And it's real easy to do.
They just start reciting a script.
You know, we have to have
some script to what we're doing.
But make sure it's not just this,
you're just repeating it as if
you're already expecting them to say no.
You know what, you're burning out
when you start, you're like,
we're from a Baptist church,
you knock at their door,
we're just wondering if we can
give you an invite
and you're already walking away
explaining what to say no.
You're already expecting it.
And one thing a lot of people do,
and one thing I used to be
really guilty of,
is they would exploit this thing.
Here's the thing,
with people self-consciously,
if you just walk up to them
and you hold something out,
they'll take it from you.
See?
And they won't even know
why they're taking it.
They'll just reach out and grab it.
And one thing I would do a lot,
and this is one little point in soul winning
I think that goes a long way,
I don't have an invite on me,
but when you take an invite,
a lot of people will say,
hey, we're from a Baptist church,
do you go to church anywhere?
And they're holding the invite out like that.
And the person at the door,
now they're opening their door
and they're taking it.
Here's a little tip,
when you're handing out your invite,
say, can I give you an invite?
I'd say, hey, I'm Brother Corbin,
or I don't say I'm Brother Corbin,
I'd say, hey, my name's Corbin,
I'm from a Baptist church,
we're just going around your neighborhood today
and we're handing out invites,
can I give you one?
And when you ask that question,
you know, one,
they feel like they're being invited
to accept the invite.
They're not just,
their subconscious brain isn't just like,
I'm being forced to take this,
I don't know why I'm taking it,
I don't want it.
And when you ask them,
can I give you one,
this is where you're going to be more efficient
and help you from burning out
because now you're giving them
an opportunity to say,
no thank you, not interested.
Because I don't want to waste my time
with somebody that's not interested.
I want to find out as quick as I can
whether or not that person
is going to let me open up the Bible
and share the Gospel with them.
So that's what I do.
I try to streamline those first
few moments at the door,
I mean seconds,
as quick as I can,
to get to that point.
So that was one thing,
and I pointed this out to a guy
up in Phoenix just recently,
I said, hey you know,
you should ask them if you can give them.
And do you know why he did that?
Because at first he was just doing that.
Hey I'm from a Baptist,
I'm from Faithful Word Baptist Church,
do you go to church anywhere?
And they're taking it.
And people were,
without even realizing it,
because it's a subconscious thing,
they're like, no.
And they're a little hostile.
Because they're feeling like
you're just kind of,
like you're going to break out a sweat lamp
and just be like,
where do you go to church?
Right.
And it feels like an interrogation.
Right.
We don't want to do that.
We want to walk in wisdom.
We want to be warned.
We want to invite them to church.
We want to feel like
we would actually like to see them there.
Hey, can I give you an invite?
That's inviting, you know.
So that's just a little tip.
Instead of just putting it in their hand,
ask them if you can give them one.
And you know,
there's going to be people
that are disinterested.
And that's another thing
I see people get burned out on.
They get burned out on people
who are disinterested and rude.
And they get discouraged.
This is especially when you're first
starting soul winning early on.
I notice that a lot.
I struggled with that for a while.
People that would be rude about it.
Because here's the thing.
You've got to learn to shake
the dust off your feet.
You've got to.
Because here's the problem with that.
If you let some jerk at one door
give you a bad attitude,
you're going to take that attitude
to the next door.
And go, let's see what this jerk's
going to be like.
Yeah.
And they haven't even come to the door yet.
And you're already convinced
that you're just going to be
dealing with another jerk.
Right?
So, you need to get that
out of your mind as quick as you can.
Just, you know,
I don't care how rude they are.
I mean, to a point.
Of course, I mean,
if they're just being belligerent jerks,
then that's a different story.
But the average person,
most doors are just like,
hey, I'm not interested.
Or no soliciting.
You know.
No thanks.
You know.
Or the ones that have a really polite
way of being rude to you.
No thanks.
You know.
Not like the guy I had the other day.
No!
I didn't even say anything.
I just knocked on the door and opened it.
No!
I'm still shaking the dust off.
Still a little bitter about that one.
But, don't let that discourage you.
And that's what a good soul winning,
by the way, partner will help a person with.
Is they'll,
whenever I see that happen to my
soul winning partner,
and if I think they're struggling
with getting over it,
you know, if they start,
you know, reciting,
you know,
let your gold be witnessed against you.
Your gold is mop-eaten
and, you know,
the rust of your gold,
so the other guy,
you know,
you howl and weep and mourn.
At this guy,
it's like,
whoa buddy,
take it easy.
Maybe he's just having a bad day.
For all you know,
he was walking answer the door
in a great mood
and stubbed his toe.
You know,
now he's blaming you for his stubbed toe.
You don't know what's going on.
You know,
I've had people answer the door
and say,
it's just not a good time.
You know,
maybe that's really what it is.
It's just not a good time.
So,
whenever I'm with that,
and I see that going on,
I say,
I try to get their mind off of it.
You know,
start talking about something else,
you know,
and not taking the next door
and try to get them to think
about other things
rather than just doing a,
you know,
somebody who might have just
been having a bad day.
So,
here's the thing,
we don't want to burn out.
You know,
we got a big task to do,
so we have to pace ourselves
and make sure we're not turning
into robots at the door
and being discouraged by those people
that,
you know,
are unreceptive.
Because here's the thing,
you know,
you have to understand this.
You have the rest of your life
to win souls.
You have the rest of your life.
Now,
who knows how long your life's
going to be, right?
We know it's a vapor,
but,
you know,
the natural course of events
are going to be here
for a long time.
You're going to have
lots of opportunity
to go soul winning.
You know,
you're part of a church like this,
I mean,
different events going on,
you know,
there's the entire life
before you to go out
and go soul winning.
However much of your life
you've got left,
you can go soul winning.
Yeah.
You will accomplish more
by not burning out,
by pacing yourself,
by not being discouraged.
So,
how's another way
to not get weary
in soul winning,
to not become discouraged?
Well,
how about a change of scenery?
I know that helps me a lot.
You know,
sometimes when you're
in the same neighborhood
week in and week out,
and it's unreceptive,
maybe just switch it up
a little bit.
Go to a different
soul winning time.
How about this?
Come on a res trip,
you know,
shameless plug.
Come on a res trip,
schedule one.
You know,
I know we could get the dates
out a little bit further,
that might help things,
but you know,
come on out on a res trip,
and go out to some of the
most receptive soul winning
you'll ever be a part of,
and enjoy the fellowship.
Yeah.
And the recreation,
and be reminded again
that soul winning can be,
you know,
not only,
you know,
work,
but it can also be fun.
Try a different soul winning time.
Go with a different person.
You know,
maybe you're going with
the same people every time,
switch up,
how about this one?
Go visit another
soul winning church.
You know,
if you ever go take
a vacation or something,
maybe plan it around
visiting another church.
Hopefully if you're going
on vacation somewhere,
you're considering where
you're going to go to church
while you're on vacation.
And you can go
to another church,
and go soul winning with
a whole other group of people,
and a whole other city,
and be refreshed.
So that's another way
to not become weary.
So,
you don't want to
let seeking those
that are straight
just become a matter
of routine,
so don't become weary.
Pace yourself,
and realize that
there is a harvest.
The Bible says in
Psalms 126,
it says,
They that sow in tears
shall reap in joy.
He that goeth forth
and weepeth,
bearing precious seed,
shall doubtless come again,
bringing his sheaves with him.
So there is a harvest to come.
That's what that verse tells us,
that there will be a time
of reaping,
that there will be a time
when we are bringing
our sheaves with us.
And you have to understand
that seasons come to an end.
I mean,
this is liking it
onto agriculture here.
There's a certain time of year
that there's a harvest.
Harvest doesn't happen
year round.
And it's the same way
in our life,
there's going to be a harvest
at the end.
Yeah, we're, you know,
winning souls along the way,
but we really won't see
the harvest,
the true fruit of our labors
until our life ends
and we reach heaven.
And God shows us,
you know,
because the Bible says,
Every man's work
shall be made manifest.
And God shows us
the results of the efforts
that we put forward.
So yeah,
seasons come to an end.
There is a harvest.
And it's true that
you have your whole life
to come to an end.
And it's true that
you have your whole life
ahead of you
to go soul winning,
but also remember this,
you only have this life
to win souls.
Yeah,
you have your whole life,
but that's it.
You don't have any more
than that.
And that there is a reward
for your labor.
Realize there is a harvest.
You know,
don't get discouraged
in the fact that,
you know,
thinking,
well, nobody notices.
Nobody cares.
Nobody, you know,
it's just some red shading
on a map somewhere.
It's just some numbers
that is going to make
every man's worth
may manifest someday.
The day shall declare it.
It shall be revealed by fire.
And every man shall receive
a reward for his work.
If any man's work
which he had built thereupon,
he shall receive a reward.
So there is a reward
for your effort,
though you might not see
in this life.
So don't let that
burn you out either.
And probably last of all
is keep a burden.
Keep a burden.
And that's really
what I'm trying to
emphasize this morning
or help you do
is to keep a burden.
It says there in Psalm 26,
it says,
those that reap,
those that reap
sow in tears.
You know,
maybe sometimes
we're not getting the same
because we're not going
out with burden.
And we're just too much
of a robot at the door.
And, you know,
I don't think anybody
in here is like that,
but it could happen.
I've been there.
We could just go out,
well, it's my last soul
anytime.
Let's go see if anybody's
interested today.
That's not a burden.
You know,
often when we pray,
we pray for the group
before we're going to go out.
You know,
I pray, Lord,
give us a burden
for the people
in this neighborhood.
You know,
Wednesday night in
Ahwatukee,
I mean,
that's further prayer.
I'm down on my knees.
Please give us a burden
for these people.
Right?
Because it is
unreceptive.
It's hard.
It can be.
But we have to keep
a burden.
Remember that if we
sow in tears,
we reap.
It says,
those that come
again rejoicing,
those are the ones
that come
with a burden.
So you have to
keep your burden.
And here's the thing,
you have to have a burden
because if you have
a burden,
a genuine burden,
you know,
people are going
to sense that.
The lost,
they sense whether or not
you're really sincere
about wanting to share
the gospel with them.
And even when they
can sense it,
they're still not
going to be
interested in something
any how often.
But at least your
coming across as genuine
and not,
they're not going
to close the door
and think,
you know,
if they're not
interested at least
they say,
well at least I can
tell that guy really
wanted,
maybe what he had
to say is important.
He seemed like he
really wanted to
share it with me.
You know,
I could just tell
by looking at him
just by the way
he's talking,
that something about
what he had to say
was really on his heart.
And maybe the next time,
if there is next time
somebody comes around,
they'll be more open
to it because
you'd have a burden.
People sense whether
or not you have
a burden.
Sometimes that's
the only thing
that's going to
open up.
So let me just conclude
by this.
We share the same
mission as Jesus Christ.
We share the same
mission as Jesus
when we go out
and we seek
those that have
strayed.
That's our mission.
And it's a big task.
It's monumental.
It's a very big task.
And it's going to
require a lifetime
of effort from
all of us.
And we're only
going to do,
if we're going
to contribute,
if we're going
to do all that
we can
to contribute,
we have to
not get weary.
We have to
stay a burden.
And most important,
we have to go.
Right?
We have to go.
You can have
the burden and
you can say,
I'm not going
to get weary.
You can be
as energetic
as anybody.
But if you don't go,
you're not
going to accomplish
that.
And we're only
going to go
when we remember
that ye were
a sheep going
astray.
That's going to
mean that Jesus
did all of that.
Just the people
that we're trying
to reach are
the people that
are in the same
position that you
used to be in.
That you were
one time a
sheep going
astray.
Let's go ahead and break.