Joshua 23, turn, if you would, to Acts 1, because we're going to deal with the critics
of soul winning.
You know, there are many critics, any time, you know, I remember when Paul said, "Boy,
a great door is opened unto me, an effectual," and there are many adversaries.
You know, any time God's opened a great door, any time a man here, and let me tell you something,
Pastor Jimenez has a vision, any time there's a man that has a vision that's doing a great
work for God. There are going to be many adversaries. There are going to be many naysayers. I've
been attacked, you know, through the years, just in the short time, five and a half years
that I've passed. I've been attacked and run through the wringer. You know what? It's going
to happen because "Yea and all that will live God be in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."
You know, Brother Jimenez is going to suffer persecution. Brother Jimenez is going to be
attacked, and there are going to be the naysayers who will give the thumbs down unto soul winning.
There will be the naysayers and the people who will try to say soul winning doesn't work,
and they'll throw the wet blanket on soul winning, and it's always going to be that way,
and so that's who I'm going to deal with tonight here in Acts chapter 1 in verse 14.
I love the book of Acts. Acts chapter 1 verse 14 it says, "These all continued with one accord
in prayer and supplication with the women and married the mother of Jesus and with his brother.
And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples and said,
"The number of names together were about 120." And I'm not going to focus on what he said tonight,
but let me ask you something. How many disciples were in the early church in Acts 1? Call it out
to me nice and loud. Everybody's afraid to talk tonight. Come on, how many? 120. So let me ask you
this. Where was everybody else? Now it says here that this is including, very clear, this is
including the women. He said, this is including Mary. This is including Jesus four half-brothers.
This is including women and men alike, the early church. These are the same people that are about
to be endued with power from on high and preach at the day of Pentecost. How many of them were there?
120. Now this is what the critics of Solwenn are going to say tonight. Well where are all these
people that you won to Christ? I don't think they really got saved because they're not in church
tonight. They must not really be saved. They didn't get baptized. Well you know what? There is a
church of Christ down the street and they believe that you have to be baptized to be saved. You may
want to go down there tonight and you know and join that religion. If you think you know somebody
has to get baptized to go in the church. I don't believe in seven steps to salvation tonight. I'll
believe in one step. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and I shall be saved in my house. So the
critics of soul winning will inevitably say where are all these people that you've won to Christ?
Soul winning is a fraud. That's what they'll say. Now let me say this. The greatest man who's ever
walked on the face of this earth outside of the Lord Jesus Christ himself who was God in the flesh,
Jesus said that the greatest man who ever walked the earth was whom? John the Baptist. Now let me
ask you something. Didn't John the Baptist get a lot of people saved? Amen. He baptized multitudes,
the Bible says. Multitudes then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea and the region round about
Jordan and they came and were baptized of him and Jordan confessing their sins. You remember
when Jesus Christ in John 3 it was said of John the Baptist that he made him baptize more disciples
than John, though Jesus himself baptized not but his disciples. So John the Baptist had a ton of
people saved and baptized and then Jesus and his apostles came along and they had far more saved
and baptized. Multitudes, thousands, I mean thousands upon thousands upon thousands but wait a minute
only 120 of them were really saved. Do you really expect me to believe that? So 90 some percent of
all the people that John the Baptist was baptized they weren't really saved, none of the people Jesus
it was just those 120 who were in church that were really saved but that's the garbage that's being
preached today in independent baptist churches. Well it's only the ones who really get in church
and stay in church and endure until the end you know they're the only ones who really got saved.
Well that means that John the Baptist was the biggest fraud then because all his converts you
know they didn't pan out and Jesus' converts are the apostles for three and a half years of Jesus
ministry and had six months of John the Baptist for four years these great men John the Baptist
and the Lord Jesus Christ had multitudes and thousands and tens of thousands of people saved
and yet in that early church when the going got rough there were only 120 people in that church
period and people are looking at church that has 120 people in it today they look at that church
and say oh they're lying they didn't get those people so those people didn't really get saved
now look if somebody believes on the Lord Jesus Christ they're saved right I mean if we can't
rely on that then none of us can even be sure that we're saved you know that's the promise I'm
relying on right now look are there people out there who think they're saved and they're not
oh yeah there are a lot of people out there and it's because they're trusting in their own works
it's because they're trusting in self-reformation it's because they're trusting in you know I have
you know joined the church been baptized or I quit this sin or I was willing to quit this sin
or you know they're trusting in their own works tonight and they think they're saved and they're
not and many will say unto Jesus Christ in that day Lord Lord have we not prophesied in thy name
and in thy name have cast out devils and in thy name have done many wonderful works and then while
I profess unto them I never knew you depart from me that work in dignity there are a lot of people
today that are relying on their work you say how do you know that every single person that you talk
to out on soul when he really got saved I don't the only person I really know is saved is the
person that you're looking at right here you know I know I'm saved but I do know this I get on my
knees and pray that God will lead me to those who want to hear the gospel I do know this I open my
Bible and very thoroughly yeah go through scripture after scripture after scripture and preach the
gospel and ask that person questions that they understand and dialogue with them and try to get
that person to understand the gospel and when they say hey I believe that I believe it's all
through Jesus Christ I believe he's the only way to heaven I believe that once I'm saying and by
the way this is something I emphasize on so that I can't lose myself because it's eternal life
it's every last like you know hey I believe that I believe well okay well hope on the name of the
Lord right now if he's saved you believe that but that person didn't really get saved they got saved
hope on the name of the Lord and believe in their heart God raised him from the dead no doubt about
it now somebody could lie to me somebody could be a Judas Iscariot you know Jesus had a phony in his
church you know that was not saved Bible says he didn't believe on him Judas Iscariot didn't
believe on Christ you know they're going to be the the tears among the weak but you know what
if we're going out and really being thorough that's really the problem of the law so you
know not being thorough be thorough and really preach it unto them and make sure they really
understand it and they believe it you know they're they're saved otherwise you know who is saved my
friend and so the critics of soul winning need to read acts 1 14 and 15 and rethink this thing that
says everybody who's saved is going to go to verity baptist church you know and by the way i
say this to a lot of the critics i say well do you want to go to my church no are you saved yeah well
then apparently everybody who's saved doesn't want to go to faithful word baptist church and everybody
who's saved doesn't want to go to verity baptist church maybe it's some of the things that are
preached at very baptist church that some people just can't handle you know but does that mean that
they're not saved anybody who can't you know hang in here with this radical you know they're not
really safe that's garbage you all you got to do is believe on jesus christ to be saved and truly
trust him alone as savior that's what john 3 16 says that's what john 3 18 john 3 36 john 5 42
john 6 47 john 10 i mean where do you where do you want to stop with this it's the it's the message of the bible