The part of the chapter that I want to preach on tonight and elsewhere in the Bible, but
King and verse number 2 where he says here, continue in prayer and watch in the same with
thanksgiving with all praying also for us that God would open unto us a door of utterance
to speak the mystery of Christ for which I am also in bonds, that I may make it manifest
as I ought to speak.
Walk in wisdom toward them that are without redeeming the time, let your speech be all
way with grace, seasoned with salt that you may know how you ought to answer every man.
Now what I want to preach about tonight is basically giving the Gospel to your friends
and to your loved ones and people that you run into in your daily life.
Now going out soul winning is great and it all starts with soul winning, let me tell
you that right now.
I'm talking about door to door soul winning, not hanging out a flyer, not door hanger,
not tracks, not street preaching, but I'm talking about bonafide, going out two by two
in the highways of man just preaching the Gospel to every creature and giving the Gospel to
everybody who will listen, just random door knocking, that's where it starts my friend.
Let me tell you, when I was growing up, I grew up in a lot of really watered down churches
and in my teenage years especially I was in churches that were preaching the NIV, it was
rock and roll, nobody ever got saved, nobody ever got baptized, nothing was going on in
these churches.
And they'd preach on this passage and they'd preach on the passage in Matthew chapter 5
that's a famous passage about letting your light shine before men, that they may see
your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven and they'd preach this and let
me tell you something, they preached it all wrong and tonight I'm going to preach it right
because they weren't doing any soul winning, they're not knocking any doors, they're not
getting anybody saved and they would preach this and they'd say, just be ready to give
an answer.
Now you see that verse in verse 6 where he said, we're going to come back and keep your
finger here, flip over to 1 Peter and I'll show you the other verse that they preached
and I'm going to show you what it's really saying because if you take a closer look you'll
see that what they were preaching was totally wrong if you just take a little bit closer
of a look and that's what we're going to do tonight.
Look at 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 15, they loved this verse because this was their way out
of giving people the Gospel, it said in verse 15, but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts
and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that
is in you with me to severe.
Now turn back if you would to Colossians 4, they'd basically do this and say, well wait
for them to ask you, right, you know if somebody asks you then give them the Gospel, you know
if you're friends or you're relatives, you know you don't want to push it on them, you
don't want to force them or you know you don't want to be too aggressive or confrontational
and this is the guy they would literally say, just be ready to answer them and just
have an answer for them, if they ask you, that's your opportunity.
I remember the pastor of the church that I went to, I mean this is the pastor, he went
golfing every single week with his neighbor, every week he went golfing with his unbeliever
neighbor and he said I'm still waiting for God to give me an opportunity to give him
the Gospel.
And golfing with him every week, I'm just waiting for God to give me that opportunity,
I'm waiting for him to ask, is literally what he said at the church I went to as a teenager.
Unbelievable, but this is what people use this, but let's take a little closer look,
then we're going to look at Ephesians 6, which is a parallel passage.
Colossians and Ephesians are known as the twin epistles, because Paul expressed a lot
of the same things in the same order to both groups of people.
He probably wrote them around the same time, God gave us, and it's great when God gives
us these parallel scriptures, kind of like Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, kind of like
comparing 2 Samuel with 1 and 2 Chronicles, and comparing 1 and 2 Kings with 2 Chronicles,
it's just a way to get more inside and get a deeper understanding.
Let's look at this and see what it's actually saying.
He says, continue in prayer and watch in the same with thanksgiving, with all praying also
for us.
What does he want them to pray?
That God would open unto us a door of utterance, basically he's saying, give me an opportunity
to utter the Gospel, to speak the Gospel, we're going to see that in a minute.
I'll show you what utterance means in a moment, but he says that God would open unto us a
door of utterance to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds, that
I may make it manifest as I ought to speak.
He's saying, I want to just lay it out plainly, manifest, spell it out clearly, not ambiguous,
not vaguely, that's what manifest means, and he says, walk in wisdom toward them that are
without redeeming the time.
Let your speech be all the way with grace, with season, with salt, that you may know
how you ought to answer every man.
You see, he's saying, you need to redeem the time in your life.
You need to take opportunities, you need to not waste your time, you only have so much
time in the week that you can go out and knock those doors and preach the Gospel, so why
not use that opportunity with the person that you're sitting next to on the airplane?
Why not use the opportunity to talk to people at work?
When you're in the work truck and it's just you and them, and you're driving down the
road, hey, why not take that opportunity to give the Gospel, to preach God's Word?
Flip over to Ephesians 6, let's look at the parallel passage here where he says basically
the same thing, just using different words.
Look at Ephesians, chapter number 6.
In Ephesians 6 to 18, the Bible reads,
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with
all perseverance and supplication for all saints, and for me, that utterance may be
given unto me.
There's that word again.
And here he explains what he means by utterance.
That utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the
mystery of the Gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds, that therein I may speak boldly
as I ought to speak.
Now in Colossians 4, he's not saying, oh, just wait for them to ask you.
He said, no, pray for God to open a door to give you the opportunity and then just boldly
open your mouth and preach it.
Now let me tell you what an opportunity to give the Gospel is.
When you're alone with somebody, there's your opportunity to preach them the Gospel, period.
What other opportunity do you need?
I mean, if it's just you and them, I understand sometimes they're in a big group and it's
difficult to talk to people in a big group because there's a lot of other things going
on.
But if it's just you and them, hey, you have an opportunity to give the Gospel.
He's not saying, well, just wait for them to ask.
He's saying, no, open your mouth boldly and give them the Gospel, and while you're giving
them the Gospel, let your speech be all way with grace, season with salt, that you may
be able to answer every man, because when you're giving people the Gospel, sometimes
they're going to hit you with the question.
Sometimes they're going to question what you believe.
You've got to be ready to answer them, but it starts with opening your mouth in utterance
and giving the Gospel.
Why?
Because you've got to redeem the time.
You don't know when you're going to see that person again.
You don't know how long you're going to know that person.
That person could drop dead tomorrow.
You need to redeem that time.
Don't waste that opportunity that you have with them and give them the Gospel.
Now let me tell you something.
This is not a substitute for door-to-door soul-wading before I get into the sermon.
You say, why not?
Well, when I was growing up in these liberal churches, I had a desire to get people saved.
I got saved as a six-year-old boy, and literally when I was six years old, I had a desire to
get people saved.
I mean, I wanted to get people saved.
I talked to kids on the playground.
I did the bedside.
I didn't know what I was doing, but I tried to get people saved.
And I'd never gotten anybody saved until I was 17 years old, but I had given the Gospel
to people.
I tried two different times.
And let me tell you something, I prayed and tried to give the Gospel to different friends
on the playground, to loved ones, to relatives, to extended families and neighbors, but you
know what?
It wasn't until I went out knocking the doors, obeying God's command to go out of the highways
and hedges and preach the Gospel to every creature.
That's when I started getting my friends and loved ones saved.
You see, when I went out door-to-door soul-wading and knocked doors, that's where I learned
how to do it.
I got the practice of preaching the Word, and part of the mistake I was making before
I started going door-to-door soul-wading is I would just try to explain the Gospel
to people, and I wasn't using the Bible, number one.
I was just trying to explain it in my own words.
And then I'd get in these long discussions and these long arguments that would go on
for like three or four hours, and at the end of the day, nobody gets saved, you know, because
I'd get off on all these different tangents and everything.
But once I went out, and I had to get in a good church was part of the problem, too.
I wasn't getting the teaching and the preaching and the training that I needed.
Jesus taught his disciples.
John the Baptist taught his disciples.
The disciples taught their church members, and so I just needed somebody to teach me.
I needed somebody to guide me what I was doing.
And it wasn't until I got in a fundamental Baptist church that took me out to the doors
and showed me how to do it, showed me how to open my Bible and give people the Gospel.
Now once I learned how to do it, then I was very effective to get family saved, to get
friends saved, to get co-workers saved.
And I want to tell you something.
If you're out door-to-door winning souls, you know how to do it, because you're out
doing it.
And thank God, praise God for that.
Hallelujah.
But let me tell you something.
It's time for you to take what you're doing out there from door-to-door and bring that
into your personal life and start getting some of your family saved, some of your friends
saved, some of your co-workers saved.
Hey, especially if you're in a position where you don't get to get out soul-winning a lot.
And maybe you don't get out of soul-winning, and some people get out more than others,
and the more the better.
But that means especially you need to use the opportunities in your daily life to be
giving the gospel to people.
If you can't get out door-to-door as much for whatever reason, hey, that's why you need
to be doing more and more in your personal life getting people saved.
And even if you're going out door-to-door constantly, don't waste those opportunities.
Now here's what's great about getting your friends and loved ones saved, because you
can disciple them better than the person at the door.
Now when you knock at door and get somebody saved, praise God, but you're probably never
going to see that person again.
Chances are they're not going to come to church.
Chances are you're not going to see them again.
But that guy that you work with, not only are you going to be able to get him saved,
you're going to be able to get him to church, you're going to be talking to him every day,
you're going to see him in the lunch room, week after week, whether it's at school, whether
it's at work.
You're going to be able to really teach that guy more than just the gospel, because you're
constantly seeing him, and you're going to be constantly following up with him all the
time.
And so some of the people that I've known to the Lord who are really serving God the
most right now, like if I could name to you the people that I've known to the Lord that
are still serving God, that are winning souls, a lot of them are people that I knew that
I wanted to work with.
Not just random door-to-door soul mates.
Now there are some of those too, but I'm talking about that guy that you work with.
When you're in the car with somebody at work, and I don't know how your job is, but every
job I've ever had, I have a lot of opportunities to get the gospel.
You know, I'm not telling you to, you know, slack off on your job, like, well here, let's
stop working for a minute, you know, let me pop my Bible and show you how to be saved.
But you know, if you have the scriptures memorized, you can talk to people at work,
just, you know, I remember we'd be making pizzas, and I'd be talking to the guy next
to me, you know, and making a pizza, and you know, if you do a good enough job at what
you're supposed to be doing at work, people aren't going to give you a bad time about
talking to the gospel.
You know, some people aren't going to like it, but you know what, as long as you're productive
at your job, you know, I mean, if you're horsing around and you're not getting the job done
because you're just talking and messing around, but there are a lot of times when you can
do it without taking from your job, like for example, you know, I do electrical work,
we would be on route to a project, we'd spend two hours in the car, we'd spend an hour and
a half in the car, you know, they'd be playing the rock and roll, I'd say, hey, you know,
can I talk to you about something real quick?
Turn that off.
Say, well, did they ask you?
You know what, I just want to open my mouth boldly, amen, and that's what's going to take
boldness, courage.
Your flesh is not going to want to do it because you might be embarrassed.
You don't want people to think that you're an extremist, you're a fundamentalist, you
know, you don't want people to think that you're a fanatic, you don't want to offend
people of their, you know, like you're attacking their religion or whatever, and so the flesh
says no.
The flesh says let's just be cool.
The flesh wants to fit in and be cool and be like everybody else, but you know what,
you're not like everybody else if you're saved.
You're not like everybody else, so quit trying to pretend like you're like everybody else.
You don't fit in.
You're not of this world.
The world doesn't know you because the world didn't know Christ.
You are just passing through this world.
Your citizenship is in heaven, and so you're not like them, and so don't try to fit in.
Just bring up the gospel, even though it might be, you know, you're going to be embarrassed
at first maybe.
You're going to be ashamed because you're, you know, you're stepping out on a limb here.
That's how it starts out, but over time you're going to develop the boldness to where you
want even thinking to go, and that's where you ought to be at.
You should not be ashamed.
You should not be timid.
You should not be afraid.
That's the flesh that you're walking in when you feel ashamed, timid, or so forth, but
that's how you've got to start.
When you start out, you've got to overcome the flesh, okay, so you have to overcome the
timid, the shame, the fear, the embarrassment, whatever it is, and there's no reason to be
embarrassed.
Paul said I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.
It's the power of God and the salvation to everyone that believe it, to the Jew first
of all.
And the message you're bringing is good news.
Why would you be down about it?
It's good news.
They can be saved.
You're giving them the gospel.
It's a free gift.
And so you've got to overcome the flesh, deny self, be filled with the Spirit, and open
your mouth boldly to give the gospel.
Now how are you going to do this?
Well, number one, you've got to have the scriptures memorized because a lot of these primo opportunities
to give the gospel, you don't have your Bible with you necessarily, or maybe you're doing
something with your hands, like driving a car or whatever, where you don't have the
opportunity to pull out that Bible.
And so hey, it's going to start with you memorizing the scriptures, memorizing Romans 3.23, memorizing
Romans 6.23, memorizing John 3.16, memorizing John 3.18, memorizing Revelation 21.8, memorizing
all these different scriptures, whatever scriptures you use, John 5.24, John 6.47, whatever scriptures
you use to give the gospel, memorize those verses to where you can just quote them off
the tip of your tongue so that you can, even when you're nervous, you can give the gospel,
use the word of God as the only way you're ever going to get anybody saved, because the
sower sows the word, faith cometh by hearing.
Hearing by the word of Steve, hearing by the word of David, faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of Chris.
Is that what the Bible says?
Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God, so you've got to use God's word.
That's where the faith is going to come from, not the word of Bob, not the word of God.
Okay, it's got to be God's word.
So basically, you've got to memorize the verses, and then you've got to be on the lookout for
the opportunities.
Now again, here's a rule of thumb.
If you're alone with somebody, that's your opportunity.
Don't ask for any more of an opportunity than that, my friend.
If you are alone with someone, give them the gospel.
Now I'm not saying there are times when you should give the gospel to more than one person,
and when you're in a group, but I'm saying dead sure, at a minimum, if you're alone with
somebody, just remember that I said this, remember what Pastor Anderson said, if you're
alone with somebody, say, hey, Pastor Anderson said, this is an opportunity, you know what
I mean?
And I remember, and you say, why are you saying that?
Because you know what?
When I was younger, I heard a preacher say the same thing I'm saying to you right now.
He got up and said, when you're alone with somebody, give them the gospel, and I always
remembered that.
And every time I was alone with somebody, I remembered him saying that.
I was like, man, oh man, I need to be giving this person the gospel, because I remember
him saying that.
Remember me saying that, because he's dead a long time ago, so he can't say it to you,
so I'm saying it to you.
All right?
That preacher died a long time ago.
But anyway, the point is that you've got to redeem the time, because you don't know when
you're going to see that person again.
And by the way, you may be the only person that can give that person the gospel.
I'm not a Calvinist.
I don't believe that people are just going to give faith somehow magically.
No, you've got to give it to them, and you may be the only person that that person has
as an emissary of God to give him the word of God, to get him saved.
And so you've got to be ready.
That's what we see in the passage.
Be ready to give an answer to every man.
How are you going to be ready?
By having the scriptures memorized.
How are you going to be ready?
By studying to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needed not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
How are you going to be ready?
By reading and meditating on God's word daily, so that you'll know what to say, so that you'll
know how to give the gospel, so that you'll know, what was my problem when I started out?
I didn't know what I was doing.
I got in the right church.
I started learning the verses.
I went out sowing door to door.
That's where I learned how to get people saved.
Look at Esther, the book of Esther, chapter 8, verse 6.
Esther, chapter 8, verse 6, Old Testament, before the book of Psalms.
Go back a little bit, Esther 8, verse 6.
I'll give you a minute to turn there.
But you see, there are other opportunities.
Number one, on the job.
When you're alone with somebody, when you have a chance to talk to somebody, how about
on the break?
How about in the break room?
You say, well, the way my job is, when we're working, we don't have an opportunity to talk.
Sure.
But what about on the break room?
And let me tell you something, sometimes the people that you think are the least likely
to listen and get saved are the ones who get saved.
I'm serious.
I remember one time, we were in Germany, and there was this gnarly biker-looking guy.
This guy just looked really gnarly, and we were kind of joking around, kind of, hey,
give that guy the gospel.
Go talk to that guy.
And they're like, wait a minute, it sounds like God's working on your heart to go talk
to you.
You know what I mean?
Like, why are you telling me to do it?
It sounds like God's speaking to you about this, you know?
It sounds like you're convicted about it.
You're pushing it off on me.
So we're kind of like, oh, you do it, you know, or whatever.
And I don't remember who of us finally went over there.
One of us finally went over there.
And I mean, the guy who listened to the whole thing got saved, and the guy really wanted
to hear it.
You know, other times, you'll see somebody that looks, oh, yeah, this guy's going to
listen.
You know, you see something like really nice-looking guy, he's a clean-cut, you know, family-type
guy, and he doesn't want to hear it.
He'll blow you off.
I remember I was working at Round Table Pizza, same thing.
I mean, there was this girl that had all these just tons of piercings all over her face and
everything.
She didn't seem like she was going to listen.
So she sat down and listened.
I mean, she didn't get saved, but she's very interested.
She listened to the whole thing.
And you know, I planted a seed.
Maybe she got saved after that.
Maybe she'll get saved someday.
I don't know.
But sometimes people, and I remember, I almost didn't give her the gospel because I was thinking,
you know what?
This girl's not going to listen.
I know how this girl is.
She's going to blow me off.
But when I sat down with her, and it was on a break, we had a certain table where we sat
where it was like the break table in Round Table.
And I sat down at that table, gave her the gospel, she listened to the whole thing, and
she was very receptive to it.
Other people that you thought would listen didn't.
And so what am I trying to say?
Preach the gospel to every creature.
You don't know who's going to listen on the job.
You don't know which person.
You try to predict.
You try to think, oh, this person.
No.
Just give them the gospel.
You never know which one is going to take.
It's like the Bible compares it to sowing a seed.
In Ecclesiastes, he talks about, look, you sow the seed in the morning, sow it at night.
You don't know which one is going to take root.
He said just sow that seed, and that's the way we ought to be with our soul winning.
But not only just people at work, not only just people on the job that are just acquaintances
that are not real close friends, but what about this?
Look what Esther says in verse 6 here.
Now we're going to make a spiritual application with this.
For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people?
Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?
So what am I talking about now?
Your relatives.
So we're not just talking about people at work now.
Now I'm talking about your relatives.
She says, look, how can I endure to see the evil that shall come upon my people?
Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?
Let me tell you something.
People that aren't saved are going to hell.
I mean, we could try to sugarcoat it and whitewash it, and it doesn't fit in with today's culture.
It doesn't fit in with our modern philosophy, our modern mentality of a God of love.
And God is a God of love.
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him
shall not perish, but have everlasting life.
But he that believeth not is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already,
because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
He that believeth not the Son hath everlasting life, but he that believeth not the Son shall
not see life, and the wrath of God of life not.
So wait a minute.
People that aren't saved are going to hell.
We need to have more preaching in this country on hell, because it's disappeared from the
pulpits of America.
It's disappeared.
I mean, we need preachers who are not afraid to stand up and face the reality as horrific
and terrible it is to face it head on and say, there is a real burning hell.
It exists.
I try to go into theology or try to go to some foreign language to try to tell me that
it doesn't exist.
Hey, it exists.
Look at Revelation 14.
Right.
Look at Revelation chapter 14.
Here's just a couple scriptures on hell.
I mean, Jesus talked about hell a lot.
Right.
Did you know that over 80% of the chapters in the New Testament make some reference to hell?
I mean, Jesus spoke about hell constantly.
He talked about, he said, if your right hand offend you, cut it off and cast it from thee,
for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, not that thy whole
body should be cast into hell, where their worm died not and the fire is not quenched.
He talked about people, he said, you serpents, you vipers, how can you escape the damnation
of hell?
He told the story about the rich man in Lazarus and about how the rich man was burning in
hell, begging for a drop of water on his tongue to cool his tongue, because he was tormented
in the flames.
Luke chapter 16, a graphic story about hell.
But look, you want to know what the worst part about hell is?
It says right here in verse 10, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which
is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation, and he shall be tormented
with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the
lamb, and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever, and they have no rest
day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark
of his name.
Now here the context he's talking about during the time when basically people are receiving
the mark of the beast, the address, he says when these people go to hell, he says they
have no rest day or night.
He says the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever.
Look at Revelation 20 verse 10.
Revelation 20, 10, and the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone,
where the beast and the false prophet are and shall be tormented day and night forever
and ever.
Where are they going to be tormented, day and night, forever and ever?
In the lake of fire.
Who's going there?
The false prophet.
Who was already there?
The devil, the beast, the false prophet was there.
All three of those different groups are there.
You see that?
And they're going to burn in hell forever and ever.
But look what it says in the next verse.
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the
heaven fled away, there was found no place for them.
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened, and
another book was opened, which is the book of life.
Now this is nobody who's saved, because this is the dead.
The saved people are alive, because they've already been resurrected a long time ago.
This is the dead standing before God.
And he said the books were opened, another book was opened, which is the book of life.
And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according
to their works.
Now let me tell you something.
If anybody's judged by their works, they're going to fail the test, because all have sinned
and come short in glory to God.
He said, and the sea delivered and gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell
delivered up the dead which were in that.
So basically all the dead souls burning in hell come up out of hell.
All the bodies that have been, you know, got the burial at sea or were buried in the earth,
all the dead people who were unsaved are resurrected, stand before God, judged by their works, and
he says, they were judged by their men according to their works, and death and hell were cast
into the lake of fire.
This is the second death, and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was
cast into the lake of fire.
Now what's going to happen to them when they get to the lake of fire?
They just burn up and they're gone, right?
No.
God said they're tormented their day and night forever and ever.
He said it never ends.
He said it's eternal punishment.
It's a place of fire and destruction, and let me tell you something, Esther said, how
can I endure to see the evil that shall come upon my people?
How can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred, of my family, my relatives?
And she was talking about a physical, earthly destruction, but how much more should you
not sit back and watch your loved one die and go to hell?
I mean, one day this is going to happen, and you did not give them the Gospel?
There's shame on you.
How would you like to be here?
Because you will be there, by the way, because everybody will be there.
Because the saved will be there, not being judged, but will be there as spectators.
Because everyone who's ever lived and whoever will live will be there.
There will be the heaven and the earth, fled away, there's the great white throne, everybody's
going to be there.
Read the chapter, Revelations 1.
How would you like to see your loved one cast into hell?
And maybe even look at you and say, why didn't you tell me?
You know, I mean, how would you feel?
What would you say?
Oh, I was embarrassed.
I mean, that's not going to hold up.
I mean, think about that.
When somebody's going to hell, you think that excuse is going to mean anything?
Well, I was embarrassed.
I was shy.
Why don't you pray for boldness?
Why don't you get filled with the Spirit of God?
God's not giving us the spirit of fear.
That's not from God.
That's the flesh talking.
God's not giving us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Hey, why not take the time to give that perspective?
Oh, but I just like to talk to you about sports.
Sports aren't going to matter.
You've got to give people the gospel that are your family, because your family is relying
on you.
Now, look, there are some people in your family that you're not going to get saved, because
a prophet's not without honor saved in his own country and in his own house.
But you know what?
I would at least want to give the gospel to everybody that's related to me, whether they
get saved or not.
I want to at least give them the gospel.
And you know what?
I've gotten some of my family members saved.
Not my immediate family.
Thank God, they were already saved.
But I've got an extended family saved.
I've gotten cousins saved.
I've got my brother-in-law saved.
Okay?
And you've got to try.
You've got to give the gospel.
Jesus could not get his brothers saved.
Did you hear me?
Jesus could not get his brothers saved.
They would not believe on him.
He tried to talk to them.
He tried to preach to them.
They would not get saved.
After he died, he was buried and rose again.
Then they got saved.
He planned a disaster.
After he died, he was buried and rose again.
Then they got saved.
He planned a deseed.
I mean, he preached to them.
And later, his preaching did come to fruition.
And so you may not get your brother saved.
You may not get your sister saved.
You may not be the one to get your mom and dad saved.
Because they would need to hear it from somebody else.
But you can be the one to plant the seed.
You can be the one to water it.
And then down the road, they'll get saved.
Because that's what happened with Jesus.
I don't think Jesus was in vain when he was preaching it to them.
Because eventually, they got saved.
And so you're going to get saved.
And you're going to get saved.
You can be the one to water it.
And then down the road, they'll get saved.
Because that's what happened with Jesus.
I don't think Jesus was in vain when he was preaching it to them.
Because eventually, they got saved.
And so your family may laugh at you.
They may blow you off.
And say, oh, you know, you're my little brother.
You're my little sister.
You know, I can listen to you.
You know, I know what you're like.
You know, I've seen your weaknesses.
I've seen your...
I changed your diaper.
You know, whatever.
I changed your diaper.
And you're telling me that I'm going to hell.
You know, or whatever.
I need to be saved.
I've seen your...
I've changed your diaper.
You know, whatever.
I changed your diaper.
You're telling me that I'm going to hell.
You know, or whatever.
I need to be saved.
You're going to preach to me.
Well, I changed your diaper.
But you know what.
The point is, you're still planting a seed.
It's still God's Word being preached.
And then maybe somebody else can come along and reap that harvest.
Because you planted the seed and otherwise they wouldn't have gotten saved.
Now, look.
This is the hardest...
One of the hardest things, sometimes, is when you're preaching the gospel to your friends
and family.
Sometimes it's easier. I don't know about you, but it's easier for me to just go to some random person that you're never going to see again and open your mouth boldly and give them the Gospel.
Sometimes it's a little bit harder with people that you're really close to, people that are close friends.
But at the same time, that's the people that you care about the most.
So if that's the people that you care about the most, you've got to overcome that. You've got to do that.
You've got to open your mouth and give the Gospel.
You say, well, they're not going to like me. They're going to get mad at me.
You know what? That's the price that you pay for getting them saved or trying to get them saved or doing the best you can to get them saved.
You've got to give the Gospel to your family.
But look at Acts 17. See, you don't want to see the destruction of people that you love. Get them saved. Give them the Gospel.
And hell is real. Don't let the Jehovah's Witnesses tell you that hell isn't real.
You know, don't let these other religions... And even the fundamental Baptists, they try to tone down hell.
It's like they're trying to turn down the throne of God.
Well, you know, the worst part about hell is that you're separated from God.
Now, wait a minute. Didn't we just read a scripture that said they're going to be tormented in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb?
And let me tell you something. Any pastor who will keep preaching this after he sees that truth out of the Bible, I don't know what's wrong with them.
Does he just not care what the Bible says? To just keep saying, oh, they're separated from God.
You know, why do you keep saying that once you've seen the verses that say that God's there?
Why are you still preaching it? Preach the truth. I can't understand why somebody get behind the pulpit and just lie to people.
I mean, if you've seen it in the Bible, I mean, if a pastor's ignorant of it and he's just repeating the thing that he heard over and over again,
well, shame on him for not reading the Bible, but you know what? He can change it and get it right.
But how can you sit there and show this to somebody and show them the verses that say, hey, it's God's wrath.
It's the wrath of God. They are drinking of the cup of God's wrath when they're in hell and it's in the presence of Jesus Christ.
You show them that and they say, well, you know, I still think they're separated from God in a way.
No, the problem is you don't think at all. You just receive what somebody tells you and just repeat it and repeat it and repeat it.
Hell is not separation from God. Hell is a lake of fire that's kindled by God's wrath. That's what it is.
It's a lake of fire kindled by the wrath of God. The breath of the Lord like a stream of brimstone does kindle it.
It's not kindled by the devil. It's not separated from God. No, don't get up and preach a lie and say the worst part that you're separated from.
No, the worst part is that you're on fire. That's why Jesus kept talking about the fire. The worst part is that it goes on forever.
That's the worst part. Those are the two things about it that are really bad. That it's eternal and that it's fire.
Nothing to do with the fact that you're separated from the love of God.
You know, a lot of people don't want anything to do with God. You notice that? But none of them wants to be on fire.
And none of them wants to go to hell. And so you've got to get this down, my friend.
And you know what? I'm going to tell you something. I'm just going to be honest with you. It's hard for me to face.
It's hard. I mean, I've read the Bible my whole life. And I just look at this and it's just... it's unbelievable.
But you know what? It's real. Let me tell you why it's so hard for people to comprehend and to face hell.
Because as human beings, we just have a reaction to just try negative things to just say, oh, they're not really happy.
You know what I mean? And you know what? This is a bad thing when people won't face negative things.
You know, I've had this problem. You'll hear about something horrible happening and you just don't believe it.
Or you just kind of shut it out. You know, this is why a lot of children get molested and nobody does anything about it.
Because somebody hears about the molestation and just says, oh, there's no way.
You know, because they just want to shut out anything. Or people will hear about people being tortured in some distant country somewhere.
Oh, that can't be going on. That's not really happening.
That's our instinct. I remember I picked up books and read books about the Soviet Union, people getting tortured.
And I caught myself kind of saying, well, there's no way this is really happening.
You know, but then you're looking at all the evidence. And you're seeing that people really did go through this.
And you see all the evidence right there and you're just like, what am I thinking? This did happen. This is real.
But see, our tendency as human beings is to want to just not think about negative things.
But that can be a bad thing when we shut out realities of people being molested or people being tortured or people going to hell.
I mean, we've got to face it, my friend. The Bible teaches it. We've got to believe it.
And so I sit there and I read it and sometimes it's hard for me to comprehend. I can't grasp it.
I can't grasp eternity. My human finite mind knows minutes and hours and months.
I don't know what eternity is like. I can't understand it. I can't comprehend it. But I believe it.
From the top of my head to the bottom of my feet, I believe it. And that's why I'm a soul winner.
That's why I pastor in church. That's why I preach the gospel. That's why I go out and knock the doors.
That's why I talk to people on the airplane. That's why I talk to my friends. Why else would I do it?
You know what I mean? Why else? What else is the point?
I mean, I couldn't think of any reason. I mean, to me, that's the big reason.
It's because, hey, people need to hear this. People need to be saved.
Why did I start a church in Phoenix? To get people saved. Because I want people to hear the gospel.
And if somebody rejects Jesus Christ and hears the gospel and just refuses to believe it and they go to hell, that's a tragedy.
But you know what? At least my mind can handle that a little bit better.
But you know what's hard for me to stomach? People not getting a clear presentation of the gospel and going to hell.
That's what's hard for me to stomach. And that's why I say, you know what?
If that's happening in some distant part of the world, it's horrible. But you know what?
It better not happen in Phoenix, Arizona. I mean, it better not happen if I can do something about it.
So if some church in some other state is going to be an idiot and not preach the word and be a moron and be a social club and be dead as a doornail and be stupid and be worthless,
if they're going to do that and let their city go to hell, hey, that's them, but I'm not going to do it here.
And if they're going to let Massachusetts go to hell or Rhode Island or wherever they are, you know, if they're going to let them go to hell and be too stupid and be more worried about what their suit looks like
or be more worried about what their building looks like or be more worried about what kind of car they drive, hey, that's their problem and I feel sorry for those people, but the people in Arizona are going to hear the gospel.
If I have anything to do about it, I don't care what my suit looks like, I don't care what my car looks like, I don't care what this building looks like, we're going to go out and get people sick.
And you know what? If nobody else is going to do the small town soloing marathons, that's one thing. But in Arizona, we're going to knock the doors of every small town.
If Nevada's a small town and California's a small town, I feel sorry for them if nobody's doing it, but we're going to go to the towns and villages like Jesus did, like the disciples did.
Because look, we've got to realize that hell is real and hell is enlarging itself according to the Bible in Isaiah 5.
But you know what? I don't want hell to enlarge itself because of all the people in Phoenix going to hell.
Now we can handle our area here. It's our duty to knock every door in this valley. I don't care if there's 4 million people, we're going to grow, we're going to knock the doors, we're going to multiply, we're going to get it done.
And that map out there shows how much we've already gotten done. We're going to keep doing it until we get it all done and then we're going to do it again.
Because this is our area. This is where God knew before this world was even created that we'd be living in Phoenix right now.
And we have been placed here as His workers, as His soul winners, as His messengers, and we've got to do our job.
And it's about door knocking, yes, but it's also about you on the job. It's not just going to get done through door knocking.
Because you've got to get those people at work safe, your family safe, those are the people that you're going to train to go out and win souls as well.
Look at another scripture, look at Acts 17. Can you bear to see the destruction of your friend? Can you actually endure to know that your friend is unsaved?
And this is what blows me away about young people who date unbelievers. Young people who violate scripture and date unbelievers when they ought to be not unequally yoked together or not even fooling around with that.
And I'm not talking about taking a girl out and giving her the gospel and getting her saved.
But I'm talking about having an actual long-term relationship where you're actually dating and this is your girlfriend, this is your boyfriend, and they're not even saved.
I'm not talking about trying to get somebody saved that you're later friends with and, you know, I won my wife to the Lord.
But you know what? I didn't have some unsaved girlfriend. I never did.
It turned out that, you know, one of them was unsaved. But you know what? I never dated unsaved girls knowingly.
And you know what? You have not dated unsaved girls. You have not dated unsaved guys knowingly.
But you know what's so ridiculous about Christian young people that do have an unsaved boyfriend or do have an unsaved girlfriend?
Is that they don't even care about that person enough to give them the gospel.
That's the part that really just blows my mind.
That you could sit there and be all lovey-dovey and all, oh, you're all starry-eyed about so-and-so and you don't give them the gospel.
You don't love them. You're just infatuated or lust or whatever it is or some little fairy tale or some stupid rock and roll song that you heard.
Hey, that's not real love. If you don't even care if that person's saved or not, you don't love them and you don't even know what love is.
You know, I mean, if you love your boyfriend or your girlfriend so much that it's an unbeliever, you'd be giving them the gospel again and again and again and again until they would just say, get away from me.
Or else they'd get saved.
You need to learn what love is. And that's why dating an unbeliever is so ridiculous.
I'm talking to the young people because you know what? They fall into this trap. They fall into this temptation.
They get all starry-eyed about somebody, but you know what? If they really love that person, they'd be giving them the gospel.
And hey, if that person gets saved and gets in church and lives for God, then great. Then yeah, go ahead. Date that person. Get married.
You know, if it's legit. But look at Acts 17, verse 15. Here's an example of Paul outside of the scheduled soul-winning time.
And yet he's doing some soul in him. He gets a bunch of people saved. Watch this. He's waiting around. He's got some dead time in his life.
You know, we all have times where we've got some dead time or whatever.
And he says here, they conducted Paul, brought him unto Athens, and receiving commandment of the Stylist and Monchius to come to him with all speed, they departed.
So basically, he's waiting for these people. He's telling them, hurry up. Get here. I need you guys to get here fast. So he's just waiting for them to get there.
And it says, while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
Therefore, because of that, disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews and with the devout persons and in the market, daily with them that met with them.
So them that met with him is basically just people he came into contact with. So he's waiting. He's got some time.
God, which was like his usual soul-winning, where he'd go there and preach and try to get the Jews saved. But he said, you know what?
He just went into the market. And what was the market? Basically an outdoor market. This wasn't like fries or pastas.
You know, basically this is an outdoor marketplace. And he's out in the market. And those that he came into contact with, he's given them the Gospel.
Why? Because he had time. He's using the opportunities that God gave him.
Not an opportunity like, well, somebody got on their knees in front of me and said, what must I do to be saved?
But the opportunity like, I'm here and another person is here and we're talking. That's an opportunity, okay?
You need to get an idea of what an opportunity is. I'm talking to another person and it's just us. That's an opportunity.
Not necessarily them begging you to tell them. Now, you know what? There have been times on the airplane where I just pulled out my Bible and then people started asking me.
And boy, that's even easier. That's great. You know, you just pull out your Bible, oh, you go to church, you know, and then boom, that just is perfect.
But you know what? If they don't ask me, then I'm going to ask them. Hey, do you go to church? Hey, do you know for sure if you die today that you go to heaven?
Well, let's keep reading. He's just meeting in the market, just whoever he runs into. Not door to door. You know, this is just extracurricular solving that he's doing just while he's waiting.
It says, then certain philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoics encountered him and some said, what will this babbler say? Notice he was talking. He wasn't handing out tracts.
Let me tell you something. Nobody calls you a babbler when you're handing out a tract. You know, some of these pastors need to babble a little more.
You know, they need to open their mouth. You know, handing out their little tracts. Oh, the babbler. Somebody who's babbling and somebody's going to rebuke them and basically criticize them by saying, oh, you're a babbler?
That means they talk too much. Now, I'd rather be like Paul getting a kid. I'd rather be Pastor Babble, babbler Baptist Church, than to be, you know, Pastor Mime, right?
Pastor Mime at Cat Got Your Tongue Baptist Church. Pastor printing press. Pastor robot hands out flyers all day and distributes them like a machine.
No, he wasn't out handing out tracts. No, he was out giving people the Gospel, talking. I know I've got to break this down, but when you're giving people the Gospel, your mouth is moving and words are coming out of your mouth.
It's not a piece of paper, my friend. They didn't have paper back then. Paper was invented in China in like 3000 BC. They had papyrus. They had all kinds of, don't sit there and tell me that they didn't have paper.
Oh, they just didn't have tracts. Otherwise, they would have just loved them. Good night.
Yeah, Paul was carrying a big sign, right? He was carrying a big sign that said, believe on Jesus Christ. No, he's talking to people. He's opening his mouth and preaching the Gospel.
He says here that these philosophers and Epicureans said, what will this babbler say? Others some, he meant to be a set forth of strange gods.
Because he pre-sent them to Jesus in the resurrection. That was shocking to them. They said, that's a little strange. And they took him and brought him unto Areopagus. So whatever.
He's just in the market, just kind of whoever he runs into, just say, can I do that? Can I show you the Gospel? Can I talk to you about the resurrection of Jesus Christ?
That led to a bigger opportunity. Because in the course of just talking to people, he ran into a couple of influential people.
Who said, oh, this guy's teaching some new religion. Here, come with us. They take him to the Areopagus. So they take him to talk to more people.
So you see how these opportunities are like multiplying? And it says, they took the Areopagus saying, may we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest is?
For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears, and we would know therefore what these things mean.
For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing, verse 22.
Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars Hill and said, ye men of Athens, I perceive that at all things you are too superstitious.
For as I passed by and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription. To the unknown God, whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you,
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is the Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands,
neither is worshipped with men's hands, though he needeth anything, seeing he giveth to all life and breath and all things,
and hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell in all the face of the earth,
and hath determined the time before appointed and the bounds of their habitation, that they should seek the Lord,
if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us.
For in him we live and move and have our being, as certain also of your poets have said, for we are also his offspring.
For as much then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold or silver or stone graven by heart,
at man's device. At the time of this ignorance, God winked at, but now commanded all men everywhere to repent.
Now does that say repent of your sins? Now they want you to stop drinking. Is that what he's even talking about?
But people will take this verse and say, oh, there you have it, you have to repent of your sins to be saved.
No, they need to repent of thinking that God can be made out of gold and silver and cunning art of man's device.
They need to repent of polytheism, polygamy too if they're into it, but polytheism.
They need to repent of worshipping statues and idols, and they need to repent and change what they believe
and quit believing in a multiplicity of God and a statue of God to believe in the one true living God.
That's the repentance that they needed. It doesn't say repent of fornication, repent of drugs, repent of sin.
It said repent of believing that God, repent of your ignorance, he said.
At the time of this ignorance, God winked at, but now commanded all men everywhere to repent,
because he had appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he had ordained,
where he had given assurance unto all men, and that he had raised him from the dead.
And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, and others said, we'll hear thee again in this matter.
So Paul departed from among them, albeit certain men claimed Monday had been believed.
So some believed. Some said, we'll hear thee again another time, and some people made fun of them.
And that's the reaction you're going to get when you give the gospel.
And he said, among the witch was Dionysius, the Areopagite, and the woman named Damaris, and others with them.
See, why does he give us the names of a couple of people? Maybe because he wants you to realize those are real people.
It's not just, oh, some people got saved. Oh, there was a group that got saved.
Oh, a hundred got saved. Oh, twenty got saved. Oh, ten got saved.
How many people got saved today, Brother Dave? I'm so with you.
Seven people got saved today on our soil. Oh, seven got saved.
Seven real live human beings with names and souls and families and lives.
Real people, not just a number, a real person.
You say, oh, you're fundamentalist in your numbers. Yes, because every number is a real human being.
That's why, hey, one of their names was Dionysius. One of their names was Damaris.
Hey, these are real people, he's saying. These people matter.
And that's what he's saying. That's why he names a few names.
He said, are these famous people that are going to show up later in the story? No.
But they're going to be in heaven. We're going to see these people later.
They're real human beings that have names. They're people.
And so what's the point? Paul got some people saved.
He also planted a seed with a lot of other people. He preached to a lot of people.
Why? Because he was instant in season and out of season.
In season, when it was soul-ending time, he was there. He was knocking the doors.
But you know what? When he was just in the market, when he just was waiting somewhere,
when he just had some dead time, when he was on the phone with a relative,
when he met with a friend, when he was sitting in the work truck,
when he was waiting for the telephone company with the electrician and waiting for him to show up.
You know how he's just there? Hey, that was a primo opportunity.
He took that opportunity and got people saved.
I've gotten people saved. When we were waiting for something to happen on a construction project,
just sitting around waiting, just so late. And it's not hard. Just so late.
You go to church somewhere. Nobody thinks you're weird. Nobody thinks you're crazy.
Just, hey, you go to church? Yeah, I go to Regency Baptist Church.
I used to say, you know, I was in Sacramento.
Say, you know, if I am more important than church, do you know for sure if you die, you go to heaven?
It's pretty easy to know that. I can explain it to you right now.
Just explain it to me. How hard is that?
And you can get that person saved, the real person. And then they might get somebody saved.
I mean, you know, you've got to redeem the time.
Not just waiting for something to happen. Let me tell you something.
All those people that I grew up with, they're just waiting for that opportunity.
They never got people saved. And to this day, they're not getting people saved.
To this day, they're lucky if they're even in a halfway normal church.
You know, that's the best. Why? Because, you know, sitting around waiting for something to happen,
staring at each other, is not how you're going to get the world saved.
It's not how you're going to get the world of God saved. The world's not going to get saved.
But at least get the world of God saved.
It's going to happen when you go out and knock the door.
It's going to happen when you're faithful to solving. But you know what?
It's going to happen when you take the opportunities that God gives you and pray for opportunities.
He said, pray. I mean, a lot of times when I'm getting on the airplane,
I'll stand in front of the little computer kiosk and I'm choosing my seats.
You know, I'm trying to get the exit row, trying to get on the aisle.
Or if I'm trying to sleep, I want to get on the window so I can lean on that window.
Got it down to the sides, I want to be toward the front of the plane so I can get on last and get off first.
Spend as little time on that plane as possible. But you know what?
A lot of times I'll go stand in front of that and I'll have all these choices and I'll pray.
And say, God, put me next to somebody who wants to hear the gospel. And I push that button.
You know, I'm trying to obey what's said in Colossians 4 and Ephesians 6 to pray that a door of utterance will be opened.
So I'm going to pray that I'm seated next to someone. I want to pray that God brings people across my path.
Why not add this prayer? When you wake up in the morning, God, even though I'm not going solo any of the day,
give me the opportunity to give somebody the gospel of the day.
I mean, I have a feeling that God will answer that prayer.
I have a feeling that if God looks at you saying, hey, here am I, Lord, send me.
Here I am, God. I am ready to preach the gospel. I'm ready to give somebody the gospel.
I'm ready to get somebody to say, just point me in the right direction. Just give me the opportunity.
Just bring that person across my path. I think God's going to answer that prayer.
And think about how much you could augment your soul wedding if you would not just get people safe door to door.
And that's where it starts. That's the foundation. That's your meat and potatoes.
But you know what? The icing on the cake is the extra opportunities that you get to talk to people.
And sometimes that's going to be the people that you later can really disciple and train.
Don't write off your family members. Don't write off the people who are able to take the chance to give them the gospel.
And you know what people were respected for? I remember there was this Mormon kid when I worked around people.
I gave him the gospel. And he was mad, he was offended, he was rude.
He was fired up because I was telling him that his religion is worshiping Satan.
I wasn't just lambasting the guy. I was giving him the good news. I was trying to get him saved.
I was being loving about it. But I told him the truth about it.
I told him about Mormonism and I told him the truth. And he was mad.
But you know what? That guy was always really nice to me. Even years later I'd see him somewhere and he was nice to me.
You know why? Because at least even though what I said to him offended him and made him mad,
he knew that I cared about him because I expressed my love to him by giving him the gospel.
And you know what? People may get mad sometimes or get offended.
Like, why are you talking to me about this? Don't talk about politics or religion. Don't bring that up.
But you know what? In the long run, you know you're doing that person right.
And you know what? Eventually they'll know you're doing it right. And so you gotta just do it.
Deny the flesh and open your mouth to friends, loved ones, co-workers.