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let's go ahead and get into the Bible here in Galatians chapter number four look down at your Bibles at verse number 19 it says my little children of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you I desire to be present with you now and to change my voice for I stand in doubt of you and it's out of the sermon this evening is travailing in birth travailing in birth now what does that mean what does that word travail mean well the word travel simply means to agonize to suffer to experience extreme pain the Bible would often use a synonym to illustrate birthing in the word it uses pangs okay talks about labor and travail uses the word pangs and it often uses this throughout the Bible to describe someone who is suffering you'll see this throughout the Old Testament well they'll say I'm you know they're gonna be suffering like a woman in travail they're gonna have you know trouble like a woman in travail you know they're gonna be judged like a woman in travail and it's constantly always talking about this and using that illustration there now you're in Galatians I'm gonna reach you from Psalm 48 verse 6 it says fear took hold upon them there and pain as a woman in travail Isaiah 21 3 says therefore are my loins filled with pain pangs have taken hold upon me as the pangs of a woman that travail it I was bowed down at the hearing of it I was dismayed at the seeing of it Romans chapter 8 verse 22 says this for we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth and pain together until now one thing that I notice about this is this these are all things that women do when they give birth they groan they have pain they murmur wait that didn't say that in there but you know they murmur you know they have pain they have travailing they suffer they feel pain okay so what does it have to do with Galatians 4 well let me just give you an overview what's taking place here in the book of Galatians in the book of Galatians you have this these Judaizers who have infiltrated the churches that are found in the region of Galatia and they're infiltrating these churches trying to get the believers to go back under the law of Moses and more specifically they're trying to get him to get circumcised to observe days and months and times and years and to adhere to the law of Moses that which was already done away with the meats drinks and diverse washings as we see in Hebrews chapter number nine and we see here that the Apostle Paul contends for the faith that was once delivered into those in the churches in Galatia and he gives a real thorough explanation of the gospel and in fact the book of Galatians is one of those books that you want to use when you're out soul winning because it has some verses in there that are just clear as day and it's so explicit it tells us that salvation is by faith alone and in fact look at Galatians chapter number two and verse number 16 he provides a lot of arguments throughout the book of Galatians chapter one he says if anybody else preaches another gospel let him be a curse he says in chapter number two he rebukes Peter for his dissimulation look at verse 16 says knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by the faith of Jesus Christ even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified so he just hammers this concept hammers this doctrine over and over and over again and in fact in chapter three he uses Abraham as an example of the fact that all we have to do is believe right we had the famous verse and in Galatians 3 16 chapter 4 he uses the illustration of Isaac and Ishmael Isaac being the representative of those who are believers in Christ Ishmael being those who are Jews those who dwell in Jerusalem which now is and he uses all these different illustrations to explain to them and to defend the gospel that they seem to be departing from okay now his presentation is so thorough within this book it's so thorough and so sharp and so filled with emotion that he describes it as travailing in birth okay now I've heard people say I remember at my old church they used to say well travailing in birth till Christ be formed in you this is what discipleship looks like you know you're travailing you're working with someone but that's not that's not a proper understanding of that scripture because of the fact that travailing in birth is synonymous with someone being born again getting saved believing on the Lord Jesus Christ and you know what this tells me is that it takes work to see someone saved it takes labor to see someone say it takes suffering to see someone say it takes pain at times it takes weeping to be able to form Christ in someone through our presentation of the gospel right you know getting people saved can be compared to giving birth and this hits home to me because of the fact that my son my third son was just born last week on Tuesday is Zayas and right now these are the three things that he does he sleeps eats and poops okay and he's got those down packed but uh you know as I as I read these scriptures I'm like man this is so true and the reason I say that's because well I'm not the one who gave birth obviously my wife gave birth but I observed her travail I observed her pain okay and I saw that go with me if you would you're in Galatians chapter 2 go to chapter 4 you know the Bible uses this analogy consistently to describe the conversion of a lost person of being born right and in fact the famous passage in John chapter 3 verse 3 you don't have to turn there Jesus answered and said to him barely barely I stand to thee except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God Nicodemus saith unto him how can a man be born when he is old can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born Jesus answered verily verily I say to thee accept the man be born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God first Peter 1 23 says being born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible by the Word of God which liveth and abideth forever you know when we got saved the Bible tells us the Holy Spirit of God came to dwell within us and he sealed there unto the day of redemption that we're a new creature in Christ it's the new birth this is exactly what God uses to illustrate to help us to understand that this was this is what salvation is like look at verse 27 of Galatians 4 this is speaking of Sarah who at one time was barren obviously in her lapse of faith she had Abraham go into Hagar and that's where you know the Ishmaelites came from but this is a prophecy of Sarah and it says there in verse 27 for it is written rejoice thou barren that barest not break forth and cry thou that travailest not for the desolate hath many more children than she with which hath and husband you see Sarah was barren you know she couldn't have children she wasn't travailing but you know what God is saying there's gonna come a time when you're gonna break forth and cry why because of the fact that you're gonna be like the mother of those who are believers in Christ that's why it says the mother of us all who dwells in the new Jerusalem Jerusalem which is above is free okay which is the mother of us all that's what it says and so we see here that this is constantly being hit that you know the salvation can be compared to a birth now let me just say this is that we as Bible believing Christians you know we believe in having physical children right I mean we promote that we preach that we believe that children are a blessing from God you know we believe you know the Bible tells us that children are a heritage of the Lord and the fruit of the womb is his reward we understand that children are a sign of God's blessing on a family correct we love children childbearing is a blessing children are a blessing from God well you know what bearing spiritual children is also a blessing okay and be getting people through the gospel should be a priority you know to be fruitful and multiply physically is important but to be fruitful and multiply spiritually is also important giving life to a child is important given eternal life to a lost person is also important you know but with that being said we also understand that what abortion is wicked because we love children we believe that abortion is wicked birth control which is a silent abortion is wicked this is murder okay an abortion should never be an option for a Christian right we should be fruitful and multiplied but you know what we should not only hate physical abortions we should also hate spiritual ones too now here's the funny thing is that you know people will look at our type of soul winning confrontation of so many when we go door-to-door we preach the gospel we get them say we leave them with some material and if they come they come if they don't they don't and they'll say this you know these lazy people who don't want to go out and preach the gospel they want to look at the people who are doing the work and say well that's like spiritual abortion you just leave them to the Lord you get them saving you just leave them there but this is a misunderstanding of what even abortion is okay it's like no we actually birth we travailed in birth they got saved they're born again abortion takes place in a mother's womb right they commit the murder within the womb so in actuality they're the ones who are actually committing spiritual abortion now why is that we'll go to 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 let's make a parallel here look at 2nd Corinthians chapter number 4 you see when we go out there we're producing babies all the time amen we're producing babies we're seeing people say when we preach the gospel we are helping people to understand the the crucifixion of Christ the resurrection we're helping them to overcome their false doctrines and false ideologies that they learned throughout their entire lives and they get born again they're alive in Christ right whereas someone who knows the gospel someone who knows about the death barrier and resurrection if they don't go guess what they keep that inside look what it says in verse number three but if our gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine unto them for we preach not ourselves but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves your servants for Jesus sake for God who commanded the light to shine out of shine out of darkness hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God and the face of Jesus Christ but we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us what is he saying you know we have this earth and we have this treasure in earthen vessels but we need to get it out what good is it if you know the gospel you've memorized the Romans Road you know what the Bible says about salvation but you'd never tell a soul that's spiritual abortion right there you know awake to righteousness and sin not for some have not the knowledge of God I speak this to your shame you know it's shameful when a Christian practices abortion it's shameful when a Christian practices birth control but you know it's also shameful when a Christian who knows who saved who knows how to priest the gospel doesn't do it so don't tell me I'm committing spiritual abortion no I'm producing babies every week I'm producing babies every week whereas these people oh you know they just keep it to themselves their gospel is hid not because you know they're not because you know they these people don't want to hear it it's because they don't want to give it okay that is spiritual abortion you know and the thing is a lot of these pastors there's just a bunch of hirelings is what they are a bunch of hirelings you know the Bible tells us in John chapter 10 verse 11 I am the good Shepherd the good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep but he that is in hireling and not the Shepherd who's owned the sheep are not seeth the wolf coming and leave at the sheep and fleeth and the wolf catches them and scattereth the sheep the hireling fleeth but he is in hireling and careth not for the sheep go with me if you went to Colossians chapter number one so let me give you some parallels here between with giving birth physically and giving birth spiritually okay because they go hand in hand there's a reason why God is constantly referencing this he's using this as an illustration because it illustrates the point greatly okay number one so let me let's talk about travailing in birth and how it relates to soul winning well number one it requires labor requires labor and in fact when a woman's about to give birth what do we say she's going into labor you know why they call it going into labor because it requires work you know if you ever seen a woman give birth if you ever seen your wife give birth I mean they're working sometimes they're working eight hours 12 hours I've known ladies who give you they're in labor for 24 hours no rest just tired laboring trying to push that baby out feeling those contractions and all the pains and the sorrows they're laboring to get that baby out so he can be out in the world okay now labor means to work it means to put an effort to expend yourself to accomplish a specific task there now look look what it says here in Colossians chapter 1 verse 27 to whom God would make known what is the richest of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles which is Christ and you the hope of glory whom we preach warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus where unto I also labor striving according to his working which worketh in me mightily you see so when he requires work you know especially when we do confrontational so we're doing home births right the doctor is going to the house just as we go from house to house publicly preaching Christ okay well we're given the gospel we're going to the house we're working diligent we're laboring to help them to understand and you know what we need to make sure that we're not lax lazy soul winners too you know that we're not just going there just dropping off an invite you know not putting in the effort necessary to try to persuade them you know the Bible says knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we persuade men try to get them to understand and to overcome the false ideologies put in that work you know it requires work to study the Bible to be ready to give an answer to every man you know to memorize the verses to know where to flip through in your Bible in case they ask a different question it requires labor to be able to study to show yourself approve them to God a workman they needeth not to be ashamed okay it requires work in case someone tries to hit you with some question about the reprobates and here's a sermon on YouTube why don't you just take them to the Bible you know why because that requires work it requires for you to study you know it's good when a brand new soul winner one of the things that I like seeing in our church is one brand new people come to our church and they get saved and they start going out so when they have these tabs on their Bibles right but after a while you know why those tabs need to start disappearing you know why because they should know where all the verses are at I encourage people look when you're out so winning and you're going from one point to another as you're making your second point you're already flipping to your next scripture you know put in the labor put in the work because that's exactly what it takes no woman just like okay you know just baby's just coming out and once it's over oh no it's labor there's weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth right why because it's labor requires work go to 1st Thessalonians chapter 1 I'll read to you from 2nd Thessalonians 3 verse 8 it says neither did we eat any man's bread for naught but wrought with labor and travail night and day that we might not be chargeable to any of you why do we want to put so much travail and labor into preaching the gospel because we don't want people's blood on our hands that's why we want to make sure that when we are out there preaching the gospel that you know we're above reproach and they understand hey you know this guy pleaded with me he wanted me to be saved you know and look numbers are important amen I mean there's an entire book in the Bible called the book of Numbers but you know what the reality is is that we should go out there because we love people there should be a tear in our eye there should be a we should have a broken heart when they reject it oh no no they're reprobates no it's probably they're just they're just rejected the gospel that time and that should cause us to travail to have sorrow you know because we put in the word to want them to be saved to give them the gospel I'm gonna have you skip that go with me if you would to Acts chapter 20 Acts chapter 20 I'll read to you from 1st Thessalonians 1 it says remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of God and our Father knowing brethren beloved your election of God you know what this tells me is that when we go out there and preach the gospel you know we're not just trying to get information out we're actually giving them the gospel because we love them you know because there's actually a desire within our hearts that we don't want them to go to hell so the people that we talk to should see sincerity in our attitude in our demeanor there should be a desire and by the way people could read us you know if you're if you're rushing if you're just trying to you know get the invite in get them to say yes to everything you're saying you know we want to make sure that we know how to read people and if they're understanding that we can follow through but if they're not if they're disinterested they're just like swatting at the flies around and stuff you know but what will help us to hone in on that loving them loving people helps us to view their demeanor and see okay this person's getting it they're almost there now I remember um about a year ago I went sowing with with the church member of mine and we're going by this house and the garage door was open you can see through all the way to the kitchen there's a guy there and I said yeah hello you know I just want to give you this invite to our church and he came out and I give him the invite and I started giving him the gospel and he just was not getting it you know just kind of just going over his head and I'll be honest I was kind of getting frustrated and for me it's just like well if you're not getting it I'm just gonna move on because I don't want to waste my time but I can tell that he wasn't being like a jerk or anything he just really was not understanding it took me 30 minutes close to 30 minutes to give this guy the gospel to reiterate the fact that it was not by repenting of your sins and literally it just kind of clicked with him and it clicked when he when he looked at me and he had a tear in his eye and he said I get it now I get it and I remember my soul winning and then he got saved and and my soul winning partner told me afterwards he said he's like man I felt like you're gonna give up on that guy and I was just praying like God please give us work in his heart in such a way that we see that he is getting something so we don't give up on him you know takes labor takes work takes travailing look what the Bible says in Acts chapter 20 verse 20 it says and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you but I've showed you and I have taught you publicly and from house to house testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ what is he saying man I worked hard to give you the gospel I worked hard so so that you knew everything that I knew that you would understand the gospel in its entirety now aren't there substitutes for laboring though there's a lot of substitutes are there not even with physical births there's substitutes you know you have the epidural right shot and if you if you got that you know I can't hate on you because I'm not a woman so you know I know that that's that's crazy but the pain is ridiculous but you know what there is complications when you get an epidural shot an epidural what that does is it minimizes the pain so you can deliver the child right but sometimes there's potential potential risks that come after that that is a substitute so that you don't have to feel the labor and pain you know sometimes there's there's C sections okay and there's also complications that come with that and you know what there are equivalents in spiritual births as well where you can take the easy route right and not put in the work not put in the labor you say well like what well like track dropping was one of them when you just put a track on the door and you just alleviate your conscience you're not really putting in the labor the labor the work that you're sold you're doing is the work of a mailman you're doing ding-dong bitch right you're doing the the the door hangers the evangelistic services right lifestyle evangelism we're all you know they'll just I'm just waiting for them to come to be kind of thing that's not labor these are cheap substitutes for the labor that God has called us to all right nothing compares to just good old-fashioned childbearing good old-fashioned you know spiritual births where you just go to someone's door you open your mouth boldly to make known the mysteries of the gospel you show them the verses and they believe they call upon the name of the Lord and they get saved that there's nothing that compares to that that's the way you're supposed to do it amen go to Acts chapter 5 Acts chapter 5 you know the today we live in a society where it's just enthralled in technology but you know what and technology is a blessing but at the end of the day technology should never replace door-to-door sowing amen it should supplement it it should help it but at the end of the day going door-to-door still works today still works going door-to-door knocking on those doors talking to people face-to-face confronting them with their condition that they're a sinner record helping them to recognize that they deserve hell helping them to understand the death bailing and resurrection of Jesus Christ helping them to understand this by faith alone and they can't lose their salvation and helping them to call upon the name of the Lord you can't replace that look at acts 5 42 says daily in the temple and in every house they cease not to teach and preach Jesus Christ so I come from a church that was very heavy on soul winning okay and it was a church about about 1,300 and my father-in-law started that church and he was he was a hard preacher you know he was obviously old IFB so you know he was a Zionist and all that stuff but you know he believed he believed in soul winning and he believed in hard preaching and he's the one who actually taught me how to go so one he when I first got saved I wanted to go soul winning and he took me out for weeks on end to show me how to do it and that really got me on fire for God and I really appreciated that and I remember some liberal pastor came one time and he was like anti soul winning you know he was anti spiritual births in the right way and he was like wow you got a big church here he's like how did you build it and he's like do so winning he's like really that's weird cuz so one of them doesn't really work and my father was like well looks like it did for us he's like yeah I only know of like two more churches where they said that and they run like 5,000 to by the way you know during that time and so you know nothing compares now obviously today we can't necessarily build a church on Sony but you know what Sony is not meant to build a church it's meant to see people saved regardless of people come to church or not but what I'm saying is this is that so winning door-to-door always works and look people will come to church when you go Sony we've had people come to church because we left a track on the door cuz no one answered but at the end of the day the labor is in the preaching at the end of the day the labor is in us presenting the gospel to a lost and dying world so travailing in birth what does it require requires labor going into labor okay but not only that go with me if you would to Isaiah 54 Isaiah 54 it also requires bodily preparation what do I mean by that well months prior to my wife giving birth you know she was eating all the health foods she's on keto and she's making sure that she's getting the right proteins and the fats why because there's gonna come a day when this baby comes and she needs the strength to push she needs to be able to give birth she needs to be able to endure and be able to help this baby come into this world so what was she doing she was preparing her body okay look what it says in verse number one of Isaiah 54 single Baron thou that didst not bear break forth into singing and cry out loud thou that didst not travail with child for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife saith the Lord enlarge the place of thy tent and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations spare not lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy stakes for thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles and make the desolate cities to be inhabited you know it goes without saying when it comes to spiritual births we need to prepare we need to prepare ourselves spiritually speaking what does that mean you need to make sure that you have the verses memorized that you know where you're gonna say you need to know your introduction you need to be prepared you need to shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace right now go with me if you would to Matthew chapter 16 Matthew chapter 16 preparation is key to succeeding at spiritual birthing but you know what it requires a healthy diet you know what that means you got to eat some you got to get to get some good preaching in don't don't feed yourself McDonald's Ray comfort before you give birth don't feed yourself with you know tofu Calvinistic preaching don't give yourself crap because your body needs the nutrients the proper doctrinal nutrients so that when you go out there and you're about to give birth you do it well you're able to deliver though you're travailing though you're in pain you have the strength to be able to push you understand look at Matthew 16 verse 6 then Jesus said unto them take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees and they reason among themselves saying is it because we've taken no bread which when Jesus perceived he said unto them oh ye of little faith why reason ye among yourselves because he have brought no bread do you not yet understand neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand how many baskets he took up neither the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many baskets he took up how is it that you do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread that you should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of the bread but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees you know some preaching if you listen it to it too much it'll kill your soul winning it'll make you lazy it'll kill your soul winning Calvinistic doctrine will kill your soul winning it'll destroy it you know you get your soul winning tips from Ray Comfort good night you're gonna be committing abortions left and right you know you're gonna have still births is what you're gonna have because you're not leading anybody to the Lord if you're learning from Ray Comfort we need to make sure we get a proper diet of some hard preaching biblical teaching on soul winning understanding how to properly present the gospel so we can deliver spiritual children correctly each time we're talking about travailing in birth until Christ is formed and it requires labor requires bodily preparation go with me if you would to 1st Thessalonians chapter number two now I mentioned this already but it's worth mentioning again that it is accompanied with pangs and sorrows okay because sometimes you're gonna get discouraged when you don't see people saved you know sometimes you go and you preach the gospel and you know people are not receptive or you know you just have a dry season you know that should cause some sorrow I'm not sorrowful about that then you got to check your heart because it should cause sorrow when people reject the gospel or they're not receptive towards it but how about this how about the sorrow that you should have for your lost family members you know we're so busy winning the world to Christ that often we neglect our own family our fathers our mothers our sisters our cousins our aunts or uncles people that we know are not saved you know and often we neglect them that should call we should sorrow for them you know look what the Bible says in 1st Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 3 it says for our exhortation was not a deceit nor of uncleanness nor in guile but as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel even so we speak not as pleasing men but God would try at their hearts for neither at any time used we flattering words as you know nor a cloak of covetousness God is witness nor of men sought we glory neither of you nor yet of others when we might have been burdensome as the apostles of Christ but we were gentle among you even as a nurse cherishes her children so being affectionately desirous of you we were willing to have imparted unto you not the gospel of God only but also our own souls because you're a dear to us what is he saying we wanted to give you the information but you know what we're also gonna give you our emotion as well we're gonna weep we're gonna pray we're gonna feel we're gonna have emotion when we actually go out there and preach the gospel look when a woman's giving birth they have what's called contractions okay that is painful contraction is when the uterus is contracting to push the baby out and it causes a lot of pain well you know what it should cause us pain as well when people reject the gospel when we go out there no one gets aid that should burden us it shouldn't be like water off a duck's back now let it be water for ducks back if it's some fag okay some some flaming sodomite who hates you and curses you out you know you walk away with a smile on your face and go eat a burger in celebration thereof okay but if it's some lost person who is just has trouble understanding the gospel that should break our heart you know should break our hearts that we have family members that are not saved that should cause pains and sorrows within us okay the Bible says in Acts chapter 20 you have to turn there verse 31 therefore watch and remember that by the space of three years I cease not to warn everyone night and day with tears let me ask you a question when's the last time you actually wept for a soul think about that well I'm not the crying type you know well then you got to check your heart because God gave us tears you know and tears are a product of pain tears are a product of sorrow and we need to make sure that we check our hearts that it's still tender towards lost people okay and I'm not saying just be this drama queen where she's just like the gospel you're just like crying every block but I'm saying you know when you go back home you can fight back some tears you don't say Lord please use me you know this person was rejected the gospel and if that person dies they're gonna go to hell that breaks my heart you know Lord prepare the hearts of the people we're gonna speak to so they can be saved so they can receive the gospel and overcome that what I'm saying is this is that there should be a level of emotion that comes with soul you know the Bible does say he that goeth forth and weepeth bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again with rejoicing bringing his sheaves with him and look sometimes weeping doesn't necessarily require tears but it requires a trembling voice when you talk to people and often that captures the attention of people because they understand that you actually care for them you know because people often think oh you just want my money you know you just want my tithes what you want you know you just want this and it's just like we have no ulterior motive other than the fact that we want to see you say don't even have to you have to come to my church we just want you to be saved okay so requires labor requires bodily preparation it is accompanied with pangs and sorrows by the way this is why it's important we have so many partners you know you need to make sure that you find someone that you go with on a weekly basis don't just go by yourself why because discouragement will set in and when you're discouraged you need your silent partner next to you to encourage you to keep going forward so this last time we did this this the pool birth you guys ever heard of anything like that you guys ever heard that okay you know you're it's a literal pool okay now he wasn't born in the pool just didn't work out but it felt good for like the first hour and you know I was there helping my wife and you said what did you tell her nothing I just held her hand and I was there and you know whatever she needed you didn't say anything no I was a silent partner yeah I was praying you know cuz obviously you know you know the worst we gotta expect the worst sometimes you know you just never know what's gonna happen so during that time just praying and and encouraging her through the process and I was her silent partner well you know what you need a silent partner to someone who's praying for you that God fills you with the Spirit of God so you can boldly present the gospel when the opportunity presents itself turn with me if you would to first Corinthians chapter number four so requires labor bodily preparation is accompanied with pangs and sorrows hey here's a novel thought it requires human effort what does that mean you need a daddy right God doesn't have to but babies you know babies are made by a man and a woman in other words there's a father involved okay what am I saying how so how do you even apply that well it requires a person going to another person in other words don't think that the tracks gonna do all the work for you right don't think that you know just leaving a track oh you know they'll probably just get safe from that they're not gonna get safe from the track they need a gospel preacher they need someone to explain to they need a soul winner that's the only way they're gonna be saved Jesus needs us right he's the one who saves but you know what he can't do it without us we are the instrument that God has chosen to use to go out there and give the gospel and see them safe but you know what it's not gonna happen if we don't go there you know God does not have tube babies it requires a spiritual father okay let me prove it to you look what it says in first Corinthians 4 14 he says I write not these things to shame you but as my beloved sons I warn you for though you have 10,000 instructors in Christ yet have you not many fathers for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you to the gospel what is he saying there what he's stating is this because the book of first Corinthians is the Apostle Paul validating his authority on that church basically saying is like hey I'm the one who got you saved I'm the one who got you saved you're my seal of my you're the seal of mine apostleship you know God is the one who used me to get you saved guess what though you have 10,000 instructors in Christ you may have all kinds of Sunday school teachers guess what you don't have many fathers you got one cuz I'm the one who begot you I'm the one who got you saved is what he's saying wherefore I beseech you be ye followers of me you know what you need to go father someone okay be someone's daddy right we're going out there we're looking to be someone's daddy I'm not saying go there and say I'm your daddy but that's basically what we're doing when we're explaining and when we get them saved they become like a spiritual son to us right you know the Bible says in first Corinthians 9 verse 1 am I not an apostle am I not free have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord are not ye my work in the Lord if I be not an apostle unto others a doubtless I am to you for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord the Bible says in first Corinthians 3 5 who then is Paul and who is Apollo's but ministers by whom ye believe even as the Lord gave to every man don't have this mentality that someone else can be a daddy no you be a dad you be the father you take the responsibility to put it upon yourself to be a preacher of the gospel to see people saved and father someone spiritually speaking now obviously you know we could adopt spiritual sons Paul the Apostle did that with Timothy right Timothy was already saved he just adopted him as a spiritual son but for the most part we're the ones who are to be partakers of the ministry of reconciliation so we're talking about travailing in birth until Christ is formed in them it requires labor okay you got to work for it just as a woman when she is in labor it requires bodily preparation getting those proteins in getting those fats in memorizing the scriptures getting some good preaching in you know getting fired up about soul winning it is a company with pains and sorrows making sure you go out there with a broken heart it requires human effort and then lastly of it is this it always ends listen to this it always ends in a rejoicing does it not go to John chapter 16 because I'm telling you there's times when you do have a dry season and it's just like man am I doing something wrong am I am I not giving a illustration correctly if I'm not quoting the right scriptures what is it my mind sin sometimes you just have a dry season or sometimes you just need to go to a different block okay I remember you know where we're at right now the the most fruitful place that we've ever experienced is Compton okay yeah it's it's fruit the bloods and Crips there they're open to the gospel okay and you know we thought like many of the cities that are around there we're gonna be the same way and we went to some other cities just like people didn't even people were like screaming at us to get off their property and it was like not nice place like it was it was like a ghetto place I can't believe you just said that I came from the ghetto okay so it's okay you know I thought man this place is gonna be receptive I thought it was gonna be great you know what it was not receptive at all but what do we do did we just like go under the juniper tree and just have be all discouraged and all what was me no we just went over to another city we went back to we went we went to Watts is where he went we went back to Compton we went to East LA we look for the people who are receptive towards the gospel and look at the end of the day at the end of the month at the end of the year it will end in rejoicing you will see someone say look at verse 21 of John chapter 16 a woman when she is in travail hath sorrow no that process is not fun because her hour is come but as soon as she is delivered of the child she remembers no more of the anguish for joy that a man is born into the world you know one of the things that will help you if you're going through some trial in your life go solely go get someone saved and when you get someone saved you know the trials and the afflictions the pains and the sorrows and the travailings of this world they grow very dim because then it sowing just kind of redirects your focus and it helps you to remember this is what it's all about right here this is what it's all about right here yeah I got to lead someone to the Lord at the Denver Airport okay her name was Anastasia she was uh she was Russian and I was eating she sat right in front of me she saw my New Testament there and we just began to talk and I got a leader to the Lord you know and I'm thankful and I'm thankful that I was able to come here because if I didn't come here I wouldn't have been there and then I wouldn't have seen her saved oh that's just one but you know what that's one soul that will live for all of eternity you see so when he redirects your focus and it helps you to remember man a man is born again a man has been saved a woman has has trusted Christ as her Savior that's another soul that gets to go to heaven because of my effort that's prideful no because of my effort because remember God has no two babies okay so what is the sermon today well the sermon is simply this you know I just want to encourage you to keep preaching the gospel keep refining yourself as a soul winner making sure that you're travailing in birth till Christ is formed in each individual that you speak to over the lifetime over your lifetime you know and recognize it's no easy task if it was easy everyone would be doing it right if it was easy every independent fundamental Baptist Church would be doing it but you know what it's not easy it requires travail it requires pains and sorrow preparation it requires all these things but you know what what does it yield souls that are saved and eternal rewards amen let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer father we thank you so much for your word we're thankful for the person who travailed in birth till Christ was formed in us those who led us to the Lord those who prepared those who prayed for us before they even knew us and they prayed and and earnestly pray that you would prepare our hearts so that when they spoke to us that we would be receptive towards the gospel thank you so much for that person who put in all that work for us may we return the favor as we go out and do the same to others and I pray God that you prepare the hearts of the people we're gonna speak to tomorrow may you use this in a great way to see a lot of people saved and in Jesus name we pray amen