(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.) Amen. Okay, we're in Romans 10. Let's just have a look again from verse 8 there, just several verses from verse 8, where Romans 10 says in verse 8, But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart, that is, the word of faith which we preach, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed, for there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And we're coming to the end of our series on how to win souls. We've done number one in introduction to soul winning, number two starting the conversation, number three sin and its consequences, number four the gospel, number five belief, number six eternal security, and today we're going to look at repentance and calling. So title this evening is How to Win Souls, number seven repentance and calling. I'm gonna pray and then we're gonna get going with the message. Father thank you for your word, thank you for the gospel Lord, thank you for you know how simple it really is and help me to get that across to people today, but there are some ingredients to that simplicity that people need to understand that go hand in hand with that putting your trust in Jesus Christ Lord, help me to preach what that is and what that isn't, help me to explain that clearly and help people to just help people to just be better soul winners Lord, for us all to be better soul winners here, for us to be more effective and to ultimately not only get more people saved but just those people that we get the opportunity with to do the best job we can to have the best chance of getting them saved. In Jesus' name pray all of this, Amen. Okay, so you've got two words here that have both been and will continue to be attacked in various ways, okay. So you've got repentance, okay, you've got the word repentance that has had its definition confused and changed to attack the gospel basically, okay. That's the reason for it, that people want to change what repentance means so that then you can make it sound like there's some sort of work, some sort of effort required of man for salvation and then you've got calling on the name of the Lord which also is attacked as if calling out to Jesus is some sort of work. So you've kind of got either side there, haven't you? You've got one trying to claim that you've got to do works and then you've got the other one, the other angle of attack claiming that asking for salvation, putting your faith in Christ by calling on his name is somehow works. Both of them are false, both of those things are wrong, I'm going to show you what they are and what they aren't today. It's obviously nothing of the sort. Now a short time of genuine soul winning should help you to see through all of this false doctrine, okay. So if your soul winning, you should be able to see through it because that's what soul winning does. That's, you know, that's why preaching the gospel is such an important part of our spiritual armour, to have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, okay. It's part of your spiritual armour because when you're soul winning, when you're soul winning regularly, you see through so much of this nonsense, it's like, what on earth are they talking about, right? But when you're not, that's the truth, that's the truth, isn't it? The type of people getting conned by the calling on the name of the Lord is a works-based salvation crowd are usually babes in Christ and non-soul winners. That's usually, unless they're just full-on wicked, okay. They're just people who might get their heads done and stuff, it's people that aren't soul winning basically, or are babes etc. Now we're here in Romans 10 which is clearly in the context of salvation, you can't argue that. I just want to quickly explain where I stand with this, okay. I want to make this clear, okay. Genuine repentance, genuine repentance, a change of mind from your false belief calling on the name of the Lord and believing on the Lord Jesus Christ are all three sides, if that's possible, of a three-sided coin. Okay, they're all part and parcel of salvation. Genuine belief, okay, genuine belief, trust, faith, like we explain when we preach the Gospel to someone, genuine belief in Christ involves repenting of what you did believe and calling on the name of the Lord for salvation. Okay, they're all the same thing. So calling on the name of the Lord for salvation, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, all of those that believed in the Gospel of John, because people go, well look at the Gospel of John, you know, where were they calling on the name of the Lord? Yeah, where were they repenting as well? They both repented of their false belief and called too. So everyone that many believe, many believe in the Gospel of John, they therefore were repenting and calling, okay, they were calling on the name of the Lord, they were putting their faith, their trust in, that's what belief is. It's not just, oh believe it's true, it's putting your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what it requires for salvation. All of those that called us described, for example, in Genesis 4 26, you'll have to turn it where it says, And to Seth, to him also there was born a son who called his name Enos, that then began meant to call upon the name of the Lord, both repented and believed too, to be genuinely calling on the name of the Lord. Okay, all of those that repented as commanded by God, for example, in Acts 17 30, again you have to turn there where it says, In the times of ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent, both believed and called too. Okay, it's the same thing. They're the same, you can't separate them. If we separate them then it's not a genuine salvation as we'll see as we go through this. So, so this bit is really important, obviously, this part of preaching the Gospel is very important. They have to repent, they have to change their mind for what they did believe. You don't add on, you don't add on Jesus Christ to your false work salvation. Okay, and at the same time you have to call on the name the Lord for salvation. There's a point in your life where you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, they all go together for it to be genuine faith, trust in Christ, yeah. Last week we finished at John 5 24, which said this in John chapter 5 24. If you are mapping your Bible according to what I'm showing you then please turn to John 5 24. I am going to, at the end next week, I am going to go through it one more time, just preach. I'm going to go give you an example of just preaching the Gospel, you know, a nice clear example how I like to do it for those that want to do it the same way. But look, if you do it a different way, call, no problem, but please take a lot of these principles anyway. Okay, interactive soul winning is a big principle I want people to take from this. Okay, the start question's in the beginning. If you've sat through the whole of an introduction to soul winning and how to get the conversation started and you're still just knocking on someone's door and going, uh, hi there, uh, we're from, um, uh, a Baptist church, would you like to know how to go to heaven or what happened if you died today or something else and it's like you haven't listened, okay, and you need, and therefore you might maybe just, you know, go back, listen, learn, yeah, learn, learn things that are coming from experience a lot and all the experienced soul winners here all coming away going, yeah, that helps that stuff that we, you know, either have done or, or have added or do and, you know, this comes, a lot of this comes from conversations with other people as well, seeing other people's soul winning etc. Okay, I'm not trying to call myself some groundbreaker here, I'm not, you know, this maverick who's got all these new ways, it's just stuff from being with experience, soul winning, soul winning over years to think about what things work and what things don't, seeing what things work and what things don't, okay. So please pay attention to this today as well because believe me, what I'm going to show you today really makes a difference, okay. Okay, so we've finished at John 5 24 which said, verily, verily, I send to you, he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but is passed from death unto life. Now like I said last week, this verse covers three angles of eternal security. Okay, it's basically like three short verses on eternal security. It talks about the process, a good summary that you've heard the word, you've believed on him that sent me, you have everlasting life. So angle number one, how could you have it if it's not everlasting? If it's everlasting, you have it, you can't lose it. Okay, angle number one, so for eternal security, that's the first part and shall not come into condemnation. Second part, you won't go to hell, you're not going to be condemned to hell if you've believed on him that sent me, you've put your faith in God sending Jesus to die for your sins. Angle number two and angle number three but is passed from death unto life and make your point of that that it happens that second when you put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, when you're really trusting him, you've put your trust in him, not well at him in a bit of works, when you're trusting him alone for salvation you've passed from death unto life. Okay, so for me it's like reading three verses, it's nice and succinct but like I said, you know, if you need, I gave you loads last week that if you're thinking well, you know, someone they're not, you're not quite sure they're there yet, please go to other verses afterwards and I gave you a list, there's others you could go to, they're just ones that I have regularly and will regularly still use, okay. Right, and at that point you're really gauging how convinced someone is, so soul winning isn't, when we soul win, okay, we're not robots, we're not soul winning robots, okay, you need to be gauging, you need to be in tune with people, you need to be talking to people, that's why interactive soul winning is really important. How can I know what someone believes if I've just read a speech for five, ten, fifteen minutes and then at the end it's like, right, are you ready to call the name of the Lord, okay, that's not how it works. We're trying to gauge and see if I need to go to other verses, see if they're a bit hung up on something, see how convinced they are, see how sure they seem with the answers that they're giving me with all the different ways I've shown you to ask questions to actually get interactive soul winning going, okay. Then we went through the checklist and just to remind you again, okay, because I went through it quickly at the end, okay, this is what I generally ask someone if I've preached the Gospel to them, I've got to this point, I've now preached eternal security on the back of the chastisement of believers of God's children. Then I say, okay, so can I just check that I've explained this, you've understood what I've shown you from the Bible here. Number one, would you agree that we're all sinners? Or number one, would you agree that you're a sinner? Depending on, you know, you can word it either way, okay, if someone needs to agree they're a sinner though. Number two, where do all sinners deserve to go? Okay, they need to accept that it's hell, it's eternal damnation, okay. Number three, who's Jesus? And they need to accept that he's the son of God, he's God in the flesh, right. Number four, what did he do for us? Okay, is that, oh well, he lived a good life or something else, so you know, they need to understand this stuff, right, or you need to go over and re-explain it. And the answer needs to be something along the lines of, he died, was buried and rose again to pay for our sins. And I make sure they believe the resurrection again at this point, okay, it's fundamental. Number five, what's the only thing you've got to do to be saved? And someone has to understand this, or what do you have to do to be saved? What does someone have to do to go to heaven? However you want to word that, they have to make it clear. And not just believe in God, okay. Some guys believe, it's like, okay, right, move on, no, no. Well, who specifically? What is it that we believe? What is it that we're trusting? It's the Lord Jesus Christ, right, that death, burial, resurrection. They need to get that right. They need to, that's like the fundamental part, right. And number six, is there any way you could lose your salvation? And then like I said, they need to say no. Not if you continue believing, no, you need to show them it's a one-time deal, you've put your faith in Christ, you're saved if you've truly believed, you've put your trust in Christ, obviously, right. Okay, now on the back of that, I might maybe, you know, we do, we give the examples, and like I said last week, I'm going to be quick with this because I want to really hit this bit, but like I said last week, please don't give bizarre examples about shooting dead 10 people and stuff, okay, and doing drive-bys and, you know, and bank robberies with your gang and stuff, okay. Just like, look, if I just use a nice simple answer, what if I believed then I went out and, God forbid, I fell into bad times, I went out and I stole something, you know, am I still going to heaven? Yeah, or you can use the example of themselves, what if you did this, you went out, then after that I usually just then go, okay, well, God forbid, say you did something even worse, say, I don't know, you killed someone, okay, are you still going to heaven? And anything other than that, if they, if it's not a solid yes, then I'm going to go back to eternal security verses and go back to explaining the chastisement of the believer. I want to see them as convinced as I possibly can, it's not like, oh, well, they've ticked the box, they're like, um, no, yeah, yeah, okay, great, okay, let's get you to cool now, okay, like, come on, you know, and I say that because the sad truth is, and this is just a fleshly thing, so I'm not saying it's because of wickedness, a lot of people just want to get this salvation in inverted commas, but you ain't getting your salvation, so you coming back and adding a number, I don't, I don't care, I wouldn't get, you know what, I prefer to get 50 genuine salvations this year from this church that have 500 people that, of which the majority of them were unsaved and didn't really believe, didn't really understand, just got coerced and just got encouraged to pray, okay, you're not, and you've got to get your heart right with that, look, as much as we want to get the fish in the boat, so there, you can go too far with this, right, where it's like, well, I don't know, I'm not seeing tears yet, you know, we're going to keep going, you know, until they just give up, we still want to get a genuine salvation and the way we do that is we make sure that they, they believe what they, you know, that they say, yeah, I believe that, right, and if they go, well, I don't know, I suppose you're telling me, but I'm still saved, well, yes, right, okay, well, let's pray then, no, they need to show them what the Bible says, right, okay, we want to do the best we can with it, now some people can be quick, some people, they just get it really quick, so I'm not saying you don't have to go into the 45-minute mark with people that, that just, that just accept it, believe it, they're low-hanging fruit, but again, don't just rush someone to a prayer when you're not sure if they believe, okay, I would usually, after that checklist, okay, the question I usually ask is, okay, but do you believe that now, do you believe, do you believe what the Bible says, now again, if they're like, well, I don't go, oh, okay, well, let's just pray anyway, let's just do a lucky prayer, no, okay, do you believe that, okay, now, this is what I will then say at this point, okay, and I want to show you this, because believe me, this is, this, this, I've been doing this now for the best part of two years, and this has changed for me, soul-winning, there are so many people that I would have prayed with that give the wrong answer to this question now, okay, now, yeah, they accepted at the beginning, they're on their way to hell, I might even, I, I've even said to people even before this, okay, well, have you changed your mind, they'll be like, yeah, and I say, okay, then something along this line, I like to do it gently, something like this, well, I say, well, this is really important now, okay, have you heard the word repent before, and, and I talked about this for something last week, look, at this point, if you're about to pray with someone, if they say they believe the whole thing, don't worry, they're not going to suddenly go, oh, it works out, okay, I've never had that happen, and it's a good thing to clear up what repent means, because they're going to get this phone at them anyway, to put doubt on them and everything, and whether you get them saved or not, they're probably going to have heard it or hear it, that, that you've got to repent of your sins or something along those lines, yeah, okay, so, I usually say, okay, have you heard the word repent if it hasn't come into conversation yet, or even if it has, I said, well, you mentioned repentance before, let me explain this to you, okay, let me explain you, explain to you what it does mean, okay, what it actually means, okay, it actually means you've got to change your mind from what you did believe and put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, okay, because as we've seen, for by, and if it's someone who's a bit unsure, whatever, for by grace to say through faith, that not of yourselves, it's not about you cleaning up your act, it's about you turning away for your sins, but you don't usually have to do that, because at this point, if I'm about to, if they've got everything, I don't need to go into any more verses, this bit is simple, okay, okay, okay, it's a change of mind, okay, it's a change of mind for what you did believe, from your false belief to faith in Christ, okay, now, what I usually say to them is this, before I showed you what the Bible says, and I, and some of you have got to be really gentle with this, okay, because you're dealing with pride as well, you don't want pride to stop from getting saved, I'll say something along the lines of, you know, you, you did believe, okay, like many people do, like before I got saved I might say, depending on who I'm dealing with, depending on how, what those levels of pride are looking at, while I'm dealing with some people, it's like, you know, they're just humble, they're just like, yeah man, I was going to hell, but other people, you need to be gentle with it, and I'll say to them, look, like many people, like most people we speak to, you did believe that you had to be a good person to go to heaven, like all the religions of the world teach, like most people believe, right, okay, and I'm sure, sometimes you say, I'm sure you're a good person, okay, I'm sure you had good intentions, I'm sure you're years in that church, I'm not saying you're a bad person, however, can you see that's not what the Bible says, can you see that's different, or something like that, okay, firstly they have to accept that, obviously, right, okay, now this for me is, is a question I would like everyone in our church to please ask before, before they call, okay, okay, so therefore, something along the lines of, before we spoke, God forbid, had you got run over, had you died yesterday, based on what you did believe before this point, where would you have gone? Now, if they won't accept at this point that they would have gone to hell, I ain't, there's no chance I'm playing with it, and believe me, there are people that I would, I would have been ready to pray with over several years now, that, that at this point when I ask them this, or will be like, yeah, I still think I would have gone to heaven, and you're like, you've just explained the whole thing, they've said it's different to what they believe, they've accepted everything you've said, you've shown them, they've said, yeah, it's different, yeah, I did believe you had to be good, and then they go, still think I would have gone to heaven, and that's where you're really seeing where their heart really is, and they're really accepting that they're, that they were on the way to hell, because how are you getting saved if you're not really accepting you're on your way to hell? You might accept that all sinners go to hell, but in their heart, but I already believed and thought that I had to be good, but it's the same thing, they're not repenting of the false belief, it's clear, and believe me, like this, look, this will make a big difference, because you'll find there are people, you're like, whoa, okay, and do you know what's happened most of the time with those, most of the time with those people? I've gone back, I've shown them verses, I've explained to them again certain things, I've tried to encourage them, look, you know, to put your faith in Christ. One of the ways I sometimes say to people is, do you know what the name Jesus means? It means Saviour. If you're calling, if you're putting your faith in the Saviour, it's because you're believing you need to be saved from something. If you believe you're already going to heaven, and you're not going to hell, why would you even put your faith in Christ now? And that's one way, or, and there are other things, sometimes at this point it's good to maybe go to Romans 11-6, and if by grace and is it no more of work, otherwise grace is no more grace, show them that it's one or the other, and if it be of works and is it no more grace, otherwise work is no more work. You can see you can't combine them, they're different places you could go at this point, if someone says, well, I still think I would have gone to heaven, but by, please do not pray with people that think that, and call on the name of the Lord, and leave them thinking that maybe they're saved, maybe they're not, because they're not. They're not. If they don't believe they're on their way to hell, what are they calling the name of the Lord for? You're calling on the name of the Lord to save you from hell, so they have to accept that for me, okay? And, look, and what people do in other churches, I don't really, it doesn't bother me, and look, I'm not saying, well, that if you don't ask Jesus, this means no one's getting saved, it doesn't mean that, because there are many people I've got saved over the years, without asking this question, had I asked this question, would have turned around and gone to hell. But you know what, there are many people I've prayed with over the years, that I believe in hindsight, had I asked this question, they might have probably said, I still think I would have gone to heaven, even having claimed that they've changed their mind and everything else. So, look, whatever, but this is how I want it done from our soul winners at this church, I want people to accept before they call the name of the Lord that they're on their way to hell. And if they don't, don't call, until they accept that, okay? Now, okay, like I said, if they don't accept, it's time to go back, okay? For example, Romans 6 23, all sin takes you to hell, you're a sinner like everyone else, okay? And the only thing that stops that is faith, trust in Jesus Christ alone, okay? You don't combine it. Romans 5 12, you want to go somewhere different, wherefore is by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death pass upon all men, for that all have sinned. But maybe, look, they've got all of that, they're not really, you know, they're not really accepting, you've shown them, you know, you could go back to Revelation 21 8, well you're a liar like I'm a liar, we've all lied, and all liars shall have their partner late, which burneth me, fine brim so much as the second death. But Romans 11 6 helps a lot for me, and another one that helps a lot for me is Matthew 7 21. I know we went there last week, but this is probably the point where I would generally use it more, okay? So, Matthew 7 21 can be useful at this point, because a lot of people, what they're not accepting, this is a problem, the problem people you get here are people that have already been in church, in religion, already felt they had a salvation experience at some point after they repented of their sins or something, already believed that they kind of got born again, even though they could apparently keep losing their salvation getting reborn, whatever it is, they, they, at this point, right, where they're going, but, but I've, like, had my life with Jesus, I'll be calling him Lord, and you can understand, like, that's a hard thing for someone, isn't it? Years in a church thinking that they're one of God's children, that they're worshipping him, praying to him, reading his word, people like that, this is hard for them, and this is a great, great couple of verses showing Matthew 7 21, and you could put that as an option if you want. Obviously, Romans 11 6, I think, is a strong option to put next to, or, or, you know, at this point, after John 5 24, but Matthew 7 21 says, not everyone, this is Jesus Christ saying, not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father, which is heaven. Now, you've got to show what the will of the Father is, okay, this is the will of him that sent me there, everyone which believeth on the Son, that saith the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life, and I'll raise him up at the last day. John, uh, John 6 40 is the easiest place to just show what the will is, the will is that we put our trust in Christ, it's not talking about being sinless or something, yeah, of course, God would love us to be sinless, but no one is, it's impossible, that's not what he's talking about, he's talking about doing the will by getting saved by putting their faith in Christ. Then many will say to him in that day, and this is why it's so important, because it's showing, this is why it's so effective, this first, it's shown that there are people that call him Lord, they're saying, Lord, Lord, they, they call Jesus Lord, maybe they go to church, in fact, they probably do, they're saying, have we not prophesied in thy name? They're saying they preached in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in thy name have cast out devils, they've even believed they've cast out devils in his name, and in thy name have done many wonderful works, they believe that they've, that, that they've done all these works, the name of the Lord Jesus, but what are they trusting? And that's what, what are they trusting there? And I point to it, and they say they're works, right? Then will I profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from me, ye that work iniquity. If someone has got trust in their works as much as they call him the Lord, they believe, believe, they believe he exists, etc, whatever it is, he ain't saved, and this can be useful for people. Like I said, with this, it's, it is very important to know what they said at the beginning, because if you've just completely forgotten what they said, then how do you even talk about that and go, well you did believe this, you did, so you need to really, it's really important at the beginning, not to just go, hi there, can I show you how to go to heaven? Because then you get to this point, they're like, yeah, well I already knew all that, I was already going to heaven, well actually I already believed, and, and how many people do that, right? How many of you have had people that have gone at the end of a gospel presentation, already believed all that, when they clearly didn't? They lie. Pride makes people lie. So at the beginning you have to ask people, okay, what they believe. Find out what they believe, right? Then you could say, look, well that's not what you said, and that, so therefore where would you go? And sometimes you've got to break it down even more, you know, and things like, look, the Bible says it comes a time, there's a time in your life where you have, where you get saved, right? And if you're not trusting Christ, if you trusted your work, etc, you're like these people here, right? So there's ways you could do it. So knowing what they said at the beginning, obviously you might have to go back and show them another clear verse that refutes what they said at the beginning, depending on what they said, and you could go, maybe you might have to go back to the repentance in Jonah 3, compared to Ephesians 2, 8 and 9 here, maybe whatever it is you might, but you need to show them that they're wrong, and you can't, look, they need to accept, they're on their way to hell, okay? Like I said, sometimes I say, Jesus means saviour, sometimes I say, to need a saviour you have to accept you're on your way to hell. Things like that often help. Now, okay, like I said, I'm sure there are many genuine salvations that haven't been worded like this, but for me it really cuts through a lot of it. It really does help this, okay? Okay, now, okay, once they've genuinely repented, okay, so if you've got to the point where they've said, okay, they've accepted their need for salvation, they've now genuinely changed their mind from what they did believe, they said, yeah, now I accept, that was wrong, I was on my way to hell, that's ultimately what it, what it's about, isn't it? It's not an add-on. Jesus Christ isn't an add-on to your false work salvation, okay? It requires changing your mind from what you did believe and putting your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ's salvation, okay? Once they've done that, and they've said, okay, and they've accepted, yeah, okay, I would have gone to hell, no, I probably would have done, I've had people say that, and I go, probably or definitely, they need to accept, yeah, I was going to hell, and I'm not moving on until they do. You go, oh, but what about, oh, I mean, isn't that so awkward? Yeah, so what? I want to get them saved. If I lose them, well, okay, but I wouldn't have got them saved anyway, I'd just come back and got a number, and, and it was a waste of time. So I want to get them saved, they need to understand that. Now, once they've done that, they, they, it's time now to put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now they're accepting, they're on their way to hell, they need to put their faith in Christ, like I said, it all goes, you can't take one out, okay, they need to accept that. So right next to John 5-24, go to Romans 10-9, go to Romans 10-9, Romans 10-9 says this, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Now what I usually say, I just explain like this, because some people can hear this, if you're talking about them going, confessing him to everyone or something, you know, so I just explain it very quickly, as I'm saying it, say that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, that's to say his name with your mouth, okay, and shout, believe in thy heart, say, but you have to believe, okay, that's the death, burial and resurrection, the whole lot, that's the Gospel we've explained, paying for your past, present and future sins, okay, he said, thou did he say, thou might be saved, thou shalt be saved. So again, we're just reaffirming, reminding them of eternal security again, thou shalt be saved, that's 100%, yeah, okay, now I, look, for me, and look, some people go through verses 10, 11, 12 as well, okay, and 10, 11, 12 do just show, you know, as well that it's interchangeable really, isn't it, okay, about how can they believe it, etc, it's just all the same thing, you call name the Lord with genuine trust, believe, but I just jump to verse 13 here, okay, I just jump because it just gets wordy and then really you're just reading Bible or you need to break down each of the verses, do I really need to break down now, they just accepted everything for me to get to this point, so did they need a load more verses, I've just said, he said that you've got to confess to your mouth the Lord Jesus and then I say in verse 13, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall, did it say might be saved or shall be saved, shall be saved, so again, I'm just reaffirming even more, eternal security, once saved, always saved, right, and then I'll say this, if you want to get saved, let's just ask it, now you can go, okay, would you like to, would it be okay to, and everything, you could go too far that way, I think, but you could go too far the other way, where you're like, right, repeat after me, because again, people have to choose to call the name the Lord, but I want to encourage it as well, if they believe, they're accepting everything I've said, they're accepting on the way to hell, and again, once they've accepted, I'm going, they're on the way to hell, often I'll just say to them, well, where would you like to go, they go to heaven, and it's like, at that point, it's like, I'm getting this person saved, okay, I know they're going to call, okay, now it's, like I said, it's a fine line between encouraging and almost pleading with them to get saved, but not forcing them, they still need to want to get saved, you're not, no point like forcing someone where they can't say no, okay, okay, now, just to make it clear again, this isn't some addition to the Gospel, this is a moment of trust, this is what that's, remember, we explained right at the beginning, right, very early on, what believe on the Lord Jesus Christ actually means, what whosoever believeth in him actually means, it doesn't just believe the Gospel, in terms of just believe that Jesus apparently died for his sins, it's putting your faith, your trust in that death, burial and resurrection is paying for all your sins, right, so we earlier explained that belief means to put your faith, your trust, save, okay, now, once you do that, you're putting, you're ready to trust Christ your Savior, like we've just shown, okay, there are those that agree with everything, okay, but like they won't accept that they were on their way to hell, they've just agreed with everything, okay, and then you get to that point, there are also those that, you know, there are also those that get to that point and then just go, I don't want to call, I don't want to get, they even, I've had people say, I'm not ready to get saved, but I believe everything you've said, so we're, so the non-calling crowd, how do you work that one out? Riddle me this, how does someone say to me, they believe everything I've said, but they don't accept, then they go, but no, no, I think I still go to heaven, they ain't saved, are they? Well, in the same way, riddle me this as well, how is it that I've had people many times, and many of you, so when it's here, that it'd be so many a long time, will have had people that you've got to this point, they said, I believe everything you're telling me, however, I'm just not ready, I'm not ready to get saved, I, for example, today someone had it, I couldn't do that to my family, I've had this on multiple occasions over the years with Muslims, who have said, I believe everything you're saying, I can see it, yeah, because faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God, they understand it, or they can see it, it's the word of God, they know all that, but I'm not, I can't do it, so are they saved or not saved? They're not saved, they're not putting their trusty cross, and they know clearly, I've made it very clear, I'm not telling you to come to our church, I'm not telling you to do this, I had a family member the other day basically say the same, but what about the lot, you know, my life, my job, and everything else, I don't, yeah, yeah, but you know, I'm not telling you to do any of that, yeah, I know, but if I get saved, I know, I know that if I get saved, I'm not that sort of person then to just keep that quiet and everything else, so he's, his choice is that no, because I, I feel like then I'm going to be obliged to change my life and tell people about the Lord and everything else, so he chose not to get saved, he believes it, he believes it in terms of he believes that the everything I've shown him is true, but he's not ready to put his trust in Christ, you do that when you call him the name of the Lord. Okay, so, where are we, okay, what happens, okay, there are others as well, there are those like that, for example, they just don't want to acknowledge God, you know, John 3 talks about these types of people, you know, it says, you know, that the light is coming to the world and men love dark rather than light because their deeds are evil, neither cometh into the light, lest their deeds should be reproved, so there are people out there that look, they, they see it, you can preach it to them, but they're just like, yeah, but, you know, then I'm gonna have to assess my sin, then I'm gonna have to think about this, you're not telling them they have to do any of that, but they know ultimately once they acknowledge God, they accept God, they put their trust in him, then suddenly they, they're, you know, kind of in their, they're thinking, well, I'm kind of like saying, okay, I'm here, you know, and they don't want to do it, there's various reasons why people don't want to pull the trigger and put their trust in Christ, betray their family, some are just still angry with him, have you noticed that? You might get to the point where you're like, oh, you're ready to call the name of the Lord, and do you know what I've had people do, and I'm sure many have here as well, they start going, yeah, well, I'm not happy about what happened in my life with this, or, well, actually, why did, actually, I want to ask you this, why did God take away this person from my life for something else? And it's like, they're ready, they're just about there, and it's like, no, they're rejecting it. Yeah, they might believe everything you've said is true, but it doesn't mean they're putting their trust in Christ. Calling on the name of the Lord is that point where you're putting your trust in Christ, but it's only genuine calling with genuine belief with genuine repentance. It's only genuine belief with genuine repentance and genuine calling, and it's only really genuine repentance with genuine belief and genuine calling. It all goes hand in hand for a salvation, right? Right, so what do you do if someone says no at this point? Right, depending on the person, okay, I try to encourage them, like I said earlier with the repentance, and the same with calling on the name of the Lord, I'm going to try and encourage them. Now, if it's a sort of nonchalant type response, so it's just like, they've gone through the whole thing, they've responded, but they're a bit like, I just don't really care, you know, oh, whatever, you know, they don't care enough, then Luke 16 has worked for me a few times here with this type of person, someone that just doesn't seem to really get the urgency of salvation, well, I'll go and think about it, yeah, I'm not sure yet, or something else, then Luke 16, you could write next to Romans 10 13, option, go to Luke 16, okay, and Luke 16, I can, I, you know, my, I usually have kids, my kids have been with me on a few times where I've gone to Luke 16, and then it's turned out with someone getting saved, and obviously with whichever soul winning partner with me at the same time. That's changed over the years, but they, like, over many times I've seen people get saved with Luke 16, it says in verse 19, and now I read the whole story, and I do just explain little bits as I read it, okay, this is like, for me, this is like my fallback plan, this is like, okay, right, they need to, they need some urgency now, they need to understand, they need to be safe from hell, I need to remind them about the realities of hell now, okay, so Luke 16 and verse 19 says, there was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fed sumptuously every day, and so I say, that's just a sign of wealth, okay, he's a rich guy, he had good food, and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus which was laid at his gate full of swords, because this guy isn't having a good life, right, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table, moreover the dogs came and licked his sores, okay, that's a pretty lousy life, isn't it, and it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. Now I'm not going to go into some, you know, thesis on Abraham's bosom, this guy's just gone to heaven, and I don't, to be honest, people that are going into Abraham's bosom thing, you don't really get to this point usually anyway, already completely out to lunch, this is heaven, okay, he's been carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom, Abraham's in heaven, okay, it's not some weird place called Abraham's bosom, don't get me started on it, okay, so I just go, okay, so this guy's gone to heaven, the rich man also died and was buried, and I usually say, then where do you think that rich man went, and again one of those questions 99% probably of the time they get the right answer, hell, and in hell he lift up his eyes being in torments and seeth Abraham a far-off Lazarus in his bosom. Now what I sometimes say is, I don't know if this is always the case, but God made that possible at this point, I don't know, but at this point this guy in hell can see Abraham in heaven with this beggar, okay, and he cried and said, Father Abraham have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, and I really focus on this bit, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and call my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. That is a, that is a vivid picture, isn't it, that is a scary picture, and that is a picture that many times has resulted in someone going, yeah I need to get saved. However, I don't stop there, I continue, and I show, I just kind of focus in on that, and say that's, that's the reality of hell, that's everyone in hell right now, but Abraham said, some remember that, that thou and thy lifetime receivers are good things, and likewise are Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted, thou art tormented, he said, look you had a good life, but now you're in hell, and beside all this between us and you there is a great golf fix, so that they which were passed from hence to you cannot, neither can they pass to us that would come from the next. I usually just say at this point, once you're in hell, you're in hell, once you're in heaven, you're in heaven, that's it. No one in hell can now go to heaven, when you die it's too late, if you die in unbelief. Then he said, I pray thee therefore father, that thou would ascend him to my father's house, for I have five brethren, and I just say, again you might think it sounds obvious, but I just say that's five brothers, that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Do you know what I say to him, usually I say to people at this point, I say that's every family member, that's every person in hell right now, just wishing, begging that someone would go to their family members and preach in the gospel. That's everyone, it's that no one's down there going, oh I just want them to come here and join me. No, he's going, please, please go to my family, someone show them how easy it is not to go here, is what I usually say as well. Abraham, Seth, unto him they have most of the prophets, let them hear them. And I say, that's this, that's the word of God, that's the book. They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. And he said, nay father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. Okay, that means change their mind, like we've already explained, but their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And he said unto him, if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though on the road to the dead. I said, do you know what the truth is, you know all these people that say, oh well if someone came to me from the dead and told me, it's not the truth. You get saved when you hear the word of God, you make the choice, you're going to put your trust in Christ or not. And I say, you know what, Jesus Christ went to people from the dead, they saw the resurrected Christ, they still rejected him. Okay, he was there, he was walking amongst people, they ate within the hand of him and they still rejected him. Okay, there are people who knew that he died, has made a rose again, they still rejected him, it's got nothing to do with someone coming from the dead, it's whether or not you're going to hear the word of God, that's how people get saved. Faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the word of God, you've heard the word of God, you know it's the word of God, you know it's true, it's your choice now, do you want to put your trust in Christ? And you know what, a lot of people at that point, I've managed to pull back from the brink there, and when I say I have, it's the word of God, right, because that chapter, that's a pretty scary thought for many, isn't it? No, you do get those that are just saying, yeah, no, whatever. Okay, well that's kind of for me, I've given it my best crack now. They understand the Gospel, and that's the key point here, okay, you can't force someone to get saved, you can't make someone get saved, you can't make someone believe, but what you can do is be thorough enough, if needed, to make sure they understand the Gospel. Okay, so that's what we're trying to do, is get someone to understand the Gospel, to understand the need, the urgency for salvation, because those are saved people, you don't even know, you could die tomorrow, you could die today, and you don't want to be that person just going, why did I not just get saved? Because ultimately that's what it comes down to, it's not because they don't understand it, because people, if you do a thorough enough job, people should understand the Gospel. Okay, the problem is it's a heart thing and they're not willing to get saved for whatever one of those reasons is, and that's what we're trying to cut through. Okay, so what I don't want to do is force them to call without believing, though, so I want to show them and get the urgency, but then if they go, okay, okay, I'll go, okay, but you do believe, right, and obviously I want them to, they need to believe, they need to believe it in their heart to genuinely call, right, they need to have repented of their full-speed flight we saw, they need to have genuinely believed it to call the name of the Lord, it all goes hand in hand, right. Now if someone says this, well I'll call in my own time, okay, you might have had those before. Now I try to persuade them gently that often the distractions will come in. If there's someone who's maybe Bible-literate, a lot of people have heard the parable of the soul, I might maybe just quickly summarise that and talk about, you know, the fowls coming in and the seed being the word of God, and you'd be amazed to say how many people say that and you never hear from them ever again. You say to them, well do me a favour, send me an email, you know, give me a message or something if you did get saved, and it's pretty rare, if at all. Okay, so I generally try and say to people, look, like, distractions will come in, you know, things will happen, life gets in the way and you'll stop thinking about it and, you know, if you believe, I really want to encourage you to call now, but I don't want to force them. I don't want them to feel like they're letting me down if they don't. I don't want them to feel like I'm going to get angry if they don't. I don't want them to feel like any of that. I want them to just genuinely want to call on the name of the Lord and that's something that you've got to get that balance right, haven't you, right? We're not here to force people to bully people or anything else. They've got to genuinely want to call, but I'm trying to persuade them. I'm earnestly pleading with them with the word of God, right? We pray ye in Christhead, be ye reconciled to God, right? But what we're not doing is going, you will call, I'm going to make you call, you need to call now, so you're going to, okay, so you've got to get that balance right. And maybe they will go ahead and call. Look, some people might do, right, and I'm not saying everyone that's ever said that, you lost them. Because some people will, some people that maybe they just don't want it, they're not feeling comfortable doing that in front of you, there's people in the background and everything else, and maybe they will go ahead, go away and just say something, call something to Jesus, okay? Now, when it is a yes, okay, when they've accepted, you know, they said, yeah, I like to say a Gospel summary prayer just as a final chance, okay? So remember, I want them, what they're calling, remember, someone calling on the name of the Lord, they've got to believe it in their heart, and they have to have an understanding of the full Gospel presentation for that. So this is now my final chance just to remind them one more time, okay? And what I generally do, and again, look, you might go, well, haven't you, shouldn't you be sure this year? I've done everything, I'm not getting them calling if they're unsure, okay? But I just confirm it one more time. Now, I usually say a prayer, something like this, but you don't have to, okay? And I'll change it, and if I'm like in a rush, or if there's like some devil in the background trying to, you know, the fangs are out, and I'm just like, man, I just, it's like, dear Jesus, please save me, you know, it's like, whatever, but so there's no magic words, are there, you know? Lord be merciful unto me a sinner, you know, like whatever, but I usually just summarise what I've explained. So I say something like, dear Jesus, and then I'll say to them, just please repeat after me, if, you know, and again, as long as they look like, yeah, or they've agreed, yeah, they want to now get saved, they want to call the name of the Lord. Dear Jesus, I know I'm a sinner, I know I deserve to go to hell, do it, do small sections, don't go, dear Jesus, I know I'm a sinner, I know, because they're just like, oh, they're not really thinking now, they're not thinking about what they're calling, yeah? Now I'm a sinner, I know I deserve to go to hell, but I believe you're the son of God, that you died, was buried, and rose again to pay for my sins, okay? I'm trusting in you now, and only you now, please take me to heaven when I die, amen. That's something, that's pretty much what I say, okay? But however you want to say it, there are no, there's no magic prayer, but what, what they do need to do is stop believing what they did believe, accept they need a savior, and on their way to hell, believe in their heart, the Gospel, and put their trust in Christ, that's what it is, by calling on the name of the Lord, okay? That's the point, that's the time of salvation, that's when you get saved. Now, people go, what about someone who, well, they did believe, but they didn't call it, it's like, look, if you believe in your calling, I'm not, I'm not buying into that stuff. If you didn't believe, you didn't call. If you didn't call, you didn't believe. It's like, look, you didn't have to say any magic words, you didn't, it's like, well, I didn't say the prayer like that, it's like, look, you heard the Gospel, you wanted to get saved, you said something, and look, but I don't know whether it was how audible it was, I don't know, you know, I don't think there's a line for that, you know, but you said something like, and look, I'm sure there are mute people, there's situations where people haven't been able to open their mouths, and look, God hears them, right, okay, however, for the vast majority of people, you hear the Gospel and you say something like, Jesus, please save me, I didn't say it loudly, I got on my knees and I just said, and I mumbled quietly, you know, the kids were in bed asleep, and I said quietly a short prayer to the Lord, okay, and I just repeated what I heard, and I called, and I know that was at that time, you know, I put my faith in Christ. Look, whatever it is, right, you're gonna say, and if you didn't, and if you don't, then call the name of the Lord, right, you know, but ultimately, look, if you believe in your heart, you got saved, right, you put your faith in Christ, didn't you? Now, and you did that, and you called the name of the Lord, okay, right, let me just talk about a few things here, okay, things not to do at this stage, okay, please, please, please, do not get them to call if there's anything they don't understand, okay, calling on the name of the Lord is not a lucky prayer, it's not like, well, they don't really believe, they still think they're saved, but let's just give it a crack, you never know, well, let's just make sure they do it, and then we can, like, take it, like, that ain't calling on the name of the Lord, okay, this isn't one, two, three, repeat after me, okay, they have to believe, they have to believe it, in that you have to do your utmost, do the best you can to make sure, number one, to understand the Gospel, and number two, to believe it, and want to get saved, and like I said, and to accept that they're on their way, if they're like, well, yeah, but, you know, still think I was already saved, well, should we pray anyway? No, what's the point, you give us some false assurance or something, well, yeah, I may be doing a prayer with this other fellow as well, so I must be saved, because they agreed, the only time I'm calling on someone is if I've done the best I can, now look, with that, I have, I will tell you 100% now, I've called on people, I've called on people the last several months, I'm sure I've got people to call on the name of the Lord after me that did not get saved, 100%, but you know what I didn't do, I didn't call on anyone that didn't understand the Gospel, I didn't call with anyone, so I didn't encourage them to call, I didn't call with anyone that didn't accept, they didn't accept, at least tell me verbally, that they were on their way to hell, did they definitely get saved? No, do you know what, there are people, news flash, yeah, people don't always get saved, they might say and agree, but did they really, did they believe it in their heart? Maybe not, but you know what, I do the best job I possibly can, and there are people that I've called with and I'm like, 50, 60% that that person really did believe in their heart and want to, you know, put their trust in Christ legitimately, and there's other people I'm like, 99.9% sure that person got saved, but I didn't call on the person who said, well, you know, it's still got to be good, haven't you? Oh yeah, well come on, let's just say a prayer anyway, you know, I didn't call with the person that said, well, I don't think I was going to hell, no, I didn't do any of that, I made sure they understood the Gospel clearly, that every question they answered right, they understood the answers and accepted they're on their way to hell, and they said, yes, I want to get saved, I want to put my trust in Christ, and those people I've called with, okay, can I tell you 100% they're saved? No, I could tell you I did the best job I possibly could, and that's what I'm trying to, that's what this whole thing's been about, just doing the best job we can with people, because it ain't about the numbers. Coming back with your numbers, I don't care, okay, what I care about is people genuinely getting saved. So, okay, anything they don't understand, don't call. Go back and explain it. Don't, oh, but just quickly, let's just call now. Well, no, because they didn't, they didn't understand something, they didn't believe it. Do not get them to call, like I said, if they think they're already saved, do not ask them where they would have gone after they called, okay, what a waste of time, you've just called, okay, why are you asking them after? You asked them before, you asked them where they would have gone because you're making sure they believe they're going to hell to call the name of the Lord. Don't ask them afterwards, because then it just gets confusing and they're just like, that's not what we're teaching, we're teaching that people need to accept they're going to hell to call the name of the Lord, and do not just give up straight away if they seem hesitant or say they will call in their own times. It's like, right, okay, right, well you believe all that, okay, yeah, they believe that everything's done, ready, okay, right, well I'd like to lead you in a short prayer, let's put your trust in Jesus Christ, calling on his name, I'll do that in my own time, oh that's a shame, see you later, okay, don't, because distractions will come, things come in, try. Now, like I said, don't force them, but try, encourage, encourage with the word of God, encourage them by the truth of the fact that it's often people won't just go in and then call, but again, you can't force them, yeah, okay, so again, you've got to get that balance right, where it gets awkward and it gets uncomfortable, you know, and I'll give it a crack, I usually give it a crack with Luke 16 with many people and then if they're still not having it, it's like, okay, well, you know, I hope you do, if you've got any questions, you can watch the video again, etc, you know, and again, you can't force someone to get saved. So, okay, that was repentance of calling, that was, for me, that's biblical repentance and that's biblical calling. There's no light, because this is what people like, they like to just, because people are just looking, they try and build this straw man and we all make sure, like, just make sure guys, okay, that you don't give people this straw. God forbid that someone comes to our church who is one of these, you don't need to call name the Lord heretics, or at least has had their head turned to dad by that and then you take them out soul winning and then they see you just, just kind of get to someone, you know, who's like, doesn't even believe and you just say, okay, right, well, let's say a prayer and then you're like, yay, they're saved and it's like, what on earth is this? This is biblical, so of course, like, what a load of nonsense, right? He was saved because he called, he didn't even believe. No, we only call when people, we've done the best we can to make sure that they believe, or at least they understand and they believe as far as we know, right? Okay, so we want to make sure we're not, like, there's none of this kind of, you know, no suggestion of a one, two, three repeat after me. I've seen this stuff, seen this stuff over many years, where you come away like, I don't know, you know, and when it's people from our church, I'll just cut in and, you know, and I don't want you to be nervous going with me because ultimately we just want to get better at soul winning, right? But I'll just cut in and go like, hold on, you know, that person does not believe what they need to believe to get saved. And you know what, what I'd like to encourage you to do, and this is something, and again, I'm going to do a summary next week, okay? If you're with someone, you know, I don't cut, like, I've been with people giving pretty bad gospel presentations that I keep my mouth shut, zipped, yeah? Until it's getting to that crux point at the end, and if then they're looking like they're about to try and call with them or something, then I'll stop them and I'll cut in, okay? If needed, but only if needed, okay? I would like to encourage, if it comes to someone's soul, for you to maybe go, look, and be, and please be like, please be humble about this. If it comes to the point that you're about to call with someone, then by all means, look, you know, if you're there and you're a partner, you're thinking, I don't think they really believe that, then by all means stop it. Just say, oh, you know, maybe you should explain this, or can I just quickly show this first, or make sure that you believe this, okay? Because someone's soul, right, cares if you get embarrassed or awkward or they don't like you for a week or two or a year or 10 years, you know? Okay, you're trying to get people saved, okay? It's important, we're trying to get people to say we want to do the best we can. And here's the thing, if you're just like, if you're looking at all this, going, well, I don't know, I don't do half of this, well, then sort out your gospel presentation, and in the meantime, be a silent partner. You know, there's plenty of talkers here, people are confident and talk. Now, I'm not trying to put you off talking, if you can talk and you get this and understand this, great, but what I don't want silent partners doing is just jumping in and cutting it, okay? And you don't need to, like, you don't need to, you know, take over from people and stuff, just if it's getting to the point of, right, this person's not going to get saved and they could get saved, then I will. Otherwise, you know, and I would encourage other people to do the same, but only, like, when you're thinking, okay, this person, there's a problem here. It might just be a genuine mistake. I've been with people where they just forgot to even explain the gospel, for example. It wasn't anything malicious, they just kind of, because, look, it could be a nerve-wracking thing for people sometimes, preaching the gospel isn't always just a complete relaxing that you just fly through and you're like, oh, piece of cake, yeah, and everything. Some people, they get a bit nervy and then they forget a bit, and then, you know, sometimes you might be like, yeah, could I just explain this bit, just to bear on what you're believing in, is that Jesus Christ died, is buried, and rose again, etc. You know, show the gospel, maybe show a couple of verses on that show, maybe 2 Corinthians 5 21 or something. Hey, look, sometimes a silent partner might have to do that when you're with someone, but, and don't be all upset if someone does do that, but on the flip side, if you're just cutting in everyone that you're going with, then you've probably got more of an issue than them, okay. I don't, I go with a lot of people soul-winning and it's rare that I have to jump in, okay, and if I do it's for good reason, okay. Right, that was how to win souls number seven, repentance and calling, and on that we're going to finish in a word of prayer. Father, thank you for your word, thank you for the gospel, Lord, thank you for, you know, just the fact that we can be saved by what is really just a small amount of information from your word, from, you know, there's a small amount of things we need to understand and help us to get those across to people in a clear way, Lord, and especially that final bit, you know, where people need to understand that they were on their way to hell to therefore call on the name of the Lord for salvation, Lord. Help us not to have a head's turn by all the false doctrine out there, the repent of your sins stuff and the constant repentant stuff and the call you on the name of the Lord is somehow some bizarre works or something to open your mouth and call on the name of the Lord for salvation. Help us to just see through all that stuff and ultimately by being just regular soul winners, Lord, help us to be regular soul winners, help us to be, you know, thorough soul winners but as well to get that balance right and not go over thorough when people are understanding it, help us to just recognise low-hanging fruit from those that need more work done, Lord, help us to just get it all right, Lord, and the best way of doing that is to just be in the spirit when we go somewhere. Help us to be led by you, guided by you, Lord, but help us to be prepared as well with our swords sharpened and ready to use and help us to get home safe for sand and to make the soul winning in the week. In Jesus' name, for all this. Amen.