WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.200 Well, good morning. Good morning. Turn this thing 00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:09.960 on here. The past three days, Nancy and I have 00:00:09.960 --> 00:00:15.279 been at a missionary convention called ICOM in 00:00:15.279 --> 00:00:19.980 Atlanta, Georgia. There was Church of Christ 00:00:19.980 --> 00:00:21.980 people there, Christian Church people there, 00:00:22.120 --> 00:00:25.820 and it was a great experience. I love missions, 00:00:25.820 --> 00:00:31.780 and I love missionaries. And so today I've named 00:00:31.780 --> 00:00:37.179 this message, Called to Reach the Nations. And 00:00:37.179 --> 00:00:41.700 I think that within this church here at Blairsville, 00:00:41.820 --> 00:00:46.859 we find that we are doing that somewhat, not 00:00:46.859 --> 00:00:51.899 that we can't do more, but it's a great opportunity 00:00:51.899 --> 00:00:56.000 for us to do what God has called us to do, and 00:00:56.000 --> 00:01:00.210 that is to reach the nations. There were people 00:01:00.210 --> 00:01:03.270 from all over the world there in the Atlanta 00:01:03.270 --> 00:01:08.069 Civic Center or Convention Center, and we met 00:01:08.069 --> 00:01:10.250 friends that we hadn't seen for a long time. 00:01:10.310 --> 00:01:13.450 It's just a great experience. Now, if you notice 00:01:13.450 --> 00:01:17.489 the flags behind me, how many of you have been 00:01:17.489 --> 00:01:21.349 outside of the United States? Okay, quite a few 00:01:21.349 --> 00:01:24.730 hands. How many would like to be outside the 00:01:24.730 --> 00:01:29.799 United States? Out of these flags back here, 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:34.260 I have been in about 40 of those countries. In 00:01:34.260 --> 00:01:40.319 2003, I decided to go into full -time mission 00:01:40.319 --> 00:01:45.700 work. Nancy was a school teacher, and the Lord 00:01:45.700 --> 00:01:49.599 had been putting on my heart a lot about going 00:01:49.599 --> 00:01:51.900 and doing mission work, because that's where 00:01:51.900 --> 00:01:58.090 I felt my calling was. You know the first place 00:01:58.090 --> 00:02:03.069 I did mission work? Hawaii. Isn't that horrible? 00:02:04.909 --> 00:02:08.729 You know how I got there? I was doing my last 00:02:08.729 --> 00:02:11.909 year of Bible college in Cincinnati. We were 00:02:11.909 --> 00:02:16.849 living in Kentucky. And in February in Kentucky, 00:02:16.849 --> 00:02:19.930 it's pretty cold. There are six inches of snow 00:02:19.930 --> 00:02:23.370 on the ground. Nancy was working at a newspaper. 00:02:24.650 --> 00:02:26.689 a place there in the little town we lived in, 00:02:26.810 --> 00:02:29.830 and I was driving back and forth every day to 00:02:29.830 --> 00:02:33.930 college. So she was expecting our first child, 00:02:34.090 --> 00:02:40.169 and she saw in a Christian publication a minister 00:02:40.169 --> 00:02:43.569 missionary needed in Haula Church of Christ, 00:02:43.669 --> 00:02:50.629 Oahu, Hawaii. So unbeknownst to me, she writes 00:02:50.629 --> 00:02:55.110 a resume for me. Now, you can imagine, I mean, 00:02:55.129 --> 00:02:58.169 from her perspective, she's expecting a child. 00:02:58.250 --> 00:03:01.370 She's not feeling good. Six inches of snow. It's 00:03:01.370 --> 00:03:03.969 cold. What better place to do mission work than 00:03:03.969 --> 00:03:07.409 Hawaii, right? And she didn't tell me. That's 00:03:07.409 --> 00:03:09.110 the thing about it. She didn't tell me about 00:03:09.110 --> 00:03:13.889 it. So anyway, two or three days after she did 00:03:13.889 --> 00:03:15.629 that, she said, I need to tell you something. 00:03:17.389 --> 00:03:19.969 The guilt was getting to her, you know. So she 00:03:19.969 --> 00:03:21.610 said, I need to tell you something. She said, 00:03:21.650 --> 00:03:24.939 I wrote a resume. to this church in Hawaii that's 00:03:24.939 --> 00:03:28.099 looking for a minister missionary because it 00:03:28.099 --> 00:03:30.259 wasn't a self -supporting church. You had to 00:03:30.259 --> 00:03:32.340 get support. And I said, don't worry about it. 00:03:32.360 --> 00:03:35.639 Nothing ever come from it. Well, it did come 00:03:35.639 --> 00:03:40.740 from it. And her preacher found out about it 00:03:40.740 --> 00:03:42.300 and called her and said, if y 'all want to go, 00:03:42.439 --> 00:03:46.840 we'll support you. And so in May of that year, 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:50.849 I graduated from college. First child was born, 00:03:50.969 --> 00:03:54.229 and in July of that year, we were flying to Hawaii, 00:03:54.289 --> 00:03:57.770 and we did mission work there in Hawaii. And 00:03:57.770 --> 00:03:59.669 it was quite an experience, too, because we had 00:03:59.669 --> 00:04:02.770 all kinds of people in that church. We had some 00:04:02.770 --> 00:04:06.750 white people. We had Koreans. We had Filipinos. 00:04:06.770 --> 00:04:09.530 We had Japanese. It was quite a mixture of people 00:04:09.530 --> 00:04:12.250 there in our congregation. Our neighbors across 00:04:12.250 --> 00:04:14.930 the street were pure Hawaiian, pure Hawaiian. 00:04:15.530 --> 00:04:18.110 Their little girl's name was Tuesday Kapiolani 00:04:18.110 --> 00:04:21.029 Naki. She was born on Tuesday in the Kapiolani 00:04:21.029 --> 00:04:25.970 Hospital, and her last name was Naki. So anyway, 00:04:26.230 --> 00:04:29.689 that was our first mission experience. And then 00:04:29.689 --> 00:04:34.930 we came home from Hawaii and did preaching work, 00:04:35.050 --> 00:04:39.029 pastor work. But in 2003, I decided, you know 00:04:39.029 --> 00:04:41.529 what, it's been on my heart a long time, and 00:04:41.529 --> 00:04:45.779 I want to go into full -time mission work. And 00:04:45.779 --> 00:04:51.399 so what I did was to join a mission agency and 00:04:51.399 --> 00:04:54.160 from that point on I've been traveling around 00:04:54.160 --> 00:04:57.579 the world into at least 40 of these countries 00:04:57.579 --> 00:05:01.259 along with Nancy helping me out on the mission 00:05:01.259 --> 00:05:04.860 work. So today I want to talk about a call to 00:05:04.860 --> 00:05:09.019 reach the nations. And I believe this is pertinent 00:05:09.019 --> 00:05:12.480 for us today, especially since I've been in Atlanta 00:05:12.480 --> 00:05:15.060 for three days with missionaries. And missionaries 00:05:15.060 --> 00:05:17.139 is the only thing that's on my head and heart. 00:05:17.180 --> 00:05:23.160 Why not preach about it? So, do you have to point 00:05:23.160 --> 00:05:25.259 this thing or how do we? Oh, I know. He told 00:05:25.259 --> 00:05:29.160 me that one. There we go. Okay. Okay, so everybody 00:05:29.160 --> 00:05:34.209 stand. What I want you to do is follow with me. 00:05:34.250 --> 00:05:35.949 We're going to read this scripture out of Matthew 00:05:35.949 --> 00:05:39.810 chapter 28 and verse 18. Just follow me. Then 00:05:39.810 --> 00:05:43.569 Jesus came to them and said, All authority in 00:05:43.569 --> 00:05:47.610 heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, 00:05:47.730 --> 00:05:52.230 go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing 00:05:52.230 --> 00:05:55.170 them in the name of the Father and of the Son 00:05:55.170 --> 00:05:58.350 and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to 00:05:58.350 --> 00:06:01.600 obey everything I have commanded you. And surely 00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:05.139 I am with you always to the very end of the age. 00:06:05.339 --> 00:06:08.279 Thank you very much. You may be seated. Now this 00:06:08.279 --> 00:06:14.220 is God's word. And he commissioned his disciples 00:06:14.220 --> 00:06:17.600 to go into all the world. He died on the cross. 00:06:18.259 --> 00:06:21.060 He was buried and rose from the dead on the third 00:06:21.060 --> 00:06:26.160 day. And then he stayed and did all the evangelism 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:31.350 work. No, he didn't. He could have, right? He 00:06:31.350 --> 00:06:33.689 could have stayed and done all the evangelism 00:06:33.689 --> 00:06:37.449 work himself. Jesus was a great evangelist. He 00:06:37.449 --> 00:06:40.269 had a heart for people. He stopped at the tree 00:06:40.269 --> 00:06:42.970 where Zacchaeus was sitting up there. He could 00:06:42.970 --> 00:06:45.449 have passed him by, but he didn't. He stopped 00:06:45.449 --> 00:06:48.050 and said, Zacchaeus, you come now. Why? Because 00:06:48.050 --> 00:06:51.410 that person was important to Jesus. He was an 00:06:51.410 --> 00:06:55.189 evangelist sent from heaven, and he cared about 00:06:55.189 --> 00:06:59.720 people. He met a woman at the well. a Samaritan, 00:06:59.879 --> 00:07:04.220 and he cared about her, which eventually led 00:07:04.220 --> 00:07:06.600 to the whole village coming out and talking to 00:07:06.600 --> 00:07:09.920 him. Jesus was an evangelist, so when we read 00:07:09.920 --> 00:07:12.620 this verse, we wonder, Jesus, why didn't you 00:07:12.620 --> 00:07:16.000 stay here and you do the evangelism work? The 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:19.220 reason was because he wanted you and me and his 00:07:19.220 --> 00:07:21.339 disciples, Peter, James, and John, and all the 00:07:21.339 --> 00:07:24.720 rest of them, to do evangelistic work. And so 00:07:24.720 --> 00:07:27.810 what he did before he left, this earth, and went 00:07:27.810 --> 00:07:30.870 up into heaven, he commissioned them. Now what 00:07:30.870 --> 00:07:34.089 is commission? It's authorization from somebody 00:07:34.089 --> 00:07:37.769 to do a task or duty. And that's what Jesus did 00:07:37.769 --> 00:07:40.649 before he went up into heaven and ascended up 00:07:40.649 --> 00:07:45.129 into heaven. He gave authority to his disciples 00:07:45.129 --> 00:07:48.490 to go into all the world and preach the gospel 00:07:48.490 --> 00:07:53.649 to whoever it was they would be led to. Jesus. 00:07:54.300 --> 00:07:58.339 The Lord Jesus that we know did not stay on this 00:07:58.339 --> 00:08:01.300 earth. He did what he was supposed to do, and 00:08:01.300 --> 00:08:04.240 that is to die and to redeem us, and then his 00:08:04.240 --> 00:08:07.540 disciples, which he trained for three years, 00:08:07.720 --> 00:08:11.579 would go out and preach the gospel. I read an 00:08:11.579 --> 00:08:14.920 illustration one time about Jesus when he ascended 00:08:14.920 --> 00:08:17.959 up into heaven. What happened up in heaven when 00:08:17.959 --> 00:08:20.449 he got there? What do you think that would be 00:08:20.449 --> 00:08:23.310 like when Jesus, who left heaven and came here 00:08:23.310 --> 00:08:26.529 to this earth, born as a baby, and then grew 00:08:26.529 --> 00:08:30.189 up, and then at 33 years of age was crucified 00:08:30.189 --> 00:08:34.669 on the cross, and then that Jesus went up into 00:08:34.669 --> 00:08:39.129 heaven where he came from? How would it be if 00:08:39.129 --> 00:08:43.230 Jesus came into heaven? What would it be like 00:08:43.230 --> 00:08:45.929 up there with all the angels, with God the Father? 00:08:46.169 --> 00:08:50.470 Well, the illustration I was reading about, Said 00:08:50.470 --> 00:08:53.590 entire heaven erupted with shouts of praise. 00:08:53.710 --> 00:08:56.309 Can't you imagine that? The King of Kings and 00:08:56.309 --> 00:08:59.509 the Lord of Lords is now back. One angel comes 00:08:59.509 --> 00:09:02.690 up to Jesus and said, Jesus, we're so happy to 00:09:02.690 --> 00:09:06.850 have you back. However, how are the people on 00:09:06.850 --> 00:09:09.190 all the earth and the earth going to know about 00:09:09.190 --> 00:09:11.269 you and your death? He said, well, I've trained 00:09:11.269 --> 00:09:14.820 my disciples. I've trained James and Peter and 00:09:14.820 --> 00:09:17.139 John and all of them to go out into the world 00:09:17.139 --> 00:09:20.580 and tell about what I did on the cross. And the 00:09:20.580 --> 00:09:24.159 angel says, but Lord, what if James and John 00:09:24.159 --> 00:09:27.460 don't like this evangelism stuff? What if they 00:09:27.460 --> 00:09:30.860 go back to fishing? And the angel said, what 00:09:30.860 --> 00:09:34.159 about Matthew? Maybe he wants to go back to collecting 00:09:34.159 --> 00:09:38.299 taxes. What then, Lord? And the Lord said, I 00:09:38.299 --> 00:09:41.950 have no other plan. Folks, do you know another 00:09:41.950 --> 00:09:45.070 plan that Jesus has got other than we who have 00:09:45.070 --> 00:09:47.970 been commissioned as disciples going into all 00:09:47.970 --> 00:09:50.909 the world? I don't know it. He has no other plan. 00:09:51.129 --> 00:09:54.210 His disciples did what he told them to do. They 00:09:54.210 --> 00:09:57.090 went out and preached the gospel. And great things 00:09:57.090 --> 00:09:59.789 happened in the book of Acts as they preached 00:09:59.789 --> 00:10:03.090 the word. And those people did what the Lord 00:10:03.090 --> 00:10:06.700 wanted him to do. They were commissioned. Jesus 00:10:06.700 --> 00:10:10.340 gave that commission to carry out the job, and 00:10:10.340 --> 00:10:15.539 they did a wonderful job. You know, as we look 00:10:15.539 --> 00:10:19.539 at these verses, he said, Therefore, go and make 00:10:19.539 --> 00:10:21.679 disciples of all the nations, baptizing them 00:10:21.679 --> 00:10:23.360 in the Father and Son and the Holy Spirit, and 00:10:23.360 --> 00:10:27.700 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded 00:10:27.700 --> 00:10:33.750 you. What if you and I fail? If you look at that 00:10:33.750 --> 00:10:36.149 verse, it says, and surely I'm with you always 00:10:36.149 --> 00:10:38.350 to the very end of the age. We know that it's 00:10:38.350 --> 00:10:41.789 not just for those 12 disciples. We know it reaches 00:10:41.789 --> 00:10:45.950 us because those disciples are now dead. So are 00:10:45.950 --> 00:10:49.250 we expecting Peter or James to come and evangelize 00:10:49.250 --> 00:10:52.590 our neighbor, our co -worker? Can we call on 00:10:52.590 --> 00:10:54.870 Nathaniel or any of the other disciples and say, 00:10:54.889 --> 00:10:57.190 now you come because Jesus commissioned you. 00:10:57.269 --> 00:11:00.590 No, it's for us. Not only did he commission them, 00:11:00.669 --> 00:11:04.129 he commissioned us to do the work of evangelism 00:11:04.129 --> 00:11:07.429 because the end of the age when Jesus is coming 00:11:07.429 --> 00:11:10.330 again has not happened yet. And so after those 00:11:10.330 --> 00:11:15.730 disciples did their work, now it is upon us to 00:11:15.730 --> 00:11:18.669 do the work of evangelism and carrying out the 00:11:18.669 --> 00:11:25.529 Great Commission. The Apostle Paul, in the book 00:11:25.529 --> 00:11:31.799 of Romans, Chapter 10 has some questions about 00:11:31.799 --> 00:11:37.600 this. In chapter 10 and verse 13 of Romans, Paul 00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:40.960 said, For everyone who calls on the name of the 00:11:40.960 --> 00:11:45.480 Lord will be saved. Okay, Paul. We got that. 00:11:46.539 --> 00:11:49.879 And then Paul in verse 14 has some questions. 00:11:50.820 --> 00:11:53.259 And the question is, How then will they call 00:11:53.259 --> 00:11:55.320 on him in whom they have not believed? Now think 00:11:55.320 --> 00:11:59.789 about that question. How? How will they call 00:11:59.789 --> 00:12:01.970 on him in whom they have not believed? In other 00:12:01.970 --> 00:12:04.090 words, if they don't believe it, how can they 00:12:04.090 --> 00:12:06.870 pray to the Lord Jesus about their problems, 00:12:07.029 --> 00:12:08.990 about their difficulties, that they're sinners, 00:12:09.110 --> 00:12:11.190 and give their lives to him? How can they do 00:12:11.190 --> 00:12:13.870 that if nobody has ever told them about the Lord 00:12:13.870 --> 00:12:17.009 Jesus and what he does and what he has done and 00:12:17.009 --> 00:12:23.809 what he will do? How will they call on him? They 00:12:23.809 --> 00:12:27.700 won't. They won't call on him. How do you expect 00:12:27.700 --> 00:12:30.320 your neighbor or your co -worker or your students 00:12:30.320 --> 00:12:33.419 you go to school with to call on Jesus if you've 00:12:33.419 --> 00:12:38.379 never told them about Jesus? Next question Paul 00:12:38.379 --> 00:12:43.120 has in verse 14 of Romans chapter 10. How would 00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:46.259 they believe in whom they have not heard? Makes 00:12:46.259 --> 00:12:49.379 sense, doesn't it? How would they believe in 00:12:49.379 --> 00:12:52.460 him, in Jesus, whom they have not heard? If they 00:12:52.460 --> 00:12:55.299 haven't heard about him, Then how can they believe 00:12:55.299 --> 00:12:57.940 in it? It's like, let's say somebody's walking 00:12:57.940 --> 00:13:00.059 down the street out there and we believe somebody 00:13:00.059 --> 00:13:02.940 needs to be baptized to be saved. And we go out 00:13:02.940 --> 00:13:05.259 there and we say, Tim, run out there and get 00:13:05.259 --> 00:13:07.460 that guy. Go out there and bring him in here 00:13:07.460 --> 00:13:10.120 and we're going to baptize him. Tim, go get that 00:13:10.120 --> 00:13:14.580 guy. Tim says, you're crazy. I'm not going to 00:13:14.580 --> 00:13:16.879 go get that guy. But you go out there and we 00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:18.759 say, Jeremy, go get that guy. And he runs out 00:13:18.759 --> 00:13:20.419 there and grabs that guy and that guy says, what 00:13:20.419 --> 00:13:23.429 are you doing? He said, I'm going to baptize 00:13:23.429 --> 00:13:27.629 you. You're crazy. What's baptism? He said, don't 00:13:27.629 --> 00:13:29.230 worry about it. Come in here. And Jeremy takes 00:13:29.230 --> 00:13:30.990 him in there and dumps him in the water. Now, 00:13:31.029 --> 00:13:33.750 everything's good, right? He's been baptized. 00:13:34.909 --> 00:13:37.610 How will they believe in him and whom they have 00:13:37.610 --> 00:13:39.990 not heard? That guy didn't hear anything about 00:13:39.990 --> 00:13:43.769 Jesus, about baptism, about whatever. So it doesn't 00:13:43.769 --> 00:13:46.669 take. It's no good. That's why missionaries, 00:13:46.669 --> 00:13:49.429 preachers, teachers are important in the kingdom. 00:13:49.870 --> 00:13:52.889 That's why Jesus commissioned his disciples to 00:13:52.889 --> 00:13:55.370 go into all the world and preach the gospel if 00:13:55.370 --> 00:13:57.289 they preach it in Africa, if they preach it in 00:13:57.289 --> 00:14:01.929 Brazil, if they preach it in Mexico. They hear. 00:14:02.860 --> 00:14:07.379 Not all of them believe, but some do. And those 00:14:07.379 --> 00:14:12.539 who do, those who come to Christ and give their 00:14:12.539 --> 00:14:15.980 lives to the Lord Jesus are baptized into Christ 00:14:15.980 --> 00:14:18.759 for the remission of sins. One time I was preaching 00:14:18.759 --> 00:14:24.799 in Ukraine. And this woman came forward and wanted 00:14:24.799 --> 00:14:29.460 to accept Jesus. We didn't have a portable baptistry. 00:14:29.539 --> 00:14:31.419 We didn't have a baptistry like that back there. 00:14:32.009 --> 00:14:34.450 We didn't have a stream or a creek or a river 00:14:34.450 --> 00:14:36.629 out here. We didn't have a lake. What are we 00:14:36.629 --> 00:14:38.090 going to do? How are we going to baptize her? 00:14:38.149 --> 00:14:40.769 You know what they did? They filled up the bathtub. 00:14:41.710 --> 00:14:44.889 They set her down in there, put her under the 00:14:44.889 --> 00:14:48.970 water, and came back. She was baptized. Wherever 00:14:48.970 --> 00:14:55.210 you are in the world, it's important that we 00:14:55.210 --> 00:14:58.909 preach the gospel. Last question, Paul said in 00:14:58.909 --> 00:15:02.279 Romans 14, how were they here? Without a preacher. 00:15:03.559 --> 00:15:05.919 Faith comes by hearing it. Hearing by the word 00:15:05.919 --> 00:15:09.320 of God. Who's going to preach it? If not you, 00:15:09.460 --> 00:15:12.340 then who? Who's going to tell your neighbor, 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:15.210 is it up to me? To talk to your neighbor about 00:15:15.210 --> 00:15:17.889 Christ? Is it up to you to come to Hiawassee 00:15:17.889 --> 00:15:20.090 and talk to my neighbor about Christ if they 00:15:20.090 --> 00:15:22.889 need it? Is it up to me to come to your place 00:15:22.889 --> 00:15:25.970 of work and do what you need to do that Christ 00:15:25.970 --> 00:15:28.029 has called you to do and commissioned you to 00:15:28.029 --> 00:15:31.070 do? It's not up to me. It's up to you. And it's 00:15:31.070 --> 00:15:33.610 not up to you to come and talk to my neighbors 00:15:33.610 --> 00:15:37.129 or my ten people. It's up to me. God has commissioned 00:15:37.129 --> 00:15:40.110 us to go into the world, to go into Blairsville, 00:15:40.169 --> 00:15:48.059 to go wherever to do his will. Paul also, I mean, 00:15:48.059 --> 00:15:53.600 in the scriptures, we read about being witnesses 00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:57.960 for Jesus. Acts 1a, but you will receive power 00:15:57.960 --> 00:16:00.019 when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you'll 00:16:00.019 --> 00:16:03.840 be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea, Samaria, 00:16:03.980 --> 00:16:07.679 and the ends of the earth. We are witnesses for 00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:11.659 Jesus. Sometimes when I see a Jehovah's Witness, 00:16:11.820 --> 00:16:14.299 they call themselves JWs, I go up and say, hey, 00:16:14.320 --> 00:16:17.269 I'm a JW. They say, yeah. I said, yeah, I'm a 00:16:17.269 --> 00:16:19.590 Jesus witness. You know what it says here in 00:16:19.590 --> 00:16:23.590 1 .8? Aren't we all JWs, Jesus witnesses? We 00:16:23.590 --> 00:16:27.210 witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. And he said, 00:16:27.350 --> 00:16:29.769 but you will receive power. The Holy Spirit came 00:16:29.769 --> 00:16:33.129 down in the book of Acts. And those disciples 00:16:33.129 --> 00:16:36.049 learned a language just like that because the 00:16:36.049 --> 00:16:38.529 power of the Holy Spirit filled them. And in 00:16:38.529 --> 00:16:41.769 Acts chapter 2, they started preaching and teaching. 00:16:42.480 --> 00:16:44.639 And people heard them in their own language. 00:16:44.840 --> 00:16:49.720 It was a marvelous thing. And so they were able 00:16:49.720 --> 00:16:52.500 to witness for the Lord Jesus Christ through 00:16:52.500 --> 00:16:56.919 his power. And God gave them specific situations 00:16:56.919 --> 00:17:01.480 to do. He said that you'll be witnesses in Jerusalem. 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:08.210 That city knew who Jesus was. The people who 00:17:08.210 --> 00:17:10.230 tried to shut them up, the Pharisees and the 00:17:10.230 --> 00:17:13.490 others, said, you guys quit preaching. Quit teaching 00:17:13.490 --> 00:17:17.230 this stuff. And they said, no, how can we? We 00:17:17.230 --> 00:17:20.549 have God's word, and we're going to teach and 00:17:20.549 --> 00:17:23.069 preach what God tells us to, not what man tells 00:17:23.069 --> 00:17:27.250 us to. And they did preach and teach. So, Jerusalem, 00:17:27.650 --> 00:17:30.170 Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. This 00:17:30.170 --> 00:17:34.230 is not a correct analogy, but I was thinking, 00:17:34.269 --> 00:17:37.170 how does it work for us today? What would God 00:17:37.170 --> 00:17:39.670 tell us to do? He would tell us to go into Blairsville. 00:17:39.730 --> 00:17:44.829 When was this church started? In the 70s? 60s? 00:17:44.849 --> 00:17:47.049 I don't know. I think Curtis had told me one 00:17:47.049 --> 00:17:49.269 time, but I don't really remember exactly. But 00:17:49.269 --> 00:17:51.690 nevertheless, it was started. And since that 00:17:51.690 --> 00:17:54.009 time, you folks have been preaching and teaching 00:17:54.009 --> 00:17:58.089 in Blairsville, right? And then you go from Blairsworth 00:17:58.089 --> 00:18:00.730 to Union County and then to the state of Georgia 00:18:00.730 --> 00:18:03.509 and then to the ends of the earth. So we don't 00:18:03.509 --> 00:18:05.750 have Jerusalem that we need to witness to or 00:18:05.750 --> 00:18:08.150 Judea or Samaria or the ends of the earth. I 00:18:08.150 --> 00:18:10.549 did hear that the restoration preachers in the 00:18:10.549 --> 00:18:13.009 beginning were wondering, where can we go and 00:18:13.009 --> 00:18:15.390 preach the gospel? And they went to Jerusalem. 00:18:15.410 --> 00:18:18.210 They didn't have much success there, but that's 00:18:18.210 --> 00:18:20.490 where they went. But for us, we don't have to 00:18:20.490 --> 00:18:23.680 go all the way to Jerusalem. We're in Blairsville, 00:18:23.720 --> 00:18:25.819 Georgia, and that's where we need to spread the 00:18:25.819 --> 00:18:28.859 word. You want this church to grow? Well, get 00:18:28.859 --> 00:18:36.279 busy. This week, what I liked was to be able 00:18:36.279 --> 00:18:39.319 to see people I hadn't seen for a while. I kept 00:18:39.319 --> 00:18:41.779 running into them, and Nancy and I were going 00:18:41.779 --> 00:18:46.359 to eat. They had some tables set up, so we're 00:18:46.359 --> 00:18:49.019 eating. And there's another couple there, and 00:18:49.019 --> 00:18:50.319 I said, where are you folks from? They said, 00:18:50.339 --> 00:18:53.309 from Kentucky. And I said, I'm from Kentucky. 00:18:54.289 --> 00:18:56.269 They said, where? I said, Harrison County. They 00:18:56.269 --> 00:18:58.869 said, we're from Pendleton County. I said, I 00:18:58.869 --> 00:19:01.970 went to Unity Church, and they said, man, that 00:19:01.970 --> 00:19:03.809 church is really growing. Now, when I was a kid, 00:19:03.910 --> 00:19:06.670 you know how many people that church had? About 00:19:06.670 --> 00:19:10.289 90. You know what? He said, that church is really 00:19:10.289 --> 00:19:12.390 on fire. You know how many they're growing now? 00:19:12.450 --> 00:19:15.450 I said, how many? He said, 400. He said, they've 00:19:15.450 --> 00:19:19.109 had 50 baptisms this year. Blasphemy. Church 00:19:19.109 --> 00:19:22.950 of Christ, are we dead? When's the last time 00:19:22.950 --> 00:19:25.769 we had a baptism here? When's the last time you've 00:19:25.769 --> 00:19:30.250 seen anybody baptized into Christ here? I'm saying 00:19:30.250 --> 00:19:34.430 if Jerusalem was their ministry they were called 00:19:34.430 --> 00:19:37.799 to and they had 3 ,000, right? If we read it 00:19:37.799 --> 00:19:40.920 in the book of Acts chapter 2, they went out 00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:43.660 and preached, and 3 ,000 people were baptized 00:19:43.660 --> 00:19:48.099 in Christ Jesus, and then they grew to 5 ,000, 00:19:48.119 --> 00:19:50.420 and then the Bible just quit using numbers that 00:19:50.420 --> 00:19:53.539 said multitudes, multitudes, multitudes. So my 00:19:53.539 --> 00:19:58.039 home church of 90, when I was there as a kid, 00:19:58.220 --> 00:20:03.299 now is running 450 baptisms this year. Don't 00:20:03.299 --> 00:20:06.589 you get it? Go into all the world and preach 00:20:06.589 --> 00:20:08.930 the gospel. We're called to reach the nations, 00:20:09.029 --> 00:20:12.390 but we start here in Blairville. And then we 00:20:12.390 --> 00:20:16.049 go to Georgia and to the ends of the earth. Don't 00:20:16.049 --> 00:20:18.809 we have a young man from this congregation named 00:20:18.809 --> 00:20:24.829 Jake, and where is he? Thailand, right? And we 00:20:24.829 --> 00:20:32.660 support Alex over in Ghana. And Brother Terry 00:20:32.660 --> 00:20:36.759 went over to Kenya two years ago and had 30 baptisms. 00:20:37.539 --> 00:20:42.339 The ends of the earth. So not just here, but 00:20:42.339 --> 00:20:45.119 to the ends of the earth. And it's a tremendous 00:20:45.119 --> 00:20:49.140 thing that God has given us when he stirs in 00:20:49.140 --> 00:20:51.740 the heart of somebody and says, Hey, we can do 00:20:51.740 --> 00:20:55.400 this. We can see this church grow. We can see 00:20:55.400 --> 00:21:01.240 things happen. It's a wonderful thing. to the 00:21:01.240 --> 00:21:07.079 ends of the earth. I believe that God is calling 00:21:07.079 --> 00:21:11.619 us to do his will. And maybe you say, well, I 00:21:11.619 --> 00:21:15.440 can't go way over there. I understand that. I 00:21:15.440 --> 00:21:18.180 understand God doesn't call everybody to be a 00:21:18.180 --> 00:21:21.259 missionary, to hear their yawn. And he doesn't 00:21:21.259 --> 00:21:23.519 call everybody to the same country. Some people 00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:25.960 are called to South America. Some people call 00:21:25.960 --> 00:21:29.259 to Africa. Some people call to Eastern Europe. 00:21:29.859 --> 00:21:33.359 But the gospel can go, but it starts here. And 00:21:33.359 --> 00:21:37.440 then it goes throughout all of the world. I just 00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:42.160 received a request from the OUGIS Church of Christ 00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:46.779 in OUGIS, Kenya, about a school that they want 00:21:46.779 --> 00:21:51.039 to purchase behind the church. And it's a small 00:21:51.039 --> 00:21:54.359 price. I bet we could get it right here. You 00:21:54.359 --> 00:21:56.000 know what they want for that property? And it's 00:21:56.000 --> 00:21:58.619 such an outreach for that church to get into 00:21:58.619 --> 00:22:00.700 the community with the kids, and the kids bring 00:22:00.700 --> 00:22:04.740 the parents. They only want $5 ,500 ,000. You 00:22:04.740 --> 00:22:07.079 think we could do that? Don't we have a big God? 00:22:08.279 --> 00:22:13.019 Folks, that's in Kenyan shillings. It's $44 ,000, 00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:16.039 and that seemed like a big number, but you know 00:22:16.039 --> 00:22:18.700 what? Nancy and I said, hey, we'll give $5 ,000 00:22:18.700 --> 00:22:22.130 for it. Why? We had a church in Athens. They 00:22:22.130 --> 00:22:23.970 would give $2 ,000 for it. Now we're down to 00:22:23.970 --> 00:22:26.990 $37 ,000. Folks, I'm telling you, we can do it. 00:22:27.009 --> 00:22:30.990 And the thing I loved about the convention, we 00:22:30.990 --> 00:22:33.529 kept hearing positive things from preachers about 00:22:33.529 --> 00:22:36.670 what they can do. Instead of, I can't do this, 00:22:36.730 --> 00:22:39.170 we can't do this, blah, blah, blah. Let's see 00:22:39.170 --> 00:22:43.349 what we can do. Because these verses in the Bible, 00:22:43.430 --> 00:22:46.309 Jesus said, go to Jerusalem. We can't do that. 00:22:46.829 --> 00:22:48.630 There's too many Pharisees there. There's too 00:22:48.630 --> 00:22:50.650 many Sadducees. We can't go there. Well, then 00:22:50.650 --> 00:22:53.170 go to Judea. Well, we can't do that either. Well, 00:22:53.190 --> 00:22:55.670 go to Samaria. Nope, nope, nope. There's Samaritans. 00:22:55.710 --> 00:22:57.750 We don't like them. We have to walk around. Jesus 00:22:57.750 --> 00:23:00.230 went to Samaria, didn't he? Talked to the woman 00:23:00.230 --> 00:23:03.509 at the well. Well, go to the ends of the earth 00:23:03.509 --> 00:23:05.390 then. So what do we say here in Blairsville? 00:23:05.789 --> 00:23:08.130 Let's go to Blairsville and bring our friends, 00:23:08.250 --> 00:23:11.170 our relatives, our neighbors, and reach this 00:23:11.170 --> 00:23:14.789 community and Georgia and all throughout the 00:23:14.789 --> 00:23:17.789 world. Pray for Brother Jake. Pray for Brother 00:23:17.789 --> 00:23:20.190 Alex. Pray for Brother Felix and Rachel and Kenya. 00:23:20.430 --> 00:23:25.069 Pray, pray, pray, pray, pray that we might reach 00:23:25.069 --> 00:23:30.789 the world because time is short. Many years ago, 00:23:30.849 --> 00:23:34.089 I got to travel to Russia, and I was teaching 00:23:34.089 --> 00:23:37.210 a class. This was after the Soviet Union fell 00:23:37.210 --> 00:23:41.130 in 1991. There was a woman in my class named 00:23:41.130 --> 00:23:45.349 Bella. And she had a lot of questions. Remember 00:23:45.349 --> 00:23:49.730 that in the Soviet Union, they taught there was 00:23:49.730 --> 00:23:51.990 no God, right? Remember that? If any of you grew 00:23:51.990 --> 00:23:54.750 up during the Cold War, there is no God. Their 00:23:54.750 --> 00:23:57.950 cosmonauts went up into space and said, we don't 00:23:57.950 --> 00:24:01.109 see any God here. Our astronauts went up and 00:24:01.109 --> 00:24:04.630 they read from the Bible, in the beginning, God 00:24:04.630 --> 00:24:06.930 created the heavens and the earth. Two different 00:24:06.930 --> 00:24:13.619 world views. But the Soviet Union fell. I got 00:24:13.619 --> 00:24:17.119 to go over and preach and teach. So anyway, Bella, 00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:20.059 after class through an interpreter, she said, 00:24:20.079 --> 00:24:22.380 would you come over to our house with the interpreter, 00:24:22.619 --> 00:24:26.059 and I want to ask some questions. And Bella had 00:24:26.059 --> 00:24:29.339 a lot of questions. Resurrection, really? She'd 00:24:29.339 --> 00:24:32.839 kind of gotten into New Age stuff about, you 00:24:32.839 --> 00:24:35.740 know, this thing about what the Indians call 00:24:35.740 --> 00:24:43.779 it. It's not resurrection. Yes. where they keep 00:24:43.779 --> 00:24:47.359 going, you know, and you die, and you're born 00:24:47.359 --> 00:24:49.380 into something else, and you die. They said, 00:24:49.380 --> 00:24:54.539 oh, Buddha was 500 times. But anyway, we had 00:24:54.539 --> 00:24:56.559 to go through all that because she had all these 00:24:56.559 --> 00:24:59.480 cobwebs in her brain and talk about the Lord 00:24:59.480 --> 00:25:02.200 Jesus and his resurrection, that he was real, 00:25:02.339 --> 00:25:05.579 and talk about the Bible and who Jesus was. But 00:25:05.579 --> 00:25:13.170 after a week of talking to her, guess what? You 00:25:13.170 --> 00:25:15.089 know that guy out there in that river in Russia? 00:25:15.309 --> 00:25:18.230 The Sur River. It's the coldest river, I think, 00:25:18.250 --> 00:25:20.269 I've ever been in. The water I've ever been in 00:25:20.269 --> 00:25:23.630 is really cold. But nevertheless, me and Bella 00:25:23.630 --> 00:25:26.250 got out there and I baptized her into Christ 00:25:26.250 --> 00:25:29.430 for the remission of her sins. Praise God. Because 00:25:29.430 --> 00:25:32.349 I was willing to go there and preach and teach. 00:25:32.549 --> 00:25:36.910 And there are many people in countries all around 00:25:36.910 --> 00:25:40.230 the world who are preaching and teaching. And 00:25:40.230 --> 00:25:43.269 some believe. and some gives their life to Christ 00:25:43.269 --> 00:25:46.369 and are baptized into Christ, and one day those 00:25:46.369 --> 00:25:49.130 people are going to resurrect when the Lord Jesus 00:25:49.130 --> 00:25:55.049 comes back again. There was another girl named 00:25:55.049 --> 00:25:59.710 Olga, good Russian name, who was our interpreter. 00:26:01.670 --> 00:26:05.109 We were asking our interpreters, do you know 00:26:05.109 --> 00:26:09.980 Jesus? And Olga raised her hand and said, There 00:26:09.980 --> 00:26:12.500 were some people who came over, and they said, 00:26:12.619 --> 00:26:14.759 if you want to accept Jesus, just raise your 00:26:14.759 --> 00:26:18.220 hand. I said, Olga, did they talk to you about 00:26:18.220 --> 00:26:20.220 being baptized into Christ for the forgiveness 00:26:20.220 --> 00:26:23.400 of your sins? She said, no. I said, do you mind 00:26:23.400 --> 00:26:26.799 if I talk to you? So on this same river, in a 00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:30.559 high river bank, Olga and I were sitting, kind 00:26:30.559 --> 00:26:34.579 of like that bank back there behind us, and it's 00:26:34.579 --> 00:26:37.369 real sandy soil. We were sitting there, and I 00:26:37.369 --> 00:26:40.369 was going through the book of Acts with different 00:26:40.369 --> 00:26:43.250 scriptures about baptism and why she needed to 00:26:43.250 --> 00:26:46.190 be baptized because if she believed in Jesus, 00:26:46.410 --> 00:26:49.569 because believers are baptized, not unbelievers, 00:26:49.609 --> 00:26:52.150 so she was a believer. And the bank gave way, 00:26:52.210 --> 00:26:54.529 and I was sliding down towards the river, and 00:26:54.529 --> 00:26:55.910 I thought I was going to be the one who was going 00:26:55.910 --> 00:26:58.509 to be baptized, but thank God I stopped before 00:26:58.509 --> 00:27:01.130 I got to the river, and we both had a good laugh. 00:27:01.569 --> 00:27:06.319 But out of that, Olga accepted. what the scripture 00:27:06.319 --> 00:27:09.440 said, and she was baptized into Christ. Folks, 00:27:09.480 --> 00:27:15.220 that is the way it happens. In Acts chapter 1, 00:27:15.480 --> 00:27:23.420 verse 9, After he said this, he was taken up 00:27:23.420 --> 00:27:25.779 before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from 00:27:25.779 --> 00:27:29.960 their sight. They were looking intently up into 00:27:29.960 --> 00:27:32.619 the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men 00:27:32.619 --> 00:27:36.240 dressed in white stood beside them. Men of Galilee, 00:27:36.339 --> 00:27:38.259 they said, why do you stand here looking into 00:27:38.259 --> 00:27:42.980 the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken from 00:27:42.980 --> 00:27:45.500 you into heaven will come back in the same way 00:27:45.500 --> 00:27:48.339 you have seen him go into heaven. Has he come 00:27:48.339 --> 00:27:53.420 back yet? No, but he will. What Jesus is coming 00:27:53.420 --> 00:27:57.779 back? Is it the Muslim Jesus? See, the Muslim 00:27:57.779 --> 00:28:02.039 believed that Jesus was not crucified. No, it's 00:28:02.039 --> 00:28:04.440 not that Jesus is coming back, because that Jesus 00:28:04.440 --> 00:28:07.799 doesn't exist. What about the Jehovah's Witness 00:28:07.799 --> 00:28:10.539 or Mormon Jesus? They do not believe that Jesus 00:28:10.539 --> 00:28:13.819 was God in the flesh, like John 1 says, in the 00:28:13.819 --> 00:28:16.160 beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, 00:28:16.259 --> 00:28:19.759 and the Word was what? The Word was God, capital 00:28:19.759 --> 00:28:23.599 G. They've changed their translation, the New 00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:26.099 World translation, to say he was God, little 00:28:26.099 --> 00:28:32.200 g. No, he is God. And that Jesus, the one who 00:28:32.200 --> 00:28:34.519 was crucified, the one with the nail prints, 00:28:34.819 --> 00:28:38.160 the one that had the spear put in his side, that 00:28:38.160 --> 00:28:43.000 Jesus is coming back. Thomas, you don't believe 00:28:43.000 --> 00:28:45.839 that I resurrected? Put your hands here, Thomas. 00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:49.339 Here, Thomas, look here. When he comes back, 00:28:49.359 --> 00:28:51.960 we will recognize him, we will know him, that 00:28:51.960 --> 00:28:55.119 Jesus, this same Jesus, not a different Jesus. 00:28:55.869 --> 00:28:58.109 He's coming back. He'll split the eastern sky. 00:28:58.170 --> 00:29:00.789 We're going to look up and say, praise God, hallelujah. 00:29:04.230 --> 00:29:08.549 So Jesus is coming back again. And it's going 00:29:08.549 --> 00:29:13.269 to be a wonderful thing. You know, the Apostle 00:29:13.269 --> 00:29:16.549 Paul in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 says that the 00:29:16.549 --> 00:29:19.049 dead in Christ will rise first. And we who are 00:29:19.049 --> 00:29:22.329 alive will meet him in the air. And he says we 00:29:22.329 --> 00:29:27.279 will forever be with the Lord. This same Jesus 00:29:27.279 --> 00:29:36.720 is coming back. Time is moving on. And he's saying, 00:29:36.799 --> 00:29:41.400 get to work. Get to work. Any of you ever seen 00:29:41.400 --> 00:29:45.400 a rocket launch in Florida? Nancy and I lived 00:29:45.400 --> 00:29:51.140 in Florida near the Cape Canaveral area. So whenever 00:29:51.140 --> 00:29:54.240 they would launch a... we would go down and watch 00:29:54.240 --> 00:29:56.059 it. We could actually see it from the backyard. 00:29:56.400 --> 00:29:59.980 But one time, the sky was so clear, the day was 00:29:59.980 --> 00:30:03.819 so clear, and they shot that rocket up. I mean, 00:30:03.880 --> 00:30:07.200 you could see it, and you didn't want to go in. 00:30:07.339 --> 00:30:09.599 You could watch and watch and watch and watch 00:30:09.599 --> 00:30:12.400 and watch and watch and watch and watch, and 00:30:12.400 --> 00:30:15.240 then finally it disappeared. Can't you see these 00:30:15.240 --> 00:30:18.319 disciples? They've never seen anybody fly before. 00:30:18.460 --> 00:30:20.940 Have you seen anybody fly before other than Superman? 00:30:22.139 --> 00:30:27.420 Here Jesus ascends up into heaven. And I can 00:30:27.420 --> 00:30:29.680 imagine here they're standing watching Jesus 00:30:29.680 --> 00:30:32.680 go up, up, and up. There goes the Lord Jesus. 00:30:32.839 --> 00:30:35.940 We know who he is. We know he is crucified. We 00:30:35.940 --> 00:30:38.319 know he resurrected. And now he's leaving us 00:30:38.319 --> 00:30:41.359 and they're watching, watching, watching. And 00:30:41.359 --> 00:30:44.480 then the angels appear and say, men of Galilee, 00:30:44.539 --> 00:30:47.259 why stand you here gazing up into heaven? This 00:30:47.259 --> 00:30:49.960 same Jesus, he's going to come again. Now what? 00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:53.059 Get to work. Go into all the world. I've commissioned 00:30:53.059 --> 00:30:55.740 you. Go talk to your neighbors. Go preach the 00:30:55.740 --> 00:30:59.119 gospel. Send missionaries out. This is your calling. 00:30:59.200 --> 00:31:06.460 This is your task. Because Jesus is coming. And 00:31:06.460 --> 00:31:09.480 I'm looking forward to what a day that will be 00:31:09.480 --> 00:31:14.359 when my Jesus I shall see. We will look at him 00:31:14.359 --> 00:31:18.140 and see him face to face on that day he comes 00:31:18.140 --> 00:31:22.839 back. Are you looking forward to heaven? I have 00:31:22.839 --> 00:31:27.680 relatives there. I have friends there. I have 00:31:27.680 --> 00:31:31.099 preachers who I've known over the years, and 00:31:31.099 --> 00:31:34.819 they've ministered to me and people I have ministered 00:31:34.819 --> 00:31:39.680 to. When I was in high school, we had a youth 00:31:39.680 --> 00:31:45.009 worker, and she loved teenagers. Sometimes people 00:31:45.009 --> 00:31:46.789 don't love teenagers. You know, they want to 00:31:46.789 --> 00:31:49.470 get them to that stage and get on past that stage, 00:31:49.509 --> 00:31:52.329 you know. But this woman actually acted like 00:31:52.329 --> 00:31:55.309 she loved us. Not only did she act like it, she 00:31:55.309 --> 00:31:58.309 did love us. She said, come on over. We're going 00:31:58.309 --> 00:32:00.130 to have hot dogs and hamburgers. And she would 00:32:00.130 --> 00:32:04.150 cook out for us. And she was just a really good 00:32:04.150 --> 00:32:06.670 person and a good Christian woman. And she wanted 00:32:06.670 --> 00:32:09.210 us to know the love of Christ because she loved 00:32:09.210 --> 00:32:13.420 us as teenagers. Friday night, Sunday afternoon. 00:32:14.220 --> 00:32:17.160 She really liked being around us, and we liked 00:32:17.160 --> 00:32:20.880 being around her. When I graduated from college 00:32:20.880 --> 00:32:24.599 with my master's degree, she wrote me a note, 00:32:24.660 --> 00:32:28.819 and she said, congratulations on your graduation. 00:32:29.599 --> 00:32:32.880 You've worked hard, and you deserve it. However, 00:32:33.180 --> 00:32:36.519 the best graduation will be the graduation from 00:32:36.519 --> 00:32:38.799 this earth with all its trials and tribulations. 00:32:39.480 --> 00:32:42.880 To the eternal home in heaven. And then she wrote 00:32:42.880 --> 00:32:51.400 these words. See you there. See you there. Will 00:32:51.400 --> 00:32:57.059 we see you there? Will you be there when Jesus 00:32:57.059 --> 00:33:03.960 comes and we get to go up to heaven? I know I 00:33:03.960 --> 00:33:08.059 had a pretty sure I don't. I won't go along with 00:33:08.059 --> 00:33:10.039 this, but my great, great, great, great, great 00:33:10.039 --> 00:33:14.500 grandfather was a Methodist circuit riding preacher. 00:33:16.960 --> 00:33:19.819 Everything about that man that he did was Christian. 00:33:20.279 --> 00:33:24.359 And we have his will. And he gives praise to 00:33:24.359 --> 00:33:29.359 God right in his will. And I cannot 100 % say 00:33:29.359 --> 00:33:33.539 he's there, but I can almost be assuredly by 00:33:33.539 --> 00:33:36.799 reading what he wrote. that he will be there. 00:33:38.279 --> 00:33:41.740 Praise God that there are family members and 00:33:41.740 --> 00:33:44.640 other people that have gone on that you will 00:33:44.640 --> 00:33:47.099 see again. Folks, believe in the resurrection. 00:33:47.380 --> 00:33:50.619 Jesus is your proof. If Jesus came forth from 00:33:50.619 --> 00:33:53.279 the dead, what makes us think that we won't if 00:33:53.279 --> 00:34:02.640 he said we will? Will you be there? You should 00:34:02.640 --> 00:34:06.619 be. For God so loved the world that he gave his 00:34:06.619 --> 00:34:08.760 one and only son that whoever believes in him 00:34:08.760 --> 00:34:13.500 should not perish, but have eternal life. Why 00:34:13.500 --> 00:34:17.139 won't you be there? God loves you. Is there something 00:34:17.139 --> 00:34:20.599 in your life you're just keeping you bound and 00:34:20.599 --> 00:34:24.039 you can't make that decision to let go and say, 00:34:24.079 --> 00:34:27.199 Lord Jesus, come into my life, forgive me of 00:34:27.199 --> 00:34:29.940 all my sins, every one of them, I give my life 00:34:29.940 --> 00:34:33.659 over to you. I want to be baptized like the Ethiopian 00:34:33.659 --> 00:34:39.619 eunuch when he was preached Jesus to by Philip. 00:34:40.079 --> 00:34:42.519 He said, here is water. What hinders me to be 00:34:42.519 --> 00:34:47.239 baptized? And he was baptized. Folks, today, 00:34:47.400 --> 00:34:51.000 this is the message that we're called to reach 00:34:51.000 --> 00:34:52.760 the nations. But let's just start right here. 00:34:53.440 --> 00:34:55.320 Maybe there's somebody right here in this church. 00:34:55.420 --> 00:34:57.579 Instead of going to all around the world, let's 00:34:57.579 --> 00:35:01.500 start here. Who is here today? That if you died, 00:35:01.699 --> 00:35:04.199 you'd stand before God and God said, I don't 00:35:04.199 --> 00:35:07.260 know you. You've never given your life to me. 00:35:07.300 --> 00:35:11.599 I don't know you. Depart from me. Why be in that 00:35:11.599 --> 00:35:14.579 position for? Be in a position where you know 00:35:14.579 --> 00:35:17.179 what to do and you've done it and then you are 00:35:17.179 --> 00:35:21.000 able to lead others there. Folks, we're going 00:35:21.000 --> 00:35:24.309 to stand and sing our hymn of invitation. If 00:35:24.309 --> 00:35:26.409 you have not made that decision, you're welcome 00:35:26.409 --> 00:35:29.489 to come forward. And if not today, talk to one 00:35:29.489 --> 00:35:32.349 of our elders, talk to one of our members, talk 00:35:32.349 --> 00:35:36.070 to me, that you might get right with God before 00:35:36.070 --> 00:35:38.750 it's eternally too late. Let's just stand and 00:35:38.750 --> 00:35:38.909 sing.