Al Fadi

okay how is everyone doing and it's what a privilege to be here with you today I'm so thankful for pastor John for giving me this invitation I met with him in June when he was visiting at the Southwest Church connection in Scottsdale Arizona and that's where we met for the first time and and then from there he extended this honor for me to come in and preach and I was staying at his house and I wasn't able to find a Wi-Fi you know password and he didn't leave it for me so Pastor John I did Google how to hack and network and I tried my best but I'm sorry I mean I must have missed up your network so please forgive me for that he's gonna watch this and he'll be here tomorrow pretty soon well I don't know how much you've heard about me but I'm just gonna assume you didn't hear anything I'll give you just the Reader's Digest version right now but if you want to hear the long one meaning my story my journey I hope to see you at 2 o'clock I'm from originally from Soddy born and raised there lived my life at least until I came to the States I finished my high school over there I finished my college over there and then the door opened up for me to come here for my graduate degree but you know just being from Saudi by the way means that you are born a Muslim it's not like something you choose for yourself you automatically considered a Muslim inherit is Lama and that's really your identity and that's your culture and of course Saudi when it comes to Islam is almost the hub for that religion that's where it all started at 14 centuries ago I never doubted Islam I never even for once doubted that I was following the truth and it took really a journey for me to come to the States to end up meeting with believers and that's how God used these wonderful believers born-again believers to be exact to plant the seeds of salvation and then I came to know him back in 2001 and ever since have been you know basically in obedience to my calling and in 2010 became a full-time missionary so it was a transition for me from being an engineer and sharing and teaching until 2010 when I felt the calling to be full-time in a mission field and that's what I've been doing ever since again you'll hear the fuller story hopefully if you can join me at 2 o'clock but today we want to talk about the importance of course for us as believers to reach the loss in my case it was two families at two different times in two different locations at two different campuses that the Lord used to plant the seed of salvation that resulted in me coming to know him as Lord and Savior but the journey took 12 years and I know in western time twelve years is a very long time we want things now and we want him immediately and sadly when it comes to sharing the gospel with the loss it doesn't work that way and when it comes to sharing the gospel with Muslims it definitely doesn't work that way so we have to be patience but at the same time we have to understand what is it that we're called to do who are we going with this calling and who is the one that sent us to share that message and what is the hope at the end of the day after we have fulfilled our part of the deal and that's really the essence of this message obviously one of the most famous passages in the Bible is in Luke 19 verse 10 where it says Jesus himself says for the Son of man came to seek and to save the Lost and I love the fact that Jesus chose this title about himself I mean he could have said that the Messiah came to seek and to save the son of God that came to seek and to save but you know what Jesus wanted us to know that in his humanity came to seek and to save in other words we too can do it empowered by his message empowered by him empowered by the Holy Spirit we are equipped as believers to be able to do so and that's extremely important and Jesus didn't say I came to seek and to save the ones who lost their GPS Direction know they're lost in terms of their salvation they are lost in terms of finding heaven they're lost in their relationship with God now if you don't believe me just look around you people are religious by nature they want to do things they want to perform certain things they're dogmatic about certain views and unless they know Christ they have no hope whatsoever of making it to heaven after all Jesus came to the Jews by the way and he was debating the Pharisees who are the religious leaders of the time yet Jesus didn't even for once consider him to be saved and that's why they were offended by the way he was ignoring them yet paying attentions to those that they consider to be a second and third and fourth class citizen that's the heart that we have to develop to those who think they're saved but yet they don't know how to find their direction you and I are GPS for them you and I are the ones that are going to help guide them to find that truth so there is a model that we ought to follow and the first thing we ought to remind ourself of is that our model is the Lord Himself he's the one who left heaven came down to earth dwelt among us by the way as the scripture says Anna Ward became flesh and dwelt among us he almost pitch his tent right here on earth so that he can show us practically how it ought to be done he is the model that we have to follow but why is it that he came to seek after the loss because none is righteous not one we all have sinned we all have fallen from the glory of God and therefore we have this burden to reach those around us that if we are prompted basically to tell or to know or discern that they do not know the full truth or at least they don't know even know the truth that we ought to think of them as those who are made in the image of God those that Jesus died for regardless of their background sadly if we rely on news or media or hearsay or or bad experience we have the tendency to begin to judge the masses by just what we hear it takes an effort to go and meet with people sometimes and develop a heart of compassion for them and to engage them in a dialogue and pray that these dialogues will lead to something for them it's not about us the fact that we're saved doesn't mean that we are going to lose the salvation anymore it doesn't mean that it's about us anymore it means that we have a duty now to reach the ones that have yet to have that experience and we need to always be mindful of this and the reason why we need to also reach out to them because the world is living in darkness it is no wonder that Jesus told us that you are the light of the world so let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see you're basically good deeds and glorify your father who is in heaven and the good deeds here has nothing to do with the fact that you are doing things to earn salvation no it is the outcome of the fact that you have found the truth it's the change that took place in you it's the way that you treat them that will draw them to you so I came to the States with this mindset that Americans are Christians by nature they're born Christians they inherited the religion called Christianity that the government of the US is a Christian government you see some of you laugh when you hear this and indeed if that's the action of a Christian basically faith then I want nothing to do with Christianity that's the sad reality and some people who have this misunderstanding they look at what's going in the news and they think that's how Christians behave it was by the grace of God that I connected with born-again believers who began to correct my misunderstanding who began to share with me the truth that not everyone who called himself Christian means that they are truly saved there is a world of difference between cultural Christianity and true Christianity enough in time we overlook this fact we just go along with whatever somebody's saying we need to challenge people think in a misunderstanding and that's what the families that I end up meeting with challenged in me my misunderstanding about Christ and Christianity and God used that to plant seed upon seed upon seed in fact the whole journey started actually in my first Thanksgiving meal back in 1989 which is right around the corner by the way that was the time when I met not only with that couple that have been witnessing to me but also with their parents and with their church friends and neighbors who were all obviously different than all the other Americans that I have encountered up until that point and God used that in a very powerful way so we need to show people the light in John basically chapter one we read that there was a man John chapter one by the way first verse five and six talking about John the Baptist it says there was a man sent from God whose name was John this is the Baptist he came as a witness to bear witness about the light you see we you and I need to be that witness about the light people will gravitate to born towards light they want to know what is the matter with you why are you this way why do you behave this way why are you different than the other guy that I know that's what prompted him to be willing to listen to us and also you need to remember that Jesus came to save the Lost and you know the last that scripture says they are dead in their trespasses you cannot expect a dead person to have any feelings to know that they're dead they're dead already somebody have to remind him of this fact and somebody has to reach out to them and Jesus says that belief in him will help people pass from death to life that's how we all become vibrant when we find Christ I was dead in my own trespasses I thought I was saved I thought I knew the truth I thought I was following the true God and God says thumbs down to all of these things you know nothing about me and I am going to guide you and direct to you if you're willing to walk the walk with me the Holy Spirit of God was convicting me and that's your presence sometimes being the salt meaning that the Holy Spirit in you is already convicting people around you you begin to irritate them but you irritate them in a way that they want to know more they want to ask more they want to argue more that's fine bring it on you know you want to argue great that mean you're open for the dialogue but often time we feel like we're ill-equipped we can do it that's not God speaking to you that's not the Holy Spirit telling you this this is the enemy who is discouraging you making you feel that this is not your calling that's not what you ought to do so we need to be wise and we need to at least pay attention to the calling and that leads me to the next point who is the one who is sending you with this calling who's the one who called you who's the one who is empowering you with the message to the loss it is our risen Lord there is a reason why he's called the risen Lord he defeated sin and he defeated death and he rose back to life if he can do it then you and I have that hope now of this is happening to us people get intimidated by the idea of death anyway because they don't know what's going to happen after that they have their own ways of thinking of I remember growing up as a Muslim I was terrified of the idea of death because islam teaches that there is another phase that's the life in the grave that you could be even punished in the grave and then a third phase when you make it to Judgment Day I didn't know where I'm gonna end up after Judgment because I'm war I'm always hoping that my good deeds are going to at least butter God up a little bit so he can look the other way until I came across the passage through people who are shared with me that my righteous deeds are like filthy rags if my righteous deeds look this way imagine about the ugly ones so I knew it doesn't matter to God you can do all the good deeds that you want at the end of the day ain't gonna save you that was the message that I received loud and clear but it was up to me now to act upon that because everybody have shared with me about the truth the risen Lord has an authority he says all authority is given to me right after he rose from the dead he met with the disciples in Galilee and he shared with them about this authority that what we call the Great Commission he says all authority is given to me in heaven and on earth which means all and by the way they all in English also is all in the Greek trust me on that there is no room for maybe this maybe that or 90% true or ninety per hour or 50 percent all and 50 percent nano all means all authority is given to Christ and now he has that authority to tell me and you go and make disciples this is the one that sent us and that's the one that we ought to be preaching about because also the scripture identified him as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world you see when you know that the message is not about you hopefully that will give you comfort because all you're doing is you're talking about him and all you have to do is share what the scripture says about him people can accept people can reject people can argue your job is to share the truth with them in love and let the Holy Spirit do his work it is not for me to convert people but it is for me to plant seeds I am asked to do so and at the end of the day we have to trust that the one who sent us well bring this into conclusion he who began a good work in you will complete it that's the promise that God has given to us he's not gonna really leave you hanging in the middle of your mission and say oh my best my coffee hour right now I'll get back to you later or opes you know I wasn't counting on you facing this challenge you know let me go back to the wrong table and see what I can do to save you now no he has given us all the tools that we need he's waiting on us are you gonna go now you see to reach the loss it's a go to ministry the loss is not gonna come to you sitting by the way somewhere in like I'm seeing know what John I mean I felt really that I was lost spiritually and I need help can you help me how often does this happen they hear it first before they ask they don't just wake up and know more and say I feel like I am dead in my trespasses today and I really need somebody to bring the light to my life no it doesn't work that way it's a go to ministry we ought to go to people we ought to engage them what to find a way to open that door for discussions it was a go-to for them couple that reached out to me I came to the States I thought I spoke English very well until I realize Americans don't speak English they speak America nice difference between English and American is somebody will look at me and say what's up I woke up I don't know what's up I never heard this phrase before and they want to know what is up there sincerely asking me about what's up but I'm like I really don't know what is up there like I wish I can tell you and then sometimes they want to know how is it going I'm like oh my gosh you know there's something that is going I'm just missing it you know but the scariest part is when they wanted to pick my brain I didn't sign up for this I came here to study you get it it was nothing but idioms I didn't know anything about these idioms and I went to my teacher I said listen I thought I was doing well in English but I really need to stay longer in the program because any foreign students have to pass a TOEFL exam and she's like what are you talking about and I explained to her and she laughed and she's all those are idioms actually and they changed from state to state and from area to area so all you have to do is just build a relationship with Americans and you will be able to understand and ask him how to put this in context and I'm like oh boy you mean I have to build friendship now and she's all well that's only well you can do it but the family was already willing and waving and signed up to find someone that they can reach out to and I ended up being that person and we began that wonderful relationship the relationship lasted for a few months and then I changed my major I moved on from that campus to another campus I never ever bother to connect with that family anymore remember in those days we're talking 1990 I mean think about it for a second there was no Google no Facebook no Twitter no snapchat no none of these things can you imagine life without that today it's a disaster today I mean yesterday I stressed out because I couldn't even access the Wi-Fi thanks pastor John nevertheless obviously they thought either I went somewhere else or maybe returned home and they really weren't able to find me in those days you change your number the minute you move from one city to the other so they lost contact with me and I ended up finishing my schooling and I ended up learning more about the freedom of religion I am realizing that not all Americans are Christians and then there is this born-again Christians and and slowly and gradually God used even another couple and I began to get challenged I am sharing with them about Islam hoping that that can convert him and they are countering that by sharing the gospel with me and it took 12 years for this journey that's how long it took 12 years of separation by the way because the first couple didn't know where I was and what even that was taken place in my life but all that to say is that it was a go to ministry people will reaching out to me they were not waiting on me they were willing to engage me in a gospel conversation and that leads me to the third point jesus says to go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son Holy Spirit and teaching them all that I have commanded you now that's the catchphrase right here you cannot go and make disciples if you yourself is not a lifelong disciple if you don't know what Jesus taught you have no business going and telling people about what Jesus taught if you don't even know it you see that's the fallacy that sometimes we fall into we think just because I'm saved that's it my job is done I want to tell people well that's great that you want to tell people but here's the problem when you tell people and you're ill-equipped you don't know what the Bible teaches then the minute they ask you a challenging question your faith can be impacted and you begin to doubt yourself or you begin to isolate yourself or you begin to feel you know what this is not my calling no it is your calling we're all evangelists by the way this passage is to all of us but the beauty about sharing the possible with others by the way is that you hear how people process things how they want a reason with you how they want to challenge you or object to you and that's part of our growth the more challenge they throw at you the more opportunity for you to know now how to respond to that challenge where to find an answer for that channel always be ready that's what the scripture says always be ready that means it's a lifelong journey to give an answer but if you don't take it this way you can be discouraged the enemy wants you to be discouraged Satan would love for you to leave his people alone and he's gonna come at you from all angles by making you feel that maybe you should go to seminary maybe you should attend this seminar from 2 to 5 today you know that's the way you're gonna do it maybe you should just finish reading the whole Bible first and then give it a shot and we fall for that trap all the time because we feel that the more knowledge we accumulate the better we are at reaching the loss but you know what we all come from all parts of life we have different opportunities we have different basically circumstances we have different people around us and sometimes this is the only time you're gonna meet with someone who have never ever heard the gospel I remember this gentleman who was in Egypt and he told me this story he says you know I have two painters who were Muslim came to my house they were painting I gave both of them a brochure about the gospel the next day one of them came and accepted Christ and I'm like wow that was quick and the other took five years before he even got it to people the same track I personally have to confess I never believed personally that using a track or a movie can save people and then I met my wife and the Lord says oh yeah she came to know me by a track and a movie okay deal with it so I see this failure in me everyday okay God can do anything he is powerful his ward is powerful the Holy Spirit is the one that convict the heart of man to bring him to the knowledge that saves our job is just to keep plowing planting seeds and trusting that this will happen and we need to also recognize that Jesus sent us with a powerful message Romans 1:16 teaches that I am not ashamed of the gospel why for it is the power of God for salvation if you believe that you're sharing a powerful message then you should never ever doubt that something is going to happen the seed was planted back in 89 and more seeds were planted in my life and it wasn't until 2001 then I finally get down on my knees and accepted Christ as Lord and Savior but the family that planted that seed the first time didn't even know and took me 10 more years to find that family to share with them 22 years of separation took place but finally the Lord brought the good news to them you see the scripture teaches that one will plant one will water but the Lord will bring growth he's the one that will bring that growth to the seeds that are being planted we also need to remember that jesus promised that that we will receive power from above in acts 1:8 you see not only he's sending you with a message that has the power of salvation but you have a powerful Holy Spirit in you that will enable you to fulfill your mission and now we move on to the next point so who are you then in Christ when you meet with people you're a new creation you have a new identity that's what the scripture says that therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation the old passed away you can translate this literally the old has died your old self your personality the way people used to know you is no longer there have changed behold then new has come it's like the Lord is saying I am reshaping you now as a new atom versus the old atom that you used to be you're no longer the same person as before and on top of this if you continue to read you get to verse 20 and it says therefore after this happened also to us we are ambassadors for Christ you are sent now as a spokesperson on behalf of Christ the king and the kingdom you are representing everything about him and about his teaching God making his appeal through us it's an urgent message but each one of us is an evangelist go and make disciples each one of us who is in Christ is a new creation each one of us is an ambassador that's the office that we hold and we are to take this office very seriously you cannot go and share the gospel with someone and let's use a Muslim and the Muslim will say yeah but Jesus was never crucified why because the Quran teaches them this and your answer would be oh I never really thought about that that's interesting imagine if you respond this way to someone who's down in the crucifixion does that send a message to them that you are standing on solid ground that you believe that Jesus was crucified of course not Muslims gonna tell you all your Bible has been corrupted and your reaction would be oh my goodness can you please show me where because I didn't know it was corrupted sometimes you may be sending the wrong message to them the wrong vibe to them there is a way sometimes to reason with them it's one thing to reason with them it's another to show reaction that you're shocked by what you just heard because that makes them feel like oh I got you you see you didn't know these facts I'm sharing them with you now why would that person be interested anymore in here in the Gospel message when they feel like you yourself is L equipped to defend it we need to be standing on solid ground I was selling pastor Jeremy yesterday that I appreciate at least about the Jehovah Witness and the Mormon you know missionaries that they go and knock on your door and they truly believe that they're standing on truth how come we don't do this how come we don't knock on the door of hearts all the time how come we never reach out to people they're selling falsehood and they're proud of it yeah we have the gospel that is the power of God for salvation and often time we end up being afraid or ashamed of it that's why we ought to take this Duty very seriously and also another thing about us when we are a new creation when we have a new identity you ought to look weird and strange okay here's what I mean John the Baptist it was described to be the strange guy dressed up in a strange way eating strange things although I mean Eden Lucas you know something of witness in my own hometown you know I've seen people eating Lucas and and honey but you won't see this everywhere and then people cut a wind of him they didn't ignore him they went all the way across the Jordan River to where he was and even admitted that they are need of repentance and they were being baptized by him that's why it's called the Baptist he was baptizing people but nevertheless imagine if John the Baptist fit in with the crowd dressed up like everybody else and used political correctness because he doesn't want to hurt the feelings of those poor sinners do you think people would have cared or even recognized his ministry you see in Christ you are different you are strange in the eye of people and you need to take this as an honor actually because sometimes that's the only way you can get the attention of those who are around you the fact that you are different than the rest of the crowd the people that God used in my life looked different than the rest of the crowd they caught my attention I felt that I can engage them at a deeper level I felt safer with them I felt even irritated by the fact that they're nicer than me even though I was very religious but I was looking at it the wrong way I was thinking good deeds and yet I was missing that righteousness that they had in Christ in Christ you receive the righteousness now what is our message then that we are going to share and that's the next point as ambassadors our message is a message of reconciliation and by the way in those days when Paul wrote this basically it was when there is battles between kingdoms you would sing the ambassador to try to bring about a resolution and reconciliation but if that ambassador wasn't received well or was tortured in prison or even killed that'd mean it's an act of war now in the case of the gospel we're already at war with God we have enmity with God and our message is to bring about reconciliation between us and God but that only happens in Christ it doesn't happen by good deeds it doesn't happen by rituals it doesn't happen by this act or that act it happens when we repent but somebody has to hear that message from us they need to know how that will work out as it worked out in our life they need to understand that why Christ is essential to that salvation many time you hear people say oh I believe in Christ but words have meanings what does that even mean that you believe in Christ do you believe in Christ as Lord and Savior as the Lamb of God who took away your sin the one who was crucified and shed his blood for forgiveness of our sin as the one who died was buried and rose again on the third day or you just love him as just a good character we have to ask sometimes we have to explore we have to investigate because sometimes people don't know what they mean by what they're saying and also the message that we are going to share with people have to be a message based on experience here's what I mean by that in John chapter 1 you go to verses 35 and you start reading about John the Baptist just announced by the way that behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and then few verses later he points out this Lamb of God to his disciple he says the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world that's him right there you see him and two of his disciples Andrew was one of them left and even Jesus saying what were you going and they're like you know just want to follow you and he took them overnight and they were impacted by what they have experienced with Christ folks if you are a new creation in Christ your life has been impacted by that you know from within that you are no longer the same person as he used to be and that joy in you ought to M&A to those around you and that's what Andrew did the next day is like the first one I'm gonna tell about this Messiah is my brother Peter and let's face it if I say Peter all of you will know about Peter he even wrote letters he had so many encounters with Christ he opened his mouth many times the wrong way but we all know Peter but how often do you remember that it was his brother Andrew that witness to him and brought him to Christ is there an Android new are you able to do this to others around you family loved ones friends you see Andrew took the initiative and went to his brother he wasn't waiting for his brother to come in he wasn't waiting for his brother to one they asked him he say hey Andrew man what is the matter with you or as they say in America what's up with you Andrew he didn't say that Andrew went to his brother right away he was filled with love and compassion for his brother he knew his brother who was a Jew by the way doing all the duties was lost and in need of a savior and he didn't wait he wanted his brother to know him and he says we have found the Messiah in other words I can testify that the Messiah that we've been waiting for is here the king has arrived the one you are not been studying about all of our life the one that all of our ancestors have been waiting for the one that the prophets as we read later in that passage the prophets and the law mentioned to us is here come and see come and see so that you can experience this sometimes we have to go to people and bring people to have that experience with Christ and you never know sometimes that's all it takes for people to accept Christ so who are the ones that we're going to go to then who are the intended audience for us that's my next point the intended audience are all nations in fact that's what the Great Commission is all about go and make disciples of who of some nations of one nation know of all nations who are the whole nations by the way I mean I know today we think about nations is like boundaries and countries but that was in the case back then and it still won't be the case today I mean there are nations within nations sometimes and I don't know if the nations are just the nations back then or the nations today or maybe there are new nations tomorrow our job is to just keep on going and sharing and trusting that God knows which nations and then one day will realize what revelations 5/9 or revelation 7:9 teaches about that people from all tribes and tongues and peoples and nations are praising God one day we'll find out about all these nations but until then we are on a mission and let me remind you that all nations around us are our neighbors that the scripture says love your neighbors as your self that's the second great commandment that Jesus identified not only loving the Lord your God that's the first one vertical relationship but you have a horizontal relationship as well to love your neighbors as yourself think about it not just to love him as your self that's not an easy task by the way to love someone that you have just met as yourself to love a neighbor who look strange and weird and different as yourself to love somebody that you have just heard that they have committed a terror act you know the religion or they hate us or they don't like us to love them as yourself that's not easy that's really the essence of what it means that we are made in the image of God let us make man in our image in our likeness both vertical relationship and a horizontal relationship and that's what we need to focus on and then at the same time I'm going to drop a big one on you these ones as we will see now in the next point that's my final point God has a plan for these neighbors and the neighbors anyone you meet by the way he has a plan for them guess what it says in acts 17:26 it says and he God made from one man Adam every nation of mankind now think about this for a second did you know that I am your cousin because we all have that one father Adam we are all related to one another make sure you write me in your will but we overlook these things we don't remember that we all come from the same earthly father we are related to one another like it or not he is our earthly father and in just thinking about it this way we need to really develop this compassion for people who are lost that their relatives you just need guidance they need to hear the truth I get it that not all of them are gonna come to accept Christ or at least not all of them gonna come to accept Christ right before my eyes it took 22 years before that family heard that God used them in my life to bring me to Christ and I think they were fortunate that God enabled us to connect for all I know we could be separated until today and maybe even separate forever and one day in heaven they'll find out our job is to trust that God is going to provide the growth for those seeds and on top of this it says in verse 27 after you know we're all made from you know one father it says that he basically made this mankind of every nation of mankind to live on all of the face of the earth having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling places it is what it means so I lived in Saudi all of my life and I thought I was following the true religion following the final message the final messenger and I am right there near Mecca that every Muslim daily faces and I go there and I pray periodically and I earned these good deeds and I thought I was following the true God and God says I don't think so in America you are going to find me he brought me to a specific place for a specific period of time few months in a specific city in a specific campus and I was touched by one family that's what it means right here and God used that family as verse 27 says that they should seek God because of that I began to see Khem and perhaps feel their way towards him just like a blind person certian for somebody to guide him that family touch my life and I was guided and the result of that I found him that's God's plan he scatters people around and he takes them from one area to the other for this three primary purpose they may seek God in hope that they might feel him and find him if we keep our eye on this particular important part of the message that we are sharing with people that this could be their hope to find him this may be the first time and even the last time that they will hear the Gospel message only then we may feel that there is now an opportunity for them to be able to find the truth just like you know in the Gospel of John in verse 46 Philip basically went to Nathaniel after Jesus asked him to follow him he also went to Nathaniel and in verse 46 you know basically he told Nathaniel he says you know we have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote Jesus of Nazareth the son of Joseph and Nathanael was very optimistic and he says can anything good come out of Nazareth negative you meet people who are negative like this all the time but did that stop Philip Philip says oh yeah come and see that's all you have to do are you gonna lose anything you're a loser anyway you have lost and you are lost and you are not saved just come and see for yourself I mean he didn't tell them that but that's pretty much the conception and the perception that we should have if somebody is negative and argumentative all you have to do so you know what may I just extend just a one-time invite please come with me and let's do this study or let's meet with this person or come and hear this message or watch this or that I'm is it hard for you to just waste an hour of your time that might make a world of difference in your life eternal difference but sometimes we have to really be pushy we have to stick around the people we have not to give up on them Philip didn't give up on Nathaniel he says you know come and see and we know Nathaniel gets saved sometimes that's all it takes now I want to ask you this question before I close I mean my time is almost up I have a few minutes left how many of you I asked this question for the first you know service and only one person answered this question I've been asking this question for the last five weeks I assure you that about 5,000 people have already heard me ask this question and only one in the last service raised their hand so you get the star okay how many of you have heard of Edward Kimball no one and I don't expect you but how many of you have heard of dl moody see hands begin to rise as I expected do you know that it was Edward Kimball that shared the gospel would deal moody and God used deal moody in a ministry in England to bring more people and it was through a ministry of one of these people by the way that God brought another person by the name of Billy Sunday who ended up sharing the gospel with Billy Graham it all started with Edward Campbell and I'm sure someone shared the gospel with Edward Campbell also he didn't wake up just a believer but all that to say is that there is an Edward Campbell in each one of us there is an Andrew in each one of us but you know the problem is we buy into the lie of Satan that you can do it you can't share the gospel with people you're ill-equipped you have to do certain things you have to check boxes did you take this seminar did you study this course did you finish the Bible did you do this did you do that and then if you've done all of these that well did you learn Greek and Hebrew that's what Satan is going to do the family that I reached out to and I says God have used you in my life and now I am saved have confessed to me after 22 years of looking for them that they have stopped doing ministry among international students just a couple of years earlier before I found them you know why they thought it wasn't working that's not God telling him this that's Satan told him this but praise the Lord they were now encouraged and only then I understood why God wanted me to wait for 22 years before I can find them because he also has a message for them they have started another ministry and they're doing wonderful at their place and at their church now but they're not unique in feeling discouraged ministry in and of itself is a battle by the way is a battleground and you need to be up for that battle that's why we have the full armor of God the scripture didn't say put on some of the pieces of the armor of God no put on the full armor of God you're in a barrel and you need to be equipped and ready at all levels spiritual physical and knowledge wise because we are waging war against the enemy of the gospel who have nothing better in life other than to discourage you day in and day out and if you buy into his lies who happened to be by the way a liar and the father of all lies notice I love how Jesus described him he not only he's a liar but he's the father of all lies any lie sin the history of humanity he is the father of that lie and that's why he is going to discourage you so my hope is that you will be encouraged by at least my story and maybe the other stories that you will begin to discover in your life and I pray that you'll even this joy of knowing that some of the people you reached out to God has used to bring into salvation amen let's pray

Channel: Summit Ridge Church

Views: 1,542

Rating: 4.8000002 out of 5

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Id: RoEWkIQj5xs

Length: 48min 46sec (2926 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 18 2019