[inaudible]
Amen. All right. Good morning, everyone.
First I want to say thank you very much for coming out to this event.
This has been a really awesome event,
even though we just had one day of soul winning so far.
I have to say that yesterday was the most receptive soul winning I have ever
seen in the United States. That was incredible.
Having 40 soul winners and 52 salvations. I mean,
me and my Sony partner yesterday were preaching gospel the entire time.
It was really exciting. And you know, I come from a very receptive place, Texas.
So some of you that are in other underceptive place yesterday,
it was probably like a breath of fresh air for you guys, you know,
but that was really, really great.
I want to thank pastor Thompson for putting this on brother Temmo brother Robert,
everyone that put in a lot of hard work to this. This is a great event.
I'd like to see this become a yearly thing, honestly,
because even if there's no church here in Detroit, which I mean,
a new IV type church, right? Of course there's churches here. But if,
if we come here every year for decades, how many thousands and thousands of
people could get saved here? Even if there is no new IFD church and God willing,
that would happen. But even if that's not the case,
there's a lot of work that could be done for God in this area.
And it's very exciting to see. So let's get into our text here.
Let's read second Timothy chapter four, verse seven.
This is the apostle Paul writing to Timothy. It says,
I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course.
I have kept the faith henceforth. There's laid up for me a crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous judge shall give me at that day and not to me only,
but unto all them also that love his appearing.
And the title of my sermon this morning is don't quit on serving God.
Don't quit on serving God.
It's a very powerful passage towards the end of the apostle Paul's life.
And he makes some profound statements here saying that he has fought a good
fight, that he has finished his course, that he has kept the faith.
And isn't that what we all want to say towards the end of our lives, that we've
been faithful, that we've continued being soul winners, that we've continued reading
the Bible, that we've continued doing the things of God, because I am very happy
and very thankful for every single person that came out to the soul winning
marathon that decided to serve God, that decided to put their time, their money,
their energy into doing something for God.
And that is great that you did this this year, but I would love it if everyone
did that back at home.
And if everyone did that next year and the next year until they die or until
they're physically unable to preach the gospel that they would never quit on
serving God, there's things in life sometimes that you quit, there's jobs that
you leave, there's bad relationships that sometimes people quit on and there's
even good things that sometimes people quit on when they shouldn't, but let it
be said of you that one thing you never ever will quit on is serving God.
That is the one thing you should never ever quit on.
And when I think of someone who never quit, someone who never gave up, I think
of the apostle Paul, because this guy went through some hard, hard stuff.
And so if we're going to look at the life of Paul, I think we can learn some
lessons, some things that were different about the apostle Paul that caused him
not to quit, because here's the thing.
Any one of us can quit.
We all have the flesh.
We all can get weak.
We all can get scared.
We all can get lazy at every single person in this room, including myself.
So we need to take heed to ourselves.
Look at a man that did it right.
And learn the lessons from him.
Let's go to second Corinthians chapter number 11, second Corinthians chapter
number 11, and if you get the context of this chapter, you know, the Corinthians
are kind of calling into question the authority of Paul and the legitimacy,
legitimacy of me came to speak today.
Legitimacy of him as an apostle and as a preacher.
And he's like, okay, you know, you guys are being fools.
Let me speak as a fool a little bit for you.
Let me boast myself a little bit of what I'm really like.
And he's speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.
So everything that he says he went through,
everything that he says about himself is true.
He's not just making this stuff up.
But if you look at Second Corinthians, chapter 11, verse 18,
let's start reading some of the things he went through.
He said, seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also.
For you suffer fools gladly seeing you yourselves are wise.
For you suffer if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you,
if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself,
if a man smite you on the face.
I speak as concerning reproach as though we had been weak,
how be it wherein so ever any is bold, I speak foolishly.
I am bold also.
And I can start telling them about himself.
He says, are they Hebrews?
So am I. Are they Israelites?
So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham?
So am I. Are they the ministers of Christ?
I speak as a fool.
I am more in labors, more abundance.
So he's working really hard in stripes above measure,
in prisons, more frequent, in deaths, oft.
OK, so already this is a pretty crazy list so far.
And for someone to not quit, that implies that they went through something really hard.
Right. It's like, you don't say like, I didn't quit.
It was like so easy the whole time I coasted.
It doesn't make any sense.
Someone that didn't quit is because they went through something really hard.
Let's look at all the things that he went through of the Jews.
Five times received by 40 stripes, saved one.
Now, you know, sometimes we read verses in the Bible.
It's like, oh, verse, next verse, next.
But let me just just have you think about this for a moment.
Think about getting beaten with a whip, 40 stripes, save one.
Thirty nine times with a whip.
And it says that he did that five times.
That's just one verse in your Bible.
But let me tell you, within that one verse is a lot of pain and agony
and bleeding and physical suffering and a lot of temptations to say, I'm done.
I'm quitting.
This preaching the gospel thing is not worth it.
I'm getting beaten five times with whips.
That's pretty intense.
No one in here has probably gone through anything like that.
Preaching the gospel. Right.
Then he keeps going thrice.
I was beaten with rods.
You know, have you ever seen the police videos online of the Rodney
King incident where this dude's getting beaten with rods?
It's brutal.
He says that happened to him three times, three separate occasions.
Once I was stoned.
I mean, how do you survive being stoned?
It's incredible.
That's a lot of pain.
That's a lot of temptation to quit getting stoned.
Once or thrice, I suffered shipwreck.
I mean, I don't like the ocean whatsoever.
Three times suffering a shipwreck.
That's a nightmare.
A night in the day, I have been in the deep.
You know, he's just like laying on a piece of wood in the middle of the ocean
for a whole night and a whole day.
It's like, OK, Lord, just take me home.
Right. I'm done.
But not the Apostle Paul.
Not the Apostle Paul says a night in the day.
Have I been in the deep?
In journeying is often in perils of waters, in perils of robbers,
in perils by my known countrymen, in perils by the heathen,
in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea,
in perils among false brethren, in weariness and painfulness,
in watching is often in hunger and thirst, in fastings,
often in cold and nakedness.
Are you getting the picture of what the Apostle Paul's life was really like?
He didn't live Joel Osteen's life.
He didn't live Kenneth Copeland's life.
OK, the prosperity gospel.
No, the Apostle Paul's life from a physical standpoint was a complete
suffering wreck, right?
But he never quit.
And then he says this in verse 28, beside those things that are without,
besides all that persecution, all those things I just told you about.
He says that which come upon me daily, the care of all the churches.
I'm also taking care of all these churches that I planted, all the daily
administration, all the dealing with problems, all of the training of ministers,
all of the leading of the soul winning times and putting on the fellowship events
and ordering the Panda Express, he's he's doing it all.
Right. That's a lot of work.
That that'll make a man want to quit.
That'll make a man want to quit on serving God, but he never did.
Why is that? Go to Acts, chapter number 20.
What was different about the Apostle Paul?
This was a special man.
This man got a lot done for God.
Number one, I think what made him different, what made him never
quit on serving God was that he realized his importance to the mission.
He realized his importance to the mission.
And if we do not want to quit, we need to realize our importance to the mission.
Acts chapter 20, he's speaking to the elders at Ephesus that he's trained
and he's going to leave them for a while.
And this is what he says.
Let's start reading in verse 17.
It says, and from Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church.
And when they were come to him, he said unto them, you know, from the first day
that I came into Asia, after what manner I've been with you at all seasons,
serving the Lord with all humility of mine and with many tears and temptations,
which befell me by the lying and weight of the Jews and how I kept back nothing
that was profitable unto you, but have showed you and have taught you publicly
and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews and to the Greeks,
repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem,
not knowing the things that shall befall me there, save that the Holy Ghost
witness it in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.
He's saying I'm about to go into Jerusalem and I am unsure
what's going to happen to me there.
I'm not even quite sure.
But here's the one thing I know.
Bonds and afflictions await me.
He's like the only thing I know is that it's going to be really hard
and it's going to be really bad.
That's the one thing that he's he's assured of.
Well, look what he says.
But none of these things move me.
How? How do none of those things move you?
Though that would move most people.
That would move a lot of us.
That might move me.
That would move a lot of people.
But look what he says. But none of these things move me.
Neither count I my life, dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy.
Don't miss this.
And the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace
of God.
You know what he realized about himself?
He realized his importance to the mission.
He realized that he received of the Lord Jesus the ministry to testify the gospel.
He realized that he was an important aspect of the mission.
And you think about the Apostle Paul.
He was someone that was hand chosen by Jesus Christ, right?
He had a very, very important job.
But let me just tell you right now, the Apostle Paul is not the only person that Jesus Christ
has chosen to have this ministry.
Go to second Corinthians chapter number four, second Corinthians chapter number four, second
Corinthians four and look at verse one, it says, therefore, seeing we have this ministry
as many as we have received mercy, we faint not see it's not just the Apostle Paul in
Acts 20, he says, Hey, the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify
of the grace of God, then in second Corinthians four, he says, therefore, seeing we have received
this ministry and a lot of people have an improper view of themselves in the work of
God, they think, well, I'm not a pastor, I'm not an evangelist, I'm not a deacon, I'm not
someone that preaches and so I'm not very important.
That could not be farther from the truth.
Every single person has received this ministry from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Not just if you're a pastor.
Every man, woman, boy and girl has received this and if you want to make sure that you
never quit, you need to realize, wait a second, I have received this ministry of the Lord
Jesus Christ.
You know, that's a powerful truth when you actually think about it, that you have received
the same ministry that the Apostle Paul received.
Yeah, Jesus Christ came and chose him face to face, but we're just as chosen as he is,
just as chosen as he is.
Go to Matthew chapter number 28, Matthew chapter number 28, Matthew 28, let's start reading
in verse 18.
It says, "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven
and in earth.
Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded
you, and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
Amen.
This is the famous Great Commission, and how has God ordained that the Great Commission
is fulfilled?
Well, it's through the local New Testament church.
This is the institution that God has created for the Great Commission to be fulfilled,
and in that God-given institution, there is God-given positions of authority, like pastor,
you know, you have evangelist deacons, all of that, teachers, but we're all a part of
that body, and all of us are working for that same mission that Jesus Christ gave in Matthew
28, and that's to teach all nations.
That's not just the pastor's job, that's not just the preacher's job, that is every
single person's job, and you need to take ownership of that mission, realize your importance
to the mission, because Jesus is not going to complete this mission by himself.
God is not going to come down here and go and knock in the streets of the ghetto of
Detroit and ask people if they were to die today if they're 100% sure they're going
to heaven.
Jesus is not going to do that.
I feel like a lot of churches have forgotten about the importance of soul winning.
They have not emphasized the importance of preaching the gospel, and people have forgotten
that this is our job.
This is the whole reason church exists.
This is the whole reason God instituted the local New Testament church, is to preach the
gospel.
Yet how many churches don't go soul winning?
That is a shame to them.
Why are they not doing it here in Detroit?
This is, like I said, the most receptive place I've ever gone soul winning in America.
What are the Baptists doing in this town?
Why are they dropping the ball?
Go to John chapter number six.
I think it's a great story in John that illustrates how Jesus is not going to go and give the
gospel himself.
He's not going to come down here and knock on people's doors himself.
Look at John chapter six.
Let's read in verse one.
The Bible says, "After these things, Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the
Sea of Tiberias, and a great multitude followed him."
That great multitude pictures the unsaved, this world.
There's a great multitude out there.
"Followed him because they saw his miracles, which he did on them that were diseased."
Verse three, "And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.
And the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.
When Jesus then lifted up his eyes and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto
Philip, 'When shall we buy bread that these may eat?'"
You know, I love that Jesus, he sees these multitude, and he asks Philip, "Hey Philip,
what should we do about this multitude?
What should we do about this multitude?"
Is Jesus asking this question because he doesn't know the answer?
No, but he wanted to have Philip, "Phil, why don't you tell me what you think we should
do about this?"
You know, if you don't mind writing in your Bible, why don't you just write over Philip
your name?
Because you know what Jesus is saying to you?
"Hey CJ, what should we do about this multitude?"
Right?
"Hey brother Bill, what should we do about these multitude?
Hey brother Dylan, what should we do about this multitude?"
Right?
He's asking us that question because he already knows the answer, but he said, "Hey Philip,
what should we do about this?"
I like that he asked his disciple that because he doesn't need the answer.
He knows.
It's kind of a rhetorical question, right?
But look at verse 6, "And this he said to prove him, for he himself knew what he would
do."
Philip answered him, "Two hundred penny worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that
every one of them may take a little."
He says, "Jesus, this is too big of a job.
What do you mean what should we do about this?
This is way too big of a job.
I mean, we have very few people here.
We have very few resources.
We don't have enough time.
Do you see how much of a multitude there is out there that needs help?
You think that we could take care of this, Jesus?
What are you talking about?
And don't a lot of Baptists have that same attitude?
This world's too big.
It's too big of a job.
We don't have enough time.
We don't have enough resources.
We don't have enough money.
We've got a small church, right?
We don't have the fancy buildings.
How is it going to get done?"
Verse eight, "One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, 'There
is a lad here which hath five barley loaves and two small fishes, but what are they among
so many?'
And Jesus said, 'Make the men sit down.'
Now there was much grass in the place, so the men sat down in number by about five thousand.
And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks," pay attention to this, "He
distributed to the disciples and the disciples to them that were set down, and likewise of
the fishes as many as they would."
Notice Jesus did not break the loaves, multiply the bread, and He didn't walk up to every
single person and start divvying out the bread.
He didn't do that.
He broke the bread, and He said, He gave it to His disciples, and He said, "You go give
it to them."
You know what that's a picture of?
Jesus isn't coming here to preach the gospel.
We have to do it.
Hey, Jesus is the bread of life.
He broke His body for us.
He's done the miracle.
He's paid the sacrifice.
But you know what He's done?
He's handed that to us and He says distribute to them.
Make the men sit down in companies and distribute to them.
It's our job.
It's no one else's job.
And you are an important aspect to that mission.
Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise.
Every single person is important to this mission and something that will help us not quit on
serving God is realizing that because when you quit on serving God, you are doing damage
to the kingdom of God, because there's people out there that need you, and where are you?
You quit.
That's a sad thing.
Verse 12, "When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, 'Gather up the fragments
that remain, that nothing be lost.'
Therefore they gathered them together and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of
the five barley loaves which remained over and above unto them that had eaten."
See, the sacrifice was plenty.
You know, he's like, "Oh, we only have a couple fish, a couple bread."
There was more left over after he fed everyone.
The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is plenty.
He can save every person.
What's the problem?
Us.
We're the problem.
We've got to go distribute the bread.
Go to 2 Corinthians chapter number five, look at verse 18, it says, "And all things are
of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry
of reconciliation, to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself,
not imputing trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us.
We pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God."
The Bible says that we are ambassadors of Christ.
God has committed the ministry of reconciliation to us, and it's our job to plead with people
in Christ's stead to get saved.
That is our job.
That is our mission, and you have to realize that you are important to that mission.
I don't care if you're a silent partner.
I don't care if you've been preaching the gospel for 10 years.
If you show up to a soul-winning time, you are accomplishing great things for God.
You say, "Well, I live in an unreceptive area, and people don't often get saved."
Okay, well, congratulations.
You're Ezekiel, because God told Ezekiel, "Hey, why don't you just go preach to these
people?
They're impudent.
They're stiff-necked.
They're hard-hearted.
They're not going to listen to what you say, but just go preach to them anyways."
Hey, we're all getting paid the same when it comes to rewards in heaven.
We're called to be soul-warners first.
Praise God if we're soul-winners, but you can't control if someone believes on Christ.
All you can do is control if you open your mouth and give someone the opportunity.
So don't get discouraged if you don't live in a place like Detroit, right?
I've lived in unreceptive places before.
I've been soul-wining in Boise, Idaho.
I've been soul-wining in Portland, Oregon.
I understand.
Okay?
It doesn't even bother me, soul-wining in an unreceptive area.
Because our job is just to be faithful to what God says.
It's funny.
In Texas, people are so spoiled with good soul-wining.
A soul-wining captain will just fall over themselves apologizing if you went to a location
you didn't get someone safe.
They're like, "Oh, I'm so sorry.
I'll make sure you get a good receptive location."
Next week, I'm like, "Bro, it's okay.
I'm from Vancouver.
What are you talking about?"
It's like, "Chill out."
You know?
I'll take all the rich doors for you.
I don't mind.
Because we need to be soul warners.
That's our job.
Number one, realize your importance to the mission.
How are you not going to quit?
Number one, realize the importance to your mission.
Number two, have real love and compassion for other people.
You cannot do the things that Paul did.
You cannot have the ministry that the Apostle Paul had without real love for people.
You could put on a show for quite some time.
You know, you could go through the motions and make sure everyone thinks that you're
really godly.
Make sure everyone thinks that you care about souls.
But you know what, you're not going to get stoned.
You're not going to get beaten.
You're not going to get shipwrecked.
You're not going to go through the things that he did unless you actually love people.
That's a great way to quit is get some love for people in your heart to get you through
all the obstacles, all the all the wiles of the devil that are going to try to stop you
from preaching the gospel.
What's going to overcome that love?
Love will overcome that.
Second Corinthians chapter number four.
Let's read this again.
It says, "Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not."
You know, you ought to think about the mercy that you have received.
All of us deserve to go to hell.
All of us deserve to spend an eternity in a lake of fire.
We've received a lot of mercy.
And if you've received that mercy, don't you want your neighbor to receive that mercy?
Don't you want your mom and dad to receive that mercy?
Don't you want your kids to receive that mercy?
Don't you want your friends and your boss and your coworkers to receive that mercy?
Look at what he says in verse 2, "But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty,
not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation
of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost."
Do you ever think about that?
And I think you guys probably do, the ones that show up to a soul-winning marathon across
the country.
You probably do think about that, but never forget that.
Never forget that if your gospel is hid, it's hid to those that are lost.
And if you quit opening your mouth, there's people that will spend an eternity in hell
because of it.
I don't know how, I don't understand how Christians live with themselves that quit soul-winning.
You know, quit on your job, whatever.
Quit on these temporal, worthless, earthly things, whatever.
But don't ever quit soul-winning.
Don't ever quit soul-winning.
"Ah, I get better at the pastor, I want to go to a different church."
Don't quit soul-winning.
Don't ever quit soul-winning.
Look at verse 4, it says, "In whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them
which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God should
shine unto them."
Think about this, the Bible describes someone that is unsaved as blind, okay?
What kind of sense would it make if someone was blind and I said, "Well, he's just going
to figure out how to see some day.
He's just going to figure it out.
He's just going to heal himself."
Is that how that works?
Someone just decides one day they're not going to be blind?
Or did Jesus have to heal the blind?
Right?
I mean, hello?
But there's a great story about this.
Let's go to John, chapter number five.
There's a great story that illustrates that, hey, people aren't going to heal themselves.
People aren't going to get saved themselves.
People aren't going to pick up the King James Bible and get themselves saved by reading
it.
People aren't going to get saved by reading a tract.
People are not going to get themselves saved.
They need us to help them.
John, chapter number five, look at verse one, it says, "And after this there was a feast
of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue
Bethesda, having five porches.
In these lay," there's that word again, "a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind,
halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water."
Again, the great multitude, it's a picture of the unsaved, and they're blind, and they're
halt, and they're maimed, and what are they doing?
Waiting.
They're waiting.
And some of them don't know that they're waiting.
Some of them don't know that they're miserable, poor, blind, and naked.
Some of them don't know that they need to be healed.
But trust me, they're waiting.
They're waiting for us.
Verse 4, "For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool and troubled the water.
Whosoever then first at the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever
disease he had."
Now, of course, this is a supernatural miracle that's happening right here, the troubling
of the water.
An angel would come, trouble the water, and then if you walk into it, then you're healed.
And of course, the water, a lot of times, is a picture of salvation, right?
And so it makes sense, it's also a picture of the Holy Spirit, you know, you need the
Word of God to be saved, faith come with by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
You got to get into the water to be saved, as it were, verse five, it says, "And a certain
man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years."
There's some people, you know, that have been going to Joel Osean's church for thirty-eight
years.
There's some people that have been going to the Catholic church for thirty-eight years.
There's some people that have been agnostic for thirty-eight years, and they've never heard
the gospel.
They've never heard a good opportunity to hear it.
And they're waiting for the moving of the water, verse 6, and it says, "When Jesus saw him
lie and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, 'Will thou
be made whole?'"
Notice, salvation is a choice.
Salvation is free will.
He's asking the question, "Do you want to be made whole?
Do you want to be healed?
Do you want to be saved?"
It's a complete free choice, it's not Calvinism.
Bible says, you can stay there, I'll read for you Revelation 22-17, "And the Spirit
and the Bride say, 'Come,' and let him that heareth say, 'Come,' and let him that is
a thirst come, and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."
See that water is a picture of salvation, and he's saying, "Whoever wants to, come
take it."
Jesus asks us, "Man, do you want to be saved?"
You know, this is us saying, "Hey, if you were to die today, are you 100% sure that
you'd go to heaven?"
"No, I'm not very sure."
"Well, can I spend 10 or 15 minutes with you and show you how you can know for sure?"
Okay?
And you show them, you say, "Do you believe this?
Do you want to call upon the name of the Lord?
Wilt thou be made whole?"
That's what we're doing.
We're asking them.
But look what he says, verse 7, "The impotent man answered him, 'Sir,'" and these are
some of the saddest words in the Bible, "I have no man."
Does this man want to get saved?
Yes, he does.
What was the problem?
"I have no man."
How many people are in Detroit that have no man?
They want to be saved.
They'd get saved if you showed up and talked to them, if you loved them, if you cared about
them, but they say, "Hey, I have no man!"
That's the problem.
That's sad.
That's chilling words in your King James Bible right there.
"I have no man when the water is troubled to put me into the pool, but while I am coming
another stepeth down before me."
That's some sad words.
Verse 8, "Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk, and immediately the
man was made whole, and took up his bed and walked, and on the same day was the Sabbath."
See, Jesus, because he had compassion, because he loved this person, he walked up to this
person and said, "Wilt thou be made whole?"
What is that?
Love.
That's what the Apostle Paul had.
That's what the Lord Jesus Christ had.
Love.
That would cause you to go up to someone that you don't even know, that you will probably
never see again in your life, and ask them, "Wilt thou be made whole?"
That's what you have to have in your heart for you to not quit on serving God.
Because, hey, the storms of life can knock you down, but the love of a person's soul
to escape them from the fires of hell and spend eternity in heaven, that'll get you
through a lot in life.
That'll get you through a lot if you love people, if you want to warn them about hell.
The Bible teaches, go to 1 Corinthians chapter number three, the Bible teaches that God has
ordained a minister for every person.
God has ordained a soul winner for every single lost soul in this world.
Look at 1 Corinthians three verse one, "And I brethren could not speak unto you as unto
spiritual but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
I have fed you with milk and not with meat.
For hitherto you were not able to bear it, neither yet now are you able.
For ye are yet carnal.
For whereas there is among you envying and strife and divisions, are ye not carnal and
walk as men?
For while one saith I am of Paul and another I am of Apollos, are ye not carnal?
Who then is Paul and who is Apollos, but ministers, notice this, by whom ye believed even as the
Lord gave to every man.
Bible teaches that God has given to every soul a minister by whom someone has the opportunity
to believe.
And guess what?
That minister for thousands and thousands and thousands of people alive on this earth
right now is you.
It's you.
That's a sobering thought.
When you actually take that seriously, when you realize that God has chosen you to give
people the gospel that are alive right now in this world.
Those people that brother CJ and I got saved yesterday, God has given them a minister.
He's given them ministers.
All the people that you got saved yesterday, you were the minister that God chose for those
people to get saved.
And many Christians today, God has chosen them to be a minister to get the gospel to
people and they're just saying no.
Why?
Because they're lacking love.
Because they're lacking compassion.
Because they just care about themselves instead of caring about people spending an eternity
in hell.
Because Paul says, "Who then is Paul and who is Apollos?"
It's not that we're anything special because of us.
It's not that we're anything special because of our talents or our abilities or our looks
or our position.
No, we're special because of our mission.
We're special because of the ordinance that God has given to us to be ministers for Him,
to have the ministry of reconciliation.
That's what makes us special.
You better believe we're special.
You better believe you're special in this room.
It's because of the mission that you have and nothing else.
Who is Paul?
Who is Apollos?
But ministers, by whom you believe, even as the Lord gave to every man.
I have planned it.
Apollos watered.
But God gave the increase.
We of course know God gets all the credit.
He's the one that died on the cross.
He's the one that went to hell for three days and three nights.
He's the one that rose again from the dead.
Hey, we're just passing the message here.
We know that God's the one giving the increase.
Don't get me wrong.
But we still are laboring together with Him.
Verse 9, "For we are laborers together with God, your God's husbandry, your God's building."
We don't get the credit, but here's the thing, God's not going to do it without us.
God can't do it without us.
Remember, He gave the bread to the disciples.
He didn't go give the bread to the people.
It's our job to do that.
And you say, "Well, I'm lacking love."
And I don't think any of you are because you're here.
But maybe someday you're lacking your love.
You're driving down the road and you just see a bunch of weird freaks, and you're like,
"I don't want to preach the gospel.
What's going on?
I live in a weird area."
But look what the Bible says, I'll read for you in Proverbs 16.3, "Commit thy works unto
the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established."
You want to know how to change your heart, how to change your thoughts, is by doing the
work.
I guarantee you, yesterday, if you knocked on someone's door and looked them in the eyes
and preached them the gospel and called upon the name of the Lord with them, you have more
love in your heart now than you did before, because you're committing your works unto
the Lord.
That's how you get the love back in your heart if it ever gets lost.
And you need to know how to do that, because what are we talking about?
How not to quit, realizing your importance to the mission, but also having real love
and compassion for people.
That's going to keep you in the fight.
That's going to keep you going.
So number one, how do we not quit?
Realize your importance to the mission.
Number two, have real love and compassion towards people.
Number three, loosen your grip on the things of this world.
Loosen your grip on the things of this world.
This is one of the biggest reasons why Paul never quit on serving God, is he had a loose
grip on the things of this world.
And when you think about why many Christians, especially in our country, fail and quit is
because they have a tight grip on the physical things of this world, because we live in such
a prosperous nation that's been blessed by God for so long, that people just have their
hands gripped so tightly around this world, and it causes people to quit.
Let's go back to Acts chapter number 20, Acts chapter number 20, and I want to point out
again some things that didn't move Paul.
Look at verse number 22 of Acts chapter 20, it says, "And now behold, I go bound in the
Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there, save that the
Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me."
So remember, he's saying, "I'm going to Jerusalem, and I don't know what's going to happen to
me.
Other than that, it's going to be bad."
And look what he says in verse 24, "But none of these things move me."
And now I want to focus on a different part of this verse.
Notice this, he says, "Neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish
my course with joy in the ministry which I have received in the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God."
Notice, Paul did not count his precious little life, something that was so dear unto him.
There was things that were more important to the Apostle Paul than his own life, than
his own daily affairs, than his tent-making business, than all the things that he enjoyed
in this world.
He did not count his life dear unto himself.
He had such a loose grip on the things of this world that he was willing to kiss his
physical body and his physical life goodbye for the gospel of Christ. That's incredible.
That is incredible. He did not have a tightly grip thing on the things of this world. Go
to Matthew chapter number six, Matthew chapter number six. And the reason why so many people
quit is because they count their dear precious little lives too dear unto themselves. Their
job is too important to them to make a stand for God. Their life is too important to them.
Their family situation is too important to them to live for God, to serve God. They have
all their things. It's too important to them. But notice what Jesus said in Matthew 6 verse
24, "No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or
else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon." What
is Mammon? Mammon is just things. It could be money. It could be toys. It could be your
physical possession. It could be your house. It could be your job. Mammon is just things.
He says, "Look, you'll either hate the one and love the other. You'll hold to the one
and despise the other. You cannot love the things of this world and serve God." When
it says to hate Mammon, this isn't saying that when you get your paycheck at work you
have to rip it up and say, "I despise this." The Bible doesn't say that money is the root
of all evil. It says that the love of money is the root of all evil. Hate in the Bible
sometimes is loathing and just detesting something. Sometimes it's esteeming something less than
another, okay? So I'm not saying you've got to rip up your paycheck when you get paid
from your job, okay? But you know what? If you esteem your money higher than you esteem
soul winning, you've got a problem. If you esteem your money higher than you esteem church
attendants, you have a problem. The things of God always needs to come number one. And
if it doesn't, you've got a little too tight of a grip on the things of this world. And
if you're going to have longevity in the Christian life, if you're going to get to the end and
say, "I fought a good fight. I finished my course. I've kept the faith." You've got to
loosen your grip on the things of this world. But what do Americans care about today? Their
cars. They've got to have a couple Teslas. And they've got to have an RV. And they've
got to have a boat. And they've got to have a summer house up in the mountains of Idaho.
They've got to have a winter cabin down in Phoenix, Arizona. They've got to make all
these trips abroad and travel the world. And don't have any kids until you're 30 so you
can travel the world. Look, that's garbage. None of the things on this earth matter. The
Bible says that, you know, there's no remembrance of former things. When you're in heaven, you're
not going to remember your boat. You're not going to remember your house. You're not going
to remember your vacations. You're not going to remember any of that stuff. You know what
you're going to remember? The people you got saved yesterday in Detroit. That's who you're
going to remember. That's the things that actually matter. Go to Philippians chapter
number four, Philippians chapter number four, Philippians chapter number four, look at verse
11. It says not that I speak in respect of want for I have learned in whatsoever state
I am therewith to be content. The word content means to be satisfied and accepting of one
situation, belongings and lot in life. Do you always find yourself where you're never satisfied
with the things that you have, the places that you go to, your job, all the things that
God has given you? You just always find yourself wanting more, wanting different things. Well,
Paul was content in whatever state he is. Verse 12 he said, I know both how to be abased
and I know how to abound. I know how to live good basically and I know how to live in poverty
everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to
abound and suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Because
the focus wasn't on the rewards of Paul's work and the nice cars and the fancy houses.
No, he said I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. That's what strengthened
him, not the things that he had, not the things that he could obtain in this world. I'll read
for you 1st Timothy 6.6. It says, "But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought
nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out, and having food
and raiment, let us be there with content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation
and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drowned men in destruction and
perdition, for the love of money is the root of all evil, which while some coveted after,
they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. The
Bible explicitly says that covetousness causes people to err from the faith, causes people
to quit on serving God. This is not something I just made up. The Bible says that while
some coveted after, they have erred from the faith. And you want to quit serving God? Get
covetous. I mean, the Bible says that you're supposed to be kicked out of church in 1 Corinthians
5 if you're a covetous person. Talk about quitting serving God. What about if you're
cast out of the church, right? And you know what? A lot of people that just get covetousness
or coveted, they don't even have to get kicked out of the church. They kick themselves out
of the church because they'd rather be on the boat on Sunday than in the church anyways.
They'd rather be serving money than at church anyways. They'd rather be serving money than
soul winning anyways. They get themselves out of the fight. The Bible tells us that
they've erred from the faith. But thou, O man of God, flee these things and follow after
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Look, the world is out there and
the devil is constantly bombarding you with messages that you need more stuff to be happy.
You need a better house to be happy. You need to buy this new smart watch. You need to buy
this new phone. You need to buy this new car. You need to dress like this and you're going
to see it everywhere in the movies and the television and the billboards. It's going
to be constantly bombarding you. But the Bible says, man of God, flee these things. You got
to wake up in the morning and say, okay, I realize that I live in America and I realize
that every single person here thinks that money buys happiness and everyone here is
serving money. I need to put on the new man. I need to renew my mind and say, okay, I need
to flee those things because the former things, we're not going to remember that. It's not
important. Nothing else matters but serving Christ. Verse 12, fight the good fight of
faith. What's that in context of fleeing covetousness? That's the good fight. Lay hold on eternal
life whereunto thou art called and has professed a good profession before many witnesses. So
you know, at the end of Paul's life when he says I fought a good fight, we know that one
of the things he did was he definitely avoided covetousness because in the context of preaching
against covetousness, he's saying fight the good fight. Looks like Paul did this and Paul
was absolutely not a covetous person. He had a position as a evangelist and as an apostle
where he could have been taking a full-time check. There would have been absolutely nothing
wrong with him doing that, but he decided to set an example where he's working a full-time
secular job and planning churches and getting shipwrecked and getting stoned and just working
like crazy. He wasn't a covetous man. He fought the good fight. Go to Mark chapter number
8. We just have to remind ourselves, we just have to have this bottom line in our mind
that you will lose everything someday. You will lose every possession that you own on
this earth someday. You will lose every family member someday. Every car, every vacation,
every trinket, you know, the chest full of grandpa and grandma's hand-me-downs. It's
all going to be gone. None of it will last. The only thing that matters is what you did
for Christ. Mark chapter 8, it's the context of Jesus explaining how he's going to die,
and then Peter rebukes him for it, and then Jesus rebukes him back. Look, let's start
reading verse 34. It says, "And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples
also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up
his cross, and follow me." And I love this next verse. "For whosoever will save his
life shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, and for the Gospels,
the same shall save it." So many unbelievers in this world and so many Christians are so
focused on saving their precious little lives and finding their precious little lives. And
they think they're going to find it in the material goods. They think they're going
to find it with the adultery. They think they're going to find it with the fornication and
the alcohol and all the things that money can buy. But Jesus says, "Why don't you
just lose that? But whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the Gospels, the same
shall save it." Then you'll actually find your life. Then you'll actually save your
life and find your purpose on this earth when you give up all that other garbage. Verse
36, "For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own
soul?" Or, "What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" What's it going to profit
the devil who's called the God of this world, who runs this world right now? What's it
going to profit him when he's burning in the lake of fire for all of eternity? Nothing,
absolutely nothing. "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous
and sinful generation, of him also shall the son of man be ashamed when he cometh in the
glory of his father with the holy angels." You know, for the unsaved, it's like, what
does it matter if you get all these things that you desire and then you lift up your
eyes in hell? And for the saved, what does it matter if you spend your whole vapor of
a life on this earth gathering wood, hay, and stubble and you have no rewards in heaven
and you're the least in the kingdom of heaven. You're going to spend a lot more time in eternity
and in heaven than you will on this earth. And we just sometimes, we live in the flesh,
we have fleshly bodies and sometimes that's all we can see is our jobs, is our daily life
and just drudging through this life. But you're not here for very long. You're not here for
very long. And so it's great when I see people spend their time, spend their money, spend
their energy to fly to Detroit and preach the gospel. It shows me that you guys don't
have a tight grip on the things of this world. That you do love people. That you do realize
the importance of this mission and how important you are to it. So here's the bottom line.
Look, quit on other things in your life if you have to. But one thing, just never ever
quit on serving God. Never quit preaching the gospel. No matter where you live, no matter
where you are, open your mouth boldly and make known the mystery of the gospel. Why?
Because it's up to you. It's your mission. Realize how important you are to it. Realize
that you are a minister of God ordained to give the gospel to people that are living
and breathing, alive on this earth right now and that will spend an eternity somewhere.
And the decision on whether or not they go to heaven and hell is up to them if you preach
them the gospel. But if they never have a chance, you know what? Their blood is on your
hands. Their blood is on my hands. So how are we gonna never quit? And like I said,
all of us could quit. No one in here is above quitting. And all of us have to take heed unto
ourselves and realize, hey, I have an important mission today. I have an important mission.
I'm an ambassador for the Lord Jesus Christ. All power has been given unto us in heaven
and in earth. Jesus Christ is with us to the ends of the earth. Amen. We have an important
mission. And then realize, hey, I need to have real love and compassion for people that
are going to spend an eternity somewhere. And that'll get you through a lot of your
problems and have a loose grip on the things of this world. These are keys that will help
you to never quit on serving God. Let's end in a word of prayer, Lord. Thank you so much
for this day. I thank you for every single person here that would spend their time, energy
and money to come out and preach the gospel. I pray that you'd please strengthen every
single person here and just give us the tenacity and fortitude to never quit on serving God,
to never quit reading our Bibles, to never quit going to church, to never quit preaching
the gospel. I pray that you'd help us just to be strengthened, to help us to love other
people, to help us have a loose grip on the things of this world. In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.