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Amen. All right. So here we are in Philippians chapter 1. So it's a short book, four chapters, but I figured what we would do is, first of all, you know, just kind of finish off Paul's, he was writing the letter to the Romans. Let's look at Paul in Rome, I figured. So it's a short book. We'll preach through for four weeks in Philippians. And tonight, you know, we're going to see some great soul winning tips from the Apostle Paul tonight in Philippians chapter 1. So we're going to study that out tonight. So first of all, you know, we know that if you know anything about Paul reading the book of Acts and reading the epistles, Paul wanted to get to Rome. And that was a goal of his life was to appeal to Caesar. And you should have, you know, read through that in the book of Acts already if you've been doing your nine chapters, nine chapters a day. And we see here Paul is writing a letter from Rome in Philippians. In Philippians chapter 1, let's just read the first few verses together here. The Bible says, Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus, which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons, grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you making requests with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Christ. Then verse number 7, even as it meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, in so much as both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you are partakers of my grace. So Paul was currently under house arrest in Rome at this time. So I want to look at just a little bit of history and Paul's journey to Rome. So go ahead and turn your Bibles to Acts chapter 22. Basically, Paul went from Jerusalem to Caesarea to Rome. And it was kind of a long journey for him, but at first it started out with his trip to Jerusalem, or his last trip to Jerusalem. And he used that situation in Jerusalem to get to Rome. And if you look at Acts 22, look at verse number 22. This is how it went for Paul when he went to Jerusalem. It's kind of how people thought it would go for him when he went there. In verse number 22, the Bible says, in Acts 22, 22, and they gave him an audience unto his word, and then lifted up their voices and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth, for it is not fit that he should live. Well, that's nice. And as they cried out and cast off their clothes and threw dust into the air, the chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle and bade that he should be examined by scourging. This is the Roman captain. Okay, so the Jews are freaking out and they're throwing dust in the air. You know, they're putting dust on their head and the whole, you know, sackcloth and ashes is what they're trying to mimic here. And the chief captain is like, Whoa, we have unrest here. What's going on? So he takes Paul and he's like, Hey, just, you know, beat him and, you know, examine him means whip him is what that means. Okay, so they were gonna they were about to scourge Paul and so that they would know what was the big deal. Verse 25, and as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman and uncondemned? So a centurion is, you know, kind of like a colonel. You know, he's a he's a he's a he's a high ranking Roman soldier. He's not one of the lower soldiers. Okay. And when the centurion heard that he went and told the chief captain saying, Take heed what thou doest for this man is a Roman. Then the chief captain came and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea. And the chief captain answered and he said, With a great sum I obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born. Then straight away they departed from him which it should have examined him. And the chief captain also was afraid after he knew that he was a Roman and because he had bound him. So it turns out that Paul was a Roman citizen. And that saved him here from getting, you know, beaten by the Romans. So basically, you know, being a Roman citizen meant that you were above the Jews in this case because the Jews were under subjection to the Romans remember. Okay. So then from here, basically what happens is the Jews are trying to kill Paul. There's a they find out that there's a conspiracy of these 40 men that are trying to kill Paul and have taken a vow to assassinate Paul. And this this captain sends Paul with 200 soldiers to Caesarea. Okay. And Paul gets to do some preaching along the way. That's one thing I love about Paul is no matter what kind of terrible situation that he's in, he's just using it as an example to just, you know, keep keep soul winning. Just keep soul winning because he gets he gets put in front of all these governors and kings along the way. And he just has this great opportunity that all these people just come to him. And he just he just preaches the gospel to them. So basically, he gets taken to the governor Felix in Caesarea. And then after Felix had him for a while, the governor Festus took over for Felix, and then that's when he ended up going to going to Rome. But he was in Caesarea for two years. Okay, so it wasn't like a quick trip for Paul. All right. So look at Acts chapter 26, and verse number 19. Paul gets an opportunity to give the gospel to a lot of people when he's in Caesarea, because people he's kind of infamous at this point. He's making a name for himself here. People are wondering, what's the big deal? Why is everybody after this guy? He's preaching this new thing. He's he's got this new thing that happened. He's telling this amazing story. People want to know what's going on. So if you look at Acts 26, and verse number 19, there's this king that comes to Paul at Caesarea, and his name is King Agrippa. And Paul has an opportunity to share the gospel to King Agrippa. And there's a lot of interesting things in this story. In verse number 19, let's let's start reading there. Whereupon, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision. So he's telling the King Agrippa here, you know, what happened to him, okay, and how Jesus appeared to him. All right. But showed first unto them of Damascus and of Jerusalem and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple and went about to kill me. Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to great small and great, saying none of the things and those which the prophets and Moses did say come. That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should show light unto the people and to the Gentiles. Verse number 24, and as he thus spake for himself. So Paul, notice those four words there, as he thus spake for himself. As he thus spake. So Paul continues telling this story. It's not all written right here. Okay, so he continues, you know, giving the gospel. It isn't just this two paragraph thing that Paul gets into here. He says, as he thus spake for himself. So he continues on giving the gospel to this king. Okay? Then Festus at some point interrupts him with a loud voice. Paul, thou art beside thyself. Much learning doth make thee mad. So what he said in verse 24 must have been some pretty great expounding of the word of God. Right? Because this guy says, hey, you know, much learning has made you crazy, man, is what he said. Right? In verse number 25, Paul says, but he said, I am not mad, most noble. You know, he said, Paul says, I am not mad, most noble Festus. But speak forth the words of truth and soberness. The opposite of being mad. He's sober. He's in his right mind. He's serious, is what he's saying. 26, for the king knoweth of these things before whom also I speak freely. For I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him. For this thing was not done in a corner. So he says, hey, King Agrippa, I know you heard of this. I know that this isn't the first time that you've heard this story about Jesus. And then he says, King Agrippa. See, Festus interrupts him. Festus is just like, he's not having any of it. Right? He's like, you're nuts. You've been reading too much. You've had your face in that Bible too long and it's made you crazy. And he says, I'm not crazy. I'm dead serious. And I know King Agrippa knows what I'm talking about. And I know he's heard this story before. And then he, Paul focuses. So here he's talking to a couple people, right? And he focuses to the king who he knows is listening and has heard this before. Okay? And he says, King Agrippa, believeth thou the prophets. I know that thou believeth. Verse number 24. No, I'm sorry. That was verse number 27. But then he lets him answer. So what Paul is trying to figure out is what King Agrippa believes. He's trying to figure out. He's asking this guy. He's like, I know you've heard these stories. I know you've heard of Jesus. I know you have an idea of what I'm talking about. What do you believe? He asked the king, what do you believe? And then Agrippa, he tells him. He tells him what he believes. Look at verse 28. And the Bible says, then Agrippa said unto Paul, almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. Close. Right? But the King Agrippa, did he get saved right here? Basically what King Agrippa just said to Paul, was, yeah, I'm just really not sure. You know? I'm just, I have to think about that. How many times have we heard that from people? That's what King Agrippa said. Many people that you're going to run into, they need to think it through. They're just not going to get it the first time. And that's okay. Look at verse 29. So what does Paul do? This is super important here. And Paul said, I would to God that that not only thou but also all that hear me this day were both almost and altogether such as I am except these bonds. You see how he uses that word almost again? He says, he says basically, I would to God, meaning I pray to God, I will, I will to God. You see, you see what he's saying? I beseech God that you would not only almost become a Christian, but you would become as me and believe. See? He's basically just in a very nice and powerful way, he's giving a polite comment on how he's concerned for him. On how he wishes that he would, you know, be like him, right? But he doesn't pressure, you know, him and he doesn't, you know, go any further than that. I mean, that's it. I mean, some people just aren't going to get it the first time. That's just the way it is. And we see it right here. Okay? Verse number 30. And when he had thus spoken, the king rose up and the governor and Bernice and they, that sat with them. And they that sat with them. And when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves saying, this man doeth nothing worthy of death or bonds. So were these people mad at Paul? Were these people upset at Paul? Were these people irritated with Paul? No. They actually, they left the situation and they were advocating for him. Because when you go to someone and you, whether you get them saved or not, but you show actual concern and love for them, they will, number one, they will be able to see that. And number two, they, that will make them feel good. I mean, these people were not upset at Paul. Okay? So this, you know, this is just a great example of somebody that didn't get saved and how Paul reacted to that. Okay? So please look, look. I mean, we're not, you can't make people believe. You can't. And, you know, not everyone is going to believe. So, you know, this, you know, there's this, this type of soul winner that's this foot in the door, high pressure soul winner. No. No. That's, that's not going to be us. Okay? Turn back, turn to Acts 28. Let's go on to Rome now. Let's go on to Rome. Let's go on to Rome and we see Paul in Rome. Acts 28, look at verse number 16. And the Bible says, And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard, but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with the soldier that kept him. And it came to pass that after three days, Paul called the chief of the Jews together. So Paul's calling these the chief of the Jews together. And when they were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people or customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans, who when they had, when they had examined me would have let me go because there was no cause of death in me. But when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar, not that I had ought to accuse my, I had ought to accuse my nation of. For this cause therefore I called for you to see you and to speak with you, because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain. He's saying, I'm here and you might as well come here so I can speak to you and be a blessing to you. And they said unto him, We neither received letters out of Judea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came showed or spake any harm of thee. But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest, for as concerning this sect, we know that everywhere it is spoken against. So they've heard of it too. Everyone has heard of this at this point. Verse 23, when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him in his lodging to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, persuading them concerning Jesus. Don't forget that word, both out of the law of Moses and out of the prophets from morning till evening. And guess what? Some believe the things which were spoken and some believe not. Some people believed and some people didn't. But Paul was in this great situation in Rome where he was basically winning souls there and people were just coming to him because he was under house arrest. And people had all heard of this and he was kind of a leader in this new sect that had been spoken against, so people were coming to him. And he was preaching the gospel to him and from day until night the Bible says, and some believed and some didn't. That's how it goes. Turn to Mark chapter 16. They knew what this sect was about. He was infamous. We know everywhere that it is spoken against, they said. Turn to Mark 16 and look at verse 15. And of course the Bible says a very famous passage. And he said unto them, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. But Paul didn't have to do that because once he got to Rome, people just came to him. What a beautiful thing, especially for somebody like Paul. Okay? So that's how Paul got to Rome, his path from Jerusalem to Caesarea to Rome. Let's go back to Philippians. Go back to Philippians and verse number 8 I think is where we're at. Philippians 1 verse 8. And the Bible says, for God is my record how greatly I long after you in the bowels of Jesus Christ. In this I pray that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment, that ye may approve things that are excellent, that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God. But I would, ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel. So he's using it, he's using it for the good that he's in bonds. He's still able to share the gospel. Look at verse 13. So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace and in all other places. And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Because the way he handles, because of the way he handles himself, others are emboldened by him. Because he doesn't, he's not afraid, he's not running for his life. Imagine, you know, if he just wanted to run and hide and that was the story of Paul, was just running and hiding. The story of Paul is people telling him, hey, don't go there. They're going to kill you there. And he's like, I'm going there anyway. That's the story of Paul. From Jerusalem to Caesarea and especially to Rome. So he was emboldening people. You know, a lot of people were, you know, a lot of people were very surprised when I actually moved to California. Especially like where I came from. Can you imagine? I mean, it's the land of fruits and nuts. That's what they called it when I grew up. The land of fruits and nuts. I'm sure you've heard it before. But I mean, everyone in California is crazy. It's the worst place in the country. You know, we hope there's just an earthquake and it just falls into the ocean. That's the kind of, I mean, that's what I grew up hearing about California. But look, this is where all the people are. Right? I mean, think about it. I mean, what good would it do the Christian to sit in the woods somewhere and do nothing? You know, watch the news and watch the news talk about how messed up the country is. What good would that do, the country? Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 10. So when you get depressed about California, just remember this, okay? Go to 2 Corinthians chapter 10. 2 Corinthians chapter 10. Paul went to the worst place at the time. He went to the worst place and they, you know, he had it way worse than us. I mean, California is beautiful. I mean, you know, he got thrown in prison. Okay? Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse number 4. The Bible says, for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. So that's, we have, our war is spiritual. And it's a mighty war and we can pull down whatever stronghold is around us. No matter how wicked it is. But look, this is where the fight is. This is where the people are. This is where the, I mean, when you think about the battle for the soul of this country, the front lines is California. Tell me it's not. I mean, so some people talk and some people do. And we're here and we're here to do. We're here to go to the front lines and fight the spiritual fight that needs to be fought. That's why we're here. That's why you're here. That's why I'm here. Okay? Look, that's the solution. California needs more King James only independent Baptist churches. That's what California needs more of. They don't need more taxes. They don't need more weird policies. This is what they need more of. They need more churches like this. And that's, this is how we're going to get there, by doing what we're doing. You know, as goes California, I hate to break it to everybody in Tennessee and the Midwest or wherever else, but as goes California, so goes the rest of the country, folks. So we might as well get on the front lines of the battle and start winning the fight. That's my view. Okay? Look, this country, this country was lost from the pulpit. Do you understand what I'm saying? This country was lost first. You can talk about the politicians and the Democrats and the liberals and whatever, all you want, but this, the battle that was first lost in this country that has led to where we are today was lost from the pulpit because the man of God stopped preaching the word of God. That's what happened. And guess what? If it was lost from the pulpit, it'll be found from the pulpit. That's where it needs to start. Okay? Back to Rome. Back to Rome and the letter. Now it gets interesting. Now it gets interesting. Look at verse number 15. Verse number 15. Philippians chapter 1 and verse number 15, the Bible says, some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife and some also of good will. The one preached Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds. Now this is interesting. He's talking about there's different kinds of Christians arising here. Okay? Now, do you ever wonder why I talk about the culture of this church so much? Because guess what? There's going to be different kinds of Christians that arise. That's why I talk about the culture that we want to have at this church. Because guess what? Just because you're all saved doesn't mean we're all going to be just the best Christians. See what I mean? So look what Paul says is happening. Some are preaching Christ of envy and strife. You know, motives matter. Motives matter. Why you do what you do, it matters. It matters. Let's look at this idea of preaching Christ of envy and strife. Now, these people had motives that Paul is talking about to glorify themselves over him or over each other or over whatever. They were preaching Christ of envy and strife. You know, maybe to be better than Paul, maybe to be better than, you know, the guy in the house church or that they thought was the best or whatever. But they were doing things with the wrong motives. They were trying to outdo each other. That's what he's talking about. So, I mean, this is why you'll hear me talk a lot about, you know, okay, you know, I don't focus a lot on the numbers. I know we keep track. And there's nothing wrong with that. Okay? But you'll hear me say things like, you know, I don't focus a lot on that or I try not to talk a lot about that and things like that. Because look, if your motives out there soul winning every day are to get X amount of people saved so you can tell people you got X amount of people saved, that's wrong. That's not right. That's not the right motive. You know, when we go out there soul winning, folks, we, I mean, we are responsible for people's souls. I mean, that's a big deal. That's a big deal and it needs to be taken seriously and you need to make sure that your motives are in the right place. People's souls are resting on us. Verse 16, preaching Christ of contention. You know, this is basically people going around being jerks. You know? I mean, I've met these people. I mean, just people were trying to cause problems. You know, people were just causing problems. Look, don't let the fact that, how do I say this? Don't let the fact that you are right turn you into a jerk. Because that can happen. You know, that can happen. You know, you'd be this person that's just constantly arguing with people because, you know, you just, you know you're right. You know, it goes to your head and it could just turn you into a jerk and you could be preaching Christ of contention. Okay? Now, look. Look at verse 17. The Bible says, but the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel, what then? Notwithstanding every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. He's like, hey, either way, he's trying to take a positive spin on it. Either way, Christ is being preached. I mean, but here's the thing. Did he say that these people aren't saved? No. These people were saved. They were just going out there and they were just being contentious. They were just preaching Christ of envy and strife. I mean, these people were saved. He never said, you know, they're sons of Lyle or anything that would even give us the idea that they weren't saved. So, guess what that means? That means that that means to be something that we watch out for with ourselves. Right? Our motives. What we're doing. Look at verse number 18 one more time. What then? Notwithstanding every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. He's trying to take a positive spin. He's just saying that, you know what? At least Christ is being preached, but you should be doing it with the right motives is what he's trying to tell you here. Okay? You know, the dangers of, you know, focusing on, you know, the envy and the glory of it is that, you know, this becomes you. You know, it becomes a competition. No. No. I mean, you'll start finding yourself, you know, upset that you couldn't count one that didn't get saved or something. No. None of that. You know, and God forbid that you just start, like, pressuring people and sticking your foot in the door when you're out soul winning. Because, look, I mean, it's not a magical prayer. You can't force people to believe. I mean, Paul didn't force King Agrippa to believe. He didn't believe. He left him with a couple thoughts, showed that he was concerned about them, and he moved on his way. That's it. Look at verse 19. For I know that this shall return to my salvation through prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness as always, he's always bold, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor. Yet what shall I choose? I want not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. Turn to Acts, chapter 2, and verse number 32. Nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. So basically, in these few verses here, what he's saying is, you know what, I'd rather just, you know, for me to die, everything's just going to get better for me. It's gain for me. It's gain for me, because I'm going to go and I'm going to be with Christ. This disproves soul sleep right here. We've already gone over this a couple weeks ago. But to die physically is gain. Why? Because then you're with Christ. So if you were to Acts, chapter 2, where is Christ? Look at verse 32. This is a parallel, by the way. This is a quote of Psalm 110, verse number 1. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses. And then in verse number 33, therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which he now see and hear. So he's on the right hand of God, is where Jesus is. Okay? So Paul is saying that to die is to be in heaven. So, you know, but I know that it's a benefit to you that I stay here. So he's willing to stay. Okay? Verse number 25 of Philippians, chapter 1. And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for the furtherance and joy of faith. So he's just saying, look, I'll abide and continue with all for your furtherance. Because if Paul dies, he has so much faith in where he's going, that he just knows that it's nothing but gain for him. That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again. Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ, that whether I come and see you or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel. He's like, you know what? Behave yourself. Well, I'm gone. It's basically what he's saying. The more you start to identify with this church, folks, the more unified we will be, by the way. Okay? And verse number 28. And in nothing terrified by your adversaries, which is them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation and that of God. Look, people, he's saying that these adversaries is evident token of perdition. It's a sign of their damnation. We're going to talk about this next Sunday. But if people are just actively against you when you're out soul winning or actively trying to stop you from getting other people saved, that's a sign of their perdition. Meaning, that's a sign of their damnation. That's what Paul's saying here. Look at verse number 29. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake. Persecution, he's saying, it just comes with the package of eternal life. Get used to it. You know, American persecution, there isn't any. I hate to break it to you. But, I mean, most people can't take even a little persecution from their families. You know, people just need to just toughen up a little bit and understand what these people in the Bible went through for Christ. And then verse 30, he says, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now here to be in me. So I just want to give you four, five points tonight on some soul winning tips from Paul, from this chapter and the verse we read about King Agrippa. Okay. Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. So this will be the application. I mean, Paul was probably the greatest soul winner that ever lived. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. I just want to end tonight and I just want to give you some soul winning tips. And, you know, maybe we should have had these types of tips early on in the ministry. But I want to make sure that you understand and are clear where I stand, where the Bible stands, why we take the stand on soul winning that we do here, why we're going to take the stand on. Look, there's a reason that we do it the way we do it. There's a reason, and it's not just the path through the Bible. That's the beginning. The sheet on the wall with the verses and memorizing that, that's the beginning. That's the beginning of the soul winning that we do here. The culture is how you take that out, how you act towards people, how good you get at doing that. That brings me to my first point. My first point is this. We are here to persuade men. We are here to persuade men. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse number 11. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. But we are made manifest unto God and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. Look, many of you, if you've ever been soul winning with me, you've probably heard me say this. The more persuasive that you can become, the better soul winner you will be. Look, you can memorize the verses and that's the first step. But look, the better you can get at persuading people. I mean, how many times have you been soul winning with me and I met some really nice guy or really nice gal or whatever that just they're just too busy. And you know they're humble and they're a decent, you know, they have a decent heart. And you just, I just walk away and I think I wish there could be something that I could say to make them want to listen. And I mean, I'll say that out loud because I mean it breaks my heart when I see situations like that. But look, there's things I can do to maybe get more persuasive. Try to be a better people person. Try to be softer with people. Maybe, but you know what? At the end of the day, for a lot of people there's just nothing you're going to be able to say. Okay? I mean, I wish I could be more persuasive. I'm learning just like you. I'm learning, I'm learning, I'm learning. I want to get better and better and better. But it's about reading situations and people and that just takes experience. That just takes experience with people. It just takes experience in life. It takes experience soul winning. And knowing when to not, you know, push on people too hard. That takes experience. Point number two is this. Leading, that leads right into point number two is this. Not everyone will be persuaded. Okay? We're here to persuade men, but not everyone will be persuaded. On Sunday, I'm going to use an example. I'm going to use Brother Trevor. I never, I didn't ask for his permission, but it's, sorry brother. So we're out, so I'm out soul winning in a group of three with Brother Angel and Brother Trevor. And Brother Angel gives the gospel to this young man. And this young man is just, he's just not believing. He's just not believing it. And Brother Angel got to the point where he recognized that the young man wasn't believing. And he turned to me and he just asked, Brother Jared, do you want to say anything? And so, you know what I did? I just pretended like that kid that he was talking to was King Agrippa. And I didn't really know. We didn't hear the kids say a lot during the soul winning presentation with Angel. Angel did a good job. But we didn't hear this kid say a lot, so here's what I did. I introduced myself to him. I said, hi, I'm Jared. And he said, I'm Chris. And I said, Chris, what do you think about all this? And then I just stopped. And guess what I did? I just listened. I just listened to what he said. And he told us, well, I don't think, you know, that you can just not do works and go to heaven. And I picked up on the fact that he was, he's talking Catholic to me. And so I said, did you grow up Catholic? And he said, yeah, I did. And I was like, yeah, you know, I grew up that way too. And I gave him a few verses. I gave him two verses, not a few, I should say. I gave him, I took him to two places in the Bible. And I said, I just want to give you a couple things to think about. And I showed him the verses. And I said, you know, you got some things to think about. Do you see how that's different than how you grew up and what you were taught? And he says, yeah, I see how that's different. And I said, think on it. Think about it. Ask God to show you the truth. Pray that God will show you the truth. Here's a brochure. There's some Bible verses here. Video on the back. God bless you. You know, and we walked away. An angel is like, ah, you know, he's kind of beating himself up a little bit. I'm like, no. No. There's nothing you can do to make people believe. You did a good job. You did what you were supposed to do. Look, there's a difference. It's the mature soul winner. This is what I told him. It's the mature soul winner that will walk away from somebody and not push them into a prayer. That will walk away and just plant that seed in them. And walk away hoping that the next time a soul winner comes to that door, they've thought about it. And now they're like, you know what, I thought about this six months ago when you guys were here. And there's some really good points and I can't find anything in the Bible that says anything different than what you guys said. Because guess who that was? Me. I didn't get saved the first time somebody gave me the gospel. I didn't get saved the second time. But I went and I looked at those things if they were true. And I couldn't find anything in the Bible that was against the gospel. It must be true. But it wasn't in five minutes. See? Point number three. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter three. This leads right into point number three. 1 Corinthians chapter three. This is the culture. This is the soul winning culture here. Okay? This is the soul winning culture that we want to have here. Okay? 1 Corinthians chapter three. Point number three is that planting seeds is just as valuable as harvesting. It's just as valuable. Look at verse number 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 ye able. For ye are yet carnal. For where is there among you envying and strife? There's those words again. And divisions, are ye not carnal? And walk as men? For while one sayeth I am of Paul, and another say I am of Apollos, are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul and who is Apollos? But ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man. I have planted Apollos, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. Look, there's nothing wrong with saying, hey, you have some things to think about. Pray for God to show you the truth. And he'll do it. I mean, don't you have faith that God would do that? I mean, don't you have faith that if somebody was humbly, humble hearted, because guess what? Guess who did that? Me and probably you, too. So where's your faith? Where's your faith that if somebody just goes and gets down on their hands and knees and says, God, I'm just confused. There's people telling me 15 different things. Show me what's true. God will do it. God will do it. I mean, God will give the increase. And if you don't think that, it's a lack of faith. It's that simple. The foot in the door, soul winner, it's a lack of faith. That's what it is. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 14. 1 Corinthians chapter 14. 1 Corinthians chapter number 14. My fourth point is this. If you pray with someone who doesn't believe, you have done them a disservice. A terrible disservice. Do you guys know that one of the biggest arguments against a church like this from a Baptist church that has the gospel right that doesn't go soul winning? You know what? This is my church that I came from. This is maybe churches that you all came from. The biggest argument that they have against churches like this is that they'll say, you're 123 pray after me. That's what they'll say. We're not going to be 123 pray after me. And I'm dead serious about that. We are not going to be 123 pray after me. We're not about prayers. We're about thorough soul winning. We're about persuading men. We're about being given this responsibility of having people's souls in our hands. I mean, that is so serious. Imagine how confusing it is if you pray with someone who's not saved. It's confusing people. Imagine the next soul winner. Yeah, I already did that. Or they have false assurance of salvation. I mean, how many people already have false assurance of salvation from all these wicked churches? We're not going to be part of that. It's a huge responsibility. Look at 1 Corinthians 14 verse 33. For God is not the author of confusion but of peace as in all churches of the saints. Guess what? That's us. It says God's not the author of confusion as in all churches of the saints. We're not going to be the authors of confusion. We're not going to be part of confusing people. That's why we're going to be thorough. I'm so proud of coming from a church like where I came from where they are just such thorough soul winners and they take it so seriously. And they're doing it for the right reasons. Their motives are right. Because I don't believe you can really do it right if your motives aren't right. So if your motives aren't right, check your heart and fix it. Finally, point number 5. Don't preach Christ of contention. Look I think that in churches like ours and like-minded people like us, sometimes I think that this is the biggest risk of everything. Because guess what? We are so right. Are we not? But don't be so right. You see what I'm saying? We are right. We are right. But don't get high minded. You could be right. You could be saved and you could be a nasty person. You know that? Turn to Luke chapter 18. This is one of the reasons I talk church culture so much. You guys are just going to be sick of it. Luke chapter 18 verse number 9. Look what the Bible says. And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. Two men went up into the temple to pray. The one a Pharisee and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God I thank thee that I'm not as other men are. Extortioners, unjust, adulterers, even as this publican. I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican standing afar off would not lift so much his eyes unto heaven but smote upon his breast saying, God be merciful to me a sinner, he said. The publican said that. You know the guy who was supposedly bad. But guess what? I understand this is talking about somebody who is saved and somebody who is not. But guess what? You could be so right and we could get so down on the world and all this kind of stuff. You know what? We're still going to preach against the world and we're going to do all this stuff. But we could just get a nasty heart towards people. And another thing, if you get such a nasty heart towards individuals, you won't want to go soul winning. And if you do want to go soul winning and you have a nasty heart towards people in general, you're not talking about haters of God reprobates here. But people in general, most people aren't reprobates. I mean we got to have a heart for people. That's the whole thing. Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. We could end up the same way as that Pharisee, having a heart that's just contentious like that. Doesn't mean you're not saved. I mean you could end up like that. Look, I mean, I got news for you folks. You guys don't deserve this. You guys don't deserve to be saved. You don't deserve to be in a church like this. I'm not puffing myself up because I don't deserve it either. I've done nothing to deserve the things that have happened in my life for the last 3 years, 4 years. Nothing. You say, oh, you move. Big deal. It means nothing compared to what people in the Bible did. Stupid. I'm still living a nice life. So are you. There's no persecution here. We don't deserve this. So, I mean, there's nothing to be puffed up about. We're given a job to do. It's a privilege being put in a church like this. It's a privilege. I thank God for it. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse number 20. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse number 20. Now then, we are what? That's a big statement right here. We are ambassadors for Christ in this church. We go out soul winning. We are ambassadors for the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what we are. We're given this gospel of reconciliation. When we go and we meet someone at the door who wants to listen, we have their soul in our hands. And we can't force them to believe. But we need to know our Bible. And the more persuasive you are, Paul was pretty persuasive. The more persuasive you are, the better chance you get them of maybe listening to you and wanting to hear what you say. But you know what? It's being persuasive and being kind. And showing, I mean, because guess what? And my wife has told me this a million times. If you're talking to me and I don't care about what you're saying, I'm going to tell you that I don't care about what you're saying. It would never happen to any of you. But if someone is talking to me about something that I could care less about, she said, you can just see it on your face. It's so obvious. I'm just like, or something. I don't even know what it is. I try not to do it, but she's like, you could still do it. Somebody in a store or something outside in the world is talking to me and I could just care less about it. They're just like, I wear it on my face. But guess what? Do you know that when you come to somebody's door and you're talking to them, they can tell if you care about them? They can just tell. They can tell if you care about them. So, soul winning culture, folks. That's the point I'm trying to make tonight. The points I'm trying to make tonight. Look, the goal for this church is to be a dedicated, serious, thorough, soul winning church. It's going to take some training, it's going to take some experience, and it's going to take some growth. That's it. It's going to take some growth. That's all. For everybody. Including myself. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for the Apostle Paul once again. Lord, we thank you for this gospel that you've given us. Lord, please help us to understand that it's such a serious thing. Help us to never take it lightly. Help to never make it ours. Make it some kind of competition or something of envy and strife or contention. Lord, just keep our hearts right. Lord, we love you. We ask you to just bless the church services this week, the soul winning ministry this week, Lord, and just bless everybody on their rides home tonight, Lord. We love you. In Jesus' name. Amen.