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So, the portion, this is the famous passage on the whole armor of God and I'm only actually going to talk about one little portion of this which is in verse 15 there and it says and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. So the sermon tonight is the preparation of the gospel of peace and I just wanted to preach a kind of a very simple sermon but a sermon to help with your soul winning, to help with anybody that's maybe trying to get started in soul winning or even if you have been soul winning for a long time just maybe to kind of just add to what you're doing and to kind of you know solidify so to speak what you're doing. And so the big key that I see here is the preparation of it, okay? And that's the one thing that when I got saved and I wanted to preach the gospel to others I didn't have a plan, I wasn't prepared, all I knew is what it took to get to heaven and I had some verses that I knew and I remember going out, soul winning out into like the mountain layer up in Morgantown and I remember just basically having no plan of action just like hey do you know you're going to heaven, let me show you and I'd read them off Ephesians 2, 8, 9. I had no plan of action as far as being prepared as far as what I needed to go across with those people. So go to Proverbs chapter 24 and I want to show you a verse here. Now this verse applies to a lot of different things in our lives but I think it does apply when it comes to preaching the gospel and the thing I want to talk about is preparing basically your plan of salvation, how you're going to give it, not preparing necessarily what the gospel is, obviously that's a part of it, but more so here's my plan of action every time I go up to the door and so the key is I don't believe you should go up there and just wing it as far as what you're going to go to, what you're going to talk about. I think that you should go up there with a point like this is what I'm going to say and this is the point I'm going to get across and obviously conversations can differ and what you talk about is going to differ but you should have a main outline as far as this is what I'm trying to get through, this is what I'm trying to get across and you know that's going to help you give the gospel because now you're not worried about what am I going to say, what point am I going to get to, it's already determined and so it just gives you a lot more confidence than when you're up there. In Proverbs 24 and verse 27, notice what it says here, it says, prepare thy work without and make it fit for thyself in the field and afterwards build thine house. Now this is, especially as a structural engineer, I think about this a lot because we have what you call a lot of proprietary products or prefabricated structures that we use when it comes to building buildings. When you build a house, just even in residential, if you build a house, they're not out there building the trusses out there like where your house is being built. They ship those in already made. Does that make sense? And so the key is is that as much as possible try to, you know, pre-construct what you're going to do before you get there and then put the blocks together so to speak. And so this is something that's done a lot when it comes to just building structures. So this definitely applies in that aspect. I think of steel structures, everything's fitted, all the holes are punched, everything is basically made to fit in a shop before it ever gets to the field. And then in the field they're just, it's like, you know, Legos at that point. They're just putting it together or erector, you know, the erector set so to speak. And so this is the idea that I believe as far as prepare thy work without, meaning that before you go out and preach the gospel and try to get someone saved, you need to have a plan. You need to be prepared as far as what you're trying to get across, what are the points you're going to try to make. And if you have that, then going into it you're already coming in on a firm foundation as far as like this, I already know what I'm going to be talking about. And so you're not like all this guesswork. And so I feel like some people when they start wanting to go soul winning, they know how to be saved and they know like, they know the important points, but they're kind of going out there and just kind of just, you know, where the spirit leads. Now, I do agree with using that logic as far as when you're in a conversation with somebody, they bring up a point. Obviously the spirit's going to kind of bring to remembrance verses and everything like that. And we talked about that when we were talking about, you know, memorizing the word of God and not premeditating what you're going to speak. But you've got to understand that that verse is particularly talking about when rulers are putting you up and you're like, before a ruler, and it's not necessarily talking about preaching the gospel, it's more so talking about, you know, defending yourself in front of a ruler and being put to death. But when it comes to the gospel, we need to be prepared and you at least need to have some kind of outline as far as what you're trying to accomplish. And so the first thing I would say to any soul winner is have the gospel understood crystal, you know, crystal clear, just have a crystal clear grasp on the gospel. So you know, like the sermon I preached last week as far as how, you know, repentance of sins is a false gospel, we need to understand that salvation is a free gift, it's only by faith, you can't lose that salvation, and it's only by believing on Jesus Christ for salvation. Just understanding that. Go to 1 Corinthians 15 and, you know, what is the gospel? And that's what, you know, I'd like to ask all these false, you know, lordship salvationists, repent of sins preachers, is where is that part of the gospel? Where is the good news that you've got to turn from your sins and, you know, change your life and make Jesus the Lord of your life? How is that the gospel? How is that the glad tidings? But the Bible actually defines what the gospel is and it's really simple. So let's keep it simple. Let's keep it simple like the Bible keeps it simple. But 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 1 it says, Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you which also ye have received in wherein ye stand, by which also ye are saved. So this is a very important point. The gospel is what saves us. If ye keep in memory that which I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. Now I wanted to kind of make a little point here. A lot of people get stuck on this and say, well, you know, did these people lose their salvation? You know, you got to understand that if they don't remember what he's about to talk about here, then they didn't believe it. Okay, and that's what he's basically making a point here. If you keep in remembrance what I, memory what I preached unto you, if you don't remember that the gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then you didn't get saved. Okay, and you didn't believe. Meaning that your faith, whatever it was in, was not in what he preached. Okay, and so don't get stuck on that. But they believed in vain if they don't remember what he's about to tell them. And verse 3, For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures, and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve. After that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are falling asleep. So what's the gospel? The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And notice there is a key in there. It says that Christ died for our sins. Now, when we go, we're going to get into points about eternal security, but that's what it really comes down to is that if someone believes they can lose their salvation, they don't believe Jesus died for their sins. That's what it really comes down to, and they're not believing the gospel. But it's really that simple, that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. That's what you're trying to get across. Okay? That's the gospel. That's the good news. And so, when we're giving them the gospel, the first portion of what we're talking about is not necessarily the gospel, because we're telling them bad news at the beginning. The gospel is really that simple, where it's Jesus saves us, you know, and it's really that clear and crystal, but we need to keep it that way. And it also, it even says in here that that's why, how we're saved, but Romans 1 16, you know, the famous verse says, for I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth it to the Jew first and also to the Greek. So, understanding what the gospel is, which is the death, burial, resurrection of Christ, and how that helps us is because if we believe on them, believe that gospel, we're saved. That's really what we're trying to get across, and try not to veer from that. Okay? When we're going out soul winning, we're trying to, you know, people are going to try to take us off on all kinds of tangents and all that stuff. We really just need to focus on what are we there for? What's our main purpose? Our main purpose is to give them the gospel so that they'll be saved, so that they'll believe the gospel. And so that's why, you know, when I was talking about, when we were in Genesis 1, about like all the evolutionists and all the, you know, all these different things, the atheists and all that stuff, we need to keep getting back to the gospel. Keep getting back to the gospel. Don't get veered off on all these tangents and waste time. Okay? This is what saves the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, not winning a debate on evolution, not winning a debate on atheism or logic or philosophy or anything like that or foolish questions is what really, when you get into philosophy, it's just foolish questions. But just kind of keep that your main thing. When you're going out and giving the gospel, you know, if they don't want to hear it, they don't want to hear it. And that's the key. When someone's like, well, I don't want to hear that, I want to talk about this, just politely say, you know what, well, I'm wanting to give you the gospel, you know, and if you ever want to hear it, you know, then we can talk about it, but I don't have time to talk about that issue, so to speak. And so we just need to keep on that because it's going to make you more productive, and that's what we're out there to do. And so I want to give you the steps as far as what I do when I go out soul winning. And in these steps, you can fit in whatever scriptures you want to make these points. And so we have a lot of liberty as far as that goes. And you know, I use certain verses, but you don't have to use the verses I use, you know, as long as the verses that you're using are getting across what you're trying to prove. But I want to use Jesus as the example here because Jesus is the best soul winner that's ever lived. You know, Christ is the best soul winner. When I look as far as how I want to improve my soul winning, I look to how Jesus dealt with people and how Jesus gave the gospel. And so go to Matthew chapter 19. And Pastor Roger Jimenez at Verity Baptist Church did a great soul winning, it was like a seminar where he did a bunch of sermons on every, I mean he uncovered every rock and kicked every dog. I mean he hit everything that I could even think of as far as soul winning. I remember listening to that, I'm like this is great. You know, like everything. And I was thinking, man, I wish I would have had this when I was starting out because it was just so much information, so many do's and don'ts, and a lot of things I've had to learn out of experience and things to do, things not to do, you know, mainly things not to do. But the first step is we need to get someone to admit that they're a sinner. So go to Matthew chapter 19. And this is something you'll actually see a lot with Jesus when he's talking to people, especially personally. And that's where if you're going to look at Jesus' soul winning tactics, you need to look at when he's talking to people one on one like Nicodemus, like this rich young ruler we're going to look at here, like the woman at the well. Because when he's talking to groups of people, yes, I believe people can get saved off of his preaching on that, but he's not necessarily like preaching the gospel in a lot of those cases. He's preaching to a multitude. Sometimes it's cryptic, sometimes it's not. And so look at the one on ones that Jesus has with people and that gives you a lot of information. But Matthew 19, this is a famous passage of this rich young ruler that's coming to Jesus asking him how he can attain eternal life. But Matthew 19 verse 16, it says, and behold, one came and said unto him, good master, what good thing shall I do that may have eternal life? So he comes up to him and asks him, you know, what good thing can I do to where I have eternal life that I go to heaven pretty much, right? Verse 17 it says, and he said unto him, why callest thou me good? There is none good but one that is God, but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. So there's a lot in this, but notice the first thing he says to him, why callest thou me good? There's none good but one that is God. Now there's two points he's getting across here. One, that this guy's a sinner and every single person in the world is a sinner except for God. And he's also pointing out that he's God. So there's two things there that Jesus is trying to get across to this guy. You know, if you're calling me good, why are you calling me good unless I'm God? And he's saying there's none good. Isn't that the first point that we go to? I kind of want to validate to our plan of salvation as far as this is what Jesus did. So when we go to Romans 3.10 and it says there's none righteous, no not one. There's none that doeth good, no not one. There's a reason why we go to that because that's what Jesus did with this rich young ruler. And notice too in Matthew 19 verse 26, because you may say this passage is obviously a lot of times attacked as far as Jesus is teaching that they need to keep the commandments and go to heaven. Now he's making a point to this guy, trying to convince this guy that he's a sinner. Because he goes through this, he says if you have life, you keep the commandments. And notice in verse 18, I'm sorry, go to verse 18 first. It says he saith unto him, which Jesus said thou shalt do no murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, honor thy father and thy mother, and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. So he's saying all this and obviously the rich young ruler said I've kept all these. So at this point, there's no way really Jesus can go with this guy. And then when we go out soul winning, if someone will not admit that they're a sinner, what are you going to do with that? I mean you can't save somebody that doesn't need saved, so to speak, right? And so the first step in soul winning is getting that person to realize they're a sinner and that they need a savior. And so with this, he loved, obviously he had compassion on this guy and he was saying, okay, if you'll be perfect, and he's trying to even put that in there, he's like, okay, so you're perfect, then sell everything you have and you'll have treasures in heaven. And so a lot of people take that too, saying, well, if you want to go to heaven, you got to sell all you have. No, he's saying if you want to have treasures in heaven, sell all you have. But in verse 26, he's very clear that what he told this guy to do was impossible. In verse 26, it says, But Jesus beheld them and said unto them, With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. In this same parallel passage in Mark 10, if you look at Mark 10, same thing, you know, with men this is impossible. Well, Mark 9 answers that question, because Mark 9, verse 23 says, Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believe it. There's your answer. Yes, it's impossible with men to get to heaven by your good works. And that's where everybody, that's where most every single person that you go to the door is at, is that there's some kind of good works that they have to do, and that they think that they're good enough to go to heaven. And the first step is for them to realize, no, you're a sinner, you're not perfect, and you can't get there by your good works. That's why we go to Romans 3.23, For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Because not only are we sinners, there's none righteous, no not one, but there's none that doeth good, no not one, but also, since we've all sinned, we come short of his glory, meaning we can't attain to it. Therefore, trying to live a good life, keeping the commandments isn't going to help, because you've already missed the mark. And so, that's what Jesus is doing here in Matthew 19, is basically saying, you know, this is impossible, what I told this guy is impossible. That's why his disciples are like, what in the world? You know, who then can be saved? He's talking about a rich man, you know, going into heaven, and they're saying who then can be saved? And you've got to think about it in a saved man's eyes, you know, he told this guy to keep the commandments to go to heaven, and as a saved person you're thinking, how in the world, if that's the way to get to heaven, how in the world is anyone going to make it? And so, he's just making a point, and you may say, why was Jesus so, why didn't you just tell him, just believe on me? Because, you've got to go through that first step first. And so, that's why, when I, if someone won't realize that they're a sinner, and that doesn't happen all the time, I mean, that's pretty, you know, small percentage, I've definitely had that happen, and I've definitely had it happen where they didn't want to believe that they would go to hell. That's probably more so than the sinner part, but with those people, I usually try to leave them with condemnation. You know, when it comes to that, I try to leave them, because remember, the rich young ruler, he went away sorrowful, and sometimes that's the best way for someone to go, is away sorrowful, and they'll be thinking about it. I think of a soul winning time, this is actually a story from Justin, my younger brother, gave the gospel, and actually, I may be confusing who it was exactly, but I think it was Justin, who gave this lady the gospel, or was trying to give her the gospel, and basically was saying that she would go to hell, and if you knew my brother, he's one of the nicest guys that you'd ever meet as far as like, when he gives the gospel, he's like a teddy bear, okay? So, he's not someone that's confrontational, he's not someone that's just shoving it down your throat, he's very nice when he gives the gospel, but, this lady, like right after that, my friend Adam was going to kind of finish up that area, and ended up knocking the same lady's door, and this lady was upset. She was just, you know, her visage had been changed, you know, like, she was upset, she's like, I couldn't sleep for the past week, because all I could think about is how that man told me that I would die and go to hell, and Adam, you know, he's another nice guy, he's six foot four, but he's a nice guy, he's very intimidating, but he's very nice when he gives the gospel and stuff like that, but he, I remember, you know, he's trying to calm her down, trying to be like, well, you know, he just cares about you, wants you to know, and trying to explain that to her, and she, you know, I guess it took her a while to get kind of calmed down, but he ended up giving her the gospel, she ended up getting saved, but sometimes it's good for them to lose sleep, it's good for them to kind of, to see the gravity of the situation, so that woman got saved, and you may have thought, well, why did he leave her with condemnation, because sometimes that's what people need, and that rich young ruler went away with condemnation instead of, you know, he went away sorrowful, but when we're trying to get them to admit that they're a sinner, you know, there's not a just man upon earth that doeth good and sinneth not, in Ecclesiastes 7.20, that's a verse that I use a lot, you know, that shows you in the Old Testament it's the same thing, you know, there's not a just man upon earth that doeth good and sinneth not, for all of sin comes short of the glory of God, you know, 1 John, chapter 1, verse 8, and verse 10, you know, are great verses to show people, it says, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us, we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us, so there's a present tense and past tense, you know, as far as the fact that we are sinners, but I usually try to show them, hey, you've broken a commandment, now we don't need to go all Ray Comfort here, where we get on a soapbox and we start like just listing off all these sins and trying to call someone an adulterer or murderer and all this stuff, okay, but they do need to, I do believe it's important to show them that there's a particular law that they broke to really kind of resonate with them, and so I personally bring up the lying, the sin of lying or bearing false witness because I'm setting up a trap, so to speak, okay, now I say that in a loving way, but there's a reason why I use that one particularly, because I, my end game is get the Revelation 21 eight, okay, and so you've got to think ahead a little bit on that, because if you just say, okay, have you ever, you know, coveted something, or have you ever done something like that, and they say yes to that, well, when you get the Revelation 21 eight, then they may say, well, I don't know if I've ever lied, you know, so what you're setting up is the fact that, hey, you know, you said you lied before, we all lied, you know, and you've already set that groundwork there, so that when you get the Revelation 21 eight, it's already set up, they see it, and they're like, oh, you know, and so, and obviously people are going to still balk at it, there's still going to be still people that aren't going to agree with that, but for the most part, you know, they're like, okay, yeah, I would see that I would deserve help, but, but Jesus brings that up as one of the commandments in Matthew 19, is that thou shall not bear false witness, and so you could bring up any one that you want, and this is one, you know, where I think that you could bring it, I mean, if you really wanted to, you could say, well, if you're angry with your brother without a cause, you've committed a murder already in your heart, right, and say, see, all murderers, right, you could really do that if you wanted to, but honestly, I think lying is, it's an easy way without being very offensive, okay, and that's the key, when we're going through, like, getting someone to admit that they're a sinner, and that they deserve help, I'm not trying to be abrasive, I'm not trying to be offensive, I'm not trying to just get them, like, all mad at me. Now, the truth is offensive, okay, and people will get mad at you, sometimes, but most of the time, they can see that you care about them, and you're just trying to get a point across, and a lot of times, when I'm giving this point across, I'm making a big point that, hey, I've done this, too, I'm with you, we've all sinned, I've lied, you've lied, you know, so this isn't like a me against you type of battle, this is more so, okay, this is where we all lie, we're all in this position, up till until you get to the gospel, we're all in the same boat, right, we're all sinners, we all deserve hell, but here's the difference, okay, and that's what you've got to remember, and when I'm giving the gospel, I'm giving you the preparation, but there's a lot of information as far as giving the gospel, I'd say the key component to giving the gospel is compassion. When you go up and give someone the gospel, you need to care about that person. I don't care if you force it in your heart, but you need to care about that person, because that person will see it, and they'll take note of it. If you come up to them, and you're just going through the motions, and you clearly don't care, they're going to see that. And so, he that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing sheaves with them. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. There's a big part of that, as far as, and I've seen that in our movement particularly, where we go out, where I've gone out sowing people, and they're very hard, very hard and they're very abrasive when they're giving the gospel. First of all, it's not necessary to be abrasive. Second of all, it's not smart, because what's your goal? Is your goal just to tell someone they're going to hell? Where's your goal to actually win that person and see them get saved? And so, we need to be nice. We need to be compassionate. And even if they don't want to hear it, we need to try to be nice to that person. Because you don't want to burn that bridge either, because some people aren't going to get saved on the first time they meet somebody. I know some people that may never get saved off someone coming to the door. It's going to take someone that they know to give them the gospel. My grandparents would probably be one of those cases that I can never imagine them talking to someone that came to their door. But I got to win my grandma to the Lord. And so, that's compassion. The only way that my mom got saved, I believe, is compassion. And just other people, you've got to have compassion. You've got to have that proverbial tear in the eye. And I'm not saying you've got to go up there weeping. And just, I don't want you to go to hell. Obviously, you need to be real. You need to be human and normal when you're talking to somebody about that. But they can see that. They can see whether you care or not. And so, that's the key. When you're going through these first two points, the first one is to admit that they're a sinner. The second point is to show them the penalty for sin, or for them to realize that there is a punishment for that sin. And in these two points, particularly, you need to have compassion. And you need to be methodical as far as how you're going to present this to them. Now, the Scripture is the Scripture. And I'm not saying to pull back on the Scripture, but how you say it. You don't need to preach them down like a sermon when you're giving them the fact that they're a sinner and all that. But the second point is to realize they're a sinner. So the first point, you need to see that they're a sinner. The second point is that sin will send them to hell. That's the big point that you need to get across. And so, go to Mark chapter 9. And this is something Jesus brought up. And honestly, this is a passage that a lot of people have had problems with as far as trying to answer. But what you've got to remember with Jesus in the Gospels is that he's not always talking to saved people. And remember that there was unsaved people in the midst of him. Even his brethren didn't believe on him, if you remember. So there's people that were going to get saved, that weren't saved until after his resurrection. There was Judas who wasn't saved. There was other people that were in the crowd that weren't saved yet. Although his disciples, I believe his eleven disciples got saved pretty early. Obviously Judas wasn't saved, he was the devil from the beginning. But that's what you've got to remember is that when he's talking to these multitudes, he's talking to a mixed crowd. And so in this case, in Mark 9 verse 43, I believe he's talking particularly to unsaved people. And remember how he talked to the rich young ruler saying that, hey if you want life you need to keep all the commandments. Now we know that's impossible, but keep that in mind as we read this as far as if you're trying to keep all the commandments this would apply to you. Imagine you're trying to keep all the commandments, now the severity of not keeping the commandments. And so in Mark 9 verse 43 it says, and if thy hand offend thee, cut it off. It is better for thee to enter into life maimed than having two hands to go into hell into the fire that never shall be quenched where their worm dieth not and the fire's not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off. It is better for thee to enter halt into life than having two feet to be cast into hell into the fire that never shall be quenched where their worm dieth not and the fire's not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out. It is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire where their worm dieth not and the fire's not quenched. So Jesus made a very strong point to see the punishment for sin. What's the punishment for sin? Hell, where the worm dieth not and the fire's not quenched. And so that's what Jesus would preach. Now it's no coincidence that this is right before he starts talking to the rich young ruler and starts talking about the fact that if you want life you need to keep all the commandments. Now obviously he's saying that's impossible but if you were going to try to get to heaven by keeping the law, you need to cut off your hand. Let's say you were perfect, you never sinned. If there was a chance that you would sin with your right hand, it's better for you to cut it off and it's better to go into heaven with one hand than to have two hands going into hell. That's what he's saying with this. And so you've got to think about it through that mindset as far as there are two ways to heaven. Keep the whole law and never sin. We talked about that with Romans 2. Romans 2 teaches that if you kept the whole law and never offended at any point, then you would have eternal life. Why not? Why would you go to hell? Because sin is the transgression against the law and that's the only reason that you go to hell. And so there are two ways to go but it's impossible with men. That's what Jesus is getting across and he's getting this across too that you imagine that he's preaching this sermon and you'd be like good night, how in the world am I going to get to heaven? If he's saying to cut off my hand if it offends me. And so he's making it very severe and saying hey, if you were going to try to get there by your good works then you better cut off your hand if you're going to be perfect and to stay perfect. And so he preached that hell was the punishment. And so that's what we preach. So Romans 6.23 is where I take somebody to begin with to show them that hell is the punishment because in Romans 6.23 it says for the wages of sin is death. Now death is not just a physical death but also spiritually. Death and hell are in the center of the earth. That's why when I go to Revelation 20.14 it says in death and hell were cast into the lake of fire, this is the second death. And so death and hell, right now hell is where the dead are at. That's why it calls it death. But see death is either your body, it can be talking about your body but it can also be talking about your soul. That's why the second death is the second death of both your body and the second death of your soul. Because your soul and body are put back together in the resurrection of the unjust and they're both cast into the lake of fire which is the second death. The lake of fire is the second death and it's also called hell and other places where Jesus is talking about it. But I believe that hell is also called death. Now it's death as far as the soul is concerned. Obviously that's not where your body is at when people are in the center of the earth. But it is death. And so that's why those are very inseparable when you see on the pale horse who is the rider, death, and hell followed with them. And so you see these coupled a lot. In death and hell were cast into the lake of fire, this is the second death. Death brought up, talks about bringing up the dead out of death and hell. So it can be likened unto a place. But anyway, in Revelation 2014 I take him there to show him this final state of hell and that people are being cast in there. So I show them this to say hey there is a hell and a lot of times I'll explain that to them. I'll say you know hell is a burning fiery furnace and I'll get real with them. I'll just say you know this is not good news but hell is a real place. This is where people are being tormented day and night. I'll even make a comment saying this is why I even talk to people about the gospel. This is why I'm here. This is the real state of the matter is the fact that we're all sinners and we all deserve to go here. And so I try to make it real there. And yes you want to try to be light about it a little bit especially if someone is very skittish so to speak. And this takes discernment because some people you can just be like to the point, look buddy you're going to die and go to hell. And you can just discern the way that that person is going to kind of interact with you. And then another person is like quiet as a church mouse and you feel like if you flip through your Bible too fast they're going to get scared and run into the house. So there's discernment and sometimes you're being as gentle as you can be. You're like talking softly you know. Let me show you this right here. You don't want to scare them. But then the other person you're just like you're just this is the way it is the way it is and they're just like yeah it makes sense you know. And it's just so you've got to use discernment on how you talk to people. But Revelation 21 8 is really where you're trying to get to with this because you want to make a point that this isn't just like the really bad people that are going to be going to hell. That it would include us as well. So Revelation 21 8 says but the fearful and the unbelieving and the abominable and murderers and whoremongers and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars shall have their part in a lake which burns with fire and brimstone which is the second death. So you're making a point okay that second death we're talking about the same place the lake of fire right. And you can go through the list and a lot of times what I'll do with people I'll say you don't look like a murderer to me. You know this is where you can kind of lighten it up a little bit. You don't look like a murderer. You don't look like you're practicing black magic you know. And you usually get a laugh out of that unless they're a Wiccan or something like that you know. You know which I've definitely run into. But actually you do practice black magic. But so let's get to it. But anyway so but I'm usually saying but this last part I believe gets us all. We're all liars. We've all told a lie. Now if they say well you know but I'm not a liar like a habitual liar you know. And so I usually get the idea of like well if I murdered one person what would you consider me. Do I need to kill a whole bunch. Do I need to be a serial killer before you call me a murderer. You know and so sometimes I'll put that in there. But at the end of the chapter if they're really stuck on that the end of the chapter it says and there shall no and no wise enter into anything that the file is neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie. So if they're really stuck on that like well I think liars more so dealing with someone that commits a lot of lies or lies all the time just take them to that and say it doesn't matter you told one lie then you broke the law and you would deserve to go to hell. So that's you know the first two points are all about condemnation. You're all just trying to get that person to realize they're a sinner and realize they're lost. And so I'm just giving you a structure I haven't really told you how to start the conversation or like how to get into it. I'm just telling you like once you're in it this is what you're trying to do. So that structure when you go up to the door and they say let's say you just had that perfect example you go up to the door and they're saying what must I do to be saved. Okay let's just say perfect example first step where do you go. Romans 3 show them they're a sinner. I never veer from that. Like I don't care how much you know about the Bible and how much you can spend yarns about the Bible as far as explaining the gospel. Keep it simple. Keep it to the point. Why change it. Why fix it if it ain't broken. And so I still to this day go to Romans 3 23 or Romans 3 10 and just show them that verse. And why not. And I'm not against you using other verses but why make it more difficult on yourself and try to throw a curve ball at yourself when you're going up to the door with somebody. They didn't listen to you give the gospel five other times right before you got to them. So to them it's all new. Now your partner is probably getting sick of it. No I'm just kidding. But yeah I mean obviously when if you're giving the gospel like to 10 different people and then sometimes you're probably going to want to change it up so it doesn't get monotonous. But all I'm saying with that is to them everything's new. They haven't heard your presentation a thousand times over like you have yourself. And so but after you get them to realize they're a sinner and realize that their punishment is hell. Now you got them to a point where they're probably intrigued. Okay well how do I get out of this. Right. So I usually in this in this process I'd say try to show them as much scripture as you can. But what I do personally when I give the gospel is I try to fill in space with when I'm talking to them try to give them some verses here and there. And this will just take practice and take time memorizing scriptures. But a lot of times like when I'm going from Revelation 21 and when I'm trying to get into the gospel I'll usually say something like you know do you believe this where God wants you to go. They'll say no. I say well you know the Bible says that he's not willing to any should perish but it all should come to repentance who have all men to be saved and come into knowledge of truth. I don't take him to that but I just quote that off to him just to kind of segue into the fact that hey yeah this is where we deserve to go but this isn't where God wants us to go and he wants us to get saved let me show you how he how you get saved. And so this is where you can kind of segue into that. But I tend to try to use much Bible as I can when I'm speaking almost kind of using the Bible as your language. OK. And kind of tailor what you're saying around the Bible because that's what's more powerful than anything else. Try not to get caught up into giving a whole bunch of illustrations without Bible. OK. Because you know I'm all for an illustration you know and I'll talk about you know I give an illustration of giving a gift to somebody and stuff like that. But in that I'm still trying to give Bible verses if I give the father son relationship I'm giving it a lot of Bible verses to show that father son relationship. And so try not to get off on a tangent where you're just kind of explaining it in your own words. And so try to put as much Bible in there as you can. But step three is basically just getting people to realize that Jesus is the only way to heaven that that's your way out. Here's the gospel. Here's the gospel is that Jesus paid for your sins and I usually just explain real quickly that Jesus is God and that he was born. I kind of go from the beginning you know the gospel which is that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary. He is God in the flesh. And I usually will ask him you know do you believe Jesus is God. And if they say yes I just move on. Now if they don't I usually go into that a little bit because a lot of people these days don't understand that. And I'll go into the fact that he is God that he's a part of the Trinity and I'll explain the Trinity for a second. Then I'll go on and just say OK. He lived a sinless life and him is no sin and he was nailed to the cross and I'll give some you know verses about that. And so I'll pretty much quickly you know explain the gospel which is that he is God in the flesh to die on the cross for our sins. Sometimes and this is the case where when we went to First Corinthians 15 did it mention anything about Jesus going to hell? No. Now sometimes I'll go into that sometimes I won't. Sometimes I see that that may be a point that will help someone understand what Jesus did. Sometimes I don't think it doesn't look like it's necessary. Right. And so this is where you know what's the essentials here. The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. If you don't go through like every if you don't talk about Jesus taking blood up to the mercy seat and sprinkling the mercy seat you don't have to go through that. OK. The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Keep it simple if at all possible. Right. But sometimes I use that and I'll explain you know his body was in a tomb his soul was in hell. You know you can see that relationship on how he paid for our sins. We would deserve to go to hell but you know he paid those sins for us. But Jesus preached that he's the only way and that's what we're really getting the point across here is that yes we all deserve hell and Jesus is that way. And Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life no man cometh unto the father but by me. So in John 14 6 that's a great scripture to prove that hey you know I'm the only way. Remember as far as that you know bringing up the Jesus God remember he said why call us that we're good there's none good but one that is God. Jesus made that a point. The woman at the well was the same thing. Remember he was saying I that speak unto them he. So he's the Christ. He's the son of God. He made that apparent to the woman at the well. And so he also made it apparent to the woman at the well that she was a sinner. Remember? Go call thy husband. And she said I have no husband. That was well said. That was said five husbands you know. So he made it a point to her to realize do you think he was just doing that to just like you know see what she'd say you know I mean I think there was a point to everything he said. The whole point is for her to realize hey I'm a sinner. And also to realize who he is. So another place you know to you know if you ask somebody well is Jesus good? You know because they'll say well you know that shows Jesus isn't God because he's saying there's none good but one that is God. But Jesus said I am the good shepherd. And it says the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. So I mean clearly Jesus is good because he's God. And that's the only way that he could be the good shepherd is that he is God. But another point you know if someone's really just hard on them the reason why I would even you know sometimes I'll even explain this is why this is important because in Hebrews 11 it says but without faith it is impossible to please him for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. And so you have to believe that he's God. If you're going to come to him in faith and come to Jesus in Christ in faith you have to believe he's God. And so that's why it's an important point to make. One point I pointed just I mean there's scores of verses that you can go to. I go to John 1-1 all the time. I go to Hebrews 1-8 if someone's really stuck on it. But John 8-58 says Jesus said unto them verily verily I say unto you before Abraham was I am. I mean there's scores of verses that you can go to to prove this but try not to belabor that point. You know don't and at all these points try not to beat the dead horse. If someone has it you know you don't need to like just hammer them over the head with a whole bunch of stuff. If they got it they got it. Just move on. But we need to show them to receive Christ or the free gift by faith. And so this is where you know when I come back and you know out of you know talking about hell and all this stuff I usually go back to Romans 6-23 and talk about the gift and say you know but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So the gift is something this is where I would give an illustration and you know there's nothing wrong with illustrations but I'll give the illustration as far as how it's a gift. You don't earn a gift. You know if I give you a gift and then I ask you to wash my car you know go to church whatever and then I switch talking about a physical gift to the spiritual gift and show that same logic. And usually people get that and I'll explain also that it's eternal life. But then you know once they understand that it's a gift it's eternal life it's a one time thing just by that I'll take them to Acts chapter 16 and say okay this gift is available to everybody. And usually when I ask someone this I usually ask them do you think that everybody's going to heaven now? Because Jesus did pay for this in the whole world. Not for ours only but also for this in the whole world right? And they'll say no. You know even after you explain this to them they realize that not everybody's going to go to heaven. And it's true because the gift is available to everybody but not everybody accepts it. So the million dollar question that you're getting to here is how do they get that gift? What do they have to do? And that's where Acts 16 I always go to this passage because this is the one question someone asked this exact question what must I do to be saved? So in Acts 16 30 you know he said it brought them out and said Sir what must I do to be saved? And they said believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved in thy house. So I take them there to show them that it's just by faith it's just by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now when I go to this passage I usually make it a point to point out all the stuff it doesn't say. Okay so this is why I say does it say repent of your sins? Does it say live a good life? Does it say get baptized? Does it say go to church? And it gets ridiculous right? They're just like no it doesn't say any of that you know? But that's the point that's the point you're trying to get across is that you're basically putting all this stuff like haven't you heard though that you got to do this this this this this and then it's really just that simple. And this is why I personally and you don't have to do this but I go back to like Romans 4 and I don't show it to them I usually just quote this to them when I'm talking about the fact that Abraham believed God and was imputed on him for righteousness David also spake in the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputed righteousness without works. And I'll say you know before the Old Testament Abraham believed he got saved. In the Old Testament David believed he got saved. Right before the New Testament and that's where I go straight to Jesus. So then I go to John 3 16 and say right before the New Testament who brought in the New Testament which is Jesus what did he say? Believe. And I go to you know so I go to the most famous passage which is John 3 16 for God's to love the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life or have everlasting life and in that in verse 14 to 18 is a tour de force because literally the verse right before John 3 16 is that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life and then it goes straight into saying pretty much the same thing and it says that he came not into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved and then it goes on to say you know he that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in him and only begotten Son of God. Now this is where I really hammer in eternal security. Now this is a point now when you go out and preach the gospel that is a very crucial point. The reason I believe it's crucial is because this is what most people are stuck on. This is really where the rubber meets the road and even when you ask somebody at the beginning of the conversation what they believe it takes to get to heaven this is where the rubber meets the road because people can say stuff that is very close. They can say they are saved by faith. They can say that it's not by works but this is really where you get to pull out what they really believe is when you say can you lose your salvation and what I really focus in on is the eternal life. Eternal life in that it's immediate. That it's present tense and that's something when actually if you read through the New Testament and most of the time when you're dealing with salvation what do you see as far as you believe you're saved you believe you have eternal life. Those are the two things you really mostly see. Salvation eternal life. And so people are always talking about going to heaven going to heaven. Yes that's true but as we saw from our sermon about the new heaven new earth eventually we're going to be all here on earth because the tabernacle of God is going to be with men so it's really more so about eternal life. The kingdom of heaven is coming down obviously so it's not wrong to say we're going to enter into the kingdom of heaven but what I'm saying though is the main thing that Jesus is emphasizing is eternal life and so that's what I'm going to emphasize and this is really where I'd say the old IFB has kind of done a disservice and here's the thing they were preaching the right gospel it's not like they were preaching the wrong gospel but I don't believe they were being thorough because there's a lot of people that they'll pray a prayer with but they didn't get it because they didn't understand the gospel completely. The gospel is eternal life. This is the promise that he has promised us even eternal life and hope of eternal life with God that cannot lie promised before the world began. What was the promise when the world began? The gospel that Jesus was going to come and give us everlasting life. That is the promise. He is the everlasting life. This is the true God and eternal life. And so why do I emphasize eternal security because that's what Jesus emphasized. You know when you look at John 3.15, John 3.16, John 3.36 he that believeth on the son hath everlasting life. John 5.24 verily verily I say unto you he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but is past from death unto life. That verse if you're going to use a verse to prove eternal security that's a great one because not only does it do present tense but it also does future tense. And so this point you're trying to get across is that you have eternal life the moment you believe and that is forever and that you'll never go into condemnation. That's what you're trying to get across. And so there's plenty of verses on this in the book of John but it's a crucial point. If someone believes they can lose their salvation they're not saved. So if there's any point in your presentation that you're really wanting to take a sticking point on, because here's the thing, I know I spent a little bit of time talking about the fact that we're saved, that someone has to admit they're a sinner and that punishment for sin is hell. Honestly that takes not that much time, right? When you're really in a conversation with somebody that takes about a minute or so to get someone to realize they're a sinner and then show them that hell, that we deserve hell. Now they can obviously balk at it and not believe it but most of the time that takes not that much time. What you're spending most of your time on is them to realize that it's just by faith and that they can't lose it because it's eternal life. That's where I spend most of my time in the Gospel is explaining that. Explaining that it's eternal life. But if someone doesn't get that or they're really stumbling on that, if I'm really trying to explain to them why I go to those extremes to talk about eternal security is I take them to 1 John 5. 1 John 5, 10, it says he that believeth on the son hath the witness in himself. He that believeth on the son of God hath the witness in himself. He that believeth not God hath made him a liar because he believeth not the record that God gave of his son. And I say, you know, and a lot of times at that point I've already gone through John 3, 18 which says he that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already. So it's pretty much the same thing that's being said there. But I said in this case it's saying if you don't believe God you're calling him a liar. Why? Because you didn't believe the record. And it says and this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life and this life is in his son. So I usually point them and say, see, it says that he hath given to us, so that's a gift, eternal life, the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord, through his son Jesus is the only way. So there you have three components in that as far as what the record is concerning. I said most people will say it's a gift, most people will say it's through Jesus, but here's where people stumble, that it's eternal life. And this is where I usually mention to them, hey, if I said I was a Christian but I believed that that life would end, if I committed this, this, and this, or if I did whatever, and you can stick in whatever you want, and I believed that life could end, did I really believe it was eternal? And usually the response is no. And I said, then what am I calling God? A liar. Because that's what it really comes down to. Are you fully persuaded that what he had promised he's also able to perform? That's what Abraham, it says therefore is imputed unto him for righteousness. That's the faith that you're trying to get them to realize is that he is able, they believe he is able to perform that which he had promised. And so once you get to that point, you've won the battle. If they get that and understand that and they grasp their mind around it, that's the battle you're trying to get through there, is the fact that they realize that, they understand that, and really the fourth point, and I know a lot of people, I go to Romans chapter 10, and I know I'm kind of blowing through this, but it is kind of my memory because I'm giving the gospel a few times, and I'm just kind of explaining to you what I do, but this is the preparation. That outline that I'm telling you is something that I didn't know from the beginning. And honestly, it wasn't until Pastor Anderson's video of his presentation and kind of going soloing with him that I really had a good presentation. And I've definitely, I've won people to the Lord before that, but again I'd kind of be all over the place, but it wasn't until someone said, hey listen, you just need to stick to a plan. Just keep doing that over and over and over and over again, and it's the best advice I've ever gotten when it comes to soloing. Just stick to what you're doing, it's okay to use different verses here and there, but keep that same structure and try not to veer from that. But the last point is how do you land this plane? So you've gotten them to realize they're a sinner, you got them to realize that the punishment for that is hell, but what's the end result? What are you trying to get them to do? To call upon the name of the Lord through faith. Now this is where people get into this really sticky thing as far as like, well is calling on the name of the Lord required? What if they believe before you even got to this prayer? I'll say this, people can definitely get saved before I get to this point. Cornelius is an example of that where Peter was preaching and as he was speaking the Holy Ghost fell upon him and the people that were with him. So don't get stuck on the prayer as much as the calling on the name of the Lord. It doesn't say prayer, it says calling on the name of the Lord. Now I do believe that you can be calling on the name of the Lord through prayer, but don't get stuck on that whole like you've got to pray so to speak. But calling on the name of the Lord is a biblical principle and I don't think you can get around it. And I want to prove that to you because Romans 10 is really where I take the person to land that plane where I'm basically sealing a deal where they're getting saved. Because at this point I'd say they believe it, right? They understand it, but are they putting their trust in it? That's really where the calling on the name of the Lord comes in is are they themselves trusting in what they saw here? Because a lot of people can believe it, meaning they can believe that's how someone's saved. They can believe that's what it takes to get to heaven, but they don't personally put their trust in it. And that's where the calling on the name of the Lord, it can happen in your heart. It can happen, you could be calling on the name of the Lord as I'm talking to you about the gospel and as you're understanding it and believing it. But that's why I pray with somebody because it really does separate the fact, do you believe what I'm saying to you or are you putting your trust in it personally? And so, but I don't believe you can get around it because when you look at Romans 10, it goes from the fact of verse 9 there, it says that if thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shall be saved. And from that point it keeps saying for, for, for. Now for can be another word for because, so just think of that, for with the heart, because with the heart, man believes unto righteousness with the mouth and confession made unto salvation. For, because the scripture saith, whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed. For, because there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him because, or for, as it says here, whosoever shall call upon him, the Lord shall be saved. But then it goes back and says, how then shall they call on him whom they have not believed? See how, what's the pinnacle there? Calling on the name of the Lord. That's the pinnacle. It's going towards it and then it's literally stepping back from it and going back to where you're just preaching the gospel. Do you see how that's the pinnacle to it? I don't believe you can separate that, but here's what I believe. I believe that if someone truly believes on Christ, they did call, they were calling. What I think people believe somehow is that they believe on Jesus, but they're not communicating him at all. It's like this impossible hypothetical that I don't believe exists. When I got saved, for example, and this is anecdotal evidence, obviously, this isn't scripture, but when I got saved, I went to a Baptist revival and I remember hearing the gospel. I remember hearing it clearly explained to me and I remember saying that makes perfect sense and I remember talking to the Lord. But I didn't pray until later. I believe personally I probably got saved at that point. Now, all I'm saying with that is to separate, you're talking to the Lord a lot when you don't even realize, you're speaking to him in your mind, you're talking to him in your mind. To say that someone believes on Jesus Christ that doesn't communicate with God at all, I believe is an impossibility. And so, I believe the calling on the name Lord, I don't go as far, I don't say that if they don't say a prayer then they didn't get saved, but I wouldn't count it. Because if someone refuses to pray the prayer, usually what they say is, well, I've already been saved. Isn't that the answer you usually get? I've already been saved or there's some reason why they don't want to pray. It's not necessarily, sometimes they're saying, well, I'm shy, I don't want to pray with you. Now, that's understandable and I think there are legitimate people that are shy and would rather do it on their own. But most of the time, that's where the truth comes out. They've been giving you lip service or they don't want to admit that they were wrong. And so, that's, and Psalm 116 says, I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. You have to take it. Now is the time, now is the day of salvation. It's not like, I feel like people look at salvation as osmosis, like it seeps in or something without them knowing about it. Do you know what I mean? Like, there is a conscious choice you're making when you believe on Jesus Christ, right? It's not just like, oh, I got saved. You know, like, there is a conscious choice that you're making in saying, I believe this. And I believe at that point when you are making that conscious choice to trust in Christ, you are going to be calling on the name of the Lord. And some people, you are kind of leading them into that and when you do say that prayer with them and say, hey, can I lead you in a prayer? They're like, okay, this is real. I need to make a choice here. And literally, I've seen people like take a second and be like, okay, let's do this. And I believe it's basically them making that choice, okay, I'm going to believe this. I'm going to trust in this. And so, you know, that can happen before you pray with them. That can happen when you pray with them. That can happen after you pray with them and maybe they didn't really get it and they got it down the road. But all I'm saying is that the calling on the name of the Lord, taking salvation and accepting the gift, there's nothing wrong with that. It's not works, okay. And it's, I believe, a very crucial part to when I end the conversation because I want them to realize this is something you have to choose. Choose ye this day, you know, whom you'll serve. But more so when it comes to salvation, choose you. Are you going to accept this or not? And so, and I can't save them. This whole idea, well, they confess to you. I'm not saving them. I'm not God. And so, obviously, I can point them to the Savior. But to say that, yeah, I believe that, but I don't want to talk to God about that. Like that's ludicrous to me, okay. So, but I don't believe you can separate that. Romans 10, to me, is very clear that calling on the name of the Lord, to me, those are inseparable, the believing and calling on the name of the Lord, meaning that if you're putting your full trust in Christ, then you have to be calling on the name of the Lord. I don't believe you can separate those because the whole argument is the fact that, well, what if someone believed on Jesus Christ but they didn't call on him? Well, that can't happen, okay. Because obviously, believing, if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you're going to be saved, right. But I do believe the calling is just basically showing you that this is the time where you're pulling the trigger. You're making that choice. Now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation. It is a point in time when you get saved. It's not like you just gradually merge into it, okay. It's like you make a choice. And it can happen in your mind. But, so anyway, recap. First step, admit someone's a sinner. Get them to admit they're a sinner. Second step, get them to realize that the punishment for that sin is hell. Not just death, because hell is really what you need to get through to them, is hell. Third, get them to realize that Jesus paid that price to the death, burial and resurrection and just hone that in, get all those points across to the fact that it's Jesus and that it's eternal life. They can't lose that. And really, it does come down to that. If they believe it's eternal life, they can't lose it. That's the childlike faith that Jesus was talking about. That childlike faith that I'm trusting you and only you, nothing else. And so that's why we go through eternal security. And then land that plane. Have them call upon the name of the Lord. The fourth step is them putting their trust in Christ and calling on the name of the Lord for salvation, taking that cup of salvation. Now, when I start the conversation, this is a little tip. The hardest part, see what we went through there? That's actually not the hard part. You say, oh, good night. How's that not the hard part? I'm going through all these Bible verses. The hard part is starting the conversation. And the hard part is landing that plane. And so, well, we did kind of land the plane with calling on the name of the Lord, but taking off and landing is the hardest part. Cruising along, going through all the Gospel presentation, that's actually not the hard part in my opinion. So when you go up and start a conversation, your main thing that you're trying to do is get them to realize why you're there. I'm inviting you to church, but more importantly that I want to make sure that you know 100% sure you're going to heaven. That's why you're there and that you're a Baptist and not a Mormon. That's what you're trying to get across more than anything, right? Is that you're not some weird cult. But anyway, so you're trying to get that across is that you're there to see if they know 100% sure they're going to heaven, and then they're going to give you an answer like, yes, I know, or I don't know. And this is where you're really wanting to get some key questions out of them to realize what do they believe. That maybe they are saved. In that case, amen. If they're not, you're trying to get out of them, what do you believe it takes to get to heaven? The importance of this is because at the end when you're trying to land the plane, you can come back to the fact, okay, at the beginning you said this, but do you see how that's different than what the Bible teaches? Therefore, do you want to call on Jesus for salvation? If you don't ask those questions at the beginning, you may have problems, not always, but you may have problems with them agreeing to say, hey, I need to get saved because in their mind and pride they're going to maybe want to think that they were already saved. So I always ask those questions. I get out of the front, okay, they think it's by works or they think they can lose it, whatever, right? Get that out in the front. Then I quote them off usually 1 John 5, 13. I'm trying to give them some scripture to say, hey, this is why you can know, or this is, you know, the Bible says you can know. Can I show you? At that point, now we're in the easy street. We're just cruising at 30,000 feet, right? So we're cruising, we're just going through the whole gospel plan, and let's say everything goes to plan. At the end of it, when you're to land the plane, I always end with the fact I asked them some questions. So I've been talking, going through all this stuff. Now I'm just going to ask them questions that just confirm that they understand what I went across. Do you believe you're a sinner? Do you believe the penalty for that sin is hell? Do you believe that Jesus died for your sins and rose again the third day to pay for that punishment? And usually they're like, yes, yes, yes. Do you believe that Jesus would save you if you asked Him to or put your faith in Him? They'll say yes. How long would you be saved for? Eternal, eternally, right? Could you ever lose that salvation for any reason? I'm just giving you an example that they're going to get saved here, but yes. Or you can never lose your salvation, right? It's eternal life. And then I'll say, then basically at that point, that's where I'm taking them to Romans 10 and say, okay, according to what you said before, that's not what you believed before, but since you understand that now, would you like to call upon the name of the Lord for salvation? And again, you can say this in any way you want to, but that's how I land that plane because I remember I started off with asking them some questions as far as what do you believe? Now at the end I'm showing them, hey, it's different than what you said at the beginning, but do you understand all this? Do you believe this? And then I say, hey, this is how you know for sure and this is how you take the cup of salvation, so to speak. Then you pray with them and amen. That's how you land that plane. But have that course of action. I have that same plan that I do every single time. I always start off with I'm asking them some questions as far as what they believe. I end with asking them some questions as far as that they understand what I showed them and then I lead them in a prayer if they understand it. And all the stuff in between is all the same every single time. It's all the same, the same progression. I don't start off with eternal security unless, now there are cases obviously where people just bring out questions at the beginning. And sometimes people, you can go through those steps really quick and you don't have to have a whole bunch of time there and you're just right in on eternal security and that's what you're discussing, right? So I'm not saying that. I'm not saying that's foolproof, but if someone says yes, you can show me, I start off with are you a sinner? I just do. Even though I know this is elementary, I just start off with it. And so that is a good key I believe to being ready to preach the gospel. Obviously we need to go, but prepare that I work without. And then when you go to build the building, so to speak, all the blocks are there. You've just got to piece them together. And now you're not basically building every little piece as you're at the doorstep. Does that make sense? Obviously you're going to go off on different tangents. You're going to talk about different things, but the building blocks, the structure is there and therefore it's hard to fall out of that. And it's easy to keep you on course. You're not going to be as nervous. You're going to have a plan. Any time you're given a presentation, you're always going to do better when you're more confident about what you're talking about and you know that you have it well put together. If you've ever seen me up here nervous, it's because I didn't take enough time on my sermon. But that's just the truth of the matter in life and anything else like that. But I hope the sermon helped as far as just getting you prepared. The preparation of the gospel of peace. First prepare, then go. And preparing sometimes to just be a silent partner too. So let's end with a word prayer. Dear heavenly Father and Lord we thank you for this evening. Thank you for everything that came out. And Lord just thank you for your word. And Lord thank you for the gospel. Thank you for your eternal life. Lord that you shed your blood on the cross and that you died and rose again the third day for us. Lord that we can have eternal life. And help us to give the gospel, to have that compassion and to go forth weeping, bearing precious seed. Lord and just pray that you help us to do that. And Lord just pray that you be with us throughout the rest of this week. In Jesus Christ's name. Amen.