Amen.
Pete McKenzie 0:09
Well, if I didn’t wake you up, I don’t know what we’ll
we’re going through a series, which is absolutely crucial actually. And in the life we live in Christ. Every guy needs to be committed with the other guys that are belong to Jesus, we need to be committed to the same thing. We share a common vision. We all need to know what our job is, what gifts if God given us, you know, we come off the bench, what are we doing? What contribution are we making? Now, not everybody like Dave, my brother back there has a gift of evangelism. I watch him in action. And I’m just in awe when I see how he relates to people and talks to people and shares the gospel and some people have a gift. We’re talking about evangelism today we’ve talked about Jesus being Lord of your life. We talked about the God’s word being the final authority in your life, we talked about becoming men of prayer. We talked about the fellowship and how desperately we need fellowship and brotherhood in the Christian life. You’ll never be the man of God, you could be and should be without other godly men in your life. And today, we’re talking about evangelism. In other words, what’s the end game for Jesus being Lord of your life? What’s the whole point of being a man of prayer and a man of the word? What’s the point of gathering together in fellowship to lift each other up and encourage each other? How does it what’s the end game in this is the end game, that Jesus Christ might be glorified that in people’s hearts, we call it the Great Commission. I’m sure you’re familiar with the verse in Matthew 28, where we see the Great Commission, Jesus had spent three years with his disciples. He had been building into their life teaching rebuking, correcting training, he had, they saw him in action, they didn’t understand a thing, but they saw it. And in Matthew 28, Jesus had one last thing to say before he ascended into heaven. And basically, it was what we call the Great Commission. And Jesus came up and spoke to them and said, All authority has been given to me and heaven and earth. Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even till the end of the age. Now, if he hadn’t said that last sentence, I think none of the rest would have made any difference. Because it’s not me are you who lead people to Christ is the Holy Spirit. In Acts one, eight, another goodbye word that he gave to his guys. And he had told him before, I’m where I’m going, you can’t go, I’m going away. And where I’m going, you can’t go. But later on, you follow me. And they didn’t understand that. Understandably, they didn’t understand that. But he always told him, I’ll send you a comforter, I’m leaving, but the Holy Spirit is coming. And an x one eight, he said, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. Now if there’s anything that men are after its power, and control, and we’ve talked about this before, and hear what’s going on in the world today, what’s going on in America today, what’s going on in every city and council meeting today and mayor’s office is power, power and control. And that’s why we do what we do. Now, there’s nothing wrong in itself in power. There’s nothing wrong with a dictator as long as you have a benevolent dictator. I have no problem with Jesus being my dictator. But I got a problem with some others being my dictator. Because I know that they’re doing it selfishly, for their own power and control. They don’t care about the people. And it’s all about doing whatever it takes to gain that power and control with the Holy Spirit wants to be controlled me too.
Don’t be drunk with wine that’s dissipation, but be feel controlled by the Holy Spirit. And that’s the challenge of our lives and growth in Christ. The reason we want to be man of God, and so the Holy Spirit can control our lives and we’ll know without a doubt what we’re supposed to be doing what we’re striving for in character, and ethics as a Christian man, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. I think that saying you don’t have any power, power to share the gospel power to live the life. We’ve said many times in here the Christian life is not hard. See impossible. You cannot live the Christian life on your own. Only the Holy Spirit can live the Christian life in you and me. When we come to know Jesus Christ, He gives us a Holy Spirit. I don’t understand all I know about that. But I know it’s true. happened to me. Maybe it’s happened to you that I came to know Christ one day and he gave me power, power to do stuff I couldn’t do before I couldn’t quit a lot of the sin and I was doing, I had a bad streak of sin and live in is a song said, and I couldn’t control it. I couldn’t stop long enough or start long enough that things I should do and shouldn’t, shouldn’t do. And so I was on a very frustrating road. Maybe you’ve been there yourself.
But I received power one day, and it was power to live the life power to turn the other cheek and go the second mile and bless those who persecute you. The power through the Spirit of God, to love the unlovely, to pray for your enemies. I had no power. I can’t do that. Not consistently, not with a good joyful attitude. I can’t turn the other cheek. on my own. I’m going to feel the room for uppercuts or profanity or warnings or bitterness and resentment in retaliation. I mean, that’s what’s in my heart. I don’t have to work it that it’s in there it comes out. I have to work is suppressing it. I have to put another spirit in there. That’s stronger than my fleshly spirit. You will you’ll receive power and what was the power all about? You shall be My witnesses. Well, we don’t all have the gift of evangelism. But we all are called to be witnesses. And there’s two ways that I can witness or you can I can have, I can study and get a presentation. I like to ask guys, what’s your favorite way of sharing the gospel? And three out of four, if not nine out of 10 have no favorite way to share the gospel. What are some ways Well, you can learn the bridge illustration, which basically says God’s over here and man’s over here and man’s sinful he separated from a holy God. He’s at center, the wages of sin is death. He faces assure judgment after he dies. That’s the bad news. And we’ve always said the bad news is not bad and less The good news is really good. And the good news is good. If the bad news isn’t that bad. So if you know Sand Hill death in judgment, you’re thinking I got I’m in a pickle here. I got problems. What’s the answer? Well, God so loved the world. He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. We’re saved by grace through faith. It’s not of ourselves. It’s a gift of God, not a result of work. So no man can brag about it. And so that’s the we’re crossing over the bridge from sin, hail death in judgment to that shall not perish and live forever. And then john 1010, I came to to my have life and have it abundantly. First, john 511, through 13. And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his son, he who has a son has life who does not have the sun does not have life. It’s simple as that. I write you these things, Brethren, and this is a real one of the best verses in the Bible for me, I write you these things, Brethren, who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may hope you have eternal life. You may wish you had eternal life. Oh, does it know. checking you out there, jack? That you may know for sure without a shadow of a doubt not because you’re good, but because God’s good. Not because you give grace but because God gives grace. I can know for sure without a shadow of a doubt, I’m going to heaven. And everybody doubts it who’s based in their salvation on works, you’ll never know you have eternal life. If you’re basing your salvation on how good you can be told you can’t be good enough. All it takes is one sin to make you a center. And now all it takes is one drop of Jesus’s blood to make you righteous in his side. And so that’s the gospel you’ll receive power to be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and Judea, and Samaria, and even the remotest parts of the earth. Well, that would be a swathe of remotest parts of the earth from where Jesus was talking about. It’s a worldwide religion. It has no ethnic boundaries. It has no weight boundaries, no size boundaries. It’s a worldwide religion and whosoever will may come it’s for everybody everywhere. And Jesus died for every one of us. Paul little says this about the Holy Spirit. It’s the Holy Spirit not us who converts another person. We the privilege ambassadors of Jesus Christ can communicate a verbal message, we can demonstrate to our personality and life message, what the grace of Jesus Christ can accomplish. That never let us naive Lee think that we have converted a soul and brought him to Jesus Christ. No one calls Jesus Lord, except by the Holy Spirit. All I am all you are, we’re just messengers. We just bear the message. You’ll be my witnesses. Witnesses is to witness to the grace of God, the love of God.
The wonder of God, and all the adjectives we can think of that represent God. He said, I can give you a verbal message, I can give you a presentation, I can read the four spiritual laws that bill bright came up with a Billy Graham’s booklet on evangelism. And maybe you have your own way of sharing your faith. Maybe it’s your personal testimony, how you came to Christ, that’s probably the best way. Because I can argue with all the theology we give them. They can’t argue that once I was blind, and now I see, you can argue with me and tell me my life hadn’t changed. I’m a different man. If any man’s in Christ, he’s a new creature. You can argue with that. Not only because I can tell you I’m different. You can see that I’m different. I’m living the life not because I’m gutting and straining, but because when I’m walking in the Spirit, the Spirit gives me life and that life represents his character and his nature. It helps me do what I cannot do. It gives me a love for the word. It makes me a man of prayer teaches me how to pray prays in me and through me. So it’s all about him and the Holy Spirit. No one calls Jesus Lord except by the Spirit. Probably my favorite verse about evangelism in the Bible is Matthew 419. And that’s where Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee. And he saw some fishermen there, Andrew and Peter. And James and john came along after and follow me and I’ll make you fishers of men. And immediately they left their nets and followed him. Follow me and I will make you fishers of men. Can you be a fisherman without Jesus making you a fisherman, only Jesus can make a disciple. And only a disciple can make another disciple. That’s a multiplication aspect of the gospel and evangelism. AB Bruce wrote a classic book called the training of the 12th. And he broke down all the different things that Jesus expose, and train the disciples in. And I want to read a few comments about him from that book, the founder of the faith desire not only to have disciples, but to have about him men, whom he might train to disciple others. And you may remember that’s what Paul said in Second Timothy, two, two, when he was passing the baton to Timothy, his protege, and ball at the end of second Timothy said, I fought the good fight, I’ve run the race, I finished a course, he knew that he was ready to go to heaven and Philippians he was in jail, he didn’t know if he’s going to be killed or not. But he had an idea, I think God had showed him that he’s going to hang around a little longer. But in Second Timothy, he realized his time was up, he was fixing to be executed and go to heaven. And he was turning the church over to Timothy. And he said, Timothy, the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, and trust these to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also, as for generations, we got four men. And if those four men in that form m group are multiplying, where we had four, now we got eight, where we had eight, and then we have 16, where we have 16. Now we have 32. And that’s the way the Christian life is lived. And that’s what multiplication in the great Commission’s all about. AB Bruce goes on to say the careful painstaking education of the disciples secured that the teachers influence on the world should be permanent. The Gospel has been entrusted to me and you and Jesus pass it along to us. And he entrusted you with the most precious thing in the whole world. Name one thing that’s more precious in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, if it in fact, is the gospel that separates man from Heaven and Hell, that gives me an hope in life. If it gives me an insight and wisdom and understanding, is there anything more important in life and it could be entrusted to you than the gospel of Jesus Christ, to pass it along to give it away? And that’s what we say in the last After all, the Be a man of God and prayer and chase after men who chase after Christ. The last thing is give it away. Now what kind of men are going to be chosen to give it away? those on whom so much depended it plainly behoove to possess a very extraordinary qualifications. The mirrors must be finely polished that are designed to reflect the image of Christ. Are you being finely polished right now? Are you going through a difficulty or trial something you wish you didn’t have? Oswald Chambers said I feel sorry for everybody doesn’t have something they wish they didn’t have gone on in their life.
You’re because your mirror is not being polished if it’s not. That’s how mirrors in Christ that’s how you become Christ. You don’t get patients by taking a pill. You get patients by being in circumstances that require patience, goodness, gentleness, kindness, the love the unlovely to go the second mile to bless those who persecute you. It’s all mirror polishing. It’s all reflecting the nature of Christ in you and to build in it in training you and correcting you and rebuke in you. So that you may reflect the nature of your father you may have a strong family resemblance resemblance to your Father in heaven. They were to receive rare spiritual endowment for it would be a religion for all nations. Therefore, its apostles must be free from Jewish narrowness and have sympathies as wide as the world. It is a spiritual religion. Therefore, its apostles must be emancipated in conscience from the yoke of Jewish ceremonial lism. It’s a religion which is to proclaim the cross its harrows must be superior to all conventional notions of human and divine dignity, capable of glorifying in the cross of Christ, and willing to bear the cross themselves. The humble fishermen of Galilee had much to learn before they could satisfy these requirements. They also had much to unlearn which was bad, as well as learning what was good and they were slow both to learn and unlearn. They were poor man of humble birth. Low stations in occupations, who had never felt the stimulating influence of a liberal education, or social intercourse with persons have cultivated minds. Throughout this work, great prominence was given to the moral and spiritual defects of the 12th. Everything may be hoped of men who would leave all for Christ’s cause. Where there is a noble soul there’s an indefinite capacity for growth. Where there is a noble soul there is an indefinite depth, definite capacity for growth. With all their imperfections, one distinguishing virtue was their Cardinal virtue. It’s a virtue of Christian character. They were animated by devotion to Jesus, into the divine kingdom which made them capable of any sacrifice, believing him to be the Christ come to establish God’s kingdom on earth. They immediately left their nets and joined his company. ambition is a motive, but it was not their motive. You see, ambition needs a temptation. It does not join a cause that is obscure and struggling, and whose success is doubtful. It joins in when success is assured. The cause of Jesus had not yet reached that stage. Their hearts were fired. Their heads were tuned and turned by dream about a divine kingdom to be set up in Israel with Jesus of Nazareth as its King. That dream possessed them ruled over their minds and shaped their destinies, compelling them to leave their Kindred in their country and to go forth on what might appear beforehand to be a fool’s errand. They were possessed by the idea of the kingdom, where it was no fool’s errand on which they went forth, leaving their nets behind the kingdom they saw it turned out to be real. But not one day imagined. The fishermen of Galilee did become fishers of men, on a most extensive scale, and in the power of God gathered many souls into the church, as such as should be saved. They cast their nets into the world, and the world would never be the same. What kind of man does God choose to represent him? men who are passionate they have fire in their hearts, the fire is for the kingdom. in that series have chosen Nicodemus asked Jesus, what are you doing? Why are you here? He said, establish a new kingdom. And that’s the kind of language he used with his disciples. They had longed to see the Messiah and they thought the Messiah was going to kick the Romans out and then he would sit on the throne and he would be a very different Messiah than the the Messiah that came from Nazareth. He was lowly in heart and had lowly mom and dad, nothing to brag about no extensive education, although at 12 years old, he was teaching the Pharisees in the temple. He came already ready. He came as God become man.
And then he said to me, and like me, and you follow me and I’ll make you fishers of men. What’s it mean to follow? It means to come after come after me. What a arrogant guy, he must have been. What a benevolent man, he was in King, follow me, come after me. It means to engage in as a calling or a way of life. There are some people that are called to be pastors, some to be missionary, some to be professional Christians, if you will. But very few are called comparatively. Most of us are called to be witnesses right where we are. Right in our own homes. Right in our business in our neighborhood. Jesus moved into the neighborhood when he came in, would it be great if we could say that of every Christian, the Christian moved into the neighborhood, to make a difference to shine a light in the darkness. Follow means to proceed along and it’s a process. The disciples had a lot to learn, they had a lot to unlearn, and they were slow in both directions. They were slow on the uptake. Slone understanding Sloane getting the real message, but they got it. But you know, they didn’t get it until they received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. And then everything Jesus taught started making sense, remains to pursue and obey, to follow in order to become like, follow me, and I’ll make you fishers of men. Now, if you want to become like a strong Christian that you know, then follow them hang on their screen door. Find guys that love Jesus more than you do. And don’t let them shake you off. And there’s plenty out there like that compared to me. In other words out, and there’s a lot of screen doors I’ve made to and I’ve had over the years, I’ve had a lot of mentors and guys in my life who either modeled it for me or took me under their wing. And I just watched how they you know, I had a model of a pastor in Birmingham, Frank Barker. And I said, and when I when I became a pastor, surprisingly, the first thing I do is put Frank’s picture on my wall to remind me of what a pastor looks like what how pastor x. Pastor treats people, I preaches his high, loves his wife and raises his children high response when he misses a three foot pipe. So I had a chance to have Frank Barker, then I got Chuck Singletary. And Chuck this model for me what a missionary spirit, heart and attitude was all about commitment to the Great Commission. And that’s all he talked about. He had all kinds of sayings. But they all involve the Great Commission. And I had a chance to sit at his feet and follow Him and be his friend. He believed in me that was probably the thing I would say that he imparted to me that was the most valuable to me when I didn’t believe in myself and I was disqualified. I hadn’t lived up to any other standards. He believed in me, he saw something in me I couldn’t see in myself. And that’s what Jesus saw in his disciples. He saw he saw men in them that they couldn’t see in themselves. He saw where they were headed, what they would become like, what difference they would make, what contributions I would make, found in churches discipling, teaching, correcting, rebuking, and then dying for their faith and dying for Christ. It means to pursue and obey it means to follow in order to become like, when Jesus calls a man Dietrich bond, hopper said he bids in come and die. Follow me. He told Peter said Peter, right now you come and go whenever you want to, but a day will come when they will tie you up and make you go where you don’t want to go. He was predicting Peters martyrdom. And Peter didn’t understand that at the time either. But he remembered it when he was being led to the chopping block, or the crucifixion to be crucified upside down. Follow me. What Is that me? Who is me? If you’re going to follow someone and someone says follow me? Don’t you want to know who they are? Where are you going? It’s kind of like this tombstone in Indiana. 100 years ago, God died. He says it stranger as you pass by, don’t think that you’re just passing by where I’m going, you’re going. So prepare yourself to follow me. And then right under it, someone scratch to follow you, I’m not content until I know which way he went.
When Jesus calls a man a bids him come and die. That doesn’t just mean come and die and be a martyr. It means dad yourself, it means I’m crucified with Christ. It’s no longer I who live, we’re not going to be very good witnesses if we hadn’t crucified the flesh. If we don’t crucify it every day, if we don’t say no to the things we should say no to, and yes, and when we fail, and I say yes to the no and no to the Yes, then I have a recourse. We talk about this all the time. We repent, were broken before God, a true Christian is always broken over sin. He didn’t get used to it, he can get lazy, he can make friends with the enemy, he can sign peace treaties with the devil. But he’s never going to be content there. He’s always going to come to a point sooner or later, like David David after running from God for a year when Nathan stuck his finger in his chest, and God will always come and stick a finger in your chest in my chest. He’s done it many times. Thou art the man. And that’s the point where David broke and repented, wrote Psalm 51, we have a recourse when we don’t live up to the standard, we can confess our sin. And we have a faithful and just and righteous God, who will forgive us, put it behind him as far as the easiest from the west and say, Come on, we got work to do. Don’t be beating yourself up, I’m not beating you up, quit beating yourself up, God is really tired of people beating themselves up. I remember, I had a vision, one time God gave me of walking into the gym over here at the Boys and Girls Club, where we were having a church and all the chairs were pushed up against the bleachers or push up against a wall. And there was a circle of people about 10 people stand in the middle at half court. And there was somebody on the floor and they were in a circle. And they were kicking someone on the ground and middle of them. So I went over and I joined in the kick and said, who we kick in, I looked down it was me. And Jesus said to me at that point, he said, Pete, you’ll notice I’m not in the circle. And I’m tired of you kicking yourself. I’ll never forget that. If you’ve been kicking yourself lately, you’re not going to be a very good witness. If you’re kicking yourself all the time. If you’re beating yourself up, if you’re listening to the devil tell you, you’re never going to make it and you’re no good and you’re never going to stop this sin. You got to quit listening to that and listen to the God who said, Come to me. And I’ll give you rest from all that. I’ll give you victory over that sin. I’ll give you a desire not to do it again. I’ll make it distasteful for you. I’ll help you with that. And we’re not going to be witnesses for Christ. Unless we really let the Holy Spirit loose in our life and not be afraid of him. Let him do what he is going to do give him permission to help himself. He’s going to help himself anyway. Right? So might as well give him permission. And if you give him permission, you can really learn and be taught and rebuked and learn from it. But if you’ve never given God permission, you’re gonna see I’ve been attacked by the devil, devils after me and he is and mainly He wants you to think that God’s displeased with you, God’s not your friend. God’s disappointed in you. And that’s it. That’s what he comes along to say he wants to if he can steal our image and concept of God and he’s one because if you if God’s traffic cop behind a billboard, why would you come to Him and follow Him? But if he’s a benevolent dictator, if he forgives us when we sin, if he’s got our best interests in mind, if he believes we’re valuable enough to down the cross for us, why wouldn’t we follow him? What’s he done? Which, which one of his nail prints of discus you the most? What which one of his hands and feet they were driven spikes through makes you the most upset? What did he do? To give you the idea, you can’t follow it and trust him. That’s what it means to follow. And we have to know who we’re following. We’re following the Lord of all the Messiah, the Christ. And so be careful who you follow. And you know the what we’ve talked about many times, be careful who you follow.
Because whatever they’re like, you’re going to be just like and wherever they’re going, that’s where you’re going. Where’s Jesus going? And what’s he like? Is he worth following? I think that’s a good question. Are you following him today? Are you reading the Word? Are you praying? Are you in constant contact? Are you praying without ceasing? No, you involving him? And all that goes on? Are you trust in Him? All he wants to know is you trust me? Do you trust me? Oh ye of little faith when in these in the boat and the storms about to sink them. And finally, after bailing and bailing, and they couldn’t, they had no answer to their problem, we’re going to die here and he’s sleeping in the bow of the boat. So they woke him up. And the first thing he says is, oh, ye of little faith. did not say we’re going to the other side of the lake. If I said it, the no storm is going to keep you from getting there. So we raised his hand and he said, Peace Be still. And this is a guy I want to follow. I don’t know who you want to follow. But I want to follow the guy that can raise his hand and say peace be still over the chaos and storms and rain in my life. I want a guy that can give me peace, it The past is our comprehension. I want a God that cares. He’s with me all the time. He never leaves or forsakes me. I want a God that laid his life down and hung on a cross so that I may not have to hang on that same cross. That’s who I want to follow. Who do you want to follow? Who are you following. Because you’re not going to be a witness for Jesus Christ. If you’re following something else. If you’re following ambition, or money or job or success in the marketplace. That all comes after you get your heart right. You can be trusted with that some guys cannot be trusted with success. They fight for success. They want to make money, nothing wrong with making money. But if you’re doing it with the wrong motive spirit, heart and attitude, there’s something wrong with it. If you’re doing it for your own glory, if you’re doing it for your own status and recognition, there’s a problem there. And you’re doing it. So if you have more resources to give and to build the kingdom and to support missionaries, and to build a church. That’s a good reason. That’s a good motivation. And the disciples is a brew said, we’re not driven by ambition, ambition, needs temptation. You got to be tempted to get rich to glorify yourself to be successful. And so that’s a temptation and they weren’t tempted by all that they were fired up by the vision of the kingdom that you were going to be able to build in one movie for a TV they made about Jesus when he had shown said, Peter cast your net on the other side of the boat, and he had this amazing catch. And Peters’s asked him He says, Where are we going? What are we going to do if I follow you, he said, we’re going to change the world. That’s what fired him up. We’re going to see men’s lives change, your marriages heal, their bodies heal, we’re going to see God do miraculous things. Follow me. And I will express his confidence that he is able to make a commitment to them. It’s my match natural tendency, Jesus said, I will make you I can make you don’t worry about how you’re going to be made, and what I’m going to use to shape and form and build you into a man of God. But I will make you fishers of men. You’re still going to be fishers, you’re just going to not be fishing for fish in the sea of Galilee. You’re going to be fishing for men from now. I’ll make you I’ll bring you into being by teaching coaching, forming, shaping, altering, training, adapting, correcting rebuking. That’s a long list of things that God’s doing in our lives every day. At least he wants to do he’s trying to do are you teachable? Are you coachable? He wants to train you. Are you trainable? Do you ever coached a team? You got some kids, you can show them all day long what to do, and they can or won’t do it. They’re not coachable. They need to be teammates. They’re trying to be stars in their own right. And you need a quarterback that’s going to be a team man. That’s going to build a team. Encourage your team farther team up, believe in his players
that some guys aren’t coachable. They’re in it for their own glory. They’re not team players. And Christianity is a team sport they say. So I’m going to make you I’m going to make you fishers of men. You’re still going to be fishing. You’re a professional fisherman. I want you to be professional man catchers. I want you to know what bait to use. I want you to know how to relate to them. I want you to know how to pray for them. I want you to be the reason that I brought people to Christ was because of your life is a watched you live it out. Because of the time you had a chance to ask them questions. I mean, when I was wet behind the ears, Christian now I was in a church it was this vehement element evangelism. So Matter of fact, several people might walk up to you at church or during the week, say at some gathering. And the big question was, who have you led to Christ lately? And so man, I felt the pressure, I better have a story, because I didn’t have a lot of those stories. So they had these convenience stores that were just opening. And they were staying open all night. And because they were open all night, they were being robbed on a regular basis all over town. So I was on my way home one night, and Susan had asked me to bring some bread home and I stopped by the convenience store. This me in the store, it was late, around 10 o’clock. And there was this gal behind the register, and she was checking me out. And I just thought, Man, maybe I can share the gospel with her here. And I asked her, if you died today, where did you spend eternity? And she jumped back against a cash register. She said, Why? Scared may scared her. I didn’t answer a question. I just paid and got the heck out of there. I’m sure she remembers that though. And God’s gonna use it in her life, even if he didn’t use it in line.
I want a clutch hitter at that point. They had a new target man, Jesus used the language that Peter and James and john understood. I’m gonna make you fishers of men. What’s it gonna take to fire us up? Come here, David. Dave here is fired up. I don’t know, more fired up guy than Dave Harris. And I don’t want to miss this opportunity teaching on this.
Give us a word.
Unknown Speaker 36:58
You know, I just this morning I was highlighted again, that whole word back from Chronicles about the sons of issachar. And what did it say about the sons of issachar. They knew the season that they were in, they knew the seasons, they they were discerning. And I believe right now, guys, I don’t care where we were six months ago, I believe we were sewing. But what we’re seeing right now, just since we’ve been back in Orange County, is that it is a season of harvest people that six months ago didn’t want to hear anything. They have ears to hear now. And and really, I believe last night a group of us gathered. And it was like, throw the net on the other side of the boat. And I promise you, you’re gonna catch stuff. It’s just there’s something, there’s been a shift, there’s been a change, even as we’re contending for change, all across this nation from the top down in every sphere, I believe that there’s been a shift evangelistically and I believe if you will open your mouth. That’s just we are called to be witnesses, and to give an answer to the hope that’s within us. You know, and the way I know this is that, you know, just last week I was training I trained down south Laguna 1000 steps. The Lord gave me a word for this, this woman that was also training a bunch of people do their exercise there. And I, you know, went up and, and said, hey, my wife and I were in ministry or pastors and I just feel like the Lord would say to you that he wants to heal you from betrayal. That’s what the word The Lord gave me wasn’t, you know, and she sat there and she just freaked out like, what? Then she said, I’m looking for a church, I thought she was a Christian. She called my wife, not a Christian, full New Age mystic looking for a church calls my wife and our on the phone. That’s the shift in season, we give out our number all the time, and people don’t call back. But now they’re calling back. You know what that business card you guys all know y’all have a business card. It never produces business. It’s a great tool for people to get back to you evangelistically give out your business card so that people will call you back. Okay, granted, if they want to do business with you great. But that business card, I have a business card too. It’s never used for the purpose that it was intended. But it’s used for people to find their way back to me that have questions about the gospel. So I just believe guys, we’re in an hour and a shift in season. And I promise you, you guys, take me up on this. You’ll come back next week and say it’s true. There’s a shift. It is a season of harvest. It’s there’s always a harvest going on. I often think the church that Pete started new harvest, you know that name, new harvest. I don’t know how much new harvest we had. But I believe that if you’re going to name a church today, that would be a great name, to rename a church in this hour that there is a new harvest that’s coming in. And we would all agree guys, there is nothing that this nation needs more than to repent. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and stop the sin and I love that song, you know, just the bad living anyway. God bless you guys.
Pete McKenzie 40:08
Thank you, David.
Well, what are you gonna do about that? You know, guys, you might be sitting there going well, I’m no Dave Harris. I don’t, I can’t speak like he speaks and not as bold as he is. I’m not I don’t have the gift. And all you got to do is live the life and ask God to use you. God will give you a word just like he gave David, for that gal betrayal. There are people out there that are going through everything in the world. And we’ve got to be and I’ve got to be and learn to be bolder in my faith. This we this redeem the time God has given us a epidemic to prepare a man’s heart for the gospel. Listen, don’t let it go buy this. Don’t waste it. Hey, man. Let’s pray. Father, we just thank you for the word today that we got from your word that we could follow you and become fishers of men. And, Lord, we want to be those men that are teachable that you can pass a baton to. When the crisis comes in, it is common courage is required and it is required. Help us to be bolder. God expects his men who have been entrusted with the gospel, to have such confidence in him that will be the reliable ones to carry the gospel to the four corners of the earth. Thank you for all the missionaries we have in here. Thank you The ones that are serving like Craig today and we pray blessing on him and Irish in and draya Sue’s taken off for Honduras yesterday and Lord, all those missionaries that were able to support and encourage thank you for the men here who participate in that. The Lord help us even today to be aware of our antennas up to share the good news with all the people that need it so desperately and we pray you do that in Jesus name And all God’s men said give them heaven guys
Unknown Speaker 42:06
much
Transcribed by https://otter.ai