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[0:00] All right, Eric, are you a bowler? No? Okay. I feel like you might come out and surprise us all.

[0:12] I'm a baller. He's a baller, I know. Randy's out there counting all the money. He's another one that kind of scares me. I think he might have some bowling shoes and probably his own bowling ball with his name on it.

[0:27] We'll find out. All right. He better not come up there and hustle us either. All right. Let's get into the Bible then. Proverbs, please. Chapter 11. This morning, Proverbs 11.

[0:38] I want to bring something to challenge you in light of what I want to do after this service and get in out and get on the streets a little bit and handing out some tracts or just inviting some folks to church.

[0:51] Even if it's as simple as just hanging a door hanger on a doorknob or on a fence post, I just want to challenge you and encourage you along these lines of what we ought to be doing for the Lord evangelistically.

[1:04] Proverbs 30. Proverbs 30. Proverbs 30. Proverbs 30. And let's read this very familiar verse, verse 30, where the Bible says, The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he that winneth souls is wise.

[1:20] He that winneth souls is wise. Now, in understanding the Proverbs and the language of the Proverbs, you're either a wise man or you're what? A fool. So he that winneth souls is wise.

[1:34] What does that make the man who's not winning souls? He's a fool. Yeah, foolish. It is foolish to live this life born again and not make an attempt to win souls.

[1:49] It's foolish to waste your life that you can be living for Christ and doing something for his name and for his sake and not do anything for the gospel.

[2:03] It's a foolish thought. But he that winneth souls is wise. Now, winning souls is a privilege and it's an honor for God to use a sinner like you and I, who deserves to go to hell and pay for the crimes and the sins against our holy God.

[2:21] We deserve that. But the thought that he would care to use us to glorify himself, it's a worthy calling and a worthy cause. And it's a job and it's a duty and it's a responsibility that God has given to us.

[2:35] And I want to talk about these things and try to convince you this morning to get active if you're not already or to take it a step further if you are to get engaged in this thing called winning souls.

[2:49] Now, you can't win a soul necessarily as a work of your own. It's the work of the Spirit of God to open their eyes. But what you can do, the efforts you can do is to witness, is to put forth the message, is to preach the gospel.

[3:06] It's to go and tell. You can do that. You can't make a sinner get saved. You can't shake them until they decide, yeah, I better do this or else. You can't open their understanding, but you can present the gospel.

[3:23] The word witness, we can witness. The word witness is just bearing witness of what has happened to us. It's telling them something we know is true.

[3:33] We're witnessing of something to them for the Lord Jesus Christ. We can do that. Sometimes you hear about missionaries and you think they're going off to this particular country in this field and it's their job.

[3:47] We're supporting them and it's their job. They have to do it. They better do it. And yeah, in one light, yes. It's their job. But let's not be quick to neglect the idea that it's our duty just as much as it's theirs here at home to be witnessing and to attempt to win souls for the Lord Jesus Christ.

[4:08] I want to give you some thoughts this morning of why we need to witness. Not the missionaries, not the preachers, but why we, you in the pew, why you need to take this serious and be a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ.

[4:23] The first place I want you to turn here is back to Revelation chapter 4. One of the greatest thoughts in this Bible, an eye-opening thought, Revelation 4.

[4:34] And I want to start here because I think this is the most important thought and concept in all areas, regardless of what we're speaking directly on witnessing.

[4:51] And I want to say, first of all, this morning, why you need to witness is because of the reason that you exist. Now, I didn't say that witnessing was the reason you exist. But there is a reason that you exist.

[5:03] And this is one reason why we ought to witness. Revelation 4, verse 11. The Bible says, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power.

[5:15] For Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are, and were created. For Thy pleasure they are. Present tense, they exist.

[5:26] For Thy pleasure they exist. For the pleasure of Almighty God.

[5:55] And witnessing, I believe, pleases our Father. I don't say that you need to witness because winning souls is the reason we're here.

[6:07] Some people teach that. Some people say, if God saved you just to save you, He'd have called you home to heaven right away. But I know He left you here to win souls. And that's a thought.

[6:18] It's not terrible. But it's not a totally accurate thought to say that the only reason you're still alive after your salvation is to win souls. It's one, I'm sure. But how about to please our Father?

[6:30] To bring glory to God? This is one way that we can do it. There's many ways. But this is one way, and it's one that we can start with. Why we need to witness and be a witness for Jesus Christ to the world is because of the reason that we exist.

[6:44] To please God. Sinners, like you and I, we think sometimes that from a human standpoint that soul winning is the most important thing.

[6:54] And there's certain circles of Christianity. They've got some tags put on them that soul winning is all they push. They push, push, push, push it. I've met some of them and even gone out door knocking with some of them.

[7:07] And they're a little frustrating when you have that mindset that this is the most important thing in this world. And I have to do it, do it, do it, do it, do it. And if I'm not seeing people saved, something's wrong and I've got to make sure they get saved.

[7:20] Some people think that from a human standpoint that it is the most important thing to win souls. And I believe that's just kind of humanistic. Humanism is this thought that what's best for the interest of humankind.

[7:35] That's humanism. Looking on this horizontal human level. And if you think about a sinner, yeah, the best thing for them is to get saved. The best thing for them is not to go to hell. They should trust Christ and go to heaven.

[7:45] So on that level, what could be more important? And I'll agree. The most important decision I've ever made in my life was to trust Christ as my Savior. That's by far the most important thing.

[7:55] But God's thoughts are not our thoughts. And one of the ways he proves that winning souls is not the most important thing to him. One of the ways he proves that, and I'll say it like this.

[8:08] If it was the most important thing to him, if the souls of men was the most important thing to him, why is he allowing most of them, it seems, to go to hell?

[8:20] Why would he do that? Why would he allow that? Why do some people teach that he decreed that some will be damned? If that's the most important thing to him. That's not the most important thing to him.

[8:32] And it shouldn't be. Just his creation. It's part of his creation. God's going to send them to hell. And he's going to do it because he sees his holiness and his justice above the souls of men.

[8:45] He'll judge a sinner and give him what he deserves, putting his justice above what we would say. How could God do that? He's a loving God. How could he send someone to hell?

[8:58] God allows them to go to hell. Men say that the most important thing is the souls of men. But God says, you know, the most important thing is me. I'm more important than the souls of men.

[9:09] Now, I want to win souls for Christ because it pleases God. I want to please him. Not so much because of the effect it has on the soul. It's about pleasing God.

[9:19] Since when did the souls of men become more important than the creator of the souls of men? So it's the wrong view to see them as the priority. God is the priority.

[9:31] Pleasing God is the priority. And then winning souls is one way we can be a pleasure to him. I should have told you to stay in Proverbs. Come back to Proverbs chapter 15.

[9:43] I just wanted to make a little connection here in the Proverbs of some of the words. We read that he that winneth souls is wise. And we understand that the opposite of that, he that's not winning souls is foolish.

[10:03] And chapter 15 and verse 20 says, A wise son maketh a glad father. A wise son maketh a glad father, but a foolish son.

[10:17] He despiseth his mother. To make the application to your father in heaven. He saved you and he gave you an opportunity to please him. One thing that pleases him, one thing that makes him glad is when you're wise.

[10:31] And in this Bible, he that winneth souls is wise. Don't be the foolish son that despises your mother. Or despises God and his calling and his opportunity to do something for him.

[10:45] I quoted in Sunday school that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. In Ezekiel 18, as far as what pleases God, he says, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked.

[10:58] It does not please him to judge a man according to truth and to cause him to go to hell. Some people teach it brings glory to God.

[11:10] It's hard for me to say those words to that extent when he says it brings him no pleasure at all. And I don't believe it does bring God pleasure, but he'll do it. He'll absolutely do it.

[11:22] So come back to Psalm 9. Psalm 9. Just the first thought here, and just to get established, one reason why we ought to witness is because the reason we exist is to please God.

[11:35] And it seems as if pleasing God or winning souls and witnessing for Jesus Christ brings pleasure to God, then I think we ought to do it. We ought not to be that foolish son that causeth shame.

[11:48] Getting our priorities right, that our focus is on the Lord and a way to bring pleasure to our Father. Let's start there. Then we can move to some things that are maybe a little more human perspective.

[12:02] And the second thing I want to say is we should win souls or be a witness for Jesus Christ because of the reality of hell. Look at Psalm 9 and verse 17.

[12:14] The language is strong and believe it. Verse 17. The wicked shall be turned into hell. That's going to happen. There's no doubt about it.

[12:26] The Word of God declares it over and over that the wicked are going to find their way in hell. We've read it in Sunday school where Christ did it three, four times in that chapter of Matthew that he declared those righteous, those supposed sanctified and holy religious leaders are going to be damned.

[12:45] And he said, how can you escape the damnation of hell? The wicked shall be turned into hell. God fully intends on sending every sinner to hell.

[12:59] He intends on judging every soul. And if they're unrighteous, depart from me, ye cursed. There's a reality of hell.

[13:10] And he's going to do it. And you better count on it. He won't bat an eye. He won't shed a tear. If we think that way, we don't understand God. We don't understand his person.

[13:21] We don't understand his holiness. We don't understand his sovereignty and supremacy. And that he, as a creator, has the right to decide and to do whatever he chooses and pleases him with all of his creation.

[13:36] And when he makes some declarations in this Bible, we ought to take heed to it. We ought to believe it. One reason why we ought to witness is because of the reality of hell. Those people, those souls that you know that are lost, they're going to hell.

[13:52] It's not a flip of a coin. It's not, I just hope it works out for them. They're on their way to hell. And if they died right now, if you know they're not saved, you know they've rejected the gospel, they die today, they'll wake up in hell.

[14:06] It's a real place. And there's people there right now. When I was in Bible school, Brother Donovan was preaching a message. Or maybe he'd given his testimony. He was talking about trying to witness to his dad.

[14:17] He was a lost Catholic. And his dad told him, he said, you can go to hell with your Bible. That's what he said to his son that was trying to witness to his soul. You can go to hell with your Bible.

[14:30] Well, that man died. As far as anybody knows, that man's in hell today. And he's screaming. And he's crying out there for mercy. Or he's cursing God or whatever.

[14:42] However, the wicked shall be turned into hell. I once knocked on a door in our town in our old church. And knocked on a door not far away.

[14:53] And this young lady answered the door. She was an older teenager or maybe college age girl. And she answered the door and began talking to her about salvation and the word of God.

[15:05] And was able to open up the Bible and was able to really get into a good witness with her. She was asking questions. She was engaged. And it was just like, praise the Lord, this is so good. This is going great.

[15:15] And as we got closer to the culmination of trying to get her to see and receive Christ as her Savior. We had covered probably 80% of the material that we needed to cover.

[15:29] Her dad showed up and said, what are you doing? And he just slammed the door shut. And it was just going so well, so well, so. And all of a sudden, she's yanked in. Boom. It's like, all right.

[15:41] We're out of here. And I don't know about that man or that girl today. But I know if that man drops into hell. If the natural thing goes where he dies before she does.

[15:53] And he drops into hell. He's going to think back and remember that day. And say, God, send that man back to my baby. Don't let her come here. Don't let her burn in this hell.

[16:07] She needs to hear. Because the reality of hell. Somebody needs to witness. This place is real. The people that are there know it.

[16:17] You can believe that. Come all the way back. Not to Revelation, but right before it to Jude. Look with me at the book of Jude. And I love the wording of these two verses.

[16:30] The thought that it brings. When it comes to trying to win souls and witness. We need to witness because of the reality of hell.

[16:46] Jude verse 22. It says, Of some have compassion making a difference. Others save with fear. And others save with fear.

[16:57] Pulling them out of the fire. I love the thought. It forces you to consider that witnessing. And when you save a soul from hell, you never know how close they were.

[17:13] When somebody gets saved or hears the gospel message preached and receives it. You just don't know. And when God puts it on your heart to hand somebody a track.

[17:23] Or to say something to your family member. Or to do something in regards to witnessing and getting the gospel. You just don't know why he's doing it. You don't know why. You don't see what he sees.

[17:34] When he moves you and says, Hand him a track. You're checking out. Give him an invitation. Do something. You don't know that he knows how close they are to that fire.

[17:46] And some, it seems like we could just reach out and just pull them out just in the nick of time. Before it's too late. There's so many stories of people that have been on their deathbeds.

[17:59] And had the preacher come in and witness to them. And lead them to Christ before they die. They're so vulnerable. They're so scared. They're so open in many cases. Not all.

[18:10] But in some. Just feels like that's a good picture of them. Just moments. In the lifespan of 80 to 100 years. For them just to escape by a few days.

[18:23] That's pulling them out of the fire. How close they were to eternity. To being turned into hell. Where their worm dieth not.

[18:33] And the fire is not quenched. Look back at James chapter 5. Just a few pages to your left. James chapter 5. I want to read a verse here as well.

[18:44] And apply this to this thought of soul winning. And pulling them out of hell.

[18:55] Verse 20. It says, Let him know. The very last verse of the book. Let him know that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way. Shall save a soul from death.

[19:07] And shall hide a multitude of sins. You and I have the truth. We have salvation. The free gift of eternal life. The righteousness of Jesus Christ.

[19:20] And we can convert a sinner from the error of his way. Thinking he can get to heaven by living right. Thinking he can go to church and give a few bucks. And be a decent person.

[19:31] Have you talked to people? Have you heard their response to why they think they're okay? I've never killed anybody. I was baptized when I was young. That's what they believe.

[19:44] They think that's going to get them through the judgment. Can you put this in? I mean we can see it. They can't. But can you get them to see you're going to stand before your creator.

[19:58] You're the holy God of the universe of glory. Who kicked out the devil for his sin of pride. Who judged the world in the old days of Noah and Sodom and Gomorrah.

[20:12] I mean the righteous judge. And you're going to say I never killed anybody. Do you not hear what you're thinking? You think that's going to get you through?

[20:23] You did slay another human being so I'm okay? Somebody sprinkled some water on me when I was a baby. God right? I mean do you hear their foolishness?

[20:37] They're blind. They're lost. They're condemned already. We need to witness because of the reality of hell. The wicked will be turned into hell.

[20:47] God will flick that soul into hell. They'll be there until they come before him in the great white throne. Then the second death they'll be cast into the lake of fire. They're not good enough. Because they thought they could get to heaven apart from the blood of Jesus Christ.

[21:01] They thought they could be a good person. And it's not good enough. Let's go to Proverbs again. Chapter 20 this time. I'm sorry 24. Proverbs 24.

[21:12] I want to give you another thought here. Try to convince you to witness. We need to witness because of the reason that we exist to please God.

[21:23] We need to witness because of the reality of hell. That God is damning souls there daily. And He's right to do so. And in Proverbs 24.

[21:35] Because it's a responsibility that God gave to you and I. Let's look at verses 10 through 12. And read this like a Christian that's saved. In verse 10.

[21:46] If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death. And those that are ready to be slain.

[21:58] If thou sayest, behold we knew it not. Doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? And he that keepeth thy soul, doth he not know it? And shall not he render to every man according to his works?

[22:12] We all have a responsibility. We can't say, I didn't know they were lost. I didn't know they were. I didn't know they needed a gospel track. I didn't know they needed to come to church.

[22:23] I didn't know they needed the gospel. I thought they were saved. Did you? God's not going to let you get away with that. If you forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death.

[22:38] If you forbear, God's going to hold you guilty. He's not going to damn your soul. But there's going to be some things that are going to have to be dealt with at the judgment seat of Christ.

[22:49] If you forbear to deliver them. Paul said his calling was to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. And he said, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel.

[23:01] Woe is unto me. I have a calling. I have a responsibility. And shame on every one of us. Myself included. The highest shame on us. When we place our hobbies.

[23:13] And our entertainment. Above the souls of men around us. When God is putting a burden. And a calling in the scriptures. For us to pick up.

[23:24] And to put out. To win the lost. He says that we're ambassadors. For Christ. In 2 Corinthians 5. He said. Paul said as though God did beseech you by us.

[23:37] Be he reconciled to God. He wants to use us. Put a message in our tongue. As if it's himself. Beseeching the lost. To be reconciled to God.

[23:49] It's a responsibility. God's given us. I see it. And I'm thankful to see it. When I read of missionary letters. Those particular missionaries. That are on deputation. And they're headed to the field.

[24:00] And then they write about people. That they witness to at a park. Or at a truck stop. Or on their deputation trail. They talk about tracks they've gotten out. And souls they've won to Christ. And it's a blessing to hear that.

[24:11] Because you know. They're taking their responsibility serious. They're not saying. Oh I've just got to win. I've got to wait until I get to Germany. Or to Honduras. Then I can start witnessing. No they take it as a responsibility.

[24:22] That God gave them now. It's our duty church. To sow the seed of the gospel. To sow. To work while it is yet day. For night cometh.

[24:34] When no man can work. Don't you know. Can I not convince you this morning. Don't you know that. If you live a natural. Normal life.

[24:45] That you're going to lay down one day on a bed. That you're never going to get out of. And from that bed. You'll have plenty of time to think. About what you wish. You would have spent your life on.

[24:56] You'll have plenty of time to think. I wish I had more treasure. Laid up on the other side. I wish I'd have done more for Christ. Maybe.

[25:08] Maybe get that inside of you today. Maybe let this thought stir inside of you. That you can work now. While it is yet day. It's a responsibility that God gave to each one of us.

[25:21] To sow the seed of the gospel. There's something else. And this is interesting. Come to 1 Corinthians. Chapter 9. And I got a whole slew of verses here.

[25:34] I'm going to skip about this thought here. And just kind of. Give you something simple. But 1 Corinthians chapter 9. Where we can see a truth. And another reason.

[25:47] If I could convince you. Why you need to be engaged. And actively witnessing. To the lost. Because of the responsibility. God gave you.

[25:57] But here. The fourth one. Is because. Of the rewards. That God promises you. Look at verse 17. I'll back up to verse 16.

[26:08] For though I preach the gospel. I have nothing to glory of. For necessity is laid upon me. Yea. Woe is unto me. If I preach not the gospel. For if I do this thing willingly. I have a reward.

[26:20] You got a reward. You got a reward. Do you? For preaching the gospel. You get rewarded for that. Well when I look at the life. Of the apostle Paul.

[26:30] He didn't get rewarded with money. He didn't get rewarded with health. The health and wealth. That people preach on today. Is not the rewards. That he knew he was getting.

[26:41] Or were coming to him. So then where are the rewards? Well we could run around. I'm going to take you through them. But there's a judgment seat of Christ.

[26:53] And there's some things. That are coming out of that fire. And the word reward is used. In 1 Corinthians chapter 3. He shall receive a reward.

[27:06] That reward is on the other side. That reward is in heaven. Where Christ told us to lay up treasures. For ourselves. Now there's some other things I'll skip.

[27:18] Like I mentioned. Some common teachings about rewards. And witnessing. And soul winning. And so forth. But let me put it. Illustrated in a way that.

[27:30] We would understand. If you're. If you work for a boss. An employer. And he gives you a job to do. Whether it's a time thing. Or a salary. Whatever the case is.

[27:40] You get rewarded with money. Don't you? And if he says. Hey. Can you work a little extra? I'll pay you extra. You get more money. Now. Let's just use. That kind of analogy.

[27:51] For what we understand. And know. About. Earning. And getting things. And apply it to. Work for the Lord Jesus Christ. If God said. He'll reward us. I'm not. He's not going to give us.

[28:02] Dirty. Filthy. Lucre. And bills. He's going to give us something. That's going to be far more valuable. But let's just put it in terms we understand at least. So let's just say.

[28:15] That. We're going to implement. A new. Visitation. Outreach. Evangelistic. Program. Here at Bible Baptist Church. I really didn't want to tell you about it.

[28:26] But. Some very wealthy donor. Just gave a whole lot of money. To the church. And we've got so much. We don't know what to do with it. And I thought. Hey. Let's. Let's give it to our congregants.

[28:38] As they. Work for the Lord. So here's the program. You want to be part of it? Every track that you hand out. One dollar. There's no ceiling.

[28:50] Every track that you hand out. You get a dollar. Every time that you actually witness to somebody. Like. Talk to them personally. One on one. About the gospel of Christ.

[29:02] Five bucks. That's good for five tracks. Or you can just talk to somebody. And just say a word. You keep track. Bring it in. You'll get paid. If you lead a soul to Christ.

[29:14] And they trust Jesus Christ as their savior. They're on their way to hell. But you get the gospel to them. And win them. One thousand dollars. We've got all kinds of money.

[29:25] Don't worry about it. You can go win the world. We got it covered. Now if that was incentive for you. If that program existed.

[29:38] It does. You bring in your slips. Turn them into me. Think about the. Think about how active you just might get. Today.

[29:50] Tomorrow. Think about how active. A hundred tracks. Well I could hand that out quick. Go to the right place. What do you think?

[30:01] Would you get more engaged? If you knew you were going to get money? If you were going to get rewarded? Okay. So church. You're going to get rewarded.

[30:13] You are going to be rewarded. If you do this thing willingly. As Paul said. If you preach the gospel willingly. You'll get rewarded.

[30:26] And. It's not going to be some dirty money. That you spend on food. And clothes. And some toy. That you. You'll get a few thousand bucks. And get something exciting. Or go take a little trip.

[30:36] That's just going to disappear. And fade. But rather. You do this thing willingly. You'll receive a reward. And I think. The reward you'll get in glory.

[30:47] Is going to far outweigh anything. That I could give you down here. I don't. I don't know. But. I've all. There's this trip we used to take. When we were in Bible school.

[30:57] We'd go up to. Nash. Or no. Memphis. I think it was. And. I don't even remember. It was Nashville or Memphis. And we'd do this big. This big blitz.

[31:08] Of street preaching. And tracking. And when we'd finish with it. We'd just have stacks of tracks. We'd just go out. There'd be so many thousands of people out there. In this big entertainment district. Just blocks and blocks of bars.

[31:19] And this whole scene. And I'd always leave there. Like. We'd spend the whole weekend there. Just going at it. Witnessing. And handing out tracks. And doing. It was such a.

[31:29] Concentrated evangelistic thing. It was just. It was such a great time. And I'd always leave. Thinking. I'm never. Going to touch base. With any of those people again. There's. There's men. Women. That I'll never see again.

[31:41] That I was able to hand a track to. Or something. And I just kind of think. Just plug it away. In this. This eternity stash. Thinking. One day. I wonder if I'll see some fruit from that.

[31:52] I wonder if. I'll see. If somebody will get saved. You hear stories about. Somebody getting saved. And then. Moving on. And doing. And getting right with God. And doing a thing for the Lord. And working. And you mean.

[32:03] You hear those stories. There are few. But you hear about them. And you just wonder. I wonder if somebody ever gets saved. They could never connect it back to me. Not here on this earth. But I wonder if that would ever bear fruit.

[32:14] I've handed tracks out. Or. Gone through an entire town. And done all that. And only seen tiny. Tiny results. Of people that would come out to church. Or. Or. Even win a few people to Christ.

[32:25] But I wonder about some of those tracks. You left behind. You left on the door. Or you put on the car. Just. You wonder in your heart. You think. I wonder if it's ever going to bear fruit. And I wonder. When I get to glory.

[32:37] And I see the Lord Jesus Christ. I just wonder. You know. At Christmas time. There's that box with your name on it. You just don't know what's in it. As a little kid. It could be anything.

[32:49] And you're excited. To rip it open and find out. I just kind of wonder. If. When I see the Lord. And all this is said and done. What's here? What's up here for me?

[33:01] Not in a selfish way. But he promised me. That he'd reward me. He promised. Alright. Let's go to. One more place. Go to 2 Peter. Chapter 1.

[33:11] And we'll finish. 2 Peter. Chapter 1. Because of the reality of hell.

[33:27] Because of the responsibility. Because of the rewards. That he's promised. We can do something today. And he'll reward us tomorrow. And one more thing.

[33:37] Finally. Just a more simple thought here. Because of the reminder. That comes with this. That accompanies witnessing. Why you should witness. Because it's going to remind you about something.

[33:48] The Bible says in Ephesians 2. If you're born again. You hath he quickened. Who were dead. In trespasses and sins. And one thing that's going to happen. And one thing that's going to happen. Is you're going to be reminded.

[33:59] When you're out there witnessing. That you were lost. That you were on your way to hell. It's going to be right in front of your face. That you're on the winning side.

[34:11] And they're not. And somebody that doubts their salvation. Is somebody who's not actively witnessing. Somebody that gets out there. And is trying to win souls for Christ. And tell them what Jesus Christ has done for them.

[34:23] They've got the goods. They know it. And they see it. So they see how blind they are. They hear the responses. And they know what they need. They just can't seem to convey it.

[34:35] Or get them to hear it. But there's a reminder. One part is that you were lost. Look at 2 Peter chapter 1. And look at verses 12 and 13. Wherefore I will not be negligent.

[34:50] To put you always in remembrance of these things. Though you know them. And be established in the present truth. Yea I think it means as long as I'm in this tabernacle.

[35:02] To stir you up by putting you in remembrance. As long as you're alive. As long as you're in this body. Peter thought it's a good idea.

[35:14] I'm not going to neglect to do this. I'm going to keep you in remembrance of some things. And what things are they? Well he goes. It's kind of back in verses 5, 6, 7, 8. 9.

[35:26] Look at verse 8. We'll just pick it up there and read 8 and 9. He says. For if these things be in you and abound. They make you that you be neither barren nor unfruitful. In the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind.

[35:40] And cannot see afar off. And here's the problem. Hath forgotten. That he was purged from his own sins. So it's good to have a reminder. And witnessing will do that for you.

[35:51] It'll get the universe in the right course. For where you stand. You are a child of God. Working for the Lord Jesus Christ.

[36:03] Seeking to please him. Understanding and knowing that these are children of the devil. That they're on their way to hell. And that they need their eyes opened. And that you can do something about it.

[36:15] It's going to remind you that you were lost. It's going to remind you that you're now saved. That you're God's child. Passed from death unto life. And I believe no Christian that's active.

[36:28] And soul winning. Doubts their salvation. They're on the front lines. They see it every day. They see it all the time. They're conscious of it. They're in the fight. They're engaged.

[36:39] And getting out there. And trying to do something for Christ. Will do that for you too. It'll remind you who you are in Jesus Christ. Sometimes you get backslidden. Sometimes you get too in love with this world.

[36:50] And this life. And just sit on the couch. And wait for the rapture. But you get out there. And you know the deal. You know the score. You know who you're fighting for. It's a tremendous reminder.

[37:02] Of your calling. So we have an opportunity. Church. To please our Father. I believe that ought to be the number one motivation. And then these other thoughts. About souls going to hell.

[37:14] And God rewarding you. And all of this. That's healthy as well. We have a chance today. To get out there. And do this for Jesus Christ.

[37:25] And I don't. Okay. I'll be honest. I'm not going to give you any money. But why would you want that? Why would you want the cash? When you can get something eternal.

[37:38] An eternal weight of glory. That fadeth not away. I'll work for that one. Church. We need to be active. Today's a good opportunity. After we close the service this morning.

[37:50] We're going to meet. We're going to get an idea. Get some streets. And just go. And do a little bit of work for Christ. I hope you can stay. I hope you'll commit to sticking around. It's not as hard as your flesh is telling you.

[38:01] Don't do it. You can't do it. It's not that hard. When you do it. You'll say praise God. I'm glad I did. I'm thankful that I did something for Jesus Christ. And maybe. Just maybe. He'll reward me.

[38:12] For telling my flesh no. And telling him yes. And maybe. Just maybe. We'll get to see some fruit. From our efforts. For the Lord Jesus Christ.

[38:23]  Maybe he can be glorified. Through us. Let's bow our heads together. Let's bow our heads together.