Search and Rescue

[0:00] Luke 19, verse 10. Just feel the need to pray again.! I know that I need God's help.

[0:12] And I pray that each one would receive God's help. As we hear this, that it will be a challenge that will be understood and acted on. Lord, we pray, prevail, Lord.

[0:23] Do a work. Lord, make this message clear enough and understood by each one. Lord, and not so much what I have said or prepared, but Lord, that which you want us to recall, to plant in our hearts, that that would be planted, Lord.

[0:41] For your praise, we ask it. Amen. I urge you today, I urge you today to the work of rescue. Rescue. It's like we're a search and rescue mission.

[0:53] I suppose if I had the appropriate dress for it, I might have put on like an SES uniform or something. It's like that kind of picture of search and rescue. And it's the work of our Saviour is search and rescue.

[1:07] And we see that in Luke 19, verse 10, where it reads as this, For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

[1:18] That's the mission. His mission was to come, to seek, and to save that which was lost. It's evangelism. It's evangelism. That's what we're telling of tonight.

[1:29] The sharing of our faith. The sharing of the good news of our Saviour. The reaching out to others for Christ. And believers here tonight, we've all been given this mission.

[1:40] This is not a mission that is just for an isolated number or a select minute portion of the Christian church.

[1:52] As if it's just the one that might be doing the preaching or just the ones that might be seen as officiating. And everyone else just kind of joins along and pretty much just listens.

[2:06] It's a mission for all of us. For each one. Each believer. It's for every believer. We've all been given a mission. Our Lord Jesus, our brother last read, said, Go ye.

[2:18] Ye. That's plural. That's all of us. It's all encompassing. And we've all been given a mission. It's almost like the mission impossible. This is your mission if you choose to accept it.

[2:30] We've all got a mission. But are we accepting it? Are we grabbing a hold of it? And are we acting upon it? We've been given a mission. And it's a mission that is life and death. This is life and death.

[2:41] A life and death mission. It's so, so important. As we read, for example, in James 5 verse 20. Where it talks about the saving of a soul. James says this.

[2:54] James 5 verse 20. Let him know that he which converts the sinner from the error of his way shall save us all from death. And shall hide a multitude of sins.

[3:08] Now when we're witnessing often I would point to, for example, Romans 6 verse 23. For the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

[3:23] Of course the Bible speaks of physical death. We all know our days are numbered. Ultimately physical death. Before, unless our Lord comes to take us, we'll be our life.

[3:34] We will physically die. But more than that, there's the second death. The second death. Or eternal death. Hell. And friends, we are in this mission of life and death.

[3:45] This is life and death. It's even more so. It's about eternal death. Because eternal souls are at stake. And this mission is for you. If you choose to accept it. I pray by the end of this message you'll say, yes, I accept.

[3:59] I accept. So we must be about this work of search and rescue. Let's consider it. This is God's work. Our Lord Jesus says, I have come to seek and to save that which was lost.

[4:11] It's God's work. It must be done in God's way. With God's pattern for this search and rescue effort. And I'm going to borrow somewhat, as much as I've already prepared it, in terms of Brother Neil's little who, how and what is what we're going to talk about tonight.

[4:29] The who, how and what of this soul rescue mission. The who, how and what. Now I like to think that we are, and I'll say that to Brother Peter here, that we are the SWAT team.

[4:41] The SWAT. You know, we come along in those big black vans and we go in and we take that operation. But the SWAT stands for Soul Winning Activity Team.

[4:55] Is that the word? Soul Winning Action Team. That's it. Soul Winning Action Team. That's what we are. We're the SWAT team. You can get a t-shirt with it. We should get that. Well, that's a good one he's got there.

[5:07] But, you know, SWAT. We're the SWAT team. We're out there with a soul winning action team. That's who we are for Christ, aren't we? And it's God's work. So let's look at these things. The who, how and what.

[5:17] Firstly, the who. Who are we talking about in this work of search and rescue? The who are the lost. The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

[5:30] The ones we're here to reach are the lost. The lost. The lost sinners.

[5:42] The lost souls. Our Lord wants us to love sinners. He wants us to reach the lost at any cost. Every man without Christ is in great peril.

[5:55] Do we reckon that? Do we consider that? It's the truth of God's word. And the Bible says we have what the Bible calls the words of life. These are words of life. And we must impart them.

[6:08] We have something important to tell them. Imagine if you can that somehow you come into possession with an important piece of information that affects every single person who you know.

[6:23] Everyone in your neighbourhood. Everyone in your family. Everyone you work with. Everyone you meet down the street, out the shops. As you go about your everyday and important, a vital piece of information.

[6:36] What would you do? What if it was good news? Very good news. What if it was the very best news that you could ever know and share? What if it was something, not that you could make money from, but something that would better change people's lives for the better, for eternity?

[6:55] What would you do? Wouldn't you start telling people? Wouldn't you start telling them? Of course you would. You wouldn't want to keep it to yourself. That vital information, that vital news, you couldn't keep it to yourself.

[7:09] First you'd call your family, wouldn't you? You'd tell the ones you love. You'd want to tell them. You'd want to tell your closest friends and tell them. You'd want to tell your acquaintances, the people you come across.

[7:20] You'd want to tell them. You'd want to send an email. You'd want to call the radio and the TV stations or get the word out somehow, everywhere. You can. You can. To tell as many people as you possibly could.

[7:34] Imagine if it could be, for example, the cure for cancer. You wouldn't want to keep that to yourself. You'd want to tell the whole wide world, wouldn't you? We've got something much better, haven't we? Haven't we, brothers and sisters?

[7:46] It's the most important thing we can do this side of heaven. It's to tell other souls of the Saviour. It's the most important work of our lives. Reaching other souls. Seeing their destiny change.

[8:00] For eternity. The who? It's souls. And it's you. That's the who.

[8:11] Now for the how. How? What is God's how of this search and rescue mission? The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

[8:21] The how. How are we to be about this work of search and rescue? The how is we are to seek. We're to seek. We are to look and seek them and find them wherever they are.

[8:34] To seek. As our Lord was a seeker after sinners. And he sought them wherever he went. And he tells a parable of a master with a wonderful spread table.

[8:47] With every delicacy. And with every care made. Of everything that would satisfy your hunger.

[8:58] And this table was spread. And the invitation was broadcast. And then the master got these replies. These excuses. Weedy excuses.

[9:09] Weak excuses. And we pick it up in Luke 14. Where it tells how the servant came and told the master of these things. And it stands in Luke 14 verse 21.

[9:21] That the master of the house was angry. He said to his servants. Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city. And bring in hither the poor. And the maimed.

[9:31] And the holt. And the blind. And the servant said. Lord it is done. As thou hast commanded. And yet there is room.

[9:42] And the Lord said unto the servant. Go out into the highways and the hedges. And compel them to come in. That my house may be filled. It's the same spirit.

[9:53] It's the same heart of our saviour. That he seeks. And saves. That which was lost. The master sends the servants out. With this compelling call.

[10:05] Notice there's a compulsion here. It says go out. What does it say? It starts with Q. Go out quickly. Go out quickly. Don't dilly dally. Don't toy around.

[10:17] Don't waste time. This is urgent. The search and rescue mission is urgent. When the. I imagine the CFS or the SES.

[10:28] They get the call. They get the alert. They get the beeper go off. And they're summoned to duty. It's urgent. There's no. Going and. Oh it's tea time.

[10:41] Yeah. Or. Oh I'm suddenly a bit tired. I might have a little kick first. Or. Or I've got some other things to occupy myself with. No. When the call comes. It's urgent. Go out quickly.

[10:55] There's a compulsion here. It says compel them. Compel them. This is important. This is. Pressing. This is. Nothing. Fix this.

[11:07] It's urgent. It's earnest. And the work of seeking souls. Is a work. That should. Make us. Urgent.

[11:18] There's an urgency. And we should be in earnest about it. We should be in. In a zealous. Heart. And we must intentionally do it.

[11:31] Now sometimes it's. It's about deliberately doing something. I know there's. There's a sister here. That we. We went out into the streets. And she came. We didn't even get to knock on your door.

[11:42] Did we? Praise the Lord. But she's here tonight. Because. People cared enough to go and hit the streets. Of Davram Park. People cared enough to hit the streets. Of our city. And there's people here.

[11:53] Because of that. Amen. That's a good thing. Isn't it? Amen. Amen. We must deliberately seek after souls. That's what we must do. There's no.

[12:05] Pussy footing around about this matter. Amen. We need to hear God. Now I remember 40 years ago. Standing as an 18 year old. At the foot of the clock tower.

[12:16] In Elizabeth Town Centre. And carrying some gospel tracks. To distribute. To people. And back in those days. We could walk the. The mall. Of Elizabeth City Centre. As it was an open mall.

[12:28] And we could give tracks to people. Now. It's a little bit more. Restricted. About giving out gospel tracks. In shopping centres. But. We made a deliberate effort. As an 18 year old.

[12:38] We made a deliberate effort. And there's a team of us. And we did it. For God's glory. And earlier still. I remember at the age of 15. Or so. As I stood on the beach side. Of Landudno.

[12:49] In Wales. Should say. Clum Dudno. In Wales. And I remember. My first frail attempts. At open air preaching. As they had a little soap box there. And there was a team of us. On this little beach mission.

[12:59] And we all had a bit of a go. Giving gospel. To the beach goers. In Wales then. I was 15. It's not to big note me.

[13:10] But. The point is. It was a deliberate effort. It's intentional. We've got to be intentional. I remember doing that regularly. With a group of Aboriginal Christians. Where we wired up a loud speaker. To an amplifier.

[13:21] And hooked it into the cigarette lighter. In my van. Outside the main hotel. In Mount Isa. And we would sing some gospel songs. And get the. We would give the gospel. You know. It was just some.

[13:32] Some average people. Just like you and me. And they happened to be Aboriginal people. And they were sold out for the gospel. They were on fire for God. They didn't care. They were standing there.

[13:43] In front of the main hotel. In Mount Isa. And they were telling the gospel. They were putting it out there. And likewise. I can remember. Going down often. To the town camp. At Catherine. And preaching in the open air.

[13:54] On the streets. Of the town camp. Where you know. The Aboriginal community. Were living. And there were drunks. All around us. Just as there's white drunks. There's drunks everywhere. And they.

[14:05] Some of them knew the gospel songs. That we would sing. The gospel songs. The gospel hymns. And we urge folk to trust in Christ. The point is. It was a deliberate effort.

[14:16] That's what we've got to do. We've got to be deliberate about this. And we're doing the same thing now. Going door to door. Being witnessing. And there's some that are going. On the. Hitting the streets of the city of Abelie. Reaching out. Touching people.

[14:27] For Christ. By all means. Save some. Friends. We must be about this. It's urgent. Go out quickly. Into the streets. Into the highways. And hedges. Whatever means.

[14:38] Whatever methods. The point is. We must be deliberate about it. Intentional about it. Determined to definitely go. And seek. A man named.

[14:49] J.K. Johnston. Studied the gospels. And he asked this question. As he studied the bible. He looked at Matthew. Mark. Luke. And John. And he said. Where did Jesus meet people? And he. Tabulated.

[15:00] He. Computed all the. Different places. And occasions. Where. Christ. Contacted people. And he counted. 132. Contacts. Six. Were in the temple.

[15:11] Four. Were in the synagogues. 122. Were with the people. In their daily walks of life. What a contrast. Six. In the temple. Four. In the synagogue. 122.

[15:21] Outside the walls. Of the meeting place. If we are to go fishing. We must go. Where the fish are. We must go. We must leave the church. Leave the four walls.

[15:33] Leave the comforts. Of the sanctuary. And go out. Out. Quickly. Into the streets. And lanes of the city. Into the highways and hedges. We must go out.

[15:44] Mark 16. 15. Our Lord says. Go ye. Into all the world. And preach the gospel. To every creature. We must be seekers.

[15:54] After souls. Francis. They are not going to come to you. You must go to them. We must have. This earnestness. This passion. For souls. How are we to seek. Earnestly.

[16:05] Go out quickly. Compel them. There's a little. Poem. Of sorts here. Suppose. Suppose someone were to offer me.

[16:16] A thousand dollars. For every soul. I might earnestly. Try to lead to Christ. Would I endeavor. To lead. Any more souls. To him. Than I'm endeavoring. To do now. Imagine.

[16:27] If you get a thousand dollars. For every soul. Everyone. That trusted Christ. Would that motivate you. It shouldn't. Money should not be the motive. Should it. This is far greater. The motive. That God tells us to do it.

[16:39] It's for his honor. And his glory. It's for his praise. It's for eternal. Change. Eternal hearts. Eternal souls. To be one. Do we love God.

[16:52] Do we love souls. You know. God's put on my heart. Some of my family members. And I've had some very earnest conversations with them. Because I'm not sure where some of them are going. They're going into eternity.

[17:03] And I didn't want to leave it. That I didn't care enough. To tell them. Friends. It's people that you might know. That God puts on your heart. Likewise. We're to seek after souls. Seek after them.

[17:14] And most importantly. We must bring the message of life. How is it that we are to seek? What is it that is needful? These souls need the message. They need the word of God. They need the words of life.

[17:25] Friends. The gospel. As we talked before. It's the preaching of the cross. It's Christ crucified. It's the message of the saviour. The only saviour. This isn't about religion.

[17:36] It's about a saviour of your soul. This isn't about finding some. Getting some. Turning over of a new leaf. Some reformation of your character. This is of finding the one.

[17:47] Who can give you a heart. That is new. A new heart. The gospel. Is powerful. And his words are what we need to give. And we must give them even if they reject you.

[18:00] Even if they reject what you say. Even if they reject the gospel. The gospel is still powerful. And his words will still have an impact. Because we're planting them. And they may bring fruit later.

[18:11] We may not see the fruit. For a while. We may not see it in our lifetime. That shouldn't stop us from telling people. Even when the hearers reject it. There's a man.

[18:23] Who was the general secretary. Of the Bible Society in Zimbabwe. And he tried to give a New Testament to a man. And he was a very belligerent man. He was a man who didn't care about God.

[18:34] And the things of God. Let alone to get a Bible. A New Testament. And the man kind of mocked the man of God. And he said that he's going to roll those pages. And just use them to make cigarettes.

[18:45] Cigarettes. Oh that's going to make good cigarette paper. He said. And Mr. Kambarami the man. He said I understand that. But at least promise to read the page. Of the New Testament.

[18:55] Before you smoke it. And the man agreed. And so the two went their separate ways. The preacher man gave him a Bible. A New Testament. And 15 years later. The two men met.

[19:05] In a convention in Zimbabwe. In Zimbabwe. And the scripture smoking pagan. As he was. He had been saved now. And now he was a full time evangelist.

[19:16] And he told the audience. He told the people that were gathered there. He said. I smoked Matthew. And I smoked Mark. And I smoked Luke. But when I got to John 3.16. I couldn't smoke anymore.

[19:27] My life was changed. From that moment. Praise the Lord. God's word has power. The gospel has power. Power to save a soul. Amen. Aren't you glad God's book.

[19:38] Is more than just words on paper. This is the message. Of life. And it changes souls. It saves souls. Who would take. And hear its message. But we must go.

[19:49] We must tell them. We must give them the message. You know. Give them the Bible. I know. One of our brothers. Gave a Bible. And it's in the hands of a man. Who is a Muslim.

[19:59] And he's seeking God. He's seeking God. We've seen him a second time. We're following him up. We're not going to let go. Until he says. Leave me alone. We're going to reach out to that man. He's got a Bible in his hand now.

[20:11] And the word of God. Can change lives. Amen. There was a pastor. Passing a big department store. And he had a sudden impulse. To go and talk to the shopkeeper. And he went into the private area.

[20:25] And talked to the shop owner. And tears began to roll down the cheeks of the man. He says. I'm 70 years old. I was born in this city. I know all these hundreds of ministers. And hundreds of churches.

[20:36] And you're the only one. Who's ever come and spoke to me. About my soul. Friends. There's people crying out. To hear the message.

[20:46] That we haven't told. We must earnestly seek. We must seek. Earnestly. And we must seek them. Not becoming weary.

[20:57] In well doing. So easy to quit. To give up. To think. Oh this is hard work. And not seeing much result. Not seeing much response. There's limited.

[21:09] Tangible. Results. That we can see. And it would be easy for us. To humanly think. Oh. Maybe. It's not my gifting. It's a good cop out.

[21:24] You must keep on reaching out. Don't give up. I don't think. I don't think anyone gets the gifting. That it's never hard. It's never scary. To tell another. I mean. Maybe you're.

[21:34] Maybe you're. One who. Hasn't got that. But. I know. Every time I witness. It's. It's. A bit. Confronting. You're having to. Come into someone's personal space. You're there to.

[21:46] Really challenge them. And you know. You might get knocked back. You might get. Pushed away. You might get. I know. Brother Peter's pretty. Pretty brave.

[21:57] You know. I know we. Yesterday. We were out there. And there was a big dog. And he just jumped over the fence. And he didn't. Mind you. I stayed on the other side of the fence. I mean.

[22:08] He can be a living sacrifice. There's a time. When sometimes. Going witnessing. It's kind of scary. When there's a big dog there. When the. When you come up to the fly screen.

[22:20] And it's not quite close. And you hear the dog. And you know. You just got to press it. So. To make sure that the dog. Doesn't come out. But friends. We mustn't be afraid. We mustn't be afraid. To tell the word.

[22:31] To tell the message. To reach souls. To seek and to say. That which was lost. And not give up on people too. There's a story told. I won't labour it here. But. Of a man.

[22:42] He was on his deathbed. And. He'd been. In this kind of. State. I guess like a coma. Of something. And the doctors were. Were just getting ready. To virtually. Remove his organs.

[22:53] He was declared brain dead. Pronounced brain dead. And. Members. Family members. Paid their last respects. And just before his organs. Were to be given. For the transplant.

[23:05] He moved his foot. And his hand. In reaction to a pocket knife. Being scraped along his foot. And some pressure. On his fingernails. And this man.

[23:18] Mr. Dunlap. Is his name. He does remember. Hearing the doctors. Pronouncing him dead. And he was asked. If he would have wanted. To get up and shake them. And say he's alive.

[23:30] And. And the doctors. Saw there's no activity. No blood flow at all. And the mother was told. It may take a year or more. It may take a year or more. Before he completely recovers.

[23:42] But we're just so thankful. And blessed. That we have him here. And he says. It makes me thankful. That they didn't give up. How often do we give up. On souls.

[23:54] Brother. Sister. People you've witnessed there. You think. Oh they're too hard. They're hard as nails. They're not going to hear it. They're not going to receive it. We might quit. Quit witnessing to them. Or give up.

[24:04] On even. Praying for them. Friends don't give up. Don't give up on that lost soul. The one that you love. The one you're trying to reach out. Don't give up on them. I'm thankful they didn't give up.

[24:15] You know. One day. They'll know what I'll say to you. Thanks for. Thanks for not giving up on me. Thanks for telling me the gospel. Telling me and telling me. Till I got it. Amen. Keep sinking souls. So to recap.

[24:26] We're saying who? Lost. The lost sinners. You and me. That's the who. The how. We're the seed. And. Lastly. What? What are we to do? Our objective is to see them saved.

[24:38] Is to save. Is to seek and to save. To go after the lost. To see them saved. These sinners that are lost. The lost can be saved. The blind can see.

[24:49] We can know God's saving work. In the lives of men and women. And the work of the seeker after sinners. Is that they be saved. We don't go out there to reform them.

[25:00] To. Offer them some events or activity. Or to. To come and make our church have more numbers. More. People in seats.

[25:10] And. Or to have some entertainment. That they come to. Some social reason. It's not. To have some pretend show. Of a number of worshippers. Who don't. Know the saviour.

[25:21] That. But. Our object is. To see them saved. That's the object. That's the object. And really that's the object of our Sunday school. Isn't it? That's the object of our Sunday school.

[25:32] To see our children get saved. That's why we have a Sunday school. That's why we have a youth group. Because we want to see the young people get saved. Amen. That's why we have a youth group. That's why we have. At times these.

[25:44] Outreaches. And. A message that. Exhorts people. Because we want to see people saved. That's why we have men's breakfast. When we can. Resume them. That because. Our object is to seek.

[25:56] And to save. The lost. We want to have the message of salvation. As that vital core. Of everything that we do. Because what matters. Is that men and women. Get saved. We're presenting a sacred truth.

[26:07] These are sacred truths. These are holy words. These are the words of life. The word of God. And we have an urgent message. Jesus says. As the master said to the servants.

[26:19] Go out. Quickly. Compel them. To come in. It's a time of harvest. And we know. As you have that picture. That analogy of a harvest. A harvest has only a time frame.

[26:31] That it has to be brought in. If the harvest isn't brought in. The crop will be wasted. The harvest. The harvest. Has a time frame.

[26:43] And friends. It's time of harvest now. And our Lord Jesus. As we know. Is it. In John. He talks about. You know. Is it John 4. Where. He says. Don't say four months.

[26:55] And then the harvest. He says. The harvest is now. The harvest is ready. It's ready now. It's the time of harvest now. And friends. Many will be lost. And we must pass on. The message.

[27:06] Of our saviour. And may we constantly be ready. That. This how. Of seeking. Of saving. Is that we're constantly ready.

[27:17] With the message. Of the saviour. Ready in our hearts. Ready to put on our lips. As we read in 1 Peter 3.15. But sanctify the Lord. God. In your hearts.

[27:27] And be ready. Always. To give an answer. To every man. That asketh you. A reason. Of the hope that is in you. With meekness. And fear. Be ready. Always. Have that ready answer.

[27:39] Have that readiness. That willingness. And to have that. Attitude. Of humility. Of meekness. And of fear. We're not going out. As some would put it.

[27:50] As some would attempt to. That they're going to win an argument. But they lose a friend. And that can be so. With soul wing. With witnessing. Oh. I'm going to tell that person. You're dead wrong.

[28:01] And it's a load of garbage. And just belittle them. And put them down. And make a fool of them. No. That's not what we're about. We're here with meekness.

[28:11] And with fear. But for the grace of God. I would be in your shoes. I'd be damned. And going to hell. But I have a message. Because Jesus has saved me. And I want to impart that to you. Because I care for your soul.

[28:23] That's the heart that we have. With meekness. And with fear. And we should be such. That we're unashamed. And to declare it. In Romans 1.16. Paul says. For I'm not ashamed of the gospel. Of Christ.

[28:33] For it is the power. Of God unto salvation. To everyone. That believer. To the Jew first. And also. To the Greek. I'm not ashamed of it. You're not ashamed of it. If you're a Christian.

[28:45] Get the heart. That you're not going to be ashamed. Of your saviour. You're not going to be ashamed. Of the gospel. It's the message that saved you. It's the greatest. Gladest. Wonderful news.

[28:57] Of his saving. You can't but. Share it. And. Consider the. Soul winners reward. When we think.

[29:09] Of life. It's short. Our lifespan. Is finite. There's a limit. There's a time limit. And. Friends. I know for me. I'm getting closer.

[29:20] And you think. How long have I got? How long have I got? There's a man. General Booth. Talked about. Who.

[29:30] Was leaving Australia. I guess he was from. The UK. And he'd been working in the gold fields. And he. Quite a fortune. He'd been. Mining gold. Here he was.

[29:41] He was. In bucket loads of it now. And here he was. Back. On the ship. Heading to his homeland. I presume the UK. And. Then the leak. Sprang. Out. In the ship.

[29:52] And. This was. Serious. The boat was going to go down. And. The lifeboats were lost. And. People were. Were scrambling. And this strong man thought. Maybe I could.

[30:03] Fight through the waves. And swim to the island nearby here. And. He was just about to. Dive off. Into the water. To swim over to the island. He thought it was going to be okay.

[30:13] He had his belt of gold. All around him. Thought yeah. I'm going to save my gold. And I'm going to get to. To safety on this island. And then he looked down. And there was this little girl.

[30:24] His mother had been lost in the storm. And she looked up to the man. And said. Sir. Can you save me? And he looked down at his belt of gold.

[30:34] And then at the child again. And he knew. That he wasn't going to make it. With the boat. He had to throw the belt of gold away. And he took her on his back. And he threw himself into the sea.

[30:46] And he threw the waves. He struggled as he came. To reach the land. And as he regained. As he regained consciousness. The little girl put her arms around his napkin.

[30:58] And said. I'm so glad you saved me. And that was worth more than all the gold in Australia. That that little girl was saved. Amen. And what a picture that is for us. We can have all the comforts of life.

[31:13] And miss the point of souls. And one day they'll say. I'm so glad you told me. I'm so glad you saved me.

[31:25] Well. We know the Lord saved them. But nothing is of greater value. Friends. Nothing. Nothing beats it. The question is. To you.

[31:37] Will you join this effort? Will you. Will you hear this call. That's about life and death. This call. This need to rescue people. Will you join the search and rescue effort.

[31:53] Multitudes. Multitudes. Are in the valley of decision. And they don't even realise it. They don't even realise it. And for many. A decision to follow Christ. Is the last thing on their minds.

[32:05] We must tell them. We must tell them. They're in peril. As they neglect to follow Christ. They are. By virtue of that neglect.

[32:17] They're choosing. To deny him. And we. Must answer the call. We are part of the search and rescue. Mission. We must mobilise the church.

[32:30] Mobilise the church. The church is not. About having a happy. Clappy club. That is. All about. What's inside. It's about.

[32:41] The mission. That we are called to. About multitudes lost. Of course. There's worship too. It's our. Assembling. There's. Godly. Worship. But we must never forget.

[32:54] The mission. That we have. We must take the church. To the streets. We must do that. And not be deterred. We must go out quickly. Let's not be slow.

[33:05] About it. And if the work is slow. If we don't see results. We must be patient. We see James 5 verse 7. Where our Lord talks of. A picture of a farmer.

[33:16] He says. Be patient therefore brethren. Unto the coming of the Lord. Behold the husband. And the farmer. Waits for the precious fruit. Of the earth. And has long patience.

[33:28] For it. Until he received. The early and latter rain. The farmer's patient. You know. You plant it. And you wait. It's like that. With my veggie patches.

[33:39] You know. I plant. And I water. And God gives the increase. Sometimes it's slow. Sometimes I think. Where do those seeds go? And you know.

[33:50] There's so many reasons why. It doesn't seem to grow. But friends. We must be about this work of mission. And be like a patient farmer. Just sow the seed. And God will give the increase.

[34:02] And wait for the fruit. Now some men of God. Some missionaries. Men and women missionaries. They spread the seed. And they haven't always seen much for it. They've waited long periods of time.

[34:12] With no response. To speak of. No fruit for their efforts. William Carey laboured seven years.

[34:23] Seven years before the first Hindu convert. Was brought to Christ. In Burma. And Anoram Judson. Toiled seven years. Before his faithful preaching.

[34:35] Was rewarded by his first converts. So the work may be slow and low. Slow and long rather. How did I just say? Must be getting tired. The work must be maybe slow and long.

[34:47] We may see little fruit. But the Lord of the harvest tells us to go. That's the point. And Matthew 9.37. He says. Then say to his disciples. The harvest is plenteous.

[34:59] But the labourers are few. Pray ye therefore. The Lord of the harvest. That he will send forth labourers. Into his harvest. Now our sister said before. Prayer. We must depend on God.

[35:10] Mustn't we? We mustn't go in our own fleshly. Vain. Self effort. But we must be spirit directed. Spirit led.

[35:21] Spirit empowered. Tell us how we are to be ambassadors. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 20. We are ambassadors for Christ. It's as if we are. Well we are.

[35:31] It's not as if we are. We are his representatives. We are his ambassadors. And it says. We beseech you. In Christ's stead. We pray for you. Be reconciled to God.

[35:43] And an ambassador goes into a foreign country. To represent the interests of. The country that sent him. Or her. Not just to enjoy the foreign country.

[35:56] Or to blend in. But because we've got a mission. Amen. You've got a mission. And so friends. I urge you today. To get that burden. Consider the burden for souls.

[36:06] Consider the time frame. Time limit. Our Lord says. John 9 verse 4. I must work the works of him. That sent me. While it is day. The night cometh.

[36:18] When no man can work. You know. The sun's going to go down tonight. And in the old days. They didn't have electricity. They had to hang up your hat. And go to sleep.

[36:29] Friends. The night is coming. And. There's only so much time. We've got. To labour for Christ. To labour. For souls. The night is coming. Praise God.

[36:42] I think I'm almost there. I just got. My pages got mixed up. But that must be it. Look at the last page. Sorry about this. It probably doesn't matter.

[36:52] Maybe it's God's saying. Close it here. Amen. Look. Honestly. People tonight. The son of man has come. To seek and to save. That which was lost.

[37:03] And. And his mission is our mission. His heart is our heart. I pray. Let God. Move on you. And I'm not saying. Come and join the. The Saturday door knocking team.

[37:14] You know. We probably don't have a room for everybody. But. If you. There'd be a nightmare. Trying to work out which streets. We're going to give to you. But. No. Come if you can. But. Honestly. It's about. Your mission field.

[37:24] Could be where you're studying. It could be where you're working. It could be where you're shopping. It could be. In the. In the very streets. The neighbourhoods. Where you live. It could be. The people that you rub shoulders with.

[37:35] Your family. Your friends. People that are in your circle. People that you know. They don't know Christ. What can you do? Can you compel them to come in? Can you.

[37:46] Can God prompt you such. That he'll give you the word to tell them. And it doesn't mean. Coming heavy on them. Or coming. You know. High pressure tactics. But it could be just. Simply.

[37:57] You're praying for them. How can I pray for you? You know. How can I. Encourage you. To. To know. God's peace. In your situation.

[38:08] Sometimes the crisis. Is the. Is just the point. Where. Where people. Are received. Receptive. Isn't it? When they're. When they're hanging on. To the end of the road. You can say. Actually. Jesus is your answer.

[38:20] He's the one you need. Let's pray. Lord. We thank you. That your gospel. Is the good news. That is the power of God. Unto salvation. To everyone. That believes.

[38:30] We pray. There's any here. Even. In the hearing of this. That they might. Come to say. Yes Lord. I want to know you. I want this salvation. I want this eternal life. I want to know my sins forgiven.

[38:42] I want to know a home in heaven. And I know it's only because. You died in my place. For my sin. And you paid my. Penalty of death. For me. And I trust you. I call on your name.

[38:53] Lord. And for each one. As we all. Can have that. Wonderful saving. Grace of God. That we want to share it. We want to not keep it to ourselves. This message is too vital.

[39:04] That we must tell. Others. Lord. Help us to. While it is day. To work. While it is day. The night cometh. When no man can work. And Lord. We know. Our life span.

[39:15] Is only so. Finite. Lord God. Help us to. Apply our hearts to wisdom. To redeem the time. The days are evil. Lord. To. To be led by your spirit.

[39:26] And Lord. To be prayerful. Not to be self energised. But. For your Holy Spirit. To energise us. For your Holy Spirit. To enable us. Empower us. Send us Lord. Lord.

[39:36] As we would pray. To you. The Lord of the harvest. Send forth labourers. We want to be in that number too. We want to be one of the labourers. Lord. Lord. Not that it will be sending others. But that we would be sent.

[39:48] In Jesus name.