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[0:00] This morning we talked about being a fruitful Christian and one of the great fruits that we can bear is seeing others say.! We're going to go to Matthew 28. Our Lord Jesus says go.

[0:19] Thank you missions tonight as we've had our missions offering and we think of missions. What is missions all about? What's the message? We live in a lost world by and large. The world is largely lost. Multitudes in the valley of decision and we know the broad way that leads to destruction.

[0:38] Now we had a message touching on hell this morning. This is real. The multitudes are going to hell. The broad way leads to destruction. The narrow way leads to life.

[0:52] Fear there be that find it. Many are lost and damned. And the great responsibility, one of them for us as believers is to tell, to witness, to go, to reach, to reach out.

[1:07] As someone once said, the gospel isn't something we come to church to hear. It's something we go from church to tell. Amen. We have a message.

[1:20] Matthew 28 verse 16 through 20 is that last appeal, if you like, that closing missionary call from our Lord, from His lips. It was His final marching orders for the church, you could say.

[1:41] Matthew 28 verse 16 through 20 says this. Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.

[1:54] And when they saw Him, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw Him, they worshipped Him. But some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

[2:11] Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.

[2:27] And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. And since they worshipped Him, it says they worshipped Him, but some doubted.

[2:41] When it comes to missions, when it comes to witness, our biggest enemy is ourselves, isn't it? We are our own worst enemy. The biggest obstacle for us to tell others is our own selves.

[2:58] Three thoughts around the theme of mission of the Great Commission. The call to witness. Number one.

[3:09] His power. Notice here in the context, verse 17. There was some unbelief, some doubted. Some worshipped, some doubted.

[3:20] Even though they were there with our crucified and risen Lord. There in all of the mighty, miracle-working power. The Lord was risen from the dead.

[3:31] And they've seen Him. They were with Him. Yet even then, even then, some doubted. God caused us to faith, to trust Him.

[3:43] And when you step out for God, He gives you the power. Can you believe that tonight? He gives you the power. It's His empowerment. We can know God's empowerment.

[3:55] And He is authorised. And you are authorised. He says all power. It's the sense of authority. He's got all authority. He's in complete control. Dominion.

[4:06] He says, I've got all the power. Therefore, go you. Therefore, go you. Notice really, when you think of this, there is no lack of power.

[4:20] It is all power. Comprehensive. No lack. There's no limit of His power. All power in heaven and in earth.

[4:31] No limit. And there's no loss of power. When you think, for us today, this commission is not time-limited. There's no loss of His power.

[4:42] All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Therefore, go ye. No loss of His power. His power is eternal.

[4:54] He's from everlasting to everlasting. My arms aren't long enough to illustrate it. I have to wrench my arms off.

[5:05] His power is eternal from eternity to eternity. And our Lord has total power. Think of His power. Complete authority.

[5:16] He has control of everything. No matter what we face, He is in control. And He is in charge. And we can take heart in that. Can't we?

[5:27] We can take comfort in that. He is in charge. And He has limitless authority because He is Lord. And He speaks with assurance. Can we just hear His voice?

[5:40] It's like, if you could picture it, when you're in the air at 20,000 feet and the voice of the captain comes over the speakers.

[5:51] This is your captain speaking. And it just fills you with a bit of comfort. There's actually someone guiding this plane. There's actually a pilot here.

[6:02] And His voice sounds so calm and relaxed. He just sounds like he knows what he's doing. And he says, this is your captain speaking. You know, we're at such and such a height and there's such and such a distance to go.

[6:15] And we're just flying over such and such a place. And yes, you'll be due to land in such and such a time. And everything's going to be fine. Hear the voice of the captain.

[6:27] The captain speaking. Amen. He says, all power is given unto me. Go ye, therefore. And hear the voice of the captain.

[6:38] The voice of the shepherd. The voice of the master. His voice. And He has commissioned us, you and me, to carry on His mission. This is a tremendous blessing and joy for us.

[6:50] We're carrying it on in His power. And He has all of it. All power. And He says, go. G-O.

[7:02] It means go. He says, go. Venture out. There's no lack, no limit, no loss of His power. And the expression of His power is, go.

[7:14] Therefore, because He has all power, therefore, go ye. That's the expression of His power. Go. Get going. Go. He has supernatural power.

[7:26] All the authority of heaven and of earth. Beyond limit, beyond measure. And He has promised to impart all the strength that you need for your human journey. And we have His indwelling Spirit.

[7:39] As someone has put it, what can seem an impossible task is Him possible. H-I-M. It seems impossible that the whole world can be reached by this message of salvation.

[7:54] Yet in God, it is Him possible. He. Him. He will do it through human vessels such as we. And so we can be comforted that the captain's speaking.

[8:07] Go ye. It means there's a deliberate, intentional intent on our part that's called for here. That you will be His witness. Now, think of it back in the time of this statement of our Lord here in Matthew 28.

[8:23] There was no printing press. There was no cars. Certainly no planes. There was no radios. No TV. No internet.

[8:36] Not of that worry. There was no phone. No buildings. Not even one single church building, if you like. There was not even a complete Bible.

[8:47] How could they be so effective for God? And they didn't even have the complete Bible in their hands at that time. Think what we have at our disposal.

[8:58] It's, we're so well resourced, aren't we? Go ye. And some people will think if you do go, as in you open your mouth and tell somebody, they'll think, oh, you're one of those crazies.

[9:12] You know, one of those crazy people. Some people will think you're crazy. You know, when you become a Christian and you start to tell people, you know, you've got to step over the line.

[9:23] You're going to step on some toes. And people will think you're nuts. But you have his power. Amen. That's what matters. Therefore, go ye. Now we must warn people.

[9:36] As I referred to, of the subject of hell. This is really, it is deadly serious. That we must. We must go.

[9:47] We must warn. There's a story told of a preacher, Bob Harrington. It was one atrocious night of a stormy night.

[9:58] And he was driving in a direction here. And he had to go through a bridge, across a bridge. And there's this man appeared out of nowhere. And he was shouting and jumping and ranting and raving and waving.

[10:12] He took his shirt off and waved it in the air. And he was yelling. And Bob thought, this, this, this, there's a, there's a bit of a, you know, there's a mental prison nearby here.

[10:23] I thought, maybe this is someone who's a little bit, you know, a bit odd here. And maybe I should just swerve and avoid him and just carry on down the road. But he, he paused and stopped and he locked his door and, and he maybe wound his window down.

[10:42] And the man said, the bridge is down. One of the supports for the bridge had collapsed. And others had just ignored the man and driven around him and plunged to their deaths.

[10:54] Now it's the same with, we, as we tell others, some will say, ah, you're going to die. Like, ah, you're crazy. And just shut you down.

[11:07] You cannot make a person believe. We know there's many we tell and only a fraction even give us the courtesy of listening, let alone believe.

[11:19] But you are responsible, friends. You are responsible to tell them, tell them. We must tell them. No one else can. God's not going to send an angel and knock on a door in Davrin Park.

[11:31] No. No. It's got to be us. We've got to do it. Amen. We are responsible to tell them the bridge is down and they're on the path to destruction. So, number one, his power.

[11:44] Number two is, it's his plan. It's his plan. And God's plan is to send men and women. Now, again, I can reflect many personal encounters and I feel like I've not witnessed enough.

[12:05] I think these young men in this church have inspired me to get off my seat and get going. Because honestly, and that's not to say I've not witnessed in the past, but to be motivated to witness is, sometimes you've got to get out of the comfort zone, don't you?

[12:29] And it means sometimes getting rejected. And it's like a man I saw Saturday. You know, I was urging him and just shut the door in my face. It's like he was really, he looked really angry.

[12:43] And it must have woken him up from his sleep or something. Not that it was a sleeping time of day, but friends, it's his plan. His plan is you and me. There's nobody else.

[12:54] His plan. God's plan is to send men and women. It's you and me. We're the ones who have to tell. And the plan is one to tell another one. One person at a time. Let me recount another story.

[13:10] There was a man many years ago who was a lawyer. And he had some business to transact with a Christian. And the two were speaking and then the client said to the lawyer, I've often wanted to ask you a question, but I've been afraid to do so.

[13:30] And the lawyer said, what do you want to know? And the man replied, I've wondered why you're not a Christian. And the man hung his hand and he said, I know enough about the Bible to realize that it says no drunkard can enter the kingdom of God.

[13:46] And you know my weakness. The believer said, you're avoiding my questions. Well, truthfully, I can't recall anyone ever explaining how to how to become a Christian.

[14:00] And so picking up a Bible, the client read to the lawyer some passages of people under condemnation that all are under condemnation. But that Christ came to save the lost by dying on the cross for our sins.

[14:15] And he said to the lawyer, by receiving him as your substitute and your redeemer, you can be forgiven. If you're willing to receive Jesus, let's pray together.

[14:26] And the lawyer agreed. And when it was his turn, he exclaimed, he prayed, he said, Oh, Jesus, I'm a slave to drink. One of your servants has shown me how to be saved.

[14:37] Oh, God, forgive my sins. Help me to overcome the power of this terrible habit in my life. And right then and there he was converted. And this was a man, Mr. Schofield, who later edited a reference Bible that bears his name.

[14:53] He became a strong Christian believer. And friends, who knows the ones that you speak to, you might think that, oh, they're too hard. They're too hardened.

[15:04] They won't listen. But who knows what God can do? Because it's his power. Amen. It's his power. And it's his plan. His plan is go ye. Go ye. Each one reach one.

[15:16] The Lord has a plan. And he gives his directions. He's laid it out for us. It's simple. It's straightforward. It's easy believism, really, in the sense, how easy does it get to trust him, simply trust him to receive his grace, his mercy, his salvation as this awesome gift.

[15:40] And really, it's the core purpose of his church to tell others. You could ask, why does the church have a missions department?

[15:54] You know, some churches have a missions department. Does the hospital have a medical department? Or a law firm have a legal department? It's got the sense of, really, this is our department.

[16:06] Missions is our department. It is our purpose. It's his purpose for the church. The church of God. Hudson Taylor said, the great commission is not an option to be considered.

[16:18] It is a command to be obeyed. Go ye. It's his plan. God's plan. He says, go ye. That's it. Two words.

[16:29] Four letters. Two syllables. Go ye. Teach. Make disciples. Baptise. Teach. All nations. All things.

[16:40] All power. Go ye. Salvation is one of his commands. He says, you must be born again.

[16:51] He says, our Lord told them to tell them, teach them. Observe all things whatsoever I've commanded you. One of his commands is, go ye.

[17:02] And, of course, that essential command, you must be born again. There's no alternative. And one of his commands is for us to go. There was an athletic coach presenting a list of rules and standards to the athletes.

[17:17] And he says, these are the things you must do if you expect to be part of the team. And the athletes subscribed to those rules. They obeyed those rules. They could join the team.

[17:28] The employer says to the employee, here are the rules. And the employee follows those rules or he loses his job. In the time of battle, a commanding officer issues specific orders. The soldier obeys.

[17:39] Yes, sir. Or he gets court-martialed. Likely sent to prison. Executed, perhaps. Depending on the seriousness of the offence. Our Lord has issued a command.

[17:51] Go ye. That's it, people. And no true believer can take his order lightly. But most Christians have never seriously taken this command.

[18:02] I'm quoting here. We've been playing games while our world is in flames. We're like men and women who are straightening pictures on the wall of a burning building.

[18:15] When we're dealing with the peripheral issues. When it is the hearts of people that needs to be changed. The problems in this world are threatening to engulf humanity. They can only be solved through faith in Christ.

[18:28] And if we take our Lord seriously, we must dedicate ourselves fully. Time, talent and treasure to the fulfilment of the Great Commission. Not out of a sense of legalistic duty, but of love, of gratitude.

[18:42] For what Christ has done for us. If we want to obey him, he says, go. And that is sufficient reason for going. End quote.

[18:53] Go ye. Ye. That's you and me. Go ye. And don't be afraid to talk to people. Sometimes the biggest obstacle is just to open the lips and tell somebody.

[19:05] Don't, don't hold back. Don't withhold it. There was a survey of some 8,000 people who became Christians. They got saved.

[19:16] And it's interesting looking at the way people came to hear and receive the gospel. 5% were those who walked into a church and stayed. 7% came because of the pastor.

[19:29] 3% came because the church had some kind of program they liked. 1% through door to door visitation. 4% came through Sunday school. 0.0001% came through a crusade or a TV program.

[19:46] 80% came from invitations from friends or relatives. Now that says it, doesn't it? It's people telling people. 80% of those who trusted the Lord, who came to hear the gospel and trust him, came because friends and relatives reached out.

[20:06] We have to go. Go ye. Go ye and tell. Sometimes the church misses the whole point of why we are his church.

[20:21] What he wants for us to do. There's a story told of a man bleeding to death outside a hospital. Christopher Seuss was playing basketball. And this was in the US somewhere.

[20:32] And he got shot in the chest. A bullet perforated his aorta. His friends came and helped to get in within 40 feet of the doors of Ravenswood Hospital. And then they went inside and asked for some help.

[20:44] The hospital refused to help Christopher, saying it was against the hospital's policies to administer aid to those outside the hospital. The staff refused to help him.

[20:58] It was against the policy. Sounds a bit like a typical public servant. Eventually a policeman was able to get a wheelchair and wheel Christopher into the hospital.

[21:09] When he was helped by the hospital staff, it was too late to save him. He died about an hour later. It's almost a picture of the church, isn't it? This is our mission.

[21:20] There's people dying. There's people on the edge of eternity. And we're not telling them. Many churches are surrounded by desperate people.

[21:33] And they need to hear the gospel. But we as Christians are not telling them. Wherever you go, that is where you are his ambassador. Wherever you go.

[21:44] Now some people think that go ye means, okay, when I go somewhere else. No. Go ye. It's not about where your feet are going to. It's where your feet are.

[21:55] Go ye means go wherever you are. Wherever you're at. Every opportunity that comes across your pathway. Of course for some it might mean going to another place. Another country.

[22:06] Learning another language. But the go is going now. Going where you go. Through where you're going tomorrow.

[22:18] Is go ye. Go ye there. And it's about being used of God where you are. In the here and now. There was a story about a plane going down.

[22:30] This is some Ethiopian's airline flight. It got hijacked. And it crashed into the ocean off the Komaro Islands.

[22:41] After running out of fuel. And the dramatic moment of impact was caught on home video. Broadcast around the world. One day later we learned something even more dramatic happened inside the cabin.

[22:53] As the plane headed for disaster. You know this plane up in the sky. It's got just minutes left. A hijacked plane. And one man named Andrew Meekin stood up.

[23:07] While this plane was on this perilous course. And he tried to calm the passengers. And he quietly shared his faith in Christ. He presented the gospel.

[23:18] And just moments before the plane hit the water. Some 20 people responded. To his invitation to receive Christ. And a surviving flight attendant told the story. Because Andrew Meekin's died in the crash.

[23:31] Do what you can. Do what you can. Where you are. Where you go. Go ye. Do what you can. Sometimes it may seem slight what you do. Now bear with me.

[23:42] There's a few little stories. Just trying to illustrate the picture here. Of another story. Of a man. Who was in a vessel. In the seas. And he was very seasick. He was feeling really seasick.

[23:54] Very queasy. In the ship. And while he was down in the basement of the boat. He got this. He was feeling really sick.

[24:06] And he heard the news that some man had fallen overboard. And he was wondering what can I do. That you know. I'm feeling sick. And well I can hold up this light. To the porthole. He didn't know what else he could do.

[24:19] He just held up the light to the porthole. And the drowning man was saved. And when the man got over this attack. Of this seasickness. He was up on deck one day. And talking to the man who got rescued.

[24:30] And the man who got rescued. Told how he'd gone down the second time. And he was going down again for the last time. Glug glug glug. When he just put out his hand. And just then someone held a light to the porthole.

[24:43] And the light fell on his hand. And a man caught him by the hand. And pulled him into the lifeboat. So it seemed a very small thing that a man below decks could do. It was just to hold up the light to the porthole.

[24:55] Yet it saved a man's life. You know you might think what can I do. You know there's some people that are a little maybe housebound. Or a little less able to get out and about.

[25:09] All of us can do something. All of us can do something. You know even just holding this light. As this man did for this poor perishing man. He was one.

[25:21] Saved. Delivered from destruction. And likewise too. It might be some words of cheer. Some comfort. Some care. Some extending of your hands to others. That can.

[25:32] Be all the difference. That can make all the difference. You know there's people. I know there's people here that are touching lives. In so many different ways. And even though they may seem insignificant things.

[25:45] It can be an eternal thing. Sometimes we neglect to see the opportunities all around us.

[25:56] There was a time when Moody the evangelist was. He's an American man. He was visiting London. And the Britishers were asking this American. What's his. What is it about.

[26:08] How he was reaching so many. Reaching out. Touching so many. Lives. Winning so many souls to Christ. And Moody was in the hotel room.

[26:19] With these Britishers. And. And he asked one each. In turn. What they saw out the window. And one by one. The men. Talked about. Oh there's people walking in this park below.

[26:30] And they. They described them. And then Moody looked out the window. With tears rolling down his cheeks. He says. And. And they asked him. What do you see Mr. Moody.

[26:41] And Moody said this. He said. I see countless thousands of souls. That will one day spend eternity in hell. If they do not find the savior. It's about seeing people as souls.

[26:53] I think sometimes we miss them. You know. And. Look. I can be selfish. When I go shopping and that. You think. You know. Sometimes you just do the transaction. And it's the checkout chick.

[27:05] Or. Checkout man. And. You know. You think. You know. You need to show. To show. To show. To show. To show.

[27:16] To show. To show. To show. To show. To show. To show. power awesome all power his plan go ye his presence thirdly we see he is with us he is with us he says I am with you always even to the end of the age the end of the world always is the time zone here wherein he is assured us of his presence always is as much of his presence that will be with you now sometimes we think we're fearful there's many scriptures that talk about fear not for I am with you amen that's what it says fear not when we know his presence is with us we have no need for fear mind you humanly we have that we have fear it's a scary thing especially when it's a being quite direct and confrontational and sometimes witnessing is that it's very scary but the comfort we have is his presence he's with us and sometimes when we witness it means taking risks stepping out of your comfort zone well actually if I start to talk about the Lord they're gonna be watching me and making sure my lips line up with my life it's all the better if you stand out for Jesus if you step out of the shadows start being a full-on visible Christian then it's all the better it makes you rise up to that challenge to want to stand up for Christ and to be a decent ambassador for him and it's this taking risk now we think how sometimes people shy away from risk and this is a little bit of an obscure example but for example taking a risk means doing what you have to do doing what's the right thing to do for example when the

[29:54] Titanic was sinking I'm told there's three ships in the region and the nearest was called the Samson and this crew was involved in illegal hunting so they didn't want to get caught they didn't want to get caught so they turned away even though they were the closest ship to save the people drowning from the Titanic they didn't want to get caught the second ship was the Californian and this crew was so afraid of the Titanic's fate they proceeded very cautiously they went very slowly and they were annoyed as well because they'd already warned the Titanic about the dangers of the icebergs and such the third ship was the Carpathia which came as quickly as possible they risked their own lives and were able to rescue more than 700 people they were they plowed through the the ice and and they the risky choppy and and the the iceberg prone area they went right in they they were willing to take the risk and sometimes when we witness it's being willing to take the risk isn't it it's like being willing to leave the comfort zone step into the faith zone so you are not alone he is with you and we have his abiding presence and sometimes it's gonna be hard especially with your workmates with people you rub shoulders with that when you actually start to open your mouth and tell them but it's the most liberating thing really it is the most liberating thing and sometimes you don't have to say much because once you open your mouth they know and they'll they'll be the ones coming to you there's a teacher one day who was struggling as a school teacher and he just had it he had a really hard day and he he was saying to the kids in this classroom I've had it on side of the hassle of teaching kids who don't have any respect if any of you can tell me what life is all about and what our purpose is is go ahead and there's a little girl in the class she raised her hand and she says she found answers to those questions in Jesus Christ and this teacher was an agnostic he was able to take time with her and then attend a evangelistic meeting and that Friday night he trusted in Christ and sometimes it can be just a little girl talking to a teacher even that you might think well that's a risky thing to do isn't it you think wow you know I thank God the the last secular job I had there was opportunities there to witness for Christ and you know it was kind of funny really the opportunities that came my way like while I was still employed by by the government essentially and you know usually the government's against people opening their mouths about such things but I had great opportunities while I was there including for example they had a a because it was supporting clients with disabilities and they would have these gatherings and they had so at Christmas time yeah when I first got there some Salvation Army lady present some Christmas type message but then the next time and then the next six times they asked me to present a message and I didn't pull out I pulled out all the stops I didn't hold back gave them a full-on gospel message about why Christ came and they kept asking me every

[33:25] Christmas time to to do this like I was getting paid to do it so that's as a bonus really that I had the opportunity they knew where I stood they knew I was a preacher and likewise to at Easter time they used to have a little Easter gathering for all the clients and I had the same opportunity again talking about the cross you know talking about the Savior and again such an amazing blessing and then they had this other gathering of the clients and all the staff and talking about Thanksgiving that they had some theme of Thanksgiving thanks and and again I gave the same gospel messages it was wonderful to think how you know sometimes the doors open just run into them when the doors open and it's a blessing and also the the boss was a Catholic fellow and he would he had this idea of going and visiting the the disability homes the residential homes where the clients were and seeing some Christmas carols and so it came came to his attention that I could play the guitar or sort of make make out that I can play it and and so I was able to go and I was in control of the songs that we sang so I chose the good Christmas songs the good carols which talk about the

[34:43] Savior you know Hark the Herald Angels sing you know you know the ones that have actually some godly content and I said I'm not going to play the the other ones Santa songs and so it was another great opportunity to go into the residences of these clients and and all the staff there so they they knew I was a Christian and it was good not to not hold back even in that context where and thankfully I had a boss that was favorable and of course we know it's not always the case but it's just seizing those opportunities brothers and sisters even in your workplace seize those opportunities and friends we've got the great comfort that we have his presence we've got that great reassurance and sometimes it can be as we reaching out sometimes to hostile people I know there's one time Peter and I were doing some witnessing last couple weeks and and there was one guy that answered the door and he looked like he was in the middle of a botanic mass he had like this beard that looked like some wizard from some movie or something and this black cloak on nothing Peter nothing you saw him but but he looked really scary this dude and he had this piercing look too looked like he was you know possessed and and you know he kind of refused the the invitation and I had to look behind me as I was walking away I had these thoughts that he was going to come after me with some dagger in his hand or something and sometimes there's that sense where we have to be willing to take a risk he has given us his plan and he's promised us his presence and there are no revised instructions he hasn't changed it it's not been revised it still says go ye that's the plan his orders haven't changed and his orders are still in effect note that there is an urgency to go sometimes the church misses that the urgency of it um another little example here bear with me with these kind of illustrations maybe might be overdone really but there's a time where in Philadelphia there was a a pool party and this party around the pool was being held um and and it was organized by the lifeguards of the city and there's some 200 people there 100 certified lifeguards and they have this great party to celebrate the success of their successful um uh season of saving lives and these 200 people gathered and as the party was breaking up and the foot there was four lifeguards on duty and they began to clear the pool and they found a fully dressed man in the deep end they tried to revive Jerome Moody 31 years old but it was too late he died surrounded by lifeguards by lifeguards celebrating their successful season and sometimes friends we can miss the opportunities that all are all around us just like those lifeguards did fear not he says because i am with you don't be afraid and do not delay god is with you he's working with you he's working in you to do his good pleasure and be prepared to labor on now sometimes we can see we labor and labor you know we knock on door after door we get slammed doors we get cursed we get mocked by family and friends because we love god and we try to reach them don't give up the stories of missionaries such as william carey labored seven years before the first hindu convert in vermin adoniram judson toiled seven years before he saw someone say labor on labor on labor on we have his power we have his plan it's you and me go ye and we have his presence

[38:56] just to close think this message is urgent it's urgent and your feelings don't matter we may have to disturb people think of it to illustrate when you're walking down the street and you come across some house there and you you look through the window and there's a young family there eating their evening meal and having a fun family night but you see at the back of the house it's engulfed with flames the entire back of the house is is a roaring fire what should you do you know they look so happy should we interrupt their nice little family occasion should we interrupt their farm or warn them that their house is burning down they might not appreciate you knocking on their door interrupting their family night but of course we should disturb them there's times where you've got to disturb some people and sometimes that can be it can be um um uneasy for you i know as a as a younger christian i i had a burden for someone and it was someone that i thought i had i had um an influence on i had exposure to them i had some contact with them and they just came it was burdening on my heart this this man in powerful gardens and i was particularly moved that i thought i didn't tell him and so i made a point and it was kind of a bit of a funny hour of the night i think and it was miles away but i thought i must obey the promptings and tell him the gospel he didn't receive it the point is sometimes you get that burden you get that prompting i've not told him i've not told her go ye even if you'd be considered foolish even as a as a young christian all the better tell them god's mission is still current it's still here it's not been changed the instructions are still the same go ye god has no other plan even though he uses faulty human vessels you know you can imagine someone questioning the lord jesus and saying um you know well what's your plan once you're gone what's going to happen to the church and he would say well i've asked peter john andrew james others i've asked them down there to make it known for the people that they tell to tell others and so on and imagine the interviewer saying well suppose they don't well they fail and the lord jesus says i have no other plan he has no other plan we're the plan you and me we're the plan he says go ye people he's saying go ye that's you that's me that's us he has no other plan soul winning is our responsibility god has no other plan now there's different ways you can witness we've got bucket loads box loads of tracks and some people are taken boxes of them and they're going out to spread the word you know that's a blessing you can do that

[42:59] if you can walk you can put a leaflet in the letter box you can witness and there's people you can phone there's people you can talk to people you rub shoulders with people you work with people you know friends family tell them tell them don't stop telling them don't let anything stop you friends tonight you might have someone on your heart maybe like i was burdened for that man he didn't receive it but i was glad i told him because i thought if i didn't tell him i would feel a sense of i missed it i missed it there was an old deacon leading a prayer time and he would often use this phrase oh lord touch the unsaved with thy finger and one day he said this oh lord touch the unsaved with thy finger and he came to a bit of an abrupt halt and and one of the people in the prayer meeting said you okay there he says no something seemed to say to me thou art the finger you are the finger that god wants to touch people with you know charles spurgeon says this if sinners be damned at least let them leap to hell over our dead bodies and if they perish let them perish with our arms wrapped around their knees imploring them to stay they say if hell must be filled let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions and let not one go unwarned and i'm prayed for friends he says go ye he says i am with you always he says all power is given unto me there's nothing stopping you amen let's pray lord god we thank you that your power is beyond our comprehension and that that power that authority is over heaven and earth and lord the disciples worshiped you but some doubted pray if there's any that are doubting here tonight that all those doubts will just be cleared away and and the truth will be made clear that lord you died on the cross for our sins you're the risen savior you're our master and we love you we trust you we have faith in you take away our doubt i believe help them one unbelief help us to have a heart like that lord we pray for any here tonight searching that they'll find that precious jewel that precious pearl that they'll find that precious treasure of faith in christ lord we know this world is passing away and all of the ways of it will come to a crashing end lord we pray we'll tell others that we can where we are where we go and if you put on our heart even if it be another country send us there if it be here lord wherever we go we know we must go wherever with the gospel wherever it is and lord help us to be stirred up it's your plan not any other plan not angels but men and women such as we simply telling others lord and we know

[47:01]  your presence is with us we need not fear what man can do to us we need not fear any um rejection because it's not us that they're rejecting it's you lord we just have to tell that's all we can do and give us grace to do that lord to be gracious witnesses to give people that answer of the reason that is in us that that hope that is in us with with fear and with godly hearts lord that we can tell others simply and truthfully and genuinely that they can know you too and that we can have our hearts assured that we've followed your promptings lord if there's any here tonight that the certain names come to mind the certain faces come to light in our minds thinking lord let us not hold back from your prompting but to tell them gently lovingly open our lips that we might tell them this glorious glad news that jesus saves we thank you lord for these things in your precious name amen amen let's go to our final song and it's um 209