You don't need a perfect script or a stadium to make a difference today; you just need to be obedient to the Holy Spirit in the moments right in front of you. Step out of your comfort zone and embrace the awkwardness, trusting that God will use your simple presence to impact someone's life. Your obedience is the catalyst for someone else's spiritual journey.
And just so you know, we're we're not going out today with a script. We're not going out today to talk to 50 people. We're going out today to be obedient to the Holy Spirit and to have fun. So for somebody like myself, you know, on the during our outreach time, I may talk to 30 people. Okay?
I'm not needing you to talk to 30 people. I'm maybe just needing you to talk to the barista who makes your iced coffee Or and say, hey, I just want you to know that Jesus loves you. We we wanna **lower the bar** down here because I know that once we get you started, you won't be able to stop. Once once the ball once God moves through you outside of the 4 walls of the church, it's so exciting, you can't help but do it again. But oftentimes, as evangelists, the bar is so far up here.
We think evangelist and evangelism. We think going to other nations and stadiums. And we don't think about catching an airplane from DFW to Tampa and what could happen in the in a 2 hour airplane ride. Right? We we were at rest.
We we get on the airplane, and I sit down yesterday. And I and actually, the the lady and her son next to me, he's 17. She's probably in her fifties. They're striking up a conversation with me. Hey.
So so what do you do? Why why are you coming? Let me tell you. Oh, that's really interesting. My my my father is a devout Catholic, and I'm starting to connect to God.
And and I'm I'm and she's talking, and then her son's 17, listening, very intelligent young man. I'm like, would you read the Bible? Well, no. Not that much. Can I read my favorite scripture to you?
They're like, please. So I'm reading them the Bible. 17 year old young man prays to be "born again". I really believe that his mother was already. Right?
They get off the airplane. She's like, you gotta meet the rest of my family. I'm like, this is so easy. And I'm gonna speak a message tomorrow at church called evangelism is easy with the presence of God. Evangelism is not easy in your own strength.
Okay? So we're gonna go out with the presence of God. And then the the flight attendant walks by. You know, you just gotta embrace awkward. Okay?
There's gonna be a few awkward moments today, but if we can push through awkward, some really cool stuff can happen. So, you know, it's kinda awkward. I'm sitting there, flight attendant's here. God speaks to me. I'm like, this is this will be interesting.
I don't know if this word's gonna land or you know, there's just some awkward things you gotta work through. And so I I just say to the lady, hey, but before you move the cart, I just had a specific question to ask you because God will speak to me about people. She's like, really? Like her eyes get really big. And so she's like, I'll be right back.
So she leans in. She's like, tell me, what did God say? I'm like, well, I think like, I I believe I heard the Lord say that you've been having trouble with your knees and it's been causing you pain. And she goes, listen. I've gotta keep doing it, but I'll come back.
Like, I'll come back. So she comes back like 20 minutes later, and she's like, okay. I'm ready. Like, I've been thinking about what you said, and and, you know, airplanes, you can't really get through the aisles, so there's a huge align. Everybody has to go to the bathroom at the same time on an airplane.
I live in airplanes, so I I see. I know how it works. So she's got she's stopping like a flow of people coming through to the bathroom. I was like, I'll just come to the back with you. I go in the back.
I begin to minister to her. The presence of God comes. She's holding my hand. She goes, I will never forget this moment. This has impacted my life so much.
I was just obedient. Right? I had a great flight. Wasn't like felt like I didn't feel like I had to talk to every single person. It was whoever the Holy Spirit put in front of me.
And if we begin to live that way, it's a really exciting way to live. So today, whether you're confident or not confident, whether you're scared, it's okay. Some of you don't raise your hands, but some of you came scared. It's alright. I'm so proud of you.
You're being obedient to what God's called you to do. You're gonna go out and today, and you're gonna see God move through you, and that fear is gonna leave. Okay? No matter how you we say this all the time. I won't have time while I'm here to preach this message, but we say, until you go, you won't grow.
This is how it works with evangelism. And so we celebrate wherever you are today. If my friend pastor David printed off 5,000 church cards, I get 1000 of them myself. Or I'm gonna take them out, and I'm and I'm gonna give them away to people all over this all over this city. But if you just get a real church card today and you walk up to somebody and you hand it to them and you run away, we're gonna celebrate that.
That was that was amazing obedience. Like, I wanna lower the bar. Like, that's incredible. It's incredible that you're here on a Saturday at 10AM to learn about making disciples. Like, let's that's wild.
Like, if this was a come and get a word event, like, you you couldn't get enough chairs. But you're gonna go and give a word, and actually when you give, it's better than receiving. So you're gonna you're gonna "catch the wind" today. It's gonna be fun. And I just wanna encourage you this.
The only time we're gonna lock the doors still got you guys? Is when we break up to go on a van out on outreach. Nobody's sliding out. No excuses. No.
Well, I've got you know, I gotta go get some groceries. No. You're gonna get groceries with the Holy Spirit today. And and if if you don't wanna talk to anybody, listen, I brought Robbie, my friend Robbie. You can take Robbie with you.
Well, not everybody. And you can sit in your car with binoculars and just watch him. I'm okay with that as long as you go on outreach. Does that sound good? Because if you don't go on outreach, you miss the whole point of what we're doing.
Okay? But don't think that outreach is really structured, and it's you going out and loving the person in front of you. Everybody take a deep breath. Okay. We got through that.
Okay. Good. Good. Good. So 1 barrier.
I'm gonna talk about 6 barriers of *evangelism* tomorrow at church. I'm gonna talk about 1 today, and then I'm gonna repeat it tomorrow. 1 barrier, and then we're gonna jump into the the first session. This barrier is evangelism just is not for me. Have you guys ever heard that?
Somebody said that before. Well, know, *evangelism* just isn't for me. Well, you're absolutely right. It's not for you. It's for the thousands of people in this city that need to know Jesus.
K? And the reason why of when we make that statement or we that barrier or that excuse, evangelism is not for me, k? That's a very dangerous thing to do. I love what pastor David said. He said, you know, as a Christian, I share my faith.
And as *believers* and we're gonna get into this more tomorrow as we begin to strip back excuses and barriers, we are called to live as full time Christians. K? And and that doesn't just look like you sharing your faith and witnessing. It looks like you being a witness. So we like to say it this way.
We don't do witnessing. We are witnesses. So you are either a witness of what a on fire spirit filled, full of the **fruit of the Holy Spirit** believer is, or you're the opposite of that. Quiet, reserved, held back. Like I just you guys doing alright?
We're gonna break through that barrier. We're gonna remove that lie right off the bat. *Evangelism* is for every *believer* in the "body of Christ". And just to to help you understand that this doesn't look like street evangelism. It looks like just being a believer full of the Holy Spirit.
Have you have you guys been out in the world lately? Right. Do you see the absence of the fruit of the Holy Spirit? Okay. So when the fruit of the Holy Spirit is in operation in your life, you will be a *witness* by just being out as "salt and light" to the world around you.
I was sitting in Tyrone Mall about a year ago, and I had my my my 4 this is kinda like home territory for me. I gotta live here in this in this area for 6 months. It was incredible. So I feel like I'm home. I was there at Tyrone with my 4 kids, and they were all sitting there.
It it was an act of God, not fighting, pulling each other's hair. No cell phones by the grace of God. And we were just we just looked normal for once. Right? And this lady comes over to my table and she goes, I just have to say, this is I've never seen a dad with his 4 kids sitting here.
She was so overwhelmed by just the fruit of the Holy Spirit. And what she saw taking place in my family, I said, do you want me to tell you why you see this? It's Jesus. Right? As we as we were leaving a place that we shop quite often in in Fort Worth, my my wife's walking out.
We're at the self checkout, and and the lady that works the self checkout comes over and just puts her hand on my on my wife's shoulder. And I'm like, this is what what's going on? Right? And then Chelsea turns and the lady just lights up. She goes, I just have to tell you, you're the nicest person that comes through here.
When I see you and your kids, like it just changes my day. You know what my wife said? She doesn't just leave it at that. Do you want me to tell you why? It's because of Jesus.
Do you know Jesus? Now we we are gonna push ourselves a little bit today because we don't just wanna be nice Christians. At a certain point, you have to learn how to share your faith, and we're gonna equip you practically on how to do that. But as you go to work, as you are doing what you do socially, as you're, you know, out taking running errands, just being a full time Christian, full of the Holy Spirit, being light and salt is a witness, and then you just tell people why. Amen?
Okay. So the the title of of this session would be the original call never changed. The original call never changed. So this is not just an outreach message. It's it's a ***great commission*** message.
K. So we can become very like there's a lot of outreaches that are not making disciples. K. I'll I'll give you an example. My friend works at a church in Vancouver, Washington, and he helps out with evangelism.
He's been connected to us for a number of years. And he said that he was in a board meeting and where they were talking about this idea of purchasing an ice cream truck, which I wanna do this. K? Purchase an ice ice cream truck, drive it through neighborhoods, give away ice cream, and be nice to people. And and my friend's like, this is incredible.
And we can preach the gospel. And they said, yeah, no, no, we're not gonna do that. He's like, well then it's not an outreach. Right? And and what it came down to was the leaders, the pastors, good people, probably God fearing people, had some barriers that they themselves have not overcome.
And so their form of outreach is giving away free ice cream. Sound like America evangelism. Right? I was on a trip to Mexico, and our team is equipped to share everywhere we go. Airplanes, buses, trains.
We just share. We have a blast. And 1 of we were at a taco stand and 1 of our team members led the the guy making the tacos to the Lord and was just celebrating. And the person that was over the missions trip, a part of another church, came to her and said, we don't do that. We just love people.
Thank you for being right? If if we're not careful, we I'm gonna take another just 1 step further. Right? We have a prophetic, you know, ministry emphasis now in in the spiritual church in America. We have a healing emphasis.
Right? We're gonna go out and we're gonna pray for people to be healed. Right? And I hear hundreds of testimonies of I saw this person. I prayed for them.
God healed them, and now I have a testimony of God healing somebody. No. No. Did you share the gospel with them? Because that that that that that miracle that happened in their life was just a sign that would point them to Jesus.
So we have a gospel deficiency in the body of Christ in America. And and it says in Romans-1 verse 16 that the gospel is the **power of God** unto salvation. Meaning if we share the gospel, there is power that is available to save. But if we don't share you guys follow me? So we we only do "half of it".
What what I wanna do is is I wanna I want us to be nice today, to be full of the Holy Spirit, to to buy people lunch, to do all the things that we know to be true, but then to take it 1 step further and just simply say, do you know Jesus? When you add that, then it's a it's a massive "game changer". So this is not just a outreach message. This is a *great commission* message. So I believe that you can love God, be full of the Holy Spirit, and on your way to heaven.
K? And absolutely miss the missional call of God on your life. So you have nice, born again, wonderful family, like loving God, coming to church, like and by the way, evangelism, if you do evangelism, doesn't make God love you anymore. He loves you. And and that's another lie we gotta get out of the way.
It's not like, well, if you go out and share, God loves you more. No, he just loves you. We share because he loves you. Right? And so let's remove that because I see a lot of people that are actually sharing their faith and their life is a wreck, and I question their salvation.
You guys follow me? And and just so you know, we're talking about *evangelism* today, but I believe in the 5 fold ministry. And evangelism is a part of the picture, not the whole picture. K? But we're gonna hone in on this on on evangelism today.
So we wanna be believers that, you know, born again, spirit filled, going to heaven. Right? All of it. But fulfilling the missional call of *God* on our life. Now the missional call of God on my life or pastor David's life is gonna look different than it looks on your life.
What what does it look like for my wife right now who's at home with our 4 beautiful children to be a missionally minded *believer*. When she's just trying to walk through Costco and not lose a child. Can I hear an amen, mom? K. So it's gonna look different.
And I don't wanna put pressure on mom or on grandma or but I'll tell you what, God will perfectly design situations and people for you to minister to. What we're trying to do today is to activate you that when the Lord speaks, you say yes. See, but many of us are preprogrammed to say no. So at a certain point, the Lord will speak to you, but he won't speak to you about people around you because you've already said no. So we gotta get to a place where we're willing to say, yes, Lord, whatever it looks like.
And then that opens up so so this is what it looks like for me. Because I give the *Lord* my yes with his It's his ability and his grace that I'm able to do it. It's a gift that that he gives us. Right? So because I do that, what happens is when I wake up on a Saturday morning and I my wife says, hey, can you run to Walmart last second and get some waffle mix, right, for the kids and some syrup, the good stuff, Missus Buttersworth, not the fancy stuff.
I want I want the good syrup. Alright? You you all you healthy people. I now do the healthy stuff, but I do like Missus Buttersworth. But okay.
Anyway, so right, I'm tired. I just flew in from somewhere. Literally, moment I step out over the threshold of my door, all of heaven goes, he's going to Walmart. Get ready. He's gonna be in Aisle 11.
If we speak, Chris will obey. Right? All of heaven's like, at attention. This wasn't in his this wasn't in his schedule, but he's going. Right?
And then I pull up to the, you know, to the Walmart parking lot. I step out, and all of hell goes, no. He's here. Why? I'm still half asleep, but when my God speaks to me, I'm gonna be obedient, but I'm not under some weird obligation or pressure.
When he speaks, I obey. I have had some of the craziest stories on Saturday morning. Only *God* could set these things up. 1 time, the freezer I think I was getting Eggos. Right?
Bless Eggos. They're just wonderful. Okay. And I just walk up, and I'm half asleep, not really even conscious, and the Lord gives me the person's name. I'm like, hey, is your name this?
I'm like, how in the world did you know that? Well, God just spoke to me. It shocked me as much as it shocked them. Right? But because I'm aware, right, because I'm It's like a The voice of God is like a like like a dial, like a radio dial.
Many of us are just tuned out. But when you tune it's not like, man, I wonder if God will speak to me. No. If you tune in, God will speak to you too much. Actually, I need some of you guys to tune in more so he'll give me a break.
My wife's like, you want to go to the mall and hang out? I'm like, I don't know if I want to go on a mission trip right now. Now it's fun, but but there's a cost. Right? But if we tune in, it's not it's not a matter of is *God* speaking.
He's always speaking. The question is, are you listening? And then we have to overcome that fear. And and we'll talk more about fear in in detail tomorrow, but but we gotta understand that that that fear and awkwardness and, you know, what might somebody think or what might happen, those barriers are so small compared to the reward of Mateo on the airplane being born again yesterday. Of the flight attendant.
I I forgot to get her name, but but her, you know, encountering the she was already a believer. Her encountering the presence of God and saying to me, I will with conviction, I will never forget this moment. It so impacted her. The awkwardness that I had to push through, man, I'm so glad that I did that. And and you will be as well.
And you know, when you go out today, you're gonna think that everybody knows what you're doing. No. Nobody knows. Right? It's like you walk into Kroger and you're like, everybody in here knows that I just left church and trying nobody even is thinking about you.
We are so selfish. We think the whole world knows that we're here. They don't even know that you're here right now. So breathe a little bit when you get out there. It's like, man, they know I'm walking them with an agenda.
They don't know. Just relax. Right? Be yourself. Well, maybe don't be yourself if yourself is be Jesus.
There we go. But but the more that you encounter the love of God in in this way, you can be yourself, and God will begin to lead you to people that you can reach that I could reach. Okay. So we wanna be *believers* that are that that are answering the missional call of God in our life. Amen?
Okay. So the call. Right? We we know the call in *Matthew-4* verse 18. It says, while walking by the Sea Of Galilee, he saw 2 brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen.
And he said to them, follow me and I'll make you fishers of men. I love this. Immediately, they left their nets and followed him. Now, are you following Jesus today? Not a trick question.
I'm gonna try that again. Are you following Jesus today? Yes, you are. Right. We know that he's alive and well today.
Now when Jesus was on the earth, we know in *Luke-19* verse 10, it says Jesus came to **seek and to save** the You know it. Right? Okay. So if Jesus came to seek and to save the lost, okay, and he came in a body, So here he is. Right?
He is seeking and saving. He says, follow me. Right? Follow follow me. As they're following him, he they immediately saw him seek and save.
All the *gospels* record many, many stories of Jesus seeking, saving, delivering, healing. Right? Preaching, demonstrating the power of the kingdom of God. They were watching their rabbi, their teacher do it. And in that culture, when they when they watched and studied their teacher doing it, it meant they were gonna do it.
This is why you have the story where they're all sitting around about ready to eat a meal, and nobody's washed anybody's feet. You guys are you guys familiar with this story? Right. And and then what does Jesus do? He he gets up.
I love John, how he writes it. He he gets up from the table. He takes off his apron. It's like him getting up in heaven, taking off, coming, then he kneels down, he begins to wash. Right?
What what was happening in in this story is anybody would have gladly washed Jesus' feet. But if they would have washed his feet, then they would have had to wash everybody else's feet. And listen, I'm good washing the Messiah's feet, but I don't really wanna wash your feet. Because if I wash your feet, I'm saying that you're better than I am. Because normally, the lowest person, the the the lowest servant in the home would be the 1 that washed feet.
*Jesus* came to serve. Right? I'm going somewhere with this. The moment that he did that, he was telling all of them, you're gonna do that. Everything he modeled, they were following to to do exactly what he was doing.
K? But somehow, now now that Jesus, you know, was at the right hand of the father on high interceding for us, that's a whole another conversation. That's pretty incredible. Right? Somehow we've lost that that following and and we think, well well, no.
I mean, that's evangelism is really not for me. Are you are you a disciple of Jesus? Yes. Are you are you are you actively trying to follow him? Yes.
Then some aspect of your life is gonna be fulfilling the call of fishing for men. Now it it doesn't need to look like my friends, Daniel and Ashley, who do this full time. Right? There's a there's a specific call and grace that's on their family. But it's gonna look like something.
And like I said, if we can get you started today, you'll never stop. Because it's it's 1 of the greatest experiences when people encounter God through you. The the the second session I'll do after outreach, we're gonna talk about how we're called to have the ministry of reconciliation. We're ambassadors. When you connect somebody to the presence of God, there is nothing quite like it.
It's just like you see them come alive? Man. And that's what we're called to. We're called to be ambassadors. So we have the call.
We're actively following Jesus. Jesus said, I only do what the *father* does. Well, the father's all about seeking and saving because that's what Jesus came to do. And if we're his disciples, we're gonna fulfill that call. Then you have the commission.
We know this. In Matthew-28 verse 16, it says this. Now the 11 disciples went to Galilee to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you, and behold, I am with you always to the "end of the age". Right? This, you know, there there's the parable of the different kinds of ground in a person's heart. Right? You have the wayside ground.
Throw out some other ones. You got the rocky ground. Give me another 1. Fertile ground. 30, 60, a hundredfold.
Right? And then what what's the other 1? Thorny or weedy. Right? Now when when we when we think about this parable that Jesus tells, and and I think there's Let me say it this way.
I think it can be applied to our heart when it comes to different truths in the Bible. Okay? So for for a moment, I just want you to go with me. When when you hear me read that, what kind of ground is that scripture landing on? Just for a minute, go with me.
*God*, the creator of the universe who became the God man, came from heaven to earth, is about ready to ascend into heaven on a cloud to be seated in glory at the right hand of the Father. And he says to us, go and make disciples of all nations and I'll be with you. What kind of ground? Is that is it wayside ground? What's wayside ground?
Wayside ground has anybody ever planted a garden? Like like not just a garden box, but like a a plot guard? Like okay. And and and not that nothing against boxes. But for the for the sake of an example, when you plant a larger garden, you plant rows, and then you normally have these rows that you walk down.
Right? Wayside ground is well traveled ground. What happens when seed falls on hard ground? Right? The enemy comes and snatches it up.
So right now in the room, there's the potential that there's some wayside ground in the area of *evangelism* and discipleship. So the seed will land, but it will never take root. Others, right, you're gonna instantly get excited about this, but then the roots won't go down deep. And what happens? The plant, it dies.
Or others are gonna be really excited about it, and then busyness and the cares of the world begin to come and and and and and not allow this this plant to grow in your life. I want this weekend to bear fruit. 30, 60, a 100 full fruit. And I pray even right now that the soil of our hearts be tilled. *Lord*, if I have rocky soil, remove the rocks.
If I have thorny ground with with weeds, weed my heart. God, whatever you need to do to have this message go down deep and actually bear fruit, do it in my life. If and I'm I'm not saying that you're gonna have to quit your job and move to Africa. This is what I'm saying. I'm saying to you, you're gonna go to work and at lunch, you might pull your Bible out and stick it on your desk because you're a Christian, and no woke mob is gonna move you.
You might buy a corny, like Christian t shirt and just wear it out in public just to make sure the "fear of man"'s not in you. I I don't know. Maybe it looks like you sharing your *faith* once a week. I'm just saying it needs to bear some kind of fruit. My my friend Aaron, who's a part of 30 third company as well, he he works for it's called Pinnacle Wealth.
So he he helps he does investments and he meets with people. He met with 8 people yesterday. And what he'll do on days like that is is when he goes to lunch, he tells himself, I'm gonna share with 3 people at lunch. Right? He can't do it in the context of an investment meeting because it it just doesn't But he goes, I'm gonna make sure, and he disciplines himself that when he goes to lunch or when DoorDash comes.
Right? He's like, I'm gonna share with the DoorDasher. Right? A few years ago, he called me all excited. He goes, hey, was on break and I led the mail lady in our in our building to the Lord.
Right? He's a he's a financial adviser, but there and and he's not a evangelist. Right? That's not his primary gifting, but he says, no, you know what? If God says this is what we're to do, let's do it.
Amen? So so I just pray that the soil of our heart can receive this. Number 3 is this, there is a cost to the call. I'm gonna read a couple scriptures to you. So there's the call, the original call that's never changed.
There's the great commission, you know, that Jesus commissioned all of us to walk out. But there is a cost. I was listening to Stephanie Gretzinger's newest album. Anybody listening to it? If not, look it up.
It's so good. And and I forget exactly what song it was in. It was sometime this morning. She goes, if I I wouldn't call it sacrifice to leave the world for you, is basically what she says. Now there's a barrier where we have to overcome certain things and give up things where there's a process.
But when you're on the other side, looking back at what you left to be in the fullness of God, there's really no comparison. That but there is a cost. Right? This is what Jesus says in in Matthew-16 verse 24. Then Jesus told his disciples, if anyone will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
The entry point into the kingdom of God is denying self. Interesting. It doesn't say deny the devil. Right? Does it say deny your neighbor?
What does it say? Deny yourself. What we're doing today is denying ourself and putting others before us. You guys you guys get what I'm saying? That's the entrance point into the kingdom of God.
So I can stand here and give you an eloquent message on denying self and think that I have it all figured out because, you know, I felt good about my delivery, but then when I go to the grocery store, can I really live that out when God speaks to me and asks me to it's it's very easy in the context of church to get puffed up? Well, I taught that Bible study and, you know, I man, I I led worship and, you know, and in the context of your church bubble, it's very easy to become dependent upon yourself. But when you get outside of that bubble, you then have to okay. Is what I just taught and what I just sang really a reality in my life? Right?
Is it is it is it just a theory or is it an actual reality? And that's what I love about making disciples and partnering with God, is it takes all the things that you know in theory form and it lets you walk them out in reality. And the world right now does not need a good theory. It needs a kingdom reality released on it. I'm telling you.
So when you put feet to your faith and you go out in obedience, you're gonna see if what you know, if you really know it. It's no longer I who live, it's Christ who lives in me. Prove it. Let's go see that Christ who lives in you in Walmart in 5 minutes. Let's go.
There's a lot of you in there still, isn't there? Right? I'm I'm just being funny kind of. But it's it's true. Right?
We we can sing songs like our church has a song about about fear go, Holy Spirit come. We can sing it. But then are we gonna live it out? Are we gonna walk it out? Are we gonna have the fear of the Lord?
We have a whole song at our church about the fear of the Lord. We sing it. We proclaim it. But do you have the fear of the Lord that causes you to witness when he speaks? K.
So how how about this 1? Romans-14 verse 7. For none of us lives to himself. This is a big 1. And none of us dies to himself.
For if we live, we live to the Lord. And if we die, we die to the Lord. So then whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. So do you have ownership of your life or does he own your life? Right?
He owns my life. He's my creator, my Lord, my king. Right? He's my boss. And and and sometimes, you know, I wanna be careful here because he is also my *father* and and and and my my lover, and and I love him.
But what happens is is if we get into soak mode, right, and we just you know, I just do I just do soaking evangelism. You know, I just turn on the the radio. I just soak and then I I just get out and just, you know. How's it working out for you? Have you led anybody to the Lord in soak mode?
Or right. I I could I'm gonna just stop there because I could go a lot further and it wouldn't be beneficial. But we live in these in these worlds that aren't bearing fruit because we only have we only have 1 aspect of God. And right? Both he's both merciful, loving kind, and severe.
Right? It's it's just it's it's the combination of who he is. And and some days, I need the lovey, cuddly Jesus, and other days, I need the rod. Right? And so the question with this scripture is is, is your life your own?
Because let's just say that your life isn't your own, and he's your boss, he's your Lord, your king. Right? That means he can tell you what to do. And you just say, yes, sir. But sometimes people have right.
We've been brought up in culture that says, well, God would never make me do something like that. Or, you know, we just have all these things, and we just want this nice, cushy, comfortable Christian life. But when you read the Bible, you don't see that. So we have to ask ourself, are we willing to "count the cost", get out there today, and be obedient to what our boss says? He says it, I do it, no excuses.
Right? There's a cost that you have to count. I have been crucified. Galatians-2 verse 20. I've been crucified with Christ.
It's no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I have been crucified with Christ. Right? Romans-12 says, right, I beseech you therefore, brethren, to lay down your life a **"living sacrifice"**.
Have you ever thought about that? Sacrifice living? You're a living sacrifice. You're a continual sacrifice to the Lord. He speaks, you obey.
No questions. It's it's radical, but it's what he calls us to. Now let let me put this into context for you. My daughter's 10 now. When she was 5 years old, I took her on a daddy daughter date.
And for some reason in that season, she loves Subway. Okay? And and daddy daughter dates look something like this. Go get food and then you buy them a toy. And it's really all about the toy, like the whole time.
Like what and it takes 45 minutes to an hour to finally pick out the toy, and it tests your love and patience. Okay? So we're sitting at at at at Subway in the mall or or in in Walmart in Woodland, and my daughter looks at me and she says, daddy, are you thinking what I'm thinking? K. I think I I initially think she's thinking about my money.
Like not trying to be funny. I'm thinking she's thinking about the toy that we're about to buy, but she said this. She said, I think that we should tell everybody in here about Jesus. She's 5. K?
Alright. So as I've processed this and preached this for the the last few years now because it was such a lesson to me. It was something that God spoke to me. This is what I've come to realize. I was loving my daughter.
Let me buy you your favorite food. Let me buy you a toy. Let me spend time with you. Her 5 year old little mind was going, how can I love dad? What can I do to love dad?
How can I love my dad? Okay. Daddy loves Jesus, and everywhere we go, dad tells people about Jesus so I can love my dad back. Get this. Evangelism is just loving God.
Isn't that just it? *Evangelism* is just loving God. He so loved me. God, how can I love you back? Go tell my lost kids about me.
If you would would gather on a Saturday at 10, just be equipped, and go out and love my people that don't know I love them yet, that will bless me beyond anything because he's a father. I'm telling you. Right? So we got up. We told everybody about Jesus.
It was it was amazing. And it was this moment where this whole message was birthed, are you thinking what the father's thinking? And what I realized about Elizabeth, at 5, she she did not listen to me when I preached. She was asking for a phone or a coloring book in the front row. Right?
Always distracted. She never read a book about me because there wasn't 1 written about me. Right? She couldn't read. What was it that made Elizabeth think about what I was thinking about, which is ultimately what God was thinking about?
She spent time with me. So I believe that if you spend time in the presence of God, hear me, not in your devotion. Because your devotion can become religious. I gotta get up. I gotta read Jesus Calling 1 chapter.
I gotta drink my coffee by this time, and you leave in the prisons and God ain't even there. I just came at Jesus Calling. My mom reads it and I buy it for her for Christmas, so I'm not against it. It's just become an idol to a few people. But if we're not careful, our devotion becomes presenceless.
Or I've gotta get Spotify. I've gotta get the right song, and you spend your whole time in your devotion trying to find the right song to bring the presence of God versus just starting with the Lord's prayer. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Just wait for his presence to come. If we have presence filled devotion times, meaning it could be 5 minutes or it could be 5 hours.
I'm not God is not concerned about the amount of time. He's concerned that you connect with him. And if you connect with the presence of God on a daily basis, and you hear his voice, and you experience his presence just like you do at church on Sunday, then when he speaks, you'll be more quick to act. So how do we think like the father thinks? Right?
How how does counting the cost become even an option in our life? We spend time in the presence of God and God begins to open it up. Okay. It doesn't cost you your life to go to church, but it will cost you everything to begin to disciple the nations. It it doesn't even if you're here for setup and you're here for teardown, and you and you're giving that amount of time.
And and it's really takes it's a toll. There's really a cost to being a part of a church and serving. But I'm telling you that when you step over into making **disciples** and you begin to invite people, it's a complete shift in the way that you live your life. It's it's the most amazing shift that ever happens when you're surrounded by people that have just been born again and are growing in God. So there's no if I look back at my life before to my life now, I'm gonna take this 1 any day.
I I I just want you to know that there is a cot. It doesn't cost you your life to just go to church. Let me take it a step further. It doesn't cost you your life to go on outreach today. Right?
You can go out today, finish up the event by 4, go home and veg out and watch Netflix for the next 20 days. But if we have a discipleship making mentality, when you go out today, you're not going out to have conversations, and we're gonna talk more about this in our practical equipping time. You're not just going out today to, you know, to share the gospel with a few people and then dis you're going out to "make family members". You're going out to make friends. You're gonna lead people potentially to the Lord today that you're gonna know for the next 30 years.
You may meet somebody that doesn't have a car. Right? And they need they need a ride to church. And it's great when they get saved, and they're all excited, right, to "come to church". And then you wake up the next morning and the salvation buzz wear it off a little bit.
And you're like, I have to drive 15 minutes across town and drive 15 minutes back, and I don't know if I can count that cost. What I'm talking from experience. I'm telling on myself. These are all things that I've had to ask myself. But we build our Sunday morning experiences around us, not around them.
And so when we begin to make this shift, I say we because I I just consider myself a part of the family at real churches. As we begin to make this shift at real church, it's going to cost you. But I'm telling you, it is worth it. And I'm gonna tell you some stories here in a moment that will just really light a fire in you to go and make disciples. But there is a cost, but it's worth "counting that cost".
Okay. So let's do this. I'm gonna 15 minutes. Okay. I'm gonna I'm gonna share some stories with you, and then we'll take a quick break.
You guys doing alright? You feel like you've got something? Okay. Are you are you feeling encouraged? A little bit challenged?
Okay. Perfect. That's the goal. Okay. So it was probably about a year and a half ago now.
We we went out to I forget what beach it was. I think it was Madeira Beach. And we were doing an outreach, and we were like, let's go play football and reach reach people for Jesus. So I'm like, well, I'll I'll go to Dick's Sporting Goods. I'll go to football, and then I'll I'll meet you guys out there.
So a couple of us went. As we're walking into Dick's Sporting Goods, there's 2 ladies. 1 of them was a believer. The other 1 was not a believer yet in a matter of about 5 minutes. She's born again.
We we walk in. We get the football. We're heading down to the food court, and, another guy gives his life to the Lord just in between the store and and the food court. We get some food. We get out on the beach, and, Joshua and my cousin, Aden, are sharing with this guy named Nahum.
And Nahum, they share with him. He prays to give his life to Jesus right there in that in that moment, and that is on a Thursday. So they get his information. He's like, yeah. I'll I'll I'll come.
I believe Belong at that time was on Tuesdays. I'll come to Belong, and I'll be at church on Sunday. You know, but a lot of times, people will, like, say that, but you never hear from them again. And they they mean it, but then the enemy comes and just right. Have you guys ever felt resistance the past week?
I felt some resistance the past week. Imagine somebody who just made a decision for Jesus. There's some resistance. So so long story short, fast forward to Saturday. We're on the other side of town.
There's like 1000000 people in Pinellas Park County. There's so many people in this in this city, in this county. So we we go to this probably 30 minutes away from the beach, and I see these 2 guys out in the field and they're playing catch. And I just feel like, I'm gonna go over and play catch with these guys. And it's it's way across the field.
I get over there. The guy's eyes gets huge. He goes, no way, man. You were the guy on the beach. I mean, the presence of God just came.
He's like, I will be there at church tomorrow. Like it was a sign from God. So he comes to church the next day. My friend shares the gospel. Nobody prods him or pokes him.
He he gets up and he walks up. We call it the double tap. When they get saved in the field and they come to church and they get saved again, it's how we know you're really saved. If you've only been saved once, we can take care of that in a minute. So he responds.
He comes forward. He he just says, I wanna give my entire life to Jesus. He began to come to belong. He was baptized, filled with the Holy Spirit. Right?
So from a Thursday outreach to 30 minutes away to a park, to an altar, to belong, to water baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit. That's what we're going for. We're not going for, yeah, we went out today and talked to 15 people. Or yeah, we went out today and I prayed the sinner's prayer with, you know, 25 people. Okay.
Great. I mean, I pray a lot of prayers with a lot of people, but the fruit that we're looking for is naims. Right? And there are people all over this city that are ready, and we're gonna pray that the Lord would send us to the ones that are ready. Let me share this story with you.
This is probably 4 and a half months ago now. We we prayed like we're gonna pray here in a minute. And as we were praying, I said we we said, Lord, lead us by your spirit. And I just felt to go to Northeast Mall. So we're walking through the mall in the food court, and I see these 2 young men in their twenties.
And I just stop and say, hey, can I share the gospel with you? And at the time, I didn't know his name, Caden goes, yes. So I sit down. I take about 5 minutes to share the gospel, and we're gonna equip you on how you a couple different ways you can do that here in a little bit. And I share with him.
I read John-3:1 through 6. I said, would you guys like that? Yes. They both take their hats off, bow their heads, They pray. I'm like, okay.
I'm gonna go to Brazil tomorrow. When I get back, I'll reach out to you. Well, the next day, he reaches out to me and he's like he texts me and he goes, hey, man. I know you said you're gonna be going to Brazil. Can I please come to your house and get a Bible?
Can I like, I wanna grow? So he comes to my house and he tells me this. He said, on Monday I met him on Thursday. On Monday, he woke up at 3AM. He didn't know why he woke up, and he just knew he didn't know God wasn't born again.
He just knew that God was trying to get his attention. So for the first time in years, he gets on his knees and he prays, God, send somebody to me. He had prayed on Monday. Right? I'm there.
Thursday, I'm the answer to his prayer. Listen. Prayers go up, and God's looking for who will carry those prayer requests out. You're gonna find yourself today ministering to believers. Don't be surprised because believers are praying all over this city, and you're gonna come in to be the "answer to prayers" to I I was on a I think I took my it was on my wife's birthday.
Took her out to a a Mexican restaurant. And and as we're leaving, I just I just turned around and I said, hey, I'm so sorry. I was gonna walk by you, but I just felt like the Holy Spirit told me to come talk to you. She goes, that's wild. I was just on the airplane a minute ago, and I was I was losing my faith.
And I said, God, if you're real, send somebody. He's real. Like, I cannot tell you the number of times that we are the answer to the prayers that were just prayed. So you're gonna bump into believers. You're gonna bump into backslidden believers that have been crying out to God for deliverance.
You're gonna see all different kinds of things, and you have to have the mentality of, I'm here as the answer to this prayer. So Caden begins to come to belong. He begins to bring his mom. It's just it's a beautiful story. About a month ago, I travel so much, I have to take my new believers with me.
Robbie's not a new believer, by the way. He's been saved 1 week. No. I'm joking. He he's he's good.
But but I'll take them with me because I don't have as much time at home. So he goes with me and another guy to Colorado, and he hadn't received his prayer language yet. And I said, hey, Kaden. Listen. I'm gonna preach on Saturday night on the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire, and you're gonna receive your prayer language.
But I want you to pray for it and ask God. So he's praying like 3 days. And and sure enough, we get up to preach. Nobody lays hands on him. The power of God comes in the room, and he goes, God, I'm ready.
And then he just busts out, begins to pray in the Holy Spirit. He comes into the hotel room. He goes, man, you weren't joking, man. I got it. God answered my prayer.
Right? Texts me every day. He's texting me on the airplane. Hey, man. You better know.
I'm gonna be at your house on Monday when you get home. Like, so he's family. Right? That's Caden. And then and then once Caden got situated, I began to pray.
And this is how we're gonna pray today. Said, God, send me the next 1. Now I don't recommend this movie to everybody, but there's a movie called Hacksaw Ridge. I don't think I can watch it again. It was intense.
Right? Watched it when it first came out. And his was, Lord, just give me 1 more. Our approach to evangelism is, Lord, just "give me the next" 1. That is so manageable.
It's so practical, and it's so easy. Not not I I need a field with a 100,000 people on it, or I need another big event. No, Lord. Just give me the next 1. So so cadence set.
He's good. I begin to cry out, God, give me another cadence. I'm ready for another cadence. Lord, send me another 1. If you wanna pray God's heart, pray that he'll give you somebody to disciple.
He will answer that prayer. And so we go out, and and we're leaving another mall, Hewlett Mall. It's hot in Texas, so we're doing indoor *evangelism* at the moment. So we're we're leaving the mall, and I this guy catches my eye named Colton. I walk over to him in a matter of 10 minutes.
He's crying. The power of God's there. He's *born again* on a Wednesday. Thursday, he's sitting at Belong. Right?
He's instantly a part of our family. Like he's so in, it's wild. He's texting me yesterday on the airplane, man, can't wait for you to get back home, can't wait to be at church on Sunday. He wrote me the next week and he said he said this. He said, I've never cried this much nor had this much joy.
He said, the day that you met me, I was contemplating suicide, and I was thinking about relapsing on drugs. You were an answer to my prayer. Come on. Colton's good. Right?
When I'm gone, Joel's been doing a great job. Colton didn't know he he didn't know chapter and verse in the Bible. So I was like going, and 1 of our guys says, hey, slow down. And then he took about 10 minutes to just explain the Bible to him. This is this is the Bible.
This is the Old Testament, the New Testament. Here's the chapters here. And he's just like holding the first Bible he's ever had. I was in in Woodland, Washington. We were building out a new believers group, and it was a very cold and wet day in in Washington.
And I'll never forget, the team was leaving, and we have a big van, like a big 15 passenger van. And I'm like, okay, they're leaving. I gotta get them out there, but this this table caught my eye. And so I'm like, you guys ever had those moments where you like try to ignore something, but then you're like, if I don't go back. So I I go out to the van, I turn it on, I get the heaters on, I tell everybody I'll be right back.
I go back into the restaurant, and this is about a year year and so ago. And this guy named Roger, I I say to him, he's got his 2 kids. I said, hey, man. This might sound crazy, but as I was leaving the restaurant, I had an overwhelming compassion for your family. I had to come back and tell you that Jesus loves you.
He stands up from the table and he hugs me. He's he's a tough looking guy, construction worker. He just hugs me. He said, this is crazy, man. God spoke to me 2 weeks ago and told me to bring my kids to him.
That was a Thursday. An hour and a half later, he's at our church at Belong. He has not missed a Belong since. He has a son named Allen who's 7 and a half years old, which is 1 of our youngest disciples. He is on fire.
He's like the Belong mascot back home in Washington. He doesn't go to he doesn't go to kids' church. He he goes to big people's church because he wants to, and he sits there with his Bible. He's like super attentive. I just last weekend, I was back in Washington State.
And I walk into the church, and here comes Alan just running. Just hugs me. Oh, "mister Chris", I'm so glad that you're here. I've been telling people about Jesus at school. Right.
There's Roger after church on Sunday. We take Roger and Alan. Oh, man. This will mess you up. This stuff will mess you up.
Take them out to lunch. They're just sitting there, and and Roger begins to tell me, man, he's like, I'm so thankful that you came to Washington for 8 months. I get what you say, man. You came to Washington for me and my family. I know you came here for me.
My life is completely changed. It took him over 12 weeks. Roger, over 12 weeks to be born again. He was in Belong for 12 weeks. I'm like, I don't think he gets it.
Like he might have heard God speak, but he I don't think he gets it. He's he's talking about some crazy Q1 stuff, and he needs to be delivered. You might need to be delivered too. Come talk to me. Stay out of weird rabbit holes of conspiracy and read your Bible.
Amen? Stay out of weird rabbit holes of conspiracy and read your Bible and get off of YouTube. Do you know that they know how to make money on your fear? They're selling fear, and some of us are taking the bait. Not me.
"I'm gonna fulfill" the great commission. I'm gonna cast out demons. I'm gonna attempt to raise the dead. Had a few close calls. Right?
Gonna heal the sick, see people come to know Jesus. I'm not gonna get distracted over here. I'm gonna keep my eyes on what Jesus has called us to do. So Roger and Alan, a great story. I'm gonna share 1 more.
You guys want 1 more? These are my people. Like Paul says, you know, Paul's crowns were the people that he led to the Lord. So when it talks about getting to heaven and laying the crowns before the throne, I think part of that is laying all the people at the feet of Jesus that you had a part to play in. I mean, how amazing is it gonna be that day when I when I say, here's here's Alan and Roger, Lord.
Here they are. I'm so glad I was obedient and listened to your voice that day in Washington. Okay. Here, over here's Nahum and and his family. That 1 act of obedience brought this and okay.
Let me show you. Like these people are my crowns. They're my joy. It's what I pray about. It's what I think about.
It's it's like anybody raise kids? I've got a bunch of full grown kids. And when you have kids, you think about kids, and you're praying for your kids. If you don't have a prayer life, just have a family and have some kids. Right?
If you wanna have a prayer life, just start making disciples. Can I hear an amen? Amen. Back in the back row, Daniel and Ashley, you understand what I'm talking about. So last story.
There was 1 day we prayed like we're about to do here in a moment. And and when we prayed, we we said, okay, Lord, speak to us. And and we heard different things. 1 of the people on my team heard boat dock. Another person heard restaurant.
Another person heard, and this is weird, devils no, heard elbow Herd elbow. So we're like, boat dock, restaurant elbow. Like, I'm a really pretty logical guy. I'm like, this makes no sense. Let's just go preach the gospel.
Anyway, we get in the car and somebody pulls up a map and they're like, look at this. A boat dock is here. A boat dock with a restaurant and and this part of, I don't know if it was a canal, whatever it is, it's called Devil's Elbow. This is the this is the spot. We drive like 25 minutes.
Traffic here is terrible. It's just stop and go. I'm like, let's just remove all of the stop lights, Just have a free for all. You basically call that Pakistan. Right?
Okay. It doesn't work. Let's keep the street lights. So so we go out to this place. When we pull up, there's Rashad.
I'm like, that's our guy. I jump out of the car. I try to calm myself down. Because you don't just wanna run up on somebody, but you're like, the Lord set this up. So I go over.
I'm kinda calmed down. I'm like walking in. Right? I begin to share with him. He's like, hey, I'm almost late to work.
Let me go ask for more time. I'm thinking I'm not gonna see this guy again. He goes in, comes back out. He goes, share with me. He prays to be born again.
I think 6 to 8 weeks, I forget the testimonies in the book. 6 to 8 weeks we reach out to him. Finally, we get a hold of him. And he comes to church, and then he comes to belong. The last person that our team baptized before we left was Rashad.
When he came about the water praying in the Holy Spirit, he goes, this is powerful, "trembling under the power" of God. I texted Rashad this morning at 05:45. I kinda forgot what time it was. And he's coming to church tomorrow. Why?
Because he's family. You'll you'll see him tomorrow. He's what I it's it's incredible. That's long lasting fruit. That's what we're going for.
That's what we're looking for today. So if you go out and you have 4 or 5 meaningful conversations, and and and you meet with somebody, and and and they're not quite ready, like, hey, would you like to, you know, believe in Jesus? Well, know, I I have some I have some questions and I don't really know where I stand. Well, could would you like to meet next week and have coffee? I'll buy you a coffee.
Right? We we don't we're not just trying to get people's arms behind their back and put a knife to their neck and say, say a prayer. Right? We're following the Holy Spirit, and we're gonna step into divinely set up encounters because we're gonna have the dial tuned on, and we're gonna see **disciples** be made today. Is that exciting?