You are called to step out of your comfort zone and share your faith in the everyday moments of your life. Embrace the cost of discipleship knowing that your obedience brings joy to Jesus, even when it feels difficult. Surrender your life completely to Him today and watch how He transforms the world through you.
How y'all doing this morning? Good? Good. Come on. I am very excited for, getting to share right now.
I've been wanting to come to Real Church for quite some time. And so, I'm excited for this, but I'm very excited for what the fruit of this make disciples event is going to be. That's what I'm excited for. I'm excited to see what's gonna happen all over this region because you guys are getting tools that can transform not just a city and a state, but the entire world. I want you to think about this.
Look around really quick at everyone in this room. Alright. 3, 6, 9. Alright. If if if we just took pastor Courtney and Trip right here, put them over here, a group this size changed the entire world.
None of us would be sitting in this room if it wasn't for a group this big. Look at the size of this room. Look at the size of it. If we were all just obedient, the world will be transformed. If we all I'll be honest with you.
We could stop the entire make disciples event right now just based on what pastor David shared. And if you clung to the things he shared, the world would be changed. Being really honest with you guys, if we would just get outside of ourself, the world would change. That's all the Lord's looking for. Who will get outside of themselves and get into me?
That's all he's looking for. Who's gonna "get out of the way" and let me change the world through them? That's all he needs. He will change the world through your life if you'll get out of the way, if I will get out of the way. He really will.
And I'm excited to see the fruit that's gonna come of this today. And the "rubber meets the road" tomorrow, though. On Monday, and Tuesday, and Wednesday, and Thursday, and Friday next week. When you're at the supermarket, and you're burnt out and you're tired and you've had a hard morning, your kids were driving you up the wall, you and your spouse are a little disconnected, you're feeling introverted, and you're at the market and you're grabbing that gallon of milk, and the Lord says, hey, go share with that person right there. And you're like, oh, come on.
No. That's where the rubber meets the road. That's just reality. Right? Let's just be real.
It's really easy in a room like this. It's really easy when we go out on outreach just a little bit, and you have a team of people, and you're pumped up, and we've been talking about it, and we're doing it. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, when life sets in. How many know life is real, and life is not always easy? Most of the time, it's not easy at all.
Okay? But it's in those moments, those are the defining moments. Those are the defining moments. You will be marked today, but the greatest marking that takes place is a week from now when no 1 else is around. It's just you by yourself having a hard day maybe, and the Lord whispers to your heart.
That will be your defining moment. And you get to choose in that moment, will I get out of myself and into the Lord or not? It's the truth. But I have good news for you. If you will say yes in that moment, in that defining moment, when the pressure's on, when there's some fire, when the last thing you wanna do is talk to a stranger and the stranger the Lord's telling you to talk to looks a little scary, If you will say yes, you will "never be the same".
I promise you, you will never be the same. Because it's a defining moment. It takes 1 time, and you will never be the same. From that day forward, it will always get easier. It'll always get easier.
Doesn't mean it's not always gonna be a challenge. To this day, and I'm just gonna be really honest with you, and I'm not tooting my horn here. What is that? Looks like a anyways, but I'm not tooting my horn. I I pretty much, I would say, 95% of the time that I leave my house, I'm not even talking for ministry purposes or going on outreach, I share my faith with someone.
Even if it's just Jesus loves you or can I pray for you for anything? I share my faith. And to this day, I still, almost every time I walk into a grocery store go, I don't wanna share with anyone, Lord. Not always like that. Sometimes I'm like, alright, let's find someone.
But most of the time, I'm just being really real with you. My flesh doesn't wanna share. My flesh doesn't wanna do it. Just like pastor David said, he's on his walk and he's like, no. I just wanted to have a quiet prayer shopping moment and just be with the Lord.
Nope. But it's gotten to the place now to where I know if I'll step outside of myself and I'll say yes to the whisper, a life will be transformed. And even if that person rejects me, there's never an unfruitful rejection. Everyone say that. There's never an unfruitful rejection.
Never. Because even if they reject me, it ministered to me. Because I said no to myself and I said yes to him. And Jesus said in the beatitudes, he said, blessed are you when they persecute you, and revile you, and reject you, and speak evil about you for my name's sake. Blessed are you.
There is never an unfruitful rejection. So if we will be obedient to this thing, the world will be changed. But the obedience today, it's wonderful. And I'm believing everyone in the room is gonna be obedient to the call that we're talking about today, and you're gonna use the tools. But it's really next week is when it's all gonna kick in, okay?
All right. Second Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 17 through 20. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.
Now all things are of God who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. Everyone say, the ministry of reconciliation. That is that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ. As though God were pleading through us, we implore you on Christ's behalf.
Be *reconciled* to God. I want you to know today that loving the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength is laying down your life for what he laid down his life for. And he laid down his life for the 1. And loving your neighbor as yourself is loving them enough to share the only gospel that can save them from an eternity without Jesus. I just wanna pray.
*Jesus*, I love you. I love you, Jesus. Lord, I thank you, dad, that you somehow, dad, in the midst of all my screw ups and failures, Lord, you counted me worthy to share this message called the gospel. That somehow, dad, you counted me worthy to stand before this group of your children, of our family, the family of God, Lord, and be able to share this message today. Lord, I thank you for it.
And now I love you, Holy Spirit. I'm asking you, Lord, would you come and move through me, Holy Spirit, and touch lives in this room? I'm asking you, precious Holy Spirit, that a fire, Holy Spirit, come. Holy Spirit, that today, God, there would be a kindling of a flame, Lord Jesus, that Ecclesiastes every person in this room. That they would be driven into the harvest field, dad.
That we would not see people the same after today. That we would see them as you see them, Lord Jesus. Harassed as sheep without a shepherd. And Lord, that compassion, your compassion would rise on the inside. Lord, I ask you today, Holy Spirit, my Lord.
*God*, I love you, Lord. And you've already begin to do it, Lord Jesus. In this church, and through this body, Lord. But I pray, God, Holy Spirit, let it go to another level after today. I ask you in the name of Jesus Christ, father in heaven, Lord, for revival.
Revival in this region. Revival in this state and in this nation, Lord. Lord, we ask you for it. We submit it to you. We trust you.
And we declare you are faithful. We thank you in Jesus name. Amen. Alright. I wanna talk to you guys about our identity as witnesses.
Every person in this room, when we were unsaved, were a witness. Did you know that? We were all witnesses. I don't know what you were witnessing to other people, what you were sharing. Maybe it was pride.
Maybe it was lust. Maybe it was fear. Maybe it was I don't know. But we are all witnesses whether we like it or not. You're a witness.
But when you got born again, you became a witness for a person. His name is Jesus. And whether you like it or not, you're still a witness. But you've been born again, and you can either be a witness for Jesus now, or you can be a witness for the world. Before Christ, you didn't have the option of being a witness for him.
Now you do. But you have an option. You can be a witness for him, or you can be a witness for the world. It's completely up to you. The bible doesn't say that we we give a witness.
The bible says that we are a witness. And if we are it, that means it has to do with our identity. You you may say, what what's the difference between giving a witness and being a witness? If I give a witness, that means I can turn it off when I want to. But if I am a witness, that means I can't turn it off because it's who I am.
And I've become a witness for Christ. And I want you to know today that I'm just as much of a witness on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday as I am on a Sunday. It doesn't turn off because it's who I am. Because I've been born again as a child of God. Like pastor David said, you know you're you're truly full when you're overflowing.
And I overflow because I've been with him, and and that witness just naturally comes out. But the truth is is that we've become witnesses for him. Acts-1:8, New Living Translation. Thank God for the New Living Translation. I love it.
I used to think, was like, oh no, I'm too spiritual for that translation. Now, I've absolutely fallen in love with it. It says, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere. In Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Our mission should be to let our "light shine" for all to see. Our Sunday school teachers had it right the entire time, didn't they? This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. Right? They were trying to get it across to us.
And I thought it was just a little song. Come to find out, it's the way of life that every Christian's supposed to live. Letting our light shine for all to see. Nobody lights a lamp and puts it on a basket. Puts it under a basket.
I'm sorry. But they put it on a lamp stand for all to see. This is the way we are to live our lives. And the light that we shine is Jesus. We are witnesses to Christ's resurrection.
I love that it says this. It says, Jesus said that we would be witnesses starting in Jerusalem and to the ends of the earth. You'll be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. In Judea and to the ends of the earth. But I have news for you.
You're all missionaries. Every single person in this room. You don't have to be in Uganda to be a missionary. You don't have to be in Pakistan. You don't have to be in Iraq.
You don't have to be in another state. You are all missionaries. I'm a missionary because our mission is where our our feet are. And Jesus said that you would be witnesses to his resurrection starting in Jerusalem. Your Jerusalem, I would like to propose to you, is called Clearwater, Florida.
This is Clearwater. Right? We're in right now. Okay. I'm just making sure.
Your personal Jerusalem is called Clearwater or wherever else you're from. Tampa or wherever the k wherever the case may be. That is your personal Jerusalem. And if you will be faithful and you will steward being a witness in your personal Jerusalem, wherever that may be, he'll send you to the ends of the earth. I don't know how that looks.
You may never set foot on a plane. You may never leave this nation. But the Lord will bring the nations to you. Because you've been found trustworthy with this message called the gospel. And he will use you to change the world.
But it all begins wherever your feet are. That's the mission. If our life does not embrace who he says we are as witnesses, even though you love God, even though you may have eternal life in your grasp, you're gonna miss the missional call of God in your life as a born again Christian. Did you know? This is this breaks my heart.
I'd probably say 95% of the body of Christ across the earth, in particular in The United States, is missing the missional call of God on their lives. They're born again. They love Jesus. I'm not saying they're not going up to spend eternity with him, but they're missing the missional call of God on their lives. They're not fulfilling it.
I was a pastor for about 7 years, and I had many conversations with people that would come to me and say, yeah, you know, we we've decided to go to another church now. We just weren't being fed. You know, they just weren't they just didn't there was no meat. And now I laugh. Now I laugh because this is gonna sound so cheesy.
Okay? The meat is in the street. Alright? It's true. They sat in a church service every Sunday and it was all about them.
Me. Me. Me. Me. Me.
Spiritually constipated Christians. And they'll never feel satisfied at the next church they go to either, or the 1 after that, or the 1 after that. Because what their heart actually needs is the missional call of God. That's what their heart's crying out for. They need a they need a release.
Alright? It's what they need. They need to be regular in sharing their faith. We can miss the missional call of God on our life, but love Jesus and be going to heaven. Because we're all called to be on mission, because we're all missionaries.
Because we've all become a witness. And there's a message that's on the inside of every single 1 of us that God wants to release through you. And there is a group of people I will never talk to in my life, only you will. The message I'm sharing with you today, it's not an outreach message. Can we all just squash that right now?
This isn't an outreach event. I can't stand that. I'm sorry. I don't know if you marketed it that way. I love you guys.
You already know my heart. Alright? I can't stand when they when we think, let's give that its own department. Let's put it over here. It's the kinda weird crazy people.
It's the outreach people. This isn't an outreach message. This is just a 1 of the fundamental basic aspects of just being a Christian. Has anyone ever thought why we're on the earth? Why is it that when you and I had our first encounter with the Lord and got born again, it just didn't go poof, And we just get to go be with him.
Maybe there's a reason that we're still here. Maybe it's because the Lord and his long suffering desires that none should perish, and he's waiting for you to get out of your chair and for me to get out of myself and to go and share the gospel with people. Maybe that's why we're here still. Maybe it's more than just knowing him. Maybe it's about making him known too.
This isn't just a message about outreach. This is fundamental, basic truth about our identity, our call, our mission, and the cost of it, and it applies to every single Christian. Period. But the reason it's not preached out of most churches is because the pastor's not doing it. But thank God you have pastors that are doing it.
Thank *God*. You and I have become *witnesses for Christ*. It's become part of our identity as *disciples of Christ*. And in this identity as witnesses, there is a call, there is a commission, and there is a cost. I wanna talk to you about the call.
Turn in your Bibles to Matthew-4:18-20. I believe pastor David already touched on this a little bit. And Jesus walking by the Sea Of Galilee saw 2 brothers, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, his brother casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. Then he said to them, follow me and I will make you **fishers of men**. They immediately left their nets and followed him.
I want you to know today that that original call has never changed. I work for a ministry called 30 third company. And it's our, what we call it, our slogan, I guess you call it. Right? The original call has never changed.
And it's true. He still says, come and follow me and I will make you fishers of men. He didn't say, come and follow me and I'll make you the best worshiper. Though that happens. Come and follow me.
Alright. And I will I'll make you a bible theologian. Though we love the word of God. Come and follow me. And, you know, I'll make you the You get what I'm saying?
He didn't say that. He said, come and follow me and I will make you what? Fishers of men. What was on his mind? Souls.
Souls were on his mind. That's what's on the Lord's heart right now. It's never changed. He came off of his throne far beyond eternity because eternity is in him. He's not in eternity.
He's the essence of everything. And he left his throne and came to the earth. Why? Because of souls. He hung on a cross with a joy set before him.
Why? Because of souls. You and I have been called to be fishers of men. I'm gonna talk about this a little bit more later, but did you know this that *Jesus* called people who were already working? They were already fishermen casting their nets in the water, working hard.
God is looking for people that are willing to work. He's not looking for the pew warmer. He wants workers. He wants people with a work ethic. A good work ethic.
He wants people that have something and I love this word and our interns heard it so much at the beginning of Jesus here. He wants people with grit. Grit. Because on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday next week when you're at the market and you're not in a good mood, it's gonna take grit. And you're gonna have to grit your teeth and say, oh, alright.
Here I go. Man, I feel awkward, but here I go. Man, this guy is gonna reject me, but here I go. It takes grit. And the Lord is looking for people with grit who have a good work ethic who are willing to put their hand to the plow.
I pray to God you hear what I'm saying right now. We as the body of Christ need to start working. I forget, think it was Corey Russell. I love that man of God. He said something that marked me.
He said, most Christians, they look at the world today, at the political situation, and all the stuff going on in culture, and they're like, oh my gosh, the devil. Man, he's just screwing things up. It's the devil. No, it's it's us. Because we're not doing what we're supposed to be doing.
If we would humble ourselves, if we would fast, if we would pray, if we would be a witness, this world would be transformed. Things would look a lot different. I think a lot of times we have a mindset that everything's written in stone, and it doesn't matter what I do, it's all gonna play out the same way because that's the way God wants it to be. If that was the case, then why did Jesus say, our father in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Why would Jesus have us pray for the will of God** to be done on earth as it is in heaven if it doesn't matter? I wanna propose something to you and you can disagree with me. I'm I'm not afraid of disagreement. Alright.
But God is not in control. He's in charge, but he's not in control. If he was in control, then everything would happen according to his will. But we know that's not the case. We know that's not the case.
Trying to just gauge the age of this audience in here. Alright. But there's someone named Antonio. I'll say his name just because no 1 in here knows him except probably a couple of our Jesus here interns. Jerry, Chris Donald led him to the Lord a couple years back.
Jerry was working with him for a while. When Jerry transitioned back to Florida here, I started working with Antonio. And Antonio is a gentleman in his thirties who's coming out of a transgender lifestyle, drugs, everything else you can think of. And Antonio, with every fiber of his being, is just grasping for freedom. Grasping for freedom.
And he's going through it. You know, he'll text me 1 day, and we'll be texting back and forth. And he's like, Mike, I can't stop doing this. And I won't go into details, but I can't stop sleeping with this person. I can't stop doing this drug.
I can't stop this, this, this, this, this, down the line. And my heart's breaking for him. And he's crying out to God for freedom. And the Lord's done wonderful things in his life. The Lord is working in his life.
Lord, don't let me miss my point where I was going with that really quick. Let me see if I can get back to it. There's something I wanna say on that that was very important. He is gonna choose surrender. Yeah.
Yes. About the will of God**. It's God's will that Antonio will be free from all this stuff. And he's doing his what he knows to do right now, and God has set him free from so much. But in reality, if you knew what was going on in his life, you know it's not the will of God going on in his life.
There's parts of God's will, Antonio's will, and Satan's will. And it is clear as day. As clear as day. And so for us as Christians to sit back and just be like, doesn't matter if I share or not. Whoever's gonna go to heaven is going to heaven.
Whoever's going to hell is going to hell. But you know how much of the body of Christ treats it that way? How lackadaisical, how just like, that's not okay. That's not why we're here. And the Lord is looking for people with grit.
He's looking for people that are willing to work. They're he's looking for people that are willing to take a burden upon themselves, to "bear a burden". Now his yoke is easy, his burden's light. Because we don't do it in our own strength, but he's looking for someone who's willing. *God*'s not looking for more conference attendees.
He's not looking for more faithful church goers. Not more worship leaders. Nothing wrong with any of those things. I want to be a church attender. A faithful 1.
I love conferences. I love worship and I love worship leaders. I wouldn't be standing here if it wasn't for worship leaders that led me into the glory of God, that changed my life in God encounters. But he's looking for workers. Not just people on a Sunday morning who stand with a mic in their hand, but on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at Walmart.
Because that's where the rubber meets the road. The commission. Can I talk to you about the commission? Pastor David touched on this a little bit. I'm gonna touch on this a little bit more tomorrow.
I get to speak with you all tomorrow, which I'm really excited and thankful for. But I just wanna I wanna point this out really quick. The fact that we call it the great commission. You won't you won't find that word in the bible, just so you know. That was a phrase that was coined back in the seventeenth century by a man named Van something, I forget now.
Alright. And then some other just prominent Oh, what's his name? The missionary to China, I believe it was. But I forget his name right now, 1 of the first. He started taking this message and he started using it, this this this phrase, the great commission.
Alright? But I love it because it it it captures the heart of what we're to do. But I I wanna say this, it's the great commission. **Co mission**. This mission is not something that I that you and I do on our own.
It's not something that we do on our own at all. See, the Lord is with us, and and he's working through us and with us. And I would propose to you that nothing's gonna happen without him. If I do this in Mike's strength, and I go out and I try to do this, it's not not nuh-uh. The fruit will not last.
What did Jesus say in John-15? Right? Abide in me and I in you. Apart from me, you can do nothing unless you "abide in the vine". I chose you.
You didn't choose me. I chose you that you would bear fruit, and fruit that would remain. Right? So this is a co mission. And apart from him, I can't do anything.
Secondly, how many did Jesus send them out? 2 at a time. Right? 2 x 2, they went out. This mission should be done within community.
It's meant for a body to gather together and to run after it in unity. And where there's unity, God commands the blessing. It's a commission. So if you're here today and you're like, I'm just afraid. I don't feel like I got what it takes.
Hey, listen. The spirit of God**'s with you. He'll be with you on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. While you're at Walmart, the person sitting next to you is probably gonna be at Target, or they're gonna be in their job doing the same thing. And you guys can come back together on Sunday corporately as the Ecclesia, the body that's called out.
You're gonna come together, and you're gonna encourage each other and be like, can I tell you what happened at Walmart? And they'd be like, can I tell you what happened at Target? And that's how we build each other up, and we run together in this thing called the great commission. *Mark-16:14-20. Later Jesus* appeared to the 11 as they sat at the table, and he rebuked their unbelief and hardness heart because they did not believe those things.
Because they did not believe those who had seen him after he had risen. And he said to them, "go into all the world" and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe. In my name, they will cast out demons.
They will speak with new tongues. They will take up serpents, and if they do drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. So then after the Lord had spoken to them, he was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them.
The Lord working with them. The co mission. And confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen. *Matthew-28:16-20*.
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 on earth has been given to me. Everyone say, all. All.
How much does the devil have? None. Because Jesus has what? All. Amen.
Come on. All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. The great commission is to "preach the gospel" and to make disciples.
To preach the gospel and make disciples. Not just make disciples, Cause there's lots of churches, they do discipleship really well, and no one's preaching the gospel. And then there's some churches, they preach the gospel and they'll go out on outreach, but no one's getting discipled. It's both. We preach the gospel and we disciple.
Goes hand in hand. It's the great commission. And this is how we **destroy darkness** and we seek and save the lost. I'm gonna touch on this tomorrow, so I don't wanna spoil my message for tomorrow. But Jesus was sent for those 2 reasons right there.
To destroy darkness and to seek and to save the lost. And we are on a co mission with Jesus, our big brother, to destroy darkness and to seek and to save the lost. We're here to know him and to make him known. But pastor David already said this, most Christians treat the great commission as the great suggestion. I just wanna bring clarity here.
The command to preach the gospel and make disciples was not just to the 11. I've had people say that before. Well, you know, I think that Jesus was just was talking to the apostles. *1 Peter-3:15 says this, but sanctify the Lord God* in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is within you, with meekness and fear. You're to be a witness.
We're all to be a witness. *Matthew-9:36* through 38, but when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them because they were weary and scattered like sheep who have no shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, the harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray, Pray. Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out to laborers into the harvest.
Who are the laborers we're praying to go out into the harvest? Us. Because if it was just for the the original 12 or 11, however you wanna look at it, they'd just be praying for themselves. There was intended to be more sent out. And as we just read in Matthew-28:19 through 20, the command from Jesus, not the suggestion was, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, son, and holy spirit, teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you.
What did Jesus just command them to do? Go and make disciples of all nations. We're supposed to do the same thing. Equip people to make disciples of all nations. And you can't make a disciple without preaching the gospel.
I guess you could. Probably be more of just a church transplant. Someone else preached the gospel to them, they transplanted to your church, and you were discipling them, that's wonderful. Alright. Why do some Christians treat the great commission like a suggestion?
Because coming to church doesn't have much much of a cost, but preaching the gospel and discipleship does. Like I said earlier, a lot of pastors don't preach what I'm preaching today, what pastor David's preaching, what we're gonna equip you with in just a moment because they're not doing it themselves. Because they're not willing to pay the cost. They're not willing to pay the cost to talk to that person at Publix. They're not willing to pay the cost of being rejected, having someone say a bad word to them.
Oh, no, no, no. I can't handle that. Paul gets beaten with rods, and whipped, and shipwrecked, and you can't take someone saying, get away from me. Can we just laugh at that? I wanna talk to you about the "labor problem".
Rob, am I going to 11:30 or 11:40? Okay. Alright. I wanna highlight something really quick. *Jesus said in Matthew-9, we just read this, but the harvest* is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
Today, you guys are gonna go on an outreach. I want you to think about this. The living *God* who created ever expanding space and every galaxy in it, who lives outside of eternity, he himself said, the harvest is ripe. Now if we were to just put that into a percentage, say there was 10 people you're gonna share with, what do you think the percentage would be? Let's just say it's maybe on the low end, 50%.
5 out of those 10 people are gonna say yes to what you have to say. They may not get born again, but they'll hear what you have to say at least. Alright? I don't know about you, but that encourages me. That means 1 out of 2 people I talk to are gonna hear wanna hear what I have to say.
Does that encourage anyone? Alright. I have news for you. It's way better than that. We have what?
I should know I'm the Jesus, your director. I think we have 14 interns total right now. Had a couple who dropped. Okay? But in the last 7 months, we've seen over 1,500 people make decisions to give their life to Jesus.
1,500. We're not open air preaching with a bullhorn with big crowds of people. We're doing 1 on 1 talking with people at Walmarts, at Targets, door to door, on street corners, in businesses. 1 on 1, 1500 people. We have probably easily over 1000 phone numbers if you combine all of the numbers altogether on our phones.
1 of our interns, Natalie, who's gonna come visit you guys in October for a little while, 1 Tuesday evening, after texting her new believers, she had 87 text messages on her phone she had to respond to. 87. No, thank you. But that's why we say preaching the gospel cost you this much, discipleship will "cost you your life". Robbie's probably gonna say that a little bit more in-depth later.
Alright. But preaching the *gospel* cost you this much. A little bit of, oh, that kinda hurt when they said that to me. They rejected me. Jerry was sharing with me how at Walmart 1 time in Dallas.
Some guy's like, get away from me, I'm gonna try to knock you out. Jerry's like, for telling you that Jesus loves you, and can I pray for you? That's called a demon is what that was. Alright? But but you know, ow, a little bit of sting.
Okay? But what cost you your life is when you gotta respond to 87 people and you've been going all day and you're tired. What costs you your life is when you gotta go and take someone out for coffee and sit down with them and work through stuff going on in their life because it's messy. And then you go do it again after that, and again after that, because the harvest is ripe and the Lord's dropping people in the net. The harvest is way riper than you and I think, and today you're gonna find out how ripe it is.
And do not be discouraged when you get rejected. Don't despise small beginnings because you're gonna reap a harvest if you don't lose heart. We don't have a harvest problem, we have a labor problem. I'm always shocked by how many people are ready to hear what I have to share when I share the gospel with them. Out of sharing with hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people, I can count on 1 hand to how how many times I've had someone say something that was really like, oh, that 1 hurt.
Took a couple days to shake it off. Out of hundreds, most people are willing to listen. And if they're not, they're just like, oh, no, thank you. Hey, that's fine because we're looking for ripe fruit. *Jesus said the harvest* is ripe.
He didn't say go out and try to make the harvest ripe. But we got Christians that do it all the time when they'll stay on street corners and debate at LGBTQ festivals. And it's all about just, I'm just gonna debate with you. Nothing wrong with Christian apologetics. It's it has its place and it's very needed.
Absolutely. All right? But if the fruit's not ripe, why are you gonna spend 3 hours talking to a person when you could have won 20 people to the Lord in that time? The harvest is ripe. Why are you spending time with what's unripe?
There's not a harvest problem, there's a laborer problem. I'm just gonna jump to the cost really quick. I'll say this 1 thing. I have more points on this, but I'm gonna say this. You know else we have a problem with?
We have a "reaping problem". *Jesus says that he has sent us to reap a ripe harvest*. But oftentimes, and and listen, there's a place for humanitarian work. There's a place for these different, expressions of the love of the Lord. Okay?
But if we're going up to unbelievers and strangers and all we're doing is sharing the love of Jesus, but we're never actually giving them the opportunity to be born again and come into the kingdom of God, then what are we doing? What are we doing? I say this and I'm I'm not under shame, but it's something that really bothers my heart still. For years before I I began to step into this ministry of reconciliation, and you'll hear more about this tonight, I'll share some of my testimony. I I I went on many missions trips, spoke to thousands of people, shared with lots of people, saw God do tremendous miracles.
And just to be really honest and transparent with you guys, I never shared the gospel 1 time. I remember being in India and seeing hundreds of people healed. People, paralytics with with, you know, strokes. 1 side completely paralyzed walking away. A girl born mute.
She's 13, 14 years old, speaks for the first time. She never heard the gospel. She got her healing, but she never heard the gospel. And we're praying for people for their need to be healed, and they're walking into hell healed. *Jesus* didn't say go and pray for the sick.
He did in the context of preaching the gospel. Thank you for keeping me on track, iPhone. We have a reaping problem. And we can't just go out and just love people and not love them with the gospel. We have to reap.
And reaping looks like, I'm gonna share this message, then I'm gonna ask you. And we're gonna talk about this in equipping in just a little bit. I'm gonna ask you. I'm gonna give you the opportunity right now to say yes or no. Just yesterday, me and Robbie were walking down by Clearwater Beach yesterday.
Stopped to talk to 2 young men, probably late teens, early twenties. Shared the gospel with them, asked them if they wanna be born again. They both said yes. I re communicated the cost of what they're about to do. 1 of them, right before we're gonna pray, says, actually, wait, I don't think I'm ready yet.
Thank you for being honest. His name was Victor. Thank you. I said to his friend, Liam, how about you? Do you feel like you're ready?
He goes, I feel like I'm ready. Alright. Let's pray. He gets born again. I look back at Victor.
I say, this is the cost and this is the invitation. I read to him, John-3:16 through 18, and I said, listen, this is where you're at right now. You are in a place of condemnation until you give your life to Jesus. And I love you enough to tell you the truth, but I respect you knowing whether you're ready or not because it's not a flippant decision. You are giving your life to the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, and there's an expectation of you to follow him.
And I looked at him in his eyes and I say, I love you and Jesus loves you and he's never gonna stop loving you, But what's your decision? And he says, he took a minute and he goes, I'm not ready yet. I love you. I respect that. Because I'd rather you say no right now and take it serious than make a flipping decision to pray a prayer and then go and live like hell.
But we have to give people the opportunity to say yes or no. We must. That's where the reaping comes in. Last point I want to touch on is the cost. A lot of Christians don't currently embrace the great commission because it has a great cost.
It has a great cost. Some of you today are just barely getting your feet wet wet in this world of sharing your faith. And I'm proud of you, and the Lord is falling off of his throne. He's so excited right now. Okay?
But you're gonna find out. Alright? You're gonna find out there is a cost. There is a cost, all right? David already shared this passage of scripture, but it's, I wish it's 1 in the body of Christ that we talked about more.
*Matthew-16* verse 24 through 25. What's the cost? Then Jesus said to his disciples, if any of you wants to be my follower, is there any followers of Jesus in the room? Okay. You must give up your own way.
**take up your cross** and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. If you're at Walmart and you try to hang on to your life, you'll lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. *Luke-14:25* through 33.
I love Jesus, man, he is savage. Now great multitudes went with him, and he turned and said to them, if anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters. Yes. In his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. He cannot be my disciple.
And whoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you intending to build a tower does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it? Lest after he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying this man began to build and was not able to finish. Or what king going to make war against another king does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with with his 10,000 to meet him who comes against him with 20,000. Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for conditions of peace.
So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple. Hey, that's some heavy words. That's some heavy words. But it's the cost of being a follower of Jesus Christ. The great commission has a great cost, but there's also a great reward.
And I like to say it this way, it's the smile on Jesus' face I feel in my secret place with him. When he says, "good done". "Good job", my faithful servant. Good job, son. I'm proud of you.
You didn't wanna talk to that guy, but you did it anyway because you're obedient to me and you love me. Good job. Good job. The reward is is when you see that new believer for the first time encounter the presence of God and tears run down their face for the first time because of Jesus. "That's your reward".
When you sit down with a new believer and you give them their very first bible, and they say, what's this big number and why is there small numbers? Let me explain. That's your reward. When they call you on the phone and they say, you're not gonna believe this. I was in my car, I had that worship song on you sent me.
And I I I felt God's presence. That's your reward. Because you feel the pleasure of Jesus in that moment. And you've endured your *cross* to get to that point. That's our reward.
I want everyone just to stand for a moment. I want you to close your eyes. I'm gonna ask you 1 question. It's a very simple question, but it's a very important question. Just close your eyes right now.
What would your life look like if it was **completely surrendered** to God? What would your life look like if it was "completely surrendered to God"?