SMSS with Pastor Jeff Shipley (Date: January 17th 2021)

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Guys, sin is wearing some of you flat out.
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Anxiety, depression, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Because you know, if you're a born -again
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Christian, you're in a fat -slimmed state, and you can't figure out why you're not sinning.
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Totally. I remember when I took a seminary the semester that I went, they gave me a book called
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Evangelism That Works. They told me to write a paper on it.
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Well, this is what I wrote. I wrote to Professor Michael something, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, blah, blah, blah, blah.
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You know those weird things in college like wasting an entire sheet of paper. The tree -hugging professors make you waste an entire sheet of paper to list out to whom the paper is written to.
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But you're turning it in to them. But anyways, I wrote this simple paragraph. Evangelism does not work.
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The Holy Spirit of God works through God's people. That's evangelism.
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Thank you, son, I appreciate you. Y 'all gonna have to watch me get dressed. And there are three types of evangelism, and that's what
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I want us to look at today. Hey!
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There are three types of evangelism that we do here. There are three types.
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Now, this is not exhaustive. This is not the only way or anything like that.
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These are just three types that we identified years and years ago of evangelism.
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I'm gonna turn this off. Hello? All right.
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Guys, three types. Number one is pulpit evangelism. That's what I'm doing right now.
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Now, that pulpit evangelism is both mass evangelism and teaching.
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That's what we do here on Sunday mornings.
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But this isn't just here. We do it in Sunday school. We do it on Wednesday night Bible studies.
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We do all of that. That is a pulpit -style evangelism. As many of y 'all know, that's not just me.
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The second one is planned evangelism. And that's what, like, our SOG ministry that Pastor Josiah and Hannah and Evan are in charge of.
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It is a planned mass evangelism in which you get a certain demographic.
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Like, our food pantry is a type of evangelism, or it should be. Our door -to -door, our revivals, our mission trips, those are all planned evangelism.
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Now, we do the first one and the second one really well. But the pastor has messed up over the years.
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And we have let the peer evangelism kind of sit on the back row. And that's what we're gonna do this year is we're gonna bring that one up forward.
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That third one, that peer evangelism, is where we as individuals, we as individuals maybe in a corporate mindset, but we as individuals do evangelism slash discipleship.
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Now, at the end of this service, you're gonna have an opportunity to do peer evangelism.
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Because here's what I don't want anymore. I don't want anymore church services. I hate church services.
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You cannot hold a church service. The church can serve, but there's no such thing as a church service.
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When we're at the invitation, mature Christians, this has been going here for 20 years. If you're sitting there, holding the back of the chair, looking at that stupid screen, repeating words, waiting for the service to be over, you are failing in peer evangelism.
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I'm telling you, in this room, the field is white with harvest. There are people in this room that are not
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Christians, but there are a lot of people in this room who are Christians who need mentorship and discipleship.
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One of the best examples of this, where's Redhead? Where is he?
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There he is. Look at Carlos. He's so cute. Come on, stop. I'm moving in.
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See, you got a Puerto Rican ministering to a Guatemalan or Honduran.
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Whatever. They speak Mexicanese to each other, okay? And they are...
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Every time I see Carlos, I see Christian. Every time I see Christian, I see Carlos. And I see
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Christian doing this weird thing. He has established a relationship with this young man and is teaching him the
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Word of God, but it's not just the Word of God. He's teaching him how to be a young man. See, it's a two -for -one thing.
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That is peer evangelism. Now, I want to ask every believer in this room.
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I want to ask you, who is your Timothy, to use the church term, who is the person you are peer evangelizing for disciples?
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Because that is the crux of what we're doing here today. And if you say, well, I'm doing that with my kids.
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Great, you get a Bucky Bieber badge. But go outside of your family. What about people who's at work?
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Man, I used to work as a hydraulics mechanic in Wyoming. And these guys were curmudgeons.
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And, man, they used to make fun of me when I would sit down at lunchtime and do my Bible study. And within a year, there were like nine of them sitting around that table asking me questions.
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Now, granted, there were always questions like, well, is that a Christ? You know, there were questions like that.
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But it opened up the door for me to be able to do peer evangelism. Now, what is the need?
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Turn with me to Matthew chapter 9. And we're going to look at the need. Then we're going to look at the call.
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We're going to look at the need. And then we're going to look at the call. Matthew chapter 9, starting at verse 35.
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It says this, Then Jesus went to the towns and villages.
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Now, notice it says he went to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.
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When he saw the crowds, he felt compassion for them because they were weary and worn out like sheep without a shepherd.
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Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few.
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Therefore pray to the Lord at the harvest to send workers into his harvest.
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There's a need, guys. There's a need. And I want you to look at that need just for a second.
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Number one, we need in peer evangelism, listen to me, Christians, this isn't just a sermon.
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This isn't just a check mark that you make to church. Christians, this should be a litmus test of how mature you are in Christ.
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Right? If you pat yourself on the back that you came to worship this morning, great, you're in the first grade.
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Now, let's matriculate. Let's no longer just need milk. Let's need meat for our spiritual growth.
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And that meat is, in whose life are you investing? The need is all.
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Now, I want you to look around here today. Listen to me. Everyone's going to look at me.
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Everyone, look around. Break that little personal space barrier just for a second.
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Look at this place. You have an overwhelming majority of our congregation is under the age of 30.
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An overwhelming majority of our congregation. I've got like six old people.
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That's it. Well, and Teresa and Tim. But other than that, I have a very small seat.
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You know what that means? That means we have got so much discipleship need in this room.
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Guys, it's to all. Notice it says he went to all the towns and villages.
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Here's what a lot of Christians do sometimes. They want to disciple someone that mirrors their values or personalities.
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And that's why you go through life never ministering to anyone. Because you think, they won't listen to me.
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I don't have a voice with this person. I'm here to tell you today, I don't care whether someone has red hair, blue hair.
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I have a police officer who has his tongue pierced. Back in my day, that was just, he needed a beating.
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Guys that can pierce their left is right, right is wrong. Now we've got people who pierce tongues.
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I'm not going to say who it is. Justin. But, if they don't look like you, guess what?
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It doesn't matter. Because Christ's command by example and word is that we are to go to all of them.
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And I'm not talking about knocking on doors in the housing projects. That's not what
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I'm talking about. I'm talking about in this room. Who are you discipling in this room?
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I'm telling you. Brother Jeremiah, Pastor Josiah and a lot of the other staff. Man, our group is going to be worn out.
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We need some help. We need some help back. Guys, and here's another thing.
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I don't disciple young girls. It makes me feel icky. You know, because they usually ask the question that makes me feel icky.
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I need some more chicks. I need a lot more chicks. Guys, you have to minister to all of them.
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Look with me in verse 11 of chapter 9. It says when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, read the scriptures.
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Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?
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Here's what basically Jesus said. Is there another kind? Is there another kind of person you can talk to besides a sinner?
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I don't know one. Because I'm a licensed ordained pastor of a Southern Baptist church, sort of.
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And I'm just as much a sinner as anyone in this room. And the same spirit of God that's in me is the same spirit of God that's in you.
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So what is keeping you from going to all? They looked at Jesus.
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They didn't understand. Jesus is supposed to be rabbi, teacher. He's supposed to be the upper crust, right?
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And yet he is sitting with the outcasts of society and with people they consider sinners.
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Here's what Jesus' answer was. It's real simple. A sick person needs a doctor.
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A well person doesn't. I came to the sick. We're going to get to more of this in a second. But the reality is this.
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One of the key aspects of discipleship is being open and honest with someone to let them know how sick they are.
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And here's the reality. You know how you do that? Not by pointing your finger at them. But by holding up the scar tissue of your own life from where you have failed.
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But see, we don't want to do that either. Because we want to be that Christian. We want to be that Christian.
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How are you doing? Oh, I'm blessed indeed. While I'm struggling today, I'll pray for you.
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And as long as you got a good, happy feeling from the worship songs. And as long as the temperature was just right.
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And as long as no one hurt your feelings because your pastoral dish was that disgusting.
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You had a great day at church today. And accomplished absolutely nothing.
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Let me say that to you again. Guys, you know that I am not a disciple of you right now?
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This is not ministry. This is me preaching a sermon. Andrew up here.
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Doing this. These choir people. Mike on the bass. Miss Carla. God bless her name.
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I have to say that every time I say amen now. Playing the piano. That's not ministry, guys.
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God has angels that do that. That's not ministry. Ministry is me going, hey baby, how are you doing?
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How's Katie? How can I minister to you? How can I help you? That's ministry.
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Guys, we need to go to all. Second thing is notice where Jesus went to teach.
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When we say all, sometimes, I remember I used to take this church group frequency. And the only people, we used to go to malls and everywhere else.
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Hand out trash and see how many places we get thrown out. But it was funny. All the little
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Christian kids and young adults that went. They always wanted to look for people who had tattoos.
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They always wanted to look for the people with the red hair or the blue hair. Or the pierced tongues.
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That's who they thought needed Jesus. Notice where Jesus went to find the people who needed Jesus.
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It says he went to every village and town. And he went to their, say it with me, synagogues.
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He went to the churches. Ten years ago, we had a decision to make.
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And here's the thing, it didn't sit well. Most of the people that were here when I got here are no longer here.
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They're no longer here. Blessed be the next. And here's why.
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About ten years ago, we had a choice. We had a negotiation going on with a company who wanted to buy this property.
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And they were willing to pay $2 .7 million for this property. Now, I had a vision from Jesus.
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I'm going to be honest with you, I was asleep one night. And he woke me up out of my sleep. And he said, Jeff, he always adds a vowel to my name when he talks to me.
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He said, Jeff, I need you to sell that property for $2 .7 million. And God's going to bless you.
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And God has called you to the promised land. Houston, Lennon needs a 14th church on its road.
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Oh, there's not enough gospel being preached on Houston, Lennon. Go ye therefore to Houston, Lennon.
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And go ye therefore. Because K -M -L and I -N -T need another middle class white church to go right out there.
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Because there's so many inside the 2 -4 group. And I said,
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Lord. And I realized that Lord was the comfort of body
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Christianity. Not the Lord of Hosts. See, because God put us on this corner.
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This corner. Amongst what many law enforcement areas or law officials that I've talked to have said is one of the worst areas in Memphis.
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I personally don't see that. I don't think this area is that bad. I mean, you know, it ain't kind of ill.
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But dang, it's not that bad. It ain't like we have to drive. Boy, we did have one. But it's just one.
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We did have one in our house, yeah. We had some guys drive by and open up the
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ARs at a gangster's house across from our house. That happens everywhere. Yeah, it does, man.
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It does. It's just. But here's the thing. God has placed us here.
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And I'm going to tell you what. Ten years ago, I made a decision in my own life. I took off my suit and tie that I wore every
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Sunday. I took off my suit. I changed my entire preaching style. I changed everything about this place.
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Much to the chagrin. I did it quietly. I didn't make a big fanfare. But here's why.
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If we're going to stay here, we've got to mimic and reach the community that we have here.
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Right? Because, see, when I was sequencing a suit and tie, people would come to the door because they thought
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I was the police. Right? Well, a large white guy shows up in a suit and tie at the front door.
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He either drove his way this way or he showed up the counter. He wanted to. Trust me. I know what that voice sounds like.
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Show up the counter! He was usually from my mom. But guys, we've got to come to a place where we realize that the most need for discipleship is in the churches of the
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United States of America. I'm telling you. Mark my words on this. Mark my words on this.
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Guys, do you realize that in churches all over the United States today, there are people sitting there yawning with their head cocked to the side while listening to their phone?
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And, yes, that was intentional. And you're going to leave here just as stupid as you were when you walked in.
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Just as stupid. Because you have no desire to learn. And the reason you don't have a desire to learn, sometimes, is because you're used to learning.
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I know. We got you, baby. We got you. We got you. Where did
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Trump go to the city we just did? Parsons. Parsons. Parsons.
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The example that validates my point. So, guys, what I'm saying is this.
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What you've got to see is that the mission field is not just outside these doors. It's sitting right here.
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How did y 'all do in Sunday school this morning? Look around. Y 'all look around.
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Okay. Where were the rest of y 'all at? Huh? Did someone actually come up with a plausible excuse?
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In bed. Or taking care of squirrels. I can tell you how to take care of squirrels.
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A little gnarly, a little man -child. But listen. Listen to me for a second.
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Guys, you can't develop a relationship with people sitting here listening to me for 30 minutes.
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Yup. Watch this. Now, we're going to start something new here at Wyden Baptist Church. We're going to start something new.
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At the end of the preaching, what we're going to do, Pastor, you're going to have to help me on this, is we're going to have a moment to apply what we learned.
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Like, if someone needs to get saved, then maybe you stand down here in front.
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Can you do this now? Can you stand down in front? And we'll have the requested music playing in the background to break up the awkward silence so that it'll be more palatable for you because Jesus had that as he was walking down the
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Via Dolorosa. Did y 'all catch that deal, Jeff? That was pretty cool. So, we're going to have that time.
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And if you need Jesus Christ, you can come down here. If you need to join a church, you can come down here.
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But, here's something else we can do. You can actually talk to someone sitting next to you.
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Wait a minute. Hold on. Just as I'm going to sing this song,
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I've sat at a Southern Baptist church on the door and did nothing,
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God except me. Oh, I can sing with the church recording.
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Why not? Christi lives on. Guys, listen to me.
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Teaching in the synagogues, let's take an opportunity today to do something different.
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And for those of you that grew up in church, reverence has never been silence in Scripture.
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Right? Worship has never been silence. Ministry is always obedience and obedience is always ministry.
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Do something today for the love of God. Or, leave the place the same way you walked in.
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Good and all. The need is for everyone. All. The need is for all, including those that are in the establishment.
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Let me switch on the background after the call because we're running out of time. Here's the call. There are three characteristics to those whom
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God calls. The first one is this. You've got to have some compassion.
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Compassion. Look here in Scripture. Jesus went to all the towns and villages, teaching in the synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and handling every disease and sickness.
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When he saw the crowds, he felt... How was worship today?
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Oh, it was awesome. We had the dry ice machine, the band rockin' in there, the pastor was all point and skinny jeans.
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Are these skinny jeans? Dang it. Well, they're tight. I can tell you that.
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I think it was from all the naive potatoes I ate last night. They were tight. Anyways. Guys, here's a young couple
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I talked to. And they said this. Well, I'm more comfortable at this church.
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And it's one of those one -name churches like Abundance or Fresh Living Fire, New Wave, whatever.
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And I asked them, I asked them, How many people you got going to church over there?
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Oh, we got about 800. Oh, cool. I'm sure you need more help. Thanks for going over there.
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That's cool. We don't need help here. Where's your compassion?
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Here's what most people equate with compassion today. It's called comfort.
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You're training the call of God and the compassion of your heart for the comfort of what you want and desire.
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In other words, you bougie. You all bougie. Bougie, whatever.
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You ain't Fresh Fire. If it's matters, you bougie. Guys, where's your compassion?
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Look at what Jesus saw. It says when he saw them, he felt compassion. And it tells us because.
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Hey, up here, visit tomorrow, focus today. Compassion for them because they were weary and worn out.
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Guys, sin is wearing some of you flat out.
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Anxiety, depression, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. It's because you're a born again
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Christian living in a backslidden state and you can't figure out why you're not feeling good.
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Because the Holy Spirit of God is taking a residence in your life and he's telling you to go right and like a two -year -old, you keep going left.
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Don't touch that TV. Don't touch that hot stove. Or here's the other thing.
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Here's the other thing. Not only are you living in sin, but here's the other part. Some of you are trapped in a state of legalism where you can never measure up to what you think
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God wants and requires in your life because you were brought up in a system where religion was brought to the forefront and the
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Word of God was put on the back burner and you never can measure up. Some of you still see
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God looking at you like your father. How many times will
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I go and tell you when God looks at you, this is your mindset, he looks at you and he goes, you're worthless.
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They were weary and worn out. And the weary and worn out folks he found were in the synagogues, not in bars.
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Because they had been taught by a religious pharisaical elite who in their self -righteous mindset couldn't understand why
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Jesus was eating the sinners. And the opposition there was, and the juxtaposition there was, obviously they're a sinner and that by default implies that I am not.
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I'm not kidding you people. I'm not kidding you. The secret sins that you do in your own private life, some of you young men in here, when you're married, when you go to work, you know the pretty blonde receptionist walks by and suddenly you do this.
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Well, pretend like this, I just went in and I actually had a chest. Guys, when you're sitting around and you know boys come up and they say, there you go.
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Alright, this blonde walks into a bar and you ruin your testimony?
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You're that. But you were never so quick as to look at someone else and go,
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I cannot believe her. Man, look at those homosexuals. Look at those chicks who have an abortion.
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But here's why your heart's so untroubled is because you have not repented yet you're looking at everybody else.
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I have an old Christian who goes to church here. He asked me this question.
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Pastor, why do women take so much time in their meditation? Why can't they get their lives right?
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Y 'all have compassion. The second thing you gotta have is a woman. Listen to me.
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I told one of my two daughter -in -laws, one of the frustrating things when you are bred, it's in his
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DNA. He's gonna go, go, go, go, go. If you are a low energy person, you're gonna get frustrated, insecure.
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Guys, Pastor Josiah works about 45 hours at his secular job.
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He works here part -time. Do you know what his hours here on a part -time basis are? 35.
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26 -year -old kid with a kid and another kid on the way works 75 hours a week.
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That's about right. I did it. I did it. Here's what a lot of people say.
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Man, I work all week. I ain't got time for church stuff. I ain't got time for church stuff.
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Guys, you ain't got it. If you are not involved in ministry here, you aren't good enough.
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Your presence is not required by man. Your work ethic is required by God.
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And notice what it says. You gotta go to them. They don't get to come to you. You gotta go to the harvest.
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And it's right now. Early in Matthew, Jesus told him,
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He said, Do not wait for four months and say, Look, the harvest is white. For I tell you, it's right right now.
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We need help right now.
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Right now. You want to have a tough job? Try being my personal assistant.
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Guys, I have 30 council appointments a week. I write four sermons and or lectures a week.
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Plus, I have a myriad of phone calls. She has got to organize all of that.
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Then when she's done doing that, she cleans the entire church. Now I find out on Wednesday, she's coming back up here and working in the mosque ministry.
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That's the level of calling for your membership in the family of almighty
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God. You've got to work. Last thing, and I promise you, I'm done. Here's the toughest part about being a
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Christian. It's the toughest word ever. It's not holiness because we've already been made holy by being separated from the penalty of sin.
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Here's the toughest part. Y 'all ready? You ready? Oh, baby. Man, if I could just simply love
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God and my relationship with God and between me and God. Here's what some of you dorks continue to say.
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And yes, I did just call you a dork. Well, I do worship God in my own time.
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My relationship with God is private. It's between me and God. I will pay you $100 right now to be a very self -righteous idiot, if you can find me that anywhere in the scripture.
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Your relationship with God is private. Go ye therefore and teach on all.
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And that's possibly Greek. Guess what it means in English? All. Go to work.
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Some of y 'all are still focused on you're going to be obeying. I'm not going to look at pornography this week.
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There's a round of applause. You're going to spend the rest of your life on the stigma of simply just not doing anything makes you obedient to God.
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It's not a zero -sum game, you guys. It's not the vacuum that exists in the absence of sin.
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It's what you fill it with in service to Almighty God. In fact, I will tell you, you will keep going back to the filth because the vacuum has not been filled by the calling that God has on your life.
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You want accountability in your life? You want some accountability? Lead people to Christ.
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Lead people on a daily basis. Let them all live in your life.
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Hey guys, if you're struck with alcoholism, here's a great way to help you with it.
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Open your home to about 20 young Christians on Bible study six nights a week and find time to go to the bar.
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Find time to go to the bar. Uh -huh. Guys, you know how to stay strong?
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You obey the calling of the gospel of Jesus Christ and you end up every night like an empty tube of toothpaste, drained and squeezed out.
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But there's not a softer pillow to sleep on. There's not a more restful night's sleep for a mind who's tired of staying with Jesus Christ.