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

Guys, sin is wearing some of you flat out. Anxiety, depression, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Because you know, if you're a born-again Christian, you're living in a fat-slim state and you can't figure out why you're not sinning.

I remember when I took a seminary the semester that I went, they gave me a book called Evangelism That Works. And they told me to write a paper on it. Well, this is what I wrote. I wrote to Professor Michael something, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, blah, blah, blah, blah.

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. But you're turning it in to them.

Anyways, I wrote this simple paragraph. Evangelism does not work. The Holy Spirit of God works through God's people. That's evangelism. Thank you, son. I appreciate you. Y 'all are going to have to watch me get dressed.

Three Types of Evangelism

And there are three types of evangelism. And that's what I want us to look at today. There are three types of evangelism that we do here. There are three types. Now, this is not exhaustive. This is not the only way or anything like that.

These are just three types that we identified years and years ago of evangelism. I'm going to turn this off. Hello? All right. Guys, three types. Number one is pulpit evangelism. That's what I'm doing right now.

Now, that pulpit evangelism is both mass evangelism and teaching. That's what we do here on Sunday mornings. But this isn't just here. We do it in Sunday school. We do it on Wednesday night Bible studies.

We do all of that. That is a pulpit-style evangelism. Many of y 'all do that. Not just me. 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, it is a planned mass evangelism in which you get a certain demographic.

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. Now, we do the first one and the second one really well.

Peer Evangelism and Discipleship

But your pastor has messed up over the years. And we have let the peer evangelism kind of sit on the back row. And that's what we're going to do this year is we're going to bring that one up forward. 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.

Now, at the end of this service, you're going to have an opportunity to do peer evangelism. Because here's what I don't want anymore. I don't want anymore church services. I hate church services. You cannot hold a church service.

The church can serve, but there's no such thing as a church service. When we're at the invitation, mature Christians, this has been going on 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.

I'm telling you, in this room, the field is white with harvest. There are people in this room that are not Christians. But there are a lot of people in this room who are Christians who need mentorship and discipleship.

One of the best examples of this, where's Redhead? Where is he? There he is. Look at Carlos. He's so cute. Carlos, stop. I knew he'd be in. See, you got a Puerto Rican ministering to a Guatemalan. Or Honduran.

Whatever. They speak Mexicanese to each other, okay? And they are... Every time I see Carlos, I see Christian. Every time I see Christian, I see Carlos. And I see Christian doing this weird thing. He has established a relationship with this young man and is teaching him the 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. That is peer evangelism. Now, I want to ask every believer in this room. I want to ask you, who is your Timothy, to use the church term, who is the person you are peer evangelizing for disciples?

Because that is the crux of what we're doing here today. And if you say, well, I'm doing that with my kids. Great, you get a Bucky Beaver badge. But go outside of your family. What about peoples at work?

Man, I used to work as a hydraulics mechanic in Wyoming. And these guys were curmudgeons. 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.

Now, granted, there were always questions like, is that Antichrist? You know, there were questions like that. But it opened up the door for me to be able to do peer evangelism. Now, what is the need? Turn with me to Matthew chapter 9.

The Harvest Is Plentiful but the Workers Are Few

And we're going to look at the need. Then we're going to look at the call. 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. It says this.

Then Jesus went to the towns and villages. 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.

When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them. Because they were weary and worn out like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, the harvest is abundant, but the workers are few.

Therefore, pray to the Lord at the harvest to send workers into His harvest. There's a need, guys. There's a need. And I want you to look at that need just for a second. Number one, we need in peer evangelism.

Listen to me. Christians, this isn't just a sermon. Put a checkmark that you went to church. Christians, this should be a litmus test of how mature you are in Christ. Right? If you pat yourself on the back that you came to worship this morning, great.

You're in the first grade. Now, let's matriculate. Let's no longer just need milk. Let's need meat for our spiritual growth. And that meat is in whose life are you invested. The need is all. Now, I want you to look around here today.

Listen to me. Everyone's going to look at me. Everyone, look around. Break that little personal space barrier just for a second. Look at this place. You have an overwhelming majority of our congregation is under the age of 30.

An overwhelming majority of our congregation. I've got like six old people. That's it. Well, and Teresa and Tim. But other than that, I have a very small seat. You know what that means? That means we have got so much discipleship need in this room.

Guys, it's to all. Notice it says he went to all the towns and villages. Here's what a lot of Christians do sometimes. They want to disciple someone that mirrors their values or personalities. And that's why you go through life never ministering to anyone.

Because you think they won't listen to me. 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. I have a police officer who has his tongue pierced.

You know, back in my day, that was just, he needed a beating, right? I mean, guys didn't pierce their left is right, right is wrong, right? Now we've got people who pierce tongues, right? I'm not going to say who it is.

Justin. But if they don't look like you, guess what? It doesn't matter. Because Christ's command by example and word is that we are to go to all of them. And I'm not talking about knocking on doors in the housing projects.

Okay? I saw what I'm talking about. I'm talking about in this room. Who are you discipling in this room? I'm telling you. Brother Jeremiah, Pastor Josiah and a lot of the other staff. Man, our group is going to be worn out.

We need some help. We need some help back. Guys, and here's another thing. I don't disciple young girls. It makes me feel icky. You know, because they usually ask the question that makes me feel icky.

I need some more chicks. I need a lot more chicks. Guys, you have to minister to all of them. Look with me in verse 11 of chapter 9. It says when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, read the scriptures.

Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners? Here's what basically Jesus said. Is there another kind? Is there another kind of person you can talk to besides a sinner? I don't know one. Because I'm a licensed ordained pastor of a Southern Baptist church, sort of.

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. So what is keeping you from going to all? They look at Jesus. They didn't understand.

Jesus is supposed to be rabbi, teacher. He's supposed to be the upper cross, right? And yet he is sitting with the outcasts of society and with people they consider sinners. Here's what Jesus' answer was.

It's real simple. A sick person needs a doctor. 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. One of the key aspects of discipleship is being open and honest with someone to let them know how sick they are.

And here's the reality. You know how you do that? Not by pointing your finger at them. But by holding up a scar tissue of your own life from where you have fainted. But see, we don't want to do that either.

Because we want to be that Christian. We want to be that Christian. How are you doing? Oh, I'm blessed indeed. While I'm struggling today, I'll pray for you. And as long as you got a good, happy feeling from the worship songs.

And as long as the temperature was just right. And as long as no one hurt your feelings because your pastoral dish was that disgusting. You had a great day at church today. And accomplished absolutely nothing.

Let me say that to you again. Nothing. Guys, do you know that I am not a disciple of you right now? This is not ministry. This is me preaching a sermon. Andrew up here doing this. These choir peoples.

Mike on the bass. Miss Carla. God bless her name. I have to say that every time I say her name now. Playing the piano. That's not ministry. Guys, God has angels to do that. That's not ministry. Ministry is me going, hey baby, how are you doing?

How's Katie? How can I minister to you? How can I help you? That's ministry. Guys, we need to go to all. Second thing is notice where Jesus went to teach. 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. Hand out trash and see how many places we get thrown out. But it was funny. All the little Christian kids and young adults that went. They always wanted to look for people who had tattoos.

They always wanted to look for the people with the red hair. Or the blue hair. Or the pierced tongues. That's who they thought needed Jesus. Notice where Jesus went to find the people who needed Jesus.

It says he went to every village and town. And he went to their, say it with me, synagogues. He went to the churches. Ten years ago, we had a decision to make. 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. They're no longer here. Blessed be your name. And here's why. About ten years ago, we had a choice. We had a negotiation going on with a company who wanted to buy this property.

And they were willing to pay $2 .7 million for this property. Now, I had a vision from Jesus. I'm going to be honest with you, I was at least one night. And he woke me up out of my sleep. And he said, Jeff, ha, ha.

He always adds a vowel to my name when he talks to me. He said, Jeff, ha, ha. I need you to sell that property for $2 .7 million. And God's going to bless you. And God has called you to the promised land.

Houston, L .A. needs a 14-year-old girl. And go you there for. Because Calumet is the last white church to go right out there. Because there's so many inside the 240 loop. And I said, Lord. And I realized that Lord was the comfort of modern Christianity, not the Lord of Hosts.

See, because God put us on this corner. This corner. Amongst what many law enforcement areas or officials that I've talked to said is one of the worst areas in Memphis. I personally don't see that. I don't think this area is that bad.

I mean, you know, in that kind of bill. But, dang, it's not that bad. It ain't like we have to drive. Well, we did have one. But it's just one. We did have one in our house. Yeah. We had some guys drive by and open up the ARs at a gangster's house across from our house.

That happens everywhere. Yeah, it does, man. It does. It's just. But here's the thing. God has placed us here. Now, 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 Sunday.

I took off my suit. I changed my entire preaching style. I changed everything about this place. Much to chagrin. I did it quietly. I didn't make it big fanfare. But here's why. If we're going to stay here, we've got to mimic and reach the community that we have here.

Right? Because, see, when I was frequently seen in a suit and tie, people would come to the door because they thought I was the police. Right? Well, a large white guy shows up in a suit and tie at the front door.

He either drove us away or this was Shelby County. One of the two. Trust me. I know what that voice sounds like. Shelby County! Yeah. It 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 United States of America.

I'm telling you. Mark my words on this. Mark my words on this. Guys, do you realize that the church is all over the United States today? There are people sitting there yawning with their head cocked to the side while listening to their phone.

And, yes, that was intentional. And you're going to leave here just as stupid as you were when you walked in. 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 from me standing up here.

What you need is to walk through one of these material questions and go, someone please blow God a page for me. Because I'm tired of being an idiot. I know. We got you, baby. We got you. We got you. Where did Trump go?

The city we just did? Parsons? Parsons. The example that validates my point. So, guys, what I'm saying is this. What you've got to see is that the mission field is not just outside these doors. It's sitting right here.

How did y 'all do in Sunday school this morning? Look around. Y 'all look around. Put your hand up. Where were the rest of y 'all at? Huh? Did someone actually come up with a plausible excuse? In bed.

Uh, we're taking care of squirrels. I can tell you how to take care of squirrels. A little barley, a little meat. But listen, listen to me for a second. Guys, you can't develop a relationship with people sitting here listening to me for 30 minutes.

Applying the Gospel in the Invitation

Yep. Watch this. Now, we're going to start something new here at Wyden Baptist Church. We're going to start something new. At the end of the preaching, what we're going to do. Pastor, you're going to have to help me on this.

We're going to have a moment to apply what we learned. Like, if someone needs to get saved, then maybe we can. You stand down here in front. 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 powerful for you because Jesus had that as he was walking down the Via Dolorosa.

Did y 'all catch that? That was pretty cool. So we're going to have that time. And if you need Jesus Christ, you can come down here. If you need to join a church, you can come down here. But here's something else we can do.

You can actually talk to someone sitting next to you. Wait a minute. Hold on. Just as I am fast living and lazy, I'm going to sing this song because I gave my time. And I've sat in a Southern Baptist church all my life.

And I'm so mature and did nothing. God accepted me. Oh, I can sing it. It's a personal song. Guys, listen to me. Teaching in the synagogues. Let's take an opportunity today to do something different. And for those of you who grew up in church, reverence has never been silence in Scripture.

Worship has never been silence. Ministry is always obedience and obedience is always ministry. Do something today for the love of God. Or leave the place the same when you walk in. Move on. The need is for everyone.

All. The need is for all, including those that are in the establishment. 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 God called.

Compassion, Availability, and Obedience

The first one is this. You've got to have some compassion. Compassion. Look in your scriptures. Jesus went to all the towns and villages. Teaching in the synagogues. Proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.

When he saw the crowds, he fell. How was worship today? Oh, it was awesome. We had to do drives in the chain. The band was rocking in there. The pastor was on point in skinny jeans. Are these skinny jeans?

They're tight. I'll tell you that. Tight as any last night. A little tight. Anyways. Guys, here's a young couple I talked to. And they said this. Well, I'm more comfortable at this church. And it's one of those one-name churches.

Like Abundance or Fresh Living, Fire, New Wave, whatever. And I asked them. I asked them. How many people have you got going to church over there? Oh, we've got about 800. Oh, cool. I'm sure you need more help.

Thanks for going over there. That's cool. We don't need help here. Where's your compassion? Here's what most people equate to compassion today. It's called comfort. You're training the call of God and the compassion of your heart for the comfort of what your wants and desires are.

In other words, you bougie. All bougie. Bougie, whatever. You ain't Fresh Fire or Snaggletooth. You bougie. Guys, where's your compassion? Look at what Jesus saw. It says when he saw them, he felt compassion.

And it tells us because. Hey, up here, visit tomorrow, focus today. Compassion for them because they were weary and worn out. Guys, sin is wearing some of you flat out. Anxiety, depression, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

It's because you're a born again Christian living in a back sling state. And you can't figure out why you're not feeling good. 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. Don't touch that TV. Don't touch that hot stove. Or here's the other thing. 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 God wants and requires in your life. Because you were brought up in a system where religion was brought to the forefront.

And the word of God was put on the back end. And you never can measure up. Some of you still see God looking at you like your father. How many times will God tell you? When God looks at you, this is your mindset.

He looks at you and goes. They were weary and worn out. Folks he found were in sin. Because they taught you in their self-righteous mindset. Couldn't understand why Jesus was even a sinner. And the opposition there was.

And the juxtaposition there was. Obviously they're a sinner. That by default implies that I am not. I'm not kidding you people. I'm not kidding. 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. Well pretend like this. Went in. I actually had a chest. Guys. When you're sitting around.

And you know boys come up. And they said there you go. Alright this blonde walks into a bar. And you ruin your testimony. You're that. But you were never so quick as to look at someone else and go I cannot believe her.

Man look at those homosexuals. Look at those chicks who have an abortion. Oh. But here's why your heart's so in trouble. It's because you have not repented. You've invested the sin in your life. Yet you're looking at everybody else.

The stress in your mind is jacked at you. I have an old Christian who goes to church. He asked me this question. Pastor why do they take so much time with the invitation? Why can't they get their lives right at the auditorium?

Stop speaking. Turn it off. Turn it back on. Turn it back on. Okay good. They're all right with their knees. Y 'all have compassion. That's the second thing you gotta have. Oh boy. Listen to me. One of my two daughter-in-laws.

One of the frustrating things with you over the last few days is this. Your future husband was bred to produce. He was brainwashed. It's in his DNA. He's gonna go, go, go, go, go. If you are a low energy person, you're gonna get frustrated, insecure, and a little shit.

Guys, Pastor Josiah works about 45 hours at his secular job. He works here part time. Do you know what his hours here on a part time basis are? 35. 26 year old kid with a kid and another kid on the way works 75 hours a week.

That's about right. I did it. I did it. Here's what a lot of people say. Man, I work all week. I ain't got time for church stuff. Guys, you ain't got life enough. If you are not involved in ministry here, you aren't doing it.

Your presence is not required by man. Your work ethic is required by God. And notice what it says. You gotta go to them. They don't get to come to you. Guys, you gotta go to the harvest. And it's right now.

Early in Matthew, Jesus told him, he said, Do not wait for four months and say, Look, the harvest is white. For I tell you, it's right, right now. And come off the trees. We need help right now. Right now.

You want to have a tough job? I have appointments a week. I write four sermons and or lectures a week. Plus I have a myriad of phone calls. She has got to organize all of that. 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. That's the level of calling for your membership in the family of almighty God. You got to work. Last thing, and I promise you, I'm done.

Here's the toughest part about being a 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. Here's the toughest part.

Y 'all ready? You ready? Oh, man. If I could just simply love God. And my relationship with God between me and God. Here's what some of you dorks continue to say. And yes, I did just call you a dork. Well, I can worship God at my own time.

My relationship with God is priority between me and God. I will pay you $100 right now. If you compare it to self-righteousness. If you can find me that teen word description. When your relationship with God is private.

Go ye therefore and teach. And that's possibly Greek. Guess what he means in English? Oh, the gospel. Go to work. Obey the gospel. Some of y 'all are still focused on, I'm going to be obeying. I'm not going to look at pornography this week.

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. It's not a zero-sum game, guys. It's not the vacuum that exists in the absence of sin.

It's what you fill it with, with 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.

You want accountability in your life? You want some accountability? Lead people to Christ. Lead people on a daily basis. Let them all in in your life. Hey guys, are you struck with alcoholism? Here's a great way to help you with it.

Open your home to about 20 young Christians on Bible study, six nights a week. And find time to go to the bar. Find time to go to the bar. Guys, you know how you stay strong? 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. But there's not a softer pillow to sleep on. There's not a more restful night's sleep for a mind that's tired of the stigma of Jesus Christ.