The Gospel and Why You Should Be an Evangelist

The word “gospel” means good news. But Jesus did not preach just any good news, he preached the Gospel of the Kingdom or the Good news of the Kingdom. There are many types of gospels today - motivational gospel, gospel of conformism, historical gospel, gospel of love etc. In this message, we explore the true nature of the gospel of the kingdom, what it means to evangelize and reasons why we should all be evangelists.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Reasons to be a soul winner. Our text is taken from Romans chapter 10, Romans chapter 10, verse 11 to 17. Romans chapter 10, verse 11 to 17. For the scripture says, Whoever believes on him will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. For the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon him. For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. However, then, how then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things, but they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our report? So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Let's say faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Talking about reasons to be a soul winner. Reasons to be a soul winner. Let's see how far we can go, if we can cover the all the 18 reasons, or I can jump around and see and which ones the Lord wants me to emphasize as we go through the teaching this morning. How many of us want to be soul winners? You see, um, at the landmark church, we're going to give us opportunities so that we are not just hearers alone. We pray that prayer all the time. Father, I don't want to be the heirers alone, I want to also be a doer. Yes, this is us. We're going to give opportunities for us not to be hearers alone, so that we can be hearers and we can also be doers of the word. What is the king what is the gospel of the kingdom? What is the gospel of the kingdom? We're going to start from that. What is the gospel of the kingdom? Okay. What is the gospel of the kingdom? The word gospel means what? Good news. The word gospel means good news. But Jesus did not preach just any good news, he preached the gospel of the kingdom or the good news of the kingdom. Matthew chapter 4, verse 23 to 24. And Jesus went about all Galilee teaching in their synagogues. Thank you. Teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of what? What kind of gospel did he preach? Gospel of the kingdom. And healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of diseases among the people. Then his fame went throughout all Syria and they brought to him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments. And those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them all. We cannot separate the gospel of the kingdom from healing and deliverance from demonic oppressions. We cannot separate it. So if you want to be an effective soul winner, you must acquaint yourself with ability to heal the sick and ability to help the oppressed. Somebody say amen to that. Yes, we cannot differentiate, we cannot separate the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom from healing the sick and delivering the oppressed. Throughout scriptures, throughout the um New Testament, we see it go hand in hand, the proclamation, the proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom and healing the sick. We read that on Friday, you see, when Peter in Acts chapter 3, Peter preached the gospel, they healed the man that was um that was at the beautiful gate, and then they proclaim the gospel. It goes hand in hand. It goes hand in hand. So if you want to be an effective soul winner, you cannot say that, oh, um, praying for the sick or healing the delivering the oppressed is only for pastors. No, no, it's not. It's for all of all of us. You should have the confidence, you should have the ability to pray for a sick person and expect that they will be delivered. If you want to be an effective soul winner. If we remove the word kingdom from the gospel of the from the gospel of the kingdom, only the gospel remains. If we remove kingdom from the gospel of the kingdom, what will remain? Just gospel. And today there are many types of gospels of there are many types of gospels that are preached. For example, we have the motivational gospel. There is a motivational gospel. It is the gospel that motivates you, pushes you to move forward. You know, just pushes you to move forward, helps you to do better, you know. And these are very useful and needed, but this type of gospel is not the gospel of the kingdom. Motivational gospel that, oh, you can you can do better, you can move forward in your life. That's not the gospel of the kingdom. It's useful and needed, but that's not the gospel of the kingdom. We also have the gospel of conformism. The gospel of conformism. This is the gospel that confronts, that's that conforms to opinions, it conforms to customs, it conforms to behaviors that have become socially normal. A practical example of this gospel of conformism is what we see with gender ideology in the Western societies today. It's the gospel of conformism. And we even see that many churches are becoming, are accepting now of same-sex marriage. Something that the Bible forbids is the gospel of conformism. When I was living in Michigan, there was a church near our house that they had a gay um flag, you know, on their on their sign. It's the gospel of conformism. It's the gospel of conformism, something that the society now accepts. The church feels under pressure to also accept it. That is the gospel of conformism. We also have the historical gospel. This is the this gospel is only interested in in establishing Jesus as an historical figure. Oh, Jesus went to this place and he performed this this miracle. He went to this place and he did that. They just want to accept and establish Jesus as an historical figure, nothing more. Nothing more. That's what Christ means. Christ means what? The Messiah, the anointed one, is anointed to deliver his people from their sins. So it's Jesus Christ. So we cannot say, oh, Jesus is just an historical figure. No, what did he come here to do? He came here to do a messianic work for mankind. And we also have the gospel. How many gospels have I given you now? We have the gospel of what? We have the gospel of conformism, we have the gospel of the motivational gospel, and we have the historical gospel, and we have the gospel of love. The gospel of love is just a message of love, it just tells you that God, Jesus loves you, God loves you, and is interested in helping you solve your problems, He wants to heal you, He wants to free you and help you find a job. God just wants God, God loves you, you know, He loves you without abandon. That's the gospel of love. See, you and I will encounter people or we encounter variations of or adaptations of these gospels as you evangelize. You will encounter very, and some of us have already encountered them. People that just say, you know, God is love, you know. I mean, how can we send people to airfire if God is really love? So you will encounter people that either subscribe to um this or a variation of these different gospels as you evangelize. You must do the work and ask the questions that will equip you to help those who subscribe to these gospels. And also, you must also do the work so that you don't sleep or stray into this type of gospel in your own belief system. You must do the work so that you don't stray into this belief system, these incomplete gospels in your own faith. While all of this is more or less true, all these gospels are more or less true. This is not the gospel of the kingdom. What then is the gospel of the kingdom? What is the gospel of the kingdom? The gospel of the kingdom is the gospel that Jesus preached. What is gospel again? Remind me what God for gospel is. Gospel is what? Good news. I said gospel is what?

unknown 8:53

Good news.

SPEAKER_00 8:54

Okay, gospel is good news. Gospel is good news. As you know, a kingdom is made up of territory. Somebody say territory. Yes, territory in which the king's will is obeyed. That's what a kingdom is. I will say, don't focus so much on what is on the slide. I will say more than you can find on the slide. So focus more on what is being communicated and what necessarily is on the slide. There are some things that will be on the slide, but there are many things that will not be on the slide. Alright. So, what is the kingdom? A kingdom is a is it's made up of a territory where the king's will is what is obeyed by his subjects, people that dwell in that domain. That's where the the that's where the kingdom is, and this is why Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew chapter 6, verse 10. How did Jesus teach us to pray? It says, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done where on earth, as it is in heaven. So the good news is that today, because of Jesus' sacrifice, if you repent of your sins, if I repent of my sins and I believe in him, and I show that belief by getting baptized, we can enter into the kingdom of God. You see, we can enter into the kingdom of God. When I believe in Jesus, when I believe that he came, he died, and he rose for my sin, and for he died from for my sin and he rose for my justification. Then I can enter the kingdom of God. This is the conversation that Jesus had with um Nicodemus. This is the conversation he had with him. That is the gospel of the kingdom. And then when I'm entering into the kingdom of God, I can fully benefit from doing God's will. When I do God's will, I benefit from being a part of his kingdom here on earth. When I do God's will, I benefit from being a part of his kingdom here on earth. If you notice, the other gospels do not lead people to repentance. Those other gospels they don't talk about repentance. They don't talk about repentance, and they lack a manifestation of God's supernatural power. Those gospels they don't talk about repentance and they lack a manifestation of God's supernatural power. This is because the enemy's plan is to convert the church into a religious association in which no one should be offended and everything should be tolerated. The devil wants to convert the church into an association, into a religious association where no one is condemned. Everything and everyone is tolerated. That will not be the landmark church in Jesus' name. You see, our preaching and our teaching should be accomplished by supernatural demonstration of power. Acts chapter 1 verse 8. Our preaching, our teaching should be done, should be accompanied by supernatural demonstration of power. Acts chapter 1 verse 8. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be what my witnesses. Somebody say witnesses. Somebody say witnesses. Yes, in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. You receive power so that you can witness. You receive power so that you can witness. When John and Peter stumbled on the on the man at the beautiful gate, they displayed power and then they witnessed. They displayed supernatural power and then they witnessed. So we receive power so that we can do what? We can witness. We can witness the gospel of the kingdom. Preaching the gospel simply means putting the person in front of a choice and asking him or her to make a decision. Yes, you have to present a choice to people. You have to present the choice to people. Do you believe in Jesus or not believe in Jesus? The message of the gospel must have the following components. You must tell them about the death and resurrection of Jesus. You must tell them about what? The death, somebody said death and resurrection. Yes, you must tell them about what? The death and resurrection of Jesus. And you must also tell them about the need to repent in order to receive forgiveness for their sins. You must tell them about what the need to repent. So you tell them about the death and resurrection of Jesus, and you tell them about the need to repent. I'm gonna ask somebody, one of us, to talk about, maybe they're in Bible study one day, to talk about some ways that we can evangelize. How do you start a conversation of evangelism? How do you what's it how do you what are some soft conversation starters or soft evangelism um, you know, acts? Those are things we can learn. So you don't just encounter someone that you want to preach that and you don't say, Oh, um, you're going to hell fire. No, that's not how you do it. Or you don't you don't say them, oh, you know, when you die, where are you going to go? You know, there are maybe some more subtle ways that we can um ease people into having that conversation about the gospel. So there is a need to talk about the bad news. We must talk about the bad news. In fact, the goodness will not be appreciated if the bad news is not understood. The goodness will not be appreciated. That is, there's nothing good in me. There's nothing good in me. There's nothing good about me if Jesus did not save me. There's nothing good about me. Romans chapter 3, verse 23. For all have sinned and done what come short of the glory of God. Romans 6, verse 23. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is what? Eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let's begin to get into the meat of today's teaching. These 18 reasons why you and I should be soul winners. 18 reasons why. So when you understand this gospel now, you understand this gospel, you have received it, then there's an expectation placed on you to also preach it, to also bring others into the knowledge that you now have. Somebody say amen. 18 reasons or reasons why you should be a soul winner. Number one, you must be a soul winner because that is the great commission. It's a great command, it's a great order given to us by who? By our Lord Jesus Christ, by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Matthew 28, verse 18 to 20. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples, and make disciples of all nations, and do what? Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am what? I'm with you always, even to the end of the age. You must be a soul winner because this is the great commission. Number two, you must be a soul winner because it is the great work you have been called to. You must be a soul winner. Why? Because it is the great work that you have been called to. Matthew chapter 22, verse 14. For many are called, but few are chosen. Many are called, but what? How many are chosen? Few, few are chosen. See, many Christians don't think that um we don't think of ourselves as called. We think, oh, only those who are called are the pastors. But look at what William Booth, the founder of Salvation Army, says. He said, Not called. Did you say? I'm he's saying that did I hear you say you are not called? What you should say is that I did not hear the call. That God did not call you is a lie. You should tell us that you did not hear it, you are not paying attention when he called you. Put your ear down to the Bible and hear him bid you and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell and hear the damned entreat you, go to their father's house and bid their brother and sister and servants and masters not to come there. You remember the story of Abraham and um and Lazarus, right? Then look Christ in the face. Somebody say, Look Christ in the face. Whose mercy you have professed to obey and tell him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish his mercy to the world. Don't say you are not called to preach, don't say you are not called to witness, just say that you didn't hear or you are ignoring it. Look at what someone has said. He said, I believe that in each generation, God has called enough men and women to evangelize all and yet all the yet unriched tribes of the earth. It is not God who does not call, it is man who will not respond. It is man who will not respond. We have enough Christians in Montgomery County to evangelize the old county. Somebody say amen. We have enough believers in the state of Maryland to evangelize the state and turn it right side up. You see? After all, we are the salt of the earth. We are the salt of the earth. And when you are cooking food, you don't put a lot of salt, you just put a little bit to have you know make major impact in the food. So we don't have to be plenty, we just have to be effective. Somebody say effective. Yes, yes. Just have to be effective. When we invite somebody to judge, the vital thing that has eternal value that we can ask them to be part of is evangelism, is bringing others into the kingdom. Number three, you must be a soul winner because soul winning gives great joy and energizes Christians. You must be a soul winner. Why? Because soul winning brings great joy and energizes the Christian. Luke chapter 10, verse 1 to 3, and verse 17. Luke chapter 10, verse 1 to 3, and verse 17. After these things, the Lord appointed 70 others also and sent them two by two before his face into every city and place where he himself was about to go. Then he said to them, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Verse 17, go your way. Behold, I send you out as lambs amongst wolves. Verse 17 says, Then the seventy returned. Somebody say, Returned. They returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name. As you go to preach, you are going to encounter demons. Yes, as you go to preach, you are going to encounter demons. The Lord sent them out. And when they came back, they said, The demons are even subject to us in your name. When you are proclaiming the gospel of Jesus, expect deliverances to happen. Look out for it and be ready to address it. You know, we're going to do some teaching around demons and how to deal with them and how to recognize them and how to deal with them first in your own life. Because there are Christians who are just been comfortable with the demons that is around their lives. You know? So the preaching, the proclamation of the gospel cannot be, cannot be separated from healing of the sick and delivering the oppressed, delivering the demonized. You cannot separate it. So if you want to preach the gospel, get acquainted with this body of knowledge of how to deliver the oppressed, how to address demons, how to how to minister to the sick. You must you must know it. I must grow in it. Anytime you go out to preach, you will return with great joy. Somebody say, Amen. Yes. You see, the reason some many Christians have become you know lethargic and and you know um they're just they're just going with emotion, there is no joy in their lives, is because you have not embraced soul winning. There is joy in heaven for every soul that is saved. You think heaven will share of that joy with you, even here on earth. That joy that you brings to that you that you brought to heaven because of your evangelistic effort, heaven will share that joy with you. The reason your Christian faith is losing energy is because you have not embraced soul winning. If there is joy in heaven, I also expect God to share some joy with me here here on earth. Yes, he shares that joy with you here on earth, and that's difficult to explain until you experience it. It's difficult to explain. You have to experience it. You have to experience it, you know, speaking to somebody that does not know Jesus and leading them to Christ, and just go back and see if your your day will not be different. See if your your perspective and your outlook for that day or for that week will not be there. See, I see if you will not feel different and feel energized. You see, it energizes the Christian. Soul winning energizes if you want to restore faith and vigor and vitality in your Christian work, embrace soul winning. Number four, you must be a soul winner. Why? Because soul winning is the heartbeat of Jesus. Luke chapter 19, verse 9 to 10. And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house because he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was what? Was lost. If you are losing interest or you have no interest in soul winning, it is a sign that you are losing interest or you have lost interest in Jesus. I'll write that down. If you are losing interest in soul winning, or if you have lost interest in soul winning, it is a sign that you are losing interest or you have lost interest in Jesus. You cannot claim to be interested in Jesus and not be interested in what matters to him. That's what we're trying to say. Number five, you must be a soul winner because soul winning generates divine support and protection. Soul winning does what? It generates divine support and divine protection. Luke chapter 15, verse 7 to 10. I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 just persons who need no repentance. Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. God is known to support and protect the interest of those who show care for what he cares about. God is known to support and to protect those who also support what he cares about. You see this idea that you know churches, you know, come say amen and go. You know, no, it's no fighting, just just come and say amen. That's a lie of the devil. That's a lie of the devil. In this kingdom, this kingdom is still give and take. I don't know if you're hearing what I'm saying. It is still give and take. If you don't give, don't expect to. There is there is there are requirements, there are responsibilities that come with your participation in the kingdom. If you don't care about what God cares about, and you expect God to to carry your own case on his head. No, he's not going to do that. He's not going to do that. Number six, you must be a soul winner because soul winning prevents us from polishing the same coins over and over again. Remember the story in Luke chapter 15, verse 8 to 10. Or what woman having 10 silver, having 10 silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it. And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the peace which I lost. Likewise I say to you, There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. The picture I have in my mind is, you know, a grammar that, you know, maybe her children just give her some new notes. You know, her teacher just gave her some new notes and she puts it, you know, somewhere in her shape, and like two or three times every day, she will go back, she will go to that place and count and count the new notes and count it. You know, just make sure that it's still complete. You know, she's just spending time counting the new notes, making sure it's still intact. And sometimes as a church, that's as a church, that's sometimes what we do. We just focus on you know the the people that are already in the in the seats. We focus on that. We're polishing them, polishing them over and over again, polishing them over again. We don't get busy losing for the lot looking for the lost coin. Looking for the lost coin. You know, we organize big programs, we bring big artists, we bring invited guests to come and help us polish the coins that we already have. You know, polish them. We do marriage seminar, we're polishing the coin that we already have, we're polishing the nine. We do um conferences, we're polishing the coins we already have. Sometimes we need to go out and look for the lost coin. Go out and look for the lost coin. Every Christian is first a soul winner. Whatever we find ourselves doing in the body of Christ, we must now, we must know that we are first expected to bring souls to the Lord. Number seven, we must be soul winners because what we must save people from from building their houses on on the sand. We must save people from doing what? Building their houses where on the sand. Matthew chapter 7, verse 26 to 27. But everyone who hears this saying of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who builds his house on the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on the house, and it fell, and great was it. For Psalm 127, verse 1. Except the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain that build. Except the Lord watches over the city, except the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. People are building their houses on sand. People that don't pay attention to so winning, they're just building their houses on sand. So if you are going to if you want God to help you build your own house, you want God to help you build your church, build your family, build your ministry, build your marriage, help Jesus also build his church. Yes. I tell you, it is give and take. It is give and take. You help him build his church, help him build his people, and then he will pay attention to what you are also building. You must be a voluntary soul winner so that you will not be sent out by persecution and troubles, like the early church. The early church, they were at ease in Zion, everything was happening. People were being added to the church, and the Holy Spirit realized that if we leave these people, we said they should be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the place. These people are just comfortable in Jerusalem. If you leave these people here, they'll be here for thousands of years. So, what did he do? He sent persecution their way. He sent trouble their way. He sent trouble their way so that they can be scattered abroad and they can they can fulfill their mandates. Look at what Amanda Berry Smith said. She said, To stay here and disobey God, I can't afford to take the consequence. I would rather go and obey God than to stay here and know that I disobeyed. If you don't spread, God will spread you out himself. And that's the mandate that we have as a denomination, the Redeemed Christian Church of God. You know, to spread the gospel, to expand as much as possible. Let's see how far we can go. Um, number nine, you must be a soul winner because why? Soul winning fulfills the principle of gaining by trading. Soul winning does what it fulfills the principle of what? Gaining by trading. Luke 19, verse 15. And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. You gain by trading. The little God has committed into your hand, you trade with it. And that's what we are doing at the landmark church. The little that we are, we have we are equipping ourselves so that we can go and bring in more. You understand what I'm saying? We're equipping ourselves, giving ourselves opportunity so that we can now go and bring in more. And it's the people that profit with the little that they have that will get reward, be given reward over many more cities. Somebody say amen. Yes. You must be a soul winner to you must be a soul winner because soul winning earns you the right to kingdom promotion. And we saw that in that story in Luke chapter 19. That man that was given five talent, he got five more, and then at the end of the day, he had 11. See, he got five more, and then he had 11. That's that's promotion. That's promotion. You want to be promoted in the kingdom, embrace soul winning. Embrace soul winning. Be serious about soul winning. You must be a soul winner, you must be a soul winner because so winning helps you avoid a murder charge. It helps you avoid what a murder charge. Ezekiel 3 verse 17 to 18. Ezekiel 3 verse 17 to 18. Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Therefore, hear a word from my mouth and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, you shall surely die, and you give him no warning, nor speak to one the wicked from his wicked way to save his life. The same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will what? Be required at your hand. His blood will be required from your hand. God sent Jonah. Go and warn the people of Nineveh. I'm about to destroy. See, the people of Nineveh, they were oppressing the Israelites. Yes, they were part of the Assyrian um kingdom, and they were oppressing the children of Israel, and still, God did not want to destroy them. That is, God does not have a pleasure in the death of any sinner. That is, your your greatest enemy, God wants them saved. He wants them in his kingdom. That's what I'm trying to say. God wants your greatest enemy, that person that you don't like, he wants them saved. And he expects you to preach to them, to tell them about the goodness of the kingdom. Else their blood may be required from your hand. Let's see, you must be a soul winner because soul winning beautifies your feet. So winning does what? Beautifies your feet. Oh, so I like this one. So winning beautifies your feet. Romans chapter 10, verse 15. Romans chapter 10, verse 15. And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings to good things. What does it mean for my feet to be beautiful? Have you thought about that? What does it mean for my feet to be to be beautiful? It means my presence in any environment. Any environment I find myself, my presence is an addition to that environment. Yes. I am welcomed in an environment. I mean, people know that when I come into a space, I am an addition to that place. I'm not a super action. How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings. When I come to a place, good comes to the place. That's what beautiful feet mean. When I come into an environment, good comes, and people know, people know. So they welcome me. There's a favor, there's a fragrance of favor in my presence. You see. So if you are if you are if you're experiencing some kind of rejection, maybe you need to get your feet beautiful. Yes. Get your feet beautiful. Preach the gospel. How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. Beautiful feet. It means there's a fragrance of favor in my life. That's what beautiful feet means. That's why Jesus told them in um Matthew chapter 10. He told them Matthew chapter 10. If you enter and sit and they don't receive you, dust your feet and leave the place. They are the ones that are missing. Because Jesus didn't, as I'm sending you, I'm set, you are a plus to anybody that encounters you. You are a plus to any any home that receives you. You are a plus. You are an addition to them. Somebody say I'm a plus. Yes, say I'm not a liability. Yes, you are not a liability. You are an asset. That's what beautiful feet means. I'm an asset to any environment, any institution that I'm a part of. I'm an asset to them. I have a fragrance of favor in my life. Every place where the soul of my feet are tread, the Lord gives it to me. That's what beautiful feet mean. How beautiful are the feet of those that bring goodness. Let me jump to um this part that I really want to share with us. Number 17. You must be a soul winner because the night is coming when no one can walk again. Why must you be a soul winner? Because what? Yes, the night is coming when no one can walk again. In John chapter 9, verse 4, Jesus says, I must walk the works of him who sent me while it is there. The night is coming when what? No one can walk again. See, no matter how anointed or gifted you are, you will not be able to walk at night. And the night has fallen in many parts of the world today. Islamic nations, the night has fallen. The gospel is forbidden there. Places where the gospel was, you know, a major thing. Turkey, for example, used to be a major Christian nation. Now it's an Islamic nation. The night has fallen on those places. In parts of Africa, the night has fallen. Water nations, the night has fallen. You know, people, places where they are struggling for the in Iran, for now, for example, for right now, when bombs are dropping every day, you think missionaries are excited to go there. No. Even people are sending missionaries, but not even send them there. Why? Because you're worrying about survival. The night has come for those places where no man can walk again. You know, rebels have taken over some big swaths of certain nations. The night has come. Even in some western countries, even in this United States, for example, in Switzerland, it's it's it's um prohibited to preach on the street in Switzerland. Even in this United States, there are places that are more receptive to the message of the gospel than other places. And they used to be more maybe receptive before. The night has come. And let me bring it home. What about your own night, too? What about my own night? The night is gonna come for all of us. The night is gonna come. The night is gonna come. The question is, what are you doing today when you still have the energy? What are you doing today when you still have some energy? I know sometimes you wake up, you wake up and you're stretching like this. You are so tired, you are stretching. Trust me, you have energy. You still have energy. You think you're tired. No matter how tired you are, ask a 50-year-old person or a 60-year-old person. You will know that as a 30-year-old, you have a lot of energy. Yeah, you have energy. You know, you you hear some young people saying, I'm tired, I'm tired. You are not even 25 and you are saying you are tired. What have you done with your life? What have you done? What have you done? There's no tired you can be tired. You have energy right now, and the night is coming. The night is coming. The night is coming. There are things you can do right now for God that you will not be able to do when you are 50, when you are 60. Yes, you will not be able to do if you've not done it now, you can't do it again. You can't do it again, no matter how how much willpower you want to. You want to, even some things when you are trying to do people look at you, ah, you've passed this, you should have done these things. You know, who knows which of your efforts today will speak on your behalf when the night comes. Yes, the night is coming, but who knows which of your efforts today will speak for you. I want to show you some pictures of um this is this is me in 2010, I think. In um we with when we're serving the country, we had um something called rural rugged evangelism. Rural rugged evangelism. Rural rugged. So we'll go into remote parts of Lagos State, we'll go villages. I think we did like two or three in that year that we were serving. We'll go into remote parts, we'll sleep inside classrooms, and mosquitoes will bite us, will feast on us, and then we'll put up um um screen um movies and we'll preach the gospel. You know, we'll minister to them, we'll we'll go around dancing around the the village to attract people to our meeting at night. So this is me in one of those rural rocket evangelism. Guess what? I can't do that today. I can't I can't do that today. This is me too. These are I think these are not, maybe the same one. I can't I can't. There's some things that if you didn't do it when you were young, if you didn't do it when you had the chance to do it, the chance has gone. And who knows which which of those efforts is speaking today? Which who knows which of those who knows which of those efforts? Now, see when we come to church, um, every effort you put in in serving God has a reward. Has a reward. It's not only the pastor that oh God is going to reward because you are the one who preaches or the one I will. No, no, no. Every effort you put, you play the drums, you play the keyboard, you do something, you everyone, we are all going to we are going, we are all going to partake in the reward of our service to God. Here's another one. I was just looking at those pictures yesterday. You know, I'm glad you can't see it very well. So you can you don't see how my face is looking, you know. But these are remote parts of Lagos State, places where nobody will go, places where cars don't get to. We will, you know, young people will just find a way. Sometimes get on the bike, just go there, doing evangelism, preaching the word of God. You see, that's the same attitude that we ought to have. That's the same attitude that we ought to. I want us to, I want to end there, and I want us to pray. I want us to pray that God will give you a fresh desire, a fresh desire to preach the word. Yes, ask him to give you a fresh desire, a fresh desire to preach the word to proclaim the gospel of Jesus. Ask him to give you a fresh desire. Yes, Lord. Give all of us a fresh burden for the lost. Ask him, ask him to give you a fresh burden for the lost. Ask him to give you a fresh burden for the lost. Father, give me a fresh burden and ask him to give you opportunities to proclaim the gospel this week. Ask him. You can even ask him for souls. The Bible says, Ask for the nations, and I will give the nations to you. You can you can ask for two souls this week. Father, give me opportunity to minister to five people this week. Give me the opportunity to preach the gospel to two people this week. Yes, you can ask for that. The Bible says, All souls are mine. Jesus, God speaking, he says, All souls are mine. You can say, Father, I know all souls are yours. Just give me two to this week. Give me, give me five this week. I know all souls are yours, the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those that dwell in it. These are scriptures that you can use to revoke the hand of the enemy on the souls that you want to speak to. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those that dwell in it. Father, this soul is yours. Give them to me. I want to be an effective soul winner. I want to be an effective soul winner. I want to be an effective soul winner in the name of Jesus. I want to be.