Praise the Lord. That was wonderful. That's exactly where we want to be in the center of God's will. Thank the Lord for the good crowd today. If you have not been with us throughout the week, then you're coming in on the culmination of what was started on Wednesday, really the highlight of the conference. The missionaries have been here throughout the week, and the church family has been busy about the activity of taking care of the missionaries. I want to thank you for everything that you've done for us. Wednesday we were fed by the gypsy ministry and then we were fed by the senior citizens of the Younger Hearts and the missionary prayer band. I don't want to forget anybody, but we also had the banquet on Friday. What a meal. I didn't eat before I preach. It's difficult for me, but pastor had someone take a plate for me and took it back to the mission's house and ate it. Today we're going to be served by the Spanish and I think the missionaries will echo with me that we will leave this conference fed up. Amen? Thank you for that. So just a wonderful conference. I get kind of melancholy when I get to an end of a conference. It's just, you get to know the missionaries and get reacquainted like with the Wilsons and then you kind of become family with the people that you see every day and kind of, it's just a little sad. But we're really praying that God will do something great here this morning and then this evening as well. Would you turn with your Bibles please to the Gospel of John chapter three. Gospel of John chapter 3. Now let me just entice you to come back to the service this evening. For those of you who know my testimony, you know that I was a former con man in a traveling carnival. God reached down on the muck and mire, this wicked planet. He saved my wicked soul, established my feet upon the rock, the Lord Jesus. And I've never been the same since. By the way, I love saying that, amen. And, but I, if you ever, how many ever tried to win those carnival games? Raise your hand. You tried to win at those carnival. Well, if you come back tonight, I will tell you the secret. All right, if you come back tonight, I hope none of my carny friends are here, because they'll be discouraged if I tell trade secrets. But let me try to get you to come back so that you can find out how to win at those carnival games. John chapter 3, reading verses 11 through 19. Haven't asked you to do this all week, but I feel led to the spirit to do would you stand for the reading of God's Word this morning? John chapter 3 will read verses 11 through 19 from the Word of God just a few verses and Then I'll pray and you may be seated John chapter 3 verse 11 verily verily I say unto thee we speak that we do know and testify that we have seen and you receive not our witness and If I have told you earthly things and you believe not, how shall you believe if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man has ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent of the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him that is not condemned, he that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation that light is coming to the world, and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. You'll have to forgive me just a little bit this morning. I'm on medication, and it's affecting my dryness in my mouth, so please forgive me as we get into the word of God this morning. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we need your help today to be able to take these scriptures, to teach wonderful truths, most important of all, to glorify our Savior, the Lord Jesus, to exalt him, For He said in this text that if He'd be lifted up, He'll draw all men unto Himself. That's what we would desire, Father, that men would be saved. Men would be saved today. That the Holy Spirit would do His work that only He can do as the active agent of the new birth. And that, Father, You would be glorified. Fathers, we think in a congregation of this size, there must be many needs. And I pray, Father, that those needs would be satisfied. Save the lost. Encourage the discouraged. And draw the backslider unto Thyself. Father, we pray for the faith promise that it would be your perfect will as we read, as we sang this morning, that your will would be satisfied in the area of the faith promise commitment. Father, hide your servant behind the cross and use me for thy glory. And we pray in Jesus name and all God's people said, amen. You may be seated. This morning I want to speak on the subject of the heart of missions. In this chapter we see that very historical confrontation between our Lord and a very influential Jewish religious leader by the name of Nicodemus. If we were to read earlier, it is where Jesus said those all-important words to the lost and confused seeker, you must be born again. This meeting changed Nicodemus forever. He was a seeker who wanted to know the will of God. And if we follow the life of Nicodemus, even in the Gospel of John, we find that he is one of those that came to bury the Savior, as we find in John 19, verse 39, there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound weight. I don't think Nicodemus would have been interested in burying the Savior, had he not believed on Him. In this story, in this chapter, we read where Jesus said, you must be born again. If you're here this morning without the Lord Jesus Christ, that means you're not a part of the family of God. You haven't been born into God's family. You've been born into the physical family of all humanity, but you have not been born again spiritually into the family of God. And if that is the case, you're on your way to hell without Jesus, and you need the Savior to save you this morning. This morning I want to focus in on the 16th verse. And you might say, Brother Stephens, we have matured past the 16th verse. This verse is more for the junior church, not the main auditorium crowd. Ray, I remind you that in this one verse is the very heart and soul of God's Word. This one verse says it all. Matter of fact, the title of this message is The Heart of Missions. Why is this verse so important that we have memorized it and we sing it? Some have cross-stitched it and hang it on their walls and put it on specialty license plates and t-shirts. We see it on hand-painted banners at sporting events. Some have shaved it into their heads and even tattooed it in their biceps. I don't recommend it. What makes this verse so popular? What makes this verse so powerful? What makes this verse so palatable? And what makes this verse so plagiarized? This one verse is so amazing because within it is the heart, mind, plan of God concerning the mission of Christ and His church. Contained in these words is the gospel, the message of God. Contained in these words is evangelism, the method of God. Contained in these words is missions, the manpower of God. Contained in these words is giving, the means of God. And as you can see, this is the faith promise missions conference, where God's people The membership of Cleveland Baptist Church has been challenged throughout this week to be involved prayerfully and financially in the support of missionaries. To take the gospel to the people that God has called us to collectively, for he says to the church to go into all the world and preach the gospel. When I was a younger man, I used to like to take things apart and put them back together. And all the men said, Now that was fine if you put it back together and didn't have any parts left over. And, you know, I've brought that kind of a philosophy to the study of God's Word. I like to take things apart. and put them back together. And this morning I want to take the 16th verse of John chapter 3. Let's take it apart and reassemble it this morning to find some wonderful truths and some wonderful thoughts about the heart of missions. Number one, in John chapter 3 verse 16 we find the source of missions. Look with me please at the 16th verse. For God so loved the world. For God, the source of missions is God, for He is the source of all. In the beginning, God, the modern day plan of missions, did not come from the church fathers, but came from the heart of God Himself. Who sent His Son, the Lord Jesus, to begin that mission, where He lived on this planet for approximately 33 years. He came, He helped, He healed, He preached wonderful sermons and then He carried my cross and your cross to Calvary's hill where He bled and died. And then of course rose the third day. That's the mission of God. But God here says, for God so loved the world, the source of missions is found in John 3.16. For this comes directly from the heart and mind of God. The source of missions comes from John 3.16. But I want you to see the next two words. For God so loved. So love gives us the stimulus of missions. What stimulated God to send his son the Lord Jesus? What else but love could flow from the heart of God? 1 John 4 says that God is love. If there's anything we at Cleveland Baptist Church want you to leave here knowing, understanding, and believing is that God loves you. That is the purpose of this church. as we went out on visitation yesterday there was a man sitting on his steps and i approached him and right away he told me he was an atheist and then the next thing he told me he was a former catholic and then i told him i was a former catholic and so we had a common denominator you know it started to open up the conversation and then i just told him we're from cleveland baptist church and we want to make ourself available to you that if you have any questions about heaven, about God, about eternity, about the Bible, we want to be here to help you, to help answer those questions. And he went on to say, now this is the guy who said he was an atheist by the way, he went on to say that he worships God in his heart, and that he doesn't need church. And I said, well that's wonderful, but when you have a question, I said, who do you ask? Who do you go to? And God has given us the church so that we can learn the truths of God's Word. And the stimulus of missions is found in John 3, 16. For God so loved the world, love was the stimulus behind the amazing plan of God to send His Son to die and to save the souls of vile sinners. 1 John 4, 10. Here it is, love. Not that we love God, but that he loved us and he sent his son to be the propitiation of our sins. Oh, the amazing love of God. I read this phrase, the person you are, the person you have been, the person you will be, God declares beloved. He loves you. Oh, the unfathomable love of God. He goes beyond human understanding. I'm a preacher of the gospel. I preach God's word. Someday I would like to count how many words I have spoken behind the pulpit. But watch now, a preacher of the gospel, ordained of God to preach His word, and my tongue fails me. My lips will fail me to express to you the love of God. And that's why we have a picture of the cross. We sing a song in the church that sings about the love of God, and some of the phraseology in that song explains it just a little bit. Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made, were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade. To write the love of God above, would drain the ocean dry, nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky. O love of God, how rich and pure, how measureless and strong, it shall forevermore endure, the saints' and angels' song. It is said that part of this song was penciled on the walls of an inmate's room in an insane asylum. And though this person that had lost his mind could not understand the realities of life, they could still perceive and receive the love of God. Love should be the believer stimulus to give the faith promise. Paul, when teaching on grace-giving, says in 2 Corinthians 8, verse 8, I speak not by commandment, but by the occasion of the forwardness of others, watch now, to prove the sincerity of your love. the stimulus of missions, for God so loved. Number three, the subject of missions found in John 3.16, look with me, for God so loved the world. That is the subject of missions. You say, what is he talking about the planet? No, he's talking about the inhabitants of the planet. It means every man, woman, boy and girl that inhabits planet Earth. We are told that there are seven billion people that live on this planet today. We are also told that two-thirds have not heard a clear presentation of the gospel message and God wants everyone to hear the truth of the cross. He has ordained the church to do that. He has called men and women boys and girls to take the gospel. Ezekiel chapter 18 verse 4 God says behold all souls are mine. You say well brother Stephens that settles it. If all souls are God then why do we have a missions conference? Well some of God's souls are being kidnapped, being held hostage by the enemy. But they've been redeemed, have they not? Through the blood of Jesus. They just don't know it. And that's the call of missions. To tell those hostages of Satan that there's been a redemption paid for them. And that they're free. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. And if the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. The subject of missions is the world. But then I want you to see the sacrifice of missions. For God so loved the world that He gave. You see, love has action. You can't say you love unless you have a performance of that love. My wife Dolly is here with me this morning. Dolly and I celebrate 42 years of marriage this coming December. I was only 16 years old. Dolly won't let me tell you how old she was, but she was a little bit older. And our marriage is prearranged. Dolly was chosen for me by my parents and I chosen for her by her parents. I always say that my mom and dad did a great job, but I'm not sure about her folks. And for almost 42 years now, I have never forgotten Dolly's birthday. She always gets a gift. She always gets a card. On her anniversary, I have never forgotten an anniversary. I never forget a Christmas gift. I never forget a Valentine's Day gift, though I don't quite understand why is it the gals always get the Valentine's Day gifts, huh? I never forget a special day in Dolly's life. Matter of fact, I won't forget Mother's Day. I will make sure that she has a gift for me on Mother's Day, the mother of my children. Imagine that I forget. I forget a birthday. Maybe she won't pay attention the first time. Forget a second birthday. Forget an anniversary. Forget a Valentine's Day. Maybe she'll start to wonder, does he still love me? You see, love has action. For God so loved the world that He gave. The love of God caused Him to give His life for sinning souls. And the holiness of God demanded a blood sacrifice to redeem them. The Bible says without the shedding of blood there is no remission, there is no forgiveness. God gave and He gave us His best and His best gave His life sacrificially. He spared not His own Son but delivered Him to us for us all that by Him we shall be given freely all things. Faith, promise, missions, giving should be given sacrificially, giving of your best to the work of the Lord. I read a phrase that said, sacrifice is giving up something you love. for something that you love much more. Faith, promise, giving is giving what you have, trusting God to supply your needs. 2 Corinthians chapter 8 verse 12, For if there be first a willing mind, is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according that he has not. God does not expect something from that you do not have, but he does expect from you that which you do have, and out of a heart of love we give to the work of world evangelism. There are those in this room for decades for decades have been giving sacrificially to prove our love to Christ the sacrifice of missions he gave love and action and then there's the shining star of missions for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son see it's all about Jesus And Jesus better be the center of all that we do. I only had a sixth grade formal education. Kind of like Jethro the Beverly Hillbillies, you know. And several years ago I learned the word, Christocentric. And I love that word. It means Christ in the center. As we read in these verses, Jesus said, if I'd be lifted up, I'll draw all men to myself. Oh, preachers, what a job we have to stand up and preach about the Savior and exalt Him. And if this is all there was to ministry, it'd be a piece of cake walking the bar. It's that stuff outside of the church that's a little difficult. He's the shining star of missions. Revelations 22, 16, I, Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto these things of the church. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. It's all about Jesus. God gave His Son sacrificially. His Son gave His life looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame. And is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself. Lest you be weary and faint in your minds. All about Jesus. The shining star of missions is Jesus. That one-of-a-kind, unique, only begotten Son of God. First Peter 119. We're redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. As a lamb without blemish and without spot. Then there's the statement of missions found in John 3 16 for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son watch now here's the statement of missions that whosoever believeth in him. I'm so glad that the whosoever's are invited. Amen. I'm so glad that I was part of the whosoever's. Are you glad that you're part of the whosoever's? Say amen. Whom this verse speaks is to the whosoever's that you and I it's all for you. You're here this morning You're a whosoever John 3 16 belongs to you for God so loved the world That he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever It's all for you John 4, 14. Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. John 11, 26. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. John 12, 46. I am come, a light in the world, that whosoever believeth on me shall not abide in darkness. Acts 2, 21. And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Acts 10 43 to him give all the prophets witness that through his name Whosoever believe with him should receive remissions of sins and Romans 10 13 for whosoever Shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved first John 4 15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God God dwelleth in him and he and God revelations 22 17 For the whosoever, as I read to you this morning, and the spirit and the bride say, come. And let him that hear it say, come. And let him that is a thirst come and watch now. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. But being a whosoever is not enough. For the statement of mission says, believe. Acts 16.31. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved in thy house Confessing with our mouth and believing in our heart that Jesus is the Son of God and that brings me to the next point the salvation of missions found in John 3 16 for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish salvation It's about being saved. Saved from what? Saved from our sins. Saved from death in the grave. Saved from Satan. Saved from hell. All the salvation. And I know that we take Christian terminology and we become accustomed to it. Being born again. Get saved. But it's a wonderful truth that we've been saved. Some people say, Brother Stephens, you have a dynamic testimony. God really had to reach into the gutter of this planet to save your wicked souls. May I remind you that we all come from the same gutter? Same salvation for all of us. I'll tell you what the dynamic testimony is. To be saved at five or six years old, raised in the Sunday school department of an independent fundamental Baptist church. That's the dynamic that we don't parade those too much though, do we? But a testimony is a testimony nonetheless. The salvation of missions. And then finally, the security of missions in John 3.16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believe in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. Thank God for the little word, B-U-T. That word, but, means there, nevertheless, notwithstanding. It's an objection, an exception, a restriction. Nay, rather, moreover, forms a transition to the cardinal matter. Here's the transition to the cardinal matter. Should not perish. In other words, should not go to hell. Should not spend an eternity in the fires of hell. Should not spend an eternity in the place that God doesn't want anyone to go to. Because the Bible says that hell was prepared for the devil as angels. Should not perish. but forms a transition to the cardinal matter. Here's the cardinal matter. Have everlasting life. Security of missions is that we are saved and we are saved forever. Saved to heaven. Saved to Christ. Saved to our loved ones who have gone ahead of us. What a mighty powerful verse this is. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Let me ask you this question this morning. What have you done with the cross? Let me close with this story. And I know that stories, as they evolve, they change and things are added, but this is the way I receive the story. The story is told about a young preacher who went to a major city in America to establish his first church. He had taken an old broken down building and him and several people, the nucleus of the believers there, were remodeling the building, getting it ready. And the first service was going to be Easter Sunday morning, Resurrection Sunday morning. and a beautiful facility they were ready for it and on the Saturday before that Sunday it had poured down rain terribly he went to the church and he noticed that the roof had leaked right behind the pulpit And the water had dripped in and soaked the drywall, and all the drywall fell, and there was a big hole in the wall right behind the pulpit. His heart was broken. There wasn't time to get it ready. He didn't know what to do. And so he got in his car and discouraged. He was going home, and he passed an open-air market, like a flea market. He had passed there many times, but he had never stopped before. But something was tugging upon his heart to stop. He pulled there, and he went to this first table, and the salesman, the clerk, was getting ready to fold everything away. But as he looked at the table, he saw some used tablecloths there. He saw one particular tablecloth that was very attractive. He opened it up there on the table, and it was a large tablecloth, probably nine feet long and four or five, six feet wide. And in the center was a hand-sewn blue cross, almost the entire extent of the tablecloth. And he thought to himself, that's it, that's perfect. That will cover the hole. So he paid for the tablecloth and was driving back to the church to get ready to hang it up that Saturday for the service the next day. And as he was traveling back to the church, he saw a little old lady standing at a bus stop. It was pouring down rain. And he had the impression to pull over and ask her if she was okay. And he said, he said, mama, you okay? And she said, well, I've missed my bus and it was the last bus to take me home. And he said, well, listen, I'm a pastor from the new church. Do you mind if I take you home? And she said, no, I don't mind. And so she got in the car with the preacher. While they were driving, the preacher asked her, because he was so anxious to get back to hang up the tablecloth. He said, Mama, do you mind if I stop at the church and do just a little job? It won't take long. He says, do you have time? She says, I'm an old lady. I have a whole lot of time. And so they went to the church, and he got the ladder, and he got the hammer, and he got the nails, and he began to hang the tablecloth, and he got one corner up, and got a nail in it, got to get ready to hang up the next corner. And there's a little old woman sitting in the back of the church. Her eyes got real big, and her mouth dropped open, and she walked about halfway, and she said, Preacher, where'd you get that tablecloth? And he said, well, I just bought it at the open-air market. Isn't it perfect? It's going to cover this hole. And she said, that's my tablecloth. He says, what do you mean? And she came up to the platform. She said, you see this blue cross in the center? I sewed it with my own hands. The flowers all the way around the margin, I sewed it. Look here, preacher, in the corner, these are my initials. And she began to tell the preacher a story. She says, my husband and I lived in Austria during World War II. And we used to help Jews escape out of Nazi Europe. And one day the Gestapos came into our apartment. They arrested my husband. They arrested me. They took all our belongings. She said, Preacher, last time I saw that tablecloth was when my husband and I got arrested. I haven't seen my husband in 50 years. I don't know if he's alive. I don't know if he's dead. And he felt bad, he wanted to give her a tablecloth back. She said, no, no preacher, leave it there, it looks beautiful. So he took the old woman across town, took her up to her apartment, and the next day was Sunday morning, the church was packed. They had a great service, the choir did a wonderful job, the preacher preached. Souls got saved, and just as the service was closing, and people began to exit, and the final prayer was said, there an old man was sitting in the back of the auditorium. He walked halfway down the aisle, his eyes got big, his mouth dropped open. He said, Preacher, where did you get that tablecloth? And he said, well, I bought it at the open-air market. Isn't it beautiful? It's covering that hole behind there. And the old man came to the platform. He said, Preacher, that's my wife's tablecloth. See the cross down the center? She sewed it with her own hands. The flowers around the margins, she sewed. That's her initials in the corner. And he began to tell the same story that the little old lady told of how and his wife were in Austria helping Jews. And he said, I haven't seen my wife in 50 years. I don't know if she's alive. I don't know if she's dead. And the preacher said to the old man, you have any time? The old man said, I'm an old man. I have plenty of time. So the preacher took him in a car, drove him clear across town, where they walked up a few flights of steps, knocked on a door, and for the first time in 50 years, they gazed into each other's eyes and embraced one another. I ask you this morning, what brought them back together? If it wasn't for a cross on that tablecloth, it never would have hung in the center of that church wall. The cross is what will unite you with the Lord Jesus Christ.