We are finishing up our series on leading the lost tonight, and we've talked about different aspects of leading the lost, and tonight we finish up in part two of principles for leading the lost. Now, why is it important that we continue talking about this? Well, our text will tell us. Proverbs chapter 14, verse 12 says this, there is a way. which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Now, when we hear that verse, usually how we interpret that is, there is a way that seems right unto me, but it could result in my death. And that would be a correct application of that. But can I offer you another spin on it as well? There is a way which may seem right unto me, but the end thereof could result in the death of somebody else. Now, would we agree that other people can be affected by our mistakes? Sure. In fact, Right now, tonight, all across this country, there are men standing in pulpits of different size, shapes and materials that are preaching and teaching what they believe is right. But the in thereof spells death for the people that are hearing it. For instance, if someone is standing behind a pulpit like this and is teaching their people that Jesus wasn't the Son of God, then the end thereof is the way of death, because He is. If somebody's behind a pulpit or behind a lectern somewhere teaching that you have to be baptized in order to be saved, the end thereof is the way of death. If somebody is teaching to their people tonight that Jesus and Lucifer were brothers, and that we all have the potential to one day be gods, and populate our own planets, such as is what is taught in the Mormon false religion? They believe they're right, but the end thereof is a way of death. And I want to apply that to the matter of leading the lost, because we may be sincerely trying to win people to Christ, but if we do it wrong, We could end up costing them. You know how easy it is for us to turn somebody off? It's right that we strive to win souls to Christ. That's why not once, but five times we have the Great Commission given us. But it's also critical that we strive to do the right thing in the right way. And this is such an important truth that God put it not once, but twice in Proverbs 14, 12 and 16, 25 says the same thing. There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof is the way of death. And I wonder how many have been turned from Christianity because a Christian, even well-meaning, went about soul winning without observing some very basic principles. That's what we're going to talk to tonight. Principles for leading the lost, part two. Part two, let's pray. Father, would you help me tonight to bring this in just the right way? It is largely a teaching, Father, but Lord, there may be some preach to it as well. God, I need you to help me either way. Lord God, I want to speak only that which pleases you and I don't want to speak a word that displeases you or that even takes away from you. God, I just pray that you help me. Lord, I fail you all the time. Lord, I need your help. I need you to forgive me. Use me in spite of myself. May we leave here, Lord, with a good understanding of how we need to go about winning souls and then do it. I just pray God for somebody here tonight that's not saved. I pray to be saved before it's too late. Oh, God, would you help us, we pray. May Jesus Christ be honored and lifted up, for it's in his name we ask these things. Amen. All right, now, principles for leading the lost, part two. Number one, be controlled. Be controlled, Ephesians 5, 18, and be not drunk with wine, wear it as excess, but be filled with the Spirit. Now, there's a couple of things we can draw from this very simple verse. First of all, I think it is just as wrong to not be filled with the Spirit as it is to be a drunkard. God takes it that seriously. You know, any of us would say, well, if somebody comes staggering into church tonight drunk, we'd say, oh, my goodness, what are they thinking? What in the world? And we'd be incensed at that, and so we should be. But yet we don't have a problem with walking into church without being filled with the Holy Spirit. Right? Now here's the second thing I'd like to take from this. What do these two opposite ends of the spectrum have in common? Drunk with wine, filled with the Spirit. They both involve being under the control of something else. And just as if you are drunk with wine, you are under the control of that which has inebriated you, you need to be under the control of the Holy Spirit. You know, it's interesting. You talk to people who have ever been involved with alcohol and they'll tell you sometimes, you know, I've made a lot of mistakes when I was drunk because I act in ways I never normally would. You ever notice how people that are drunk, they just, they're completely out, either they're out of character or it amplifies their character flaws? Or have you ever noticed how much, much, much more bolder somebody gets when they're drunk? You know? They're ready to fight. Anybody and all comers. Have you ever noticed that? Evidently, y'all don't have any exposure to anybody that's ever been drunk. Praise the Lord. I have, okay? I've seen some people pretty well sloshed. And it's amazing to me. I've had guys, you know, be out on soul winning or something else, somebody's drunk, somebody's acting the fool. They're ready to fight, man, even though I'm a foot taller and a little bit bigger. They're ready to go. Why? Because they get boldness. That's not too far off the mark. If we're filled with the Spirit, you know what? We act out of character. Because our flesh doesn't want to do right, but the Spirit makes us do right. If we're filled with the Spirit, you know what? We have a little more boldness than we normally would, don't we? See? And that's the parallel. That's the contrast here that ultimately turns into a comparison. Be controlled. When you go out to win people to Christ, strive to be constantly filled with the power of the Holy Ghost. We talked about that in the last message. It's indispensable. Then number two, be complete. be complete. Acts chapter 18 verse 24 says this, And a certain Jew named Apollos, born in Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in the Spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue, whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. Was Apollos sincere? Yes. Was Apollos convincing? Yes. The problem was, Apollos wasn't complete. He wasn't complete. And thankfully, Aquila and Priscilla came in and expounded upon him the way of God more perfectly, more maturely, more completely. Now, what am I saying? When we're winning people to Christ, we need to be complete. We need to make sure that we don't leave out any of the message. For instance, you heard somebody just come up to somebody else and say, you need to get right with God. Let me tell you what one of my pet peeves is. I mean, it gets me good. To have a preacher preside over a funeral and be unclear about the gospel. that bothers me. There is never a time in anyone's life that they are more in tune with things concerning eternity than they are when a loved one has died. It is a golden opportunity to tell people the good news of Jesus Christ. And yet I have been to funerals overseen by, I'm talking about Bible-believing Christian preachers. That they say, you need to get right with God. If you haven't gotten right with God, you need to get right with God. You make sure you're right with God. That's a good thought, but that's incomplete. Maybe they don't know how to get right with God. It's a very broad statement, you know, you need to set matters straight with the Lord. What's that mean? I got news for you. In and of ourselves, we can't set matters straight with the Lord. It's incomplete. Now, this is a true statement, but we can't just say this, ask Jesus to save you. Because there's more involved than that, isn't there? There is. Here's one for you. Just say this prayer. Just repeat this prayer. And I remind you that right now there's people all over this world that are repeating prayers over and over and over again. It's not getting them one step closer to heaven. What's missing from all of this? Well, there's three things that need to be present in every gospel presentation. Number one, we must let people know about man's sinful condition and its price. They've got to know. You cannot get saved until you realize you're lost. It does no good to tell them what Christ did for you until you first tell them why they needed Him to. Am I telling the truth? Number two, we must include Jesus Christ's substitutionary death and bodily resurrection. It is indispensable. Just believe on Jesus. What about him? Pretty much anybody will tell you they believe Jesus existed. They might even tell you that they believe that Jesus was a very great man or that he was a prophet or even that he was God. But do you believe that you, as a sinner, Jesus Christ died in your place, was buried, and on the third day rose again? That's indispensable. So that has to be present in a gospel presentation. Number three, they must understand that salvation only comes by faith in Christ and His finished work alone. For instance, if somebody comes to me, or I come to them, and I'm talking to them about the Lord, and they say, well, you know what? I got baptized when I was 12. So what? Salvation is not achieved through baptism. And when they tell me they got baptized when they were 12, what they're telling me is, I am trusting that baptism to get me to heaven. What I want to hear from somebody is, you know what, when I was 15 years old, somebody told me that I was a sinner, the Holy Ghost got in on me and convicted me, and I understood I was a sinner, and Jesus Christ died for me, and I called upon Him to save me, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the only thing I'm trusting, and that's how I know I'm going to heaven. By the way, if somebody's really saved, they can tell you how they got saved. Be complete. Don't leave any of it out. Number three, be congenial. A man that hath friends must show himself friendly. It is easier to win a soul with a friendly countenance. But you know what? We see it all the time. People going out, Hi, we're from Fellowship Baptist Church. We're just inviting people to church. You want to come? No? Not really. But if you're friendly with people, if you talk with people, you know, anybody of you that have ever gone with me somewhere to eat, you know that I tend to picket servers and mess with them. In fact, I went to Shoney's one night and the lady came and, you know, I've been trying to do this diet thing and I'm still at net loss, okay? I'm still moving in the right direction but I slowed down a good bit. I hit my wall real early. And anyway, so I tried to do right and I tried to order something that would, you know, be good for me and not wreck my diet. And then this woman, this woman who was being used of the devil, said, would you like to have a piece of our famous hot fudge cake? I love Shoney's hot fudge cake. What did I say? I said, get thee behind me, Satan. And the folks that I went with saw her again, and she remembered that encounter. Hey, your preachers wouldn't call me Satan, would they? And they just laughed. Let me tell you, here's what happened. If you're just friendly with somebody, they'll remember you. And it disarms them. And they have this crazy idea that maybe you care about them, you want to be nice to them. Be congenial. Number four, be conversational. I'll not turn there for time's sake, but in John chapter 4, you remember Jesus sat down at the well and the woman from Samaria came up there and you know what He did? He had a conversation with Him. It's okay to invest some time in a soul-winning enterprise, okay? In fact, you know what? Can I just be blunt with you? I was at a church and a group of young people went out soul winning. And among those young people was an older girl who was in college now and had come back for the summer. And so she went out with the teenagers. And she came back and reported that in an hour's time, she had spoke to... it was in the neighborhood of 25 people and had won 10 of them to Christ. Praise the Lord. The majority of people do not have a genuine salvation experience in five minutes. At least, that's not been my experience. They can, and praise God if they do. But don't think that you have to come back from your visitation experience having won 15. Listen, if you spend the entire time with one person, answering their questions, giving them the Gospel, giving them the truth, then that is time well spent. It's not a sprint, it's a marathon. And I gotta tell you, some of the richest times that I have had winning somebody to Christ has been after I invested days, weeks, months working on them. Because when they did get saved, boy, they got saved. And it stuck. It stuck. I really do worry, and I don't mean to be Judgmental. But I worry about these people that report thousands and thousands of people getting saved, but you never see them again. They never get baptized. Or if they do, they never show up at church again. And the next time you see them, they're right back in the same sins that they were supposedly saved at. There's something wrong there. I'm not saying none of these people are getting saved. I'm saying there's something wrong. Because the Great Commission is three parts, not one. It's being saved, baptized, and discipled. Be conversational. Invest some time. Jesus took a very conversational tone with this woman. Avoid sounding preachy, disinterested, or rehearsed. Just talk to people. Just talk to them. Number five. Be careful. Be careful. I don't see anything in Scripture that says that we need to be foolhardy in our soul winning. I've heard preachers tell these stories. I went and knocked on this door. And the door opened and out came side-by-side double-barrel point right at me. And I just squared my shoulders back and gave them the gospel anyway. Let me tell you what would happen if that ever happened with me. Okay? If I were to knock on a door and the door opened and a shotgun came out, Jesus loves Be careful. Ladies, don't decide that the Lord is leading you at 12.30 at night to go to the worst part of town and win somebody to Christ. I just don't see anything in Scripture that says God will tell you to do that. Be smart. Be careful. Acts chapter 9 says in the straight way he preached Christ in the synagogues that He is the Son of God. But all that heard Him were amazed and said, Is not this He that destroyed them which called on the name in Jerusalem? And came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests. But Saul, who was of course Paul, increased them more in strength, and confounded the Jews, which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is the very Christ. And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him. But their lying awake was known of Saul, and they watched the gates day and night to kill him. And the disciples took him by night, and led him down by the wall in a basket." So Paul got word that they were going to try and kill him. So he didn't walk down the street towards the gate. He went out the side of the wall in a basket because he was being careful. Now, there may come a time that God tells us, I want you to put yourself in harm's way, but you better be sure he is before you do, because I think there's some folks that put themselves in harm's way apart from God's command. And they went to heaven early and they got to heaven. The Lord loved them, but he shook his head. We should be willing to be hurt for the gospel's sake, but rare are the occasions when it's required of us. So be careful, be conversational, be congenial, be complete, be controlled. Number six, be clear. Mark chapter four, verse one. Speaking of crises, and he began again to teach by the seaside, and there was gathered in him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship and sat in the sea. And the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. And he taught them many things by parables. And said unto them in his doctrine, Hearken, behold, there went out a sower to sow." Jesus used ordinary ideas, concepts, terms, and examples to convey profound and eternal truth. Billy Sunday used to say, keep the cookies on the low shelf where everybody can reach them. For instance, let me give an example. What I'm about to say to you is completely true and accurate and biblically faithful. OK. Well, let's suppose I knock on the door or I sat down with somebody and I said this. Because of our eternal sin debt, as inaugurated by Adam and perpetuated throughout the human race, we are damned to perdition as just recompense for our unholy way. But Jesus Christ willingly became the substitutionary and vicarious atonement on our behalf, thus purchasing justification through his propitiation." Now, trust me, everything I said was accurate. Does that sound like that's effective soul winning? You know what I just said? I said, because of Adam, we're all sinners. And without Christ, we'll die in our sins. But Jesus Christ died in our place, bearing our sins, and if you'll trust in Him, you can go to heaven. Now, which do you think is the more useful way of putting it? The second. The truth is, if somebody did understand what I just said that first time, then probably they're already saved. But we've got to keep the cookies on the low shelf. We've got to talk to people where they're at. We've got to explain to them what's going on in the gospel. Be clear. Just be clear. Number seven, be conscientious. Paul said in Ephesians 5.15, See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. The word circumspectly means to see around. Be sharp, be on the ball. Be aware of your surroundings. Can I just offer you some thoughts if you do door-to-door soul winning that I used to take for granted everybody knew, but apparently they don't. Always be respectful of somebody's property. Don't walk across their grass. Use their sidewalk if they have one. Look for things you can use in conversation. NASCAR flags. If they've got a NASCAR flag, they're not a passive fan. They're a big fan. Use it. If they have a beautiful lawn, compliment them on it. If they have a beautiful home, compliment them on it. Find something that you can be aware of your surroundings. Be aware of specifics about those to whom you want to witness. That takes some practice, it takes some time, but like for instance, there have been times that I've walked into a yard, walked up to a door, and never knocked on the door, just left the track. Why? If there is a police car at a home in the middle of the day, chances are they work night shift and they're asleep. And I don't want to disturb them. Just look around for things that tell you. If there's a sign on the door that says day sleeper, don't ring the doorbell. Just don't. Be courteous. Be conscientious. Look around. Here's one, if you can help it. If there's kids in the yard and the parents are nowhere to be seen, which is happening more and more these days, it didn't used to happen that way, but now it is. Don't talk to the kids without the parents. Because I've got to tell you, if Claire was out in the front yard playing here and some stranger was out there talking to her, I'd have a problem with that. I would. Who's this nutcase talking to my daughter? And I realize a lot of parents aren't that conscientious, but we ought to be. If somebody's going through a hard time medically, be sensitive to that. Be conscientious. Notice. Number eight, be common. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned every one of us to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Never let yourself come off as being better than the person you're talking to. Don't elevate yourself. Point them to Christ. Be common. It's something that we read over and over again and we miss it. Then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus. That's all you got to do. I'm not telling you the truth. All you got to do is preach Jesus. It's enough. Preach Jesus. Be calm and be connected. As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers. Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. And straightway they forsook their nets and followed him. Jesus saw that they were fishermen. He said, I'll make you fishers of men. He connected with them. Use whatever you can within scriptural bounds to make a connection with that person. Use whatever you can. Be connected. Then number 10, be consumed. You know why I'm not the soul winner that I should be? I'm not consumed with it. When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I ought to be thinking about is how can I win somebody to Christ today? But oftentimes I don't. When I lay my head at night, you know what should be on my heart? The words of that old hymn, I wonder, have I done my best for Jesus? But often it's not. We need to be consumed with it. Why should we be consumed with winning the loss to Christ? Because whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. If that doesn't get us consumed, nothing will. If we don't understand that people die without Christ, go to hell for all eternity, what's going to consume us then? Never lose sight of the horror that awaits the lost soul. Paul said, knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade them. I realize this is not a message that is a rip-roaring, get you fired up, let's go, swing over hell on a rotten cornstalk kind of message. But these are principles that we need to understand. We need to understand that we should be controlled by the Holy Spirit. We need to be complete in our message. We need to be congenial with people, be conversational with people, be careful, be clear, be conscientious, be common, be connected, be consumed. This is what I pray for our missions conference. I pray two things. Number one, I am praying that this will instill in us the desire, the character, and the impetus to fund worldwide evangelism and missions like we never have before. You say, Richard, we give enough. No, we don't. We can never give enough. Never. Never. Here's the second thing I'm asking the Lord to do. I'm asking the Lord to so ignite my heart and ignite the hearts of our church family on the matter of winning the loss to Christ here and beyond that we are absolutely consumed with it. Every once in a while, I have a experience in this community that just gets me so excited. When I go to someone and maybe I've just finished eating somewhere, yeah, I eat a lot. Maybe I'm at the gas station and somebody's standing at the pump next to me. Maybe I'm at the grocery store checking out. At Walmart checking out or something like that. You know what I love? When I hand somebody a track and they say, oh, somebody else gave me one of these already. Some fellow from your church gave me this. Some lady from your church gave me one of these. I get so excited over that. Because it means we're making an impact. We're out there making a difference. The only way that happens is we give them out. We talk to people. Because if we don't, they could die and go to hell. See, the truth is, though I say there's two things I'm praying for, I don't really need to pray for the giving part. You know why? Because if we get consumed with the souls of men, The giving will take care of itself. You know, it could be, even on a Wednesday night, it could be there's somebody here tonight you're not saved. Could be. You see, the thing is, we can't assume because we're in church on a Wednesday night, we're saved. There's a lot of people out there that they're religious enough that they're in church in a midweek service. And whether they want to admit it or not, they think that's what gets them to heaven. The fact is, If you've never trusted Christ, and Christ alone is your personal Savior, you're lost. It has nothing to do with your church membership. It has nothing to do with whether or not you're here on a Wednesday night. It has nothing to do with if you volunteer in master clubs or Sunday school or anywhere else. You know, it is entirely possible for a man to stand behind a pulpit week after week as a pastor and be lost. Now, I know I'm saved. And I hope you believe I'm saved. But the truth is, there's pastors that are lost. Happens. Why? Because they're trusting in their busyness. And they're trusting in what they do for Christ, instead of trusting in what Christ did for them. If you're here tonight and you're trusting in what you're doing for Christ, you lost. I'm sorry you lost. And I'll tell you something, you're a sinner. Just like me and just like everybody else in here, you're a sinner. You lost and undone and on your way to hell. But Jesus Christ died in your place. He took your sin upon Himself. And God whooped his only begotten darling son over your sin and mine. Tortured him. The Bible says he saw the travail of his soul and was satisfied. Jesus died, was buried, and on the third day he rose again. And he offered his blood on the mercy seat there in heaven, and God accepted it as a suitable sacrifice. He paid for your sins and mine. And the Bible says, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. That's how you go to heaven. Now, we'll do something a little different tonight. The altar is open. Why are we opening the altar on a Wednesday night? We don't do that that often. Here's why. Number one, if somebody here is lost, you need to be safe. And I want to encourage you to come forward and let somebody show you through the Bible how you can know for sure you're going to heaven. Number two, it's a big week coming up. This could be The moment that we all look back and say, this is where God set us on fire. That's what I'd love to see. I'm getting to where I'm starving for it. Maybe, just maybe, God would lay on your heart tonight, come to an old-fashioned altar, and ask God to do in our hearts tonight what needs to be done that we might go into this thing on Sunday ready and raring to go. That we might get so consumed with the cause of winning the world to Jesus Christ that will never again be the same.