church for having us here and for allowing us to just to share with you our burden for Riverside and for really all of Southern California. Uh we are the Ward family. My name is Daniel. My wife's name is Holly and we have four children, Hannah, Charity, Gloria, and Jonathan and more than anything else, what we want to see happen in Riverside and in all of Southern California and then all of California And really all of the country is going to see revival take place. They say that what happens in California works its way across the rest of the country, and usually that's in a negative light, but I think that we can see revival happen. can change California than what, you know, he can change the entire country. And we know he can do that. And so we're going to be planting a Revival Baptist Church in the city of Riverside. And our goal is to begin by spring of next year, maybe late spring, possibly early summer at this point, but that's the goal that we have. And I do have one prayer request, if you would pray for us along these lines. We're in the process of looking for a home in Riverside. we have been without a home since March as we've been on deputation and so God has been good all along the way we're at 52% of our needed support and so that's good because California as you know is expensive especially Southern California nothing is cheap and so we're trying to raise enough support to get that church started and so thank you again for allowing us to be here and now we're going to show our video that will explain to you a little bit more about us and about the ministry that God has called us to there in Riverside. Thank you. Southern California. It's one of the most beautiful and diverse areas of the United States. When we think of Southern California, we often think of the beautiful scenery, from the magnificent beaches to the majestic mountains. We think of the glitz and the glamour, and of all the things there are to do and to see. But what we often don't see or think about are the people themselves, the people who live here. raise their families here. They call Southern California home, and they, like all people, have many needs. And for them, like all people, the greatest need is the gospel. We are the Ward family, and God has called us to plant lies just east of the city of Los Angeles, and is home to over 4 million people. And with new housing developments being built all the time, the population is growing day by day. The Inland Empire is booming, and with more people comes more opportunities for the gospel. We will be planting a new church in Riverside, the largest city in the Inland Empire, home to over 300,000 people. Like any large city, Riverside is home to many different types of people. It's economically, racially, and spiritually diverse, with people of many different backgrounds, languages, and beliefs. In a very real sense, the mission field is coming to us here in America. And now more than ever, we have an opportunity to reach the world with the gospel, right here in our own communities and in our own neighborhoods. We are sent out of Fundamental Baptist Church in Escalito, California, approved by Macedonia World Baptist Missions. Having been born and raised in Southern California, both my wife and I have a good understanding of the needs in this region, as well as the challenges and opportunities of reaching the people of this area with the gospel. In one way or another, most of the people in Riverside, along with the rest of the Inland Empire and Southern California, are in bondage. Many are in bondage to their wealth, creating for them a life of comfort and luxury. Still many more are in bondage to a false religion, as there are many cults in Riverside and the surrounding areas. And many more are in bondage to a life of drugs and alcohol, often leading to homelessness. Regardless, there is only one who can break this bondage, and that's Jesus Christ. Hello, I'm Pastor Ernie Merrick, the pastor of Fundamental Baptist Church in Esquivel, California. I highly recommend the Ward family. Brother and Mrs. Ward and their young daughters are faithful in our Saturday morning door-to-door program as we go out soul-winding. Brother and Mrs. Ward also head our Pats and Pirate program, a needful ministry on Wednesday evenings, ministering to the needs of young children. Brother Ward has served as our church treasurer, In planting a new church in this populated area, our goal is to fulfill the Great Commission by seeing the people saved, baptized, and discipled. We understand that God accomplishes the task of reaching the world with the gospel through the local church. We believe the purpose of the local church is three-fold. The first purpose is to exalt the Savior. The Bible says in Psalm 34.3, O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. We want to lift high the matchless name of Jesus in the city of Riverside and ensure that everything we do brings honor and glory to our wonderful Savior. The second purpose is to edify the saints. The Bible says in Ephesians 4.12, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. As Christians, we have many needs, and those needs are met by and through the local church. We want to see a body of like-minded believers serving the Lord together, of each other and of the community. A third purpose is to evangelize the sin. The Bible says in Mark 16, 15, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. We will evangelize this community by going door to door and sharing the gospel with every man, woman, and child we have the opportunity to come in contact with. By God's grace, we will strive to shine the light of the gospel in this dark place. The people of Riverside, as in every other city, town, and village throughout the United States and the world, believe the life-changing power of the Gospel. We are excited by all that God is going to do in the Inland Empire, and look forward to the opportunities ahead. Please pray for us as we follow God's call upon our lives. Thank you, and God bless you. Alright, let's take our Bibles this morning and let's turn to Psalm 126. Psalm 126. And we are going to read verses 5 and 6 this morning. And if you are able to, I would invite you to stand with me as we look at the God's Word this morning. Again, Psalm 126, verses 5 and 6. The Bible says, they that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. Father, we thank you once again for the privilege to gather together to worship you and you alone this morning. Lord, we pray that your Holy Spirit would bless your word and that you would speak to our hearts through your word Lord, I pray that you would use me as only you can to proclaim your truth. And Father, I also ask that if there is one here this morning who is not saved, I pray that this would be the day of their salvation. For we pray all these things in Jesus' name, amen. Thank you, you may be seated. Well, if you have been a Christian for any number of years, you are very familiar with the biblical principle of sowing and reaping. that you reap what you sow, either good or bad. And this morning what I'd like us to look at is sowing and weeping. Because the Bible says, he that doth forth and weepeth, and they that sow in tears shall reap in joy. So this morning we're going to look at sowing and weeping. This psalm here is a psalm describing the good works of God toward his people. And it ends with an agricultural illustration. The immediate physical illustration is they that sow physical seed into the ground. They that work and toil. And certainly the Jews at that time in Bible times would have understood that because it was an agricultural society. You could not go to a grocery store and buy your food. You could not store it in a fridge for a month or a pantry for a time. They didn't have these elaborate kitchens where you could store all your food and have no freezers. They had to work to get their food. They had to work to grow their food, to harvest it, to water it, all those things. So that's the immediate physical application of his verse, but behind it there's a deeper spiritual meaning. The meaning is that they that sow in tears shall reap in joy. It's talking about more than just a physical harvest. It's talking about a spiritual harvest. The harvest of souls of men and women. To see people saved. And that's what we're going to look at this morning. Again, sowing and weeping. What I want you to notice first is that there is a seed that must be sown. If you're saved, you are in the seed sowing business. they that sow in tears shall reap in joy, and then it says in verse six, he that goeth forth and weepeth, and notice this bearing precious seed. What is that seed? Let's turn to Mark chapter four, and we learn what this seed is. Mark chapter four. Jesus here gives a parable of the sower. So in Mark chapter four, verse number three, Jesus begins the parable, and he says, in Mark four, verse three, he says, Harkin, behold, there went out a sower to sow. And then, down in verse number 14, Jesus explains the parable. He says in Mark chapter four, verse 14, he says, the sower soweth the word. Of course, we understand that's the word of God. So that seed, that precious seed that the Bible talks about in Psalm 126 is the word of God. and each believer has been given that seed and is responsible for burying that precious seed, for carrying that seed with you and to go out into the world and to sow the seed of the word of God into the hearts and minds of everyone that you come in contact with. So that word, the seed is the word of God. We understand that from the parable that Jesus teaches in Mark chapter number four. So that seed that we're sowing, we're going out into the world the world of lost people and our responsibility is to sow seed just as a physical sower will prepare the ground that he is going to use to plant his harvest, plant his crop. He is going to then sow seed into that ground. That's exactly what God wants us to do with His Word, to take it. It's precious, the Bible says, and we are responsible for it. We're to handle it delicately, handle it with respect and reverence, and to go out into the world and to take the Word of God and to sow it into people's hearts and minds, to teach them what the Word of God says, particularly when it comes to salvation, to show people from God's Word how they can be saved. That is what God has instructed us to do. He's given that to us. So that seed, first of all, is the Word of God. So we are to sow the seed of the Word of God into people's hearts and minds because we don't know Who's ready and who's not ready to be saved? We don't know. People do not walk around with a sign on their forehead, ready to be saved or not ready. You don't know. And we can't judge by outward appearance. Sometimes we think that we can know by looking at a person. That person's not ready. Look at them. They won't listen to me. Or we think, look at them. They're so clean cut. You know, they're so respectful. maybe they're ready to get saved and many times the opposite of what we think is actually the truth. You talk to a person who is you know looks like they're very friendly and they would receive it well and they are very unfriendly and unkind and they don't receive it and you go to the person who looks rough it looks like they are maybe unfriendly and then you go and you talk to them about the Lord and they receive it very well. So we cannot judge by someone's external appearance whether they are ready or not ready. God knows who's ready. God knows. And our job is to go to everyone. Everyone that will listen. To show them how to be saved. And you don't know who's ready. The person you think, they're not going to be saved. Who knows? They might trust Christ, right? That moment that you share the gospel with them. Because every heart is different. Every person's heart is, some are more ready to receive it, some are less ready. But we don't know. Because that seed that we're sowing, Jesus explains that some of that seed falls on hard ground. It hits the ground and it does not enter. Some of that seed gets into the ground, but then the weeds and thorns of this world come and choke it and it cannot grow. But some of that seed falls on good ground, a heart that's ready to be saved, a heart that's ready to listen. as you sow that seed, and you are able to sow it into someone's heart, and they receive that well, and you never know, that person just might get saved. That's what God has called us to do. So we're sowing the seed of the Word of God, but then also we need to work as we're sowing that seed, to do the work of sowing. It's very important that all of us Every believer, not just your pastor, not just deacons, but every believer does the work that is involved in sowing the seed of the Word of God. Turn with me, if you will, to 1 Corinthians chapter 3. 1 Corinthians chapter 3. Now, if there was anyone, if there was anyone in the Bible that we would say worked, to spread the gospel, to sow that seed, it will be the Apostle Paul. No one worked harder, I believe, in the New Testament to get the seed of the Word of God out to the world. So 1 Corinthians chapter number 3, verse number 5, Bible says, who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believe, even as the Lord gave to every man. Paul says, I have planted, what has he planted? The seed of the word of God. His I have planted, Apollos watered, But look at this, but God gave the increase. What a great reminder that the increase comes from the Lord. So the increase is not your responsibility. It's not my responsibility. That's God. That's up to God. But what are we responsible for? Planting and watering that seed. And verse number seven, so then neither is he that planted anything. Good reminder that you and I are nothing without God. Neither he that watereth. but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one, and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. Sowing the seed takes work, just as physical seed, if you're gonna, if someone's going to plant a crop, that's going to take a lot of work. Well, if we're going to plant seed into people's hearts and minds and their lives, that's going to take a lot of work. That's gonna take labor. It's working. It's it takes work to share the gospel. It does not happen by accident. It takes it. It takes intention. It takes determination to do that because it is work. It's it can be hard work of spreading the gospel. It's labor but notice verse nine here and I love this for we are laborers together with God. You are God's husbandry. You are God's building. I'm so thankful that when I go share the gospel with someone, I'm not on my own he is using this vessel, no matter how weak, how frail, how finite and useless I might seem, God is still able to use this vessel. He's able to use you as well to sow that seed, to share the gospel. He wants to use us because he has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. Remember, God could have used any means to get the Gospel throughout the world, but He chose to use those who are saved. He chose to leave us here to do His work of spreading the Gospel around the world. But we are not alone in the work. When you go out into the world, and you're knocking doors, or you're out somewhere passing out Gospel tracts, God is working with you. we are working with him. That makes it a lot easier to understand that. It makes it a little less difficult to know that God is working with us in this. It sure helps when you're out there. Because there are times when it can be discouraging. You talk to a hundred people and none of them really receive it well. Or you knock on a hundred doors and not one person answers the door. And you think, oh man, it can be a little discouraging. But knowing that God is with you in the work, that sure helps a lot. It helps when that person ridicules you, makes fun of you for what you believe, or calls you hateful or a bigot because you're trying to show the gospel of people. Or Paul's, you are me stupid because we believe in what the word of God says. And sometimes I've done, I remember one time I was in a park in our hometown, Escondido, California, which is in the San Diego area. And I was there at the park there and just trying to show the gospel of people. Had my Bible, had tracts, and I approached a man and I did not say anything yet. He just saw my Bible and he said, you can take that Bible and you can do something with it. I won't, you know, and I said, well, have a good day, sir. I didn't say anything yet. I haven't even had a chance to say hi or introduce myself. He just saw my Bible and he didn't want anything to do with me. That will happen sometimes. They'll see you're a Christian or they'll say, you know, not just no thank you, but in a rude way, basically tell you, um, what, what to do. And that can happen. And I've had, you know, I have had door slams in my face before. Some people do not want to hear the gospel and that can be discouraging. But remember, God is with us, and if God be for us, who can be against us? So that is the work of sowing the seed, but then there's the watering of that seed that we sow. We need to water that seed, because I remember in verse number six here, Paul says, I have planted, Apollos watered. What does that mean? That means that there are many times when Paul would go to preach, There are many people who believe, but there are some that did not believe right away. You know, most times, with most people, they need to hear the gospel multiple times before they believe it. And sometimes from different people. That's what Paul is talking about here. He had planted seed. He had been springing that gospel seed, but Apollos came along and watered that seed. So he was able to build upon what Paul had already done. either those that had not yet been saved, and Apollos came along and shared the gospel with them, and they got saved, or they already had been saved through the Apostle Paul, but then Apollos came along and was able to water that seed through discipleship. So Apollos was able to build upon what Paul was doing. Paul kind of was able to lay the foundation, and then Apollos built upon that, and a lot of that was through watering, the watering of the seed. So sometimes it might be where God wants you to plant, And then you have someone to come along later and water that seed by sharing the gospel again with them, and then they get saved. So you both were involved in the work. You planted, they watered. Sometimes our job is to water the seed that someone else has already planted. Maybe they've heard the gospel from someone before, and then you share it with them. And then, you know, sometimes you need to hear things from different perspectives to understand. That's exactly what God wants us to do. He wants some of us to be involved in that sowing of seed. That we're out there just sowing seed. Maybe someone's not getting saved yet, but there's seed being sown. The foundation is being laid so that then later, someone can come along, maybe you, maybe someone else, able to lead that person to Christ. Why? Because they heard the gospel from many different people and seed was planted in their heart. I can remember I was at the door of a young man, and this man was as opposed to the Bible as you could be. He believed it was complete fraud, that there was no God, that it was all make-believe. Now, he was very kind at the door. We had a great conversation. It was pleasant to talk to him and just tell him what God's Word says, but he just didn't believe it. And again, he was very kind, very cordial, very respectful. And so we had a good conversation, but by the end of it, I kind of felt a little discouraged because I felt, man, I've been here for a while. trying to show him the truth of God's Word, and he just isn't receiving it. I felt kind of like I was wasting my time a little bit. I'm at this young man's door, and it's just not getting through. Admittedly, I was a little discouraged. And so I told him at the end, I said, well, you know, I don't think you're going to bow your head and pray to receive Christ as your Savior right here this morning. And he said, no, but you planted a seed. He used that terminology. Boy, that was, that really lifted my spirits. To know, hey, I wasn't just wasting my time. What I was saying, what God was doing, God was getting it through to him. Using the Holy Spirit, using his word, and in the verses I was able to share with him, it was hitting, it was penetrating. It wasn't just hitting that hard ground and bouncing right back up. his heart was beginning to open to God, to the things of God. That I was able to, through God, God was able, through me, to open his heart, open his mind to God's word. And the fact that he used that biblical language, hey, he planted a seed, you know, boy, that really encouraged me to know that, you know, no, there wasn't any reaping at that time. He didn't get saved, but I was able to plant a seed into his heart. And that really encouraged me. So you never know. It might just be that God wants you right now just to plant some seeds. Let's get out there and reach as many people with the gospel. Maybe none of them get saved, but how many hearts, how many minds are open to the things of God because you were able to talk to them? because you were able to show them what God's word says about how to be saved. So we need to be not just working to sow seed, we need to be watering seed that's already been planted. And I believe one way we water that seed is through our tears. It's very important that we understand that there are tears that are involved in gospel ministry. Turn back to Psalm 126. The reason I say that is because of verse five. The Bible says, they that sow in tears shall reap in joy, and that he that goeth forth and weepeth. Secondly, there is a sadness that must be seen. We must kind of get a new vision of the world around us, a biblical view of the lost. Firstly is that we need to be moved by what we see around us. In Matthew 9.36, the Bible says, but when he, that's talking about Jesus, saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them. Why? Because they fainted and were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd. When Jesus viewed the multitudes of people that were coming to Him, and multitudes, we're talking about thousands and thousands of people, no doubt in that group there were some really bad people. Some people who had done some extremely wicked things. And Jesus knew all of it. He knew every sin that everyone in that multitude had committed, or would ever commit. You know, we look at the world around us, and we look at their sin, and you know, we might think some things about it, but that's the tip of the iceberg. We don't know what's going on in someone's heart and life. God knows all of it. He knows every single sin that every single person has committed or will ever commit. He knows all of it. He sees everything. And Jesus knew every sin that was in this multitude. But still, when he saw them, he was moved. An emotion was stirred up in him. And it wasn't anger because of their sin. It wasn't hatred because of their sin. It wasn't envious, sometimes we can be envious of the lost, but we look at, you know, they're unsaved, they're wicked, they're sinful, they're haters of God, and yet they have a mansion, they have a perfect job, nice family, a nice house. Financially, they're well off, and we think, Lord, why? But not envy, not bitterness, moved with. We've got to be the same way. It can be hard to be compassionate to the loss, especially if they do something to us personally. That can be hard. Or we see what they're doing to our country. That can be hard. Especially what our politicians here in California are doing. It can be hard to look at Gavin Newsom with compassion. Nancy Pelosi and others. It can be hard. to have compassion. They are lost. Yes, they are lost. They are. They faint as sheep having no shepherd. That's how Jesus saw them and we need to see them the same way. We need to be moved by what we're seeing and what we're seeing happening in this country because what's happening is a result of not enough churches, right? Bible believing gospel preaching churches. Are those plenty of churches? But they're not Bible-believing, gospel-preaching churches. That's what we need in this country. Churches that will preach the word of God, the whole counsel of God, and go out into the world and share that truth, and make an impact for Christ. That's why we're doing what we're doing. We can't plant 1,000 churches in a year. Physically, I mean, that's just not... No, but we can plant one there in Riverside. And Southern California needs the gospel, all of California. We know it. We see it. What we're seeing in California, because there is a lack of the gospel. And it's the gospel that's going to change things. We need to be moved as Jesus was. He was moved. And if we're gonna be Christ-like, we need to be moved. And we get moved by what we see on the news. But too often it's not the right moving. We're moved with anger, we get mad, shake our fists, have some other thoughts about what's going on. You know, we get cynical. I'll say this, we don't need any more cynics. We need more soul winners. that we need to be motivated. Motivated to do something. Um turn with me to Lamentations chapter number three. Lamentations chapter three. This is a wonderful passage especially on the issue of solvency, reaching the world. Uh Lamentations chapter three verse forty-eight. Just kind of set the scene here. Jeremiah, we know uh Jeremiah as what kind of prophet was Jeremiah? The weeping prophet. Now Jeremiah, God called him to a nation that had totally rejected God. And he was preaching, and the people were not hearing. And the times that Jeremiah preached in are very similar to our own. Very similar. But look at Lamentations chapter 3 verse 48. So, Jeremiah abused the destruction that has come upon the people of Jerusalem because of their sin and the rejection of God. He says, When Jeremiah saw what was happening, He wasn't saying, I told you so. He wasn't boasting that, oh, see, I was right. I told you. I told you to repent. I told you to turn from your ways. God was going to judge you. I told you and you didn't listen. You know, I was right. You were wrong. No, he was deeply sad. He was pouring out tears for what he was watching. When we see someone in a position of power or influence, and we know they're wicked, we know they're ungodly, we know that they don't know Christ as their Savior, and we see them fall. Are we sad by that, or do we gloat, do we rejoice? Okay, good, they got theirs. You know, Jerusalem was getting theirs in this time, she was getting hers at this moment, and Jeremiah was weeping bitterly over what he saw. He said, my eye affecteth my heart. It caused him It moved, it stirred him. It's like, okay, now what do I do? I want to do something about this. I know God wants me to. What do I do? Let me encourage you, as you see what's going on in our country, as you live your life and you interact with people and you see their lives and you see their condition that they're in, I encourage you to be motivated to do something about it. Because there is something that can be done about it. There's something that God wants to do about it. Don't forget that. God's not done. And God's not done with California. Why? Because He's calling people still. Many people. Us and many others. Men from back East are coming to West. We were at our Mission Board's Missions Conference. South Carolina back in September and all the church planters that were there USA church planters are all going West Oregon, Idaho, Utah, California They're all going West why because they know they can see the needs that are here in the West They understand it. They don't need more churches in South Carolina. We were in Greenville, South Carolina and They don't need more. They have plenty of Bible-believing churches there, but we need them here. And they all know that. They can see that. And so if God's not done with this part of the country, why? Because he's still calling men here to do work here. So be motivated. And finally, be malleable. What does that word malleable mean? It means you can be shaved and molded. You can be moved. You're movable. You're not hardened. You're soft and you can be moved, like that soft pot of clay that the master wants to, the potter wants to shape. The potter wants to shape us. In 2 Peter 1.13, Peter is writing, he says, Yeah, I think it meets, as long as I am in his tabernacle, referring to his body, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance. And then 2 Peter 3.1, The second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you in both which I stir you up stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance. So, my prayer is that I will have been able to stir you up by putting you in remembrance of these things. To stir you. And you can only stir something that's soft. If it's hard, you cannot stir it. You need to soften it. And what do you use to soften something up with? You use water. Well, you know, when we talk about those tears, the water, some of that water is our own tears. You know, we need to be soft to what God is doing and what God wants to do. And we need to be soft toward them who are out there, them that are not unsaved. We need to love them as Christ loves them. And we need to show them and prove to them the love of Christ. So if we tell them God loves them, but then we act as if we hate them, they're never going to believe. Because we're not showing it. We're not proving it. If God loves you, but I can't stand you. That's not going to work. Too often we are that way. Too often we view the lost that way. We tell them that God loves them, that Christ died for them, but we do nothing to show them that. Nothing. We don't pray for them. We don't weep for them. And one thing I try to do more and more in my gospel witness is to begin by telling people that God loves them. And then, if I can, if they let me to pray for them, to pray with them there, to show them that I do care about what they're going through. Because remember, Where the lost are right now is where you and I once were. Every single one of us. There's nothing good about us. God said, oh, they're so wonderful. Let me save them. No, Christ died for us while we were yet sinners, the Bible says. The Bible says that Christ died for the ungodly. So every single one of us began there before our salvation. We were where they are now. So let's have compassion on them. And lastly, this morning, there are souls that must be saved. There is a harvest, a great harvest that God wants us to be reaping. Again, back in Psalm 26, verse six, it says, he that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, I love this promise, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves within. Bible makes a promise that if we both sow and weep, we will expect then, we should expect to reap a harvest. Why do we not see a harvest reap? Because we're missing one or two of those things. Sometimes both. There might be some sowing. You're sowing seed, but there's no weeping. You share the gospel with people, and then you just forget about them. You don't know the names, you don't pray for them, you don't follow up. You think, well, I did my duty, I checked it off my list, I shared the gospel, and that's it. And there's no weeping. So there's no reaping. Like that farmer, he plants this massive crop. And there are some large crops here in this part of California. But then he never waters it. Well, he's never going to reap anything. It's all going to die. How foolish of him would it be to plant all that seed labor, do all that labor and never water it. And then come out however long the crop takes to grow and come back later and expect to reap a harvest. And it goes out there into the field and there's no harvest, there's no reaping. And what happened? Well, there's no water. Why do we as believers think, well, if I sow seed, but I never water, why should we expect that there'll be a harvest? There won't be a harvest. Or we water, but we never sow. We have compassion on the lost. We see missionaries, and we see their videos, and we see the people they're trying to reach, and it moves our heart. And we support them financially. God causes us to support them because of what we see. We're moved. Or we're moved by what we see in our own neighborhood. We see homeless, and we see what they're dealing with, and we're moved. We genuinely have compassion for them, but we don't actually sow the seed of the gospel. Maybe we'll give something for them. Maybe we'll feed a homeless person who needs some food. But we never share the gospel with them. Well, of course there's going to be no harvest because there's no sowing. It'd be just as foolish for that farmer to go out into the field, water it, you know, go out there and water it, and never plant any seed. And then I expect a harvest. This is a field of dirt. You just water dirt, all you're gonna get is weeds. There's gonna be no crop. So he goes out and sows no seed into this field, waters it, and comes back months later and expects there to be a harvest of a crop. Just as foolish as to sow and not water as it is to water and not sow. The Bible says, they that sow in tears, he that goeth forth and weepeth. We need to do both as believers. We need to both sow and weed. This harvest, first thing about this harvest, it is plenteous. Jesus said in Matthew 9, 37 and 38, then say after me unto his disciples, the harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few. That's the problem. The problem isn't the harvest, the problem is us. There's not enough of us out in the harvest to reap that harvest. He says, pray ye therefore, Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest. Pray that God would send people. And when you pray that God will send people, you must be willing yourself to be sent as well. Don't pray, well, Lord, send them, don't send me. No, we need to pray, Lord, send laborers. And if you want me to go somewhere in particular, if you want to send me somewhere, Whether in America or somewhere around the world, Lord, I'm willing to go. You've got to pray that prayer. The harvest is plenteous. There are almost 8 billion people alive on this earth today. 8 billion souls. Who's going to reach them all? Oh, well, we've got technology. We've got YouTube and the internet. We can just use that. That's not God's method. We can use those things, and I'm thankful for technology, but it's still person-to-person. Telling someone, from our lips to their ears, because it's about relationship. It's about building relationships with people. And you can't do that through a YouTube channel or a website or some other. You do that one-on-one, person-to-person. You visit them in their home. You pray for them one-on-one. and you show them, person to person, take your Bible, one-on-one, and you show them, chapter and verse, here's how you can be saved. The harvest is plenteous. Secondly, the harvest is prepared. It's prepared. John 4, 35. Jesus speaking to his disciples, he says, Say not ye, there are four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold, I say unto you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, for they are white already, the harvest. The harvest isn't for four months from now, or a year from now, it's for right now. There are people who are ready right now to be saved. How are they gonna get saved? Well, someone shows them how to be saved. Just like that Philippian jailer in Acts 16. He was ready. No one had shown him yet how to be saved. Because when that earthquake happened, and Paul and Saul were there with the other prisoners, and that jailer was, he was scared. He said, what has happened? And he goes to them, he says, sirs, what must I do to be saved? He knew he needed to be saved. He just didn't know how. And they were able to show him. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. The harvest is prepared. Finally, the harvest is personal. It's for each and every one of us. Romans 10, 14 tells us this. Romans 10, 13 says, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And if we use a Roman's road to witness to people, we end there. That's the final verse on the Roman's road. But the next verse after it tells us, 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 then another says, how shall they hear without a preacher? How are they gonna hear if no one goes to tell them? And again, I can talk to someone halfway around the world right now over the internet, all the communications we have, but God still wants it person to person. God sending someone to go into a community to plant a church, whether it's in Africa, Asia, whether it's in South America, Europe, or right here in California, to go and to start a church. The church isn't the building, it's the people. To bring people, to see people saved, bring people to Christ, gather together, to worship Him and to grow together, to serve together, that's a church. And that's what God has called us to do in Riverside, an area that we love, Southern California. I don't wanna see him reached for the gospel. And if we're gonna see a harvest, if we want to see people saved, we've got to sow, we've got to weep. We have to have both. But if this God won, it's not good enough. We've got to have both. We need to go forth and weep it, bearing that precious seed. We need to sow and we need to weep it. Let's pray. Father, we thank you, Lord, for your goodness. We thank you for your word and how you have blessed us this morning to meet with you and your Holy Spirit to meet with us, Lord. Father, we just pray that you would bless this invitation because it is your invitation to us to respond to your word. We pray you would bless it and move in the hearts of your people. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. With our heads still bowed and our eyes still closed, I wanna ask just a couple of questions this morning. The first question is the most important question. And that is, is there anyone here this morning and you know that you are not saved, that if you were to die today, you know that you would go to hell, or you're not sure, you have doubts, you're not 100% certain that you'd go to heaven. Is there anybody like that? If you're here this morning, then that's you. If you would just quietly raise your hand. And say, preacher, I do not know that I am saved. Anybody like that at all? All right. Oh, believers, let me ask you this question. If you're here this morning and God used his word to speak to your heart about this issue of sowing and weeping. Maybe you're sowing, but not weeping. Maybe you're weeping, but not sowing. And you say, Brother Daniel, God, through his Holy Spirit, is speaking to me, and I need to make some changes. I need to respond to his word. If that's you, if you would just quietly raise your hand. As God spoke to my heart, through his word about this issue this morning. I see those hands. Thank you, you may put them down. Well, this morning as we, as you've raised your hands, let us respond as we have the piano, we'll begin to play. And again, if God is working in your heart about this matter, let me encourage you to just come forward. Just pray right there. whatever the Holy Spirit leads you to do, but let me encourage us, let's pray together. As the piano begins to play, I could just come forward and respond to God's word. Whatever it is that God's speaking with you about. This is the place to do it, this is the time to do it. There are so many people to be reached. Let me encourage us, all of us, to do our work, to go so and to be. Again, as the panel plans a few of you to come, I encourage you to respond to the Holy Spirit.