It's going to take grace if we're going to serve the Lord. We need to serve grace. In every dispensation... I'm a dispensationalist. I believe it's the same salvation in every dispensation. In every dispensation, God's people were dispensing grace. Sometimes it was one way or another, but it's all the grace of God. Just to remind us tonight, Matthew 28, 18 through 20 said, Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power in heaven and earth is given unto me. He has all authority, all power. We do a lot of things illegally in some countries because they've passed laws against Christ. We obey the law until it no longer honors the real Lord. And so we ought to obey God rather than men, so we take Bibles into countries that are not allowed to do that. We witness to people when it's illegal to do that. Because the higher power has told us to. Because of all His authority, go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe The Great Commission isn't just getting them saved. The Great Commission is teaching them all things whatsoever I've commanded you, and there's a whole lot in this book. And we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, not only before we get saved, but after we get saved, and we're trying to grow people up into Him in all things. the ministry of a missionary, evangelist, pastor, teacher, their job is never done, this side of heaven, because no one is ever complete. The Apostle Paul said, I need to add to your knowledge. I need to give you some things you don't have. And so every one of us are constantly adding to our faith virtue, and virtue of knowledge, and knowledge of temperance, and all these other things. So just remember, the Great Commission isn't just trying to get people saved. That's why these missionaries need so much help, because they need help to sustain them. Sometimes we'll ask a missionary, well, how much support do you need? You're asking for the ministry, you're not asking for the family. See, the family can give out a lot less than it's going to take the ministry. You've got to have far more than just meeting your personal needs. If all we have is our needs met, then the missionary has nothing left to work with. And so that's why it's important that support is essential. I always tell people when they say, well, how much support do missionaries need? I say, well, money is not everything, but it's way ahead of whatever's number three. I mean, you try to do anything for Jesus without money. You can't even get in your car. You can't start. You've got to drive. And a missionary is going to have more flat tires than somebody that's serving the devil. Because we have an enemy. In Mark 16, 15 and 16, He said unto them, Go ye unto all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. Now how can an individual do that? Well, we don't. Go ye. Go ye. Together. We send missionaries, but we're with them. And whatever the missionary does that we support, it comes back on us. We reap what we sow to them, and they sow to them, and we reap what they sow to them, and they sow. And so God is such a righteous God that He's not forgetful about our labor and love and how we invest in people. In Luke 24, 47, in that repentance and remission of sin should be preached in His name. That's just not using the name of Jesus, because demons are named Jesus. I mean, I've met them. It's it's his position and power. It's his authority And so everything we're doing we're supposed to do by his authority That means don't do something that he didn't give you authority to do right I Started to say last night that you know people ask me all the time. We go to the foreign fields Well, how many people you under the Lord? I said well, I don't know I but i know thousands have received a clear gospel presentation my responsibility is not to save them my responsibility is to give them all the truth and back it with my life to the best of my ability so there's nothing about me that would hinder them from believing the words that i say through the scriptures because i'm the epistle known and read of all men and if there's something about me that they're not going to believe what i say then my witness falls flat To every creature, go ye. And so what we're doing, we're teaming up with people. They're teaming up with us. And when they get to the field, they're going to team up with other people because we can't do it alone. He never intended us to do it alone. He intended us to do it together. John 20, verse 21, Then said Jesus unto them, Again, peace be unto you, as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. In the same way that Jesus Christ was sent from heaven to this earth to seek and to save that which was lost, Jesus is sending us to seek and to save that which is lost. Now, we don't do the saving, but we're the instrument in the hand of God, and God does not bypass the personal instrument in getting people saved. And then He does say, well, I'm not just going to leave it to you to do it together. He said, but ye shall receive power Not not not authority. This is dunamis. This is dynamite. This is energy You shall see power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me both in Jerusalem Judea and Samaria and to the uttermost part of the earth so God is providing everything and he's providing every worker and he gives every one of us different gifts according to his his will and And that's why we do it through the local church. But we've got to do it with grace. And if you're going to exercise grace toward missions, toward the lost, or toward mission people, and by their prayer for you, which long after you, for the exceeding grace of God in you, we ought to leave such a good taste in people's mouths that they desire to have what we have. We need to be beacons. We need to be shining lights. We need to have, like Stephen, even when we're dying, we ought to have the face, as it were, the face of an angel. I've got a long way to go on that one. But still, people should be able to take knowledge of us, even if we're ignorant, unlearned men. Take knowledge of us that we have been with Jesus. Acts 4.13. So, prayer. See, I believe in the grace of God. Then you need to pray for grace to be upon our missionaries. Grace to be upon our church plants. It's going to take grace. You've got to put up with people. My mom and dad were short 17 days of being married 78 years. when my mom died in March. 78 years. You know what that tells me? Mom, I had a lot of grace, okay? Okay, that's what that tells me. If you have heard of the dispensation of the grace that God has given me to you, where whereof I was made a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of His power." It's the grace of God that called this family to South Africa. It's the grace of God that's calling this family to go to the LBTQRXTUVW. It's the grace of God that's sending you to the rich area of Indianapolis. and uh... and I don't know what you did wrong but uh... it's grace it's grace to be used of God it takes grace to even open this Bible and speak these truths Colossians 1 which cometh to you as it is in all the world and bringeth forth fruit as it doth also in you since the day you heard of it and knew the grace of God in truth We get the better, grace is what's changing people's lives. It's grace that's what's putting the sweetness back in the church services. It's grace. When the best piano player you have can only do four or five notes or chords And they're all on the minor key. But we're going to sing. We're going to do the best we can until we can tell her to stop playing, and then we'll just sing a cappella. But it's grace that we serve God with. He said, As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If you're going to have a local church, you've got to have grace one toward another. especially when you have lost folk, these missionaries are going to go, and they're going to encourage lost people to attend the church. And when lost people come into the church, they ought to understand that we have sat where they sat. I know what it's like to go to church as a lost man. Very uncomfortable. Nobody else knew I was uncomfortable, but I knew I was uncomfortable. Every man hath received, so we need to be good stewards of the manifold grace of God. For there are certain men crept in unawares who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of God into lasciviousness, that's unrestrained living. Grace is not a life without rules. Everybody says, I believe in King Jesus. I say, Jesus has a bunch of rules. Well, you can't put me under rules. They are principles anyway. But if we do not follow those principles, we're not going to have the benefit. It's not going to produce any fruit. Next please. Don't turn to grace. Be gracious, even if it's not graceful, but dispense grace. Everywhere we go. Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven us. Missions is promising. Missions is promising. A lot of folks say, well, I'm not going to make any promise. I'm not going to have a faith promise. I'm not going to, well, I say, good night. We make promises in employment. We make promises in citizenship. We make promises when we enter the military. Do you not raise your right hand? I mean, you know, civil service, political office. Didn't the president put his hand on the Bible? One did a Quran, but never mind. Marriage, is that not promises? Oh, it's just a piece of paper. No, it's a public vow. Adoptions, wills, trusts, mortgages, witness stand, loans, covenants. I don't want to make any promises to God. He made so many promises in the Bible to us, and yet we won't give Him a promise to serve Him as our brother's song that we just sang till I die. He went all the way to Calvary for you and I. We ought to promise. Well, I know the Bible says better not to vow a vow than not to fulfill it and all that. I understand that. So just fulfill it. He's worthy. He's worthy. Will you not promise God that promised you? I remember one time as a pastor, We were preparing people for the Lord's Supper and said, you know, examine yourself and make sure you're in the faith. Examine yourself. Make sure there's nothing that is between you and the Savior. Because if you drink of this cup and eat of this bread unworthily, you receive unto yourself condemnation. That's not talking about going to hell. That's talking about you're holding the body and sacrifice of Jesus Christ in contempt. He said, well, I've got some things on. I'm not going to drink it. then you're saying his sacrifice was worth nothing. And you're just as guilty as if you didn't drink it. You just will go ahead and drink it. And the Lord's Supper is one of God's means of keeping the local church clean. Because people die. And Jesus said, drink ye all of it. Everybody's supposed to drink. Judas drank it, knowing he was going to betray the Son of Man. Next, please. We are all soldiers. We're all ambassadors. They don't just hire an ambassador. The president will just choose an ambassador and go over and do it. Oh, no. You enter into a political office out of this country or any country. To be an ambassador, you have to be sent from an embassy to an embassy. That's why we believe in local church memberships and letters of recommendation and all this. We're ambassadors for Christ. It says, oh, God did beseech you by us. We pray you in Christ's stead. We're saying the same thing to sinners, the same thing to saints that are sinning. We're doing it because Jesus told us to. I've never corrected anybody because I'm the pastor. No, I correct them because Jesus said so. I've never corrected or chastened my child because I'm the daddy. No, because I'm under the chopping block. I'm representing the Lord. If I don't correct my child, then God's going to correct me. So we are all fishermen. We're all in the fishing business, I mentioned the other day. Some of us build the boats, drive the boats, paint the boats, fix the boat. Some of us buy the bait, some chop the bait, some fix the nets, some cast the nets. But we're all doing it together. Soldiers don't go out and fight a war by themselves. unless you're a certain woman, neighbor, never mind, sorry. I don't know where that came from. Did I say I had neighbor problems? Okay. We're all fishermen. We're all ambassadors. These men are sent as an ambassador from their embassy, which is their local church. And they're overseen and they're under the authority of their pastor. We're all farmers. Some are working the soybeans. Some are working the corn. Some are working the cotton. But some are plowing the fields. Some are watering. Some are putting down the pre-emergent herbicide. I mean, we're all in the farming business. We're all His bride. And what do brides do? They're the helpmeet. We're part of the bride of Christ. All we're trying to do is help the Lord do what He wants to do in this world. It's not some weird mystical thing that we're involved in called missions. It's just simple living. Just normal, everyday life. We're all bought servants. The other Bible speaks against slavery. But if I was a slave, nobody could be a better master for me than Jesus. Because that makes Him totally responsible for everything I am and everything I do. I think there's one more. So my questions for tonight. Christ is only as important to others as He is to you. A missionary goes to the field and he's just taking up space. He really didn't love those people. That's why we've asked questions. That's why we have supper together. That's why we talk to each other and we hear the babies cry. And we say, oh, these are normal people. They're not super Christians. But how important is Christ to you? How important is it? to you that He loves the whole world. Do you deserve salvation but not them? We owe a debt to the Greek, to the barbarian, to the Jew. I was raised in a Christian home too. I heard the Gospel a hundred, probably a thousand times. before I got saved. When the whole world is lying in darkness and hasn't heard the true gospel presentation one time. He does not love American Christians or American citizens more than he loves Chinese citizens. Yeah, I know they shut the door. The Chinese shut the door on Christianity. There was great revivals going in the late, just before World War II ended. I mean, Chiang Kai-shek and missionaries, John Goforth and many others that went to China. C.T. Studd did too. He said, we don't deserve it. We didn't deserve to be saved. And we can go give from one beggar to another. We're going out and telling them where to find bread. And not any religion will do. It's not that I'm against other religions. It's just that those religions just won't do. It's alright to have a religious thing you go through. It's alright to have traditions of men. But you can't make void the Word of God through your traditions. It still has to be what the Bible says. And you have to answer our question. Is Christ the only way? that if He's the only way, how can we not tell Him? How can we not witness to our relatives, to our loved ones, to our neighbors, to our friends? Christ is the only way. The Gospel is the only message that can save a soul. And if you won't tell it, No amount of your money to help send a missionary somewhere will get you anything. You can't pay somebody to do your praying. You can't pay somebody to do your witnessing. You can't pay somebody to do your Bible study. You can't pay somebody to do anything for you. This is a personal thing. Nobody can get saved for you for sure. Nobody can light a candle for you and get you into heaven. It's an individual thing. The Gospel is the only message. How can we not tell? Well, I'm scared. I don't think Jesus felt all that good when He was in the garden saying, take this cup from Me. I don't think Stephen said, I can't wait for those guys Oh, they're picking up rocks! Woo! No, no. Courage is going ahead and doing what you're supposed to do in spite of fear. It's not that you're not scared. How can we not tell? Who do you hold? Oh, we heard this, the first question I asked when I started this mission conference. Who do you hold more responsible for missions than yourself? Do you really hold pastor or an evangelist or pastor or pastor or missionary? Do you hold them more responsible than you to win your friends? I'm telling you, the person in this world that is judged more than anybody else is somebody that stands for Jesus. What happened to Jesus himself? God is the most judged person in the world. Man, how can we not tell? Because we're going to stand at the judgment seat of Christ, every one of us, and give account of ourselves. The principle of missions is very simple. by the graces of God, nobody can do your work for you. Nobody can take your responsibility away from you. I'm lingering not just for a fact. I want you to think about it. So every penny you give toward missions with a good heart. God keeps track of that. God knows. See, God knows in mission conference if you have any thought at all of just putting in your time. Believe me, I've preached in the pulpit as spiritual as a turnip green. You can preach! You can't pray if you're not right with God. You're sure not going to be an influence. You're not going to have the power of the Holy Ghost backing you up if you are not personally walking with God and keeping yourself unspotted from this world. See, sanctification is both positional and practical. And a lot of people get confused on God Himself. Jesus' Father became His Judge. That Jesus' Judge could become our Father. When we're a child of God, He no longer judges us like the Judge. He judges us like a Father. And a good father proverb says, chastens us B times. Right away. So we know what we did, why we did it, when we did it, and He's going to correct us immediately. I wonder if all of us got chastened tonight by the Holy Spirit of God for how lax we are. See, these gentlemen and their families, they're not just trying to raise support. As they are going into all the world, they're preaching the Gospel to anybody that will stop long enough to listen. And that's the same that's required of me and you. Just find those opportunities. Not every person is your responsibility. But oh, if God gets them across your path, and they see something or hear something from what you say or what you are, they say, tell me about this. Tell me how I can be saved. Paul didn't ask the jailer. Hey, jailer, do you think you need to be saved? He sprang in and said, give me a life. What must I do to be saved? Sanctify the Lord God in your heart and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you. A reasonable hope that's in you. So there must be something about a born again Christian that would make a lost person ask us. If there's not, no amount of witnessing will do it. Because our life makes void The Word. See, how many lies do you have to tell to be a liar? One. And even if you're given, did you lie? It doesn't change the fact that you lied. It doesn't change the fact that you sinned. It's just that somebody else had to take the payment. Somebody else had to pay the bill. And for His sake, we get up, dust ourselves off, confess our sins, knowing He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness so we can go try again. Let's not quit on Jesus. Let's stay in the mission business, because that's the business of the church. That's the business of the embassy. That's the business of the ambassadors. That's the business that Jesus left every one of us here in this world to complete.