Well, it's good to be back and be here at Grace and to have the opportunity to share a little bit from the Word this evening. This won't be an exposition, you know, of verse by verse tonight, but we're going to look at the Word tonight. I'd just like to read this verse here in Mark. 1615, this evening, and consider for a minute God's command to the church. And we'll think about some reasons why Christians should share the gospel tonight. Mark 1615, He said unto them, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Now, I don't need fifty reasons why that don't mean that. You know? It's just plain English, isn't it? Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel. That's pretty simple. I think a kindergartner could understand that. And so, really, when it comes down to the Great Commission, unfortunately, there's some statistics that are against the church. 2% of Christians that I read, 2% share their faith. 2% of Christians. That's pretty sad. And I hope that's not here in this church, but generally speaking, those who profess faith in Christ, only 2% share their faith. So we have a lot of secret Christians out there. Supposedly secret, you know. And less than 1% of students entering Bible school are considering the foreign mission field to serve Christ. Less than one percent. Now, either there's a breakdown in our challenging youth to serve Christ, and it's not wrong to serve the Lord here at home, but, you know, it requires a A surrender, a total surrender to Christ. If we are to surrender our home, surrender our family, surrender our jobs and whatever God is calling us to step out, it requires a sacrifice. And it's a total sacrifice. You know, the burnt offerings in the Old Testament was a total burnt offering. It was the whole animal was to be burnt. So, let's just bow in prayer. Our Father, we thank you and praise you for grace by this, for what it stood for for years of missions, supporting missions, and being involved in discipling and raising up the youth with a vision to see beyond maybe this area and to where you'd have them to serve even on the foreign mission field. We pray, Lord, that you would speak to our hearts tonight, convince us of what's on your heart, and we pray, Lord, that we would be open and receptive, and, Lord, that we could speak to truth and love. For none of us are perfect, but our perfection is in Christ through his shed blood. We thank you for our position in Christ and for each one here this evening that is taking the time to come out and listen to what you've done in Mexico. And so, Lord, we just thank you and praise you for each one who's made this evening a reality, for the pastors and missionaries that are here this evening. May we be encouraged to see that God's commission will be fulfilled in His time and His way. And as the gospel is preached to the nations, evil continues to seemingly on the increase day in and day out. Lord, we know that you promised to raise up a standard against it and a righteousness. It will be the ultimate end of all this evil that Christ will bring a kingdom where righteousness dwells. And we look forward to that time when we will be with you in that kingdom. And thank you, Lord, for saving us and having mercy on our sinful lives and for redeeming us from the slave market of serving self and sin. Help us, Lord, to walk in holiness and please you with our lives. In Jesus' name, amen. I was impacted by a story of a Mexican pastor in Mexico. I've never met this man. In fact, I don't even know his name. But our pastor had met him, and he was relating to me the story. He had ten children, and this pastor in Mexico with ten kids. All ten of his children are in the ministry. All ten. either married to somebody in the ministry, or they're pastoring or missionaries. And I thought to myself, you know, how did he do it? What did he know that maybe I didn't know? And I discovered that one of the things this dad did with his kids from a very early age, he prayed one prayer that we see in Matthew 9, 36 to 38. He prayed, Lord, the harvest truly is plenteous, but the labors are few. Pray, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labors into his harvest. And this dad prayed this day in and day out to his children as they grew up. And they grew up and they assimilated the heart of God, because this is God's heart. It's God's mission field. These people, like we see up here, the 80,000 Tatamanas that live in the canyons of Mexico, you know, the people in New Guinea, the people in India, yet to hear the gospel, in Africa, all over the world. It's on God's heart. The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labor is a few. Pray, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest. And I'll tell you, I don't know how, but I know God broke me and brought me to the point of where I came to the place where I said, Lord, there's nothing else worthwhile in life besides serving you. When I look at eternity and I look at the short life on this earth, The Lord burned my heart to surrender to serve him as Mark 16 15 says go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature So The second reason why we should share our faith Is that hell exists and it's a reality it is a reality Jesus spoke about hell 33 times. The Bible refers to hell 167 times. If hell did not exist, we would have a legitimate excuse for passivity. But we have God's Word and reason to tell us what awaits guilty sinners. How cold-hearted would we be not to warn of its reality? One thing worse than being lost is being lost and not knowing it. And many people are in that category today across the world. And, you know, I just, people who don't know they're lost, when we went to the Tatamatas, they have no clue they're lost. They said, you white-skinned people are children of the devil. We're children of God. That's what they said. Hey, man, just because my skin was white, I'm children of the devil. How do you figure that? And so, you know, we had to start bringing in the big guns. We brought out our big guns. And it was called the Ten Commandments. Yeah? They didn't have a clue about the Ten Commandments. How many fingers are on your hands? Ten. How many toes are on your feet? Ten. And Romans 2 says God's written the Ten Commandments on every man's heart. Every man's heart. So, God's given us the Ten Commandments either in symbol or in reality written on our hearts three times. In symbol. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three times to emphasize the need to know God's law. For Paul says in Romans, I had not known sin but by the law. He had not known it. Hosea says my people are destroyed through lack of knowledge. Right? It's not knowledge of book learning. It's knowledge of his law. That they're destroyed. Because if we don't understand our lost condition, and that God designed this law to bring us, it's a salt, as Spurgeon said, it's like salt that produces a thirst for grace. Wesley said, I preach 90% law and 10% grace. It's like a doctor who's trying to convince you of your medical problem that you have. And until you're thoroughly convinced there, you're going to take and accept the medicine. And so, third reason for sharing our faith. As believers, we're to strive to love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. And this is exemplified in the reality of a firefighter who is totally, you know, the fire alarm goes off. He doesn't think about how much fear he has necessarily at the moment. And he would maybe prefer to be at home or with his family. But he ignores his fears, denies himself. and goes out to meet the fire and to save life. And if we're convinced of hell as a reality, like him, our thoughts are not on ourselves, but on the fate of the perishing, those who are lost. That's where we should be thinking. Jude 22 and 23 says, Some have compassion, making a distinction, but others fade with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garments defiled by the flesh. What if 750,000 miles long reaches around the earth 30 times and grows 20 miles each day? It grows 20 miles every day. It's the line of people without Christ. They're falling into hell. So, the Bible teaches us that there's false brethren. And there are many who profess to know God, but they lack the things that accompany salvation. The fruit of righteousness, repentance, holiness, good works, the fruit of the Spirit. We must repent and turn to God and do works befitting repentance. Acts 26, 20. When we went into the Tatamata and lived with these people who had no gospel, No knowledge of God. I've never felt in my life like I felt living amongst those people. I was the only person who'd ever come amongst them who knew the true God. They're going to be watching me like a hawk, wondering why we're different. And I went up to Alejandro's cave one day, and I told this story here probably last year, but he looked at me and he said, he said, Ed, how long have you known about Jesus Christ? I said, well, I've never known a time in my life where I didn't hear about him from a child. And he said, well, how long has your dad known this? I said, well, he's known it ever since he was a child. He says, well, if that's the case, if y'all have always known this, why are we just now hearing it for the first time? And that's just a day's drive from Texas, a day and a half to get there. And here's people living within a day, day and a half of our border who've never heard that Jesus Christ died for their sins, was risen the third day and ever liveth, is willing to give them, in their own lives, victory and salvation to where they'll stop killing each other. A ton of them ought to spend a third of the year drunk. They drink religiously. They believe God's commanded them to drink. How's this enslavement to the flesh going to be broken in the culture? The only way it will be broken is when these people fall in love with Jesus Christ. And they begin to love God more than they love the works of the flesh. They die to the flesh. And there's a crucifixion of the flesh in their lives. And we've seen God do this. And it's taken years. It's taken years to see it. Another reason, the fourth reason to share our faith, the necessity of being obedient, to go into all the world and preach the gospel in that part of the world for many of you is East Flat Rock or Greenville or Asheville, is obedience is the evidence of salvation. We are not saved by our obedience, but we are obedient because we are saved. Hebrews 5.9, Jesus is the author of eternal salvation to those who obey him, who obey him. None of us obey perfectly, but the intent of our heart is to surrender and submit and obey the Lord inasmuch as in us. Luke 6.46, Jesus said, but why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say? 2 Thessalonians 1, 7 to 8, The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's not our position to take vengeance. It's God's position. And he will do exactly that in his own time. The fifth reason for sharing our faith is to remain in silence is sin. As soon as the Holy Spirit was given an axe at Pentecost, the apostles began to preach the gospel. God had granted everlasting life to a dying humanity. They could not stay in the upper room because God's love provoked them to reach out to the lost. James 4.17, to him who knows to do good and does it not, to him it is sin. Thomas Hill, a missionary to Nepal, said the biggest hindrance to the missionary task is self. Self that refuses to die, self that refuses to sacrifice, self that refuses to give, and self that refuses to go. The sixth reason for sharing our faith. It causes us to search the Scriptures. Wanting to know how to answer, every man will send us to study God's Word. I remember being in Ben Lepton in Asheville when I was 14. Mr. Weaver, one of the five new members, got a hold of me. He said, You're going with me. I said, Where are we going? He said, We're going to the jail. I had never been in a jail. I was only 14. I said, OK. And Christian service. So, I was kind of looking forward to going to jail and see what it was like. You know, so he hauled me in there and they locked us in behind bars and we were in there with inmates, you know, and there were still bars separating us from them, so I was still OK. Anyway, I've seen boys in there my age. I couldn't believe it. Those young boys in jail. What have they done to deserve that, you know? And I remember Mr. Weaver saying, OK, Ed, it's your turn to give your testimony. And here I am. I'd never done that before. And I was scared to death. So I remember one of these kids, he says, well, if you know so much, He says, who became Mary? You know, he came up with that question. Well, I hadn't studied that out. And I didn't have an answer. But you know what that did? That made me go back and get my Bible out and start reading the story again and seeking some answers. So if we as believers will be diligent to get into God's Word, the Lord will teach us and he will give us answers we need. 2 Timothy 2.15, Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. forced into the jail ministry. And I sense I've been in jails in Africa. I've been in jails here in the States and in Mexico. And, you know, we've seen a good number of people come to Christ in prison out there in Guachichi. And they moved the prison this year. They closed it down, moved it 125 miles away. So, our prison ministry stopped in town this year. But we're going to look for somewhere else to preach, you know. Okay. For what was shared last night about the Jews, all for it. In fact, before I went to Mexico with the gospel, I had a real burden to reach Jewish people. And I think that was passed on to me through A.J. Holton and others who had that vision. And also Romans 1, it says, the gospels were to Jew first. and also to the Greek. And so, anyway, I've been in the synagogue here in Hennesseyville to share Christ before I went to Mexico. I've been in synagogues in Florida. I've been in synagogues in Fort Worth, Texas to share with Jews the gospel. And even if we don't know how, just give them a track and just show love, you know. compassion on their lives. And God will do his work. Number seven. Another reason for sharing our faith. It depends. It deepens our gratitude for the cross. Our gratitude for Christ did. As we continually preach the cross, it will deepen our understanding of what God did for us in Christ. We will find ourselves practicing what we preach, so we will be frequently thinking about the cross. 1 Corinthians 2, 2, Paul said, I determined not to know anything amongst you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And the last point to share on our reasons for sharing the gospel. It deepens our prayer life. Number eight. We reveal our love for the lost by pondering their fate. And as a result, we cannot help but cry out to God for them as we ponder where their souls will go for eternity without God. Paul prayed, Romans 10.1. My heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. Who are we praying for, for the salvation? Our fears and our sense of inadequacy will also drive us to our knees. The safest place for a Christian is on his knees. That's where God speaks to us, and that's where God moves. And the only thing I can say as far as this school and the ministries in Mexico, it was born on our knees in prayer. Leonard Ravenhill says, Prayer is the language of the poor. The self-sufficient don't need to pray. The self-satisfied don't want to pray. The self-righteous cannot pray. The only ones who can pray are those who realize that we need a power outside of ourselves. John Owen said, he who prays as he ought will endeavor to live as he prays. So, what do we need? We need a call to repentance where God will work in our hearts. A call to repentance is important and must not be neglected. is entirely accurate to say that it is the first word of the gospel. The first word of the gospel. Matthew 3, 1 to 2. In those days came John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repent was the first word of John the Baptist's gospel. Repent was the first word of Jesus' gospel. Matthew 4.17, From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Mark 1.14-15, Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and saying, The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent ye and believe the gospel. Repent was the first word in the preaching ministry of the twelve disciples, Mark 6.12. And they went out and preached that men should repent. Repent was the first word in the preaching instructions Jesus gave to his disciples after the resurrection. Luke 24, 46-47, And he said unto them, Thus it is written, Thus it behooved Christ to suffer, to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name amongst all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Repentance was the first word of exhortation in the first Christian sermon. Acts 2.38. And I'd like to emphasize verse 14. But Peter standing up with the eleven lifted up his voice. I remember as a young boy here in Hendersonville hearing preachers preach on the street down here in Hendersonville. On the street. It's a rarity to see that anymore. Where preachers will take the gospel to the street. And yet, most of these places that we're talking about in Scripture happened on street, where the disciples were ministering in public street places. And it says, when Peter stood up to preach, all the eleven were there with him. They stood up with him and he preached. They lifted up their voices. That means they heralded out They spoke loudly so hundreds of people could hear. I'll never forget being in India. We were preaching off the back of our truck, and it didn't take 15 minutes to get 200 people to show up for an open air service. They were just there, and they just came in and were wanting to know what was going on, you know, and was preaching in open air. So, verse 38, Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Okay. Repentance was the first word in the mouth of the Apostle Paul through his ministry. Acts 26, 19 through 20. Whereupon, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision, but showed first unto them of Damascus, and of Jerusalem, and throughout all the coast of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. The last words of Jesus to the seven churches of Revelation. What about it? I wonder what the Lord would say to the seven churches. Well, we go in there to the Ephesus church and over there in Turkey in Revelation 2.5. The Lord had some words to say to that church about repentance. The last words of Jesus to the church of Revelation were, repent. You've left your first love. Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen and repent. Or else I'll come and remove my candlestick. You know, Muslims took over Turkey There were mountains of heads who were beheaded because they were believers. When Constantinople fell, I went through Turkey in 71. At that time, there were 35 million people there and only less than 100 believers in the whole country. Why? Severe persecution. And the church, in large measure, was snuffed out through violent death. I hope that doesn't happen in our country. God has called the church to repentance, to herald the gospel, and to lift up our voice. And it is sin to remain silent. And so, true repentance surrenders all to God. It doesn't keep secret sins. It means that we rid ourselves of all idols, not just graven images of foreign gods or statues that are bowed to, but also the idolatry of loving our families, our work, our possessions more than we love God. It means forsaking covetousness, which is idolatry. D.L. Moody said, men are pretty near the kingdom of God when they do not see anything good in themselves. That's when they get near. You know, that self-righteousness is dealt with. And I guess the biggest thing that we've had to deal with in Mexico is the area of self-righteousness. People just have an innate sense inside that somehow there's some good there. And Paul said in Romans 7, I know that in my flesh dwells no good thing. No good thing. D.L. Moody said, God sends no one away empty except those who are full of themselves. I too goes away empty. So, may God help us as believers to cry out to the Lord. Lord, help me to break the silence. Help me to open my mouth and proclaim liberty to the captives as Jesus did, as the twelve disciples did. Thomas went to India. I sang in the church he founded in India when I was 19 years old. It's called St. Thomas' Church. I can't even remember the town. But it was amazing to see that Dowling Thomas traveled to India and preached the gospel. Isn't that great? He had a vision to reach the lost. When Christ said, Hey, I want you to be fishers of men, he found out I'm not going back to the old fishing job, the old fishing hole. I'm going to look for souls. And you know, I grew up here. I love hunting, fishing, and all these mountains here. One day, God put in my heart, go fishing for men. And we haven't won thousands and millions of people to Christ. It's been a few. And we praise God for those who have come to the saving knowledge of Christ. And the men in our church, three families. We've lost families out of our church now. How about that? There wasn't a church left. It was sent on a mount to reach the lost. And so, Tomas is building a church in Nortegachi out of our church. Vocho is leading the church at the school. And Hoel and Casilda are reaching the Indians out in Sayavati with a gospel. And, you know, that's God's faithfulness. So, let's just bow in prayer and thank the Lord for what He's doing. And we just praise the Lord. Pray for us as we go. I'll be here tomorrow at Linn. Tomorrow night in Greenville. So, we just have a week left before we go back. Appreciate your prayers. As believers, that I can walk in repentance in my own life, day by day, and that Christ be glorified, whether by life or by death, until He comes. It's easy to say. It's another thing to live under the shadow of drug war. the pressure. We need your prayers. And we thank you for standing with us, for your support, for a pastor shared with us that's going to raise support. And we just appreciate that. And all the missionaries here need your prayers. And so we just thank you and praise you. Young people, don't spend 40 years doing circles in the desert. Make some serious commitments with Christ. Serve Him while you have energy of your youth to serve Him. Don't wait until you're 60 like me. I thank the Lord that I can look back on years of sowing the seed. Thank You, Lord, for working in my life as a young person and drawing me to Yourself. Let's just pray. Our Father, we thank You for Your goodness. We thank You for this church that has heralded forth the grace of God. all these years. And even though it's gone through ups and downs and difficulties, we thank you, Lord, that the gospel is still preached in this pulpit. And for those who are faithful to go out in the highways and byways and compel them to come in, we just pray, Lord, that you would bless each and every one here in their ministries that you've given them, Lord, that we would be obedient to the command of God for his commandments to go in all the world and preach the gospel. We would hear the heart of God saying, The fields are white, and the harvests, they're white, but the labors are few. May we truly hear Your voice. And may You speak to each one of us through the part that You would have us to have in this great harvest across this earth. In Jesus' name, Amen.