God, I want you to go back in your Bibles to John chapter number one tonight. John chapter number one, I still felt the love of the Lord to go back. And so we'll go back to John chapter number one tonight. I'm glad for my Bible, amen? And I appreciate the goodness of God. The psalmist said this in Psalms 119. Verse 92, he said, unless thy law had been my delight, I should have been perished in my affliction. And that's been my life verse for many years. The only reason that I'm still on course serving the Lord Jesus is because I had a Bible. and the author lives on the inside. And it's comforting me over and over and over again. So I'm glad for my Bible, amen. John chapter number one, verse number 35, we'll begin our reading again. The Bible said, and again, the next day after John stood and two of his disciples, and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said, behold, the Lamb of God, and two disciples. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, which is being interpreted, Master, where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first foundeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon, the son of Jonah. Thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation of stone. And then in our passage, as you remember from this morning, our thought comes from that first phrase in verse number 42. And he brought him to Jesus, amen. Let's pray together. Our Father, I thank you and praise you for your word. Thank you for being so good to us and for loving us like you do. Heavenly Father, I thank you, Lord, for your kindness to us tonight. God, you've been mighty kind. Lord, I pray, God, tonight you'd help us, Lord Jesus. And Lord, that you'd move our hearts. God, it takes the help of the Holy Ghost to appropriate truth in our hearts, and I pray God in Jesus' name, the Holy Ghost, you'd make the truths of this message real to my heart and to the hearts of the hearers, and God, we'll thank you and praise you in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. I praise the Lord for being so good to us. It's good to be back tonight. I wanna go back to that thought of bringing others to Jesus. We spoke this morning, first of all, the presence behind the bringing. How that after they came and saw, they went to tell, amen. And if you spend enough time in the presence of the Lord and fall in love with Jesus in his presence, it'll result into you having to tell somebody, amen. Thank God, I'm glad I've got something to tell tonight. We have something to tell tonight. And the more we spend time in His presence, the more we'll have to tell somebody how good Jesus is. Amen. And we found there was a presence behind the bringing. And then we found there was a personal commitment behind bringing others to Jesus. The Bible said, and he brought him to Jesus. Amen. He first founded his own brother Simon. That word he is a personal pronoun. Hey listen, you know what I've realized in life? Nothing is real until it becomes personal. You heard me just say that Church hurt never had really been real to me. Until now, it's personal. The same goes. for winning souls until we begin taking it personal, amen, that our family and that our friends are going to hell. Until we begin taking it personal that we might have to go to heaven with that people that we love and with that people that we care about. Until we begin taking it personal that one day we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, there'll be no personal commitment. But if I know I'm going to be held personally responsible for the souls around me. If I know that one day I'm going to have to face the Lord Jesus and give an account, if I take that personal, I believe it will change the way I live. I've only known one man to make this statement. I mentioned to Brother Brian at lunch today Friday was Brother Stenick Blow's birthday. And he, of course, is in heaven now. And Brother Brian, the last time I saw him, we were talking about eternal things, and he smiled with tears in his eyes, and he said, I've not always been perfect, but I've given God all I had. And I have no regrets. And what he said next floored me. We began to talk about the judgment seat. He smiled again and said, Why I look forward to that. How about living in such a way that you look forward to the judgment seat? He's the only person I've ever heard say that. Most people that I know, including me, when I think about the judgment seat, I'm scared to death. He looked forward. Boy, you talk about a man sold out for Jesus. You'd have to be sold out to look forward to the judgment seat. But he took it personal. God help us to take it personal. We find the presence behind the bringing, the personal commitment behind the bringing. In most churches, they ought to do something. Y'all hear what I just said? In most churches, they ought to do something. They need to give more. They need to do more. The church, they need to do this and they need to do that. Revival will come when I decide what I need to do and I determine in my heart by the grace of God what I will do, who I will win, who I will tell, who I will weep over. Oh, God, help us to have personal commitment. We find not only is there a presence behind the bringing, it's the Lord Jesus, there's personal commitment. But there is a priority. He said, he first findeth. You know what I believe that means, Brother Jerry? As we say here in the south, he didn't dilly-dally around. As soon as he met the Lord and it changed his life forever, he didn't say, well, when I get time, I'll go find Simon. He didn't say, When I've got more free time, I'll go get him. When there ain't so many things on my calendar, and I'm not overworked so bad, I'll go talk to him. But no, I believe what he did, as soon as he met Jesus, he said to himself, Simon needs him. I've got to go get Simon. I don't believe he just lollygagged around. I believe when Simon run into Andrew, He was in a dead run. Hey, Simon, you ain't never gonna believe it. We found him. The one we've been waiting on. The one we've been hoping for. The one with all the answers. He's here. I hope he's here. We met Jesus, hallelujah. And he made it a priority. Oh, Lord. I wonder what kind of priority it is to tell others. By the way, that is what life is all about. I mentioned this to a preacher friend of mine the other day. He ended up preaching on it. But the same crowd that couldn't tarry one hour to pray with Jesus in the garden is the same crowd that fished all night. It's all about priorities. We all do what we want to do. Oh God, help me to want to win somebody. Y'all want an honest preacher, don't you? I do remember a day when I walked through with Sir Gray. I wasn't going to bed unless I told somebody. Oh, about Jesus. My heart's desire was to win a soul. I didn't care about much of nothing else. You know, I've prayed some prayers that's not gone my way. But can I tell you one prayer that I've prayed that He's always answered? Lord, would You open the door for me to tell somebody about Jesus today? I've never prayed that. God didn't make a way. for me to tell somebody that day about the gospel of the Lord Jesus. But you know why I did it? Because I wanted to. Amen. That want to don't come in your flesh, by the way. God's got to give you that. Your flesh don't want to do anything spiritual. Neither does mine. But oh, that God would give us a holy want to. Amen, to make souls a priority. One old preacher said, we're supposed to be fishers of men, but most men are just keeper of the aquarium, and every once in a while, we'll swap fishes, and the fishes will go from one aquarium to another, or from one church to another, and we'll keep them a while, but when's the last time we brought one into the boat, amen? that grabbed hold of the bait of the gospel. Heaven was brought in the boat. Hey, listen, there's nothing wrong with people coming from other churches, but there's multitudes of people dying and going to hell, and I want to win them to the glory of God, amen. It's a priority. And then can I say this? The Bible said he first findeth his own brother. There has to be persistence in bringing others to Jesus. The word findeth, that E-T-H in your King James Bible, it is important. And we're King James people for a reason. Amen. You say, well, that's just preference. No, it's a conviction. A preference, I can bend a little on that. But by God's good grace, I ain't gonna be ugly and I ain't gonna be mean, but I ain't bending when it comes to this King James Bible, amen. Amen. First find that that suffix means continually. What does that mean? That means he probably wasn't in the first place he looked, but he kept on looking until he found him, amen. He was persistent. I'm not going home until I get Simon to Jesus, amen. Four types of soil in the Bible, Brother Jerry. And only one, only one did the seed fall on good ground and bring forth fruit. And I was reading that the other day and I'm gonna tell you what that does, Brother Brian. We let those three that don't bear any fruit keep us getting to the one piece of ground where God's got it ready, amen. and there'll be fruit for a bore and somebody saved by the grace of God. And what we do is the first time somebody don't take our track or the first time somebody slams the door or the first time somebody says, I don't want to talk about it, we get discouraged and give up when there's people waiting to hear the truth. Oh God, help us to be persistent in these days. I heard a story the other day listening to Brother James Knox. By the way, time out a minute. If you don't listen to him, you need to. That's a Bible preacher and he'll help you. His stuff's all over YouTube, sermon audio. A man loves souls. He made a statement the other day, Brother Brian, that I've not been able to get over. He said the worst thing that ever happened to the church was when we got more involved in politics than we did soul winning. Oh, he's been calling the church back to soul winning. And if you're a preacher in his church or a teacher or a deacon, it is required that you be involved in soul winning. You can be a member, but you can't hold a position and not be a soul winner. I like that myself. Amen, glory to God. He means to make it a priority, amen, to win souls. Every week of every year, there's at least 100 people out of his church sharing the gospel somewhere in Florida where they live. They're sold out for the gospel's sake. And he said that on Sunday morning, some of the young preachers will go to truck stops and they'll preach. Some Sunday mornings, Brother Brian, they'll find people that's receptive and then some not. And the story he told was this, Brother Donnie, he said that one of the young men went to a truck stop and he wasn't having anybody to be receptive and everybody was telling him to leave him alone and everybody was mad that they were out there and he was sad that there was no reception and he said, I'm going to try one more time. and before I leave and go to church on that Sunday morning and he gives this old man a track that was at the truck stop and the old man cussed him and threw that track in a mud hole next to the interstate and said I don't want it and the young man went to church discouraged and just tried to be faithful but he was discouraged and he said, that didn't do any good. A couple of weeks went by and Brother Knox was in his office and his phone rang in his study and when he answered and the lady was on the other end just weeping and when she finally got herself together where she could talk, she told Brother Knox, I need to be saved. You've got to help me, I need to be saved. He said, well ma'am, I'll be glad to help you, but what led you to call me? And she said, preacher, my life is in shambles and I was riding down the road weeping and I said, God, if you're there, you've got to help me. And she said, about that time, I rode by a truck stop and she said, a big gust of wind come by, And she said, a muddy gospel track landed in the front seat of my car. I had to top down. And she said, I read that track. And God said, I am here. Call that man. And she got saved by the grace of God. Hank, Brother Jerry, that young preacher thought it was over and that it had done no good. But God sent the wind to some sea, landed in a mud hole, and that woman got saved by the grace of God. I saw Brother Knox later. I said, what did that young man do when you told him that story? He said, he took off running, rejoicing. I said, what'd you do, Brother Knox? He said, I ran with him. Amen. And if you know Brother Knox, that ain't his MO. God bless his persistence. We got to stay with it. My dad has been persistent my whole life. He made us believe in gospel tracts so much, if we left the house and realized we didn't have any in our pocket, we turned around. From the time I was a little boy, he'd say, all right now son, I've give out my quota for today. Next placement goes on you. He taught us to pass out them gospel tracts. So to speak. Many times, nobody would say anything. Thank God there was a few times when I knew it was a divine appointment. Blakely just got saved back in October. That's another reason this has been so hard. She's a new convert. One thing I will say about her is she's been to where she witnessed to a telephone pole. We taught her from a little girl to pass out gospel tracts. We went into Walmart one night, Brother Jerry, and there hadn't been any fruit whatsoever. that I could see from the tracks we'd been passing out for several months. I was kind of worried with it. And I'll be honest with you, I hadn't done it in a few days. And we went into Walmart and there was a worker there named Peter. And we'd been trying to talk to Peter about the Lord. And Peter liked Blakely. She makes friends easy. And we went in that night, and Blakely said, hey, Daddy, we got any gospel tracts? I want to give one to Peter. And she walked over to Peter and Brother Brian, and she said, hey, Peter, are you going to heaven with us? And when she did, the Spirit of God He knelt down in front of her and he said, well, honey, I don't know, but I hope so. Tears began to fill his eyes as God gripped his heart. And I said, Peter, friend, you can know. You can know. And God sent this little girl to give you this gospel because he wants you to know God let me give the gospel to Peter for the first time. We've been trying to talk to him for two years and he changed the subject every time he's seen us. And that one simple act of obedience by that little girl opened the door wide open, tenderized Peter. And we give Peter the gospel that day. And Peter didn't just say, but when Peter walked away, there was another worker standing there just weeping. And I said, ma'am, are you all right? And what she said next, I thought I was going to get threw out of there, Brother Brian. She said, for 10 years, I've been trying to witness to Peter, and I couldn't get anywhere. And she said, I tried again today, and he wasn't listening. He just cut me off, and he was cold toward me. And she said, he left the break room. And she said, I went to one of those chairs sitting by the table and I made an altar. And I said, God, I can't reach him. Would you please send somebody that could get through to Peter? And she said, I got to watch God bring that little girl in here. I'm trying to tell you all, God blesses persistence. I thought about that waiter we saw today, preacher. Come to one service and ain't been back. And he ain't here again. But under God, go find him! It may be the difference between heaven and hell, go find him! The only thing shattering being lost is being lost and nobody looking for you. Can y'all imagine how many people in the shadow of this steeple are lost and worshipped? Nobody's looking for them. Nobody's got a burden of the dawning. Nobody's weeping. Nobody's praying. While we're talking about telling, I wonder tonight, when's the last time in prayer you wept over a sinner? E.M. Bounds wrote all those classic books on prayer. If you ain't got them, you need to get them and read them. Oh, every time I read them, God stirs my heart. And this is what he said about praying for sinners. Brother Jerry, he said to talk to men about God is a great thing. but to talk to God about those men is greater still. Glory to God, I got family I can't talk to, but I talk to God about them. Oh my, I'm trying to tell you to be persistent. And if you won't talk to him, You probably won't talk to them. And if you talk to him enough, they'll come and you'll have to talk to them. The burden will get so big you won't be able to keep from it. Oh Lord. Persistence. Then there's a passion. You know what Andrew didn't do? He didn't say, Listen, you need to do better. He didn't say, Peter, it'd be good if you'd go to church with me. No, he went and said, I found Jesus. He went and said, I met the Savior. I found the answer to all our questions. I found hope when everybody thought there was none. And his passion was not getting him to church, although that was good. His passion was getting him to Christ. And by the way, if they ever really meet Christ, they'll come to church. Amen. God'll put a desire in the depths of their soul You know, preacher, it didn't go like I hoped it would at that church, but the first one that ever got saved that we talked about today, I got out of church and I had a text, and it was from him, and it said, I prayed for you this morning, preacher. Praise the Lord. And he said to me today, he said, preacher, I'm still sad, but then he said, but he's worthy and we gotta go on. He said, preacher, there's too many weary preachers and weary church members that need help. And there's too many people like me that are lost and nobody's ever told them, you gotta go, you gotta go, you gotta go. I tell you what it made me say, I'm gonna go. Persistence, we gotta go, and we got to keep going. Passion, we gotta give people Jesus. We gotta discuss the gospel. How is it that we claim to love him, but we never talk about him? Oh my, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. Amen. If my heart's full of Jesus, He'll come out. Amen. If my heart's communion with the Lord Jesus, He'll come out. Hallelujah to God and the Lamb forever. I remember seasons of my life where I had so much joy and I was in so much communion with the Lord. And when I got around people, I couldn't help it. I didn't have to try. It was as natural as breathing. I was in love with him, hallelujah. I remember one time, I was nine years old, was at the mall. And boy, I was just in love with the Lord. Malls used to be a big thing. They're about gone now. But I've always been a people person. And so I'd just go sit by a bench and watch people. And if somebody sat down, I'd talk to them. And I was in a, boy, me and the Lord had a good day that day. I mean, from the time I got up and prayed to start the morning to that afternoon, it's one of them days, I guess we've all had them and we've been saved long enough. It seemed like Brother Jerry, he was close enough, I could have reached out and touched him. And I was thinking about heaven and what heaven was going to be like. And I started singing that old song. I want to stroll over heaven with you some glad day when all those troubles and heartaches truly vanished away. We'll enjoy all the beauty where all things are new. I want to stroll over heaven with you. We'll renew all acquaintance with the friends we once knew. There we'll meet all our loved ones and see Sister, it will be a glad reunion. There will be much to view when I stroll over heaven with you. And I so far carried away, I didn't realize there's a man done sat down beside me. And I finished that verse and he said, my wife used to sing that song. I said, does she not sing anymore? He said, well, she died a couple months ago. He said, you really believe that's real? I said, yes, sir. I said, I'm going just as sure as I'm talking to you. And he said, so you're what they call saved? I said, yes, sir. I sure am. He said, you know, I've been thinking about it a lot. I said, well, God, don't make no mistakes, sir. I said, he just happened to have you stopping a bench where a kid was sitting, enjoying the Lord, singing about heaven. I'm just a kid. He said, I lived a wicked life. He said, I know I can't fix it. But he said, you reckon the Lord would take me just as I am? Woo! I said, yes, sir. As a matter of fact, I believe that's why he let me come today. because he wanted you to know he would. And he said, you really believe the Lord would save me? And I said, yes, sir. And I took out a gospel tract. And I'm just a kid, so all I needed to do was go through that gospel tract and tell him what that tract said and read the scriptures to him that was in that tract. Oh, I carried a Gideon New Testament around in those days to read in case I needed to talk to somebody. So I turned to the scriptures in that Gideon New Testament and give them to him to read himself. He said, do I need to wait till I go to church or reckon God will save me right now? I said, sir, there's enough God on this one bench to save the world. I said, I'll take you right now. And he made an altar out of that bench, Brother Jerry, and he asked the Lord to save him. And when he got up, I hugged him and he hugged me and we rejoiced. He said, hey, before you leave, will you do me a favor? I said, yeah, what is it? He said, sing it again. And I said, sir, I may not ever see you again on this side. And I put my arm around that old man and I said, well, Renewal, from the friends we once knew. They will meet all our loved ones and see Jesus. There will be a glad reunion. There will be much to view when I stroll over heaven with you. I want to stroll over heaven with you some glad day when all the troubles and heartaches have truly vanished away. We'll enjoy all the beauty where all things are new while I stroll over heaven I wonder who it is that God wants you to win so you can stroll over heaven with that you've not won yet. I don't know if any of the rest of y'all is getting it, but I sure am. Thank you, Lord. Hallelujah. Oh, bless his name. We've got a lot of work to do. We've got a wonderful story to tell. Hallelujah. Lastly, and I'm done, not only do we see a presence behind the bringing, the personal commitment to bringing, the priority to bringing, commitment to bringing the persistence and the passion, but we see there's potential of those we bring to Jesus. His name was Simon, but Jesus called him Peter. Thank God when they brought me to him, he didn't just see what I was, he saw what I would be. I think about My Uncle Allen a lot. Brother Brian went to Bible college with my Uncle Allen. He said he remembered Brother Ricky Bishop teaching through Hebrews. And he said sometimes I'd come in from work late I'd be late to class. And he said, Brother Ricky Bishop would be teaching through Hebrews. And he said, I'd walk in that fellowship hall making my way to class. And he said, Brother Ricky would be teaching through Hebrews. He said, the glory be done fell. And he said, I'd come in for class. And he said, Brother Brian be running. My brother Ricky taught on the glories of Christ in the book of Hebrews. But my Uncle Alan, is the one that came to our house. I'm about to lose it and scare some of y'all to death. He came to our house. I know you got some in your pocket. Let me borrow one of them. One of them tracks. Glory to God. He came to our house and this really don't look like too much, does it? Whoo! He came to our house and mama and daddy was neck deep in the muck and the mire of this world. No hope, no help. The little boy with seemingly no future. And he laid that crack on our coffee table. And he looked at my mother. And he said, the Lord loves y'all and he wants to change your life and give you something worth living for. And he hugged her neck and walked out the door and she read that gospel track and the Lord arrested her heart and she said, I believe I was born again before my knees hit the floor. And she got saved by the grace of God. Daddy got saved almost a week later. And that little baby. So Juan, you stay preaching to you tonight? My daddy got to come to the church before we went back out on the road. My little girl had been saved. And she said, I want my papa to baptize me. Daddy came up the mountain. We put Blakely in the water. And he got in there at that baptismal with my little girl. And he said to the church, if you wonder if it pays to be faithful. All it was, was a folded up gospel track, and it changed our family forever. That track came from the Fellowship Track League. More willingly this spring, I'll be printing my first track and my first devotional. And guess who's printing it? The Fellowship Track. And when God hooked me up with the man that runs the print shop, and we began to talk, and he said, I can tell that the track league means a great deal to you. He said, is there a particular reason why you love the fellowship track league so much? I said, yes, sir. I said, almost 30 years ago. over 30 years ago, somebody come by and laid a tract from the Fellowship Tract League on our coffee table and mama got saved by the grace of God and nothing has ever been the same. He said, you mean to tell me that your mama got saved reading one of our tracts and now we're going to print your books? Woo! I'm trying to tell you, you don't never know the potential of those you might bring to Jesus. I'd have liked to have been Andrew on the day of Pentecost, when Peter got up full of the Holy Ghost and preached. and 3,000 people got saved. I can imagine that Andrew elbowed them disciples with tears running down his face, had a smile and said, hey boys, that's my brother. I remember when I brought him to Jesus. Oh Lord. Hallelujah. That young man that I told you called me today, been saved six months from the last time we were together for a full church service at the church. He taught Sunday school with God all over him and tears running down his face. Today, he said it again, not knowing what I was going to preach tonight. He said, hey preacher, thank you for bringing me to Jesus. I wouldn't want to go through it again, but I wouldn't take nothing for it. He was talking to me the other day, talking about what that's doing as a family and family devotions. I went and preached a watch night service. His wife got saved as well, just a couple months after he did. while they were singing, My Hope's in the Blood. And I watched his wife stand up with both hands raised. Oh, you just don't ever know what God might do with the ones he lets you bring to Jesus. God help us to let the fires of soul winning burn again. The fires of being a witness burn again. I'll tell you this story and I'll be done. I'm gonna tell you if you got a burden to really be a witness, God will providentially work things out and put people in your path in a way Well, you don't know it's him. You'll never forget it. I remember one time we left downtown Greenville. We'd tried to witness down there and tried to pass out tracts and they had cussed us and laughed at us. They spit on one of the young boys that was with us. He's more spiritual than I am. His response was, thank you for letting me identify with my suffering savior. He spit on him too. He wiped his face off and passed out another track. We left kind of discouraged because we had no kind of reception. And we passed a gas station across the road from a Budweiser plant there in Piedmont. And we passed by that gas station and there were some workers getting off shift And they had a Budweiser truck sitting in the parking lot. And they had raised up the back of that truck. And they were gonna pop a top and chill out, they said, before they went home. And we drove by, and of course I can't drive, so one of my buddies was driving for me. It was late. As soon as we drove by them men, the Lord smoked my heart. But I didn't want to say nothing. Because it was late and he was driving. And we got about five minutes down the road. And I looked up and big old tears were streaming down his face. He said, brother, I know it's late. And he just stopped. He got so choked up. I said, but we got to turn around. He said, yeah, we got to go back. Let's go. By this time, it's 2 o'clock in the morning. Because we always stayed late. Because after everybody else left downtown was when all the homeless people would come out. Those were the people I was after. I'm writing a track on this subject right now, but why would you be so interested in the homeless? Because it was a homeless man that changed my life. There was a man that said, Foxes have holes. The fowls of the air have nests, but the son of man had no place to lay his head. It was a homeless man that changed my life. We'd go out and feed them, Brother Jerry. The reason we'd done it is not just because we loved them, but Jesus said, if you've done none of the least of these, you've done none to me. And having the opportunity to feed Jesus sounded pretty good to me. So we'd stay late to be with some of them people. I don't believe this or not, we decided one night to have communion with a few of them that had been saved. And they forgot the grape juice. The other guys, that was with us. And before the Lord, somebody went and found some grape Kool-Aid and some pieces of bread. And the most holy communion I've ever been in in my life was with grape Kool-Aid and pieces of bread. That's the truth. But we went back to that gas station after ministering to them. There's four men sitting on that tailgate of that truck. And we tried to witness to them all, and three of them didn't care. But one of them, old Taddy, he was under holy ghost conviction. And we'd be talking and quoting scripture, and he'd say, I know who sent y'all. I know who sent y'all. And at first I thought he was just crazy or paranoid. thought somebody was out for him. He kept saying, I know who sent y'all. But he never would move. And so I decided I was gonna just pray for him and then get back in the car. I said a word of prayer. He's sitting there trembling, still wouldn't move. I said, Teddy, here's my phone number. I said, I hope you don't make it back to your house. before you have to pick up the phone and call me. And I'll come right back and we'll go to Calvary together. And I went to leave Brother Brian and I got almost to my car and the Holy Ghost said, turn around and sing the third verse of the lifeboat. And by this time it was a 24 hour gas station There's all kinds of people around everywhere, most of them very sketchy. And I said, Lord, right now, in the midst of all these people? And the Lord said, right now. I said, okay. I turned around, I said, So now's the time to get on board while he is passing by. For if you stand and wait too long, you shall forever die. But the fare's been paid for one and all. The captain bids you come. Get on board the lifeboat. We'll carry, she'll carry you safely home. Then cheer, my brother, cheer. Our trials will soon be o'er. Our loved ones we shall meet, shall meet upon that golden shore. We're pilgrims and we're strangers here. We're seeking a city to come. So get on board the lifeboat. She'll carry you safely home. And old Teddy fell off face first into a mud hole off of that truck. He started crying out, oh God save me. His hand forever got to him. He come out of that mud hole covered in mud, but he's as clean as he's ever been. And we hugged and rejoiced, and I said, Teddy, I said, tell me something. I said, you let me talk to you, you let us share the scripture, but you never broke until the third verse of the lifeboat. Tell me why that is. He said, you ain't never gonna believe it. But I'll tell you. He said my grandma just died two weeks ago. He said she's an old time saint. He said she's on her deathbed begging me to be saved. He said I got tired of listening to her. He said I told her I had to go, but he said there was a long hallway between her bedroom and the carport. I had to walk down that real long hallway and as I was walking out, He said, Grandma started singing, So now's the time to get on board while he is passing by. And he said, Brother, she'd been in the grave two weeks, but she told me that her prayers would outlive the grave, and God wasn't going to leave me alone. And he said, When you started singing that same verse, I knew God had sent you. And I was hemmed in. And old Teddy got saved by the grace of God. And Brother Brian, I begin to think, I give him that Gideon New Testament I had. He didn't have a Bible. And he called me the next evening. And I said, hey, Teddy, what are you doing? He said, I'm on my way back home from work. I said, do you have to work today? He said, no, I just went in long enough to quit. I had wondered whether I should say something, you know, about newborn babes. And God told me, I got this, leave him alone. And so I said, Teddy, I said, tell me, what made you decide to quit? He said, well, he said, I went home and you give me that little New Testament with the Psalms and Proverbs in it, and he said, I read it, and he said, for the first time in my life, it was alive to me, and it made sense. And he said, the more I read, the more God began to talk. And I said, how much did you read? He said, all of it. He said, I made a pot of coffee and stayed up all night. And he said, I read all the New Testament and Psalms and Proverbs. I said, well, what made you quit? He said, I got over there to Proverbs 20, about wine is a mocker and strong drink is a reproach, and they that are deceived, they're bower not wise. And he said, the Holy Ghost said, you ain't got no business working for Budweiser. He said, I'm willing to quit. And he said, one of them said, you drank like a fish. So why in the world would you quit Budweiser? He said, boys, I'm still drinking. I just switched fountains. They said, what? He said, at 2 o'clock this morning, I got to drink a living water. And he said, you don't have it. I'll never be back. Last time I seen old Teddy, he's still winning people to God. Let me say this, I know there's an element of discipleship. I know there is. I know a lot of times we struggle with that, really discipling people and walking beside people. But at the same time, if they ever really get in, they'll grow. But we gotta go get them. It's amazing how many people complain about people never being saved no more, but ain't nobody telling nothing. Ain't nobody going to get them. Well, folk, they won't come to church with me. They're not commanded to come to church with you, but you are commanded to go. You're their friend, you're their love. A few said, let's go for coffee. I sat down and said, listen, I'm really concerned for your soul. We beat around the bush way too much, y'all. They said when Preacher Jack came to see my daddy, they said, daddy said he answered the door in a pair of cut off shorts, no shirt and a Budweiser in his hand. And he said, I didn't even know enough to be ashamed. He said, the old preacher hugged my neck, and he said, I felt something I never felt before, and I felt awkward. He said, I didn't know what to say or do, so I just said, sure is a nice day, ain't it, preacher? He said, Preacher Jack looked at him with tears in his eyes, and he said, yes, son, it is, but I didn't come to talk about the weather. I came out of concern for your soul. His birthday was yesterday. And they used to not always do this, but he's probably a whole lot closer to the river than when he once was. And I told him happy birthday, Brother Brian. And these days I don't let him hang up without saying he preached me. He's retired now, not able to do much. His wife's in her 80s and having heart trouble. She can't hardly get around now. He told me the other day, he said, I got a lot more I wish I could do, but I think I'm about done. I said, no preacher, even when you're gone, you won't be done. He said, what do you mean? I said, because. The one you're talking to is some fruit that remains. And everybody, God lets me win to the Lord. It'll abound to your account. So even when you're gone, you won't be done. All that will be green gave his life to the gospel. And the first person to ever be saved in our family tree was my great-grandma, my daddy's mama's mama, and she got saved in a living room floor listening to Oliver B. Green preach on the radio the year that he died. I went up the other day to the Tennessee Museum of the Bible and pigeon-forged, if you ain't ever been, need to go. I've got old Bibles and artifacts and I've bought original sermon notes that belong to Charles Spurgeon that are in his handwriting. Jessie got me some for Christmas and framed it and she bought me an original piece out of an original 1611 King James Bible. I've got it framed in my office. But I got to touring different Bibles that belong to different people. And all of a sudden I seen a picture of Oliver B. Green next to an old radio and a red Bible was laid open. And it said this is one of Oliver B. Green's preaching Bibles that he used for the radio. And I held that Bible and began to weep. And some people would think I was crazy. But I told the man that runs that museum, I said, I'll give you $1,200 right now if you'll sit. He said, why? I said, because it's one of Dr. Green's radio Bibles. And I said, this is the last one he used. And for all I know, this could be the Bible that he preached from when my grandma fell on the living room floor and got born again. He's already gone. but because he gave his life to tell somebody. I got a lot of people I can't wait to meet in heaven. But I can't wait to meet Dr. Green. He said, you believe that's going to happen? I said, sure. You never know what God might do with those who pray to Jesus. I'm done tonight. Maybe the dear sister will come play a verse of invitation. Oh Lord. I didn't mean to go that long, but I didn't mean to have that much liberty either. Hallelujah. Amen. God help us to get serious about soul winning again. I remember watching my daddy go out the door for years, sometimes all by himself, to go on Thursday night visitation. Had a burden for souls. God help us to go again. God help us to tell somebody again. Here's what I know about sermons like these. Every time I preach one or hear one, the Holy Ghost puts somebody's face in front of mine. More than likely, if you're a sage and in fellowship with God, he's put somebody. If I was you, I'd come talk to the Lord about it. Oh my. Heard an old preacher the other day, he said they used to go to the grocery store to get milk. Now I go to the grocery store to tell somebody about Jesus and I get milk while I'm there. Who is it you need to tell? Who is it you need to pray for? I'm gonna tell you again, I wouldn't wait on nobody. I'd come pray for them. To talk to men about God is a great thing, but to talk to God about those men is greater still. We'll stay and make it easy for folks to get out if the Lord spoke to your heart when you come. Oh, God. Oh, Lord. Who do you know that's on their way to hell that you need to stand in the gap for. You know, we talk about, I'm ready for the Lord to come today, and in a way I mean that. But at the same time, I got some people I'm not willing to go without. Oh God, give me just a few more days. Oh Lord, give me just a few more days. Our Father in Jesus' name.