My brother, Joe Wilson, used to say, not using up my time. All right, enjoyed those specials. Boy, very good. Very uplifting. Well, some of you all know I mentioned Yesterday, I used to be in this area many moons ago, and it was over in Columbus, Mississippi. And I know a little bit about the area. You know, every area has its challenges, you know. Well, I was going to say something else about the food, but I want to keep eating. But I hope when we come at the end of this message, nobody's going to say, preacher, that was, I mean, I appreciate that message. It's like water to a drowning man. I hope it won't be like that, because I know the area. The reason I say that, you'll turn there in Mark chapter 16. I mentioned this earlier, it's kind of an elaboration, if you will, on the evangelized point of my message. You know, it didn't take me long. I mean, I didn't grow up in a Christian home. But they told me that you're supposed to go share the gospel. That was just something, that's what the Word of God says and so on and so forth. And we used to go down the streets of Atlanta, passing out cracks to folks. Early on, I didn't know anything. All I know was that what that demon-possessed man knew, what great things the Lord had done for me. That's about all I could say because I didn't know. I didn't grow up in a Christian home. I didn't know much, but I knew what the Lord had done for me. I know the gospel that happened to me. And ever since then, it has been something that has been in my heart to want to share with other people. Because I want them to know this good news. And I tell you, you can't know it unless you hear about it. You've got to hear about it. One thing I appreciate about being over at Citrus Missionary Baptist Church where Brother Troy Shepherd is, We go out in the street to preach. We go out in the park and we preach. We do open air preaching. And I tell you one thing, I never have regretted doing it. I've always appreciated doing that because I feel like I'm doing what my Lord told me to do. And that is to proclaim the glad tidings of great joy. Mark 16, verse 15, and he said unto them, that is, Jesus, go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Let's pray. Our Father and our God, we come before you, Lord, thanking you for the power of the gospel that has been evident in the lives of many of us here today. And we pray, Father, that as we consider this passage, that we will be revived to be busy about your business and spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. to a world that needs it so desperately. I pray, Father, that You would move in our hearts. Again, we're dependent upon You and we pray You'd forgive us. We know too often, though we may believe these and may be believing strongly, we don't obey that heavenly calling that we have to spread it. We ask, Father, You would help us. And hear us now, Father, We pray the name of our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. As we have already mentioned, Baptists have been given the exclusive authority to carry out the Great Commission. And part of that is evangelizing, preaching the gospel. As a matter of fact, The Apostle Paul said this in 1 Corinthians 9.16, For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of, for necessity is laid upon me, yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel. Well, I might be wrong, but I think Paul thought preaching the gospel was pretty important. We've got a great privilege that's been bestowed upon us. You know, sometimes it grieves my heart that so oftentimes we find ourselves, sometimes not on purpose, but somehow we get caught up in it. in so many divisive issues. And I understand we need to preach all the counsel of God and we need to fight the good fight of faith and we need to earnestly contend for the faith that is once delivered unto the saints. But we cannot afford to neglect preaching the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in the process. We have a world that is becoming worse and worse. Deceivers are waxing worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. We have the increase of crime and immorality and corruption from the highest officials in the world's governments, not only in this country. all the way down to the beggar on the street. I've never known of a time quite like this time and the globalism attached with it. I think we are living in the last days. The word gospel here is the Greek word euangelion. And it means good news. We have good news that the world needs to hear. Paul defines for us through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, what is the gospel? You know, a lot of people don't even know where it is. They have no clue. They think the gospel is, repeat after me, raise your hand if you agree with me, bow your head and all that. No, not even close. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 1 says, Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand, by which also you are saved, if you keep in memory what I preached unto you. You know, sometimes people hear the gospel. And they're like that seed that was sown in the rocky ground, right? And there's no fruit. Unless you have believed in vain, for I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received. How's that? Here we have the definition of what the gospel is. What is the good news? The good news is this. how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. That's the good news. That Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and He did it by His suffering on the cross. His death on the cross, His burial, and His victorious resurrection. That's the good news. Because if we're identified with Christ, if we're in Christ, He died for us, He was buried for us, and He's risen for us, and He's coming again for us. And there's going to be like we just heard about that. Going to heaven. To that home. Far away. One day it's not going to be so far away. Praise God. That is good news. I don't know about you, but he got good news. I don't see how the world can keep it in. But it's good news because we were dead in our trespasses and sins were headed For hell. We were children of wrath, even as others. But we've been quick. We've been made a lot. We've been born again. We've been saved by the grace of God. And God's grace is sufficient to save us from our sins and deliver us from the sure condemnation of hell and give us eternal life. in eternal paradise with Him. Can't get any better good news than that. Like I like to say, the world can't touch that. They can't even come close to that. So we got something for this nation. But sometimes we think, well, they don't want to hear it. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. I didn't want to hear it. I'm sure glad somebody told me. You see, our problems stem from sin. It's not about balancing the budget and having new policies, even though all those things are good. They stop just short of the problem being sin against the Holy God. And as soon as we stop recognizing that it's sin against the Holy God, We've stopped short of the solution. Only God can remedy sin. And we need an offensive attack. This offensive attack of iniquity can only be successfully overcome by a counter-offensive attack, if you will. through the power and instrumentality of the Holy Spirit and the gospel, the good news that Jesus came into the world to save sinners. We need to preach it boldly. And it's not some passive event. It is an active thing that we need to be engaged in. And again, once more, I'll say it again, I know how this area loves sovereign grace. I tell you, it's only by God's sovereign grace we can do it. To Him be the glory. Again, as I said, I live and breathe and have my being. I wouldn't even exist if it wasn't for God's sovereignty. So we magnify God's sovereignty. Give him the praise for his ability to do or say anything, whether it's preaching about church truth or sharing the gospel with someone, it's all God. The first thing I want to deal with is why I am set for the defense of the gospel, and that's found from Philippians 115. When he's preaching on preaching the gospel, But now, first of all, why am I set for the defense of the gospel? Well, Paul says this, Philippians chapter 1. Philippians chapter 1, beginning in verse 15. Some indeed preach Christ, even of envy and strife. and some also of goodwill, the one preached Christ of contention, not sincerely supposing to add affliction to my bonds, but the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel. What then? Notwithstanding every way, whether in pretense, wrong motives, or in truth, the right motives. Christ is preached, and therein, I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice." Paul wasn't rejoicing in heresy. He was rejoicing in the truth of the gospel. I rejoice in the gospel of preaching, even though somebody doesn't believe exactly like I do, I'm glad to hear the gospel being proclaimed. I'm glad to hear the good news of Christ being proclaimed. Now, one would think that something that is so obvious in the scriptures that it wouldn't need any defense. But it didn't take much to look on the religious world today that there is a shortage of the true gospel being preached today. That's why we need to be set for the defense of the gospel, that it would be pure as we would preach it. The consequences of any perversions of the gospel is why we're set for the defense of the gospel. Because there are those who say they're preaching the gospel, and they're not. And people have a false security that they're saved. Now, this is the Bible Belt, and if you've ever gone door-knocker or just sharing the gospel with somebody, everybody's a Christian. You know, it doesn't matter what kind of life they're living. It doesn't matter whether they go to church or not or, you know, there's any fruit meat for repentance. They're Christians. Well, based on the evidence of the fruit, they've heard some kind of false gospel. Another reason I'm set for the defense of the gospel is because churches, more than I've ever known, there's churches that have wolves with sheep's clothing in them. That's why we need to be set for the defense of the gospel. Because that's what'll happen if you don't. There'll be wolves in sheep's clothing if you don't preach the gospel, if you don't demand the gospel. And so, heresies are abounding. And like I said in the previous message, that if we don't abide in the principles here, in the preaching of the gospel, there's a real danger of the candlestick being removed if we're not faithful to preach the gospel. So why is it then that some people are ashamed of the gospel? Or I should say seemingly ashamed. And Paul says in Romans 116, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." The word, well, as we look at this, we see that obviously unbelievers are ashamed of the gospel, aren't they? They obviously and categorically are ashamed of the gospel because they hate the gospel. There are those who are infidels who have no outward interest in their Creator and are obviously against the gospel. They have no heart for it at all. There are those who have a head knowledge of the gospel, but they have no heart knowledge of the gospel. And it's evident that some are ashamed of the gospel by the mere fact that they're replacing for gospel. Galatians Paul, speaking to the church there in chapter one, verse six, he says, I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace unto another gospel, which is not another," only one true gospel, "'but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let it be a curse.'" As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel, any other good news, any other glad tidings unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." Those are some serious, solemn words right there. Those who are ashamed of the pure gospel, well, sometimes just want to please men and please themselves with a false comfort. Paul told the Galatians again, chapter 6, verse 12, "...as many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised, only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ." Some people are ashamed of the gospel because they know, they know what happened to that early church. They got persecuted. To escape persecution from the world and thus neglect or minimize the value of the blessed gospel of Christ is to be ashamed of it. But you know, it's not just a loss to hate the gospel or are ashamed of the gospel. But even those of us who are saved, we can be ashamed of the gospel sometimes. When we're moved to witness to someone, the opportunity's there, and we just don't do it. Or we're weary in well-doing, like Jeremiah. He was weary. You know, a lot of times when we go street preaching or when we go door to door, it gets weary and I don't want to go. My flesh doesn't want to go. But I'm sure glad I went after it's all said and done. But sometimes we fear man is why also we are ashamed of the gospel. But what does Proverbs chapter 29, verse 25 says, the fear of man bringeth a snare, but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe." 2 Timothy 1.8, "...be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God." Now, that just makes the flesh just cringe all over, doesn't it? But there is such a thing as being a partaker of the afflictions of the gospel. And I tell you, it really starts coming when you start preaching it, when you start spreading it, when you start sharing it. Paul told the Ephesian elders in the last words that he spoke to them, In chapter 20, verse 24, "...but none of these things moved me." He knew there was some persecution coming down the pike for him. But he said, "...but none of these things moved me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus." To sit back in the closet? No. To testify the gospel of the grace of God. It's His joy. Now, yes, there's afflictions, but you know, what did Paul say? He was sorrowful, yet always rejoicing. What was he doing there in the Philippian jail? He was praising God in the midst of the affliction. Now, some people may be ashamed to spread the gospel because they have sin in their lives. And their testimony has been tainted because they've sinned in a way that other people know that they've sinned. And like Paul, he kept his body under subjection so that he would not be a castaway. because of his inconsistent lifestyle. But you know what? Satan will use that to keep us from doing what we're supposed to do. What was it in the beginning, in our salvation? We were sinners. I know I had a bad reputation in my life, doing drugs, selling drugs and things like that. That's what I did. But did that stop me? It shouldn't stop me, should it? His grace, what did I do? By His grace, I repented, asked for forgiveness, and the Lord saved me. And you know when we sin after we're saved? We've got to do the same thing. We have to repent, God forgives us, and our fellowship is restored. We don't get saved all over again, we know that, right? Okay. And we continue to do what we're supposed to do. Satan would like us to believe that once you sinned, and especially if you sin publicly, well, it's all over. You know, that's what the Apostle Peter thought. He denied the Lord three times publicly with a disgrace to his Savior. And what did he say? I'd go a-fishing. He was disgusted with himself. And we should be disgusted with ourselves when we sin. But Jesus, being the great and loving Savior that He is, came to Peter. Stranger on the seashore, as it were, And he brought Peter back into fellowship. He said, Peter, do you love me? Feed my sheep. What he's saying, I didn't call you to be a fisher of fish. I called you to be a fisher of men. You need to just repent and do the work that I've called you to do, even though you've sinned. Sometimes we're ashamed of the gospel, but it's really not the gospel we're ashamed of. In a way, it is because we don't recognize the power of the gospel in our life. We just think about the power of the sin that was in our life. We concentrate on the negative instead of looking for the positive. So, we need to go ahead and just move on. Satan wants us to stay there and have his thumb right on top of us. But God calls us to turn from our sins and be obedient and sin no more. You can't be happy when you're disobeying God. A child of God can't anyway. The Holy Spirit won't let us. We're going to be chasing. But sometimes God's people are ashamed of the gospel. We get like Jonah, and we're prejudiced. Oh, that drunk on the street, there's no way he's going to be saved. We get prejudiced toward those people. Oh, are those Muslims over there? Oh, there's no way they're going to be saved." As if we can read God's mind and go back to eternity past and see which one He predestinated. Isn't that crazy? But that's what it ends up being. We're ashamed of the gospel, and I might add, the power of the gospel. to save whomsoever he will, whomsoever he sovereignly ordains to eternal life. I don't know who they are. That's why it says to go to every creature. Sometimes I think some churches just want to stay small. They're ashamed of the gospel. They want to control everything that's going on in the church. and imagine that they're small just because they're faithful to the doctrines. I'd sure like you to show me where in the Bible that is. You've got to be careful. Some misunderstand the purpose of the gospel, or should I say, who it is supposed to proclaim it. Now, like I said before, the Great Commission is given to the church, It's not just given to the pastor or the deacons or the preachers. It's given to the whole church. We need to spread the gospel. And sometimes we misunderstand because we get that idea, that dichotomy we've created. And then there are some who misunderstand the purpose of the gospel. Now stay with me here. And they don't see that the gospel is necessary in God's sovereign plan for regeneration. Well, I beg to differ with you if you hold that position. I love you. You're a brother and sister in Christ, but I beg to differ with you. And I just want to look at a few things. I mean, I've got a fellow who's a progressive, and I know there's different kinds of groups there in Florida I have very good fellowship with. I believe him to be a true believer, and I love him as a brother. But I have to disagree with him on this point. You know, our hearts are deceitful above all and desperately wicked. Who can know it? So if I say something that bothers you, it's just only because I know my own heart. And I don't know that anything's possible with me. Because that's the kind of heart, aside from the grace of God, we've got. So please don't be offended when I say these things. But I wonder sometimes that there is a neglect of the preaching of the gospel is because people fear persecution and love the flesh to be comforted. All I can say is ask the Lord, we ought to ask the Lord to search us and try us. I'm not going to do it, because I don't know. But we need to ask the Lord to search us and try us to see if there be any wicked way in us. And that's the only way we're really going to find out. And of course, another way we'll find out is in that interpretation of God's searching of our hearts, it's got to harmonize God's Word, too, because He's never going to go against His Word. So why should We preach the gospel. Well, I'd like for you to turn with me. I'm going to turn to a few scriptures and I in no way can exhaust this subject as you may well know. But in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 21. 1 Corinthians 1 21. Paul says. For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that belief. That's why I need to be preaching the gospel. Because it's God's sovereign, ordained means to save them that belief. That's what it says. I can't go beyond that. And just, we need to look at the meaning as it is plainly stated here. To try to twist it because of some certain preconceived notions that we may have acquired because of our background or anything like that, we've got to be careful. We want to know the truth, because only the truth will set us free. God uses means. He is sovereignly designed to use means to beget, to regenerate, to born someone again. It is in His sovereign, predestinated way and means that God, of His own will, chooses His people. 1 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 15 says this, For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers? For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. I don't know how you could say it any plainer that the gospel is used in regeneration. That's a plain meaning. But let's look a little further. There's many passages we could look to. Philippians chapter 1 and verse 10. Philippians chapter 1 and verse 10. I'm sorry, not Philippians, Philemon. Philemon. There's only one chapter. I beseech thee for my son Onesimus whom I have begotten in my bonds. What in the world is that? Was that his son? Nope. He has reference to the passage we just read in Corinthians. Well, here's a passage I remember preaching on when I was living over here. Brother Paul might remember that. Brother Virgil might remember. But in James chapter 1, verse 18, it says, Of his own will, his sovereign will, of his own will, That is God's will. Begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruit of his creatures. We've been begotten, we've been born again through the word of truth. Now, that's not down or dissing God's sovereignty at all. He just sovereignly chose to do it that way. I mean, God could have sovereignly decided to, you know, when it says in the book of Genesis, let there be light, He could have just said, let there be man. But He chose to take some earth. Well, did that diminish His sovereignty? Of course not. He chose to use me. There's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing sinful about that. There's nothing about diminishing God's sovereignty at all in that creation, in the physical creation. And when God uses means to make someone a new creature in Christ, that doesn't diminish his sovereignty. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, another passage. In verse 13, for this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because when ye received the word of God, which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." I'm sorry, I'm supposed to be in 2 Thessalonians. Don't worry, I didn't sound right. 2 Thessalonians 2, 13. But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation. Through just the Spirit? No. Through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth, they work together. Again, God uses means. He used the means of the flood to judge the world. He could have just said, but he decided to use the flood. Again, that's not dishonoring God that he used means. We're not saying that. He even used the means of wicked hands to have his Christ crucified. Sinful, wicked hands. Those kinds of means. And even though that's what he used, it still was not a mar upon his sovereignty or his character at all. God uses the means of the foolishness of the preaching of the gospel to save those that believe. I think some of you probably know about George Mueller had the orphanage there in England. And he would have no food for the children. Zilch, zero, nada. He didn't have anything. And he prayed. And God answered that prayer. God could have just had man fall down from heaven if he wanted to. But he used the means of prayer. And he used the means of another man to bring that food in and knock on the door and have that sack of flour. It didn't do anything to mar the character of God at all. He used means. There's nothing wrong with that. We see, you know, when God uses someone to preach the gospel, And the Lord, the Spirit of God, uses that Word to born someone again. Now, there's no power in the Word by itself. There's no power in the Word by itself. The power is in the Spirit. We understand that. But it's through the instrumentality and power of the Word, of the Gospel of Christ, is the power of God unto salvation. And if you don't have the Gospel, with the Spirit, you're not going to have any salvation. I guarantee you that. It's just like Jesus in the parable of the sow and the seed. If you don't plant any seed, you're not going to get any fruit. And as Jesus, when He explained that parable, He told us that seed was the Word. And if it's not planted, there will be no fruit. There will be no regeneration, there will be no salvation in the soul of that person. That's the pattern of the scriptures. What about Ezekiel? Preaching to those dead bones that were very dry. Now it wasn't Jesus preaching to them. It wasn't the voice of Jesus that mysteriously spoke This is through the means of Ezekiel the prophet. And he spoke. And it wasn't until he spoke that the Spirit was used, that they were alive. Again, it was all God's sovereign grace involved. It was all God's sovereign grace involved. But God had predestinated the means of the gospel to bring regeneration, of course, and the Holy Spirit, to bring regeneration and ultimately salvation to His children. We see that in the Scriptures that this is true, but we could even look at church history and see that the historic position, if you look at church history, has been the gospel being used in regeneration. Our Baptist forefathers recognized this, and we don't see those things coming on the scene until about the mid-1800s. Especially look at history years and years and years ago before that time. And I want to ask the question because this comes up too. Is there any person in the Bible? Any person recorded in the Scriptures? That has ever. gone to heaven and it says, but they didn't believe the gospel. There's not a single instance of that in the Bible at all. Now we can conjecture that will that happen, but it's not according to the scripture. It's not according to the scripture. There are some things we just don't know. I know David David. And I've had two kids that didn't make it. I feel confident somehow, I may be wrong, I may not, but God's grace is sufficient whenever I get to heaven. There's not going to be any tears there. I leave it to His sovereignty. I'm not going to argue with Him. His Word is His Word. But somehow or another, God is able, to perform that which is in His Word, and to bring salvation to whomsoever He will. He may not give us all the details, but we know that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. But there is no example in the Scriptures that people get to heaven and they've never heard the gospel. They don't even know the gospel. Some Muslim who had been persecuting Christians and killing Christians, all of a sudden they're the elect and they get to heaven and say, oh, wow, I'm in heaven. I didn't know anything about Jesus and I hated Jesus, but I'm in heaven. Don't see anything like that in the Bible. You know what that is? That is a Christless gospel. And that's a dangerous gospel. And I would steer far, far away from that kind of a gospel. You know what? In that case, I cannot say to someone, categorically, And without reservation, that if you don't repent of your sins and believe, you're going to go to hell. Because I don't know if they're predestinated. They might be one of the left and they don't know it. So I can't really truthfully say that to them. That kind of goes down the liberal side of things, doesn't it? It could tend to make somebody, well, I'm not going to say anything bad about anybody, because I don't know who's predestinated and who isn't. You know, it's not my business to know. There's no way. Spurgeon said that he doesn't go back and grab somebody up by the shirt tail and see if there's an E on their back, see whether they're going to preach to him or not. Can't do that. There's nowhere where we have to worry about that. We don't have to wait for certain things that are in play. We don't see that in Scripture. We don't see any commandment or any admonition whatsoever. Along that line, we're just told to preach the gospel to every creature. You know, Jesus said, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. He used the instrumentality. of men to fish for men. And if we ain't fishing, we ain't following. Paul said, Woe unto me if I preach not the gospel. You know what the other side of that is? Joy unto me if I do preach the gospel. Paul said this, and I close, and I would be remiss in my duties as a preacher of the gospel if I did not say this, 2 Corinthians 5, 20. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled unto God. Jesus said himself during his ministry, repent. Oh no, he told somebody to do something. It's all about God's grace, we can do it. Repent and believe the gospel. If it's made effectual by the Holy Spirit, guess what? They're going to repent. If it's the day of their salvation, they're going to repent and they're going to believe the gospel and praise God. But if we don't preach the gospel, we don't tell them to repent and preach the gospel to them, we're not going to see the joy of God giving the increase. And guess what? Churches are going to die and God's not going to be glorified. He will not be glorified. And if you're not saved here, let me give you a solemn warning. In 2 Corinthians 1, 8, it says, speaking of Christ in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. You don't obey the gospel, there's some flaming vengeance coming your way. God's wrath is going to abide on those who don't believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. If all the good news that you got is your good works, that's just filthy rags in God's sight. You need to repent, like Jesus said, and believe the gospel.