Join us now for the chapel hour coming to you from the campus of Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. Today's message was preached during the 2002 Bible Conference. Following the introduction by Dr. Bob Jones III, our speaker will be Dr. Danny Whetstone of Worldwide New Testament Baptist Missions in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. The title of his message is, Somebody Cared, Somebody Believed. The text is from Matthew 15 verses 21 through 28. Dr. Danny Whetstone graduated from BJU in the early 70s. And during his junior year, he pastored the Summit Drive Baptist Church while he was still going to school here in Greenville. And then for nine years, he was pastor over in Greenville, Tennessee. And made a number of mission field trips during the time he was pastor and While in Portugal on one of those mission trips, he felt the call of the Lord in his heart to foreign missions. Pastored down in Grenada in the West Indies for a number of years, and is currently director of the worldwide New Testament Baptist Missions out of Kings Mountain, North Carolina. Missionaries from that board are all over the world. He's been holding some 40 missions conferences a year. plus visiting missionaries all over the world. A very busy man, and I would expect a very tired man. But we surely are glad he's here. He's preached for us in Bible conference before with great blessing from the Lord. And when Dr. Brian Greene from London, who was to be here tonight to preach, was unable to be here because of the heart attack that he suffered a week and a half ago. Could not be here. Dr. Whetstone said he would be glad to step in and take that place. We have a special service on Thursday night, so Dr. Whetstone was only going to be here for one night, one day. And so he took his second message in filling the place that Dr. Green was going to be preaching tonight. Matthew chapter number 15, if you would please. Matthew and chapter 15. It's certainly a delight to be here on campus again and in the service this evening. My wife was hoping to come, be with me. She always loves coming back. But we have two daughters and both of them are doing the right thing. They're giving us grandchildren this month. One was due on the 10th and the other was due on the 30th. It might be a case where the last shall be first and the first shall be last. And one is in Maine and the other in Wisconsin. So my wife's trying to get to both of them at the same time. Pray for them that they'll have a safe delivery and it'll go so well they'll want to have a half dozen more at least. We have four children there in Tennessee, Maine, Wisconsin and California. Can you tell we traveled? They certainly have. Matthew chapter number 15. I'll begin reading with verse number 21. Matthew 15 verse 21. Then Jesus went thence and departed into the coast of Tyre and Sidon. Behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coast and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David. My daughter is grievously vexed with the devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away, for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meat to take the children's bread and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord. Yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith. Be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. There's a wonderful passage of Scripture in John, of course, all of John 1, but John 1 and verse 14 that tells us our Lord is full of grace and truth. I think the hardest thing to get and maintain in the Christian life is a balance. And it seems to me that we're constantly struggling as individuals as well as a movement to attain a balance. Way back in the late 1600s, the only Baptist people in North Carolina were in the northeast part of the state. They were Arminian in theology. You really didn't have to do much to join the church. Just come and say, I want to join. It didn't require being born again. It was a very loose situation. That was in the late 1600s. In the early 1700s, some fellows came down from the Philadelphia Baptist Association and gathered those preachers together and taught them the basic tenets of Calvinism. They did the best they could with it, but not knowing any more than those men were able to teach them. They went in the other extreme and the pendulum swung completely to the other side. Now, not only is it not easy to join the church, but if you were Christ, you couldn't get in. Then, around the middle of the 1700s, a fellow came down from the New England states by the name of Shubel Stearns. Shubel Stearns settled just 15 miles south of Greensboro, North Carolina. He started the Sandy Creek Baptist Church and the Sandy Creek Baptist Association. Some wonderful things happened through the preaching of Shubel Stearns. Wonderful revival broke out all across North Carolina. If you are familiar with North Carolina preaching, you know that it is generally rather bombastic, oftentimes referred to as air-sucking preaching because they get so excited. That kind of bombastic, exciting preaching was born in Shubel Stern's. By the time of Shubel Stern's death, the Sandy Creek Baptist Association had birthed 42 new churches. One of those churches you might be familiar with, or at least some of you, Buffalo Ridge Baptist Church in Gray, Tennessee, was started by the Sandy Creek Baptist Association, and its first two pastors were out of Sandy Creek. I believe what Shubel Stearns did for North Carolina in the mid-1700s, we need done for us in a great way all around this nation. I believe in teaching. I believe in education. I believe you ought to get all of it that you can. But a full head with an empty heart is of little use. If there isn't a motivation, if we aren't moved in our souls to recognize that there is a cause for which we're learning, it's going to do precious little for us and it's going to do precious little for a lost and a dying world. We're living in a growing world. They tell us over six billion people in the world. And chances are, less than half of them have ever heard a clear presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm reminded of David when he faced Goliath. It undoubtedly seemed like an impossible task, not only to him, but probably to everyone watching as well. I can only imagine that after he had finished the battle and made his way back to the tents and the armies of Israel had gone after the Philistines, Wolf Blitzer probably stepped out from behind one of the tents with a microphone and said, why did you do that? And I would imagine that he responded as he responded to his brothers earlier, is there not a cause? I want to say to you, beloved brethren, there is a cause. There is a world that is lost and without Jesus Christ. A world for which He came all the way to Calvary to redeem. I want you to consider with me for a few moments the story of this mother as she pled for the need of her daughter. Our Lord had been seeking to find a place of rest and it seems that everywhere He goes, someone is clamoring for His attention. I doubt this is the only woman that's gathered around Him. Probably there's a lot of people, and we know very well His disciples are there as she comes to plead her case before Him. I want you to note in verse 22 that she cries for mercy. Matthew Henry says, she pleads not merit, but depends upon mercy. She pleads not merit, but depends upon mercy. Not a one of us here this evening has the right to approach a holy God on the basis of our merit. We merit nothing, lest it be through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. We plead with Him for mercy as the psalmist David. Have mercy upon me, O Lord, according to Thy lovingkindness, according unto the multitude of Thy tender mercies. Blot out my transgressions. This woman had seen the need of her daughter. And the need of her daughter had become her burden. And she approaches the Lord Jesus, not for something that she needs, but for something her daughter needs. Her burden had driven her to seek to meet the need of someone else. I wonder as we live day by day, do we get so busy Do we get such tunnel vision that we lose sight of the fact that multitudes are around us every day? And opportunities of witnessing to a lost world are before us every day? And so often we pillow our heads at night, having passed up wonderful opportunities of sharing the good news with others that Jesus Christ saves. from sin. But here she comes before the Lord and she pleads mercy upon her daughter. But notice what he does in verse 23. But he answered her, not a word. But he answered her, not a word. This would have done the average modern day church member in. That would have been the end of it. She would have said, if the pastor cares no more than to stop long enough to hear my prayer request, I'll go join another church. I'll move across town and find another place to go. I'll find someone that will listen to me and the burden of my soul and the need of my daughter. This would have done the average one of us today in. We would have quit right there. We wear our feelings so situated on our shoulders that it takes very little to dislodge it, it seems. And with hurt feelings and pouty lips, we move off to find another place where someone will tell us what we want to hear, or at least listen to what we want to say. But not so with this woman. Look at her in verse number 25. Then came she and worshiped Him. Now the disciples have already said to the Lord, why don't You send her away? Now I don't know whether they were simply saying get rid of her, or if we want to give them the benefit of the doubt, we could say maybe they were saying to the Lord, why don't you do what she wants so that she'll go and leave us alone. But whatever the case might be, they want to get rid of her. And I would imagine most everyone else there did as well. But she was so persistent. She sought after the Lord and worshipped Him. And she said, Lord, help me. I think she had come to two conclusions. I think she had come to the conclusion that she couldn't help her daughter. And you know there's some things you can't do for people. Whether it's your child or your parent, your best friend, there's some things that you cannot do for people. Some things, it'll take God to break through the darkness. It'll take God to break through the coldness of heart. And I think she had come to that conclusion. Now maybe it had taken her a great deal of time to come to it. I don't know what else she had tried. Maybe she had sought after religious leaders. Maybe she had sought after physicians. Maybe she had sought after friends to get advice. Maybe she tried to find others who had the same problem of demon possession and said, how did you get past this? But she finally comes to the conclusion that there's nothing she can do to meet the need of her daughter. But I think there's a second conclusion she came to, and that was if she could get to Christ, she could get help. She determined that she couldn't help her daughter, but she believed evidently with all of her soul that if she could get to Christ, He could help. And so when it seems that He ignored her, And in any other circumstance, it would have seemed that she had been insulted and would have been embarrassed and eased away into the crowd. She did not. And she did not because she knew what she was after and she had a burden on her heart. So she pursued the Lord Jesus Christ and sought after His help. And so, He gives her an answer in verse 26. But He answered and said, It is not neat to take the children's bread and to cast it to dogs. Well, if ignoring a church member today wouldn't do it, this certainly would. Now, in the beginning, it seems that you could maybe say, well, he was preoccupied. Something else had his attention, and maybe she could conjure up in her own mind the feeling, well, maybe he just didn't hear what I said. And so she pursues Him again. And she worships Him. And not only has she cried for mercy, but now she cries for help, O Lord. And she knows very well He hears this thing. Because He does respond. And He refers to her as a dog. Well, I'll tell you one thing. The pastor might not hear my request and he might get by with it. But he will not get by with calling me a dog. And everyone in town would know it. But you see, this precious lady is not concerned about her reputation. She isn't concerned about her feelings. She isn't concerned about what that crowd thinks of her. She's only concerned about the need of her daughter. And she's perfectly willing, it seems, to go through whatever she must go through to get her daughter to the Lord Jesus Christ and to get her the help that she needs. And so she continues to pursue the Lord. So look how she responds. Again, in verse 26, "...but He answered and said, It is not meat to take the children's bread and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord..." Truth, Lord. I want to always be of the attitude that as I approach the Word of God, whether through study or someone preaching, I want to approach it with the attitude that, dear Lord, whatever You show me from Your Word, I will believe. You say, Brother Whetstone, do you understand all the Bible? No, no. Precious little of it, I'm afraid. But the part that I don't understand isn't the part that gives me trouble. It's the part I do understand and find a hard time living that I have trouble with. This woman listens to the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ as He says to her, it is not meat to take the children's bread and to cast it to dogs. And she responds, truth Lord, we must respond to the Word with a positive attitude. And whether we want to live it or not, the Word of God is right. This is the way walking in it. And so she doesn't argue with the Lord. She says, absolutely. If that's what you say, Lord, I agree. Truth, Lord, I wonder how many young people are out of church tonight, not because of a drug dealer, not because of pornography, not because of an atheist they met at school, but because of the conversations they heard between their parents going home after church. It's best that we go ahead and agree with God. And so she did. She said, truth, Lord, in verse 27, the dogs eat of the crumbs. Yet, she said, the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table. She said, you're telling the truth, Lord, absolutely. I have no right to sit at the table. I have no right to expect a full course meal. I have no place setting at the table for me." But she said, Lord, the crumbs will do. The need that I have for my daughter is so small for You that just the crumbs will do. I wonder how much we often miss because we insist on having the limelight. We insist on being in the first place. We insist on recognition. We insist on being known. I wonder how often we miss the blessings of God because we turn away so quickly from the simple things that Christ would have us do. But she said, truth, Lord, that's ok with me. I don't have to sit at the table and You don't have to give me a loaf of bread that belongs to the children. Just let me sit at the foot of the table and I'll take the crumbs that fall from the Master's table. Embarrassment was not enough to turn this precious lady away. She would not be moved. Her burden was too great. The disciples would not have her stay around. Maybe the crowd that's gathered would not have her stay around. Have you ever had someone come around when maybe there were several of you, maybe in a church meeting, maybe in school? They make such a nuisance of themselves, but it seems that they don't have enough sense to be embarrassed for themselves. And so everyone's embarrassed for them, you know, and as they're doing what they're doing, everyone's kind of looking around at their shoes, you know, trying to ignore that that they're there because you're and you're thinking, doesn't she know what she's doing to herself? Doesn't she? Doesn't she even have enough presence of mind to know that she's embarrassing herself? And it seems that maybe everyone's embarrassed for. You want to kind of ease away from that kind. I was in a testimony meeting just recently, and I can't tell you what the fellow said. He was out of a rescue mission. But he said the only thing he knew to say, and everyone just looked at the floor. They were embarrassed for him. But bless his heart, it's all he knew. Too often, I'm afraid, we call them. We say, no, she isn't fitting. No, he isn't fitting. No, I'm embarrassed to have them in my presence. I wonder how often we miss the opportunity of entertaining an angel unawares. Or I wonder how often we miss the opportunity of seeing God transform a life because we're not willing to face the embarrassment that might come in associating with them. You remember when the Lord met the woman at the well? And He asked her for a drink of water She said, you would ask of me a drink of water. And he said, if you knew who it was talking to you, you'd ask of me and I'd give you water and you'd never thirst again. She said, give it to me. Well, he said, go get your husband. Bring him back and I'll tell you about it. And she said, I don't have a husband. And he said, you've rightly said you don't have a husband. You've had five. And the one you're with now is not your husband. Ma'am, if you've had five and it didn't work, the problem might not be the man. You've had five and the one you're with now is not your husband." She said, I perceive that thou hast been reading my mail. Actually, she said, you must be a prophet. And as they continued in their conversation, she said, well, never mind, our fathers say worship in these hills and you say worship in Jerusalem. You know what she was trying to do? She was trying to divert his attention from her sin and argue religion. Some things never change. Well, as they continue in the conversation, the Lord said, but the Father seeks those that will worship Him in spirit and in truth. Well, she said, we know Messiah cometh. Now let me ask you something. Would you have thought that that woman had ever given a second toward the Messiah? Would you have ever thought that God had been on her mind? That she had ever had one single thought of righteousness and yet she knew enough that she said, we know Messiah cometh. There's some desperate and destitute people in the world. But God only knows what He could make of them by grace. When I was a boy down in North Florida on the Gulf of Mexico, My dad worked for the State Road Department. That was his full-time job. And he had a little seafood restaurant, and that was his full-time job, too. On Saturday, my dad and I would go to the oyster bars and pick up oysters, wait for the tide to go out, pick up oysters for the restaurant. And we used a little boat that we'd push across a muddy creek. And to get out on the barn, we would take what we called croaker sacks. They were burlap bags. And we'd fill them up with oysters, and we'd put them in the boat, and Dad wouldn't let you eat any until the boat was full. Some of you think that would be a blessing, don't you? But anyway, we would get the boat loaded, and once the boat was loaded, now it's too heavy to get back across the creek until the tide comes in. So it's going to take a little while, and Dad said, now eat all you want, because when you get home, you're not eating these. Well, while we pick those oysters up, you might pick up a cluster with three or four, and there might be a dead one, there might be several under three inches, and if they're under three inches, you can't take them. Well, you can, but if you get caught, you're going to be in trouble. And so you take the solid end of your oyster knife and you knock those off. We called that culling. And I'm afraid that far too often we've learned to cull them. And we would look at a poor demon-possessed girl and say there's no hope for you. My dad was 59 years old before he got saved, and to my knowledge, other than myself, only one other man ever witnessed to him, because everyone had come to the conclusion, well, he really wasn't going to get saved anyway. Maybe you have a dad that everyone thinks is too hard. Maybe you have a sister that everyone thinks is too far gone. Maybe you have a brother that everyone thinks will never turn to God. Don't you take it for granted. And don't you believe a word of it. Everyone could have said to this woman, your daughter doesn't have a chance. She said, embarrassed or not, I'm pursuing Christ. And she continued her pursuit of Him. The disciples were asking the Lord that He would teach them to pray. In Luke 11, He said that there was a man had a friend come stay with him one night. It was rather late and the man who had the visitor had no bread in his house and so he went to a neighbor. and beat on his door, and he said, I have a friend who's coming, and I have nothing to feed him. Would you rise and give me some bread? And the fellow said, no, no. He said, my children are in bed, my wife, we're all settled in, the windows are shut, doors are shut, everybody's settled in. I have bread, but I can't get up and give it to you. The children are asleep. And so he just kept banging and kept banging and kept banging and kept banging and kept asking and kept banging, and finally, The fellow said, the children are asleep. I can't get up. The man said, I know they can't be asleep now. Beat the house down. And the Lord said the man wouldn't get up and give him bread because he was his friend, but he would get up and give him bread because of his importunity. He would not give up. And this little lady would not give up on her daughter. Maybe everyone else in town had. Maybe all of the religious leaders said there's no hope for her. But this mother said there must be hope. There is God. And she would not be deterred. She would not be stopped. It seemed that everything was against her. Her race. She was a Gentile. Her gender. She was a woman. It seemed the disciples were against her. And I suppose a case could be made that she might have even thought Christ Himself was against her. But she was in such a position that insults and hurt feelings and disappointments could not be enough to discourage her. Her daughter's life was in the balance. And her heart was moved with great burden to meet her need. And so she persistently pursued the Lord. In verse 27 again, "...and she said, Truth, Lord, Yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table.' Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith." Is that not astounding? O woman, great is thy faith. Where did He ever say that to Simon Peter? Where did He ever say that to John? How about Luke or Matthew? I can remember on an occasion he said to those guys, O ye of little faith. But he looks at this little lady and says, O woman, great is thy faith. Now, everyone that was looking down at their shoes want to be kin to her. They want, oh, come home, have dinner with me. She's my best friend. Everyone likes her now. No one's embarrassed by her now. Everyone's in love with her. And they've been closer to her than anyone else in town. She's been vindicated. Can you imagine the turn of events in a moment when it seemed to them that Christ wanted nothing to do with her? And moments later, He looks at her and says, O woman, great is thy faith. Be it unto thee, even as thou wilt." You can have what you want. Let me ask you something. If you could have anything you wanted, what would it be? If you could have anything on earth that you wanted, what would it be? If God gave you a blank check and said, the Creator has signed that you can have anything you want, what would you want? When this lady was in a position to ask for anything she wanted, She wanted her daughter healed. She wanted her daughter restored. She wanted her daughter delivered from the power of Satan. O woman, great is thy faith. I want you to note these two things about this lady. One, she cared. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them. Because they fainted and were scattered abroad, a sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, the harvest truly is plenteous, but the labors are few. Pray ye therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labors into his harvest. Jude said of some having compassion, making a difference. You know, I'm a young fellow, but I can remember a day when missionaries would come to our churches and show their slides and we would actually weep. we would actually be moved by the needs of others. I can remember a day when you could preach on tithing and there would be people at altars weeping over lost loved ones and friends. She cared. And secondly, she believed. She not only cared for the need of her daughter, but she believed that God could do something about it. As Dr. Bob mentioned, I pastored the Central Baptist Church in Greenville, Tennessee for nine years. That's a church that evangelist Bill Hall started years ago. We had a bus ministry. And on that bus ministry, on one of the bus routes, there was an old drunkard that would ride the bus to church every Sunday morning. His name was Mr. Woods. Mr. Woods was probably in his mid-70s, maybe early to mid-70s when I first met him. Our auditorium was divided into four sections of pews, two right in front and then two wings off to the side. Over in this wing is where he sat. Every Sunday sat the same place right by a post. a man of small stature. You could look at him and tell that his life had been rough and rugged. But something happened in my wife's heart when she met that old man. She felt so in love with him. And I can remember many, many times in the invitation, the congregation would have their heads bowed and their eyes closed. singing the invitation. My wife would be singing in the choir. And many, many times I've seen her come down out of the choir and stand in front of that old drunkard with tears dripping off of her chin, pleading with him to come to Christ. And I would see Mr. Wood shake his head and say, I can't today. He couldn't because he didn't think he could get away from liquor. Six or seven, maybe even eight years, She prayed over that old man's soul and witnessed to him. On one occasion, he had a stroke. Went to the hospital. The doctor said he'll not recover. He'll never go home. I remember the day my wife visited him in the hospital and she came home. And I was in the kitchen doing something, probably eating. And she came in crying. And she told me how he had had the stroke and they said he wasn't going to live. And I can remember her praying and pleading with God that that old man would live so that she could witness to him one more time. He did live. And he did go home. And the day he went home, she was at his house. And she sat in front of him and pled again with Mr. Woods that he would come to Christ. And he said, Ms. Whetstone, I just don't think I can. And so she talked with him a little longer and prayed with him. And she was leaving. She had opened the door, pushed the old screen door open, and she heard a voice behind her, and it was Mr. Woods, and he said, Mrs. Whetstone? And she said, yes, sir. He said, could you come back for just a moment? And she went back, and he said, I think I'd better settle this today. And oh, Mr. Woods, at that time, 85 I believe, in his early to mid-80s, trusted the Lord Jesus Christ and was saved by the grace of God. Somebody cared. Somebody believed. That old gentleman had a lady that was a relative of his in our church. She had a husband that was lost. She prayed for him for over 30 years. She would ask me to go see him. I'd go out to the house to see him. I'd go in the front door. He'd go out the back door. I could look through the back window and just see his head going as he'd go through the tobacco patch out back. Wouldn't talk to him. But two or three times a year, just out of the blue, he would show up for church. One Sunday night, he came, sat right over here, invitation was given, face red aglow and tears just pouring down his face, 57, 58 years old. He came forward, grabbed me and said, Preacher, I've got to get saved. And J.C. McIntosh was born again. Somebody cared. Somebody believed. J.C. hadn't been saved two months. He called me one Wednesday afternoon. He said, preacher, can you baptize tonight? I said, J.C., I've already baptized you one time. No, he said, it isn't me. I said, tell me the story. And he said, this morning I got up and he said, Mr. Davis was on my heart. He was a man 91 years old and bedridden, we thought. And he said, I got up this morning. He was such a burden on my heart. And he said, I sat down at the table. He said, now you know I ain't much to talk. So I just took me a card and I wrote down some verses that I've heard you use. And he said, I got in my car and drove over to his house as fast as I could. I knocked on the door. He said, I heard a feeble, weak voice on the inside saying, come in, it's unlocked. He said, I pushed the door open and lying on an old cot in the front room was Mr. Davis. He said, I went over and pulled the chair up next to him and he said, Mr. Davis, now you know I ain't much at talking. And I've got something I've got to tell you, so I want you to just listen to me and then you can do what you will. And he said, well, J.C., get it off your mind. And so he sat there and he said, Preacher, I read through those verses that you've used. And he said, I told him what Jesus had done for me. And he said, when I finished, that old man looked at me and he said, J.C., did Jesus really do that for you? He said, Mr. Davis, I promise you, He did. Oh, he said, J.C., you'd think He'd do it for me too. Somebody cared. Somebody believed. Isn't there someone important enough to you that would cause you to go beyond yourself and love them with love that would not let go? Love them with love that will not let go. My daddy, I mentioned, was saved when he was 59 years old. I'd prayed for seven years with tears over my dad. Met with him at the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. His sister was dying and we went down to the chapel to pray. I told my dad, I said, I've told you everything I know to tell you, Dad. I'm going to kneel here and pray and when I finish praying, if you'll take my Savior to be your Savior too, I want you to put your hand in mine and just pray the best way you know how. I prayed, I don't know for how long. I promise you it was a while. And when I finished praying, I held my hand out in that dimly lit room. It seemed like it was there for eternity and I know it was wet. I'm sure it was only a few seconds. And I felt the calloused hand of my 59-year-old dad go in mine. And for the first time in my life, I heard my daddy pray. And he told God he was a wicked sinner and they wanted to be saved. And my dad was saved by the grace of God. A little while later, I baptized him. Eleven years later, I buried him. I said, when my earthly father met my heavenly father, and my dad became my brother. Do you care? Do you believe? Oh my. Oh my. At the knowledge and understanding in this room, at the knowledge and understanding in this room among a blood-washed people. What a difference we could make if we cared, if we believed. I trust our hearts will be knit together with a solid purpose and that we will fall in love with the lost and the dying world and we'll choose one of them to love particularly. I read years ago that loving everyone in general is oftentimes an excuse for loving no one in particular. Loving everyone in general is oftentimes an excuse for loving no one in particular. Would you do this tonight? Would you in your minds eye choose someone to love particularly? And would you say, by the grace of God, I commit myself tonight It might be a dad. It might be a mom. It might be a brother, a sister, a best friend, a co-laborer. But by the grace of God tonight, I commit myself to pray for him or her. I commit myself to witness to them. And I want to tell you something. When you have a burden for someone, you won't witness in such a way that you'll never be able to witness to them again. You'll be tender. You'll be kind. You'll give them the truth. And the Holy Spirit of God will use that truth to break through the darkness and to prick their conscience. Paul said to the Christians at Rome that the gospel was the power of God unto salvation. What is the power of God unto salvation? The gospel. Not your fancy use of words. Not your great theological terms. No, no. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Why don't you take a little piece of that dynamite and give it to a loved one? It's pretty easy. You could say, When I was just a little felon in Sunday school, I memorized John 3, 16, and I still remember it. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Dad, can you believe I still remember that? Now, don't argue with him. Don't fuss with him. Just go away to that secret place of prayer and say, Holy Spirit of God, would you like to fuse on that little piece of dynamite I just put in Dad's heart? He might be at work, and that thing go off. It might be the middle of the night. From time to time, drop him another verse or two. Give him a little more dynamite. He'll wake up one night maybe. Your mom will say, honey, there's something wrong. He'll say, I believe I've got the heartburn. You see sinners, they don't know what conviction is for a while. It takes a while for light to break through. Be persistent. Be caring. Have faith in God, for without faith it's impossible to please Him. And let's turn some people to righteousness, to Christ. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, how we love You, Lord. And we love You because You first loved us. Now help us tonight that we might fall in love particularly with someone that needs Christ. Could be someone backslidden. Could be someone unsaved. But someone who needs a right relationship with Thee. And may we fall so in love with them that we would persistently pursue them with the truth with a kind heart and a caring attitude. I thank You for this, Mother. I can't imagine. Lord, I can't imagine what it must have been like at home that night. when she had been delivered. Her mom had spent so many sleepless nights. Her mom had wrestled so long with a broken and agonizing heart. But tonight, she'll embrace her daughter. Tonight, a life has been changed. Oh Lord, what a thrill it would be if Christians all over this auditorium could tell stories a year and two years and three years and five years and 15 years from now of how you broke through darkness to save a loved one or a friend. Help us, I pray. To care. Increase our faith and help us to believe. In Jesus name. Amen. You've been listening to the chapel hour coming to you from the campus of Bob Jones University. Our speaker was Dr. Danny Whetstone of Worldwide New Testament Baptist Missions in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. For a cassette tape containing both of Dr. Whetstone's Bible conference messages, send a check for $5.13 to Campus Store, Bob Jones University, Greenville, South Carolina 29614. Be sure to mention the name of the speaker and today's date. The chapel hour has been sponsored by Bob Jones University.