it is my absolute joy to be here with you this evening. And I have been looking forward to this meeting for about the last five or six weeks. And I did have an opening in my calendar when Brother Duncan called I was just absolutely thrilled that I did not have this Sunday already scheduled or booked. And for us to be here for four days to come back to the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, amen? I'm a homeboy, alright. I was born and raised in Charleston so just a the state. And all my family still have two grandmothers that are in their 90's that still live over in the Charleston area. And my daddy pastored churches in the late 70's in West Virginia as well, grew up as a PK. And then all of those years away, and then lo and behold God brought me back in 2013, January 2013 to the Eastern Panhandle. And I told my wife, my wife grew up in Illinois from the flatland of Illinois. And she said, now, early on, and we've been married 33 years almost, she said, now, you're never going to take us back to West Virginia, right? No, that's never going to happen. Well, don't ever say no to the Lord because sometimes He's got plans for you that you don't know for yourself, amen? But I'm sure glad to be here. I enjoyed this morning over at Maplewood Baptist Church. I know many of you know Pastor Carol Williams and what a faithful man of God there and got to preach for him this morning. But we're gonna spend the next four days together. I hope that's okay with you. I hope that after tonight, you're gonna continue to come back on Monday and Tuesday Wednesday and I understand work issues and such I get that but let's let's do our best to be back for a special conference I tell you I just I loved just in the last hour and a half being here and watching your three pastors interact with one another. Obviously I've known about Brother Witham over these years and we thank God for his faithfulness over the decades, amen. I learned in Bible college, I had a college president who used to say Christianity is not measured in years but rather measured in decades. And I think that's what you have in Pastor Witham and all of these decades so faithful here and to then of course Pastor Cawley coming along and being here on staff and now Senior Pastor of the Church. And then lo and behold we even let these young bucks sometimes join our staff, amen. And Brother Duncan got his degree from the same Bible college that my younger baby daughter, West Coast Baptist College out in California and they are in ministry and serving. So, I loved watching these three men and And I loved the submission, if I can say it that way, the humility of Pastor Witham to just be able to let the next generation just step up and lead. I love that, Brother Witham. I know it does your heart good to see younger men to come and leading this church in the right way. Praise the Lord for that. And I'm glad I get to be a part of it. I'm super excited about being here and looking forward to this soul winning conference. Now I need to make sure that everybody got a handout this evening. Is there anybody that you did not get a handout you might lift your hand and I don't know if there's Is there a young man maybe in the back? Okay. Well, and then he stood up. Amen I don't know that he's young but he is a volunteer. Amen It's okay. If the young ones don't volunteer let the old ones just do it. Amen, but I Would like you to get so keep your hands up. Do you mind please if you didn't get one and And you're gonna need this. I'm gonna do something just a little bit different, so let me just talk a minute while they're getting these things passed out. I'm gonna ask you to get a pen out, and for the first few moments of every evening, I'm gonna do a little soul-winning teaching, all right? And we're gonna fill some blanks in. We will not get to the entire paper tonight. We'll do a little more tomorrow night, a little more Tuesday night, a little more Wednesday evening. And for everybody that is here all four nights and you get all the blanks filled out, Brother Witham's gonna give you a $100 bill, all right? Brother Witham's just laughing back there. I don't know if he's laughing or crying, but those may be tears of joy or tears of grief or sorrow. You know, this is a conference, and it's meant for us to take something away from the meeting. Don't raise your hand, but how many of us have ever heard a sermon, been to a conference, been to a seminar, and we go away and we say, boy, that was really good, but then we don't really remember and don't really ever apply anything that we just learned? And I know that that is not the heart of Pastor Duncan tonight in this soul-winning conference. I know that his desire, and I believe God's desire, is that we all go away changed because of our coming. And that will not be because I'm a great preacher, because I am not. In fact, there are no great preachers. We are all just men. But these men that are God-called are able to preach a perfect book. And tonight, obviously, we'll have our message. And each and every evening of our conference, I'll bring you a Bible message. And my heart's desire is that we go away with a greater desire, an earnest desire to be a better soul winner. And so I hope that's your heart's desire as well. So again, we're going to take just the first few moments of every evening, and we're going to work quick, all right? How many of you are ready to write fast tonight, okay? And I want you to write a few things down. You notice I've called this reviving soul winning in the local church. How many of you are a part of a local church? Can I see your hands tonight, please? You're members of First Baptist Church in Ranson, West Virginia. God bless you for that, and thank you for being back on a Sunday evening when a lot of churches have closed their doors. I'm glad you're here tonight, and I hope you'll rejoin us tomorrow and Tuesday and Wednesday as we continue to study this great topic. But I wanna give you just a few thoughts tonight that'll help us to stay revived. If you'll notice in the first part of the outline there, soul winning is likened to these six things in the Bible. They all start with the letter F, so let's start writing them in tonight. Number one, and while you're writing, I'll do just a quick bit of teaching and then we'll get to the second one as well. Number one, in the Bible, soul winning is likened to fruit bearing. Would you write that down please? Fruit bearing. Obviously, Proverbs 11 and verse number 30, the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life and he that winneth souls is wise. Notice that Old Testament analogy of winning souls or what we call soul winning is likened to a tree that is bearing fruit. John chapter number 15, likewise, Jesus was talking about that he is divine, the father where the Father is the vine and He is the husbandman, and that we are the branches, and branches are to bear fruit, amen? And obviously we know that in that passage He said, I want you to bear fruit, I want you to bear much fruit, more fruit, I want you to bear much fruit, and then He said that your fruit should remain. I don't know about you, that is my desire, that we win people to Jesus Christ and that they are then discipled, they follow the Lord in believer's baptism, that they become part of our membership in the local church, and that they likewise become fruit bearers themselves. And that is how the local church, generation after generation, will continue to stay alive. So fruit bearing is like soul winning. The second thing I want you to write down is the word farming. Soul winning in the Bible is likened to farming. Out to the side, just write Matthew 13. It's the great passage there of Jesus giving the parable of what I call, we call it sometimes the parable of the sower. But it really was a parable of not only the sower but also the seed and also the soil, amen? And again, all of these could be standalone sermons, right? And all of these could be Bible studies. But Jesus is likening the seed. The Bible said the seed was the Word of God. Hey, do you know, watch, do you know that you can plant seed by just giving a tract to somebody? Do you know that you can plant seed by just giving a gospel witness of what's happened in your own life? We can plant the seed by door knocking. We can plant the seed by going to the mission field. All of those are ways of getting the seed out. But the seed must fall in fertile soil. And so it's likened to farming. The third thing I want you to write down is soul winning is likened to a feast. Now we're Baptist here, how many like to eat? Say amen right there. All right, there we go. Luke chapter number 14, the Bible said that Jesus was talking about a great man that made a supper, remember that? And he sent his servants out to invite many. Remember all the excuses that came back? Well, I can't go and I bought some cattle and I got a piece of ground I gotta go look at. Remember one guy said, I'm married. and she won't let me go. Remember that excuse right there? He's the only one that had a legitimate excuse, amen? But all of the excuses, hey, have you ever been soul winning and you heard all the excuses? I don't think I need that. I don't know that I believe that. That's good enough for you. All right, all of the excuses, and so what happened? The master, when those servants got back, he said, hey, hey, I've got all of this supper nice and bigly prepared. I don't want it to go to waste. He said, go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in. Hey, go get the blind and the lame and those that no one cares about and the poor. May I say to you, there's a great supper that likewise has been prepared by our heavenly father in the giving of his son, Jesus Christ. And he wants as many as will come and receive to be at the supper. And so soul winning is likened to a feast. Number four, I love this one. Write down the word family. soul winnings likened to a family. How many of you know that John 1 12 says that when you receive Christ, you become the son of God, the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Romans eight continues and talks about him being our father. The Bible goes on to talk about us having the spirit of adoption. The Bible goes on to say that we are heirs and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. Hey, when someone that you lead to Christ gets saved, they become a part of the same family of God that you're a part of. Amen. And I love the old song, I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God. I've been washed in that fountain, cleansed by his blood, joint heirs with Jesus. Hey, hey, that's awesome good and we say amen about that. Do you know there are folks lost and dying in Jefferson County? They'd like to be in the family of God, but they've never known how to. That's what soul winning is all about. It's giving them an invitation to the family of God. Number five, please, write down the word. It's a fulfillment of a commission. Soul winning is likened to the fulfillment of a commission. Of course, Matthew 28, 19 and 20, right? What we call the great commission that so often today has become the great omission. That's sad, isn't it? Lastly, I want you to write down the word fishing. We are in West Virginia, amen. There's some great streams and rivers and places to go fishing. How many of you know Matthew chapter four, Jesus said unto Peter, James and John, who were career fishermen, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. Soul winning is likened to these six things. Write down the next statement there and we'll move on. The ministry of Christ was built around making men. Making men. Soul winning is catching men and then teaching them to catch men. Hey, that's what we're gonna do in our soul winning conference here the next few days. Lord willing, we are gonna follow the model and the example of 2 Timothy 2 and verse number two, where Paul said to young Timothy, I want you to take what I've given to you the same, and I want you to commit it to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. And so as a longtime tenured seasoned pastor, I'd like to do a little teaching this week. We did just a little teaching just now. The messages are formulated around the subject of being a soul winner and learning to have a desire and having an urgency and being a part of what God wants us to be a part of, what his heartbeat is, so that you, likewise, can train others to be soul winners. And so I hope and pray that you'll come each and every night with an open heart and with an open mind that we could take these things, these thoughts, and that we would apply them to our hearts and lives. Well, tonight, I'm gonna invite you to go to the book of John with me, please, John chapter number three. Now, just fold that little paper up and bring it back tomorrow evening, okay? Look, all of that was free, all right? Nothing will be charged for what I just gave you, all right? That is all completely free information. I'm just teasing you, you know, of course. But each evening, we'll kind of just give you a few thoughts, a little teaching, Little seminary, all right. And then, of course, let's get to the preaching of the Word of God this evening. John and chapter number three, please. John and chapter number three. And again, it's my great delight to be here. Thank you, Pastor Cawley, for allowing me to come. And of course, Brother Witham has known me more than you have known me. And then, of course, Brother Duncan, thank you for your heart, for outreach and planning this particular conference. I'm very, very privileged and honored that you've asked me to come and be your speaker for this soul winning conference. John chapter number 3 and I want you to find please the most famous verse in all the Bible, verse number 16. That's where we're going to begin tonight. John 3 and verse number 16. Now how many of you have found it? Say amen if you have. I want to make one statement before we read the passage. I'll ask God's blessing on the reading of the Word of God, and then I'll give you the message God's laid on my heart. I've prayed for weeks now, since I've taken this meeting, knowing this would be a soul-winning conference. I've really asked the Lord, God, what does First Baptist Church in Ransom need? What messages, what particular passages and what thoughts do we need to be confronted with? so that this church can reach her potential in the fulfilling of the Great Commission in this area. And I continued to, in my mind, come back that this first message had to be extremely foundational. What do I mean by that? Well, I don't know that you can get much more basic than John 3, 16, right? For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Would you not agree with me, friends, that soul winning basically boiled down to its foundational structure, it's knowing the gospel. because you cannot give what you do not know. We cannot promote, we cannot teach what we do not know to be true ourselves. And so obviously tonight, I wanna just begin this first message and tomorrow night and Tuesday and Wednesday, there are other messages and passages and directions that we're gonna go that we would say is much more along the soul winning theme. But tonight friends, if we don't get it right on the gospel, then soul winning really doesn't matter. And so tonight I'd like to just give you a message that I have entitled, Salvation in a Single Scripture. Salvation in a single scripture. Notice with me, please, John 3 in verse number 16. And I know I quoted it, but let's all quote it together or read it there since it's opened before you. Here we go. Ready? For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Father, I pray that you'll add your blessing now to the reading of your word. Thank you for the first few initial thoughts that we've given about soul winning. Lord, I hope this crowd understands my heart tonight and my desire to, as a man of God, to lift the scriptures up. Lord, tonight, let the word of God speak to us and convict us. Lord, to bring us to a knowledge of what we should do with what we hear. And so, Father, I pray that as we begin tonight at the very basic understanding of what the gospel is, that Lord, not only will we as believers, that we'll revel in what we know to be true, but that we will realize you made salvation so simple and that it's our job and responsibility to take it to those who do not know and to share it with them. I pray, oh God, that you'll open the scriptures to us this evening. We thank you in advance for what you'll do. And this we ask in Jesus name. Amen. Would you agree with me that John 3,16 might be the most famous verse in all the Bible? I don't know about you, but it probably was one of the first verses that you ever memorized as a child. I know I grew up in a preacher's home and grew up in a great church even before my father I surrendered to the ministry. I grew up going to a Christian day school, and I grew up in Awana and learning all of the great verses of our Bible. And amongst the hundreds and maybe thousands of verses that I have memorized, probably the one that I memorized first, or at least very early on, and probably the one that we know the best, might be John 3.16. It truly is a very simple truth. I'm so glad to know that John 3.16 gives us the gospel in a nutshell, that it is easy or simple enough for a child to believe it. Can I just stop and say, as Brother Witham was given his testimony, and he mentioned 1969, I was born in the end of 1968. Sorry to make you feel old, Brother Witham. You were 17, I think you said. I just turned 54 this last December. But I was saved before my fifth birthday. And so as a young boy in the early 70s, I became aware of the knowledge of my sin. And my father and mother had kept me in church in the first few years of my life. And God had worked on my heart. And God had used Sunday school lessons and teacher's object lessons. And my mom and dad reading the Bible at home as brand new Christians themselves. And as a five-year-old child, it was simple enough for me to understand it. Aren't you glad that God didn't make salvation too difficult? Aren't we all glad to know that the Bible says, in fact, Jesus said, unless you have the faith of a child, right? Unless you are converted as a little child, you cannot see the kingdom of God. But I also may say that on the other side of that, this verse is also very deep theologically. In fact, I'd like to unpack it a little bit tonight. I'd like you to see John 3.16 maybe in a way that you've never seen it before. And so yes, it is easy and simple, but yet it is also very, very deep. If we were to take John 3.16 And I've got another message that I almost preached that I could have elongated a little bit on it, but let me give you some S-words about the S's of salvation in John 3, 16. We see the source, the superlativeness, the subject, the sacrifice, the son, the scope, the simplicity, the savior, the solemnity, and security now aren't you glad that I'm not preaching all of those points tonight amen you're saying I've already heard you teach a little bit and I know you're not gonna be able to get through a message in a short amount of time and so I've boiled it down to I have four points tonight all right instead of ten But my point is all of those words likewise come from John 3.16 about the Savior. And aren't you glad to know that John 3.16 is given to us to know the gospel of Jesus Christ. In my study for this sermon I read about two famous pastors. One's name was Henry Morehouse. Henry Morehouse started preaching at the age of 16. He began pastoring his church at the age of 18 and lived until the age of 33. But the story that I read said that Henry Morehouse, in those 14 years of pastoring, that he never preached from another text other than John 3, 16, and he never preached the same sermon twice. So what that tells me is there must be an awful lot of depth in John 3.16. Amen? It was also said of the Prince of Preachers, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, that Dr. Spurgeon would choose a text from which to preach and then he'd make a beeline for Calvary. I love that. You see, every one of us as preachers of the gospel, we always, regardless of what we are preaching, regardless of the topic where the Holy Spirit has led us, we never must run past the gospel of Jesus Christ. Amen? For it is the foundation. It is how we know we are saved. The gospel is how we know that we have a home in heaven and that we are saved eternally. And so tonight, you'll never be the kind of soul winner you need to be. unless you are firm on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, I want you to look at John 3.16, maybe in a way that you've never seen it before. If I were to ask you to take time to count how many words are found in John 3.16, it may take you a moment. I did the math for you, so let me just tell you how many. There are 25 words. There are 25 words. There are 12 words, and then there is a middle word, the 13th word, and then there are 12 more words. Now I want you to put your eyes on John 3, 16, and with that number in mind, can anybody maybe guess for me what is the middle word of John 3, 16? It's the word son, amen. And it's capital S-O-N. It wasn't just any son. It was the very son of God. Anybody with me tonight? He was the Messiah. He was the second person of the Godhead and the Trinity. He was the mediator between God and man. The alpha, the omega, the beginning and the ending, the way, the truth, the life. That's who we're talking about. And he is the central figure of John 3, 16, the son. But if you take the 12 words leading up to that, we could kind of lay it out this way. The first 12 words of John 3, 16, those words relate to God and His responsibility about salvation. Think about it just a little bit. Look at verse 16 there. For God so loved the world. So who is it doing the loving? It's God. that He gave. Who was it that did the giving? It was God. His only begotten Son. Whose only begotten Son was it? It was God's. Do you see? Look this way, friends. The first part of John 3, 16 has nothing to do with me. It has everything to do with God. But I want you to notice the second set of 12 words after the word Son. You see, God's responsibility in the first 12. Secondly, then we find man's responsibility to that. What then should man do? What can man do? What can only man do as it relates to being saved? Well, let's continue to read there after the word son, that whosoever, how many of you are glad that means any single person who will call on Jesus, amen. We're not Calvinist here. Is that right brother Pastor Conley? We're not Calvinist here Amen, and that's a whole nother that's a whole nother series of messages Amen, why we're not Calvin and my point is God did not predetermine who was saved who wasn't saved and all of that my friend it is a whosoever will salvation and that's why soul winning is important because they still have a choice and They have not already been damned to hell. If they are still breathing breath, they have the opportunity to receive the free gift of salvation, the whosoever. That's man's response to God's responsibility. Let's keep reading. He says, for whosoever believeth in him. Who is it has to do the believing? Man does. This is not about God. God did the giving, man has to do the believing. Do you see that? Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And so tonight, I would like us to take John 3.16, knowing the middle word is all about Jesus Christ, the Son, and I'd like to give you what I call four Cs, four words that begin with C, from John 3.16. about the gospel. Number one, I'd like us to consider the cause. Why did Jesus Christ Why? What was the purpose of it? What was the basic of it? How did we understand or how can we understand our great need and that God knew that great need? Hey, this was a soul winning conference. Look, we got to get it down that soul winning truly, soul winning is not about us. Soul winning is about the one who sent his son because he loved the world so much. Can I say the cause is the so love of God the Father. That's the cause. What we might say the reason. Why would God love a sinner like me? Can you put your name in there? Why would God care about us? I'll tell you why, because he loved us. And may I say to you, that's why he cares about the people in Jefferson County that are lost and dying without Christ. And yes, that's why he cares about the people that live in Uganda, and the people that live in China, and the people that live around the world. Yes, and we've talked about that. That's the missions. He cares also about people that live in your neighborhood, that live within one mile of First Baptist Church in Ransom, West Virginia. of those people that you work with, and those people that your kids may go to school with, those people that you see in the grocery store, those waiters and waitresses that serve you in the Cracker Barrel, right? Where's my lady that was at the Cracker Barrel? We were talking about the waitress here. There she is. Look, these people are ones that we come in contact with. Watch, the cause of soul winning is God loves them. We must understand that God loves them. They may be unlovely, but God loves them anyway. Amen. I don't know about you, I was unlovely before I got saved and so were you. We were born in sin. Our nature was one that was disobedient to God. We walked away from God and God loved us so much that he came seeking us and said, I've made a way for you to come and live with me. You see, the cause of salvation is that God so loved the world. One of my favorite hymns is a song that I know you know as well. It's called, The Love of God. Verse number three says this, Could we with ink the ocean fill, And were the skies of parchment made, Were every stalk on earth a quill, And every man a scribe by trade, To write the love of God above, Would drain the oceans dry, Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Though stretched from sky to sky, O love of God, How rich and pure, how measureless and strong. I don't know about you this evening, but if you're going to be the kind of soul winner that God wants you to be, you've got to be overwhelmed by the love of God that he has for us and the love of God that he has for this world. A world that is lost and dying. A world that has turned its back upon God. A world that is walking away in our culture and in our country. Getting away from the foundations of Christianity in this country. My friends, but God still loves them! And that's why it's our earnest responsibility that we continue to go and tell them how much they're loved. For God so loved The word cause there. Cause. Why? Because he loved. I read a story about a missionary to the South American Indian tribes. This happened many, many decades ago. It's an old story. It happened back in the 50s. As we know, and I know you're a missions-minded, missions-hearted church, you have probably heard similar stories where there are missionaries that have to go to fields where maybe they don't have a Bible in their written tongue. And so often, missionaries will go and translate the Word of God. We take it for granted that we have our King James Bible, and we love that in the English language. But in this language, they were translating. And so when they got to John 3, 16, watch, the missionary and the interpreter, the translator, they were working on this concept of so loved, for God so loved. I'm glad it didn't just say God loved. Although He did, I'm glad that we know He so loved. What does that mean? And as they were trying to find out in that language, he said, there's really not a word that means so in the English language. We don't know how to translate this. He said, but the closest thing that we can find, I love this, are you ready? The closest phrase that we can find is this phrase that God, watch this, hurt in his heart and so he loved. Have you ever hurt in your heart for something? Have you ever hurt in your heart for someone? Have you ever, and as a pastor for 32 years, I had to stand at a lot of funeral caskets and have to console grieving widows because someone that they so loved was laying there in that casket. They were having to say goodbye. They hurt in their heart. You may have a child that has been taken from you and it hurts you in your heart. Watch, my friends, watch. May I remind us all that those in this world without Jesus Christ are also the creations of God the Father that loves them as much as He loves me. And even a child that has walked away, it's almost as if God says, let me tell you how much I love you, it hurts my heart that you've walked away. And so soul winning basically is taking the gospel to a lost and dying world that maybe seemingly has turned their back away from God. And we say to them, please understand how much God loves you, how much God hurts in his heart. that you have walked away from him. You know, anytime a relationship is broken by sin, that relationship is hurt. Would you not agree with me about that? People get hurt and situations that come in broken relationships. May I remind you in Genesis 3 of the relationship that was broken because of sin in the Garden of Eden. Do you remember when Eve took the fruit and she obviously, they both did that out of disobedience and a willing disobedience. Do you remember that in the evening in the garden of the cool of the day, as God always had come down to speak to Adam, that Adam and Eve were hiding themselves from the presence of God. How many remember that part of the story? Why were they hiding? Because sin had broken the relationship, that's why. Hey friends watch so when we go knock on the door and maybe they don't want to talk to us or they don't understand Why would a God love me? You don't understand pastor. You don't know what I have done. You don't understand the life I have lived You don't know the addiction that I am in may I say to you I may not understand but there is a God in heaven who hurts in his heart and is willing to do whatever it is if they will just believe and That's why soul winnings important friends Because the cause is that he so loved the world. You know, it hurts God. when we refuse to acknowledge Him. It hurts God to think that we can get to heaven on our own merit. It hurts God when we think that we have enough good works in order to attain heaven. And He understands in His holiness and in His righteousness that nothing could, all of our righteousnesses are as, talk to me church, filthy rags. And so that's why, because we are sinners, that's why we need a holy Savior. That's why we need a pure, sacrificial Lamb. The Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. The pure and spotless Son of God. And it hurts God when a culture says, no, I don't need you. No, I don't want you. No, I think I can get to heaven my own way. I believe that we can go through someone else in order to get to heaven. Believe it hurts the heart of God that there watch me church that there are religions or denominations that teach just be a good person Hey, just come to church light some candles throw some money in the plate and you're gonna be just fine Hey, just come in and you go into a booth and you tell this man over here what you've done and he absolves all of your sin May I remind you none of that is biblical friends and it hurts the heart of God to think that we can attain any merit if whatsoever without the sacrificial lamb of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm just trying to say that the cause is that He loves us. He so loves us. Hey, as a soul winner, we must remember that salvation is not found in the deeds of man, but rather the death of Christ. Not found in the goodness of man, but rather the grace of Christ. Not found in the religion of man, but in the righteousness of Christ. Not found in the merit of man, but rather the mercy of Christ. Secondly, I'd like you to consider with me the cost of salvation. the cause of salvation that is that God loved. And again, you're never gonna be a soul winner unless you are convinced of the love of God. Before we just move on here, I wanna make sure everybody's with me. How many of you are thankful for the love of God in your life? Amen. And guess what? That same love that was shown to you in salvation needs to be shared with a lost and dying world so they can know as well. You know, isn't it selfish of us to keep what we know and to not share it? And I think that's what the whole gist of this conference is, is that we come out of ourselves, that we get out of our selfishness. And look, I'm included here, and yes, I'm a preacher and all of that, but we're all human at best, and we find really good ways to make excuses. But may I remind you, please, the calls of the love of God should help us to consider why we should be a soul winner. In fact, 2 Corinthians 5, verse 14 says, Number two, what was the cost of salvation? Look back at John chapter number three, would you? For God so loved the world, here it is, that he gave his only begotten son, that he gave. The cost, my friends, was the greatest cost of anything that needed to be paid or could be paid, and that is the death of the only begotten son of God. For the sake of time, I will not take you to Genesis 22, but I think you know the story. It's an Old Testament picture of what Jesus was going to do thousands of years later. Abraham was asked of God to take his, watch this, his only son, Isaac. Everybody get that? John 3, 16, Jesus was God's, talk to me, only begotten son. Abraham is asked to take Isaac, the promised seed, his only son. That's what it says in Genesis 22 and verse number two. His only son, Isaac. The promised seed, the one that he had waited for for decades and decades. And I want you to take him up on Mount Moriah and I want you to sacrifice him. You know the story. They take the three days journey. They walk up the mountain, they leave the servants and it's just Abraham and Isaac and they're walking up and Abraham looks at dad and says, dad, we've got the fire and dad, we've got the wood. Dad, where's the sacrifice? Oh, I love it. Genesis 22. Son, God will provide Himself a sacrifice. May I remind you, that is exactly what He did. That was prophetical thousands of years earlier about the Lamb of God. Isn't that what John the Baptist called Jesus, right? Behold, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. May I remind you, the cost cost Jesus his life. He died on an old rugged cross. He bore our sins. May I remind you that everything bad that you and I have ever done, that this world has ever done, the Bible says was laid upon Him. In fact, 2 Corinthians says that He was made sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Hey, that's a great soul-winning truth right there, friends. You can share with them what Jesus did for them. At great cost. The third thing I'd like you to see this evening is the word condition. Yes, there's the cause and yes, there's the cost. But number three, I would like you to see the condition. Notice, please, as we continue through John 3 16, the Bible says that whosoever believeth in him. Now this is where we will get down obviously as we are talking and teaching about soul winning. Remember we said the last 12 words have to do with man's responsibility. Remember the first 12 words was God's responsibility. Second 12 words are man's responsibility. Keep in mind, there's nothing here about being a good person. There's nothing in the last part of the verse about turning over a new leaf. There's nothing there about just doing better. There's nothing there about giving money, but there is an awful lot about believing. Believing. Whosoever believeth. I made this statement in Brother Williams' church this morning. I think we've made soul winning in our minds and hearts sometimes. We just think it's too hard. It's too difficult. Do you realize God did the difficult part? All man has to do now is receive. receive a gift, right? Believe, put your faith and trust in what has already been done. Whosoever believeth in him. Friends, we're not trying to twist someone's arm. We're not trying to get somebody to pray a prayer. No, we are just trying to give the gospel to them in a simple enough format and say, now, would you put your, would you believe that? Would you trust Christ? Would you place your faith in for the forgiveness of your sins? For that is the condition. The condition is belief. May I remind you in our text, would you keep looking at chapter 3 and verse 17? Let's see what continues here. He says, for God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be, what church? Isn't that what soul wedding's about? We're trying to get them saved, right? We want them to come to a knowledge of salvation. And he says, look, this is through Jesus Christ. And he says, I didn't come to condemn them, but I've come to save them. Verse 18, here's the key though, He that, next word church, believeth on him, is not condemned, but he that, next two words church, believeth not, is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. What am I saying? What's God saying? He says there's a condition on this. And the condition is, not that they become perfect, because they can't. Not that any of us become perfect because none of us can. The condition is, do you believe that Jesus Christ was the son of God? Do you believe that Jesus was the only begotten son of God, that he was deity? Do you believe that when he died on the old rugged cross, it was not just another, there were two other thieves that died the same day as Jesus Christ, but they didn't carry anybody's sin away. There was one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Come on now. That's who they have to put their belief in. They don't have to believe you. They don't have to believe pastor Cawley They don't have to put their belief in a church. They put their faith in the one that never changes Jesus Christ the same yesterday today and forever and That's why salvation is eternal because the condition is they believe in him. They're not believing in you Hey, hey soul winner. Hey, hey Troubled soul winner someone who maybe does not think you can do this quit making it about you. It's about him Well, they might they might reject me they're not rejecting you they're rejecting him All you're doing is giving them the information. Can I say it that way? You're giving them what they need to know and you're asking them Would you believe would you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ? You see we make it too hard I believe that we must realize the condition is simple belief. Would you go to 1 John 5? Real quick, 1 John 5. And I'm trying to land this plane. We have one more word to work on, all right? So stay with me here. And we've only been here for one hour and 15 minutes. And I was told that conferences here go an hour and a half, all right? And so just hang in there with me, all right? Look at 1 John, chapter number five. Oh, I love verse 13. We often read verse 13 in Saul winning. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. Well, what's the verses leading up to that say? Look at verse 11, and this is the record. that God hath given to us. It's a gift. What kind of life? Eternal life. And this life is where? It's in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life. And he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. And then that great verse 13. Here's how you know. Because you put your belief and faith and trust in Christ. So there is the condition. What is it that sends someone to hell? It's very simple. Watch. It's not all of the sins that they've committed. Do you know there's one thing and one thing only that sends us to hell, and that is not believing. Not believing. Not believing. Hey, hey, if it were the amount of sins, then we could feel pretty good about ourselves. Well, I've not done as many bad things as this guy over here has done. Guess what? One sin makes you a sinner, amen? You know, that whole list in Revelation 21, eight, you know, it kind of ends with, and all liars shall have their part. I think that gets all of us, doesn't it? That's what we all deserve. But watch, the condition of my belief in Christ, placing my faith in Jesus Christ for the completed work of salvation that His blood covers all of my sin, that's what someone has to do in order to be saved. My last word is this, and we're done. It's the word consequence. We saw the word cause. We saw the word cost. We saw the word condition and now number four, the word consequence. We might say, excuse me, that the word consequence means what will happen if, okay? If this happens, then this is the consequence of that. Well, let's look, let's go back to John 3 and what we've done tonight. John 3 in verse number 16, how does it end? Well, the Bible says that whosoever believeth in Him, here it is, should not perish but have everlasting life. I love that. It's what I've put in my notes here. It's a double promise. He said, I want you to know that if you believe In my only son, my only begotten son, in Jesus Christ, and your faith is in Christ. It's not in anything else, not in a religion, not in doing a good work, not in paying some money, but in Jesus Christ is the only way. Then I want you to know I've given you two things as a promise. Number one, he said, you shall not perish. Now we understand that word perish, that has that connotation, and we all know, where does eventually sin end us? Not just in death, but in hell, right? That's what Revelation says, right? The first death, and then the Bible talks about in the lake of fire, which is the second death, that is eternal perishing. And the Bible here says, watch, here's the consequence. Here's what'll happen if you put your faith in Christ. You see, what, can I say this? Soul winning gets to give them really good news. It's not all bad news. Yes, we're all sinners, and yes, we're damned to hell because of our sin. But watch, soul winners, you get to tell them that there's a promise that if they receive Christ, they will not perish, that's one promise, and that they will have everlasting life. What a double promise. Not only, watch, not only do I not have to go to hell, I get to go to heaven. Come on now. And heaven and hell are both eternal. Would we agree with that? You can't believe in heaven and not believe in hell. Amen. So as much as we say, yes, I believe in heaven, we as soul winners must also believe in hell. Watch me. Watch me. I'm going to wrap this thing up. And that is why we must be soul winners because there is a consequence of hell. And that's why we must tell them about the Savior. That's why we must give them the good news. That's why we must share our faith on purpose. May I say that too often one word is missing out of John 3, 16. And I'll end with this. Look back at verse 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only, instead of begotten, can I make a play on words, for God so loved the world that he gave his only forgotten son. Not begotten, but forgotten. I think this world has chosen to forget, even if they have heard, they choose maybe to not remember the great sacrifice, the price that was paid. But not so much about that thought as I want to give you this thought as a church family, listen to me. I think that maybe we have likewise forgotten how important it is to get this message to the lost and dying world. It's almost like we say, I got mine all cared for, I'm good, I'm on my way to heaven. In fact, how many of you, you know Christ is saved, you know you're saved? Can I see your hand? Praise the Lord for that, isn't that great? Man, we'll put both hands up, right? Give me a foot as well. Thank God I'm on my way to heaven. But what about all those that have never heard what you know? Has he been forgotten? Forgotten by the world? and maybe even forgotten by us. Don't let him be the only forgotten son. Let's make sure that he is the one who is deserving of all of our praise and our honor and our glory, and may I remind you, and our service. And our great commission is to take what we know, what we have believed, and to share it with someone who does not know. Tonight, as we begin this soul-winning conference, I just felt so impressed that we start with what is it we're sharing? It's the gospel. The gospel. Would you stand with me, please? Our heads are bowed. Our eyes are closed this evening. And I understand that preaching from John 3, 16, I get it. You've heard sermons on John 3, 16. I get it. We all have. But tonight, I wanted us to be reminded of its importance. I did not want us to forget what God did for us and to forget what we are supposed to go and share with the world. And so tonight with our heads bowed and our eyes closed this evening, do you, in just a moment as the invitation will be played and sung, do you need to maybe use the altar this evening? I know that your pastor has been preparing you for this conference and asking you to pray and asking you to fast and asking you to come prepared and ready to hear. Now what did the Spirit of God say to you tonight? What is it that you are supposed to do? I can't answer that question for you. Maybe tonight it must start with your own salvation. Maybe you don't know Christ. Tonight, in the invitation, would you come and receive Christ, put your belief and your faith in Christ? There are children in this room tonight. There are teenagers in this room. Maybe you've not settled this. But secondarily, if you are not a faithful soul winner, Would you maybe let the Lord convict in your heart to take the most simple of Bible truths about Christ, what he did for us, how he'll save them if they'll just believe, but how will they hear without a preacher? Father, I pray that you'll bless now this time of the word being shared, and Lord, I know that I'm a new speaker to some, and Lord, I know that maybe a different voice, but Lord, let all of that be pushed away, and let us hear your voice now. Let us hear from your spirit, and may your word permeate our hearts and our minds, and may this church and the individual members of First Baptist Church in Ransom, may we all be soul winners. Lovers of God and lovers of the gospel. And may we be very consistent in our telling of the truth to a lost and dying world. Please, bless now the invitation. Work in our hearts as only you can. And we'll ask you to do this in Jesus' name. Tonight we're going to have an invitation. If you want to begin, I think Brother Duncan maybe. Number 204 this evening, please. Number 204. Let's begin. Let's go ahead and sing as to the Lord and maybe to use this altar this evening as the Lord would have you to do so.