Passionate Evangelism – 5

Subject – Jesus

by Rick Welborne

Matthew 11:16-19 (NIV)
¹⁶  "To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:
¹⁷  "'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.'
¹⁸  For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'
¹⁹  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners."' But wisdom is proved right by her actions." 

John 5:1-9 (NKJV)
¹  After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
²  Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.
³  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.
⁴  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.
⁵  Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.
⁶  When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"
⁷  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."
⁸  Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."
⁹  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath. 

John 4:25-26 (NIV)
²⁵  The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."
²⁶  Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he." 

--I hope you have understood the reason for this series on passionate evangelism…The reason is to motivate you to share Christ to those who do not know Him.

--We talked about Philip (A layman in the church) a person who is not a pastor or minister in the church…how he was filled with Holy Spirit, witnessed everywhere with signs and wonders following.

--We talked about how Peter allowed Holy Spirit to deal with his prejudice to reach out to the Gentiles. He was able to see Cornelius and his whole family receive Jesus and be filled with Holy Spirit.

--We saw how Paul witnessed thru great adversity and persecution…he never took his eyes off of the prize. To him the prize was seeing people come to Christ and glorifying Christ.

--Thru his witness the keeper of the jail and his entire family was saved and baptized in water. We must remember that when adversity comes, the lost are watching how we react…don’t forget them. 

--Today we are going to look at, not only the greatest soul winner of all time, but also, the greatest and only soul saver ever…Jesus Christ.

1. Jesus…the friend of sinners.

--John the Baptist pretty much lived in the wilderness and did not hang out with people eating or drinking with them. They accused him of being possessed by a demon.

--Jesus went to where the people were and hung out with them eating and drinking with them (note: not what we think). They accused Him of being a glutton, a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors, and a friend of sinners.

--So what’s the point…some people will never accept our message no matter what we do. That is true but our goal is not for them to accept us but for them to accept Jesus.

--I know some of you are the John the Baptist types…you were country before country was cool! You love to hunt, fish, and eat locust! You are a member of a hunting club where the lost go!

--You are called to be the friend of sinners…to meet them where they are, relate to them as they fish or hunt, and listen to them when they begin to open up. You plant and water seeds in their hearts.

--Some of you are more the athletic types…you play softball, golf, tennis, bowl, or whatever. You will definitely encounter the lost…live for Christ before them and be their friends. Don’t cuss - no cussers for Christ.

--Some of you may be into Avon, Essential Oils, Precious Moments, Creative Memories, or a part of a women’s exercise class…People are hurting and looking for a friend…Their pain is the Kingdom’s gain.

--How wonderful would it be if we were accused especially by the religious among us of being the friend of sinners…I realize I do not just pastor this church but I pastor this community.

--We must minister to those among us who are hurting and they must be our first priority.

Galatians 6:9-10 (NKJV)
⁹  And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
¹⁰  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

--This verse motivates us toward love for one another and that is good. Sadly, many churches turn inward and the thought of reaching the lost is not on their minds at all…these two verses drive me to the lost:

1 Peter 4:17-18 (NLT)
¹⁷  For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News?
¹⁸  And also, “If the righteous are barely saved, what will happen to godless sinners?”

--What terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s good news…if the righteous barely be saved, what will happen to the godless sinners? We hear people die on the news, do we wonder where they went?

--Jesus said that He came to seek and to save the lost…we say and we sing that we want to be like Jesus…then do the same as He did…Who is on your radar now?

--I am all for having organized plans to reach the lost…I am all for dramas like HGHF where we reach large numbers of people all at one time but I truly believe God’s plan for us is everyone shine where you are.

--Let me share with you the difference in the two…large events produce large numbers but very little fruit that remains because there is very little relationship. HGHF 400 plus come forward and we may gain 2 or 3.

--When we have a relationship with the person…when we are the friend of a sinner…when he or she makes a decision for Christ…we have them because they were friends before they ever got saved. Fruit remains.

--Jesus did not put out posters and announce His crusades…He just walked around ministering to the hurting and when He touched their hearts by meeting their needs, He had fruit that remained. They followed Him.

--In Matthew 5-7 Jesus preaches the sermon on the Mount…let’s say that was a massive church service…what happens next?

Matthew 8:1-3 (NKJV)
¹  When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.
²  And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."
³  Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 

--At some point we have to come down from the mountain and minister to people right where they are…the leper was cleansed, the centurion’s servant was healed, a paralytic was healed.

--He walked among the people being the friend of sinners…God, help us to do the same.

2. Jesus…the healer of the broken.

--As Jesus is walking around He comes to a pool, where there are all kinds sick folk, which to me is such a representation of the world.

John 5:3 (NKJV)
³  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.

--Wow! This hit me so strong…all these people are waiting around the Pool of Bethesda hoping the water will be stirred so they can hopefully be the first into the water and be healed.

--What does this say to us…we are surrounded by people who are blind to the truth, living a lame life, paralyzed by sin, and they are looking for answers in the wrong place. We have the treasure they are looking for.

2 Corinthians 4:3-7 (NIV)
³  And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
⁴  The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
⁵  For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
⁶  For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
⁷  But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 

--The lost are blind to the truth and how will they know unless we become healers of the broken? We are just pointing them to Jesus sharing with them this treasure we have in us…is He a treasure to you?

Isaiah 45:2-3 (NKJV)
²  'I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron.
³  I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel. 

--Jesus and Holy Spirit will go before you to prepare hearts for you to share with…Your job is to be the friend of sinners and be there to help heal the broken…to retrieve treasures that are broken and hidden.

3. Jesus…the Messiah. 

--Again Jesus is on a mission and he goes to a difficult place (Samaria)…sharing Christ with the lost may mean you find yourselves in dangerous places and situations. Oh, Pastor, God would never lead us into danger. Really

Luke 10:2-3 (NCV)
²  He said to them, “There are a great many people to harvest, but there are only a few workers. So pray to God, who owns the harvest, that he will send more workers to help gather his harvest.
³  Go now, but listen! I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.

--Jesus comes to a well and He meets a woman there who has a messed up life…Obviously she has been looking for love in all the wrong places…on all the wrong faces.

--She has had five husbands and the one she is with now is not her husband…she is lost and she thinks she will find love in a man…she was right but not the men she had…it would be in the Son of Man!

--Way too many times we want to be like the parable of the good Samaritan…we see someone hurt and messed up and we pass by on the other side…I am sure we point our hand toward them and pray…Lord, help them.

--When I was a youth pastor in Covington, La. I was driving out in the country (most anywhere) and a brand new Volvo was coming around the curve about a quarter of a mile from me…a dog runs out in front of them.

--Lady swerves to miss the dog and runs off the road…she turns too sharply to come back on the road and the car flips 4 times in front of me…the cars lands upside down in the ditch. A mom and two young daughters.

--You can’t just pass them by…The car is leaking gas…I rush to get them out…mom bleeding but no major injury…youngest daughter has a broken arm…the other daughter really bad…looks like her brain is showing.

--Others come…State Trooper…the older daughter is critical…I say we must pray but no one listens…this 8 years old shouts…the preacher said we need to pray so everyone hold hands and pray…ambulance comes.

--Two different hospitals…the critical child to New Orleans…other two to Covington…I run back and forth between the two…God works a miracle and the older is healed within days…they all receive Christ!

--The last time I spoke to the mom she shared with me how 18 of their family members had received Jesus because of this situation. Jesus is the Messiah (Savior) and He is the healer!

Biblical Spiritual Warfare - 14

Subject - Armor-bearers

by Rick Welborne

Ephesians 6:10-20 (NIV)
¹⁰  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
¹¹  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
¹²  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
¹³  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
¹⁴  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
¹⁵  and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
¹⁶  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
¹⁷  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
¹⁸  And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
¹⁹  Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,
²⁰  for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. 

—Last week I talked to you about being armed servants...soldiers with the full armor of God willing to serve their God and people.

—We said how interesting it is that our military branches are called the armed services. Military website: Today's Military: Inspired to serve.

—We also said every day, many thousands devote themselves to protecting freedoms, maintaining peace, providing relief, and supporting policy around the globe. 

--It requires self-discipline, intense physical work, and time away from family and friends while protecting America and its citizens at home and abroad.

—The word that jumped out at me when I re-read this was the word protecting.

--At Life Church we gladly honor those who have and who are willing to protect us and stand with our commander and chief (President Trump) to protect the USA.

—No matter who our commander and chief is...he needs those armed soldiers to stand with him and protect our country and our allies around the world.

—As I stated last week...it seems Holy Spirit keeps directing us to preach on the armor of God and its importance.

—While I was reading and praying about what to share for today I ran across a term...a concept of being an armor bearer. This will probably be the last in this series.

1. To be an armor bearer we must be loyal to the authorities we serve.

Terry Nance - God's Armor Bearer: What does an armor bearer do? In OT days, he was responsible for carrying his master's shield (armor) into battle. He had the awesome responsibility of seeing to the safety of his officer or leader.

—Our modern day military is responsible for being our commander and chief's and our country's armor bearers to protect us from our enemies.

—Every leader needs an armor bearer or armor bearers to protect him and to be willing to lay down their lives or sacrifice for their leader.

—Nance in speaking of those in the ministry: In the church we have become accustomed to having our leaders serve us instead of us serving them.. This is particularly true of our attitude toward the man or woman of God.

—Nance said: You will never flow in the anointing of Elisha until we have learned to serve an Elijah.

2 Kings 2:9-15 (NCV)
⁹  After they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “What can I do for you before I am taken from you?“ Elisha said, “Leave me a double share of your spirit.“
¹⁰  Elijah said, “You have asked a hard thing. But if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours. If you don’t, it won’t happen.“
¹¹  As they were walking and talking, a chariot and horses of fire appeared and separated Elijah from Elisha. Then Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.
¹²  Elisha saw it and shouted, “My father! My father! The chariots of Israel and their horsemen!“ And Elisha did not see him anymore. Then Elisha grabbed his own clothes and tore them to show how sad he was.
¹³  He picked up Elijah’s coat that had fallen from him. Then he returned and stood on the bank of the Jordan.
¹⁴  Elisha hit the water with Elijah’s coat and said, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?“ When he hit the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and Elisha crossed over.
¹⁵  The groups of prophets at Jericho were watching and said, “Elisha now has the spirit Elijah had.“ And they came to meet him, bowing down to the ground before him. 

--Elisha had learned the way to receive and walk in the anointing of God was by serving and being an armor bearer to the one (Elijah) God had placed him under.

--Elisha learned what we must learn…we cannot be distracted from serving the Elijahs in our lives. There will always be those who want to get us off course. Be loyal to those whose authority you are under.

--Hear me, I do not speak of that which I do not understand…I have served with some who seemed to be undeserving of my loyalty but God taught me early in my walk with Him to remain loyal and faithful.

--There were those who came to me trying to get me to write a letter or just provide information about how the leader was treating me unfair but I refused because of this principle.

1 Chronicles 16:22 (NIV)
²²  "Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm." 

--This is speaking of God’s leaders but it is also talking about how we treat each other…Ephesians tells us to submit to one another in the fear of the Lord…we are all God’s anointed ones.

--We will do ourselves well if we let God deal with those we feel are out of line. We do what we do as unto the Lord…The key is do everything for the glory of God not man.

1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV)
³¹  So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

2. To be an armor bearer we must be willing to lay down our lives or protect our leaders.

John 15:13 (NKJV) 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. 

—It is not difficult to claim we are submitted to Jesus, but the question is: are we submitted to another human being? That is a different story.

Listen to this story of a modern day armor bearer: Staff Sergeant Salvatore Guinta receiving the Presidents medal 

of honor. He was leading his men when hit by enemy fire in Afghanistan. Two were shot…pinned down.

When the third was struck in the helmet and fell to the ground, Sal charged headlong into the wall of bullets to pull him to safety behind what little cover there was. As he did, Sal was hit twice, one round slamming into his body armor, the other shattering a weapon slung across his back.

They were pinned down, and two wounded Americans still lay up ahead. So Sal and his comrades regrouped and counterattacked. They threw grenades, using the explosions as cover to run forward, shooting at the muzzle flashes still erupting from the trees. Then they did it again. And again. Throwing grenades, charging ahead. Finally, they reached one of their men. He'd been shot twice in the leg, but he had kept returning fire until his gun jammed.

As another soldier tended to his wounds, Sal sprinted ahead, at every step meeting relentless enemy fire with his own. He crested a hill alone, with no cover but the dust kicked up by the storm of bullets still biting into the ground. There, he saw a chilling sight: the silhouettes of two insurgents carrying the other wounded American away who happened to be one of Sal's best friends. Sal never broke stride. He leapt forward. He took aim. He killed one of the insurgents and wounded the other, who ran off.

Sal found his friend alive, but badly wounded. Sal had saved him from the enemy -- now he had to try to save his life. Even as bullets impacted all around him, Sal grabbed his friend by the vest and dragged him to cover. For nearly half an hour, Sal worked to stop the bleeding and help his friend breathe until the MEDEVAC arrived to lift the wounded from the ridge. American gunships worked to clear the enemy from the hills. And with the battle over, First Platoon picked up their gear and resumed their march through the valley. They continued their mission.

It had been as intense and violent a firefight as any soldier will experience. By the time it was finished, every member of First Platoon had shrapnel or a bullet hole in their gear. Five were wounded. And two gave their lives: Sal's friend, Sergeant Joshua C. Brennan, and the platoon medic, Specialist Hugo V. Mendoza.

—Sal was willing to lay down his life for his country and his fellow soldiers...friends. What a true military armor bearer!

—Definition of armor bearer...two Hebrew words: Nasa - to lift, to hold up, to help, to respect. Keliy - to complete, to bring to pass, to end.

—Nance says the armor-bearer is to stand beside his leader to lift him up, to assist him and to protect him doing everything he can to bring an end to or to bring to pass the attacks of the enemy against his leader.

3. Paul was asking for and we are asking for you to be our armor bearers.

2 Timothy 4:7 (NIV) 

7  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Paul was the ultimate soldier...the ultimate fighter for Christ but he needed armor bearers. Listen to our text: After Paul said put on the armor…listen to his request for armor bearers.

Ephesians 6:18-20 (NIV)
¹⁸  And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
¹⁹  Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,
²⁰  for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. 

—Paul said: Put your armor on...pray in the Spirit...pray for the saints...but please pray for me...stand with me...

hold me up...fight with me...be my armor bearer! He continues:

Philippians 1:19-21 (NLT)
¹⁹  For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance.
²⁰  For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.
²¹  For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. 

—Paul was saying as you become my armor bearer:

A. The Spirit of Jesus helps me! 19

 B. Your prayer will deliver me! 

C. I will never be ashamed! 20 

D. I will be bold for Christ.

E.  My life will bring honor and glory to Christ.   

F. My life will be lived for Christ. 21

—Your pastors need armor bearers just like Paul did.

I am inviting you to put on your armor, to pray in the Spirit, to pray for one another, and to come along side of us and be our armor bearers.

—Pray the above: A. The Spirit of Jesus helps us! B. Pray Jesus will deliver us! C. Pray we will never be ashamed! D. Pray we will be bold for Christ.

E. Pray Our lives will bring honor and glory to Christ. F. Pray our lives will be lived completely for Christ.

Passionate Evangelism – 4

Subject – Paul Witnessing thru Adversity

by Rick Welborne

Acts 16:22-31 (NKJV)
²²  Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods.
²³  And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely.
²⁴  Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
²⁵  But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
²⁶  Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed.
²⁷  And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself.
²⁸  But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here."
²⁹  Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.
³⁰  And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
³¹  So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." 

--Obviously Paul has had an incredible experience with God and he is born again…a total transformation from trying to destroy the church to trying to build God’s Kingdom.

--He is traveling everywhere and sharing the gospel of Jesus to anyone who is willing to listen. He is baptized in Holy Spirit power and is reaching many for Christ.

--As we shared last week, Holy Spirit can lead us exactly where He wants us to go…Paul was going to Asia and Holy Spirit would not let them go…they tried to go to Bithynia and the Spirit forbade it.

--Finally, in a vision Paul sees a man from Macedonia pleading with him to come over and help them. Paul sets sail to Macedonia to do what God was leading him to do. Does or can God do that today? Yes!

--On one of our mission’s trips to Mexico from Covington, La. God led us in a similar way to minister where He wanted. In July we are in a dark blue school bus traveling around Mexico preaching the gospel. Hot!!!!

--We had driven a couple of hours from where we were staying and were out in the middle of nowhere when we saw a tiny sign for a town (village) down this dirt road…we felt we should go down the road.

--The road was dusty and rough…without a/c we were not about to put the windows up…Our driver shouts we are about to hit a dust storm…we don’t care we will leave our windows open…not dust but flying ants.

--That was the most Pentecostal I had ever seen 30 teenagers…large flying ants all over them. We survive and move on finally arriving at first village and Holy Spirit says “Not here.”

--We drive another hour to the next village…Not here! Everyone is getting anxious and thinking I have lost my mind. It is getting late but we keep driving…About dark we arrive at a village at the base of a mountain.

--Everyone in the village is out in the street…I ask thru the interpreter what are they waiting for? They say someone ran thru the village that morning shouting Good News is coming to us today. We set up everything.

--A layman, did I say he was a layman (filled with Spirit) is lined up to preach. He wants to defer to me and I say no. He shares scriptures about Jesus and salvation…we give an altar call and everyone responds…wow!

--Holy Spirit is not done yet…instruct them on how they need Holy Spirit power in their lives to live for God. I do! Thru the dimly lit crowd you could see their hunger…I said when I count to three Spirit will fall…He did!

--Because Holy Spirit led us all the way there, an entire village was saved and baptized in Holy Spirit that evening…we left as much literature as we could and left there rejoicing. Meanwhile back to my message:

--Paul cast out the demon that was in a young girl who brought her master much money by divination…there is an uproar and Paul and Silas are cast into the inner prison and placed in stocks. Faced with adversity.

1. Being a passionate witness does not mean the absence of adversity.

Acts 16:22-23 (NKJV)
²²  Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods.
²³  And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. 

--Let me say here in response to the crowd rising up against them that witnessing for Christ will more than likely mean that you are going against the grain…against societal norms.

--They want very much to shut us up…no prayer in school…don’t say Merry Christmas…can’t talk about religion in the workplace…separation of church and state.

Focus on the Family: The First Amendment's guarantees were intended as a check on the power of government. They were never intended as a check on religion's influence on the government.¹ One of the strengths of our Constitution and the success that we have enjoyed as a country derives from our "unalienable rights" endowed by our Creator. The whole purpose of government is, according to the Declaration of Independence, "to secure these rights." John Adams spoke of the special role that religion and morality play in the successful outworking of the Constitution's provisions: "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

--The early church was never caught off guard when they were persecuted and we should not be surprised when they come after us. Jesus told us that because they persecuted Him, they would persecute us.

--When something goes wrong with believers in America you would think the whole world is falling apart. Why, Lord, is all this happening to me? I thought you loved me! Why have I been left to myself?

2 Timothy 3:12-14 (NLT)
¹²  Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
¹³  But evil people and impostors will flourish. They will deceive others and will themselves be deceived.
¹⁴  But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. 

--You must decide before you open your mouth to share Christ that not everyone you share with will be receptive or responsive…it is not your job to save them…it is your job to tell them.

--Once I shared Christ with what looked like a former lineman for the NFL…he grabbed me by my shirt and pulled me up to his face…My wife ran off with a preacher and I am mad at God and preachers.

--First of all, I was not that preacher, and secondly, that was not God’s will for them to do that to you…I am so sorry you had to go through that. Yes, I was nervous! He later apologized and I shared Christ with him.

2. Being a passionate witness means that you must never lose your worship.

--Who ever made you believe that because you are facing adversity, that because you are being persecuted God is not worthy to be praised. His worth has not changed because of your circumstances.

--Matter of fact, Jesus’ value has just gone up because of your horrible situation…He said…In this world you will have tribulations, be of good cheer because I have overcome the world.

--In the middle east Christians have learned that when persecution is at its worse that they need to run to God and the church…In America, when we face the slightest problem, we leave God and the church. Wrong!

Acts 16:25-26 (NKJV)
²⁵  But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
²⁶  Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed.

--Wait a minute…these guys have been arrested, stripped of their clothes, beaten with rods, they have their feet in stocks (original stocks and bonds – investing in the Kingdom of God) and they are praying and singing.

--We would be singing too…Gloom, despair and agony on me…deep dark depression, excessive misery…we are not facing near what they were facing and we whine when we should be worshiping!

Psalm 34:1-8 (NKJV)
¹  I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
²  My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
³  Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.
⁴  I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.
⁵  They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed.
⁶  This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.
⁷  The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them.
⁸  Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! 

--The other prisoners were listening…the world is listening…people we are around every day are listening to what is coming out of our mouths especially when things are not going so well for us…is their God real?

--Paul and Silas had every reason to be down, to be depressed. Yes, they were in pain and yes, they had plenty to complain about…Trust in God’s plan not in your pain.

--I believe it was Paul who said…Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again rejoice. Be anxious for nothing…Don’t worry about anything but by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request…

3. Being a passionate witness is never forgetting those witnessing your adversity.

Acts 16:26-31 (NKJV)
²⁶  Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed.
²⁷  And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself.
²⁸  But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here."
²⁹  Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.
³⁰  And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
³¹  So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." 

--How many of us have God rescued from our chains (our situations)? Yes, we were obviously shaken by what we went through…we should never be so shaken that we forget those who are lost.

--How many, like this keeper of the prison, are about to do themselves harm…they have seen God set us free from our mess but they think they have no hope. Divorce, suicide, addiction may seem imminent for them.

--Wow! How the world needs to hear the church say: "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here." We are all here ready to help you find a beautiful future with God.

--Listen to your pastor, once they see what God has done for us and that the church is really there for them, they will cry out like this keeper…Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

--Who would not want to be part of this process? What an awesome feeling to know someone has given their heart to Jesus and you were able to play a part in that.

--This is why your pastor is so passionate about missions…I get so fired up thinking about one of our missionaries sharing Jesus wherever God has them and someone giving their heart to Him!

--That is why I am so passionate about personal evangelism…seeing someone get their heart right with God (like Joe) is exhilarating! 

--Saying to someone who is searching, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." 

Acts 16:32-34 (NIV)
³²  Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.
³³  At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized.
³⁴  The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God--he and his whole family.