[0:00] Well, once again, I greet you in the wonderful name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and glad to be here with you again. I'm hoping and praying that you've had a good week and that maybe you had an opportunity even to share the gospel with someone.
[0:19] Let me say that our overall theme, as you know, is a life worth having, and the verse for that is John 10, verse 10, which simply says where Jesus is speaking, I have come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.
[0:44] Now, last week, we had a look at a message which is entitled, What is your life going to really be remembered for?
[0:58] And I shared with you about Mary, Martha, Lazarus, Judas, and then Jesus Christ himself. What is your life really going to be remembered for?
[1:14] I hope it's going to be remembered for being the kind of person that found a life worth having and decided that you were going to share that life with other people.
[1:27] How selfish, how unfair it would be if you and I really know Jesus. And when this life is all over and you and I go back to the grave, that we then find ourselves in the glories with the risen King.
[1:48] But so many of the friends we knew, our workmates, our relatives, our neighbors, our children living under our own roofs, didn't make it because we didn't share the gospel with them.
[2:07] Now, I really think the only life worth living, the only life worth having is a life that counts for God, is a life that makes a difference for God where you are in your home, in your vicinity, in your workplace, the places where you go for enjoyment, that you, through your life, make a difference.
[2:37] And the great shame is that the statistics show us that 95% of all church people or church members never have the experience of leading another soul to Christ.
[2:57] That's fact. And that is a real shame on all of us. I wonder how many of you have ever had that experience.
[3:08] You see, until you have that experience, you've never experienced what Jesus said in John chapter 10, verse 10.
[3:20] I have come that they might have life and that they might have it full and meaningful. Now, you can sing in a choir to your heart's content.
[3:32] You can be on the church board and be the best church member, the best board, best church board member that you can ever be.
[3:43] You can be a Sunday school teacher. You can be all those kind of things, a youth leader. And if you've never led a soul to Christ, you've never experienced real joy.
[3:54] There's nothing, nothing, my friend, that can ever come near that. So the message today is on that. The message today is simply the ought of evangelism.
[4:08] Not the wart of evangelism. You know, you marry this one, you marry that one. Warts and all, you know. No, no, the word is ought. O-U-G-H-T.
[4:20] It might come up here. We're hoping to get it up there and see how you can follow. I won't look at it. You can look at it. But it's about the ought of evangelism.
[4:30] Now, I don't know about you. But I live with oughts in my life. I ought to do this and I ought to do that. You know, we can go through the long list.
[4:42] There's a whole long list of things. I ought to get up early. Have you ever said that? There's been a time when you said, I need to be up early tomorrow. I've got so much to do.
[4:53] And then you find yourself oversleeping or just pulling the blankets over you again and you carry on and you don't get up early. Or I ought to have a proper quiet time.
[5:04] I ought to meet with God early in the morning and we don't do it. Or I ought to clean up the garage. I ought to go and pay my accounts. I ought to be more loving to my wife.
[5:15] I ought to give my children more time. I ought to do this and I ought to do that. Clean up the garage. Mow the lawn. I ought. I ought. The saddest ought of all is to hear a Christian, a born again person say, I ought to share the gospel with that person, that friend of mine before they died.
[5:39] And I never did it. You know, tragically, we even have leaders in churches who say, I ought to have trained my people to share the gospel, but I haven't done it.
[5:52] I've led them through Bible studies. We've had discipleship. We've had courses on prophecy. We've had courses on this. We've had courses on that.
[6:02] But I've never really taught them how to share their faith. Sad, but true. So here it is. The ought of evangelism coming out of the last few verses of Matthew's gospel.
[6:17] Matthew's gospel, verses 16 to 20, the last chapter, chapter 28. And you can follow it along if you want to. Now, the great commission that Jesus gave us, and he gave it to us here in this church.
[6:35] He gave it to every true born again person in this world. He gave us the great commission, which we don't decide about. It's binding on us, every one of us.
[6:48] It's there where he said, go therefore and make disciples of all the nations. Now, the first ought here is the great commission is about someone you ought to know.
[7:05] That's it. Someone you ought to know. Now, it's easy to see it from these verses. You don't have to go to George Whitefield to know it. You can see it quite clearly and plainly that it's Jesus speaking.
[7:22] Sometimes we read a scripture and we wonder who's that talking, who's speaking here. But this is so simple. Jesus is speaking because it says so here. And it says, all authority has been given unto me.
[7:34] That's Jesus speaking here on earth and in heaven. All authority is his and he comes now and he tells us what to do. So the one we ought to know is the Lord Jesus Christ.
[7:49] If you're ever going to be involved in the great commission, if you're ever going to be the church that Jesus wants you to be, then you need to know him. You need to be involved in the great commission and you need to know him.
[8:04] Now, number one, you need to know him personally. There needs to have been a personal moment in your life when you made a commitment of yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ.
[8:17] Now, you'll never share the gospel unless you know the gospel, unless the gospel has touched your life and affected your life. And Jesus Christ is the gospel.
[8:30] It's all about him. It's about his coming to earth. It's about his death on the cross. It's about him going into the grave. It's about him rising from the tomb. It's about the fact that he's at the right hand waiting to come back.
[8:44] The gospel. Now, we need to know him personally, do you? That's the question this morning. Do you know him personally? That's where it all happens.
[8:58] It happens when you and I come into direct contact, communion with Jesus. Has there been that moment? Has there been that time when your eyes were opened?
[9:12] When all of a sudden, through revelation, because that's what it is, you came into personal contact with Jesus.
[9:22] And this morning, you're able to say he's in my life. He's in my heart. He's there. He's the most important person in my life.
[9:35] And I love him. And I meet with him. And I want him to be known by others. I know him personally.
[9:46] You see, if you don't, that's where it all starts. And if you don't know him, you can get to know him this morning. Because you've come to the right place.
[9:58] You've come to the right service. This is where you can find Christ here today. As you sit together in love with each other, Christ wants to come into your life and be your Lord and Savior.
[10:12] Do you know him? That's the thing that you need to answer. Do I know him personally? But you also need to know him practically. You need to know him practically. In other words, experientially.
[10:25] It was the great apostle Paul that said in Philippians 3.10, That I may know him. He wanted to know the power of his resurrection.
[10:37] He wanted to share in the fellowship of his sufferings. He wanted to become made conformable unto his death. The great apostle shows us It's not just about inviting Jesus Christ into our lives.
[10:53] That's good. That's right. That's where it all begins. But it's more than that. It's that I need to know him practically. You see, I love the Christian life.
[11:06] I love it because it's not a jacket like this that you put on on a Sunday. No, it's a life that I live every day that I breathe fresh air.
[11:16] The Christian life is a practical life. We get up every day. We commit our lives to Jesus. We ask him to guide us. We make our plans and he directs our steps.
[11:30] Do you experience him like that? Do you experience him in all the facets of your life? Because he wants to be in your life with you. He wants to guide you and he wants to provide for you.
[11:42] And he wants to work miracles through you. We need to know him personally. We need to know him practically. You have a problem. Will you put it in his hands?
[11:55] There's no problem that he cannot solve. There's no way out that he cannot show you. You can trust him. With every practical thing in your life.
[12:07] But we also need to know him thirdly powerfully. We need to know him powerfully. You know what he said here? He said, All authority is given unto me.
[12:19] So the one that we ask to come into our hearts and be our Lord and Savior is the one who says to us today, I'm powerful. In fact, all power is mine.
[12:31] All authority is mine. The word authority means power. Power. See, Jesus has the power, my friend. The whole of Matthew's gospel states the authority of Jesus.
[12:48] In chapter 7, 29, it talks about his authority in teaching. He taught. He taught the people. He taught his disciples.
[12:58] And they couldn't believe what he taught. Then in chapter 8, 1 to 13, we see his authority exercised in healing.
[13:09] He heals people. He makes them well. And then in chapter 9, 6, there's authority in forgiving sins. Who? But Jesus can forgive our sins and remove the guilt.
[13:24] You can go to psychiatrists and psychologists and church counselors and all sorts. But you know they can do nothing about your guilt. Only one person takes away your guilt, and that's Jesus.
[13:38] He has the authority to break those things that would bind us. And then, of course, he has authority over death itself and demons and hell and the devil himself.
[13:50] Authority over demons. All authority. That's what he said. All authority has been given to me. And this is the one we need to know.
[14:03] How do you know him? How well do you know him? Is he someone that is intimate with you in your life? You see, the Great Commission is number one.
[14:14] It's about someone that you ought to know. And that someone is simply the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, secondly, the Great Commission is not just about someone you ought to know, but about something you ought to do.
[14:34] It's about something that you ought to do. Now, notice here it says to us, go. Verse 19 says, go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.
[15:00] So, the Great Commission. Secondly, it's about something we ought to be doing. Now, when it says go here, by the way, the word go here in the original is not a command.
[15:17] It is not a command. It is a present participle. So, the word really should be translated in your go-in.
[15:28] Instead of go, it should be go-in. In your go-in, you need to do some things. Now, listen, as a Christian, you don't sit in a pew and one Sunday all of a sudden decide, well, I must get up and go for Jesus.
[15:45] No. Ever since you received Christ into your life, you've been going. You've been going. Ever since you received Jesus, you've been a light.
[15:58] I don't know what kind of light. Some lights are dirty. Some lights are dim and dull. Some lights just don't even work sometimes.
[16:10] But you've been going. You've been going into the world. You've been going into the classroom. You've been going into your neighborhood. You've been going into your business. You've been going.
[16:21] Ever since you received Christ, you've been going as the light of the world. Now, Jesus comes and says, in your going, you need to do three things.
[16:34] In your going, you need to do three things. Number one, you need to be making disciples. That's what he says. So we're not just talking here about receiving Jesus into your life and then leaving the person and forgetting about them.
[16:50] No. We need to be involved in disciple making. And when it comes to disciple making, let me say, disciples are not born. They are made.
[17:03] They're not born. They are made. You make someone a disciple. That means it requires work. It's like this pulpit here that I'm standing behind.
[17:15] It's a very nice wooden pulpit. It's got some shape to it. It's got some beading around the sides and so on. Now, there was a time when this pulpit wasn't here. There was a time when somebody had to decide to make the pulpit, right?
[17:29] So they made this pulpit. They put the wood together and they varnished it and put it here and so on. They made it. It took some effort. But anything you make, ladies, when you bake, when you make knitted jersey, when you do some sewing, or when you do some painting, if you're an artist, it requires some effort, right?
[17:53] So Jesus is saying here, in your going, make disciples. In other words, there must be a pattern. There must be a model.
[18:04] There must be a master. It's like somebody taking an apprenticeship. You study and you do things and you work with your hands and you make something.
[18:18] You see, that's why so often discipleship is not done in the church. Because we get them saved and we leave them. We fail to pick them up.
[18:29] We fail to make them disciples. We fail to carry them along. Because disciple making means to bring somebody into your life and to walk with that person on their journey.
[18:43] And that requires effort. But yet Jesus said, you need to make disciples of people. Not just babes in Christ.
[18:55] Not just immature people. But take them along. Build them up. Strengthen them. That they can stand on their feet. They can become a warrior in the Lord's service.
[19:06] And go out themselves. And share the gospel. Make disciples, he says. And then he says, baptize them. That simply reveals a going on.
[19:19] A willingness to go on. To show the world through your baptism. Through your commitment. That I am for Jesus. I am committed.
[19:30] I am serious about my faith. Are you making disciples? Are you a baptized person? Then he says, thirdly to them, teach.
[19:43] He says, you need, in your going. In your going, you need to be teaching. Every command. What is teaching all about? It's not to stuff the head full of knowledge.
[19:54] So that you can sort of swagger around there. And spill out all this stuff that you know. No. Teaching is simply that you come to an understanding.
[20:05] It's about. Doctrine is. So that you can come and understand your faith. So that you can speak about it with confidence to other people.
[20:16] And he says here, we need to teach every command. That he has given to us. So we know what we believe. So that we can speak with confidence to other people.
[20:29] And we can obey it. And live it out. We ought to be doing this. That's what he says. We ought to be doing it. But the question is, are we doing it?
[20:41] Are we really? Is the church doing it that you're part of here? Is it actually doing these things? Because we are classic in the church. We are classic at talking a lot.
[20:53] Talking a lot. You know that. If you don't believe me, wait till the coffee time and see. We are actually very good at talking. But we fail to actually do.
[21:04] Our problem is with the doing part. That's what gets us. When we've got to put it into practice. When we. You know how many times I've trained churches, my friend.
[21:15] In how to share their faith. We'll have 30 people at the training. We'll have three weeks of training. And I'll say to them. The fourth week. We're going out with the gospel. The fourth week.
[21:25] We'll go out those doors. We'll go into the neighborhood. We'll share the gospel. And you come together. And you know how many you get? 12. Happens all the time.
[21:36] Why? Because we're slack when it comes to doing the job. Actually doing it. We're good at talking. But we're slack on doing the job.
[21:47] And Jesus is saying here. There's something you ought to do. There's someone you ought to know. There's something you ought to do. Now the final point here.
[21:59] Is there is somewhere you ought to go. He gives it to us in the Great Commission. There is somewhere you ought to go. He says here.
[22:10] Go. To the nations. That's what he says. Go therefore. Make disciples of all nations. All the nations of the world.
[22:24] He doesn't leave anybody else. What we believe is not something exclusive. It's something for everyone. And it doesn't matter what your color.
[22:36] What your custom. What your language. It's for everyone. Everyone can come. The arms of Christ are open.
[22:48] They were open on the cross. They're open today. People can come. He says to us. Go to the nations of the world. So that was so important to hear about the missionaries today.
[23:01] That was so important to have a prayer for those that are out there in the nation serving the Lord. Because we had to go to Acts 1.8.
[23:12] When Jesus was leaving this earth to go back to heaven. He says to his disciples. And you will receive power. After the Holy Spirit has come upon you.
[23:22] And you will be witnesses in Jerusalem. In Judea. In Samaria. To the outermost parts of the earth. You know.
[23:32] If you read the Afrikaans there. The Afrikaans there says. Elke Huki. You must go to Elke Huki. That means to every corner of the earth.
[23:44] Every corner of the earth. We must go. So the question is. Are we going? Somewhere. You ought to go.
[23:55] Are we going? Where are you going? Oh I know you're going to lunch. I know if you're living in. And Jesus hasn't come. You'll go to bed tonight.
[24:07] But where are you going for him? Where are you going? Because he. It's about somewhere we ought to go. Now you ought to be going personally.
[24:19] You need to be going personally. In other words. Every person needs to decide. To get involved themselves. You know we have different types of Christians in the church.
[24:33] You know we have the wheelbarrow Christian. Have you heard of him? He only moves if you push him. You know. And then you get the custard Christian.
[24:43] Have you heard of that? The custard Christian. He gets upset over a trifle. You see. But then you also get the umbrella Christian. The umbrella.
[24:55] You know the umbrella Christian is. What you're saying pastor. What you're saying preacher. Is right. It's right but not for me. I've got my umbrella up like this.
[25:07] And the umbrella is here. And it's falling all around me. But it's not falling on me. What you're saying is not for me. It's for the people next to me. Behind me.
[25:18] In front of me. The umbrella. No. It's for you. It's for you. It's you that needs to decide. Before God almighty. Because you don't answer to me.
[25:29] You don't answer to that pastor. You don't answer to the church board. You'll answer to God. God. You need. To decide. I am going to get. Involved.
[25:39] Myself. Personally. I am committed to this. Sharing my faith. Going out with the gospel. Seeing the mission field.
[25:50] Touched for God. I am going to be a witness. In Jerusalem. Judea. Samaria. To the ends of the earth. God has got to start with you personally.
[26:01] Personally. I went into the ministry. Over 50 years ago. I've had six different churches. By the grace of God. Three of them were church plant situations.
[26:12] One of them was in the country of Zimbabwe. During the terrorist bush war days. And I want to tell you. Why I'm telling you that. Is because when I went to my first church. Which was Edenvale Baptist Church.
[26:24] In the then Transvaal. Now Gauteng. I want to tell you. I said God. I make a commitment. That if you make me a pastor. In a church.
[26:35] I am going to teach the people. To share their faith. And part of the sharing of their faith. I will go with them. Into the neighborhood. We did it.
[26:48] We did it. We did it in that church. And we did it with all these subsequent churches. What did we do? My wife and I. Personally. Committing. And doing it.
[27:00] Doing it. You first need to be prepared. To go personally. Then you need to be prepared. To go permanently. Permanently.
[27:11] I've seen so many Christians. They start and stop. They fits and starts. In their Christian life. And they get excited. About the great commission.
[27:21] And how they're going to change their world. You know. And it's going to be. And then next thing. It fizzles out. God doesn't need that. By the way. He's looking for those.
[27:32] Who are permanent. For him. Those who are stable. In other words. We need. You know. What the world looks for. The world looks for stability.
[27:44] In you. And me. As a Christian. Not one thing today. And another thing tomorrow. As they say. Singing on Sunday. And swinging on Monday. No.
[27:55] We need. Stable Christians. Stability. Stability. Stability is the big thing. It's the whole mark. If you were a soldier. In an army. They'll make you stable. They need stability.
[28:07] We need stability. In the army. Of the Lord. And you need to say. I am permanently committed. To fulfilling the great commission. Something that I'm going to do.
[28:18] With my life. I'm going to spend my life. That's a life worth having. Spend my life. Fulfilling the great commission. In this generation.
[28:30] So we need to go. Personally. We need to go. Permanently. Thirdly. We need to go. Practically. We need to go. Practically. In other words.
[28:40] We need to be involved. In people ministry. Every church. Should be involved. In a people ministry. It's amazing. How you. You know. People. Play music.
[28:50] Like we saw today. Or you might have a church choir. And they sing in the choir. A choir. Is not a people ministry. Not even playing. An instrument. Not even.
[29:01] Standing behind a mic. It's not a people ministry. A people ministry. Is when I touch lives. And I affect lives. And I do something. For that life. Where I. I get involved with them.
[29:12] I find out what their needs are. And I try to care for them. If they need a job. I'm going to. Pray for them. I'm going to work with them. I'm going to. Help them find that job.
[29:23] If they have food problems. I'm going to try and. Find food for them. And minister to their needs. It's a. Sometimes it's a soup kitchen. We often hear about.
[29:33] And so on. And there's all sorts of. People. Ministry. That's practical. Christianity. Right. And that's what the great commission is about.
[29:45] And you know. When you go out with the gospel. And you go into people's homes. And you sit down in their home. And you talk to them. That's when you find out their needs. That's when you can come back to the pastor.
[29:57] And come back to the church. Say that family. Need is a desperate need. They've got a practical problem. You see. It's about going practically. Then it's about going prayerfully.
[30:09] We need to go prayerfully. It goes without saying. That if you're going to fulfill. The great commission. Here in this area. Where your church is. Listen. You're going to pray for it.
[30:21] You're going to pray about it. You're going to pray for your Jerusalem. This is your Jerusalem. And you're going to spend time. In praying for it. You're going to pray for other countries.
[30:32] Like you did this morning. We're going to pray for the world. Yes. I don't need to remind you. Your TVs do that. I mean the world's a mess. Is it ever going to come right now?
[30:47] What's going to happen? Jesus is going to come. Amen. But we can pray for the world. For there's so much corruption.
[30:58] And hurt. And trouble. Disorganization. Disruption. We need to pray for that world. What for? To get saved.
[31:09] To come to know Christ. We need to be prayerfully going. Are you going prayerfully? And then we need to go positively. We need to be going positively.
[31:21] You know what that's about? It's about this. There's so much negativity around. And you and I.
[31:33] Sitting in this church today. Have the most positive message of hope. This world needs. We've got it. We found it.
[31:43] Our eyes look ahead. And we see life. And for some of you. You're closer than others like me. You're closer to the end. So you see death coming up.
[31:54] You see it looming up before you. But you can see beyond death. Amen. Because you're a Christian. You've got hope. You've got a hope that goes beyond the grave.
[32:07] And that's the positive message that we have in Christ. And we. It's a positive message. It starts off with God loves you.
[32:20] God came to earth to meet you. To get you. God was in Christ. Reconciling the world to himself. And he loves you. We've got this positive message my friend.
[32:33] You've got people you'll meet this week. People say to you this is hopeless. That's why we've got so many murders. That's why we've got so many suicides. That's why we've got so many dropouts.
[32:47] And they'll go into this thing and that thing. Because they've got no hope for the future. They've got no direction in their lives. Here we sit and we've got it.
[33:00] Let's share the message of hope. This positive message that we've got. And then we might have to go by proxy. Some of you are saying to me.
[33:10] You don't understand. I can't go. I can't walk properly. I can't leave my home. And leave my family.
[33:22] And go to another part of the world. To be a missionary. No you might not be able to. But you might help somebody else to go. That's going by proxy. That's saying I've got some money put away.
[33:33] That I'll give to somebody. That will go on my behalf. To be a missionary around the world somewhere. Or somebody that will go and study. For the ministry. I can give some money towards that.
[33:44] So that person then can go. And be a pastor somewhere. That's going by proxy. You see. Some of you might have to do that. You see what the apostle Paul said is.
[33:56] By all means. Save some. So my friend. Are you doing this? Are you involved in the great commission? Are you.
[34:07] Have you committed yourself. To be doing what he said to us. Here in his word. It's about someone you ought to know. It's about something you ought to do.
[34:17] It's about somewhere. You ought to be going. Are you going? Are you willing to go? Are you willing to come to your pastor.
[34:28] Who loves the Lord. And wants to reach out. Are you willing to come to him. Say pastor. Whatever you want to do. I'm behind you. I'm going to go with you. We're going to be a team in this church.
[34:38] And we're going to touch this area. For God. They're going to know. St. Mark's is alive. And alive. And vital. Because they've got a message. And I love to share with the neighborhood.
[34:51] See I always have said to churches. Put your church on the map. They're not going to walk in those back doors. I walked to my car a few moments ago.
[35:02] And here was a father and son walking by. I wondered what they thought of the singing. Because that's what was happening then. You know what do people think about it.
[35:15] What really do they think. So we've got to work at putting this church on the map. There's got to be a love here. There's got to be friendship. And there is by the way. That when people walk in here.
[35:27] They sense it. But also we've got to get out to where they are. Because most of them will never come. How do you do it. Oh my goodness.
[35:38] We've got all our excuses. Why we can't do it. All the excuses under the sun. It's amazing. But listen to this true story. As I close. I'm closing now. There was a minister called Francis Dixon.
[35:54] Francis Dixon. Led a big church. In Lansdowne. In England. It was called the Lansdowne Baptist Church. Bournemouth.
[36:04] In England. UK. You know that church? No. It was a wonderful church. And he tells a true story. A true story about a little old man.
[36:17] In George Street. In Sydney. Australia. The way it happened is this. Mr. Dixon was having a testimony meeting in his church one day.
[36:27] And a man by the name of Peter stood up. And said. Mr. Dixon. You won't believe how I came to know Christ.
[36:39] He said. I was in Sydney, Australia. Walking down George Street. And a little old man. With white hair. Stepped out. And said. Excuse me sir. If you had to die today.
[36:52] Would you go to heaven? Peter said. That worried me. Until. I gave my heart to Jesus. That's the first time.
[37:03] Mr. Dixon heard this. Then he had a mission team. Come to his church. And no. In part of the. Mission team said to him. Mr. Dixon.
[37:15] I was once. In the armed forces. And we were stationed in Sydney. In Australia. And I walked down George Street. And a little old man.
[37:25] With white hair. Confronted me. And asked me one question. If you had to die tonight. Would you go to heaven? He said. That question. Worried me so much. That I gave my heart.
[37:36] To Jesus Christ. Shortly after this. Francis Dixon himself. Was in Australia. And he was in Adelaide. And he related. Some of these testimonies.
[37:47] To his amazement. Some other people. Came to him. After that service. And said. We were also in. In Sydney. We were also. Walking down George Street.
[37:58] We also were confronted. By this little man. With white hair. And we also. Gave our lives to Jesus. After we. Were asked that question. Later. He moved on to Perth. And he took one of the deacons.
[38:10] Out in Perth. To have lunch with him. And he looked at this deacon. Across the table. And he said to him. Well my man. Tell me. How did you come to Christ? And he said. Oh my. Mine's amazing story.
[38:21] I was in Sydney. And I walked down George Street. And he said. This little man. Approached me. And said. Excuse me sir. I don't want to embarrass you. But if you die tonight. Would you go to heaven?
[38:33] He said. That brought me to Christ. You know. This big minister. Was going to the Keswick Convention. In England.
[38:44] And he related. Many of these stories. And to his amazement. Others came to him. After that. To say. They also came that way. And then he. Went to India. To a missions conference.
[38:55] One of the older missionaries. Came to him. And said. I am another. Of those people. That were. In Sydney. Walking down George Street. Confronted by this little man.
[39:06] With white hair. Then he went on to Jamaica. For meetings. And met another man. Who said. I was also in Sydney. Walked down George Street. And was confronted. By this same old man.
[39:17] With a question. Dixon. This minister. Dixon. Was eventually. Himself. In Sydney. Australia. And he inquired.
[39:27] About this little old man. He asked about him. And said. Do you know him? And they said. Oh yeah. We know him. He said. Would you take me. To meet him? He said. I'll take you. To meet him. And they took him.
[39:38] Down to George Street. And they found. This little old man. Living off George Street. In one little room. And there he was. With a bed. And nothing much. To talk about. And Dixon.
[39:49] Went in. And sat on the bed. And looked at Mr. Jenner. In his eyes. And said to him. Wherever I have been. I have met people. That have come to know Jesus.
[40:00] Through your ministry. While he related. Some of these stories. Tears ran down. Mr. Jenner's face. And he looked up. He said.
[40:11] Mr. Dixon. I have never heard of anybody. Ever coming to know Jesus. Through my witness. You know. He died. Not long ago. His daughter is still alive.
[40:23] In Australia. And they have estimated. 250,000 people. Have come to know Christ. Through this little old man.
[40:34] In George Street. Sydney, Australia. With white hair. Asking one simple question. Don't tell me. You can't do it. Don't tell me.
[40:45] You're too old. You can. Where there's a will. There's a way. If you're committed to Christ. You'll want to. Help. Fulfill. The great commission.
[40:57] We're going to close. In prayer. Let's pray together. I want you. This morning. As we close.
[41:07] In prayer. Just to look. In your own heart. Just to ask yourself. One question. Is there somebody. In my circle. Of friends. Perhaps.
[41:18] My own children. Perhaps. My partner. Perhaps. A relative. A workmate. A neighbor. Someone's on your heart.
[41:29] And you know. That you need. To talk to them. You need. To share Christ. With them. That person. Is on your heart. I'm going to invite you.
[41:40] This morning. My friend. That if there's somebody. That you know. That you need. A witness. That you've been meaning. To talk to them. For a long time. You haven't got around to it. But you want to do it.
[41:52] I'm going to invite you. This morning. To stand for prayer. So we can pray for you. That God will help you. That God will give you. The words to say. That he'll give you. The opportunity.
[42:02] To take that person. For coffee. Or to phone them. At least. To talk to them. About their soul. Is there somebody. Here. That's saying to me. This morning. Pray for me.
[42:14] I need prayer. For this. Please stand up. Right now. Where you are. Just stand. If there's somebody. That you need to be talking to. Stand with me. And I'm going to be. Praying a prayer. For you.
[42:24] This morning. Just wherever you are. Just stand to your feet. Let's pray. Father in heaven. I want to join my prayer.
[42:37] With these that are standing. And I come to you. Through Jesus Christ. The Lord. And Lord. You are. You are. Interested in us. And our lives.
[42:47] And these people. Are standing to say. They need help. They need you. To give them an opportunity. To talk. To that particular person.
[42:59] That is on their heart. You know who it is Lord. You know. Them by name. And I ask you. To help each one. Standing this morning. To determine.
[43:10] To go from this service. And to make contact. With that person. With the express purpose. Of sharing the gospel. With them. And sharing the love of God.
[43:23] And helping them. To make a commitment. To Christ. So bless each one. Give them the words. To speak. Give them. The grace. To do it.
[43:33] And give them. Great success. In sharing Christ. Christ. We pray for them now. In the mighty name. Of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[43:44] Amen. Amen. Thank you. Please be seated.