SPEAKER_00: Ministering to the heart of Western Arkansas's River Valley for over 165 years, welcome to Chapter and First, the Bible teaching ministry of Fort Smith's First Baptist Church.
SPEAKER_00: You'll find sermons and teachings from Pastor Greg, our ministry staff, and guest speakers.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Sarah.
SPEAKER_01: That was incredible.
SPEAKER_01: Choir and orchestra, Jacob, that was wonderful.
SPEAKER_01: What a beautiful morning as we've sung about the name of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: In just a minute, I'm going to talk about uh sharing the name of Jesus and inviting people to Jesus, but I want to take just a minute and have us as a church family have a time where we pray for Israel and what's going on there.
SPEAKER_01: There are a number of churches and organizations that we would respect and love around our country who've banded together asking churches today, on May the 19th, to pray for the nation of Israel and the things that are going on there.
SPEAKER_01: The organizations like the Family Research Council and Tony Perkins, churches like Preston Wood Baptist Church in Dallas and others that we would respect and have the highest level of regard for.
SPEAKER_01: And so in talking with some of our leaders, we thought it was very appropriate for us to do that today, especially in light of the ongoing events in Rafah and that area.
SPEAKER_01: Now I want to give us just a few remarks because I want you to think about why we would do this and why this is important to us, but also how we should go about doing this.
SPEAKER_01: So in just a moment I'm going to lead us into prayer time, but I want to share just a few thoughts that I have with you about that.
SPEAKER_01: First of all, why do we need to do this?
SPEAKER_01: Why does it matter for us as a church?
SPEAKER_01: Why does it matter here in America and all of that?
SPEAKER_01: Well, the Bible teaches us that the people of Israel are special because they were created as a nation and chosen by God to be the funnel through which Jesus came into the world as our Savior.
SPEAKER_01: Just as we read the names of Jesus today, you heard the choir going through those, you heard several indications of that.
SPEAKER_01: One of them, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, another son of David.
SPEAKER_01: We know who Jesus is because of the Old Testament, and because we understood the promise of a Messiah.
SPEAKER_01: We know who Jesus is because of Old Testament prophets who spoke as moved by the Holy Spirit that gave clear identifiers of who the Messiah would be and how to recognize him, and that was affirmed in the life, ministry, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: When we hear things like the great high priest, or in Hebrews chapter 10, when the Bible says we are able to move through the veil into the presence of God because a way was made for us, we know from studying the Old Testament faith of Jews and the priests and the sacrifices, we know what the Lamb of God means because of that, and we see that fulfilled in Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: As a result of that, then that will always be important to us in those matters.
SPEAKER_01: I want to remind you, when we talk about Israel, there are three things, three ideas, concepts that come up with that name.
SPEAKER_01: There is a people, there is a land, and there is a government, right?
SPEAKER_01: And those are all three different in their in our understanding of them.
SPEAKER_01: God's heart is always primarily for the land and the people of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: Governments move, they flow, ebb and flow, the pendulums swing in those things.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes governments line up with godly principles, and sometimes they don't.
SPEAKER_01: Before we start attacking other governments, you've got to think about our government where we have people who are in favor of the murder of innocent unborn children.
SPEAKER_01: We have a president in the White House who is in favor of that with unrestrictedness, and now he's come out saying we ought to legalize marijuana for the people in our society.
SPEAKER_01: So before we cast dispersions at governments, we have things to pray about our own government.
SPEAKER_01: And so when we talk about Israel, we're talking about people and the land of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: And those things are near and dear to the heart of God.
SPEAKER_01: In fact, the Bible teaches in the New Testament that those who bless are all throughout Scripture, but even in the New Testament still, those who bless Israel, God will bless, and those who curse Israel, God will curse.
SPEAKER_01: And he tells us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: And so it's biblical for us to do that.
SPEAKER_01: The land of Israel and the people of Israel, the people of God that he established to bring the Messiah into the world, are a people that God chose and built.
SPEAKER_01: And all throughout the Old Testament, we learn that God made promises to everyone to bring the Messiah into the world, but he also made promises to the land and the people of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: In fact, in places like Genesis, you see that there are promises that are given to the people of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: And then as the gospel unfolds, there are promises that are made to the church, and we become his people, but that does not take away the promises that God has made individually to the people of Israel and to the land of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: And so we should always keep our eyes on Israel and our heart praying for the people of Israel because of the place that they have in the heart and the mind and then the plans of God.
SPEAKER_01: Another thing we should always think about is we should always keep an eye on the land and the people of Israel, because as we await for the return of Jesus as our Savior, the trigger things, the things that we will identify, the ways that we know, what will happen as eternity and those events that bring it in, they will all happen in the land of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: And so we should always have an eye cast on the land of Israel because that is where God has indicated we will see things unfold, and it is a part of our anticipating the return of our Savior.
SPEAKER_01: And so it is appropriate that we always be involved in that.
SPEAKER_01: Now, as we pray for Israel, there's a couple of things I want you to think through.
SPEAKER_01: In praying for Israel, we are not in any way excluding praying for anyone else because Scripture also tells us to pray for the nations.
SPEAKER_01: God loves Israel, no doubt, and there is a place that is unique in his heart as we've described.
SPEAKER_01: But Jesus came so that the world through him might be saved.
SPEAKER_01: For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whosoever believes in him will never perish, but have everlasting life through Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And so as we pray for Israel, we should pray for everyone who is affected by this war.
SPEAKER_01: This war creates refugees and hostages and widows and widowers and all of that.
SPEAKER_01: It creates them in the people of Israel, it creates them in the people of Palestine, those who live in Gaza, and all of that.
SPEAKER_01: So as we pray and follow that biblical pattern and instruction of praying for Israel, we also need to follow the biblical pattern of praying for all people.
SPEAKER_01: That this kind of situation, as horrible as it is, that God in His grace can create opportunities for the gospel to move into lives and for people to be saved and opportunities for that to happen.
SPEAKER_01: In refugee camps and all of that, as Southern Baptists, we have missionaries in that area who are on the field and they are bringing relief in a desire to bring the gospel to everyone that they can bring it to.
SPEAKER_01: And so in praying for Israel, we are, we also need to pray for anyone and everyone touched in this deal because we want the gospel to flourish as gospel people.
SPEAKER_01: This is a real shooting war.
SPEAKER_01: We do not live in a situation where we are under current fear of an active war.
SPEAKER_01: If you listen to our podcast, Triangle Podcast, and we interviewed the lady who lives in that area in Israel.
SPEAKER_01: She's from Fort Smith and married a man who lives there, and they live in Beersheba.
SPEAKER_01: While we were recording the podcast, she has an app along with the other people who live in Israel that tell them when they are under rocket attack.
SPEAKER_01: And they are under multiple rocket attacks in the city of Israel every day.
SPEAKER_01: And as we're sitting there in the podcast, just to bring it home, her app warning went off while we were recording of the rocket attacks that were underway in that very moment.
SPEAKER_01: We have people who are refugees.
SPEAKER_01: We have hostages who were immorally and horribly taken and treated, and there are still, we understand, hostages who have been undertaken.
SPEAKER_01: There are refugees from multiple nations of multiple people groups who have lost family members, who are injured, who are starving.
SPEAKER_01: There is devastation in Israel, in Gaza, in the whole area.
SPEAKER_01: And so I'm going to lead us in a time of prayer, and I hope that that kind of sets up for us how we need to pray through this.
SPEAKER_01: We are going to pray for Israel.
SPEAKER_01: We're going to pray for the people of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: We're going to pray for the people of Palestine.
SPEAKER_01: We're going to pray for peace.
SPEAKER_01: We're going to pray for leaders that God will step in and bring wisdom and they will find a way to bring peace in this circumstance.
SPEAKER_01: So please join me, church family, as we pray.
SPEAKER_01: Lord, we come now and we pray for the land and the people of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: We know what your word says and the promises that you have given to them and the way that you have used them to bless the world by being the plan and the process and the pipeline for bringing our Savior into the world.
SPEAKER_01: So, Lord, we want to pray for Israel.
SPEAKER_01: We pray that you will bring peace to the land as much as that is possible.
SPEAKER_01: Lord, we pray, knowing ultimately that there will be Armageddon and battles and all of that, but in moments there are and can be peace.
SPEAKER_01: And we pray for peace, for leaders to find a way.
SPEAKER_01: Lord, we pray that you will protect the people and the land of Israel from rocket attacks and invasion and political attacks and all of that stuff that occurs as a part of this.
SPEAKER_01: Even while they're battling in Gaza, there are other enemies who are working as a part of that war, who are manipulating and involved in scheming and planning all around Israel as the enemies of your people.
SPEAKER_01: And so we pray for your divine protection and provision for the people of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: I can't imagine what it's like to have an app on my phone that goes off and it tells me to get into the bomb shelter in the backyard of my home.
SPEAKER_01: Lord, we can't imagine what it means to live in those circumstances.
SPEAKER_01: So, Lord, we pray for the people that live in those moments.
SPEAKER_01: We pray for moms and dads and families as they teach their children.
SPEAKER_01: We pray that you can bring semblance and strength of life, that they can grow and go to school and learn and find careers and get married and have children and do all the things that Scripture teaches us as a part of human life in the context of that.
SPEAKER_01: And Father, we pray that you will bless the people and the families of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: We pray that you'll keep soldiers and all safe as they are battling.
SPEAKER_01: Lord, we pray for those who have been dispossessed or displaced from their homes, whether they live in Gaza or they live in Israel, whether they are Palestinians or some other nationality from around there, or whether they are the people of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: It is a tragedy when a family knows death, when they're run from their home.
SPEAKER_01: And so, Father, we just pray for everyone.
SPEAKER_01: We pray that you will use the process of people becoming refugees away from areas of war and hunger and all of that.
SPEAKER_01: Lord, we pray that you will use those in your mighty hand and grace and mercy as opportunities for Christians to step in and share the gospel.
SPEAKER_01: We pray for our International Mission Board and our missionaries that are in that area and those who are planning and praying through and aggressively working on the ground and finding more ways for us to be the church.
SPEAKER_01: And we pray that you'll give them wisdom to find more ways and that you will open more doors for them to step in with the love of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And that in the midst of that tragedy, people can find the life that comes from Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life.
SPEAKER_01: Lord, we pray for political leaders.
SPEAKER_01: We pray for those in the government of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: We pray for those in our government and other allies.
SPEAKER_01: That you will shape them, as Scripture says, that the heart of the king, you move like the waters.
SPEAKER_01: And so we pray that you will move the heart of our government leaders, of those in Israel, to always be attuned to the tragedy and the suffering, to wisdom, to know how to protect and be strong in a time of warfare, but also to know how to help bring peace and establish a way where families and people are not at risk.
SPEAKER_01: Lord, we don't know how to pray specific things often in the midst of such complex circumstances.
SPEAKER_01: But we do know that you know your heart for your people, the people of Israel and the land of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: And so, just as the Bible tells us in the book of Romans, that the Holy Spirit steps into our weaknesses and helps us pray when we don't know.
SPEAKER_01: We are asking that the Holy Spirit take our hearts, our attention, our prayers, shape them, and focus them so that they touch your heart and your heart for people.
SPEAKER_01: And in all of that, we pray that the name of Jesus will somehow be elevated in the macro, in the micro, in nations, in the lives of individuals who need a Savior.
SPEAKER_01: We pray this in the name of Jesus and all God's people sin.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for that.
SPEAKER_01: I hope that's helpful.
SPEAKER_01: The website for those organizations who are banded together for today, prayforisrael.org.
SPEAKER_01: Hope that helps and has some suggestions about how to pray.
SPEAKER_01: Well, in all of that, as the people of God, we were always praying that the name of Jesus is advanced.
SPEAKER_01: And so in just a few minutes, because I'm not going to keep you from lunch.
SPEAKER_01: I'm smart enough to do that, not do that.
SPEAKER_01: Um, I want you to turn with your Bibles to John chapter 1, and just for a few minutes, we have been singing and proclaiming the name of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: We've just prayed for the name of Jesus to be advanced.
SPEAKER_01: And so I want to take just a few minutes to remind you of something that we talk about often, and that's the priority of bringing people to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: But I want to take a little bit different approach because I want to bring this home to us.
SPEAKER_01: You see, as much as we love Bobby and his ministry and the people who are putting us online and television, and if you are watching us today, praise God, keep watching.
SPEAKER_01: We want you to do that.
SPEAKER_01: It is a ministry and heart of First Baptist Church to have provided this, and we pray it's a blessing, and it's so great to hear from you when you email or stop me.
SPEAKER_01: I had someone, precious lady, stop me in Baskin Robins the other day and say, Are you the pastor?
SPEAKER_01: And I thought, well, I haven't ordered yet.
SPEAKER_01: And if I if I order a banana split, am I still the pastor?
SPEAKER_01: But she was great, and we had a great conversation, and she was very thankful, church family, to us as a church.
SPEAKER_01: And so uh and so we always want to do that.
SPEAKER_01: It's great.
SPEAKER_01: We want to proclaim the name of Jesus in all the ways that we can.
SPEAKER_01: But the most important thing that happens in every one of our lives as individuals is that we individually bring people to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Every person, when they were saved, when you were saved, your sins were forgiven.
SPEAKER_01: God began a spiritual process where you were born again and he begins to transform you into his image.
SPEAKER_01: But another thing happened to every one of us that we all have to be attuned to.
SPEAKER_01: Every one of us were grafted into the flow of the gospel.
SPEAKER_01: Every one of us were drafted into the army of God that advances the gospel.
SPEAKER_01: Every one of us are placed in the flow of sharing the name of Jesus as we've sung.
SPEAKER_01: And there are scriptures that teach that, but this is one of the greatest examples in all of Scripture, and it's one of my favorite stories.
SPEAKER_01: Here in John chapter 1, verse 35, here's what the Bible says.
SPEAKER_01: The context of it, John the Baptist has been preaching, and people have been following, and he's pointing out that the Messiah would come and all of that.
SPEAKER_01: And then the Bible says here in verse 35, again the next day, John the Baptist was standing with two of his followers.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus apparently comes walking by, and he, when he saw Jesus, he said, Look, the Lamb of God, and he pronounces him clearly to any Jewish person who was standing there that Jesus is the Messiah.
SPEAKER_01: The two disciples heard him say this, and they were so intrigued by this statement from John the Baptist that they followed Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: When he turned and noticed them following, he asked them, What are you looking for?
SPEAKER_01: And they said to him, Rabbi, which means teacher, where are you staying?
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus invited them, come and you'll see.
SPEAKER_01: So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed the day with Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: It was about 10 in the morning when all that started.
SPEAKER_01: Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two men who heard John and followed Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: He first found his own brother Simon and told him, We have found the Messiah, which means the anointed one.
SPEAKER_01: Now notice how spending the day with Jesus, when he got to know who Jesus was, he went from teacher to Messiah.
SPEAKER_01: See, that's what happens when you open your mind and heart to spend time with Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: You learn who he truly is.
SPEAKER_01: So it says that he first found his own brother Simon, and he told him, We have found the Messiah, which means anointed one, and he brought Simon to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And when Jesus saw him, he said, You are Simon, son of John, you will be called Cephas, which means rock.
SPEAKER_01: And so here's the big idea I want to get, just to make sure you get this.
SPEAKER_01: Being with Jesus as Andrew was, spending time with him, having him share who he is, recognizing the openness of calling out to Jesus and him saying, Come and be with me.
SPEAKER_01: That's why I came.
SPEAKER_01: Learning the heart of Jesus, seeing the mind of Jesus, hearing the plans of Jesus, recognizing the love of who he is, that should result in a natural response of us wanting to bring the people that we know to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: You cannot respond any other way than Andrew responded.
SPEAKER_01: It has to affect you to meet Jesus and understand in your heart that he is the Messiah and be callous enough not to invite the people that you know and love to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Being with Jesus should create this response in us.
SPEAKER_01: It should stir in us.
SPEAKER_01: This picture of Andrew being stirred and excited and thrilled and wanting the people that he knows and loves to know the same thing that he knows.
SPEAKER_01: That's what this is about.
SPEAKER_01: Inviting people to church, sharing your testimony, telling people about Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: All of that.
SPEAKER_01: It flows.
SPEAKER_01: Out of, you've met Jesus and you want them to know the Jesus that you know.
SPEAKER_01: Just four quick principles I want to share with you.
SPEAKER_01: These are not rocket science, but they are important that we never lose the vision of what this is about for us.
SPEAKER_01: Spending time with Jesus and believing in him should have an impact on us.
SPEAKER_01: The scripture says they stayed with him that day, and they immediately responded Andrew by hunting down his brother so he could tell him he has found the Messiah.
SPEAKER_01: Today you can't help but wonder why aren't we doing more of that?
SPEAKER_01: Why aren't there more individuals leading other individuals to Christ?
SPEAKER_01: Why isn't that a part of what we collectively in churches around the river valley see in every one of our churches?
SPEAKER_01: And I don't think we can ever walk away from the first foundational principle is that maybe we are not spending enough time with Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: We are not spending the day with Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: It is not Jesus who is the hindrance to spending time with him.
SPEAKER_01: Look at what the Bible says.
SPEAKER_01: They asked Jesus, where are you staying?
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus' response is, come with me.
SPEAKER_01: We sang in that first song today, ain't no sinner that he can't say.
SPEAKER_01: There is nobody that is excluded from Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: He never turns away a life or a heart.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible tells us that every person, when they were formed in their mother's womb, that God knew who they were.
SPEAKER_01: That he shaped them and planned them and has desires for them.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says when we come to faith in Christ in Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 and 9, when we recognize that it's his grace that he stepped out of heaven to save us, and we come and we say, listen, Jesus paid it all.
SPEAKER_01: All to him I owe.
SPEAKER_01: There's nothing that I can ever do to forgive myself or change myself.
SPEAKER_01: And we give our lives to Jesus and we are saved in that moment.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says that he already had a plan for us of good works and ways that he was going to use us that he has prepared beforehand for us to walk in.
SPEAKER_01: Not only will Jesus never turn you away, Jesus is longing for you to come and meet him because he has thought about you, he has loved you, he has planned you, he has desires for you, and he is pleading with you to come to him.
SPEAKER_01: Listen, when you spend time with Jesus, you cannot be in your quiet time, you cannot be actually focused on the word, you cannot see these pictures of Jesus and it not remind you what you felt like when you got saved.
SPEAKER_01: When Jesus forgave you.
SPEAKER_01: When you read the promises of God and in those moments, if you are truly spending time with Him, it has got to stir something in us to go.
SPEAKER_01: Man, when we have days like today when we're singing about Jesus and people are baptized and we've got young families and all this stuff is happening.
SPEAKER_01: Man, how could you not want to invite somebody to church and be a part of this?
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it all comes from that first foundational principle.
SPEAKER_01: They spent the day with Jesus and they knew who he was.
SPEAKER_01: Listen, I want to encourage you in church family.
SPEAKER_01: Until the day I'm no longer allowed to be the pastor, I'm going to challenge you and encourage you, you need to get along with Jesus in the Word.
SPEAKER_01: And you need to have a heart of worship and be with him.
SPEAKER_01: First of all, it is your privilege and the joy of being a Christian.
SPEAKER_01: And it will stir your heart.
SPEAKER_01: A lot of times you can tell about the quality of your quiet time because has God stirred your heart to share him?
SPEAKER_01: And if he hasn't, maybe you need to get back with him.
SPEAKER_01: Principle number two.
SPEAKER_01: Principle number two, caring for people around you means bringing them to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says that Andrew first found his own brother.
SPEAKER_01: His own brother.
SPEAKER_01: I love that.
SPEAKER_01: His own brother.
SPEAKER_01: I have a brother.
SPEAKER_01: I have a brother and sister.
SPEAKER_01: I know how much I love my brother.
SPEAKER_01: I know how much of a sinner my brother is in his heart.
SPEAKER_01: And how desperately he needs Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Y'all know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_01: That's a joke, y'all.
SPEAKER_01: You can laugh right there.
SPEAKER_01: I wasn't being ugly.
SPEAKER_01: I love my brother.
SPEAKER_01: But he was a rotten little brother, right?
SPEAKER_01: No, and he loves the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: I know how much I love my brother.
SPEAKER_01: I have a brother-in-law.
SPEAKER_01: I watch my children, Mabry and Grant.
SPEAKER_01: You know, Mabry has a brother.
SPEAKER_01: And when you get that picture of a brother, man, this is somebody that God has put in your life and he's put you in theirs.
SPEAKER_01: We don't think about that enough.
SPEAKER_01: God put you in their life for a reason.
SPEAKER_01: Why'd he put you where you work?
SPEAKER_01: Why'd he put you on your street?
SPEAKER_01: Why do you have that house?
SPEAKER_01: Why is that person your cousin?
SPEAKER_01: Why is that your mom and dad, your grandmama, your granddad, your grandchildren, your son, your daughter, your daughter-in-law, your son-in-law, or whatever.
SPEAKER_01: Why are they there?
SPEAKER_01: Because God put you in their life.
SPEAKER_01: He put you in their life for a reason.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: To tell them that you found the Messiah.
SPEAKER_01: To be a witness and a testimony.
SPEAKER_01: Why does he put you in that Sunday school class?
SPEAKER_01: Why is he giving you that group of friends?
SPEAKER_01: Why is that the guy that you go fishing or deer hunting with?
SPEAKER_01: Because God put you in his life.
SPEAKER_01: And we are responsible for this person that God put us in their life.
SPEAKER_01: And sometimes it's harder to share Jesus with someone you're closer with.
SPEAKER_01: I get that.
SPEAKER_01: Because what if they reject us or what if I mess it up and they're so important to me, or all that?
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes it's easier to stand here and just shout the name of Jesus and call people to Jesus because, you know, if you're on the 18th row back there and you skip out after, I don't, you know, I don't get some personal sense of rejection or whatever.
SPEAKER_01: But if I'm sitting there with my friend or a brother or a sister or somebody that I work alongside, and I've been there and done that too, and you think, man, what's going to happen?
SPEAKER_01: What's the aftermath?
SPEAKER_01: What's the result of this if I share Jesus and I step out there?
SPEAKER_01: I remember thinking when I was in my first secular career, and I'm thinking, man, if I witness to somebody, all this other stuff I did wrong yesterday is going to mess up my testimony, and they're going to think, you don't really know Jesus because you wouldn't have done that yesterday.
SPEAKER_01: I remember all those emotions and struggles that you have.
SPEAKER_01: But listen, here's the reality of it.
SPEAKER_01: He first went and found his own brother.
SPEAKER_01: Those are your people.
SPEAKER_01: It's your family.
SPEAKER_01: It's your friends.
SPEAKER_01: Those are your people.
SPEAKER_01: And he puts you there with your people.
SPEAKER_01: I want to remind you about your love list.
SPEAKER_01: That's why we have a love list.
SPEAKER_01: We pray for evangelism, we pray for Satan, but your love lists are three people that you know that need Jesus and need to be saved, and you're praying for three things.
SPEAKER_01: You are praying for them to be saved.
SPEAKER_01: You are praying for an opportunity to invite them to church, and you are praying for an opportunity for you to share your personal testimony.
SPEAKER_01: We all need this list, and it all needs to stay active.
SPEAKER_01: And then we need to start seeing people saved, and we celebrate when one comes off the list and you put the next one on the list.
SPEAKER_01: Why do we call it a love list?
SPEAKER_01: Your own brother, friend, family, neighbor.
SPEAKER_01: And so we want to continue to do that.
SPEAKER_01: Number three.
SPEAKER_01: Principle number three.
SPEAKER_01: We have to tell them specifically who Jesus is.
SPEAKER_01: Look at what the Bible says.
SPEAKER_01: Here's the example.
SPEAKER_01: He first found his own brother, and he told him, We have found the Messiah.
SPEAKER_01: And just so we'll understand the clarity of what he's telling Peter, which means the anointed one.
SPEAKER_01: He is using the biblical prophecy and the picture of this is the anointed sacrifice of God.
SPEAKER_01: This is the Lamb of God who will take away the sins of the world.
SPEAKER_01: But Peter, he took away my sins as Andrew, and Peter, he'll take away yours.
SPEAKER_01: Because that's who he is.
SPEAKER_01: And we need to specifically tell people that we met Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And this is who Jesus is.
SPEAKER_01: That Jesus is the Messiah.
SPEAKER_01: That Jesus is the only name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.
SPEAKER_01: That Jesus is the only one who is the bread of life.
SPEAKER_01: That Jesus is the only one who is the living water.
SPEAKER_01: That Jesus is the only one who is the door through which we go.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is the only one who can bring salvation.
SPEAKER_01: And we've got to be clear about that message.
SPEAKER_01: We don't just talk about God and we don't just talk about church.
SPEAKER_01: We talk about those things, and those are great, and those are Bible words.
SPEAKER_01: But listen, it is Jesus who is the stumbling block.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says that when we use the name of Jesus, when we give them the picture of the cross and the empty tomb, that we are making clear the means of salvation.
SPEAKER_01: And that is what draws people back.
SPEAKER_01: You can talk about God or you can talk about people of faith and all these euphemisms that culture now demands that we call.
SPEAKER_01: But listen, you tell folks that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and nobody else.
SPEAKER_01: That is what we believe.
SPEAKER_01: That is what we stand on.
SPEAKER_01: That is what we preach, and that is what we share.
SPEAKER_01: And we have got to become comfortable with.
SPEAKER_01: Y'all heard that joke, right?
SPEAKER_01: I mean, you know, I hear people say their dad's tough.
SPEAKER_01: I've told you before, man, your dad wasn't tough.
SPEAKER_01: Some guy told me one time his dad was tough, that in his house it was his way or the highway.
SPEAKER_01: And I said, My dad didn't give us the highway option.
SPEAKER_01: This is what he said.
SPEAKER_01: I was telling somebody the other day, we were talking about being young, and I remember when I graduated from college, and uh and I stayed at home.
SPEAKER_01: I was went to the University of Memphis as an undergraduate, and uh, and so I stayed at home.
SPEAKER_01: My mom ate homemade biscuits every morning for breakfast.
SPEAKER_01: Why am I going to eat at a cafeteria?
SPEAKER_01: That doesn't make any sense.
SPEAKER_01: And so I stayed home at the house and drove to school and drove to work and did all that.
SPEAKER_01: My dad came in and uh we went to eight o'clock Sunday school, uh, eight o'clock worship service at our church, and our church was an hour away from our home.
SPEAKER_01: We drove an hour one way just to get to church.
SPEAKER_01: And so we were in eight o'clock worship service, and I may have told you the story before.
SPEAKER_01: I apologize if I did, but here's what happens when I'm and I graduate from high school.
SPEAKER_01: He says, Listen, son, you can live here.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna treat you as an adult, we're gonna take your curfew off and all that deal.
SPEAKER_01: But here's the deal Saturday night, this car is leaving at 10 till 7, and you will be in it.
SPEAKER_01: And I don't care if you're a grown man, you don't know what old guy tough is, and I'll be glad to show you, and you'll be in the car.
SPEAKER_01: If you've had a shower or not had a shower, it doesn't matter.
SPEAKER_01: You're going to church if you're gonna live in our house.
SPEAKER_01: And I said, Yes, sir, and I was, and that's how it works.
SPEAKER_01: He brought me to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Parents, bring your kids to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Bring your kids to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: We live in a world after post-COVID where it's easy to skip church and all that kind of stuff happens, and you gotta be in church.
SPEAKER_01: How are you gonna invite someone to church if you're not in church?
SPEAKER_01: That's all a part of bringing people to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: It's showing them the picture.
SPEAKER_01: And it's not about our church, it's about the picture of what it means to be saved.
SPEAKER_01: When you give your life to Christ, you have a heavenly father, you're adopted by him forever through the blood of Jesus, and you are adopted into his family, and not only do you have a heavenly father, but you have brothers and sisters, and you have the joy of being a part of that family and people who love you, and you have the responsibility to serve your brothers and sisters.
SPEAKER_01: You're given a spiritual gift and have to serve and all of that.
SPEAKER_01: We are all a part of this, and it is a part of the joy in the picture what it means to be saved.
SPEAKER_01: Praise God when you get saved.
SPEAKER_01: You are adopted into a family, and all of this becomes a part of who you are.
SPEAKER_01: And so we've been talking with folks, and you guys are awesome, and y'all invite people to church, and so we have created these little cards.
SPEAKER_01: We had them at Easter, and you guys did great and did so well.
SPEAKER_01: We've now created these invite cards that aren't attached to Easter, and you can use them at any time, and they'll be in the lobby for you.
SPEAKER_01: And Dave has a bunch, and we all have them, and we're gonna pass them out, and we're gonna bring people to church because we're gonna bring people to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Because he's the only one who can save.
SPEAKER_01: And so it's here, it's very simple, it's very clean, it has the times of the services, it has a QR code that you can tap into the church and see what all that is.
SPEAKER_01: We know how to do that.
SPEAKER_01: We have a history and heritage of that as a church.
SPEAKER_01: But it's the kind of thing that we don't want that vision to leak out and get lost.
SPEAKER_01: We want it to be the primary focal point of who we are and what we do.
SPEAKER_01: We bring people to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: So I want to encourage you, church family, bring people to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Bow your heads for a moment as we close and we get ready to go eat lunch and spend time together in our family, which we've talked about.
SPEAKER_01: We have shared the gospel, I've shared it multiple times.
SPEAKER_01: You've seen the baptism and the testimonies.
SPEAKER_01: If you've never trusted Christ as your Savior, I'm gonna invite you here to come and give your life to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: If you've never been saved, I'm gonna pray.
SPEAKER_01: God's people are gonna sing a testimony.
SPEAKER_01: You know what we've shared.
SPEAKER_01: We've all sinned, we'll all be judged.
SPEAKER_01: But Jesus is the one who stepped out of heaven, loved us, and died for us on the cross.
SPEAKER_01: He rose again, conquering death and sin, and we come and we place our faith in him.
SPEAKER_01: As our Savior, he'll save you.
SPEAKER_01: Come and see, he says to you.
SPEAKER_01: Like he did to Andrew.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna pray, we'll have ministers ahead of our awesome.
SPEAKER_01: If you need Jesus this morning, you come.
SPEAKER_01: Lord, we love you and we thank you for Jesus and salvation.
SPEAKER_01: If there are folks who need Jesus today, we pray you'll give them the freedom to respond.
SPEAKER_01: It is in your name we pray, and all God's people said.
SPEAKER_00: We pray this message has been a blessing to you and helped to strengthen your walk with Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Please know we want to minister to you and pray for you.
SPEAKER_00: Send an email to contact us at fsfbc.org and let us pray for you and help you in any way we can.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to Chapter and First, the Bible Teaching Ministry of Fort Smith First Baptist Church.