The Word of The Gospel
by Darrell W. Johns
November 2, 2022 · Atlanta West Pentecostal Church (Lithia Springs, GA)
Kind: teaching
Scripture: Acts 15:7-9, 2 Corinthians 4:3-6, Romans 1:14-17, Acts 19, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Acts 2:38, Acts 10:34, Proverbs 18:21, Matthew 5:21-22, Hebrews 1:3, 2 Corinthians 5:20, 2 Corinthians 4:13, Philippians 1:15-18, Matthew 13, Luke 8:11, Mark 4:26-28

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/darrell-w-johns--the-word-of-the-gospel
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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now Acts chapter 15 verse 7. I'll give context to this later and when there had been much disputing Peter rose up and said unto them men and Brethren you know how that a good while ago God made Choice Among Us that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel and believe and God which knoweth the hearts bear them witness giving them the Holy Ghost even as he did unto us and put no difference between us and Them purifying their hearts by faith I'd like to teach a while tonight on the subject from verse 7 the word of the gospel and mercifully you may be seated thank you for standing in worship and prayer and for the word September we focused on the family in October we've been focused on the mission of the church and now as we roll over into November I felt tonight to give a little continuity uh to October because hearing and doing are not always the same thing we've been focused on the mission of the church to take the gospel to the ends of the Earth the whole gospel to the whole world by the whole church everyone everywhere can be saved by the power of the Gospel and everyone everywhere is lost without it the Bible is very clear that if our gospel is his second Corinthians 4 3 it is hit to them that are lost so without the gospel people are lost eternally and in the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not lest the light of the Glorious gospel of Christ should shine unto them if they're lost they will be lost because they did not know the gospel now General Revelation and we talked about General Revelation is an awareness of God it's what you can know of God through nature and through conscience you can look in the sky and if you're honest you would know that this intelligent design demands an intelligent designer if a person is sincere they will believe in God but that General revelation of the knowledge of God that Romans 1 talks about will not save you it will point you toward God and if you're hungry for God I believe God will find a messenger for you just as he found for for tornelias and just as he found for the Ethiopian eunuch who is headed away from Jerusalem where the church of that day was headquartered if they're lost they'll be lost without the gospel this past Sunday our youth pastor brother Joel asked a question have you have you asked your lost friends about the Holy Ghost and baptism and then he asked lost people have you answered have you asked and how you answered he had felt that message for quite a while scheduled to preach and it just ends that that's kind of the end of October and all of October with missions conference my preaching our teaching has been about the importance of reaching people with the gospel believing is important but believing always is accompanied by repentance a turning to God if you believe in Jesus Christ then you know you're a sinner and you'll turn from your sins toward him water baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins is essential to Salvation being baptized in the Holy Ghost that's really the most formal way of what happens when you initially receive the Holy Ghost being baptized with the Holy Ghost water and spirit baptism with the evidence of speaking in other tongues it is the seal and the sign of the spirit in your life that you have been born again or born from above that is a gospel message we preach a lot about Acts 2 38 because it is the response to men and Brethren who people who ask men and Brethren what shall we do we're convicted by our sins now tell us what to do the first sermon on the first day of the church that was established in the book of Acts by the outpouring of the Holy Ghost Acts 2 38 is not a Pentecostal Passage it's the Bible for everyone everywhere it's not our little logo it is the Plan of Salvation in the New Testament it's how you get in the church the entire Bible points to Pentecost I know we say the cross and but if the cross happened and there was no Pentecost then there would have been death burial Resurrection but without it being received by people that that is what the gospel is the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ but it only works for me when I allow the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ to change my life through repentance baptism and the Holy Ghost so I want to continue this theme and I want to demonstrate through the word of God today how powerful the word of God is to transform a life what you say really matters amen Romans 1 and 14. the Apostle Paul says I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to The Barbarians both to the wise and to the unwise so as much as in me is I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also quite a few years ago I preached three Sundays on three verses of Romans I am deader I am ready and I am not ashamed but then Paul says and this is the verse I'm headed to in verse 16 for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ and why for it is the power of God this good news is power it is the power of God unto everyone that believeth to the Jew first and also to the Greek these words have power and I'm not ashamed to say them because I know the effect that they have on a life there is power in the word of God in your testimony verse 17 for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from Faith to Faith as it is written the just shall live by faith so we know that the gospel transforms people from sin to Salvation from bondage to freedom from Darkness to light and most importantly from hell to heaven there is no sin that cannot be forgiven by the power of the Gospel that's the blood of Jesus applied to your life there is no person so broken by sin that they cannot be healed by the power of the Gospel now I've been in church all of my life and I know people that have been in church all of their life that have still not allowed the power of the Gospel to heal their hurts and wounds and challenges but it can and it will and it does not matter who comes in contact with the gospel if they will believe and if they will obey it will change their life forever it is the power of God unto salvation it works this gospel works so we need to continue to let it work in us and on us it's not just new birth but it is New Life and all the benefits that accompany salvation and all things that pertain to life and godliness and everything that is added to us when we seek first the kingdom of God Amen it is the power of the word of God the Gospel of Jesus Christ I thank God that I found the gospel I found it through my parents through the church I grew up in but I'm thankful that the gospel changed my life now what is the gospel I've mentioned this really ahead of my notes but the death burial resurrection of Jesus Christ First Corinthians 15 1-4 delineates this walks it through the gospel that Paul brought to them but the gospel has to be applied to our lives saving faith is not just mental assent it is not just believing it is believing and it is applying the blood of Jesus Christ to your life by obeying Acts 2 38. in the Old Testament at the night of the Passover the Jews were to take the blood of a lamb kill the lamb catch the blood take a hyssop branch and apply it to the doorpost and to the lintel of your house but if you just said I believe that the blood will cover our family and that the death angel will pass over our house you could say it a thousand times and your family would have not been protected but if you really believed that what God Said was true you would kill the lamb take the blood and you would apply it to the doorpost and the lentil the blood must be applied now this is not part of my message but there are people who argue when is The Blood applied at repentance baptism of the Holy Ghost if you go back to the Tabernacle plan it is applied all the way through it is applied at the Brazen altar it is applied at the labor of water it is applied in the Holy place but it is applied at the mercy seat and God said it is there I will meet you there it is there at The Mercy Seat the type of the Holy Ghost that God meets us and the Plan of Salvation is consummated there amen the blood is applied all the way through but complete obedience and applying the blood is essential to Salvation accepting that what Jesus did on the cross for sufficient payment for your sins that's important That's essential but not only should you accept it but you also must apply it as I've been saying saving faith is accepting the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the sufficient payment for my sins and then applying the blood to My Life by obeying Acts 2 38 the death burial and Resurrection there are people who go to Romans when that is written to save people and they say well the Bible said if you'll confess with your mouth and believe with your heart that's exactly right and if you will you'll do what those first Saints did in Acts chapter 2 when they believe with their heart confess with their mouth repented of their sins were baptized in Jesus name fill the gift of the Holy Ghost and Paul can write back to those Christians in in Rome and said it took confessing it took believing but we compare scripture with with scripture we take the whole of scripture we do not take an isolated verse to undo the Plan of Salvation that goes all the way back to the blood that was shed in the Garden of Eden amen no one has ever been saved without believing and no one has ever been saved without applying amen and obeying the Gospel of Jesus Christ now when the Lord decided to save Noah's day the antediluvian age the age Before the Flood he told Noah to build a boat and whoever got on that boat would be saved if you were Noah's neighbor and you passed by the boat and you heard Noah that preacher of righteousness talking about impending doom the coming flood it had never perhaps rained on the earth much less the whole earth destroyed by water and Noah said if you're not on the boat you're going to perish and you could go by Noah's house and say Noah you're a good preacher and I believe that you're telling the truth but on the day the Lord shut the door how much you believe did not matter What mattered was whether or not you were inside the Ark of Salvation God's only plan to save anyone who would believe well I just want to enforce today because there's a lot of people that say a lot of things and I thank God for every sincere person in the world but the whole of scripture would hold up this truth that the blood must be applied salvation must be applied to our life you've got to believe it accept it and apply it to your life faith is always demonstrated by obedience and when you believe you will obey and if you don't believe excuse me if you don't obey then you really don't believe brother Joel preached about the Disciples of John when John when the Apostle Paul ran into the Disciples of John the Baptist in Acts chapter 19. they didn't argue about their tradition their founder their Grandma their grandpa that were baptized under John's baptism because they were sincere in their faith they immediately accepted and embraced water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ they were filled with the gift of the Holy Ghost because they were sincere but people who are sincere may ask questions it may take them a while to come around they may have to work through tradition and preconceived ideas but if you'll keep praying for them and talking to them if they're sincere the Lord will bring them to truth amen these men in Acts 19 did not argue their religious experience they were receptive to truth now how do you receive this good news the word gospel means good news you can read it you can hear it but whether it comes through your eyes or your ears when it comes into your mind that is subject to your will like in the Bible you can mock reject embrace you can say we would ask you more hear more of this matter as they did in Acts chapter 17. but tonight I want to increase your faith and the power of the word of the Gospel now I know you know this but the gospel is not only what you live it is something you say if you believe that say Amen if you don't believe that then we're going to have to really start over foreign amen you should live the Christian Life but the gospel is good news at the birth of Jesus behold I bring you Tidings of great joy good news of great joy which shall be to all people this is good news the Shepherds were the first Witnesses of the newborn Christ they went and told it right Go Tell It on the Mountain I don't think that part's in the Bible but it makes a good Christmas song the gospel is news that you hear because it is spoken and when it is spoken there is power that is released and when it is not spoken there is power that is withheld Acts 15. it's a pivotal chapter in the book of Acts the church leaders in Jerusalem this is our text they were meeting to discuss how they were going to handle the thousands of Gentile converts these Gentiles are getting saved they're hearing reports of what God has done through the Apostle Peter to the Apostle Paul and Barnabas in their preaching outside of Judaism outside of Jewish areas and there are thousands of Gentiles who were being saved but there are many Jewish Christians Jewish Christians who are struggling with this they thought that if you were going to be saved you would you know obey Acts 2 38 and the Old Testament ceremonial law so they meet and they discuss and there's testimony given and James begins his sentence but the the conclusion of the matter is that we're not going to put a yoke of obligation to the Old Testament ceremonial law not the moral law God is not that is the same yesterday today and forever his moral nature and his moral law will never change because God never changes but the ceremonial law that school master that led us to Christ was abolished in the Cross of Christ so now these Jewish Christians are struggling with it it's what they've done for thousands of years the Apostle Peter is now going to give his report to the church leaders about what God has done through him through the preaching and the gospel acts 15 7 are text again and when there had been much disputing so it's like a debate on the general conference floor or in the classroom or wherever it takes place the Apostle Peter the man that had the keys to the kingdom of God given to him by Jesus in Matthew 16 he opened that door in Acts 2. and he says men and Brethren you know how that a good while ago then sometime God made Choice Among Us of the Gentiles by my mouth should hear I hope you're getting that by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel and when they hear it that they would believe it and it worked Peter says God which noeth the heart said I know they're Gentiles and you don't think much of many of them but God Must Have Known their hearts that they were sincere that they turned to Jesus Christ in faith God knows their hearts he bear them witness giving them the Holy Ghost even as he did unto us I like the way he levels the playing field I know you all think you're really special all you Jewish Christians but I'm just going to tell you that those Gentiles received the same Holy Ghost as you received he reiterates that after the Cornelius story in Acts 10 it gives an account of that in Acts chapter 11. and then verse 9 I love this and put no difference between us and Them now remember when the Bible speaks about Jesus Christ tearing down that middle wall of partition that wall of partition is not describing one that existed between God and man that middle wall of partition that was torn down and the Cross of Christ was the wall that separated Jew from Gentile that kept people groups away from God and Jesus tore it down in his cross so the Apostle Peter is letting them know there's no difference between them and us praise God we need to remember that in 2022 when someone comes from a far different background from us that God fills them with the Holy Ghost and saves him there's no difference between them and us you might know more you might live better you might have served God for 25 or 75 years but it's in God's eyes they are Justified they are just as if they never sinned now this was eye-opening and shocking and they struggled with what the Apostle Peter said that he purified their heart with faith these Gentiles largely pagan people with no Heritage or history and Truth these Jews were astounded that these Gentiles could just hear the word of the gospel and believe Peter goes on to say he knew their hearts bear them witness gave them the Holy Ghost same one not a different brand not a Jewish holy ghost not a gentile Holy Ghost you can fill in all the other applications of that for every culture language tribe race Kindred tongue that the Bible speaks about in The Book of Revelation everybody go into one Heaven who was saved amen praise God well the Apostle Peter is kind of torching the troublemakers who did not believe that God could save gentiles and they were many of them the book of Galatians is written to combat the judaizers who are going around teaching Gentile converts that except they obey the law of Moses and were circumcised that they could not be saved these judaizers Christ plus Old Testament equals salvation Christ plus circumcision equals salvation they were undermining and overthrowing the faith of these Gentiles but acts 15 is kind of settled in principle you've got to work out the principles right it's all over the world and people with different opinions that didn't abide by What was decided in Acts chapter 15 that will not put any greater yoke on them than some necessary things they named for in Acts 15. but I kind of smiled a little bit when I was studying this passage today and last night and thinking it through you know I taught the book of Acts I love the book of Acts and uh that in Acts 10 the Apostle Peter was one of those guys who didn't believe that Gentiles could be saved remember the vision three times convincing the Apostle Peter finally the Lord tells him you go with these men don't doubt anything they're knocking at the door while he's in this trance right you know and he goes to their house there's some introductory remarks and then on the screens acts 10 34 then Peter opened his mouth and said of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons Jew Gentile he goes on to say that every nation whoever fears him God will be accepted you know they'll be accepted of the Lord this is such an amazing thing Peter says again I'm just repeating this men and Brethren you know how good while ago God made Choice Among Us that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the Gospel that's my message the word of the Gospel it has so much power we should say it more than we do because every person needs to hear it everywhere and it can change their life amen I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to the Jew first Paul wrote and also to the Greek the word of the Gospel now words are very powerful all words are very powerful I know when we were kids in my generation we said sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never harm me that was a lie it sounded good and brave and tough but we didn't mean it and it certainly wasn't true Proverbs 18 21 tells us that death and life are in the power of the tongue I've observed that some people are verbal hit men or women who have destroyed other people with their words death was in their tongue it's a fire James wrote about that little member that tongue that sparked by your brain that can make life or death there are people who have committed verbal murder and what I'm referring to is the words of Jesus in Matthew 5. when he said you've heard it said of Old Times by our ancestors that you must not murder if you commit murder you're subject to judgment but Jesus said and I'm reading the New Living Translation but I say if you are even angry with someone you are subject to judgment if you call someone an idiot break a shallow brain is what the King James says Reika you are in danger of being brought before the court and if you curse someone Jesus said you were in danger of the fires of Hell death and life are in the power of the tongue be careful what you say and if you stick your foot in the mouth in your mouth or change feet as some people do it's always have one foot in their mouth if you say something you shouldn't say don't be proud quickly apologize make it right before the wound of your cutting Angry Words become fatal to that person death and life are in the power of the tongue God ordained it that way he made it that way that we are affected by words and when I was typing that I really felt the Holy Ghost to encourage someone to be careful what you speak and how you speak that your words are very powerful and they may never be forgotten and they may chart the course of a life because James said that words are like a Rudder that steer a ship and it can steer a life if you speak the wrong words but you can also steer a light if you will Speak Life to them and love and encouragement and Faith amen death and life or in the power her human words are very powerful but God's words are Supernatural they're exponentially more powerful than just words you speak just a few examples and God said let there be light and there was light Hebrews one and three being in the brightness of his glory the expressed image of his person and upholding all things by the word of his power God did not just wind up this universe and let it wind down it is upheld according to the Bible by the word of his power and it goes on to speak about his sacrifice second Corinthians 4 3 on the screens but if our gospel is hid I refer to this verse earlier it is said to them that are lost in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not lest the light of the Glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine unto them for we preach not ourselves I love this verse because I may tell stories or illustrations and they tell you a little bit about myself to try to make a point but we don't preach ourselves we preach Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves your servants for Jesus's sake for God Paul refers back to let there be light for God who commanded the light to shine out of Darkness has shine in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ the word of God is exponentially more powerful than any word that you would ever speak and when we testify in his name he backs up his word with his power amen Paul said that the Lord has committed to us this word of reconciliation he talks about this in second Corinthians 5 and Paul said we beseech you and Christ stead in his place be reconciled to God we have the power of this word of reconciliation that can bring life amen when Jesus spoke of remitting sins or withholding forgiveness he's talking about preaching that if you do not preach and teach you're withholding salvation from a person so I want to ask you tonight do you believe the gospel if you do you will speak it and if you do not speak it perhaps you don't really believe it second Corinthians 4 13 on the screens the Apostle Paul is quoting the psalmist we have the same Spirit of Faith according as it is written I believed and therefore have I spoken we also believe and therefore speak when you believe you speak amen I know we speak the truth and love but we don't just think the truth in love we speak the truth in love and when you speak it is a sign that you believe and when you speak something is released and something happens by the power of the word of God that comes out of your mouth it is more than death or life that are in the power of the human tongue it is the power of the Gospel that transforms Sinners into Saints amen because eternal life is conceived through the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ I need a pause to say that when I now talk about preaching I'm not talking about microphones or pulpits or loud voices it includes that but I'm talking about this message of Salvation that is taught and told and typed and shared amen and given into the heart of a person and when it is spoken however it is spoken there is something that is conveyed that is Supernatural I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is power amen something takes place when you speak the name and when you preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ this word Peter said it has power they hurt by my mouth the gospel and they believed and God knew their heart and filled them with the Holy Ghost that's how it works you speak it they believe it God Saves them it's not complicated but sometimes I know it's not easy there's a lot of political correctness a lot of opposition a lot of preconceived ideas that we shouldn't talk about politics and religion but you can have your own idea about politics but religion is heaven or hell it's not whether or not you're going to be my friend it's where you're going to spend eternity and sometimes you do have to open your mouth because the gospel is a word it's a word that is spoken amen now in case you think I'm missing something I'm not talking about eloquent words of human reasoning what the Bible says it's Jesus they went forth everywhere preaching the word the Lord working with him confirming the word with signs following they preached he performed miracles they spoke the word and God backed them up there's lots of scriptures about this too many to contain in this message tonight the Apostle Paul told the Thessalonians that for our gospel came not unto you in word only but also empowered in the Holy Ghost and in much Assurance there's always the backing up of the power of God I know Paul told the Corinthians that he did not come to them with the Excellency of speech or of wisdom he came in demonstration of the spirit and power that your faith will not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God I understand that just human words will not get the job done but we're not talking about human words we're talking about speaking God's word on God's behalf given this ministry of reconciliation and when we speak it God backs us up God works in that human heart but it has to be spoken if it's going to be received I'm reading my text again acts 15 7. when there have been much disputing Peter rose up and said unto them men and Brethren you know how that a good while ago God made Choice Among Us that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel and believe they believed he knew their sincerity the Lord did knew their sincerity gave them the Holy Ghost because of their faith now I want to use a different analogy that Jesus used about the power of the word of God Matthew 13 contains Parables of the Kingdom one of those is a parable of the sower Luke 8 is a parallel passage that also gives this idea Jesus is teaching he talks about a man who sows seed and he goes forth to sow some falls on the path on the Wayside and it gets kind of stomped down and eaten by the birds and nothing ever happens the seed is the same seed it is uniform through this story the next seed fell on Stony ground it got a start but it withered up when the sun came out Matthew's gospel sheds more light on this the heat of trial didn't have a lot of depth that's people and then there's some that fell among Thorns same seed Falls among Thorns it starts growing but the Thorns grow up and choke it out that happens to people just like you and me where we allow the cares of this life the deceitfulness of of riches to choke out the life of God we have to keep weeding right pulling the weeds out of our life they will grow up then there's the fourth soil the good ground that sprang up Luke says Luke's gospel a hundred fold so they asked Jesus what does this Parable mean and Jesus said I'm going to explain it to you but I'm going to hide this truth from other people Luke 8 11 Luke 8 11 on the screens now the parable is this this is really deep right but it's Jesus so it's deep the seed is the word of God everybody got that the soils vary the seed is the same you and I are not in charge of determining the soil type now you could say this man was broadcasting seed and most of it went on fertile ground we can't really go there and applying this Parable Jesus is just telling us there's at least four kinds of soil he describes them there's still one seed and I know that you've told talk to people and preached to them and it nothing happened you've told others and something happened and they didn't last long you told others and they lived for God a while but weeds choked out the life of God but you know our Target and our prayer is God give us good ground but just because and I don't think you can say 75 percent you know we don't do percentages on this Parable he's talking about the different types of ground we just know that not everybody's going to be saved but we just keep sowing seed the seed is a word of God and I'm not in charge of the response but I am in charge of speaking the word of God because it has life amen and if you don't speak it it is death it's automatically death if you just live it and don't ever say it I know this is what you heard preached on Sunday it's what we've been saying all the month of October I felt just the led to the Lord to just kind of drive this in a little deeper into our hearts the gospel is something you say amen seed is the word of God so if you want something to grow you just have to sew the witness of our life is powerful but the word of God even transcends the power of a Godly life you can even try to undermine the gospel by a bad life and you can cause people to be dissuaded discouraged and they can walk away from truth but we're this and that people we don't think you have to have one or the other a good life or a good word you can have both a Godly life and the Power of Words but the Apostle Paul said something that that I really think is interesting in Philippians 1 and 15. he's talking about people that preach he said you know some people indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife and some from Good Will but former preached Christ from selfish ambition not sincerely supposing to add Affliction to my chains but the latter out of love knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the Gospel what then only that in every way whether in pretense or in truth Christ is preached and in this I Rejoice yes and will rejoice there's some people out there in the world that are preaching the Bible not the whole truth and nothing but the truth but that word is more powerful than the preacher that guy may not even be living right but when he communicates the word of God that word of God is finding a sincere heart I had a good friend who who was out of church a long time he witnessed to a lot of people in a bar half drunk but guess what half drunk or not the Bible was not half drunk and if he said then Peter said unto them repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the Holy Ghost Acts 2 38 was sober I know I'm a little beside myself but I believe in the power of the Gospel motives matter we should have pure motives but I just want you to know that even when you're not on your best day go ahead and speak it anyway because you never know if it's good ground Stony Crown there may be Thorns there in the future don't worry about that that's you're not in charge of that one of my favorite Parables of Jesus is in Mark 4 26. he Jesus said the kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground this guy has never been to college he doesn't know a lot about Agronomy he's just he's just a farmer he's got ground and Seed and he just goes and throws the seed on the ground but listen to how Jesus describes this man and should sleep by night and Rise by day and the seed should Sprout and grow he himself does not know how he can't even explain the process of germination just kind of he's sorry just not that bright but the point Jesus is making is that's okay because it's not who he is it's what he's got in his hand it's what he put in the ground and Jesus said for the Earth yields crops by itself first the blade then the head after that the full grain in the head so you may not feel like you're a theologian you're a seasoned Saint you know all of your imperfections or maybe at least half of them but that's okay keep trying to do better live better but don't quit talking about Jesus amen tell people what you were before you were saved what I used to be how I got saved how God has changed my life just tell it amen Paul said I have planted polished water but God gave the increase so neither is he that planteth anything neither he that watereth but God that gives the increase I'm not even in charge of the increase neither are you it's God that does that but I am in charge of how much seed I sow I am in charge of how much I water what's been planted and that you can talk about that a long time we're not responsible for the results but we are responsible for the process though my mission today has been to increase your faith in the power of the word of God and that the gospel is a word spoken have you asked have you prayed that God would open the door in a conversation to allow you to tell your friends and family and neighbors and whoever it is that Jesus died for their sins and loves them and there's hope for their life you know Paul said I am cursed if I Don't Preach said necessity is laid upon me I don't really have a choice in this matter I'm commissioned to do this but I believe the Lord can help you find openings and conversations he will pray and you will watch he can find a way to say a word and it may not even be the whole seed and by that I mean you may not even be able to say the whole gospel at one time but if you begin to plant the word of God in the heart of a person that word has life in itself an older preacher told me when I was a younger preacher that when you finish preaching and you go home and go to bed at night the word of God is still at work that gives me a lot of consolation that when I finish here tonight and you go on tomorrow the next day not because of me but because of what I've just transmitted that this word has much more power than personality or oratory or anything that any person could bring to a Pulpit or a table or whatever that is this seed has life in itself I've watched in church services when heart and sinners crumbled and then humbled their hearts before God as the word of God did only what it can do and it pierced to the dividing asunder of Soul and Spirit and join in Marrow and it was the discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart and it brought that sinner to repentance I've watched that happen I was thinking about the story of Paul The Prisoner standing before Felix the governor and Felix the guy with all the authority is asking the guy who's the prisoner about his faith and while Paul reasons of righteousness Temperance and judgment to come Felix the guy with all the power is trembling under the influence of the power of the word of God that he could not resist it was in my office years ago talking to a person giving them a Bible study was talking about repentance I did not have my voice raised I don't think I was wearing a tie God help me and while we talked just talk conversationally and I shared the word of God that person started shaking like Felix and crying and sobbing and they began to repent because this word has more power than we've ever dreamed if we would just let people by our mouth hear the word of the Gospel