Out Of The House And Into The Field Series, Week 1

Lord bless you, Lord bless you. My assignment tonight is to speak to you on the topic of outreach. That will be this Wednesday, pastor speaking next Wednesday on the same topic, and then there'll be another speaker and I believe a panel coming at the end of the month on the topics of in-reach. And so we're going to begin tonight in Matthew 28, 18 and 19. I do not have a handout for you, but if the Lord will help us, hopefully I'll say something worth writing down if you have a pen and paper. But we're going to begin in Matthew 28, 18 and 19. The Bible says, And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Verse 19, Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. I draw your attention to the first seven words of verse

number 19. Go ye therefore and teach all nations. This is what we call the Great Commission. It's Jesus' last words to his followers on his assignment or their directive in his soon coming absence. Their every direction has been at his leading. They have followed him in the flesh for some time and they're wrestling with the new reality that he's not going to be present in flesh, though he will be by his spirit. So the last words are imperative and this is what he says. You need to go ye therefore. The therefore draws our attention to the previous statement when he says that all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. So because I have all power, this is what I need you to do. Go ye therefore and teach all nations. That word teach comes from a Greek word which simply means to make a disciple. It means to teach somebody or to instruct them in such a way that

they would become a follower of the precepts or the instruction you give them. This is important for us to understand tonight because the responsibility of teaching does not end the moment somebody is baptized. It doesn't end the moment somebody receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In fact, we believe this. Now Jesus, he said it very plainly in John chapter 3 that except you are born of water and of spirit you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. And so we understand that this is essential. It's imperative. There is no other way but we also must understand that this is only the beginning. This is that new birth. And so the responsibility of those who are engaged in the mission of outreach doesn't end when somebody is born again. That's simply their beginning. The responsibility of discipleship calls us to first and foremost I would say relationship because this is not simply an exchange of information, it's an exchange of lives. And that's why

Jesus said follow me. He didn't say follow me into a classroom. He said follow me in my life and they literally dropped their fishing nets. They left their tax business and they followed him. So discipleship, making disciples is literally the sharing of lives. It's inviting somebody into your life and sharing what God has taught you and how you have grown in the Lord. It's a continual effort. Now I trust we understand this tonight but if we're talking about outreach, this is simply what it means. It means to reach out. If we're talking about being a church that believes and practices outreach, it simply means we are a people that outreach. We reach out, well where do we reach out from? We reach out from beyond where we are. We reach out from beyond the seat we sit in, the side of the church we're used to being in. We reach out beyond the people we're most comfortable with. We reach beyond the walls

of our church. We reach across the aisle at our workplace. We reach across the table at a restaurant. We have to reach beyond ourselves. This is what outreach is. A scripture that's no doubt familiar to us tonight is Acts chapter one and verse eight. I want to read it again. It says you shall receive power. This is what God promised us. He says, after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, but now he tells us why he gave us power. You shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and all Judea and in Samaria into the uttermost parts of the earth. You, I trust, are familiar with the story in the opening chapters of Acts. We know that the day of Pentecost, these events happen in the city called Jerusalem. But prior to the Holy Ghost being poured out, God had communicated his intention. This is going to start in Jerusalem. I do not want it to stay in Jerusalem. And so

the principle here is God said, I'm giving you a power, something that enables you to reach beyond yourself and beyond the city of origin because it was never God's intention that what he started stay in one place. And so he said, though it begins in Jerusalem, I want you to know I want it to go to Judea. I want it to make its way into Samaria. I want this to get to the uttermost part of the earth and as time would have it, they did not move, it seems, at the pace God intended for them to move. And so what did God allow? He allowed persecution to come against the church. And now persecution forces them to move beyond the borders of the city of Jerusalem. And now God is using discomfort in the displeasures of life. We could say God is using the power outages and the lack of air conditioning to force us beyond what we're used to. I know there's

members of our church that in the past few days stayed with other members of the church. I know there's families that opened their home to feed people who were staying in houses that didn't have air conditioning, couldn't cook meals and couldn't do laundry. Well, what happened? The circumstances forced them into a place where they were reaching out, out beyond the walls of their home, but still within the walls of our church. But it's God's desire that the reach of the church is ever increasing. We reached beyond our home. And so if I could just tweak Acts 1 in verse 8 tonight for the sake of this lesson, we could say it like this, you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you and you shall be witnesses unto me both in new life and in your home and in your workplace and in all of your city and all of your county. This is the principle. God simply said,

I'm giving you power to reach beyond the place of your comfort and your familiarity to witness of me. And so as I prepared for this tonight, I felt the Lord put three words in my spirit. I've never talked this before and I hope the Lord will help me make sense of it as we deliver it to you tonight. But last week, as I was praying and thinking on this Bible study, the Lord gave me these three words, simple, spiritual and supernatural. Now, I'm going to be honest with you, it's the supernatural stories that most excite me. But it's the simple where I live most of my life. And this, in my experience, here's what I've observed. We like the supernatural story, but because most of us live the majority of our lives in the simple, we sometimes hear the supernatural and get discouraged about the simple. And so my goal tonight is to show you how there is a place for everybody in

the work of outreach. There's a simple, there's a spiritual and there's a supernatural. All of them are valuable. All of them are necessary. And I think as we give ourselves to the work of outreach, we'll see how one leads to the other. So let's talk about simple first tonight, because my goal is when we leave tonight that we would be at a place of understanding and confidence to think within ourselves, I can be involved in the outreach that God desires. And so let's talk about the simple. The simple is what I would call, this is simply us reaching out by simple and practical efforts. Simple and practical efforts. And so I have two for you tonight. The first is, is what I would call acts of service. It's to serve somebody. Acts chapter 10 and verse 38, I believe it is, the Bible says that Jesus went about doing good. It goes on to say, in healing, all of them that had diseases.

And if you're anything like me, you jump to that supernatural part and you skip those two very important words, doing good. Because if you want to sell a story and you want to generate excitement, it's a lot more exciting to talk about the guy who had his tumor disappear than it is to talk about the person who was kind to the waitress. But I'll tell you tonight, both are important. Now by the time Acts chapter 10 is written, Jesus had been gone for many years in the flesh. His body, the works of his earthly ministry had ceased long ago. But despite that the absence of him in body, the testimony of his life is that he went about doing good. He just did good. He just, he just went about doing good. Now, God knows my heart. I'm not telling you this for any self-glory. God can rebuke me and correct me. But we were in the Culver's Drive-Thru a couple

of Wednesday nights ago and I pulled up and I look in my mirror and I saw Sister Hoop and Garner behind me and the coffees behind her. So when I pulled up to the window, I said, I'd like to pay for the two vehicles behind me. And you know, my sons who are still working on this selfish nature that every human being is born with, he speaks up and says, why are you paying for them? He didn't know who they were. You don't know them. I said, well, in fact, I do know them. Well, why are you paying for them? Just to do something good. You see, this isn't natural to, maybe it's natural to you, but it was not natural to damn a cloud. I've had to learn to bring my flesh into subjection and discipline myself to actively seek opportunity to do good. Now, sometimes it's as simple as when I'm walking into a restaurant, there could be somebody, you know,

they're not five or seven feet behind me. If you're that close, I feel compelled to hold the door for you. You know, you're 15 or 20 feet away. There's enough time for that door to close and me to get to the counter before you ever get there. But on the principle of seeking opportunity to do good, I may pause and hold that door for what seems like an unusually long period of time. And really, it's only two or three seconds. So that person can come in. Now, I'm just seeking opportunity to do good. And too often, we overlook things like this, but this was the testimony of Jesus' life. He just went about doing good. He just looked for simple, small, practical ways to better the lives of other people. I would submit that this is really what the fruit of the Spirit looks like, that the fruit of the Spirit really causes you to put what is natural to you into subjection

or to put it secondary to the preference or the better men or the better lives of other people. It's a patience that restrains me for the sake of somebody else. It's a kindness that inconveniences me to make it better for somebody else. Now, I tell you tonight, this kind of thing is not nearly as exciting as getting up and talking about some kind of supernatural testimony. But this is where every single one of us spends most of our time. I've had some supernatural experiences. I'll share a story later, this lesson tonight. I've heard of many. But those supernatural experiences, not only in outreach, but in my ministry, are really the minority of my time and experience. The simple is where I spend most of my life. The simple is where most of us spend most of our lives. And so I'm challenging our thinking tonight to not overlook the simplicity of when you sit down at the table looking that waiter or waitress

in the eye and with sincerity in your heart asking, how are you doing today? Or taking time at the cash register when that lady's ringing up your groceries and how are you doing today? She's flustered. The last customer wasn't very friendly to her. Well, what can you do? What simple, practical thing can you do to bring a little joy and peace and love into her life? The fruit of the spirit really is not something that you advertise by your words or your actions. It's not an intentional advertisement. But consider what happened with Eve. The Bible said she's standing there and she's looking at this fruit. And it's pleasing to the eye and she starts telling herself, this fruit would be good to taste. This is what I'm talking about. People look at the fruit in your life, the kindness and the joy and how in the world can you go through four or five days of no power and no air conditioning and

eating fast food and you sit down in that fast food restaurant with everybody else who's had no power and no air conditioning and they're cursing and they're grumpy but you've got a smile on your face and you're spreading joy into the, how does that, I'll tell you how it happens. It happens because you've got this fruit working in you and this kindness that's coming out of you and I promise you there are people that take notice. So don't overlook kindness. Don't overlook the simple act of serving. This is what Proverbs chapter three verse 27 says, do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it's in your power to help them. If you can help your neighbor now, don't say come back tomorrow and then I'll help you. If you have the power to do anything that makes it good for somebody else, just do it. Don't dismiss it because it seems too small or too insignificant and just do it because

I promise you that simple act will become a doorway to a greater opportunity. Look at Matthew 25, we won't read it tonight for the sake of time but verses 35 through 40 for your reference, Jesus through the scriptures talking about this, he talks about those who offer food, those who offer drink, those who welcome somebody, those who provide clothing or visit what he calls the least of these, he says you've done it unto me. So this tells me that in the eyes of Jesus something as simple as offering somebody food, offering somebody drink, welcoming them into my home or my life, providing them clothing or even just taking the time to visit them in the eyes of God is no small thing. Now I know they may be easily overlooked, they may not draw any recognition by somebody else but I promise you, God does not overlook it. And I would submit to you tonight that these simple and practical acts of service

often serve as doorways to greater spiritual opportunity. So if you're seeking something spiritual and if you want the supernatural in your outreach just start right here because the simple is where most of us live our lives. The second thing I would say about simple outreach is this, is just invite somebody. Now maybe when pastor's talking about teaching a Bible study or you're hearing about evangelism maybe there's something in you that just is lie that you feel like I can't do this, this is so far beyond me. Just I would encourage you that something as simple as an invitation. Many times in my experience and in my opinion I think people's doubt is rooted in a lack of exposure. And sometimes their questions or their hesitation towards God is best answered by experience. And it could be my invitation that brings them into the house to give them the experience they so desperately need. So it's in that moment of kindness extending the invitation

for them to maybe join you for dinner or maybe come to service with you on Sunday morning or join you at a Wednesday night Bible study. Maybe it's an invitation for you to teach them a Bible study but it could just be leaving a church card when we were in Halifax years ago Brother Gaddy was preaching for us and he told this story and I've never forgot it. He said they had a lady walk into their church one Sunday and very excitedly she approached Pastor and Sister Gaddy in Cabot, Arkansas and the lady said, oh Pastor Gaddy do you remember me? And he's got a pretty good memory for things like that but he said for the life of me I could not remember this woman and he said I apologize, I don't. And she said oh you came to the restaurant I was a waitress at two years ago and you gave me an invitation to new life. She said when I

got home from work that night I put that card on my fridge and I looked at it this week and thought I need to go to new life this weekend. Something as simple as one church card and one exchange at one dinner table it took two years but she showed up. And so I would encourage you don't overlook these things that seem so simple. Now they may not come this Sunday but you don't know when they'll come. You don't know when circumstance will bring them to a place of humility or vulnerability where they recognize their need of something beyond their selves. And it just might be the church card you gave them in the invitation you gave them that they find in the console of their vehicle or behind some paper on their fridge in the moment of their need. And it could be your invitation that brings them to the atmosphere where they encounter God. Look at John 1.45 and 46.

The Bible says Philip finds Nathaniel and says to him we have found him of whom Moses and the law and the prophets did right. Jesus of Nazareth the son of Joseph. And Nathaniel says to him and I'm sure if you've ever done outreach you've heard this kind of response before. Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Oh, you need to come to my church. People's lives are being changed. You need to come see what God's doing in new life. And I just, I really don't know what I think about that. You know, you guys who speak in tongues and you know, sometimes people run in your church and they dance. I just don't know what I think about you. And Philip says, you know what? Just come and see. You know, I could stand here under this tree and argue with you all day long but really what you need is some exposure. You need to experience the presence of God

for yourself. So just come and see. And that simple invitation caused his life to be changed. So if someone wants to argue with you, look. You let the Lord lead you. But in my experience, arguments don't go very far. But if the presence of God can soften their heart and they can see and feel the power of God's spirit. I'm telling you, something as simple as saying just come to church with me this Sunday. We'll sit at the bow, sit at the back with you or we'll sit over on the sub. Just come with me this Sunday and just see what we're all about. This is simple outreach. And I would tell you that though the stories may not be as exciting as some other ones, they are just as valuable. And this is where most of us spend our time. But I would also say there's what we could call spiritual outreach. This still has a hand in the practical but I

would say spiritual outreach is when you approach it with a more specific focus or intention to minister, spiritually minister to the need of that individual. And so perhaps if you didn't feel confident in that, you may invite them to church because you know when they come into the corporate body there's people that can help you and there's leaders and a pastor who can help you in that process. So the simple is very, very important. But there's also a more spiritual element to outreach where you endeavor to minister to the needs of that individual. An example here for us tonight is what we find in John chapter four. The Bible speaks of Jesus. It says that he must needs go through Samaria. Now, you've got to understand a little bit of the cultural dynamics here because the Jews would literally walk all the way around the city of Samaria. So as not to have to walk through because they had nothing to do with

the Samaritans who were half Jew and half Gentile. There's a major cultural divide here. And now Jesus speaks up and goes against the grain of the culture when everybody is willing to inconvenience themselves by walking around the city so as not to deal with these people. Jesus says I must go through Samaria. And you can imagine the disciples are thinking, well, we don't do this Lord, we're Jews. And he says, no, I must. So you have to understand, this is not just happenstance right now. Jesus is living this moment with a sense of specific purpose. There's intention in this. This has not happened accidentally. This has happened because he has intention to move through Samaria. The Bible would say he comes to this well in the city of Samaria and he finds a woman there. And he begins to engage her in conversation about the events of this day and this present experience. They're at a well, they're drawing water from a well.

So that's what Jesus starts talking to her about. You know, I know it sounds better if I can start the conversation with words of knowledge and words of prophecy but I'm telling you, that's not where most people live. So he meets the woman where she is. And then he looks for an opportunity to bridge the conversation from what is ordinary and practical and present before them to a spiritual application. Now I know you came to this well to draw water but I wanna tell you about a well and a water that you can drink of and you'll never thirst again. She's like, well, you don't even have a bucket to draw water, what are you talking about? He begins to minister and now, now there's a supernatural element at play. You see the progression, he starts speaking to her with words of knowledge about her life. You've had this many husbands and the one you're with now is not your, how does he

know that? It's supernatural knowledge. It's a word of knowledge. But do you see the progression? He just meets her where she is. I'm just talking to you about the well and drawing water and then I'm gonna talk to you about a spiritual well and spiritual water and then I'm gonna start speaking from this supernatural perspective but he started with the simple and he looked for a bridge to the spiritual. So there's nothing wrong with talking about the weather, your day at work or project you're working on or something you saw in the news. This is where we meet people. The majority of people we meet, it's gonna be in a conversation about the simple. What we must do is look for opportunity to transition that conversation from what is simple and practical and ordinary to what is spiritual. Now we read Acts in one verse eight already but the Bible said that he gave us power to be witnesses, witnesses of what? Witnesses

of him. Now, at the risk of being slightly understood, we're not called to be witnesses of new life. Now I'm not advocating that we stop that. I think you need to tell everybody about new life. I think everybody in the city needs to know about new life. You need to tell everybody you know how great this church is. You know, I ended up on my street, there was a car accident in front of our house at 1201 on July the 4th and this guy stole a vehicle and wrecked two cars on the street. So there's 30 or 40 of our neighbors out on the street at one o'clock in the morning. It's a great way to meet everybody. And they all said, I noticed when you move here, your plates said Canada. Well, why did you move here? Well, this is a great opportunity for me to tell everybody about new life. I think everybody needs to know about new life. But

new life didn't exist in Acts chapter one. We weren't given this supernatural power to be witnesses of new life. We were given this power to be witnesses of Jesus. Now, the reason we talk about new life and we invite to new life is because this is a place for people to encounter and meet Jesus. But we gotta be careful, because if we're not careful, we can sometimes talk about church and never talk about Jesus. And so this is what I would advocate for is when you're trying to make the jump from that simple conversation to that spiritual conversation, you don't need to give them a discourse on Acts 238. You don't need to get somebody, Dr. Bernard's dissertation on the oneness of God. All you need to do is share your testimony. Because when I start telling people, well, I'm from Canada and then I lived in Europe and I moved to Terre Haute, I get the same question every time. They can't

fathom that I moved here. Now, it's just my testimony. It's my story, it's nothing that great. It's just how God led my life. But see that that simple point of meeting somebody where they are can so easily transition to a spiritual conversation when you start witnessing of Jesus just by telling them what Jesus did for you. Well, I didn't go to new life at one time either, but 10 years ago, I started going to new life and you wouldn't believe how God has blessed my family and changed my life. That's all you've got to do. Look for that opportunity to make the jump from simple to spiritual by witnessing of Jesus by telling them what he did for you. So some examples of spiritual outreach. Tell them about Jesus. Share your testimony. Ask them, can I pray for you? My wife was telling somebody recently, she was in Kroger some time ago, maybe a few months ago now, and she saw this lady

and she said, I just, I felt this compassion towards this woman. And so she said, I walked over to her and I asked her, ma'am, is there anything I can do for you? And she looked back at Haley and she said, yes, you could pray for me. And so what did Haley do? She prayed for her right there on the spot. Just you meet people, but you're looking for that opportunity to move from that simple practical exchange to something a little more spiritual. If God opens the door for you to have a conversation with somebody about the church, about the things of God, take the time and ask them, could we get together again and have coffee? Would you be interested in getting together and having a Bible study and studying the scriptures together? I could come to your house, sir. You could come to mine, but you're simply looking for opportunity to move from that very practical, simple exchange where you're

talking about the power outage, your day at work, what you read on the news or your favorite sports team, whatever it might be, to putting Jesus in the middle of that exchange. That's a little spiritual bent to outreach. Has anybody ever heard of the Dross family? T-Win Dross or Bill Dross, Mark Dross, Steven Dross, powerful family. Bill Dross has been gone for many decades now, but he was called Bill Dross the Pentecost. There's a great book about his life. And when we were in Nova Scotia, the bishop there, John Min, he would often tell stories. He used to tell us his story all the time. When Bill Dross was just a young man, he was prior to being called into the ministry, he was serving in the armed forces and was overseas. And a gentleman he was serving with came to him one day and asked Brother Dross, Bill Dross, he came to him and said, sir, do you have a light?

Now he was asking about a light for his cigarette. And Brother Dross said, the only light I have is Jesus Christ, the light of the world. Now I wish I could tell you the man fell to his knees and spoke in tongues, but there wasn't anything real supernatural in that moment. But he took a real practical thing and found, I even might say a little humorous way of putting a spiritual bent on the question. Several years pass and Bill Dross was preaching a revival back in Eastern Canada where they were from. And this man comes up to him after service and says, Brother Dross, do you remember me? And he says, I'm sorry, I don't. He said, I was the man who asked you if you had a light and you told me the only light you had was Jesus Christ, the light of the world. He said, when I got back to my tent, God started working on my heart. And Bishop

used to say, he said, that was the night he made his consecration to the Lord. Just something as simple as finding a way to turn a man's inquiry for a lighter for his cigarette to Jesus Christ, the light of the world. Those simple words changed it from simple to spiritual and God changed the trajectory of that man's life. But then there's also, there are supernatural encounters. This is what I would call when there is a notable leading or divine empowerment by the Holy Spirit. Let's look at Acts nine and 10. The Bible says there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias. And to him, the Lord said in a vision, Ananias, and he said, behold, I am here, Lord. Watch this, verse 11. The Lord said unto him, arise and go into the street, which is called Strait. And inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he prayeth. He had seen in a vision a

man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him that he might receive his sight. That is supernatural. When the Lord comes to you by a vision and gives you a word and says, arise and go, and he tells you the name of the street that you're gonna go to, the specific house that you're gonna go to, and the man that you're gonna talk to, that's supernatural. He didn't just stumble into that. He didn't end up at the house of Judas by accident or because it was the only house on the street that had power. He ended up at the house of Judas because he heard a clear word from God that said, get up from where you are, go to the street which is called Strait, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul because this is what you need to know. He's praying right now. Ananias, I'm telling you the street to go to and the house

to go to and the man to go to because I'm telling you the condition of that man's heart is turning towards me right now. That's supernatural. Now I'm gonna be honest with you. I wish that I could tell you that's where I lived every day of my life. It's not. If it's where you live, then maybe you should be teaching tonight. I live most of my days at the simple. But there are moments like this that God has for us and I'm submitting tonight that as we stop overlooking the simple and we start giving ourselves to the spiritual, we will find the supernatural. Wouldn't it be something if you woke up at six o'clock tomorrow morning and the Holy Ghost spoke to you and said you need to go to this house number on Wabash and knock at the door and you need to do it right now. I don't know what you'd be thinking. God, it's six 30 in the morning

Lord, they're probably not even out of bed and they're gonna have to get ready for work and I don't even know who lives there. But what if? I was just preaching in Maryland a couple of weeks ago for the rites and I had heard the story referenced and I asked Brother Wright, well we were there to tell me the story. Anybody ever heard of Brother Ron Libby? Pastor's a great church in Maryland. Bishop now, his son, Sean Libby is the pastor. Great church, beautiful building, multicultural. You know how Brother Libby got saved? Brother Chester Wright was out doing outreach one day and he was, I don't know if he was driving or walking, I can't remember but he was going through a city doing outreach and when he came by a house the Holy Ghost spoke to him and said you go to that door and you knock on that door right now, there's a young couple in that house who is searching

for me and they don't even know it. So Brother Wright knocked up to the door. Brother Libby and his wife opened the door but they weren't the Brother Libby and his wife that we know now. They were young hippies searching new age and mysticism and all these worldly ideologies. But God reached them because a man turned his ear to the spirit and in the middle of his day knocking door after just simple, God didn't tell him to knock every door he knocked that day. He was just giving himself to the simple, to the practical. He was going about looking for opportunity and in the midst of doing the simple, God turned him towards the supernatural and God said, hey, if you go to that house right now and you knock on that door, there's somebody who's heart, they're praying, they're looking for something spiritual and today there's a great church in Maryland, daughter works out of that church, there's hundreds if not thousands

of people that have been born into the kingdom because one man heard God say, that's the house and that's the door and those are the people. So I'm telling you, there are supernatural opportunities and what we see in Acts nine is exactly that. Ananias gets a specific word from God about where to go, who to ask for and what will happen and he does what we would all do because we're all human. Lord Saul, I know about Saul. He's the guy who's persecuting us, killing people and putting them in jail. You want me to go talk to him? Yes, because I'm giving you insight about the condition of his heart. He's praying to me now. I've heard even pastor, I've heard pastor tell the story about the lawyer's office or the man who worked for the county that the Holy Ghost spoke to him and said, you go into that office and he walked in and told the receptionist, I'm here to meet

with so and so, well, do you have an appointment? No, I'm sorry, I don't have an appointment. How do you do that? I'll tell you why he did that, because he heard from God. But I'm gonna tell you, there's a lot of people, pastor probably invited to new life and told about Jesus without hearing from God. But as you give yourself to the simple, God creates the opportunity for the supernatural. I remember the story, it was Hadley, was it not? I've heard pastor tell the story. She was in the hospital, the prognosis wasn't good, it didn't look good. Pastor, there's a great couple sitting right there because pastor heard from God about where to go and what to pray and what the outcome would look like. Now I promise you, he was doing a lot of practical outreach before that supernatural opportunity had came before him. But I'm telling you, there are supernatural opportunities all around us, but the only way we get

there is by giving ourselves to the simple and to the spiritual and then these supernatural things just seem to show up. Bishop Min, the man, I mentioned a few moments ago, in his mid to late 70s, he couldn't stop. I mean, he had started seven churches in his life already. He had retired and transitioned and his wife had passed away and he decided that he was gonna sell his house and leave us home and move to another city that didn't have a church and try to get it going. And so we had gone down to try to do outreach and pass out tracks and get some people to come to his Bible study at the hotel and we had been out doing outreach all day. I wish I could tell you that the Lord told me what door to knock on, but he didn't. We just knocked on doors and we stopped people on the street and we gave them flyers and told

them about the Bible study and we would talk about Jesus and just anybody who would listen, we were just, it's the simple, it's the practical. At the end of the day, we were all done and we went to Tim Hortons, which is unfortunate because it's not really good coffee, but you gotta take what you can get and we were coming out of Tim Hortons, ready to get in our car. We were just about to call it a day and drive home. And off of the distance, these two young men start running. I mean, they're sprinting towards us. They're yelling, waving their hands. So we stopped. They're probably 500, 600 feet away and they're sprinting through the parking lot and they come and they're huffing and they're puffing. He says, who are you guys? Well, my name's Dan. Well, what's your name? He said, we were over there at that traffic light getting ready to cross the street and when we looked across the

parking lot, we could see this gold glow hovering behind you. I wish I could tell you there's something great about me, but really there's not. I wish I could tell you that God had been speaking to me all day. If you go to this door and this person, there was no words of knowledge. There was no prophetic word. It was just simple all day. Hi, we're passing out invitations to a Bible study that's starting at the hotel down the road. At the end of the day, God allowed this supernatural opportunity. We didn't do anything. They chased us down by God opening their eyes. I'm telling you, there's supernatural opportunities all around us. A good friend of mine who pastors in Ontario, Canada, the church my wife grew up in. This is long before he was the pastor. He was just a young minister in the church, was walking down the street one day and he sees this big burly man who's now a

powerful evangelist in the United Pentecostal church. God used him in great ways all around the world. But back then, he worked for a drug dealer. He snorted $500 of cocaine a day. He had snorted so much cocaine he had no cartilage left in his nose. And he was walking down the street, doing his stuff. And Dennis walked over to him and said, you know what you need? He said, yeah, I need rehab. He said, no, you need the Holy Ghost. And so, you know where he went? He went to Tim Hortons because you gotta take what you can get. And Dennis started telling him about Jesus, talking to him about the things of God. He was so addicted that he couldn't sit there for one hour, he got out, walked into the dirty Tim Hortons bathroom to snort more cocaine off the back of the toilet seat. But you know where he was that Sunday? He was sitting in that church. And this

evangelist gets up and you know what he starts preaching on? Deliverance, drug, deliverance from drug addiction. There was only one drug addict in the house. But he got delivered that day. You see, there's opportunities all around us. It was a man who was just out simple, practical outreach. Wanted to invite somebody to church. And when he sees this man, he tries to bridge the gap. No, you don't really need rehab. You need Jesus. And in fact, you know, there's a little boldness that rises up in you in that moment when you say, you know what, I believe God could do something supernaturally. You need the Holy Ghost. He came that Sunday. He got baptized. He's never touched drugs since. And when he came up out of the water, you know what God did? He put cartilage back in his nose. There are supernatural opportunities all around us. And so I tell you tonight, we have got to get ready. You know, on a

good Sunday, I think what, there's 750, 800 people in here on a real good Sunday. So we've got almost enough seats to double that here in just a couple of months. We've got to get ready. So let me tell you, if we're going to be an outreach minded church, I got good news, I got bad news. Let me give you the bad news first. You've got to be prepared for rejection. Just settle it now. Because if you go into this knowing that you're going to be rejected, it's not going to wound you as much when it happens. Jesus said, Matthew 10, whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words when you depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Sometimes it's going to happen. Shake it off and move on. Because if we're not careful, we can allow one person's carnality to keep us from another person's hunger. And the Bible says it plainly, on the

day of Pentecost, some were amazed, some doubted. They were interested. They were curious, but a little bit skeptical. But then there were others, they just blatantly mocked. Hey, there are going to be some people who don't like you because how you live and how you dress and you talking, who cares? They're not going to like it, but I'm not going to allow the carnality of one person to keep me from the hunger of the next person. So just know this. Yes, you will be rejected. Somebody will say, no, somebody will doubt. Somebody will mock. But if you just keep doing the simple and the practical, the spiritual and the supernat, there will come a point that that rejection will turn into revival. That, yeah, they said no, and they said this, but there'll be somebody that says yes. And there'll be somebody that says, I need that. So just because you get rejected here, don't stop reaching out here because I promise you,

somebody's rejection is not going to stop somebody else's hunger as long as it doesn't stop you. Acts 8, 26, and 27. The Bible says, the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip saying arise and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. Again, this is a clear word from God. God is saying, Philip, get up from where you are. I'm telling you the direction that you need to go to. And the Bible says, he arose and he went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candice the Queen of the Ethiopian, she has charge of all her treasure, has come to Jerusalem to worship. And behold, as if to say, oh, look, there just so happens to be somebody here who's reading the Bible, reading the scriptures of Isaiah. Do you understand what you're reading? Well, how can I accept somebody tell me? And behold, as if to say, he

just happened to stumble upon this. No, he didn't just happen to stumble upon it. What happened was God said, get up and go and he got up and went. See, arise and go is not a command, is a command part of me, not a suggestion. And the Bible says, just a few verses later in verse 35, Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus. Now, I know we read this and we think, oh, Philip the evangelist and our mind creates this, dare I say, preacher celebrity. Oh, he must be so mighty. Well, let me just tell you, Philip was just like any one of us, but this is what he did right. He obeyed. When God said, get up and go, he got up and went. And when he got there, he opened his mouth. That's all we have to do. We just have to get up and go. We have to obey and we have

to open our mouth. Well, you say, I don't really know what to say. Jesus, he met the man where he was and he just started talking about Jesus. Hey, you might meet them at the weather forecast. You might meet them on the morning news. You might meet them on the frustration or a project at work on your lunch break. You might meet them in the aisle at the grocery store talking about what's on sale this week or meet them where they are, but just open your mouth and share Jesus. That's outreach. And because he did it, the man was baptized. Now, I know because I've been guilty of it. Sometimes we think, oh, Philip, he was gifted. He was powerful. I don't wanna minimize what God had done in Philip's life, but can I tell you the blessing and the power of God was not in Philip's calling. It was not in his gifting or his personality. It was in the fact he

obeyed and he shared the right word. He just did what God asked and he shared the right word. And that changed the heart of the man. And so I get ready to close now, Matthew 13 and verse three. The Bible begins to talk to us about the parable of the sower and it makes this statement, behold, a sower went forth to sow. The man is defined by his action. He's only a sower because he sows. And so it would not be true if he didn't sow. A sower is only a sower, now he can have the seed, he can hold the bag, he can own the barn, he can have the field. But if he doesn't actually sow, he's not a sower. So the Bible says he goes out and he starts sowing. It would go on to tell us of four different soils that the seed finds itself in. I in the past have preached on the four soils. I'm sure you

have studied and read and heard messages and teaching on the four soils. But I tell you tonight, we only know the condition of the soil after the seed is sown. Now maybe you don't do this, but if you're anything like me you think, well, they wouldn't really be receptive, their life is too good. Now they've got a nice house and nice cars and evidently their world's put together, they probably wouldn't receive this. You don't know until you sow. You only know the condition of the soil based on their response to the seed. So see if we're not careful, we can judge the soil before we sow and on the basis of what we perceive about people, we can withhold the seed. So the point is this, is that we have to just sow. We sow everywhere and we sow to everyone. And in the words of Brother Schock who I've heard say at many times, we love everyone, we sow everyone, but we

invest in responders. But I've got to just throw seed at the grocery store, at work, at school, with my friends, with my, I'm just constantly throwing seed. And I know the condition of their heart or their interest toward God based on their response to the seed. But if I'm not careful, I can make the mistake of judging them prematurely and not throwing the seed because I think, well, they would never receive it. You don't know what they do until you throw the seed. And Jesus said in Mark 419, it was the cares of this world that choke out the word, that stole the seed and kept it from being received into the heart of man and having effect in their lives. And I would challenge us tonight. The same thing that can keep them from receiving can keep us from sowing. The same cares of life that can keep them from receiving can keep us from sowing. I've been guilty of it. It's

not that we don't want to. It's not that we don't desire. We believe in this. That's why we're all here on a Wednesday night. But the cares of life overtake us. We become busy and our mind becomes consumed with the things of this world. And all of a sudden, the seed God put in our hand becomes secondary in our lives. And the same cares that keep them from receiving keep us from sowing. And so I say tonight, a sower must sow. We have to. We're not a sower unless we sow. We're not a sower by virtue of holding the seed. We're only a sower when we sow. Behold, a sower went forth to sow. May it be said of us that new life went forth to sow. Jesus said in Matthew 9, 37, and 38, then sayeth he unto his disciples, the harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that he will send

forth laborers into his harvest. The harvest truly is plenteous. But the laborers are few. If it was true then, how much more true is it now? That our neighbors and our coworkers and the people we pass by in the restaurant and the grocery store, these are they that he speaks of when he says the harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few. It's not that there was an opportunity, it's simply that there was no one to outreach. And so tonight I turn our eyes from this house to the field. I think, well, Zach, you're gonna, I sprung something on them last minute, so they're gonna help me out. But I was telling brother Shock this afternoon, we spent a couple hours together this morning. And I was telling him about what I was gonna teach tonight, I said, brother Shock, when I was praying last week, I felt God speak these words to me. As I was thinking about our church and

how full the sanctuary gets some Sundays, sitting in my chair in my living room, it's just like God whispered these words to me. He said, my house is full, but the fields are empty. He kinda looked at me funny. He said, have you heard that before? I said, no, he said, oh, that's an old song. He said, in fact, last week at West Virginia Camp, brother Huntley finished preaching and their district superintendent, brother Hurley walked to the pulpit and picked up the microphone and started singing it. We're written back in the early to mid-70s from a prophecy that came forth in a church service when the Lord said, my house is full, but my fields are empty. And I submit to us tonight that may we all commit ourselves to the work of outreach. I hope you get some supernatural stories. I hope I get my home, but it starts when we give ourself to the simple. We take time to engage

that person in conversation. With sincerity and concern and compassion, we try to connect with that individual. We try to get to know them. We try to serve them or be kind to them. That that simple act of service becomes a doorway to a greater spiritual opportunity. I pray tonight that we would all give ourselves to the work of outreach. I've tried to be practical in this presentation this evening, but I want to end, try to put a little burden on your heart. And I pray that the fields would be as full on Monday. As this house is on Sunday. Would you lift your hands as they sing? Would you stand together, just lift up your hands as she sings? Would you just lift up your voice and pray right now? Come on, there's a travail. There's an intercession here right now. God wants to birth something in somebody's heart. Would you just lean into that for a moment? What are you doing? I'm

praying right now that the Lord would send forth laborers in the name of Jesus Christ. Lord, put something in our hearts. I put a burden in our heart. I'm so cool. It's from our familiarity. It calls us to see different, feel different and think different. Almighty God. My name is Benny Demerchant. One of the greatest missionaries probably since the apostle Paul. When he went to the country of Brazil, there was nothing. When he left, I think 150 or something thousand constituents, whatever the number is. The Bible schools in the country of Brazil graduate more students every year than all of our Bible schools have attendees in North America. You know where it started? It started with Bishop Men's wife, Nila, preaching a revival in Perth and over New Brunswick, a little town of only three, 400 people. Nila believed that every revival she preached, she had to preach with one message on the call of God because people had to continually be visited

by the burden of the Lord. So in that little church in Perth and over, she began to preach about the call of God. Benny was just 13 or 14 years old and he said he went home from that church service and tossed and turned in his bed all night long over the country of Brazil. My heart is so heavy with the burden. God help us. Oh, help us God. Forgive us God when the cares of life have consumed so much of our emotion that we don't feel burdened. That we're not moved by burden. I feel it now Lord. I feel the weight of the city God. I feel the call of the field. Oh God. Jesus help us. You gotta, I'm sorry. I hope you know my heart. You gotta forgive me. I just can't rush through the moment. I mean, I'm standing here. I hear Sister Tammy's voice. I just, that's burden church. I mean, God's trying to stir something in us

here right now. Come on, if we're not careful, we can just, we can get comfortable in routine and we can get comfortable in the process and we can get comfortable in the performance and the cares of life can just suffocate all of our emotion until we don't feel burden anymore. Telling somebody here in the Holy Ghost tonight you need to get to a point where God can, God can restore your ability to cry in his presence. You've allowed so much of the world to consume your emotion that you don't allow emotion in the presence of God. You don't have any left for him. Oh God. Ha, yaramoshah, yehata, yehkote, analamahasata, yeah. Yehannorokoshanalamahasatokomane, yeah. Oh mighty God, mighty God, mighty God. Move us by a burden with the burden of the Lord for this city. Jesus, I pray that you would send forth labors from this house, from this great church and these precious people. The burden that brought our pastor and his family

here almost 24 years ago. It caused him to press through hard times and wearying seasons and fight discouragement and devils and cause him to press on in the face of every opposition. God, I'm asking that you would let that same burden trickle down into every household and every family, every member of the body, send forth labors.