The Cycle of Evangelism. Pastor Benjamin Foster. 8/25/24

well we are grateful for our being here on today here at Divine Encounter Church and uh we're going to go ahead and get started on today uh what a blessing it is that we can have time uh to share together to meet together and to Fellowship one with another at this time uh Benjamin my son Benjamin he's going to come and he's going to give us a scripture reading so let's receive him at this time acts chap 26 verse4 and it reads and when we are all Fallen to the Earth I heard a voice speaking unto me and saying in the Hebrew tongue Saul Saul why persecute thou me it is hard for thee to kick against the Pricks and I said who art thou Lord and he said I am Jesus whom thou persecute but rise and stand upon thy feet for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou Hast seen and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee delivering thee from the people and from the Gentiles unto whom now I send thee to open their eyes and to turn them from Darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inherit and inherit in inheritance among them which are Sanctified by faith that is in me praise God for the reading of his word praise God so at this time we're gonna move forward and have a a prayer have an opening prayer by my wife she's gonna come evangelist Mary Foster let's receive her at this time amen thank you Pastor Ben let us all stand and those who are in our virtual audience if you can go ahead we are going before the Lord in prayer father we are thankful father we're thankful for another day another opportunity another chance another privilege Lord that you've given us as Believers to come together oh we just say hallelujah hallelujah Glory To Your Name Lord hallelujah glory to your name we bless your name today Lord we honor you Lord today and we give you the praise today you are a worthy God and we just thank you Lord oh we lift you up today Lord and we bless your name Lord we give the glory to you because you're worthy of it we give the glory to you because the glory is all due to you you're our creator you're our maker oh Lord and we just Worship You Lord our hearts are bowed before you Lord we are humble before you oh Lord our god oh we humble ourselves before you oh god oh Lord we just bow before you in honor in reverence Lord God oh Lord we just give you the honor Lord because it is due you oh Lord you are Lord Oh Lord Our God how excellent Lord God is your name oh Lord Our God how wonderful is your name How Majestic is your name and we just come before you this day Lord in sincerity of heart in earnestness of Heart Lord we come before you Lord we make place for you we make room for you oh god oh we take this time Lord God just to say thank you to honor you Lord oh we just thank you Lord we give you the glory and oh Father we thank you Lord uh oh we lift you up Lord uh and we bless you oh God uh how wonderful Lord God it is to be before you how wonderful it is to be in your presence Lord God oh your presence is Rich Lord God your presence is awesome Lord God your presence is all encompassing Lord God and we just bask in your presence Lord we take a little time lord just to enjoy you Lord oh to experience you Lord oh for you're mighty in our lives you're great in our lives you're the one who gives us the victory over and over again we have Victory oh God in you uh oh and we thank you Lord oh as we come before you to worship you today Lord oh to look into your word Lord God Open the Eyes of our understanding Lord God oh give us deeper Insight Lord God as the word is ministered today Lord God anoint Pastor Ben Lord God as he ministers the word to us Lord God oh in the name of Jesus oh father we pray for your Supernatural Grace and ability Upon Us Lord God that we'll take your word and we'll live by it uh oh that we'll take your word and we'll use it in Warfare uh and that we'll take your word and we'll apply it daily that we'll take your word and we'll share it with others oh in the mighty name of Jesus we pray and Lord we just thank you right now for all things in Jesus name amen Pastor Ben is coming at this time praise God you may be seated in the house of the Lord and we want to go to a passage of scripture Matthew chapter 7 today and we're going to start at verse number 13 Matthew chapter 7 starting at verse number 13 okay and when you have it just say Amen okay Matthew chapter 7 starting at verse 13 where it reads enter ye in at the Straight Gate for wide is the gate and Broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be which go in there at because straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leadth unto life and few there be that find it for a topic on today we want to talk about the cycle of evangelism okay repeat that with me the cycle cycle of evangelism and so we want to uh look into this today and gather some wisdom from God's word uh the first thing is this we have to recognize In this passage of scripture that most people that hear the gospel don't put their trust in Christ and hold on until the end the vast majority of people don't make it in the end and they don't hold out until the end they may start in the Christian faith they may start in the Walk of Faith but they don't make it till the end this is what Jesus is dealing with uh how that uh many people would choose the broad path and the broad path does not lead to life the broad path doesn't lead to life okay so uh it's about which path people choose and which path they utilize okay and so in comparison to the vast numbers of people who choose the Broadway there's a much smaller percentage of people that will choose the narrow way okay uh there's vast numbers that will choose the Broadway is what Jesus is letting us know they'll choose the Broadway but very few very few are going to end up choosing uh the way that leads to life very few are going to choose the way that leads to life and so uh that's what it's about is who's going to choose uh the way that leads to life which is the Narrow Path okay uh and so you got vast numbers that make the wrong decision is what Jesus is telling us in this passage okay and so we've got to be prepared as saints of God okay we've got to be prepared as saints of God for the reality the reality that many people that do come to Christ initially they may not hold on until the end okay we've got to be prepared for that reality if you're going to be effective as an Evangelistic worker for Jesus Christ you got to be prepared for the reality that a lot of people don't hold on they don't make it till the end okay and hence the title the cycle of Evangel ISM and the fact that that's we've got to understand this we've got to understand this cycle that takes place people come into the kingdom they put their faith in Christ uh they last for a season and they may be sincere for a season but then sometimes they fall away they fall away and they go in the wrong direction they go in the wrong direction and end up uh going back to their old lives and so it's a it's a never ending cycle okay a never ending cycle until you find a group of people that are gonna hold on and they're gonna maintain their walk of Faith all right and so you got to be mentally prepared for that reality you got to be mentally prepared for this uh the the fact that people come and they go you got to be mentally prepared for that you got to be ready for that you got to be ready to deal with it when you're doing Evangelistic work okay and so you know uh there's a passage in Proverbs that talks about this issue as well Proverbs 14 and 12 it says there is a way which seeth right unto a man but the end thereof are the ways of what is it telling us it's telling us that many people are allured okay and attracted to a way that seems right many people will choose the way that seems right okay but that's not necessarily what is right okay because what it seems right to them but the end thereof are the ways of death okay so the cycle of evangelism what does it begin with well the cycle of evangelism should begin with prayer for the Lost okay that's the beginning of Evangelistic work you begin your Evangelistic efforts and you should always begin Evangelistic efforts with prayer okay prayer take a time period and say I'm going to really pray about this and going to trust God for special Grace that I can reach people who are lost I'm going to trust God for special empowerment anointing wisdom and divine favor so I can do evangelism this is something that we have to always recognize when we're doing this T this kind of work you cannot win people to Christ on your own you just can't do it you will always fail at winning people to Christ on your own this is why we must be people that are given to prayer if we're going to see people changed and transformed by the gospel you've got to be given to prayer You' got to pray consistently take a season and pray for the lost so that you would have special Grace in order to be able to what help them okay so your the cycle of evangelism has to begin with prayer okay this is a Biblical principle every uh the Bibles teaches that we should pray without ceasing okay the Bible teaches that we should be praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit the Bible teaches that men ought always to pray and not to faint so in any Endeavor not just evangelis not just evangelism in any Endeavor you ought to be given to prayer you ought to pray about it but especially especially when it comes to reaching the lost when it comes to reaching the loss you better pray okay because you're trying to take that which is most precious to the enemy away from him and what the devil values most is Souls of men he likes getting them putting them into chains and keeping them making sure they never escape and so what you got to realize is that uh you need to pray because of the dangerous nature of what it is that you're trying to do you're trying to go into the enemy's camp and take that which he values most okay you're trying to take that which he values most and it's not dangerous to us if we're fortified with prayer if we know God and we have a relationship with God and we spend time with God in prayer and ask God for his grace and of course there's no danger in it but if you don't go in with a prayerful heart if you're not given to prayer there can be uh danger why because you're going onto the enemy's Turf and you're trying to take something that he don't want to give up okay the cycle of evangelism has to begin with prayer uh the next step in the cycle of evangelism is that we have to after having prayed we have to take action with our faith is not enough to just pray for some uh people the mistake that they make is this uh the cycle of evangelism for them is basically pray pray pray and that's it but that cannot be the totality of the cycle of evangelism there has to be more to it than that if you merely pray you'll get some results but you're not going to get the the kind of results that you ought to have if you just pray okay I know that there are uh churches and things that don't really do Outreach and they just pray okay that does happen but the thing about it is that you're not going to be as effective as you should be if you take that approach because you're not doing it the way Jesus taught that you ought to do it you should begin with prayer but the next thing that you better do is you better take action with your faith you got to take action with your faith and do what preach the word just make it known doesn't mean that you have to uh stand in a pull pit and Proclaim it the way that a preacher would doesn't mean that you have to get out on a soap box and Proclaim it on a corner doesn't mean that you have to do that either but what it does mean is that you got to begin to make the gospel known you got to begin to have conversations you got to begin to talk to some people on a consistent basis okay and uh this has to be something that you weave into the very fabric of your life you got to get to the place where that this is just who you are it's just woven into who you are it's just what you do do you consistently and persistently attempt to share the word of Jesus Christ The Gospel of Jesus Christ that's what we've got to learn to do okay it's going to take some persistence it's going to take us it's going to also take us having to get used to uh being out of our comfort zone okay when you do Evangelistic work and you talk to people it's really out of your comfort zone as a human being okay uh it's out of the comfort zone it's something that's kind of different it's something it's a it's a new frontier it's different and uh your mind has to get adjusted to what it is that you're trying to do your mind has to get adjusted to the fact that you're going out of the coziness and the comfort of your home where you could just be sitting back relaxing and watching your favorite programs uh but instead of you doing what you feel like doing you're saying nope I'm getting out of my comfort zone I'm going out to where the people are and I'm gonna engage people and have conversations I'm gonna make Jesus Christ known Hallelujah so that's what evangelism really is all about is making K Jesus Christ and his message known doesn't mean that uh you have to explain every little detail to every single person because if you read through the Bible and you read the different accounts where the gospel is shared they don't share everything with every single person but what they what what happens is that they give pieces of the puzzle explain some things to a person based on where they are when Jesus spoke to the woman at the well you'll notice that he gave her pieces of the puzzle he explained some things to her helped her to understand some things more deeply but he didn't tell her everything and in that particular encounter I don't believe Jesus even talked about uh the fact that he was going to die and be risen from the dead in that encounter he didn't even go into that okay he just gave her some principles and some things that would help her along her way okay you got to be able to gauge where a person is you got to be able to determine where that person is in their walk uh and in their life and what they're ready for what are they ready for you got to be able to pick up on things and say okay this person where they're at I think that I need to focus on this level okay and just focus on the level that you deserve Ern that they can understand things I remember there was a young man in Ann Arbor me and another Elder were out doing some evangelism and we were talking to a young man he was in science he was getting I think he said he was getting a PhD and uh very well-educated young man and we were talking to him reasoning with him just trying to get him to consider the Gospel of Jesus Christ and in our conversation with him he let us know you know what well I'm gay he told us he was gay okay but you know what we did we focused on the gospel in talking to that gentleman in that particular situation we didn't go off into a a huge uh argument about why you ought to believe that your lifestyle is wrong we didn't deal with that we focused on the gospel okay why because we recognize this guy where he was at he was mixed up that you just had to focus on giving the basics giving the gospel okay we we recognized that it was not a situation it was not time for us to deal with uh his major issue this major sin issue in his life it was not time to deal with that at that particular Point okay so we gave him the seed that we could give him and try to get him to see that hey you need to get on the Lord's Side God has something much better for you God has many blessings for your life and you're focused on this present world but you need to be focused on eternity so we focused on that message and just helped him to see that hey this world is not going to last forever it's not wise for you to live your life with a notion uh and a focus uh on this present life and what it has to offer you we tried to get him to focus on the reality that there is an eternity that awaits us and so you got to figure out where people are and figure out what it is they really need to hear you see his deepest issue was that he just was not interested in God he just wasn't interested in God he just thought basically he didn't need God okay so we tried to deal with the core issue there okay and hopefully in his future if he begins to actually consider these things then he'll then God can deal with him further see you don't make it your practice when you do the work of evangelism don't make it your practice of trying to give them everything because they can't handle it as too much give them what uh they can handle give them a message tailored specifically to them in their specific needs okay all right so we take action we proclaim the word okay Romans 10:17 so then Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God you want people to have faith they got to hear the word of God you want people to believe the gospel you got to Proclaim it okay you got to make it known to them give them the word speak it to them give them the basis of the message of Jesus Christ okay make it known to them all right faith comes by hearing now what are the basics of our message what is the message that we preach okay sometimes we uh assume that everyone understands the basics of the message of the Gospel but I want to make sure that we all understand the basics today the basics of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and what people people have got to understand okay well uh the first thing that people have got to understand is that all of humanity is in sin okay Romans 323 says for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God this is one of the most important things for you to make known to people when you're sharing the gospel when you're sharing the gospel and giving them the word you got to First help them to understand the problem that they have the issue that we have as human beings because if they don't understand the problem they're not going to be interested in your cure your solution that you're offering them you got to make sure they understand that there is a problem okay that's one of the first things that we have to give people it's helped them to see you know what do you realize that all of us have sinned there's don't you see this there's a problem this world is in a fallen state is is there's war there's disease uh there's uh crime okay there's all kinds of evil that's going on in the world okay there's brutality between human beings humans are very brutal and barbaric towards each other okay uh you can't trust anybody in this world this world is full of lying and deceit this world is full of hate okay you help people to see that this world is in a bad State and that we as human beings we've all sinned okay and I think that what you'll find is that that point is a point that most people you won't have any problem with people agreeing with that when you share the gospel people mark my word you won't have people that disagree with you on that issue say look all have sinned and come short of the glory of God we've all done wrong we're all in a state where that we have done wrong against our creator we have violated our moral uh our moral our own moral nature we've violated our consciences okay that's what I'm referring to the conscience is the is that part of you that deals with morality okay the conscience is a light that God has placed within all of us all of us have a light that shines on the inside of us and it gives us Insight concerning what is right and what is wrong okay the conscience and so when you give them the word of God and you tell them hey we've all sinned humanity is in a bad State we've all sinned even if they don't fully understand it you're planting that seed you're getting that first understanding into their heart that there's a sin problem there's a problem with man okay we've all sinned okay another thing that people have got to understand is that our sins have separated us from God our sins have separated us from God it's not that God is trying to uh be separated from us is that our sins our sins are separating us from God so that's another Point people have got to understand okay sin separates us from God it it creates a gap it makes it where that we are distant from God estranged from God disconnected from God instead of having fellowship and Walking with God and knowing god sin causes us to hide from God sin causes us to stay away from God sin causes us to run from the preacher okay this is what sin does it causes us to live in this kind of a uh State this kind of a foolish way of living and we miss out on the blessings and The Graces of God because of sin okay your sin separates you from God then H after that we can uh we then need to make sure that they understand that God has provided a way to bridge the gap between himself who is Holy and and pure and without any sin he's made a way to bridge the gap between himself and sinful man so though we are sinful and defiled and we've done wrong and we have fallen uh from his standard God is offering a way to be reconnected there's a bridge that he has provided there's a bridge that God has provided between himself and man there's a bridge that God has provided that allows us to avoid the Judgment in the wrath of God and instead walk freely into his glorious Kingdom there's a bridge that God has made available and the bridge that God has made a available is through Jesus Christ it's through Jesus Christ and Jesus alone he's the bridge he's the way that we are reconnected to God he's the way that we can have relationship with God again though we have fallen and though we have sinned and though we have gone the wrong way and all have sinned and we've all come short of his glory god is loving God is merciful and God doesn't want anybody to perish he doesn't want a single person to be lost and so he's provided a way of Escape God's way of Escape is his son Jesus Christ you need Jesus people say you know what well I don't need the gospel I don't need Jesus and things like that I have a good life I'm happy I'm happy well they they're misunderstanding the greatest reason why they ought to receive Jesus the greatest reason that a person ought to receive Jesus is not because they can be made happy but the greatest reason that a person should receive Jesus is because they can be made right with God they can have righteousness they can stand before God in peace in the day of judgment and none of us know when that day will be none of us know when we're going to leave this world we are it's appointed unto men once to die and after this the Judgment we're all getting out of here all of us are going to die that's just the reality death is something that is uh absolutely unavoidable okay we're g to die we're getting out of here Jesus Christ the reason that all of mankind needs Jesus is because of the fact that we're all going to die and we all are going to stand before a holy God and he is our only way he is the only way that man who is sinful can stand before God who is Holy and Jesus is the only way that man who is finite who is going to die can have eternal life so we need Jesus in order to have have eternal life we need Jesus in order to deal with the issue of Eternal death so people go must understand that that they need Jesus to bridge the gap Jesus has bridged the Gap once and for all for all through the cross of Calvary he has bridged that Gap he has made a way that's what we've got to make known to people Jesus is the way so we Proclaim this and then we've got to make sure that people understand that Jesus Christ suffered for the sins of the world he died on a Rugged Cross he paid our price he paid our penalty he paid a fine that none of us could pay Jesus Christ paid your fine he paid your penalty and his life's blood at Calvary Jesus Christ paid the price he paid the ultimate price he died for the sins of the world he suffered brutally under the uh Wicked Roman Empire he was turned over to their hands and he suffered horrifically under pontious pilate but after his suffering and his death God raised him from the dead he was Vindicated by the resurrection from the dead he was Vindicated and God demonstrated clearly that Jes Jesus Christ was his only begotten son and he demonstrated clearly that Jesus Christ is the way by raising him from the dead and thus Jesus Christ is distinguished from any other man in human history because Jesus Christ died a horrible death a death that you definitely could not come back from you couldn't revive a man that was crucified the Romans were very skilled at killing people and putting people to death and crucifying people and making sure they were dead but after three days Jesus Christ was distinguished because he got up from the grave by his own power he got up from the grave and he defeated death never to die again you see when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead Lazarus still had to go back to the Grave okay if you go to a hospital and maybe you died for three minutes and you weren't breathing if you come back you still have got to one day die you come back uh from that they resuscitate you and revive you still have got to die okay and so Jesus is distinguished in that he has been risen from the dead he's come back from the dead but he'll never die again okay he'll never die again he lives forever more Hallelujah there's nobody else that can say that that is God's testimony to the reality that Jesus Christ is his son and that Jesus Christ is the way that's God's way of testifying to it he has made it abundantly clear that is Jesus Christ Hallelujah he is the way okay and so people must learn that what they need to do to receive the Gospel to receive Jesus Christ is they must repent of their sins they must make a decision that I'm going to repent I'm going to turn from what is wrong to repent is means that you have a change in your mind it means that you your perspective is different okay and it means that you turn from sin and you turn to God so that's what God is looking for from man he wants man to turn from sin and to turn to him and to trust the gospel why it's our only way of Escape it's the only hope some people might say well you know what I don't like that I I want to be a Muslim I want to be a person that follows Judaism I want to follow uh Buddha you see but the thing about it is that you we don't get a choice in the matter okay we don't get a choice in this matter it's Jesus Christ Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life no man cometh unto the father but by me acts 4 and12 says neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name under Heaven given among men whereby we must be saved it's Jesus alone we can't choose a way our own way to heaven we can't by our own uh effort come up with a way and a means to solve the problem of our Eternal condemnation it took God to solve the problem because God knows our nature like no one else and he knew what to do to solve the problem and Jesus Christ is the means by which God has solved this problem he is the way Hallelujah he is the way and so uh Jesus Christ died he was buried and was risen again on the third day and what people must do is they must repent of their sins and Trust the gospel trust that Jesus Christ Alone atoned for their sins trust that Jesus Christ alone and what he did uh paid the price for their sins people are so quick to try to say I'm a good person and that's enough to get me into heaven people are so quick to grab a hold of that and say I'm a good person I'm a good person you don't understand I've done a lot of good but the Bible makes it very clear that our our own Good Deeds our own righteousness is like what filthy rags it's not going to be enough okay it's not going to justify us before a holy God it's God's way or the highway we got to do it God's way God's way God provided the way we got to do it through Jesus Christ all right so we gotta proclaim the message H in this cycle of evangelism okay and then after a person comes to Faith the next step is that we got to help them in their Christian growth and development we got to help people in their Christian growth and development help them to understand the basics of what it means to live for the Lord help them to understand the things that they need to understand in order to continue in the faith strengthen them encourage enourage them and help them to grow and as they grow and they begin to understand things we can then help to train them to reach out to the Lost we can then put effort in and say okay let's train them let's develop them let's teach them so that they will be able to then reach out to the Lost let's get them developed so that they will have what they need in order to reach people too and that's the goal is that we want to bring people to Faith in Jesus Christ but we also want to help to train them so that one day they can help somebody else Hallelujah they can help somebody else to come to Christ uh now in this cycle of evangelism we have to realize as I mentioned earlier that some Believers they're going to depart from the faith they'll be saved loving the Lord and they they'll depart from the faith what will happen they'll go back to their old ways they'll go back to their old ways look at 1 Timothy 4 and1h it says now the spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith okay so this is what Paul is letting you know he let you know some people they going to depart they'll be saved they'll be living for the lord they're going to depart from the faith when he says the faith he's talking about the Christian faith okay some people they gonna depart they're not GNA hold on they'll come in for a season they'll be excited for a season then they'll unfor they'll walk away okay they'll go back to their old ways but we've got to seek to restore such people to the Lord that's one thing that we can do we can seek to restore them try to help them out if they will allow us okay we follow up with such people try to reason with them try to win them back to the Lord help them to see that hey don't don't give up on your walk with the Lord don't give up on uh your greatest treasure the greatest blessing you that that could ever happen to any person don't give up on it but hold on okay hold on to your faith in Jesus Christ so we seek to restore such people to the Lord is one thing that we can do but our role as Believers okay and it's not just don't think of it as just being for the pastors to do this our role as Believers is is to do what to help to educate people to help to teach people okay um I'm here seeking to develop you as Believers so that you would be able to help to educate and teach and strengthen others that are believers that you'd be built up so that you'd be able to be a blessing to someone else so that uh other people that are in the church you'll be able to give them a helping hand and you'll be able to say some words to them that will cause them to keep going rather than quitting I don't want to live for the Lord okay we that's what we all do as Believers okay we uh we help to educate people teach people I want all of you all of you as members in this church I want all of you to learn the word of God and know it to the to the degree that you can help to educate other somebody else you can help to teach somebody else I want this to be h a Ministry where that we are all learned and uh have a good understanding of God's word so that if somebody has a question they can get help okay and I know that there are some who have a Greater Grace in that area but still the goal should be that all of us as Believers know how to encourage and help other Believers and teach them in basic truths okay so educate teach okay uh the new converts intercede for the new converts okay you got to intercede for people people need prayer okay they it takes intercession you gotta pray and ask God that he would move in their life to keep them in the faith keep them from veering away from uh from just the Simplicity of the Gospel then we fellowship with uh new converts fellowship with them okay spend time with them talk with them Fellowship right okay Fellowship is a part of what we do we exhort them and encourage them we strengthen them by giving them things that would help them to be strong we strengthen them and we plant God's word in the hearts of all that come to us that's what God wants us to do as Believers okay so realize that people come and they may get saved and everything but you got to realize that it's a it's a NeverEnding cycle okay it's a cycle that takes place people coming listening hearing getting some nuggets of Truth getting some counsel fellowshipping with us learning by observing us learning by uh spending time with us they do this for a period of time and it is the hope of God that we are so effective at what we do that we impact the people in such a profound way that they will want to continue in their walk with the Lord okay that's what God is desirous to see in us okay we plant the word okay it's not up to us to make a person stay and continue in the faith but it's up to us to plant the seed of the word give them understanding give them knowledge give them Insight it's up to us to make sure that people are developing in their walk of faith and so that if they do fall away if somehow they do Fall Away we would have planted a whole lot in them over time we would have planted a lot of good seeds in them a lot of good wisdom in them that would help them to come back to the Lord okay so we plant God's word in the hearts of all that come to us be faithful in planting the seed okay okay realize that it's a cycle you don't know where people are it may be 20 years from now before a person's going to really wake up and follow the Lord but you are playing a part you're playing a part by what you are doing today okay all the good that you're doing today is is having an impact is having an impact and we won't know the impact that we've had until we leave this world and we go on into eternal but make no mistake about it God is going to use what you do he's going to use it he's GNA use uh your efforts your your efforts are not in vain God is going to reward your efforts he's going to use it and people are going to be helped and there's people that are going to be blessed and brought to the very kingdom of God and you won't even necessarily know about it you won't even know about it it could happen uh years down the line there's a man of God who uh was very stubborn and it took him a a good while to come to faith in Christ but I do believe he's a genuine Apostle based on my observation of his ministry I do believe he's a genuine Apostle he has a powerful powerful Ministry and uh you know what he was talking about concerning his life is this he said he was out there in the world and he was determined basically to find something other than Christianity that was true he was just trying anything but Christianity he had his mind made up Christians can't be right he was all arrogant he didn't want to listen to Christians he said many Christians came to him and and spoke to him though witnessed to him he said he would just laugh like he thought it was funny he was like these Christians they don't know and so he got off into all these weird religions and things trying to find truth but ultimately he ended up coming right back and humbling himself and receiving the gospel you see and so the many people the Christians that went to him they may not know the impact that they had they may have forgot they talked to that guy but now he's a mighty Apostle of Jesus Christ and now he's being used by God to shake the world for Jesus Christ hallelujah hallelujah so you don't [Applause] know you don't know the impact that you're having so let's be faithful in reaching out doing all we can let's just uh let's give ourselves to that say well I'm going to do all I can can to reach people consistently and be faithful uh in that task because if you do your part you better believe God is gonna do his part amen may we all stand Hallelujah glory to God praise be to God let's trust the Lord let's believe God uh for his grace for his wisdom to help more people to be a blessing to more people let's let's let's trust God for that that he would Empower us that he would give us of his Divine wisdom his strength and his anointing to impact more people for Jesus Christ it's a cycle okay but we got to keep we got to keep the cycle going we got to keep it going it's a it's a cycle that's uh that's seemingly never ending okay until people get settled in the faith and begin to really get serious about living for the lord it's just a it's a cycle it's a cycle so we want to let's trust God okay let's believe God to take us higher to make us more effective as uh workers for that reach out to others dear heavenly father in Jesus name thank you for your word on today thank you Lord God for understanding and knowledge and insight the level that you have given us the wisdom that you have given us the grace that you have given us but dear father we pray today that you would take us higher dear God take us higher oh God take us to a higher place a higher uh place in you where that we can impact more people make us more effective oh God than we've ever been before Oh God let genuine Excellence oh God emerge in our lives as we do your work and do the ministry cause us Lord God to be highly effective give us favor extraordinary favor oh God we need your favor give us extraordinary favor Lord God so that when we go and we do Outreach Lord God that people would have an openness to us they would have an openness to the word people that normally Lord God might not have any openness whatsoever that they would have a new openness oh God move by your spirit move in a powerful way oh God let this region be shaken for Jesus Christ shake this region Lord God by the power of your word by the power of your Holy Spirit Shake this region wake this region up stimulate people's hearts stimulate people Lord God to pray stimulate people to seek your face give us wisdom's insight and creative ideas and strategies to reach our generation oh God let us give us persistence and divine wisdom to reach people and to see them genuinely changed cause genuine change to take place be with us give us your grace and we trust you for these things in Jesus name amen praise God at this time we're gonna have uh my wife to come and she you give us uh any announcements that you need to give us and go ahead and give us the benediction as well thank you Pastor Ben we may all be seated God bless you the Divine Encounter Church week announcements are as follows Sunday afternoon our worship service is held at 3:00 p.m. our meeting location is the Wasau Community College Morris Lawrence building room number ml150 we invite you to come and share with us come and be with us starting in the month of September we will have college Sunday and we will have college Sunday each Sunday for the entire month of September so we're calling all college students college students at Washton a Community College University of Michigan campuses as well as Eastern Michigan University we'll even extend into Wayne County so college students we're inviting you to come and be with us here an inspirational message be encouraged for the college year come and be strengthened also our midweek Services Wednesday morning is our prayer call from 6 o'clock until 7 o'clock a.m. and Wednesday evening at 7 o'clock pm. is our Bible study our Bible study is YouTube live for our conference call number and our YouTube channel go to our website ite at www. Divine encounter church.net come and be a part of divine Encounter Church God bless you let us all stand as we are being dismissed Lord we just come thanking you Lord God for the opportunity that we had to Fellowship thank you oh God for the ministering of your word today the cycle of evangelism father we pray that it will be placed in our hearts the need to share Christ the need to take action the need to pray for the Salvation of others the need to stand in the Gap and intercede that others might be drawn into the kingdom Let Your Grace rest upon us that we will deciple others as they're brought into the kingdom that will train work teach and develop them that they will be powerful bold Witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus Christ Lord we thank you for this service and let us depart with a mind stayed on you and a desire to evangelize in Jesus name amen and we are dismissed