How was Christmas?

Good?

You had a good time?

You're sure?

Okay.

You know, I was watching something that, you know, these guys making fun of people after Christmas.

They don't know what they're doing.

What day is it?

What's happening?

You know, is it boxing day?

Is it what day is it?

Sometimes you get lost after Christmas, do you?

Sometimes I do.

I'm like, what day is it?

Is it Tuesday, Wednesday?

I don't know.

But welcome.

Are you glad to be here?

All right.

Praise God.

We're going to be in Acts chapter 21.

Open your Bibles.

Acts 21, Acts 24, and Acts 26.

Okay?

I'm going to be right there.

So please make sure you open your Bible and put maybe your finger there or a bookmark or a pen or something there.

Okay?

Acts chapter 21.

The question I hear frequently is one that's like this.

It says, what's God's will for my life?

Everyone asks this question.

Might be on the patio after prayer night.

You know, I might be walking around.

What's God's will for my life?

After YA, wherever.

What's God's will for my life?

It's a question I hear every time.

What career should I take?

Where should I live?

Should I go on a mission trip?

That one is a big one.

Should I go on a mission trip?

Should I get, to whom should I get married?

Okay.

Should I support the Raiders or the Cowboys?

I don't know.

Okay.

Okay.

What's God's will for my life?

I wish the answer to that question was very simple because God sometimes does not give us, hey, in 10 years, we're going to be here, right?

He usually gives us like a day or two or a next step, right?

But perhaps the answer to the question is simple.

See, as we approach 2025, what is one of the things that God is calling you to do?

What is one thing that God is calling our church to do?

One of my...

favorite movies is called the finest hours okay how many of you have watched it it's got the finest hours really good movie uh clean fantastic it's a true story of the most daring coast guard rescue mission ever which took place in the 50s so picture this it's 1951 there's a fierce storm off the coast of Massachusetts with winds up to 50 to 60 miles an hour and creating 50 foot waves It has been reported and reported that two oil tankers have split in half off the coast.

Bernie Weber, who's played by Chris Pine, is instructed by his commander to go rescue survivors on one of the ships called Pendleton.

OK, one of the ships is one of the ships.

The half is floating on the ocean.

OK, true story.

Amazing.

OK, they can hear a distress call on this floating ship.

or half a ship you may say as weber talks to as weber walks to the common area in at the station a couple of older fishermen caution bernie and tell him hey do not listen to your commander okay just jump into the water pretend that you're going to go rescue these guys and come back because it's too dangerous for you to go out there in fact they they are so adamant and this is what bernie bernie says this i have to go out.

This is coast guard regulation because he's a stickler for rules.

When he gets the common area, he stands there and the men know exactly why he's there.

Some turn away from him and some stay silent, which I would understand.

I mean, he's going to ask them to go into a storm in order to see if they're people on this ship.

I would understand.

I would be like, no, I don't want to do that.

This is a dangerous storm.

They're going to risk their lives to see if there are people on the ship.

After an awkward silence, one of the guys says this.

He says, you know, he's eating a bowl of something.

And he says, someone has to go out there and get these guys.

This is what I signed up for.

Now is my chance.

Barney's crew of four head out on this boat and they're tossed around by several waves and in the process the boat loses its campus.

The crew realizes they don't have a campus, they have no idea where they're going and they start debating on whether they should continue on this journey on this rescue mission.

This is what Bernie says this, we are not giving up on them, not on my watch, we cannot leave them there alone.

Something in Weber's training had transformed him, he had to go carry out his commander's orders, there was absolutely no plan B for Weber.

I have to get to that boat and see if there are people there.

Okay, now put that to the side.

Now let's jump to the scripture.

Okay, we're in Acts 21.

Paul, everyone knows Paul.

Paul wrote about 60% of the New Testament.

Paul took God's mission to the world extremely seriously.

Everyone who's read the New Testament, you've heard about the Apostle Paul.

He's a serious guy, right?

In Acts 21, Paul leaves the Ephesian church and is arrested upon arriving in Jerusalem.

He's falsely accused for starting a riot.

Huh.

Who else was falsely accused for starting riots and trying to overthrow Caesar?

Jesus, right?

It was Jesus.

So he gets arrested and then he gets arrested by the Roman guard.

But then he asks the commander, he says, hey, commander, I need to say something to these people.

They are upset with me, but I need to share something with them.

So Paul proceeds to share his testimony of how.

He was just like the Jews, feeling zealous for God, and he was persecuting and imprisoning and killing Christians.

So then Paul shares his story about how he encountered Jesus on his way to Damascus, and the Spirit of God then commissions Paul to share the gospel to the Gentiles.

Paul tells them that an early church member named Ananias gave him these words.

So Acts chapter 1, these are the words from God given by Ananias.

to Paul.

He says, you will be his witness to all people of what you've seen, Jesus, and what you've heard.

And now, what are you waiting for?

Get up, be baptized, wash your sins away, calling on his name, on the name of Jesus, okay?

So, Paul is sharing what happened.

Now, go to Acts chapter 24.

You got to stay with me, okay?

I'm going to build it up here.

Paul...

is under imprisonment okay we're jumping paul is still under imprisonment and he's sent to cesarea because there was a plot a plot to kill him i have to change my accent every so often gotta figure out there was a plot not a plot a plot to kill him he's given over to the protection of governor felix even here paul cannot help it okay here we go ox 24 24 to 25.

Several days later, Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish.

He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about, if you have a Bible underlined, he spoke about faith in Jesus, okay, or highlighted.

As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control, and judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, that's enough for now.

That's enough for now.

You may leave.

When I find it convenient, I will send for you.

Notice Felix's reaction.

He's afraid.

He just heard the word of God and he gets afraid.

Something is going on in his life.

Okay.

This continued for two years.

Okay.

Now let's go.

Let's jump to chapter 26.

Okay.

I'm setting this up.

Jump to chapter 26.

Open your Bible.

I want to hear them flipping.

Okay.

Chapter 26.

Okay.

Caesarea is now under a new governor.

His name is Festus. Jewish leaders now are still wanting to get rid of Paul.

So they travel to this city to accuse Paul once again.

As he stands before Governor Festus, King Agrippa and the Jewish leaders, Paul makes his case once again.

He shares about how God transforms him and then he's commissioned by him.

He tells them that he was once a murderer, killing Christians.

I mean he's repeating this.

over and over again why he understood the real cosmic story and he had a new mission so here we go this is a long one okay acts chapter 26 here we go verse 22 to 29 this is paul he's now sharing in front of governor festus he's sharing in front of king agrippa here we go but god has helped me to this very day i stand here and testify to small and great alike so in this audience we have you Kings, we have maybe servants, we have different kinds of people there, okay?

I'm saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen.

That the Messiah would suffer and as the first to rise from the dead would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.

At this point, Festus interrupted Paul's defense.

He says, you are out of your mind, Paul, he shouted.

Your great learning is driving you insane.

You're crazy.

Then Paul says, I am not saying most excellent festers, Paul replied.

What I am saying is true and reasonable.

The king is familiar with these things and I can speak freely to him.

I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice because it was not done in a corner.

King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets?

I know you do, he says.

Then King Agrippa said to Paul, do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a c**k?

Christian?

Paul replied, short time or long, I pray to God that not only you, but all who are listening to me today may become what I am except for these chains.

Paul is preaching.

Paul is preaching, people.

Okay, he's in chains and he's just doing, he's just saying things.

Okay, God's word though is doing something and you can tell King Agrippa is now being persuaded.

Listen again.

Paul says, I pray that everyone listening to me today becomes what I am.

This was, there was a pre-gospel Paul and there was a post-gospel Paul.

Paul believed in the greatest story in the universe and its power to transform anyone because it had changed him.

Chains, prison, religious leaders, politicians.

could not stop Paul from talking.

The early Christians knew that when they became Christians they had signed up to do something important.

They had signed up to proclaim God's word because it had the power to transform anybody.

It could transform people, families, and communities.

Now I want to show you, thank you, I want to show you how this happened to Paul's life.

Okay number one.

If you're taking notes, Paul was bold.

Paul was bold.

If you're taking notes, okay?

Paul did not shy away from preaching the gospel even when he was bound in chains.

Nothing could stop this guy.

In the book of Romans he writes, for I, I am not ashamed of the gospel because it's the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.

First the Jew, then the Gentile.

For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written, the righteous shall live by the righteous shall live by faith.

So Paul having been changed by the public gospel becomes drastically different.

He had lived one way and now Jesus had captured his heart and he lived a life that he once loathed.

He hated Christians.

But now because Christ had captured him, he's now living a Christian life.

This is because God had transformed him.

The power of God can transform anyone.

Okay, so number one, Paul was bold.

Number two, Paul was prepared.

Always prepared.

Because Paul knew God's word can transform those who believe, because he knew the greatest story had changed his life, he was always prepared to talk about it.

Listen to what the Apostle Peter says.

So Paul is doing what Peter says.

Paul was very prepared to give an answer for the hope that he had in Jesus.

So in front of Festus, in front of Felix, in front of King Agrippa, no matter what they asked him, Paul had an answer.

And he answered articulately and clearly.

And it seemed like Paul had kind of memorized the events in his life and he had put them together in a way that he could.

Share the gospel with gentleness and respect.

In fact, if you read the book of Colossians, it says this in Colossians chapter 4, and pray for us too, that God may open a door for our message so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ for which I am in chains.

Pray that I may proclaim it clearly as I should.

Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders.

Make the most of every opportunity.

Then he says, let your conversations always be filled with grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

There's lots of everyone's.

Lots of everyone's.

People are going to be asking you about your faith.

Everyone is going to be asking you about your faith if they see it.

Are you ready?

Do you know how to answer?

Paul was always prepared.

Observe that Paul was constantly asking God for an open door to talk about the mystery of Christ.

The hope that he had in Jesus.

The greatest story in the universe because it had the power to transform lives.

It did.

This is what he signed up for when he said, I am a Christian.

When Paul said, I am going to follow Jesus, he knew what he had to do.

He had to share the gospel.

Then he challenged the Colossians to make the most of every opportunity to share the good news of the gospel, but to do so with grace and gentleness.

So number one, Paul was bold.

Two, Paul was prepared, always prepared.

Number three, Paul was supernaturally empowered.

Paul's transformation happened by becoming filled with the Holy Spirit.

If you want to hear the story, you have to go back to Acts chapter 9.

Okay?

That is where Luke writes about what happened to Paul.

At that time, he was called Saul.

Okay?

Now, there's always a mistake thinking Paul, God changed his name.

God did not change Paul's name.

His name was Saul.

but because it was going to Gentiles, it was, he changed his name to Paul, so he could be able to relate to the Gentiles.

God did not change it, okay?

It's like saying Michael and Miguel, something like that, okay?

Here we go.

Then Ananias, chapter 9, Acts chapter 9.

Then Ananias went to the house and entered it.

Placing his hands on Saul, he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road as you are coming here has sent me so that you may see again.

and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Immediately something like scales fell from Saul's eyes and he could see again.

He got up, got baptized and after taking some food he regained his strength.

He had been fasting for a while okay.

Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.

At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and all those who heard him were astonished and asked, isn't he the man who raised half a in Jerusalem and among those who call his name and hasn't he come here to take those prisoners to the chief priests yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.

Lots of scripture here but we're going to put it together okay.

So Paul or Saul at that time accepted Jesus, became baptized, then he's discipled by a group of people in Damascus.

He spent several days with them as he gets to know about this Jesus.

He gets to know about who the Messiah is and how Jesus is the Messiah.

And then Paul is unleashed.

He goes into the synagogue, the temple, and he's just preaching like crazy.

People are like, huh, that's the guy who was killing people.

What just happened?

He was killing everybody.

Now he's preaching about the guy who was trying to kill.

That's crazy, right?

Observation.

Verse 21 says, isn't that the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem?

People have noticed something.

There's a transformation in Paul.

An encounter with Jesus and discipleship had changed his life.

He was not ashamed of the gospel.

He knew what had happened.

So he was going to talk about it.

Amen?

Yeah, you know where this is going.

I can feel that.

Okay?

Note, Paul's transformation.

immediately leads him to go tell it on the mountain over the hills right he goes and shouts at the rooftop that's why people like just like what is wrong with this guy Paul and Peter know that people at the time were on a sinking ship they knew people were dead in their sin in their transgressions and their only hope was about hearing about the greatest story in the universe.

The story that has the power to change and to save everyone.

Being a Christian in the early church meant being evangelistic.

When you said, I am going to follow Jesus, it did not include coming to church twice a month and securing a spot in heaven and living the rest of your life like you choose.

It means I signed up for a mission.

When you became a Christian, It wasn't about just coming to church and chilling out.

You have a mission.

They had a mission.

We had part one, that was part two, now part three.

It is very well known in America right now that we are slowly but surely becoming a secular nation or country, even though we see pockets of revival happening.

We do see that, okay?

In fact, there's been a renewed interest in people buying Bibles.

We've seen Bible sales going up, and that's a good thing.

Yay!

Praise the Lord, right?

Praise God, yeah.

So that's good.

However, Pew Research reported in 2022 that with each generation, progressively fewer adults retain the Christian identity they were raised in, which in turn means fewer parents are raising their children in Christian households.

If you don't believe me, go to a public school and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Okay?

It's crazy.

Now, I'm going to share with you five myths about evangelism that may explain...

why you and I may not be passionate about evangelism.

And I want you to find out which one that maybe resonates with you.

Okay, are you ready?

Okay, myth number one, are you ready?

Okay, myth number one.

Evangelism comes naturally to some people, and they're the ones God expects to be evangelistic.

Is that yours?

Okay.

Myth number two.

Anybody who would be interested in following Jesus already goes to church.

That's myth.

Some of us think like that.

We think, oh, if someone is interested in going to church, they're going to just walk up to church because they want to find Jesus.

Okay.

Myth number three.

Since non-believers are without excuse for rejecting God, we shouldn't feel guilty for remaining silent.

Because the Bible says that everyone, God has revealed himself to everyone, whether naturally or through specific revelation.

We think, oh, everyone has had an opportunity to know who God is.

Okay, that's what some people think.

That's myth number three.

Myth number four.

You should always build a friendship with someone first in order to earn a right to share the gospel.

I don't see that in the Bible anywhere.

Now.

Is it good to have relationships with people and have your one life that you spend time with?

Absolutely.

But does it mean that you cannot share the gospel with a stranger?

No.

Myth number five.

People take a long time to come to faith, so we shouldn't press for decisions.

Okay?

So I've given you five.

Which myth have you believed, whether subconsciously or consciously?

Which one have you allowed?

to determine the way you choose to evangelize okay which one put that in your mind so the result has been that preaching the gospel today and sometimes i think at one and all is that it has fallen squarely on pastors if the church grows yay pastor jeff if it declines what is pastor jeff not doing or pastor mike or pastor rory or whatever right Right?

We start blaming pastors for whether the church grows or not.

However, that is true to an extent, yes, but we forgot that every believer has a mandate.

Every one of us has a mandate.

If you call yourself a Christian, you have an obligation because you signed up for a mission to preach the gospel.

You did, right?

So this begs the question, how has the greatest story in the universe impacted you do you actually believe the words of jesus do you that he has the power to save those who are perishing do you actually believe that or are you oblivious to the people around you who are far from god who need saving do you just go on your day and like man okay people next to me i don't care i'm not gonna share the gospel These people are on a sinking ship.

It's broken.

They're going to hell.

They are going to die.

They're going to be away from God, separate from God for eternity.

And they need to hear about a God who can rescue them into a deep love and eternal life.

They need to.

Romans 10.

How then can they call on the one they have not believed in?

How can they believe in the one?

in the one whom they have not heard how can they hear without someone preaching to them how can they If God has not had the biggest impact in your life, or if God has had the biggest impact in your life, let's assume He's transformed you by the power of His Holy Spirit and His Word, then why don't we have the passion to share the good news of the gospel to people who are far from Him?

Or maybe since people don't see the impact of Jesus on your life, they don't have a reason to be curious about why your life is different.

Right?

Maybe they don't see a difference.

I don't know.

I'm just putting it out there.

Do they see a difference that they were like, why are you different?

Why do you not do those things?

Why do you do this?

One and all staff cannot be solely responsible for sharing the gospel.

The church cannot grow like that.

It is not just my job.

No.

One of our organizational values at One World Church is this, okay, and I want us to read it together.

Everyone, are you ready?

It's going to come up there.

Are you ready?

Here we go.

One, two, three.

Evangelism.

Jesus is our only hope, and we are His plan to reach those far from God.

One life at a time.

There is no plan B.

Okay, now why don't you read it with energy?

Can you keep it up there?

One, two, three.

Evangelism.

Jesus is our only hope.

and where his plan to reach those far from God one life at a time there is no plan B.

Like Bernie Weber understood what he signed up for he knew there was no plan B for the sailors on Peddleton.

Remember what he said I have to go out it's cost God regulation.

There was no plan before him he knew he had to go save those guys.

If you believe that God's story if you believe that God's story and gospel the greatest things in the universe and that it has the power to transform lives if you've accepted jesus lord and savior then you've been transformed by his word then you need to evangelize that's the great commission for every believer seated here and watching online yes it is it is okay so let's put it all together this is a simple sermon today okay slightly short okay it's new year's coming up okay here we go i want to speak to anyone here today who's not a christian if you're watching online as well and you're not a believer you know jesus is pursuing you just like jesus was pursuing paul on the road to damascus paul who was literally murdering people killing people killing christians jesus was pursuing him He didn't let him go no matter how bad he was.

And so if you're here today and you're far from God, God is pursuing you.

Paul accepted what Jesus did for him.

He repented and allowed God to transform him.

And he became literally probably the greatest apostle, arguably the greatest apostle.

So how could a murderer become God's instrument to the whole world?

He believed in who Jesus said he was and what Jesus had done for him.

And God's Holy Spirit filled him and changed him.

Was Paul perfect?

No.

In fact, he writes, why do I do what I don't want to do?

I keep on doing what I don't want to do.

So Paul had some struggles.

But guess what?

He still allowed God to transform him daily.

He kept fighting that good fight.

Listen.

God loves you.

No matter what you've done in your life, whether you have murdered someone, maybe you have an abortion, maybe you've stolen, maybe you've...

I don't know what you've done.

God is pursuing you today and He died for your sins so that you can have eternal life.

So today, wherever you are, whatever you've done, today you can come to Jesus.

After Pastor Heather comes up, she'll have an invitation for you to come up and see the prayer team.

Come up and receive Jesus.

God offers you redemption if you put your faith in Jesus.

God would like to transform you into a new person, a new creation who lives for Him.

In Christ, you are a new creation.

God's workmanship in Jesus to do good works that God has prepared for you.

Amen?

Now for the Christian, for most of us here, you've experienced the power of God through God's word.

And what he's done in the Holy Spirit through you.

Are you aware of your duty to share the gospel?

Maybe you are, maybe you're not.

A duty that does not belong to the select few.

It belongs to everybody.

Every one of us, every Christian.

So what does Paul, what do the apostles teach us?

Okay, here we go.

Are you ready?

One, be bold.

Everyone say it with me.

Be bold.

Okay, we are called to be bold in sharing the gospel.

Not arrogant, bold.

Two different things.

Okay, if you believe that something is true, you're going to have no problem talking about it.

You know, if you know that something is objectively true, then you're going to share it no matter what.

Wherever Paul was, whatever situation he was in, whether he was in front of a soldier, a Jew, a Gentile, a politician, a king, a governor, a woman, it didn't matter where he was.

He shared the gospel because he says, I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God.

Amen?

So today, I want to challenge you.

Be bold.

You are not bold because you're powerful.

You're bold because the gospel has power to save and transform those who are far from God.

Amen?

That's it.

So why would you be ashamed of the great story?

Stand up.

Go tell it on the mountain.

Shout it out.

Amen?

So number one is what?

Number two, be prepared.

Be prepared.

If you read Acts 22 and to 26, those chapters, you observe that Paul had worked on and memorized his testimony.

He adopted it based on the circumstances he was in.

Like we read earlier, the apostle Paul tells us to be prepared, or the apostle Peter tells us, be prepared to give an answer for that thing that you believe, for the hope that you have.

This means...

Your life needs to reflect that your hope is from another place.

That hope you have is in one who is greater than anything else.

The story of your life must point to the true hope of the world.

The way you spend your time, the way you spend your resources, the way you live your life should reflect Jesus.

And when you're asked, guess what you have in your back pocket?

pocket yes in your back pocket i would naturally say pocket okay pocket okay when you have in your back pocket a short testimony with a few scriptures okay so if you're taking notes okay so 2a you have to have a short testimony with a few scriptures you gotta share how god has changed your life and why you believe in jesus what was your life before jesus what happened when you met Jesus, and what happened afterwards.

Okay, so three stages.

What was your life before?

How did you encounter Jesus?

And what happened afterwards?

Simple.

Just have that on the back of your mind, just like that.

So that when somebody asks you, you are ready.

Have it like two minutes, ready to go.

Okay, so A, one, A, have a short testimony.

B, prepare something longer for anyone interested in listening to you.

Write it out and practice it with friends.

Okay?

C.

As Paul prayed or asked, he said, pray for every opportunity.

Okay?

So pray.

When you wake up in the morning, say, God, I would like an opportunity today to share the gospel with somebody, to share my story with somebody.

Pray for an opportunity and make the most of it.

D.

Share the gospel with gentleness and respect.

Don't go out there thinking, I'm holier than everybody, blah, blah.

You know, those people who have pickup signs.

You're going to hell.

We're not doing that.

We're not doing that.

Gentleness and respect.

Paul tells us to do that.

Peter tells us to do that.

You don't have to be an apologist.

You don't have to be Pastor Jeff.

You don't have to be an evangelist.

You don't have to be a pastor.

You just have to be you.

You just have to be you.

Share your story and what God has done.

Okay, Dylan Kirkland says this, the demonstration of our lives needs the declaration of our lips because the gospel is a message to be shared.

I'm going to read that again.

The demonstration of our lives needs the declaration of our lips because the gospel is a message to be shared.

Why?

Just living your life, it's awesome.

Yeah, people can know, yay, that person is good.

But if they don't ask you, they don't know why you live the way you do.

So you've got to share.

Being good is awesome.

Being, you know, in the community doing good is good.

But you've got to be able to share it.

You've got to be able to talk about why you believe what you believe.

Amen?

Are you with me?

All right.

So number one is what?

I can't hear you.

Number two, be prepared.

Number three, believe you are empowered.

Our mission is not a madman one.

It is a divine mission.

Like Jesus was empowered by the Holy Spirit, Christians have God's Holy Spirit to carry out this divine mission.

I know we've said this a few times, but sometimes we don't get it in our heads.

The task given to you and I is not a human thing.

It is a divine mission, right?

It is God's plan for humanity.

And you need God's wisdom and you need God's strategy.

Not yours.

Amen.

Dylan Kirkland continues and he says this, Evangelism comes supernaturally to all Christians by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I'm going to read that again so you get it.

Evangelism comes supernaturally to all, to all, all Christians.

Okay?

Not some, not some special ones on stage.

Nope.

To all.

Christians, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

So you've got to somehow get in your head that you have supernatural power to do what God is asking you to do.

You have to believe it.

You cannot second guess yourself.

Amen?

1 Timothy 1.7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of what?

Power.

And the word here, spirit, refers to your disposition.

Because you have God's spirit, your disposition is not going to be fear it's going to be power you have god's power to share your story so what's god's will for your life in 2025 if you're a christian and you said i'm a christian guess what god's will is kind of simple ish share the gospel that's it share the gospel that's god's will for in christ jesus right Some of you are like, oh, uh-oh, uh-oh.

Yeah, that's our job, right?

So we were at ICOM this year, and that's International Conference on Missions.

And we had a testimony of the main speaker.

His name, I didn't want to put the picture up there because I didn't know what the privacy was on it, but his name was Yasir, it's an Arabic name, Yasir Eric.

He grew up in southern Sudan.

In a radical Muslim family, he even met al-Qaeda and Muslim Brotherhood militants, including Osama bin Laden.

So for those of you who know history, you know what that means.

9-11 and all that, right?

His dream was to fight for Allah.

So in his high school, there was a boy named Zachariah, whom Yassir hated so much because he was a Christian.

So he told his friends, let's kill Zachariah because he's an infidel.

So that night, they beat him up.

They beat him up real bad and left him for dead.

They beat him up so bad that he could not even cry or scream.

Okay?

Sometime later, Yasir's cousin fell ill, and the family was told he wasn't going to make it.

So one day, Yasir was sitting around on the hospital bed next to his cousin and...

two missionaries came in and asked to pray for the young man.

Yaseer was like these Christians, they also pray whatever.

So he reluctantly agreed for these missionaries to pray.

And they prayed in Jesus name.

And Yaseer's cousin suddenly opened his eyes, sat up for the first time in days.

Yaseer was shocked.

He was like, what just?

Happened.

Window opened.

The two missionaries shared the gospel.

One of them said to Yaseer, you don't have to die for Allah.

Jesus Christ came and died for you.

God loves you.

For the first time, Yaseer put God and love in the same sentence.

For those of you who know Islam, those two do not, cannot be together in a sentence.

Okay.

Yaseer gave his life to Jesus and started on this journey, which being, which, which continued with.

him being disowned by his family.

In fact, he said that when he went back home after some time, they had dug a grave for him and it said, our son is dead.

And he stood over his grave.

He was alive.

Okay.

They disowned him.

He looked for a Bible.

He found one and allowed God's word to transform him.

Years later, he said he was at a Christian conference.

This is years later.

He was at a Christian conference and he had spoken.

After he had spoken, a Sudanese pastor walked up to him and asked him, Hey, where are you from?

And Yassir tells him his story.

The pastor asked, Do you remember me?

Yassir said, No.

The pastor said, I am Zechariah.

Yassir suddenly recognized the scars.

on his face and his arms and he started to weep and weep and Zechariah said because you hated me so much I've been praying for you every day.

After sharing his testimony Yaseer told us at ICOM all of us who are seated at ICOM he said I am here because two missionaries shared the gospel with me.

He rep...

repeated that phrase, I am here because two missionaries shared the gospel with me, repeated that phrase over 15 times.

15 times.

These two missionaries knew what they signed up for.

Their greatest story in the universe had had such an impact on them.

They were willing to go.

If you know Sudan, if you don't know anything about Sudan, go read about it.

Sudan is a chaotic state.

Okay?

These missionaries go into a dangerous place to share the gospel.

gospel a place where the sink the ship is sinking in order to rescue a radical muslim who was later transformed by god's word and now speaks all over the muslim world in places you and i can't go have you heard of russell brandt story now i don't know if it's real or not but it looks real okay this actor russell brandt i think his name It looks like he's had a genuine conversion.

And when you see his excitement, he's like a little boy who's found a treasure.

He talks about scriptures all the time like crazy.

He just wants to talk about the Bible.

He talks about the treasure that he's found.

Then, of course, we've talked about Yaseer Eric.

How can you deny the power of God to transform a sinner?

So what about your story?

How has God transformed you?

Do you believe that he has transformed you?

Do you believe that?

Do you believe that God's word has the power to transform those who are far from him?

There are people around you on sinking ships.

People around you.

They are dying in their sin.

If they do not hear the gospel, they will perish.

When you become a Christian, you sign up to be Jesus'witness, to tell your story of transformation, and to tell about the greatest story in the universe.

So like God said to Isaiah, Whom shall I send who will go for us?

Isaiah volunteered.

Hear my Lord, send me.

God asks you and I the same question.

Are you going to say, are you going to answer like the coast guard?

in the finest hours movie who said someone has to go out there and get those guys that's what i sign up for so in 2025 your prayer should be lord sign me up let's pray lord jesus we thank you so much for your word just some great examples from paul and how he was bold he was always prepared and he was empowered by your holy spirit god you've called us to be witnesses in the world where people around us are far from you.

God, help us to remember that our mission here at One Old Church is to help those who are far from God to come near.

It's not the pastor's job.

It is every one of us'job.

God, help us to listen and to obey you.

In Jesus'name we pray.

And everybody said, amen and amen.

I'm so glad you were here with us today to listen to the message.

If you have questions about what to do next, or maybe you really want to explore what it would be like to follow Jesus, we would love to come alongside you.

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So make sure you let us know if there's anything that we can do to help connect you to the church.

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daily devotionals, and deeper content related to each of our sermon series.

We hope this message blessed you and that you have a great week.

Let's go as we always do with one hope, one life in Christ.