Good afternoon. When was the last time I preached in the afternoon? In jail. Let's see, ten pages of notes. Are they serving supper here too? Big print, fast. You can time me if you want. It's good to be here. Good to be here. We want to thank you all for faithfully supporting Victory Prison Ministry in La France. It's about 17 years now. I think it's that long. And I speak for all you missionaries, your support. We love you for it. We love the checks coming in on time. Everybody says, you shouldn't talk about that. That's what support is, folks. It's a check. They always cash, too. And that's because of you guys. All right. Victory Prison Ministry. We minister the gospel of Jesus Christ at Perry Correctional. Still at the same prison. And I'll talk about that in a minute. It's about 80 miles from here. It's about 20 miles south of Greenville. Perry's a maximum security prison. About 1,100 men. Maximum security prisons in South Carolina are a little different than the non-maximum security prisons. Each one has a lock-up section. There's four buildings at Perry. There's 1,100 men there, but there's four buildings with 250 men that are one guy in a cell lock-up. They're down there for a few days, a few years. It's a place, the safest place in Greenville to minister, because everybody's locked in their cells, and I've got a screen like this to talk to them through. And I can go there. I don't need an escort or whatever when I'm in the prison. For the rest of the prison, I can't go out where the other men are, but the chaplain gives me the use of one of his officers so we can get together and do ministry that way. That's what we do at Perry. It's the gospel. It's one-on-one soul winning. I don't have a ministry there where we have meetings and so forth like that. It's one-on-one. In the old days, they could have two or three in the lock-up cells, so it's one-on-two or three. Soul winning. It's all personal work. We're not allowed to do social work. That's the job of the chaplain, to make calls and so forth. I'm there for one reason, so that make sure they know what the gospel of Jesus Christ is. And that's very simply what we do. We've been at Perry since it's, so October of 82, we've been at Perry. So that makes it, what, 32 years? 33 years? Yeah, October, you know. A lot of people say, well, I mean, only 1,100 guys in all these years, why aren't you going to another prison? The population changes daily, not the whole population, but there'll be There's usually a busload leaving each day. Some are going to go home. Most of them are going to other prisons. And so and the bus returns, there's guys from other prisons coming in or brand new people coming in. So there's always fresh faces to talk about. And we only live three miles from there. So that's why we moved from Greenville to Pelzer. All right. We have A large Bible correspondence course ministry that's grown, we've always used Bible courses for follow-up with the men, but it's grown in leaps and bounds the last five or six years. We get every day in the mail requests from men in every prison, every South Carolina prison, 26 prisons. Our tracks have gone out and people have heard and guys have moved around and they know about the ministry. And we direct mail out into the prisons with a gospel track and a security track and pre-posted envelopes. That's why they're there. Every time we send something out, it's double the postage because the guys couldn't do the Bible courses. Nobody has any money. Everybody's indigent in the Department of Corrections and they don't get any stamps. So we supply it so they can do the Bible courses. I think for me, Perry's the best place in the world for me to present the gospel, for me to present the gospel. Because like I said, it's only three miles from our place. It's home missions, soul winning. That's what it boils down to. And I said, we can't do social work. I can't contact their families. I can't give them anything unless I bring something for everybody there. We can give them the Bible courses through the mail. We can give them a pre-posted envelope, pre-addressed. We can't give them an unaddressed envelope, but they can do the Bible courses. And we can make sure everybody has a Bible that wants one through the chaplain's office. I used to be able to carry them in and hand them to the men and they changed. It's got to come through the chaplain's office. But any Bibles that we get, go there. And I've never not been able to bring Bibles in where every man couldn't have a Bible if he wanted it. The Lord's always provided. We haven't paid for them. It's all been donated by our supporters. So we thank you for that. Another reason I like going there, most inmates speak English. I didn't have to go to language school. Didn't either. They speak English. It's a lot easier for me to do it. I don't have to have the language problem. Perry's always at full capacity because of the men coming and going. So it's a full house all the time. And I'll go up to a cell and there was somebody there yesterday and another guy in it. Today, maximum security, the prison in South Carolina are full. Somebody has to leave before there's an empty bed. It's basically, that's the way it is. I've known some of the inmates at Ferry for the whole 32 years. But some men are only there a short time. So we get to deal with them. 25% of the men are serving life sentences. That's maximum security prison. 30% or more are serving sentences of 30 years or more, so it's long-term incarceration. Turn in your Bible, if you would, please. So much for Victory Prison Ministry. When I say that, that's it. No furloughs. I can't give you any information on furloughs. All the good stuff and safest place. The safest place in the state of South Carolina for me to be is the lock-up section of Perry. Nobody's out of their cell unless they're handcuffed or leg cuffed. It's safer than walking down any street in any town. And the men that I can't go to, like I said, I can't just walk around as a civilian because it would be careless on the Department of Corrections. But I can meet them in the chaplain's office, so that's what we do. Open your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. And I've entitled this quick message. You can hold me to it. Why missions and missionaries? Why? Well, you've heard about it. There's enough. If I didn't speak today, you'll know what the story is and what you've heard already. But maybe there's some things here that could be done differently. Missions, like salvation, is by grace through faith. Now think about that. What is there in this book that's not by grace through faith? Dealing with God is by grace that we can, and it's through faith. Believe what you can't see, just like you could see it and touch it. That's my definition of grace, and that's what it is. It's great also not to have an opportunity, because I don't get many of them, to preach not through bars or not through the screen. It's good to be face-to-face. 1 Corinthians 15. Everybody got it? If you don't got it, remember and look it up. Because this could be the very most important thing that I could show you today. God's definition of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not the gospels, but the gospel of Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15. Brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also you have received and wherein you stand. This is Apostle Paul speaking. By which also you are saved, if you keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered unto you, first of all, that which I also received, how that Here's a definition of the gospel. Christ died for our sins and was buried and rose from the grave. According to the scriptures. Christ died for our sins and was buried and rose from the grave. You can close your Bible. I'm not going to ask you to look up anything else. I'll read a few verses in a minute. But if I stepped down and left, I delivered the most important thing that I could deliver to you, whether you saved or lost, the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's not... I've dealt with so many men. Now remember, two years before the prison, that I was at the county jail every night, doing what? Soul winning, soul winning, soul winning. This is all I do. and going over eternal security. And maybe if I have a chance to go long enough, a little something more. But this is what I do, soul winning. I've never left a person that didn't know, or see in his Bible, or my Bible, what the gospel of Jesus Christ is. Because what? It's the power of God unto salvation. To everyone that believes. Paul's gospel, from God, for the church, And thus, for missions work, the gospel of Jesus Christ. Missionaries go and tell people about Jesus Christ. That's what we do. That's what we all should be doing. I don't really know of another reason we'd be on this planet as saved people if not to get the gospel out. I think that's obvious. million ways, it's as varied as it goes, but there's one gospel. And you know what you find out? A lot of people preaching ain't preaching the gospel, they're preaching something else. But we're only responsible for what we do. I can give somebody some information and correct them, but I can't make them preach the gospel. I'd better preach the gospel. Why do we go? You know, because most places in the world, they know what Coca-Cola is. And the brother talking about Mexico, they know what Coca-Cola is. Maybe that crowd that he was talking about, maybe they didn't know. I have to alter that. When I heard when he talked about those primitive Indians, maybe they didn't know. But most places you go to over there, you can see it on their shirts. Coca-Cola. But they don't know about Jesus Christ. And those who do know a little bit about Jesus Christ, excuse me, I've got a basketball nose. It's dribbling. Everybody falls for that, but it really is. Those that might have heard somewhat about Jesus certainly don't know exactly what the gospel of Jesus Christ is. Now, I don't think God grades on a curve. I think we should know exactly what the gospel of Jesus Christ is, and that's what we should be telling people. They need to know about the only Savior there is, was, or ever will be, so they can at least know for sure their loss, because they don't believe it, or know that they're saved when they do believe it. I've had men say to me, Well, I say I got to believe in Jesus. I don't know that I don't believe in Jesus. I think I do. I maybe want to. I'm not against believing in Jesus. But believe what? What's the power of God under salvation? The gospel. What's the gospel? Christ died for our sins and was buried and rose again. And nothing. And nothing. Nobody's got an excuse for not believing that, except they don't. What we're to do is to inform people. We can't say them, but we can tell them, and surely we must tell them. That's why missions. Generally, there are various ways to repair something that's broken. Different ways to fix an automatic transmission. You still got to do something, but there are different ways you can do it. Different treatments for diseases and so forth. There's only one method of curing the fatal disease of hellbound, the disease of being lost. And what's that? The gospel of Jesus Christ believed. It doesn't save you if you don't believe it. That's where the human effort comes in. Our job is that they know what it is, and they have the opportunity to believe it. I've led thousands, and I mean literally thousands of men to Christ, as well as I should have been. With that, every day, walk them down slow. But I've never saved anybody. You haven't either. Who saves them? God saves them. That's what kept a lot of people, well, I can't save them. Of course you can't, nobody can. And you know what? Why did God send His Spirit? To bring what? Conviction of sin, righteousness and judgment. We're not on the hook for bringing conviction to the lost. We're to show them why God says they're lost and why they're lost so they can know from the Bible what it is. But we can't bring the conviction. What did he say? Go with the gospel. Go with conviction? No. Go with saving them? No. Go with the gospel and tell them. It's not brain surgery what we do. It's... I... I... Yes? That's right, right? Right. Gospel of Jesus Christ believed. What I'm getting at is we need to tell them. That's what the commission is to tell them and inform them. When I ask a prisoner, how can you know for sure what he must do to be able to enter God's heaven? Most of the guys will say, you can't know for sure. You can't know for sure how to get to heaven. Most people, that's what it is. You can't know whether they mean it or it's an excuse. But I know they can. That's where I go. I know they can know. If I'll tell them, they can be sure they'll know. I got to tell them. Now, we get to tell them. But when I'm in there, I'm there for a purpose. Not social work, not holding hands. Gospel of Jesus Christ. Guys stop me and say, I'll say, how you doing? Well, I'm okay. If you dropped dead right now, do you know for sure you'd go to heaven? Most of you have heard me say this before. Because what? This is what we still do. You say, well, I can't say that to anybody. Maybe this place is where you can't do it that way, but I may never see this guy again, and I want him to hear those words. I want him to know. I know for sure. How do I know for sure that you can be sure what it takes to get to heaven? Someone told me once. And if you're saved, someone told you. Somewhere or another they told you. through a TV show, through a gospel track, in a meeting, somebody else was involved to get the information to you. That's why Jesus said, go and be my witnesses. We don't say them, but we must tell them. You should be witnesses unto me. Jesus said, and with me. I never go to that jail alone. I'm solo when I get there, and I'm solo when I leave the house. But I'm not solo without Jesus. I'm solo with another human being. Pretty neat to work hand-in-hand with Jesus. Best friend you'll ever have. You don't go solo winning a loan. I advise you to go two people. I think that's a good way to do it. But you know, if you're out talking with somebody this or that, you're not alone. I want to pay for your sins is with you. It's part of the deal, folks. You don't go alone. What excuse we got for not telling someone about Jesus? We got none. Except we're still good flesh. Why did Jesus say go into the world with the gospel? Now, pay attention, especially people my age. Why did he say go with the gospel? You can't get to heaven on roller skates. You roll right past those pearly gates. Now, for the younger ones here, less than 50, you never heard that. That was a song. Still is a song, I guess. It's always a song. But that's 40s maybe and 50s. Those of you that are old enough, you can remember your hit parade on Saturday night with Snooky Lansing. Now, this is eliminating a lot of people here. But I'll bet you that song was on there. Now, that's my little bit of frivolity here, but, you know, the point is, you can't get to heaven on roller skates. You will roll right past those pearly gates. As of finally, Romans 3, 23 and 6, 23, there you go. That's the way of looking at it. It's only by the belief in the blood of Jesus Christ. When did God go out of the mission business? Why are we talking about mission? When did God go out of the mission business? No, never. When did God revoke his commission for all of us to go into the world with the gospel? Not yet. Not yet. I suppose there's going to be a day coming, and a theologian could give it to me, but he ain't gone out of it yet. It's still a valid commission. Three words. Biblical Christian missions. And I think this is a good way to put this. Missions not... and I didn't see this anywhere else. I think I'm the only one that's ever put this down like this. Biblical Christian mission. Missions not biblical are not of God. Missions not biblical, they're not from God. They're from some other place or somebody's mind, but they're not of God. If the mission is biblical, it'll be Christian. Because of what? But this is the standard for everything. Biblical Christian missions is what? Save people, telling unsaved people how to become saved people. This is, duh, that's what it is. Save people, telling unsaved people how to become saved people, then discipling them so they can be soul winners too. Why missions? Everything's going to be all right on the other side. That's why missions. It's never going to be all right here. Read the newspaper lately? Listen to that. It's never going to be all right here. It can be, hopefully it can be better in some aspects, always something. Always going to need hospitals and police and everything. Because of what? Us. Human beings. Missions bring hope. And hope is really important. You know that, hope. Think on this, we get the privilege of offering a lost person the only thing that can help them. I go in that jail with the old thing and help that guy, no matter what he's there for, whatever, or in a living room, or somebody on the street, and I leave a track at the post office, it's going to help. It's going to help that person permanently here, and eternally there if they get saved. It's going to help them. You want to help somebody? Let them know about Jesus Christ. Where does God not want the gospel preached? All the world, every creature. You don't have to go to theology school for that. All the world, every creature. Mission involvement is a matter of obedience. Some go, this is obedience. Some send, that's obedience. Some go and send. Like what? Churches. Go and send. Fire the missions business. They're trying to get some more support to raise, fire the missions business. Going and sending. Mission is a matter of love. Love thy neighbor. Ever seen that anywhere in print? Gee, I think it's here. Not huggy-kissy love. It's not brother-sister love. We have different requires for those. It's a God-made love. Do I love that prisoner enough to tell him the gospel of Jesus Christ so he can be saved? That's how I see it. You want to express your love for someone? Tell them about Jesus. Leave a track. You can leave a track, can't you? Church has got them plenty here. You can get them. You can make your own. I made my own years ago. Some are on the back table out there. So you can know it's got what you want to tell them. That child muscle, did I love him enough to give him the gospel? Child molester. When I look up, I get the prison information, my son gave me an iPad about last Christmas. I don't use, she does all the, nothing. Dead. She's got a rig, so all I have to do is put the guy, is turn it on, push the app, South Carolina Department of Corrections. You can get it on, it's on the internet. And I've got the guy's information he sent. And I want to make sure he's still at this prison, so when I send him something, it gets to him. There's this guy's record, what he's done, what he's in for, how long, what his sentence is, what his weight is, a picture of him. And you know what? Child molesters, and I'm only using that because we think of that as the worst thing going, maybe some of us. They all look different or the same. It's just what they do. Do I love them enough to tell them about Jesus Christ? I do. Because I don't want even him to go to hell. I don't want anybody to go to hell. Now, everybody makes their choices. A person goes to hell because he's not trusted Christ and he had the opportunity. Did you ever think of this? How in Romans 20, they're without excuse. How does God get everybody? And we know He does. We know that nobody has an excuse. We know what it is. And we can't understand that. But maybe when you leave that track and somebody picks it up, maybe that's God's way using you for Him to have no excuse. Think about that. I just could be. And since God is my... I've been as faithful as I can get to get the gospel, certainly in the prison. I couldn't sleep at night if I went and I didn't leave the gospel with a guy, even if he didn't want to hear it. I'd let him hear it. You know what? Most of them asked me back. Because of my charming personality. You want to talk about miracles. Paul, in 2 Corinthians 5, Paul talks about he and his crowd as being ambassadors. I'm almost done. It's been a long day. Ambassadors. What's an ambassador? An ambassador is an official authorized messenger or representative of a king. Why do we have ambassadors? Some things you just can't put on email or send a letter for. Some things you've got to be there in person for. So you send an ambassador. Or you go yourself. Ambassadors go, ambassadors send. Just like churches. How could you plan the church except in person? There's got to be some time that you can do a lot of stuff with all the communication we have, but there's got to be somebody who goes. Somebody's got to go to that mountain in Mexico and do it with the brother captain and everywhere else. Somebody's got to do it. The only good thing about this world, and I mean that, it's an opportunity, it's a place for us to bring glory to God. This is the place to do it. I don't know what it's going to be like in heaven, giving God the... I don't understand what's going... I know what it is here. We've got to place a fertile ground to bring glory to God. You know, it's more convenient for me to go to Perry Prison than you guys here. I'm three miles from the prisons. It's more convenient for me to go. And, you know, if you're saved, God and some person cared. Remember that person that cared enough to tell you about Jesus? Missions. That's missions. That was missions. That person was doing a missionary endeavor. Letting you know about Jesus Christ. Amen. God did not send Buddha, Joseph Smith, and Mohammed to pay for the sins of the world because what? They could not do it. Took the blood of Christ. The only Savior there is. The only way, the only method of forgiveness of sins is the blood of Christ. It's never going to change and it's sufficient for everybody. God sent Jesus. Nothing else would do. Don't forget that ever. Nothing else would do. But there'd be another way from God. The blood of Jesus. Everything on this earth is temporary. Bodies, cities, countries, money, everything. Money buys is temporary. Human souls are what? They're eternal and that's why missions. Why missions? Saved people do not go to hell. All lost people do. I've even cut a few things out. God devoted quite a bit of his The space in his New Testament. His New Testament, God's. To define and explain his age of grace, which is salvation to the Jew and Gentile alike. A lot of space in the New Testament. Paul's writings about this. which is salvation by faith, alone, in the finished work of Jesus Christ, alone, which is the gospel, which is Christ died for our sins and was buried and rose from the grave, as we already looked up and seen and you know for sure that that's what it is. God also, in his New Testament, introduces us to his apostle of the Gentiles, Apostle Paul. We know kind of the bad stuff, but now we get to know some of the good stuff about the Apostle Paul. Jesus Christ chose Paul before Paul chose Jesus. Ever think about that? There ain't no accident the Apostle Paul was an Apostle to the Gentiles. Christ chose him just for that. before Paul said, Lord, what would you have me to do? First Corinthians 10, Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit said, I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of any, get this now, that they may be saved. What was Paul's ministry? That they may be saved. What's the gospel ministry? That they may be saved. Why is this church here? That they may be saved. That is what it's about. But that they may be saved and not go to hell. That's why missions, in whatever form, shape, it is. Paul said, Be ye followers of me, even as I am also of Christ. I remember the first time I read that. Whoa, wait a minute. Follow him, not Christ? No, he's not saying that. Follow me as I follow Christ. Is this the word of God? Yeah. Did he mean it? Yeah. Did God mean it? Yes. Last page, number 10. A lot of stuff, but I'll read fast. Philippians 4, 9, Paul also said, you see where I've shifted over to this? You want an example about missions work? Oh, I hope we don't have to go into jail and this and that, but God's got his reasons for everything. I mean, get in there as a prisoner. See, Paul didn't do anything wrong, so you can go to jail and not guilty. Paul said, those things which you have both learned and received and heard and seen in me, do. And the God of peace shall be with you. I'd like to get in on that. We'd like to get in on the peace, but what about those things that I'm doing you do? See, there's a clause there, a condition. 2 Timothy 2.8, remember that Jesus Christ, the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, Paul says, wherein I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even under bonds. But, and I get it in red, but the word of God is not bound. Now, we can say, oh yep, that was good for Paul. It's good for me and you, the word of God's not bound. That's right, believe, it's not bound. I want to make sure that that person, that it gives me an opportunity to talk to him, that I make sure he knows everything that I can tell him about how to be saved and what it takes to be saved. And if he's saved, I want to know he's secure in Christ. But I want to make sure he knows about salvation. Then I can sleep at night. The Word of God is not bound. Therefore, Paul said, I endure all things for the elect's sake, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, that they may be saved with eternal glory. This is why I sow the gospel of Jesus Christ in hope. I sow it in hope. If you sow it, sow it in hope. Because what? That's your job. That's what He wants from us. That's why we're here. Sow it in hope. Because what? The Word of God is not bound. What you're going to sow is not bound. We can... the brother used the illustration of scattering seeds and... but the Word of God's not bound. The Word of God's not bound. It's what people do with it and so on, but it's not bound. It's going to accomplish what? God said in Isaiah 55 that His word will never return to him void, wasted, or of none effect. That's what the word means. But His word will accomplish that which pleases Him and will prosper in the thing whereunto He sends it. And you know how He sends it? You and me. That's how He sends it. You and me. Us. His people. What a promise. What a gospel. What a Savior we have. This is why missions. The end.