Erlo Stegen emphasizes the critical role of Christians as watchmen in the spiritual battle against evil, urging believers to sound the Gospel trumpet and warn others of impending danger. He highlights the necessity of living a life free from prejudice and tradition to effectively reach all people for Christ, drawing on personal experiences and biblical examples. Stegen warns against a superficial Gospel, advocating for a deep, authentic relationship with God that reflects in our lives. He recalls the struggles of historical figures like John Wesley, who exemplified perseverance and love amidst personal trials. Ultimately, he calls Christians to remain vigilant and active in their faith, likening the spiritual journey to a war where sleep is not an option.

Summary of sermon by Erlo Stegen, 02 Sept 2012 Ez 33 1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, 3 and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, 4 then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head. 5 Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’ 7 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. Throughout history the devil has tried to destroy God's work, yet he lost everytime. Even if all hell fights against the church of God, it cannot prevail against it. If you want to win souls as the Lord Jesus had commanded us, you must abide in Christ and do as He did. Your life must be free from prejudice, your own traditions and ways. Some black people complained to me that they can only win fellow black people but no white people. So I said to them that it's understandable for they approach the white people as though they were black people. It can never work. Even Paul said that he became all things to all people to win some. The same applies to white people. Unless you approach the black people in the right spirit and without prejudice and racism you won't be able to win them. We should not preach a cheap Gospel. The first thing to preach is our life. When God called me into His service He dealt very severely with me. We whites have our own traditions and ways, and that needed to change. Once I felt a great need to be alone with God and I told my brother that I won't take the service that day, but am going to fast and pray. My brother supported me. I thought of the most spiritual brethren I knew and decided to visit them and pray with them. I arrived very seriously and told them that I came to fast and pray with me. They were overjoyed to see me. But they laughed and told me that they're going to make a great meal for me, for they didn't want to be guilty before God one day that they didn't give me something to eat and drink. I felt miserable as they prepared the meal and I felt the hours was wasted. The table was laden with food and they left me alone to enjoy it, as is the tradition with the blacks. Although I only took a little of everything my plate was loaded and I ate alot. I felt miserable. When I had finished eating they still brought me pudding and tea and cakes. When I had finished eating they said to me that we could pray. I didn't feel like praying anymore. I told them that they could pray. And they did pray. We were only about three minutes on our knees and God worked mightily among us. My heart broke and I could only exclaim in awe that I did not know God and His ways! For months afterwards I was touched by that experience and realised how little I knew God! John Wesley preached of God's "perfect Love", and that we should know it too. But the devil got into his wife and she was jealous about his success and slandered him. Yet in that difficult situation he practiced what he preached, even towards his wife. She even physically attacked him at home and pulled him by his hair through the house. He did not retaliate. His wife went from bad to worse and in the end she left. He then wrote to the brethren that his wife had left, he did not send her away, but is also not going to fetch her back. He was a man among men and God could use him to save England at that time. Many preachers of the Gospel are sweet like chocolate. The problem is that when it gets hot they also melt like chocolate. During WWII the captain of a Japanese warship found three sailors asleep. He was deeply upset, saying to them, "How can you sleep while on duty? This is not a passenger liner but a warship!" And they were severely punished. So too we Christians are at war with the devil and his demons and cannot afford to sleep but we must run the race set before us by our Captain, until our last breath.