In this sermon, the speaker reflects on the question of what the early Christians had that the present generation seems to lack. He stands up and reads the entire book of Acts, searching for the answer. Eventually, he concludes that the early Christians had three simple things: a commitment to do God's will, regardless of success or failure, a willingness to proclaim God's message, and a disposition of heart characterized by tears and compassion. The speaker emphasizes the importance of heartfelt feelings and compassion in sharing the truth of God's word.

Well, a preacher's supposed to have a text, I think. And so I do have a text that I'm not going to get to just yet, but I hope to get to it before the hour passes. And if you have your Bibles, would you turn them to the text? Acts chapter 20. It's really a beautiful picture of Paul's relationship to the elders of Ephesus, and where he recounts his ministry among them. And certainly he was a man who teaches us the truth of grace. He was a man of grace, a preacher of grace. But in these verses, we have something about his method. Acts chapter 20, and I'm not going to read his old parting words to the elders. However, I do want to read verses 19, 20, and 21. And this is his own testimony about his own ministry. Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, with many tears and temptations which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews, how I kept back nothing that was profitable for you, but I have showed you and have taught you, publicly and from house to house, testifying to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. My subject is evangelism, the doctrines of grace, evangelism. And I think I'm going to start out by giving some words about evangelism itself, so you, when I use the word, you'll understand what I mean. Somebody used to ask me, am I a Calvinist? I'd say, yes. And then I made a great discovery that I was saying yes to their definition, and that sometimes was bad. So anymore, when they say, are you a Calvinist? I say, you tell me what that is and I'll answer your question. And when they're finished, I say, no, I'm not that. I went to preach two weeks ago in West Palm Beach, and they had a little book table in this church, and I went up to the table, and the first thing the lady said to me, do you believe in limited atonement? I said, well, tell me what that is, and then I'll answer you. And after she was finished, I said, no, not quite like that. And I went on. So I thought today we ought to get our definitions straight so you know what I'm talking about, at least, about evangelism. Evangelism is the communication of this divinely inspired message that we call the gospel. A message that is definable in words, but must be communicated in power, as we've heard in the last session. It's definable in words, but must be communicated both in word and power. Paul said, for our gospel came not up to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance. And in that sense, it's a message, and its communication is different than any other kind of a message. Evangelism is a message. It begins with information. It includes not only information, but it includes explanation of that information. It includes application of that information, and also invitation. The information is, how God, our Creator and Judge, in mercy, made his Son a perfect, able, willing, Savior of sinners, of all who come to God by him. Now the definition, and this is not my definition, it's Dr. Packer's, but I think it's the best, and I couldn't improve on it, but I've adopted it long years since, when I first saw it in his little book. And this is the definition. To present Jesus Christ to sinful men, in order that, through the power of the Holy Spirit, they may come to put their trust in God, through him, to receive him as their Savior, serve him as their King, in the fellowship, that's a very complete definition, I think, of evangelism. The methods of evangelism, therefore, cannot be separated from the message. And our message comes from our theology. And I don't think there's any place where a preacher's understanding of biblical theology will appear so much as after you hear him preach a few times, or observe his methods. You will soon learn whether he is articulate in the understanding of the doctrines of grace. And so our message is tightly bound to the message, and the message to our theology. I want to give you two quotes. Suppose I started off my given subject today. Suppose I started off with these words, and this is a quote, and I'll tell you in a minute who quoted it. Suppose I were to start my message on this given subject and say, when I read the Westminster Confession of Faith and saw that the passage is there quoted to sustain these peculiar positions, I was absolutely ashamed of it. Or, another quote, suppose I started off by saying, I'm going to address you on this subject, but I want to make a few statements first, and I said to you this, I could not feel any respect for a document that he was talking about, the Westminster Confession of Faith. I could not feel any respect for a document that undertakes to impose on mankind such dogmas as those sustained for the most part by the passages of Scripture that are totally irrelevant and not a single instance sustained by passages which in a court of law would be considered at all conclusive. I suspect if you wouldn't want to hear much I had to say after that, I hope so, but I want to tell you something, that that statement is by the man who has been responsible for the great extent of our evangelistic methods in America today. Charles Finney. That's a quote from his autobiography, not what somebody else said, that's his own statement. And if you want to know why our methods of evangelism are kind of fouled up, it comes from his theology. What we believe about God, what we believe about man, what we believe about the person and work of Christ, what we believe about the Spirit's work and conversion, what we believe about the nature of saving faith, all this is what will frame our methods in evangelism. There is a God-centered method and it's born out of the doctrines of grace and there is a man-centered method born out of an Arminian system of theology. Now, they both systems believe in the great major doctrines of the Bible. Both believe that God is a Trinity. They both believe in the person and work of Christ. They both believe in the Atonement. They both believe in the work of the Spirit. They both believe in the necessity of conversion, the difference lies in what men believe and understand about these things and their relationship to each other and their application. That's where the difference lies. And therefore, it's an erroneous and an oversimplification for somebody to say to me, well, don't they believe in Christ? Don't they believe in conversion? Don't they believe in Atonement? Fine, that's it, that's enough. Leave it alone. No, the question is, what do they believe about these things? They both believe in regeneration, but do you believe that a man believes in order to be regenerate or that he believes because he's regenerate? That's the difference between night and day. And it will come out in your methods, how you handle sinners. They both believe in limited Atonement. The difference lies in who limits it, unless they're universalists. The difference lies in who limits it. They both believe in the Trinity. The Arminian has a frustrated Trinity. He has a father replanting redemption for all, every individual. He has a son purchasing redemption for every individual. But then he has a spirit that only applies it to some. That's a frustrated Trinity. God-centered evangelism believes in the Trinity also. But they believe what the Father planned in eternity. The Son purchased on Calvary and the Spirit savingly applies. And there's unity. Man-centered evangelism, they both believe in grace, believe it or not. Man-centered evangelism believes that man's will is more powerful than grace. Man's will is more powerful than the power of grace. God-centered evangelism believes that grace is irresistible. Believes that grace will reign, Romans 5, 20 and 21. More powerful than sin, more powerful than death, more powerful than man's will. So they both believe the same in these things. I like that words of the Confession in this respect. And I hope I'll get to methods in a minute. But this is very important. Because if we talk about the doctrines of grace, we see that they undergird all of our methods. Privately, publicly, or whenever. I like the way it's expressed, that idea of irresistible grace in these words. And I believe that some of those who oppose it so vehemently would think these words through and vividly, they wouldn't be so opposed. Those whom God has predestinated unto life, He is pleased in His appointed and accepted time affectionately to call by His Word and Spirit out of a state of sin and death in which they are by nature to the grace and salvation by Jesus Christ. Enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God. Taking away their heart of stone. Giving them a heart of flesh. Renewing their wills. And by His almighty power determining them to that which is good and affectionately draw them to Jesus Christ. Yet so, most freely being made willing. Now, when I say this, let us not suppose that God's decision to save a man by a decree leaves him passive or inert. The very opposite takes place. The covenant of grace doesn't kill man. It doesn't regard him as a tin can or a piece of wood or a robot. But it takes possession of the man. It lays hold upon his whole being with all his faculties of power, soul and body for time and eternity. It does not annihilate his powers. It renews his powerlessness. It does not destroy his will. It frees it from sin. It doesn't stifle or obliterate his conscience. It sets him free from darkness. It regenerates, recreates man in his entirety. And in renewing him by grace, causes him to love and consecrate himself to God freely. Charles Finney believed in cooperation. Man-centered evangelism believes in cooperation. But if we believe that it's a divine grace, it's a work of divine grace, if we believe that evangelism is a work of divine power, if we believe that evangelism is a work of divine sovereignty and it's salvation of the Lord, we can't believe in all this cooperation that we see flowing out from man-centered evangelism. Don't talk to me about cooperating with God and getting sinners to cooperate with God. Only God can affect and he does that at his own pleasure. The Bible says the wind blows The Bible said it is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth, but God which showeth. So don't talk to me about cooperating, sinners cooperating with God and their salvation. Paul of Tarsus was cooperating all right. He was persecuting Christians, putting them in jail and killing Christians. That harlot woman in John 4 was cooperating all right. She had five husbands and living with the sixth without the benefit of the clergy. He was cooperating all right. Old Zacchaeus was cooperating all right. He was feeling everything was loose at both ends. That old extortioner. Listen, if anybody gets Paul saved, it'll have to be God. If anybody gets that harlot woman saved, it'll have to be God. If anybody saves that old thief Zacchaeus, it'll have to be God. Some of my friends are afraid of the doctrines of grace and evangelism. They're afraid of the doctrines of grace and evangelism. I suppose no preacher or evangelist ever since the day of the apostle Paul stressed in his preaching the sovereignty of God, as did Jonathan Edwards. And it may come to a surprise to our many friends and evangelists of this day to discover that preaching was evangelistically very fruitful. And I give you a quote from him. Revival had swept through his church under his ministry. And I quote what he thought about as some of the means of that. He says, I think I have found that no discourses have been more remarkably blessed than those in which the doctrines of God's absolute sovereignty with regard to the salvation of sinners. Men are afraid. They get wiser than God to proclaim these great doctrines of grace. You see, God's set of evangelism does not flatter men by telling them to do this or do that or do the other thing and then God will save you. It is today. You see, when we say, do this and do that and do the other thing and God will save you, that flatters men. That flatters men and it makes God obligated. It doesn't let men think that they can be so free. It lets him think that salvation is the end of an accepted proposition and we are begging him to participate in that proposition. The set of evangelism doesn't teach men that eternal life or salvation is at the end of an accepted proposition. God's set of evangelism teaches us as it does in John 17 too that salvation is in the hands of the sovereign Christ. He gave him power to give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. That's not at the end of an accepted proposition. Hands of the sovereign Christ. You see, what we do when we do that, we put men to gritten their teeth against God or become beggars. They become beggars. They're not following God's set of evangelism. It's not some quick sales technique or a preacher or personal worker is not a salesman. He's a communicator of God's eternal truth which has been so emphasized thus far in this conference. He's a communicator of God's eternal truth. Not a politician drumming up votes for Jesus. God must make his word effective and your methods and your message and your methods and behavior are all governed by what we believe in this respect. You see, man's set of evangelism says men are dead in trespasses and sins. They say he's in death row. But then they tell him he's got the key in his own pocket. All he has to do is earn the key to get out of death row. Well, who minds being in prison if you've got the key in your pocket? God's set of evangelism comes along and I say, yes, men are dead in trespasses and sins. They're on death row. But they don't have the key in their pocket. If anybody's going to get you out of prison, it'll have to be God because that drives men and boxes them up to the mercy of God The strong point of evangelistic preaching ought to be to box men up to the mercy of God. Not by flattering them and telling them you do this and you do that and other things God will say before men as the one who has power to unstop deaf ears. Lifting up a Christ who has power to open blinded eyes. Lifting up a Christ who has power to raise the dead. We, in our time, are not preaching Christ in the days of dishumiliation. That will never be again. There was the days of dishumiliation that men decided on Him and they decided to crucify Him. We are not preaching Christ in the days of dishumiliation. Christ has been exalted to a throne and we preach Him as one on a throne to decide on Him again. No sinner will ever decide on Him again. You see, there's only one safe place for a subject before his sovereign and that's on his face. You see, God-centered evangelism is more concerned with God than it is with peace and comfort and happiness of the man. Oh, that's involved because first one has to bring glory to God by a God-honoring message of judgment and mercy. Now, I'm talking about the center reference. I'm talking about the mainstream. I'm talking about we as evangelists being able to say we are coming to do God's will and that is proclaim His message. Success or no success regardless of the results. I'm appealing to us to be able to say I have glorified beyond the earth. Success or no success. And frankly, to human eyes when he walked among men he didn't appear to be very successful. All you have to do is read John chapter 6 and you'll see his success. His crowd got slim. It got so slim that he said well, you also go away. And so they had a meeting and they said boys, we've got to change our message. Had a little meeting, you know. Then they had an evangelistic conference. They said we have to change our message. And I believe it would be well if we changed the message a little bit because Lord, you've been saying some hard sayings. That's what it says in John 6. They went away because of the hard sayings. I think we ought to water this down a little. Success or no success. So I'm trying to say that sound doctrine, sound doctrine, sound belief. The message, and thus you understand why I'm so keen upon that union between doctrinal strength and evangelistic passion. It's not either or. And I believe if I have one burden above others, if it is a burden, I believe this is it. To see that union of doctrinal strength and evangelistic fervor. And I'm sorry to say that I have found very little of it. Those who have gone to seat on doctrine and they make it an end in itself. And doctrine is not an end in itself. That's the platform we stand on to preach Christ. Where do you find you're supposed to preach election? Now of course you speak of election when it comes up in an expository manner in the scriptures. But where do you find you're supposed to preach election? You're supposed to preach Christ. But it's on that foundation. We're straight as a gun barrel on stone doctrine. They're always working on the foundation. They never put any windows in the house. They never put the roof on. They never put up the walls. They're laying the foundation all the time. And that's where they stay. And I visit them in feverish activity. Feverish activity. And they're putting in the windows and nailing on the shingles and building the walls to see a union. Doctrine, our approach, our method, our program is born out of our theological concept or the lack of it. The need of the salary to spend time and stress on the message of evangelism. Where do you see advertised an evangelistic conference or a symposium or whatever you want to call it? Where do you see advertised we're going to come to examine our message? Why some of my Baptist friends would be shocked to think that they don't have the message. They've got methods. The message is paramount. The message is the preeminent thing. Would not we agree that the Bible is principally a message not a manual of methods? I should say our methods would be determined by our message. Message determines the method is evident. It's evident in our concept of our order salutis, the order of things. Predestination, calling, regeneration, faith and repentance, justification, sanctification, and glorification. That order salutis in itself. But there is a divine method. All we might ask is there a divine method. Well, this is what I'm coming to. I believe we have a manual. A manual of evangelism in the book of Acts. A manual for evangelism. I really do believe that the method of evangelism, Acts, is the manual for evangelism. Their messages are recorded. And they were at the stream when it was pure. They're the ones that heard from the lips of the Savior that you shall receive power after the Holy Ghost has come upon you. And you shall be witnesses unto me. And what is the book of Acts? It's nothing more than how they went about Acts 1-8. And that's the history of the Christian church. The whole history of the Christian church can focus back to Acts 1-8. How they went about. What they did. What they said. The methods they used. Everything. All goes back to 1-8. Our presence here today goes back to that. We're doing what the Lord told us to do. I say their messages are recorded. And their methods are recorded. And that's the history of the church. So, would it be wise to go to the manual for evangelism to find it? We see it in the pure efforts in evangelism. When we see it in its purest. When we see evangelism in its purest. When there is that dynamic union of the doctrines of grace. With warm, and I emphasize warm, compassionate heavenly zeal. That's at its purest. When theology. Theology. When it takes as its guiding text the parting words of our Lord. Go ye in all the world and preach the gospel. We see it at its purest. Well, we're looking at this divine manual. Is there a method? Well, Paul's our pattern. We learn from Timothy 1-16 that he's our pattern to all that believe. And if that's true then he more especially he's our pattern as preachers. I read in the text something about his method. He says, I have kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but I have showed you and I have taught you. Now get this. Here's our method. What was his method? I have taught you publicly and from house to house. Taught you where? Two places. Publicly and house to house. When I think of these few insignificant people and really what they did was take Jesus seriously. They took him seriously. Worship him with no money, no church politics, no political influence, no influential people, no institutions, no facilities. They had the command of the Lord, the word of the Lord and the spirit of the Lord. For me, it was kind of warming me up for today when I hear this emphasis last night. The word of the Lord and the spirit of the Lord. You know what I did one time? Sometimes I'll be reading these old men in my study and I just get up off of my chair. This happened to me more than once. I said, Oh God, send George Whitfield back to America. And it seems like a voice coming up. Something happens down here that says, well if anybody's going to serve this generation it'll have to be little penance like you and the rest of those guys out there. But I'll tell you what I did once. I stood up. What did they have? And I stood up lest I get drowsy. And I stood at a window and I stand up, stood up and read the whole book of Acts. With this thought in mind, what did they have? And you know when I wound up? When I wound up with three little things. It's so simple. And we're looking for the complicated. You know what they had? I saw that they started with a prayer meeting. Acts 114. Prayer, preaching, and teaching and no gimmicks. Prayer, preaching, and teaching and no gimmicks. I believe the Bible has called everyone into the, that is come into the benefits of the gospel and the fellowship of the gospel. I believe he's called us to the defense and the proclamation of the gospel. And let me say what I don't mean. And by that, I do not mean that everyone is called into an active verbal consultation with sinners in defense and proclamation of the gospel. I think some of those old women can't do that. I got some men in my church that can't do that. Just the same as everyone is not called to be a preacher. Everyone is not called to be a missionary. But, what I do mean is that as a part of a Christian church, they are called into the defense and proclamation of the gospel. And to that, every church member has some part. Paul thanked God for the Philippians. He says, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day unto now. And so as a church, it's our, it's the job of the church to proclaim the gospel. In that sense, I believe everyone who is called into the benefits and fellowship of the gospel is also called into the defense and proclamation of the gospel. Well, I said we have in the book of Acts there are sermons, Peter's sermons, Paul's sermons, Stephen's sermons. What about their method? Well, we have 10,000 methods now, but they had a method. They had some methods. Don't be too afraid that some of the, just because the Armenians do some things wrong, that don't mean they do everything wrong. You ought to learn that. You know, I looked at the Great Commission some while back, and I know we always start at Matthew chapter 28, verse 19 and 20. We don't go back far enough. Verse 17, before he sent them out, before he sent them as witnesses, it said they worshipped him. They worshipped him. And we don't have the much emphasis on the worshipping him. But I do believe, if that's true, the others come spontaneously. Well, what was their method? Well, they prayed. And then they had confidence in the Scriptures, what we heard. Peter's first sermon, why, he quotes two long portions of Scriptures, one from Joel, one from the Psalms, a couple from the Psalms, and one little sermon. They had great confidence in the Scripture. So we can say, prayer, which included worship, preaching and praise, Acts 2. You get it all right there in Acts 2. But don't miss their method. Don't miss their method. You know, if we're sent out to witnesses, we ask somebody to witness too. One of these preachers would have a church. I said, if you don't, if God's called you to preach, he's called you to preach to somebody, either just wait a while or you're not hearing right. One of the two, either wait a little while. Because if God's called you to preach, he's called you to preach to somebody. And so if he's called us to witness, he's called us to witness to somebody. And where are they? Did they have a method? Well, I think they did. I look in Acts 2, verse 46, it says, house to house. That's what Paul said he did, house to house. So you see the Arminians going house to house and say, oh, that's not good. I'm just going to put up a sign and say, we'll reform, God save me. I'm a construction job. He had to go out there. That was his mission field. That was his house. That was his door. If I'd asked the testimonies of all these preachers here, you'll find that I would be willing to wager if I was a gambler, I still do it anymore, that's all. I'd be wagering that 80% of these men here, other than those who came from godly Christian homes, 80% of the men would testify that somebody caught somebody where their house was. House to house. Go and contact, we've got to contact the unconverted. Let's look at some of the results. I mean in the book of Acts. I'm standing right there. This is our manual of evangelism. I think it's our divine manual. I really do. It'd be great if somebody just read it once in a while. Wouldn't it be wonderful if somebody reads the Bible and believes it? Okay, I'm going to give you a panoramic view. Acts 2.4 says, well, first of all, it was 120. That's how many they started with, Acts 1.15. Acts 2.41, they added 3,000. Acts 2.47, 47, it says the Lord added more than that. Now how did they know there were 3,000? Well, they counted them. You know, some people are, some people are, you know, they're so pious that they're afraid of statistics. Oh, we don't want to talk about numbers. And then there's others, they're drunk with statistics. And they think that's all there is, numbers, numbers, numbers. They're in the number racket. No, no, there was 3,000. I say if they counted, if they put 3,000 in the Bible, somebody had to count them. And then I go to Acts 4.4 and I say there were 5,000. That was the latest count. 5,000, that means they got, they got 3,120 more than they had before. Or I mean, they had 1,860 more than they had before. And you know what? They're still in town. They're still in Jerusalem. Haven't even gotten out of Jerusalem yet. Chapter 4.32, we have this. Now they have multitudes. Now they have a multitude. Acts 5.14, they have multitudes. The word multitudes plurals there. Acts chapter 6, verse 1, it says multiplied. Don't you like that? I like added, but boy, I like multiplied better. Multiply. Acts chapter 6, verse 7, multiplied greatly. Greatly. They're still in town. Now you see, I have a hard field where I work. I'm a poor preacher. My area is predominantly Roman Catholic and it's very difficult. You know where they were? They were in Jerusalem. That's right. And I want to tell you, everybody's aunt and uncle and cousin and grandmother had religion, but they needed to be converted because the Bible says neither is there salvation in any other. Well, there's none other name given on heaven, given among men. Acts records that they filled Jerusalem with their teaching. They were teaching. See, they were not decisionists. Most of our evangelism is decisionism. They were not decisionists. They were teaching. That's what it says in Acts 5.28. So their method goes right in. Of course, it's from the Bible. That's what I want you to look at. First of all, our text said Paul taught. That's what he did. He taught. I have taught you publicly and from house to house. Let me continue my panoramic view of this method. Acts 5.21, the apostles. They entered early into the synagogue in the morning and it says they taught. T-A-U-G-H-T. Acts 5.25, Behold, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people. Not trying to wring decisions out of them. Teaching the people. Acts 5.28, You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching. Well, if they filled Jerusalem with their teaching, that means they had been about to pass of teaching. That's how you get it full of teaching, is teach. So they were teaching. Acts 11.26, For the whole year it entered Antioch. Paul and Barnabas, it says, taught much people. They taught much people. That's why there's no follow-up program. Some of these people said, Well, what kind of a follow-up program do you recommend? I said, Well, I put the follow-up program at the beginning and do the teaching and everything at the beginning and then you don't have to worry about the following up. That's why there's no follow-up program in the book of Acts. They did it all at the front end. Before they tried to get decisions, they let people know what they decided. Acts 14.21, that derby, it says they preached and taught. Now you get the method. Preached and taught. That's their method. Acts 15.35, Teaching and preaching. Acts 18.11, Paul at Carmel. And he continued a year and six months teaching the Word of God. Get some idea? Is there a divine method? Is there a divine method? They were carrying out our Lord's mandate and told them to do that and not go out and bring decisions out of people who were deciding they know not what. Go and teach all nations. They were carrying out Acts 1.8. Of course, our Lord Jesus Christ set the example of this very method Himself. Mark chapter 6, verse 6, He said He went around about the villages. What was He doing? Class. Teaching. Some death bed stories. Mark chapter 6, verse 34, Jesus was moved with compassion toward them because they were as sheep not having a shepherd. And what did He do? Next words. He began to teach. Is there a divine method? 23, He went about Galilee teaching and preaching. Teaching and preaching. Why is that? You need to be reminded of it. The way to the will and the way to the emotion. What is true religion? Well, the least it is, is this. Right thinking in relationship to God. Right feeling in relationship to God. And right acting in relationship to God. That's the least true religion is. And if that's true, if that's true and I believe it with all my heart, then we must teach the mind. And yes, appeals to both the mind, the emotion, and the will. But the order is important. And again, our Lord gives us a beautiful example all the time, but particularly a very vivid picture of it is on the way to a man. What did He do? Well, He did a lot of things, but two principal things He did was this. He opened, He opened their understanding. What did Philip do with the Ethiopian treasure? Give him a one, two, three sales pitch and say, shake hands brother, let's have a little prayer and it's all, that's evangelism. Explain, that's evangelism. If Philip wasn't doing evangelism then, I don't want to do it. Just deal me out. If that wasn't evangelism, then it's purist. Explain the Scriptures. Timothy was told to do the work of an evangelist. He was told to do the work of an evangelist. So if he was told to do the work of an evangelist, we ought to take a little time and see what did he do? Well, he got a few psalm leaders, polished people horn tooting, bell ringing, big diamond. He says, well, we're going to go to this place, all this advertisement, send us pictures and files and other things. Where's that? That's Cineism. That's Cineism. What did he do? Now, it says, Paul said to him, as in chapter two, verse two of second Timothy, we find out what he did, what he was to do. And the things that thou hast heard of me, said the apostle, the same commit thou to faithful men who will be able to do what? Teach others. Teach them. In those godly homes, they don't know when they come because they were taught the holy scriptures. And when Timothy refers to his own conversion, the wives of the south. Well, I said, they were in a difficult place. I said, they had no equipment, no scholars, no seminaries. They were fishermen, no buildings. And they had great oppositions. In fact, they had men, there were men dedicated to stop their message. I often wonder, maybe God launched the gospel in Jerusalem to encourage all future generations in difficult times. And we are in difficult times. And some of you, dear brethren, labor in very, very difficult places. And I wonder if he didn't launch the gospel in Jerusalem for your encouragement. Well, what was their secret? That was part of their method of teaching. But where did they teach? Chapter 2, verse 46, Paul tells it here, house to house. And in Acts, chapter 2, verse 46, look at it, house to house. Acts 5, 42, it says every house. Now, they had a bad problem that we don't have. They had a man, a wicked man, Saul of Tarsus, an awful man, and he took on a project. And that project was to stop the religion of Jesus. How did he go about stopping it? Well, he used the same method as they did. They went house to house. Well, he used the same method. In Acts, chapter 8, verse 1 to 3, he drove the Christians out of town. He couldn't find one. He says, they were all scattered abroad. How did he go about it? Acts 8, 3 says, entering every house. You had to go where they are. You got to go where the fish are. For a church, I believe, not adopt their message, not adopt all their methods. But this part of it, of going out where the people are, is a very clear biblical principle. And I find it very weak among brethren who are very sound otherwise, and wonderful men. People are behind doors in every house. And in Acts, chapter 9, that wicked man, Saul of Tarsus, was converted. The risen Christ was revealed to his heart. And from that day on the road to Damascus, until his noble head was severed from his tired shoulders by the shining sword of Nero, outside the city of Rome, Paul served the risen Son of God with unflagging zeal, selfless devotion, seeking to tell and to teach others. He taught. Where did he teach? House to house. It would be interesting for you sometime when you try and encourage your people to go through the book of Acts and look at that little word, go. Preach the sermon on go. And you'll find it about 40 times, the word go. You'll find three little words that have to do with evangelism. Philip, 826. Arise and go. Annias, 911. Arise and go. Peter was in a prayer meeting. And he had the same thing. Stop praying, Peter, and get going. You prayed long enough, you fell asleep on the top of this hill. You fall asleep praying. What happened after the resurrection? Well, it's still happening. I think it's terrible for us to have to say most of us got saved under Arminian auspices. We got saved under Arminian methods. How many of you got saved under Arminian methods? I know you all. Now, you want to see something, put up your hand, be honored. At least I'm not giving you hot air. There's sacks. The book of Acts tells us their method. It does. Prayer, teaching, preaching, and going. Teaching some things. One more thing, there's two other things in that text, and I believe this is important. Both found in verse 19. Serving the Lord, he said, with all humility of mind, and with many tears and temptations, which were felled me by the lying wayward Jews. Humility and tears, this part. Two things. Humility and tears. Now, it's not very safe to talk about your humility. Humble men are mostly conscious of great pride, and sometimes those who speak of their humility are the very ones that lack it. I don't like to think any of us are able to judge even our pride or our humility, because pride often assumes the form of lowliness. And lowliness is often coupled with heavenly dignity. It's not easy to discover the counterfeit from the real. And I wouldn't even believe Paul if this were not by the words of the Holy Ghost. I wouldn't even believe him if it were not for that truth. He spoke by inspiration. But he talks about his humility. That's not the part I want to talk about. I just say it's there. It's part of the humble method. I've got the five points straight. I'm going to dish that out. The other part I want to talk about is about the tears. I don't know if that's literal tears or if that's a picture of a disposition of heart. I hope that you've felt some drop down here sometimes, even though you didn't see any roll down here. I'm getting older now. I can speak for young men. Young men. But I see a lot of this cold, dishing out truth. Boy, I gave them the truth today. I've sat under it. I've heard men. Gave them the truth. I spent a year when I retired traveling for a seminary. I visited their churches up and down the land. Doctrinally. Not on vacation. Dishing out the truth. No feeling. No tears. No compassion. It's the truth. That they take it and read it. No, no. There's more to it than that. There's heartfelt feeling. There's a beautiful picture. Many beautiful pictures. In Paul, who was our pattern. A very beautiful one in 1 Thessalonians 2. And you have this kind of language. I was gentle among you. As a nurse cherished her children. Affectionately desirous of you. Exalting and comforting and charging every one of you. How as a father does. It's not just preparing my message and dishing out the truth. That's an ingredient. It's a biblical ingredient. And it's in the manual. The sacred manual of evangelism. One of the books that Banner came back with. Here's a Calvinist. If he wasn't a Calvinist, I don't want to be. You can, but I don't want to be. This is what I'm talking about. Speaking to the unconverted. Oh, how does mercy follow you in plea? Is not your heart broken yet? Oh, that today you would hear his voice. Beloved, if you have any pity for your perishing soul, close with the present offers of mercy. If the God who made you have any authority with you, obey his command and come in. If you are not a despiser of grace and would not shut up the doors of mercy against yourself, repent and be converted. Let not heaven stand open in vain. Let not the Lord Jesus Christ open the stores and bid you to buy money without price in vain. Let not the Holy Spirit's ministry strive with you in vain and leave you now at this last, unprepared at last, unless the sentence at last come forth against you. Well, though I have called you long, you have refused. I shall yet this once more lift up my voice like a trumpet and cry from the high places of the city before I conclude with that miserable exclamation, all is over. Once more I call after the wickedness of sinners that if it be possible, if any may awaken them. Oh, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord. Unless you are resolved to die, lend your ears to the last calls of mercy. Behold, in the name of God, I make open proclamation to you. Hearken unto me, all ye children. Hear the instruction to be wise, but I mean by tears, serving the Lord with all humility of mind and many tears and temptations which will befell me by the lying way of the Jews. That has something to do with his method of preaching. Now, I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but I have showed you prayer where, where they are, house to house.