 This world is filled with darkness. This world is filled with confusion. Many are searching for purpose, for hope. Many are searching for the Lord, and they don't even know it. In Exodus chapter 3, verse number 1, we read, One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest to Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God. There, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn't burn up. This is amazing, Moses said to himself. Why isn't that bush burning up? I must go see it. When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, Moses, Moses. Here I am, Moses replied. Do not come any closer, the Lord warned. Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God. Then the Lord told him, I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. Verse eight. So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey, the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. Look, the cry of the people of Israel has reached me. And I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people, Israel, out of Egypt. When we look at the Old Testament and we see the nation of Israel under slavery and bondage to the Egyptians, the scripture is creating for us a prophetic parallel. Israel under Egyptian slavery is a prophetic picture of the world under the power of sin, under the rule and the subjugation of the kingdom of darkness. This world is bound in its sin. But God has heard from heaven the cry of the lost. God has not gone deaf. His compassion does not fail. His mercies are new every morning. God can hear the cry. My question is, can we? Can you hear the cry of those who are so confused about their identity that they try to change things about themselves they shouldn't change? Can you hear the cry of the drug addicted? Can you hear the cry of the suicidal? Can you hear the cry of the broken families, the broken marriages, the children wondering why their home is filled with such anger and fear and tension? This world has been broken by sin. And Jesus has given to you and I the answer. The cure, the hope, the solution, which is salvation in Christ. When you begin to ascend the mountain of God and you come into contact with that fire, there's something about being in the presence of God that causes your heart to burn for souls. There's something about being in the presence of the Holy Spirit that makes you into a soul winner. It's not something you have to pretend to be or force yourself to do. But you become so consumed by the plight of the sinner. You become so consumed about their eternity, about their destination, about their brokenness that everything in you yearns for them to know the hope that is in Christ. That's what it means to touch the fire. Don't tell me you have the fire of God just because you jump up and down when we worship. Don't tell me you have the fire of God just because you wave a flag when we sing. Or because you are part of a program, the fire of the Holy Ghost will always manifest in some way as a heart for the lost. God can hear the cry. Can you? Can you hear the cry above your own ambition and plans? Can you hear the cry above your own desires and cravings of the flesh? Can you hear the cry above the distractions of this world? Can you hear the cry above the criticism of those who would tell you that you mustn't preach such a bold message? An encounter with God will cause you to focus on souls. Just as Moses came into contact with this beautiful presence. He said, this is amazing, but it did more than amaze him. It changed him. It did more than amaze him. It gave him an assignment. It gave him a purpose. It refocused him on something that was God's focus. And I hope that we don't become so distracted by everything that we're doing, though many of these things are great, that we forget that God's mission, God's agenda is and will be until the return of Christ's salvation of the lost. It's time to start thinking in terms of eternity. It's okay to plan for your future. It's okay to seek the things that God has given you to seek. It's okay to establish what God has given you to establish. But in the midst of all of that, what are you doing for the lost? What are you doing for souls? I don't know about you, but I don't want to get to heaven and find that there were souls that should have gone with me. I don't want to stand before God, look back at my life and recognize that there was so much more that I could have done to see the lost come to Christ. This is more than just changing lives. This is changing eternities. Listen, I believe in miracles. I believe in healing. But what good does it do to see someone healed of a sickness and a body that doesn't last forever? Consider the fact that everyone that Jesus performed a healing miracle for has now died. You look at least in Scripture when he was here in the earth in physical form. What good does it do to minister healing to the sick if not salvation for their soul? What good does it do to drive out all someone's demons if they go to hell with all of them? What good does it do to prophesy about someone's future if that future doesn't include heaven? What good does it do to have our programs and our charities? Why feed those today who go to hell tomorrow? Why clothe those who go to hell tomorrow? What good does it do to provide for just the physical and material needs if we're doing nothing to set them up for the future in eternity? Now, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with those. We here believe in healing, deliverance, prophecy, and charity, and the gifts. In fact, that's one of the criticisms of this ministry is that we focus on that too much. But in all of these things, believer, preacher, man of God, woman of God, don't forget about souls. Don't become so distracted by the methods that you forget the mission. What is the purpose of power? But ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and what? And you will become my witnesses. Well, the purpose of Pentecost is proclamation. The reason God gives us the power of the Holy Ghost is so that the gospel might go forward. Something that I wrote as I was considering these things. And I like the journal, and sometimes I read from my journal here. One of my greatest concerns for this generation of ministers is that we would waste the greatest opportunity in history. I fear that though we have the greatest forms of communication technologies, though we might possess an understanding of media algorithms and how to capture and keep attention, though we have style, strategy, and savvy, my fear is that we might lack the substance that is the gospel. I want to make this clear. Please don't forget it. Because it was true then, it's true now, and it will always be true. Sin is still the problem. Jesus is still the answer. And the gospel still has power. Back to the gospel. Souls, souls, souls. That is the heartbeat of heaven. God said, I can hear it. That's why I'm sending you. Never mind our ambitions. Never mind our dreams. Let's lay those down, pick up the cross, and follow after what God has given us to do, whatever it costs you. I promise you, it's nothing that God can't repay. In a moment, I want to pray. And this is a very simple challenge I have for the body of Christ. That we would get back to the focus of soul winning. Get back to soul winning. Use the power, use the gifts, use the presentations, use the methods, use the technologies. Use it all. But don't forget why. Whatever you're using, however you're gifted, whatever your grace, get back to the gospel. Souls. I had a vision years ago, and it was actually Nani, it was Auntie Nunu's prayer classes. That's Nani's sister is Nunu, so Nani and Nunu. And Auntie Nunu used to take me on Tuesday nights. I was 14 years old. She would pull up to the apartments, and I would go down. We would drive off in her little red car. And she would take me to Tuesday night prayer meetings. I was there every Tuesday. I loved it. One of the best seasons of my life. She taught me all sorts of things, prayer, spiritual warfare, intercession. I learned the deep things of God those Tuesday nights. And one night after coming back from a night of real just, it was one of those meetings where you felt like the weight on the room. And we would pray for maybe two or three hours, and it would feel like 10 minutes. And that's coming from someone who was 14 years old. I didn't want to leave. And so I remember coming back home, just sensing this weight, this beautiful presence. And I went right to my room. I shut the door. I went in, and I began to pray again. And I believe it was a vision, but it's also possible I fell asleep and it's a dream. I'm just being honest with you, okay? I remember just praying. I just went into this as like another state. It's hard to explain. I'm praying in tongues, and suddenly I could see as if it were this enormous room. The walls, maybe hundreds of feet high, couldn't even see the ceiling, and it was just filled with such brilliant light that every detail was washed out. And all I could see was somebody or the figure of someone sitting on a throne. And in this vision, I'm not saying I went to heaven. I'm saying God showed me something. But in this vision, I remember walking toward that figure. And that beautiful presence that I sensed, it turned into a deep sorrow. And I said, Lord, this is so interesting to me. This is odd. I know that in your presence there is joy. In your presence there is peace. In your presence there is clarity. You lift burdens. You don't give burdens. You break chains. You don't give chains. And so I'm trying to figure out what this is as I'm moving closer. I'm still drawn to this being. I believe it was a vision of like unto the Father God, not necessarily saying I was there and I saw the Lord was using this imagery to teach me something. It's the best way I can word it. And as I'm approaching, I sensed just this deep sorrow, and I began just weeping. And then I heard from the throne as a father would for his child, the Father God weeping. And I didn't know what to make of it in that moment until after I come out of it, the Holy Spirit speaks to me. And he revealed to me that what he let me sense was God's heart for the lost. Not the full thing, just a small taste of what the Father God feels for those who are lost and broken. You see we often look at the lost and if you're not careful you see them as your enemy. This is a rescue mission. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, they're there who God wants. And I remember sensing this and making this determination within my heart that I would win the lost for him. Jesus deserves to reap the reward of his suffering. The Bible tells us that when he went to the cross, he continued on that mission because of the joy. I believe that the Lord, as he was being crucified, as he was agonizing, as he was going through this torturous experience that he had his heart and his mind set on every single one of us who would be redeemed. Yes, we win souls because we love people, but that's not the main reason. We win souls because we love God. Hear me now, and I want every pastor, every teacher, every minister, every Christian to hear what I'm about to say. For every soul you win, you're wiping a tear from the Father's eye. Every soul you win, that I may know him, the fellowship of his sufferings. Does this mean that we are to be miserable with no joy? No, it just means that we acknowledge that there's also something we should carry in our hearts for the lost. And I can only talk about it, but I can't give that to you. I can't make you feel what God feels. I don't even know if necessarily I've even come close to even ... I don't know if you put it in percentages, I couldn't tell you what percentage I felt. All I know is this, that if you ask him to use you, the first thing he'll do is change you. And when he changes you, he does something in your heart that causes you to carry this compassion and love for those who are lost. Because if you preach and you don't love them, it's not preaching, it's performing. If you carry out in ministry but you don't love them, it's ego you're serving, not God. When you keep that I fixed on the Lord Jesus and you tell him, Lord, I want you to change me, change my heart, transform me, I surrender, teach me to love the lost, teach me to carry that burden, teach me to carry that cross. I believe he'll do it. In fact, even now, I believe he's doing it for many of you. I believe as many are hearing this, you're sensing something stirring in you. That's the Holy Spirit transforming something in you. You're in this place, you say, Lord, I want that, I want that burden for the lost. And I know only you can give it. You know how you get that? It's simple you encounter his presence. Simple. So if you want that, I want you to stand up. And don't do that just because everyone else is, do it because you want it. You watching online, you want that? Just tell him, Lord, change my heart. Change my heart, just tell him. And as many of you are standing here, lift your hands. Just begin to talk to the Lord in your own way as the Spirit leads you. It's not a performance. It's not a script. Just tell him to use you. And if you've lost your focus, say, Lord, help me get focused again. If you'll focus on souls, God will focus on the ministry you carry. If you'll focus on the lost, God will preserve you. If you will focus on the lost, God will preserve you. And the work that he's doing through you, because it's his agenda. It's his agenda. Hands lifted, eyes closed. A simple song, let it become your prayer. Steve, sing, I surrender all. Simple words, lift your voices and sing, I surrender your hands and say, Lord, make me a soul winner. Say it again. Say, Lord. Make me a soul winner. You may be seated. And Ishmael, as you stay with me, I'll read a couple of other verses here. First Corinthians 9.16, yet preaching is not something I can boast about that is preaching the good news. I am compelled by God to do it. Woe is me if I preach not the gospel. Why does God compel us? Because if we don't preach the gospel, nobody will. Tell me which political party will say, you know what, forget about the elections. Let's shift our focus and our budget toward the winning of the loss. Tell me when was the last time that Hollywood took its profits from the box office and said, now let's invest in souls. Do you think the music industry will pour resources into the local church? Souls might be one. If we don't preach the gospel, nobody will. It's our responsibility. Now the gospel is free, freely received, freely give. But the means to deliver the gospel on a mass scale, that takes resources. Well, every journey that Jesus took, they had to plan a budget. Every journey that Paul took, he had to plan a budget. Romans chapter 10, beginning at verse nine, the scripture says this, if you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God. It is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. As the scriptures tell us, anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced. Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord who gives generously to all who call on him. Verse 13, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell him without being sent? All of us contribute to God's master plan of global evangelism. Whether you're ministering the gospel to your unsaved loved one or sharing the good news with your neighbor or modeling Christ-like character in front of your children. All of us contribute to the propagation of the gospel message, which is God's power to save. All of us have a part to play. And one of the ways, one of the many ways that we contribute to the momentum of kingdom expansion is through resourcing ministries that are focused on souls. Our ministry is laser focused. People often ask me, how come you don't do this or that or this or that? I say, because God didn't tell us to. Not us, not this specific ministry. We know the lane God called us to. We win the lost. And we demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit. That's it. And we do that. We fulfill that purpose that mandate given to us by God through a simple laser focused plan. And that is media and events, media and events. We release videos. We release content. We have online, an online school with e-courses that are free. That's media, events. We hold them around the world and never once have we had to charge not even a cent for someone to step into that conference center or a place that we rent. Why? Because freely we receive so freely we give, but we're able to do those events. We're able to release that media. We're able to give because of the resourcing that comes from God's people. And so I want to ask you to get involved with something that's working. You may at times look around the world and become a little frustrated. And say, why isn't anyone doing something about the darkness that seems to be moving forward unchecked? Why does it seem like the enemy's agendas seem to find its way in every area of our lives? Who is going to do something? I'm telling you, we the church of the living God are the answer in the earth. We the church of the living God become God's primary method for pushing back against the darkness. We're not talking about it. We're doing it. We're not desiring it. We're seeing it in its working. People are being saved, healed, delivered, set free, empowered, discipled, released into their call, brought closer to the Holy Spirit through God's ministry. And as we together, collectively, united as one, pour our resources into God's work. I believe we'll see effective advancement to the kingdom. Yes, I believe God will bless you, but you're not giving to get. Yes, I believe God will increase your resources because you're a good steward, but never mind that. I can't promise you that if you sew $77 in the next seven minutes that you'll be blessed with $7 million for seven years every year. That's a gimmick, guys. We don't use gimmicks here. I can't promise you how God will return it or if you'll even do it in this lifetime, specifically for that offering. I don't know. Here's what I can promise you. As you pour your resources into this work, we will take every resource, maximize it, and do everything we can with it to win the loss, build believers, and expand the kingdom of God. That I can promise you. You watching online, you can give by using the information at the bottom of the screen. You can also click the links that are channel posts, all gifts, large or small, they count. Everything counts. There's nothing that you can give that's so small that it won't matter. And there's nothing that you can give that's so large that we won't know what to do with it. Trust me, whatever you give, we'll make use of it. We'll make use of it. So as you're contributing, I wanna thank you, and I'll begin to read even some of the online givers who are sewing now. I can see right here on my phone many of the gifts that come in. Thank you, Tawina. Thank you to Julianne. Carol Ann just became a partner. Thank you, Letitia, and Aleska, and Alma, and Victoria, and David, and Hugh, and I see Alejandro, and many, they're coming in so fast from online. If I miss your name, forgive me, but the Lord sees it, and I know he'll bless you forward. Daniel, thank you, Linda, Anthony, Alam, Henry, Tamina, Monica, and then I see Hannah, and Martha, and many different others giving from all around the world. We still appreciate your support. It counts. I promise you, it counts. Don't listen to the enemy that says it's not gonna matter. Do your part by getting involved today.