Are Sidewalk Counselors Actually Missionaries?

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.600 --> 00:00:06.440 I am yours. I Am Yours, I am yours. Send Me Lord, 2 00:00:06.919 --> 00:00:11.310 I am yours. Welcome to the Gospel Center pro life podcast. Have 3 00:00:11.390 --> 00:00:16.030 you ever thought about Sidewalk Counseling Ministry as a Missionary Endeavor? We really believe 4 00:00:16.070 --> 00:00:18.469 that it is, and this podcast we're going to talk about that, so 5 00:00:18.589 --> 00:00:29.059 stick with us. Send Me Lord. I felt show passis touch your heart. 6 00:00:31.500 --> 00:00:39.170 Use Welcome guys to the Gospel Centered Prolife podcast. Appreciate you guys joining 7 00:00:39.250 --> 00:00:43.649 us and just want to encourage you guys to share this podcast and take some 8 00:00:43.810 --> 00:00:47.210 time, if this is the first of our podcast you've listened, to take 9 00:00:47.250 --> 00:00:49.609 some time to listen to some of the other ones, because we believe they'll 10 00:00:49.649 --> 00:00:53.719 be a blessing to you and share those with people. Share this podcast, 11 00:00:54.119 --> 00:00:59.240 give us a review on this podcast and reach out to us. We'll share 12 00:00:59.240 --> 00:01:00.719 our email addresses at the end of this podcast, so you guys can do 13 00:01:00.799 --> 00:01:04.430 that and suggest topics to us that will try to cover. That will be 14 00:01:04.469 --> 00:01:10.549 a blessing to you, and this episode we're going to cover a topic similar 15 00:01:10.549 --> 00:01:12.909 to what we've covered in the past when we talked about how sidewalk counseling is 16 00:01:12.989 --> 00:01:19.340 not protesting and we shared contrasted what sidewall counseling is with protesting and try to 17 00:01:19.459 --> 00:01:23.780 dispel some myths there there. This is similar to that, but it kind 18 00:01:23.780 --> 00:01:26.500 of brings up a new understanding, I guess, and something that, you 19 00:01:26.579 --> 00:01:30.379 know, I've believed for a long time but hadn't really articulated in this way 20 00:01:32.219 --> 00:01:38.290 until recently, which is the reality that sidewalk counseling is missionary work. When 21 00:01:38.370 --> 00:01:42.329 we're in front of an abortion center, we're at a mission field. That's 22 00:01:42.370 --> 00:01:46.049 right, and I think we need to understand this, and especially pastors, 23 00:01:46.090 --> 00:01:49.200 especially ministry leaders in Churches, and you know, as we're trying to reach 24 00:01:49.200 --> 00:01:53.439 out and get them involved more, get the church more involved, there is 25 00:01:53.560 --> 00:01:57.519 sort of this stigma that's attached to sidewalk counseling that, you know, kind 26 00:01:57.560 --> 00:02:01.150 of makes it look like it's a protest. And these pastors, people that 27 00:02:01.469 --> 00:02:06.750 that should be leading their congregations into missions, and some of them are, 28 00:02:06.790 --> 00:02:10.870 are not really viewing the abortion clinic ministry as a mission field right. You 29 00:02:10.949 --> 00:02:15.979 know, they're happy to send people with their blessing across the seas to China 30 00:02:15.979 --> 00:02:21.659 and Africa and Indian wherever else people might go as missionaries across the seas, 31 00:02:21.860 --> 00:02:24.060 which is great, not trying to diminish that. That's necessary. Go in 32 00:02:24.099 --> 00:02:28.939 to all the world and preach the Gospel. But you know, Jesus does 33 00:02:29.060 --> 00:02:34.330 say in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and then the other uttermost parts of the 34 00:02:34.729 --> 00:02:37.650 of the earth. So send some local first. This way exactly. Yeah, 35 00:02:37.770 --> 00:02:42.810 so our missionary work should start locally. And guys, and many of 36 00:02:42.889 --> 00:02:45.719 you listen and you know this, but a lot of pastors don't know this. 37 00:02:45.960 --> 00:02:47.919 A lot do praise God, but a lot don't realize that just down 38 00:02:47.919 --> 00:02:53.080 the road from your church is a mission field and it's called your abortion clinic. 39 00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:59.069 That is it is missionary work. The people are standing there doing God's 40 00:02:59.110 --> 00:03:02.590 work are missionaries. They're not protesters. That's right. And when we started 41 00:03:02.629 --> 00:03:07.669 talking about this I, as I often do, felt okay, it's important 42 00:03:07.710 --> 00:03:10.830 to define our terms. Yes, I looked up what. What is missionary 43 00:03:10.830 --> 00:03:14.020 work? Am I mean to read? Yeah, what I've found it? 44 00:03:14.300 --> 00:03:22.460 It's from Campbellsville Edu. It's an online article that I found, but that 45 00:03:22.860 --> 00:03:27.289 is a school that does train missionaries, and so they defined the duty of 46 00:03:27.370 --> 00:03:30.650 missionaries. They did the it was a whole article about missionaries, but I 47 00:03:30.770 --> 00:03:35.770 focused on one paragraph. The most important duty of missionaries is to teach people 48 00:03:35.810 --> 00:03:40.759 about Jesus Christ and his great commandment to love God and to love others. 49 00:03:42.479 --> 00:03:47.560 This means ensuring that their actions not only fulfill a need but also are sustained 50 00:03:47.599 --> 00:03:53.879 after they have left the community. Many missionaries focus on the needs of the 51 00:03:53.919 --> 00:04:00.030 community they are serving and integrate those needs with evangelism. So our pro life 52 00:04:00.069 --> 00:04:05.789 activists on the sidewalk of abortion centers doing mission work. And according to that 53 00:04:05.949 --> 00:04:11.740 definition, I would say without a doubt, so they were. They were 54 00:04:11.780 --> 00:04:15.139 kind of two main purposes brought up in in this and maybe then we can 55 00:04:15.379 --> 00:04:19.379 discuss those. The the two main purposes of mission work, the two main 56 00:04:19.420 --> 00:04:25.290 duties. The first purpose to share the truth of the Gospel and to bring 57 00:04:25.329 --> 00:04:29.170 others to a save being knowledge and submission of their lives. Yeah, Jesus 58 00:04:29.209 --> 00:04:33.970 Christ, and the second purpose is to love those people in the mission field 59 00:04:34.009 --> 00:04:38.720 as we are loved and to bring about change in their community and areas of 60 00:04:38.800 --> 00:04:43.040 struggle, to help to write down exactly, yeah, to meet practical needs. 61 00:04:43.240 --> 00:04:46.000 Right, right. So, so, regarding that that first purpose, 62 00:04:47.360 --> 00:04:51.000 do do we do? That? Is that? Is that the role of 63 00:04:51.800 --> 00:04:57.029 will call them now, sidewalk missionaries? Yeah, is that their role? 64 00:04:57.709 --> 00:05:00.430 To Bring The Gospel? Do we do that? Do we attempt to bring 65 00:05:00.430 --> 00:05:03.230 the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Yeah, well, it's what this podcast is 66 00:05:03.389 --> 00:05:08.860 all about. It's what I feel like when we began this podcast, what 67 00:05:09.060 --> 00:05:13.220 we were trying to influence people who are doing pro life work with was the 68 00:05:13.259 --> 00:05:18.139 reality that this is not just activism. HMM, I'm almost hate that word 69 00:05:18.180 --> 00:05:26.970 activism. This is not politically motivated activism, this is not humanistically motivated activism, 70 00:05:27.009 --> 00:05:31.009 because there's a lot of humanism involved in prolife ministry. But to do 71 00:05:31.089 --> 00:05:34.720 it effectively and to do it in a way that honors God, it must 72 00:05:34.759 --> 00:05:41.199 be motivated by the Gospel. Right, and that is the main reason why 73 00:05:41.240 --> 00:05:45.920 I would say again, this is not activism, but this is missionary work. 74 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:50.790 Is because our goal is to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to dark 75 00:05:50.910 --> 00:05:56.750 places, and it gets no darker if we if we take the reality of 76 00:05:56.790 --> 00:05:59.949 what's going on in right, but they're actually, you know, just where 77 00:05:59.990 --> 00:06:02.189 we came from today, right, I don't know how many abortion patient showed 78 00:06:02.230 --> 00:06:06.660 up when there were twenty five, twenty five twenty so twenty five little babies. 79 00:06:06.819 --> 00:06:11.740 Right, we're murdered. Yeah, I don't twenty three actually, because 80 00:06:11.779 --> 00:06:14.939 they were two that chose life. Praise God he's got yeah, right, 81 00:06:15.339 --> 00:06:18.569 but you look at that. Twenty three little babies were murdered inside of that 82 00:06:18.730 --> 00:06:21.769 building. I don't think you can get any darker than that. I mean 83 00:06:21.810 --> 00:06:26.769 you can't get any worse than taking an innocent person, dismembering them and throwing 84 00:06:26.850 --> 00:06:30.889 them into a medical waste bag, sent it all to an incinerator and be 85 00:06:30.410 --> 00:06:33.600 you burned. Yeah, with medical waste. Yeah, that's a dark place. 86 00:06:33.720 --> 00:06:36.879 That's the the darkest place. But of course you look at where. 87 00:06:36.959 --> 00:06:41.279 I mean you read, not if you have, but I have biographies and 88 00:06:41.319 --> 00:06:45.839 autobiographies of men and women of God in the past who've gone, no a 89 00:06:45.879 --> 00:06:49.029 cross seas to to India. So you know, I think of Hudson Taylor, 90 00:06:49.069 --> 00:06:55.670 who went to China. And these men and women went to dark places. 91 00:06:55.870 --> 00:06:58.910 That was kind of the goal, if you read their riotings, it 92 00:06:59.069 --> 00:07:01.220 was to shine the light of the Gospel in dark places. Yeah, and 93 00:07:01.339 --> 00:07:06.579 they gave their lives to that mission work. It's the same thing in front 94 00:07:06.620 --> 00:07:10.459 of an abortion center. That's now, of course, we look at the 95 00:07:10.540 --> 00:07:14.139 awesome fruit and of course many of them labored for years and didn't see very 96 00:07:14.180 --> 00:07:16.930 much fruit, and we know that feeling right, laboring here day after day 97 00:07:16.930 --> 00:07:20.050 and sometimes not seeing fruit, and then praise God, like you just shared, 98 00:07:20.089 --> 00:07:24.329 two babies were saved. So you're looking at, you know, something 99 00:07:24.329 --> 00:07:28.449 terrible. Twenty three babies died, but something awesome. Two babies lives are 100 00:07:28.730 --> 00:07:32.720 saved from certain destruction. MOM's heart was shifted in such a way that she 101 00:07:32.839 --> 00:07:38.360 turned away from death and turned to life. Now have they fully turned to 102 00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:43.120 the Lord? No, but I mean maybe, maybe, but definitely in 103 00:07:43.319 --> 00:07:46.949 our missionary endeavor there, we're going to follow up with them, we're going 104 00:07:46.990 --> 00:07:49.149 to disciple them, and any mission work does that right as we're going and 105 00:07:49.230 --> 00:07:53.029 we're meeting practical needs, and that's what we're doing here. We're talking about 106 00:07:53.029 --> 00:07:56.870 practical needs. If you guys haven't, you know, really cued into our 107 00:07:56.949 --> 00:08:00.139 three points that we share in front of the abortion center, it's what God 108 00:08:00.220 --> 00:08:01.300 says about you, what God says about the baby, you know. So 109 00:08:01.379 --> 00:08:05.420 what God says the humanity of the baby in the practical resources. And so 110 00:08:05.579 --> 00:08:09.579 those are our three talking points that we teach people. We teach side all 111 00:08:09.660 --> 00:08:13.569 counseling and of course, the practical resources of one of those things, and 112 00:08:13.769 --> 00:08:16.889 it is a big thing, right, but it's always coupled with the Gospel. 113 00:08:16.930 --> 00:08:20.129 MMM. Doesn't mean people have to get saved for us to practically help 114 00:08:20.170 --> 00:08:22.889 them. You know that. That lies been told and that's not true. 115 00:08:24.290 --> 00:08:26.689 We help them whether or not they turn their lives to the Lord or not, 116 00:08:26.199 --> 00:08:31.080 but it's all motivated by the Gospel. That's missionary work. If you 117 00:08:31.240 --> 00:08:37.639 read again biographies and autobiographies of missionaries that have done the mission work since the 118 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:41.750 beginning, you look at the book of acts, right, they're Paul. 119 00:08:41.190 --> 00:08:46.230 What's Paul and Barnabas doing? What we look at it? We look at 120 00:08:46.269 --> 00:08:48.950 the maps in the back of our Bible and you see Paul's Missionary Journey Number 121 00:08:50.029 --> 00:08:52.830 One, two, three, and so anyway, I say all that to 122 00:08:52.909 --> 00:08:58.899 say if you read about missionaries doing mission work, you're you're reading exactly what's 123 00:08:58.940 --> 00:09:03.299 happening on the sidewalks in front of an abortion clinic and beyond. By the 124 00:09:03.340 --> 00:09:05.179 way, it doesn't just happen on the sidewalks. It happens with the follow 125 00:09:05.220 --> 00:09:09.009 up, it happens with a connection with churches, mentors, baby showers, 126 00:09:09.009 --> 00:09:13.769 all that stuff well, and going back to that that initial definition. Yet 127 00:09:13.929 --> 00:09:16.850 you it becomes we become immersed in the community in a sense. We may 128 00:09:16.889 --> 00:09:24.169 not move be moving into their community as as sidewalk missionaries ourself, but we 129 00:09:24.200 --> 00:09:30.639 are in meshed in their community and help them with the resources in their community, 130 00:09:30.759 --> 00:09:33.679 and help is a big part of what a missionary does. Now, 131 00:09:33.720 --> 00:09:37.830 why do we help? For? There's many reasons. For one thing, 132 00:09:37.870 --> 00:09:43.309 we are commanded to to love our neighbor as ourself and to help those who 133 00:09:43.309 --> 00:09:46.590 are on a path of destruction. But if our primary focus is the Gospel 134 00:09:46.870 --> 00:09:54.139 and spreading the Gospel, helping, missionaries discovered right away that the easiest way 135 00:09:54.220 --> 00:10:00.379 to gain the trust of the communities, that that was their mission field, 136 00:10:00.419 --> 00:10:03.700 that where their mission fields, was to help them to find out what their 137 00:10:03.779 --> 00:10:07.330 struggles were. To right, if we're like to bring fresh water togemnities, 138 00:10:07.370 --> 00:10:13.129 and Africa has a huge mission field and that opens people's hearts to then hearing 139 00:10:13.450 --> 00:10:16.289 what you have to say, yeah, that the Gospel. Yeah, it's 140 00:10:16.370 --> 00:10:20.840 not that. For example, like you're talking about bringing fresh water. Are 141 00:10:20.840 --> 00:10:26.080 So digging these whales. It's an awesome testimony of the love of God. 142 00:10:26.159 --> 00:10:30.240 The practical love of God, that person that's digging whales, that ministry, 143 00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:33.360 that organization that's digging Wales. They're not just digging whales to dig whales. 144 00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:37.909 I mean it's a humanitarian effort and praise God for that. But the ones 145 00:10:37.110 --> 00:10:41.309 are certainly that our Gospel Center, are digging those whales to show that there 146 00:10:41.429 --> 00:10:45.350 is a source of living water and that's Jesus Christ right now. Of course, 147 00:10:45.710 --> 00:10:48.230 like we we're not meeting every need. We don't. We don't, 148 00:10:48.629 --> 00:10:54.019 you know, just give cash money to women who are suffering financially. We 149 00:10:54.220 --> 00:10:56.500 have, but it's not we don't cover every need, but we do the 150 00:10:56.580 --> 00:11:01.100 best we can with the resources that we have. We pour ourselves out as 151 00:11:01.179 --> 00:11:05.129 best we can and if you can read these missionaries around the world now and 152 00:11:05.250 --> 00:11:09.529 in the past, they're pouring themselves out. They're not meeting every need practically, 153 00:11:11.250 --> 00:11:13.330 but they are meeting the practical needs that they're able to and that the 154 00:11:13.409 --> 00:11:18.799 resources allow for them to. But the most important thing they're doing is bringing 155 00:11:18.360 --> 00:11:24.360 the Gospel, bringing to bear the truth of who God is, of Man's 156 00:11:24.399 --> 00:11:28.960 guilt before God and what God did in order to bridge that gap, to 157 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:33.710 bridge that divide by sending Jesus Christ to die on a cross and arise from 158 00:11:33.710 --> 00:11:37.110 the grave, defeating death on behalf of those that will put their trust in 159 00:11:37.149 --> 00:11:39.629 him. Yeah, and so thought that just came to me, which isn't 160 00:11:39.830 --> 00:11:43.389 in my outline at all. But today the heat index was over a hundred. 161 00:11:43.669 --> 00:11:46.779 Yeah, and our councilors were out there all day. Our missionaries. 162 00:11:46.820 --> 00:11:50.419 Will call the missionaries. Now you're out there all day. It was. 163 00:11:50.659 --> 00:11:54.580 It was brutal. Who is just so hot? And so many missionaries do 164 00:11:54.700 --> 00:12:01.220 Labor under difficult conditions. They're often going into difficult situations. I think that's 165 00:12:01.220 --> 00:12:07.529 another commonality, because we are certainly out there and terrible weather and for long 166 00:12:07.649 --> 00:12:11.370 hours sometimes, and with a great deal of adversity. Yeah, and that 167 00:12:11.610 --> 00:12:20.080 is what missionaries often face, because something much more important than their own safety 168 00:12:20.120 --> 00:12:26.080 or comfort is is being dealt with, and that's yeah, that's people who 169 00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:28.720 don't know the Lord, who are in a place of great darkness and babies 170 00:12:28.759 --> 00:12:31.629 that are going to die. Yeah, absolutely, See. Yeah, yeah, 171 00:12:31.629 --> 00:12:35.230 you have missionaries dealing with issues very similar to what we're dealing with. 172 00:12:35.509 --> 00:12:39.750 You know, you have missionaries that do things overseas. You know, I 173 00:12:39.830 --> 00:12:43.669 think of some folks that I knew of they did mission work in the Philippines. 174 00:12:43.710 --> 00:12:46.100 Yeah, and some of that mission work was involved in getting children out 175 00:12:46.100 --> 00:12:50.820 of sex trafficking situations. That would be hard. Yeah, and you're literally 176 00:12:50.860 --> 00:12:54.659 saving lives and that you're literally going in Handsone, saving lives, rescuing these 177 00:12:54.820 --> 00:13:01.769 children out of the bondage of these these wicked men and women. Yeah, 178 00:13:01.970 --> 00:13:05.289 and but of course it's seasoned with the Gospel, right, and you're bringing 179 00:13:05.330 --> 00:13:09.769 the Gospel to these kids because this, this Gospel, this Jesus that came 180 00:13:09.889 --> 00:13:13.639 and died for them, can take away any of the shame that they're feeling, 181 00:13:13.679 --> 00:13:18.039 any of the trauma that they felt. And you know, there's numerous 182 00:13:18.120 --> 00:13:22.559 testimonies of child and rescued out of sex trafficking, right, who turn their 183 00:13:22.559 --> 00:13:26.159 lives over to the Lord. God was able to take that whole situation, 184 00:13:26.600 --> 00:13:30.070 things that were done to them. And yet still in that there's shame that's 185 00:13:30.110 --> 00:13:31.870 put off on them, right, and they bear the shame even though it's 186 00:13:31.870 --> 00:13:35.629 not there's to bear. And yet Jesus turns their lives around and use their 187 00:13:35.669 --> 00:13:39.070 lives as a testimony. So they've been rescued, they've been physically rescued. 188 00:13:39.389 --> 00:13:43.379 Well, that's what's happening at an abortion clinic to these children are about to 189 00:13:43.460 --> 00:13:46.700 die and we are physically now we're not going in and grabbing them out, 190 00:13:46.700 --> 00:13:48.980 because we can't do that, obviously, but we are physically. They are 191 00:13:50.059 --> 00:13:54.460 physically rescuing. Of course, we're rescuing the MOMS from that decision they're going 192 00:13:54.460 --> 00:13:58.250 to make that's going to bring more guilt on them, guilt that they, 193 00:13:58.330 --> 00:14:01.490 of course, do incur themselves. Yeah, but we're trying to save and 194 00:14:01.570 --> 00:14:03.970 rescue them from that and then save and rescue these babies from certain death, 195 00:14:05.009 --> 00:14:09.000 right. And but it's always motivated by the Gospel and we ultimately we want 196 00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:11.399 these MOMS to come to know the Lord, and that's why we sees and 197 00:14:11.480 --> 00:14:16.679 everything we do with the Gospel, so that they would lead that child, 198 00:14:16.679 --> 00:14:20.000 when that child's born and that child grows, into a knowledge of the Lord. 199 00:14:20.120 --> 00:14:24.269 And we've seen that happen and we have and hopefully the end resalt is 200 00:14:24.470 --> 00:14:31.669 that a community gradually grows more pro life and less inclined to choose the disastrous 201 00:14:31.710 --> 00:14:35.350 path, yeah, of abortion. So I was as I was thinking over 202 00:14:35.389 --> 00:14:41.940 these these key areas, that that there's a commonality between what we do on 203 00:14:41.980 --> 00:14:45.860 the sidewalk and what a missionary does. I came up with just for there's 204 00:14:45.899 --> 00:14:48.299 probably many, many more. Yeah, but Um, but maybe we could 205 00:14:48.299 --> 00:14:52.610 run run through those and kind of think about how they are very similar, 206 00:14:52.769 --> 00:15:00.450 the similarities between, you know, sidewalk counseling or side missionaries to foreign missions. 207 00:15:00.730 --> 00:15:05.289 Correct. Yeah. So, so the most effective missionaries are those who 208 00:15:05.450 --> 00:15:11.600 enter into relationship with people in the sphere of their ministry. They'll spend a 209 00:15:11.639 --> 00:15:13.799 lot of time with the people. oftentimes they move, almost always, and 210 00:15:15.200 --> 00:15:18.600 they move to the area where that mission field is, the target people group. 211 00:15:20.039 --> 00:15:22.149 And so think about that, maybe talk about that. How how about 212 00:15:22.309 --> 00:15:30.830 how are we similar in in building relationships with our target people group? Yeah, 213 00:15:31.389 --> 00:15:35.590 well, I mean first I will say that it's not like we have 214 00:15:35.740 --> 00:15:37.820 to move to that area because we're in that area. I told my wife 215 00:15:37.820 --> 00:15:41.899 a couple of months ago, just in thinking about this and how we're missionaries 216 00:15:41.980 --> 00:15:45.340 and I just encouraging her because she's missionaries. He's kind of like a medical 217 00:15:45.379 --> 00:15:48.460 missionary. Wants it sure is her skills as a nurse, and she does. 218 00:15:48.659 --> 00:15:52.730 Mean if you guys haven't listened to the podcast about the abortion pill reversal, 219 00:15:52.769 --> 00:15:56.649 exactly these listen to that, because she's involved in that and that's missionary 220 00:15:56.690 --> 00:15:58.929 work. That's saving lives. Yeah, she's also involved on the sidewalk here 221 00:16:00.090 --> 00:16:03.730 and using her skills as a nurse to give free pregnancy tests, as ultrasound, 222 00:16:03.169 --> 00:16:07.080 that sort of thing. So she's a missionary in that way and I 223 00:16:07.159 --> 00:16:10.240 encouraged her the other day a couple months ago and I said, you know, 224 00:16:10.279 --> 00:16:14.039 what reality is, we're missionaries. We just get the amenities of the 225 00:16:14.120 --> 00:16:17.759 United States. You know, we don't live in Africa where, you know. 226 00:16:18.279 --> 00:16:19.389 I mean, listen, I can get down the street from my house, 227 00:16:19.429 --> 00:16:22.230 even though we're missionaries and we're in the community, we're involved in people's 228 00:16:22.269 --> 00:16:26.110 lives. I can get down the road to Walmart and get things that, 229 00:16:26.309 --> 00:16:30.830 you know, you can't find in some places miles and miles away in Africa, 230 00:16:30.870 --> 00:16:33.419 are India, you know. So we get some of the amenities. 231 00:16:33.220 --> 00:16:37.500 But also, you know, if you think about it, with foreign missions, 232 00:16:37.820 --> 00:16:41.179 there's a time that people who are far missionaries can fly back to the 233 00:16:41.179 --> 00:16:42.899 United States and get a little break from that mission work and they'll maybe come 234 00:16:42.940 --> 00:16:45.980 to a mission conference here in the United States, maybe take a little bit 235 00:16:47.019 --> 00:16:52.090 of a sabbatical from that we can't do that because we're in the community. 236 00:16:52.450 --> 00:16:55.090 Yeah, and so you know, some of the ways that we're in the 237 00:16:55.169 --> 00:17:00.049 community is in building those relationships. You know, me and my wife, 238 00:17:00.649 --> 00:17:03.159 some months ago there was a mom that chose life. This is kind of 239 00:17:03.159 --> 00:17:07.319 an example of us pain in the community and I won't share all the details 240 00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:11.200 because it's kind of a difficult story and I don't want to give anybody's personal 241 00:17:11.240 --> 00:17:15.599 information away. But this was a mom that chose life here at La Trabe 242 00:17:15.599 --> 00:17:18.750 abortion center and she had some struggles, some mental struggles. Now she was 243 00:17:19.269 --> 00:17:22.950 certainly for life. She'd chosen life. She wanted to keep the baby. 244 00:17:22.990 --> 00:17:26.269 She didn't even want to have an abortion to begin with, just the circumstance 245 00:17:26.390 --> 00:17:29.390 dictated to her that. She felt like she needed to ultimately praise God. 246 00:17:29.470 --> 00:17:33.019 She chose life, but she had some mental struggles and she had ultimately ended 247 00:17:33.019 --> 00:17:36.740 up trying to take her own life. Yeah, and so me and my 248 00:17:36.900 --> 00:17:41.500 wife went to the institution where she was at and she, you praise God, 249 00:17:41.539 --> 00:17:42.619 didn't take her own life. She was not successful. I think it 250 00:17:42.619 --> 00:17:45.490 was more of a cry for help than anything, and so we went and 251 00:17:45.529 --> 00:17:52.009 visited her in that mental institution encouraged her and made ourselves available to help her 252 00:17:52.130 --> 00:17:55.930 in whatever she needed. A couple of months after that and she got out 253 00:17:56.009 --> 00:17:57.009 and she was, you know, on her feet and doing well, we 254 00:17:57.720 --> 00:18:02.799 went to her house and we took our baby shower ministry team and actually threw 255 00:18:02.799 --> 00:18:04.319 a baby shower for yeah, so that's one of the ways. And I 256 00:18:04.359 --> 00:18:10.279 actually built a relationship with a guy who was living with her in her house 257 00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:14.190 and try to influence him with the Gospel and all that. So just practically 258 00:18:14.230 --> 00:18:18.589 building relationships now, you know, and kind of a, I guess, 259 00:18:18.670 --> 00:18:22.349 frontline way. So that's sort of behind the scenes things, but in a 260 00:18:22.430 --> 00:18:26.539 front line way and a very, you know, pointed way. We're trying. 261 00:18:26.660 --> 00:18:30.299 We're in the community, were there on the sidewalks and we're trying to 262 00:18:30.339 --> 00:18:34.059 meet people where they're at right we're trying dark as place. Are there we 263 00:18:34.180 --> 00:18:37.500 worst moment really, which is right there in front of that abortion center. 264 00:18:37.619 --> 00:18:41.569 So we're trying to be relatable. You know, if you think about our 265 00:18:41.609 --> 00:18:44.730 the missionary, one of the things that missionaries do, foreign missionaries do, 266 00:18:45.210 --> 00:18:48.849 is they try to learn the language, you know, and they try to 267 00:18:48.890 --> 00:18:52.089 speak the language that the people are speaking so that they mean they don't go 268 00:18:52.250 --> 00:18:56.039 into a village and make everybody learn English right. They meet people where they're 269 00:18:56.039 --> 00:19:00.079 at right and we in the same way. Now, of course I'm not 270 00:19:00.119 --> 00:19:02.839 going to stand on the sidewalk and use the language of the people going in 271 00:19:02.920 --> 00:19:06.119 because a lot of times it's foul language, not the language that God would 272 00:19:06.119 --> 00:19:10.269 have us use. But I will sometimes because, if you think about it, 273 00:19:10.349 --> 00:19:14.829 we use our Christianese a lot of times and we use terms that a 274 00:19:14.910 --> 00:19:18.670 lot of just normal everyday people don't use, like the word repent. Yeah, 275 00:19:18.750 --> 00:19:22.509 it's a biblical word and I've talked about this in the past. I 276 00:19:22.589 --> 00:19:25.380 think it's a word we should use, but if we're going to use it, 277 00:19:25.980 --> 00:19:29.539 then we need to use it in a in a real way that connects 278 00:19:29.579 --> 00:19:30.980 with them. So if I use the word repent, I'm going to describe 279 00:19:32.019 --> 00:19:34.259 what it means, but more often than not I'm going to speak the language. 280 00:19:34.460 --> 00:19:37.180 So I'm going to talk in everyday terms. I'm not going to use 281 00:19:37.299 --> 00:19:41.490 like all these big biblical terms and all this other stuff. Right, I'm 282 00:19:41.490 --> 00:19:44.210 going to talk in the terms that people know because, you know, let's 283 00:19:44.250 --> 00:19:47.690 face it, we're dealing with people who are just everyday people coming to the 284 00:19:47.730 --> 00:19:51.049 abortion. We're not dealing with, you know, the super educated people. 285 00:19:51.170 --> 00:19:53.519 Some people are coming to the abortion clinic are, but mostly it's just common 286 00:19:53.559 --> 00:19:56.480 people that speak, you know, everyday language whatever, not using these big 287 00:19:56.559 --> 00:20:00.839 terms and, you know, getting into the Latin and the gree on these 288 00:20:00.880 --> 00:20:04.680 other things. Yeah, and so fact is, though, a lot of 289 00:20:04.759 --> 00:20:10.150 the people that we encounter at the abortion clinic do at least claim to believe 290 00:20:10.190 --> 00:20:12.269 in Jesus. Most of them do here in the south. So when we're 291 00:20:12.349 --> 00:20:15.630 talking the Lord, we're talking about the Lord, we're talking about Jesus. 292 00:20:17.069 --> 00:20:21.230 I mean, I'll quote John Sixteen, and probably ninety percent of the people 293 00:20:21.269 --> 00:20:23.819 going into the abortion center to have abortions can finish the quote for me right. 294 00:20:25.059 --> 00:20:26.819 So I'll connect with them on that level too. Yeah, I'll remind 295 00:20:26.980 --> 00:20:30.900 them use some of their language, which, you know, here in the 296 00:20:30.940 --> 00:20:33.619 south is Biblical language, by the way, and I'll remind them of some 297 00:20:33.700 --> 00:20:37.650 of the truths that they had known when they are raised in church and they 298 00:20:37.650 --> 00:20:38.890 were brought up in Sunday school and that sort of thing. That's kind of 299 00:20:38.890 --> 00:20:41.410 speaking the language. Yeah, it is. It's relating to them on a 300 00:20:41.529 --> 00:20:45.930 spiritual level that they certainly had at least at some point in their life, 301 00:20:47.049 --> 00:20:51.119 most of them. Yeah, and and understanding the culture, because we do 302 00:20:51.319 --> 00:20:55.200 have some minority groups, that certainly a lot of minority groups actually, that 303 00:20:55.559 --> 00:21:03.240 come to have an abortion and understanding, for example, that adoption is seen 304 00:21:03.279 --> 00:21:07.029 as foster care in in, for example, in the black community. Quite 305 00:21:07.069 --> 00:21:10.630 often they equate. Well, if you understand that, you're going to speak 306 00:21:10.630 --> 00:21:12.950 to them more carefully. Yeah, about that issue. And so I think 307 00:21:14.349 --> 00:21:17.670 we you do need to be trained in the culture of the people that you 308 00:21:17.789 --> 00:21:21.660 are going to encounter. Yeah, absolutely, add in our mission field and 309 00:21:21.740 --> 00:21:23.619 and we make an effort to do that. But I love your example of 310 00:21:25.220 --> 00:21:30.900 going and visiting the Young Woman that that you had counseled. And that actually 311 00:21:30.980 --> 00:21:37.329 does happen quite often in different ways from our sidewalk missionaries. For example, 312 00:21:37.609 --> 00:21:41.970 many of them visit the mom when she has the baby in the hospital. 313 00:21:41.009 --> 00:21:45.250 Yeah, many of them go to the baby shower. And then we also 314 00:21:45.450 --> 00:21:52.759 connect them with people to through love life, Charlotte, to to have a 315 00:21:52.880 --> 00:21:57.640 mentor, and that mentor often does literally live in their literal community, right. 316 00:21:57.680 --> 00:22:02.309 Yeah, we know their favoritors that are close to their neighborhood. They 317 00:22:02.349 --> 00:22:06.349 can be involved in their lives or we try to find people we don't but 318 00:22:06.509 --> 00:22:11.430 love life. The mentorship director tries to link them with people who who have 319 00:22:11.509 --> 00:22:18.779 similar life story, similar background, similar struggles. So that is all because 320 00:22:18.859 --> 00:22:23.940 of this number one specific area in which are are to be either a foreign 321 00:22:23.980 --> 00:22:30.609 missionary and a sidewalk missionary collide. That are the same as that. The 322 00:22:30.690 --> 00:22:34.250 attempt is to build the relationship. Yeah, absolutely, and that's for the 323 00:22:34.369 --> 00:22:38.130 purpose, as always, the overarching purpose of all of these is that so 324 00:22:38.250 --> 00:22:41.769 that ultimately we can share the gospel. Yeah, you can bring them to 325 00:22:41.849 --> 00:22:45.640 the Lord. So that's that's the first way in which I think there's a 326 00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:52.880 lot of similarities. Missionaries understand that it is critical to build trust with the 327 00:22:53.000 --> 00:22:57.750 people that they serve, and we've even done a whole podcast on how we 328 00:22:59.509 --> 00:23:03.349 needs. Two episodes that we does about building trust or helping us a mom 329 00:23:03.470 --> 00:23:08.829 convey her trust from the abortion clinic to ultimately the Lord. Right, right. 330 00:23:10.349 --> 00:23:14.059 So the way to you can go back and listen to that podcast, 331 00:23:14.180 --> 00:23:18.019 which I think would be very valuable. But but the way that a missionary 332 00:23:18.099 --> 00:23:23.500 on a foreign mission field builds trust is through meeting practical needs. Yeah, 333 00:23:23.619 --> 00:23:29.329 first identifying them and then seeing how can they meet those needs, and not 334 00:23:29.529 --> 00:23:36.009 the needs that they think that those people might have, but they actually speak 335 00:23:36.049 --> 00:23:38.329 to the people, they live in the community, they find out what those 336 00:23:38.490 --> 00:23:44.839 people express as their needs. Well, I think that is very analogous. 337 00:23:44.880 --> 00:23:48.000 Yeah, with what we do out on the sidewalk. Absolutely. Yeah, 338 00:23:48.039 --> 00:23:53.160 what we have as far as resources, and we we've got a resource guide 339 00:23:53.480 --> 00:23:59.470 that's several several pages then. Yeah, and that's not something we just came 340 00:23:59.549 --> 00:24:03.430 up with overnight. Right, we can pile that over years of speaking with 341 00:24:03.589 --> 00:24:07.950 people finding out what their needs are. I mean, you think about the 342 00:24:07.789 --> 00:24:12.819 childcare resource. Right where we're we've basically got a volunteer that is called churches, 343 00:24:12.859 --> 00:24:15.980 because you know a lot of churches here in the United States, especially 344 00:24:15.980 --> 00:24:18.940 here in the south, and I don't know how it is across the nation, 345 00:24:19.019 --> 00:24:22.259 but I imagine it's probably the same. Churches have daycares. Yes, 346 00:24:22.740 --> 00:24:26.369 and especially these pro life churches that claim to be, you know, against 347 00:24:26.410 --> 00:24:30.569 abortion and want to help woman. We'll call him up and say, Hey, 348 00:24:30.609 --> 00:24:33.930 you've got a daycare, they're in your church and we've got a mom 349 00:24:33.490 --> 00:24:37.890 who needs daycare. She didn't have the finance. It's use a single mom 350 00:24:37.250 --> 00:24:40.759 to pay for daycare. Will you give her a scholarship? And we've had 351 00:24:40.839 --> 00:24:44.400 churches say yes, we'll give you a scholarship right. And so that's one 352 00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:48.720 need that we had through conversations with women. It's a common thing that a 353 00:24:48.759 --> 00:24:51.200 lot of us might not think of. We might think of well, she 354 00:24:51.240 --> 00:24:53.990 could use a baby shower and we certainly need housing ministries and those are important 355 00:24:55.069 --> 00:24:57.630 things, but we might not think of the practical like child care. Like 356 00:24:57.750 --> 00:25:00.869 she's worried if she has another kid that she's not going to be able to 357 00:25:00.910 --> 00:25:04.630 work to provide for the other kids because she doesn't have childcare. She can't 358 00:25:04.670 --> 00:25:10.099 afford Chianti for each so even if we can she can find child care here, 359 00:25:10.619 --> 00:25:12.859 she can't afford it. It's an and yet add one more kid. 360 00:25:12.900 --> 00:25:18.500 It's just child care is so unbelievably expensive. So that was finding out what 361 00:25:18.579 --> 00:25:22.809 an actual need was meeting that need and that built the trust. That helped. 362 00:25:22.890 --> 00:25:27.450 It's helped so many women to choose life. I had this sadly didn't 363 00:25:27.450 --> 00:25:32.450 end in the woman choosing life. But but just this past weekend there was 364 00:25:32.529 --> 00:25:38.799 a mom who had multiple needs, severe and significant needs, and instantly I 365 00:25:38.920 --> 00:25:42.200 thought what this mom really neat. She needs the Lord, of course, 366 00:25:42.279 --> 00:25:47.279 but she really needs a social worker. Yeah, and praise God, we 367 00:25:47.400 --> 00:25:52.910 had just had a volunteer who called me and said she just graduated from Social 368 00:25:52.950 --> 00:25:55.950 Work School. She had started work as a social work or one of the 369 00:25:56.029 --> 00:25:57.509 very few. Well, I don't know if I can say that, but 370 00:25:59.349 --> 00:26:03.069 she was certain. She herself is very strongly pro life. Yeah, but 371 00:26:03.230 --> 00:26:07.259 with training and social work. And it struck me this that's what this mom 372 00:26:07.420 --> 00:26:10.059 really needs, and I was able to offer that. And this was a 373 00:26:10.180 --> 00:26:14.980 mom who said I she didn't even want to really discuss she said I have 374 00:26:15.059 --> 00:26:17.140 to abort, I have to abort. But she ended up talking to me 375 00:26:17.259 --> 00:26:21.009 for over two hours. Yeah, and I think it was because I was 376 00:26:21.049 --> 00:26:25.450 able to to discern, because of everything she told me, this was a 377 00:26:25.809 --> 00:26:30.970 desperate need and this social worker could help her in one of the most sorrowful 378 00:26:30.329 --> 00:26:34.559 parts of her story. So she was then willing to open up to me 379 00:26:34.640 --> 00:26:38.920 and talk with me. Yeah, so that it. You have to build 380 00:26:38.920 --> 00:26:47.670 trust and we have found that we build trusts most easily by showing we're willing 381 00:26:47.710 --> 00:26:51.950 to help. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, okay, so missionaries also, 382 00:26:52.190 --> 00:26:56.950 we talked about this a little bit. Learn the culture they're entering and they 383 00:26:56.109 --> 00:27:02.500 try to meet the people with an understanding of their culture, but as well 384 00:27:02.539 --> 00:27:08.099 as emphasizing the commonality of their humanness, of their human experience. So cultural 385 00:27:08.299 --> 00:27:19.650 differences are important to know, but additionally human commonalities. Yeah, and all 386 00:27:19.690 --> 00:27:26.210 of us, the Bible tells us what the most basic commonality is is that 387 00:27:26.369 --> 00:27:29.890 every one of us has made in the image of God. Yeah, and 388 00:27:30.160 --> 00:27:33.039 so that is so important, not only for our missionary to express to the 389 00:27:33.079 --> 00:27:37.920 people that they go to, but it's certainly is one of the the basic 390 00:27:38.039 --> 00:27:42.279 issues that we bring up as sidewalk missionaries. YEA, and one of the 391 00:27:42.319 --> 00:27:48.029 ways that we do that, that we share our common experiences and common struggles, 392 00:27:48.549 --> 00:27:52.910 is by sharing our testimonies. Excellent point. I mean, if you 393 00:27:52.990 --> 00:27:56.710 think about it, you know we all have struggles. Doesn't matter what culture 394 00:27:56.710 --> 00:27:59.420 you come from, doesn't matter what background you come from, it doesn't matter 395 00:27:59.539 --> 00:28:02.980 what color your skin is. Right, we all have struggles. We all 396 00:28:03.019 --> 00:28:07.059 struggle in various ways. Yeah, and we can share out of those struggles. 397 00:28:07.220 --> 00:28:11.740 But say we've got a mom who, and we encountered this, who's 398 00:28:11.019 --> 00:28:15.490 this is our first baby and she's anxious about having a child. She just 399 00:28:15.650 --> 00:28:18.769 doesn't know what to expect. She doesn't have a lot of people around her 400 00:28:18.809 --> 00:28:22.769 that's going to support her. Right share support system is gone, or maybe 401 00:28:22.769 --> 00:28:26.890 they're the people that are encouraging her to have the abortion. There's a lot 402 00:28:26.930 --> 00:28:30.400 of anxiety there. Any woman who's had a child can identify with that. 403 00:28:30.680 --> 00:28:34.319 That's right it. You know, that cross is really cultural boundary. So, 404 00:28:34.440 --> 00:28:37.920 yeah, you got to learn the culture, you got to learn the 405 00:28:37.960 --> 00:28:40.880 culture that you're speaking into. You've got to learn. I mean there's some 406 00:28:41.000 --> 00:28:44.349 things that you can say that are just not helpful when you're speaking of particular 407 00:28:44.390 --> 00:28:47.349 cultures. Right. So you learn that. You learn to just avoid those 408 00:28:47.390 --> 00:28:52.390 things and and really speak again of the common experiences. So again, I'm 409 00:28:52.549 --> 00:28:55.670 mom who has had a baby in the past. Can speak to a mom 410 00:28:55.940 --> 00:28:59.900 who's now pregnant, who has anxiety about having a baby, right. Yeah, 411 00:28:59.980 --> 00:29:03.259 you know, I'll share all the time my testimony. Yeah, when 412 00:29:03.299 --> 00:29:06.779 I speak to young men who have anxiety about being a father at a young 413 00:29:06.819 --> 00:29:10.690 age, I share my testimony. I share and again, it doesn't matter 414 00:29:10.730 --> 00:29:14.490 whether they're black or wide or Hispanic or whatever. I can share my testimony 415 00:29:15.009 --> 00:29:18.970 and the same God who brought me through that situation can bring them through and 416 00:29:19.049 --> 00:29:22.329 I'll share that. And that's what missionaries do as well. You know, 417 00:29:22.490 --> 00:29:26.559 we go. If you think about it, people are called to the mission 418 00:29:26.599 --> 00:29:30.839 field and it's part of their testimony. They're calling is part of their testimony. 419 00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:34.279 As they share their testimony, what God has done they're calling is part 420 00:29:34.279 --> 00:29:37.710 of their testimony, but also as they're going in the mission feard filled, 421 00:29:37.829 --> 00:29:41.069 part of their message is their testimony. God brought me. I mean, 422 00:29:41.069 --> 00:29:45.109 you think about it. You're an American who a lot of countries, and 423 00:29:45.150 --> 00:29:48.670 I'm speaking about foreign missions, view America is just a rich country like in 424 00:29:49.349 --> 00:29:53.180 really in comparison, if you look at Third World countries and you compare the 425 00:29:53.220 --> 00:29:57.059 poor people in America to some of the middle class and Third World countries, 426 00:29:57.099 --> 00:30:00.299 the poor people in America are filthy rich right in comparison. Yeah, they 427 00:30:00.299 --> 00:30:04.980 are. So you think about that and when a missionary comes to a country 428 00:30:06.579 --> 00:30:08.809 like Nepal or something like that, just kind of random, you know, 429 00:30:08.930 --> 00:30:15.289 thinking about you know, the country where missionaries go and they wonder why did 430 00:30:15.410 --> 00:30:22.200 this rich American come here to live among us? Well, let me tell 431 00:30:22.200 --> 00:30:25.240 you why. And they share the testament. Here's what God did in my 432 00:30:25.359 --> 00:30:27.720 life and here's the message that God wanted me to bring to you. And 433 00:30:27.920 --> 00:30:30.920 so, yeah, it's knowing the culture, it's being in the culture, 434 00:30:32.200 --> 00:30:36.750 it's speaking from your own personal experience. That commonality there. Missionaries, do 435 00:30:36.869 --> 00:30:41.069 that, subbalt missionaries. Yeah, again I have I want to brag on 436 00:30:41.109 --> 00:30:44.869 your wife, Courtney, who was so wonderful when I was having this extended 437 00:30:45.029 --> 00:30:49.579 counseling session with with a mom this this weekend and the mom felt that her 438 00:30:49.619 --> 00:30:53.700 baby was better off dead because the baby was going to be born into a 439 00:30:53.819 --> 00:30:59.579 life of struggle, very severe struggle, and she felt even abuse because she 440 00:30:59.660 --> 00:31:03.420 was very concerned what was going to happen to this baby at once the baby 441 00:31:03.500 --> 00:31:07.849 was born. And that's that's common. We hear that a lot and Cordney 442 00:31:07.930 --> 00:31:11.529 was able to share her own dad's struggles, that he had grown up in 443 00:31:11.569 --> 00:31:17.210 a pretty, pretty rough, rough beginning and very deprived and ended up in 444 00:31:17.250 --> 00:31:22.519 an orphanage and and he had significant struggles and suffering. Courtney said it would 445 00:31:22.519 --> 00:31:26.839 make her cry when he would tell her the stories of what what he went 446 00:31:26.960 --> 00:31:30.799 through. But Courtney shared with this mom what if he had been aborted? 447 00:31:32.119 --> 00:31:36.430 Yeah, I wouldn't be here. Yeah, my eight beautiful children wouldn't be 448 00:31:36.710 --> 00:31:41.950 here. He was not better off dead, and so that sharing that story, 449 00:31:41.269 --> 00:31:48.779 it her testimony, part of her testimony. So expose the common fear 450 00:31:48.500 --> 00:31:53.380 that suffering means that you shouldn't bring a child into the world because they're going 451 00:31:53.420 --> 00:31:57.339 to suffer. And she said, well, that is false. That's not 452 00:31:57.539 --> 00:32:02.369 what the people who have been brought into this world who did suffer report. 453 00:32:02.569 --> 00:32:07.049 Yeah, they still would have wanted to live. Yeah, almost overwhelmingly. 454 00:32:07.089 --> 00:32:12.529 Yeah. So, so you do need to be aware of the culture that 455 00:32:12.690 --> 00:32:17.160 you're dealing with, but you don't have to take a course in cultural studies, 456 00:32:17.200 --> 00:32:20.359 I don't think, to be in front of an abortion center, because 457 00:32:20.400 --> 00:32:24.200 you can always share your own testimony and you can always share the commonalities that 458 00:32:24.440 --> 00:32:30.670 that all human beings can can share. Yeah, absolutely. So a fourth 459 00:32:30.829 --> 00:32:38.589 thing that missionaries do, for missionaries to a foreign field, is they share 460 00:32:38.630 --> 00:32:42.950 the Gospel. We've already mentioned that a little bit, but it's probably the 461 00:32:43.549 --> 00:32:50.099 single most important thing. Yeah, absolutely, talk about is that they feel 462 00:32:50.140 --> 00:32:54.099 called to the mission field to bring the love and the truth of Jesus Christ, 463 00:32:54.420 --> 00:33:00.210 and they do that bit by becoming a trusted member of the community and 464 00:33:00.529 --> 00:33:06.529 sharing needs and then they have access to share the gospel. But but talk 465 00:33:06.569 --> 00:33:12.809 about that a little. We certainly do share the Gospel. Yeah, well, 466 00:33:12.960 --> 00:33:15.880 you know, one of the traps, I think, with some modern 467 00:33:15.599 --> 00:33:22.160 missionary endeavors is to become, like I said earlier, humanitarian effort towards meeting 468 00:33:22.200 --> 00:33:25.400 then we're all you're doing is meeting the needs. You know, your feeding 469 00:33:25.440 --> 00:33:30.269 the hungry and your digging whales, and none of that is bad. Please 470 00:33:30.390 --> 00:33:36.509 don't misunderstand me. We should be doing those things. But even in prolife 471 00:33:36.589 --> 00:33:39.029 ministry, you know, we can fall into that trap to where it becomes 472 00:33:39.109 --> 00:33:45.740 just humanitarian effort. And this really goes back to something I think we've covered 473 00:33:45.140 --> 00:33:51.700 in several previous podcasts and we'll cover again and again and again, which is 474 00:33:51.940 --> 00:33:55.529 what is the motivation of our ministry, right is it? Because I don't 475 00:33:55.569 --> 00:34:00.730 say just to minimize it, but I say just to help maximize the real 476 00:34:00.849 --> 00:34:05.890 point that. So it's it's not just that babies are dying again. I'll 477 00:34:05.890 --> 00:34:07.849 minimize that. It's a terrible thing and that should really that should be a 478 00:34:07.969 --> 00:34:12.840 motivator for us, but it shouldn't be our only motivator. And up and 479 00:34:12.920 --> 00:34:15.440 I'd argue it shouldn't be our primary motivator. Our primary motivator is God. 480 00:34:16.039 --> 00:34:21.039 Is Glory for him, because if the like I've said in the past, 481 00:34:21.159 --> 00:34:24.989 if your love for your neighbor is the chief motivation, then you've got the 482 00:34:25.110 --> 00:34:29.750 cart before the horse. We're supposed to love God and then love our neighbor. 483 00:34:29.829 --> 00:34:30.909 So our love for our neighbor flows out of our love for God. 484 00:34:30.989 --> 00:34:36.349 And so many missionary endeavors. You know foreign missions and even he know local 485 00:34:36.389 --> 00:34:42.539 missions. The motivation is like this, this humanitarian love, this love for 486 00:34:42.739 --> 00:34:45.780 people, and again we should have that right that sounded all about. It's 487 00:34:45.900 --> 00:34:50.420 got to be motivated by look for God. There's there's a sermon out there 488 00:34:50.579 --> 00:34:53.570 and I've encourage you to listen to I encourage everybody I encounter listen to that. 489 00:34:53.730 --> 00:34:57.969 Talks about this very things from a brother back, some some years back, 490 00:34:58.010 --> 00:35:00.010 back in the S, I believe, when that was recorded Paris reet 491 00:35:00.090 --> 00:35:04.690 head, and it's called Tin Shekels in a shirt. HMM. Now, 492 00:35:04.730 --> 00:35:07.760 if you have not listened to that message, those who are listening here, 493 00:35:07.360 --> 00:35:10.079 you need to listen to that message because he talks about this very thing. 494 00:35:10.119 --> 00:35:15.800 He talks about how God called him to Africa and then when he got to 495 00:35:15.920 --> 00:35:17.960 Africa, he found out that people there didn't want to hear what he had 496 00:35:19.000 --> 00:35:22.590 to say, didn't have any interest in God, and he got really frustrated. 497 00:35:22.230 --> 00:35:24.789 He got deflated and he's crying out to God and he shares this. 498 00:35:24.909 --> 00:35:27.750 I'm crying out to God and saying, God, why did you send me 499 00:35:27.829 --> 00:35:30.230 here? And he says this is like the Lord responded to his heart. 500 00:35:30.949 --> 00:35:34.510 You know, God just speaks to stuff, to your heart. It's like 501 00:35:34.630 --> 00:35:37.179 wow, it's almost like an audible voice. Yeah, and he said, 502 00:35:37.179 --> 00:35:40.460 I didn't send you to Africa for the sake of the heathen. He said, 503 00:35:40.500 --> 00:35:44.699 I sent you to Africa for my sake. Do not do I not 504 00:35:45.340 --> 00:35:50.090 deserve the reward of my suffering. And he goes on. The Lord, 505 00:35:50.170 --> 00:35:52.329 speaking to his heart, gives on to share. Yes, these people are 506 00:35:52.369 --> 00:35:54.570 wicked and yes, they're going to end up in hell if they don't repent, 507 00:35:55.570 --> 00:36:00.329 but I suffered for them so that they might be saved. And it's 508 00:36:00.449 --> 00:36:04.960 not the motivation that you have in your heart for them is not the motivation 509 00:36:05.039 --> 00:36:07.400 that you ought to have. You are there for my glory, whether they 510 00:36:07.519 --> 00:36:13.280 repent or not. You are sent there for me, not for you, 511 00:36:13.639 --> 00:36:16.639 and not for them. And so that is the focus that we've got to 512 00:36:16.719 --> 00:36:21.630 have as sidewalk missionaries, is that we're out there for the Lord, we're 513 00:36:21.670 --> 00:36:23.829 out there for his glory, we're out there for his namesake. We're out 514 00:36:23.829 --> 00:36:29.110 here, out there motivated to bring his Gospel. It's not our Gospel, 515 00:36:29.150 --> 00:36:32.019 it's not their Gospel, it's his Gospel, and we're motivated to bring that 516 00:36:32.380 --> 00:36:37.940 Gospel to those that are lost. Amen. Well, and and you made 517 00:36:37.940 --> 00:36:42.380 me think of a fith area. That's a major commonality between missionaries in a 518 00:36:42.420 --> 00:36:45.420 foreign field and sidewalk missionaries, and that's that we're called. Yeah, I 519 00:36:45.539 --> 00:36:50.969 think we receive a call from God. Now, I believe that there are 520 00:36:51.010 --> 00:36:53.489 many who have been called who have not responded. Yeah, absolutely. They 521 00:36:53.530 --> 00:36:58.769 would rather have a life of ease and comfort and maybe throw a little money 522 00:36:58.769 --> 00:37:01.159 at a pro life movement, but to actually go and suffer on the on 523 00:37:01.280 --> 00:37:05.239 the field, the mission field of an abortion center, no, not so 524 00:37:05.360 --> 00:37:10.000 much. Yeah, but I know that that the people who really persevere in 525 00:37:10.559 --> 00:37:17.909 sidewalk missionary activity are people who feel God told them go. Yeah, that 526 00:37:19.150 --> 00:37:22.150 is where I am sending you for my glory. Yeah, now, this 527 00:37:22.230 --> 00:37:28.829 issue of calling is a little bit of a complicated one, and I'll say 528 00:37:28.909 --> 00:37:30.940 this to some people and they think they say, you know, you're incorrect, 529 00:37:30.980 --> 00:37:34.219 and I say this other people they're like, you're correct, but they 530 00:37:34.260 --> 00:37:40.099 taken in another direction, because I will say that not everyone is called to 531 00:37:40.219 --> 00:37:45.369 be out in front of an abortion clinic. Now again there be people that 532 00:37:45.449 --> 00:37:47.769 say, yes, they are in the killing babies right. Well, yes, 533 00:37:49.289 --> 00:37:52.090 I get that, understand that, and certainly there should be no mistaking 534 00:37:52.130 --> 00:37:55.929 that. I believe this is an important call and that there are far more 535 00:37:57.130 --> 00:38:00.400 people that are called that are not doing it right then, you know, 536 00:38:00.679 --> 00:38:04.360 than those who are doing it that are called and so forth. But I 537 00:38:04.440 --> 00:38:07.679 mean somebody has got to do the foreign mission stuff right. I mean God 538 00:38:07.840 --> 00:38:14.389 is sending people around the world and strangely enough, he's even sending people from 539 00:38:14.389 --> 00:38:16.309 around the world here to be missionaries. But that's a whole other subject, 540 00:38:19.070 --> 00:38:22.469 and so somebody's got to do that stuff right. There there are other missions, 541 00:38:22.670 --> 00:38:28.699 there are other ministries that God has that are other than abortion clinic ministry, 542 00:38:28.860 --> 00:38:30.579 and I do believe that. However, again, there are far more 543 00:38:30.659 --> 00:38:35.420 that are actually called that are not stepping into that calling right. So I 544 00:38:35.539 --> 00:38:37.099 think again it's a tricky thing because I don't want to let people off the 545 00:38:37.139 --> 00:38:42.050 hook and be able to say, because that is a common it's a fig 546 00:38:42.170 --> 00:38:45.090 leaf, you know, like Adam and eve and they try to cover their 547 00:38:45.170 --> 00:38:47.730 sin and their disobedience with a fig leaf. It's a fig leaf for people 548 00:38:47.769 --> 00:38:51.289 to say, I'm just not called to that. Really, what they're saying 549 00:38:51.289 --> 00:38:52.769 is I'm not comfortable doing that. I want to do it. Yeah, 550 00:38:52.769 --> 00:38:54.920 I don't want to do it. I want to maintain, you know, 551 00:38:55.039 --> 00:38:59.760 my comfort level in my comfort zone. And Listen, I can guarantee you 552 00:38:59.920 --> 00:39:04.119 this. You are not called to comfort. I promise you that. If 553 00:39:04.199 --> 00:39:07.639 you were, if the Lord truly is in you and you are called to 554 00:39:07.719 --> 00:39:10.110 walk with him, if you're a Christian, you were, then you are 555 00:39:10.309 --> 00:39:15.429 called to discomfort. You are called to take up your cross and follow him, 556 00:39:16.110 --> 00:39:20.590 and a cross is not a comfortable place to be. You know, 557 00:39:20.670 --> 00:39:23.699 we're used to in America, we're used to wearing our crosses, showing our 558 00:39:23.699 --> 00:39:29.340 Christianity. If you want to show your Christianity, forget about wearing your cross. 559 00:39:29.860 --> 00:39:32.940 Your Christianity is born out in whether or not the cross wears you right. 560 00:39:34.059 --> 00:39:37.019 Jesus was warned by a cross. He was nailed to that cross. 561 00:39:37.179 --> 00:39:39.530 Yeah, and so we want to wear our crosses around our neck, feel 562 00:39:39.530 --> 00:39:45.730 good about ourselves and not make ourselves uncomfortable. Jesus says, take up your 563 00:39:45.849 --> 00:39:49.250 cross and follow me, and maybe you think about it, the modern pixture 564 00:39:49.289 --> 00:39:52.880 of that. Take up your cross and follow me, is what it's an 565 00:39:52.920 --> 00:39:58.320 implement of death, it's implement of torture, it's an implement of execute Shan 566 00:39:58.320 --> 00:40:01.000 it was a heavy, heavy burdens that crushed him, he he, you 567 00:40:01.079 --> 00:40:05.000 know, remember he creees, crushed under the weight of the crosses. He's 568 00:40:05.119 --> 00:40:08.949 carrying that cross. Think about what he's saying maybe kind of similar modern terms. 569 00:40:09.349 --> 00:40:14.110 Take you, take up your electric chair, follow me. Yeah, 570 00:40:14.550 --> 00:40:17.469 this is an implement of execution. Yeah, be willing to lose your life. 571 00:40:17.670 --> 00:40:21.659 Right, and you know, I want to give you folks this charge 572 00:40:21.699 --> 00:40:23.820 before we wrap this thing up, because we're about to. Is that we 573 00:40:23.940 --> 00:40:29.219 are called to take up our cross and follow Jesus, if that mean, 574 00:40:29.420 --> 00:40:34.059 and that means losing your life right, losing your life the way that you 575 00:40:34.179 --> 00:40:37.929 like it, the way that you the comforts that you enjoy, the amenities 576 00:40:37.969 --> 00:40:42.369 that you enjoy, whether that means taking up your cross and going to India, 577 00:40:43.170 --> 00:40:46.090 taking up your cross and going to Africa, or taking up your cross 578 00:40:46.570 --> 00:40:51.360 and go on to your local abortion center. You are called to lay your 579 00:40:51.440 --> 00:40:54.440 life down for the sake of the Gospel. Amen. And out there on 580 00:40:54.519 --> 00:40:59.360 that sidewalk, that's what we're doing. That's right. We are motivated by 581 00:40:59.360 --> 00:41:02.280 a love for God, a love for our neighbor, and we're getting into 582 00:41:02.280 --> 00:41:07.110 the nitty greedy, we're getting into the ditches and we're getting into people's lives 583 00:41:07.510 --> 00:41:12.190 and we're discipling and we're mentoring and we're leading them to the Lord and all 584 00:41:12.230 --> 00:41:15.309 of that. It's missionary work. It didn't be anything other than a missionary 585 00:41:15.389 --> 00:41:19.059 indefinite. Right. Well, I think we answered the question. Yeah, 586 00:41:19.139 --> 00:41:22.860 right, there's no doubt. Sidewalk counselor's no more. We are now sidewalk 587 00:41:23.260 --> 00:41:27.780 missionary, US missionaries, Amen. And so we're called to it. And 588 00:41:27.860 --> 00:41:30.699 Guys, if you're listening to this podcasts and maybe you are already a sidewalk 589 00:41:30.739 --> 00:41:34.289 missionary, maybe you're already out there in a lot of folks that listen to 590 00:41:34.329 --> 00:41:37.130 this podcast are. Hopefully this is an encouragement, do you guys, if 591 00:41:37.289 --> 00:41:42.050 nothing else this stuff. We've already told you what you already know we're preaching 592 00:41:42.090 --> 00:41:44.769 to the choir for some of you guys, but understand that a lot of 593 00:41:44.809 --> 00:41:47.719 pastors and just Christians who may ever even thought about things in these terms don't 594 00:41:47.719 --> 00:41:51.639 think about it in these terms. Maybe this will help you to articulate to 595 00:41:51.719 --> 00:41:54.679 them so that they understand what you're doing is missionary work. Right do you're 596 00:41:54.679 --> 00:41:59.639 a missionary in your city at the sidewalks at your abortion clinic, and that 597 00:41:59.719 --> 00:42:02.869 will help your pastor maybe you're frustrated by your pastor's response to what you're doing 598 00:42:02.949 --> 00:42:07.949 because he just, for whatever reason, believes it's a protest and protesting is 599 00:42:07.989 --> 00:42:13.070 not bad. We talked about that again another podcast. But he doesn't really 600 00:42:13.150 --> 00:42:16.539 connect in his heart with the fact that you're missionary. Because I really believe 601 00:42:16.699 --> 00:42:24.260 this. I believe that in every city which abortion clinics exist and those abortion 602 00:42:24.340 --> 00:42:29.980 clinics are surrounded by churches, there should not go a single day. Now 603 00:42:30.050 --> 00:42:32.329 abortion clinic should not exist in this country, but as long as they do, 604 00:42:32.570 --> 00:42:37.489 there should not go a single day that there is not a Christian witness 605 00:42:37.570 --> 00:42:39.409 there in front of that abortion clinics every day, at least every day they're 606 00:42:39.409 --> 00:42:43.570 killing babies, but even every day they're open if they're not doing abortions other 607 00:42:43.610 --> 00:42:46.119 days. Yeah, yeah, and we need to, as those who are 608 00:42:46.119 --> 00:42:51.480 out there, for lack of a better term, pitch this to the church 609 00:42:51.599 --> 00:42:53.800 and to our friends as a missionary endeavor so that they understand, they connect 610 00:42:54.000 --> 00:43:00.309 what we're doing, because we're not activists or not protesters, we're missionaries. 611 00:43:00.510 --> 00:43:04.710 Right. So hope this was a blessing to you, guys. I'm really 612 00:43:04.789 --> 00:43:08.309 just excited about this and just what the Lord is doing. Will share in 613 00:43:08.389 --> 00:43:12.349 the future some of what God is doing here with the Ministry of Cities for 614 00:43:12.429 --> 00:43:15.300 life and our partner ministry love life, and just hopefully encourage you guys and 615 00:43:15.699 --> 00:43:20.539 and all that the Lord's doing. We really are motivated to raise up missionaries 616 00:43:20.579 --> 00:43:23.820 and help folks like you who are listening to be effective missionaries at your local 617 00:43:23.860 --> 00:43:28.610 abortion mission field. And so there be more coming out in the future about 618 00:43:28.650 --> 00:43:31.690 this and we'll cover this topic and some things similar to this topic in the 619 00:43:31.730 --> 00:43:35.530 future. But you just hope again this was a blessing you guys. Hope 620 00:43:35.570 --> 00:43:42.519 that you will share this podcast and until next time, God bless give me 621 00:43:43.360 --> 00:43:54.710 our love for love, give me our love for gratitude. I know it 622 00:43:54.869 --> 00:44:04.710 will cost me my life. Nothing's too precious. And some met you