Everybody's Calling // First and Best Week 1

Pastor Dan, you guys are so gracious and so loving and so honored to be in this great church. How many are grateful and pumped about plus one Sunday? Come on, it's going to be an amazing time here. And you know what, let's just jump right into that. Love your pastor, love his heart, love his vision. Let's take it from last Sunday. How many were church last Sunday? Okay, so when your water baptized, Christ, you know Christ, you publicly profess Jesus as a Savior. And now you begin to be led by God's Spirit. God leads you, we guide you. And then you are recognized that you are loved by the Father. What that should offer for every believer is you're going to flow into a mission of life of saying, "God, make me a Fisher of souls." And this is what really is every believer's calling. I always say, you know what, I love music. You'll never see me on the keyboard. You'll never see me playing drums or singing for sure. But every believer's calling if there were people through Jesus Christ, it's got to get a big yes. Subscriptures that get us moving is Matthew chapter 28 this morning at verse 18 says this. "Jesus came and told his disciples, "I've been given all authority in heaven and on earth, "therefore go and make disciples of all the nations, "that tied to them near the Father, "in the Son, in the Holy Spirit. "Take these new disciples to obey all the commands

"I've given you, and be sure of this. "I'm with you always even to the end of the age." So for everyone, we're all called the go and the disciples of all nations. Then Paul addresses this little more intimately in Romans chapter 10 and verse 14. It says this, "But how can they call on him "to save them unless they believe in him? "How can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? "How can they hear about him unless someone tells them? "How can anyone go and tell them without being sent?" Now that's why scripture say how beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news. So every person breathing in this house who's a follower of the Lord Jesus, you're called to be a fisher of men and women, a fisher of souls. And the question is, well, if it's my calling, how do we do this? Well, Bible talks often in Matthew, Mark, look in John about the phrase, our net. And I believe for every person in those Christ, God give you at the moment of your conversion, a spiritual net that catch fish. Every one in the house is called to win souls. And so some aspects about you and your net, very simple, the first one simple. It's critical to be an effective witness. We must be intentional in the preparing of our nets. It tells us in Luke chapter five verse one,

how one day Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. He noticed two empty boats at the water's edge for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. In the first period of 315, the connection, instead you must worship Christ as the Lord of your life. And if someone asks you about your opens of believer, always be ready to explain to them. You know, every February we have some ministry down south, whatever, and now we'll take a week at you, my wife and I, and enjoy the water. How many love the beach, come on. And what we love doing is afternoons of about 430, the charter boats come in. And we get a cup of coffee, go to Starbucks, cup of coffee for 49 bucks, get a cup of coffee. And you watch the boats, people like charter boat, they go fishing, they come back, and the captain of the East boat, they clean the fish, people leave, they go home. But the captains, I noticed they there for a long time. What they're doing is, they're preparing the boat for the next day, they're cleaning rods and reels, they're preparing the nets for the next day. I've never met one effective witness for Christ that wasn't intentional in preparing their nets. It's like, Greg, I'm gonna cut the preparing net. Now how do we do this?

There's so many aspects of how we do this, and that we're not gonna cover them up. But one big one, I believe, is the practicing of your testimony. What are the greatest gifts God's given everyone in this room is your own story. Tell people how Jesus changed your life. We bring teams overseas, well, that's we're leaving a couple of days for a sensitive part of the role I can't mention, we're people that are all losing their lives for the gospel, for being a witness. And we bring teams in, and all these shares are bringing them, we have to become much more intentional about helping people share their story. Early on, we have people coming to get up to your testimony. When that got done, it was depressing that they told their story, and they forgot to make Jesus the hero of their story. Listen, if God shuts your free from crack cocaine, Let Jesus be the hero of your story. One, they hear your testimony. They should clearly know that you were once lost, but Jesus has changed your life. And so, how do we do this? How do you prepare your net? Practice your story. Tell yourself your testimony. Wake up in the morning. Before you put mouthwash in, when your breath could still gag a mule,

look in the mirror and talk to yourself and practice your testimony. Do it when you're in the car. I don't mean that we're robotic and that we become like machines, but it's people that prepare the nets. God uses it in a great way. Study your Bible. Learn some verses from Romans. The Romans wrote, what's the Romans wrote? Google it and you'll find out the way to take someone through scripture how to come to Christ. Pray for people. Before you tell them about Jesus, tell Jesus about your one. Lose your one. Before you tell them about Jesus, talk to God about your neighbors. And so we find very simple, that people God uses, effective in the area of what He sells, are people very intentional, preparing their net. They'll mind you. And researchers that do their trends and studies, most people in our churches, save more than two years, are no longer warning people of Christ. So they'll must come revival in our churches.

Let's say, God, who's my one? Who's my one today, Father? And I wouldn't prepare myself to be able to be used by you to when people for Jesus Christ. How many are willing to prepare your net? Somebody shout the big yes. So one super prayer net, two prayer, by being in God's word, by being led by God's Spirit, by knowing how to share your story. The next thing comes, the casting of your net. Someone said to me, I was fishing with a guy, and I just kept getting snags on my line. He said, great. You gotta, you gotta get go. You're not gonna catch fish to get your line in the water. Nobody catch this fish unless you get your line in the water. It tells us, John 21 verse six. Then he said throughout your net on the right hand side of the boat, and you'll get some. So they did and it couldn't hold on the net because there's so many fish in it. Luke 5-4.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, now go out where it is deeper and let down your nets to catch some fish. We prepare nets, then we capture nets. How do we do that? This is not something that we do just like Mondays from seven to eight, or this is a lifestyle of a fisher of souls. And the way that we do this is recognizing the three grounds of witnessing. It's common ground, it's uncommon ground, and holy ground. For time's sake, read this afternoon, get up all of ice cream, preferably briars, vanilla, extra creamy. It'll change your life. Get a big bowl of ice cream, reach on top of four, and you'll see Jesus, the master soul winner. It is in a rat's scent with a woman at the well. There's common ground, there's uncommon ground, and holy ground, what's common ground? That's just loving people. It's talking to people. Let's not be weirdos. Let's love people. Let's talk to people.

But the kids, their dog, I don't mean being disingenuous, but I mean truly loving people. This isn't about trying to get a notch under a bell, I got five. This is about truly loving people. For God so loved the world, God loved the world, we must also love people. Don't be among the crowd, that love the bad mouth people, and let's tell the world how good Jesus is. Amen. And so common ground is simply just talking to people, learning how to engage in conversation. For some people, that's a problem. Something Greg, I want to be a witness. I don't want to ever talk. God wants your tongue. He wants you to share the goodness of God with the lost world. But that's not always to begin with walking up to someone and saying, excuse me, my name is Greg, and have you ever heard how hot hell is? Sometimes what kind of a dog you got there? A ton, a bunch of kids,

and what do they like to do? I'll show you a powerful common ground is. A lot of folks say, "Greg, I'm going to holy ground." Listen, you'll never do well as a soul winner. Let's you value the importance of common ground, 'cause this is where people live. I have a friend named Alison Boder, and I said to me years ago, Greg, we're not winning anybody in our neighborhood. We live the same area for years. And I said, "God," he said, "He prayed. "God, give me a new idea. "How do I reach my neighbors?" And God spoke to my friend, and God said, "Learn the first name of all your neighbors. "Work on their names." And he said, "God, I don't know." Listen, go on to anywho.com and plug in an address, and you'll get the names of all your neighbors. So, literally, he went from being out in a shower, people walking their pet llama. And normally it would be, "Hey, man, hey, man, what up, hi, hey, how about that?" But now, he'd be getting caught up by Dean, "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, Jeff, hi, what do you know of me?" And they're stopping, "Hi, I'm Al, I'm my wife Bonnie." And listen, let me say this for them. They're people in their home church right now in running Pennsylvania that are serving Christ because Al learned their name.

He found common ground people that went from saying, "By their name, having dinner, Bible study, saved, water baptized, led by God's Spirit, loved by the Father, and now God, you don't underestimate the importance of common ground." That's simply loving people. It's living life and not looking for people as a new sensor, but truly seeing people through the eyes of Jesus. So common ground, but then this uncommon ground. That's when the conversation changed from what's happening around here down here to that which is above. Example, my neighbor, Jeff was living next door to me from many, many years, he's now in heaven. And just I would try to talk to him. It was always eagles, eagles, eagles, fillies, eagles. I'm from the Wiggling, eagles, fillies, eagles. So I just, he didn't care about the Red Sox and eagles, fillies. For him, that was common ground. And we were talking. One day I came back home from being away for a while and they called me over. He said, "Greg, since you've been gone, my mom died." I said, "Man, buddy, I'm so sorry, man, Jeff, I'm so sorry about this." And he said, "Yeah." He said, "And he knows I'm a minister in this and that." He said, "Man, she looked at me, Greg, and before she died." And she said, "Son, I hope I've got the right ticket to heaven." And that's second, from years of common ground to uncommon ground. Are you with me? Uncommon or rather common, uncommon? And now it went from just the, "Hey, are the fillies?" To what is the one ticket to heaven?

So as you're talking with people, God's going to make you aware of this because you're led by the Spirit, by the Father. You're going to know that you know that you'll know that moment. They'll say something, they'll say what happened, and you know that's the moment of transition. Now some people are fearful and they want to stay in the realm of common ground. But don't miss the moment when God shifts in from what's down here to what's up there. Are you with me? And so I got to talk to him about what the ticket is about a person walking with Jesus. And so you'll know this, there'll be moments in conversation, just a normal life. Again, this isn't something that we're mechanical, that we do with this, whatever. This is just normal life at Sheets, at Wawa. Someone said, "That guy from Wawa right now, if you go to Sheets, I'll catch that devil out of you up for church." Come on, listen, it's telling people the good news about Jesus Christ. So we got common ground, just life, ball games, life, kids, school, whatever, uncommon ground. And something it said that points in John 4, remember, it just kind of have a drink of water. Example, Jesus sipping a glass of water out of that bucket. And Jesus says, "You know what? It's amazing. You drink this, you'll get thirsty again. You drink the water that I give to, you'll never, never thirst again." Now it's on uncommon ground. And then they go on from common ground to uncommon to holy ground. And that's that moment, the moment at the well, look at Jesus and Jesus said, "Where can I find this water?" And Jesus says, "You're looking at him right now." That's when you look at someone and tell them the message of the gospel of the Lord's Jesus Christ.

There's a progression, it's common ground, it's common ground, it's living life over that sense of, "Greg, I want to live in, I want to come in that uncommon, but don't be afraid of holy ground." That's the moment that man God touches them and they're ready to give to the life of Jesus Christ. But this is all about the net. People never get to that place because they never prepare their net. You prepare your heart to win people. You watch God bombards you to win souls. The person that's intentional, and the key word is intentional. But we get up in the morning and say, "God, I'm preparing my net right now. God, I don't care if it's rainy or sunny. God, you speak today at my job. Use me in my school. You watch God bombards you with opportunities that tell people the goodness of the Lord's Jesus Christ. So we got to get our line in the water by simply engaging with people. So it goes from common ground, it goes from common ground to uncommon ground, and holy ground is when we again get to tell people the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. So remember, we prepare the net. We cast the net. And sometimes these grounds, that different time, time appear. For some people, you can go from common to uncommon to holy in the same conversation. Some type of take years, but let God work in the heart to the lives of the people. Don't ever let it become about us. This is about, so we can brag. This is about rescuing people that need to know the goodness of Jesus Christ. The third thing, I'm almost done. We prepared the net.

We cast the net. And then there comes a moment where God says, I want you to draw the net in. That my friend is in the scripture, in John 21.56, where it tells us, it says, then he said, drop your net on the right hand side of the boat and you'll get some. So they did, they could haul the net because there's so many fish in it. It's in 644, for no one can come to unless the father who sent me draws them to me. And at the last day, I will raise them up. What that teaches is that when people come to Christ, it's not by our little techniques. It's always a drawing power of God's spirit. That's when someone says, I can get saved whenever I want to. That's impossible. No one gets saved whenever it's always by the drawing power of the Holy Spirit. But listen, careful. Many say, Greg, I'm okay preparing the net and I'm okay casting the net. Just maybe just talking about life. And then maybe there comes a moment I, it goes from what's temporal to what's eternal, but maybe life after death or religion is the things that God opens the door to talk about Jesus. But many people, when they come to that place when someone's ready to receive Christ, there's a fear of drawing the net.

A lot of great people have never, ever drawn the net once in their walk with Christ when it comes to witness to the person in these Christ. How many want to catch fish for Jesus in these last days? Come on, how many want to catch fish where you must learn the sensitivity and the timing and the gentleness required when it comes to drawing the net? And what I like to use is this, when people are different, different things and techniques or different styles, whatever. But for me, I might want to encourage you to maybe think about this. When I sense God touching somebody, what in my conversation, what I just sense God's moving on somebody's soul, I was a tennis instructor for about 10 years, many, many years ago, tennis player and still love to compete and play tennis even now. But I was given a semi-private less than two ladies. I promise you, had no future in tennis whatsoever, by the way. Is that what? Tennis ball, tennis ball, fly over my head. I mean, it was incredible. Maybe the home on haters, but tennis wasn't, but just in the conversation during a tennis lesson, during a tennis lesson, one of the women of these great big sunglasses and I had no idea that in one hour tennis lesson, we're going from common to uncommon to holy ground. She finally walked up to the net,

asked me questions about where you're going to school, Bible school, that one question went from common to uncommon because then it went to, why going to Bible school? And if she takes over glasses in the middle of the lesson, sobbing, sobbing, comes to Christ on a tennis score. So it's amazing how God said, so this is the working of God's spirit. It's, listen, the people you're praying for over 76, who's your one, who's your one, plus one? God's already working on them right now. God's already prepared them to come to Christ. So this decision about what we're doing, it's over doing in partnership with the Holy Spirit. But it comes the moment to draw the net. How do you do this? How do you do this? For me, I'd like to look at someone. I sense God's touching them and I'd like to ask for permission. And I'll say to a person that I sense God convicting and touching. I just say, look, I sense God's really touching your heart right now. Would you be comfortable if I led you in a prayer right now to invite Jesus Christ to come into your heart? Would you be okay? Is there anything that would prohibit you from wanting me to lead you? In other words, ask people for permission. Ask them for permission. Let's honor people.

One guy came up to me in church and he said, I don't do it. He says, I talk so fast. He said, and I thought, you talk fast to me, buddy. You're something else. That's like a gold medal winner, whatever. And he said, I just get them to pray the prayer. They don't even know what to do with you. I get them to pray the prayer. That's not what we're here to do. We're here to trick people. Let's find a full people. But I'll ask people, would you be okay? Would you like to receive Jesus right now, a prayer? I'm not yelling at them. I'm not spitting at them when I'm saying it. Would you be okay if I prayed with you? And sometimes they say, no, thank you. And when they were, listen, many people will prepare the net and cast, but will never draw the net for fear of rejection. We've got to get over ourselves. This is not about us. Let's get over ourselves. And they're not rejecting us, they're rejecting Jesus. And they're like, come on. And so asking, but when someone says, no, thank you, what I do at that moment is I applaud them. I say, I just, I affirm them. My respects are being genuine and authentic. And God will handle that.

But then I'm just praying God touches your heart. You keep blood, don't beat them up, don't get angry. Don't start kicking me, don't start casting devils out of them. Because then it's about us. Let's allow God to work with them the way God worked in us. Just say, I'm going to keep you in my prayers. You want to talk? Here's my number. But when they say yes, when they say yes, troth in that, how do you do it? Practice. If we believe that someone, if they reject Christ, dies and goes, we need to practice this. Practice with your husband, with practice with your dog. What I was a student about now is no longer a school one. I went to Valley Forge years ago. I would preach at nighttime after a curfew. Forgive me, Jesus, out in the fields at night. I would preach my brains out. You have never been in a service. At least these shipments and rabbits get saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit. This is coming up in the little rat, whatever, that lives around their pods, worshiping Jesus. Practice. I gave altar calls to trees during my four years of alcohol, because I'm not even kidding you. I preached my brains out to squirrels and shipments. How do I practice? Just practice the prayer.

Just to lead someone to Christ to repent from their sin. Doesn't need to be a long prayer. We need to pray in King James' version. Remember, I was at One Guy's house. We had a bowl of ice cream. Let me pray to bless the food. He prayed in like King James' version over the ice cream. A long prayer. I'm thinking, buddy, it's melting. Can we thou west stopeth so we can eateth the ice cream that right noweth? Keep it simple. Lead them to repentance, to confess their sin, and draw the net. And lastly, we're going to close. It talks about this in Matthew 4, 21. Our little father up the shore, he saw two brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with the Father's Ebony, repairing their nets. We don't just prepare the net. We don't just cash the net, how? By talking, by being involved with people. Having a yes face. This is a no face. This is a yes face. They gotta get smiling again, Church. Be a smiling fisherman for God. Let's not be angry people. We're not trying to inflict salespeople. We want people to know the greatest stories ever told.

That forgot to love the world. It gave us the only begotten son, come on. But sometimes, if you're like me, I mess up. And sometimes I need to repair my net. Maybe I was too quick. Maybe I wasn't clear on something. I got some holes in my net. Maybe one of my holes is-- It's a danger. We want to relieve people to Jesus. But then we never follow up. That's a major hole in your net. We must not just leave people to Christ. We must walk beside them. It makes sure they get plugged in in disciples. Can I get a big yes? And I love-- I love Calvary Church. You guys are crossing it. When it comes to systems and processes, it helps light track. Helping people become fully devoted followers of Jesus. But we have to prepare the net. We have to cast the net. We can't be afraid to draw the net. And you are going to be amazed. Some, and then in this room, in the next 24 hours, are going to draw the net in one your very first soul. And you'll be amazed because God is already moving in the hearts of the people that God's putting in your pathway.

We're going to close with this. Say Greg, well, what is the success of being a witness? If you say Greg's success being a fisher of souls is when people accept Jesus, you're wrong. That's not success for the soul winner. That's a time of joy. But it says in 1st Corinthians 3, verse 5, it says, after all, who is a palace, who is Paul? For only God's servants throw him. You believe the good news. Each of us did the work of God gave us. I planted the senior heart, and a palace wandered it, but it was God who made it grow. Let me stop there. The success for the sinner in evangelism is the moment they accept Jesus as their Savior. The success for the believer is it obedience, the great commission, to go and make disciples. One plants, one waters. But God is the one that makes it grow. Some say, Greg, forget, I'm not even looking for my net because Greg, I'm not good at this. No, you may be shocked when you get to heaven all the seeds who planted had no idea that you planted, but somebody watered. And the one that you lead to Christ when you draw that net, listen, God may have sent somebody 10 years earlier to talk to them on common ground and on common. But God wants your net to be. So my prayer for all of you, who's your one?

That's just for number six, who's your one today? Who's gonna be your one tomorrow? Let's give the devil a heart attack in New Jersey and say, God, give me souls in these last days. Let's stand up all over this room. Come on, let's stand up. Let's stand up. I want you to close your eyes. Buy your head. I'm gonna close the prayer by their dance. Come in a second. I'm gonna pray for those that say, Greg, I want to be a better steward with my net. I want to prepare my net, cast it, draw it, prepare. I want God to use me to win souls. We're gonna pray for you, but you may be in this house. Your head's about eyes closed. I have reverence to my spirit. Say, Greg, I'm here. It's a guest to friend. But I don't even know what it means to know Jesus. I don't know what it means to repent of my sin sin and give them all out the Christ. This is about being Catholic and Protestant about this. This is about knowing Jesus. So I'm gonna count to the number three. Not to be gimmicky, not to be weird, not to be goofy. The moment I say three, Greg, I'm front row, back row, left to the right.

Greg, I'm here and I don't know for sure when I die heaven will be my home. But Greg, I want to know, like Jeff's mom did, I want to know, do I have the right ticket to heaven and that ticket is saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. Look out upon that cross for your sins in mind and then rose up from the dead. And the Bible says, whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. The moment I say three, Greg, it's me, I'm here. And I'm not right with God. If you're serving Jesus, you don't need to raise your hand. Please don't. But if you're in this room with a Greg, but you keep me in your prayers, I've come today in a rainy day. And today, I want to walk out changed. I want Jesus Christ to forgive my sins and save my soul. If that's you, I'm the count of three, raise your hand up so I can see it and put it down. One, two, three, put it up right now. If it's you, God bless you, just keep it up high. That's it, that's it. Now let's all lift up both hands right now. Come on. And with these who lifted up their hands, play this prayer out loud after me. Dear Jesus, let's all pray together. Dear Jesus, I'm asking you now to forgive all my sin, commit to my heart and save my soul.

I believe in my heart and I confess to my mouth that you are Lord, that you are the Son of God. You died on that cross. You took my sins. You took my place. I receive you now as my Savior. I give you my sin and I give you myself to follow you. I'll never be the same again. I thank you, Jesus, for saving my soul and your name I pray, amen. Somebody, you've got to sell right now, come on. Somebody, sell to God right now. Just hold one second, just one second. Lift up both hands again, one second before a pastor comes. This group is ready to take, they're like sea biscuit. They're ready to take off in the race. They're ready to go, shopping at the bit. Father, I pray for an unusual anointing to rest upon this congregation. I pray that these summer six are being a story day in this house, but I pray this afternoon to be a historic afternoon. I pray today in the name of Jesus, the preparing of the nets. Today that there'll be nets pass. Some are being a target, some being a while, or some are being a restaurant. And I pray in the name of Jesus that you would help us to know that moment, to draw the net.

Lead this church. Thank you, Lord, that we're led by the Spirit. We're led by the Father. Now use us like we've never known before. Oh God, let these summer six be a historic day. We're so, ever so, ever so coming to know you. Bless this house I play. Pray in Jesus' name. And everyone said, amen and amen.