And I just pray that you would use this aspect of the Apostle Paul this morning to speak
to every heart, dear God, to stir us up, to strengthen us, to edify the saints that have
come out on a Sunday morning, dear God, because they want to be built up in the faith, because
they want to be stronger because they love you and they want to serve you with all their
might. And so, Father, I just pray that you would use the sermon for whatever purpose
you have for it this morning. And please just fill me with the Holy Spirit as I speak, dear
God, and help the sermon to be filled with power because of the Word of God, because
of the Holy Spirit, in Jesus' name I pray, Amen. This is one of my favorite passages
in the Bible, Acts chapter 20, where Paul is giving a final address to those at Ephesus
where he's been so long and he's telling them some final, he's giving some final remarks
and he's telling them that he's going to see their face no more. He knows that he's going
to go to Jerusalem. God has already revealed to him that when he gets to Jerusalem he's
going to be arrested and he's going to be imprisoned for the rest of his life until
he's going to face a death of martyrdom at the hands of the Romans. And he knows that
and he's explaining that to them. But I want to draw special attention to one part of this.
Look, if you would, at verse number 22 of Acts chapter 20, the Bible says, And now behold,
I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there,
save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide
me. And then look at this next phrase, but none of these things move me. You see that?
But none of these things move me. I'm going to preach to you this morning on how to be
unmovable according to the Bible. How can you be unmovable so that you could say like
the Apostle Paul, bonds, you know, afflictions, jail, persecution, none of these things move
me is what he said. Look, if you would, at Luke chapter 6. I'm going to show you this
morning how you can be unmovable. How can you be like an Apostle Paul that says, Nothing
can move me. Nothing can dissuade me from what God has for me to do. Look at Luke chapter
6 and verse number 46. I'll show you how. Luke chapter 6, verse 46. I'll give you a
moment to get there. The Bible says in Luke 46, 646, And why call ye me Lord, Lord? And
do not the things which I say. Isn't that an interesting question that he asks? He says,
Why call ye me Lord, Lord? And do not the things which I say. Whosoever cometh to me
and heareth my sayings, and then look at the next three words, and do it them, I will show
you to whom he is like. He is like a man which built an house and dig deep and laid the foundation
on a rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beamed vehemently upon that house and could
not shake it, for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth and doeth not is like
a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth, against which the stream did
beat vehemently, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great. Now
my first two points kind of go hand in hand. Number one point is that the Bible is saying,
Look, if you're going to be grounded, if your house is going to be built on a rock, if you're
going to be built on a solid foundation where you will not be moved, when the stream of
life beats upon you vehemently, he says, Number one, you're going to have to be a doer of
the word and not a hearer only. Do you see that? He says, Therefore whosoever hearth
these sayings of mine and doeth them, he says, I will show you to whom he is like. You see,
it's not enough to just hear the word of God, and it's not enough to just come to church
and put on a show because he says, Look, don't call me Lord, Lord, if you're not going to
do the things which I say. Well, this is what God says to do in my hand right here
in the Bible. Don't say, Well, I don't know what God wants me to do. Pick up the Bible
and read it. That's what God wants you to do. It's that simple. And so this is what
God wants you to do. He says, Don't just call me Lord, Lord. Don't just show up to church
and listen to the word of God. Don't just read the Bible and hear what I have to say
to you. Do what I've said to do, and then you'll be like a man that's built his house
upon a rock. You say, Well, I'm saved. My house is built upon a rock. Look, you're saved,
but that doesn't mean that your house is built upon a rock. Because the Bible says, He that
heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me has everlasting life. But then it
says, He that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them. See, that's a whole different
thing. When you hear Jesus Christ's sayings, and if you study the chapter, it's a whole
lot of things that a Christian should be doing. You know, once they're already saved,
if you look at Luke chapter six there where this is mentioned, it's also the story is
given in Luke, I'm sorry, Matthew chapter seven. It's part of the Sermon on the Mount.
But he's saying here, Look, if you believe what you've heard, you're saved. But if you
do what you've heard, that's how you're going to be built on a rock to where when the stream
of light beats on you vehemently, you won't be moved. I mean, look what it says here in
verse number 48. He says, The stream beat vehemently upon that house and could not shake
it. Why? For it was founded upon a rock. You see, God wants us to be unmovable. He wants
us to be founded on a rock because I'm going to tell you something. If you look in verses
48 and 49 in both cases, whether you hear the word of God and do it, or whether you
hear what the Bible says and don't do it, either way, the stream is going to beat on
you vehemently. Did you notice that? I mean, the stream is going to beat on you vehemently.
God sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. And no matter who you are, whether you're
saved or unsaved, or if you are saved, whether you're living for God or not living for God,
you will be beat upon by light continually no matter who you are. You say, Man, it's
so hard being a Christian. Man, it's just so hard. I just can't take it. Look, go try
being a worldly, unsaved person. I mean, not that you can once you're saved, but people
that are worldly and unsaved, go talk to them. See how easy they have it. They don't have
it any easier than you do. The Bible says the way of the transgressors is hard. And
the people who live the ungodly life in this world, they have it just as hard, except they
don't have the joy of the Holy Ghost like we have. They don't have the comfort of the
Scriptures. They don't have Jesus Christ with them. They don't have a rock to build their
house on so that when that stream does beat vehemently, they can stand and not be shaken
and not be moved. They just get thrown around by the events of life. The events of life
determine whether they're going to do right or do wrong. They're just tossed to and fro.
But God says, No, I want you to be unmovable. Well, there's two ways that I see principle,
the first two ways, and these are the two that I'm kind of tying together. Number one,
you must be a doer of the word and not a hearer only. But number two, the Bible says in verse
48 there, he says, and dig deep. He says, The person who hears the word of God and does
it, he's like a man which built a house and dig deep and laid the foundation on a rock.
Now, the reason I'm tying these two together is because some people dig deep into the Bible
I'm talking about. I mean, they really dig down deep and they build a strong foundation
of knowing God and knowing the Bible. But then they don't do what they heard. And see,
it's worthless. They're going to be the second case. They can dig deep all they want. But
if they're not a doer of the word, the Bible says that immediately their house will fall.
I mean, that fast, as soon as that stream beats vehemently on them. I was thinking about
an illustration. I spoke to a friend of mine, and I was talking to him about just philosophizing
about things like this. And he was telling me about how when they built the Sears Tower
in Chicago, he was telling me how just for months and months, they just kept digging
down. You know, this is going to be the tallest building in the world. Isn't the Sears Tower
right now the tallest building in the world? I think the World Trade Center was the tallest.
And they knocked it down to the Sears Tower. Maybe it's like the second tallest, but it's
right up there close. Am I wrong about that? I think it's the tallest as far as I know.
So I don't know. But anyway, it's pretty tall. Can we agree on that? It's a really tall building,
okay? And so the building is very tall. And they had to dig down very deep. And they just
kept digging and digging and digging. And he was telling me, he saw pictures of it,
he saw a documentary about it, how they just kept digging down and digging down and steel
and concrete. Just think about how many tons of steel and concrete must be underground
under the Sears Tower. I mean, it's got to be huge. It's got to go down just hundreds
of feet of just steel and concrete and foundation. And I'll guarantee you that for months and
months while they were just digging, and I'll guarantee you it wasn't very impressive
if you would have driven by and you wouldn't have been in awe of this great building. All
you see is a big hole in the ground, a bunch of steel, a bunch of ugly concrete, a bunch
of dirt, a bunch of spray paint. You know where constructors, they spray paint all the
lines of where they're going to do this and that. Yeah, just ugly. You probably would
have seen a bunch of porta potties lined up and just everything, a little bit of job site.
You would have thought, there's nothing glorious about this. There's nothing impressive about
this. But I'm going to tell you something. If it wasn't for that foundation that they
laid, if it wasn't for them digging down deep, they couldn't build higher. Now they could
have said, boy, we need this building done immediately. We need it done fast. And so
we're only going to lay about one-fourth of that amount of foundation. We're just going
to do about a fourth as much as we planned because we just need to get this building
up. But then they wouldn't be able to go as high. You see what I'm saying? Like if they're
in a hurry and say, I don't have time. I'm in a hurry. I've got to build this thing.
We don't have time to just sit here digging for years and years and nothing's happening.
We've got to build it. We're running out of time. But then you know what's going to happen?
A few short years later, they're going to build that thing and get you a certain height.
They're going to wish that they could build it higher, but they can't because they already
made the choice of how much foundation they were going to put in. You see what I'm saying?
It's so important in your life that you dig down deep and build a strong foundation of
knowing the Bible, of doing the Bible. I mean, think about this. These kids right here, they
don't even understand right now that right now, how much they read the Bible and how
much they study the Bible. I'm talking about Solomon, Isaac, and John. My kid's right here
in the front. They don't know that how much they're reading the Bible and learning the
Bible right now is so valuable for the rest of their life. You could almost like multiply
it by 100 when they're an adult, what they learn when they're this age. Because when
you're this age, man, you're like a sponge and it just all soaks in. I mean, their mind
is being programmed. And so right now, how deep you dig right now, Solomon, is going
to determine how high that building's going to be someday, how great of a man you can
become, how great of a preacher you can become, Solomon, how great of a soul-winner you can
become, is going to be based on how deep you dig now. Dig deep now. Do the word of
God now. Read the Bible now. That's going to determine how great your life is going
to be. But no matter who you are, whether it's me right now or it's you right now, later
in life, hey, I'm right now still young. I mean, I'm digging deep in my life right now.
I'm trying to dig down deep, learn the Bible, establish myself and what I believe, trying
to build my character, trying to strengthen myself. I was thinking about another illustration.
Think about John the Baptist. Think about how the Bible says in Luke chapter one that
he was in the deserts until the day of his showing to Israel. So until he was 30 years
old, he spent his life out in the desert with a Bible, just learning the Bible. I mean,
just spending time with God. That's what he did. Maybe that's why God saves the greatest
man who was ever born of a woman. Maybe that's why he came out and preached and thousands
of people were being baptized and the whole Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region
around about Jordan came and were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. Maybe
that's why he was such a powerful man of God, because he had such a deep foundation. Think
about the apostle Paul. The apostle Paul got saved, and I'll actually turn there if you
would, Galatians chapter one. I'm going to show you this. Galatians chapter number one.
My kids last night, we read the whole book of Galatians right before bed. This is one
of the greatest books in the entire Bible. It's a phenomenal book. I love it. I mean,
I was just shouting. I mean, I was just so excited as I read it. I just thought, man,
the Bible is the most glorious book that there is. It's so great. And we read the book of
Galatians and we were just rejoicing in this masterpiece of God's word. I mean, it's phenomenal.
But look at Galatians chapter one, verse 13. The Bible says, For ye have heard of my conversation
in time past in the Jews' religion, that beyond measure I persecuted the church of
God, and wasted it, and profited in the Jews' religion above many mine equals in my own
nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my father. But when it pleased
God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his
son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen, immediately I conferred not with
flesh and blood, neither when I upped to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me, but
I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up
to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode within fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw
I none, same James, the Lord's brother. And then he says fourteen years later is when
he talked to the rest of the apostles. Look, here's what he's saying. He's saying, right
away when I got saved, he said, I didn't need to confer with flesh and blood. He said, this
is what I did. He said, I went out into Arabia. I didn't go to Jerusalem to where all the
big time preachers were, and to the Bible college there. He says, you know, no, I went
out into Arabia, and I just dug deep for a while, and studied the Bible. Now, keep this
in mind, though. The apostle Paul was winning souls right away. The day that he got saved,
Ananias told him to call on God, and to wash away his sins, and call on God, and he did
so the same day the Bible says that Ananias went into Christ, he went out, preaching the
gospel in the synagogues, and he preached boldly. So we're not saying that he just became
some hermit somewhere in Arabia, you know what I mean? Like he went to some place and
just lived by himself, and he's just got the Bible, never talked to anybody, you know,
he's just with the Bible. That's not what he's saying at all, because we know that he's
winning souls right away. You've got to put this in the context of the book of Acts, because
he's giving us another perspective of what happened in the book of Acts. See, the apostle
Paul was a soul winner the whole way through. I mean, while he was digging deep, while he
was studying, while he was learning in Arabia, he was still winning souls in Arabia, and
then he spent half the time, or part of the time in Damascus and part of the time in Arabia,
that three year period. And he was learning the Bible, and he was winning souls, because
I'm going to tell you something, if he hadn't been winning souls, he wouldn't have been
learning the Bible, because the Bible says he that win its souls is wise. The Bible says
those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. He
said the Bible, the strong meat of the Bible is for those who by reason of use have their
senses exercised to discern both good and evil. And so Paul was winning souls, don't
get me wrong, but he said if I'm going to preach the gospel, if I'm going to preach
the gospel to the heathen, if God's going to use me to win people to Christ in all these
different parts of the world, he says I'm going to have to dig deep. He said I'm going
to face some opposition. The stream is going to beat against me vehemently when I go into
Galatia, when I go into Attia, when I go into Macedonia, when I go into Asia, they're
going to fight me, they're going to persecute me, they're going to throw me in jail, I better
dig deep so I can be strong enough to withstand the tide when it comes. And so he says I'm
not going to go to some preacher, I'm not going to go to some college, I'm not going
to go to some academia. He says I've got to get alone with God, I've got to dig down deep,
and I've got to get strong in spirit like John the Baptist did, like I'm going to do
is what Paul is saying in this chapter in Galatians 1. Look at Psalm 1, you don't have
to turn there, hopefully you have it memorized because that's what we did a few weeks ago,
but Psalm 1 verses 2 and 3, you'll see the same idea here. The Bible says but his delight
is in the law of the Lord and in his law that he meditate day and night and he shall be
like a tree planted. You see that? That's like that strong foundation. That's unmovable.
Go find a tree that's bearing fruit and see if you can move it. See if you can shake it.
Go to my tree out in the front yard here, try to shake that thing. Now you could probably
shake these little trees here that are not bearing fruit. We planted what, seven fruit
trees, something like that, and they haven't born fruit yet. Go shake them. I mean you
could shake them all over the place. You could probably rip them out and move them if you
wanted to. But the ones that are bearing fruit back here, my lemon tree and the apple tree,
try and move them. Try and shake them. You can't. You can't even shake the trunk. You
can't even move them. Why? Because they're planted. They're planted. And so God is saying
here if you meditate on the word of God day and night, he says you'll be planted. You'll
be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. But, this brings me into my next point. The
Bible says not only will it be planted by the rivers of water, but he says that bringeth
forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth
shall prosper. This ties in again. Number one, I said you've got to be a doer of the
word. Number two, you've got to dig down deep if you're going to build something big a house
for God. But number three, you must be a producer. You must bring forth fruit if you're going
to be unmovable. If nothing's going to shake you, you've got to bring forth fruit. He says
that the one that's planted, the tree that's planted by the rivers of water, the illustration
I just used, is the one that's bringing forth fruit. Now back in Acts 20, you don't have
to turn there, I'll read it for you, but Acts 20 where we started, where Paul said none
of these things move me. Why was he able to say that? Well maybe it was because in verse
20 he said, and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you
and have taught you publicly and from house to house. See in Acts 20, he's saying I was
house to house out soul winning, I preached the gospel to everybody in the city of Ephesus,
I've taught publicly, I've taught from house to house and he says, you know what, if they
afflict me, if they persecute me, if they fight me, if they try to change me, if they
try to shake me, if they try to move me, he said none of these things move me. Why? Because
he was a producer. He said whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. See the tree that's planted
by the rivers of water, he's bringing forth fruit and he's doing something. He's doing
what he heard. So he's dug deep, he's a doer, he's not just a hearer and he's bringing forth
fruit. That's how you're going to be unmovable. I'm going to tell you something, if you never
become a soul winner, where you can win somebody to Christ yourself, you will eventually not
go to this church. I'll guarantee you, I'm not saying I'll kick you out, I mean, you'd
be here for the rest of your life for all I care, I'm not saying that at all, but I'm
going to tell you something, something's going to shake you along the way. I mean,
I hope you're here forever, even if you never learn how to win somebody to Christ, but you
know what, I'm going to tell you something, if you quit soul winning, or maybe you've
already been a soul winner and you quit soul winning, eventually something's going to shake
you. I mean, I'm just telling you the truth, something will move you. Look, the stream's
going to beat against you vehemently at some point. It's coming. God said it's coming.
You've got to be ready for it. And if you're not ready for it, by being a soul winner,
by being a producer, by bearing fruit, you will be moved and you will be shaken. I was
thinking about this, just thinking about bringing forth fruit. You know, there's another, there's
two aspects of bringing forth fruit or being fruitful in the Bible. Number one talks about,
you know, winning souls, getting people saved. But then there's another aspect of just physically
bringing forth fruit, just having children. Think about this, what if me and my wife and
I did not have children? Would we be more or less likely to get divorced if we don't
have children? We'd be more likely to get divorced, just statistically. Did you know
that the most common time statistically for people to get divorced is in the first two
years of marriage or the first two years after the last child leaves the home? I don't know
if you've ever heard that before, but I've seen it in my life. I've seen many people
get divorced in the first two years of marriage, no kids. And I've seen people who have had
several kids and then the last kid moves out of the house and within two years they're
divorced. See, there's something about being fruitful that keeps you in church. I'm talking
about spiritually, soul winning. There's something about being fruitful that keeps
you in the will of God, that keeps you planted by the rivers of water that God has for you.
And then there's something about being fruitful just in marriage that somehow keeps you together.
You know, if you bear fruit, you're going to be planted. If you bear fruit, you're going
to be unmovable. You're going to be unshakable. And so the illustration holds water all the
way across the board. So number one, you've got to dig down deep. Number two, be a doer,
not just a hearer of the word. When you hear something preached that you see from the Bible,
and when you're reading the Bible and God speaks to you, you've got to do it. Do it.
Every time you do it, when you read something and say, you know what, I'm going to do that.
Man, I've heard it preached and it's true, I'm going to do it. What you're doing is you're
just putting another root down. You're just sending another root out there, rooting yourself.
You're putting in another piece of steel. You're putting in another yard of concrete.
Every time you decide to do what you've heard in the Bible, you're just building that foundation
deeper and stronger. But number four, if you're going to be unmovable, you've got to know
that your labor is not in vain. Look, if you would, at 1 Corinthians chapter 15. New Testament
verse, Romans, 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. And look, if you would, at verse
number 49 of 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15, 49. Boy, this is a very deep chapter in
the Bible. This is a lot of doctrine, a lot of teaching in this great chapter. Look at
verse number 49 of chapter number 15, the Bible reads, and as we have borne the image
of the earthy, talking about Adam, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly, talking
about Jesus Christ. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom
of God. Neither does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not
all sleep, but we shall all be changed, I'm sorry, we shall all be changed in a moment
in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead
shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put
on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall
have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then it shall
be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. O death,
where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the
strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labor is not in
vain in the Lord. So first of all he says, abounding in the work, that's the doing that
we talked about, but he says, be steadfast, be unmovable, always abounding in the work
of the Lord. Why? For as much as you know that your labor is not in vain. See, if you
stay focused on what we're talking about here, the second coming, we're talking about the
day when Jesus Christ is going to come in the clouds and blow the trumpet, and the dead
in Christ shall rise first, and we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the
Lord. He says, therefore, because of this, because we're going to be in the image of
Jesus Christ, because we're going to be caught up together with him, because we're going
to rule and reign with him forever and ever, he says, therefore, my beloved brethren, be
ye steadfast, unmovable. He says, stay focused on the end of your faith, the salvation of
your souls. He says, stay focused on the fact that one day you're going to be in heaven
and you're going to be glorified with Jesus Christ. Great verse, Romans 8, 17, I'll just
read it for you. Romans 8, 18, for I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are
not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Did you hear that?
He said the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory
which shall be revealed in us. Boy, if you think about how great heaven is going to be,
think about how glorious that day is going to be when you see Jesus Christ face to face,
when you walk on the streets of gold in heaven. Look, heaven is a real place. Don't ever get
in your mind to where it's just some vague figment off in your mind somewhere like, well,
you know, I guess we're going to heaven when I die. Hey, look, heaven should be as real
to you as the earth that you see right here. You should be thinking about heaven and what's
it going to be like? The Bible says for our conversation is in heaven. From whence also
we look for the savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may
be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able
even to subdue all things unto himself. God is saying that we need to have our mindset
in heaven. He said we need to be thinking about how we're going to be in heaven someday
and have the glory of heaven on our mind. Turn, if you would, to Revelation 21, second
to the last chapter in the Bible, Revelation 21. You say, well, how can I be unmovable?
What do I have to do to not be shaken? I mean, I want to be in church five years from now.
I want to be winning souls 10 years from now. I want to still love God 20 years from now.
I never want anything to shake me. What do I do to get unmovable? Well, God tells you
what to do. He says you've got to dig deep. You can't just have a shallow Christianity
where you know a few little verses here and there. He says no, dig down deep. Study the
Bible. Learn the Bible. He says and then do it. Do what you've read. He says you're building
a foundation. And he says, most importantly, hey, bear fruit. Be a producer. Be the person
who's bringing visitors. Be the person who's winning souls. He says if you're a producer,
you can't move. He says you just can't shake a tree that's producing fruit. You just can't
do it. This is how you can be unmovable. And then number four, he says, look, stay
focused on the fact that your labor is not in vain. Remember that it's not in vain. Remember
that Jesus Christ is coming back someday. But look at Revelation 21, verse 1. And I
saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed
away and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down
from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great
voice out of heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with
them and they shall be his people and God himself shall be with them and be their God.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall be no more death, neither
sorrow, no crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed
away. And he that sat upon the throne said, behold, I make all things new. And he said
unto me, write, for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, it is done.
I am Alfen omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is a thirst of the
fountain of the water of life freely. Look, you see what it says there? It's done. Someday
it's all going to be over. All the struggles, all the fighting, all the pain, the suffering,
the battle. Hey, someday it's all going to be over. Isn't that great? I mean, the world
has no hope at all. But we as Christians can say, you know what, no matter how bad it gets
right now, everything's falling apart around me. I can just say, you know what, someday
it's all going to be over. And someday I'm going to walk on the streets of gold with
Jesus Christ himself face to face. What a glorious day that's going to be. Can you imagine
what it's going to be like seeing loved ones that have been saved that have gone on before
you? Seeing friends that you've won to Christ and rejoicing with them in heaven for all
eternity. Meeting the great men and women of the Bible face to face and sitting down
and communing with Jesus Christ himself. Well, what a glorious thing it's going to be. The
sufferings of this life are not worthy to be compared with the glory that should be
revealed. But when heaven is just kind of a fall off figment of your imagination somewhere,
you're going to be moved and shaken because you're only going to be able to see what's
happening right now. And it's going to look, you're just going to say the stream is beating
too vehemently. I just can't take it anymore. But if you say, well look, look what's, look
what's coming just right around the corner. Our life is but a vapor that appears for a
little time and then vanishes away. You say, you know what, I think I can stay with it
just one more day. I think I can hang in there a little longer. I think I can just push myself
a little harder. I think I can just win a few more souls to Christ and push myself harder
because of the glory that's going to be revealed some day. Number five. So number one, dig
down deep. Number two, be a doer of the word, not just a hearer. Number three, be a producer.
Bring forth fruit. Be a soul winner. Produce. Number four, remember that your labor is not
in vain. Don't ever forget that. Stay focused on heaven. You know, sometimes we have a reality
of hell. Well sometimes we don't even have that. But sometimes we can have a reality
of hell where we can kind of just almost feel what the flames of hell would be like or think
about it. And it's a very real place as it should be. And if hell is a real place to
you, and if you vividly imagine it, then you'll be a soul winner. You know, you'll want to
win people to Christ. But sometimes we have a more vivid picture of hell than we have
of heaven. And that's because the Bible speaks more about hell than it does about heaven.
But don't ever let it become not real to you, the glories of heaven. I think about
it all the time. I'm constantly thinking about what heaven is going to be like. And that,
boy, it will encourage you. It will lift you up. It will keep you unmovable when you think
about that. But number five, stay focused on others. If you want to be unmovable, get
the focus off yourself and get it on other people. Look if you would at Psalm, chapter
112. Right in the middle of your Bible, Psalm 112. Psalm 112. And in verse number one of
Psalm 112, right in the middle of your Bible there, the Bible says, Praise ye the Lord.
Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.
His seed shall be mighty upon earth. The generation of the upright shall be blessed. Wealth and
riches shall be in his house, and his righteousness endureth forever. Under the upright there
ariseth light in the darkness. He is gracious. Notice these words. He's gracious and full
of compassion and righteous. He's gracious, full of compassion. He's concerned with others,
cares about others, what the Bible is saying here. A good man showeth favor in the lindeth.
See, he's taking care of somebody else's need. A good man showeth favor in the lindeth. He
will guide his affairs with discretion. Surely he shall not be moved forever. You see that?
He's compassionate, he's gracious, he's lending, he's helping others. Surely he shall not be
moved forever. The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid of evil
tidings. That's bad news. That's what evil tidings is bad news. He shall not be afraid
of evil tidings. His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. His heart is established. Well,
you see a building or a business that says, like, established 1932. It's talking about
when it was built. It's talking about when it was founded. He says his heart is established.
It's founded. He shall not be afraid until he see his desire upon his enemies. Watch
the concern for others again in verse number nine. He hath dispersed. He hath given to
the poor. His righteousness endureth forever. His horn shall be exalted with honor. The
wicked shall see it and be grieved. He shall gnash with his teeth and melt away. The desire
of the wicked shall perish. You see that? The man who's concerned with others, the man
who spends his life helping others, the man who gives to others, the man who's generous
and loving to others is the one who's not going to be moved. He's the one that's going
to be established. He's the one that's going to be fixed, unmovable, established all the
way. But there's a sixth thing. See, because if it's all about you in life, you will be
moved. Because when the stream beats vehemently on you, if it's about you, if you're the issue,
you're going to say, well, I'm not doing very well right now. It would be easier for me
if I get out of church or be easier for me if I break this commandment of God and get
out of God's will here if I don't go soul-willing, if I don't read the Bible. See, but if it's
about other people, you say, I have to. I must be in church. Other people will be discouraged
if I'm not in church. They're going to look for me and it's like, where's Amanda? And
they'd be discouraged, for example. And I'm using her as an illustration because she's
always here. But people would look at somebody and just say, where are you? And you say,
well, nobody cares about me. Look, everybody cares about you in this church. And I'm going
to tell you something. When you're not here, no matter who you are in this church, other
people are discouraged and they wish you were here. I remember, this is one of the things
even just when I was very immature in my Christian growth, I remember when I went to Germany
and I, you know, went to a church for about four or five weeks in Germany there. And I
remember just thinking to myself, you know, I started to become attached to the people
and know the people and everything. And I remember the people there, a lot of them were
just very inconsistent to church. Like they didn't come to all three services. And I remember
just being so disappointed when I would come on a Wednesday night or come on a Sunday night
and I would look for my friend or, you know, somebody that I wanted to see and they're
not there. I just remember how discouraging that was to me and just how that made me sad
that they weren't there and I was looking forward to seeing them. And then I remember
when I got back to the United States and I was just thinking to myself, you know what,
I don't ever want to be a discouragement to somebody. I don't ever want to be a discouragement
to the pastor where he looks out and, you know, he's expecting to see people there just
in their place and so-and-so's not there. So-and-so's not there. Or people just looking
for their friends. I mean, just one another. Just, oh, you know, I'm looking forward to
going to church and see, you know, part of the purpose of going to church is to see other
people. It's not just to hear the preaching. It's not just to sing the songs. It's just
to see other people and talk to other people and to fellowship with other people. And when
you're not here, you are, you know, discouraging somebody. That's just the way it is because
somebody wanted to see you. Now there are certain hindrances that you can't avoid, like,
you know, illness and everything like that, of course. But, boy, try and be here because
when you're here, it encourages me and it encourages the people around you that you're
here, we're all here. It's just not the same when you're not here, you know, when everybody's
not here. And so I hope you understand that it's so important that your focus is on other
people because if you're focused on others, you'll be in church for the benefit of everybody
because you're an important part of this church. This church is not one person. It's a whole
body. God compares it to a body, like a human body. He says that there's no, if everyone
was an ear, you know, where's the smelling? He says if it's all a nose, you know, where's
the hearing? He says there's different pieces of the body that need to be there or else
the body cannot function properly. There are certain parts that you play in this church
that if you don't play that part, nobody's going to play the part. We're going to be
like a deformed church. We're going to be like a church that's missing a certain body
part. We're going to be like a church that has no ear, you know? And that, but we need
to be a complete body here. And so when you're not here, we're deformed, that's all. So be
in church. But number six and lastly, not only stay focused on other people, not only
keep your focus on other people, that'll keep you in church. Boy, staying focused on other
people will keep you out knocking these doors because you love and care about the people
in this city, not just you and your little circle, but everybody. Your focus is on others.
That'll keep you out soul winning. But number six, stay focused on Jesus Christ. This will
make you unmovable. Why? Because he doesn't move. Because Jesus Christ does not change.
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever. Look at Hebrews chapter 12 and
I'll close with this point, chapter number 12 of the book of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter
number 12. And remember, what were the points? Number one, dig down deep. Enough with this
shallow Christianity. Enough with this not knowing the Bible. If you're a Christian,
you should know the Bible. The Bible says, study to show thyself approved unto God, a
workman. There's the doing of the word. That's why I told you the first two points go ahead
and end. A workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
He said, if you don't know, if you don't study to show thyself approved, he's saying you
ought to be ashamed of yourself. Know the Bible. Know the Bible. I can't emphasize it
too much to know what the Bible says. Know the Bible. You know what? Someday you might
not be in this church. Did you know that? And someday I might not be around. And someday
other people who taught you the Bible might not be around and you're going to have to
know the Bible for yourself or somebody's going to deceive you and lie to you and suck
you into some lying church somewhere and suck you into some lying thing somewhere. Hey,
know the Bible. Otherwise you'll be moved. Dig down deep. Number two, be a doer of the
word. Number three, be fruitful. Produce. Bring forth fruit. Number four, keep cognizant
of the fact that your labor's not in vain. The reward is coming someday. Number five,
stay focused on others. It's not about you. It's not about me. It's about others. It's
about people that are not in this room and it's about the other people that are in this
room. It's not about me and it's not about you. It's about this church and it's about
the world. And so keep focused on others, but most importantly, stay focused on Jesus
Christ. Look at Hebrews chapter 12, the Bible says, Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed
about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin
which doth so easily beset us and let us run with patience the race as set before us, looking
unto Jesus. See where the focus is? Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our
faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is set down on the right hand of the throne of God. And look at the next words. For consider
him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint
in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. You see what
he's saying? He's saying, well, focus on Jesus Christ. He says, if your viewpoint is on the
cross, and if you consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself,
he says that's going to keep you from being wearied and faint in your minds. He says,
when you consider what Jesus Christ went through, he says, you've not yet resisted unto blood,
striving against sin. When was the last time you shed blood for being a Christian? None
of us have. I mean, when was the last time that you shed blood for soul winning? Not
at all. When was the last time you shed any blood for preaching the Bible? None. He says,
don't be wearied and faint in your minds. You haven't even come close to enduring what
Jesus Christ endured, the contradiction of sinners against himself. When was the last
time you had somebody spit in your face for being a Christian like they spit in Jesus'
face? When was the last time you had somebody take a stick and hit you in the head with
it because you're serving Jesus Christ? Never. When was the last time you had somebody mock
you and ridicule you and laugh at you and shoot out the lip at you and make a fool out
of you and mock you? When was the last time that happened to you? It hasn't happened to
us. Don't be wearied and faint in your minds. Keep the focus on Jesus Christ and say, if
Jesus Christ could endure, and he was a human being, by the way, and yes, we believe that
he's God in the flesh, of course, but he's still a human being. He's 100% God. He was
the Son of God and the Son of Man, and he was 100% God, but he also was tempted like
as we are, yet without sin, and so he was tempted like as we are. He felt the same feelings
that you feel, and he endured, and we can endure. He gave us an example that we should
follow in his steps, the Bible says, and that's the steps of suffering that he went through,
and we can take it. We can handle it. We haven't yet resisted on the blood striving against
sin. Keep focus on Jesus Christ. How is that going to keep you from being moved? Because
he never moves, never changes. God is the same today as he was yesterday, and when you
wake up tomorrow morning, the Bible will be the same. God will be the same. Everything
will be the same, and so if you can stay focused on that, that's how you're going to win. He
says, run with patience the race that is set before you. See, Jesus is like the finish
line. You talk to people who race, they stay focused on the finish line. When they're running,
they say, don't look at the people around you. Look at the finish line. Stay focused
on Jesus Christ. He doesn't move, and you can just run and push yourself and say, I'm
almost there. I'm almost there. I'm almost in heaven. I'm almost reached to glory. God,
please just help me to keep going a little further. Help me to be unmovable. Hey, do
you think I'm going to change the doctrine of this church when the finish line is just
right around the corner? It would be ridiculous. You think I'm going to change what I believe
about the King James Bible is the word of God? You think I'm going to change what I
believe salvation is by grace through faith? Plus nothing, minus nothing. Jesus paid it
all. All to him we owe. You think I'm going to change that when I'm right at the finish
line? I mean, imagine a runner. He's running and running right. You know, 26 miles or however
long the marathon is at, 23 miles, 26 miles, and running and running right. Get to the
very end and just stay out. Get it? You know? He ran like 26 miles. He's like 10 feet from
the end. He's just like, why'd you quit? What are you doing? He's like, I'm just too tired.
You know, it's just like, I just can't. I'm sorry. Well, what do you expect me to do?
Can you run 25 and seven, eight miles? Huh? Why don't you try it sometime? You're like,
you idiot. You're an eighth of a mile from the end. You're in first place. Keep going.
Look, for the last 6,000 years, the torch has been passed to us. I mean, for 6,000 years,
people have fought for the things of God, have stood up for God, have preached the Bible
all the way from righteous, able, all the way until now. They preached the gospel like
Abel preached the gospel, like Seth preached the gospel, like Enoch preached the gospel,
like Noah preached the gospel, like Abraham preached the gospel, all the way down to life.
Jesus Christ himself died on the cross. He passed the torch to the 12 apostles and the
70 apostles, then the whole book of Acts. Paul and these great men are preaching the
gospel, preaching the gospel. All the way to the book of Revelation, you have John preaching
the gospel, finishing song. He's an old man. He's preaching. He's in jail for preaching.
And all the way for the last 1,900 years, people have stood for God, fought the battle,
carried the torch, passed on to us the heritage of the gospel, of righteousness, of the Bible.
And now we're going to drop the ball in 2006? No, sir. We are going to keep on keeping on
the same course that we've been on for the last 6,000 years, that we're going to be on
for all eternity. Hey, we're in the last days, my friend. Let's not drop the ball now. And
I don't care how, I don't care if I'm going to live to be 85 years old, 60 years is nothing.
So if I quit now, it'd be ridiculous. If I change now or live out or compromise just
to please people. I'm not trying to please man. I'm trying to please God. It would be
ridiculous to try to please man who I'm going to be with maybe at the most like 60 years,
when I can please God who I'm going to be with for eternity. It's going to seem silly
when you get to heaven and you look back and you couldn't take it for 60 years, for 70
years, for 80 years. And so you sold out because you couldn't see the big picture of a thousand
years of ruling and reigning on this earth with Christ and then eternity of ruling and
reigning with Christ after that. See the big picture. Stay focused on Jesus Christ. Keep
your focus on the things of God. Get it off yourself. Get it on Jesus and get it on other
people and dig down deep. Be unmovable. Decide today. Say, you know what? It's December 10,
2006. Today I'm just going to decide that I'm not going to lose any more ground. I'm
not going to move backwards. I'm not going to give into the world. I'm not going to let
people pressure me and push me and change me. I'm just drawing the line right here.
I'm just digging down deep and just planning myself and saying, nobody's going to move
me. None of these things move me. I am in church. I'm going to be in church. I read
the Bible. I'm going to keep reading the Bible. I'm a soul winner. I'm going to keep soul
winning. I'm not going to let anything move me. My heart is fixed trusting in the Lord.
My heart is established as it said in Psalm 112. Hey, let that be something that you can
say today. Can you say that today? Can you say that you're established? Can you say that
none of these things move me? Can you say there's nothing that can move me? Nothing
can shake me? Go ahead, stream. Be vehemently against me. I'm built on a rock and I'm not
falling anytime because I'm fixed. It says it's everlasting is my righteousness is what
it says in Psalm 112 if I'm established, if I'm fixed. Let's bow our heads and have a
word of prayer. God, thank you so much for the Bible and promises of God. Boy, sometimes
it seems like the stream really beats vehemently and I know it does because the Bible says
it does, but I also just know it does from personal experience, from the stream beating
vehemently on me from time to time. But God, help me to go deeper. Help me to build stronger
dear God so that I can be fixed and unmovable, steadfast, always abounding in the work of
the Lord for as much as I know that my labor is not advanced.