(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Amen. Alright, well before I get into the sermon tonight, let me just say a couple things. First of all, Pastor Shelley, great sermon. That was a great, great sermon to start the conference off with. I just want to say, if you need to get up and use the restroom, you're welcome to do that, even while I'm preaching. If you need to get up, please don't worry about that. I know it's hot, alright? And if it's hot, just be silent, satisfied, and spiritual. But if it's too hot for you, you can go to our fellowship hall. We have an area set up there for overflow, and I think it's a little cooler there. We've got 388 in attendance tonight, almost 400, so praise the Lord for that. We had the highest number, I was told, we had 599 watching on livestream, so praise the Lord for that. So those are all good numbers there. Thank you again, Pastor Shelley. You're there in 1 Samuel 14. I'd like you to look down at verse number 6, 1 Samuel 14. Like I announced earlier, this is the first time in RHPC history that I've preached an evening service, and I hope that's okay with you. I'll do the best that I can. 1 Samuel 14 verse 6, the Bible says, And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armor, Come and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few. And this evening I'd like to preach a sermon on a subject, and the subject is to try. The subject is to attempt. In the Bible, you find many characters, many examples in the Bible, of individuals that were not experts, but yet they tried or they attempted to do something great for God. For example, Noah. Noah was not a professional ship builder, yet he built an ark for the glory of God. Gideon was not a professional general, yet he led the children of Israel against the Midianites and had victory. David was not a professional warrior when he fought Goliath, but he did it. In the Bible, you often find individuals who try. There's a famous quote by a missionary of yesteryear by the name of William Carey who famously said, We should attempt great things for God and expect great things from God. And I want to speak for just a few moments tonight on this subject. Let me just give you a little bit of a disclaimer. I actually got this idea. I hope you'll forgive me, but I got this idea for the sermon from an old IFP preacher. Now, I'm not preaching a sermon. I've written my own sermon with my own outline, my own verses, but I did get this idea from an old IFP preacher. I just like the title and I like the idea. I'm not preaching his sermon. I'm preaching my own sermon. My sermon is going to be better than his sermon anyway, but I just want to give you that disclaimer. The title of the sermon tonight is just very simply and very aptly put, Let's Try. And I want to speak on the subject of Let's Try. And I want to give you three statements from three stories tonight that kind of highlight this idea. And if you're taking notes, and I always encourage our church family to take notes, I want to encourage you as we look at this idea of Let's Try. Let me just say this by way of introduction as well. Most people do not want to try. Most people do not want to attempt things for God because they are afraid of failure. They're afraid to fail, so therefore they never try. The Bible says in Proverbs 24 16, you don't have to turn there. I'll just read this for you. In fact, I'd like you to just flip back to 1 Samuel 13. You're there in 1 Samuel 14. Just flip to 1 Samuel 13 and I'll read to you from Proverbs 24 16, For a just man falleth seven times and riseth up again, but the wicked shall fall into mischief. The Bible tells us that a just man falleth seven times. And there are going to be times in our lives when we attempt to do something and we fail at it. We attempt to do something and we don't succeed at it. And you know, the only way to really fail is to quit. And if you get back up and you try again, then you are not a failure. We should always be doing our best, trying not to fail. But whenever you attempt things, you're going to fail from time to time. And I always try to keep this phrase in mind. We should always be failing forward. We should be learning from our failures and trying to do better next time. But the reason that most people refuse to even try, to even attempt to do anything, is because they are afraid of failure. And I'd like to speak to you on this subject of let's try. Now, in our story here in 1 Samuel 13, we have the children of Israel, of course, under the leadership of King Saul and his son Jonathan. They are vastly outnumbered in a battle against the Philistines. Let me just highlight that for you. 1 Samuel 13, look at verse 5. And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel. Thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and pitched and mic-mashed eastward from Beth haven. Look down at verse 15, same chapter, 1 Samuel 13, 15. And Samuel arose and got him up from Gilgal unto Gibeah of Benjamin and saw numbered the people that were present with him about six hundred men. I want you to notice that the children of Israel were vastly outnumbered. We read there in verse 5 that there was thirty thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, a people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And then in verse 15, we are told how many there were on the side of the children of Israel. And we see there at the end of verse 15, about six hundred men. This is not a fair fight. They are vastly outnumbered and it does not look good for the children of Israel. If you go back to 1 Samuel 14 in the chapter in which we read, look down at verse number 1. The Bible says, I want you to notice that Saul of course is the king here and Saul wanted to sit and do nothing. He doesn't want to do anything. He knows the numbers are against him. And the Bible tells us here in verse 2 that Saul tarried. The word tarried means he stayed longer than intended. He delayed. He's stalling. Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron. And the people that were with him were about six hundred men. Look at verse 3. If you remember Ichabod from 1 Samuel 4 where the Bible tells us that the name of the child was Ichabod because the glory is departed from Israel. The Bible says, And here we see that Saul is tarring and he's just waiting. He's stalling. And you know today we see many Christians who want to sit around doing nothing. And in fact they want to sit around and do exactly what Pastor Shelley was preaching about just a few moments ago. And all they want to do is sit there and complain. And today you find the people who want to talk about the old days and the glory days. And they want to talk about Ichabod. They want to talk about the glory is departed. And it's not like it used to be. And it used to be better. And today you can find all sorts of Christians who want to sit here and just complain about the situation we find ourselves in. About America in 2023. About the culture we find ourselves in. And let me tell you something. We of course are in a fight and in a culture. But today we need to not have the attitude of Saul that says, Well let's just all hunker down under a little pomegranate tree and just tarry and stall and do nothing. We have Saul here as an example who wanted to sit and do nothing. But we also have Jonathan, his son, as an example of someone who did not want to sit and do nothing. But someone who wanted to sit, who wanted to stand and do something. Notice verse 4. And between the passages by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side and a sharp rock on the other side. And the name of the one was Bozaz. And the name of the other Sineh. The forefront of one was Situate northward over against Michmash and the other southward over against Gibeah. Notice verse 6. And Jonathan said to the young man to bear his armor, Come and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised. And I love this. We already read it but I want you to see it again. It's one of my favorite phrases in the Bible. When Jonathan looks at his armor bearer and he says, It may be that the Lord will work for us for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few. And I want you to notice here that what Jonathan was saying when he looked at this armor bearer here at a time when they were outnumbered, vastly outnumbered, the leadership, his own father, wants to sit under a tree and stall and delay and do nothing. And Jonathan says, I don't want to do nothing. He says, I want to do something. And he looks at his armor bearer and he says, It may be that the Lord will work for us for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few. And here's what Jonathan was saying to his armor bearer. He was saying, Let's try. He was saying, Let's try to do something. Let's try to accomplish something. Let's try to do something for the Lord. I want you to notice that Jonathan does not say, The Lord is going to give us this victory. He doesn't say, I know that God. Jonathan is not some charismatic saying, I got a word from the Lord. It's going to be all right. He doesn't know how it's going to turn out. Notice the wording there in verse 6. It may be. He says, Maybe it will. Maybe it won't. Maybe God will deliver. Maybe God won't deliver. He says, It may be that the Lord will work for us for there is no restraint to the Lord. I love what he says. He says, I don't know if God will, but I know that God can. He says, I know that there is no restraint with the Lord. I know that the Lord is able to save by many or by few. He says, I don't know if God will, but I know that God can. He says, It's possible. He says, It may be that the Lord will work for us. And he looks at the armor bearer and he says, Let's try. I want to speak to you tonight on this subject of Let's try. And maybe you can write these statements down. The wording, I hope, is not confusing for you, but I'm wording it in a certain way for a certain reason. If you're taking notes, maybe you can jot this down. I want to say to you tonight, Let's try. Because I'd rather fail trying than fail to try. See, most people don't want to try because they're afraid of failure. Most people don't want to try because they're afraid it's not going to work out. Most people don't want to try because they're afraid they're going to end up with egg on their face. They're afraid they're going to have to say, Well, it didn't work out. Or, Well, we have to shut it down. Or, Well, I thought this was going to happen. Or, I thought that was going to happen. Most people don't want to try because they're afraid that it's not going to work out. But I'm here to say to you tonight that I would rather fail trying than fail to try. I can't tell you if it's going to work out. I can't tell you how it's going to play out. I can't tell you if you attend something for God that it's all going to work out well. But I can tell you what Jonathan told his armor bearer. Let's try. Let's try it. Let's try to do something. You say, What are you talking about? I'm talking about soul winning. Maybe you're here tonight and I realize the Red Hot Preaching Conference is a conference of the new IFP. And this is a soul winning movement. But I also know this. That some of you that are here tonight don't even go to a new IFP church. That's okay. We're not mad at you. Maybe you go to an old IFP church. Or maybe you don't go to a church and we're going to try to get you to get in a good church. But here's what I know. People will often come to a conference like this because they've never gone soul winning. And it's something they're curious about. Something they want to try. Something that they think. But they're apprehensive. And maybe you're here. And even here you're kind of debating, Should I show up for soul winning on Friday at 2? Should I show up for soul winning on Saturday at 10? Should I show up for soul winning on Sunday? And maybe you're apprehensive. You know it's a good thing. You know you should try. You know it's a good thing. But you're not sure. And here's what I say to you. I say, Why don't you try it? Let's just try. You say, But what if I mess up? Well, maybe you will. Maybe you won't. But give it a try. See, Jonathan said to his armorer, he said, I don't know what's going to happen. It may be that the Lord will work for us. He said, Let's try. Maybe you're someone who hasn't really got connected in church. Maybe you're a Sunday morning only. And you're like, I don't know. You know, what about, you know, I hear about the Sunday night church and Wednesday night church and Red Hawk Ridge, Thursday night church and Friday night church. Hey, I would say maybe back home you don't go to all three church services. You're not a three to thrive. Hey, we believe in Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, three to thrive. And you say, Well, I don't know about that. Here's what I would say to you. Just try it. Let's try. See, I don't know how to pray. Why don't you try? I've never read the Bible cover to cover. Well, let's try. In the Christian life, we have to have this attitude that says that we should try. See, I'd rather try failing, I'd rather fail trying than fail to try. Here's what I mean by that. I'd rather be unsuccessful attempting something than not ever attempt anything at all. I'm just saying to you tonight, why don't you try? Maybe your marriage is struggling tonight. You know, Pastor Shelley just preached a wonderful sermon on the subjects of marriage and maybe you're here tonight and your marriage is failing. You're not sure how it's going to work out or you're not sure if you even want to try. But here's what I would say to you. Let's try. Don't leave here and say, Well, that's not for me. It's not going to work. Look, you just literally heard a great sermon. Why don't you go back, sign up for BambaNotBound.com. This sermon has been brought to you by BambaNotBound.com. Sign up for that. Get the link. Go back. Listen to that sermon by Pastor Shelley. Write down all the things he's told you to do in your marriage and give it a try. Put some effort into it. Put some energy into it. I'm just here to tell you tonight. Let's try. Maybe you've got a rebellious teenager. I'm always shocked how parents will give up on their children so easily. Today everybody wants to tell you how you can't do it, how you can't get it done, how it can't be done. And look, I believe that we can raise children for the glory of God in 2023. I believe that you can raise teenagers that are not rebellious and that love God in 2023. I believe that we can raise the next generation of fundamentalists to take over when we're gone. I've often said to our church family, there is no success without succession, and I believe that it can be done. You say, well, Pastor Jimenez, you haven't raised your kids yet, and they're still young, and I've got a couple of teenagers, but they're younger teenagers. And you say, I don't, you know, what do you think? Here's the thing. I believe it can be done. I'm not done yet raising my children. Here's what I can tell you. I think we can raise young people for the glory of God. I believe we can raise young people that, like Pastor Shelley was preaching, get married at a young age and walk down the aisle, and they're pure, and they're right with God. I believe it can be done. But if you say, well, my team's rebellious, and my team has a bad attitude, and my team is not working out, hey, don't give up. Why don't you try? Let's try. You say, I can never quit smoking. Why don't you try? I can never quit that habitual sin. Why don't you try? I've got a temper. People always want to tell me how I've got a temper that's out of control. I've got this that's out of control. I can't control my mouth. I can't control my thoughts. I can't control this. Well, why don't you try? See, I'd rather fail trying. So what if I fail trying? Well, a just man follows seven times and rises up again. I'd rather fail trying than fail to try. I'd rather fail trying than to not even try. I think you ought to try. You say, why? Because there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few. It's interesting to me how people are always trying to tell you why you can't do something. They're always giving you all these reasons why you can't accomplish something, why you can't get it done, why it can't be done, why it's difficult. Everyone always wants to tell you why you can't. But sometimes you just have to look at your armor bearer and say, well, I say we give it a try. I say we try. I say we attempt. There is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few. And see, the problem with human nature is this, that oftentimes what we want is for God to give us all the details in advance. Isn't that true? We want God to tell us, well, you're going to do this, and then this is going to happen, and then this is going to happen, and then that's going to happen, and we want all the details. And once we can look at it and say, oh, it's safe, then I'll try. But look, that's not faith. Faith is not by sight. Faith is believing that God can, and faith is believing that if God wills, He will, and if God doesn't will, then that's His choice. But let me tell you something. Faith is not just having all your ducks in a row and deciding, well, if I can get all the details and get it all figured out, what's interesting is that it is often, well, look at the story before I make my statement. Look at 1 Samuel 14. Look at verse 4. And between the passages by which Jonathan sought to go over, because remember, Jonathan told his armor bearer, let's just go. Let's just go see. And the Bible tells us that between the passages by which Jonathan sought to go over under the Philistines' garrison, there was a sharp rock. I want you to notice this in verse 4. There was a sharp rock on the one side and a sharp rock on the other side. And the name of the one was Bozaz, and the name of the other one was Senan. The forefront of the one was Situate. The word Situate means it was located northward against Michmash and the other southward over against Gibeah. And Jonathan said to the young man that bears armor, come, let us go over under the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few, and his armor bearer sent unto him. Notice what he said. Hey, by the way, sometimes, you know, this is a good lesson for you followers. You want to encourage your leader? Sometimes you need to tell your leader, do all that is in thine heart. Turn they behold. Here's what every follower should say to their leader. I am with thee. Do all that is in thine heart. Turn thee behold. I am with thee according to thy heart. Look at verse 13. And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet and his armor bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearer slew after him. I want you to notice that God gives him a great victory here where a number of the enemy is slain here by two men. And often we look at the story and we look at it as miraculous, and it is miraculous. I'm not taking away from the fact that God is working, but I want you to notice that there's a practical reason why it is that Jonathan was able to win this battle. Look at it again in verse 4. And between the passages by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines garrison, when Jonathan decided, let's not wait here under this pomegranate tree. Let's go do something. Let's go try something. Let's go attempt something. It was when he went out to try to accomplish something that he noticed something. He noticed that there was a sharp rock on the one side and a sharp rock on the other side. When he got out in the attempt, he noticed that the way that this area was laid out, it was laid out in such a way where though they had more soldiers than we do, they do not have an advantage because in order for us to get to them or in order for them to get to us, they have to pass through this narrow passage where there's a sharp rock on the one side and a sharp rock on the other. And he realized that if we're going to fight them, we're going to have to fight them one on one because even though there's 600 of them, they can't all tunnel through this narrow passageway. So they went out there and though there was more of them, when they began to fight, the Bible says there in verse 13, he climbed upon his hands. I love the zeal of Jonathan. He climbed upon his hands and upon his feet and his armorer after him. And when they began to engage, they fell before Jonathan. Jonathan would smite them, knock them down, and his armorer would come behind them and slew after him. The armorer would finish them off. And they were able to fight against a lot of military, against a lot of enemies in one-to-one combat because, please don't miss this, because when he got out there, he realized that the layout of the land was in their favor. He realized that they could fight them, though there was many of them, the advantage was gone because they had to fight one on one because there was a sharp rock on the one side and a sharp rock on the other. See, here's what you need to understand. We often don't want to try to attempt anything for God unless God sends us an email giving us all the details about how it's going to all work out. But here's what you need to understand. It is often in the attempt of a thing that God shows us the way. It is often when you attempt something, in the attempting of doing something, you realize, oh, I didn't realize that this passageway was here. I didn't realize that they were over there and we were over here and there's a sharp rock on this side and a sharp rock on this side and we don't have to go and fight them two against 600. We're going to have to fight two against two anyway because they can't all get to us anyway. In fact, we can go up to them right up in this passageway and look, here's what I want you to understand. Oftentimes, people will say, well, I don't know. I don't know. Can we really have children? I know you guys preach about having children and being fruitful and I'm doing all the math and I can't figure it out. But let me tell you something. Why don't you just try it? And oftentimes, it is in the attempt of a thing that God shows you how it is that you can get it done. Recently, I announced to our church family, I told them the story. I'll tell it to you quickly just because it kind of illustrates this. That we are purchasing a church building and we are purchasing a building just not, just really right down the street from here, not very far from here. It's a property on four acres of land. It's a 400-seat auditorium. This crowd would fit comfortably in that auditorium. It doesn't fit comfortably here, but it would fit there. And you know, our church has been raising money and saving money for many years now and I've often told our church family, because people ask me, what are we going to buy a building? I'm like, well, I don't really know. I just know this. I want us to be ready when the opportunity comes. I want us to be ready when God decides we're ready. And I'll be honest with you, I didn't really know that we were ready. I didn't think we were ready. We have several real estate agents here in our church and we couldn't really use any of them because we needed a commercial real estate agent, but one of the guys in our church, Brother Luke, he came to me and he said, you know, there's this building over here that's been for sale. It's a church building not too far. And I said, yeah, you know, we tried to go look at it and the real estate guy wouldn't show it to us. We tried to go look at it and he said, no, we don't want to show it to you guys. And Brother Luke said to me, well, I've got to contact a commercial guy, you know, do you want me to maybe give him a call? And I said, look, we already tried. They already said no. And I said, and this is literally how I just kind of shrugged my shoulder and said, but, you know, go ahead and try. Just try. You know, I didn't really think that anything was going to come of it, but he calls the guy. The guy calls me back. He says, hey, I talked to the real estate agent over there. He said the name. I said, yeah, we talked to him. He said he wouldn't show us the building. He said, yeah, I talked to him. He said, I can show you the building. Do you want to look at the building? And I thought, no. I'm busy. I'm planning the Red Hot Preaching Conference. You know, I don't really have time, but he's like, you know, to me, I just, and this is what the guy said. He said, do you want to look at the building? I said, and literally I just kind of shrugged my shoulders, and I'm like, well, let's try. You know, my wife and I went over there, and honestly, I'll be honest with you, on the drive there, I went over there with a bad attitude, because I had this idea that the building was a certain size and I was wrong about that. And this is what I literally told my wife. I told my wife, I'm too busy for this. I'm kind of wasting time right now. But I'm just going to go look at this building, because, you know, it's down the street, and church people kept bringing it up to me. And I told my wife, I'm just going to go and look at it so I can just tell people, like, I've seen it. It's not going to work. So I went there with this bad attitude, because they gave me some information that was misleading, and I thought it was smaller than it was going to be. But I just went there, and I told my wife, let's just go. I told her, here's what's going to happen. I'm going to fall in love with the property, four acres, and then I'm going to look at the building, and I'm going to give it 200 people. We're running 220 on Sunday morning. It's not going to be big enough. It's going to be a big waste of time. I kind of went there with a bad attitude, but I said, well, let's just try. Let's just go and try. We walk into the auditorium, and I immediately realize that my wife and I look at each other, and we're like, whoa, this is a lot bigger than I thought it was. And we started, it has pews, and we started counting how many people you could put on a pew, and we realized this is a 400-seat auditorium. And then we started looking at it, and we just fell in love with it. We were like, this is perfect. So then, you know, my bad attitude turns to like, well, I mean, we could never do this. So we look at this building, and then the real estate guy's like, you want to put in an offer? He said, I talked to him. I think they're selling it for $5 million, but I think they'll take $3.5 million. And I said to this guy, I said, well, here's the thing. Number one, I don't have any financing lined up. Number two, we've been talking to banks, and we have been pre-approved for $3 million, but the problem is that we've got the down payment, all of that, but they also want a year's worth of principal and interest payments up front, and we don't have that. And that was like several hundred thousand dollars. So I said, look, I don't, this is a great building, but I see a lot of issues here. They're asking $5 million, you want to offer $3.5? I've only been pre-approved for $3 million if I can come up with $300,000 to just have in our account. Like, I don't have any financing. And this is what the real estate guy said to me. He said, you want to just try? And I just looked at him and this is what I did. I just shrugged my shoulder. I'm like, let's try. Let's just try. And, you know, I expected him to just call me back three days later saying, no, they looked you up, it's not going to work. But, you know, one week turned to two weeks, two weeks, and almost three weeks went by, we didn't hear from this guy, and I kept thinking, like, we're never going to hear from this guy. It was dumb. He calls me and he says, they accepted your offer. And I said, that's great. One problem. I don't have any money. I don't have $3.5 million. He said, well, that's why I've been talking to them for a couple of weeks. They're going to do seller financing. I said, they're going to finance it. You don't have to deal with the bank. You don't have to tell the bank that you're friends with Pastor Shelley and you're in a bunch of lawsuits. You're laughing, I'm serious. I'm like, how am I going to explain to the bank, I've got to give them a picture of Pastor Shelley, say, well, here's the thing, you know. And they're like, hey, we're bypassing the bank altogether, seller financing. Here's what I'm telling you. Sometimes it is in the attempt of a thing that God shows you how you're going to get it done. But you can sit there under a pomegranate tree and say, well, I'm not going to even try until I know all the details. I'm not even going to try. And I'm here to tell you, sometimes you've got to just try. You've got to just do it. You've got to just get out there. You've got, hey, you dating guys, just try. Let's try. You say, why? Because I'd rather fail trying than fail to try. How is it the Verity Baptist Church has planted three churches in the States and three churches overseas? How is it that a church like this over the last 12 years has planted six other churches, not including our own church? It's because we've tried. It's because we've tried. I remember at the very first Red Hot Preaching Conference eight years ago, I remember Pastor Thompson, who was not Pastor Thompson at the time, bringing his delegation from Washington into the break room there in our Northgate building over on the side, and they wanted to talk about possibly planting a church. I don't know if Pastor Thompson remembers, but I'm sure he does. I remember having this conversation with these people, and I said, look, I'm all for church planting, but I'm not going to be married to a satellite church. I told them, as far as ministry is concerned, my wife and I, we're married to Verity Baptist Church in Sacramento. This is sink or swim here. I said, now, I will do everything in my power to help you, and I will do everything in my power to assist you, and I don't want to see you fail. But I told them, I told Pastor Thompson at the time, not Pastor Thompson at the time, I told that group, look, if this is going to work, you're going to have to work at it. You're going to have to step up. You're going to have to make this happen. I'm willing to do my part, but you're going to have to do your part because you're all the way over there. But here's what I said, and I don't remember exactly because it was eight years ago, but the way that I remember it, it's almost like I shrugged my shoulders and said, but let's try. And we planted our first church plant, Verity Baptist Church in Vancouver, Shore Foundation Baptist Church. Now, this plant said, I don't know how many churches. You say, why do you start a Red Hot Pigeon Conference? Honestly, the first time we started the Red Hot Pigeon, I didn't know if anybody was going to come. I tried to get people to register, and, hey, register the conference, let us know you're coming. But the problem with independent Baptists is you're so independent, and then we've got so many. You are so independent, and we've got so many conspiracy theorists that none of you will register for anything. The only way we can get you to sign up for our email list is to tell you you can't watch the conference unless you give me your email. And let's be honest, the reason it took half of you so long is because you went and started a fake email. You didn't even give us your real one. I tried to get people to call me, hey, are you coming? And everybody was like, I don't know, I don't know, we're not registered. I remember the first conference, I remember walking into the auditorium, and it was just packed. I remember thinking to myself, like, they came. I'm just telling you, sometimes you just got to try. Let's try. Does that mean we fail sometimes? Yes, it means we fail sometimes. But I'd rather fail trying than fail to try. And oftentimes it is in the attempt of a thing, it is in the midst of trying to do something and accomplish something for God and God shows you how it is that it's going to get done. So I say let's try. I say let's try. Go with me if you would. You're there in 1 Samuel, chapter 14. Flip over with me to the book of 2 Kings, chapter 7. 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, then 1 Kings, 2 Kings. 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings. I just say tonight, let's try. Let's try. Everyone's always trying to tell you why you can't do something. I've been in the ministry for almost 13 years. You know, for the last 13 years, people have been telling me why you can't build an independent fundamental Baptist, King James, hard preaching, soul winning church in California. I mean, literally, from day one, before we even started, people were telling me, here's why you can't do it. They were like, here's why you can't do it because of California. And then some of the other people were like, here's why you can't do it. Maybe someone else, but not you. You said, what'd you do? I mean, literally, before we started Verity Baptist Church, 13 years, I got a phone call from a local independent fundamental Baptist preacher in the area, not calling to encourage me, calling to discourage me and tell me why we can't do it, why we couldn't do it. You say, what'd you do? I said, I'm going to give it a try. Let's just try. When we were running 20, they told us, it's not going to work. I said, let's try. When we were running 40, they said, I don't think it's going to work. I said, let's try. When we were running 100, they said, I don't think it's going to work. I said, let's try. When we were running 150, they said, it's not going to work. I said, let's try. When we were running 200, you know what they're still telling me? You know what people are still telling me to this day? They're telling me why it can't be done in California. California, it's too liberal, it's too this, it's too that. You know what? I'm just going to try. Or maybe, I don't know, maybe I should, you know, because look, in California, we've had some struggles. We got protested. Maybe I should move to Texas where Baptist preachers don't get protested. Isn't that right, Pastor Shelley? We had our landlord turn on us. Maybe I should move to Texas where Baptist preachers don't have their landlords turn on them. Isn't that right, Pastor Shelley? We've been sued. Maybe I should move to Texas where Baptist preachers don't get sued. Isn't that right, Pastor Shelley? Let me tell you something. If you actually love the Bible, they hate you everywhere. They don't want you anywhere. I don't know, people go, whoa, I'm just going to, we were talking about it in the Baptist Bias Pastor Shelley brought up. It was like, look, if I move to Arkansas, I'm picking Arkansas because I don't think there's any IP church there. I should have checked with Pastor Thompson. I should have checked with Pastor Thompson. There might be one there. He's like, started one right before the service. If I moved to Arkansas, you know, I wouldn't want my kids hanging out with the kids in the public school. Oh, but you're in Arkansas. I still don't want them hanging out with the public school kids. I still don't want them hanging out with the neighborhood kids. I still want to be in a separated. Look, you know what you need in California or Texas or Arkansas or wherever you're at? You need a church. And get separated. I can't have them in a public school in California, but you're going to have them in a public school in Arkansas? They're teaching the same garbage. Anyone wants to tell me why I can't do it in California, but you know what, very Baptist church seems to be doing just fine. So how about we stop having a defeated attitude and just try? Let's just try. You say, why? Because I'd rather fail, try than fail to try. Let me give you a second statement tonight. I said, number one, I'd rather fail trying than fail to try. Here's another story, 2 Kings 7. I like this story. Let me just give you the context real quickly. The northern kingdom of Israel was under siege. Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, besieged the surrounded, isolated Samaria. Because they stopped the supplies from coming in, the result of the siege was a great famine. The famine was so bad that there was an account of mothers eating their own children. In 2 Kings 7, you have these four leprous men who are outside of the city. I love this little story. I want you to notice what they said in 2 Kings 7, verse 3. And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate. And they said one to another. I love this little phrase. They said, why sit we here until we die? They said, why are we just sitting here? We're going to die. There are four leprous men. They said, we're just going to die here. They started talking about their options. Look at verse 4. Here's option one. If we say we shall enter into the city, they said, look, if we decide to just go into the city, then the famine is in the city and we shall die there. Here's option number one. We can go back in the city, but there's a famine in the city and we're going to die there. And option two, if we sit still here outside of the city, we're going to starve to death and we die also. And option three, now therefore, come and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians. They said, why don't we go to the enemy? If they save us alive, we shall live. And if they kill us, we shall. I love this story. We shall. I like how they say it. We shall but die. Look at what they said. They said, why sit we here until we die? They said, if, if, if we try, if we attempt to do something, if we try, they said we shall die there. If we go in the city and try, we'll die there. If we sit here and don't try, we will die here also. And if we go to the enemy and try to do something there, they might kill us and if they kill us, we shall but die. You know what they're saying? They're saying something that you and I need to be aware of and it is this, that no matter what you do in life, you're going to die. You know what the Bible says? It says, and as it is appointed unto men wants to die. And as it is appointed unto men wants to die. You've got an appointment with death. Unless you live to the rapture, you're going to die. Studies show that 10 out of 10 people die. And here's what they were saying. Here's what they were saying. Let me just give you the statement. I said, number one, let's try. Why? Because I'd rather fail trying than fail to try. But here's statement number two, let's try. You say, why? Because I'd rather fail trying than fail not trying. You say, what do you mean? Let me put it this way. I'd rather die trying than die not trying. Because let me let you in on a little secret. We're going to die anyway. And here's all the leprous men are saying. Here's what they're saying. They're saying, since we're all going to die, since we're all going to die, because they said, if we stay here, we're going to die. If we go in the city, we're going to die. If we go to the city, we're going to die. We shall but die. They said, since we're all going to die, I would rather die trying than die not trying. You say, what do you mean? Here's what I mean. Only one life so soon shall pass. Only what's done for Christ shall last. Look, I say we try. You say, why? Because I'd rather fail trying than fail to try. But I also say, let's try. Because I'd rather fail trying than fail not trying. Because you're going to fail anyway. You're going to die anyway. So look, you're debating this, right? You're in the new IFP. You're listening to preaching. Some of you ladies are debating, should I give in to these dress standards? The Bible teaches that a man shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a woman. And a woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man. The Bible teaches that we should all dress modestly, not just women, men too. You've got to say that in this society. And look, you're trying to decide, well, if I start dressing like a Baptist, if I start wearing skirts only or modest apparel, you know, they might mock me. Okay. I mean, just ask yourself this question. If I go out with my friends and they start drinking and I say, no, I don't want to drink, you know, the question you've got to ask yourself, well, what's the worst that can happen? I mean, look, here's the thing, and look, I'm being honest with you, the worst thing that can happen is they kill you. Isn't that the worst thing? Not if you're a Christian. The worst thing someone can do is die, but here's the problem, you're going to die anyway. So if I'm going to die anyway, I'd rather die living for God. I'd rather die attempting great things for God. Some of you act like you're going to die if you try to give the gospel to your coworker. They're not going to kill you, but even if they did, look, I'm just saying. There's a famous story that Jack Hyles and John R. Rice tell. I don't know if it's real because preachers like to lie, but there's a story that John R. Rice was preaching for Jack Hyles at the big First Baptist Church of Heaven. This was years ago, and they were preaching at this big conference, and they didn't want to have to talk to tons of people. There was tons of people there that were going to try to talk to him. He had a flight he had to catch or whatever, so they ended up going out of a back door into an alley outside of the church building, and when they went into this alley, a guy came out with a gun and tried to rob them, and he took the gun, and this is the story. I don't know if this is true or not. It's a good story, and this guy, according to the story, takes his gun and points it at Dr. Jack Hyles' stomach and then says, give me all your money. I'm going to blow your brains out, and John R. Rice immediately begins to laugh, and Jack Hyles looks at him and says, you think this is funny? And he says, well, he pointed the gun at your stomach, and then he said he's going to blow your brains out, and then the guy says, do you think I'm joking? And John R. Rice says, you can't scare me with Heaven. You know the worst thing that can happen to a Christian is they kill you and you go to Heaven? And some of you act like they're going to kill you if you go out sword winning. They're not. They might slam a door in your face. But even if you die, let me let you in on a little secret. You're going to die anyway. So I'd rather fail trying than fail not trying. Here's what I'm saying. I'd rather live for God and die than not live for God and die anyway. I'd rather be a soul winner and die than not be a soul winner and die anyway. I'd rather do something great for God, take a stand for God, live for God, raise a family for God and die than not do those things and die anyway because here's the secret. You're going to die. Why sit we here until we die? If we shall go into the city, we will die there. And if we sit here, we will die here. And if we go there and they kill us, we shall but die. You know, the interesting thing is this, that oftentimes we don't want to try something because we're afraid that people are going to mock us, that it's going to cost you something. Look, you realize it's going to cost you something to homeschool your children? Literally, it'll cost you twice. I pay for my children's education twice. I pay for it through taxes, for a public school system that I reject, and then I pay to homeschool them. And you know what a lot of Christians do? They say, well, no, I'm not going to do that. I'm going to send them to the free public school and I'm going to pocket that money. But why would you try to keep a little bit of extra money at the expense of your children? See, some of you, the reason you don't go to Sunday night church or Wednesday night church is because you'd rather work. And you act like asking your boss if you're going to have Sunday off, you act like he's going to kill you. He's not going to kill you. But even if he did, you're going to die anyway. You say, but what if I lose my job? You're going to die! Look, why don't you just decide, I'm going to give up on the entertainment of the world. I'm going to throw all that music away. You say, I've invested so much money in all these CDs. Look, CDs don't work anyway. You've got all your tapes from the 90s. Look, all this money you've invested. You say, but if I start living like that, if I start doing that, if I start going to church that much, if I start changing my dress standards, if I start going soloing, my friends are going to think I'm weird. Well, why don't you just give up on, why don't you count the cost and live for God? Because the worst thing they could do to you is kill you. And you know, you ought to fear God and not man. And if the worst thing they can do is kill you, I'd rather die trying than die not trying because I'm going to die anyway. Here's the funny thing. Not only is it in the attempt of a thing that God shows us the way, it is often in the attempt of a thing that God begins to work for us on the other side. I want you to notice this story. I love this story. 2 Kings 7. Look at verse 5. These four lepers, they said, why sit we here till we die if we say we shall enter the city and we shall die there and if we're still here, we die also. If they kill us, we shall but die. So then they decided in verse 5, and they rose up in the twilight. I want you to notice that word twilight there. The Bible's telling us when they rose up. They rose up in the twilight. The word twilight there means in the middle of, it's not quite dark and not quite light. It's just twilight. Twilight can happen either when the sun is going down right before it's completely down or when the sun is coming up right before it's completely up. It's not quite dark. It's not quite dark. It's just the twilight. The Bible tells us here in verse 5, and they rose up in the twilight to go into the camp of the Syrians, and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there. For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of a chariot. This is God working on their side. God working on the other side for their benefit. For the Lord had made the host of Syria to hear a noise of chariots and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host, and they said one to another, So the kings of Israel hath hired against us, the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. I want you to get the story. The four leprous men decide we're going to die anyway, so let's just try something. We're going to die anything anyway, so let's just attempt something, and they rose up in the twilight, and as they were going there, the Bible says that God created a miracle where he had the enemy in the camp. He had the host of the Syrians hear a noise of chariots and a noise of horses, and they assumed that the children of Israel had hired against them the Hittites and the Egyptians to come upon them, but it wasn't true. It was just something they heard. So they ran away. So when the four leprous men show up, no one's there. Everything's left. All the food, all their materials, all their entire encampment is there. Everything is gone. But here's what I want you to notice. Do you believe the King James Bible is perfect? Do you believe that the thing in the Bible is incidental, coincidental, accidental? It's interesting because the Bible tells us when it is that they fled. You say, when did they flee? Look at verse 7. Wherefore they arose and fled. The Syrians, they heard this. They got scared, and they arose and fled. Notice it in the twilight. So why are you pointing that out? Because it is in the twilight, verse 5, when the leprous men rose up to go in the twilight, and it was in the twilight when the host of Syria heard the noise of the army, and they fled. Here's what I'm trying to tell you. We don't know exactly when this time was, but if we put it into our terminology, we would say it this way. They rose up at 6 p.m. to go to the host of the Syrians, and at 6 p.m., the host of the Syrians heard an army coming and ran. Say, what's incredible about that? Here's what's incredible about that. What you and I want is this, that the host of the Midians, we want them to run away at 3 p.m. if we're leaving at 6. But it wasn't until they began to attempt something. It wasn't until they began to try something. It wasn't until they tried to accomplish something and do something for God. At twilight, when they said, let's go, God said, let's go. In the twilight. It's interesting because this is highlighted throughout the Bible. Let me just give you a couple of verses. Go to Joshua chapter 3. We've got to move quickly. Joshua chapter 3. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua. Joshua chapter 3. Joshua chapter 3. Remember the children of Israel are going to cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land. Joshua 3 verse 13. And it came to pass, and it came to pass as soon as. You see that? As soon as. Not before. As soon as. As soon as what? As soon as the soles of the feet. The soles referring to the bottom of the feet. The soles of the feet of the priest shall bear the ark of the Lord. The Lord of all the earth shall rest in the waters of Jordan. When? Here's what the Bible tells us. As soon as their feet rest in the waters of Jordan that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off. Why are you highlighting that? Here's why. Because here's what you and I want. We want God to cut off the waters, then we'll take a step. God says, you take a step, I'll cut off the waters. See, we want God. Hey, can you send the Syrians away at the twilight? You start heading towards them at the twilight, and I'll get rid of them at the twilight. You put your foot in the water, I'll cut it off when you put your foot in the water. Not before. As soon as. See, it is often in the attempt of a thing that God begins to work on the other side. Let me give you another example. Go to Luke 17. New Testament. Matthew, Mark, Luke. Luke 17. Luke 17, verse 14. Remember the ten leprous men? Luke 17, 14. And when he, this is Jesus, saw them, he said unto them, go show yourselves unto the priest. You know what Jesus told the four leprous men? He said, go show yourself unto the priest. Why did they have to go show themselves unto the priest? Because they had to show themselves unto the priest that they had been healed. Here's the thing though. They had not yet been healed. Look at it. He says, go show yourselves unto the priest, and it came to pass that, don't miss it, as they went, they were cleansed. So you know what you and I would do? Jesus would say, go show yourselves unto the priest, and you'd say, but I still have leprosy. I'm not going to go until I've been healed. Jesus says, you go and I'll heal you. As they went, they were cleansed. When the sole of their foot hit the Jordan water, he cut off the water. When the four leprous men arose in the twilight, at the twilight, God said, okay, you're moving, I'll move. You know what the Bible says? Draw nigh to God and he'll draw nigh to you. And here's what I'm telling you. I'd rather fail trying than fail not trying. I'd rather fail trying than fail to try. Why? Because it is often in the attempt of a thing that God shows us the way, and it is often in the attempt of a thing that God begins to work on the other side. You know what the new IFB needs? It needs preachers. Pastor Shelley has churches. Pastor Thompson has a lot of churches. And I joke, but praise God for churches. But you know what these churches need? They need preachers. But you know the problem that we have, and one of the reasons that we are lacking preachers today is because there was a time in the new IFB when we had more guys wanting to go in the ministry than we knew what to do with. And then Pastor Anderson went on the news. And then I went on the news. And then Pastor Shelley showed up, and he messed it up for everyone. And guys started looking at this and thinking, wait a minute, I don't know about this. If I go in the ministry, it might not be easy for me. I thought I could go start a church, and they'd hand me 40 people, and then I'd preach at the Red Hot Preaching Conference. I didn't know it was going to be work. And see, some of you are like, I feel like I could do it. I feel like God is leading me in that direction. But I'm just not sure if it's all going to work out. But let me tell you something. It is often in the attempt of a thing. It is often when you step out by faith. It is often when you decide, I'm just going to go. I'm just going to go for it. What if you die? I'm going to die anyway. What if you don't make it? I'd rather fail trying than fail to try. I'm just going to try. And it is often in that attempt that God meets you on the other side. It is often in the attempt of a thing that God says, okay, you took a step towards me. I'll take a step towards you. As they went, they were cleansed. Let me give you a third example. Go to Esther chapter 4. Esther chapter 4. If you kept your place in the second Kings there, you have 1st and 2nd Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. 2nd Kings, 1st, 2nd Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. I'll try not to go very long, but I may need just a little bit of your time, if you don't mind. It's the Red Hot Preaching Conference. I think that's why you're here. Esther chapter 4. You know the story. Look at it. Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther. The Jews are going to be under attack by Haman. You know the story. Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther. Think not with thyself, that thou shalt escape in the king's house more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place. By the way, let me say this. If you don't want to serve God, that's not okay, but let me say something. The work of God won't end. God will just find someone else. He says, verse 14, For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place. But thou in thy father's house shall be destroyed, and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? We know this phrase. We often quote it. Mordecai says to Esther, Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? You know what he was saying to Esther? He was saying, just try. Just try. Who knows? I don't know. He says, I don't know, but who knows? Maybe you were brought to the kingdom for such a time as this. Here's what's interesting. Esther decides, you know, I'm going to try it. And here's what she says. She sounds like the four lepers spent. Look at verse 15. Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer. Go gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan and fast ye for me, and either eat nor drink three days, night or day. And I also at my matings will fast likewise, and so will I go into the king, which is not according to the law. She said, I'm going to do something that I'm not supposed to do. I'm going to go into the king, which is not according to the law. She said, I'm going to try it. I'm going to attempt it. I'm just going to give it a try. And then she says this, And if I perish, I perish. I said tonight, let's try. Why? Number one, because I'd rather fail trying than fail to try. Number two, because I'd rather fail trying than fail not trying. But here's number three, and I want you to listen to what I'm about to say to you. I say we try. You say why? Because I'd rather fail trying than not fail not trying. You understand what I just said? I'd rather fail trying than not fail not trying. I would rather fail doing right than succeed doing wrong. See, Mordecai says to Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house more than all the Jews. He says, Esther, don't think that just because you don't try that you're going to be okay in the king's house. But see, the temptation was for Esther to think, well, maybe all the other Jews will die, but I'm the queen and I'm here in the house and I'm going to be okay. He said, don't think that way because maybe you were brought to the kingdom for such a time as this. And then Esther says, okay, I'm going to give it a try. I'm going to try. And I'm sure the maidens of Esther and the friends of Esther might say, but what if he kills you? What if it doesn't work? What if you don't succeed? She responds, if I perish, I perish. And here's what she was saying. She was saying, I'd rather fail trying than not fail not trying. Say, what do you mean? I'd rather fail doing right than succeed doing wrong. People say to me, you know, if you stop preaching against the homos, you could build a bigger church. If you stop preaching all these radical passages of Scripture, you could build a bigger church. If you stop having this timeless traditional music and brought in a rock band, you could build a bigger church. But here's what I want you to understand. I would rather fail trying than not fail, not trying. I'd rather fail in the ministry trying to do it the way God told me to do it than to succeed in the ministry than to not fail in the ministry. I'd rather fail in the ministry than to pastor some mega church but doing it while not trying to do right while compromising what I know is right. See, the problem with so many Christians today is that they'd rather succeed in disobedience. Say, Pastor, I don't know if I tithe. I don't know if I can make it off of 90%. Well, here's what I'm saying to you is I'd rather fail trying than not fail. Look, and God shall supply all your needs according to His riches and glory. I don't believe that you tithing is going to cause you to go bankrupt or anything like that. I've seen it work time and time again. But let me just say this. If you think, I don't know if I tied 10% of my income to God. I don't know if I can make it. If I'm bankrupt, I'd rather go bankrupt tithing than be successful not tithing. I'd rather fail in the ministry preaching the Word of God than succeed in the ministry compromising. You say, I don't know if I move to a good church, it might not work out. I'd rather fail trying than not fail. I'd rather fail trying than not fail not trying. I'd rather say maybe God has brought me here for this time and this place and maybe God has given us this opportunity. What if you perish? If I perish, I perish. I'd rather fail than not fail doing wrong. See, some of you need to just tell your wife she needs to quit her job. But pastor, if I tell her to quit my job, I won't be able to live in the nice house that I live in. Well, I'd rather fail trying than not fail not trying. Some of you need to pull your kids out of public school. But if we do that, I don't know that we could afford to do that. I'd rather fail trying. And look, I think that homeschooled children are the best educated and they should be the best educated. And I realize there are some examples of really bad people out there. But by and large, look, if you decide to homeschool your children, you should give them the best education possible. And I believe that many homeschoolers do give their kids the best education possible. And I think you can do it. And I think that God can help you. And I think if you just decide, God will meet you along the way. Some of you have never seen God work for you in your life. You've never seen God work and come through for you. You've never seen God meet you on the other side because you've never even tried. And I just say to you, I'd rather fail trying than not fail not trying. I'd rather fail trying than succeed and be a compromiser. I'd rather fail trying than succeed and be disobedient to God's word. I'd rather have a little crowd and have the world look at me and say you're a failure and you're not a success. And have God look out and say, no, that's what I want. Attempt great things for God. Expect great things from God. Go to Romans if you would. Romans chapter, this is the last place I'll have you look at. Romans chapter 8. I bring a very simple message this evening. Simply put, aptly put, succinctly put, let's try. I say we try. Don't get a divorce. Just try. Don't send her to work. Just try. Don't send them to public school. Just try. Don't not go to church. Just move. Just commute. Just try. Don't not be a soul winner. Just try. Just try. You say, well, you can't tell me it's going to work out. I can't tell you it's going to work out. But I can tell you this, that I would rather fail trying than fail to try. I can tell you this, that I'd rather fail trying than fail not trying. I can tell you this, that I'd much rather fail trying than not fail and not try. I just think we should try. I'm just crazy enough to believe the Bible. I'm just crazy enough to believe what the Bible says and to do what the Bible says and to quit. Look, some of you need to stop doing math. Stop doing your math. You're not good at it. Just stop. All these calculations. Well, if we do this and we do that and I end up at the remainder, just do what God told you to do. Let's just give it a try. You say, church playing doesn't work in America today. Let's just try. This type of preaching doesn't work in America today. Let's give it a try. Let's try. Romans chapter 8. I'd rather fail trying than fail to try. I'd rather fail trying than fail not trying. I'd rather fail trying than not fail. You stinking compromiser. I'd rather fail trying than not fail and live in a nice house and live on a little property and live in a nice neighborhood and drive a nice car and have nice clothes and be a compromiser. I'd rather fail. I'd rather you look at me and say, I'd never live in that house. I'd never drive that car. I'd never live in that neighborhood. Can you believe that they're so poor? Hey, I'd rather fail by the world's standards and try than not fail like you while you compromise, while you disobey. I'd rather fail trying than not fail not trying. But can I let you in on a little secret? It is often when we try that God shows us the way. It is often when we try that God begins to work on the other side. It is often in the not trying that God allows us, in the trying that God helps us and God meets us. Romans 8.31. Notice what the Bible says. What shall we then say to these things? To what things? To all the things telling you why you can't do it. To all the things telling you why it can't be done. You say, Pastor, what do you say to all these people telling you it can't be done in California? You can't do it in California. California doesn't work. Here's what I say. If God before us, who can be against us? I say, yeah, California sucks. So does Texas. And so does whatever state you come from. So does the whole United States of America. You know what I say? God before us, who can be against us? So let's try. I leave you with this challenge tonight. Let's try.