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["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] Put your hand on him just to have him rise up and serve you as a great man of God, Lord. And just to know that our hearts are aligned with pure words and that we're thinking of them and praying for them today. These things we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. All right, for our next hymn, turn if you would to 134. My Anchor Holds, hymn number 134. ["Anchors Aweigh"] We'll sing there on the first. Though the angry searches roll On my tempest-driven soul I am peaceful for I know Wildly though the winds may blow I've an anchor safe and sure That can evermore endure And it holds, my anchor holds For your wildest and old gale On my bark so small and frail By his grace I shall not fail For my anchor holds My anchor holds Mighty tides about me sweep Perils lurk within the deep Angry clouds will shade the sky And the tempest rises high Still I stand the tempest shocked For my anchor grips the rock And it holds, my anchor holds For your wildest and old gale On my bark so small and frail By his grace I shall not fail For my anchor holds My anchor holds I can feel the anchor fast As I meet each sudden blast Where the people go unseen There's the heavy strain between Through the storm I safely ride Till the turning of the tide And it holds, my anchor holds For your wildest and old gale On my bark so small and frail By his grace I shall not fail For my anchor holds My anchor holds Upon the last, troubles almost round the soul Griefs like billows o'er me roll Tempt to seek to lure astray Storms obscure the light of day But in Christ I can be bold I've an anchor that shall hold And it holds, my anchor holds For your wildest and old gale On my bark so small and frail By his grace I shall not fail For my anchor holds My anchor holds Amen. Good morning everyone. Welcome to Steadfast Baptist Church. This time we'll go through our announcements. If you don't have a bulletin, go ahead and raise your hand and an usher will bring you one. On the front there we see our Bible memory passage of the week Hebrews chapter 6 verse 4. We're still at the beginning part of this chapter so there's still plenty of time to catch up if you've gotten behind or to start on this if you haven't started it yet. On the inside is listed our service times there. Sunday morning 10 30 a.m. Sunday evening 4 30 p.m. and our Wednesday evening Bible study going through the book of 1 Samuel at 7 o'clock p.m. Our soul winning times are listed there. Note the change for the Saturday time this weekend at 9 15. I'll explain a little bit more about that in just a minute. We do have our nursing home ministry schedule there. Brother John reads preaching today. Our year to date salvations and baptisms. And just a reminder that if you go to a soul winning time please make sure to report your salvations to the soul winning leader and the soul winning leader to me please. Please be in prayer for Miss Whitney Reed our expecting lady of the church there. And upcoming events. So today is finally September 1st. Thank the Lord. That means we're getting closer to cooler weather. I woke up this morning walked outside. I saw leaves falling. I'm just happy to be in the month of September. It's getting to be the best part of the year for sure. And today is like Brother Cameron mentioned in his prayer the pastoral ordination of Brother Alvarez. And it's very exciting. I highly encourage you to send him a text or a message of some sort. Let him know you're encouraged and praying for him and excited for his ministry there at Pure Words Baptist Church. It's always very exciting day when a church gets its own pastor. And so we're very excited for Pure Words Baptist Church this morning. September 7th. So this upcoming Saturday is going to be our very first Saturday soul winning rally. And this is going to be a weekly thing going forward. But especially this Saturday. We really want you guys to come out to this. We're going to make it a big day. We're going to cater breakfast and coffee and make it a big deal. And so this Saturday because we're getting breakfast and coffee it's going to start at 915. That's when we're going to start eating and fellowshipping going forward. So the Saturday after this upcoming Saturday it'll start at 10 o'clock every week. So this week I believe we have Brother Eric preaching for the first sermon. So Brother Eric is going to give us a 10 minute soul winning challenge. And then the week after that we have our evangelist, Evangelist Fer, preaching for us for that Saturday. So that's going to be exciting. I highly encourage you to come out. Really would like to see our Saturday soul winning time improve in attendance and numbers. And if you look at our salvation year to date I think you're going to see that increase greatly next year. Simply because of this one soul winning time alone. So if you're able to participate we definitely would love to have you for that. The October 4th through 6th conference is the Heritage of the Lord conference in Cedar Hill, Texas. Hosted by Steadfast Baptist Church. That's coming up in about a month. If you can attend that it'd be great. Let's see, our next Sunday fellowship is going to be October 6th. I don't have a theme for that yet but just mark it in your calendar that that's the date. And I'll update you guys with that coming soon. November 6th through the 10th is the Faith Forward Baptist Church missions conference. So if you want to make it out to Tempe, Arizona for that conference it's a great time of year to visit. And I'm sure they're going to put on a great conference as always. We will also, I put in the bulletin there's this missionary update from evangelist Duncan Urbanik. Evangelist Urbanik used to attend Steadfast Baptist Church in the DFW area. And he was just a powerhouse church member and he ended up being ordained as an evangelist and he's in the Philippines. So he did send our church an update I'd like to read from Brother Urbanik this morning. So he says, soul winning, August was a great month for soul winning with a total of 409 salvations. This was our best month so far. Now that school is back many students are outside in large groups again and most are interested in hearing the gospel. So far we have had 1,592 salvations averaging 318 a month. It is still rainy season which slows things down but it hasn't been too bad this month. We also reached out to the superintendent of Rizal to allow us to preach the gospel inside the schools. We are hoping to be approved soon. This would allow us to go to dozens of schools all over the region to share the gospel. So that's excellent news. You know those of us in the United States we can't comprehend preaching in a public school. But we got to do this at Steadfast Baptist Church in the Bahamas and it was just amazing. And so I really hope that that door opens up for Brother Urbanik. He says ministry, we are still a part of Verity Baptist Church in Manila driving up there for their Wednesday and Sunday services. This month I was able to preach two sermons titled Why We Are King James Only and Qualifications of a Pastor. We are also planning a soul winning and church event later in the year to see if there are people in this area that would come to a new church plant. There are quite a few Baptist churches all over the Philippines but they have the same issues as in America. Their style resembles what you would see in the old IFB. Many of them teach repent of your sins to be saved. So good update from Brother Urbanik. Make sure to keep him in your prayers. Don't forget about him. Send him a message every once in a while. Let him know you're thinking about him. He made a huge sacrifice leaving the United States to go to the Philippines. So I saw his wife posted a picture of his home office and it was humble and austere. And you know what? That's a great man of God that's willing to make a sacrifice to go over there and do a great work for him. So let's make sure we're keeping him in our prayers. And with that we'll go ahead and go to our third song this morning. Alright if you will grab your hymnals. Turn to 146 for our next hymn. A shelter in the time of storm. Hymn number 146. The Lord's our rock. In him we hide. A shelter in the time of storm. Secure whatever ill be tied. A shelter in the time of storm. Oh Jesus is a rock in a weary land. A weary land. A weary land. Oh Jesus is a rock in a weary land. A shelter in the time of storm. A shade by day defends by night. A shelter in the time of storm. No fears alarm. No foes upright. A shelter in the time of storm. Oh Jesus is a rock in a weary land. A weary land. A weary land. Oh Jesus is a rock in a weary land. A shelter in the time of storm. The raging storms may round us beat. A shelter in the time of storm. We'll never leave our safe retreat. A shelter in the time of storm. Oh Jesus is a rock in a weary land. A weary land. A weary land. Oh Jesus is a rock in a weary land. A shelter in the time of storm. Oh rock divine. Oh refuge dear. A shelter in the time of storm. Be thou our helper ever near. A shelter in the time of storm. Oh Jesus is a rock in a weary land. A weary land. A weary land. Oh Jesus is a rock in a weary land. A shelter in the time of storm. Amen. Good singing this morning. As the offering plates are being passed, please turn if you would to Acts chapter number one. Acts chapter number one. Acts chapter number one. The Bible reads, The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen, to whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, and being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he, Ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power, but ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day's journey. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter and James and John and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, The number of the names together were about an hundred and twenty. Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity, and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem, insomuch that the field is called in their proper tongue, Akildama, that is to say, the field of blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein, and his bishopric let another take. Wherefore of these men, which have accompanied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justice, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, Thou Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen, that he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. And they gave forth their lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. Let's pray. Dear Father, thank you for this word. Amen. All right. Well, the title of my sermon this morning is The Last Words of Jesus Christ. The Last Words of Jesus Christ. And what I mean by that, of course, is the last words he spoke before he ascended up to heaven. Because, of course, we know Jesus Christ is alive today, and he intercedes to the Father for us today. So when I say that, I'm talking about the last things he said before he left his apostles, after he resurrected, and before he ascended to the Father. And basically, Acts chapter number one is the most detailed account of the ascension of Jesus Christ. It talks about it elsewhere, it talks about it in Mark chapter 16, Luke chapter number 24. But really, Acts chapter number one is where we get the most detail. And I want to do a little bit of a study this morning into the last words of our Savior. Look at Acts chapter number one, verse one. It says, the former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach. And, of course, we know that Acts is written by Luke the physician. So when he's referring to the former treatise that he wrote, he's talking about the Gospel of Luke. And like I said, Luke chapter 24, he is explaining the ascension of Jesus Christ. So Acts chapter number one is basically he's picking up right where he left off on that thought in Luke chapter 24. It says in verse two, until the day in which he was taken up, after that he, through the Holy Ghost, had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen, to whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs being seen of them forty days. And speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. So when the Bible records the last words of Jesus Christ, just so you understand when this is taking place, this is happening 40 days after Jesus rose again from the dead. He spent 40 days on this earth showing himself to his apostles and many other hundreds other witnesses. But we're at the 40 day mark right here, verse four, it says, and being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, you have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power. Verse eight, But ye shall have received power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Now go to John chapter number 21. So there in Acts is where Luke is basically recapping what the last words of the Lord Jesus Christ were. And what's interesting about this is that if you go read Luke 24, you go read Mark Chapter 16, you'll find that there's certain details that are mentioned in Luke that aren't mentioned in Mark and certain details that are mentioned in both that are mentioned here in Acts. And so they all kind of highlight different things. And why is that? What is the reason that the Bible does that? We'll look at John 21, verse 25. It says, And there are also many other things which Jesus did the which if they should be written to everyone, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. And so the Bible is basically saying like Jesus did and said so much that it would be virtually impossible for us to write down literally every single detail of his life. You know, this is already a really big book, right? And it takes a lot of people a whole year to read through it cover to cover. Could you imagine the reading plan that you would have if they literally wrote down every single thing that Jesus said and did? And so Luke in Luke 24, he's giving you some details about the final words of Jesus Christ. And in Mark 16, it highlights some other things that he said before he ascended. And in Acts chapter number one, he's kind of recapping and giving you some different perspective on that. But personally, I like that about the Bible, because if I want to read Luke 24 and Mark 16 and Acts chapter number one, I like that I could get different things from all three chapters, that it's not just the same story being told exactly the same way. So to me, I actually find that very interesting. So let's let's break down his last words here and let's focus on some of the things that he talked about. So number one, go to Acts chapter number one. Number one, I want us to focus on the command to stay in Jerusalem. The command to stay in Jerusalem. Look at Acts chapter number one, verse four. And being assembled together with them. So Jesus is assembled with his apostles. Notice commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem. Go to Luke chapter 24. So first of all, in the last words of Jesus Christ, when he's gathered with his apostles right before he ascends up to heaven, one of the important things he wants to get across to his apostles is this very important command not to leave Jerusalem. Now, why is that significant? Well, first look at look at Luke 24, verse 49. Luke 24, verse 49. He said, And behold, I send the promise of my father upon you, but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high. Of course, Jesus knew that the Book of Acts would occur. The actions of the Book of Acts would happen. And Acts chapter two explains how the apostles are gathered together in the upper room and they get the filling of the Holy Spirit. The the cloven tongues of fire descends on their head and they're able to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. That was an important thing to happen. And Jesus knew that they needed to stay in Jerusalem for that to happen. But also it was to fulfill scripture. OK, look at Isaiah chapter number two flipped Isaiah chapter two. Isaiah chapter number two. And let's look at some of the scriptures that were fulfilled by this command from Jesus. Isaiah two, verse three says this. And many people shall go and say, come ye and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. And he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths. Notice this. For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. This is a great example of what is called dual fulfillment, because this verse right here in Isaiah, one of the things it's talking about is the literal future coming kingdom of Jesus Christ. His millennial reign, where the law is going to go forth from Jerusalem, where Jesus is going to be physically present on this earth and physically ruling and reigning from Jerusalem. But also, however, it says that the law comes forth from Jerusalem. It's also referring to the fact that the gospel in the New Testament started and emanated from Jerusalem, started from Jerusalem, and then it went out to other cities, other countries and to the whole world. And so that's what it's referring there to go to Romans chapter number one, Romans chapter number one. And Jesus wanted to make sure that the gospel started in Jerusalem. Here's another verse that backs that up. Romans chapter one, verse 16. The Bible says, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Why does it say to the Jew first? Because the gospel went to the Jews first. Why? Because the gospel emanated and started in Jerusalem. Now, of course, we know that they rejected that, but that doesn't negate the fact that that's where Jesus wanted the gospel to start. Go to Romans chapter nine. Just flip a few pages. Romans chapter number nine. And why? Why would the gospel go to the Jews first? Well, of course, because the Jews had the law of God and the law of God is what prophesied of the coming Messiah. So Jesus was the Jews promised Messiah. Unfortunately, they rejected him, but he was promised to them. How do we know that? Look at verse one of Romans nine. I say the truth in Christ. I lie not my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen, according to the flesh. So, you know, the apostle Paul is very sad. He's very upset at the fact that the Jews aren't saved. And he's saying that he could even wish himself to be unsaved if that meant that his fellow Jews would get saved. Look at verse four. Who are Israelites? To whom pertaineth the adoption and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the law and the service of God and the promises. Whose are the fathers? And notice. And of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came. Who is over all God blessed forever. Amen. So the Bible literally says concerning the flesh, who was promised a Messiah to come forth? The Jews. He was of the seed of David. He was descended of that lineage and he was their promised king, their promised Messiah. And so, of course, that makes sense why the gospel would start in Jerusalem. But look at verse six. Not as though the word of God have taken none effect, for they are not all Israel, which are of Israel. You know, it's not like God purposed to come for Israel, but God failed because here's the thing. We're the true Israel today. And so Jesus came for Israel. And guess what? Israel believed on him because spiritual Israel is all those who put their faith in Jesus Christ. So it's not like the word of God took none effect. It's not like the prophecies of the Bible failed. No, he is the king of Israel today. He is the king of the Jews today. And Romans explain who the true Jews are and who the true Israel is. Now go to Acts chapter number 13. You know, another reason why I think that the gospel went to the Jews first is because God didn't really want to spend a ton of time on people that are unreceptive. He kind of wanted to just give them their chance and then move on to the rest of the world. Because think about how much time was really spent in giving the gospel in Jerusalem. Not that much. You know, Jesus died around 80, 30 ish. And when was Jerusalem destroyed? 80, 70. That's not that long that the gospel was going out there before it was completely destroyed. But how long has the gospel been going out to the Gentiles? Basically since 80, 70 to 2024. So it kind of makes sense that God's just like, OK, hey, start in Jerusalem. Let's knock that out. Let's get this over with and let's move on to the rest of the world that's actually going to accept me. That makes sense to me. Look at Acts 13, verse 46. Acts 13, verse 46. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold and said it was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you. But seeing you put it from you and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. And so Paul understood this by his own practical experience of preaching the gospel to the Jews, saying, wow, these people are unworthy of everlasting life. They're not accepting the message. They're not accepting the gospel. And so you know what? I'm going to turn to the Gentiles. Now, unfortunately, Paul kind of battled back and forth with himself on this because he had such a heart to reach the Jews where the Holy Ghost is finally having to tell him to move on. Go to Acts chapter 21. But Paul at times was so frustrated that he was just willing to give up on the Jews. And look, today it makes no sense for churches to be prioritizing their money and their evangelists to go to Israel. It makes no sense when the whole nation hates Jesus Christ, virtually speaking, the whole nation rejected Christ. It's a cursed nation today. And yet Christians want to go to Israel to preach them the gospel. What a foolish endeavor that is. What a fool's errand. It's a waste of time. Look at Acts 21, verse three. Now, when we had discovered Cyprus and left it on the left hand and sailed into Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unlate her burden and finding disciples, we tarried there seven days, who said to Paul through the spirit that he should not go up to Jerusalem. So look, before Jesus ascended to be the father, he says, hey, stay in Jerusalem. I want you to start this Christianity, this New Testament here in Jerusalem. I want you to preach the gospel in Jerusalem. But just a few chapters later in this book, in Acts 21, the Holy Spirit is saying, don't go back there. Don't go back there. Why? Because Jews hate the gospel. The Bible teaches that Jews are enemies concerning the gospel. And so today it makes no sense. It's so weird today how so many Christians, how so many Baptists want to venerate Israel, want to lift up Israel on some sort of pedestal, when the Holy Ghost is telling Paul in the book of Acts not to even go back to Jerusalem, not even to waste his time. You know, the Bible says not to cast your pearls before swine. Why would you take the apostle Paul, who's the best missionary who's ever lived, who's a complete powerhouse, and just have him banging his head against the wall, preaching to Jews all day, who are also banging their heads against the wall. It's ridiculous. It's a complete waste of time. Go to Acts chapter number one, Acts chapter number one. You know, Christians today, they need to get caught up to Acts 21. You know, in 2024, a lot of Christians are still back on the Acts chapter one program. We need to get to Acts chapter 21 and realize that the Holy Ghost has basically told us not to waste our time. Now look, if you run into a Jew, if you run into someone who practices Judaism or if they're an ethnic Jew or whatever, yeah, preach them the gospel, of course. You knock on their door, give them that chance. But look, after the first and second admonition, reject that person. Don't waste your whole soul-winning time trying to get a Jew saved because chances are it's just not going to happen. Now if it happens, praise the Lord. I'm happy for that. But don't waste your time with those people. Number one, we saw the commandment to stay in Jerusalem. Number two, we see the promise of the Holy Ghost. Look at Acts chapter number one, verse four. And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem. But wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. Go to John chapter number 14, John chapter number 14. You know, we, living in 2024, we're so far into the New Testament now that we may take it for granted that people throughout history have not all had the exact same benefits of the Holy Spirit that we have today. You know, in the Old Testament, the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit came upon people for durations of time. But the Old Testament never has an example of someone being permanently indwelled with the Holy Spirit. And even Jesus' apostles, when they walked this earth with Jesus Christ, did not have that benefit. And Jesus is saying, look, stay in Jerusalem because this promise is coming to you. This promise is going to happen to you. Look at John 14, verse 16. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you forever. Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you. And notice this, and shall be in you. You know, that's what makes the New Testament, one of the things that makes the New Testament so special, is that not only do we just have the Holy Spirit that can just come upon us and give us power to preach or to do some great work for God, but actually the Holy Spirit of God is in us. And as the Lord Jesus Christ left this earth, God in the flesh departed from this world. But this world is not without God today. Why? Because God today still lives here. It's called living inside of me and living inside of you. And that's why he's the comforter because, you know, it could be very unnerving and very upsetting for these apostles to lose their Lord, their Savior, Jesus Christ, and they're thinking, what's going on? This is God. He's leaving us. But hey, he's giving us another comforter who's going to stay with us. And so God is still with us in that sense. Verse 18. I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you. Yet a little while in the world seeeth me no more. He's saying, I'm leaving, but ye see me because I live. Ye shall live also. And of course, we know we all will see Christ again face to face. Verse 20, In that day ye shall know that I am in the Father and ye in me and I in you. Look at verse 26, skip down there. But the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you. And so here we see kind of one of the purposes of the Holy Ghost. We see that Jesus calls the Holy Ghost the comforter. You know, that is a great blessing. That is a great resource that we have as Christians that God is always dwelling in us. And one of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to comfort us. And I think he kind of explains in verse 26 how it is that the Holy Ghost comforts us. One of the things he does is he teaches us all things. He gives us access to understand scripture. You know, that is not a benefit that every person in this world has. Jesus literally said the world cannot receive. The world can't receive the Holy Spirit. How's the only way that you receive the Holy Spirit is by believing in Christ. Then you can receive the Holy Spirit. Why? Because you're born again. You're a new creature. You have the new man, and the Holy Ghost comes to live inside of you to teach you all things, to bear witness to the truth, to help us understand scripture. Go to John 15. I'm going to read for you 1 John 2, 27. The Bible says, But the anointing, which ye have received of him, abideth in you. And ye need not that any man teach you, but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. So, notice one of the benefits of the Holy Spirit is to teach us scripture and to bring scripture to our remembrance. You know, this is something that Catholicism has fought against for basically all of history, saying, you know what? No, the poor man, the peasant man, the common man shouldn't have access to the word of God because they need some specialized, trained priest or some high religious person to explain to them the doctrines of the Bible. But you know what? That's not what Jesus taught. That's not what the Holy Scripture revealed through the scripture. No, the Bible actually says that we can understand all things by our teacher, the Holy Spirit, that we don't need any man to teach us. You know, that's a great blessing that if you actually invest time into the word of God, you could receive a lot out of it. And when it comes to understanding scripture, you really get what you put in to reading the Bible because the Holy Spirit's not limited. I mean, the Holy Spirit's ready to teach you. He's ready to reveal scripture to you. He's ready for you to understand the mysteries of the Bible and the deep and dark sayings of the scripture, but you just have to put in the time and effort and work to read it because the Bible, you know, the Holy Spirit can't bring something to your remembrance that you never had in your brain the first time. You know, the Holy Spirit can't help you remember scripture that you never read. You can't go out soul winning and talk to someone and they bring up this question and you think, oh yeah, I remember this talks about this in the book of Isaiah if you've never read the book of Isaiah. You know, the Holy Spirit is not limited in his power, but what he needs us to do is actually open up the Bible every day and read it and then he could bring things to our remembrance. Look at John 15 verse 26. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of me. So notice the Bible says that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. And, you know, the Holy Spirit testifies to us what truth is. That's why when we read the book of John, we know it's true because the Holy Spirit is bearing witness of that truth. And that's why when we read Habakkuk, we know it's true. And Revelation, we know it's true. And that's why when we read the book of Mormon, we know it's not true because the Holy Spirit is not bearing witness to that truth. And people like to scoff at this, but you know, Christianity is a spiritual religion. You know, they that worship me must worship me in spirit and in truth, the Bible says. And so we don't want to downplay the role of the Holy Spirit or the power of the Holy Spirit just because there's freaks like the Pentecostals that take it way too far, that speak in tongues and gibberish and say a bunch of nonsense and call that the power of the Holy Spirit. No, you know what the power of the Holy Spirit is, is opening up the word of God and the Holy Spirit revealing that truth to you and helping you understand it. The power of the Holy Spirit is to comfort you when you need comfort. The power of the Holy Spirit is to bring scripture to your remembrance when you need it brought to remembrance. You know, that's real power. And that is a blessing we have in the New Testament that not everyone throughout history has had. Go to John chapter 16, flip the page, John 16. John 16 verse 7, And so it makes sense why if he's saying this in John 16 before he ascends to the Father, he's reminding them of this promise that he gave him, that hey, if Jesus just stayed here on this earth, they wouldn't need the comforter, they wouldn't need the Holy Spirit. The only way that they're going to get that permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit is if Christ ascended up to be with the Father. By the way, this really debunks oneness and modalism when you have Jesus, the Son, ascending to be with someone else, God the Father, and who's coming down, the comforter, the Holy Spirit, to be indwelling in us. You know, this idea that God is just one person and that he's shape-shifting into different roles is a false doctrine. Why? Because you have Jesus on earth leaving and going to heaven where God the Father already is and the Holy Spirit coming down and indwelling us is three persons, one God. That's what the Bible teaches. Look at verse 8, And ye see me no more of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth, for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. One thing I want to point out there is in verse 13, how it says he will guide you into all truth. This statement is why I believe it is impossible for a Christian to stop believing on Jesus Christ. Because sometimes at soul winning, you'll ask someone, well, do you think you could ever lose their salvation? And they'll say, oh, yeah, if you stop believing in Jesus Christ. But here's the thing. When you get saved, the Holy Spirit indwells you, lives inside of you, and one of his jobs is to bear witness of all truth. And the Holy Ghost isn't gonna get tired and fall asleep and stop doing his job. He's always going to bear witness of the truth. So once you've been enlightened, once you've seen the truth, once the Holy Spirit is inside of you and he's bearing witness the truth of Jesus Christ, he's never gonna confuse you to where all of a sudden now you believe in Buddha, that Buddha's God. Or now you believe that the prophet Muhammad is the true prophet of God. Or now you believe that Joseph Smith is the true prophet of God. If someone ever believes in any of those things, it just shows that they were never saved to begin with. It just goes to show that the Holy Spirit was never inside of them to begin with. Because if the Holy Spirit was inside of them, what would he have done? He would have bore witness to the truth in that person. And so either you're saying the Holy Spirit stopped doing his job, which is a lie and is blasphemous, or that person was just never saved. So this question, can a person stop believing? It's just a non-starter because the answer is just obviously no. You cannot stop believing. Well, what if someone stopped believing? Would they lose their salvation? It's a stupid question because they can't stop believing in Jesus Christ. Just like you teenagers in here and young adults, you no longer believe in Santa Claus, I hope. I hope no one in here believes in Santa Claus, okay? What would I have to do to convince you that Santa Claus is real? I could never do it. No matter what I told you, no matter what type of AI-generated video I showed you of Santa Claus going down your chimney, you would know that it's a fraud. I can never convince you, now that you know that the tooth fairy is fake, I can never convince you that he's real. Just like once you realize the gospel and the truth of the Bible, once you realize that Jesus is God, that he is our savior, there's nothing anyone could ever do to convince me otherwise of that. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is living inside of me and he bears witness to all truth. And so anything in this Bible, Genesis to Revelation, no one could ever talk me out of believing it because the Holy Ghost is bearing witness in my heart that all of it is true. And no one's ever going to confuse me with the Book of Mormon or the Quran because the Holy Spirit inside of me is saying, run away, screaming the other direction. This is garbage. This is trash. Ephesians 1, I'll read for you, verse 13 says, in whom also ye trusted, after that ye heard, the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchase possession unto the praise of his glory. You know, the Bible saying that after you believe in Jesus Christ, which means trust, this verse is explaining that believe means trust. Once you put your trust in the fact that Jesus died for all of your sins, and that's the only way you can believe that Jesus died for all of your sins. And that's the only thing that's going to take you to heaven. That's the only thing that's going to give you righteousness. The Bible says that God gives you that earnest payment, which is the sealing of the Holy Spirit that's going to be in you until the day of redemption, until God gives us our glorified bodies. And we're not only saved spiritually at that point, but we're also saved physically at that point. Acts chapter number one. So we talked about his command to stay in Jerusalem. We talked about the promise of the Holy Spirit. Now let's talk about the coming kingdom of Christ. Verse six, when they, the apostles, therefore were come together, they asked of him saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time again, restore again the kingdom to Israel? Now, if you've read the New Testament, this question is something that the apostles were constantly asking. Constantly, his disciples were constantly asking Constantly, his disciples were confused about whether or not Jesus was coming to establish a spiritual kingdom or an earthly one. And all throughout the New Testament, you see examples of this. Let's look at a few. Let's look at Matthew chapter 16, Matthew chapter 16. And so even after Jesus died and rose again from the dead and is about to send into heaven, he's saying, he's like, wait, are you about to bring back the kingdom before you leave? They're still thinking about this. Look at Matthew 16, verse 21. From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples how that he must go into Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised again the third day. So his apostles were forewarned what was going to happen to Jesus. So the fact that they're asking this question after he's already risen again from the dead, they really have no excuse. Why? Because look at verse 22. Then Peter took him and began to rebuke him saying, be it far from thee, Lord. This shall not be unto thee. By the way, here's a pro tip. Never rebuke the Lord Jesus Christ for any reason whatsoever. This is, you're just always going to be wrong. This is a bad idea. You know, Peter here is just way out of line to rebuke the son of God. There's never a reason why he should have done that, which very foolish thing to do. But look what Jesus said, verse 23. But he turned and said unto Peter, get thee behind me, Satan. Thou art an offense unto me. Four, this is why, is why Jesus is upset. Thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Here's, Jesus understands Peter's heart, why Peter is upset at this. Peter is upset about hearing that Jesus is going to go to Jerusalem and that he's going to be killed on the cross, that he's going to die, that he's going to raise again. He's upset about that because what Peter wants is Jesus Christ to put on a crown and a robe and pull out the rod of iron and rule Israel and start making a physical kingdom. And Jesus is saying, hey, I understand what your heart's problem is. You're not savoring the things that are of God, but you're savoring things that are of men. You know, a lot of Christians are exactly like the apostle Peter today, where they're so wrapped up with the carnal kingdoms of our world and they care so much more about who's going to be elected in November and who's going to be the next mayor of Oklahoma City and who's going to be the next governor of Oklahoma than they are about if they're going to be going to church in November, if they're going to be preaching the gospel of Jesus's kingdom in November. All they care about is going out and voting and instead of canvassing neighborhoods with church invitations, they're canvassing neighborhoods trying to get people to vote for Donald Trump. You know, at least Peter wanted Jesus to be the king, but yet today, Christians are so carnal, they don't care about that. They want Donald Trump to be their king. They want the casino-owning, serial divorcee, serial adulterer, guy that says he wants trannies to use whatever bathroom they want, the guy that says that he'll be the best president for women's rights in American history. Translation, I'll be more for you killing children than any president in American history. This is who Christians are excited about today. And you know what Jesus would say to these people is that you don't savor the things that are of God, you savor the things that are of men. People that care more about Donald Trump and about American politics than they do about the gospel. Go to Mark chapter number 10, Mark chapter number 10. But it's not just Peter that was like this. Look at Mark 10, verse 35. And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. That's kind of a forward thing to do. Hey, Jesus, I just want you to do whatever I ask you. Okay, verse 36. And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand and the other on thy left hand in thy glory. So James and John, they're thinking like, all right, Jesus is about to set up a new government. He's about to rule this area. He's about to be the king. Let's just go ask him if we could be his, on his right hand and his left hand in this king. It's a very forward thing to ask, right? But it just shows where is their mind at? They're thinking that Jesus Christ is coming to establish a physical kingdom. Okay. Look at John chapter number six. I'll prove this again. John chapter number six. John chapter six, verse 14. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did said, this is of a truth, that prophet that should come into the world. When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone. So notice there's these men that they know they can recognize, okay, this is the Messiah that the old Testament is prophesying of. This is our king. And so, but what they didn't realize was that Jesus's first coming on this earth was to establish a spiritual kingdom. And when he wants us to go gather people and bring them in to the kingdom, that's talking about getting people saved. But what were they wanting to do? They were wanting to take him by force and make him a king. I mean, they were, they were really wanting him to rule. It's kind of like George Washington. Like everyone's like, you have to be our first president, but even more, they're like willing to take him by force. And make him the king. Go to Acts chapter number one, Acts chapter number one. And so you have all these examples in the gospels of random people, of the apostles, of the disciples, of Christians wanting him to set up a physical kingdom, but Jesus warned them, Hey, I'm going to go to Jerusalem. I'm going to die. I'm going to rise again. So there was no excuse for them to not understand what was happening at this point in Acts chapter number one, because in Acts chapter one, Jesus has risen from the dead 40 days ago. And yet, even though Jesus rose from the dead 40 days ago, what's still on their mind, they're still asking, Hey, are you going to bring in this kingdom? We're really wanting you to bring in this kingdom, right? But look at Jesus's response to them in verse seven. And he said unto them, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the father hath put in his own power. What is Jesus's response to these men? He basically tells them more or less, just don't worry about it. It's none of your business really. Don't worry about it. Now here's the thing. Mark or Matthew 24. And in Luke 21 and in Mark 13, Jesus gave us some things to look for. He did tell us to watch for the signs of the times. There are things that we could see that when we notice them, we know, okay, we're getting close to the second coming of Christ, but here's the thing. Jesus is saying when it comes to the exact day or the exact hour, you know, you don't really need to know about that elsewhere. Jesus says that he doesn't even know only the father knows that information. And so why does, but here's the thing he doesn't really want these Christians to be worried about that. He wants them to be worried about other things. And I think Christians can sometimes get this mentality where it's like, you really want to know all the esoteric things. You really want to find all the secret mysteries of the Bible, but it's like God gave you 66 books in the old and new Testament. He gave you a big thick Bible right here. And my question is how much time, effort and energy are you putting in to try to understand everything in the Bible from Genesis to revelation? You know, here's the truth. We could spend our entire lives reading the Bible and not understand every single thing because the Bible is that big and it's that deep. And you know, there's some things that we just don't need to know or that we'll find out later. And you have these Christians where it's like, they don't want to read Genesis. They don't want to read Leviticus, but it's like all the book of Thomas though. I really want to read the book of Thomas. I really want to read the gospel according to Judas. There's literally a gospel according to Judas or the gospel of Mary. I want to read the gospel of Mary. It's like, why don't you read Matthew? Why don't you read John? Why don't you read the book of Acts? Why are you so interested with all this secret forbidden knowledge that you supposedly, you know, are going to try to get? It's not available to you. That stuff is fake anyways. And look, there's some things where Jesus says you just don't need to worry about it. You know, don't even mess around with the Apocrypha. There's nothing in there for you. It's all lies. It's all trash. You know, don't, don't read the book of Thomas and start getting into the Nephilim. I've never met a normal person that believed in the Nephilim. It's always these weird Ruckmanites from Florida is something about Florida where they're just really into the Nephilim there, you know, poor pastor Jones. He had to deal with one of these Nephilim people in his church. And he said, this Nephilim person came into his church and he was pointing out the foothills in Boise, Idaho. Who's ever been to Boise, Idaho? Anyone? Okay. God bless you. I see that hand was beautiful city. He's got all these foothills and he's like, those aren't mountains. Those are bones of the Nephilim. It's just like, this guy is a weirdo. This guy is a weirdo. Like just a loser, a freak, you know, just be content with what God has given you to know, be content with what God has given you to understand in the word of God. And if there's something you don't understand, go back to point number two, where we talk about the Holy Spirit's job to teach you. And sometimes you may need to pray to the Lord, Lord, please help me to understand this passage. You know, I have a note taking Bible. And sometimes when I read through my Bible, I'll make a note right here that just says like, Hey, I'm praying to understand this passage. And then the next time I go through my Bible, I'm like, oh, cool. I understand that passage. Now God answered that prayer. And what, what is that? That's not me being smart or intelligent. That's the Holy Spirit bearing witness to the truth. That's God answering my prayer. And so, you know, that's what I'm interested in. I'm interested in learning more about the Bible. I'm not interested in learning more about the esoteric hidden, you know, that kind of stuff is just a waste of time. There's a reason that God doesn't want us to be spending time on that. You're in Acts chapter number one. So think about it. He says, they want to know Lord, are you coming to bring back your kingdom? And he basically says, Hey, don't worry about it. What is one of the reasons why I don't think that God wants them worrying about this is because what he's about to say, and let's look at number four this morning is Jesus's final mandate to the church. This is the final thing that our Lord and savior is going to say before he leaves this earth, physically speaking in a sense to the father in heaven, sounds like this is going to be a really important thing. What he's going to say, he's going to say, Hey, don't worry so much about my physical kingdom because you have something else to do. What is it? Verse eight, but you shall receive power after that. The Holy ghost has come upon you and he shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth. What are you saying? He's saying, look, I don't want you just sitting around on earth, gazing up into heaven. Why gaze you up into heaven? You know, waiting for Jesus's return, waiting for the millennial reign of Christ when he has work for us to do. And you know what the book of acts is about? It's about the actions of the apostle of the apostles. It's not about the apostle Peter and the apostle Paul waiting around for some physical kingdom on earth. You know what it is? It's them bringing the gospel to Judea and Samaria and to all over the world. And you know, the apostle Paul living in the old world, he basically brought the gospel to the most remote remote corners of the world that he could possibly get to. And you know, that is what Jesus's desire is for every single church in this world today. It's not to be necessarily worried about the next election. It's not even to be worried about the second coming of Christ, quite honestly, you know, what we should be worried about is getting the gospel out to this world. Yeah. Like I said, you know, just think about this. This is the last thing Jesus said before going to heaven. It's the most important thing. It's what he wants us to realize. What's most important in his heart is preaching the gospel. And he says, I want you to go. I want you to work. And yet so many churches today, they don't even have this at all as a part of their program. I mean, there's many churches you go to today where they have a service where someone gets up and sings. They have announcements, they have Bible reading, they have Bible preaching, but nowhere in their program. Is there any soul winning going on? And let me tell you, Jesus is disappointed in a church like that. Jesus is very disappointed. You know why? Because the last thing that he told us to do on this earth is to go out and preach the gospel and to go and share it with the whole world. And so, you know, a church could have the best preacher and the best music group and the best facilities, but if they don't have a soul winning program, it's virtually a worthless church. It's virtually just a social club at that point. You know, I would rather go to church that's in a strip mall, that's in a storefront, that doesn't have all the best facilities, but actually cares about the last thing that Jesus said on this earth and make that the most important aspect of our church. And I would rather neglect other areas of church, but make sure that the soul winning is thriving. That is the number one most important thing that a church could do. And, you know, it says to go on to Judea. You know, for us, that would be like going to, or it says Jerusalem first. You know, that would be like going to the neighborhoods around our church or the zip codes around our church. You know, I like the idea of maybe even just hitting the zip codes surrounding our church just once a year and just constantly going into those areas and trying to get people saved and trying to get them in church so that they can help us with the great commission so we can train them and we can multiply our efforts. He says, go on to Judea. You know, for us, that'd be like the OKC Metro. And that's a huge job right there. But, you know, little is much when God is in it. When people actually take this to heart and actually want to become a soul winner and go out and make the last words of Jesus Christ a priority in their life and in their church, you know, God can do great things with those people. He says going to Samaria, that would be like our state, the state of Oklahoma. You know, we should have a vision not just to reach this neighborhood, not just to reach this city, but to reach this entire state with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And, you know, let's be honest. Oklahoma isn't that big of a state. You know, we could get this done. That is an absolutely realistic goal to reach Oklahoma with the gospel, to start other churches in the state of Oklahoma. And then he says unto the uttermost part of the earth. You know, we don't want to stop there. You know, let's, Lord willing, someday, let's start a church in Chicago if it hasn't been done yet. Let's start churches all over America and let's do like Pastor Shelley has done and set a great example for our church in doing, having missions trips to places like the Bahamas, where we got like, I believe like 900 people saved in like a week. It was insane. And, you know, God is, is happy when a church dedicates their time, their money, their human resources, their effort to go and reach the whole world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. You know, our church, if we did something like that, we're not going to see some sort of tangible monetary benefit from that. People from the Bahamas aren't coming to our church. People that I've gotten saved in Mexico have never once showed up at a service, a steadfast Baptist church, but you know what? They're saved. They're going to spend eternity with Jesus Christ rather than burning in hell. And, you know, hopefully they'll look up some preaching online and they'll get interested in soul winning and they'll start going out soul winning themselves. There's this guy in Mexico that, that told me that what he does is he has a soul winning club and he goes out, preaches the gospel in Mexico and tries to gather people to come to a soul winning club. And he preaches at his house or whatever. And he told, he tells me that he just gets my sermons, pastor Shelley's sermons, pastor Anderson's sermons. And he just directly translate them into Spanish. And he just preaches them. And I'm just like, praise God for that. Like that's great. You know, but you know why stuff is like that is happening is because a guy like pastor Shelley had a vision to go reach Mexico. And he spent church time, money, effort and energy to go there and get people saved. And then look what's happening. Now they're doing the same thing. Now they're going in preaching the gospel as well. Go to Luke chapter number 19, Luke chapter number 19. You know, Jesus Christ doesn't really care who's going to run the country of America this year, because you know, the King's heart is in the hand of the Lord and he could turn it with or whoever he wants to. But you know, what Jesus does care about is he cares about guys like evangelists or Bannock. He cares way more about evangelists or Bannock and what he's doing this week than Donald Trump and what he's doing this week. He cares way more about what pastor Stuckey is doing this week. What pastor Shelley is doing this week. Then he cares about what Kamala Harris and Joe Biden are doing this week. Why? Because Jesus didn't before he leave this earth say, Hey, make sure you elect really good people into the city government of Jerusalem and in Samaria and in Judea and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. He doesn't care about that. No, what he cares about is making sure that the gospel goes to those people. And so he cares. So in, in God's perspective, evangelist or Bannock is way more of a superstar than Donald Trump. Why? Well, first of all, Donald Trump isn't even saved. I hate to break your bubble on that one. And number two, because Bannock is actually doing the work of God. Look at Luke 19 verse 11. And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable because he was nigh to Jerusalem. And because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. So notice the context of this parable that we're about to read. The reason Jesus is giving this parable is because the people that he was talking to thought that Jesus was about to establish a physical kingdom, an earthly kingdom verse 12. He said, therefore a certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. And he called his 10 servants and delivered them 10 pounds and said, occupy till I come. Now I wonder what this could be meaning in the parable. Jesus is saying here, Hey, Oh, you guys, you guys are worried about the physical kingdom. You guys are worried about whether or not I'm coming to rule physically on this earth. Here's what you should be worried about working until I come back. Don't worry about when I'm coming back. Don't worry about the physical kingdom that I'm setting up. Just worry about working. You know, I love the song will work till Jesus comes. Why? Because Jesus is saying here, occupy like, like the word occupation get to work until I come. Verse 14, but his citizens hated him and sent a message after him saying, we will not have this man to reign over us. I wonder who this is in the parable. Well, he said, go to Jerusalem first. What happened? The Jews rejected him. And Jesus is saying here, Hey, his citizens, he came unto his own and his own received him. Not the Jews said, Hey, we're not going to have Jesus Christ reign over us. We're not going to have him be our King. We're not going to have him be our savior. And so God rejected them verse 15 and it came to pass that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him to whom he had given the money that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. So notice the ruler, the boss in this parable, when he gives assets to his employees, when he comes back, he's expecting to see a profit. He's expecting to see how much these men had gained by trading. You know, Jesus has the same attitude. He gave us all the assets. What's the first thing he gave us when he left this earth. He gave us the Holy Spirit, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. What's the Holy Spirit's job to empower us to reveal truth unto us to convict the world of sin. I mean, we have the tools that we need beyond that. Ephesians talks about how he gave us pastors and teachers and evangelists for the edifying of the body of Christ, for the work of the ministry. He's given us everything we need. And so when he comes back, you know what he's expecting? He's expecting to see a profit. He's expecting to see how much his children have gained by trading. He wants to, when he comes back, open up the Google sheet of Steadfast Baptist Church OKC and say, okay, let's see how many salvations they got. That's what he cares about. He doesn't really care about how much money you gave to political organizations. He doesn't care about voting for Donald Trump. He doesn't care about all those carnal things. He doesn't care about you running for office. Nobody cares about is how much you gain by trading for 16. Then came the first saying, Lord, by pound have gained 10 pounds. And he said on him, well, thou good servant, because thou has been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over 10 cities. You know, the irony of the situation is that the person that wasn't really worried about the coming kingdom of Christ, the person that wasn't really worried about getting the authority, the person that was just simply worried about working hard and being a good steward of their master's assets. When the Lord comes back and he says, oh, wow, you've changed this one talent into 10 talent. He's the one that's actually rewarded with the authority. Isn't that funny? And yet you have so many people today that they're so worried about the coming kingdom of Christ. And they're worried about ushering in the kingdom and trying to vote in the second coming of Christ, which is not even possible by the way, they're worried about that. Look, if you want to have a great place when Jesus comes back to rule and reign on this earth, just worry about working. That's going to ensure you that you get authority over 10 cities, verse 18 and the second came saying, Lord, thy pound have gained five pounds. So he has less of a prophet, but notice God's still happy. He says, and he said, likewise to him, be thou over five cities. And another came saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin. For I feared thee because thou art an austere man. Thou takest up that thou layest not down and repest that thou didst not so. And he saith unto him out of thine own mouth, will I judge thee thou wicked servant thou newest that I was an austere man taking up that I laid not down and reaping that I did not. So wherefore then gave us thou not, wherefore then gave us not thou my money into the bank that at my coming, I might have required mine own with usury. And he said unto them that stood by take from him the pound and give it to him that have 10 pounds. And they said unto him, Lord, he hath 10 pounds. For I say unto you that unto everyone which hath shall be given and from him that hath not even that he hath shall be taken away from him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither and slay them before me. You know, in this parable, you got two guys. They make a profit with their boss's assets, and one made more profit than the other, but the Lord is still pleased with both of them. And you know what? Praise God for any church in this world that goes soul winning. You know, would to God that every church would have tons and tons of soul winning times, that they would have 100% participation rate, but there's some churches in this world where they just do a little bit of soul winning. And look, I'm for those people. I'm thankful that those people exist. But you know what? Jesus describes the employee here that takes his Lord's assets and just keeps it in a napkin and doesn't do anything with it. What Jesus describes that person as as a wicked servant. You know that Christians save people bought by the blood of the lamb going to heaven can still be wicked. And let me tell you something, a Christian that never goes soul winning, that never opens their mouth, you are wicked. And God is not happy with you. And God would say that you are a wicked servant for taking the Holy Spirit, for taking all the blessings that God's given you, for taking all the assets that's God given to you, and you don't care about doing anything with it. You don't care about your Lord making any profit. You don't care about getting people saved. You just want to keep it in a napkin. Selfish and wicked. And look, I don't say that to be mean or say you just feel bad about yourself. I say that so you could change. Why? Because the last words that Jesus Christ ever spoke on this earth before he ascended up to heaven was to go out and preach the gospel. And look, that should mean something to you. Don't we love Jesus today in this room? Don't we love our Savior? Don't we care about what he wants, what he says? And the last thing that he tells us before he goes up to heaven is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. You know what? I'm going to dedicate my life to that. Because that's what the boss wants. That's what Jesus wants. And you know what? A church, an individual Christian that never opens their mouth, that never goes soul winning, Jesus says that person is a wicked person. And you know, I just want to close on this thought. You know, I implore you to become a soul winner today. You know, I implore you that if you, that you do not take for granted the fact that you go to a soul winning church, that you go to a church that offers training where you could go be a silent partner and learn the ropes. You don't have to go knock doors by yourself or anything like that. There's resources online. You have the tools that you need. Look, I implore you today to become a soul winner. And if you've been out of it for a while, if you used to be a soul winner and you've gotten backslidden, you're not doing it anymore. Hey, there's a great opportunity next Saturday where we're going to start a Saturday soul winning rally where we're going to try to get as many people in this room as possible. We're going to sing a song. We're going to try to get filled with the Spirit of God. We're going to get a soul winning challenge from a preacher filled with the Holy Spirit. We're going to go out in this community and we're going to obey what Christ told us to do. Why? Because the last words that Jesus Christ spoke before leaving us was to go out to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. You know, don't harden your heart this morning. Don't say, you know, that's for other Christians to do. That's not something that I should spend my life doing. No, that's what Jesus wants you to do. That's His command for every single person. And so let us as a church take our Savior's words to heart and dedicate our lives and our church's mission to preaching the gospel. Let's have a word of prayer. Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for this beautiful passage where we get your final words before leaving us. I just pray that you would impress upon every heart in here the importance and the care that you have for us to go out and get people saved and that we would share that vision that you have and share that heart that you have to reach other people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I pray that we would have a full house for our Saturday soul winning rally this upcoming weekend and that you would use this group of people to have a huge harvest and a huge profit for your kingdom. And someday, Lord, when you do rain on this earth that we would just be blessed for it. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Alright, at this time we'll turn to our last hymn for the morning. You grab your hymnal. Turn to hymn number 160, Crown Him with Many Crowns. Hymn number 16160, Crown Him with Many Crowns. We'll sing there on the first. Crown Him with many crowns, the lamb upon His throne. Hark how the heavenly anthem drowns, all music but its own. Awake my soul and sing of Him who died for thee. And hail Him as Thy matchless King through all eternity. Crown Him the Lord of love, behold His hands and side. Rich wounds yet visible above in beauty glorified. No angel in the sky can fully bear that sight. But downward bends His wandering, I had mystery so bright. Crown Him the Lord of life, who triumphed o'er the grave. Who rose victorious to the strife for those He came to save. His glories now we sing, who died and rose on high. Who died eternal life to bring and lives that death may die. Crown Him the Lord of heaven, one with the Father known. One with the Spirit through Him given from yonder glorious throne. To Thee be endless praise, for Thou for us has died. Be Thou, O Lord, through endless days adored and magnified.