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

Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right, good morning everybody. Welcome to Pure Words Baptist Church. Go ahead and get situated, find your seats, and pull out your hymnals. We'll turn to our first song for the morning. It'll be song number 139. Song number 139, I Know Whom I Have Believed. Number 139. First, I know not why God's wondrous grace to me he hath made known. Nor why unworthy Christ in love redeemed me for his own. But I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. I know not how this saving faith to me he did impart. Nor how believing in his word brought peace within my heart. But I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. I know not how the Spirit moves convincing men of sin, revealing Jesus through the Word, creating faith in him. But I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. I know not what of good or ill may be reserved for me of weary ways or golden days before his face I see. But I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. I know not when my Lord may come at night or noonday fair. Nor if I walk the veil with him or meet him in the air. But I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. Amen. Brother Rusty, you're going to pray for us this morning? Amen. So the second song will be Blessed Assurance, song number 143, just a couple pages to the right there, 143, Blessed Assurance. The first. Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. Perfect submission, perfect delight. Visions of rapture now burst on my sight. Angels descending, great from above. Echoes of mercy, whispers of love. This is my song. This is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. Perfect submission, always at rest. I in my Savior am happy and blessed. Watching and waiting, looking above. Filled with his goodness, lost in his love. This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. Amen, good singing. So if you could, go ahead and pull out your bulletins. If you don't have one, they're on the back shelf back there. Just go ahead and grab one of those. If you don't have one, raise your hand. Brother Edward will bring them around to you. In our top left, we have our service times. Our morning service is at 10 30 a.m. Our evening service at 5 30 p.m. And our midweek Bible study is on Thursday at 7 o'clock p.m. And below this, we have our soul winning times. As a church, we go out three times. We go out on Sunday at 2 p.m. On Thursday at 5 15. And then on Saturday, we have a time at 10 a.m. So again, if you want to go to one of those times, just be here a little bit early. That way we could maximize our time out there preaching the gospel. And then below this, we do have our totals for the month of February and for the year. So as for right now, for February, we have 38 salvations. And for the year, we're up to 68. Let's go ahead and tally. Did anybody get anybody outside of service for the Saturday soul winning, Brother Mo? How many did you guys get? None? Okay, anybody else? Just one? Awesome, cool. We got two, so that moves up to three. Anybody else have anybody outside? Okay, cool. So we'll add those three to our totals. Okay, so just another reminder, be in prayer for our expectant mothers. Just that everything goes well with the moms and the babies. And then below this, we do have our preaching schedule to look forward to. Today, March 1st, we have Brother Chris Segura. He came down from Faithful Word to blessing him, having him back. He'll be preaching both services for us. March 22nd, we have Brother Duncan Urbanic from Steadfast. April 5th, Brother Jeff Goodwin from Steadfast. And then April 26th, we have Brother Matt Taylor coming back from Verity. And then May 24th, we have Pastor Bruce Mejia preaching both services for us. And again, we thank all these brothers to come and preach for us. It's a blessing. And then we do have a men's fellowship coming up March 27th. That's a Friday. So it's going to be very similar to the last men's night that we did. We'll go out to a shooting range. We'll shoot a bunch of guns and then we'll go out for a steak dinner. So that will be definitely a good time. And you know, it's not just men and teenagers, you know. It'll be just kind of a guy's night out, good fellowship. And then just some more upcoming events. We have the friends and family day March 29th. So it'll be that very next Sunday after the men's night will be the friends and family day. So again, if you have friends or family that you would want to come to church, that'd be a great day to invite somebody. And then we have the mega marathon April 11th and the Bahamas missions trip May 4th through the 9th. So again, if you want to go on that missions trip, just email Pastor Shelley your itinerary and he'll take care of your lodging and transportation down there. But that is the announcements for the morning. Go ahead and pull your hymnals back out. We'll go to our third song. It'll be Blessed Be the Name, song number 159. Blessed Be the Name, 159. First, all praise to Him who reigns above in majesty supreme, Who gave His Son for man to die that He might man redeem. Blessed Be the Name, Blessed Be the Name, Blessed Be the Name of the Lord. Blessed Be the Name, Blessed Be the Name, Blessed Be the Name of the Lord. His name above all names shall stand exalted more and more, Let God the Father's own right hand where angels host adore. Blessed Be the Name, Blessed Be the Name, Blessed Be the Name of the Lord. Blessed Be the Name, Blessed Be the Name, Blessed Be the Name of the Lord. Redeemer, Savior, Friend of Man, Once ruined by the fall, Thou hast devised salvation's plan, Where Thou hast died for all. Blessed Be the Name, Blessed Be the Name, Blessed Be the Name of the Lord. Blessed Be the Name, Blessed Be the Name, Blessed Be the Name of the Lord. His name shall be the Counselor, The mighty Prince of Peace, Of all earth's kingdoms conquer, Whose man shall never cease. Blessed Be the Name, Blessed Be the Name, Blessed Be the Name of the Lord. Blessed Be the Name, Blessed Be the Name, Blessed Be the Name of the Lord. Amen. Great singing. So at this time if you go ahead and pull out your Bibles and turn in your Bibles to Philippians chapter number two. Philippians chapter number two, brother Samson will read for us and we'll go ahead and pass the offering plate. Alright, so we're here again, Philippians chapter number two. Everybody find their places. Follow along with me here in Philippians chapter two and verse one where the Bible reads, There be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies. Fulfill you my joy that ye be like minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in the lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than himself. Let not every man on his own things, look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ, who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even to death on the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, giving him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and all things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmuring and disputing, that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke in the mindset, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shall shine as lights in the world. Holding forth the word of life, that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all. For the same cause also do ye joy and rejoice with me, but I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort when I know your state. For I have no man like-minded, who will naturally care for your state, for all seek their own, not the things which are of Jesus Christ. But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the Father, he has served with me in the gospel. Him, therefore, I hope to sin presently, as soon as I shall see how it will go with me. But I trust in the Lord, that I also myself shall come shortly. Yet I suppose it necessary to send to you Epictetus, my brother, and companion in labor, and fellow soldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants. For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because ye had heard that he was sick. For indeed he was sick, nigh unto death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but on me also. Least I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I send him, therefore, the more carefully, that when ye see him again ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful. Receive him, therefore, in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such in reputation, because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his own life, to supply your lack of service toward me. I'll head for a quick word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we come before you, giving you thanks for all things, for your grace, for faith, and for our salvation itself. Pray again that you fill this church with your Holy Spirit today, and let Brother Secura preach of bold and commanding service, that we all be attentive and take the lessons he give us with us, and apply them to our daily lives. We pray this in the name, in the matchless name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. Philippians chapter number 2. We first want to say thank you once again for showing up, knowing that I was coming. Amen. It's been a while since I've been here, but it's good to be back. Let me put it that way. This time I brought my two sons here, and they're having a good time so far. Right, boys? Right, boys. Amen. I'm a good father, trust me. You know, but Philippians chapter number 2. You know the Bible says, If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels in mercy, fulfill ye my joy. Fulfill ye my joy. And the title of my sermon is this, Three Good Reasons to Serve the Lord. Three good reasons to serve the Lord. And let's just face it, we're living in a time where Christians are having issues with their children, trying to give them good reasons to serve the Lord. And their children are starting to say, You know what? I don't know if I can do this. I don't know if I can be a Christian. I'm thinking twice about it. You know what? I understand you, mom, or you, dad, or you, brother, or you, whoever, or you, friend. I know that's your thing, but I don't know if I can do it. They're becoming more and more like these people that are going around just saying, Hey, you know, what's the point of serving the Lord? What's the big deal about serving Him? It is vain to serve God. What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance that we have walked more fully before the Lord? Well, let me tell you this. There's a lot of good reasons. And I'm going to mention more than four, but I'm going to just give you some basic three. So the basic three that I think can help us all just refresh, recharge, and just simple stuff that we can remember, and we should always strive to remember these three things because they will keep you in the fight. And in case you haven't figured it out, we are in a fight. And you're going to be in a fight for the rest of your human life. Amen? But that's a good thing because Christians, hey, we were born again. Hey, we are born to fight. Man, woman, and children, if you're born again, let's face it, you're born to fight. That's what God makes very clear in the scriptures that you're a soldier, and He has called you to serve Him. And no man that warth and tangents himself with the affairs of his life, He wants you to please Him who has chosen you to be a soldier. Amen? But the first reason is very basic. In case you didn't see it right there in verse number two where Paul says, Fulfill ye my joy, he's talking to the Philippians, and he's saying, Hey, guys, fulfill ye my joy. Be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. In other words, hey, stay united as a church. Stay united. Be of one mind. Keep the love. Be of one accord. Be a peacemaker. The Bible says, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. So when you will have issues that are gonna come up where somebody's gonna get bitter, somebody's gonna get upset, either at the leadership or at one another, A, aim to be that peacemaker that unites everybody. Why? Because in Psalms 133, 132 says this, Behold, how good and how pleasant is it for brethren to dwell together in unity. And isn't it a good thing when people can just get along in church? How many of you guys have been on teams before? You know, just sports teams or whatever. You know, it's a pain when people are at each other, when nobody's working, everybody's blaming. Hey, it's your fault we lost. Look, it's this guy, it's that guy, whoever. But when everybody has each other's back, when everybody's taking care of each other, it's a whole lot more fun, yes or no? So one good reason, my first reason, to serve the Lord with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, is because it brings joy to believers around us, amen? When you miss church for whatever reason, A, it is what it is, we still miss you. Whether you're backslidden, just don't tell no one, or you're sick, A, we missed you guys. It does help when you show up. Now I'm not saying show up if you've got the coronavirus, all right? But if you are sick and you know what, it's not that bad, show up, show up. You'll get something, and praise the Lord for livestream. You guys got a livestream? All right, amen, praise the Lord. You know, praise the Lord for that, because you know what it is, what it is, let's use it to our advantage, amen? So of course, back in the day, you get a little sick, stay home, stay home. You're not really doing anybody a favor by coming in and getting us all sick, but if you can make it, when you make it, it does help. It does keep everything energized. Because think about it, what if I showed up and it was just me and brother Nick? Think about it, be like, bro, what's up? You know, that would not bring joy to my heart. When it's like, yeah, they all left, man, they all got bitter and mad and took off on us. It's like, what? That would break my heart, and that will happen. And I don't know, since August, August was the last time I was here, I don't know if there's anybody who has left, but I can't notice it. I kind of panicked a little bit, because I'm like, where's brother Mo and his family? And then they showed up right on time. I'm like, whew, I remember this man and his family. I'm like, where are they at? Oh, there they are. Whew, I'm not trying to put you on the spot, brother, but it is what it is. It's always good to see people, especially when you leave since August, almost, what, six months, almost? And you come back and it's like, wow, man, we're almost filled up. Got to get a new building sooner or later, right? It always feels good. But look right there, Paul's saying, look, guys, stay like-minded, have the same love, be in the one accord, be of one mind. A, this brings me joy. Fulfill my joy, stay together. Stay together until the end. Yes, he's talking to a church, but as individuals, hey, it's the same thing. When an individual leaves for whatever reason, the devil gets them or whatever, it will make a difference. It will hurt us. It's not going to bring joy when we hear about such and such, laugh for whatever reason. You know, he left because he got backslid and got into whatever situation. But you know what? Do your best to just stay in the fight and keep coming. Keep coming. Don't listen to your heart. The heart is deceived above all things. That's one of the main reasons people stop coming. Well, I don't think I fit there. I don't think I can do this. You know what? Just keep coming. Keep coming. Don't quit. Just keep on coming at the bare minimum, my friend. If you don't have any joy, we will have joy seeing you here. Whether you have it or not, I'm going to let you know right now, you will bring joy to somebody if you show up to church, if you decide, I'm going to go. I feel like quitting. I don't feel like going today. I don't feel like going this week. You know what? Things ain't going right at home. Ain't going right at work. You know what? Things are just kind of falling apart right now. I think I need to take a little bit of a break from church. No. Big, huge mistake. Big, huge mistake. Hey, that's the beginning of a downfall, of a downfall. You say, what difference am I going to make if I show up? Trust me. Just like Paul says, fulfill ye our joy. Just show up. You will make us smile. Amen. She's making me smile just by smiling. But that is a good reason to come because you will, I guarantee you, whether you know it or feel it, forget how you feel. I'm telling you what the Bible says. When you show up, you're feeling somebody's joy. I'll give you one person, the person that's preaching. He's like, man, I got a good message. I'm going to share it with people. You know? I can't wait to tell you, look, stay in the fight. You bring joy to my eyes. You bring joy to my heart by showing up every single time. Paul's saying it right here. Fulfill you my joy. Stay like-minded. Have the same love. Be one of the court. Show up, guys. Show up. Don't listen to these people. They say it is vain to serve the Lord. What profit is it that we have in this ordinance, that we have walked more fully before the Lord? Look, I'll show you some profit in a second. I'll show you what's going to definitely profit your life. But look, John, in the book of John, said this. Third John 1, 4. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. He was happy that people that he got saved were walking in truth, were still continuing to do what he taught them to do, the truth that he taught them. They continue to say, look, I have no greater joy. Hey, John's still in heaven, seeing people coming to church. And he's like, hey, those people down there, they're not my children, but they give me joy. How much more will you give joy to our Heavenly Father? But the person that got you saved and everybody, let's face it, everybody has somebody who witness to them. I guarantee you that individual by you staying in the fight, they have joy. The person that got me saved, even though I lost communication with him, I got to take up communication with my ex-pastor, you know. I got to call him up and say, how are you doing? I'm still in the fight. I bet you even though he may not agree about the post trip, you know, he may not agree about the Jews, you know, because he's an IAB guy. I bet he'll be happy that I'm behind the pulpit. I bet he'll be happy that I'm still knocking doors. I bet he'll be happy that I'm still in the fight 15 years after he gave me the gospel, or maybe 6 and 17. I don't know. Time flies when you're having fun. Amen. And I'm pretty sure he's happy then to bring my kids as well and raising them in the faith. And he's like, look, man, I owe you everything. Thanks for having the guts that day to walk up with me with a Bible in your hand and ask me whether or not I know for sure I'm going to heaven. And little did he know that I would still be in the fight. I bet I'd bring him great joy. He said, when I preach against the Jews and, you know, I preach to everybody, he's like, ah, does he have to do that? Hold counsel of God. Amen. But even your children, if you don't quit, even your children, if you don't give up the fight, even your children, if you continue in the faith, it brings glory to them. And guess what? Glory equals joy in case you haven't figured it out. Let me just read this verse really quickly. Go ahead and go to Acts chapter number five. We're going to hit up one of my favorite chapters that always motivates me. Every time I read it, I'm sure it's going to motivate you as well. And yes, we have God's word to motivate us, but hey, we also have God's people to motivate each other. Exerting one another daily and so much more as the end time approaches. And this coronavirus seems like we're getting to the end times, right? Past the lens. Isn't that part of the end times prophecy, right? But stay in the fight, dad. Stay in the fight, mom. Stay in the fight, friends. Because the Bible says this, Children's children are the crown of old men, and the glory of children are their fathers. But imagine a father that doesn't go to church anymore. Picks up the bottle now. Lights up the cigarette, my friend. Drinks too many energy drinks, mom. Hey, let's just make sure we don't get out of fighting shape, right? Right. I didn't say tip-top shape. I just said fighting shape. What's a Marine Corps fighting shape? Three pull-ups at least, right? Come on, men. Let's die being able to do at least three pull-ups. Let's stay in fighting shape. Or is it recruitment shape? Right? Basic recruiting shape. A hundred, well that's not even a hundred crunches in a minute. What is it, 50? A hundred crunches a minute. No, basic stuff. Forty? Let's say 50. Come on, let's at least be able to do 50 crunches in a row, dads. Right? At least three pull-ups, amen. And three miles in 30 minutes. Ten minute mile, tip-top shape. Bring honor and glory to our children, amen. Because come on, let's just face it. If I was 300 pounds and cuffing and puffing. Come on, dad, let's go for a run. You know the little kids are in the park? You know they're going to talk trash about me. But hey, like it says here, glory of the children of their fathers. But how much more if they're spiritually in shape, amen. If they're spiritually war dogs. That matters most. But one good reason, once again, to stay in the fight. To keep doing what you're doing. Keep serving the Lord. Is it brings joy to each other. The husband is in the fight. Leading the pack spiritually up there. Brings joy to the wife. Because it brings glory onto her, amen. Same thing, it brings glory to the children. And they enjoy that. That's tough spiritually and physically as well. It's same to do both, but you have to pick one dad. Obviously the spiritual. But pick up the dumbbell as well, amen. That's all I got to say about that. Philippians 16 says this, holding forth the word of life. That I may rejoice in the day of Christ. This is Paul talking. He's like, hey, keep up the fight. Hold the fort. Hold the word of life. I want to make sure I don't run in vain. Said that I have not run in vain. Neither labored in vain. Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all. What is he saying? Guys, just stick with it. Don't make me feel like I wasted my time that I labored in vain. Stay strong. Keep doing what you're doing. Stay in the word of life. Keep serving the Lord. That I may joy with you all. Let's take a look at our motivating chapter. Acts chapter number 5. If you're down there, take a look at it. It says I talk fast. I can also read fast. So here we go. Buckle up. But a certain man named Ananias was to fire his wife, sole of possession, and keep at part of the price, his wife also being privy to it. And by the certain part, and later the apostles' feet, but Peter said, Ananias, why hast sin filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep at part of the price of the land? What has remained was it not thy own? And after it was sold, was it not in thy own power? Why hast thou conceived this thing in thy heart? Thou hast not lied unto men but unto God. And Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and gave up the ghost. How are we trying to be this guy, dads? Right? He didn't finish the fight. He didn't continue serving the Lord. He started serving himself. And look what happened to this guy. Dead. Verse 5. Oh, let's go to 6. And a young man arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him. And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether you sold the land for so much. And she said, Yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed to get an attempt to spread out the Lord? Behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door. And she carried thee out. Then she fell down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost. And the young man came in and found her dead, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. So she died. She didn't finish the fight. Amen? And I'm sure they're okay in heaven, but let's just face it. I'm pretty sure they wish they can go back in time and do it all over again. Right? Right. Eternal embarrassment. It's the same brain joy and honor to anybody. They're probably like, Whose friends are these? You know, that's probably what they ended up doing. Let's pick up the story. And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things. And by the hands of the apostles were many signs of wonders right among the people. And they were all with one accord. Sounds familiar? Philippians be of one accord, one mind. And it says they were all of one accord in Solomon's porch. And of the rest, there's no man drawing himself to them, but the people magnified them. And believers were the more added to the Lord. Multitudes bought of men and women, it's so much that they brought forth the sick into the streets and lay them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. There came also a multitude of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits, and they were healed every one. But what happened with Peter? He ended up quitting, did he not? If you would have stayed a quitter, this cool story never would have happened to you, man. Amen? And an eye on the sapphire would have probably still been roaming around causing issues. Who knows? These people, maybe, maybe not, probably would have never got healed. Who knows? But when you fall, get up, keep going, there is a happy ending. So if you continue, guess what? We're all going to benefit from that. We all will. We're all going to benefit in a way which is going to bring joy unto us. So remember the first reason is do it for others. It brings joy to the people when you stay in the fight, you keep serving God. Forget how you feel, forget about your heart. I don't feel like coming to church, just come anyways. What difference does it make? It makes a big difference. To who? I don't know, but trust me, it's somebody. At the bare minimum, that guy preaching, I guarantee you that. At the bare minimum, if you have children, you have children. Your children would say, dad, I'm glad you dragged me to church every Sunday. You know? And then if you tell them, oh, I almost quit. What? Hey, that thought's going to go across our mind. I don't care who you are. I don't care if you're the best Christian on the planet. Those thoughts will enter your heart here and there. Don't ever listen to them. Because we know what God wants us to do. Keep on keeping on. And trust me, it doesn't matter how many years you've been saved, how much you read, how much you meditate, it will happen. It happened to Pastor Anderson. He felt like quitting being a pastor. I didn't say Christian. I said pastor. He felt like quitting. Hey, this church wouldn't be here if he had quit. When things got tough, when they lost his job, when they took all his money away from him, they, meaning the homosexuals, when they just ruined his business, went from making 25 a month to barely 2,500 a month. Think about that for a second. Had he harkened to his heart and said, look, I guess I don't have what it takes, none of us would be here probably. You know it's true. And who knows how many souls would have not gotten saved had he listened to his heart. Well, guess what, if it happened to him, it's going to happen to you guaranteed. May not be today, may not be tomorrow, may not be next year, may not be a year from now, two years from now. It will happen when you're going to come to that crossroads and say, I don't know if I can keep doing this. I don't know. That's the bad side of you talking. That's not the real you. That's the Ananias and Sapphira in you that just wants to say, hey, I want this quick without earning it. They want glory without doing something real about it. But then what do we see here? Look at verse 17. Then the high priest rose up in all day that were with him, which is the second of the Seshes, and were filled with indignation and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in a common prison. Whoa, talk about, hey, it's time to quit, right boys? Now we're in prison. We're locked up. Let's just, you know, call it even. Apologize for what we did and just move on with our lives. But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors and brought them forth and said, go stand and speak in the temple to the people. All the words of this life. And they quit and went home and they didn't do it. Is that what happened? No, no. And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning like they couldn't wait. It's like, let's get there first thing in the morning. Let's knock those doors open. Early in the morning is when they're doing this. And then they taught. And the high priest didn't like it. But the high priest came and they that were with them and called the council together and all the senators and children of Israel and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the officers came and found them not in the prison, they returned and told saying, the prison truly found we shut with all safety and the keeper standing without before the doors. But when we had opened, we found no man within. Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priest heard these things, they doubted of them. We're out to this will grow. They came, one of them told them saying, behold, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people. But how many of us would have done that had we been thrown in prison? How many of us would have just been let out and probably slow down a little? Right? And we don't know how we're going to act till that day comes. But let's just realize there's a happy ending if we just go and push through this thing. The apostles get locked up. Miracle happens. They get released. Sure enough, they go at it again knowing what's going to happen or how it's going to happen. But let's just skip down to verse number 39. This is after they, you know, approached them. They arrested them, threw them in jail. Miracle happened. They escaped jail. They go look for them. They don't know where they're at. They figure out they're still preaching. They're like, whoa, what happened here? So we'll do verse 39. It says, but if ye be of God, ye cannot overthrow it. They're having a little meeting. Unless happily we be found even to fight against God. This is one of their Pharisees, you know, advising what to do. Hey, you know what? If these guys are doing the work of God, let's not fight against God, even though they weren't sincere about that. Verse 40, and to him they agreed. And when they had called the apostles and what? Beaten them. They quit. Is that what happened? No. So they get beaten. They commanded they should not speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. And they departed from the princess of the council, upset, crying about it, bitter and mad and angry. Is that what it says? No. They get arrested, let go, start preaching, doing what God told them to do. They get arrested again. They get a beating. And guess what? They're happy. They're rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer what? Glory for his name? Uh-uh. Shame for his name. They weren't just called names. Oh, you Christians. Oh, you Bible thumpers. Oh, what else they call us? The maccas. Huh? What do they call us? All kinds of dumb stuff, right? What do they call us? Hallelujahs. Is that a Hispanic thing? That's what we said in Spanish. Uh-oh, here comes the hallelujahs. Hallelujahs. Hi. You know, he knows what I'm talking about. He's laughing. He's like, yeah, I persecuted Christians too before I got saved. Well, they suffer shame in a really bad way. They were beaten. But did they stop? No. They continue to push through and daily in the temple and in every house, they cease not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. Now, come on, who doesn't get motivated reading this? Come on. Everybody does. They get a beat down. They get threatened. They continue on and they're rejoicing. They get locked up, right? In the beginning, it's a cool story. People get killed for being fools. But at the end, it's like, wow. God's word is here to motivate us, but so are you. You're here too. So if you continue to push forward, you bring joy into people's hearts. You help people grow. You help people push on and move forward and continue, whether you think so or not. So one good reason to serve the Lord and continue to push through and serve him is each other. It brings joy to one another, brings joy to your family. And let's look at Philippians 2.14. This is Paul talking, saying, hey, Philippians, do all things without murmuring and disputing. Can that be said of this church? That this church does everything without murmuring? Or do we have whiners and complainers every time we want to do something? Somebody pipes off and says, I don't know about that. Or are you guys in one accord of one mind? Philippians 2.14 says, do all things without murmuring and disputing, that ye may be blameless and harmless. You're like, Brother Segura, how can our church be blameless before God? Let's start out with those first two things. Don't murmur. Don't fight one another, you know? Be brethren and dwell together. How beautiful is it when you guys are one team, one mind? And what does it say? That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life, that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all. So a second good reason to serve the Lord and just keep pushing through and just, you know, fight the good fight and keep going forward, is because, number one, it brings joy to everyone around you, and it also will bring joy to you too, eventually. How so, Brother Segura? Well, if you have your Bibles, go to Ecclesiastes 2.26, please. And it's well worth it, go to Ecclesiastes 2.26. So what am I doing this morning? I'm just trying to keep you guys from breaking apart. Not that there's any issues about you guys breaking apart, but I'm doing to the Philippians, I'm doing to you what Paul's doing to the Philippians. Hey guys, let's just continue to do what you're doing, keep going at it. Hey, you guys are bringing joy to my heart. And even here it says, hey, not just me, but hey, rejoice with you all. Verse 18, for the same cause, also do ye joy and rejoice with me. So how in the world, by me serving the Lord, am I going to be a happier individual? Well, I hope you're right there in Ecclesiastes 2. This is one of these verses to memorize. This is a verse to motivate you, to keep you from just leaving and never coming back. Because people leave because they're not happy. People leave because they're like, hey, I don't know about this life. I don't know if I can do this. I don't know about being a Baptist, you know? I don't know, it seems a little too much. And then they get better, backslidden, and I ain't never going to a Baptist church ever again. You guys are congregation of railers. Well, who are we railing against? Come on, Joel Steen. Why are you messing with that guy? You know, it's just like, really? Come on. But look at your Bibles, please. Here's how you can get joy in your life. That's what everybody wants these days. That's why people go to college and get a certain degree because they want to make a certain amount of money, or they want to be in a certain field even if it doesn't make money, because they think this is where I want to be because this is going to make me the happiest. Well, let's look at the reality of things. Ecclesiastes 2.26 says this, For God give it to a man that is good, not in your sight, not in your friend's sight, not in your family's sight, not in society's sight, but a man that is good in whose sight? God's sight. And what are you going to get if you're good in God's sight? Wisdom. And who doesn't want to be known as a wise guy? Everybody loves a wise guy. It don't matter if you're 5'5", 400 pounds, and ugly. Everybody wants to be your friend if you're wise. Everybody's going to come to you and say, yo, man, I need to talk to you. You got it going on. You got a good head on your shoulders. But, of course, a man that's big is not that wise, so you know how to lose weight, right? But, for God give it to a man that is good in his sight, wisdom and knowledge and what? Joy. So how, by serving the Lord, how, by continuing to fight, how, by staying faithful, am I going to be a happier person? Well, guess what? The fruit of spirit is love, joy. Joy. Guess where joy comes from? Real joy. Real joy. Not that fake joy from drugs and alcohol and whatever. God gives you joy. That's why they were rejoicing after they got a beating. How can you be, I mean, somebody would have slapped me right now, it'd be hard for me to be happy, I'm going to tell you that. Somebody says, you're preaching socks. I would not be rejoicing, let me tell you that. So they say, hey, brother, how you doing? Good, man. That wouldn't really bring joy to my heart. It'd be kind of hard, right? Unless I'm filled with what? The spirit. And if you slap one cheek, I'm going to give you the other. Can I get seconds, please? Oh, and why are you slapping me anyways? That's exactly what would happen, true or false, if you're filled with the spirit. And where does that come from? It comes from God. So by you coming here, eventually God's going to give you a lot of joy. He's going to make you a smarter individual, and like it says, you'll have knowledge. You'll have knowledge. Who doesn't want that? But let's see how fast you can flip through your Bible. Let's go, I'll give you a head start. Go to Proverbs 28, 14. Let's just look at these verses, talk about a happy, happy, happy man. Go to Proverbs 28, 14, while you go there, I'm going to read from Psalms 146, 5, Proverbs 16, 20, and then I'll meet you at Proverbs 28, 14. Proverbs 16, 20, I'll just go in verse 14, it says this, He that handleth the matter wisely shall find good, and whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he. So by you coming to church and saying, look, the Bible says not to forsake the assembly, I know that I really don't want to go, but I'm going to go anyways. God says, hey, you're trusting me, son, and I'm going to make you a happy individual. May not be today, but I will, because I owe you one. I just want to test you a little bit, poke you a little bit, beat you a little bit, spiritually speaking, and then I'll throw a little joy in your life. But Psalms 146, 5 says this, Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God. Happy is he. So the word today is miserable. Well, find out if they actually trust the Lord or not. Had a guy come into my office this week. He didn't even knock. He just opens it up and goes in. Not that I'm special or anything, I'm not Pastor Aniston, but it was supposed to be locked. I was kind of surprised, like, whoa, how'd you get in, you know? But he walks in and he's like, yo, yo, hey, excuse me. I'm like, yeah, you know, he's like, hey, you're the pastor. I'm like, no, but I'm his assistant, janitor actually. But he's like, yeah, I need to talk real quick. I'm like, sure. Yo, hey, listen up. I just got a job. I'm starting tomorrow. And you know what? He's like, you know, my hair's not really nice and I kind of want to get a haircut. Is there a way I can borrow some money? You know, is there a way I can get some money so I can get a haircut, you know? And I'm like, what? Let me see your hair. He's like, oh, man, I'm kind of embarrassed. The barber kind of messed it up. Let me just see it. All right. You know, it's like I didn't even see it. And it's like, oh, man, seriously, why are you here? You know, just want to borrow some money, you know, so I can look good. So you look good. You look fine. You know, it's like, well, you know, can you know, I'm not going to use the money for anything, whatever. I'm like, what? You know, it's like, are you asking me for money? Yes or no? Oh, yeah, I am. You know, it's like, I'm sorry about it. We don't give money to people we just don't know. You know, it's like, are you homeless? Yeah, yeah. But you know what? Homeless people get such a bad rap. Did you know there's eleven hundred homeless people in Tempe? I was like, yeah, and they're all probably on drugs. Let's just be honest. He's like, if you're honest with me, they're not all pretty much on drugs. Just be honest. Just be honest. And he's like, well, you know, I'm just trying to borrow some money, man. You know, can I borrow twelve bucks? I'm like, no, no, you know, I'll work for it. It's like, no, no, no, no, I don't have any work and I'm busy. But no, I'm not going to give you any money. I'm sorry. No, that's not what the Bible says. Hey, here's the bottom line. If you're that desperate, you want something to eat, I'll buy something to eat. Then he's like, well, what would Jesus do if he was right here? You think he'd refuse me? Yep, sure will. He's like, what? Like, it's shocking that I said that. Yeah, because if you don't work, you're all not to eat. Have you worked today at all? No, start tomorrow. They always start tomorrow. They always do. And then he's like, well, the Bible says this. I know a little bit of scripture. Oh, yeah, well, let me see. Let me see how well you know scripture. What do you have to do to go to heaven? Oh, just believe. Just believe. And you have to stop sinning. Well, let me ask you this. Can you lose your salvation? Like, if you're in sin? Well, of course. Oh, he don't have the Lord. That's why he ain't happy. And I try to tell him, well, look, you're wrong. Bottom line, you're wrong. So the one thing we have to do, and that's to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and God shall be saved. Can I show you? No, man. Homeless gets treated like crap. Oh, my life sucks. No, man, come back. He just storms out. What? Big shocker. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help. He doesn't have the God of Jacob for his help, because he didn't even go to church. He just wants a free ride. He just got himself in a situation where he's just dealing with laziness, and maybe he did, but I highly doubt he was starting the next day, because it seemed like always starting the next day. But you're right there in Proverbs 20 and 14. Happy is the man that feareth always. The Bible says he that walketh uprightly feareth the Lord. Big shocker. You keep serving the Lord, you will be happy. Now, the Christian life is not all about being happy. Let's look at James. If you have your Bible, go to James, please. Go to James chapter number five. But let's just face it. The Bible says that whatever you sow, you're going to reap. You bring joy to others. God is going to reward you and bring joy to you. You serve the Lord. He's going to help you. You do what God tells you to do. Life is still going to be hard. How do you know? We're about to look at that. We're about to take a look at that. James five. James 5 10 says this. Look at this. It's very interesting. We count them happy that just live life according to what they think is good in their sight. No. Endure. Endure. Endure. And who's an example of that? It tells us in that verse. That the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy. Go to Job one six. Go to Job one six. Since I mentioned Job, let's take a look at Job. But it says we count those people happy which endure. Endure what? Well, the Bible says, Hey, those people keep up the fight. And we say, man, that individual is going to, not just that, but hey, when you serve the Lord, you're going to get blessed in this life and the next. Bottom line. And remember that. Don't lose focus of that. If you're like, man, I don't care about me. How about your kids? Just show up to church. Keep serving the Lord for your kids, for your church member, for your pastor. We'll get into the third point before the Lord. Amen. But let's take a look at Job one six just as a refreshment. If you've been in this church for over a year and you've read your Bible just once, or if you've been here, you probably have heard of Job. But let's just quickly review a little bit. It's good to refresh. Keep these things fresh in our hearts. We may need them tomorrow. We may need them next week. But Job one six, this is when God allows Satan to attack Job. And so here's a good thing. If you're serving the Lord, this is a bonus one. It keeps the devil away. Where's all the kids? Hey, here's the secret how to keep the devil away. Serve God. How do you serve God? By serving your parents, by listening to your parents, kids. Hey, there's a lot of little kids in Mexico that are grown up Catholic and they don't know how to get rid of the cocuy. They have no idea how to get rid of the cocuy. Who speaks Spanish? Can I get a witness? What's the cocuy? The boogeyman, right? The boogeyman, right? Right? Hey, here's how you get rid of the boogeyman. You serve the Lord. Serve the Lord. Just guess what? The boogeyman ain't real. But in Diablo, he real. Oh, he real. And if you want some of him, disobey the Lord. He'll come for you real quick. But this isn't one of my points, but a good reason to serve the Lord. Hey, it keeps the devil away. Keeps the devil away. Let's take a look. Job one six says, Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. And the Lord said unto Satan, What is cometh thou? Then Satan answered the Lord and said, From going to and fro in the earth. Sorry, that's the audio Bible, you know, the little drama one. You know, that's where I got that from. I'm trying to copy it, you know. From walking to and fro in the earth. Then Satan, I don't know. Satan said, That's Joe the fairy godfather. Oh, I skipped that. Back to verse eight. And the Lord said unto Satan, As thou consider my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, and one that fair of God, which was evil. Then Satan answered the Lord. I'm not going to do the voice. That's Joe the fairy godfather not, has not thou made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? That house blest the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth that hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he has is in thy power, only upon himself, put not forth that hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord, but it was clear. So they say, You're protecting Job. I can't touch him. Oh yeah. Go touch him. I'll give you permission. Go touch him. Don't mess with him. Hey, it's not going to be picture perfect all the time. Job is a picture of the Christian life. This is what's going to happen. Just recently in our church, a family lost a child, went through nine months, and it died there. Hey, these things are going to happen. But you know what? That just made me want to serve God even more. His name was Luke. My kid's name was Luke. And I'm just like, Man, you know what? I'm going to meet this kid one day. I want to be able to say, Look, hey, all this that happened, I don't know why it happened, but it made me appreciate life even more. None of my kids have died. I've had eight. And when this happens, it makes me wonder, like, why not me? Why not I? Who am I? Why this family? It's like this family is a family that hasn't been with us 10 years. They've only been with us maybe five, maybe a little bit longer. I don't know. But I'm thinking, Why then? Why not me? I think I'm more ready for it. I don't know. Maybe I'm not as ready as I thought I was. But you know what? This brought our church a little bit tighter. This made us just once again just start thinking of others instead of ourselves. Humbling experience when you see that baby. I mean, it's just, I mean, an adult is already sad. But when you're burying a baby, and it's going down, I couldn't leave. I'm like, I got to be the last one out. I'm going to be here to the end. I just feel like I have to. I want to. And so once everybody left, because we all had to go, I said, Look, I'm going to be the last one that leaves. I'm sorry. I just want to be here, you know, for them. If they need me, whatever shoulder to cry on, I don't care. Just, I want to remember this image and realize how good I have it. I have not gone through this. I have not gone through this, this emotional hurt, this financial hurt. I've been in debt, but not over something like this. We had to bury a baby. And can you imagine? Nine months, you give birth, knowing that it's not going to survive, and you leave the hospital with no baby. The mom must be going through so much. It's like, Lord, I'm sorry. It's like, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I apologize. You know? But another side point, being part of the family, here, sticking with it, you have a safety net. You have a safety net of fellow brothers and sisters that will jump in and help you when you need it the most. And everybody needs somebody. Everybody does. And if you quit, you're on your own. It is what it is. When you're not right with God, He may only say it on you. Amen? So let's just focus on, A, I need to serve the Lord. If not for me, for my friends, for my church members, for my kids, for whoever. But even if you serve God, the joy will come. Do those things that are good in God's sight. Figure them out. Ask questions. Even Jesus asks questions. Hey, what about this? What about that? Is this good? Is this bad? Is this sin? Is it not? Well, you know what? This is what we believe. Got to get rid of X, Y, and Z. You know? Because I want to be good in God's sight. Why? Because that's what's going to bring joy, wisdom, knowledge. You understand? Not these things that are just devices of Satan and we really don't see it until it's too late. You know? With a little living, living the whole lump. But what happens? In the end, we know that Job, obviously his children are next. First his property, his friends, his employees, then his children. Then his children are next. And sometimes you wonder, is this even a true story? Like 10 of his kids one day? Talk about a really bad day. But you know what? He's somebody who's counted an individual that would be considered a happy individual because he endured. And what happened at the end? Well, at the end, it was redemption. At the end, the Lord rebukes his friends, saying, you were wrong. Job was right. You guys are under my wrath. But he went through a lot of persecution from people that were supposedly his friends, accusing them of sin, accusing them of being wicked, accusing them of being an evil person. And he's like, no! Not happening. Though he slay me, yeah, would I trust him? And what happened also? I'll just read the very last verse of that chapter and it makes it very clear. And the Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends. Also, the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. So stick with it. If you're a Job, stick with it. A happy ending will come. I don't feel that way. I don't believe it. Don't listen to me then. The Bible says that the Lord is very pitiful of great mercy. He's not in heaven like, I wonder what you're up to today. He knows what you're going through. And he says, you know what? I'm just going to have him go through a little bit more, a little bit more depression just so he can appreciate the joy I'm about to give him a little bit more. That's one of many reasons that he'll do what he has to do to you because you'll enjoy more in the long run. But in the end, Job is a picture of the Christian life. So don't be shocked when bad things happen. Don't be shocked when you get the coronavirus. No, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. Just don't come to church, right? It's weaponized by the government. I heard the conspiracy theories. The conspiracy theories. Whatever. It's because they don't have God on their side. End of story. Right. I ain't afraid of that. If I die of corona, happy I'll be. It's going to hurt, but whatever. So if you got your Bible to look at the last reason. So the first reason is that it brings joy to your friends, your family, your brothers and sisters in Christ. Hey, you stick with God. Keep coming to church. And it's great to see everybody ever since August. Second thing is it will eventually bring joy to you. And I'd rather be the poorest man on the planet and be happy than the biggest billionaire and just have a busted spirit spirit. That's just who I'd rather be. I'd rather drive a cardboard box than a fancy Ferrari. I'm happy, amen. That's just the facts of life. I'm getting the Ferrari in the next life, huh? Bring me the Bentley in the next life. You know, this life, who cares? You know, this world belongs to Satan. But guess what? It's least to him. And the least is almost up. And then we get to keep it. Bottom line, hand over the keys, Satan. Not prosperity preaching up here, but I'm just saying, amen. So if you have your Bible, let's just finish it up. Go back to Philippians 2. If you have your Bible open to Philippians, great. Start at verse number 12. And the apostles, hey, it was what it was. They suffered, but man, who wouldn't want to be even the least of the apostles? Come on. When you're getting rewarded, you know you would switch in a heartbeat. How about Paul? You know you would. Be like, hey, if I can switch shoes with Paul, here, man, take mine. And you know, let me get your rewards, brother. Who knows what it's going to be? But these men suffered. As an example, Acts 14 says this. And when they have preached the gospel to that city and had taught many, they returned again unto Lystra and to Laconium and Antioch, confirming the souls of the disciples and exhorting them to continue the faith, that we must, through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of God. And when they had ordained them elders in every city or in every church and had prayed with fasting. That hurts. Fasting hurts. Some of you wrestlers out there? Former wrestlers? Some of you guys just missed lunch today, missed breakfast. How many of you guys are hungry? Hurts, right? But these guys went through that. Prayer and fasting. You're like, hurry up, man. I want to go eat. Man, I forgot to bring a box of donuts for you guys. I'm sorry. I was going to ask questions and throw donuts. I'm just kidding. But let's take a look. Verse 12, Philippians 2. Wherefore, my beloved, he's continuing to exhort the church of the Philippines. The Philippines. Philippines. Yeah, right? Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed. Look at that. Always obeyed. They're known as a church of being a church of obedience. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence. Now, that's when it counts. It's like, hey, you guys weren't just doing the right thing when I was around. You guys were doing the right thing even when I left. Why? Because it was in the individual. The individual makes the church. The individual decided I'm going to do what's right. I'm going to obey. I'm going to obey, no matter how bad it hurts. And if I fall, get up. And if I still fall, keep getting up. And if I keep messing up my life, hey, if you're alive, guess what? God doesn't want you to live and do wrong. He wants you to do good. Until the death angel comes for you, then you can say, okay, God's done with me in this life. You guys are still here breathing, and you're not here alive to cause sin. You're not here to destroy your lives and destroy other people's lives. That's not why God still has you breathing. That's not why the death angel hasn't come for you yet. Because He still has something for you to do, and it's going to be good. Hey, take it step by step. Live one second at a time. Don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow shall take care of itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof. You've got plenty of stuff to worry about today, and take care of today. You'll figure it out if you schedule your life. And guess what? God will guide your steps when you're doing those things that are good in this life. But look what He's saying to the church here. It says, wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but how much more in my absence. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. So the third good reason to serve the Lord is because it brings joy to the Lord, and that should be enough. Forget about point one. Forget about point two. All you need is this point. It makes God happy. How so, brothers and girl? Well, if you can get there quick enough, let me see if I can get you somewhere nice and good. Go to Proverbs 15, 8. Go to Proverbs 15, 8. This is the big one. It says, brothers and girls, three points. That's too many for me to remember. Okay, how about just uno? Can I get a witness? That means one in Spanish, right? That's right. I got to speak in tongues once in a while, but I got a tongue interpreter right over here. So Proverbs 11, 20. You guys are going to Proverbs 15, 8. I'm going to read from Proverbs 11, 20. The Bible says this. They that are of a forward heart are abomination to the Lord, but such as are upright in their way are his delight. Now let's just talk about that. We can actually make God happy. Think about that. It's not like God's just in heaven thinking about no one. He's thinking about every single one of us, and he says that the thoughts towards us are more, I'm going to mess it up, but are more than I believe the sand of the sea is what the Bible says in Psalms. Maybe the grains. He's like, yeah, he has more thoughts than all the grains in the sand of the entire world. He thinks about you a lot, a lot, and think about it. He has died for us. I mean, he has done a lot. I can't even go through the list because I'm about to run out of time. My bottom line is when we walk up rightly, if anybody says, why you go to church, man, you know, or my favorite one, why are you knocking doors, bro? Why are you bugging people? Well, you know, it is what it is. I do it for God, but I give them the political answer because the Bible says that they come, they should burn us an oven, and I don't want you to burn in the oven, but in reality, because it pleases the Lord, but they're number two on the list as to why I knock doors because I care about them. I don't want them to burn in the oven that's coming. That's not what I want for my neighbors, my friends, anybody that can't be saved, unbelievers. I don't want that for them. People that hate me, I don't want it for them. It's like, no, man, I don't want you to burn an oven, and when I think about that, burning an oven, that's hot. That hell is way worse, way worse, but why do I do what I do? Because I know that it brings joy to God. Why did I commit that dumb sin? Why did I do that again? Why did I go back to my spiritual vomit or whatever, like a swine? I need to focus on what's right. If anything, it makes Him happy, and that should be enough. Continue to read, lying lips are abominations to the Lord, but they that do truly are His delight. Doing the right thing is His delight. Proverbs 15, 8, the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer, never feel like your prayers are just like bouncing off the wall. They mean nothing to God. It makes God happy. It says, but the prayer of the outright is His what? Delight. So why keep serving God? Why keep doing what's right for each other, for yourself, for the Lord? Amen? Philippians 2, 12 says this, work for my beloved as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but much more in my absence. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. This is not God telling you to earn your salvation because we know like it says in Ephesians 2, wait for by grace are you saved through faith and not of yourselves. It is the gift of God and not of works as any man should boast. If there was any work that would get your salvation, it's what the Bible says this. This is the work. They should work. They should believe on Him. Believe on who? That's Christ Jesus. But the main thing to remember is like Paul says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present yourselves or your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, not because you're special, not because it's just like, oh, God asking you to do whatever, you know, go above and beyond, no, it's a reasonable service. He has given us salvation. Paul is saying, hey, Romans, I'm begging you guys for your good, for your family's good, for your friends' good, for your church good, you know, for God, present yourself a living sacrifice. And it's not asking much. Romans, it's a reasonable service for it is God which worketh in you both to do of his good pleasure. I'll finish it up with this. John 8 28. Then said Jesus unto them, when ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing on myself, but as my Father has taught me, I speak these things, and he that sent me is with me, the Father has not lifted me alone, for I do always those things that please him. Please him. Christ is not gonna ask us to do something he's never done. Here's the example. He says, guys, aim, aim, strive, it's hard, I know it's difficult, I know, but remember, Job is the picture of the Christian life. We shouldn't be like, oh man, I'm doing something wrong. No. What happened to Job? Fire came down from heaven and destroyed his animals and his employees and his friends just like it rained on Sodom. So guess what he probably thought? What am I doing wrong? He's rained what? Fire from what? So he must be thinking the worst, but he kept on keeping on. And he said, though he slay me, I'm still gonna trust him. And it says even in the last verse that hey, Job didn't charge God foolishly. He didn't say, what in the world is, I'm serving you and I'm ensuring evil, I'm avoiding sin and he sinned like the plague and this is what you do? That's because he was a perfect man. He wasn't immature. He was a complete man. He had his Bible reading down. He had his prayer down. He was a good soul winner. They're like, how'd you know? Hey, they've been winning souls since the beginning of time, amen? But here's the bottom line. We need to aim to be like Job too, because guess what? We're not immune to these things happening to us. But if you prepare yourself now, you'll be here a year from now, 10 years from now, 20 years from now, when I return all messed up and old, I want to see everybody here, every single one of you guys here. Now, the stats don't lie. Somebody here will not be here 10 years from now. It's a sad reality. But here's the thing. Don't make it, do everything you can, do everything you can to please God. And I'll end it with that. Bible makes it very clear that, hey, whatever you do, God's going to reward you for it. Whatever good thing you do, the same should receive of the Lord. But here's the bottom line. God obviously wants to bless us. The only person that gets in our way is ourselves. That's just pretty much what I wanted to let you guys know. You have no one to blame at the end of the day but yourself. But God wants you to do right. And maybe, maybe not, this will help. If all these reasons to do right don't really help much, at least remember this. If anything, if you do take something from this, realize that you don't have a choice but to do right. It's not optional. I guess it is optional. You've got option A, you'll obey the Lord. Things aren't going to go well all the time. But you'll be a happy man with peace and wisdom and knowledge and joy. And you'll be good. Or you can just fade and give up and quit serving God, listen to your heart. And what's going to happen if you do such a thing? Hey, the Bible makes it very clear that you're going to get chastised. The Bible says in Hebrews 12, 6, for whom the Lord loveth, He chastised it and scourges. A scourging is a whipping. It's not a good thing to get scourged. Whom the Lord loveth, He correcteth, He is the Father, Son, in whom He delighteth. And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembly of ourselves, as the manner of some is, but extraordinary one another, and so much the more I see the day approaching. Or if we sin willfully, after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there may be no more sacrifice for sins. In other words, you're going to pay if you're sinning willfully. If you're disobeying God on purpose, He will come down on you. You're not going to lose your salvation. A lot of people use this verse to prove that you can lose your salvation. Hey, if you're sinning willfully, there's no more sacrifice for sins. I guess they forgot to read the very last part, where it says, not the gesture led by faith, but if any may draw back, my associates have no pleasure in Him. We know that. Amen. If we draw back, God's not pleased with you, and He might unleash Satan on you. You know? Things will go bad if you backslide, but here's the thing. It says, but we are not of them who draw back unto perdition. Perdition is hell. Paul's saying, hey, in the same chapter that they're using to prove that if you're sinning willfully, hey, you're going to end up going to hell. Well, Paul says that we're not them that draw back to perdition, but of them that believe of the saving of the soul. But what is the chapter about? Today, that if we obviously draw back, God's not going to have any pleasure in us, and we will suffer, because we're His children, and none of His children will be sent to hell, people that He's going to take flaming fire benches on, those that know not God, but the message of today is, keep doing right. It benefits you. It benefits us, and God loves it. That should be it. That should be all. Let's pray. Dear God, I thank you so much for all that you've given this church. Father, help us to appreciate it every single day. Remind us of it every single day, Lord. Keep us humble every single day. We want to serve you and you alone, and we ask you to do all this in Jesus' precious name. Amen. Amen. Alright, go ahead and pull out your hymnals. We'll sing our last song. It'll be song number 449. 449 dwelling in Beulah land. 449. First, far away the noise of strife upon my ear is calling. Then I know the sins of earth beset on every hand. Doubt and fear and things of earth in vain to me are calling. None of these shall move me from Beulah land. I'm living on the mountain underneath the cloudless sky. Praise God, I'm drinking at the mountain that never shall run dry. Oh yes, I'm feasting on the manna from a bountiful supply for I am dwelling in Beulah land. Far below the storm of doubt upon the world is beating. Sons of men in battle the enemy will stand. Save am I within the castle of God's word retreating. Nothing then can reach me to Beulah land. I'm living on the mountain underneath the cloudless sky. Praise God, I'm drinking at the mountain that never shall run dry. Oh yes, I'm feasting on the manna from a bountiful supply for I am dwelling in Beulah land. Let the stormy breezes blow their cry cannot alarm me. I am safely sheltered here protected by God's hand. Here the sun is always shining here there's not an army. I am saved forever in Beulah land. I'm living on the mountain underneath the cloudless sky. Praise God, I'm drinking at the mountain that never shall run dry. Oh yes, I'm feasting on the manna from a bountiful supply for I am dwelling in Beulah land. Last you may hear the words of God I seek in contemplation. Hearing now his blessed voice I see the way he planned. Dwelling in the Spirit here I learn of full salvation. Gladly will I tarry in Beulah land. I'm living on the mountain underneath the cloudless sky. Praise God, I'm drinking at the mountain that never shall run dry. Oh yes, I'm feasting on the manna from a bountiful supply for I am dwelling in Beulah land. Amen, you are dismissed.