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All right, we're here in Psalm chapter 92, and let us just start by reading verses 12 through 14, and then we will get into the sermon. So verse number 12, the Bible reads, The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree. He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age. They shall be fat and flourishing. You know, here today and during this week, we have people from all over the world coming for this missions trip. You're out here bearing fruit, going soul winning, and getting people saved, and I would hope the goal of all of us is that we're still doing this in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years, that in old age, if health would permit, that we're bringing forth fruit. And in Psalm 92, the Bible tells us, you know what, if we are like, you know, the cedar tree in Lebanon and like the palm tree, we can bring forth a lot of fruit. Now, if you're like me, the first time I read the Bible, I'm like, that sounds great, that's poetic, but I have no idea what the Bible's saying, right? I don't necessarily know a lot about palm trees or cedar trees naturally, but obviously it's an example that's important because the Bible's saying, hey, you know what, you can bring forth a lot of fruit if you're like these trees, right? Now, a cedar tree is very native to Lebanon. That is the main area of the world where cedar trees are. When it comes to a palm tree, it's referring to a date tree. And I'll actually preach on that this coming Sunday. But I want to preach tonight on like a cedar in Lebanon. What exactly does the Bible mean and how does this link toward us bringing forth fruit our entire lives? Okay. Now, let me just start by reading you some verses to show you how important the cedar tree is according to the Bible. Go to 2 Samuel 5. 2 Samuel 5. And as I said, the cedar tree, it's not native to Israel. It's native to Lebanon. There are some that have been planted in Israel today. They are not native to Israel. It's not the tree of Israel. It is the tree of Lebanon. In fact, when you're reading the Bible, what will you always see? Cedar trees in Lebanon. The cedar tree of Lebanon. You go to Lebanese restaurants, what are you going to see? You're going to see cedar trees. On their national flag, you're going to see the cedar tree. You say, why? Because the cedar tree is very special to the people of Lebanon. It's very important to their culture. 2 Samuel 5, verse 10, And David went on and grew great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him. And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons, and they built David in house. You see, when King David wanted a house, what kind of wood did he use? He used a cedar tree. He didn't use the local and native trees. Now, that would be a lot easier, wouldn't it? I mean, it's not easy to transport trees from one country to another, but when his house was built, he wanted cedar trees to build it. Go to 2 Samuel 7. 2 Samuel 7. 2 Samuel 7, verse 1, And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest, round about from all his enemies, that the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. And, you know, this is the chapter where David has it in his heart to build a house for God. Now, when he says this, he doesn't say, I have a house. He says, I dwell in an house of cedar. What he's saying is, hey, everybody around me, you know, they don't have the same type of house I do. I have a house of cedar saying, I have a very nice house, and the Lord has nothing. He doesn't just say, hey, I dwell in an house. He says, I dwell in an house of cedar because he's bringing home the importance of the cedar tree. Now, of course, if you're from the U.S. or you're from Australia or the Philippines, we're not near Lebanon, right? When he was writing this, and this is being said, people are going to be like, yeah, you know, that makes sense, right? But, of course, this part of the world, it's an example that's kind of hard to understand because most of us don't really know a whole lot about cedar trees. But you're seeing how special the cedar tree actually is. Go to 1 Kings 5. 1 Kings 5. And when we fast forward in time, because if you remember, David was not allowed to build a house for the Lord because of all the battles that had been fought, but when Solomon became the king, he did build a house for the Lord. And notice what it says here in 1 Kings 5, verse 5. And behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name. Now therefore command that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon, and my servants shall be with thy servants. Unto thee I give higher for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint. For thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Cydonians. So when Solomon wanted to build a nice house, because if you're going to build a house for the Lord, you want to build a nice house. Money was not really something that Solomon was concerned about. He said, I want to have the best house possible. And what did he do? He went to Lebanon to get the cedar wood from Lebanon. You say, why? Because it's better. And we're going to see that in this sermon, but he went to Lebanon instead of just getting the native trees that were around him. Go to Ezra chapter 3. I'll show you one other example, Ezra 3. Ezra 3. When it comes to topics that I'm not familiar with, I have no problem going to secular knowledge to try to understand information. I went to websites online. I consulted Ben the Baptist. I said, hey, can you give me some information about cedar trees? It's like, I want to preach this sermon. I figure you know a lot more than me. There's a Lebanese restaurant in Pampanga that I went to a couple weeks ago, and I just sat down with the owner, and I was just talking to him. I said, hey, can you tell me everything that you know about cedar trees? And I'd already written the sermon, but I figured maybe it would help me learn some more information. Things I heard that it's required to learn how to plant cedar trees in Lebanon, it's illegal to cut them because it's very much part of how they make money. It's very much part of their culture. It's very important to them. But we're seeing in the Bible, it's just important to Lebanon. It's just considered the best wood that there is. That's the example that we're seeing here from Solomon and David. One other example is Ezra 3 when they rebuild the temple. Notice what it says in Ezra 3. Verse 7, They gave money also to unto the masons, unto the carpenters, and meat, and drink, and oil, unto them of Zidane, unto them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the Sea of Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus, king of Persia. So look, David had a house of cedar. Solomon with the Lord's house made it as a house of cedar. When they rebuilt it, guess what? They used cedar wood. You say, why? Because it's the best wood. It's better than the wood that they had in Israel. And you're going to see why here in this sermon. Now, turn in your Bible to Job 40. Job 40. And as you're turning to Job 40, I'll just quote you from in John 3 when Jesus is speaking to Nick Demas, he says, If I have told you of earthly things and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things? Throughout the Bible, there are examples given to understand the spiritual or understand the heavenly. And sometimes you read these examples and they click. They make perfect sense. Other times you read it and it's like, I have no experience with this at all. I have no idea what Jesus is really saying. Right? But examples are a great way to bring forth the spiritual truth. I try to use examples in sermons. It helps us to remember things. Right? So what exactly is the Bible saying when it's saying, If you're like a cedar tree, you'll be a sole winner until the day you die. That's what it's saying in Psalm 92. If you are like a cedar tree, you will bring forth fruit in old age. Point number one, when it comes to the cedar tree, the big thing that you think of is the strength of a cedar tree. The Bible highlights this quite a bit that the cedar tree is a very strong tree. Notice what it says here in Job 40 verse 16. This is referring to Behemoth here in Job 40 and it says, Lo now his strength is in his loins and his force is in the navel of his belly. He moveth his tail like a cedar. The sinews of his stones are wrapped together. The Bible describes this powerful creature that I believe is a dinosaur. And he says he moveth his tail like a cedar. Now look, when you see pictures of dinosaurs, what kind of tail do they have? Very thick. Very powerful. You know, before the discovery of dinosaurs, Bible commentators would be like, Maybe this is an elephant. Last I checked, an elephant's tail is actually pretty weak and pretty small. Pretty thin. When it's saying he moveth his tail like a cedar, you can see, Yeah, I can see a dinosaur fitting there because cedar is a very thick and very strong and very durable wood. Turn your Bible to Psalm 29. Psalm 29. One thing that is interesting about cedar wood is the fact that it is very strong and it's actually very light. So it's deceptive because you would think that if you're transporting wood, that's very hard except cedar wood is actually very light compared to other types of wood. So it's very strong and durable and yet it's not actually very heavy at all, which obviously if you're building houses, that's a huge advantage, that you can transport it very easily and yet it's very strong. It's very durable. It doesn't just break down very easily. Right? Psalm 29. And in this chapter, the Bible's highlighting the strength of God and how powerful God is. And it says in verse 1, Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty. Give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters. The God of glory thundereth. The Lord is upon many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful. The voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars. Yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. The Bible's saying God's voice is so powerful that it even breaks the cedar trees in Lebanon. That is highlighting that the cedar tree is very strong. Very durable. That's what the Bible's stating. Go to Song of Solomon chapter 8. I'll show you one more example. Song of Solomon chapter 8. Song of Solomon chapter 8. And in Song of Solomon chapter 8 verse 9. And in the context here, they're talking about protecting someone young, a young woman that they're not ready to get married, a relative. And it says here in verse 9, If she be a wall, we will build upon her palace of silver. And if she be a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar. So basically like, no, we're not ready for her to get married. We're going to enclose her with boards of cedar where it's strong and cannot easily be broken into. So we're seeing several different examples here about how cedar wood is very strong. It's very durable. It's very powerful. And yet it's actually very light. So what's our application here? Go to 2 Timothy chapter 2. 2 Timothy chapter 2. 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 1. 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 1. The Bible reads, Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Look, in 2024, one major thing that's missing in the Christianity of most people is they don't have any strength. They don't endure hardness. They easily back down. You've got pastors. There are plenty of Baptist pastors in the Philippines, but I promise you very few preach like I do. That is not meant to lift myself up. It's a fact. It's the same whatever country you're from. It's the same there also. There are plenty of Baptist pastors here, but they are afraid to preach the truth. They have no strength. They're not much of a leader. They're not able to endure hardness. You say, well, but if I preach the truth, I mean, we might get protested. We might get kicked out of Rizzo Park. We might not be able to freely preach the Gospel. Those churches aren't preaching it anyway, at least not the true Gospel. Let me tell you something. We need to be able to endure hardness in our lives, and it definitely starts with the pastors, but in your life endure hardness. You say, what do you mean? I mean, I'm preaching to a group of people that go to churches that literally get protested. What I'm saying is the next time your church protests and your parents criticize you for the church you go to, your co-workers make fun of you. Endure hardness. Keep going to church. When your relatives make fun of you, and people are telling you you're part of a cult, endure hardness. Look, they crucify Jesus Christ. All they're doing is mocking you. And I would say it's a very light affliction that any one of us in this world suffers. I would say we need more strength in our Christianity, and what the Bible's saying in the book of Psalms is, hey, be like the cedar tree that is strong, that is durable, meaning when you get mocked, don't just quit church. When things get difficult and life gets stressful, look, don't quit church and quit reading the Bible and just change everything you believe because you're going through some problems. I hate to break it to you, but every single one of us will have persecution. Every single one of us will have stress. Every single one of us will have problems. Look, I have three young kids. I'm not sure I go a single week without stress in my life. Life's hard. Endure hardness. Suck it up. Deal with it. You say, why? Because if you're going to last in the Christian life and be successful, you need to be like a cedar tree, not some little weak tree that you just break in half like this. Endure hardness as a good soldier. Verse 4, No man that worth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. And if a man also strived for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. I mean, the Bible links this to being in war, to being in battle. Look, I'm glad I've never had to fight a war. I mean, it's not something on the top of my list of things to do. But here's the thing. If somebody's in war, they're in a battle. They better have some strength. Can you imagine? And look, if you're in a battle, you're in a war, and you've got a gun, and you're afraid to shoot it, I'm not promoting wars or saying which side I'd be on. I'm just saying you're probably going to die. If you don't kill them, they're probably going to kill you. And I get it. The enemy is fighting against us. Maybe we ought to fight back at them. Maybe when evil people who have not faith try to get churches like this shut down and churches like your church shut down, hey, maybe you ought to bump up your Christianity. If you're going to fight at me, then guess what? I'm going to read my Bible more. I'm going to stand up for God more and get more people saved instead of backing down like the Christianity you see all over the world in 2024. Now look, we can easily be kind of shaded from what's going on in the world because as churches that would line up with the new IFB, we are on fire for God. We are getting protested. Your pastors are preaching hard sermons. But look, I was in the old IFB before the new IFB existed. And let me tell you something. Most old IFB churches are weak. They're afraid to preach what the Bible says. That's not being strong like the Bible says. That's not enduring hardness. They're afraid of being persecuted. They're afraid of people quitting their church. And so they back down out of fear. Not like a cedar tree. Go in your Bible to Proverbs 24. Proverbs 24. What we need is people to get a little bit tougher. I'm not talking about, and I do think as guys that we ought to be strong in the protectors of the family, but I'm not talking about hit the gym, increase your bench press 50 pounds this year. No, I'm talking about spiritually being strong and not backing down. And what's amazing is you could see people that could be physically intimidating and very big and strong, and yet they would back down immediately. Do I remember the days when we had the protest in Sacramento with the LGBTs surrounding us? I mean, we're kind of reminiscing. We always kind of reminisce at events like this with people that were also there. And it's like our attendance had really been going up and it's like... You say why? Because a lot of people were too weak. They quit. They couldn't take it. It's funny because before that event, they were going to church and they knew what Pastor Jimenez believed. It's not like it's some new doctrine Pastor Jimenez was preaching. I remember when I heard the sermon that started the protest, it was like I didn't think it was just normal preaching. It's like what I'm used to. It's like, yeah, that's Pastor Jimenez. And for whatever reason, it's like... And people left the church. They're like, well, wait a minute. Why didn't you leave the church before the protest then? If you don't agree with the doctrine, because a lot of people left said, well, we don't really agree. Well, why didn't you leave before you were protested then? The reality is they could not take the persecution. And look, our church has never been protested. We have suffered persecution and the fact of getting kicked out of parks. But let me tell you something to my church. Hey, if we get protested one day by the LGBT, stand up for your church. Because it's not going to be some new doctrine. It's just going to be whatever clip that whatever reason goes viral and then all of a sudden, boom, you get protested. And look, as it's happening in place in the U.S., it could happen here. It could happen in Australia. It could happen anywhere. Your turn to Proverbs 24. And let me just read you where the Bible says, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. The Bible says to be steadfast, unmovable, not shaken like by the wind. Like the Bible says of John the Baptist, he wasn't a reed shaken by the wind. He was tough. He was strong. And look, I promise you when I talk to John the Baptist today that died by getting beheaded, he's like, you know what, I wouldn't have changed a single thing. I'm not going to back down from the truth. I'm not going to hide from the truth. And look, we need some toughness and some strength in our Christianity in 2024. The Bible says in Proverbs 24 verse 16, For a just man falleth seven times and riseth up again, but the wicked shall fall into mischief. Now the Bible does say a just man falls seven times. Look, if you are trying to serve God and you are pressing upward, it is not just a steady climb. That's just not the way it works. You're going to have ups and downs and ups and downs. Now of course the goal is as you go through ups and downs, you slowly get higher. But look, you're going to have times you fall. You're going to have times that you back down a little bit. But think of the analogy he's giving. Imagine a boxing fight, a boxing match, and one of the fighters over the course of seven rounds gets knocked down every single round and yet he gets back up. Do you know what I'd say about that boxer? Man, that is one of the toughest people I've ever seen in my life. I wouldn't mock him for not being as good as the other guy. I'd be like, man, that guy is tough. And look, are you going to be knocked down sometimes? Yeah, of course. There's storms. There's battles. There's things that get you afraid. There's things that cause you to mess up and get stressed. Hey, get back up. You say, why? Be like the cedar tree. Turn your Bible to Matthew 7. Matthew 7. And let me give you an example of the strength of the cedar tree. And I'm going to read you from this article several times in this sermon because, as I said, I'm not an expert at cedar trees by any stretch of the imagination. Because cedar trees are known to be like the most expensive wood. And so you'll see articles online, why is this cedar tree so expensive? There's a million articles like that. Because it is more expensive than other types of wood. One reason is because it's moisture resistant. It's resistant to water. It says here from this article, one of the reasons cedar is expensive is that it's prized for its moisture resistance. This means that it's harder for the wood to absorb water into its fibers. As a result, it's less prone to rot and decay. A problem that many builders and designers have is the fact that wood doesn't like water. Since wood is often used in the building of homes, decks, and other projects, it's only a matter of time before the wood comes in contact with water. When it does, the consequences could be expensive. Water weakens wood. It makes it soft, which means that if the wood is under any kind of pressure, then it can start to buckle. If everything around it buckles too, then the structure collapses. Another problem that water exposure brings is rot. In most cases, black mold will grow in the wood since it likes to eat wet wood the most. The problem with black mold is that it spreads quickly. It can become very expensive to get rid of and fix. In most cases, homeowners and builders have to replace the wood entirely. That's why many prefer to work with cedar. Since it repels water naturally, it's a lot more difficult for black mold to grow on it. It also means that it's less likely to buckle after exposure to water than other types of wood. Since it's prized for this attribute, it means many people are trying to get their hands on it. Whether it's for support in their house or to make a deck near a pool, the demand for cedar due to its moisture resistance is high. I would say most of us have probably seen wood that's been very weakened as a result of water. I mean, imagine if you have... Because, look, houses break down over time. It just is what it is, right? We had a house in the U.S. We moved into a new house recently, and guess what? You know what? Your house breaks down. Everything ends up breaking down over time. Right? And you'll see this that as water starts to get into wood, it starts to get weak. It destroys it. But cedar wood, for whatever reason, the way that God created it, it's very resistant to water. So even though it comes in contact with water, it's not just going to get destroyed. And so there's kind of two things to think about here. Number one, it's very strong in the fact that a heavy storm of water would not destroy it, but it also doesn't get weakened in the long run either. And it reminds me of Matthew 7, verse 24. Matthew 7, verse 24, the Bible reads, Therefore... And this is the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. The greatest sermon ever preached. The most famous sermon ever preached. And it says here in verse 24, Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. You've got two types of people mentioned here. You've got one person that is founded upon a rock. Another one is founded upon the sand. Do you notice that with both groups of people, the rain descends, the floods come, and the winds blow and beat upon the house? Look, it doesn't matter if you're serving God or not serving God. You're going to have storms of life. You're going to have problems. The difference is what are you founded upon? Because if you're founded upon the sand, you're just going to just tumble. It's going to be the end of the house. And see, here's what you have to realize about serving God and being strong. You never really know how strong your house is until the storm comes. Because if there's no storm, the house doesn't tumble. And all of us, we think our house is strong, right? I think my house is strong. I think it's founded upon a rock. I'm sure all of us do. But everybody in the world thinks that. But when the storm comes, it will really reveal how strong your house actually is if it's really founded upon a rock. See, it's very easy to sit at a church like this. You go soul winning. We have these events. You hear the preaching. You're like, Amen, Amen, Amen. Well, that doesn't mean in your personal life, though, you're doing what I say. I don't really understand the perspective of wanting to be in a good church and never doing what the preacher says. But people do it. I mean, at your churches back in the U.S. and Australia, haven't you seen that? People come to church. They're excited. They're zealous. But they never actually are spending time with God in their free time. They're not actually obeying what it says. I mean, they're hearing the pastor say, Hey, rock music's of the devil. They're like, Amen. Then they go home. It's like, all right, Metallica. They're not doing what the preacher says. It's like, yeah, you know, Disney and these movies are worldly. And then they go home and then watch those exact same movies. It's like, well, why are you even at the church? You're not even doing what the pastor says. I mean, if you believe in the preaching so much and you think it's the Word of God, you would think that you had found your house upon the rock. And here's the thing. It always just kind of boggles or blows my mind when people want to hear good preaching, but they don't actually do it because honestly, you'd be better off just quitting church because you're accountable for what you hear. You're going to be held more accountable by God. So either get all the way in or just get out. Just get all the way in for serving God. Found your house upon the rock. And here's the thing. If you don't found it upon the rock, one day you might find out, well, maybe my house wasn't as strong as I thought it was. See, we all think that we're very strong like cedar tree, right? But wait a minute. How do you really know that until a storm comes? Right? You're coming to church. Things good in life, right? You know, your job's going well. You don't have any major problems. No persecution. Of course then you still like the church. What about when the persecution comes? What about when the storms of life hit you? We'll see how strong that house really is. And I'm not just saying that for you. I'm saying that for myself as well. All of us need to take heed lest we fall, right? Turn in your Bible to 1 Peter 5. See, point number one is that the cedar tree is very strong. But see, another thing about the cedar tree is it's not just a strong tree. It's a very sustainable strength. It is sustainable. You say, what do you mean? I mean a strength that never really dies out. I'll give you an example. Let's say you go to the gym and you're lifting weights and you bench 200 pounds. Well, after a couple reps, you're like, okay, I can no longer bench 200. You're benching 180, right? After a few more reps, you're benching a little bit less, right? Because your arms are tired. It doesn't have the same strength it did a few minutes ago. Well, here's what I'm saying. The cedar tree, it's not just strong, but it doesn't really grow weak like other trees do. Now I'm sure after thousands of years it's going to grow weaker, but I'm saying it's not like other trees. You say, why? Well, one reason is because it's very insect repellent. Insects and termites, or anai as we say here, they're not going to eat cedar wood. That's just the way that it was designed. It says here from this article, a problem that many types of wood face are insects. That isn't the case with cedar. One of the reasons it's expensive is that it's basically an insect repellent. Cedar has a unique ability to ward off bugs. At the very least, it isn't appetizing for bugs. That's important for builders and homeowners who want to use cedar to make a deck or anything else that provides support. Bugs can wreak havoc on wood. Certain bugs like termites, wood ants, and even wood wasps will eat and burrow into the wood. This causes the wood to become brittle and weak. If too much weight is on the wood, then it can buckle and fall apart. That's one reason it's important to keep termites and other wood-loving pests out of the house. If the infestation continues, then it could damage your entire house. It becomes a problem for decks and porches too. If the bugs infest the wood, then standing on the deck or porch could cause it to collapse and cause some serious injuries. That's why cedar wood is often preferred among builders and homeowners. Since it isn't appetizing for bugs, they tend to avoid it. So one thing that's very unique about cedar wood is that the strength is sustainable. It's not getting weakened by bugs. Look, before we moved several months ago, our old house, we were renting it, and it was very much infested by some sort of bug that was weakening the wood. And of course, we're not going to fix it because we're just renting there, but you would just see it get weaker and weaker and weaker. It's like a nightmare for a homeowner. You think everything's okay, then all of a sudden you've got a termite infestation. And once that takes place, your whole house could be destroyed. You could spend tens of thousands of dollars to fix it. And Solomon's like, well, wait a minute. If I build the house of the Lord, I want it to last. And I'm going to pick a wood that is not going to tumble in a storm, it's not going to grow weak due to the water, and it's not going to be eaten by the bugs. Why? Because cedar wood is actually very strong, and it has a very sustainable strength that it does not weaken. 1 Peter 5, verse 8, Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour, whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. Now look, I believe that if you're here today, you do have some strength in your Christianity. I mean, you've flown around the world to come to our church. You're spending your time and your money to come to the most densely populated area of the world that got voted the number one traffic in the world recently, Manila. You came here all around the world, spent a lot of money. Why would you do that? Because you have some strength in your Christianity. You're excited about the things of God. You want to serve God. You want to do something great. But my concern for people is that they're very excited one day and it's not really sustainable. One day they're on fire for God. Two years later they're done with church. I mean, look, if you've been in our types of churches for a while, have you not seen that? People are excited. They're on fire for God. They seem like they love God just as much as anybody else. They last six months and then they're gone. I mean, if everybody stated our churches that came, I mean, our churches would make Joel Osteen look like a small church. But what takes place is, and look, I've seen it as a pastor. It's amazing to me. Six sermons and honestly, often first-time visitors, they really like the preaching. I can see they're agreeing with it. And they're like, man, that's right. I agree with what the pastor's saying. But then what happens is they go home. It's like, well, wait a minute. I've got to apply that. I agreed when he said rock music's of the devil, but I still like rock music. And then they never come back. But you'll have other people that they do start coming to church. They do get excited. They do receive the Word with joy. They gladly receive the Word. But yet it fades very quickly because it's not actually sustainable. And see, you could be able to resist the devil today and not in six months. You could stand through a storm today and yet two years from now you become very weak and just fade out of church. Turn your Bible to James 4. James 4. And in James 4, it's a bit of a parallel passage here, but in James 4, verse 7, James 4, verse 7, the Bible reads, Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. The Bible says if you resist the devil, he's going to flee. But I want you to see that this is very much linked with the next statement here in verse 8. Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. See, the Bible says not only should we be resisting the devil, we need to be drawing nigh to God. What I want you to understand is God created a natural sustainability system for the Christian. That your faith does not grow weak. You say, what's it called? It's not called going to every missions trip. And look, I want you to come back in June to Cebu. I want you to come back next February. That's not the sustainability system God created though. You say, what is the system? The system is called wake up tomorrow morning and put aside all distractions, get your King James Bible, spend some time in prayer, and read the Bible. That's your sustainability. And look, anyone in this room, including myself, if you were to quit reading the Bible today, you are going to grow very weak and fade out very quickly. I mean, Job said I've esteemed the words of God more than my necessary food. Look, I'm sure everybody in this room ate today. I mean, maybe somebody's on a fast. I wouldn't suggest it on a soul winning event, but maybe you're on a fast. But I would assume everybody ate today, but that doesn't mean that everybody read their Bible today. And see, God's Word is more important than your physical food the Bible says. What can take place is you're excited, you're zealous, you're fired up, but you're not sustaining that because you're not reading the Word of God. And look, it can be frustrating as a pastor because you preach this and everybody will agree with it. I mean, the Bible says read therein all the days of thy life, but I know for a fact a lot of people don't read the Bible. And I'm just telling you, you're going to quit church one day. You're going to fade out. You're not going to make it. Now of course you're going to go to heaven because believe in the Lord Jesus Christ you're saved, but you're not going to go to the end of your life and say I have fought a good fight. You're going to get to the end of your life and you're like I remember those three months. I was going soul winning and doing all these things. But you're not going to fight a good fight if you're not spending time in God's Word. Turn in your Bible to Isaiah 40. Isaiah 40. Now, the cedar tree was created specifically by God, designed in a way where it does not weaken in the same way other trees do, okay? But I want you to realize that every single one of us lives in a sinful world where we hear the devil's music. We hear, I mean, look, if you work in an office, I used to work in an office, and you hear all kinds of just sin and garbage that people are talking about. I remember just hearing coworkers talk about how they're committing adultery on their spouse and I'm just like, it affects my soul. I mean, I'm just at the office trying to do my job and you hear people talking about that. We live in a world where you go out soul winning because man, we've got to take care of our eyes. That's the world we live in. Every single one of us is getting slowly brainwashed by the devil. Every single one of us is going to allow worldliness to creep in. You say, why? Because it's hitting us all the time. You have to fight back against it. Now look, it's great to go to a church where you're hearing the Word of God, but as many verses as I use or any pastor uses, it's not enough for a week. You need to be getting God's Word every single day. And if you're not getting God's Word every day, you're going to become very weak very quickly. Let me also read to you, it's not just the fact that it's insect repellent and moisture resistant. It's also decay resistant. This is what I will say on websites. Why is it so expensive? Moisture resistant, insect resistant, or repellent, decay resistant as well. It says another reason that cedar is expensive is that it's decay resistant. It takes considerably more time and effort for cedar to start decaying. There are several types of wood that don't share this feature. Wood can decay for many reasons. One of the most common is water exposure. Since cedar is resistant to both water and decay, it tends to last for a long time. Another major source of decay is soil or contact with the ground. When wood touches the ground, it's subject to several different catalysts for decay. The first is water that is soaked into the ground. Anytime it rains, it soaks into the soil and comes in contact with the wood for a long time. Since it takes a while for the soil to dry out, the wood is constantly in contact with water. Most types of wood start to decay as a result, but cedar does not. Another source of decay is the soil itself. So the cedar tree is unique in the fact that it's resistant to moisture resistant, it's decay resistant, it's an insect repellent, so naturally other wood breaks down very easily, but cedar wood's not the same way. Every single one of us though as a Christian, you're not just automatically a cedar tree no matter what you do. No, you are naturally going to be like all the other trees that break down. But you can sustain that strength by reading God's Word, by praying to God, by memorizing the Bible, by spending time in the Word of God. Spending time with God. And look, we spend so much time in the world, it's about time we spend some time with God. But many Christians, the only time they get with God during the week is Sunday morning. How are you going to last in this world? And look, you might still take up a chair in an auditorium. You might still physically be there. But it doesn't mean that you're on fire for God anymore. And the only way you're going to stay on fire for God is if you sustain that strength. Why? Because everyone grows weak. You say, wow, pastor, everybody else, but not me. Okay, Peter. But let's see what the Bible says in Isaiah 40 to see if you're right. Isaiah 40, verse 28. Has thou not known, has thou not heard that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of His understanding. He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might, He increaseth strength. The Bible is saying here in verses 28 and 29, God never gets tired. The everlasting God. He never grows weak. He's always omnipotent. No matter what takes place in this world, He's still all powerful. But then it says this in verse 30, Even the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. Now what does the Bible mean, even the youth shall faint and be weary? Now, I mean, this is something that I can say I understand a lot better now as a parent than I did before I was a parent. Because what you're going to see with kids is they're going to run and run and then, you know, their mom and their dad are just like, oh, how do you have so much energy? I'm tired. Can't you relax? And then like a minute later, it's like, I don't hear anything from the kids. And you look at them and they're like, they've like fallen asleep on the middle of the floor. You say, why? Because even the youths shall faint and be weary, meaning grow tired. Then it says in verse 31, But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint. I believe that the eagle is one of the most amazing animals that God has created. I mean, it just seems so effortless as it glides through the air. Just for so long, it's like it's not even putting any effort and it just glides through the air. Now look, if you want to be successful as a Christian, it's like if you're reading the Word of God, it's going to make it a lot easier. But if you're not, it's kind of like you're flapping and flapping and just trying to stay up in the air. What the Bible's trying to put into your mind is this. Hey, you can make it very hard to last in the Christian life by not really reading the Bible, by not obeying God's commandments, by just trying to go off excitement, but I'm here to tell you that excitement is going to fade. It's not going to last forever. But you can renew that strength by reading the Word of God, by spending time with God. Go to 1 Kings 19. 1 Kings 19. 1 Kings 19. Because what takes place is people get excited to serve God and for a while they're serving God, they're doing well, all of a sudden they kind of lose their zeal and they kind of go through the motions. And one thing I thought about a long time ago, when you think of like four key areas of the Christian life, you think of Bible reading, that's a key area. You think of prayer, that's a key area. You think of church attendance, that's a key area. You think of soul winning, that's a key area. I believe that the two areas that fade first if someone drops out are Bible reading and prayer. You say why? Because people still want to look like they're on fire for God. And you can see people in church that they're going soul winning, they're coming to church, but they're actually secretly just slowly fading and dropping out because they're never reading the Bible. They're never spending time with God. And you don't guess it because they're still there and then all of a sudden they start missing the church services or a storm happens and they quit. But it actually started because they weren't spending personal time with God. Notice what it says here in 1 Kings 19 verse 1. And if you're familiar with this story, I mean 1 Kings 18, the chapter before, is one of the most exciting chapters in the Word of God. It's Elijah versus the false prophets of Baal. I mean, for me, it might be the most exciting story in the Old Testament. And it says here in verse 1, And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and with all how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. So you have Jezebel threatening the life of Elijah. Now you would think that Elijah would be like, Look, I had 850 false prophets. You think I'm worried about you? But that's not what you see. Verse 3, And when he saw that, he arose and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. What you see is that during this persecution, Elijah just fades out. This makes sense to me because honestly, life is ups and downs, isn't it? You're doing great. You're on fire. You're at a high. Man, you're motivated. And then you can literally see yourself the next day just completely apathetic towards the things of God, completely just kind of worldly, not into it for whatever reason. I mean, this is the reality because you can only fight so many battles in life, and it's tiring. It's draining. Look, if you're fighting a bunch of battles, you need to renew that strength. And if you're serving God, you're going to be persecuted. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. So if you want to do something for God, you also better renew your strength. Do you say why? Because if you're not renewing your strength, you're not going to be able to fight the battles. It's that simple. Verse 4, But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree. And he requested for himself that he might die, and said, It is enough now, O Lord. Take away my life, for I am not better than my fathers. Now notice what it says here in verse 5. And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him and said unto him, Arise and eat. So an angel comes while he's sleeping and he just wants to die. He's done with serving God. I can't take it anymore. And then all of a sudden the angel's like, Arise and eat. One thing I like about this, and you see this throughout the Bible, is that when you have someone that's just, they're not a bad person. Obviously Elijah's a great person, but they're a little bit backslidden. You know, you don't see Jesus ripping them apart to get them motivated. What you see is you actually try to build them up. And that's what you're seeing with the angel here. He touches them. He says, Arise and eat. Now he could say, Hey, you backslidden wicked person. What is wrong with you? But honestly, you know what? When you're trying to serve God, but you have down days, you know what you actually need is someone to actually help you out. And that's what you're seeing here. And then it says here in verse 6, And he looked, and behold, there was a cake, bacon on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink and laid him down again. So he goes back to sleep. And the angel of the Lord came again the second time and touched him and said, Arise and eat. Then he makes a statement, Because the journey is too great for thee. Now the actual physical story that's taking place is a man that's physically tired and he physically needs food and he's going on a long physical journey. All things are given for our edifying and that we can learn for doctrine, for reproof. What is this story actually trying to teach us? What it's trying to teach us is that you need to arise and eat every single day. And here's the thing. If you want to go on a long journey for God, you want to do something big for God, you better make sure, because the angel's like, Whoa, that's not enough. Maybe that's enough for others, but you're Elijah. I got a lot I want you to do. He says, Arise and eat the second time. Why? Because the journey is too great for thee. Look, you know, if there's a young man in this room that has a desire to be a pastor, look, the journey is too great to just spend five minutes a day reading the Bible. You better spend a lot more time than that. And honestly, however long of a journey you want to go on, it's going to be completely directly correlated to how much time you spend with God. Whether it's a man in this room or a woman in this room. So if you want to do something big for God, you better arise and eat quite a bit. Now look, if you just want to do a little bit for God, you kind of go soul winning from time to time. You know, you're kind of into it, but not really. You know, you get a couple people saved a year or something. Well, then you probably don't need to read the Bible that much to do that. But if you want to actually do something big for God, you better make sure you're arising and eating every single day. This is your sustainability and you can be like that cedar tree that 10 years from now, 20 years from now, 30 years from now, 40 years from now, you're still devoted to church, you're still soul winning, and you're a great example to the young people that can look at you, that has been doing it for decade after decade after decade, and they're excited, and you can tell them, hey, they ask you, what's the secret? Wake up and read the Bible every day. That's the secret. Because the journey is too great for thee if you want to stay a soul winner your whole life. Turn to your Bible to Song of Solomon 5. Point number one about the cedar tree. What is the Bible trying to tell us? Well, the cedar tree is known for its strength. You see that several times in the Bible. It's a very strong tree, very durable. But it's not just that it's a strong tree. It doesn't just have strength. It has sustainability. So it's not the example of a Christian that gets on fire for God and excited, and then six months down the road, it's like they completely quit on the things of God. No, the cedar tree is the example of someone who gets on fire for God and they stay on fire for God. And look, most people that get on fire for God do not stay on fire for God. I wish that were not true, but it is true. I mean, I don't know percentages, but I mean, when you look at people that get on fire for God, most fade out. So look, if we were to go off percentages, a lot of people in this room could end up fading out on the things of God within a few years. And look, that is possible for me as well. Everybody take heed lest ye fall. I'm not just preaching at you, but oh man, I would never struggle. Wait a minute, Elijah struggled. If Elijah, who is arguably the greatest character in the Old Testament, ends up just it's too much for him, it could happen to every single one of us. Point number one is the strength of the cedar tree. Point number two, the sustainability. But point number three, what about the splendor of the cedar tree? The cedar tree is known to be a very beautiful tree. It says here from this article, one of the reasons it's so expensive, perhaps one of the biggest reasons everyone loves to use cedar is its beauty. Cedar comes in several shades. However, one of the best variants of cedar is western red cedar. This type of cedar comes in even more shades that aren't typical of most types of wood. You can get some red hues that are striking and make for great fences, walls, decks, and other projects without even needing paint. That said, cedar as a whole comes in different shades of color on its own. Whether someone wants a rustic-looking piece of wood or some modern-looking pieces of wood, they can find what they need with cedar. Unfortunately, its beauty also makes it expensive for a few different reasons. The first is that its different shades make it more versatile. Designers can do a lot more with it, which means they want to get their hands on it. Architects, builders, and homeowners also value its beauty and versatility. They want to get their hands on it, too. The demand for wood as high as it is, it becomes very expensive. Another reason is the fact that those selling the wood know how beautiful it is. They're aware that only cedar gives a particular type of appearance. There aren't any other types of wood that can match it. As such, they know that people who want wood like cedar are going to buy cedar. They put a high price on it as a result. They know that people are going to be willing to pay a high price on cedar because they know that they can't get its particular beauty anywhere else. Now look, if you were to step outside this building during the daytime, this specific street, there's a lot of cars, a lot of traffic. If you go soloing in these areas, there's a lot of pollution. There's a lot of dogs that run around. And then you've got a very, very, very beautiful church right over there. And for those that have seen this during the daytime, you know what I'm talking about. Now, this is not the same church, but a similar example would be like this. Very, very nice. I mean, you could have an area that's really run down and poor, and then you see the Mormon Church. Let me tell you something. The house that Solomon built would have put that building to shame. It would have been far more beautiful. And the thing about cedar tree, and look, I looked at different types of wood online because I know very little about wood until I prepared this sermon. And I was like, yeah, you know, the cedar tree is actually very beautiful. I was looking at it. And I was kind of curious as well. This wasn't on the list, but I was like, I wonder how the cedar tree smells compared to other trees. So I randomly went on websites that talked about trees, best smelling types of wood on almost every single one. Guess what was number one? Cedar tree. Number one as the best smelling wood that there is. I mean, there's something amazing about what God created. And, you know, certain things that God has created are made for a specific reason. And the Bible is saying, hey, I want you to be like a cedar tree. So don't just be someone who's strong in your Christianity. That's sustainable. But what exactly does this mean? Well, turn to Song of Solomon 5. We're going to connect this. Song of Solomon 5, verse 15. Song of Solomon 5, verse 15. In this chapter, the woman, or in this verse, the woman is praising her husband, and she says, His legs are as pillars of marble set upon sockets of fine gold. Now notice this. His countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. And what she's referring to by countenance is his face and his attitude. She's saying he's like the cedar tree. And here's what I would say. Don't just be a church member, but have some splendor about you. You say, what do you mean by that? Be someone who's in a good mood, someone who's friendly, someone who's volunteering, someone that's an asset to the church. That's what he's trying to say here. Your countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. Go in your Bible to 1 Kings 10. 1 Kings 10. Anyway, this is something that all of us should be reminded of because obviously when you're looking at a church like this or the churches that you come from, you know, we're independent, fundamental Baptist churches, and when you really look at the churches that are on the front line of battle, you know what they're going to say? We're new IFB. Right? They're the churches that are getting persecuted. They're the ones that are boldly preaching the Word of God. Now look, I've been to old IFB churches that I grew up in in West Virginia that were solid and good churches and I have nothing negative to say about them, but in my opinion, the ones on the front line of battle would say, hey, we're new IFB. Well, one thing that we can often forget as people that are fundamental Bible believers is that you know what? We preach against all these false religions. We go out so many... Well, we need to be kind and good people to the people that are around us. Have a good attitude. Have some grace. Have some character. Right? Obviously there's false prophets and wickedness and sin, and look, I preach against all of those things, but around each other, we ought to have a good attitude and be friendly and be in a good mood and be a valuable member of the church and not be someone who's just like you're preaching against all the false religions and then everything in church you're in a bad mood about as well. It's like, no, we need to be balanced as Christians. We need to be balanced. I mean, think about being in a fight. Because the Bible says that we're in a fight. Look, I'm not endorsing mixed martial arts to watch the UFC or whatever, but I'm going to give you an example. If you had someone, because you think of MMA as wrestling, jiu-jitsu, striking. Right? That's kind of the three basic categories you'd say. If someone is an amazing striker, if they're a horrible wrestler, you know what's going to happen? A wrestler's going to pick them up and slam them and that's the end of the story. If someone is really good at wrestling, but they have terrible jiu-jitsu, I mean, in the early days of UFC, every wrestler just got choked out because they knew no jiu-jitsu. If somebody is very good at jiu-jitsu, but they're not a very good wrestler or striker, well, the fight's staying on their feet and they're getting knocked out. And in your Christian life, you need to be well-rounded. You need to be balanced. You need to have all areas figured out. You say, why? Because the devil's going to hit you where you're weak. Devil's not an idiot. Look, if you're fighting someone and they don't know how to wrestle, what are you going to do? You're going to take them down to the ground. Because that's how you're going to win the fight. What I'm saying is, Satan is going to hit you where you're weak. You better make sure you're well-rounded in all areas. Otherwise, the devil's coming for where you're weakest. And if you're strong in one area, really weak in another, you know what? You're probably just going to fade out. You're probably going to be devoured by the devil. 1 Kings 10. And this is the story of the queen of Sheba visiting Solomon. Of course, we have the temple that's made of the cedar wood. And notice what it says in 1 Kings 10, verse 4. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom in the house that he had built, remember, this is a house made of cedar, right? And the meat of his table and the sitting of his servants and the attendance of his ministers and their apparel and his cupbearers and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord. There was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. Howbeit, I believed not the words until I came and mine eyes had seen it, and behold, the half was not told me. Thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. But I want you to notice what it says in verse 8 for the context of saying having some splendor in your Christianity. Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. You know, the sort of people that we ought to be is just nice and normal people where if some visitor comes in and you say, Hey, are you pre-trib or post-trib? They're like, What? And they have no idea what you're talking about. Do you believe in Zionism? Wait, what? What's Zionism? Someone who knows nothing about the new IP, they know nothing about being a Baptist. They know nothing, and you can just be a nice person to them and make them feel welcome and just talk to them. And yeah, they're not at your level of Christianity, but you know what? People can actually change. People can come into the church knowing nothing and be on fire for God. Look, we've seen that at our church. We've had people that we've reached through the door-to-door ministry and brought to church, but I don't think any of you could guess who those people are because they're just as on fire for God as anyone in this room. But see, this is only going to happen if when we bring visitors, we make them feel welcome and don't act like we're better than them. Look, if a new woman visits our church, yeah, she's not going to be dressed right. I can pretty much guarantee it. You say, Why? Because we're brainwashed by the world. It's not something somebody understands who just got saved. And look, it's not just having strength in your Christianity and having that being sustainable. You need some splendor in your Christianity as well. Go in your Bible back to Psalm 92. We'll close up. Psalm 92. And your Bible says as you return to Psalm 92, Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. In fact, when you think about the church of Corinth, why does Paul highlight right near the beginning in chapter 3 that they're baby Christians? What's the thing he brings up? Because they have strife. Because they have arguments. Because they have debates. Right? I mean, this is something that I believe in the early days of this church. There's a lot of people that are still here. There's about 20 people that were here from the very first Sunday. You know, we had an issue at our church where there's this attitude. It's like, Alright, we're the new IFB, and if somebody new comes, we get to test them out for a while if they're really welcoming in church. And they kind of turned our church into like two churches. And it was a stupid attitude. I mean, literally, we had people that got kicked out of our church and they told people they were not allowed to go sowing at our church because they weren't good enough at preaching the gospel. And it's not just one report. Multiple reports I know of that of someone who said, You're not good enough. You've got to learn more. Well, idiot, how do you get better without practice? No offense if you're a new soul winner, but everyone's horrible at soul winning when they start. Everybody. It just is what it is. I mean, when people are new at soul winning, they probably think they're getting a lot of people saved. And you know what? A lot of them probably aren't actually getting saved because they're still learning. They need to be more thorough. They need to figure out how to do things better. Myself included. When I started, I thought I was getting a lot of people saved. And a few months later, I realized, You know what? The four spiritual laws is not a good approach to get people saved. God loves you. He wants you in heaven. Say this prayer. And I thought people were getting saved. Genuinely in my heart, I thought that I was getting a lot of people saved. And it was like a five minute or less gospel presentation because I didn't know anything at the time. Right? But anyways, Psalm 92, let's close up. And what did we say about the cedar tree? We said the cedar tree is a very strong tree. But it's not just that it's strong and excited and zealous and fired up Christian, but it's very sustainable, meaning being the type of Christian that's not just strong now, but 10 years from now, not only are you still strong, but you're stronger because you're growing. You're reading the Bible and you're stronger than you've ever been and not just strong and sustainable, but having some splendor about you, being someone that's in a good mood and being helpful to church members. I mean, the Bible says in the book of Galatians, when it comes to getting rewards and reaping what you've sown, it says to do good, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. I mean, we're fired up to get people saved and praise God for it. But then in Galatians 6 in the context there, He says especially to those that are already saved. Meaning don't be a person that's really fired up to go soul winning, but you're obnoxious to people in real life that are saved. Be someone that's just... And look, we probably all know church members that when you see them on a Sunday morning, it's like you could be in a down mood and then all of a sudden you see them and they shake your hand and say hello and you're like, man, I'm in a good mood now. I remember someone I used to go to church with in West Virginia and, you know, we used to call him the human spark plug because you come to church and you're kind of in a down mood not feeling well. He's like, man, how you doing, brother? And it's like, man, I'm doing good now. Right? I mean, to put you in a good mood, they were always happy and look, we ought to have some splendor in our Christianity where we're someone that people want to be around. That we're helpful to the church. We're volunteering. I mean, this is what the Queen of Sheba saw in 1 Kings 10. It wasn't just Solomon. You know, what I would say about this is when it comes to pastors of churches like this, of course they're front and center. They preach the sermons. But you know, what I've always preached and I believe is I believe that in our church there's people that could get more rewards in heaven than me. That are just as on fire or more on fire for God than I am. This is not a one man show. One person does not get... I mean, look, I don't know how many salvations we're going to get during this missions trip, but it's a team effort. Our salvation in the bulletin, it's a team effort of a group, a body of people that love God. And one very important aspect to a church body throughout the Bible is just unity. Because if you don't have unity, people don't even want to go to church. You want to go to church where you can have friends and a church family. And that's the way that we ought to make it in church. We ought to have some splendor in our Christianity. Here's what it says in Psalm 92 verse 12. The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree. He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. And notice the link here with the cedar in Lebanon, verse 13. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age. They shall be fat and flourishing. Look, I hope your goal is that you're not just going to get a lot of people saved this week. Because let's be honest with this, as many as you get saved this week, if you were to just be consistent week after week, you're going to get more people saved by being consistent week after week. I hope that we all have the goal and say, hey, I'm doing something for God now, but I want to do something for God in five years. And ten years. And twenty years. And look, when the hair starts to gray, and I'm starting to see it a little bit, you start seeing the white hairs, the gray hairs, you start to get older, you start to get weaker, but you're still in church. You're still serving God. You're still getting people saved. That in old age, you can say, hey, you know what? I got two people saved. Fifty years old. Sixty years old. Seventy years old. Eighty years old. Look, if health permits, I want to be a soul winner until the day I die. And I'm sure that when I'm older, I'm not going to be able to go soul winning for as long, or put in as much time, or hours, or as many days during the week. But look, I want to be a soul winner until the day I die. And look, God says it's possible. He said that you can bring forth fruit in old age. And I'm just being honest. I think logically one of the best ways to help keep your body fresh is the fact that you're still getting people saved, because God's like, I got to make sure that you're still able to have good health because you're still getting people saved. It's like a free health insurance. Go soul winning. And God's going to be like, you know what, I need that person around because they're still getting people saved. And look, it is possible in old age to still bring forth fruit and be like the cedar tree in Lebanon. Let's go to a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today and ask you to help us to apply this sermon to our lives. Help all of us to be strong and have sustainability and have some splendor about our lives as Christians, God. Help us to just be zealous to serve you and to obey you and do what's right, God. We pray all these things in Jesus' name, Amen.