A Servant for the Lord

Do we have a deep one for you this week! Not straying far off from sufferings, but yet the servanthood side of it! Is it hard to serve Christ when you are suffering? What about just in your everyday life? Paul says, "I am not Ashamed!" 

"Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God..." 2 Timothy 1:8

Thanks for joining in for another week'

Bro. Lane, Bro. Zach, Bro. Philip, Bro. Ryan, Bro. Duke, Bro. David

Transcript

SPEAKER_05 0:10

Welcome to the Pick It Up Podcast, the podcast where we'll discuss what it means to pick up your cross and follow Christ. Living a life for Christ takes commitment, sacrifice, and ultimately being obedient to his word. Not only on Sundays, but every day. God's word says it, that settles it. So pray about it, practice it, and proclaim it. Let's get into it. Sing it, preacher. Sing the lighthouse. Negative. Started with a song last week. I ain't going through this week. What did you get made fun of? Uh no. Okay. No, I can't sing. Good morning, fellas. How are y'all today?

SPEAKER_06 0:53

Morning, morning.

SPEAKER_05 0:55

Doing good.

SPEAKER_06 0:57

Good morning. Bright eyed and bushy-tailed. I don't know about the bright eyes for the or the bushy tail part.

SPEAKER_02 1:03

We just glad you joined us this morning. That's right. You woke up. Yeah, we're doing good. We're getting a late start. Seven o'clock. Yeah. Seven or ten.

SPEAKER_05 1:11

What's old brother Duke you ain't down here up to this morning? We just read. Just reading. That's right. Well, uh, yeah. Philip, doing all right. Yeah. 185. Look, you ready to go to like M MA fight, MMA fight? No, going to the gym afterwards. Going to the gym. Me and Ryan join you. Come on.

SPEAKER_03 1:36

Y'all don't want me going up there. It's leg day. No, I'm definitely ain't going today. Don't be able to walk back.

SPEAKER_05 1:42

Ryan needs some leg days after what we saw last night. Hey. What happened? We'll have to explain that story in just a little bit. But we uh we kind of ended our school year services last night, brother Ryan. Along from August to April. Any final words closing out the year until summer?

SPEAKER_03 2:02

Amen. Amen. It's been good. It's been a real good year. I'm gonna say the Lord's really blessed. We ended last night. And yeah, it's it's kind of the ending of the school year for the kids as far as church goes. Uh but I've got I'm gonna baptize two, if not three, Sunday morning. Amen. So amen. Good deal.

SPEAKER_05 2:25

Ending on a cool note.

SPEAKER_03 2:26

Yep.

SPEAKER_07 2:27

The crowd was a little low last night.

SPEAKER_03 2:29

Yeah, it was you can tell summertime's coming up, summertime blues. I always say that. It's usually lower this time of year. I don't know if it's because daylight's longer or other activities is going on or what, but I'm all right with it. The people were there that needed to be there.

SPEAKER_02 2:47

Was there ever a time in y'all's lives where we'd use ashamed of God?

SPEAKER_03 2:50

Oh, he's ready and ready to rock and roll.

SPEAKER_02 2:52

Oh, you bring up these teenagers and their willingness to publicly identify with Christ by being baptized, they're unashamed, you know. Uh, but I can recall, you know, it's been a long time for me, uh, to where I was running in certain circles that I shouldn't have been running in, you know, and I would I would downplay my connection with the church and Christ and all that.

SPEAKER_03 3:13

Oh, it ain't no doubt.

SPEAKER_02 3:14

Yeah. Yeah, in order to live like the world. Didn't know at the time I was being a hypocrite the whole time, but they give it a if I had to go back and say it, then it would be that. I'm I was ashamed to say that, you know, I was a Christian, I'm a child of God, and I wasn't gonna live and act and party like the world, but I did anyway.

SPEAKER_03 3:35

Yeah, ain't no doubt I I grew up doing that as well. Depends on who you were around.

SPEAKER_02 3:39

So if you if you put forth the effort to that's one of your goals as a youth pastor, is to raise these generation of children up to not be ashamed. Don't be ashamed of who you are when you're in a 10th, 11th, 12th grade college. You know? Then that's gonna pay huge dividends when you're in your 30s and forties. No doubt.

SPEAKER_07 3:56

I don't know that I would say ashamed, but I would say nervous or not really know what's you know what I should do.

SPEAKER_03 4:03

Well your popularity is more important than I wasn't worried about popularity back then. I don't know. I I feel like that's a lot of people.

SPEAKER_02 4:11

Well, you know, some some kids' goals is to be the the class clown, the the class drunk, if you will, or the big partier and think that's cool and you know and what they d what they don't associate with popularity and coolness is Christian.

SPEAKER_03 4:30

Well, it's the as you said it or someone said it a while ago, the hypocrite, because you have your teenagers and adults who play one way out in the world, and then when they come to church, they're the best Christian you can be.

SPEAKER_02 4:45

Well if you took that into the I'm just talking, I'm just starting this conversation. Yeah, come on with it. Well, you took that into the workplace. Let's not talk about teenager anymore. Let's get into you know, us adults and not be ashamed of who you are as a child of the king uh at work or at the ball field or wherever you're at, you know.

SPEAKER_05 5:06

Well, I think that goes back, and I text y'all that topic last night, serving of the Lord, you know, in every instance you ought to be serving the Lord. But whatever opportunity God has given you, you just kind of said the workplace, you know, you look at your job. Can you use an everyday job to be a servant of the Lord?

SPEAKER_03 5:27

Oh, yeah, no doubt.

SPEAKER_02 5:30

It's a whole purpose for being.

SPEAKER_03 5:32

Yeah. Um give him honor and praise and everything that you can.

SPEAKER_05 5:36

That's right. No matter what, no matter what yesterday had for you, the next day you've got to understand, hey, this is what the Lord has for me to do as a servant for him.

SPEAKER_02 5:50

Serving the Lord at work, serving the Lord at home, serving the Lord.

SPEAKER_03 5:54

I'll bring this up. Wherever you're at. It was my topic last night. And I'll bring up Matthew chapter 7, verse 14. Now, in verse 13, it talks about you know, the the gate going into the kingdom of God is narrow, and you know, the highway to hell is broad. And then it said, but the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few have found it. And I stuck with those words, found it. You know, when you find something, it changes your life, you know. So I just along these lines, I talked about how Stevie Lynn playing the guitar. Well, it took her a while to get to that point where she was able to play in front of people. But once she found her rhythm, found her, and I talked about basketball, baseball, anything. Once you find your rhythm, uh, you have joy in that. Love and peace. And I think that's what it's talking about here. Once you find it. I talked about preacher and he made him tell his story later about finding shore. You know, yesterday they was a hundred miles off the you know coast. Yeah, and having a hard time getting back to the shore. But once you found it, there was joy there. And uh I think as when a Christian finds it, when they finally find it, find it and grabs a hope to what God has done for them, there's joy there. No, and they'll live for it.

SPEAKER_05 7:24

Well, I thought I think about this too. When you say that joy, uh the reason I'm glad I told you all this more, I'm glad that what happened last night with the truck driver in the parking lot happened because Well, you can imagine going and just tell the story. Yeah, so all right, let me let me say this first. Sunday night, this past Sunday night, uh, of course, we started 2 Timothy. In the past two Sunday nights, brother Ryan, brother David have been talking about the first 12 verses and talking about this pretty much once again Paul telling Timothy, hey, listen, I'm here for you. You need don't you don't need to be ashamed of the gospel. Don't be ashamed of what you're doing, okay? I was formerly a blasphemer, okay? It's almost the same thing what he said in 1 Timothy chapter 1, which he says, uh, I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has enabled me, putting me, because he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man. I obtain mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. He pretty much repeats himself in the second one. So you see, Paul, who came from persecuting Christians to now being a servant of the Lord and seeing joy, like Watson just got done talking about, seeing joy in what he's doing. Not only is he leading people to the Lord, but he's leading this young pastor man, faithful son in the faith, as he calls him, uh, down the right path, down the path that he ought to go. So I man, I was like, man, that's a heck of a topic. We need to start talking about for our podcast this week. Well, sure enough, uh, this truck driver last night, uh, I actually think he broke down. Well, not broke down, but his flap, his tarp came off his wood shit trailer down the road. Well, he pulls in the truck or in the church, and he's in a buying, big time buying, of course. Ryan, you can kind of tell more of his story. Uh but go ahead, yeah, go ahead.

SPEAKER_03 9:11

When I walked up to the door, like you said, Marcy and Samantha was looking out the window, and they looked at me and said, Ryan, that guy's needing a ladder. He's gonna go all the way to Walmart and get a ladder. I said, Well, I got a ladder out there. She said, Well, go tell him. You know, I took off out there. Well, y'all missed the first part of the workout because I get halfway out there and he cuts out in the truck. So I'm having to chase him across the hall. I gotta go back to McCammer a little name. You know, I'm chasing him out there, and finally he gets to the blacktop and stops. And when I catch my breath, I tell him, Look, we got a ladder. And uh he back on up there, and the point was that you know, he he said for some reason another guy put me in the parking lot.

SPEAKER_05 9:53

You know, yeah. And it was just cool because you would call me and Bo. We had just got done taking kids, and we pull up and you're sitting there talking to this truck driver, we ain't got a clue who it is. Well, you know.

SPEAKER_03 10:03

Preacher went after some some boards to help the guy out and give me an opportunity to sit there and talk to him, and I talked to him about his salvation, and and he said he'd kind of slacked and got out of church, you know, used to go with his grandma all the time. And it's just funny how God orchestrates is that the word? Yeah. Um times that you can talk to people about him.

SPEAKER_05 10:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:29

We got that well fixed up though.

SPEAKER_05 10:30

Yeah, well, that's what I was gonna say, and I I got to witness it. So I was up on the top of the rail when y'all have finally got the sucker pulled back over, and you brought that joy up a while ago to see that tarp because people don't realize there's a bar that goes all the way across this tarp. I don't know how much it weighs. It's heavy. And uh when that tarp finally went all the way across, boy, you could I could look at everybody myself to joy, especially in that truck driver's mind that the joy that he had that he was about to be headed home.

SPEAKER_03 11:02

Well, if he'd have been there by himself, there ain't no way he'd be. Yeah, keep in mind there was eight or ten of us trying to get this tar before.

SPEAKER_05 11:08

And we had a truck at F-250.

SPEAKER_03 11:10

At F-250 pulling it back over. I mean, it was he couldn't have done that on the doubt that that guy left a changed man yesterday.

SPEAKER_05 11:18

That's what I was gonna say. The joy he had to know, hey, I'm finally headed home. So I just thought about that, man.

SPEAKER_03 11:24

Well, I you know, we invited him. He lived in Moralton. We invited him to church anytime he comes around. But you can't tell me when he drives by this church, he won't have a smile. Because he'll drive by it all the time. He'll have a smile and a comfort. Knowing if something ever happened, man, I'm just pulling there with them fellas.

SPEAKER_07 11:44

So except when DOT walks outside.

SPEAKER_03 11:47

Yeah, we try to keep Philip inside so it wouldn't scare him off.

SPEAKER_02 11:51

Okay, that's how that old boy found joy. How does the the person that's taking the person that's taking a chemotherapy treatment this morning? Where are they gonna find joy?

SPEAKER_03 12:00

Exactly. It all goes back to the opportunity. Well, I think the relationship, you know, having that close relationship with God.

SPEAKER_02 12:11

I got I got I'm trying to pick here. Y'all I don't know the answer because I preached it Sunday morning. Well, let me see. Verse 12.

SPEAKER_05 12:21

Verse 12, 2 Timothy, first chapter. For this reason I also suffer these things. Nevertheless, I'm not ashamed, for I know whom I've believed and persuaded that he is able to keep what I've committed to him until that day. Well, that's why I've got to pull it up right here. You love him even though you've never physically seen it for a while. You didn't like that one, preacher?

SPEAKER_02 12:43

Yeah, I like that one, but they go together.

SPEAKER_03 12:45

You love him even though you've never physically seen it.

SPEAKER_02 12:48

Paul's talking about suffering.

SPEAKER_03 12:49

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 12:50

And he thought, I'm not ashamed. I'm in prison, but I'm not ashamed. I know who I believed in. Persuaded he's able to keep that which I've committed to him against this day. And then Peter wrote the same thing to his crowd in verse eight. Watson just read it.

SPEAKER_06 13:04

Want me to read it again? Go ahead. I like verse seven. It said, The trials will show you that your faith is genuine, and it's being tested as fire tests and purifies gold. And through your faith, though your faith is more precious, so when your faith remains strong through those trials, it should bring you much praise, glory, and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

SPEAKER_02 13:26

It should bring that to you.

SPEAKER_06 13:27

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 13:28

He started the whole thing, he started a whole conversation down in verse 6. He said, Wherein we greatly rejoice. Now wait a minute, Peter. Are you telling us we're gonna have fine joy and rejoice in these sufferings that we go through? Heaviness through manifold temptations. And then there in verse eight, he ends with this a joy unspeakable and full of glory. You find that in somebody you've never met. There's your male order bride right there.

SPEAKER_03 13:54

So here's your question. I was gonna bring this up. Mail ordered bride, that's how you started off. A lot of times back in the day, male ordered bride, you didn't even have photos, you never met them, you know. It was just first sight you seen them when they got here.

SPEAKER_02 14:09

Do you love that person? Did you marry for love?

SPEAKER_03 14:11

Well, did you eventually fall in love with them? You know? I'm sure they did. They become they figured out how to love them. So when you first have that encounter with Jesus, do you instantly fall in love with him? Or does that relationship bring that love?

SPEAKER_01 14:32

You never seen him.

SPEAKER_03 14:33

Yeah. So so that when that kid or teenager or adult you know realizes they're lost and they needed a savior, and that savior is Jesus, and they ask him to change their life, do they instantly fall in love with him? Or fall in love with the fact of what he done for them.

SPEAKER_02 14:53

Do they really know what do you really know what Jesus did for you at six years old, seven years old?

SPEAKER_03 14:57

I didn't until my twenties. You know. But my thought was, you know, talking about that male-ordered bride, you eventually fall in love through a relationship. I think the more relationship you have with Jesus, the quicker.

SPEAKER_02 15:15

Well, the reason I brought that up Sunday to try and paint the picture of the fact that yes, you may you may initially start out a relationship with somebody out of necessity. And the deal in those days in the early 1800s, you know, there was one woman for every seven men in the frontier. So they had the mail to order bride system. And some women, you know, went by that. And over time, you know, they'd have children, they'd start a family, and over time, you know. Love happening.

SPEAKER_03 15:45

Do you think Well, you just said it. I'm gonna I'm gonna say this real quick. Out of necessity. Well, a lot of times people get saved because of out of necessity. They don't want to go to hell, you know.

SPEAKER_05 15:55

Well, it's because of the need. Yeah. Do you think they would Do you think there was ever a instance where I'm I mean I've pretty much no answer. Do you think there was ever an instance where they never did fall in love with them? Or maybe they ever maybe they forsaked.

SPEAKER_02 16:09

No, I did the research. And you can read you can read the testimonies, recorded testimonies, because correspondence back in those days was to the mail, and everything was written down. That's just what they did think. Of uh, yeah, it didn't work out. The relationship didn't work out, the mail order bride, and then there's stories of where it was amazing, and they'd have 10 kids. That's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_03 16:30

I know a guy within the last 20 years that done this. He he bought him one, had her shipped over here, and then he sent that heifer back. Didn't work out. So, what I'm saying is that's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_05 16:47

Okay, you think so? Whoever that is, Ryan, they're gonna get on to you in this podcast. No, they've done the past and gone preacher knows. Oh, okay, okay. I got you. I'm with you.

SPEAKER_03 16:59

Help me. I'm I'm with you. He went fishing with us a couple times. I didn't say his name, Mr. Lowe. Oh, yeah. Oh, I'm not, yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 17:08

I shouldn't have said that, but you know I'm saying heifer. Back on the deal. Here we go. So were they were they never didn't answer my question. It didn't work out. You said no, but then you kind of answered it yes. Did it ever not work out for the for the male order bride?

SPEAKER_02 17:28

He done made an investment, ain't he? Did it ever not work out?

SPEAKER_05 17:36

Scratch it. What was that?

SPEAKER_02 17:39

Did it ever not work out?

SPEAKER_05 17:40

Let me just ask a question. Did it ever not work out? With Jesus or the with the male order bride. Yeah, here's a fella that's done had three recently.

SPEAKER_03 17:49

What we passing notes in here now.

SPEAKER_02 17:54

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_03 17:54

I don't know that fella. I don't either. Go ahead. We go with that. We'll let these boys. Y'all go.

SPEAKER_05 18:01

See, this is why we don't talk. Y'all go ahead. You and Ryan, just go ahead, break.

SPEAKER_01 18:04

I am not saying nothing.

SPEAKER_02 18:07

I'm done.

SPEAKER_05 18:08

No.

SPEAKER_02 18:10

I I can I got I got the whole thing in my mind. That that the whole reason I started that and wanted people to go down that process of thinking was for that reason because of what Peter wrote. In verse 8, he said, Whom you have not seen. You love Jesus. You f you you you claim to love Jesus, though you've never seen Jesus. I've seen him. I was with him for three years. I've seen him on the cross. I've seen him after the cross. I've seen him after the resurrection. So Peter, we are visual people, right? Especially in our day and age culture, everything to take a picture. And uh so the mail order bride system has now gone to online internet dating, you know, and it's all about pictures. People photoshop.

SPEAKER_03 18:49

They look through there and they say, I want that one.

SPEAKER_02 18:52

So we can understand the concept that Peter's talking about when he makes that comment. You've never seen him, you know? Yet you believe. Find joy right there. Yeah. That's where you find this joy we're talking about. It all goes back to the joy of having a relationship and love of somebody. Well, I like I like how it's the anticipation of the peering of Jesus.

SPEAKER_06 19:13

Lane, you asked, did it ever not work out? I've been chewing on that over here for a minute.

SPEAKER_05 19:17

Well, I've been asking for 20 minutes. I got an answer. You just asked us. I asked three times.

SPEAKER_06 19:23

The last part of verse eight right there, it says, You love him even though you've never seen him, though you do not see him, you trust him. And you're and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy, is how the NLT puts it. Inexpressible. But verse nine, let's go to verse nine, it says the reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. Now, when you when you text me this last night, my mind immediately went to the parable of three servants. You know, where he gave five talents, two talents, and one. All right, well, the first two talents, when he came back, they doubled it, right? You know, they took they took the blessings, they doubled it. They did work, they were they had a servant's heart, did it for the Lord, and what did the Lord say? Well done, you know. And then the one that had one went and buried it, hid it, shunned it away. Look here, saved it for you, still got it, it's right here. You know, and kind of ties back to your message a couple Wednesday nights ago, Ryan. You was talking about those words, those fearful words, depart, for I never knew you, you know. And uh, and I I just I think about that, you know, through those trials, you know, when God gives us something, you know, He entrusts us with something, what are we doing for Him, for His kingdom right now? You know, and using our servant heart and doing that, or are we hiding it? Do we have a gift that we've been shielding that we've been putting back? You know, I mean like that guy that pulled up last night, you know, there was how many felt ten of us out there last night? You know, you think that guy saw Jesus last night? You think he heard heard about Jesus and then witnessed ten guys that had enough love for him as a stranger to help him get back home, get to safety, you know, and show him the love of Christ through how we acted, you know, with helping him and and jumping right in there. I mean, there was it was it was pretty fun and funny to watch Ryan on that ladder last night. I say that, but I mean it was really awesome. I came in at the tail end of it, and we had music until about 8.15 or so, and I walk outside and I haven't a clue what's going on.

SPEAKER_05 21:29

But that's a perfect example. You take the instance and I asked that question. Maybe that guy he claimed to know Christ, claimed to be a saved child of God. Right. But do you think he ever had in his mindset? I think every single one of us ever had a mindset, I don't see how this is working. Why why has God got me in this trial kind of deal? But yet then turns around right there and sees ten grown men that love the Lord coming to help him handle his trial with him. Right.

SPEAKER_03 21:55

There ain't no doubt, you know, we see what the Bible says, but um He told me. He said, God placed me here.

SPEAKER_05 22:02

Right.

SPEAKER_03 22:03

That's what I was going to say, yeah. And and he he trusted in that fact. You know, that man, Lord, Lord put me here for two reasons. To get this help, but to also wake me up.

SPEAKER_05 22:13

What is uh I just read it a while ago, and you said that word trust, you said that word trust. It says in verse 12 of 2 Timothy chapter 1, for I know whom I have believed and persuaded that he is able to keep what I have committed to him until that day. I know what I believe, I know what I've been persuaded, and him who has committed to me. Or I have committed to him. And so I just think about that.

SPEAKER_02 22:38

We gotta go down this road. We have to go down this road. Uh, and that is the road of faith. We know the Bible teaches that we are saved by grace through faith. Yep. Not of ourselves, gift of God, right? So this faith, uh, what is it? How you define it? The faith that is counted unto us for salvation. You know, is it a simple knowledge? Believing Christ. Or believing in something you never seen. But yeah, I can get a hold of that. The example I use was eating a tuna fish sandwich. So I had a tuna fish sandwich for lunch yesterday. I tell you that, you believe me. You didn't see me eat a tuna fish. You wasn't sure it's tuna fish, but yet you believe in what I'm telling you. There's a faith in that, right? And then there's a, if you add to that faith, what Lane just brought up, a trust. Right? A complete trust. A commitment. Well, you b you you don't only just agree to it, say yes, you know, to get the end product, you're going this morning to to land and Jordan are closing on a house, bought a house, and you're gonna see some papers and there's gonna be some fine print. It would take you two days to read through all that.

SPEAKER_05 23:54

I regulated the 330 this morning, they sent to me an email. Send it to me an email.

SPEAKER_02 23:59

So you're just gonna go in there and they're gonna flip the pages and you're gonna sign your name without reading any of that. You're agreeing to something in order to get the end product, which is your house. Right. I think a lot of people, unfortunately, will buy into that. Well, yeah, I can agree in Jesus. I can agree in the fact that, you know, a man died for me. And uh you kind of click it. You click the I agree button and without reading a fine print. Well, is that faith unto salvation? You just trust in that. It's all trust. Well, whenever Paul wrote to Timothy and said, I know who I believed in, and I'm persuaded. I'm not, I'm, I'm not, I know I know that I know. I don't know what's on in all that fine print that I just signed. But when you get to the place to where you know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you are a child of the king and you are going to see him one day at this final appearing, that's that's the faith that brings joy and suffering. That's the faith that brings and trials. Yeah. You're able to anticipate what is coming, and that's where you find your joy. The other one I used was my wife. I know you're trying to talk, but I ain't done yet. Well, forget it. She's retiring June the 30th. But yeah, she had to go to work this morning. So she's got this joy in her heart of what is to come. And see, so our joy is in what is to come, at the appearing of Jesus Christ. And that's what old Peter wrote. He said, Hey, at the peering of Jesus Christ, it's going to be revealed. Not yet. The salvation is going to be real, you're going to see him. You ain't seen him yet. You're going to see him, wherein you greatly rejoice through the trials, through the sufferings, through everything you've gone through, right? Knowing that this is going to be the ultimate outcome of my faith in Christ. And it's a faith that trusts. One more. One more. It's in 2 Timothy. The description that Paul used of his faith, and he calls it unfeigned faith twice. In 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy. Paul's saying, I know of the faith that is in you. And this is an unfeigned faith. Well, what in the world is that a different kind of faith than a simply I agree faith? Yes. It's a trusting faith. It's a faith that knows that when I die, I I it ain't the end. You know that. And you trust in what Christ accomplished upon the cross of Calvary.

SPEAKER_08 26:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:30

It's going to get you to the end. Does that make sense?

unknown 26:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 26:35

What about this? No, no, no.

SPEAKER_02 26:37

I know it's kind of deep. I know it's kind of deep, but I know it's, you know, here in a podcast, and you gotta let that roll around the process a little bit. But if you can grab a hold of that concept and you know, then you're gonna you're gonna find yourself being joyful even in a chemotherapy treatment. You're gonna find yourself being joyful even in the fact when your tarp is blowed off your truck and you're 100 miles from home, you don't know how you're gonna get there. You see, you just apply it to all areas of life, knowing in what is to come.

SPEAKER_04 27:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:10

If you read chapter 11, the book of Hebrews, and I'm gonna shut up, I know I'm dominating. I apologize. But all these people that have gone before us, which is the Abrahams and the Isaacs and the Jacobs and the Moses and the Noah and all that crowd, if you read that, you'll find out that the reason that they had what they had is because they were looking for a city. They knew what was coming. And this is before Christ. This is before the first appearing. Yeah. And that's what Paul is and Peter both are saying to these folks, look. Oh boy, I'm really going down the road here. It's in the next few verses there in 1 Peter, where he talks about the prophets and he talks about the Old Testament folks who'd seen, they knew of, but yet they hadn't seen Jesus. And Peter's saying, look, y'all seen him. Y'all seen him. And look at look at what you got. It's so much greater than even what Noah had or Moses had or David had. I mean, come on. Look at what you got and and find joy in that. Get excited. Let's go. I'm done. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_05 28:16

Go ahead, Watson.

SPEAKER_03 28:17

I done lost. Now I had this thought in your first conversation or your first little bit of the conversation. And uh it's this a childlike faith. You're talking about trust. You take little Elliot. If he's in danger, he's just automatically trusting that his dad's gonna protect him. He's gonna run up to you and get in the arms and you're gonna protect him. That's a childlike faith. You just automatically know you're gonna be taken care of. And it's harder for adults to grasp, grasp that because we still tend to want to fix it ourselves. Right. You know, and and all throughout, you know, Jesus tells us, don't worry about tomorrow, don't be anxious, don't be, you know, count on me, be let me be there for you, kind of thing. And there's that faith of letting go and letting God. And that's a big deal to adults, but not so much a kid. You know, I didn't know all the fine print. I hit the I agree button and didn't know all the fine print when I was a kid. I just trusted.

SPEAKER_05 29:22

You allowed all the cookies, but you didn't read the disclaimer.

SPEAKER_03 29:26

Yeah, I something like that. But I, you know, as a kid at nine years old, I just said, Yep, I agree. I'm with you, Jesus. And a childlike faith. You know, well, that faith grew. Now that faith for some people, and I would say even times in my life, got hindered, you know, but it it keeps growing the more you grow with them. Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_02 29:49

Yeah, it makes perfect sense. Answer this question. How many people will click click agree and that and they will hear the words, depart from me, I never knew you.

SPEAKER_03 30:00

Wasn't that part of your sermon last night there? Right. It was because I think you have I think you have Christians with the epheses on it uh that I don't know how to say this, that that hit that agree button, but never put any effort, the feet to the fire. But the Bible also tells us, you know.

SPEAKER_00 30:28

You be careful talking about effort.

SPEAKER_03 30:32

Yeah, but what I'm saying is, I mean, yeah, the Bible tells us to confess and believe. Right. And you'll be saved. Yeah. But with that confession, things should change. You know?

SPEAKER_05 30:44

Well, I think that goes back to my question of the Medalwater Bride. They kind of hit that agree button, hey, I'll take whoever, kind of deal. And then once they get like, well, no, no, I'm good. Bye. See you later.

SPEAKER_03 30:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 30:56

There's the same way as Jesus, they hey, they hit that agree button and then they kind of get into it. They see the hardship, they see the trials, they see the commitment they've got to have. I mean, I can remember there's one individual I can't I think I know who which student it was around when you made this testimony a couple years ago. But he said that and quote me if I'm wrong, but he said, I just don't know if I can change the other things in my life. I don't want to change the other things in my life.

SPEAKER_03 31:20

Yeah, I know what you're talking about. I remember exactly where we were standing until I as far as I know, this day the boy still ain't saved. Still ain't saved. But he's I was talking to him about it and he said, he said, I I got too much wrong in my life to fix. I don't know if I can change anything. Right.

SPEAKER_02 31:35

Don't know if he can commit fully to that.

SPEAKER_03 31:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:38

But he was saved at Bible school when he went with grandma.

SPEAKER_03 31:41

Well, this old boy would tell you he wasn't. Did he lose it?

SPEAKER_02 31:45

He didn't lose it. You can't lose it. He never had it. Yeah, that's right. He agreed. He wasn't ever something that he didn't know nothing about, you know, and he never had it. Yep.

SPEAKER_03 31:54

Well, it does worry me, you know, that depart from me. It worries me for so many people because of that church camp experience, BBS experience, where they just had an experience, I guess I'd say.

SPEAKER_04 32:08

Doing it because everybody else done it.

SPEAKER_03 32:10

Yeah. But yeah, they did what the Bible says. They confessed and believed, but did they do it with their soul? But there's it just words.

SPEAKER_04 32:20

I'm gonna say it's a big difference in between having the faith knowing that the Lord died on the cross for us, knowing that he's there, and knowing that there's a hereafter, and staying faithful to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I think that there's there is a big difference there to me. Yeah. You know, yeah, we know he's there. You know, we got him in our hearts, but living and staying faithful, it's it it's a different if you don't live and stay faithful to the Lord and Savior, to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, are you gonna hear that? Depart from me. I never knew you.

SPEAKER_03 33:00

I was talking to somebody about this this week. Peter himself denied him three times. He wasn't always faithful. Ashamed. You know, he was ashamed at a moment of it. You know, he said, I don't know him. He even cursed him. I don't know him, you know. Uh, and Jesus came back to him, you know, and talked to him about it kind of situation.

SPEAKER_05 33:21

But I was gonna say this for the end. Brother David, and this is part of the whole topic that we're on. When you became a soldier in the army, uh, did you know what you were getting yourself into at first?

SPEAKER_02 33:37

Oh, you almost been answering. Yeah. I didn't have a clue. But I found out real quick, like that I became a piece of property of the United States. Uh-huh. And they can do with me whatever they want to do, especially when they tied me to a chair and pulled three of my wisdom teeth. That I didn't even have. But but the deal was when they cut those things out. Well, here's the deal. They want you combat ready, military. And if you're out there and all of a sudden the wisdom teeth starts coming in, then you're gonna you're not gonna be battle ready. So they're gonna do everything they have to do to prevent you from ever getting, you know. So if there's some things in you, you know how what you are. Yeah. And they didn't ask you, you want to have these cut out? No, you're a piece of property. You shouldn't have it cut out. So I didn't know when I signed up for that. Uh but you know, I found out. You gotta we gotta cover this thought here, because of what Doogie Wayne said and you've been talking about, is uh faithfulness. Our salvation isn't dependent upon dependent upon our faithfulness, it's dependent upon what Jesus did upon Calvary. I agree, yeah. Right? So once you have that faith, we know the Bible teaches you can't lose it. Yeah. So if people claim to have had it and then lost it, they never had it in the first place. They just click degree. Yeah. Make sense? So our significance in us being faithful and having faithfulness is has to do everything to do with our servanthood. Yeah. Everything to do with how we live for Him. So that's that's not what that work, our effort is not what's gonna get us there. Right. But what's going to determine, you know, our reward in heaven, I believe, is how faithful we are to Christ here on this earth. But you gotta think about, you gotta keep that mind and that in your mind. It's a reward. Peter talks about it, Paul talks about it, the Bible talks about it. It's gonna happen. Peter said this. Paul said this, and I'm gonna end with this. 2 Timothy. Chapter 4. I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. And he knows that one of these days Jesus himself is going to hand me, you know, the rewards, the jewels. You know, was that a motivation for Paul to live and do what he did to be a servant, a slave for Christ, knowing that what is to come is what I'm working towards? That's our end goal. That's where our joy is at. All ties together if you think about it.

SPEAKER_03 36:02

Does salvation through faith have to start with conviction? Do you have to have conviction? Conviction of what? Your wrongdoing, sin.

SPEAKER_01 36:23

Go ahead. You know that.

SPEAKER_03 36:25

Well, I mean, we we constantly we we preach it that uh you know you got to realize you're lost to be found. You know.

SPEAKER_02 36:33

Rephrase that. So you you gotta know you're a sinner.

SPEAKER_03 36:37

Gotta know you're a sinner, yes. To to be able to need a savior.

SPEAKER_02 36:41

You know you're sinner.

SPEAKER_03 36:42

Yeah. But and and that's where I met was at at nine years old. You know, I yeah, at nine years old didn't have a whole lot of sin in my life. I didn't think, you know, but I knew I was a sinner. At that point, I realized I was a sinner.

SPEAKER_02 36:57

What's the price of the sin?

SPEAKER_03 36:59

Death. So in order to be saved, I needed a savior, you know, and I and I knew that was Jesus because that's what I've been told my whole life. And I place my faith and trust in him. That he at nine years old. I didn't know the fine lines, didn't know.

SPEAKER_05 37:13

It goes back to what you said with Elliot a while ago. Elliot knows who to go to and and when he needs something. Yeah. Or when he's hurt, or when he's you knew at nine years old what you needed.

SPEAKER_03 37:24

God has to do the piercing of the heart. You preached on that a while back. He has to do the piercing of the heart. So some of these people that that claim to be saved, that one day will hear, depart from me, because I never knew you, that they just speak words because they've never had the piercing. I mean, that's between the sinner and the savior, no doubt.

SPEAKER_02 37:50

But you better be like Paul and know that you know that you know.

SPEAKER_03 37:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 37:56

Get your mic back over there, Preacher.

SPEAKER_06 37:57

Preacher, you said you said earlier, you know, how does someone with cancer, you know, has got three months left to live? How can they find joy? You know, well, if you don't have that 100% sold out, complete, and I'm talking about complete, not 99.9100, you know, trust that I know that I know that I know that no matter what happens on this earth, the battle's already been won by Jesus. And I know where I'm going because I've placed my faith and trust in him. That's right. My trials, I this is just another trial that I'm being tested in. I see that, you know, and so therefore I can rejoice in this trial because no matter the outcome, you know, he's in control and he's got this, you know. Whether that be death, you know, I know where I'm going. I'm going to a place that's much better than this world. And there's a type of peace and joy found in that that can be provided by nothing else other than Jesus Christ Himself. That's right.

SPEAKER_02 39:00

You know, and a faith in his promise.

SPEAKER_06 39:03

Correct. And if you if you're not 100% sold on that, and there's a piece of doubt there, ooh, you know. I mean, you can have misery.

SPEAKER_02 39:15

Right. We got a man sitting at the table that's that's been through there with his with his brain bleeding and not knowing. And yet there was a peace and there was a joy throughout that whole situation, wasn't it, Philip? We're not there's only one source of that. There's only one place that can come from. That is a knowledge of knowing whom I have believed in. And I'm persuaded he's able to keep me even through this whole trial. This is God, and it's through that power that we find joy.

SPEAKER_03 39:51

Here's a question for you Are there two types of Christians? Are there I say Christian, are there two types of believers here in this world? One being that is sold into the facts but not sold out. You know, they believe, hey, there's a savior, but they're not sold out to him. And the other one being someone that is sold out to him. You know?

SPEAKER_04 40:15

Yeah, it's two different, it's two different I believe it's two different believers. I believe for a long time that I was going to heaven, something happened to me. Was I living like it? No. Was I sold out to the Lord? No. Am I sold out to the Lord now? I like to believe that I am, and I know that I could do better. But for 25 years, I lived like the world. I believed in the Lord. I knew I was saved, I didn't live like it.

SPEAKER_03 40:45

So at that time, and I think, you know, we all are there, but at that time, was conviction less? I mean, did conviction hurt you as much? Like go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 41:01

And I I I got a question for Jonathan here, because uh, you know, I knew you, knew, I was aware of you, encountered you. Whether it was on a gravel road in Possum Valley, whatever, several times where you're living that life. You knew who I was, and I who knew you who you was. I was your pastor. And I knew that about you. I also knew that you'd profess Christ, but you wasn't living that life. And one of my jobs as a pastor, as a shepherd, is that sheep. When that sheep is stray, you know, you go to them. So when you would encounter me, what would you think? I'm just curious.

SPEAKER_04 41:36

Ashamed of who I was, ashamed of how I was living. I mean, to be honest. If I could without being rude. You know, without you realizing that um O Duke's trying to get away from it for some reason. But to be honest, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 42:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 42:10

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 42:11

Amen. I'd be really worried about your soul. You know, but that if you're looking for proof or evidence of the fact that you are a genuine child of God, you have to look at conviction. If you don't have that conviction, you you got a problem. Well, it goes back you have a head knowledge that the devil's believed in God, in Christ, but not unto salvation. So it says, with the heart, man believes unto righteousness. Mouth confession is made. Right.

SPEAKER_05 42:44

Well, I go back to go ahead, Philip.

SPEAKER_07 42:46

Go ahead. I was gonna say, why did he have that conviction to you and not any other person? Well, it which I I know the answer, but you gotta say it.

SPEAKER_04 42:58

And it wasn't it, I will say this, it wasn't just to Brother David, it would have been to Brother Ryan. Right, but why why them? Because of who they are. The shepherds. They're they're they're my shepherds. I mean, the Lord. Exactly. You know, and it and I'm gonna say it we I mean it just wasn't them, you know. Um there's several others that that are that are 100% godly men that that I respect above a lot of others that that I felt the same way about, you know. I mean, I I could sit here and name several, I'm not going to, but um you know, not just men, women, you know. But when you're when you're l living a life, a worldly life, and you're not living for the Lord, yeah. I mean, that conviction is there, you know. You you're ashamed of it, you know. And if you're not, then like Brother David said. You know, something's wrong with you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 44:03

Your misery. That salvation is not there. That conviction turns into misery. And I wrote that down a few weeks ago, and I'll never get that preacher. You wrote, you said misery is where mercy becomes realized.

SPEAKER_08 44:15

Amen.

SPEAKER_05 44:15

And I know we'll picking on Duke, but I think every single one of us can come to a part of life where misery came. But you take that Sunday, Duke, you came forward and you and Brian went to altar and Jeff Lemisher came up. You you could see misery in your life.

SPEAKER_04 44:30

You could see that you were miserable. It was there, yeah, most definitely.

SPEAKER_05 44:32

But then yet a week later, when we go to kids camp, both your boys come to say or JB had done been saved, but Kai comes to save knowledge Jesus Christ. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 44:41

Well you see when that mercy became realized. I mean joy. Less than a week, you know, look at the reward. Look at the reward that I that uh not only I received, my family received, my kids received, you know, and and I think it all goes back to uh it's how how you use it, you know. I mean, yeah, when you're on rock bottom or just, you know, the person that's getting chemo treatment that's just on their last leg, you know, how do you use it? You know, do you do you use it for the Lord? Do you use it to help someone, you know? Or do you say, why's the Lord put me through this? You know, you gotta be positive, you gotta stay faithful and use it to help somebody else, you know. I'll be the first one to tell you, Duke's way don't work.

SPEAKER_07 45:23

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 45:23

You know? They just don't. I mean, I can do about anything. You know, I can't fit, I can't fix it. The Lord can, I promise you.

SPEAKER_05 45:33

That's right. And that goes for all of us. You know, you talk about us being shepherds of this church, you know. All we're here to do is pick each other up. That's what we're all called to do, but we're here to lead in that aspect. And I I'll continue that quote, Brother David also said, our present reality is pretty miserable, but our future reality is marvelous.

SPEAKER_06 45:53

Amen. Come on with how to preach right there, Lane. No, I didn't say it. He did. That's right. He preached.

SPEAKER_05 45:59

I'm just repeating it.

SPEAKER_07 46:02

But I don't know. I think it goes back to that unfeigned faith. Unfeigned faith. You know what that means, Ryan?

SPEAKER_03 46:11

Say that one more guess.

SPEAKER_07 46:12

Unfeigned faith.

SPEAKER_03 46:15

The flame is going down.

SPEAKER_05 46:19

Refers to sincere it's not unflamed, it's unfeigned. Oh you said it wrong.

SPEAKER_07 46:26

It's unfeigned. Oh, but tell me. Refers to sincere, genuine belief free from hypocrisy, pretense or acting.

unknown 46:37

Deep devotion.

SPEAKER_07 46:38

Described a heartfelt, authentic, trusted God that is not merely an outward display of piety.

SPEAKER_02 46:47

That's a very good word there. Authentic uh faith. Sorry, a false faith.

SPEAKER_07 46:54

Yeah, you can no absolutely you can play the role all day, but don't mean you are.

SPEAKER_02 47:00

Then there's gonna be evidence of that. That's what he was telling Timothy. He's reminding Timothy here. You think about the whole concept context of the letter. Here's a young pastor struggling in a in a baby church, basically, and you get a letter from your mentor, Paul, who's in prison, and he's simply trying to fan the flames of your fla faith. And he's reminding him of what he has. He says, I know of this unfeigned faith in you, this deep, devoted, authentic, not hypocritical faith. And that's what you need to go back to that. Remember these things, think on these things. And then he went into that long spill about who Christ was and what we have in salvation. And I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for I know whom I believed in and am persuaded. I could just picture old Timothy reading that and just kind of coming up out of a chair a little bit, thinking, oh my goodness, I needed this reminder. And that's us as preachers and teachers, and just men, uh, that we do that. Remind each other, really. If I'd encounter Jonathan on that road, I should go up to him, grab a hold of him, and say, Look, I love you, son. I know you're not living a life of the Lord, but I love you. And reason I love you because Jesus loves you. And I uh you you're going down a road, you know, that's unprofitable for you, your family, your Christ, you know, and your future. Now it's up to him whether or not he believed me and would buy into that. And eventually it happened, you know, the conviction got so heavy and to a point to where he had to he had a crossroads. I gotta make a decision here. And this is gonna be a big decision. And do I do I repent and reconcile? Yes, that's the only route. But it can't come without repentance. All right, let me. You're never gonna truly experience the reconciliation of you and your Lord until you repent, which is turn from the direction you're going and turn to him. No, go ahead.

SPEAKER_05 48:57

Let me ask you this real quick, and I won't take long. Why, and I'm not calling you out, preacher, this is a good point. Why didn't you go to him or did you go to him on that gravel road? Did you ever go to him? Did you ever have your mindset about it? Okay. I didn't, yeah, well, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 49:12

But I never had to say a word. Yeah. It was just who I was.

SPEAKER_03 49:15

Well, that's what I was just fixing to say. 90% of the time when you get around someone that has slacked off or went a different route, you don't have to say nothing. They they bring it up to you.

SPEAKER_00 49:26

They'll find a reason to get out of your presence. That's the reason I asked that.

SPEAKER_03 49:29

They'll they'll come up and say, Well, I'm sorry, I ain't church. Well, I ain't even brought it up.

SPEAKER_02 49:33

Think of it this way. Think of it this way. If you are striving to live a life that is reflective of Christ and in the will of God, then when somebody comes into your presence, they're forced to be in the presence of God. Think about it. That's where that piercing comes from. The heart.

SPEAKER_03 49:48

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 49:48

And really, you don't have to say a word. It's just who you are. So that's so important for us to maintain who we are, not just in a pulpit, but everywhere else we go, and that's for all of us. It ain't just preachers. That's everybody. Because you they are forced, you take somebody that walks into the Drew Central office, all right? And my little wife's sitting there praying. She don't know, she's just praying. Or do you do you and here comes this lady in that's just fighting mad because they done called her about her kid and got in trouble again, and they ain't treating her baby right, and da-da-da-da-da. Well, this woman here is forced to be in the presence of God. And she don't even know it. But yet there's something that comes over her that all of a sudden this piece comes into this equation. And it all comes through the power that God ushers to this world around us from what's in us.

SPEAKER_03 50:42

Yeah. Oh, you got me thinking. So a little bit of a book that I read one time brought this up. It it the fact that I'm weak on it. So the fact that this person was trying their best to lead people to Christ, but they were doing it on their own. They'd go up into McDonald's, they'd go into these restaurants and try to talk to people about Jesus, and no one wanted to hear a word about it. You know, they just, and it discouraged this person. And then they realized, well, I hadn't he even invited God into this. So they started praying before they went into these restaurants and stuff, Lord, beat me there. Point that person out to me and beat me to them. Start pricking pricking their hearts now. And it said it made a world of difference. The Holy Spirit beat them to that person. And when they got there, conviction had already started, you know, and people started getting saved. I guess my point to that is, you know, a lot of times we try to do things on our own. And I think of Miss Kim, she's prayed up. Lord, let the next person that walk through that door, let me have a way in their life, or you have a way in their life through me. And there are instances where you just meet someone, like that truck driver. I wasn't prayed up for that.

SPEAKER_05 52:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 52:05

Uh it's opportunity, it's opportunity. But I the minute I stood by them and I knew preacher was fixing to go get those boards and I was gonna have a minute with him, I instantly said, Lord, lead this. Lord lead this. And he did, you know. I think we gotta come to a time or a spot to realize we can't do it. It's like you said a while ago, we can't do it. That's right. The Holy Spirit's got to be in it.

SPEAKER_04 52:30

And and how many other times are we out there in the world and get just a moment to take the time and and and talk about the Lord with someone and we don't. You know, there's so many other times you run into people all the time, different places, and it's you and them one-on-one. I know I'm guilty of it every day. You know, why not take a minute to to talk about the Lord with someone?

SPEAKER_03 52:58

All right, I'm gonna throw something out there.

SPEAKER_06 53:00

Do you feel bad when you do that? I think it's a sort of thing. You know, does it come I I've had those opportunities before, and I don't know, just choked up. Yeah, just just locked down, you know. Yeah, not a shortcut. My heart was so heavy to the point where I was almost shaking, where I just almost couldn't get a word out, you know. Yeah, not a shortcut. And then that person walked away and I just feel like was that good job. You blew it right there. You know, I I'm sitting here, I'm just picturing the Lord looking down, just shaking his head, just ain't gonna cut it. I'm guilty of it.

SPEAKER_03 53:35

He ain't guilty of it. Well, so I I I made a commitment with the Lord. I say the commitment, I kind of a verbal deal. When I go to do the Walmart pickup, I'm gonna tell you I've done talk to everybody up there about Jesus. Because I when I'm sitting in that truck, I'm sitting there and I'm thinking, Lord, I'm gonna talk to this person when they come out about you. And I can promise you, I've done it enough to them. When they come out, they know me.

SPEAKER_02 54:00

When you're when you're in, when you strive you're striving to be in tuned with God, listening, you know, from not necessarily a verbal word, but in your person for what God wants you to do, then what's gonna happen is those moments is that no, you need to say something. And then you walk away and think, what in the world was I why didn't I? Here's a personal experience of mine recently. UAMS hospital UAMS Hospital in the Rock. I'm going over there to see another individual. I get in the elevator, and uh there's another lady comes in, and I can tell she's emotional. And this unction, and that's why I call it unction, the Bible calls it unction, comes to me from God just simply say something. And I'm on this, meet her on this elevator, and I don't say anything. So we get out of the elevator, and she's walking in front of me fast, out of the hospital, trying to make a phone call, talking, something's bad going on. She's in this hospital done visiting somebody, and she makes a left turn and goes into the chapel. And I stopped dead in my tracks. Just like God says, go into the chapel, son. I'm like, I don't even know this lady. You finna scare her. She don't know me. And what I do, I can either go on to my truck or I can turn and go into the chapel. Well, I listened and I turned and went to the chapel, and I walked in there, and and when nobody else in there, she's by herself, and she's over emotional crying on her phone. And I just say, excuse me, ma'am, excuse me, ma'am, I just noticed that you know you're emotionally distraught, and this is who I am. And I I would would like to pray for you. Would you mind that? And her phone, she dropped her phone and hit the floor, right? And just got really emotional. And then I'm on my way over there and sat down beside her, she don't meet my Adam. I start praying, you know, with my hand on her shoulder. And I finished that prayer up, still not knowing. And then she tells me my my brother just got shot in the face with a nine millimeter. You know, and she's trying to get a hold of a wife and he got kids and this and a little rock. I didn't have a cloak. But the comfort that God brought to her through me, you know, was I don't know what he's gonna do with that. I've never seen a lady again since. Well, see, and how God would use that, I don't know. I've gotta I've gotta do what God asked me to do and trust him for the results. You know, how might that move in her life? I don't know, but that's where God's gonna have to take that and do with it. My responsibility is in following and being obedient to what he was asking of me.

SPEAKER_03 56:37

So the spirit was leading you to talk to that girl. And through that spirit brought comfort to her. The spirit, I'm looking at this thinking, all God was wanting to do is use you to get to her. Maybe she couldn't relevant. Maybe she couldn't sense the spirit, you know. Maybe she wasn't a saved child of God, and she was struggling, and God knew the only way I'm gonna get through to her is through David Jacks. And so he used you to put that in emotion.

SPEAKER_02 57:14

When you live life that away, with an anticipation of God's with you, and God has a purpose for you, God has a plan for you, then you come to realize that it's no accident that I'm on this elevator at this time in history. That's right. You know, and whenever you whenever you go through life with that kind of view, and you start walking up to the ballpark or pulling up to the Walmart pickup, or wherever you go, and you you've got that mental thing in your mind, Lord, where you finna show up at? What do you need me to do? And I mean, you take that, you're talking about servant, being a servant of God. When I walked out that door last night seen that truck, that those thoughts were in my mind.

SPEAKER_03 57:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 57:55

You know, this is obvious. God has pulled him in this parking lot. And this boy said, God's made me stop here for a reason. I already knew that going in. I have no idea what the outcome's gonna be, but my responsibility is simply to be faithful to what God wants me to do. Whatever that is. Well, If that's climb up on a trailer or pick up a board or da da, you know, and then let him handle the rest. I think that's a problem we run into, is we already try to see the the invert end game. Yeah. And we don't know what that is, but we have a God who does know what that is.

SPEAKER_03 58:25

Sure. Well, it ain't no doubt. I mean, Philip gave showed him how to get to it the podcast that we're talking on right now, you know. He probably went home listening to it.

SPEAKER_05 58:36

Yeah, you know, and well, you say that, preacher, we might not know the end game. We do know the end game. As long as we're faithful and we stay obedient to what the Lord has for us and we're not ashamed of it, the end game's gonna be, like you said right there, marvelous.

SPEAKER_07 58:51

Can I speak from my average Joe that's not a preacher? Yeah, it's hard for me to think that away, the way y'all think. You know, it all like I'm sure Dick Gawain's the same way. We just want to help. I agree, I agree. And hope that in our help they see Jesus that's helping them. Because I I believe it is hard for me to go. Would you walk up to somebody and say, are you safe? You know, that that type of conversation. But I think God makes it obvious when we do need to. It's like the switch, and it's like, all right, let's let's this is it. This is our moment to spread the work. Our time to shine right here. Where we don't in in our daily walk, we don't think that way, the way y'all think. And we we should. We should strive to get there.

SPEAKER_05 59:46

You say you don't, but yet you do have the mindset when you said, hey, we're just trying to help. Exactly.

SPEAKER_07 59:51

Oh, Jesus, but in our mind, in our mind it's it's different. I don't I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 59:56

I mean, it's just the way y'all know what you're saying, because I probably use that I'm a pastor as a tool. Right. Right. Hey, I'm a pastor down here down the road. You know, and the ice.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:09

I'm a DOT man. I'm gonna check your tires and lead you to Jesus. You know, but no, I know exactly I know exactly what you're saying.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:16

It's just what I mean, and and what Phillip's saying, I mean, it's just kind of hard. It's not it's not hard. It should be it should be it should be the first thing that we do when we introduce ourselves, really, in all honesty. Yeah. But just coming out of the things, we don't have that. Yeah, I mean, we don't have that practice. Yeah, how how you doing today, son? Oh, I'm I'm doing all right. You know, look for lost souls. You saved? That's what we ought to do.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:39

That's exactly right.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:40

I mean, what would it hurt? It's not gonna hurt anything.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:42

I can tell you one person like that comes to my mind, oh Philip Redden. Yeah. He wide open. Good morning!

SPEAKER_04 1:00:50

Oh man, we uh especially, you know, I'll I'll talk about little Jeremiah, you know, that was saved in a marijuana class here, you know, what about six weeks ago. I went squalling. I mean, uh and all the kids in there looking at me like, dang, Duke, what you what are you doing all that crap for? You know, I mean, it it just the peace that came over me whenever that that young man accepted the Lord in his heart. I mean, the joy that come with it, I mean, that is there's the end game.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:19

That that's you as a servant, Duke, you knew if you would stay obedient, you would fix what was miser was miserable in your life, you knew what the end game would be, and now look at what happened. The end game was save souls. Well, it went through what Duke did, it's what the Lord did, but yet the Lord used you in that aspect. It's like it just left out your.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:40

What's the key of being a servant? Faithfulness. Yeah. Jesus.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:46

And enduring the hard times. And I you can use the word servant or soldier, and I keep going back to soldier because that's gonna be back to my time in 2 Timothy. But it says there in verse 3 of chapter 2 endure suffering along with me as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. It's not the endure part that I get, and it's not the suffering part. I understand them two things. It's the with me. We are all gonna suffer together. Paul's sufferings, he's telling Timothy, hey, you're doing this with me, Bob. I'm not, you're not alone with this. Everything you're going through, you're with me. Now let's get together and let's go conquer the world with Christ kind of deal.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:22

Was that encouraging to Timothy? Because he knew where he knew where Paul was. Timothy's by himself, Paul's in prison. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:30

Well, this this faithfulness shows up as an example to us in so many areas of our lives if we would just recognize it. And it's evident that it's in all of us to do this, and you see it just in your families and things that you have to deal with. And you take like a husband and wife and faithfulness. Where's faithfulness sure? Faithfulness shows up in Kenny Watson and dealing with Miss Annette. You know, that's faithfulness. Faithfulness shows up in Zach and his wife and dealing with Wayland and the difficulties they have. Yeah. Just look around. You look around us and what God has brought before us, we see examples of what faithfulness is. No matter how tough it gets or how hard it is, you know. And that ought to lift all of us up. That ought to encourage all of us to practice this in our life. No matter what comes, I'm fixing to do this. I'm finna be faithful.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:18

You you said that God is gonna give the reward. You said that Sunday morning, you said faithfulness is the key to your marriage, to any relationship, and most importantly, God.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:29

Amen. That's it. Yep. And that's what the whole book of 2 Timothy is about. If you want somebody who wants something to read. But it's one man trying to encourage a younger man, another man. Yeah, a lot about his own example and what he's been through, but he is he is speaking from the authority of living a life that has evidence of this. Yep. I have fought a good faith. I've been criticized, I've been imprisoned, I've been all this. I'm gonna be crucified, but he remained faithful the whole time. And God takes that right there and uses it. However, God wants you to do it.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:06

It's been a while since we've talked about it, but it all goes back to the body. And Philip, I know you made that comment. Laura, let me just speak as an average Joe. You're not an average Joe, Bub. We all one, we all in one body. Samantha Cole Paper said it out there last night while we were standing there looking at y'all, hooking up that, trying to get that knot tied for that rope. This is the hands and feet of Jesus, right here. And that's what it's all about. We're not no average Joes. Yes, we're pastors, we're called, but guess what? Your DOT, Dukes, electrician, Zach's, uh, fabricator, right? I think that's what you're saying. Fabricator.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:42

Go ahead, Professor. Okay, one more example. We're all served. Something that I've been passionate about for a long time, but the reason is because of what I experienced. And that's uh, and we don't get to do it or see it that often and talk people into it, but that's disaster relief. You know, we we've established a staff set ministry, and that is, you know, if a disaster hits town, tornado hits town, whatever, then you know, we'll have an opportunity to go into this area. And so you're dealing with people who are devastated. They've lost everything, and they're very tender, if you will. It's just like a lady I encountered in the elevator, you know, same thing. So you walk around these neighborhoods, and there's a man standing on a slab, and everything he has ever had is gone. Yeah. You know, and interjecting yourself into a situation, a scenario like that is very, very intimidating and tough. So you have to go into it with faithfulness. And God, I don't know how. If you can use me to move a tree, you can use me to help this man in whatever way, you know. But my presence, just my willingness to be a servant to somebody I don't even know who is, is something that God can take and use. That's right. You know, it's it's those moments in life and not just disaster, but if we'll just live a life looking for God in everything we do. Like I said a while ago, whether we're walking up to Walmart or the baseball park. It don't matter. And you're going to find out that God will open some doors and may put you into some situations where you're very uncomfortable. But if you will by faith just follow that unction, you're going to experience God in ways that you never thought possible. Yeah. And it's amazing. Preacher, can you thank you?

SPEAKER_04 1:06:21

Could you imagine, preacher, uh the regret that you would have to this day if you wouldn't uh uh followed what the Lord had put on your heart by talking to that lady up there at that hospital?

unknown 1:06:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:35

I've been miserable all the way on.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:37

You think about it every day.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:39

That's where Zach was talking about, you know. He he felt like he let God down or Oh yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 1:06:46

It's almost like you need to turn around and go back.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:48

Oh yeah. There's been times I have. We got time for another story? Yeah, go for it. Early 30s. And uh I worked with a fella named Steve. Uh worked with him for five years. We used to watch Chicago Bulls together, you know, that kind of thing. And I'm a church member, faithful church member. And I worked with this guy every day for five years. And never once. He knew who I was, you know when I went to church, but I never once, I had that conviction, talk to him about Jesus, talk to him about church, invite him to church, this and that. Well, I didn't. Well, he ended up, I moved away. Went to another town, started another job, and lost contact with Steve. I'm uh watching the news, 10 o'clock news one night. The man's been electrocuted in pine bluff, he's in the hospital. And it was, he called his name, Steve. I thought, oh my goodness. And immediately it came back to me. I had all these years tell this man. And I prayed right there, God, I'm finna hit a little rock to keep this man alive until I get there. You know, didn't work out. He passed away before I ever got a chance to talk to him again. But I had my chance and I blew it. And that's conviction I still live with today because I believe, and I went to his memorial service. It wasn't a funeral, it was a memorial service, and really God wasn't mentioned. And Ben, you're talking about dropped the ball. But I made a pact with the Lord at that time, that's before I got into the ministry, that that wasn't gonna happen again. You know, you give me an opportunity, I'm gonna open my mouth. And uh, man, we learned by our mistakes. And uh I vowed to never make that mistake again. If you ever allowed me to have a relationship with somebody, I'm gonna tell every all every one of them. They're gonna hear it from this old boy. Enough said, we're about out of time.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:30

We're out of time. Let's go around. Final encouragement, final words for today.

SPEAKER_07 1:08:36

Philip. Uh I like what the preacher said, unfeigned faith. Find your unfeigned faith.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:42

Genuine, authentic. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:45

Not hypocritical, not fake.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:47

Watson.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:48

Well, this came from preacher's sermon. I guess it would have been uh Sunday night, 2 Timothy. He asked the question What is your view of the gospel? Big or small? Is it something big in your life or something minor? What is your view of the gospel?

SPEAKER_05 1:09:05

I agree.

SPEAKER_06 1:09:07

Well, we're talking about servanthood here this morning, and and to me, the ultimate servanthood is the commission, great commission of what we're called and charged to do ultimately every day. You know, so Matthew 28, verse 18, Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Let's go. Amen. Let's go.

SPEAKER_05 1:09:40

I think you embarrassed Max there on Sunday night a little bit.

unknown 1:09:43

Let's go.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:44

Dick Ewain. Uh I'm gonna read a little something out of James chapter 1, verse 19. Um be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to get angry, human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. And I think it's a lot of us that struggle with that. I know I'm one of them. So there you go.

SPEAKER_05 1:10:02

I'll go to the new endus, preacher. I'm gonna read what I read at the beginning of this, 1 Timothy chapter 1, one of my favorite verses, verse 12. And I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has enabled me because he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:17

One thing the Apostle Paul always did, you're reading in all of his writings, is he would be writing these words of encouragement, and all of a sudden he'd break off into one of these spills about the gospel. And with Timothy, as Lane just said, uh, he did the same thing. And one example of that, we're talking about a view of the gospel that Watson had. You know, most people had the view of the gospel. Well, Jesus died for me, I'm going to heaven. That's your view of the gospel. That's kind of small. Well, you need to enlarge that a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:46

And Paul had that view of the gospel as big, and that's what empowered him and encouraged him, and he wrote it. And I want to read these words to the end. Uh verse 9 to Timothy. He's writing, Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which is given us in Christ Jesus before the world again. He said, But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior, who abolished death, right? Who brought us life and immortality and light to light to the gospel. Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles, for I, for this cause which I also suffer these things. Nevertheless, I'm not ashamed. For I know whom I believed in and am persuaded he was able to keep that which I've committed unto him against this day. So that's where Paul kind of goes off into this. Here's my view of the gospel, that I'm reminding you, Timothy. You know, even more than just say, May he abolish death. I am immortal. I will never die. It's called everlasting life. And when you have that view, you want everybody to experience that. Sure. And that's going to empower you when you encounter that person to tell them about Jesus.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:50

I got something you need.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:51

Thank you very much. Love y'all.

SPEAKER_05 1:11:53

We appreciate everybody tuning in again this week. We just gonna keep on rolling. Y'all might y'all might not be listening, but hey, we are. We we're gonna keep on rolling with it.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:02

Yeah, I don't know if it's benefiting anybody, but it does mean it. That's right.

SPEAKER_05 1:12:06

Well, Philip, you want to close us up for the day?

SPEAKER_07 1:12:09

Yeah, I will. Let's do it. Dear Heaven Father, we thank you for this day that you've given us to just come here and just do uh, Lord, just speak your word and tell our thoughts, Lord, and Lord, just lead it everything to you, Lord. We just uh thankful for the breath of life that you give us and that we can come here and do these things, Lord. We just hope that you uh give us the courage to go out into the world and speak your truth and tell others about you because that's what we're called to do, Lord. Lord, forgive us of our many sins. We love you, we praise you for your sins, present name we pray. Amen.