09_10_23_PM

And the Jesus of the land He's the pride and joy of the land And He's there, He's everywhere And He's there, He's there We're glad to see you on the scene And we'd like you to take your invocation To the number 354, number 354 A sinner like me, I was once far away from the Savior We'll stand together as we say, a sinner like me I was once far away from the Savior And the smile that the sinner can see And to wonder just right in the redeemer Who would save a poor sinner like me? Who would save a poor sinner like me? Who would save a poor sinner like me? And I watched it from the redeemer Who would save a poor sinner like me? And I once stood alone in the shadow With the darkness across my good state And I thought that my good state came to die There's no poor sinner like me There's no poor sinner like me There's no poor sinner like me And I thought that my good state came to die There's no poor sinner like me Now I trust in God for redemption And my death is salvation so free Jesus Christ will lead me and empower To save a poor sinner like me To save a poor sinner like me To save a poor sinner like me And I trust in God for redemption And my death is salvation so free Jesus Christ will lead me and empower To save a poor sinner like me Over all the glorious days of my days Over all the glorious days of my days Worthy and exalted for every day Worthy and exalted even on the day Day upon day upon the holy land Worthy and exalted her name he has read Every joy or triumph coming from above Praise God on high for by the Son of God We raise a hymn for thee all who have sinned May we raise a hymn for thee my hymn will be true Day upon day upon the holy land Worthy and exalted her name he has read Amen. We Will Ever Recover We will ever recover And move on for each other We have had so many bitter and tearful So we come before your face Asking for your grace Bringing your people To a land of peace and love We saw your works again But your people once again They are glad you began But your people once again They are glad you began But your people once again They are glad you began But your people once again But your people once again For we live for your service As a loyal dear soldier For our lives we need your passion We'll be there We will ever recover And move on for each other We have had so many bitter and tearful So we come before your face But your people once again They are glad you began But your people once again They are glad you began But your people once again But your people once again They are glad you began But your people once again They are glad you began But your people once again You'll take your handbook. Turn to number 526. We praise thee, O God, for the Son of God. I'll do it again. We'll stand together. Turn to number 527. We praise thee, O God, for the Son of our God. Your faith, like the light and wisdom of God. Alleluia, like the glory. Alleluia again. Alleluia, like the glory. We thank God again. Greet the folks that are around without you. Be sure the visitors are welcome this evening. Revive us again. Fill each heart with thy love. Make no baby kindled with fire from above. Alleluia, thine the glory. Alleluia, amen. Alleluia, thine the glory. Revive us again. Amen. We come to the time of our evening offering. This is our regular church giving that we'll do. We won't take a second offering tonight. But after the services, if you wanted to give to the evangelist, you could put it in some offering plates that we'll have in the foyer back in the back. And we'll collect that and get it to the right place there. And we'll take offerings Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night as well. So let's go to the Lord in prayer. We are thankful, Lord, for your working this morning. Thankful for the preaching of your word. Thankful that truth always is good from your word that we can hang on to it, apply it, and thank you for stirring this morning. Stir again and again this evening. We ask for your blessing and boldness for our preacher, our evangelist tonight. Bless his family, Lord, and protect them as they go from place to place in the trailers and the trucks and all of those things that go along with it. We ask that you provide for their needs. Provide for our needs as a church. Heal and help in each life that is represented here. For those sick and traveling right now, please give comfort and healing to them and safety for those who have great heartache at the same time that you would heal and help as well. We ask that you use these offerings to further the gospel, the ministry that we have in this community. You might see souls saved, one to you baptized, and then discipled through the ministries that we can do here. We ask for your blessing on the night and your hand of protection upon it as well. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ I pray you received a blessing from the preaching of the Word of God this morning. And we look forward to it again tonight. I had a woman come up to me after the services and said, we found someone who can talk faster than you can. And so, but she said he's really good. So we look forward to it tonight. You come ahead, sir. Thank you, Pastor. Amen. Well, hope you had a good afternoon, church. Anybody get their afternoon nap in today? Anybody out there? Amen. I love the man who said, sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is take a nap. And I practice that. Amen. And that's good. Boy, I sure did enjoy this morning. It was a sweet spirit this morning, wasn't it? And I was telling Pastor, you can always tell when you come into a place where people have been praying. And there's great freedom and liberty to preach the Word of God. And where people are hungry, too, and willing to receive the Word of God. So thank the Lord for what he did this morning. Boy, I feel like to be a member of this church, you must be able to play the piano. Because every time I turn around, somebody different is there playing the piano. And you folks are blessed. And the music has been wonderful. And thank you for every bit of it. I will say, just a funny moment. A few minutes ago, I was watching the dear brother that started playing the piano. And I looked up there, and all of a sudden there's two tiny legs that were hanging. And I thought, I don't think those belong to him. And then I saw the purple crocs. And I thought, sure enough, they don't belong to him. And the music has just been wonderful. And we have enjoyed it. And praise the Lord for it. And you folks are so kind. We've enjoyed getting to know so many of you. And I met some fellow Alabamians. Most folks, honest to goodness, they said, well, I passed through there one time. And we met some folks that live there. And it's been a joy to get to know you. And thank you for being so kind. I want to mention, and I'll do this each night, some of the different resources that are on the table. And I really do mean what I said this morning. We started traveling with a resource table because we benefited when other people would do that. And also because Christian bookstores are just hard to find. The one in our area back home closed. And it's just hard to know what to get and where to get it from. And so we said, you know, if we could be a blessing to some families and to some homes, it would be worth it to travel with some of these things. And so I'll mention a few of them to you each night. We have our Patch the Pirate CDs back there. We love Ron Hamilton. And, of course, he's with the Lord now. But the family is continuing on the ministry. And both my wife and I grew up on Patch the Pirate. If you're not familiar, these are children's Bible stories. And they're adventures, though. I mean, they are just exciting and suspenseful. And they carry great Bible truths with them. We have them for our kids, okay? But we love them. This one is called Ocean Commotion. It's about Noah and how God is a place of refuge for us, a place to hide in a time of trouble. And so those are there on the back table if they can be a help to you. And then this is a little book I just learned. I think last week. It's out of print now. It's called Rightly Divided. And it's a beginner's guide to Bible study. And you want to know a little bit better about how to study the Bible, here's just some basic principles about interpretation and application and observation. Just a little book, just a thin book, how to study the Bible. And again, out of print. So once they're gone, they're gone back there. And if those can be a help to you. And then we have several devotionals back there. I believe with all my heart, if you get a people in the Word of God, it changes them. And so we've got several devotionals. And this is the Extraordinary Series that Harold and Debbie Vaughan put together, a wonderful evangelist and his wife. And this is the Extraordinary Father. There's one for mothers, one for wives, one for husbands. There's one for ladies. There's even one called Home Improvement. And I'll tell you about that one later. But it's a 31-day devotional to help fathers be a better dad, be a better servant of the Lord in their home. And so if you would like one of those, those are back there. And then here's one of my favorite books. I may mention a couple times during our meeting here. It's called Outsiders. And it's about 15 Christians or leaders who followed Christ and changed the world. And just a short biography, each chapter about a man of God that the Lord used in an amazing way. So Peter Waldo, John Huss, William Tyndale, William Carey, George Mueller, David Livingston. It's a phenomenal book. Just a short biography on each one of those Christian heroes. And I would tell you, church, I would read a chapter of this book before going to bed. And I would be so stirred. I'd feel about that small. Because I thought, I've never done anything for the Lord compared to what these guys have done and what they've given up. And that is a wonderful book and resource. And if any of those tools can be of help to you, we take cash or card, or to be honest, good babysitting. And any of that will get you things. And I say this, and I really do mean this, if you can't afford it, please take it. Just pick it up. We want to be a blessing to you. We want to be a help to you. We have too many people that say, keep the change. To be stubborn about those things or stingy. And so if any of those resources can be a help to you, pick them up. Take your Bible tonight. Find Colossians chapter 3, if you will. Colossians chapter 3. I'll take just a moment to mention our MIT program. The Lord started a vision for this in our hearts because the first time my wife and I, both of us had gone to the mission field, the Lord forever changed our lives. And I'm just curious, how many of you have ever been to the foreign mission field? Just curious. Yeah, a great number. And it's life changing, isn't it? Every time I go, God changes my life and my heart. It's just amazing. And so we said, you know what, we want to be a part of getting other people to the field and letting God stir in their hearts. And we can do that as we travel by inviting people to go on missions trips with us. And we just took a trip to Panama with 10 folks, had a family of 5 that went with us with young kids, and then an older gentleman in his 70s went with us, and a student from Pensacola Christian College went with us. It was just a wonderful trip. And so missions initiative trips, go, see, serve, and change. That's our motto. We want to go, we want to see, we want to serve, and we want God to change our hearts and lives. And we do things to help raise funds to make these trips affordable for people. In fact, I had a lady just a couple summers ago, her son was going, and she wanted to go with him, but she couldn't afford it. And so her husband said, well, I want you to sign up and God will make a way. Well, she put on Facebook what was going on, and in a week she had all of her money raised, went on to raise about double what she needed, and got to help someone else go on the trip. And so God does those things. We have a trip, like we said, about four-ish weeks to South Africa, and be praying for that. And then a trip, had a lady tell me today she wants to go to Chile, South America, with us in January. It's a great opportunity for Spanish speakers there. And a new church that just, the missionaries just last Sunday got to have their first service in. And so we're excited to go minister with them and do vacation Bible school and those things. And then next year, back next summer, we'll be in the country of Panama, fixing to release the dates for that. And then Lord willing, back in Uganda again. And so God is just good. If you've never been, church, I challenge you, pray about it, consider it. The Lord can make a way. And you, I think it'll forever change your life to go on a mission trip. If your church does them, be a part of them. And if you have any questions about how to get there, what it takes, any of those things, let us know and we'd love to be a help to you. Colossians chapter number three, church, if you will. Notice a few verses with me. And I want to challenge you on some thoughts tonight. Notice Colossians chapter three in verse one. If he then be risen with Christ. What did he just say? Paul said if you're saved. Amen? And if you're saved, then you're risen with Christ. Okay, tonight. And you have new life in Christ. And you're made alive by Christ. So if you're saved, and this is for us, notice this, seek those things which are above. Where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above. Not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. And then notice verse five. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth, fornication and cleanness, and order and affection, evil concupiscence and covetousness, which is idolatry. Church, with the Lord's help tonight, I don't want to preach to us about living for eternity. Lord, we love you tonight. And thank you for the music tonight. I am so thankful, God, because I know what you've done for me. What a great reminder tonight. We have so much to be thankful for. Lord, we are so blessed. Thank you for moving in our hearts this morning. Lord, thank you for the freedom and liberty to preach and then the moving of the Holy Spirit. And we pray that you continue to stir. Lord, in tonight's service and the chapel's tomorrow and services to follow, would you revive our hearts so that we can rejoice in you. Father, we love you. Help us tonight, Lord, to put our focus on eternity. God, you know how frail we are. You know how earthly minded we can be. And you know how easy, Lord, it is for us to get distracted and get our focus and our attention in the wrong place. So remind us, Father, that we're not living for this world. We're living for eternity. And so stir us up and change us tonight, Father. We love you. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Church, life goes by very fast, doesn't it? I mean, I don't know why, but I feel like once we have kids that we start measuring life in, like, not years, but five years, you know, at a time. And it's just amazing how quickly life goes. One man said this. He said, I think life can be summed up in seven different stages. I thought this was pretty good. He said stage number one is spills. Now, I want to tell you, we're living in that stage in our little household, okay? It's not many days go by that either the kids spill something or I spill something. So he said the first stage is spills. And then there's drills. And some of you young'uns, you're living in those stages where you've got to do this and you've got to do school and homework. So spills and then drills and then thrills and then bills. Some of us are living in that realm right now, aren't we? Living in the bills realm. And then there comes ills, pills, and wills. Now, I thought that was a pretty good summary of life, isn't it? You know, at some point, church, in our brief life, we all have to answer the question. And we probably wouldn't put it on paper. Maybe you do. But in our life, we answer this question, What am I living for? You know, I guess in a sports realm, we would ask the question, What are you playing for? Maybe a trophy or a scholarship or to keep a contract or those kinds of things. But, boy, that is such a temporary idea when it comes to a greater thought. What are we living for? And church, ultimately, what we are living for determines how we live, doesn't it? For instance, someone who is living for money will do all they can to have as much money as they possibly can. Someone who is living for pleasure will do everything they can to experience the most pleasure. Someone who is living for a life of ease. They just want it easy. Will do everything they can to make their life comfortable. And my fault tonight, church, is that oftentimes our life is consumed with living for things that for all of eternity don't even matter. Boy, I look at my life sometimes and I think even these things that are so important to you, in the end, they don't even count. They don't matter. When you stand before God and you spend the rest of your days living in eternity, this little small area of your life that you are so bent out of shape of, it won't even be a big deal anymore. And my question tonight is, How do we live a life that counts? Ultimately, I think, when we experience revival, then we start living for eternity. We get our eyes off the temporary things of this world and on the things that matter. And I want to say when your focus is on eternity, church, then everything changes. Dr. Thomas Chalmers was a great preacher and minister of the past. And one day he was in a service, and he wasn't preaching in the service, but he was there listening. And he was just a few rows back, and in the middle of his service, somewhere towards the back, a gentleman stood up and started reading. And he interrupted the whole service. Now that would get our attention, wouldn't it? And he began reading these statements that were just blasphemous against God. I mean, they were wickedness, just untruths about our holy God. And everyone stood in amazement. What do we do? Do we stop him? Do we take him out? And finally, the gentleman got done, and he said, I want you folks to know that what I just read to you was written by your beloved Dr. Thomas Chalmers. And everybody stood in amazement. They thought, surely not. This great man of faith and of God would have written that. But surely, Dr. Thomas Chalmers stood up, and he began to address the audience. And to everyone's surprise, he said, it's true. He said, every word that that man just read to you, I wrote. He said this, church, but there were two things in my life that I had not considered when I came to those conclusions. There were two things, two realities that I had not come to that changed everything, and those two realities were this, the littleness of time and the greatness of eternity. Boy, it changes things, doesn't it? Living for eternity. My life, your life, church, every life in this room can be lived in a way that impacts not just people around us, but people for eternity. And how does this happen? That's my question. I want us to look tonight, church, at Colossians 3 here and see four keys to living for eternity. Notice the first key with me. If my life and your life is going to be revived and be lived for eternity and be a life that makes a difference, then first of all, we must have eternal aim. Notice that, verse number 1. If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. The word seek there, church, means to try to find. When I think of that, I think about aiming for something. And if we're going to live for eternity, church, here's what I want to say. It doesn't happen by accident, does it? Living for eternity is purposeful. It's a very intentional way of living. My pastor now was my science teacher in our Christian school growing up, and he had this poster on his wall, and I remember it, and it said, You always miss 100% of the shots you do not take. And I thought, boy, there's just life-shattering, changing information right there. And on top of that, somebody got paid to put that on a poster on the wall. You ever heard someone say, He who aims at nothing hits it every time. You ever heard someone say that? Well, it's kind of the idea here. In other words, if you don't aim for eternity, and you don't aim for a life that counts for eternity, you won't live it. And so what I'd like to do in looking for things that are eternal and aiming for those things, let's just stop for just a moment and ask the question, What things are eternal? What things are going to matter? Well, let's answer that question from the Word of God tonight. First of all, God is eternal, isn't He? Aren't you thankful for that? God is before all things, and He is and He always will be. Boy, you try explaining that to elementary kids. It's a challenge. So when was He created? Well, He wasn't. Well, how? I don't know, but He wasn't. He's eternal. Here's some Scripture for you. Deuteronomy 33 and verse 27. The eternal God is thy refuge. Thy hiding place. Boy, that's a thought, isn't it? Isaiah 57 and verse 15, For thus saith the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth eternity. Interestingly enough, that's the only time the actual word eternity is used in our Bible here, and it's saved for the place that God inhabits. The place that God lives. Isn't that a thought tonight? Our God is eternal. Psalm 90 and verse 2, Before the mountains were brought forth or ever thou hast formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God. God is eternal. What else is eternal, church? Well, the Word of God is eternal, isn't it? Boy, aren't you thankful for that? This book that we preach and that we live our lives by, we don't have to change it. We don't have to fix it. We don't have to make it 21st century approvable because it is eternal. It is alive. It is living. Psalm 119 and verse 89, Forever, O Lord, thy Word is settled in heaven. Matthew 24 and verse 35, Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. 1 Peter 1 verse 25, But the Word of the Lord endureth forever. So when we think about aiming for eternity, we've got to think, well, God is eternal, and God's Word is eternal. Maybe a third thing that's eternal, that's the souls of men. Well, that's something to think about tonight, isn't it? Everybody in here is going to spend somewhere forever. Our soul is eternal. And there's only two places the soul goes. Either to heaven or to judgment. To hell. And then eventually to a lake of fire. 2 Corinthians 5, For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God and house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. Jude verse 7, Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh are set forth for an example, notice church suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. So if I'm going to aim for things that are eternal, church, then those things have got to involve God and God's Word and the souls of men. Because those things are eternal tonight, aren't they? Well, isn't it something to think about that your neighbor as a soul is going to spend eternity somewhere? Isn't it something to think about that the buddy who messed your fast food order up has a soul that's going to spend eternity somewhere? I tell you, it's a humbling thing to me to know that my kids are going to spend eternity somewhere. But it's true. Dr. Bob Jones Sr. had a student come in his office one day and she said, Dr. Bob, I'm done with life and I'm going to take my own life. It's over. I'm going to end it. Dr. Bob didn't look up. He didn't hesitate at all. He said, I'm sorry, but you can't do that. She was taken aback. She was expecting sympathy and all this and Dr. Bob just kept at his work. She said again, No, I'm serious, Dr. Bob. I'm going to take my life. I'm going to end it. It's over. And he said, I'm sorry, you can't do that. Finally, she got adamant. Dr. Bob, I'm going to end it. It's over. There's nothing else for me. And finally, Dr. Bob looked up and he said, I'm sorry. He said, you can't do that because you're going to live somewhere forever. It's the truth, church. You're going to live for eternity. We've got to aim for a life that counts for eternity. So notice, to live for eternity, it takes eternal aim. That was the second thought in verse 2. So in verse 1, Seek those things which are above. Verse 2, set your affection on things above. Not on things of the earth. Secondly, if you want to live for eternity, not only does it take eternal aim, but it takes eternal affections. Not only must we look and seek to live for things that are eternal, we must love those things. Because ultimately, church, who you love determines how you live. What you love determines how you live. It's kind of a very casual thing, but I was joking this morning. We enjoy Alabama football, where we come from. And honestly, it's just a family thing. We enjoy getting together as a family. But yesterday, Pastor Tinsley, because he loves me, made sure that there was a TV on this property that had Alabama football on it. You know why he did that? Because I care about those things. And he cares about those things. And that's why our hearts are broken today. But listen, when you love something, you take time to do it, don't you? You make it a priority in your life. And so if you love God, and you love God's Word, and you love the souls of men, then you'll live for those things. You'll take time for those things. Those things will be a priority in your life. This is one of the reasons we're told not to love the world, church. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. Why? If any man loved the world, what is not in him? The love of the Father. And what does He say? For the world passeth away. Isn't it amazing, church, so many things that we love our sports and our money and vehicles and houses and all those things, they don't last, do they? They pass away. But God and God's Word and the souls of men, those things go on forever. Who you love determines how you live. Church, can I give you a couple thoughts to challenge you tonight? How do you know what you love? Here's a couple tests you can run in your life. I think you can know what you love by examining where you spend your time. Boy, time will tell on us, won't it? You always have time to do what's important for you. You realize sometimes we say, well, I just don't have enough time. Well, everybody has the same amount of time. 24 hours in a day, right? And we get to choose what we spend that time on. And notice this, church, we always choose to spend that time on what's important to us. We do. And so notice where you spend your time. It'll tell you what you love. Secondly, examine where you spend your treasure. That'll tell you what you love. Where we spend our money and our finances and those things. Here's how the Bible says in Matthew 6.21, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. So what's important to us, our checkbook will tell on us, won't it? So examine where you spend your treasure. Thirdly, you can know what you love and what talents you put the most emphasis on. Church, I want to be very careful the way that I say this, but one thing I'm burdened about because I keep hearing it from pastors, there's an epidemic, church, in our world, in our little kids' lives, teaching them to prioritize sports over church. I love sports. I really do. I think it's a great instrument. I remember as a youth pastor, I could use it. I could make a basket, you know, get real fortunate and make a basket. All of a sudden, all the boys want to be around you, and they want to listen to you, and you're cool, you know, and those things. I love sports. I love using them. But I want to say this, church, sports ought not to be God in our lives. There's something wrong with us when our attitude is, well, we'll be at church unless there's soccer practice, or we'll be at church unless there's a game going on. Can I say the exact opposite ought to be true about that? We'll be at the game, we'll be at soccer practice unless there's church, and then we'll be there. Examine what talents are most important and where. Are they spiritual gifts that you're prioritizing or carnal abilities? I was just posting on Facebook, I think last night, church, you know, before we make sure that our kids are good at kicking goals and scoring touchdowns and hitting baskets, we ought to make sure they're really good at church and really good at walking with Jesus because those are the things that matter. So where do you spend your time? Where do you spend your treasure? What talents are most important? And fourthly, I think you can know what you love by examining how important your testimony is. Can I just tell you, church, when you love God and you love God's Word and you love the souls of men, then your testimony is very important because everything about my life is telling somebody else something about Jesus. That's what your testimony is. Your testimony, church, is what your life says about Jesus, and everybody gets to watch it, and everybody gets to follow it on social media, and the neighbors get to see it, and our family gets to see it put on display, and our kids certainly get to judge it. Our testimony of eternity matters to us. Then our testimony is very important. There's a difference, church, between knowing what things are eternal and loving those things in there. There was a great diamond that was in a shop one day and the diamond owner had invited this gentleman to come and buy this diamond. He was interested in it, so the buyer of the diamond walked in and the salesman began explaining the diamond to him. The cut, the clarity, all those C's that you ladies can name, okay? And so he was explaining to it. In just a few minutes, the man that had come to buy the diamond, he began to walk out without purchasing it. And the owner of the diamond said, hey, listen, wait a minute, where are you going? Could you just give me a few more minutes to talk to you about this great diamond? And so he said, I might as well. I came all this way. And so the man sat down, and the owner of the diamond began describing how much he loved the diamond. How precious that it was and how valuable that this diamond must be. And in just a few minutes, the purchaser was signing the papers to buy the diamond. Before he left, he asked the owner of the diamond, what just happened? He said, when your salesman was presenting all these facts about the diamond, I wasn't interested. I could have cared less. But listen, after you described your affection for it, I had to have it. I couldn't leave without it. He said, how did that happen? The owner of the diamond turned to the purchaser and he said, you see that gentleman over there, my salesman? He knows more about diamonds than I do, and for that I pay him a great sum of money. But I'd give him much more if he had what I have. Then he said this. He said, he knows diamonds, but I love them. I want to say to you, church, it's one thing to know what things are eternal. Most of us in the room, it wasn't a shock to you tonight that God is eternal or God's Word is eternal or that souls are eternal. But it is a great difference between knowing those things and loving and living for those things, isn't it? And if we want to live for eternity, church, we've got to put our priorities where they ought to be. So it takes eternal aim. We must shoot to aim for those things in our life. And then secondly, it takes eternal affection. But notice thirdly, it takes eternal actions. There ought to be things that happen in our life every day and every week that are eternal, that matter. Eternal actions will have to do with things that are eternal, with God, with God's Word, and with the souls of men. And so let me just very clearly, just give you a couple thoughts about things we could do this week in our life to make our lives count for eternity. Well, number one, we could walk with God, couldn't we? Can I tell you, church, it amazes me to think that God created the first two people, Adam and Eve, and you know what He did with them? He walked with them. That's what He wants to do. What does the Lord thy God require of thee? Micah chapter 6 and verse 8. But to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God. Isn't it amazing that we have a God who's not distant, but He wants to be personal. He wants to walk with us. And by the way, we'll do it for all of eternity once we pass from this earth. And so why not do it today? Why not do it this week? Walk with God. Christianity is about a personal relationship with God. And by the way, church, that not only is for salvation, that's for every moment after salvation. It involves a personal relationship with Him. And so I ask ourselves this question, how many times this week do we read the Word of God? How many times this week do we sit and pray and just spend time with the Lord? Can you imagine if I told my wife this week, honey, it's going to be busy. There's chapels and services. And so if you're fortunate, you'll get about 30 minutes with me on Wednesday evening. And then on Sunday, I've got about half an hour we can spend texting or talking. And if you're really, really fortunate, maybe Sunday night we can spend a little time together. Can I tell you that relationship is not going to work, is it? And because I know my wife, I won't be alive very long, okay? And so that's just not going to function, church. Can I just tell you, we cannot think we have a good relationship with God if we only spend Sunday and Wednesday walking with Him. It's a daily thing, church. You'll be in prayer if the Lord would continue to lead. I want to preach out of the book of Nehemiah for the next three nights and talk about some things we need to return to. And one of the things that Nehemiah and Ezra pushed the people to return to is the Word of God. They stood up and they read the Word of God walking with Him. I often do this. I've done this this summer. If a pastor and I were to go walking around the property, and we did this just yesterday, you know what we're going to do? How do you walk with someone? Well, they talk to you and you talk to them. That's what you do. And then to walk with God, that's walking with God. He talks to me and I talk to Him. And this is a relationship, church. If I want to live for eternity, I've got to have a consistent, vibrant walk with God. I've got to be in His Word. I've got to get in His heart. I've got to be close to Him. So walk with God. Secondly, work for God. Ephesians 2, we love. Verse 8 and 9. I think I quoted it this morning. By grace you say through faith and not of yourselves that it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. But watch this. Church verse number 10 says this. For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Titus chapter 3 and verse 8. What a great reminder. This is a faithful saying. And these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. I want to say this, church, and you've probably heard it, that God did not save us to sit, soak, sour, and spoil. He saved us to serve. We were getting gas. I don't even remember where we were. They run together. It's funny, Pastor. Sometimes I wake up and I have to think, which parking lot are we in today? But we were getting gas the other day, and this lady came down, and she sat on one of the curbs. And you could tell. She had a sign, and you could tell that she'd been through it. And so I got the gas, and Bethany was taking care of some of the kids and some of that. And we got back in the truck, and then the Lord just began to really work on my heart. Ethan, you need to do something for her. So I went in the truck, and I grabbed. Thankfully, we carry a grocery store with us. And so I knew there was some food in there, and so I grabbed some Little Cliff bars, and I grabbed a Powerade and a Gospel track, and I just walked out to her and said, I want to give something to you. I began to talk with her. You could tell from her arms that she'd been involved in drugs and maybe self-harm. Her name was Stephanie. She was in a mess. I said, Stephanie, I'm going to give you this food, but more important than any of that, I want to give you this right here that tells you how you can know Jesus as your Savior. And I began to talk with her, and she said she knew the Lord. She remembered that she had been saved. And so I said, Stephanie, I just want to stop, and I want to pray for you. Could I do that? Could I pray for you? Church, nothing life-changing happened that I know of in her, but I do know that by the time we were done, she had a smile on her face. She knew that somebody in this world cared about her, and she was reminded that there was a God in heaven who cared about her and loved her. And I got back in the truck, and I told Bethany, because the Lord was, I don't know what He did for Stephanie, but He was working on me. And I told Bethany, I said, Beth, I said, we've got to love people. We've got to stop passing people by and in our minds judging them, and, well, if they would have made better decisions, and those people that have sinned, and they're out of church and broken, we've got to start loving people and laboring for the Lord and working for Him. Church, you want to do something that matters this week? Love somebody to Jesus. Work for Him. I mean, work. Go across the aisle and say, hey, can I pray for you? What can I do to be a blessing to you? Work for the Lord this week. What are you doing for the Lord? So, if we're going to have eternal actions, we can walk with God. We can work for God. And let me give you a final thought. We can witness to the lost for God, can't we? Church, I'm amazed at the excuses that I can come up with about why I can't share the Gospel with someone. Anybody else in here like that? I have sat across the aisle or, you know, in between a seat away from someone on an airplane, and by the time, in my mind, I had got done making excuses, they were a mass murderer. And I was going to be in big trouble if I dare speak the name of Jesus. My goodness, they'll throw me off this airplane. Dr. George Truitt said this. He said bringing one soul to Jesus is the highest achievement possible to human life. And he's right. Isn't it amazing, church, that you could take a Gospel tract this week? Just something small, and you could hand it to someone, and them read that Gospel tract and get saved, and that be worth more than anything else you could accomplish in your life? And by the way, these work. I had a pastor in Nebraska here a few weeks ago, and we were doing a little radio program, and we were talking about revival, and they wanted to ask me questions and these things. He began to tell me about a meeting that they had, and a gentleman showed up. This gentleman had an amazing testimony. He had one day picked up a hitchhiker on the side of the road. And he drove him to where he was going, and then the gentleman got out, but when he got out, he left the Gospel tract in the seat. And I don't know if he was just ditching it, or it was an accident. I don't even know how it got there, but this gentleman took that Gospel tract, and he put it somewhere where he could remember it. Well, his life got in a mess. His marriage got in a mess, and he remembered that Gospel tract, and he took it out, and he read it, and he got saved. A pastor I was with in Holland, Michigan. We did a VBS up there. It had 11 boys and girls get saved. It was awesome. And he showed me in his Bible, he has the Gospel tract that a family member gave him that one day led him to Jesus. So as I'm going to tell you, you don't know what your little witness can do. You don't know what living a Gospel tract, you don't know what inviting someone to revival. Boy, that's an investment in eternity. You don't want to invite a co-worker, or a neighbor, or a family member, or share it on social media, and they come and they get saved. You have made a difference in eternity. Church, we can win them all. R.A. Torrey said, my one ambition in life is to win as many souls as I possibly can as the most worthwhile thing in life. And church, you know that we're not suggested to do that. We're commanded, aren't we? Great commission is given no less than five times in the Word of God. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the book of Acts. They say at the choir, we're told to win the lost. I remember it was in Pasadena, California. This young college preacher boy, and we were doing some ministry. We were knocking on doors. There was no church there. There was nothing going. We were just trying to win people to Jesus, and get a little Bible study and discipleship going. And here we are. We're knocking, knocking, knocking. Nothing happening. Nothing happening. And finally, I remember here I am, and I was on Michigan Street in Pasadena, California. I mean, my goodness, this sounds like the start of a bad joke. Here I am from Oldenville, Alabama, in college in Lancaster in Pasadena, California, on Michigan Street, the last house on Michigan Street. I knocked on the door, and a young man named Danny came to the door. I don't want to be rude in the way that I say this, but you could see that Danny probably didn't go to church, probably didn't know the Lord. You know, you could tell. But Danny had a smile on his face. And the pastor knows in California, you'll take that any time you can get, you know. And Danny, he had a smile on his face. And so I began to talk to him. I said, Danny, do you know the Lord is your Savior? No, no. Do you know you're going to go to heaven? No. Could I show you, Danny? He said yes. And probably at that point I was so shocked I didn't know what to do, you know. And so after fumbling around, I just shared the Gospel the best I could, and Danny got saved. I remember walking away from church, and obviously God did something good in Danny's heart, but again, God did something in my heart, because He showed me, Ethan, you don't have to have a big building, or money, or any of those things. If you'll just be obedient and share the Gospel, I'll do the rest. We came back. I think it was less than a week later. We were going to follow up on Danny. We knocked on his door, and Danny wasn't there. It was kind of a bummer. We had driven a long way. But Danny's cousin was there. So I asked Danny's cousin, Hey, do you know the Lord is your Savior? No. Could I show you? Sure. In a few minutes he prayed to be saved. See, God can use you. You don't have to have all the answers. You don't have to have a great speaking voice. Moses didn't. You don't have to know everything in the world. You just need to know Jesus. I know what He's done for me. We sang about it tonight, and boy, the Apostle Paul just said, Hey, listen, let me just tell you what Jesus did for me, because He didn't do it for you too, church. We want to live for eternity. We've got to walk with God. We've got to work for God. We've got to witness to the lost for the Lord. Let me give you a final thought. How are we going to live for eternity? Well, church, if we're going to live for eternity, we must have eternal aim. And then we must have eternal affection. We must love those things. And then we must have eternal actions. But I want to give you a final thought. And the reason I give you this tonight, church, is because it's in the context. We believe in taking Scripture in context, don't we? And so notice verse number 5, right after he tells us to live for eternity, and set our affection on things above, and Christ is coming back, and what's going to matter will be revealed then. Verse 5 says, Mortify therefore, because our affection needs to be set on things above, because we need to seek those things that are above, and because Christ is coming, then mortify your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry. What does it take to live for eternity, church? It takes earthly abstaining. Can I tell you, church, no man can serve two masters. For either he'll love the one and hate the other, or else he'll hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and man. But in the point of view of church, listen team, you cannot live for God if you're living for this earth. You cannot live for eternity if you're living for temporary, fleshly things. Isn't it true that in the Christian life, it's God's will that we give up some things? In fact, that word abstaining, you find it several places in the Scripture. Acts 15 and verse 20. That we write unto them that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. 1 Thessalonians 4.3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication. 1 Thessalonians 5.22 Abstain from all appearance of evil. 1 Peter 2.11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. Keep yourselves from them. Stay away from them. Church, if we fall in love with the world, we won't live for God. We won't live for eternity. I'm afraid that the church in the United States has fallen so in love with our comforts and our pleasures, and our money, and houses, and cars, and all those things that make up the American dream, that we've forgotten how to live for eternity. Remind us, church, that we're dead to the penalty of sin, but we have to choose to be dead to the power of sin, don't we? In our hearts and in our lives. Colossians 3 verse 5 Mortify therefore your members, which are upon earth, fornication and cleanliness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Church, if we want to live for eternity, there's some things we have to give up. Can I tell you one of the reasons I love going to the mission field because it reminds me about what's important. I told you a few weeks ago we were in Panama. We were with missionaries who have four kids of their own. They live in a house. I'm not good at this, but I would say it can't be 1,500 square feet. And they just love people, so they took in six more girls to raise. Girls that came out of an orphanage. Girls that had no parents or families to take care of them, so they took in six more. I'm reminded we were with a pastor in Florida several years ago. I guess several young kids, they lived in Africa for a time being missionaries. And he would talk about times where they didn't even know if they were going to have food or clean water that day, and they were giving up these things to serve the Lord. Church, may we be willing to give up whatever it costs to live for eternity. Several years ago, y'all remember Y2K 2000? You remember that? I want to tell you what happened in Y2K. We had more two liters of water in our basement. We could have flooded the town of Moody where we lived, I think. It was unbelievable. We had two liters, and I don't know why, but we had all these preparations. When the year 2000 came around in Sydney, Australia, they flashed a word on one of the main bridges, and it was the word eternity. They say that if you were to go to Sydney Square, one of the parks there in Sydney, Australia, that there is a square in that park engraved in the ground in that park is the word eternity. I can't tell you that this is the exact reason, but I have to believe it has something to do with that. Many years prior to this, there was a man in Sydney, Australia named Arthur Stacey. You've probably never heard of him. He wasn't very significant. In fact, he was a drunkard. One day, Arthur stumbled into a gospel crusade, and he heard the gospel, that God loves you, and you're a sinner, but He gave His life for you, and if you'll trust Jesus Christ as your Savior, He'll forgive you and give you a home in heaven. And so when the invitation was given, instead of coming forward, Arthur made his way out of the back doors and stumbled into a park that he was familiar with. And he said, God, I don't know if you'll take drunkards, but if you will, I want you to save me. And Arthur was born again. He happened to turn his life around. He was in another meeting, a men's meeting, and the preacher kept talking about eternity and living for eternity and making a difference in eternity. And that word began to grip Arthur's heart. So again, he walked out of that meeting, and he happened to have a piece of chalk in his pocket from a project that he'd been working on, and he bent down, he was thinking about that word, and he wrote the word eternity on the ground. And when he stood up and looked at it, it was beautiful. And this was strange for Arthur. He was not educated. He could hardly write his own name. And yet, for some reason, he had written this word eternity, so he went home that night and he was thinking about it. Eternity. How can I make a difference? Arthur began this strange practice. He would wake up in the wee hours of the morning before everybody else was up, and he would begin walking all over the streets of Australia. When the Lord would prompt him, he would bend down and he would write the word eternity. And then he would go on a space and he would write the word eternity. And go on a space and write the word eternity. And what happened is that as all the people were walking about Sydney, Australia, and looking at their newspapers or just looking down, they would look at that word eternity and they would think about it. Well, it became quite a show and people didn't know who this person was. The newspapers recorded about him and they nicknamed him Mr. Eternity. But nobody knew who he was. Finally, one day, Arthur was about his normal routine of writing eternity on the streets and it just happened that his pastor came out of one of the stores that was close by as Arthur was standing up. He approached Arthur and he said, Arthur, are you kidding me? He said, are you telling me that you are Mr. Eternity? He was shocked. He couldn't believe it. Arthur was kind of embarrassed. He didn't want anybody to know. He said, Pastor, he said, yeah, I guess I am. He said, Pastor, he said, you know I don't have much to give. I couldn't teach. I couldn't sing or do any of those things. He said this, he said that I thought maybe I could get my life to count, to matter, if I could just get other people to think about eternity. Can I tell you, church, you won't remember the points tonight or any of those things, but I hope you remember the word eternity. And I hope that this week and the choices that we make, eternity will be in the back of our minds. May we this week aim for eternal things for God, for God's Word, for the souls of men. May we love those things above everything else. And may we walk with God this week and work for God and seek to win the lost, do anything we can and abstain from whatever we need to. Church, our lives will count if they're lived for eternity. Lord, we love You tonight. God, I believe with all my heart that when we experience revival, Your heart becomes ours. For when we experience revival, we set aside earthly and temporary things to live for things that really matter. God, I pray in our choices and our decisions this week that we choose to live for eternity. Father, I know this has been a theme on my heart that You've used. Maybe there's a young person in the room, a teen that's considering life choices, and I pray that eternity would affect those choices. Or maybe somebody's in your house tonight on a Sunday night and they don't know Christ as their Savior. I pray they'd realize tonight, eternity is a long time, and they're going to spend eternity somewhere. And it's only through the blood of Jesus and knowing You as our Savior that we can have eternity in Heaven. And apart from that, Father, we'll be separated from You forever. Father, help us. Instead of loving the things of this world, help us to love You and Your Word and the souls that are all around us. Father, I pray that we'd seek first the Kingdom of God. Not our own. Not the things of this world. But Father, may we fall in love with living for eternity. Lord, do Your work in our hearts and lives. Stir us up. Revive our hearts. Our heads are bowed and eyes are closed. I'll ask You a few questions tonight, and then we'll do business with God. First, do You know that You're saved? I know it's a faithful crowd on Sunday night, but maybe you're here and you don't know Christ. Or you're not sure. You're not settled on it. There's forgiveness. There's mercy and grace for you tonight. The blood of Jesus covers and forgives those sins. Anyone in the room tonight that says, you know what, preacher, as you pray tonight, would you just remember me? Because I don't know that I'm saved. I don't know for sure that heaven will be my home. Old, young, doesn't make a difference tonight. If you'd say, preacher, I don't know that I'm saved, please pray for me. Would you just slip your hand up so I can see you tonight and pray for you? Anyone like that tonight? Anyone at all? Preacher, I don't know that I'm saved. Pray for me. And then how many say tonight, preacher, God is convicting. God is speaking in my heart tonight. And I'm realizing the things I'm living for, the choices I'm making, I'm not making with eternity in mind. And God is speaking. Preacher, pray for me, because I want to live for eternity. God is dealing with me tonight. Anybody like that who'd slip a hand, God bless you. God bless you all across the room. Father, You know hearts. You know lives tonight. If someone needs to be saved, help them to come. And then for those tonight who say, you know what, maybe I just need to change a priority. Maybe I need to realign my focus and start aiming in a greater way for these things that really count. These things that are truly going to matter. Father, life is short. Remind us of that. And You've given us an opportunity to invest in eternity. Father, bless us. Do business with us tonight. May we meet with You and make changes as You lead us. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. Let's stand together, church. Our heads bowed. Our eyes are closed. As the song is sung, the altar is open. You come, pastor is here to pray with you and meet you. If you need to lift or return, you may do business with the Lord tonight. All to Jesus I surrender. All to Him I freely give. I will ever love and trust Him in His presence daily live. I surrender all. I surrender all. All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all. Think about it tonight, church. God, God's Word, the souls of men. How important are those things to us? What are those things set in our schedule this week? How much time will we spend on those things? If the answer is not much, then we're not living for eternity. Maybe in our hearts and lives tonight, we'd say, Lord, just help me focus where it matters. God, remind me, give me a heart this week for You and Your Word and for souls. Lord, we love You tonight. Thank You for Your precious Word. Lord, it's a good church. This church is reaching people. They've got wonderful ministries, but may they not lose their focus. God, help us not get distracted. My goodness, Lord, it's so easy to put our eyes on this world and our heart and fall in love with the things of this world. But they pass away, and so help us to stay focused on eternity. Or we can live a life that counts. Arthur Stacey discovered that. Sometimes we have to give up things, or maybe it's something in our life tonight that You're calling us to give up, to move away from, to set aside, so that we can prioritize things that really matter. And Lord, help us to realize that every sacrifice is worth it when it comes to eternity. Father, we love You. Do a work in our hearts. Lord, bless us. Even as we go our separate ways tonight, Father, may Your Word stay with us. May You continue stirring in our hearts. Lord, this week, may we experience revival. Father, we love You, and we pray this in Christ's name. Amen. Pastor? Pastor? Pastor? Pastor?