"Doth Not Even Nature Itself Teach You" Wednesday Evening 06/10/2026

0:12[music]

0:18[music]

0:25Heat. Heat.

0:38>> [music]

0:46[music]

0:46>> Heat. Heat.

0:52Heat. Heat.

1:08[music]

1:19>> [music]

1:27[music]

1:41>> Heat. Heat. Heat.

1:45[music]

1:53[music]

1:57[music]

1:59Heat.

2:03[music]

2:16>> [music]

2:24[music]

2:24>> Heat. Heat.

2:30Heat. Heat.

2:50[music]

3:02>> [music]

3:19[music]

3:49[music]

4:27[music]

4:32[music]

4:39[music]

4:49[music]

5:24[music]

5:32[music]

6:08[music]

6:15[music]

6:29[music]

7:54[music]

8:36[music]

8:47[music]

9:00[music]

9:21[music]

9:28[music]

9:35[music]

11:09>> Oh, they tell me [music]

11:11where no clouds.

11:15Oh, they [singing] tell me of a cloudy

11:19day on the last.

11:21Oh, they tell [singing and music] me

11:22that his smiles on his children

11:27and his smile dries their sorrows

11:29[singing and music] away.

11:32And they tell me that no tears ever

11:35[singing and music] come again.

11:38He that lovely land of [singing]

11:41unclouded [music] day.

11:44Oh, the land of [singing] cloudless

11:48days.

11:49Oh, the land of a cloudy day. [singing]

11:55Oh, they tell [music] me of a home where

11:58no [singing] storm clouds rise. Oh, they

12:03tell [singing and music] me of an

12:05unflattering day.

12:08[music]

12:10>> Amen. Well, praise the Lord. So glad to

12:12have you in here in the Lord's house

12:14tonight on this wonderful Wednesday

12:15night. And who do they got preaching to

12:17the kids tonight? Who's on that

12:19schedule? Brother Caleb. All right. I'm

12:21sure he'll do a fantastic job. And that

12:24should be good. Is he here or did he get

12:27ner? Oh, there he is. I'm like, they

12:30said, "Brother Caleb," I'm like, "Well,

12:31praise the Lord. I hope he didn't like

12:33skip on us." There he is. Are you

12:35nervous? Are you? I would be, too. These

12:38kids are scary, brother. Hey, listen.

12:40When he's preaching back there, you

12:41kids, make sure you give them a lot of

12:42amens, okay? Hallelujah. Amen.

12:47What a day the Lord gave us on Sunday.

12:49My my my uh just a record setting day in

12:53attendance obviously. Uh no doubt about

12:55that. And uh and I'm telling you the

12:57spirit of the Lord was here and to see

12:59all the people baptized and to see the

13:01the ribbon cutting and all that took

13:03place on Sunday. Uh to God be the glory.

13:06Great things he has done. A lot of

13:08people worked to make it happen. And so

13:10thank you, thank you, thank you. And uh

13:12and so this week I said, "Listen, I'm

13:14tired." And I told people just just

13:16relax this week. And so I'm sure they're

13:19they're doing their best to do that. And

13:21uh but I'm glad to be in the Lord's

13:23house tonight. And summer's here. Are

13:25all the kids out of school now? Is it

13:27official? All out of school. Are you

13:29guys out? Are you out? Are you out? Are

13:30you guys out? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. A few of

13:33you still in Well, praise the Lord. It's

13:36it's it's good to be out. School's out

13:38for summer. Here's what I'll do. I'll

13:39make a deal with you. I won't mention

13:41school anymore until I do again. Okay?

13:44and that'll be good. Let's bow together

13:47in prayer. Brother Jeremy, would you

13:48come and lead us in prayer tonight?

13:49Let's bow in prayer.

13:51>> Father in heaven, Lord, it's so good to

13:53be in your house this evening, Lord, to

13:54come and worship thee. And Lord, to open

13:56up your word and hear from heaven. Lord,

13:58I pray throughout the service this

14:00evening, Father, through the song

14:02service, the offering, the invitation.

14:04Father, I pray that your name would be

14:06honored and glorified. And Lord, you'll

14:08be pleased of what's happening here at

14:10this campus. Lord, I pray for each

14:12person, each family represented here

14:14this evening, Father. Lord, I pray that

14:16they came here, Lord, not to hear from

14:18some person, Father, but they came to

14:19hear from you. Lord, I pray that you'll

14:21open up our ears, but most importantly,

14:23Father, please open up our hearts. Lord,

14:25I pray that your mighty hand of touch

14:26will be upon this place. And Father,

14:28when we leave here, may it be said of

14:30each person that you met with us. Lord,

14:32I pray for each person, Lord, who's

14:33going through something that maybe only

14:35they know about and you know about.

14:36Father, I pray that you'll meet that

14:38need according to thy will. Father, I

14:40pray for our preacher this evening.

14:41Father, may your hand be upon him. Lord,

14:43give him power and uncction from on

14:45high. Lord, I pray that you'll use the

14:47message in which you have placed upon

14:49his heart, Lord, to help us this

14:51evening. Lord, I pray for every aspect

14:53that's said and done. Father, that may

14:55be done to please thee. Lord, I love you

14:57and I thank you for your many blessings.

14:58Thank you for your only begotten son,

15:00the Lord Jesus Christ, to die on the

15:02cross for my sins and the sins of this

15:03world. Lord, I love you in your precious

15:05and holy name. Amen.

15:06>> Amen.

15:08You can be seated for your next song.

15:09Let's get your song books out. And uh

15:12[clears throat] don't you [music] don't

15:13you get tired of all the stress and the

15:16hardships and things that happen on this

15:17earth. Well, just remember page number

15:1985. [music] Page number 85 in the glory

15:22land. Let's think about how we're not

15:23going to have to deal with the stress,

15:25the family, the hardships, the problems

15:26in life. Just over in the glory land.

15:28Let's sing the first, the [music]

15:29second, and the last of Just over in the

15:31glory land. Page number 85.

15:34I have a home [singing and music]

15:35prepared where the saints are mine. Just

15:39over in [singing and music] the glory

15:42land.

15:44And I long to be by my savior's

15:47[singing and music] side. Just over in

15:50the glory land.

15:53Just over [singing and music]

15:55in the glory land. I'll join the happy

16:02children. Just over [singing and music]

16:04in the glory land.

16:08Just over [singing and music]

16:10in the glory land there with the mighty

16:15[singing and music] host house. Just

16:18over in the glory land. Sing out of

16:21[music] the second. I am on [singing]

16:23my way to those mansions there. Just

16:27[music and singing] over in the glory

16:30land.

16:32And our king will praise [singing] and

16:35his glory share. Just [music] over in

16:38the glory land.

16:42Just over [music and singing]

16:44in the glory land. I'll join the happy

16:49[music]

16:50angel. [singing] Just over in the glory

16:54land.

16:56Just over [music and singing]

16:58in the glory land. There we the mighty

17:03[singing and music] host I'll stand just

17:06over in the glory [singing] land on last

17:11with the blood wash. I will shout and

17:15sing. Just [music] over [singing] in the

17:17glory lands

17:21[singing]

17:22to Christ the Lord in just over in the

17:26glory land.

17:30Just over [music]

17:32in the glory land, I'll join the happy

17:37[music and singing]

17:37angel.

17:39Just over in the glory land.

17:44Just over [music and singing]

17:46in the glory land. There with the mighty

17:51[music] host, I'll stand. Just over in

17:55the glory [singing]

17:56land.

17:59All right, you can remain seated. Take

18:00your song books one more time or take

18:03your song again to page number 12. Page

18:06number [music] 12. We'll sing both

18:07verses of He touched Me on page number

18:0812.

18:12Shackled [singing]

18:13by a [music] heavy

18:16burden.

18:20>> [singing]

18:20>> the [music] Lord of guilt and shame.

18:27And [singing] the hand of Jesus

18:31touched me

18:34and now [singing] I am no [music] longer

18:39the same.

18:42He touched me. [music and singing]

18:45Oh,

18:47he touched me.

18:50and over [music] the [singing] joy that

18:54floods my soul.

18:56[music]

18:58Something

19:00happened and now [music]

19:03I [singing] know

19:06he touched me and [music and singing]

19:09made me whole.

19:15It's [singing and music] time I met this

19:17blessed

19:18savior

19:22since he [singing and music] made me

19:26whole.

19:30I will never cease

19:34to [singing] praise him. [music]

19:38How shall [singing]

19:39he eternity [music]

19:42ro?

19:45He [singing and music] touched me.

19:48Oh,

19:50he touched me

19:53and oh [music and singing]

19:55the joy that floods my soul. [music]

20:00[singing]

20:02Something

20:04happened

20:06and now [music]

20:07I know [singing]

20:10he touched me and made

20:14[singing and music] me whole.

20:21>> Praise the Lord. Wonderful. Wonderful.

20:23Brother Alex is such a blessing. I'm

20:25glad that he and his family are here uh

20:27this summer as they are um waiting on

20:30the Lord's will with a lot of things.

20:32And so um I'm glad to have you guys. You

20:34guys are a blessing. And uh and he this

20:37this pullpit someone asked me, they

20:39said, "Did that new guy build this

20:40thing?"

20:42And isn't this amazing this pullpit

20:44Brother Alex built? That's a talented

20:46man here. And um and I praise the Lord

20:49for that. And thank you, brother Alex,

20:51for that. And the platform and several

20:54other things using your gifts and

20:55abilities for the Lord. I was telling

20:57somebody, it's just the Lord's timing is

20:59so perfect, you know, when uh when God

21:02brings people around and even if it's

21:04just for a short span, you know, just

21:06for the summer, uh God's timing was so

21:08perfect and all of that. We thank the

21:10Lord for that. Well, let's do this. A

21:13few different announcements here. If you

21:14are planning on going to the Tortugas

21:18baseball game, it's tomorrow night. Just

21:19so you know, that is tomorrow night,

21:21Thursday night. And um I hope you got

21:24your your you paid for your ticket. If

21:26you did and you say, you know, I'll just

21:27meet you guys there uh at the at the

21:30field instead of uh caravanning from

21:33here. Uh if that's your plan, then

21:35please go to my wife tonight. She has

21:38the tickets on her. And if you'll just

21:39go to her and say, "Yeah, I need my two

21:41tickets, three tickets, whatever you

21:42need, and we'll just meet you guys

21:44there." That actually ends up being

21:46easier than trying to meet us there.

21:49Even when we're caravanning, sometimes

21:51we get uh away from each other somewhere

21:54in Daytona and then someone ends up

21:56parking over here on the other end of

21:58the park, someone's parked over there

21:59and we're trying to get each other the

22:01tickets and everything. So, uh if you

22:03want to do that, that might end up being

22:05easier. So, get your ticket tonight if

22:07you'd like. Uh otherwise, we'll hold on

22:09to them. We'll meet here at the church

22:10tomorrow at 5:30 uh where the church van

22:13will be heading that way along with

22:14other vehicles and we'll be uh

22:17caravanning our way over to the Tortugas

22:19uh baseball game for tomorrow night.

22:21Looking forward to that game. That's

22:22going to be a great time there. And uh

22:25and then just a few different things on

22:26the summer calendar to be aware of uh

22:29that are coming up real soon. Uh the

22:31Greer camp meeting with the teenagers is

22:33going to be uh on the 29th of this

22:35month. But uh prior to that, I don't

22:38want to forget this. This is kind of a

22:39little bit out of order here on the on

22:40the sheet. Uh is uh Paul Schwanki,

22:43Brother Paul Schwanky. I sure love this

22:46man of God and uh and his and his sweet

22:48wife's going to be here with him helping

22:50him out and she'll be uh teaching the

22:52children those nights and it should be

22:54just a great revival meeting. I hope

22:55you'll be praying for it, asking the

22:57Lord to just do a mighty work in all of

22:58our hearts. So be in much prayer for

23:00brother Paul Schwanki. Ask the Lord to

23:02give them exactly the messages uh that

23:04we need for this hour. And then uh and

23:07then as we said the Greer camp meeting

23:09on the 29th through the 3rd and then we

23:11have camp and uh there's been a couple

23:13of people a few different people now who

23:15have sponsored some young people. I had

23:17a young child come to me uh this week

23:20and uh and say preacher is there any way

23:22that I can get a sponsor? There's no way

23:24I can go to camp without one. And uh and

23:26I said absolutely absolutely and uh and

23:29so thank you for those who have stepped

23:31up and said let me sponsor a kid or two

23:33to go to camp. and uh you are a

23:36tremendous blessing. Thank you so much.

23:38Uh children, make sure you're ready to

23:40go. You know the dates there. Uh July

23:42the 6th through the 9th and that's both

23:44teen camp and junior camp all combined

23:46into one week and we're looking forward

23:48to going to that. We have a lot of

23:49chaprons going. Um brother Marco, what

23:53is the deadline where you have to let

23:54them know who all's going?

24:03>> Okay. a week from today. All right. So,

24:05you have this week to let us know if

24:07you're going to be coming so that way he

24:08can get you all scheduled for that. And

24:10then be in prayer for our vacation Bible

24:11school. That's very exciting. Looking

24:13forward to that. Uh and then also

24:15winning June the 20th is right around

24:17the corner. What a blessing that is. And

24:19uh when when is the um I'm trying to

24:22find the uh soulwinning training. I

24:24don't see that in this bulletin. When is

24:26that, brother?

24:29>> It's this Saturday. It's this Saturday.

24:31Why is it not in this bulletin? Is this

24:33this is this Sunday's bulletin? I don't

24:35see it in there. So, it's this Saturday

24:37is when we plan on doing it. Is that the

24:3813th? That is that is right. Okay. This

24:41Saturday. I don't think I said it.

24:42Sunday with all that was going on. I

24:44don't think I mentioned it. So, Brother

24:45Jeremy, let's make sure we we blast that

24:47out both via text and and Facebook and

24:50every which way we can. Uh this Saturday

24:52at 10 at 10:00 a.m. is uh is

24:56soul-winning training. And uh and we

24:58want everybody to come be a part of

25:00that. And uh we're going to feed them

25:02lunch or they bring their own lunch or

25:03what are we doing there?

25:05>> We'll feed them lunch. Okay, very good.

25:07And let me know about that afterwards.

25:08We'll figure all that out. So anyways,

25:10you'll get lunch this Saturday 10:00

25:11a.m. That'll be great. So come on out

25:13for that. And uh that'll be a tremendous

25:15blessing. All right. Well, uh let's put

25:17those away. And again, thank you for all

25:19those who've helped out on Sunday. What

25:20a blessing it was. Uh we learned a lot

25:24uh on Sunday about how to operate here.

25:26And so it was it was a it was a learning

25:28experience, but it worked out pretty

25:29well. So, thank you for everybody that

25:30helped out. Now, let's look at our

25:32prayer bulletins tonight. Family of the

25:33week is the Raw family. Talking about

25:34Ethan and Sarah. Uh, pray for them

25:37tonight. Uh, preacher of the week is

25:38Pastor Matt Buer. I got to see him this

25:40past week. He's doing well. And he's got

25:43kids that are graduating college and

25:44going off and serving the Lord in other

25:46places. And so, he's uh, we should

25:48probably update that picture because

25:49they're much older than that nowadays.

25:51And, uh, anyways, moving down, the

25:53Brinks are still traveling. Uh the Roths

25:56are traveling and the Jacksons are

25:57constantly both those families

25:59constantly on the road traveling. Be in

26:01prayer for them. Uh be in prayer for

26:03those who are battling cancer. You see

26:04the name Aaron there. He's a dear friend

26:06of our family and a lot of you know who

26:08he is. And uh I'm just waiting to hear

26:12how he's doing, but uh it doesn't look

26:14too good at all. And so we want you to

26:16be in much prayer for them. Uh Zayn

26:18Kelly's doing a little better, but be in

26:20prayer for them. And the family uh

26:21wanted to wish us all a wonderful ribbon

26:23cutting. They said they wish they could

26:25have been here and so be in prayer for

26:27Zayn and the Kelly family. Health needs.

26:29Brother Hine is still there. Brother

26:30Shane is dealing with the pain issues. I

26:33so glad he was able to come on Sunday.

26:35Continue to pray for them. Nilsa had a

26:38sweet prayer request. She said, "I just

26:39want to be able to come to church, pray

26:40for the pain and subside." And so we we

26:43have her there for for all of that. And

26:45Mrs. Keith asked us to pray for her

26:47sister Brenda uh with minor surgery. And

26:49then also if you look under spiritual

26:51needs, it says McKenzie, that's her

26:53granddaughter, and she wants us to be in

26:55much prayer for her granddaughter. There

26:57was uh a prayer request that we had for

27:00those missionaries that were um missing

27:03and um and I was given a text uh just

27:07before church tonight that they found

27:10all the men. Unfortunately, they just

27:11found all their bodies and uh and so

27:13they killed the the pastor and five

27:16other men from the church there in

27:18India. and uh and so we need to be in

27:20much prayer for uh all of those people

27:24and that situation over there and uh so

27:27be praying for them. All right, I'm

27:28looking over this to see Oh, praise the

27:30Lord, brother Steve. Sciatic pain is

27:31gone. That's a wonderful blessing. Um

27:34sweet Mrs. Lucy said she wanted to be in

27:36church uh tonight so badly because she

27:38wanted everyone to rejoice with her. She

27:40got her biopsy report on her lip and

27:43there's no cancer there. She was so so

27:45excited because the doctor told her this

27:47is definitely cancer and uh he said

27:49absolutely and uh and so she was so

27:52worried about so upset about it. We

27:54prayed for her and it just cleared up

27:55and then she said I don't think it's

27:57there anymore. And so sure enough they

27:59said they said um all they could find on

28:01the whole biopsy was one small cell of

28:04cancer. And he said I think it's gone.

28:07He said I I just think it's gone. Don't

28:09know what to tell you but he said I

28:10think you're fine. So anyways, uh,

28:13praise the Lord. She wanted us all to

28:15know that and rejoice with her. So, uh,

28:17thank the Lord for that. God is still on

28:19his throne, still healing people, and we

28:21still give him all the glory for that.

28:23So, let me ask you this. How many have a

28:25prayer request tonight that maybe didn't

28:26make our list, and we'd be happy to. Any

28:28children, tell your adult that you're

28:30with, and they'll tell me. Yes, ma'am.

28:38>> I do.

28:54Wow. Okay.

29:02Okay.

29:04So, pray for Terry Alexander. He's a

29:06good man of God. He's a youth director.

29:08was I don't know if he's still doing it

29:09or not, but but uh anyways, that's how

29:11you guys end up coming here.

29:15Wow, that's amazing. And that's how you

29:17guys end up meeting up with us was

29:19through Terry Alexander. So anyways,

29:21praise the Lord for that. We'll be

29:22praying for him and uh the surgery that

29:24he got on his shoulder for those who

29:26couldn't hear uh got infected and so

29:28he's dealing with that and so he's going

29:29to need another surgery, try to remedy

29:30that. So be in much prayer for him. What

29:32other prayer requests do we have? Yes,

29:34ma'am.

30:20Okay.

30:30>> Sure. All right. So she said, "Pray for

30:32SSB with the eczema. Doug's in pain and

30:36then Warner family dealing with the

30:38results of fire." What other prayer

30:39requests we have? Anything else? All

30:42right, I think we got them. Oh, yes,

30:43sir. Brother Caleb. Sure. I love that.

30:55Hberto,

30:57he said his grandpa Hberto is uh uh

31:00surgery went well on I

31:04and so

31:07uh he's recovering and so we praise the

31:09Lord for that. All right. Was there

31:10another one?

31:15Okay.

31:19Wow.

31:25Wow.

31:31Wow. Okay. Um, brother Alex said,

31:33"Please pray for his mother." She had

31:35four um four vertebrae fused and uh and

31:39she wants to get feeling back in her

31:40legs as well. My goodness. And so, he'd

31:43ask that you be in prayer for her as she

31:46recovers from that. and uh appreciate

31:49that so very much. We'll be praying for

31:51her. Uh is there is there anything else?

31:54Any other prays?

32:01On your kidney, you said. Okay.

32:08All right. So, we'll be praying for

32:09Nelson with the ultrasound. She has to

32:11get done on her kidney. Is there

32:12anything else? Any other praying

32:14requests? All right. Well, we'll put

32:16those away then for now and get those

32:18back out a little bit later on the

32:20church service. But let's stand together

32:21if we can and uh and then we'll say

32:24hello to one another and we'll let the

32:25children uh make their way out during

32:28the greeting time. Are you ready Caleb

32:29to take them? All right, let's stand

32:31together and sing as brother Alex come

32:32to lead us in. He's able. He's able.

32:34Let's sing it together.

32:40He is aable. [singing]

32:42He's a [music]

32:44I know he's able.

32:48I know my Lord is [singing and music]

32:51able to carry me through.

32:56He's

32:58[singing] able. [music]

33:00I know he's able. I know my Lord

33:05[singing and music] is to carry me

33:08through.

33:11He healed [music and singing]

33:13the brokenhearted

33:15and he set the captive free.

33:19[singing and music] He makes the lame to

33:21walk again. And he calls [music] the

33:24blind to [singing] see.

33:26He's able. He's [music] able. I know

33:31he's able. [singing]

33:34I know my Lord is able to [music] carry

33:37me through.

33:40Let's all sing Jesus [singing] in his

33:42place.

33:45[music]

33:53[music]

33:57Heat. Heat.

34:02[music]

34:14[music]

34:24>> [music]

34:32>> Heat. Heat.

34:33[music]

34:40Heat. Heat. [music]

34:46[music]

35:00Heat. Heat. Heat.

35:10Heat.

35:13[music]

35:19[music]

35:26[music] Heat.

35:37>> [music]

35:44>> Heat. Heat.

35:51[music]

35:56>> [music]

36:02[music]

36:13>> Oh, let's see it, can we? Let's try it.

36:15Ready? Here we go.

36:17He's a [singing]

36:19He's a I know he's a [singing]

36:24I know [music] my Lord to carry me

36:28through. Sing it [singing] again. Ready?

36:29Here we go. [music]

36:31He's able. He's aable. I know he's

36:36[singing and music]

36:36a I know my Lord is able to carry me

36:41through.

36:44He healed the brokenhearted

36:46[singing and music]

36:47and he sets the captive free. He made

36:52the lame [singing and music] to walk

36:53again. Cause the blind to see. He's

36:58able. [music]

36:59[singing] He's able. I know he is able.

37:03[music] I know my Lord is able to carry

37:07me through.

37:09Let's remain standing for the offering.

37:10Brother Allan, will you come up and will

37:12you ask a blessing on the offering

37:13tonight? I got a phone call yesterday.

37:16Uh was yesterday Monday? No, it would

37:18have been two days ago. Yeah, I think it

37:20was. Yes, it was yesterday before. And

37:22uh the the guy who is uh behind the

37:26ministry called Jehovah Gyra that helps

37:28churches uh you know, financially. Um we

37:31we already filled out our application to

37:32try to get a grant to help pay for all

37:34this remodeling that we did. And he

37:36called me up and he goes, um I'm coming

37:38in Thursday. He's 92 years old. I'm

37:40flying in Thursday. I'll be there at

37:4211:30. I said, "Amen. Praise God.

37:45Looking forward to seeing you." He goes,

37:46"I want you to show me around the

37:48joint." All right. We'll show you around

37:49the joint. And uh so uh tomorrow, if

37:53you'll think around 11:30 to pray for me

37:55and as I show the head honcho from

37:58Jehovah Gyra around the place here and

38:00uh and we're just asking the Lord that

38:02he'll just supply all that we needed for

38:04the remodel. We just want to see the

38:06Lord just give it all back so that we

38:08can just move forward and see God do

38:10great things. And so, uh, I think that

38:12might be a positive sign. So, uh,

38:15anyways, you be praying for that. Let's

38:16bow together in prayer for the offering.

38:17Brother Allan,

38:23Lord, we thank you for allowing us all

38:25to come and worship you this evening.

38:28And Lord, we ask that you bless the

38:32tithing this evening. and bless those

38:33that can and those that cannot give this

38:36evening. Lord, we ask that this money be

38:39blessed by you and used in any way

38:42possible to further your name and the

38:45gospel and the worship of you. Lord, we

38:48ask these things in Jesus's name. Amen.

38:55[music]

38:56Heat. Heat. N.

39:14[music]

39:21>> [music]

39:29[music]

39:32>> Heat.

39:34[music]

39:36Heat.

39:41[music]

39:50>> [music]

39:59[music]

40:00>> Heat. Heat.

40:06[music]

40:17>> [music]

40:24[music]

40:25>> Heat. Heat.

40:31>> [music]

40:36[music]

40:49>> Thank you, brother Silas. What a

40:50blessing. And just before the message,

40:53my wife's not in nursery tonight, so I

40:55said, "Well, get up here and sing." So,

40:57she's still not ready to do a solo, but

40:58she's going to come and sing with me and

41:00the boys tonight. And uh and I hope the

41:02bless the song will be a blessing to

41:04you. It's entitled He Can Say Peace.

41:13[music]

41:22>> [music]

41:23>> sailing on a journey. [singing]

41:27One dark, stormy night, the disciples on

41:32board [singing] the ship were [music]

41:34filled with fear and fright. But Jesus

41:39surely showed [singing] them [music]

41:41winds and waves obey his will. For he

41:45quickly [singing] calmed the tempest

41:48when [music] he whispered, "Peace be

41:50still." And he can say, "Peace,

41:53[singing]

41:53>> peace be still." He can say, "Peace,

41:57>> peace be still." [music]

41:59When he says, "Peace [singing] be

42:01still." All the winds and [music] the

42:04seas obey. If there are storms, storms

42:08in your soul, he is still. [singing] He

42:11is still in control. He can say, "Peace

42:15[singing] be still to your soul,

42:30sailing on a journey

42:33over the sea of life. [singing]

42:37Often we're tossed about by the storms

42:41of [singing] sin and strife. Oh, but

42:44Jesus, he's the captain. He's

42:47[singing and music] the master of the

42:49sea. So no matter what may happen,

42:54[singing]

42:54he can still speak peace to me. And he

42:58can say, "Peace be still." He can say,

43:02"Peace [singing and music]

43:04be still." And when he says peace be

43:07still, all the winds [singing] and the

43:10seas obey. And if there are storms in

43:14your soul, he is still [singing] he is

43:17still in control. [music] He can say

43:21peace be still to your [singing] soul.

43:26And he can say, "Peace

43:28[singing and music] be still." He can

43:31say, "Peace be still." When he says,

43:35"Peace be still. All the winds and seas

43:40[singing] obey." And if there are storms

43:43in your soul, he [singing and music] is

43:45still.

43:46>> He is still in control. He can say,

43:50"Peace be still to your

43:53[singing and music] soul."

43:55>> And if there are storms [singing] in

43:58[music] your soul, he is still

44:00>> He is still in control.

44:05He can say, "Peace be still to your

44:09[singing] soul."

44:22>> Oh, what a blessing. What a blessing.

44:24All right. Well, take your Bible out

44:27tonight

44:28and I'm going to have you turn to just a

44:30couple of portions of scripture here.

44:32here this evening. And uh we finished

44:35our study through the book of James. And

44:38uh and so now we're entering into um I

44:41was just praying, Lord, what do you what

44:43do you have for us? What do you want us

44:44to do this summer? And so um I thought,

44:48well, you know, instead of going through

44:49a book of the the Bible, uh you know,

44:53verse by verse, this time I want to do a

44:55topic. And so I was praying about the

44:57topic the Lord would have uh me to do

44:59there. And uh and so you know, you pray

45:03for me. I'll be developing all of these

45:05messages here over the summer uh and

45:07into into sermons. But uh but I want to

45:10I want to preach a series on does not

45:14even nature itself teach you? And uh

45:17you'll see what I mean. The Bible says

45:20over in 1 Corinthians 11 and verse

45:21number 14, it says, "Does not even

45:24nature itself teach you?" You know, the

45:27Bible says that we can learn a lot from

45:29nature, you know, and and he wants us to

45:32look at nature uh around us. And so, I'm

45:35going to over the next several weeks

45:37just look at different portions of

45:39scripture uh that have to do with

45:41different things that you'd see out

45:42there in nature. And the Lord says,

45:44learn from it. You ought to look at it

45:46and learn from it. And uh so, does not

45:48even nature itself teach you? And so for

45:51this first message of the summer uh on

45:54our wonderful Wednesday night series, I

45:55want to preach on this. Consider the

45:58ant. Consider the ant. And this is going

46:01to be a sermon for the slugard. Consider

46:04the ant. A sermon for the slugard. I'

46:06I've got most of them in my mind and got

46:09them written out, you know, that I'm

46:11going to do. Uh Lord willing. Consider

46:12the liies a sermon for the stressed.

46:16Consider the eagle a sermon for the

46:18struggling. Consider the sparrow, a

46:21sermon for the scared. Consider the

46:23conies, a sermon for the soft. Consider

46:26the locust, a sermon for the separated.

46:29Consider the spider, a sermon for the

46:31small. Consider the ox, a sermon for the

46:34servant. Consider the tree, a sermon for

46:37the storm tossed. Consider the vine, a

46:39sermon for the spiritual. Consider the

46:42seed, a sermon for the skeptic. And

46:44consider the hen, a sermon for the

46:46straying. So, as the Lord allows me to,

46:48we're going to consider all these

46:50different things of nature and uh and

46:52see how he gives it to us. But tonight,

46:54I want us to consider this one. I want

46:56us to consider the ant. And this will be

46:58a sermon for the slugard. So, do me a

47:00favor and go to the book of Proverbs in

47:02chapter number six. And we're going to

47:04let nature teach us some things here

47:06tonight through the word of God. And so,

47:08go to the Bible in the book of Proverbs

47:10and uh and find, if you would, chapter

47:12number six. Uh Proverbs, chapter number

47:15six. And uh and then look with me if you

47:18would please at verse number six. In

47:20Proverbs 6 and uh and verse number six,

47:26[snorts]

47:28the Bible says here in Proverbs chapter

47:306 and verse number six, "Go to the ant,

47:35thou sluggard, consider her ways, and be

47:38wise, which having no guide, overseer,

47:43or ruler,

47:45provideth her meat in the summer, and

47:48gatherth her food in the harvest. How

47:51long wil thou sleep, oh sluggard? When

47:55wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a

47:58little sleep, a little slumber, a little

48:00folding of the hands to sleep. So shall

48:03thy poverty, thy poverty come as one

48:06that travaleth,

48:08and thy want as an armed man. We're

48:13going to in verse number six, go to the

48:15ant and consider her ways and be wise.

48:19Father, tonight we're going to do our

48:21best to go to the ant. Lord, through the

48:23word of God, I pray that you'll help us

48:25use these messages over the summer.

48:27Lord, I'm not sure how you're going to

48:29do it, but uh Lord, I'm I'm excited to

48:31to develop each one of them and uh and

48:34see what you'll have for us. And uh but

48:36tonight, dear Lord, let's just focus.

48:38Lord, help me focus my mind not on the

48:40future messages, but on this one

48:42tonight, Lord, the ant. Lord, help us to

48:45consider her ways. You You told us in

48:47scripture to do it. And so, Lord,

48:49tonight we'd like to obey the word of

48:51God. And we'd like to consider the ant.

48:53And father, I pray that you'll use it

48:55tonight and this message to speak to our

48:57hearts and help us be more like Jesus.

48:59And we'll thank you for it. We ask it in

49:01Jesus name. Amen. And amen. He said, "Go

49:04to the ant." And then he said these

49:05words, "Thou slugard. Consider her ways

49:09and be wise." And uh none of us would

49:12ever like to be referred to as a

49:14slugard. Uh it doesn't even sound nice.

49:16I mean, I'd rather be called lazy. I

49:18know it's a synonym, but call me lazy

49:20because slugard sounds like a slug, you

49:22know, some little thing on the ground,

49:24slimy little creature, you know. But he

49:26says, "Consider the ant, thou slugard."

49:30Now, God often teaches us profound

49:33truths from the pages of the word of God

49:36through simple things. And I believe he

49:39knows that we're simple people. And he

49:41brings things down for us all, you know,

49:43and and uh people sometimes you'll go to

49:46churches and they'll they'll preach over

49:48your head. And the Lord Jesus Christ

49:50never did that. Now, I know he spoke in

49:52parables and all of that and he said it

49:54was because it wasn't for them to know.

49:56It was I'm doing this on purpose. Uh but

49:59when the Lord was trying to teach

50:00things, he always brought it down and he

50:03used illustrations that help people

50:06understand. He brought it down where

50:07everybody could understand. And so we we

50:09we look at these profound things and we

50:12say, "But there's there's there's

50:14there's there's simple truths that help

50:16us understand these things." And uh the

50:18slugard, he calls him the slugard. The

50:21slugard may refuse a sermon from a

50:24preacher. He might ignore counsel from a

50:26parent. He might reject instruction from

50:29a friend. Yet God points him to one of

50:32the smallest creatures on the planet.

50:35And he says, "Okay, sluggard. You won't

50:37listen to the preacher. You won't listen

50:38to the parent. You won't listen to the

50:40friend. Maybe you'll listen to the ant."

50:43And he points us to this small creature

50:46and says, "Watch the ant." Now, I want

50:47you to think about the ant. The ant

50:49doesn't have a Bible. I've never seen an

50:50ant walking around with a Bible. They

50:52don't have one. The ant doesn't have a

50:53Sunday school teacher. The ant doesn't

50:55have a pastor. uh the ant doesn't have

50:57the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. You

51:00know, uh that that's that we're we're

51:03not the same as the animal creatures.

51:04You know, that the Lord is very clear in

51:06a in a word of God that that that we are

51:08his crowning creation. What is man that

51:11thou art mindful of him? God has has

51:14placed us to to have dominion over

51:17everything else. At one time I was with

51:19a man, my wife and I were uh talking to

51:21this uh couple way many years ago in New

51:23York and uh and he said to me, he says,

51:25"I love to go to the beach." And he

51:28says, "I watch the birds." And he said,

51:30"And I see the Holy Spirit in the birds

51:33and he's in the birds and he's flying

51:36around and he's he's way up there with

51:39the birds." And I'm thinking, "And

51:40you're with them, man. You're way out

51:42there. You're gone." [laughter]

51:44you know, and the Holy Spirit is in

51:46here. He lives in my heart. I don't have

51:49to go to the birds to see the Holy

51:51Spirit. He lives within my heart. And uh

51:54and so we talk about this ant doesn't

51:56have a pastor. He doesn't have a Bible.

51:58He doesn't have a church. He doesn't

52:00have the Holy Spirit dwelling within

52:01him. Yet, he often demonstrates more

52:04wisdom than saved people do who possess

52:08all these blessings I just mentioned.

52:10The command is simple from the Bible. He

52:12said, "I want you to consider her ways.

52:13Just think about the ant and be wise."

52:17What can we learn about the ant? So,

52:19we're going to try to do that tonight

52:20through the pages of the word of God. I

52:22think one thing we can learn from the

52:24ant is this. The ant teaches us about

52:27initiative.

52:28Initiative.

52:30I love that word initiative. It's one

52:33[clears throat] of my favorite words. I

52:36love when when people see a problem and

52:38then go to fixing it.

52:41Just see it. Just seeing the problem is

52:44step number one. You know, initiative is

52:47a wonderful thing. Now, look what the

52:49Bible says. Let's go to the word of God.

52:50Look at verse number seven with me. He

52:53says in verse six, "Consider her ways.

52:55Be wise." Verse seven, watch this now.

52:57Which having no guide,

53:00overseer or ruler. The ant doesn't have

53:04a guide, the ant doesn't have an

53:06overseer. The ant doesn't have a ruler.

53:08Yet, the ant has initiative. Uh, the ant

53:11doesn't wait to be told to do. It sees a

53:14need and it goes to work. Many

53:18Christians spend their lives waiting.

53:20Uh, we're waiting waiting to be asked.

53:22Well, I'll do something when somebody

53:24finally asks me to do it. We wait to be

53:26asked. Or you have some people who wait

53:28to be recognized. I I I'll wait till

53:31someone asks me. I'm not going to do

53:32anything until I've been asked to do it,

53:34you know. or I won't do anything unless

53:36I get recognized for doing it, you know.

53:40Uh I won't do anything unless the

53:42conditions are absolutely perfect. They

53:45have to be perfect. Uh you know, for me

53:48to do anything uh years ago, I was

53:50talking to a lady at our church and uh

53:52and I said she was from Trinidad and

53:54Tobago and I said I said and she's in

53:57heaven now, but uh I believe she is. I

53:59think she is. And and and I said to her,

54:01I said, "Mrs. Clapperton. I said, "I

54:03missed you at church on Sunday." I said,

54:05"I missed you." I said, "Where were

54:06you?" And she goes, "Pastor,

54:09it was raining."

54:12And I said, "Yeah." She goes, "We don't

54:14go out to narr."

54:17[laughter] I said, "I didn't know that."

54:19And apparently in Trinidad and Tobago

54:21when it rains, you stay inside, you

54:23know. And I say, "That's a lot of

54:25Christians. The it has to be absolutely

54:29perfect. the conditions must be perfect.

54:31Or here's another thing. We'll wait

54:33until someone else starts, you know, and

54:35we sit and wait for someone else to

54:36break the ice. And uh being having

54:39initiative is amazing. Have you ever

54:41done this? I I know that sometimes when

54:43you're young, you're you're foolish, you

54:44know, and and you'll go play with an ant

54:46bed. Now, in Florida, you learn real

54:48quick that these things are ferocious,

54:52you know. And I remember one time I

54:54stepped in an ant bed. They were all

54:55over my legs, all over my feet. And I

54:57was like, I was on fire. And I was over

55:00by my aunt's my aunt lived on a lake.

55:02And I was like, "Oh, I'll jump in the

55:04lake. That'll stop him." And I ran and I

55:07jumped in the lake. And all it did was

55:09make them bite harder, sting harder, do

55:11whatever harder. It was the worst

55:12mistake I'd ever made. And so, so note

55:15to self, if you ever are just loaded

55:17with ants, don't jump in a body of

55:19water. I promise you it doesn't work.

55:21But when you mess with them and you kick

55:23over the hill and uh maybe you take your

55:25hand and you swoop it through an ant

55:27pile or take a stick if you're smarter

55:29and run it through an ant bed and uh and

55:31here's what you find. The ants come out

55:35and uh and and and they they immediately

55:38look for someone to blame, right? They

55:39look around say, "Who did it? I want to

55:41know who did it. I'm not moving till I

55:44know who did this." I've never seen an

55:46ant do that before, you know? you know,

55:49they they they they come out and they

55:51say, "Well, we let's uh let's figure

55:53this out. What all what's the damage? We

55:55better put together a committee of

55:56people. All right, let's formulate a

55:58committee. Everyone gather around and

56:00and who's going to be in charge of the

56:02west side?" You know, I don't I don't

56:04see them doing that either. You know,

56:07when I whenever I've watched an and and

56:09and a bed get disturbed, they don't form

56:12a committee. They don't form a task

56:14force. They don't assign blame and look

56:16for someone to blame. They just start

56:18working. I mean, they just And it's an

56:21amazing thing. You disturb their nests

56:23and all of a sudden they just come out

56:24and they're like, "Time to go to work.

56:25Time to go to work." And they grab they

56:27[laughter] grab things and they just

56:28start moving pieces of dirt around. And

56:30you're like, "Man, they're just just

56:31scouring the area." And all they do is

56:33just time to work, time to work. Things

56:34got messed up. Let's go to work. You

56:36know, no time to assign blame, no time

56:37for anything. It's just time to get to

56:39work, get to work, get to work, get to

56:40work. And I look at that and I say, "My,

56:42they're pretty industrious creatures."

56:45And the Lord says to us, 'I want you to

56:46look to the aunt. Consider her ways. You

56:50know, she doesn't sit there with her

56:51arms folded saying,"Well, I'm not going

56:53to work unless someone else gets started

56:55first or I'm not doing." She didn't do

56:57any of that. Well, well, who did this?

56:59Whose fault is it? You know, not looking

57:01for blame. She just jumps up and she

57:03does it. Consider her ways. The Bible

57:05says in Ecclesiastes 9 and verse number

57:0710, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do,

57:10do it with thy might." Colossians 3 and

57:14verse number 23 says, "And whatsoever

57:15you do, do it heartily as to the Lord

57:18and not unto men."

57:21I think this message

57:24is probably a very appropriate message

57:27to kick off the summer because kids have

57:30worked hard all school year and then

57:34summer comes and it's time to lay on the

57:38couch, put our feet up, you know, sleep

57:42stay up till 2, three in the morning,

57:44sleep until lunchtime, 12:00. And the

57:47Bible says, "Oh, why don't you consider

57:49the ant, thou slugard, you know, it's

57:52not time just because it's summer and we

57:54love summer and we" and I get it. We all

57:56need to relax a little bit, you know,

57:58but uh but he says, "Oh, consider the

58:01ant. Don't be lazy. Don't be lazy." And

58:03it would do all parents good to teach

58:06their children at a young age not to be

58:09lazy. I was a kid. I was washing. We all

58:12had we all in our home, we had five

58:15dishwashers. Can you imagine a house

58:16with five dishwashers? We had five of

58:18them. One's name was Jamie, the other

58:20one was Lori, then there was Larry, then

58:23there was Merl, and then there was

58:24Aaron. We had five dishwashers in our

58:26home. Five of them. And uh and and and

58:30whenever we wash dishes, my sister was a

58:32genius, Lori. Uh to this day, I I think

58:35she was a genius because every time

58:36she'd go to wash dishes, she would break

58:38one or two things, a glass, a plate,

58:41whatever. Before too long, my mom and

58:43stepdad said, "Look, Lori, you're not

58:45washing dishes anymore. We just simply

58:46can't afford it." And I'm like, "Oh,

58:49man, that was so smart." You know,

58:51either you you [laughter] are the

58:52biggest klutz in the planet or you're a

58:55genius, maybe both. But uh but anyways,

58:58I remember one time I had washed dishes

59:00and and uh and my my stepdad pulled out

59:02a bowl or something and uh and and there

59:05was it wasn't fully clean. You ever go

59:07to a restaurant and you get someone

59:08else's food on your plate? That's gross.

59:11You know, you look at the knife and it's

59:12someone else's food. You're like, you

59:14know, if you're a germaphobe like me,

59:16you're like, "Please, new set." You

59:18know, almost want to bring them from the

59:19house, you know. But anyways, he got a

59:21plate or a bowl that had some food in

59:22it. And uh and and I did not do a good

59:25job cleaning it. And he said, "Who

59:26washed the dishes last?" And uh and they

59:30said it was Larry. And so uh come here

59:33front and center. Sir, you know, and he

59:36says, "Uh, look at this bowl. Does this

59:38look clean to you?" And I was like, "No,

59:40sir." And he said, "Uh," he said, "Well,

59:43you know what? When you do something,"

59:45and, he is a lost man, completely lost.

59:47He said, "You ought to do it to the best

59:49of your ability." And he says, "So,

59:51here's what I need you to do. I need you

59:53to take every pot, every pan, every

59:57flatear, every plate, every cup, every

1:00:01bowl." He said, "I want all the cabinets

1:00:04emptied of everything, Tupperware and

1:00:07everything. put it on the countertop and

1:00:09he said, "You're going to wash

1:00:10everything in this kitchen and put it

1:00:13back." And then, do you know something?

1:00:16Never again did anybody find any food on

1:00:19a bowl that I washed. It was and

1:00:23span. And uh and and and lost as he was

1:00:26and as abusive as he was, not

1:00:27necessarily in that situation at all,

1:00:29but uh but there was a good lesson there

1:00:31for me. I learned there. Do it right. Do

1:00:34it well. do it to the best of your

1:00:37ability. He didn't understand this verse

1:00:39of scripture, but the Bible says it this

1:00:41way. And whatsoever you do, do it

1:00:44heartily as to the Lord and not unto

1:00:47men. That means everything we children

1:00:50of God do, we do it as if we are doing

1:00:53it for the Lord. Now, if you're doing

1:00:55something for the Lord, are you going to

1:00:56put forth a half-hearted effort? Are you

1:00:59going to say, "Ah, that'll do." You ever

1:01:02strap something down in the back of a

1:01:03trailer and uh and as you're strapping

1:01:06it, you look at it there with a bunch of

1:01:07guys and everybody wants to show you how

1:01:10they ratchet things. This this is the

1:01:11right way to ratchet and sometimes

1:01:13they'll pull it back through the wrong

1:01:14way and I'm going, "Ah, it's going to

1:01:15get tangled, but I just got to keep my

1:01:17mouth closed because they're going to

1:01:18teach me how to ratchet something, you

1:01:19know." But they say, "This the right way

1:01:20to ratchet something." But then here

1:01:22inevitably, here's what everybody does.

1:01:23All the men stand around. They look and

1:01:25we pull on the straps a little bit and

1:01:26we go,

1:01:28"Well, we ain't going far." [laughter]

1:01:31Yeah, that ought to hold. We ain't going

1:01:32far. You know how many men have ever

1:01:35said those words, we ain't going far.

1:01:37There you go. Those are the people who

1:01:38do it half-heartedly, folks. They're

1:01:40they're the sluggers. No, I'm teasing.

1:01:42But we all have done it. You know,

1:01:44[laughter]

1:01:45and and we look at not that necessarily,

1:01:47but other things in life, and we say,

1:01:49"Hey, are we doing our best? Are we

1:01:52doing our absolute best?" And you say,

1:01:54"How do I know if I'm doing my best?"

1:01:55Well, then you just in your mind, you

1:01:57consider that you're not doing it for

1:01:58your boss. You're not doing it for the

1:02:00pastor. You're not doing it for your

1:02:01your wife or your other boss. You're not

1:02:04doing it for the You're doing it for the

1:02:05Lord. You're doing it for the Lord. Not

1:02:09doing it for mom and dad. You're doing

1:02:11it for the Lord. The church needs

1:02:13Christians who don't need to be pushed

1:02:16or prodded or persuaded or begged or

1:02:20bribed or bought, but just people who

1:02:22say, "I want to do it for the Lord and

1:02:25the Lord deserves my best." I'll say

1:02:26this. When we consider Colossians 3:23,

1:02:29and whatsoever you do, do it hardly as

1:02:31to the Lord. If we do what we do for the

1:02:34Lord and the effort that we put forth

1:02:38when we're doing something for the

1:02:39church, for example, is less of an

1:02:42effort than we put forth for our regular

1:02:44job because that one gives us money,

1:02:47then it might be that we love money more

1:02:49than we love the Lord. Think about it.

1:02:51It's interesting thought, isn't it? Let

1:02:53me tell you a second thing. The ant

1:02:55teaches us not only about initiative,

1:02:56but the ant teaches us about industry.

1:02:59Industry. Look at verse number eight,

1:03:01would you please? Chapter number six,

1:03:02the book of Proverbs and verse number

1:03:03eight.

1:03:05Well, we'll look at verse 7 for context.

1:03:07Which having no guide, overseer, or

1:03:08ruler, provideth her meat in the summer.

1:03:13It's interesting. The Lord knew that he

1:03:15used the word her, not his. In the

1:03:18Bible, the the ants in in the ant

1:03:20kingdom, uh, the the girls are the

1:03:22workers. Isn't that interesting? And the

1:03:23L, the Bible says her, that's just

1:03:25another thing just the word of God. And

1:03:27by the way, it's only in the King James

1:03:28Bible. Uh it says uh verse number seven,

1:03:31which having no guide, overseer, ruler,

1:03:34provideth her meat in the summer, and

1:03:37gatherth her food in harvest. In the

1:03:42harvest, the ant teaches us about

1:03:44industry. She provideth her meat in the

1:03:47summer. Ants are constantly working.

1:03:51They are among the hardest working

1:03:53creatures that God has ever created. Uh

1:03:55the ant is not famous. The ant is not

1:03:57glamorous. But the ant simply works. Now

1:04:01here's what I will tell you about ants

1:04:03on a personal level.

1:04:06Fire ants, all that. Can't stand them.

1:04:08Sugar ants get in your house. I mean to

1:04:11tell you once they get in, it's hard to

1:04:13get them out. You know, they get in the

1:04:15kitchen, you see that little line of and

1:04:17there they go. You know, right now I am

1:04:21in a personal battle and you pray for

1:04:23me. I am having my own personal battle

1:04:26with carpenter ants. Somehow someway

1:04:30they have made it into my master

1:04:32bathroom. I cannot find where their nest

1:04:36is. I have turned it upside down and

1:04:38inside out. And I'm like, what in the

1:04:41world is going on? They've absolutely

1:04:44invaded my bathroom. And uh and so I had

1:04:48brother Jeremy come over and brother

1:04:50Jeremy used to work for a pest control

1:04:51company and he walked in my bathroom and

1:04:54he ran out screaming and he said, "I'm

1:04:56never coming here again." No, it wasn't

1:04:57that bad. But uh but but I said,

1:05:00"Brother Jeremy," I took a video and I

1:05:02sent it to him. I said, "Brother Jeremy,

1:05:03it's like a murder scene. Look at this.

1:05:05Look at they're everywhere. They're all

1:05:06over the floor. They're they're all over

1:05:08the place." I set off. Now listen, uh

1:05:10for those of you who aren't from

1:05:11Florida, you got all the different bug

1:05:13sprays that you can use and everything.

1:05:15The only thing that works really is Raid

1:05:17Max and you can only get it at Publix.

1:05:19Same place we get our pub subs from. The

1:05:21only place you should buy your cake

1:05:23from. All right, it's Publix. But

1:05:25anyways, it's called Raid Max and it's a

1:05:27fumigator. And so I took Raid Max and I

1:05:30put it in that bathroom and we were

1:05:31going to be leaving and I said, "I'm

1:05:33taking care of business. I'm setting off

1:05:35a bomb." And so I put that thing in

1:05:37there. We came back and I'm telling you

1:05:40it that's that was the video I sent,

1:05:42brother Jeremy. I said, "It's like a

1:05:44murder scene." I'm like, "They're

1:05:46everywhere." And there was these little

1:05:47flying carpenter ants that were all over

1:05:49my floor, everywhere. And uh and they're

1:05:52still coming out. I mean, this was

1:05:54several days ago. And and and and every

1:05:56time we go in there, it's like a wait

1:05:59three or four hours, it's like another

1:06:00murder scene. Now, it's starting to

1:06:02Wayne down some. So, I think it we're

1:06:04either winning the battle or it's time

1:06:06to set off another bomb. But now, I'm

1:06:08getting these big ones. and and I looked

1:06:10them up and they said those are the

1:06:11those are the queens and uh and they

1:06:14talked about how many eggs these things

1:06:16lay and everything and and so the queens

1:06:18are coming out and I'm killing them, you

1:06:20know. They're they're already squirming

1:06:21from Raid Max because they hardly can

1:06:23take any of that, you know. But I'm

1:06:25looking at all these ants all over my

1:06:27bathroom and boy, I'm claiming the word

1:06:29of God and I'm saying I got God on my

1:06:31side and I say no weapon formed against

1:06:33me shall prosper. I'm praying over these

1:06:35ants and they're everywhere. I'm saying

1:06:37if God be for me, you cannot be against

1:06:39me. Greater is he that is in me than he

1:06:41that is in my bathroom. And I'm trying

1:06:43my best to get this thing done and you

1:06:46pray for me. I Here's what I'm telling

1:06:48you about the ant. They're industrious.

1:06:51I mean to tell you they are industrious.

1:06:54The Bible says in Romans 12 and verse

1:06:56number 11, it says, "Not slothful in

1:06:58business, fervent in spirit, serving the

1:07:02Lord."

1:07:04Child of God, we should not be slothful.

1:07:07He says, "Consider the ant." I mean,

1:07:09they they they they're non-stop. They

1:07:12are absolutely nonstop. He said,

1:07:14"Consider the ant." Opportunity,

1:07:17somebody said, I've heard this years

1:07:18ago, opportunity is usually dressed in

1:07:20overalls and it looks like work. That's

1:07:23what opportunity is. Many people miss

1:07:25God's best in their lives because

1:07:28they're not willing to work. Work hard.

1:07:31Work hard. Oh, friend. Uh, the ant

1:07:33teaches us about industry. Here's

1:07:35something else. The ant teaches us not

1:07:37only initiative and industry, but the

1:07:38ant teaches us about preparation. Look

1:07:41at verse number eight with me, would you

1:07:42please? It says here, "Provideth her

1:07:45meat in the summer and gatherth her food

1:07:48in the harvest." There's something that

1:07:51the ant understands according to the

1:07:53Bible. The ant understands the seasons.

1:07:56The ant understands that summer is not

1:07:59forever. The ant understands that

1:08:02harvest is not forever. The ant

1:08:04understands that winter is coming. And

1:08:07the ant realizes that I must be pre

1:08:10prepared for the needs as they arise.

1:08:14The ant according to the word of God

1:08:16lives with tomorrow in mind. It's

1:08:19thinking of the future. The the Bible

1:08:21says in Proverbs 21 and verse number 20,

1:08:24there is treasure to be desired and oil

1:08:27in the dwelling of the wise. What does

1:08:29that mean? There's treasure to be

1:08:30desired and oil in the dwelling of the

1:08:32wise. He's saying they've prepared.

1:08:35They've stockpiled. They're ready for

1:08:37what is coming. Galatians 6 and verse

1:08:39number nine says, "Let us not be weary

1:08:41in welloingo, for in due season we shall

1:08:44reap if we faint not." It's a costly

1:08:47venture to be a slothful person.

1:08:52When somebody is slothful, I you know,

1:08:54we think, well, you know, I'm just going

1:08:56to be lazy. I'm just gonna be a slothful

1:08:59person. I want to tell you something.

1:09:02It's a very costly venture to be a lazy

1:09:05person because the seasons change. The

1:09:10the the the the the bill collectors,

1:09:13they're still coming.

1:09:15They're still going to want their money

1:09:17at the end of the month, you know, and

1:09:19and and and you still got to take care

1:09:21of things. I was on patrol one day with

1:09:23the officers and there's two brothers

1:09:24and boy it was they were about to go at

1:09:26it with one another and uh and the

1:09:29officers were trying to handle the

1:09:30situation and find out if somebody

1:09:32pushed somebody shoved somebody if there

1:09:34was a a crime that was committed and all

1:09:36of this and someone had talked about a

1:09:38weapon and a gun and everything and I

1:09:40pulled the one brother aside and I said

1:09:41hey man I said what's going on and he

1:09:44says well I share this house with my

1:09:45brother okay what's wrong that's your

1:09:48brother and he goes I know but I I

1:09:51haven't been able to work recently and

1:09:53and uh and and and so because of that,

1:09:57you know, he thinks I'm not paying my

1:09:58fair share and he's mad at me and and

1:10:00he's threatening me and so I said, you

1:10:02know, I can take care of him and he's

1:10:04not about a gun and this that and the

1:10:06other. And I said, bro, the cops are at

1:10:08your house right now. I said, someone's

1:10:11probably going to go to jail. And I

1:10:14said, 'All because you won't go get a

1:10:15job,

1:10:17you know, and and there was nothing

1:10:19prohibiting him from working. His hair

1:10:21was down past his shoulders. His hands

1:10:24and fingers were just absolutely black

1:10:27and dirty. He his body was dirty. He had

1:10:30one of those things to monitor your your

1:10:32your your blood and it was just filthy

1:10:34black all around it. And I said,

1:10:36"Brother," I said, "you're just you're

1:10:39just not working hard. Go find a job.

1:10:42Maybe your brother won't be mad at you

1:10:44when this happens. What's going on is

1:10:47it's causing family problems. To be lazy

1:10:50is very costly. It's very costly because

1:10:53there's no way there's no freebies in

1:10:55life. The character trait of the

1:10:57slothfulness has cost a lot of people.

1:10:59How about this? It's cost people their

1:11:01eternity. Think about this. You know the

1:11:03scripture back in Matthew in chapter

1:11:04number 25 where the Lord Jesus Christ

1:11:06was giving a parable about 10 virgins.

1:11:08And he said some of them they went and

1:11:10they they got oil in their lamps and

1:11:12they were ready to go for when the

1:11:13bridegroom came they were going to be

1:11:15ready because he was looking for those

1:11:17who had oil. And he said but others they

1:11:18waited till the last minute and then

1:11:20when the bridegroom came they said oh

1:11:22can we borrow some of your oil? We need

1:11:23some oil and they were not ready and and

1:11:25they got left behind. And he said I

1:11:28never knew thee. He said to him, the

1:11:30bridegroom says to them, because they

1:11:31didn't have the oil. And so what I'm

1:11:33trying to tell you is laziness,

1:11:35slothfulness, putting things off can

1:11:37cost us a lot. It's cost a lot of people

1:11:39their eternity.

1:11:41Just putting it off. I'll get saved

1:11:42later. I'll get saved another time. The

1:11:45character trait of slothfulness has cost

1:11:47people their reward in heaven. Well,

1:11:49I'll serve the Lord. I'll serve the Lord

1:11:51one of these days. You know, right now,

1:11:53I just want to enjoy my life, but I'll

1:11:54serve him one day. The character trait

1:11:57of slothfulness has cost people their

1:11:59testimony. Their testimony. [snorts]

1:12:03Years ago, uh I was reading a a GoFundMe

1:12:07page that somebody had put out and uh

1:12:09and it said on there it said, you know,

1:12:12this person has a need, etc., etc. And

1:12:14then and then on there it said, this is

1:12:16the hardest working man that I know. And

1:12:18I was there with my cousin Kevin. And uh

1:12:21when we were reading it together, he

1:12:22just happened to be there at my home and

1:12:24we both read at the same time. and he

1:12:25said, 'This is the hardest working man

1:12:27that I know. And when we when I read

1:12:29that out loud, both of us just burst out

1:12:31in laughter because we knew the person.

1:12:34And if you asked me who's the laziest

1:12:36person you ever met, I was like, "This

1:12:39person 100%." It's this [laughter]

1:12:41person. I've never met a lazier person

1:12:43all my life than this person right here.

1:12:45And I read those words and I'm like,

1:12:46"Holy cow." You know, but it's funny

1:12:49that two people just read at the same

1:12:50time and just burst into laughter like,

1:12:52"What in the world?" Somebody's

1:12:54testimony was shot, gone, destroyed

1:12:58because of laziness. Laziness. The

1:13:01character trait of slothfulness has cost

1:13:03people their testimony. Wise Christians

1:13:06prepare. They prepare for temptation

1:13:08before temptation comes. Think of that.

1:13:11They prepare. They say, "I want to I

1:13:13want to be prepared for that hour when

1:13:15that hour of temptation comes." Wise

1:13:18Christians, they prepare for trials

1:13:20before trials come. before this trial

1:13:22comes in my life, I want to be ready for

1:13:24it. I I want to know what it's going to

1:13:26be. I want to I want to make sure that

1:13:28I'm ready for this trial when it comes

1:13:30my way. For old age, they they prepare

1:13:32while they're young. For eternity, they

1:13:34prepare while they have time. Noah spent

1:13:37years building an ark before one single

1:13:40raindrop ever fell. Preparation always

1:13:43appears unnecessary until the storm

1:13:45arises.

1:13:47Be prepared. Don't be lazy. think about

1:13:50the future, what's going to happen, you

1:13:52know, in the future and and all of that.

1:13:55We have to prepare for these things. I I

1:13:57I I have someone very dear to me and I

1:13:59said, "You you have everything right at

1:14:02your fingertips, you know, and you're

1:14:04not going to be able to turn these

1:14:05wrenches forever.

1:14:08Have you thought about hiring on some

1:14:10people? Have you thought about, you

1:14:12know, building your business and getting

1:14:13it larger and doing what you can, you

1:14:16know, because there's going to come a

1:14:17day where you're not going to be able to

1:14:18turn these wrenches anymore by yourself?

1:14:21Well, I just can't. I don't want to do

1:14:22that. That's too much work. You don't

1:14:24understand how much work that is and and

1:14:26all that. I said, but when you can't

1:14:28turn wrenches anymore and your body

1:14:30says, "No, how are you going to make

1:14:33it?" Think about these things. It's very

1:14:36interesting. Wise Christians prepare.

1:14:38What does the ant teach us? The ant

1:14:40teaches us about perseverance. Ants keep

1:14:43working until the task is completed.

1:14:45Have you noticed that if you block the

1:14:47path of an ant, the ant will either find

1:14:49another route. If their nest is damaged,

1:14:52they will rebuild it. If obstacles

1:14:54appear, they will move over it, they

1:14:55will move under it, they will move

1:14:56around it, but they will not stop. Ants

1:15:00will carry objects that are way heavier

1:15:01than their own weight. The Bible says,

1:15:04"Let us run with patience the race that

1:15:06is set before us." In 1 Corinthians

1:15:0815:58, "Be ye therefore steadfast,

1:15:10unmovable, always abounding, always

1:15:12abounding in the work of the Lord." The

1:15:13ant never stops. It just keeps going and

1:15:16going and going and going.

1:15:19We think of that and we say, "Well, we

1:15:21know any Christians in the word of God

1:15:23who just quit." I look at Peter and I

1:15:26say, "Peter quit. He was going. He was

1:15:29doing well. He was going, going, and

1:15:31then all of a sudden Peter quit." What

1:15:34were the problems that led to Peter

1:15:35quitting? He had a problem with his

1:15:37position. He was warming his hands by

1:15:39the devil's fire. He had a problem with

1:15:41his pride. He thought he was better than

1:15:43everybody else. And he said, "I'm not

1:15:44going to be like everyone else. I'll

1:15:46never leave you. I'll never forsake you,

1:15:47Lord." He had a problem with his

1:15:50persistence. When the Lord Jesus Christ

1:15:52said, "I need you to stay awake. I need

1:15:54you to pray." Peter said, "I'd rather go

1:15:56lay down and be lazy." And the Lord

1:15:58said, "No, this is the hour that I need

1:16:00you. This isn't the hour to go lay down.

1:16:02This isn't the hour to go to sleep. this

1:16:04is the hour where I need you. I need you

1:16:06to pray right now. And and Peter was not

1:16:09there when the Lord needed him most. He

1:16:11was like a like like an unfaithful man

1:16:13is is is like a broken tooth or a foot

1:16:16out of joint. Uh Peter was not there

1:16:18when the Lord needed him the most. He

1:16:20was off sleeping somewhere

1:16:22and the hour the Lord needed him. The

1:16:24ant tells us, "No, no, no. Be

1:16:26perseverant. Work, work, work till the

1:16:29Lord comes back." And then let me tell

1:16:31you this. The ant exposes the slothful

1:16:34heart. Look at verse number nine. How

1:16:37long wilt thou sleep, oh slugard? When

1:16:41wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? He

1:16:46calls him a slugard. The issue was not

1:16:49ability. The issue was dependability.

1:16:54The issue was willingness.

1:16:56The slugard always has another excuse.

1:17:00There's always another excuse. His

1:17:03motto,

1:17:05a little sleep, a little slumber, a

1:17:08little folding of the hands, but he's

1:17:11always got an excuse. Oh, I can't

1:17:13because I've got this going on. Well,

1:17:16don't forget I won't be able to because

1:17:18I got and the slugard has all kinds of

1:17:21excuses. Excuses. It's always something.

1:17:25Little compromises become major

1:17:28problems. Little delays become wasted

1:17:31years. We have to realize that we are

1:17:35developing our character. And and as we

1:17:39are developing our character, when we

1:17:41are filled with excuses,

1:17:43all the reasons as to why we can't pitch

1:17:46in and do what needs to be done.

1:17:50Mom says, "Well, I need you to help cut

1:17:52the grass." Oh, I can't, Mom. I was

1:17:54supposed to do this. I I can't go. I

1:17:56can't do the dishes. You know, don't

1:17:58forget I got this or that, the other.

1:18:00You know, always got something. Always

1:18:02got some reason. The slugard. The same

1:18:06warning is repeated. The Bible says in

1:18:09Proverbs 24, we're in Proverbs 6, but

1:18:11listen what the Bible says in Proverbs

1:18:1224:33.

1:18:14Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a

1:18:16little folding of the hands to sleep.

1:18:18So, so shall thy poverty come as one

1:18:21that travaleth and thy want as an armed

1:18:23man. Sound familiar? The Lord repeated

1:18:26himself in Proverbs 24. Same thing he

1:18:28said in Proverbs 6. The same warning is

1:18:31repeated because God knows our tendency

1:18:34toward laziness. I'll tell you this

1:18:36much. Nobody ruins his life all at once.

1:18:39It happens one neglected duty at a time.

1:18:42One neglected duty at a time. and before

1:18:45too long. That's the character trait.

1:18:48You know, I I I know that

1:18:53we may not be able to say, "Well, we've

1:18:55got the

1:18:57biggest brain in the room." We may not

1:19:00be able to say, "I got the most money in

1:19:02the bank account," or whatever it may

1:19:04be, you know, the most talent or

1:19:06whatever. But here's what we can say.

1:19:08Nobody will outwork me when I work. I'm

1:19:11going to work for the Lord. I'm gonna do

1:19:14my best for the Lord. He's worthy. You

1:19:17know, that should be our testimony. That

1:19:19will give you opportunity to witness to

1:19:22other people when they see that, hey,

1:19:25that that person's a person of

1:19:26character. I've never met a person that

1:19:28works any harder than them. And and they

1:19:31they'll listen to what you have to say.

1:19:33You try being a soul winner when you're

1:19:35lazy and that's your reputation. you

1:19:39know, hey, let me tell you about my

1:19:40Jesus and how good my savior is. And

1:19:43they go, if your savior made you the way

1:19:46you are, I don't think I want any part

1:19:48of it. You're the laziest person I ever

1:19:50met. I'm telling you, laziness will

1:19:53destroy our opportunity to even witness

1:19:56and tell people about Jesus. He says

1:19:58there in our scripture in Proverbs 6 and

1:20:00verse number six, "Go to the ant, thou

1:20:03sluggard, consider her ways, and be

1:20:06wise." Now, here's what I'll tell you

1:20:08about these Wednesday night messages.

1:20:11Some will be for you, some will be for

1:20:15somebody else, you know, but uh what

1:20:18we'll do is we're just going to consider

1:20:19all these different ones. Tonight, we're

1:20:22we had a sermon for the slugard. And I

1:20:24think all of us have our moments. All of

1:20:26us can have our moments, but God help us

1:20:28not to allow that to become our

1:20:30testimony, our reputation, and certainly

1:20:33not to be a character trait. You know,

1:20:36there are times where we're tired. There

1:20:38are I get it. But here's what I've

1:20:40learned and and my wife and I have

1:20:41learned this this past year and it's

1:20:43been such a tremendous blessing to you.

1:20:45The Lord says these words, "Come unto me

1:20:47all you that labor and are heavy laden

1:20:49and I will give you rest." And then he

1:20:52says, "Take my yoke upon you and learn

1:20:54of me." I've tried to understand that. I

1:20:56said, "Lord, I'm supposed to come unto

1:20:58you all ye that labor and are heavy

1:21:00laden." I I He said, 'If you're if

1:21:02you're tired, if you've been laboring,

1:21:04you're you're you're burdened down. He

1:21:07says, 'Come unto me all of you that that

1:21:09labor and heavy laden. And he says, 'And

1:21:10I'll give you rest.' And I say, okay,

1:21:12that means you're going to take off my

1:21:13labor. You're going to take away my

1:21:15burden. You're going to take it all

1:21:16away. He says, come unto me all you that

1:21:17labor and heavy laden. He says, I'll

1:21:19give you rest. And I'm like, all right,

1:21:21where are we going to go? Where's the

1:21:22where's the aderondic chair going to be

1:21:23set up at? At what beach? Tell me all

1:21:25about it. And he says, come unto me all

1:21:27you that labor and are heavy laden. I'll

1:21:29give you rest. And I say, I'm ready.

1:21:30Where are we going? What resort are we

1:21:32going? We're going on a cruise. Come

1:21:33unto me all you that labor and are heavy

1:21:35laden. He said, I'll give you rest. And

1:21:36he says, take my yoke upon you. And I

1:21:39say, hold on. That a yoke? You mean a

1:21:43instrument of working?

1:21:45You want me to? You said, "Come unto me

1:21:47all you that labor and are heavy laden.

1:21:50I've been working hard. I'm tired." And

1:21:53now you're saying, "Get into this

1:21:55instrument of work. Get into a yoke

1:21:58where I'm yolked up. Maybe a double

1:22:00yoke. He said, "Take my yoke." So, he

1:22:02must be in it with me. And we're going

1:22:04to go plow a field.

1:22:07I thought you said, "Come unto me all

1:22:09you that labor in a heavy laden, and

1:22:10I'll give you rest." But now you're

1:22:13saying for me to get in a yoke. He said,

1:22:16"Take my yoke upon you and learn of me."

1:22:20And I say, "Okay, I'll get in your

1:22:22yoke." So, I'm in your yoke. It's not my

1:22:24yoke. It's yours. So, it must be a

1:22:26double yoke. So, I'm in your yoke with

1:22:27you. And now as I start to learn of the

1:22:31Lord,

1:22:33I learn that when I'm yolked up with

1:22:35him, I'm still getting things done, but

1:22:39he's pulling all the weight.

1:22:41I mean, it just imagine some big big

1:22:44huge ox and then you got this little

1:22:47baby calf yolked up with it and the calf

1:22:50is probably going, "Look at what we just

1:22:51did." You know, look at what we did. And

1:22:54the big ox is going, "Yeah, we did

1:22:56that." you know, and the ox is doing all

1:22:58the pooling and and and we learned

1:23:00something. He's saying here, it's not

1:23:03about, oh, I need a break. Oh, I need

1:23:05rest. Oh, I need this. I need that. He's

1:23:07saying, no, you keep working. You just

1:23:09learn to trust me in the labor and all

1:23:12the work. This is where true

1:23:14Christianity meets the road. When we

1:23:16learn how to serve, no matter serving

1:23:20the Lord, serving people, whatever it

1:23:21may be, but we learn that Lord, you're

1:23:23you're you got to pull the heavy load

1:23:25because I can't do it. And we give it

1:23:27all to the Lord. And now you can find

1:23:30rest for your souls. That's where rest

1:23:33is found. It's not found on the beaches

1:23:35of Flaggler Beach. Rest for your souls

1:23:38is not found on Carnival Cruise Lines.

1:23:41Rest for your souls is found in a yoke

1:23:43with Jesus.

1:23:45Because then you learn the principle,

1:23:47the Lord's got this. And by the way, in

1:23:51order for him to carry all the load, not

1:23:53only does he carry all the load, but he

1:23:54gots to get all the glory, too. You take

1:23:56some of the glory for yourself, and

1:23:58he'll give you all the load. Give him

1:24:00the praise. Say, "This is all the Lord's

1:24:02doing. It's marvelous in our eyes. Life

1:24:04gets a lot easier." I get it. Nobody

1:24:07wants to It's difficult. We don't want

1:24:10to be considered a slugard. So, we What

1:24:12do we do? We say, "Okay, Lord. Today I'm

1:24:14tired. I I'm I'm so weary. God, I need

1:24:18you. I need you, Lord, to pull the load

1:24:20today. And boy, I tell you, he's

1:24:22faithful. He's so faithful. You'll watch

1:24:25him do things that only he could do. And

1:24:28and just things just absolutely amazing.

1:24:30And you say, man, I would have had to do

1:24:32all this, but God took care of it all

1:24:34just like that. To God be the glory. You

1:24:36know, learning to work with the Lord.

1:24:39Working with the Lord. Consider the ant.

1:24:41Let's pray together. Father, we love

1:24:42you. We thank you for your many

1:24:44blessings. Dear Lord, tonight as we look

1:24:47at the ant and we learn a lot, Lord, we

1:24:50learned industry. Uh Father, we learn

1:24:52how to how to not be a slugard, how to

1:24:54have initiative, how to be persistent,

1:24:57how to have no quit in us, stick

1:24:59tuitiveness,

1:25:01the desire to just not want to stop. But

1:25:04Father, we understand that in our flesh

1:25:06lies the old man. Lord, the old man can

1:25:09be rather selfish. And the old man can

1:25:12be rather lazy.

1:25:14But Father, I understand that that's not

1:25:15how you want us to be as children of

1:25:17God. Lord, you want us to have a great

1:25:19testimony of hardworking people. And

1:25:22there should be nobody that outworks us.

1:25:23And Lord, for that, we're going to need

1:25:25your help. We're going to have to be in

1:25:26your yoke. Lord, Father, you're going to

1:25:29have to pull the load. We're going to

1:25:30have to trust you in every area of our

1:25:32lives. Lord, Father, I pray that we'll

1:25:35understand how deep this actually goes.

1:25:37It's more than just surface sermon about

1:25:40not being lazy. It's a message about

1:25:43trusting the Lord in everything so that

1:25:46you get a lot more accomplished than we

1:25:48ever would, but you also get all the

1:25:51glory. Father, bless your invitation

1:25:53time and use it for your glory in Jesus

1:25:55name. Amen. We'll stand together,

1:25:56please. Our heads are bowed, our eyes

1:25:58are closed as the pianist begins to

1:25:59play. [music] My friend, as the Lord

1:26:00spoke to your heart, would you come and

1:26:02spend some time at the oldfashioned

1:26:03altar tonight as he plays? you come,

1:26:06we'll spend some time with the Lord.

1:26:17Sometimes it's about a mom and a dad

1:26:18saying, "I [music] want to pray for my

1:26:19kids. I don't want them to be lazy.

1:26:22Lord, give me direction. Give me help.

1:26:25Help me to train up a child in the way

1:26:27he should go."

1:26:30We live in a day and age in which

1:26:32parents want to take care of all [music]

1:26:34the kids' problems.

1:26:36We'll just do it all for them. They have

1:26:38no resistance, no issues, no problems.

1:26:43Most people who do great things [music]

1:26:45for the Lord will tell you that it was

1:26:47the adversity in life is what made them

1:26:50who they are. Kids need some adversity.

1:26:53They don't need to be spoonfed their

1:26:55whole lives. [music] They need to learn

1:26:57how to work hard. They need to learn

1:26:58responsibility. They need to learn

1:27:00chores.

1:27:01That's up to mom and dad to teach them

1:27:03how to serve the Lord.

1:27:07Consider the end.

1:27:10[music]

1:27:34>> [music]

1:27:48[music]

1:28:15>> Amen. Amen. Well, look this way for just

1:28:17a moment if you would please. Um,

1:28:19[music] I'm excited about next week's

1:28:21message and uh because I'm going to

1:28:22preach on the eagle and and that's a

1:28:25sermon for those who struggle. It's a

1:28:28slugard. A sermon for the slugard.

1:28:30That's a negative one. But uh but next

1:28:33week all of us struggle and honestly

1:28:36there may be someone who's going through

1:28:38some valley or some struggle in their

1:28:40life and and honestly if you'll get them

1:28:42here I'll do my best to encourage them

1:28:45next week on on a message on the eagle.

1:28:47As the eagle so the Lord but let's pray

1:28:50for these requests and we'll be on our

1:28:51way. Father in heaven we love you. I do

1:28:53pray that you'll be with the Roth

1:28:54family. Use them. Bless them in a great

1:28:56way. Keep them safe. Lord I pray for

1:28:57brother Ethan and his knee that was

1:28:59bothering him. He thought he might even

1:29:00have to have surgery, but I'm glad he

1:29:02doesn't. I pray that you'll bless them

1:29:03as they help us with VBS and all the

1:29:05things they do around here. Be with

1:29:06Pastor Matt Buer and Laura and the kids.

1:29:08Bless them in a great way. Be with all

1:29:10of our different ministries, Lord,

1:29:11tonight and all of those who are

1:29:13representing our church as they travel

1:29:14around the country and even around the

1:29:16world preaching the gospel. Please keep

1:29:18them safe. Father, tonight we do pray

1:29:20for the Brinks as they're traveling.

1:29:21We'll bring them back safely to us.

1:29:23Lord, be with those who are battling

1:29:24cancer tonight. I pray for Brother

1:29:26Aaron. Lord, I ask you, dear Lord, that

1:29:28you'll just bestow all the mercy in the

1:29:30world that he needs. Uh Lord, Father,

1:29:33from what I was told, they told him to

1:29:36call in all the family. Lord, it's so

1:29:38tough to think about. And uh but Father,

1:29:41you know best better than we do. I pray

1:29:43for all his youngans. Pray for his wife.

1:29:46Pray that you'll bless him and help him.

1:29:47I pray for Brother Zayn. Lord, we sure

1:29:50miss him in his sweet, sweet spirit.

1:29:51Please be with them. Be with those who

1:29:53are battling and still with health

1:29:54needs. Brother Hine, uh, Brother Shane

1:29:57Shamblin. Lord, tonight we thank you

1:29:59for, uh, Miss Nelson being able to be in

1:30:01church tonight. Please remove that pain

1:30:03from her. I pray for Miss Lucy. What a

1:30:06blessing to hear the great report. Uh,

1:30:08Lord, that it's not cancer. Father, we

1:30:10do pray for JB's mother and and, uh,

1:30:13those ladies in our church who are

1:30:14expecting. Uh, and then Ashley had her

1:30:17baby. Uh, Lord, it was so exciting to

1:30:19hear she had her baby yesterday. And uh

1:30:21I pray, dear Lord, that you'll bless and

1:30:23keep her safe and and little baby

1:30:25Thiago. And uh Lord, Father, every

1:30:28baby's a miracle. I pray, dear Lord,

1:30:29that you'll bless little Thiago and that

1:30:32he'll grow up and serve you with all of

1:30:33his life. And uh Father, I pray that

1:30:36you'll be with Fernando and help him to

1:30:37be able to come home. I pray, dear Lord,

1:30:40that you'll be with Angel's mom's

1:30:41surgery, Grace's dad's situation in the

1:30:44hospital, Brother Emory, Lord, with u

1:30:46whatever is going on there, the

1:30:48colonoscopy that didn't produce any

1:30:50results. I pray that you'll just be with

1:30:51him. Mrs. Barbara with her lung issues,

1:30:53her eye issues. Uh Lord, Father Jay

1:30:56Jackson, Brother Jaime's brother, uh

1:30:58Cindy Anderson, Casey Anderson with all

1:31:00their health needs. Father, tonight we

1:31:02pray for Brenda, Mrs. Keith's sister,

1:31:04with the minor surgery that she needs.

1:31:06Father, tonight my heart is with these

1:31:08missionaries and the families of the

1:31:10missionaries that are there in India.

1:31:11Lord, what a tragic thing to hear about.

1:31:14Heaven just got a little sweeter.

1:31:15There's some more heroes that are now

1:31:17martyrs of the faith that are there.

1:31:19Father, I do pray that you'll be with

1:31:20Terry Alexander, uh, Lord, and be with

1:31:23the the shoulder infection. I pray

1:31:24they'll get to the bottom of that. Uh,

1:31:26Father, I pray for Espie. I pray that

1:31:28she'll the eczema will clear up before

1:31:30her appointment. I pray for Brother Doug

1:31:32in the pain, Lord, that you'll alleviate

1:31:33that. The Warner family, Lord, with

1:31:36their family livelihood on the line. Be

1:31:37with them, Lord. You, you're so good to

1:31:39us. Brother Steve sciatic pain is gone.

1:31:41Miss Lucy's didn't have cancer. Uh, Mrs.

1:31:44Sweet Sister Caroline didn't have to

1:31:46have surgery. Um, Berto's surgery went

1:31:48well on his eyes. Uh, Lord, Alex's mom

1:31:51though, we think about her and we ask

1:31:52you, Lord, for the four vertebrae that

1:31:54need that got fused and the feeling in

1:31:56her legs. Lord, please be with her.

1:31:58Lord, you're good to us. We just thank

1:31:59you in advance for what you're going to

1:32:00do. Be with all of our missionaries.

1:32:02Bless them in a great and powerful way.

1:32:04Lord, we ask that you'll bless the

1:32:05baseball game tomorrow night. And may we

1:32:07have a good time fellowshipping with

1:32:09each other. And then, Lord, we're

1:32:10looking forward to a great day in your

1:32:11house on Sunday. May the Holy Spirit be

1:32:13ever so present. We'll thank you for it.

1:32:15We ask it all in Jesus name. Amen. We

1:32:17have choir practice in like five minutes

1:32:19and so uh choir if you could stick

1:32:21around for that. I know they're going to

1:32:22be working on patriotic stuff. Let's

1:32:23sing. The windows of heaven are open.

1:32:25The blessings [music] are falling

1:32:26tonight and we'll be on our way. The

1:32:28windows of heaven are open. And the

1:32:32blessings [music] are falling tonight.

1:32:33[singing]

1:32:34There's joy, joy, joy in my heart since

1:32:38Jesus made everything

1:32:40[singing and music] right. For I gave

1:32:42him my old tattered garments. Then he

1:32:45gave me a robe of pure wine. I'm

1:32:48[singing] feasting on mana from heaven.

1:32:52And [music] that's why I'm God bless

1:32:54you. I love you. Thanks for being in

1:32:55church tonight. You're dismissed.