That's the way to start a church. Drinking warm water, if you want to specify, that's what she is saying. Well, good morning, Lighthouse. Good morning. Did you come to worship the Lord this morning? All right. Many people have a lot of plans when they get to heaven someday. They see the loved ones, see the golden streets, the gates. That's a lot of cool plans and all. But I think the most exciting thing is to be able to see our Savior once and for all face to face. That's what I'm looking forward to. That's what this song is all about. All right, let's all sing. The standards sing this morning. When we all get to heaven, Sing the wondrous love of Jesus Sing His mercy and His grace In the mansions bright and blessed Will prepare for us a place When we all get to heaven What a day of rejoicing that will be While we walk the pilgrim's pathway Clouds will overspread the sky But when traveling days are over Not a shadow, not a sigh When we all give to Him What a day of rejoicing that will be. When we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout for victory. Well, welcome on in this morning. Make sure you greet our guests. Make sure you encourage your brother and sister in the Lord. Hey, I lied. That's just my girl. That's just her. more perverse. Let us then be true and faithful, trusting, serving every day. Just one glimpse of Him in glory will the toils of life repay. When we all, when we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be. When we all see Jesus We'll sing and shout for victory Onward to the prize before us Soon His beauty will behold Soon the pearly gates will open We shall tread the streets of gold What a day of rejoicing that will be When we all see Jesus We'll sing and shout the victory What a day of rejoicing that will be When we all see Jesus We'll sing and shout the victory And when we all see Jesus We'll sing and we'll shout the victory Before you go sitting down now, we have two birthdays to acknowledge. First one, I believe, Ryan. Ryan, happy birthday, buddy. And then we just had a birthday two days ago. It was actually my brother, Jack. He is no longer in the teens. He has turned 20 years old, so a big step in life. So first, we'll sing happy birthday to Ryan, and then we'll sing happy birthday to Jack. Now, is there any hidden birthday out there that I might have missed? All right. It has been concluded by the jury of Lighthouse Baptist Church. Order in the court. Happy birthday, Ryan. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Ryan. Happy birthday to you. That's a Jack. Come on, Jack, beat it up. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Jack. Happy birthday to you. Now you may be seated. When we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout. the victory. Now sometimes we can sing that song, we'll sing and shout. We'll sing and shout the victory. So give it a real shout. It's a reminder not only that we have a heavenly hope to look forward to and we're going to have a day of victory, but we also have victory here and now. If Christ indeed has defeated the great and conquered death and we serve him here and now, we have victory. So the only thing we're doing is basically postponing Satan's defeat already. He's already been defeated. We already have victory in Jesus because He has indeed conquered the grave. We actually get to acknowledge that and celebrate that every single Sunday, Resurrection Sunday. It's coming up here in April. But if we're meeting together on Sunday morning, it's because that is the day that the grave was found empty. Jesus indeed has conquered death, and that is why we have that pattern of meeting together on Sunday morning to come together and worship him. We do the Lord's table at the beginning of the service at 9.30. We also do baptisms here whenever someone, a lost sinner comes to know the Lord. All the three of those elements of the gospel, the death, barren resurrection, are found in the ordinance of how we do things under the new covenant. We do the Lord's Supper, we do baptisms, and we meet together on the first day of the week, Sunday morning. The death, burial, and the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. So our worship actually reflects the gospel. And so one day, because of what Jesus did, we'll get to sing and shout the victory and see our Savior face to face. And what a day that's gonna be. But until then, we have a job here to do. We were left here for a reason. The Lord has his hands on us. We're just looking forward to what he has to do. So today we have a special service at Lighthouse. We are doing a very important business meeting, a special business meeting after to basically elect this transition of leadership here. We have a special guest and dearly beloved Dr. Hudson with us. He preached our Sunday school. You can actually catch that Bible class online if you missed it. So it'll be up on our website later on today. And then he'll be here preaching this Sunday morning to do the transition and the charge. So Dr. Hudson, we appreciate you. I believe it's always an exciting things to have you, exciting to have you around here. So if you're unfamiliar with what we do here in the service, at this time, we wanna take a moment of reflection upon our hearts. of why we're coming to worship in the first place. We're coming to worship the God of the universe, the one who loved us so much and demonstrated that love by giving us his only begotten son, Jesus Christ, to die on a cross that should have been ours. I can't worship him with a whole clean heart within of my own and myself, though. I need something that connects me back into fellowship with God. It's based on a promise that we find in 1 John 1, 9. Now, this verse is given to believers, not a how to be saved passage, but given to believers and how they can know and be assured that they are walking in right fellowship with God, not relationship. The moment Jesus Christ saved you, when you put your faith and trust in him on that from dying on the cross and resurrecting the third day, you have a permanent relationship settled. But the fellowship goes rocky and gets interrupted when we sin and doing wrong against the Lord. Sin is found in two different ways. It's either doing the things that you should not have been doing, or it's failing to do the things which you were told to be doing. All of it is sin and it harms our fellowship with a holy God. So we cling to a promise found in 1 John 1, 9. It says that if we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sin. and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So when you come before God, acknowledging it, Lord, I've sinned against you, please forgive me, please restore me. He promises to cleanse you from all unrighteousness, meaning he gives you a fresh start that we absolutely need. So we wanna here at Lighthouse, we wanna take that opportunity to have that fresh start and immediately return to bring in worship to our only begotten Savior. There's no better place to be on Sunday morning. Some people can have the excuses that, well, I got this coming up, event coming up, but God's people, those who are Jesus is precious to know there's no better place to be on a Sunday morning to come into worship with your brothers and sisters in the Lord, amen. All right, please join me as we continue our service in prayer. Our heavenly father, we are so bountifully blessed Lord, not because of anything that we have within ourselves, Lord, but because of your wonderful grace that you pour out upon us every day. So Father, even as the prophet Jeremiah could say that, great is thy faithfulness, that it's of the Lord's mercy that we are not consumed already. Lord, thank you for giving us new mercies every morning in here and now. Lord, we ask your mercy be upon us for our sin and our failure against you, Lord. And Father, we know that. It's not from our spirit, which shows some things, but it's from our flesh, Lord, because, you know, we still have this junk that we got to deal with in this life. But as we sing in the song, Lord, one day we're going to look forward to being removed from the filth of our flesh, Lord, that we're going to sing in victory, pure heart, Lord, and wholeheartedly that, you know, Jesus Christ is Lord, Hosanna in the highest, and Father, worthy is the Lamb, those things that You know, we can sing now. We look forward even more to singing on that day. And so, Father, until then, continue to remind us, Lord, that we have a job and a purpose, that you would leave us here, Lord. But the best part about it, Lord, is you did not leave us alone. You are still with us and that you are still leading the way. So, Lord, may we submit to your will in all things that come our way and every challenge and crisis that we may face. We know that you are the God who is still on the throne and the one who still has his hands upon our life, Lord. Lord, forgive us for where we have failed you, Lord, and know that we can always count on you and you welcome us back with loving and open arms, just as a loving father would do. So, Father, thank you for loving us with an everlasting love and one that You know, we can never return back, Lord, in its entirety. So, Father, it makes sense for us to give you our hands, to give you our feet, to give you our mouths for worship. So we thank you for being the God you are and the God who's with us today. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So I'll stay and continue our worship this morning. Blessed be the name. Every blessing you pour out I'll turn back to praise When the darkness closes in, Lord Still I will sing. And blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be your name. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be your glorious name. When the sun's shining down on me. When the world's all as it should be. Blessed be your name. And blessed be your name on the road marked today. Every blessing you pour out I'll turn back to grace When the darkness closes in, Lord Still I will say, blessed be the name of Jesus Blessed be your name. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be your glory ever. Blessing be your name. Blessing be the name of the Lord. Blessing be your glorious fame. You give and take away. You give and take away. My heart will cheer. ♪ My heart will choose to sing ♪ ♪ Lord blessed be your name ♪ ♪ Every blessing you pour out ♪ ♪ I'll turn back to pray ♪ ♪ When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will sing ♪ Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be your name. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be your glorious name. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be your name. ♪ Blessed be the name of the Lord ♪ Blessed be your glorious name ♪ You give and take away ♪ You give and take away ♪ My heart will cease to sing ♪ Oh blessed be your name You know, we say words, you know, such as we serve an amazing God. And I think the song really reflects is we don't have probably a proper word in our English language to really describe just how amazing our God is. So we say more than amazing. And you calm the raging seas You command the highest mountain To fall upon their knees You're the one who welcomes sinners And you open blinded eyes You restored the brokenhearted And you brought the dead to life Forgetting all our sins Do you remember all your promises? You are amazing More than amazing Forever our God You're more than enough You are amazing And you set the captives free. You're the King who came to serve Him. You're the God who washed our feet. You're the one who took our burdens. And you bled upon the cross. In your kindness and your mercy, you became the way for us. You remember all your promises You are amazing More than amazing Forever our God More than enough You are amazing You're more than amazing Forever our God You're more than enough Oh, how marvelous Oh, how wonderful Oh, how glorious You are amazing Oh, how marvelous Oh, how wonderful Oh, how glorious You are You are amazing More than amazing you more than me Jesus loves us. He became sin, who knew no sin, that we might become His righteousness. He humbled Himself and carried the cross. Oh, so amazing. Oh, so amazing. Jesus Messiah Name above all names Blessed Redeemer Emmanuel The rescue for sinners Jesus Messiah Lord of all His body the bread His blood the wine Broken and poured out All for love The whole earth trembled And the veil was torn Oh, so amazing. Oh, so amazing. Jesus, Messiah. Name above all names. Blessed Redeemer. The ransom from heaven Jesus must die All our hope is in You All our hope is in You All the glory to You, God The light of the world Jesus Messiah ♪ Name above all names ♪ Blessed Redeemer ♪ Emmanuel ♪ The rescue for sinners ♪ The ransom from heaven ♪ Jesus Messiah Jesus Messiah Lord of all Jesus Messiah Lord of all Alright, you may be seated. Brother Hudson, if he's hiding somewhere. Oh, there he is. I couldn't see you behind Margaret. Come preach us the word, brother. Second grade and under, we've just Kings kids. Good morning, Lighthouse. Good to see everyone. There's a few seats empty, but we have enough. It's good to go. My question is the same one as every Sunday morning, and that is, are you ready for the word of God this morning? Because that's what's coming next. I'm here to introduce to you a dear old friend and a mentor of me personally and this church, Dr. Lester Hudson. We go way back, and there's nobody more fitting to be here on this occasion to join us in the celebration of this occasion than Brother Hudson. You know, some of you are looking at this as one way, and some of you are looking at it another. You know, this has been posted for two weeks now for what we're getting ready to do. We're going to ratify the elder board recommendation here in after this right after the sermon. So I don't know how happy you are about it, but I'm happy about it. I've seen the Lord start this and now today we're going to see him finish it and or begin a new work entirely. And so we're looking forward to all of that. So God bless you, Brother Hudson. Preach the word. I sat over there worshiping the Lord, and I found this one thing happens when you get the years start piling up. You don't stand as long as you should. So I had to kind of sit through this. Not disrespectful, but I figured I needed to save a little strength to stand up here and be able to preach to you today. And as I sat there, boy, my mind just raced around. I was thinking about a time in the late 1940s over in 11th Street, 1031 East 11th Street in the Heights, in North Houston, there was a Greek boy, teenage boy, standing outside the windows of Marion Baptist Church. Back in those days, the air conditioning wasn't what it was, so windows were open. And he was standing out there on the street, calling in and mocking H. Frank Ford, who was a pastor, saying, oh, crybaby, why don't you shut up, old crybaby? His name was Nick Michaelinus, and he stayed there a little too long. He heard a little truth, and it got in his heart. And you know how the truth is. You think you're in control of the truth. The truth controls you. It gets a hold of you and convicts, and the Word of God has a great convicting power. Anyway, Nick Michaelinus came to know Christ as his personal Savior and grew in that church and went over to Pasadena, Texas. I think it was around 1955, somewhere in that area of time, that he actually was used of God, sponsored out of Berean, to start the Austin Avenue Baptist Church, which flourished for a long time. And then some things happened. Brother Nick went to be with the Lord, and a lot of things just didn't go according to plan over there. And so he went through a hard time. And out of that effort is this church right here, right here Lighthouse Baptist Church. As I thought through those things and how the Lord brought Charles and myself together and how he worked to get him down here and all that's happened in bringing him to this area and being your pastor all these years and you used God to see what's happened right here, I thought about how this is such a crossroad time. And I hope you realize that, church. I hope you recognize that this could be the beginning of a major new era of prosperity in the work of God, or it could be the beginning of a time of trouble. It could be. It's not a guaranteed thing. As you're going to see, that's not really up to God. It's going to be up to you as a part of this church as to what happens as we move forward from this particular point. But I think you need to realize this is indeed a very important day, and it's a very crucial day in the Lighthouse Baptist Church history, and I hope it will be proved to be a great day to the glory of our God. And I want to just call your attention to the book of Numbers. And we're going to have a scripture here that I'm going to read in your hearing in just a moment. But I want to tell you that my heart is here, and I feel honored that I could be a part of being down here today. And not just down here today, I feel like I kind of know you. I feel like I'm in your life, and you've been in my life. We have for a long time. But we're going to be in Numbers in just a little while, in chapter 27. verses 15-23, and you have a PowerPoint there on the screen behind you, and you can follow along and make it hopefully a little easier for you to grasp what I'm going to be talking about today, because this is not a hoorah sermon. I'd like for it to be, and I hope it's going to be a great encouragement to you, but just keep in mind that we're talking reality here, I will tell you that in my own experience some years ago, I was at Berean Baptist Church for 33 years, and we came to a point very like this, very much like this particular point where we had a transition. And within a couple of years beyond that transition, the church was already going through a withdrawal. I mean, it was in a shambles type of approach and has really taken a major tumble And the old Breon Baptist Church that some of us knew is not there anymore. It's a different kind of operation totally and certainly has lost much of what it had at that particular point. And I couldn't help but let that thought get into my heart, too, and remember what we were and remember what has happened and how quickly things can change, much quicker than you think. And I hope it will not here. In fact, it should be better instead of not better. I'm titling this message, Passing Through or Passing the Torch at Lighthouse Baptist Church. You can see that on the screen. And again, I want you to find that scripture. And while you're looking there, I will tell you that when in 1958, I was 16 years old, I was not prepared for what was about to happen in my life. I was just a young boy in East Texas, a young teenage boy in East Texas, going through most of the feelings and anxieties that boys go through, not aware that on January, in January of 1958, my mother and my father would be in a car wreck, a head-on collision just south of Lufkin, Texas, about 20 miles, and that my mother would be taken away. in a head taken off of her, hit in the rear view mirror and just taken her head off, killing her and killing two other people, two other people in the other car. My dad was in a very bad shape, broke a bunch of ribs, broke his skull in seven places. He was unconscious for well over a month. Finally, he began to come back to a little bit and he was in a hospital for a year. And I suddenly found myself without a mom and dad at home, living out in the country by myself in a little house with brother and two sisters not wanting to take charge of me and nobody wanting to. And I just found myself in a no-man's land. I found it really difficult to go on. I know something about changes. And the reality that change comes, whether you want it to or not, it doesn't always come like you think it will. Sometimes it's a very big surprise. And when it comes, it's often like hide and seek. Here I come, ready or not. And I'm going to do what's going to do. It's going to happen like it's going to happen. So I found myself unprepared for what was happening in my own personal life. And that was sort of a beginning for me of a lot of changes that have occurred in my life. And some have gone very well. Probably one of the best ones I ever had to go, well, was meeting Margaret McDuffie and making her Margaret Hudson. So that's one of those changes for the better. And I'm glad I have a few of those. But then I've had some others that were not so glorious and not so very nice to think on and remember. This message is about transition. It's about preparing to change. Passing the torch from generation to generation is a statement in the Bible that talks about from one people to another generation, to another, to the parents or to the children down through the years. There arose a new king which knew not Joseph down in Egypt. You know that's in Exodus chapter 1 verse 8. There always seems to rise a new king. Sooner or later there's going to be one show up that just doesn't meet the protocol and do what is expected. And I will say that is a loud call, a loud message to all of us, especially you here in Lighthouse Baptist Church at a time of transition like this. A king who knew not Joseph. Like it or not, things are changing. You're changing. Things around you are changing. You who are mothers or especially grandmothers, if you don't think things are changing, try on your wedding dress. And some of you guys have a new belt every now and then. Some of them's not big around enough. Trust me, in a few years, most of your childhood classmates from your high school will be dead. Lord willing, in two weeks from yesterday, Margaret and I are going to drive up to Lufkin. I graduated from Lufkin High School. And we're going to have our 65th class reunion. I'm kind of curious to see who I'm going to recognize. And probably some of them won't recognize me. Because I already know that out of 200 and about 25 or 40, I think it was, in that class, only about 40 of us are still alive. So things keep changing. The island keeps washing off, and things get under the bridge and go past you. Many scriptures, there are lots of places in the Bible just over and over that talk about this reality of changing and things not going the way we expect them to go. Go to the ant and be wise, Proverbs chapter six. And that's that story about the ant and the grasshopper. You know that story is a very potent one. shall teach them, that is God's ways, diligently to thy children." That's in the great section where God gave the Shema to the Israelis. Teach your kids about what I've told you. Tell them these Ten Commandments. Put them on the door post and get them to them. Make sure you get the Word of God to the next generation. things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also." That's Paul to Timothy and some other men there in 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 2. So these are just scriptures, just truths right out of the Bible teaching us that we need to be aware of where we are. We need to be aware of the changes that are taking place and be aware that some changes that we don't expect can come and take place in our lives. you say this passage here in the book of Numbers chapter 27 is just strutted with great truths. And it is about Moses, about Moses of all people, and Joshua. Here is a guy who is a legend in Israel, and not only in Israel but around the world. Nearly everybody in every culture has heard about the great Moses. And United States are especially indebted to God through Moses for giving us the basis for our Constitution of the United States of America. It's very founded on that Constitution. So here's a man who's had enormous influence, and who was in his own lifetime a legend. I mean he went down to Egypt at the bidding of God to thinking he was capable of doing the job God was sending him to do. And he is the person that God used to draw Israel out of Egyptian bondage. They had been there a long time and were suffering greatly at the evil hand of the Egyptian people. And God sends him down there and uses Moses to draw Israel out of Egyptian bondage. You've ever seen the Exodus or one of those movies that have been made about that. It is a potent story. And the good thing is it is a true story. And it is God's warning to people about slavery, and about freedom, and a whole lot of other things. He not only used Moses to bring out Israel from Egyptian bondage, but God also used Moses to give us the Law. And to define so many things that are right and wrong, and what we ought to do. And even to explain why the Law is not our means of salvation, but it is a master, a means to bring us to Christ, to a Messiah. And that's all stuff that's in the Bible. So Moses think if anybody could stand, and he is by the way very famous in Israel today. We've been over there a few times and you know that he's a big name still even in secular Israel today. Moses, but even Moses doesn't stay forever. He's going to leave. one of us is going to leave. Sooner or later I'm going to leave, probably sooner than later. Brother Charles is going to leave. All of you one day will be a generation past, and there will be a new generation if the Lord Himself doesn't soon come back. So we're talking about the reality of change, and about transitions in our lives. read this passage that talks especially about Moses. Again it is in the book of Numbers and I would invite you to turn your attention to Numbers chapter 27 and I will start with verse 15. Numbers chapter 27 and with verse 15. So verse 15 continues or says, and Moses spake unto the Lord saying, Moses is doing the talking here. He is talking to God and he says, the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh sent a man over the congregation. You could probably say, well Moses there is a man over the congregation his name is Moses it is you. man who recognizes reality and says, it's time we've got to have another man. It's time. I applaud Brother Dale. I applaud Moses. I thank God for people who are willing to face where they are in life. You would do well to face that, where you are in your life. There are some things you can't do now that you used to do and there'll be some more things you can't do in a few years if you keep living that you can't do now. It's hard for most of us to get hold of reality in our own lives and realize these are my capabilities and this is what I can do at this time and I need to do what I can do now and not worry about what I can't do. It's especially a problem for old people. We sometimes think when we're 70 or 80 years old we can do what we could do when we were 40 years old. We maybe can remember like we used to. We just can't do it. It's reality. It's a wonderful thing to see it in the life of Moses here. He's waked up to the fact that he can't do it. He says, Lord we need another man in this place. Look at the next verse, "'Lord, let the Lord, the God of the spirits and flesh, set a man over the congregation which may go out from before him, and which may go in before them, and may lead them out, and which may bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep which have no shepherd." I want you to think of that and let that little statement just soak in for a moment, as sheep having no shepherd. Jesus referred to this later when He was here on this earth in a body. And the Lord said unto Moses, this is the Lord's answer, take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay thy hand upon him." Wow. You, I'm going to take you serious. I know, I already knew that you're not here to stay. Somebody's got to take your place. He, God says, I'm going to help you to help Him. I'm going to help you to make a better Joshua than he would be if he had never known a Moses in his life. So this is what He's talking about. And then He says, And set him before Eliezer the priest, verse 19, and before all the congregation, and give him a charge in their sight. to do this publicly. Kind of reminds me of what's going on here today in Lighthouse Baptist Church. You have a time, sort of a transition, and you're making it a public matter. It's all going down where everybody can see it, and know what the score is, and what the plans are. And thou shalt put some of thine honor upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. you followed my man Moses, I want you to follow my man Joshua. As you followed my man Charles Neal, I want you to follow my man Justin Curtis." This is God's way of doing things, it's His way of passing things on as we are talking here. Look at verse 21, and he shall stand before Eliezer the priest, who shall ask counsel of him after the judgment of the Urim before the Lord, and His Word shall they go out, and in His Word shall they come in, both He and all the congregation of Israel with Him, even all the congregation." Don't miss this church. Don't miss it Lighthouse Babies Church. Here is the Word of God to Moses which is an example for you to follow. Saying, you need to follow the new man of God like you follow the old man of God. see that God's hands are on Him you need to follow Him in the new work, because there is new work for Him to do. And then verse 22, And Moses did as the Lord commanded him. And he took Joshua, and set him before Eliezer the priest, and before all the congregation. And he laid his hands upon him, and gave him a charge, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses. Keep this in mind, I'll keep referring back to this section because it is such an example, it is a prototype or a shadow of what we're doing here, what you're doing here at church today. And there are lessons here that are good lessons for all people for all the years. that's the way of the Word of God. It was written to a specific people. I mean this book of New Numbers was written to the Israeli people. It's about a particular man who was leading, his name was Moses. It's about a Joshua who was falling. I mean it's very specific. It's a real story. It's not a made up story. It's not a fable. It's a real story of history. But it's a story like the Bible is, it's timeless. But that are in this story are lessons for all of us down through the years who served the Lord. Including right here very applicable for us here in this church here, the Lighthouse Baptist Church today. I want to give you two parallels and then a couple of cautions. The rest of this sermon is going to deal with two parallels I see here in this section of the Scripture and Lighthouse Baptist Church. The first parallel is that they were facing a genuine inescapable need just as you are. You see that in verses 15, 16, and 17. This group of people, much larger group than you are here today, but still God's people for that era of time. This group of people they had a real need, a genuine inescapable need to Moses had clear vision, he saw it, he had clear grasp of the situation, and he saw that number one, nobody is invincible. Don't care how good you are, how mighty you are and all that, you're not invincible. can bring you down. I see young men and young ladies that sometimes they seem to think like they are immune to death, they are immune to danger, they are just immune to everything. That's not true. Moses recognized right off, I may have been used of God and all the things that have happened here have been mighty and many of them are very good, but I'm not invincible. I'm somebody who can go down. He faced his own mortality. He That's a really, not a real, doesn't take a bright person to do it yet, so I see so few people face their mortality. It seems like most people feel like they're gonna just keep living on and on. They're not gonna die a mortal death. The reality and the fact is that all of us are gonna die. Death is 100%. It's not just most people die. It is a point on the men wants to die. And after this, the judge, all people are ultimately gonna die. And I will tell you, after you get about 80 plus years on you, you'll begin to figure it sooner than later. You realize that I'm, that's really about me. I mean, I thought I could outdo everybody and do it smarter than all these years. Hey, I can go, this world can go right on without me. Moses was only 120 years old when he died. His eyes were not dimmed. was a natural face abated, and the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. So, the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended." Deuteronomy 34 and verse 7. Just think of that for just a moment and let it soak into your soul. Moses of all these great and mighty heroes was I can see it coming with me. I can see it coming with Charles. I can see it coming with some of you sitting here in this room. I mean, I don't have any predictions on the exact timing, but I'm thankful for that. But I can see it, it's just the way, and I know, I don't have to know a little kid in China to know that kid's gonna die. I don't have to know one in Africa or anywhere else in the planet to know it is the way of reality. And to see it, like Moses saw it here, and recognize that it's happening to me. I'm headed out. I'm on my way to the end of this life. I'm passing through, and I started out with my birth. I was conceived before that, and then I was born. And now one day, I'm going to die. are they'll take my body and they'll return me to the dust from which I was made. So my spirit will have lived and gone to be with the Lord. My life will have been lived from beginning to end, and I'm going to be out of here." Just to be willing to see that, and admit that, and realize that our Church is passing the same thing is happening in our Church as a collective organism of God. And to say, I'm making plans accordingly. I could get on my soapbox right here, and I'm not about to. I'm not preaching personally. I'm trying to teaching and talking to you today, church. I hope you realize that. But I see the reality of so few people being prepared for their own demise, their own death, as certain as it is, 100% as it is, and people ignoring that. I can't tell you Last Friday, a week ago, two days, I preached my 477th funeral. I mean, I've been around when they've died. I was there before they died and did the funeral. I was there when they were dying in the hospitals, when they got in a wreck, sometimes when they had a heart attack. I see it. Many of them have been members of the church where I've been a pastor. And I have, through the years, pled with people, get ready for dying. Don't just act like and live like you're gonna live forever on this mortal earth. Get ready. How do you get ready? Get a will, a simple will. Your property's going somewhere, your kid's gonna fight over it probably, and especially if you don't have it figured out, tell them, get a will. If you got little kids, just like the Sharps here, get a will. If you die, if Josh dies, you know what the state of Texas is gonna have a voice in his kids. And there are cases where the state of Texas has taken somebody's kids and given them to somebody else, because they didn't have a will. They're considered property. They're looked at like that in the law. Get a burial plot. Get a funeral policy. And all these funerals that I've preached and I've known about a bunch of others, I've yet to see the first kids, grown or otherwise, who took great joy in paying for the funeral for their own dad and mom. You know what a funeral costs? It'll cost you $10,000 or close. I mean, it may be more than that, I mean, depending on what you do. But you can't hardly get one for less than that. And I'm gonna tell you, the kids never are prepared. And I can guarantee you, I've been a pastor, I've never been real happy when somebody in the church came and the kids and somebody said, you need to pay for my parent's funeral or my kid's funeral. Why not? I mean, why don't we prepare? I'm telling you, and I don't want to get in too deep a hole here, that most people are not prepared to die, not only with their spiritual life and where they're going to spend eternity, but they're not prepared to die about their own funeral expenses and about where the property's going, all those things like that. It's simple to do. People can do it easy while they're here and got the right mind, but once you're gone, it's too late. see here what a commendable thing it was for a guy like Moses to stand up and say, I'm about to leave here. And he didn't look like it. You know, in two more years, if I keep living, I'll be 85. And I read about this guy, his natural face was not, force was not abated. I mean, he was as strong as he was when he was a 20 or 25 year old man. Just young, strong guy, and had all that strength. That is not usually the case. Just Caleb and Joshua, I mean, and Moses. I mean, it's a rare thing. Most of us can see it coming. And he is one of the few guys, in spite of the fact of how good his health was and his strength was, he could see what was coming. Nobody is indispensable. Nobody is not only irreplaceable, nobody is indispensable. Yep. Everybody can be replaced. That's a really good thing for all of us. Brother Charles and me, we've been friends a long, long time, talked about lots of things. It's good for preachers to think about the fact that they can be replaced. I can bring in somebody else anytime. Sometimes he does it without notice with a heart attack or a car wreck or somebody just gets fired. We don't like to talk about that, but it happens every now and then. It really does happen. But I want to tell you, this is not something just for preachers to think about. All of you ladies and all of you men, old and young, in this room, need to be aware that you can be replaced. It's good to be humble. It's good to live dependent upon the Lord, realizing that it's by His grace and His strength that I'm still here and I continue. And I need Him to continue. I can't handle this by myself. I have to have the help of our God. Also, it's noticeable that He's not only, Moses was not only invincible, but was not only indispensable, but he was irreplaceable. And I've kind of said that. Moses could be replaced. They needed someone to go in before them into the land of Canaan. They were in a wilderness when he was living, and had been. He led them out of Egypt, and he led them into a wilderness because of their unbelief. Most of them died in that wilderness. God didn't bring them out of Egypt to keep them in a desolate wilderness. God brought them out of Egypt to put them in a promised land over in Canaan, over in what's called Israel today. That's what He wanted to do. Moses had made some mistakes. He was a good man, but he was not a perfect man. He got so high and got so angry, anger got hold of him one time. And when he should have been speaking to a rock he smote a rock and thus indicated that Jesus Christ needed to be crucified twice. And that was a poor example. And God said, I'm not going to let you go in, I'll let you look across the river and see over into the Promised Land, but you can't go in there. God, how are these people going to get in if I don't take them? I'm going to raise up somebody else. Somebody else can do what you couldn't do. I'm not going to let you do it. I'm going to let somebody else do it. That's rather humiliating. By the way, our God humiliates us a lot. good for you here at Lighthouse Baptist Church to realize that God is going to replace this man. One day you are going to take him completely off to Heaven. If He doesn't come, Jesus doesn't come back, He'll take him to Heaven. And hope by the grace of God, Justin wants to continue on, lead this church, be a good, godly, humble man, keep learning in the Lord, and be a good leader for you. But that's what they needed. what they needed in Israel. That's what's needed right here in the Lighthouse Baptist Church in this modern age. Like I said these are timeless lessons. Beloved, Lighthouse Baptist Church needs to see for itself what Moses saw for Israel. It needs to get that kind of view that we've read about here, and some other places are also talking about that. This church needs to see it. Moses knew that only God can provide the right men. I have to talk about this for a minute here. Actually, I'm just talking like a dad to the kids, I guess, I've been just talking. Moses knew that only God can provide the right man. Moses went to God. That's one of the wonderful things that you see so often in the life of this great man of God, and one of the great reasons why he was a great man of God. He talked to God. And let me tell you, if you're going to have power with God, and if you're going to be great with God, and you're going to make decisions that are good, and will stand the test of time, you're going to need to keep talking to God over, and over, and over. You say, how many times a day? I don't know how many times a day. For me, one of the number one scriptures in the whole of the Bible is, if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1 and verse 9. I need that every day. I need it many times when I'm waking up in the morning and throughout the day off and on. I again, God, I have to confess I failed to be what I should have been. I failed to take the leadership. I failed to be into people's lives like I should have been. I failed to study, and I failed to pray. We need to pray. We need the time of God. We need the help of God. We need the direction of God. Every one of us has to see what Moses was doing. He was talking to God. Man, you read those books of Exodus, and then Numbers, and Deuteronomy, and all through those, goodness sakes, these people of Israel were always griping, and moaning, and complaining. East Texas, just bitching about what God's doing, all to live a long time. And he got so upset with them, he just wanted to destroy them almost. I mean, God himself got pretty upset with this picture. But let me tell you that he kept going to God. You'll see Moses in prayer, Moses preceding the Lord, going and appealing for his sister, and appealing for his brother. That's a part of the work of God. And let me tell you, you've got to have the help of God. Church, as you move forward from here you better stay on talking, speaking in terms with God, because you are going to need some things. There are some things, doubtless, in your future that are going to surprise you, that you are going to need the help of God. And we don't want to just all of a sudden, Lord remember me I talked to you three years ago. better be on speaking terms with God all along. Talking to Him every day about where you are, what's going on in this Church, what's going on in your life, and how you could be used of God to be a servant of His in this time. Let the Lord, look at verse 16 of this chapter that I just read to you, chapter 27, let the Lord, Moses knew that he couldn't manufacture a new preacher. He could invest himself in did in Joshua, this young boy, young man that was in his life. Joshua had proven to be quite an outstanding prospect, and he did. He taught him. Moses taught him. Moses sort of took him under his wing, and brought him aside, and showed him the inner workings of what was going on in terms of leadership, and leading this God's people to be what they ought to be. God was working through Joshua, and through Moses, helping Joshua, in this mentorship program that I'm talking about. But he realized, God did, Moses did, that God would have to do the tuning. God would have, I have a grandson, I have three three grandsons and a granddaughter. And out of the four of them, one of them has, I mean, he was really away from the Lord. I mean, he thought he had been saved. He had made an empty profession of faith. But I'll tell you, he got involved with some substance abuse and just stuff that was just taking him down and wrecking him. I mean, a bright young kid and good guy in lots of ways, but he was just being wrecked. His life was just being torn up. And I began to, I mean, the Lord opened some doors, and I talked to him and reasoned with him. But the Lord had to do some stuff, and his name is Adam. He had to do some stuff in Adam's life to turn Adam around. All of my talking wouldn't do it. But I'll tell you what really began to reach him, the word of God. I encouraged him to start reading the Proverbs, and then some other passages in the Bible. And he, as I indicated earlier today in the Sunday School, he thought he could take the Bible and just read it like he could read a novel or some other book, and it wouldn't have much effect on him. But what he found out it was, when he began to get into the Bible, the Bible began to get into him. And it began to convict him, and it began to turn him around. I remember when he came to me, oh, maybe three or four months later, and he said, Paul, do you know that I ought to be dead? I was reading back there in the Law of Moses, and it said a boy that did what I did needed to be stoned to death. He said, I need the mercy of God. God's Word turned him. God's Word can do that. It's not enough to put some, just fill a guy's head like Justin's head with a lot of knowledge, and I can quote scriptures, and I can quote scholars, and I can say the Greek, and all that. all well and good, but I'll tell you until your heart gets taken, you're not going to be what God wants you to be. The heart has to be right. The next pastor of this church, Justin it appears to be, needs the help of God. You need to pray for him. You need to pray that God will take over his life, and God will make him humble, and meek, and want to serve the Lord, and do it. Charles Dill, as good and godly a man as he is, he can't make that happen. He can try to make it happen, but you can't make it happen. You have to talk to God. You have to ask for his help. You have to ask for divine intervention. You have to ask for a divine moving in a heart of an individual for it to be successful in the long haul. So I'm talking here, right here, about this caution number one, or at least this parallel number one. Let's look at parallel number two. God had already provided for their needs. Isn't that amazing? God had provided their needs just as He has for yours. You see that in verses 18-23 of this text passage. It seems God had already brought in the young man to be ready. already began to use Moses in the picture to invest in his life and begin to steer him in a good direction. God already provided Joshua. Look at verse 18, take heed that Joshua the son of Nun are to him and put the Spirit of God in him. what you see here. You just be sure that you get that they see Joshua and see the Spirit of God in him. Joshua is one of the great heroes of the Bible too. You talk about Moses, wonderful, great man of God. Let me tell you Joshua was no slouch. He was a great hero. You look back in the history of Israeli people and Joshua is one of the greatest of the heroes of all. He is the conqueror. He greatest of all, a godly man of vision. He was a man of faith. He was a man of trusting in the Lord on a day-to-day basis. He had integrity. He had initiative. He had courage. He had a good decisive leadership skill about him. Listen to chapter 24 of Joshua and verse 31, and Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua. which had known of the works of the Lord, that he had done before, or in the face of Israel, or in the sight of Israel." I mean they saw it, this is God's testimony. He was a conqueror, He was the man, Joshua was the man who God had in mind to take Israel into the Promised Land. Remember they came out of Egyptian bondage and then they stalled out there due to sin in that wilderness area, and were there 40 years until all the old guys died off. And then God has this new guy coming along, this Joshua. uses him to get these people where he wants them. Because he never intended to get them out of Egypt and stay in the desert. He intended to get them out of Egypt, pass through the desert, and into the promised land that flowed with milk and honey. Into the place where God says, this is the land to rest. This is where I want you to be. Nobody Lighthouse Baptist Church needs to be insecure. Listen to me, church, this is a time of uncertainty, and I know that and you know that. God can raise up and sustain men to meet specific needs. Look at chapter 1 of Joshua, and put a marker there, we're coming back in just a moment. Chapter 1 of Joshua, and verse 5, I will be with thee, and I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." Doesn't that sound a whole lot like the words of Jesus Christ, I will not leave thee nor forsake thee? This is what God initially said to Joshua, I'll be there, I'll stand with you, I won't fail you, I can take care of your needs, I'm capable, I'm your God, I have the power over all enemies, I will help you The things that are impossible for men are easy with God. I'm glad to be able to say that. God can do things and make them look. I've been in some situations in my life where I didn't see how on God's green earth I was possibly going to get through it. And then God just seemed to open up the Red Sea. I mean, He just opened up the way. And what seemed to be impossible just turned out to be really easy. And I had to realize God does those things. Morals can never manufacture men of God. when we try, preachers try to manufacture justice and make them great men of God, you know what happens? They get to become hirelings, or they get to be bigger than their, too big for their britches, and they get all these new ideas and things of how we're going to do it. Listen, God has to do a work in a heart. and that's what you have to trust God. You do all you can, and you trust God to do what you can't do. God can meet the needs of those who trust Him. That includes the needs of churches. God has already selected this young man, Justin Curtis, to be your leader here and meet the needs of Lighthouse Baptist Church. Hopefully you will work together with him will stand with Him as you have with your previous leader. He's going to still be here for a while until God takes him home. I don't know how long it will be until the Lord Himself may come back on the scene. But what we do, we will work until Jesus comes. And brothers and sisters that shouldn't be a song only. We're going to really work until Jesus comes. We're going to keep going. this generation, and maybe another. I don't know when Jesus is coming back. I think it will be real soon, but I don't know for sure. I can't put a date on it, and you know that I can't. Matthew 24 makes that clear as day. We have to wait on the Lord, and what we do, we work until Jesus comes. Blessed is that servant who when the Lord comes finds working, and doing, and serving. That's what you ought to do here. And let's pray that God will use that man, Justin Curtis, to to be His man, to be a Joshua and not a dud. God instructed Moses to put some of thine honor on Him." Look at that statement there. Thine honor is the good that He had. And I just want to stop here, and I hope you'll bear with me because I'm just talking to you, Church. I've known Charles Dill since Denver, Colorado, and Walden where he was living. I've seen him. There's a lot of good in him. I've seen that. I mean, by the grace of God, it's all by his grace. But God's used Charles Dill. for great doctrinal truth to stand up for things that are right. He's used Charles Deal to be an example soul winner more than anybody that I personally have known. He's been in lives, many of you sitting in this room today, you're children of God because this man got into your life and told you the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ and you came to know him as your personal savior. You have a debt of gratitude. This is a great man of God who's been teaching Justin How long has Justin been in this church here? How many? How many? Six years. Six years? Did I hear six? 16. I said I have a few problems. One of them, my hearing aid is not working good. Yeah, 16 years. This man's been laying his hands, so to speak, putting his mantle on this. Because Teach Him Some of Thy Ways is a statement about God saying to Moses, you invest yourself in this guy. teach him what's true. You teach him the truth of the Word of God. You give him some wisdom. You show him how to do a lot of the things that a pastor has to do, to lead. There are so many things. This is what you need to do. That's been going on right here. I've watched this thing been going on. And I know Charles has been investing himself, and he wants Justin to bring this church into the Promised Land. That's what I want to see. You say, well, it's been in a pretty good promise land. But you ain't seen nothing yet, as one of my friends in Israel has said. I mean, God's got a lot more to do. He can do more. And you know it ought to be the greatest joy for a guy like myself or Charles Dill to rejoice in what God does for the guy that follows him. You know, I haven't had that good success story. I have a different tale, a different testimony has happened in my own personal case. But I will tell you, I can think of nothing that would have blessed me more than to see that God takes my place, be much better than me, a much better preacher, a much better leader, a much better soul winner. just a much better man of God than me. That's what we all ought to want. It's not really about you and it's not about me. It's about the Lord and being used of God in His work to do what He wants done. I'm going to close this challenge with two cautions. And hopefully you can see these clearly. Number one, even in the Promised Land there are big enemies. All you have to do is read right over in Joshua, the first chapter to Joshua. And you see there were enemies just across. The Israelis came out of Egyptian bondage down here to the south, the Mediterranean seas over here on the west side. But they came around here overland, kind of came around the edge of the promised land, Canaan. And they got over here on the east bank, on the east side of the Jordan River, in a big valley called the Heshbon Valley. And that's where they were. God said, OK, Moses, it's time for you to check out. And I've been putting that in each text. He said, I'll take you up on this mountain. Mount Pisgah is right up there on the top. He said, I'll take you out here on the top of this mountain and let you look over there. And God had it all worked out. It was a clear day. And Moses could see. His vision was good. His sight was great. And he stood up there on top of that mountain. And he could see. You can. It's just about 60, 70 miles from over here to Jerusalem and then over to the Mediterranean Sea is about another, it's about 75 miles over there, depending on where you are. Moses stood up there and looked all around. He said, Lord let me go in. I want to go there. I want to be in that promised land. No, I'm not going to let you do it. I'll just let you see it. But I'm going to get the people over there. I'm going to get them over there. I'm going to do what you didn't get done. We're going to get those people over there. And sure enough, that's exactly what happened. But over there, when he looked across that Jordan River where all those grapes were so big and where the pomegranates were and where they were just lush and wonderful over there, he saw a city down there just waiting just on the other side of the river. And it's called Jericho. And there was another little city up behind with the guns, so to speak. It's called AI. And up here on the north side, there were people with chariots. And nobody could stand up, it seemed, against them. And all through this, there were big enemies in all the land. That's there because it's real. There were true, real people in there with those things. These are historical accounts. But they're representative of the fact that when you would go into the promised land of God, Lighthouse Baptist Church, there are going to be some enemies waiting on you. If you think it's all going to be rosy and smooth and easy, you got another thing coming. Because there are problems that can stick up. I mean, there are angers and tempers that can flare. There are differences of opinions And people can get jealous of a preacher, jealous of another member. Moral issues can come to play even in a church. Immorality can come up right in the middle of a church of the living God. I'm talking about the fact that people are people wherever they are, and they're always enemies. There's always that old flesh that can rise up, and lust, and hatred, and greed, and envy, and evil things. Do you realize kids get molested in nurseries and little children's church services in independent Baptist churches just like this? Do you know what that does to a church? Do you know what it does to a pastor? Sometimes it is a pastor. Sometimes it's a youth guy. I mean, I'm talking about what can happen and does happen in real churches in 2024 and 2025, if there is a 2025. So do not imagine that you're going to have it easy. Do not imagine that everything's going to fall in place. Do not imagine that Satan's going to just go to sleep and say, y'all go ahead and be blessed. He's going to be in here trying his best to destroy you, to bring this church down, and to boot over nothing probably, over just some little disagreement or some little petty thing. That's the way he does things. He's an expert at it. He's been doing it a long, long time. So I'm saying as a caution to Lighthouse Baptist Church on this special Sunday, Don't let Satan come in here and your old flesh rise up and wreck this church. I'm gonna interject here, it's not exactly in line with these slides that are behind me, but I wanna just tell you, the future, the success of this church is not gonna depend on God. Well, I thought everything depended on God. God's already got it all figured out. already promised that He would bless. I want you to look here in the Bible, I mean we are looking in Joshua, I called it to your attention and asked you to put a marker there. Go with me to the first chapter of Joshua where God is speaking specifically to Israel. This is an Israeli promise, but it's a general promise. It's broader than just them. This is talking about what He would do for the people of Israel, also talking about what He would do for all of His people through the years in terms of blessing and sustaining them. So it is a promise that has application to you right here in this church. Look at verse 1, after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead. happen? It's not going to happen? It is. It's a reality. I'm going to die. Charles is going to die. Most of my servant is dead. Now, therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, and the land which I give to thee, even to the children of Israel." God said, I give you the promise, that's when it's called a promised land. He promised it to Abraham in the 12th chapter of Genesis, I'm going to give you this land, it's real land, not just an imaginary thing, not a fictitious thing. No, I want you now to go, it's time for you to go in there, look at verse 4, from the wilderness and this Lebanon, even into this great river, and Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites and all the great sea going down to the sun shall be your coast." Verse 5, there shall not any man, look just think about this, you, this is talking to you, talking to me. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life. suppose that God would make a promise like that and then renege? And say, well, I changed my mind. No, God's not changing His mind. He said, I'm giving you some land. I've given you some promises. Nobody can stand before you as I was with Moses, even so will I be with thee. I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage, for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land which I swear I give their fathers." I'm going to stop right there talking about this and just say to all of you in this room, God's not the one who's going to make the difference whether you go forward with victory and winning souls and people keep getting saved and the work of God continue like it has. It's not going to be God. God's already said, I will do it. It's going to depend on whether you're willing to go across. He said, I will give you Joshua and your people every place foot of your soul steps. When you go walking right there I'll give you that, give you that, give you that. I've already promised the whole thing, but you're going to have to go in and get it. You're going to have to whip those people down there at Jericho. You're going to have to deal with those Hittites up there in those chariots. You're going to have to deal with all these enemies. You can't ignore them and go in. I'll give you the land, but you're going to have to follow You're going to have to trust me to get it. You're going to have to do it my way. I'm not going to do it your way. You're going to have to do it my way. And when that doesn't happen, if you don't have it happen, don't blame me. I had delayed you the promise, but you decided you'd do it your own way, and you'd fight among yourselves, and couldn't get along with your pastor, and you couldn't do all these things. And therefore, you can't have it. I won't let you do it. God is good at making promises, and he keeps all of his promises. But I'll tell you, there's a responsibility for us, and Joshua had a responsibility, and he was blessed. He took that land. In fact, that promise, that very action is what Benjamin Franklin, you know, when he came and settled around Pennsylvania, he walked it. He made the literal promise here, and he walked and he took all of Pennsylvania in, and that's where he got it. God said, I will give you the land, but you gotta put your feet in there. It won't be easy, you can't quit winning souls, you can't rest on your laurels, you can't get mad at each other, you can't pick a fight, you can't make a big deal out of every little petty, and you're gonna have to put some things in, and learn how to get along with each other, and learn something that most Baptists know little about, and that is cooperation, learn how to yield, that humility thing, that's what you need to have in your church, and you need to follow your leadership as your leadership follows the Lord. Then he says, I will bless you, I will stand with you, I will give you the land, and I will bless this church. Caution number two, your attitude and approach will always determine whether you win or lose. That's what I've just been hinting, your attitude. Winners are not accidental, and losers are not accidental. God would love to bless everybody, but some people won't let him. They got their own ideas and take matters into their own hands and get a little too cocky. If you want to live, if you want to succeed, if you want Lighthouse Baptist Church to prosper to the glory of God, humble yourself. Learn to work together. Follow the Lord, put Him number one, win souls to Him, and I'll tell you, He'll bless you. I love this passage. It's in the book of Psalms. It's the first of the Psalms, and I'm just going to read it in your hearing. This one will be, by the way, very good for you to memorize. Just put it into your heart. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doeth he meditate day and night." look at this promise, he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His leaf shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." This is how God does business with people, like Lighthouse Baptist Church. That all of them say, we were thine, O Lord, Use us. Use us to win many people. Use us to send missionaries. Use us to show the Spirit of Christ that we know how to yield. We know how to give. We know how to be good neighbors. We know how to reach people who need you. I pray for you. I pray for you about what's happening today. Do not take for granted anything. You gotta do it God's way, and God will bless you. Thank you for letting me talk to you. Like I said, I just feel like I'm talking to kids. Brother Charles, would you take charge of the invitation? Let's stand together. I don't think it's working. Well, I appreciate that message. I appreciate the spirit in which it was presented. I feel like I've been talked to like a kid. That's what I need. The challenge that it presents to us is pretty simple, I think. Let me tell you something. Let me tell you some things that we know. About 16 years ago, apparently that's the right time frame, sitting right over here on this side, Jesus saved Justin Curtis. He come in here, a lost, struggling teenager, needing Christ, and the Word of God did its job. He changed him forever. And the years to follow, the Lord allowed Justin to be invested in this church. He went away to Bible college, which I wasn't too crazy about at the time, but I learned to get used to it. And then he finished his college. They didn't teach him his doctrine. I saw Justin go away to school, spend five years, and come back here to serve the Lord. believing exactly the same things that he believed when he left. The truth is eternal. The truth doesn't change. And education and all of the things that go with it didn't change this man. It's a pretty incredible situation, really. for a young man to get saved right here, go in school, get a Bible college education, and then come back here to serve the Lord. And I knew when he came that he was going to be the next pastor of the church. I've known it for years. My job has been to prepare him just like just like what we heard today about Moses and Joshua. Now, I've done some things to prepare him, but I've not done nearly as much to prepare him as the Lord has. The Lord has been preparing him, getting him ready. He went away to school and he came back with this beautiful young lady back here, Tabitha. and brought her back to Lighthouse when he came. Now, she was quite a gift to God for Justin. I saw him, I saw his first love break his heart before he left, and I told him, I told him that one of these days, you're gonna look on this as one of the best things God ever did for you. And Tabitha has proved that to be true. But what I'm telling you is, I don't think new to any of you. You've watched the Lord do all of this. So, and I'm actually a little bit surprised because I'm used to making my plans and then the Lord changing them after I get them all settled. He didn't do that this time. We made our plans and today the Lord is going to ratify those plans. The Lord is going to see it through for us. A pastor, if you've read the book of Ephesians, a pastor and a teacher, they're gifts to the church. And Justin has already proved to be a real and profitable gift to this church. You've heard him preach, you've heard him teach. And I'm amazed at the doctrine that he and I share and believe. I can't find an area where we disagree. Believe me, I've looked. That's almost a miracle, Brother Hudson. You know how that is. That just doesn't happen. You could not go outside this church and find this agreement in scripture and doctrine and practice and all the right things that we try to stand for. You could not go outside of this church and find that in a, I can't even imagine how long it would take. I don't think it could be done. But it's not necessary because the Lord planned it 16 years ago and planted the seed and set it all in motion. And this today is simply agreeing with God what He's already been doing. I fully expect, I'm not just telling you what to do, I'm just telling you what I expect. I fully expect a unanimous vote of approval for Justin Curtis. Now the business meeting, we're gonna take a break and let you find a restroom and what you do and then come back here and assemble. and we're gonna have this meeting. But the business meeting is to place Justin, and according to the full and unanimous recommendation of our Elder Gordon, is to place Justin in the title and in the position of lead pastor in this church. That means he's gonna determine the preaching schedule. That means he's gonna determine and come up with the new ministries that God leads as God leads him to lead this church. I'm going to retire to the position of senior pastor. It doesn't mean I'm gonna be leading the church. It means I'm gonna be shepherding my sheep. I got sheep here. And you have not arrived, nor has your under shepherd. And I'm going to be doing that job just like as long as God gives me breath to breathe. I'm going to be doing that job and serving alongside Justin, just as I have the last six years and supporting him. I challenge for you. My challenge is for you, each one of you, to commit yourself to support this man with your prayers and your service and your agreement and God's tithes and your offerings. Put your money where your mouth is. Do what's required to support this man. I know he is fully invested in this church. I know what that's like because I have been since day one I still am. I'm glad to see this day. I've prayed for this day for years. Thank you, buddy. Not to be gone. I'll grab this one this time. Thank you. I'm not leaving. I'm retiring to my new title and my service on the Elder Board. Whatever wisdom that I might have accumulated over the last 25 or so years, whatever it is now, I don't really know. But that's still going to be available. Brother Ray Kennedy and myself, now with Justin. And there are new servants that God is going to raise up to help us do the job. But our hearts and our prayer lives are committed. And we're going to support this church. We're going to guard this church. Amen. We have seen, we have seen the enemy's attack before, and we have survived those attacks because of our commitment to what we stand for and the doctrines that we believe in. And I know that this young man is just as committed as I've ever been to those truths. I have an extreme confidence in where this is going, I do. I'm not a prophet, I'm a preacher, but I have great confidence. My confidence is in Jesus, because I watched him begin this work, and he's gonna complete the work that he has begun in us. There is a promised land for us, And I haven't brought us into it. It's coming. Might get to see it. I don't know how long I'll last. But it would be wonderful if that happens. But we're part of it. We're all part of it. And I guess we're going to have an invitation. Are we going to have an invitation?