He loved me and planned to die for me and save me with His redeeming blood, knowing who I would be, knowing my life would be filled with issues of pride and rebellion and enmity, and He still gave His life for old Nick, when Nick had nothing to do with Him. Amen? Didn't want anything to do with Him. But His grace in my life, and it reached me in my sin. It impeached me from my own throne of doing my own life, going my own way. Interrupted me and put me on another course of living. And then it's been from that day, from that point on, it's been teaching me how to live, how to love, and how to look unto Jesus from that time on. And we live in a world of people who just don't know this yet. We live in a world of people who are not familiar with the gospel and all they know is the information they have and the knowledge they possess is like he told the Babylonians. It has twisted them and warped them and their wisdom has hindered them. Their lack of fear of things has only created tension and problems for them. And we are entered into this world with this group of people we are going out to reach who are just tangled up in all kind of issues and all kind of thoughts and all kind of problems. God is going to use people like you and like me to help untangle this mess through the gospel. And if I get frustrated and aggravated and agitated with people who are twisted and warped and all messed up in their thinking, I won't be approachable to them and then I will be an offense to them. And that's what the enemy wants. He wants me to be an offense to them so that they will not hear the message that I have. Because the message I have is able to save them, amen? That's what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4. The enemy keeps them blinded. The enemy keeps that veil on them so that they won't be saved. And one of the ways he does that is that he creates this atmosphere that we as the people of God are the problem. And we are the ones who are troublemakers. And we're the ones who are negative. And we're the ones who see everything the wrong way. But when we are or winsome type of people, approachable type of people who stand on the rock of the promises of God, but are able to look beyond their confusions, to be able to look beyond their grief, to be able to look beyond their problems and love on them because of where they are, I think God uses the gospel to reach them right where they are. We don't go clean them up and then Jesus saves them, amen? It reaches us in our sin. I've got a few, some string up here that's got a few knots in it. I need a few helpers. I need somebody to help me out. Hold that for a second. Hold that for a second. Miss Denny, hold that for a second. Hold that right there. It wasn't too long ago, Miss Stephanie, some call her Honey, She brought me a pile of necklaces that she had. They were all tangled up, intertwined together. There was knot upon knot, chain upon chain, and there was three of them. Three nice pretty necklaces that she had, fine chain necklaces that were in her jewelry box that she just got them all in there twisted. Y'all ever had them get twisted up like that? I mean, they were just twisted, and she don't ever really fool with them. She brings them to me, and she says, can you get these undone? Y'all know what it took to get them undone? What did it take? Patience upon patience. I mean, one knot, one link, one chain at a time. And you think you're making some progress with it, and then you realize you're just twisting it up a little bit more. And then it's got big old medallions on them things that you've got to slip through those knots, you know what I'm talking about? And you're trying to get enough room, and you're worried. Well, eventually, Patience upon patience, time after time. It took me a little while, but I got them all done, praise God. She was able to put them all back on her neck again and display them and they were mighty pretty. As a matter of fact, they're not even a jewelry box now. We put up a little rack so they hang now. They don't get all stuffed in there, amen? Well, people are like that. This world we live in, people are so tangled up. and their dysfunction, that they've learned how to function from dysfunction. And that's what we're facing, that's where we are today. And that's not just where we are, that's where this world's been for a long time. Remember when God told, made that revelation about men before the flood in Genesis chapter 6 when he says that the heart of men, men, every thought and imagination of the heart of man was what? evil, meaning it had no eternal value to it. It was wicked. It was wrong. It wasn't in tune in line with God. That was a product of the fall where men begin from those days, you take even Cain for an example, and Cain's descendants, how they begin to twist what God designed in the garden. And not just from there, God's line of righteous men and women begin to do things differently and not take the very a command in the context that God gave them in the garden. What was the command in the garden that God told Adam and Eve? Be fruitful and what? Now what was the context of that command? Marriage, right? He didn't tell people that wasn't married to go be fruitful and multiply. The context of that command was for a husband and wife. What was the conditions? You need a what? A man? and a woman or a man that has a womb, a woman. So God created man and woman and he put them together and that is where the command to be fruitful and multiply. The conditions is you gotta have a man and you have to have a woman. Y'all know two men cannot have a baby. Two women cannot have a baby. Are you with me? Doesn't work that way. You see, but men have been twisting that up from the very onset of being kicked out of the garden with the fall of man being products of the fall, children of wrath. We've just twisted this. And the farther we get away from the garden, the more miles we journey down the road, the more twisted things get. And you and I are around people every day of our life that are twisted up in this mess. in their relationships, on their jobs, in their communities, with family, with friends, and with foes alike. They're all twisted up and they tangled up. The consequences, we're seeing it every day of what took place with Adam and Eve in the garden. It was not good that man should not be without his woman. He needed a woman because of the conditions and the context and the command to be fruitful and multiply. And that command is still applicable today. That context still stands today. The conditions are still God's conditions. But we have to face the consequences of Adam and Eve's choice in the garden. And then we have to make a choice. Will we take this twisted up, tangled up culture's choice or we go back to the context that God give us in the garden and do things His way? Stick it out, do it God's way, and God will bless. You know, we live in a world that's just messed up with messed up people, and we've paid, we've contributed to that, amen? In a major way, and that's what we have to remember. The world that God has given us to love and lead and point them to Him, we used to be in it, and we used to think like them, act like them, talk like them, resist people who came to us to tell us otherwise. And thankfully, people were patient with us, amen? They were kind to us and gracious to us and they loved us, they prayed for us, they interceded for us. It's a wonder to be able to hear about people who prayed for you for several years before you ever come to know Jesus. Isn't that a blessing when God puts you on somebody's heart to pray for you and you find out that somebody was lifting you up and praying for you and kept you from some things in life. Well, look, I gave you all those right there. Those are some knots. Brother Jeremy tied those for me. I want you all to go ahead and untie them. When you get them untied, just raise your hand and I'll come get it. Some are probably going to be a little harder than the others. But it's going to take some of you, I believe, a little bit longer to get them untied. And you know, that's how it's going to be for you and me to work with people. Some people are a little bit easier to work with because of their disposition and who they are, their upbringing, who was around them, who taught them, who led them. They're going to be a little more gentle. They're going to be a little more easy. They'll listen to you. But it still takes the power of God and the power of His Holy Spirit and the Word of God, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, to penetrate even a good old boy that's on his way to hell. Amen? It takes God to get involved in that. And therefore, if He's involved in it, we're going to find that He's patient with us. And we need to be patient with one another. Take your Bibles and turn with me to the book of 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. There's numerous passages that we can really look at. For an example, Ephesians chapter 4, verse number 2. teaches us about being compassionate, being gentle, meek, and forbearing, and forgiving one another when people transgress us. If we went over to the Colossians chapter number 3, verse 11 and 12 in that general area, it's going to talk about, as the elect of God, that we are to put on the vows of mercy, tender mercies, compassion, and be gentle with people the way Christ was gentle with people. And this passage tells us pretty much very similar to the same, but it gives us a context of how some people may be acting and how we want to be gentle with them. So 1 Thessalonians, chapter number 5, I'm going to begin reading in verse number 12. We'll just read a few verses in it, and may the Lord help us tonight as we dig in His Word. Anybody got them untied yet? Alright, look what he says first Thessalonians 5 verse number 12, and we beseech you brethren To know and the idea of know is to the idea of recognizing to be able to recognize To be able to gaze upon someone with which with with them that labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you and and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake, and be at peace among yourselves. Verse 14. Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, support the weak, and here we go, be mean toward all men. Does it say that? Now y'all want to at times, are you with me? What does it say? Be what? Be patient toward all men. That means men that are like you and not like you. That means the unruly, that means the weak, the feeble minded, that means the powerless, that means people that can frustrate you, people that, you got one brother, good job, thank you brother. How long did that take you? Five minutes? Had to exercise a little patience. You got another one? Oh man, we're getting them on, coming on time here. Miss Denny, how about it? You don't look too patient with that thing. Y'all see them eyes? Now don't get Brother Clint to pull out his pocket knife for you now. You see, that's normally what we do. When we can't get it, we get frustrated with it. And old Jimmy Oldman done pulled out his blade on it and cut it. I could have taken those necklaces just because I got aggravated with them, pulled them just enough where I kinked one of those chains or broke it, and now she has a necklace that she can't wear unless we soldered it all back together. And that's how it is with people. Some people are extremely fragile. Are you with me? Are y'all one of those people? I mean fragile. People got to handle you with gloves on. You know what I'm talking about? Y'all ever been around some of those people? That you're very cautious on what you say, how you say, what you don't say, what you do say. I mean, every word is calculated, every thought is calculated, because you could put them in a tailspin just by snapping your fingers. Y'all know what I'm talking about? Man, those kind of people are frustrating, aren't they? I mean, you want to avoid them, don't you? You try to stay out of conversations with them. You'll stay off the phone with them. You'll run from them. Because you know that it's like walking in a room. You're walking on eggshells around them all the time. And we live in a world that are full of people that are very sensitive like that and are very hard to deal with. Oh, Brother Malcolm Ellis. How many of y'all know Brother Malcolm Ellis? He's a good preacher of the Word of God. And he used to say a thing like this, I remember him saying it over and over again. Higher the maintenance, lower the impact. Think about that for a moment. The higher the maintenance someone is, the lower the impact they have in the kingdom of God. If it takes a lot of maintenance to keep you up and keep you around and keep you going, because more than likely the reason is that life still resolves and focuses a lot about you, the lower the impact you'll have on the kingdom. It's those people who live selfishly, who don't mind and don't care. They do care, but it doesn't get to them. They're more of a thick-skinned, not that they don't enjoy being around people. They're able to deal with situations and people, and they can overcome things, and they less maintenance. That's one thing about our church, Briggs Chapel, and them praying for us and loving on us. They're not a high-maintenance church. And that frees Stephanie and I up to be able to go places and do what we do. It's been a great work of what God has done in putting us together because we're able to go a lot. And because they're not a high-maintenance group of people, we don't have to worry about what's going on back home or what they're gonna do next or how they're gonna do it because they're just not high-maintenance. If I was in a situation as a pastor and my people were just high maintenance type people but low impact type people, I couldn't go near as much because they're more problematic type people. There was always something going on, some problem happening. This was mad at this one and this one was having trouble with this one or this one was having this kind of trouble and that one was having that kind of trouble. And you can't leave a group of people when they're in that situation. And that kind of group of people will suck the life out of you. They become bloodsuckers. But you know what? Scripture says you got to be what? Patient with all of them, amen? People that frustrate you and people that bless you. People that honor you and people that curse you. Be patient with all. Be gentle. I think about Abraham. Let's talk about Abraham again. Y'all remember when Abraham told Melchizedek and the king of Sodom that he was not going to take anything from them, not even a sandal strap, so that no man on the face of the earth can say that they gave Abraham any wealth? Y'all know what I'm talking about? Which is a great commitment that he made But Abraham was also a man of grace and a man that exercised patience with other men. Because you know what he also said in the same setting? He says, as for me, I don't want anything other than the people that I went to rescue. Lot, my nephew, and his wife, and those that were with him. They said, you take all this ball. He said, I don't want that. I just want them. He says, but those and the things that my men that went with me, the 318 men that went with him and the things they ate, he was thankful for that. But he says, these other three men, these Amorites that came with me, you let them take whatever they want because they earned it. You know what that tells me? Abraham was a man of grace, acted on his own convictions, but he didn't limit other people around them to act on their convictions. And that's important for us. because people that are not approachable will stand on their convictions, but they believe everybody and their brother must stand on the same convictions they're standing on, and that's just not so in the kingdom. God's a lot bigger than me and you, amen? And God tells one man to do something, and another man, he can't do something. And that's okay. Paul said that he was lawful and had liberty to do everything, but not everything was beneficial to him, are you with me? He says, I could eat this, I could drink that, but I choose not to eat this or drink that. But I'm not going to limit you in choosing not to eat and drink that because that's between you and the Lord. If your conscience condemns you, if you in doubt, leave it out. But just because I am burdened and convicted on my convictions doesn't mean I'm going to limit my brother sitting over there to act on his own convictions. You see, you become approachable to people when they realize that you're doing what you're gonna do, but you're not gonna be offended if they choose to do something contrary to you, and you're not gonna condemn them, you're not gonna hurt them, and you're not gonna shame them in what they're doing. That person is gonna follow, those men followed Abraham. Those men risked their lives for Abraham. Those men went to war and fought with him because he was a man of grace. Man who acted on his own convictions, but didn't limit others to act on theirs. And I think that's important for us today. Why? Because we live in a world where if we're not careful, and all we become known for is the things that we are against, and we believe everybody else should be against them with us, then the world, that's all they see us as, as people who are against this, but they don't see who we're in love with. and while we're living for the reasons that we're living, amen. Therefore, he was patient with me and he was gracious with people. And those things I've got to learn because I believe if I've got a conviction about something, I believe it's a good conviction and other people ought to have the same convictions I'm having. Are you with me? But I also have to be sensitive to the spirit of God and realize that God is able to do something with me and to do something different with that brother next to me and use him to do different things that he's going to use me to do things in. Remember, I am under an assignment. I am submissive to the Lord. I'm on assignment with Him. And because I'm on an assignment with Him, I have orders from Him. I've been sent by Him. I have a mission to accomplish. He's authorized me to do that work. He's anointed me to do it. He's approved me to do it. He accepts what I do. And He will affirm His witness in and through my life when I stick to what I'm authorized to do. But you know what? Not all y'all are authorized to do what I do. We don't all have the same, the same, the same calling, amen? We all have unique and different callings. That's why the scripture says, let a man remain in his same vocation and let him show tender mercies to people and do these things. That's important for us to recognize, because I can get closed up in a box now. And if I get closed in a box, you know what I'm doing? I'm closing this God who I say is so big and wonderful, I'm putting him in a box too. And I want to tell you, you can't put an unlimited God in a limited box, amen? He can do as he pleases, when he pleases, however he pleases, with whomever he pleases, in whatever way he pleases. That's why he's sovereign. And that's why I trust him and do what he's called me to do. I just have to be cautious because if I'm not, I can become very impatient with people. Denny, you got it? Good glory, hallelujah. See, that took a little more time. Some people take a little more time to work with. Last night I mentioned about Jesus when he came in and dealt with Mary and Martha when Lazarus has died. And remember, I mean, they were grieving. They were hurt. Why did you not come any sooner? But you know, Jesus, even though he knew the outcome, even though he knew what was about to happen, the scripture says he entered felt their pain and he comforted them in their grief. Even though he knew, he knew then, he knew joy was right around the corner. He continued to work with them tenderly and patiently as this passage would teach us. Notice these different characters that we have here. Look in verse number 14. He says, now we exhort you, brethren, to warn. The word warn is the word preach. It means to admonish, preach. Put into the mind. When you admonish someone, that is simply saying, what we're doing here tonight, I am attempting by taking the things of God from the principles of the Word of God, and I'm trying to put it in your mind. I'm preaching to you and I'm teaching you. I'm trying to put it in your mind. And he says, put it in the mind of those who are unruly. Here, that's how he says it. Warn them that are unruly. Troublemakers. Troublemakers can be frustrating. Those who are unruly, come up here, boys. Y'all come help me. Come on up here, Dustin. All right, y'all get in a single file line facing that-a-way. And when I say left, right, left, when I say left, you step with your left foot at the same time. You know how to march, don't you? A band member. So you go ahead and take the cadence and you lead them. Would that be good? All right, y'all take off and go. Gotta talk to them now. They don't know what to do unless you tell them. Lord have mercy. How many of y'all want to go to battle with them? All right, y'all come back. Dustin, you lead now. Instead of saying left, right, say one, two, three. Well, do one, two, three with your feet. Your left foot being one. Now y'all notice that one in the back, he's being a little unruly, right? He's just dragging along. That's the idea. Y'all can sit down. Thank y'all. That's the idea of being unruly. You get out of order. You get out of step. You get out of rank. God, look, in the ideas of submission, when you're on mission, you have a set of orders. And when you're not abiding in those orders, you get, you're out of orders, you get out of rank, you step out of rank, it gets everybody off, and there's a missing link. And when that happens within the body, the Bible tells us as the people of God, we are to admonish one another, we're to put it in the mind, look, you're out of order right now. You're mistreating your wife. You're mistreating your kids. You're not respecting the mission that we have and the vision we have at the church. You're laying up. You're not doing your part in the kingdom. What part do you have in the kingdom? And that's why it's good to know one another. Amen? And not to limit one another, but to build one another up in love. But when people get out of mission, out of rank, out of order, it's not the responsibility alone of your preachers to do that. He's exhorting the entire church at Thessalonica to step in and just put it into the mind. You don't have to beat them up with it. You just acknowledge, Is there something going on in your life that we can help you with? But you're patient with them. You're kind toward them. As Proverbs 19, 22 says, the most desirable, most beautiful thing about a person is their kindness. And kindness is a useful goodness. that has people's interest, their best interest at hand to bring glory to God in and through their life. So, when people get out of order, it's up to the church to work together with one another and put it in the mind that you're not in rank right now. You're not on mission. You're missing something here. And everybody's hurting as a result of it. And when the church holds one another accountable through tender love, you know what happens? That church continues to grow stronger. and brighter and more vital in the overall picture of the kingdom of God than a church just doing its own thing with its people doing their own thing. And there's no sense of vision and mission of order of us working together to accomplish a mission that God's given us together, amen? So it's up to us to work with one another. But how do you do it? Some people, you recognize are more sensitive than others. Some people have a spirit of, they like to brawl with one another. Sometimes people get out of order because they got issues going on in their family. Got stuff going on in their life. Things get hard, things get heavy, and they start to misprioritize things in their life, and it just gets out of order because their family's out of order, their husband's out of order, their wife's out of order. Things just get out, their children, whatever it may be, and it's weighing down on them, and they may be unruly, but it may not be just necessarily because out of a spirit of rebellion. It could be where we get into the next phase. Look what he says. Not just warn the unruly, but then he says, verse 14, comfort The feeble-minded. The word comfort simply means to come alongside someone who's struggling in a work. The feeble-minded is someone who's faint-hearted. They are struggling in the journey. And they need a brother and sister to come alongside and put an arm around them. And walk with them and help them. You ever been there before? When you needed somebody to come walk with you? Because you was faint-hearted? You were struggling in the test. Because remember, last night we talked about this. It's inevitable. If patience is going to have its perfect work, according to what James encourages us, we looked over in the book of Romans, chapter number 5, where we learned that tribulation worketh what? Patience. Patience worketh experience, and experience worketh hope, and a hope that will not ashame. It will not disappoint. So that means that in this kingdom work that we have, we are going to continually face what? Problems. Not everybody knows how to deal with the problem because they are not Submissive. They're not under assignment. And when you're not on assignment, you don't have authority to handle the problems that God gives us and brings in our life. So they get faint-hearted. They struggle with it. And what they need, they need a brother and sister who is on mission, who is on their assignment, who has the power of God working in them to know how to deal with problems, to come put their arm around them and help walk them through it and strengthen them. and then you will determine is this something going on in their spirit because under the test that they're facing because they're being chastened or disciplined by God or is it the fact that they're rebellious and not wanting to be submissive to the things of God and then that's when we admonish them we put it in their mind but when we put it in their mind and put our arm around them to show them what God's doing in our life and how we're walking with them, that helps a brother and sister. That's not just saying you're wrong, you need to get right, and you're just condemning them without not showing them grace. You see, the law will condemn you but doesn't give an answer for you. Liberalism will just let you keep doing whatever you want. But grace will identify the error where you're at But grace is gonna extend mercy to you and say, come on, I wanna help you. Let me show you what God's done in my life and how he's helped me right where you are, and I wanna be able to help you carry this burden as well. Amen? That's where patience begins to manifest itself. And I'm telling you, we need patience with our family more than anybody. We need patience with our friends. And we need patience with our foes out there so that we can be approachable to people. What's our next one? He said comfort the fainthearted and then he says, support, the word support there actually has the idea of holding back the weak, the powerless, and that's somebody who is in a situation that is in a temptation that they're struggling with that they don't seem to be able to have victory over. Have you ever been around somebody that's a brother, they caught up in sin, but they don't have power to get out of it? They're in that place that they burden in their spirit. They want to get free, but they don't have power to get free, because they've got themselves in a situation that they keep drifting toward waywardness. And it's up to us as the brethren to hold them back, to get in there. Don't let them drift. Hold them back. Do all that we can. And while we're holding them back, as frustrating as it may be, because they're not seeing what you're seeing, We need to be what? Patient with them. And the more they tangled up in this old world and tangled up in lies and deception, the more patience we gotta extend. The more time that it's gonna take. You know, it's something how you can go to some person, just tell them one time, one thing, and that's all it takes. But there's some knuckleheads out there that it takes a whole lot longer than that. Are you with me? How many of y'all been warned? But you're patient with them. I mean we can all be hard headed. I teach people all over and I could see some people the light bulb just continued, it just lights up. They grab everything you're saying. They're applying it, they're using it, they're sharing it, they're talking about it with other people, they're celebrating it. And then I go and I'm around some people over and over again and I can share it and it's like I'm looking at a deer in headlights. They don't know what to do with it. And you're thinking, come on. And then they'll ask you the same thing. Haven't anybody done that? You've told them 500 different times and they keep asking you the same question. What do you do with that person? How do you treat them? With what? I know you want to knock them in the head and say, can you grab this? But no, you what? You patient with them. And you know you can't do that on your own, brother. Pat, I need Jesus to do that. Just like there's some people out there that are extremely sensitive, there's some people out there that can be hard-hearted, too. And can be hard on people. I'm that type of person that I can be like, look, hey, if you can't march from here to here, go sit down. Are you with me? I mean, it ain't that hard. Come on. That sometimes wells up within me. And it may be Mr. Jimmy on a job and he's got people working for him and he's done showed them, they done tore up his equipment, they cost any money. It's like them boys working for you. He's like, I've showed you this ten times, what is the deal? And if you're not careful as a daddy, you want to knock them in the head and say, get it boy, you know what I mean? But what does he say to be to them boys and to your bride? Be patient. Be forebearing with her. forebear her, bear the weight and the burden. Man, this is tough, this is hard, amen? This is not something that we can do in our own strength. So we need to be in the position that when people are being tempted to move in the wrong direction, we won't be able to step in and hold them back, just not let them go. When people are struggling under a trial, we need to come alongside and put the arm around them. And when people just get unruly and aggravating and mad at what we're doing and getting out of rank and out of order, we admonish them in love with compassion to try to help them out. Amen. And I want to tell you, tangled up things, you just have to be patient with again and again and again. Verse 14. We exhort you, brethren, to warn them that are unruly, comfort them that are feeble-minded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that no one renders evil for evil unto any man, but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves and to all men. Man, help us, Lord. We need your mercy. Man, it's easy to read, isn't it? But putting it to practice is a whole other world. Now, how does God work all this out? Remember, we have to go through some trouble. so that God lets patience have its perfect work, that we lack nothing, as James says. We don't want to lack anything. We want to let faith have its perfect work, love have its perfect work, hope to have its perfect work. You know, what does the scripture say? Love never fails. Faith is going to continue to propel us on. Hope is not going to disappoint. But you know how we learn all that? God's got to put us through some problems, doesn't He? So that He can change us. so that we can become more patient with people. And then we talked about it the other night about how God changes how we smell and how we taste. Y'all remember last year when I was here, we talked about Jeremiah 48. And Jeremiah 48 verse number 11 is a picture, you don't have to turn there, I'll just illustrate it to you. He says that he didn't do something with a nation called Moab as if he'd done something with his own people. And what did he not do with the nation of Moab? He said he left them upon their dregs, upon their leads. and that is simply saying he gave a picture of refining wine from a grape vine that you get grape juice and then you set aside and there's a process so that you make wine and you would transfer that grape juice from one vessel into another vessel from a vessel to another vessel and it just shows a process of refining changing the way, and he says that. Their smell and their taste remained the same. There was nothing different about them from the time that they were created as people, as a nation, until God was done with them. But with His own people, He began, because He loved them, He was in a refining process. He was changing the way that they smelt and the way that they taste. And that took place by putting them from one problem, one trouble, one thing, after another from one vessel to another vessel so that when people smell them, they smell the Lord. When people taste them, they taste the Lord. And I want God to do whatever he has to do with me to refine me so that people smell Jesus on me. And they taste and see that the Lord is good. And you know how that's gonna happen? The more actively and faithfully I am to be patient with people. with proclaiming his message and his gospel. I become more approachable. My message may be offensive, but I'm not gonna give them offense so that I distort the message. You know, nothing's worse than this. Think about this. I mean, there's a lot more worse than this, but think about it this way. How many of y'all ever been out in a restaurant, or you was at home, and you cooked a fine piece of meat, or you had some really good fish that was fried? I ate some oysters today, some fried oysters, and boy, them things were good, let me tell you. I wish I had a dump truck load out there. We can all go eat them right now. Have you ever been in a restaurant, and you had you a plate of food, and you had some fish or some oysters, you had your french fries there, and you took your ketchup, and you put your ketchup, and the ketchup was nasty. Brother Jerome, you done that before? That ought to be a requirement. If you're going to pay $15, $20, $25, $30 for a piece of meat or some good food, why would you want to ruin your product when you put a bad condiment out there? Are you with me? I mean, that'll mess you up. How many of y'all like tartar sauce? How many of y'all ever ate some tartar sauce that just make you want to run from? How many of y'all like horseradish? Very few, some of you. Cocktail sauce. How many of y'all like me like mixing your own stuff, making your own sauce? Look, I'm not the only one, praise God. But I was sitting there eating them oysters, and I say that because the ketchup that I had was really good. But I've had places where they use some cheap, nasty ketchup. And I knew when you pour it out, you could tell this probably ain't gonna be good. And I like dredging my french fries through some salted, peppered ketchup or some good ranch dressing. Some people like using some mayonnaise and mustard to dredge it through. But if it's bad, then that which you've invested in tastes nasty. Well, look, let's turn it around and apply it to you and me. I mean, we have the greatest treasure on earth, the Lord Jesus Christ and the power of his gospel. I don't want to be like no nasty condiment that messes up his good stuff that he's given because I'm unapproachable and I lack patience and I'm not operating in submission under orders and assignment and I'm just fouling this thing up rather than but being something that's plattable, that people enjoy being in my presence, because they're not threatened by me. They may not like the message that I proclaim, but they're not threatened by me, because I become approachable to them, because I'm patient with people, even frustrating people, difficult people, hard-headed people, nasty people, Challenging people. Some just take more time to work with and get all the tangles out. But God's used his people to do that work today, amen? And I want to tell you, Jesus is in the people business. He's in the people business. That's what he came to seek and save that which was lost. People, amen? That's what Paul would tell the church at Ephesians, let every man work and labor with his own hands that he might have something to give him who has a what? A need. See, we get caught up in this old tangled up in this old world. We think our jobs is all about us and living and doing all that we want to do. Our jobs are a mission field, amen? Those resources to do kingdom work for his glory. And if I'm not careful, I get tangled up with my society and before you know it, I need a brother coming to untangle me. rather than being that person who focuses on what we've been given and go share and do and help people get untangled from this old world we live in. It's worth it. He's worth it. And they are worth because the lamb is worthy of his sufferings, amen. Let's go do kingdom work and give glory to God. Father, we thank you tonight.