raisal if you didn't know he sang how great thou art so you say what he didn't have an interpreter I just interpreted for you how great thou art thank you brother appreciate that but thank you and I want to turn to Philippians chapter 3 this evening Philippians chapter 3 I wanna say I wanna make a statement and this will go against the grain So if I didn't make you mad this morning, I'm trying tonight, right? The reality of this is that most people do not succeed because they will not go past the point of comfort. Think about this, right? I mean, we're willing in most every area of life to go to a level that will get us a little bit uncomfortable. But then when we hit that level, we'll say that's enough, right? And so it's really that way in most every area of life. You know, you think about the other day, Susan and I were talking about playing the piano and she's like, well, my daddy made me practice a lot, right? Even when I didn't want to. And so she's very good. Right. And, and, you know, people that seem to have a lot of Bible knowledge They don't do it by osmosis, right? They spend time in the Word of God, you know, and even exercise. If you read after people, I've been reading a lot after some Navy SEALs, and the whole idea of that SEAL training is to get you to the point where you think, that's as far as I can go, and realize that you can actually go farther than that, right? And so a lot of people it's like, well I can't do this, I can't, you know, not eat this, or I can't exercise, or I can't, you know, be good at my occupation because, and a lot of it we'll say is because those people are talented and therefore I don't have that talent and so therefore here's as far as I can go. But the reality of it is that most everything to excel means that you've got to go farther than most people go and probably go farther than it's comfortable to go. Agree with that? And that goes all the way to the Christian life. See, most people are in this, if we're honest, in this mediocrity of following Christ, and I mentioned it earlier, but as long as it's comfortable, right? Even some of you tonight, you know, when you look at what your, what you do and again you have to evaluate for yourself I'm not critiquing but your level of involvement in the ministries of this church is like well I don't want to do this because I want to sit here or I don't want to do this because that will be uncomfortable I don't want to get up and run a bus because then I'll have to get up early to do that right or I don't want to come early to choir practice because then that would take part of my nap time right? So in areas of life, it's like, how much are you willing to give up to get farther down the road than mediocre or average? Am I right? And so that's really, when we talk about the fellowship of Christ, that's why we have so many very anemic Christians that only will, they're surface level Christians, right? As long as the Lord doesn't ask me of anything. And, and what's the way it's promoted now is how does God benefit me? Right. I mean, our, our, our society as a whole is how does this particular thing benefit me and how much am I going to have to give up to, to enjoy the benefit of it? Right. And so most Christians never get past this very childlike level of Christianity. Their prayer life is very shallow because they just kind of scratch the surface of we pray, brother Matt, like we're children. Now lay me down to sleep. God bless mama. God bless daddy. God bless the preacher. God bless. That's and we think that's praying, right? And so the same thing with our Bible study. It's like I finished 12 chapters today, but I never really got. deep into letting God speak to me, right? Or we'll find a devotion book that is everything's about encouragement to make me feel better and so we never really get past a surface level Christianity. Now, we all say we want a deeper walk with God, right? Very few people would say, no, I'm happy where I'm at. We all want to be closer to Christ. as long as it does not get us out of that comfortable position that we're in. Well tonight, I want you to see in Philippians chapter 3, and I want to focus on verse 9 and 10 especially. I tell you what, let's go ahead and read Beginning in verse number one, because it lays the background of, of Paul, right? And the Bible said, finally, my brethren rejoice in the Lord to write the same things to you. To me, indeed is not grievous, but for you, it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of a concision for we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. In my Bible, I've got that underlined. Have no confidence in the flesh. You cannot trust your flesh. Right? You cannot. Right? So the Bible says we're to flee from temptation. A lot of people try to embrace it. Right? So it says have no confidence in the flesh. Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. He said if anybody could, if any other man thinketh that he have whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more. here's what he's saying he said circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel the tribe of Benjamin a Hebrew of the Hebrews is touching the law of Pharisee concerning zeal persecuting the church touching the righteousness which is in the law all blameless now what he's doing is he's laying out his the foundation of his before Christ and after Christ he said listen if there's anybody that and he's right right the Bible doesn't call him a liar Brother Eddie is saying if there's anybody that's ever walked the face of the earth that should rely on their deeds and their flesh, it's me. He wasn't bragging. He's letting us know that he is qualified according to Judaism, according to their religion, that he is the top guy. Right? I mean, he's laying it out for them. But here's what he said. He said, but what things were gained to me, those I counted loss for Christ. So the things that would make me comfortable, the things that really in this world would elevate me to a place where I'd have no suffering, I count them loss. You're not going to get that in the flesh, right? And verse eight, yea, doubtless I count all things. but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them as but done that I may win Christ. So verse nine, be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness, which is of God by faith. Notice this in verse 10, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death. So Paul's laying out for us that if we're going to intimately know Christ, it will cost us. That is not a popular message in 2024 in Christianity, right? It's what does it benefit me in this world to follow Christ? And, and so you, you know, you'd call it whatever you want to call it. You know, I don't call it prosperity gospel because even those that say they're not prosperity gospel preaching, same thing. And, and sometimes God does allow you to have those things. But here's Paul, Paul saying, listen, if anybody ought to have all these things, it's me. But here's a man spent most of his life after he submitted his life to Christ in prison, people hating him, people wanting to kill him. And he said, all the, all the worldly things, all the benefits that you and I are working towards in this life. He said, I count them all loss just so I could know Christ. That word fellowship means that there's an intimate desire to be part of. The fellowship of his suffering. Now I don't know about you, in my flesh, I want no part of that. I want, Brother Junior, I want a life of following Christ. I don't want to go through the suffering. Right? You don't either. But if we're going to know Christ like we say we want to, he's letting us know that suffering is going to happen. So Paul is telling us here the very reason he has resigned himself to leave all this world has to offer and follow Christ. He saw Jesus in such a manner that he was so high and exalted that he said, all the things down here that you're so consumed with, he said, I think they're just done. Now see, we're at a day where we want to go to heaven, but we want to live a good life here. Right? We want to be comfortable here and we want the joys and comforts of heaven one day. And maybe we'll never suffer like Paul. But we have to be willing to understand, and if you don't set your heart and your affection on things above now, if and when those times come, then you'll turn your back on Christ. So people who knew him no doubt thought he was mad. I mean, here's a guy who had it all, and he said, I'll throw it all away just to follow Christ, spend time in prison. And thank God he did, or you and I wouldn't be here. Brother Beck wouldn't be starting a church in Butte, Montana because here's a man who was the apostle to the Gentiles and he was willing to cast his religion and all those things aside to follow Christ. And it was not easy, Brother Shane, because his friends and family and countrymen hated Christians. And so to gain Christ became Paul's one ambition. That's all he cared about. He didn't care about the things that he didn't care about his retirement. He didn't care about the car and the house. And he didn't listen. If he was here today, I mentioned this, if he was writing a letter to the church today, he just, he just probably just put an emoji with right. Because we want all the nice things and to know Christ. And part of knowing Christ is fellowship of his suffering. And I'm not saying we don't ever suffer. I mean, let's be honest. Some of us go through some pretty hard trials in life. But you have to decide if you want to have the fellowship of Christ, those are the times that draw us closer to him. So he was aware of what was ahead, but still it was worth it to gain Christ. And so we want to experience the power of Christ without being persecuted with Christ. And so we gain Christ by knowing Christ. That's what that is, that I may win Christ. You have to know him. And the way you know him is through the word of God, through prayer, and through going through some trials of life, knowing that he's faithful. And to know Christ, we must walk with Christ in all the glory and the suffering. We like the glory, we don't want the suffering. So in this scripture, and Paul in verse 10, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and I like the power of his resurrection, don't you? and the fellowship of his suffering being made conformable unto his death. So you have to experience the power of his resurrection, but the dichotomy of it is you have to experience the fellowship of his suffering too, to be like Christ. So what is Paul saying to us in Philippians chapter three? Well, he's talking about his experience. He's basically laying out his testimony of his life. Here's what my life consists of. Here's what it was before I met Christ. I was a Pharisee of the Pharisee. I was of zeal persecuting the church. I thought I was doing the right thing in stomping out Christianity because I was so sure that following Judaism was the right thing. But something happened to him on the road to Damascus that day and his whole world changed and he turned around. And so if you're born again your life has the opportunity to be totally different than it was before you got saved. But it seems to me that there's a choice that Paul made that you and I must make and that is not only to. And I want to be careful here I'm not saying that we're people that are desiring suffering. Right. We're not going out trying to find reasons to suffer, right? But also, how much do we try to avoid it? How much do we try to avoid discomfort, even if it costs us fellowship with Christ? I mean, be honest, Brother Jimmy, if we really believe this scripture, When we have so in a visitation, we'd be like, yeah, I'm good with that. If I get door slammed, I mean, we're talking about a door slammed in your face. I'm talking about somebody not, you know, probably not going to kill you for trying to hand him a track. Yet our flesh is still like wool, right? So what is this experience that Paul had on the road to Damascus that changed him from persecuting Christians to now be willing to say, all the stuff that I had before I met Jesus, I count as lost. And now, no matter what I suffer for Christ, it's nothing compared to the glory of knowing him. What happened, right? So number one, it was a personal experience. You have to, Paul is saying, I personally experienced Jesus Christ. Now, I've been in church my whole life, many of you have as well, and I've seen people come to the altar and make professions of faith and, you know, go in a room and say a prayer. And I know this, we get all excited, so-and-so got saved. But my question is, and I'm not doubting people's salvation, that's between them and God, if they truly got born again, where are they at? Where are they at? See, we view this thing, we've made it out to where people understand, you get saved, you're not going to hell. But they're not prepared for the suffering. And it seems to me, Brother Bart, when Paul met Jesus, Jesus showed him what things he must suffer. Paul looked at those things and said, it's still worth it. Right. I mean, I mean, if we knew, you know, if we knew what next year would hold many Christians would be like this, I'm done with that. I'm done. And so. His personal experience, it was, first of all, a lot of folks when they have, they have an intellectual experience. In other words, when you look at Paul before he met Jesus, he believed in God. Most people you talk to have an intellectual experience. Someone has explained to them there is a God and there is some type of intellect in them that, well, I believe there's a God. Now they may look and say well he loves everybody and doesn't want anybody to go to hell and he's not going to send anybody to hell and he's a God of love and you can't. They may look at it like that but Paul believed in God. Paul believed there was a Messiah because he believed the Old Testament. And many today still have an intellectual, even in our churches, people have an intellectual knowledge of Christ. You probably wouldn't be here tonight if there was not something in your reasoning that said there is a true Jesus Christ and he died on the cross. Right? People wouldn't keep going to church if in their mind they did not believe that. And I believe there's a lot of folks in our churches that that's where they are, right? It's, it's the right thing to do. It's the right thing to do. Going to church is we tell our kids right thing to do, right? Set, set good habits. The problem is even in adulthood is simply a habit. Read your Bible. That's a good habit to get into. But a lot of people, it's just a habit. See? It's not to know him. Say your prayers, right? So we don't say, pray. Right? Don't tell our kids, hey, you need to pray. We say, all right, say your prayers. Now, even as adults, like, all right, here's our prayers. No, I'm not prayers. I'm praying to God. See what I'm saying? Religion is an intellectual knowledge of Christ. You call it Catholic, Baptist, you know, whatever you want to call it, denomination. Religion is an intellectual knowledge that there is a God. Paul believed that. But there has to be something deeper for you to have an intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul, in this personal experience, not only had an intellectual experience, he also had an intimate experience. Paul met Jesus. Amen. On the road to Damascus, he met him. And that's what's important. Have you met him? You say, well, not physically. Well, have you had an experience where you saw him as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and as Savior? It is more than knowing about Jesus. Have you ever had an intimate experience where the Holy Ghost of God dealt with your heart and showed you you were a sinner and that Jesus Christ was the only way, he's the way, the truth, and the life, and you said, I'll take him? That's what Paul did. And then it was an infinite experience. It was not a one-time thing. Paul did not meet Jesus on the road to Damascus and say, okay, now I'm going to heaven. Everything's good. I'm going to go back about my old life. Have you? See, the infinite experience is an ongoing experience. And so people don't lose their salvation if you walk away from Christ. It proves that you never had it. I'm not talking about being backslid for a while. I'm talking about when you denounce Christ and you say, and you see people that have turned to, you know, being witches and devil worshipers. And I was, I was a Christian. No, you weren't. If you truly are born again and had the Holy ghost living inside of you, which is what salvation is, then you can't get rid of it. It'll change you. This ain't just some little prayer that you said, and oh, I feel better. This is God residing in you and changing. Paul would never, listen, if Paul didn't have the Holy Ghost living inside of him, he'd have turned back. If it was religion and it was an intellectual knowledge, I'm telling you this, he would have said no more, it's too hard. But there was something inside of him that kept him going and he said that I may know him, not have known him, but it is an ongoing, infinite, experience that every day I'm walking with Christ knowing him that's what salvation is. I'm sick and tired brother Foy of everybody talking about my salvation experience. If you really got saved if you really had a salvation experience it was not 25 years ago. Today, Brother Jerry, is my spiritual birthday. But I'm going to tell you what, I'm as saved now as I was April 21st, 1996. And I love Him more today than I did then. This ain't something that happened. This is something that is going on in my life. Amen. Paul didn't walk away and say, OK, boys, I saw the light. Now I'm going to heaven. I'm going back to Judaism because I want the world and I want heaven. Something so arrested him that day that he said, I'll walk away from my old life and I'll choose Christ. And that's what's not being preached today. That's why we have this shallow form of Christianity. And boy, if you ask anybody to do anything for the Lord, it's like, well, let me pray about it for 18 years. Nope, I don't feel like the Lord wants me to do that. Right? Brother Jose, that's why we can't get missionaries. That's why young men are not being called to preach. Because they're wanting to go to heaven, but they don't want the suffering of what comes with following Christ. It's a personal experience, but then number two, it's a powerful experience. Now watch this. It is the prerequisite of life. You didn't really start living until you got saved. It's interesting that Jesus said this, you must be born again. Why did he say that? Because being born is the beginning of our earthly life. Correct? So the picture is, it is the start of your earthly life. And you ladies that have children, now you know there's a child living in you, but they don't recognize him as being here until he's born. Jesus said you must be born again. It's the beginning of your life. What you had before was not life. When you get born, you can't get unborn. You have to die, right? And so when you're born, think about this. When you're born naturally, there is a fight or flight Phenomena that takes place there. There's a Preservation right you look at a baby. You don't have to tell a baby now. Listen, you're hungry There's something hardwired in that baby that the baby will tell you When the baby's hungry why because the baby needs that for life Right So there's the prerequisite of life Spiritually is knowing Christ. There has to be a Damascus road experience in your life. There has to be a time where you've intersected with God and God says you. Because Paul, remember he was blind and said who art thou? He said I'm the Lord Jesus who you persecuted. There's no indication that he met him in the natural life but something took place on the road to Damascus. He knew exactly who he was. Have you? Ain't talking about, I grew up in church and I read the stories and man I said this prayer. Is he real? Is he real to you? See it was so real to Paul, Paul said I'm throwing it all behind me and I'll do whatever you want me to do. So the prerequisite, see when you get born again, when you meet Christ it's powerful, it changed him. I don't believe all this. I got saved and then a week later you're doing the same thing. Why? Because we have his power. Well, you just don't understand all that I've gone through. You didn't go through what he went through. You're saying the power of God was good for Paul, but it's not good for you, right? That you can't live a life in 2020. Listen, I know it's bad. But read the history of the early church. They were doing all they could to stop Christianity before it ever got started. And Paul himself said, listen, what's it say here? He said concerning zeal in verse six, persecuting the church. It was his mission to stomp out the church. Now, he has the power of God, we have his resurrection power, and we have the I can do all things through Christ power, and we have the greater is he that's in me than he that's in the world power, and that's how you and I ought to be living. I know things are bad, I don't, listen, you can talk about Israel, and you can talk about Iran, you can talk about Joe Biden, you can talk about the Democrats, you can talk about the Republicans, you can talk about voter election fraud, you can get so consumed on all, this whole thing is wicked. You are seeing the manifestation of principalities and wickedness and how you're seeing it. I'll give you an example. You ready for this? Some of you are going to think, he's lost his mind. There's all this debate about abortion, right? And it ain't just the Democrats. See, the Republicans are trying to determine How many weeks it's okay to kill babies, right? 12 weeks, six weeks, right? So we're allowing politics to dictate morality. How about zero weeks? What about rape and incest? So you're saying pass the law for less than 3% of all abortions that are performed. That's what we're basing it on. And even with that, is it okay to kill babies? I understand that. What if it was your daughter? I understand that. But see, that's where we are. It's like, what if it's your kid, then there's an exception. You say, well, we got Roe versus Wade overturned, and now it's up to the state, and that's what it should be. Every state ought to choose. Okay, that sounds good. Well then, why doesn't every state get to vote on slavery? Because it's wrong. It's wrong. There shouldn't be a state that has the opportunity to vote on slavery. Because it's wrong, 100%. Owning another human being is wrong. So he said, as a nation, no. But now all of a sudden, the abortionist is like, well, you know, we can't run too hard on it, because if we do, then this group is going to win. So we have to take a middle-of-the-road approach. That's what I'm saying. Don't act like they're righteous. They want to get elected and they don't care about you and they don't care about the Bible. Listen, and you ready for this? And I understand, but even Trump has backtracked on abortion. All the evangelical Christians are like, he loves Jesus more than anything. I'm going to vote for him because I sure ain't voting for the cannibal man. But we got to quit playing this game where, well, they're with us. No, they're not. We're seeing all this wickedness in high places and you don't matter and what you believe. They hate you. They hate Christianity because they hate God. And if there was never another church service like this, the Republicans and Democrats, all of them would be fine with it, except for a few. Why? Because we're a thorn in their flesh. But guess what, we're in a day now we don't hold anybody accountable for biblical principles as long as they're lowering the taxes and gases right, we're okay with it. I don't know where all that came from but that's good preaching. My point is, times are going to get tough and you've got to decide now if you're still going to serve Christ. regardless of who's in the White House and who's doing what. That's my point. I knew I was getting somewhere. Then the experience of knowing Christ, Brother Shane, is the pinnacle of life. In other words, it's not part of life, it is life. Jesus was Paul's life. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else mattered. Jesus. Let me ask you this. What's the pinnacle of your life? Well, when my children were born. Well, that's a good thing. But Jesus ought to be the high point of your life. It ought to be the very thing that you're searching for. Not happiness, not security, Jesus. And Paul, knowing Jesus is the greatest life you'll ever have and it is the high point and all else fails by comparison when you really know him. And then the possibilities of life. Think about this. He didn't understand it all. But God was using Paul to spread the gospel across the whole world. Now I want you to understand this. This man and his family, right here. This family right here. All these other families going to different parts of the world. You know why they're necessary for the local church? Because whether you and I can go across the world or not, the mandate of God is that every creature That is the mandate to us. Well, you're not going to Butte, Montana. You may go visit, but you're not going to go out there and witness. You're not out there trying to start a church. Well, does that alleviate and remove the responsibility of us to get the gospel around the world? No. So we need them as much as they need us. And so the possibility, Paul said, listen, I don't know what God has but I have his power his resurrection power and I can do all things through Christ. And so now you and I are here thousands of years later because of the possibility that Paul followed Christ and Christ had a plan. What I'm saying is your life has changed when you know him. Even in the suffering, your life is changed. You become more like Christ and you understand the power that Jesus has. Because how in the world can you go through some of the things we go through? And you don't even think you can until it happens. And you've got the grace of God and you go through it. And people say, I don't know how in the world you went through that. And something pops in your mind and says, God strengthened my life. God's strength that's all you can attribute to not my resolve not my upbringing it's just something inside of you says you can keep going because listen he was touched in all points as we are he understands our suffering he understands our pain and he saved us and he chose you and he called you and he convicted you and you said yes to Jesus and now you have the power of God in your life to live in whatever times Oh, I don't think I can make it. Sure you can, hon. You just keep going because you've got God's power in your life. Even when you don't feel like you do, you've got God's power. So it's a possibility. And then number three, it's a progressive experience. See, the more we suffer and experience His power, the more we become like Christ. Now notice how Christ suffered, okay? There's a suffering of sin. Now when you sin, you suffer, right? But let's look at it from a different perspective. Christ never sinned, did he? But he suffered for sin. In other words, it grieved him. Can I ask you something? Does it grieve you? How disgusted are you with your sin? Do we suffer because of sin and its effect? Listen, there ought to be a grieving that takes place, not just for my sin, but for the sin of our churches, for the sin of our nation, for the sin of people. When you look at people that are lost in sin and on their way to hell, it ought to grieve you. But see, we got to get to the place where we suffer like Christ. and we experience the power of Christ, that we look beyond our comfort and say, you know what, that guy that I met, that I work with, or at the restaurant, if he's not a Christian, he's gonna burn in hell. And brother Matt, we don't hear preaching on hell, and we don't wanna hear about hell because it grieves us, but sin oughta grieve us to the place where we go, that guy is gonna suffer for eternity in hell, and I've got, it oughta break our heart to the point where we'd share the gospel with him, and pray for him. and love them to Christ, right? Instead, you know what we've gotten to the place in our world? Brother Jim, it's like, well, hey, I gave them a track, now if they die and go to hell, it's on them. Man, if you knew how awful hell was and I did, we would beg them. We'd do whatever it took. That's what Jesus did. He suffered for sin. Then the suffering of righteousness. If we stand for Christ, we'll suffer. We know that's what Paul wrote to Timothy. Hey, why did he suffer when he came to earth? What did he do to deserve the cross? Oh, he healed on the Sabbath day. Right? He fed the thousands. He rebuked the Pharisees. He loved the sinner. Right? He was compassionate. And they hung him on a cross for it. You know what? If you live for God, they'll hang you on a cross. All who live godly will suffer, but you know him more when you suffer. When you're dead, You don't get hurt. Now I understand, Brother Foy, I still hurt. Rejection hurts. But you do have to understand that if you serve God, everybody's not going to like you. And there has to be a dying that takes place to where it does not affect you to the point that you quit on Christ. Right? And it ain't easy. It's not easy. I mean, I look at people I've known my whole life and most of them, you know, they're cordial. Hey, how you doing? Good to see you. They don't ask, how's your life? Man, how's church? How's serving God? It's like, hey, this guy used to hang out with us and party and do all that. And when I'm around them, it's like, that don't bother me. You know why? And I'm not saying this because it's me, it's all of us, because they're not uncomfortable with you, they're uncomfortable with the person who's in you. Right? They're seeing a little bit of Jesus in you somehow and they're going, I don't like this. So if you live for God, you're going to suffer some. There are going to be people don't like you. There may be, you may lose your job. You may lose, you know, friends, whatever. But here's my question. Is it worth it? See, we say absolutely, but it's going to make you uncomfortable. So we're kind of incognito Christians like, well, I'm going to serve the Lord over here in my little world where all my little Christian friends are and nobody's going to feel too. Listen, you're not going to hide the Becks in Butte, Montana. I bet the whole town knows who they are. Right? The crazy dude from North Carolina. He's come out here to disrupt everything. I'm sure he'll tell you. I doubt, I doubt, I'm just guessing. I doubt when they got there, there was a ticker tape parade going, we can't wait for y'all to come in our world and preach the gospel. Because there's probably, I'm just guessing, how many bars are in that town? Yeah. It disrupts things. But see, if you're not willing to take part in His suffering, you won't disrupt anything. Because you'll care too much for the world instead of knowing Christ. And then there's the suffering for souls. Everywhere Jesus went, He was moved with compassion. He died on the cross to save souls. Now let me ask you this in closing. How much have you suffered for the souls of men? What are you willing to do to keep people out of hell? Brother Bobby had eight on his bus this morning, said he had more that they're working on coming. Here's the thing, how about if you love souls like you say you do, why don't you say, Bobby, let me go out with you Saturday. I may not be here for the bus Sunday morning, but I'll go out with you, knock on some doors, see if I can get some people there. Why not say, hey, I'll run a bus. I'll run a van. I'll knock on some doors. I'll tell people I work with. I'll tell people at the restaurant. See, we've got to get out of the comfort zone. You say, yeah, but preacher, what if we, what if, and I was thinking when Brother Jose was singing. I am so thankful that we have a Spanish minister. I'm watching him sing and I'm like, I'm so thankful that God laid on our heart to do that. Because that's an area of people that most independent Baptist churches are not reaching. I'm glad we got some buses out there. Now I need some people to jump on and say, I'm gonna have to give up some Saturdays. I'm gonna have to give up some Sundays. But it's not comfortable, but it's worth it. Redeeming the times. Hey, Jesus is coming back. Jesus is coming back. He's coming back. So here's what I want to ask you, church. We go out next Saturday. I'd go, but I got plans. If we believe that verse like we say we do, we're in the last days. What if he comes back Sunday? Right? What if we've not done what we need to do between now and that time? It's over. We didn't redeem the time. So, if you're going to know Christ, you're going to know the power of His resurrection. Praise God for those times. But you've got to be willing to experience the fellowship of His suffering. That's opposite of what this flesh... The flesh goes away from suffering. Right? Because it messes with our comfort level. We need to be a church that gets out of our comfort zone and says we want to know Christ. More than anything. I mean you do realize, you do realize I didn't say it for this, but just, just the fact that I basically criticized the whole government, including the savior. I'm probably going to not be on everybody's come visit me list, but they don't care. I don't, I'm past the point of playing nice and getting along and I'm past all that. I'm gonna serve Jesus. And that's it. Brother Foy, I'm tired of the games, the political games and come with us and we're on your, I'm done with all that. I just, Jesus, that's it. And that's what we gotta be. fellowship of his suffering even if it costs me he's worth it he's worth it let's stand hey man let's bow our heads tonight the altars open you come God spoke to your heart you come following Jesus will cost you something but it's worth it it's worth it Are you willing to suck? Maybe you won't have to, to the degree Paul did. Praise God, but you ought to be willing to. Are you willing, no matter what God wants, are you willing to do what he wants you to do? That's it. I'm sure when Brother Beck got saved, he didn't say, well, Lord, send me to a place that doesn't want me. His dear wife married him. I'm sure she didn't say, I want to marry a man. God's going to call it another part of the country where they probably won't want our family there. I'm sure that was not the first thought in her mind. That's where God put them. God may never send you there. He may keep you here. But what are you willing to do for the Lord? If you've had an experience like Paul, I don't think anybody had to motivate Paul. See, we always want to be motivated. Motivated gets you going. Discipline keeps you going. Hallelujah. He's worth it. He's worth it. It's been awful good to me. Hadn't always been easy brother Jerry, but he's been good to him. Been faithful. Been faithful. Been faithful to our church. We ought to be faithful to him. What if it cost us? It will. But what have you really lost? Thank you, Lord, for loving us as unlovable as we are sometimes. Thank you for Calvary, and thank you for the power of God. And Lord, we thank you for suffering. It's not easy to say that, but we know that when we suffer, it makes us more like you, and pray that you'd give us strength to endure it and to honor and glorify you in all things. Thank you for loving us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. All right, thank you for being here tonight.