I see the rest of you have already met me. I am so glad to be with you all here today. I feel so incredibly honored to be in your pastor's pulpit. Perhaps tonight I'll tell you about my journey and where the Lord has led my wife and I at this stage of our lives. But I really just want right now to talk about you guys. You absolutely have amazed me, and I'll tell you why. While I was pastoring in Northern California, Santa Rosa's about an hour north of San Francisco, and we had this dummy that came and visited us, and he brought along an evangelist, Ed Dunlop. And so these two came, and Brother Dunlop did a children's crusade for us in our church, and he was such a delight. And subsequent to that, we carried on a little bit of correspondence. And there was something that I had written. He wanted to pass on to his brother. And so suddenly I found out about this Pastor Brian Dunlop. And my whole ministry has been in California over all these years. And I had not heard of your pastor before or of this church. And in a subsequent conversation I had with your pastor, as a result of that exchange and sending him something, he and I talked a little bit thereafter. He made mention that, by the way, if you're ever in Southern California and you and your wife would like a place to stay, for the night while you're passing through, you know, please let us know. We have your missionary apartment, often known as a prophet's chamber in some churches. And so, you know, please feel free to avail yourself of that. That's in the back of my mind. We never got a chance to really take advantage of it. But when we came to Southern California, we're now, I'll talk about that more tonight, we're now based out of San Diego area. I had need to go to a meeting here in the greater Los Angeles area and remembered that offer. So I contacted your pastor And he was kind enough, you know, to set me up. But what's interesting about that was it was already in use for the dates that I wanted to come by. So it's like, no problem, pastor, that's fine. Well, I wanna put you up in a hotel. No, no, pastor, that's fine. No, I insist. And so I was like, brother, I did not expect that. And I don't wanna put you in any expense. And he said, no, no, no, not a problem. So I talked with Kelly and we got it set up. And I came up, well, of course, being here, I had to see the church. Now you have to realize I've been in a lot of independent Baptist churches over the years. So I'm looking for the cute little whitewashed building. And you know, maybe a storefront. I mean, even we in a business park at one time had a profits chamber. We had been able to rent some extra square footage. And it just happened that in that square footage of that business park, the prior tenant had installed a shower and there was a room that we could use. We made up as a fairly decent profits chamber. This is what I have in mind. You know, just something very basic, functional. And so I went to the hotel, and then early the next morning, I want to know where you guys are at. So before going for coffee or breakfast or anything, I came early Sunday morning, and I'm following Madam Google, and she's leading me along. And I see, I thought, oh, look at that, Church of the Steeple, you know, another liberal church in the area, you know. And then I came upon, and it was one of those double-take moments, as I saw this sign you have around the corner, Lighthouse Baptist Church. And I, no, this cannot be. That is a beautiful facility. Surely, could they possibly be independent Baptists? And I drove around, looked at the buildings, just in absolute astonishment. Then I came into the service that Sunday morning and heard your pastor preach. Man, what an incredible blessing. You guys, the Lord, I know He's the one that when He led captivity captive and went on high, He gave gifts unto men. Including pastors and what a gift you have in this church And I said over in this section here. I got to meet David Daniels and I've been reading his stuff from Chick Publications for a number of years and Got to meet him the next day. I got to go see the the Chick Publications facility and It was just, it was just, it was a dream come true. I've been reading Chick tracks since I was a teenager. And so it, it, it was, it was an amazing few days and I'm just so astonished. And, and by the way, your prophet's chamber, your missionary apartment is beautiful. Thank you so much. He said, well, don't thank me. I've never even seen it. Let me say, if you're giving tithes and offerings, you've made that possible. And you are refreshing. Hey, if a cup of cold water, given the Lord's name, secures a heavenly reward, imagine what your tithes and offerings by keeping that going. And my wife and I were thrilled, you know, to, to see all the activity happening. We arrived here Friday night, VBS is going on, the basketball tournament, all that's been happening has just been great. And what a place you all have, and I'm so glad I get to be part of it this morning. I feel very, very privileged. By the way, let me have you meet my wife, Laura, if you'll stand for just a moment. That's my wife, Laura. Thank you so much, honey. My bride of 43 years who loves the limelight, and so glad to share it whenever I can. I want to say, along with praising your pastor and you as a people, I want to say in all seriousness, I love making fun of Dan Randolph. Number one, he makes it so easy. And number two, he's such a good sport about it. But I want to say in all sincerity, this guy, this is, you have not only a great pastor, but one of the finest song leaders that I've seen anywhere and just tremendous. And so glad that he's here utilizing his gifts for the Lord and for your benefit. And so, and I'm sure there's a lot more about your church. I was surprised to hear about the college And you guys, of course, have the Christian school. There's so much happening here, and I praise God for you. Would you please take your Bible? Don't stand. You don't need to stand on my account, but go ahead and just hold, if you will, in Psalm 22, verse 29. Psalm chapter 22, verse 29. And as we did in the sensual hour, you'll hold that for a few moments. Psalm 22, verse 29. Well, I'm gonna raise back to your consciousness, all except maybe the youngest teenagers, very likely are aware of the name Steve Irwin. And it won't take long before you write, oh, that guy, that guy, yes, Steve Irwin, who became known as the Crocodile Hunter because he would capture, he was an Aussie. He's from, by the way, they taught me it's not Australia. The guy said, imagine putting your hand on a hot stove. What do you, ow! Okay, it's Australia. So he's an Aussie from Australia. And by the way, when I was in Australia a number of years ago, as far as they're concerned, this guy's just weird. He's just, he is so un-Aussie, because they're very reserved, very quiet, you know, and he's just, he was just Mr. Exuberant, and I admired that about him. He was known as the crocodile hunter, because he would capture wild crocodiles, and these are ferocious beasts. They're huge, and our alligators are bad enough, but these creatures are humongous, they're extremely powerful, they're very cunning, and they're deadly. And he had a, his dad had taught him a love and respect for wildlife, and he just, he loved crocodiles. And when there was one endangered, perhaps there was one that was picking off cattle, and so the farmer was gonna get rid of that croc, or maybe was endangering people as more and more people were encroaching on their domain. He would go in, often single-handedly, and capture those crocodiles, get them into a boat, and take them to a place where they would be safe. And he then developed a whole career based on this. He took over his dad's creation of what's known as the Australia Zoo that I have visited. They're not far from Brisbane, Australia. unfortunately, he was gone at that time, but I met his second-in-command during that that time and So he also as many of you know, he started a meet something of a media Presence where he would for animal planet and other other publicate other media outlets he would create in May amazing wildlife videos and My wife always delighted in him capturing a poisonous snake by the tail and holding it up for you to admire the camera. He's also trying to fend off some of the flies that plague you in the outback of Australia. And so he was famous for his escapades with dangerous creatures all over the world. Many of those dramatic encounters were caught on film and marketed to audiences globally. He had a career that spanned 15 years, with thousands of encounters with wild creatures of all varieties, and his life came to an end with shocking sadness on September 4th, 2006. Only his underwater cameraman, Justin Lyons, was with him. And as Justin would say, we always knew it'd be something weird that would kill Steve. It wouldn't be one of the beasts, one of the wild animals, a poisonous snake or a great white shark or a crocodile. No, no, it was just the weirdest thing. They were in just deep water. And they'd been filming a series called Ocean's Deadliest when they happened upon a humongous stingray with an eight-foot width about it, this huge beast on the, there on the floor of the ocean in very shallow water. So they did, it's not considered one of the ocean's deadliest, but they filmed it for a future episode. So they're in that water, and so Steve, you know, did some takes in and around the stingray, and then they ceased filming, backed off. They decided to get just another shot of Steve with the stingray. He got up close again, and all of a sudden, that creature's tail, it arched up and stung him multiple times, faster than you could even see it, just right in his chest area, right up against his heart. And then it swam off and the cameraman panned the picture to show the stingray swimming away. And when he came back to focus on Steve, Steve was in a pool of blood. The cameraman knew, not only was he injured, he did not know yet how badly, but they didn't wanna track sharks, you know, so you gotta get them out of the water. So they got him onto the inflatable, to the inflatable to the mothership where they had a crew, and immediately began performing CPR. And Steve knew he was badly hurt, he was in great pain. And his last words were simply, I'm dying. I'm dying." And there was nothing they could do to save his life. As badly as Steve Irwin wanted to live, as many fans as he had around the world, as much as he had to live for with a wife and two beautiful children, he could not stave off death when it came for him. Would you now please look at Psalm 22, verse 29. Psalm 22, 29 says, All they that be fat upon earth, and that's referring to abundance, fat upon the earth, referring to those who live in abundance, shall eat and worship. All they that go down to the dust shall bow before him. And notice at the end of verse 29, and none can keep alive his own soul. It doesn't matter how rich you are, how famous you are, how good you are, how bad you are, how charitable you are, how humorous you are, how serious you are, how brave and heroic you are, how great are your plans for the future, how much you've accomplished already in your lifetime, none can keep alive his own soul. When it comes to the inevitability of death, it doesn't matter if you're saved or lost, none can keep alive his own soul. As we're told in another scripture, it is appointed unto men once to die. So it is wise to prepare yourself for your inevitable demise. See, that's what I came here this morning for, preacher, was to be encouraged. Well, I wanna encourage you, get ready for the fact you cannot avoid that you are going to die. I remember so vividly once some years ago, I was out door-knocking on behalf of our church, ultimately, of course, it's for the Lord, but, you know, putting on our church tracks, and I came to this home, and they happened to be an Oriental family, and so I gave them a tract, and, oh, and by the way, do you know for sure if you died today, you'd go to heaven? And I got, perhaps, my most unusual response yet to that question. It was not a matter of, yes, I'm sure, no, I don't, I'm not sure, or, you know, I'm not really interested. No, no, it was, oh! You go now. You go. You don't talk about death. You go now. You go. You go." And I'm being pushed out the door, down the sidewalk. You know, just the mention of death was terrifying for this particular lady. But it's wise, nonetheless, to face this reality. I am a preacher of the gospel. I am not equipped to offer you financial investments advice. My wife will be quick to tell you. I cannot assist you with retirement planning. I'm not able to give you legal services. I am certainly not in a position to talk to you about health and fitness. Though I am very fond of that verse, all that be fed upon the earth shall eat and worship. But I can, I can help you make arrangements for the eternal destiny of your soul. And beyond that, the quality of everlasting life that you could enjoy when you are with the Lord and enter into heaven. Would you please take a moment to pray with me as we bow our heads, please. Lord Jesus, would you now please meet with us. Speak to the hearts of these precious people. I'm grateful, Lord, to be here. But Lord, be it the first-time visitor or someone who's been a disciple of Christ for many years, Lord, may each person pause and consider, am I truly saved? Do I know for sure I have a home in heaven? Am I certain that when I draw my last breath here, I will have entered into eternal life? And I pray, God, if there's any doubt or hesitation about that whatsoever, the person will make sure of their eternal salvation today before it's too late. But Lord, I also pray for what is likely the majority in this room of people who do claim you as Savior. And as a result, Lord, they're assured of eternal life and a home in heaven, for which we all are so very grateful. But then it's a matter, Lord, for us of what we will find when we get there. Will it be an abundant eternity or an impoverished eternity? I pray, God, you'll help us to lay aside treasures in heaven. And for all this, we thank you in Jesus' name, amen. I want you to hold your place, please, in Psalm 22. We'll be coming back to that momentarily. Solomon is arguably the wisest man who ever lived. He proclaimed, there is no man, there is no man that hath power over the Spirit to retain the Spirit. It's the Spirit that gives you life. And when it comes time to die, you cannot hang on to it. You cannot keep body and soul together. He says, neither hath he power in the day of death, and there is no discharge in that war. That final, one of our hymns speaks of that final war with pain, that final battle with pain. You cannot keep your soul and body together when once the Lord has withdrawn the spirit. There is no discharge in that war, neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it. Let me speak to you of another celebrity of the not too distant future, Christopher Reeve, the actor. He played Superman in a 1978 movie. He was a strong athlete and an avid horseman. Yet, he was thrown off a horse and suffered paralyzation from the neck down. In other words, he became a quadriplegic. And that happened in 1995 and died of heart failure in 2005 at the age of 52. Yes, it's true, Superman, or at least the actor that played Superman, actually died and did so at a relatively young age. Both Steve Irwin and Christopher Reeve prove the reality of Solomon's words, there is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit, neither hath he power in the day of death, and there is no discharge in that war. No one since Adam has been given a discharge from the war with death, save only perhaps Enoch and Elijah, though they may yet still have their own appointment with death. It may just have been postponed for later time. We're told, wherefore, as by one man, speaking of our original father, Adam, as by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned. Every generation ultimately dies because every person in every generation has been tainted by sin. with our Lord Jesus Christ being the only exception because he had no human father. There is no man that has power over the spirit to retain the spirit, neither hath he power in the day of death, and there is no discharge in that war. Neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it. Choosing to ignore the realities of death, or making some kind of a pact with the devil, or inundating oneself with dark, macabre images of death as though to pretend that one does not fear its inevitability, or surrounding oneself with good luck charms, amulets, religious symbols, will not ward off death. It will not postpone death. It will not protect you from the reality of death that is stalking you. Do you want to live forever in a glorified body? and in a perfect environment, your only hope for eternal life is the gospel, which is to say the good news that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners like you and like me. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. If you are to experience life with God in heaven after your sin-cursed body has died, you must be in Christ before you die. As Isaiah wrote about those who have been redeemed, he, Jehovah, will swallow up death in victory, and the Lord God will wipe away all tears from all faces. and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth, for the Lord hath spoken it. We are told about the Lord Jesus, for as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also likewise took part of the same, that through death, in other words, he had to have a body to be nailed to a cross that he might die in your place. that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." Now, how... Beloved, I wanna tread lightly here because I realize we've all been affected by recent events involving what the media wants to call coronavirus, or COVID, or the China virus, We have shown how easily we can be manipulated and terrified. We say we're saved, we're on our way to heaven, hallelujah, but like one former pastor of mine said, man, I can't wait to go to heaven, but I'm not looking to take the next train out. And like we're just, you know, whatever I gotta do, even if it seems nonsensical, if it's counterintuitive, if it defies logic, if it will just guarantee me or assure me of some prospect of a little more life, I'll do it. I'll submit to it. I'll change my whole lifestyle in order just to try to cling a little more tightly to a few more days, months, years of life. Because yet still, even we who are saved are often subject to the bondage of the fear of death, though we need not be. Yet even those who have been saved spiritually, though spared necessarily from the fear of death, must face the certainty of death and prepare. Hey, if you got a home in heaven, you got a home in heaven, you got eternal life. The question now is for you and me, the quality of eternal life that we will have once death has claimed these bodies of ours. Don't assume that we're going to be equal in heaven, for we will not be, I assure you. Some who gave their all for Christ will be far wealthier and more influential than those who did little or nothing for their Savior. Does it not just make sense? Somewhere perhaps this day in India there could be an evangelist these these men are blessed if they have transportation by a bicycle otherwise, they'll walk from village to village and face the prospect on any given day in a Hindu village a Muslim village a Buddhist village an animist village Someone's gonna be so outraged and we'll get the fellow villagers so worked up about that man's presence They will track him down and kill him or has happened to one Australian missionary couple in India some years ago. Their car, as they were traveling through one village, was surrounded by the villagers, doused with gasoline, set on fire, and those people took a fiery chariot to heaven. And you look at that sort of situation, and then you look at somebody gets saved and then does nothing for Christ? And can you imagine we're gonna be equal Before the Lord, the martyr, and the shirker, I can guarantee you, the Lord is keeping perfect books. Why do I have to go through this? If you'll suffer well, you're enhancing your eternity through that. You will one day thank God for the affliction, for the pain, for the trials you've gone through in this life. Jesus advised, lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures where? In heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal, not even if they work for the federal government. for where your treasure is, there shall your heart be also." That's why the apostle Paul wrote, "'Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize, so run that ye may obtain.'" There's a prize to be had, not you against me, you against you. That as the Lord allows certain things to come in your life and you become more than conqueror through Him that loved us, He rewards accordingly. And if you cave into it and just do a belly flop into life and say, I can't do this anymore, then you can expect to be treated and rewarded accordingly. There is after all a judgment seat of Christ. There's a great white throne for the lost person from which he'll be sent to the lake of fire. But for we that are saved, there is a judgment seat of Christ where the works we've done, good or bad, will be weighed out with the Lord wanting to find out, what did you have that was of gold and silver and precious stones that I can reward you for? I know that sometimes as young people, there's kind of a, you know, eyes toward heaven and a deep sigh, talking about crowns, you know, who cares about crowns? Well, I'll tell you what, man, if you don't want yours, pass it on to me, all right? that crown will symbolize the degree of your dedication to Jesus Christ in this lifetime. I'd hate to be in that heavenly throng that casts its crown at the feet of Jesus. And there's this great euphoria and such a thrill. And you reach up to find nothing there, but just air. Oh yeah. I didn't, I wasn't given a crown. I didn't do that much for the Lord. While others have the thrill of saying, Lord Jesus, everything I am, everything I did, it ultimately was you working through me, Christ in me, the hope of glory. Here, you receive this, you are worthy. What a thrill to cast that crown back at the feet of our Savior. Paul continued, and every man that striveth for the mastery is tempered in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. What I once was in charge of a church school. We did not, it was a small church, small school. We didn't have much of a budget. And I wanted our kids to have cool trophies at the end of the year for scripture reading and the different categories of things we had. And we could not afford cool trophies. Yeah, we can afford little plastic things about so high, you know, a little cross, our name on it, which is fine. But I began scouring thrift stores, finding awesome, Golfing trophies! bowling trophies, and they're made of the finest woods and metals, and we'd take off the dumb bowler and put a neat-looking cross on there, and we'd replace the nameplate, you know, and we'd shine that thing up, and, man, it was... We had the best... I mean, these little kids have trophies almost bigger than they are. They're struggling to take back with all their pride, busting it all over in front of Mom and Dad and Grandpa and Grandma. They got to go back with these incredible trophies, But I'll tell you what was heart-wrenching and so deeply sad was looking at that man's name. That meant so much to him at the time. And now he's gone, and who cares? Nobody. He doesn't care whether he's in heaven or hell, it doesn't matter. He doesn't care about that bowling accomplishment, that great golf game he had, that tournament he won. He doesn't care if he'll get a tennis player he was, or archer, or any other achievement, or salesman of the year. It means nothing. I'm just talking about things that will matter for eternity. It's to have higher quality of an eternal life that James wrote, blessed is the man that endured temptation for when he has tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love him. Well, it's to them that love him. Jesus said, if you love me, how do you show it? Keep my commandments. These things you say, I don't wanna be a slave to duty. Then you're gonna be a slave to your own lusts. Duty is a good thing. I'm so tired of even our people decrying duty like it's a dirty forward word. Duty is the gateway to your rewards. Like, I don't feel like being in church this morning, but bless God, I'm committed, I'm gonna be there. And the Lord is pleased with that, that you overcame yourself to do something for his benefit, just because it was your duty to do. I realize that it's good if it's more than just duty, but it's wonderful if that's all you got left is just because it's my duty, then do that. Better if it's because you love the Lord, but if nothing else, do it for duty's sake. It was for a greater heavenly reward that the Apostle Peter wrote, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. Our salvation, we're told in the book of Romans, will remind us nearer than when you believed. Congratulations, you're one day closer to heaven than you were yesterday. You make it to tomorrow, you'll be one day yet closer. I mentioned this morning in Senate school hour, I am now 60 years going to church, 58 years saved. I'm a lot closer to heaven now than I've ever been before. And now this, all these things we talk about, like there's some kind of, you know, theoretical stuff out there. Brother is becoming more and more in focus. More and more real, more and more of a priority. You've been holding patiently Psalm 22, Would you again look at verse 26? Addressing these realities, David wrote in Psalm 22, verse 26, the meek shall eat and be satisfied. They shall praise the Lord that seek Him. Your heart shall live forever. All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord. And all the kindreds of the nation shall worship before Him. For the kingdom is the Lord's, and he is the governor among the nations. All they that be fed upon the earth shall eat and worship. All they that go down to the dust shall bow before him, and none can keep alive his own soul. A seed shall serve him, it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. They shall come and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born that he hath done this What you're seeing listed here are the things that really matter in life and those attributes you want to cultivate I realize if you're a young person you're looking at a I want to go to college. I want to get into a career. I want to start a business I want I want to be married I don't have a family but can I say that in all that you do make sure you have these? Attributes that you're building into your life You want to cultivate them so that when you stand before the Lord he can richly reward you as you enter into your eternity going back plays to Psalm 22 verse 26 the meek shall eat and be satisfied. They shall praise the Lord that seek Him. Your heart shall live forever. Meekness will enable you to be satisfied in a way that nothing in this world can give you satisfaction. I'll tell you why my wife and I, who've been married now for 46 years, soon to be 47, we have such a wonderful marriage, and much of it has to do with a wife who's got a meek and quiet spirit. That meekness means she does not expect the best of everything. Doesn't need name brand. Doesn't need the finest and greatest and newest. She's satisfied with whatever God provides and allows for us to have and enjoy. And as a result, she's able to be satisfied. If we would just be willing to let the Lord be the Lord, We could learn to enjoy what God provides. The meek shall even be satisfied. Meekness will further compel you to praise the Lord, because you recognize, Lord, I am nothing and you are everything. And meekness will promote a growing relationship with Christ as you humbly seek Him, because you realize He is Lord, He is all, and I'm just here to follow Him. Verse 27. all the ends of the earth shall remember and turn unto the Lord. And all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Thee, for the kingdom is the Lord's, and He is the governor among the nations." It's time for us as God's people to remember the Lord. Here's the thing, The world has all these allurements around us. All these little baubles, all these little trinkets, and like dumb fish, we're attracted to that which always has a hook embedded in it. And that's where we end up losing out in our spiritual lives. We get hooked up on stuff that leads to our spiritual destruction, not in the sense of losing your salvation, but in the sense of losing rewards that would have been laid up for you in heaven. And we have to realize for a moment, if you will please, Satan shouts, whereas the Holy Spirit has a meek and quiet, he has a soft and quiet voice. The devil demands God requests. And so you want to choose to follow, to remember and turn to the Lord, just turning back to Him. That's the very nature of repentance and the basis for worship that is acceptable to the Lord. In verse 29, all they that be fat, referring to affluent, upon the earth shall eat and worship. They that go down to the dust shall bow before Him, and none shall keep alive his own soul. Now, worshiping the Lord involves that meekness, it involves humility, bowing before Him. Now, ultimately, all souls will bow before Jesus Christ. That which is in heaven and earth and under the earth. But can I say that for those who died without Christ, they'll bow, but it will avail them nothing. It'd be like me honoring a judge who's about to send me to prison. Well, that's been better if I'd honored the law before the judgment. Now, honoring the judge does nothing to change the outcome. And so it is that those who will stand before Jesus at the great white throne at that point bowing before him will be imposed, but it will not avail if you'll bow before him now. And not just for your salvation, but beyond salvation. Believe on Him now to be saved, but then beyond that. Can I say that this is the antithesis of so much spirituality today? Do you notice the tendency to want to stand and wave and shout? As opposed to the meekness. Now, we can have life in the church. We should have joy. It should be fun to come to church. But there's a difference between Worship and riot Between it's not to be in the flesh And that's we have to be aware of verse number 30 says a seed Which is speaking of children physical children spiritual children shall serve him it shall be counted to the Lord for a generation and It's our privilege, our generation to serve Him. But then if we do it right, we instill that enthusiasm in the next generation. And we are to be, according to the Apostle Peter, a royal priesthood and a holy nation, a peculiar people. We are to be a chosen generation. the one that serves Him. Verse 31, they shall come and declare His righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that He hath done this. To have a meaningful life, declare the Lord's righteousness to your generation, and then look for opportunities to give it to the next generation. And if you do it right, something about what you imprinted upon another person will be passed on to a generation not yet born. I praise God. The brother who played and sang for us the special, Delighted me when he told me that his spiritual lineage goes back to a relatively little church We're about we were about an hour north of San Francisco. This brother's church is another hour yet beyond that and went to a couple named Jim and Barbara Bailey, whom you may never know, but he is perhaps the senior pastor, along with perhaps a Jack Traber, maybe one or two others, in all of Northern California. He founded a church. In his vicinity was where Jim Jones founded the People's Temple. that ultimately went to a much more fertile field because the liberals loved Jim Jones. And they went to San Francisco. And then from there to Guyana, where over a thousand people committed suicide. I'm so tired of people trying to say that we are a cult, independent Baptists. Look, I had a hard time getting people to come back for Sunday night service, let alone go to a Southern California, Southern South American country and say, okay, now we're all gonna drink arsenic laced Kool-Aid together. Here we go, let's all die together. Beloved, if I'm a cultist, I'm one of the worst, lousiest cultists you've ever met. I can't get God to be able to do much, much anything. what happened? That couple invested in that man when he was yet a boy. He is now influencing yet another generation. And what's being imprinted upon each is going to go on to yet another generation that's not even yet born. That's where it gets thrilling to serve the Lord. Steve Irwin, rich and famous, when he died, is worth about $10 million. But once death came calling at the age of 44, neither his wealth nor his popularity could spare him, nor purchase for him one last opportunity to speak with his wife and children. If Steve was lost, I'm sad to say, he went to hell. If Steve was saved, he went to heaven, and I would hope to see him one day. But I can assure you that if perchance Steve was born again, his savior was not impressed with how many crocodiles he saved, nor how much of the environment he protected. Those objectives are not necessarily evil, but they don't warrant rewards at the judgment seat of Christ. Christopher Reeve was rich and famous. Interestingly, when he died, he's worth about $10 million. But once death came calling at the relatively young age of 52, neither his wealth nor his popularity could spare him, nor purchase for him one last opportunity to speak with his wife and children. If Christopher was lost, I'm sad to say he went to hell. If Christopher was saved, he's in heaven. But I can assure you that, if perchance Christopher was born again, his Savior is not impressed with his earthly greatness as an actor, athlete, horseman, nor an activist for the handicapped. Those objectives aren't necessarily evil, but they don't warrant rewards at the judgment seat of Christ. As I come to... The most lovely words a preacher can say is, I come to a conclusion. reminded of a, can I share with you a story that, I love when a preacher says, can I? Like, do you have any choice? I am going to share with you a story that just came to mind because it cost me a couple when our church, excuse me, when our church was a lot smaller, we had a couple actually came from the good side of town. They had some money, lived in a big house, nice car. They came, they came to our church a few times and seemed to like me and my preaching and then they quit coming. And I went to visit them. I found out it's because of this illustration where I simply said, bless God, you know, you can be saved, but you might get away from the Lord to the point where people would not even believe you ever were saved. You'd look and act and sound and just like the world. But if you were saved, you're still saved. And I gave the illustration where a number of years ago, a great preacher, was in an elevator down south. He was out preaching. And on that same elevator was Elvis Presley, a young man early in his career, but already becoming rich and famous. And this preacher asked Elvis, may I ask you if you'd die today, would you go to heaven? And extremely respectfully, Elvis Presley said, yes, sir. I have trusted Christ as my Savior and he gave a sound salvation testimony to the point where this great pastor is sure Elvis Presley was saved. So I use it as an illustration. That couple wanted nothing more to do with me because they said there is no way Elvis Presley could be saved. Hey, he grew up in church, a church like this. He could very easily have been born again and then got away from the Lord to the point where you would never guess it. My point is, once again, rich and famous, but what does it avail him? Once he's in heaven, there's nothing. In fact, if anything, he's in hot water. Praise God, it's better than a hot fire, but he's in hot water with the Lord for all the souls he turned away from God by his behavior. We've learned that none can keep alive his own soul. So what are you gonna do about it? Hey, are you ready to get saved? If you claim to be saved, are you ready to get serious? You need to look at your life, not so much in terms of schooling, career, retirement. And then what? Beyond that, What are you laying up as treasure in heaven? I'm asking you if you will, as a saved person, Will you incorporate in your life meekness, praise, and a heart that seeks Christ and wants to serve Him? I'm asking you, will you wholeheartedly turn to the Lord? I know you claim to have been saved already, all right, praise the Lord, but are you wholeheartedly following Christ, worshiping Him, serving Him, and declaring His righteousness unto a people that shall be born? as we bow our heads, please, and close our eyes. If you hear this morning saying, preacher, I've heard you out, and there's something happening in my heart, I'm just all tore up, and I'm haunted by that question. Do I know if I'd go to, if I died, if I'd go to heaven? I'm ready to acknowledge that death is inevitable, and I'm ready to admit that I don't think I'm really saved. and I want that free gift of eternal life. If it's possible for me to have it, I want it. If you're here today and say, Pastor, that's my need and that's my prayer, would you please pray for me that I might be saved? Do I see a hand like that at all? As I scan the auditorium, is there one that'd say, Pastor, I'd like to be saved, I need to be saved, I'm not sure that I'm saved. And if you have that as your testimony that you are born again, saved, but ready to get serious, Ready to do something about it? Ready to live for something more than yourself? Ready to give your all to Christ and let him have his way with you? Lord, I do pray that you'll speak to each heart. And Lord, I pray that someone here that may yet be holding out on the matter of salvation will yet realize you are his only hope of heaven. And may he put his eternity in your hands, claiming you as Lord and Savior. But I pray God for those who say they already have been born again. I rejoice in that testimony, but now I do challenge them. What are you gonna do about it? Lord, we need to work out each one, his own salvation with fear and trembling. You've put it into us. Help us to work it out where it'll make a difference to the world around us. I pray this. And as we're in an attitude of prayer, in just a moment, I have you stand. If you need Christ as your Savior, would you do this? He went to the cross for you. Would you come down an aisle for Him? Would you step out from your comfortable seat and your little bubble of safety and security and come out to the Nile and come forward to the pulpit and let someone here take you by the hand and they'll have someone privately show you how you can have God's gift of eternal life. And if your testimony is, oh no, preacher, I know that I'm already saved, then praise the Lord. Are you willing to step out? and come and say, Lord, I want to get serious about serving you. Let's all stand together, please.