and preaching and all here. You know, what Seth talked about in Sunday school is going to fit right with what I'm preaching here this morning out of John chapter 10. And God's always been faithful. He sure has. Have you figured that out yet? If you wait. Wait on the Lord and be of good courage and He shall strengthen thine heart. God doesn't do things as fast as we would like Him to, because He's wiser than us. How many of you can identify with the fact that you've gotten some awful messes in your life because you rushed it just a little too much? You made some decision, you did something impulsively, and man, did it cost. God don't work that way. But the sun always comes up. I was sitting there thinking about it, the light in the morning. The evening and the morning were the first day. Darkness came before light. The evening came before the day. And so, you know, that's the way it always is. Night comes before darkness, but night always ends. That ought to cheer us up. Times we're living in, the way this world's looking, it's a cycle, you know. And the sun comes up. We've sang a lot of songs like, you know, the sun's coming up in the morning. There's always hope, always hope. As long as your hope is in God, you got something solid to base your hope in. All you gotta do is wait. You just gotta wait. A lot of times you gotta wait a little longer than you thought you should, than you wanted to, than you thought was best. You know, I need help now. but it's not always the best. I've cried to the Lord a lot of times saying, Lord, I need help now. And help didn't come till later, but help did come. Did come. Amen. Hallelujah. John chapter 10. Let's look down at verse 37 and let's read through verse 42. We're not going to preach on all that. We'll get the message out of the first verse or two here and then we'll, but I want to read all of it. Jesus here in John chapter 10. He's speaking and directing these words to these Jews who are opposing him, who are offended at him, who don't like him. And this is what he says, he said, if I do not the works of my father, believe me not, but if I do, Though you believe not me, believe the works that you may know and believe that the Father is in me and I in him. Now there's where we're going to get the message from, but let's go ahead and read the rest of what happened here. Therefore they sought again to take him, but he escaped out of their hand and went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized. And there he abode. He stayed there. He just went there and stayed where John had been at the Jordan River. And many resorted unto him. A lot of people knew the way to that place. They'd all been there before. They'd heard John preaching. And this is what they said. They said, John did no miracle, but all things that John spake of this man were true. And many believed on him there. That's a whole other message there, but that's what happened. Jesus was offensive to the Jews. He was offensive to them. They did not like him. They were offended at him. They didn't like the things he said. They didn't like what he was saying, and especially toward them. He told them the truth about themselves, and they didn't like that. It was offensive to them, and that's the way most people are, isn't it? We don't really want to know the truth about ourselves, we want to believe what we believe about ourselves. We don't want to look in the mirror, but we do every once in a while, and then try to convince ourselves that we're as handsome and as good looking as we thought we were in the first place. But the mirror says, no you ain't, no you ain't. Isn't that right? Is that right? If you go to the mirror and you say, man, that is better than I thought. There's something wrong with you. Maybe you ought to get a second opinion. But we're like that. We don't see ourselves like other people see us. And we're blinded to our own faults and deceptions and things that we are wrong about. We think we're right. Isn't that what the Bible says? Every way of a man is right in his own eyes. Then it says the way of a fool is right in his own eyes. So it's a fool who thinks that he's right in everything. It's a wise man that can receive instruction. and be corrected and face the truth about himself. Well, these Pharisees ain't about to do that. They're not about to accept it from Jesus especially. We talked last week about there was a division among them because of these things he said, like my sheep. He's talking about my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. And, you know, I give unto them eternal life. And that offended these Jews. They didn't want to hear that. He had no right to be saying this stuff. Remember what we talked about? That deal was about Jesus talking about these sheep. The whole issue, the conflict was over the sheep, God's people. These Pharisees thought they belonged to them to do with what they thought best. And Jesus said, they're my sheep, my sheep. And they hear my voice, and I know them. And he even calls us by name. And that offended them. He told them that they were not of his sheep. He said, you're not of my sheep, therefore you're not of my sheep. You don't hear my voice, so you're not of my sheep. Well, that was offensive to him. Since he claimed to be the son of God and speaking for God, that offended them. At the same time, he claimed as his sheep, people who the Jews rejected as unworthy. And then on down here, he said, other sheep I have which are not of this fold. Who's he talking about? Gentiles, people that were outside, the heathens, the pagan. That's who he was talking about. There's some of them who are my sheep. They hear my voice. And he said, them also I must bring and they shall hear my voice and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. Therefore does my father love me. Now Jesus is saying these words and it's offensive to these Pharisees. They don't like it. They do not like him. He spoke with authority. That was offensive to them. Like it's offensive always to everybody that's in rebellion against the truth. They don't like somebody to say, thus saith the Lord, or this is the way it is. They don't like that. But Jesus spoke that way. And he didn't speak arrogantly and overbearing. He didn't come across as a pushy, overbearing person. He just spoke the truth like it was true. There wasn't no quivering in his voice. There wasn't no uh, uh, uh, uh, you know, and apologizing for every other thing he said. He just spoke pure, unadulterated truth with authority because it was true. And you don't have to be arrogant and overbearing and ugly and offensive to people to speak with authority. But people resent that. Any hint of authority of this is the way it is. There is one way. We talked about already, I'm the door, he said. He's the way, the truth, and the life. There's no other way. It's Jesus or no other way. You're not gonna get to the Father except through him. Well, that's offensive when you tell people they're on the wrong way. You're not going to make it this way. I mean, you're going to end up in hell this way. The first reaction is, that's offensive. What right have you got to say that? Who do you think you are? What makes you special that you know and other people don't? What about all the world that don't agree with you? Jesus was in the same kind of situation here. John was also a voice crying in the wilderness. Isn't that what it says about him? Jesus was the lone voice crying. There were no other prophets. You ever think about that? Nobody else was crying out for God, the truth in that world, in that time. There'd been no prophets for over 400 years. Silence from heaven. And now there's a voice. And they're hearing it and they're offended at him. They don't like him. And you know last week we talked about there were some there though that had enough light in their hearts that they recognized this isn't the voice of the devil. A devil wouldn't speak like this and a devil wouldn't do the things that he does. And then they go out here where John had been preaching and they say everything John said about him is true. What'd John say about him? He said, behold, the Lamb of God taketh away the sin of the world. They said, that's true. Everything John said about him. John said a lot more. He was not one of them. They were offended at Jesus because he wasn't one of them and had not yet, he hadn't come up through the ranks like they had. He didn't go to their schools. He didn't learn from the same sources they had. Y'all ever think about that? Jesus did not learn from worldly sources anything about God, religion, history, or anything. He didn't learn it from the Pharisees. He didn't learn it from their schools, their books, nothing. God, He knew it because He was God. He was, He is the Word of God. That's real significant. He wasn't one of them. He didn't fit in their mold. He didn't fit with their crowd. He just didn't fit with them because they were not of God. He spoke God's words, but they heard them not because Jesus said, you're not of God. But they thought they were. They thought they were God's representatives on earth. God's chosen. And they had the seat of power. And now Jesus comes along and says all these things, and they're offended with Him. They considered Him an outsider, an intruder, and He had no right to be doing and saying the things He was doing and saying. He was known to them since a child. That's another thing. This all happened in a little place over there called Israel. It's still there. It's still got about the same boundaries as it did at that time. I mean, it's a small area. They knew who he was. I mean, they knew that he was the carpenter's son. The Bible tells us that. They said that. Is not this the carpenter's son? Don't we know his brothers and sisters? Who is he? He's nobody. He's a carpenter. He's just a plain old guy that just works for a living. And he's out here saying these things, taking it upon himself to tell us we're not. Of God? What in the world? And they remembered, you know, the rumors never ceased about him being conceived before his parents were married. So they considered him to be illegitimate and refused to have any respect for him. Now that's the situation Jesus was in. All of us can be and are offensive to other people for a lot of the same reasons, you know that? The fact that we go to church when the doors are open, that's offensive to those who don't. It is. They don't care if you go to church, but it just kind of, you know, I mean, I've been in this a long time. I've had a lot of things said, you know, why do you do that? I just don't think you gotta go to church so much. I don't think you gotta go, I don't think you gotta go to church at all. It's offensive to them that we're even here. The fact that we refuse to go to certain places or be involved in certain things is offensive to all those who do. Who go to those places and do those things? The fact that we don't is offensive to them. You with me? Peter says here in 1 Peter 4, verse 4, wherein they think it strange that you run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you. They speak evil of you because you quit doing that stuff. So they're offended with you. You know, it's been a while. You know, things have been different for a long time here now. But I'm old enough to remember that when you got saved, things changed in your life. And all of a sudden, there was a division among the family. There was a division among your friends about you. The day I got right with God, from that day forward, the next day was a different world I lived in because everybody knew. And they found out. And some said, well, we're glad. Those were few. But a lot of them said, no, no. This is crazy. Dad, sitting there, of course, a lot of things have changed in 45 years. But Dad said, you'll be back. He said, you're just all worked up right now, but in three months, you'll be back just like you was. Well, it never did happen. Never did get back like I was. But there was a division. And for a long time, a lot of family, and some of them still are, some of them hate me with a hot passion. They hate me for nothing. Just for the fact of what I am and what I believe. No reason, never done them wrong, that I know of. And so this is kind of how it is. We can be offensive without even trying. Do you think they had a right to be offended with Jesus Christ, the Son of God? Who did He do wrong? Did He do them wrong? Had He done anybody wrong? Had He cheated? Had He lied? Had He murdered? Had He done any immoral thing? Of course not. Had He said any mean things? No! He tried to do them good. He's pleading with them right here. If you don't believe me, believe the works that I do, that you may know the Father. I mean, He is not wanting them to be saying, you're just a bunch of reprobates and you just deserve to go to hell. That isn't Jesus at all. He wouldn't even be there talking to him if he didn't care for him. And if he wasn't trying to reach him and get him to understand. But the fact that we believe certain things are wrong and sinful and evil is very offensive to people who do those things. And you know it is. That's always been the problem through my life. If I would have just got on board and been just like all the other worldly Christians that you talk about and just kept doing the things I was doing and kept living like I was living and still had all the bad habits and still talk the same filthy talk, They would have not had a problem with me. They just wouldn't have taken me seriously at all, but they wouldn't have been against me. What separates it is when you separate from what they're doing, then they're offended with you. Jesus was a friend of publicans and sinners, but he didn't participate with them in their riotous living. He was there to reach out to them. He was there to heal them. He was there to feed them. He was there to help them in any way. But he wasn't there to join up with them and act like they act and live like they live. And when you do that, it's offensive to them. Even the fact that we don't dress like the world and teach our women and children to dress modestly, it's one of the most offensive things to the ungodly people who we work with and do business with and sometimes go to church with. It's not always just out there, it's people in church that get offended over things like that. Things that are, we're just talking about basic righteousness, but we gotta be careful not to appear self-serving. Listen to me here. That'll be an offense to others. In the things that we do to help others and serve God, we've got to be careful not to appear self-serving, and we better not be doing it to be self-serving. We ain't doing it to make ourselves look good. We're not doing it for the benefits that it'll bring to us. It's got to be one way. We do what we do for others and for the honor of God, not myself and not what it'll gain me. It's real important because I've known a lot of people through the years and some of them have been totally that way. They didn't do what they did for their self. I've known some real, the real deal. I think Brother Herbert Williamson, we was just talking about him, he passed away this week and he was one of the roughest men I've known. I mean, he was rough. A lot of times through the years, and I've known him, I'd hear him preach and I'd say, oh brother, why'd you have to say that? Why'd you have to do it that way? There's a better way. But I've seen him deal with sinners personally, privately. Yes, tears. Real concern and care. He wasn't doing it to show off, to make a name for himself. He cared about him. I've watched others like that too. Brother Owen's that way. He's rough. He's offensive. a lot of times, just in his manner. But I've seen him go way beyond what I would have went to help somebody. And that's done out of the sight of the public and people. The only time that's done where everybody said, hey, everybody look over here what I'm doing to help here. You've received your reward, Jesus said. The real deal, it won't happen that way. And that's what Jesus is saying to these people. He's saying, if you don't like me, that's okay. And if you don't believe me because you got something against me, that's okay. But look at what I'm doing. Look at what my life is about. Pay attention to what I really care about and see if these works that I'm doing are not wrought of God. See if God's not in all of this. Look for God in my works, in my life, in my walk. That's the message here this morning. That's what we better get this morning, really. We gotta be careful not to appear self-serving. Anything that appears self-serving is going to be offensive to others, and it might be the final straw that turns them toward the darkness forever. If they think you're just doing it for you, just because of your pride, just to show off, just to get attention to yourself, they'll just spit it right out. Won't do no good. So we've got to face the fact that many will be offended with us, no matter how hard we try to keep from offending them. You know, it's like that old saying, haters are gonna hate. But it should be without any justification and without any help from us. I've known some men that just, they took a lot of pride in making people hate them. And I've known preachers that gauged their spirituality by how many people hated them in the town where they preached. And I've always thought that was wrong. It really bothers me and burdens me if somebody hates me. And I've not done them any wrong. But they think I have somehow. And I can't get it through that wall. That really bothers me. I don't take pride in that. Don't make me feel good. But here's the deal. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5 verse 11 and 12, He said, Blessed are ye. He knew this would be this way. These Jews were offended with Him. People are going to be offended with you if you try to live for God. You might as well face that fact. Everybody's not going to love you. Here's some verses to prove it. Blessed are ye, Jesus said, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you, falsely. That's the key word right there. If they're saying evil against you and they got a justification for it, then you're the ones in trouble. But if they're lying, if they're saying things that you did not do and they're accusing you falsely for my sake, He said, rejoice, just go ahead and rejoice. And be exceedingly glad, exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. He said it's always been this way. As long as man's been on the earth since sin entered into the world, it's always been this way. The people who serve God are going to be hated by the world. I mean the first two men that were born on the face of the earth, Cain and Abel. Abel served God in truth and righteousness. Cain, his brother, did not. And Cain killed Abel because he served God. Because God accepted Abel's sacrifice and wouldn't accept Cain's sacrifice. He killed him. That's hating pretty bad. He said, that's just the way it's going to be. Can you take that? You know, count the cost. Again in Matthew chapter 5 and verse 13, the next verse after that, Jesus said, all of that, see, and he said, you are the salt of the earth. That's why. Did you ever get salt in a cut? Boy, it'll light you up quick, don't it? It'll get your attention real quick. It hurts. You're the salt of the earth. But if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men. So if the salt don't taste like salt, it ain't good for nothing. If it don't burn a little, it ain't no good. It's worthless. You just throw it out there like dirt for people to walk on. Ye are the salt of the earth. We're the light of the world. It's supposed to make a difference. There's a contrast. There's a conflict. There's a crash between these two worlds, this war that's going on between good and evil. There's a conflict. The darkness hates the light. Now the light don't hate toward those who are in darkness, but those in darkness hate the ones in the light. John chapter three. All right, now the fact that ungodly people are offended with us when they have no true and honest reason is evidence that we're doing what pleases God. Here in Luke chapter six and verse 26, woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you. For so did their fathers to the false prophets. You'll not see a preacher that'll get well known and famous in this time that we're living in with the world. He ain't gonna be on TV and they're not gonna be talking about him and promoting him and all of this stuff that's going on if he's really preaching the truth. Because Jesus said, woe unto you if all men speak well of you. So you get it. I mean, if there is no opposition, if there is no offense from them toward us, then we must not be doing anything right. We must not be salty. We must not be shining a light very much or it would affect things. And it would bring that result. They were offended with Jesus. He said this is the condemnation that light has come into the world. And men loved darkness rather than light. Because their deeds were evil. They would not come to the light. They hated the light. But their being offended with us is no reason for us to be offended with them. You can't just return kind for kind. You shouldn't punch somebody out because they said something ugly to you. You just can't be a Christian and do that kind of stuff, get in a brawl. So you better be careful how you approach things and how you do things. Let me just give you an example. I was somewhere this week and I was standing there getting guests and I could hear somebody out there just talking filthy, just loud and boisterous. You could hear it all over the whole block. And I wanted to just go over there and say some things to him. You know, you shouldn't be doing that. Why do you do this? Don't you have any respect for other people? It's offensive to me. You might as well, I'd rather you just spit on me. Just go ahead and spit on me if you're going to do that. You know, there was other people around there. You know, shouldn't do that. People ought to have enough respect for other people not to do that. I mean, talking extremely bad, using terrible language. But what could I say? What could I do? I could go over there and say some things, but it would just turn into a fight. And I'd either have to fight or walk away. So it's kind of stupid to go over and do that. You know what we should do in cases like that? I've thought about it since. I should have just walked by and said, you know, boy, this is a beautiful day. Everybody ought to be praising God, don't you think? God who made heaven and earth and everything, don't you think that'd be what everybody ought to be doing? Shine some light on them. Just mention God. Just bring that into the environment there. Oh yeah. Yeah. It does. Man alive. I remember years ago preaching on the street in cities and things and how it just changes the whole atmosphere. Just when you show up and you start preaching in public like that. I mean it brings out the good and the bad, but it changes the whole atmosphere, I guarantee you that. And it shines light where light needs to be shine said don't do no good It does good if you just stand out there and hold your Bible I've stood out by the street before and just held the Bible up as people drove by and I've watched people I went to church with then go by and turn their heads as they went back because they didn't want to I Was an embarrassment to them People will be offended with you in church, out of church. There's going to be people from everywhere going to be offended with you. They were with Jesus too. You're joining up with a good bunch of people. Jesus pleaded with these Jews to believe His works in spite of the fact that they were offended with Him. Don't let whatever I say or do keep you from God. Watch what I do and how I live and how I treat other people and God. And though you believe not Me, believe the works that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me and I in Him. Isn't that what you really want people to believe about you if you are a Christian? If you know God, God lives in you. Isn't that what you really want people to know about you? That God's in you. That God's real to you. That you ain't a fake and a phony and you're not just pretending and playing games. You really want people to know there's a God in heaven and they can know Him. Well, that's what Jesus is saying, that the Father, that you may know and believe that God is in me, and I in Him. Well, now that applies to us. The works that Jesus was referring to were the things that He did for other people. Y'all now catch this. What works is He talking about? The works that I do. My works He's talking about. What is He talking about? Well, it's pretty simple to me to see. He went around helping people. He went around healing the sick. He just healed a blind man right here. That was the big issue. It caused all the trouble. Jesus did a good work. They picked up stones to stone him. And Jesus said, I've done many good works. Which of those good works are you stoning me for? They said, we're not stoning you for good works. We're stoning you because you made yourself the son of God. The works, the works. What's he talking about? Believe my works. Look at my works. It's just what I told you a while ago about Brother Herbert, you know. Same thing, I'd say to you, before you get too rough on somebody that you think is too radical and too out of bounds, look at his works. Look a little closer. Get to know them in their real day-by-day walking life and how do they treat other people? What do they do for other people? Is their life really just all about themselves and their concerns and their cares and that's all their life is? Is that all their minds taking up? Or do they really look out there and try to be a blessing and a help to other people in a real way? Believe me for my works. See, Baptists have preached no works, no works. Not by works, not by works. Oh, you're not born again by your own works. Your sins are not atoned for by your own good works. But let me tell you something, you ain't worth nothing to God or this world without good works. It's your light. It's the salt. It's what makes us effective, what makes us useful in this world. And it's the only way that other people ever come to know God. There were always people in great need and desperate. Did you ever notice that in reading through the Gospels everywhere Jesus went? There was always somebody, there was always a multitude. in need. There were lepers more than one at a time. There were blind people more than one at a time. Two blind men sitting by the way. Ten lepers he healed. I mean there were just people always in need. How far do you think you got to go here before you find somebody in need? You don't have to leave the house. Just that we don't look, really. Really, honestly, the truth, if it was just, if we'd just be honest with ourselves this morning, we're so caught up with our own cares and our own life and our own busyness that we just really don't pay much attention to anybody else. Oh, we're sad when we hear stories about this young woman at Piedmont this week who took her own life. That grieves us for a little bit and then we forget it and go on because we've got things to think about and we've got things to do and places to go and we've got plans to enjoy life. That's where we're at, see. Jesus didn't have no other plans. You understand that? He didn't have no other plans. This is what he came for. To seek and to save that which was lost. It's all his life was about. The mind of Christ. Let this mind be in you which it was also in Christ Jesus. That's what his mind was. He didn't think about nothing else. Like his time on earth was so short and he had so little time to do what he was gonna do No wonder he said let us I must work the works of him that sent me while it's day The night cometh When no man can work There are always people who are suffering from sorrow and sickness and grief everywhere. We got a prayer list here and that ain't even a drop in a bucket to what I know besides those. And then look at the world around us and then look at all these people around us here. So most of them we don't even know. How many more cares and sorrows and sickness and grief is there among all of those? There were always people who had no other hope than for Jesus to help them. No hope. I mean, they were at the end of the road. And Jesus came along. Blind men, lepers, Devil-possessed. Remember that man with his son who was devil-possessed and he wept? He said, Lord, I believe. Helped by an unbelief. Remember, he said, I've came to your disciples and they couldn't do anything. If thou canst do anything, please have mercy on us and help us. Last hope. Last chance. Last call. Where do we go from here? Nowhere. There was a woman who had, for 12 years, she'd had an issue of blood. She had spent all her living on many physicians, and nobody had been able to help her. This is the last hope she's got. If Jesus don't help her, ain't nobody else to turn to. Ain't nowhere else to go. Did any one of them ever find that Jesus couldn't help them? No. Nobody ever went away from Jesus without help, without healing, without deliverance, and without hope. That maniac in the tombs, crying. They couldn't do nothing with him. Nobody could do nothing with him, so they tried to chain him up. And he broke the chains and the fetters asunder, cutting himself and crying. naked in the graveyard. And everybody just stayed away from him. He was an animal, a wild animal. Nobody could do anything with him until Jesus came along. And in short order, he's sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind, the Bible says, with hope, with life. He helped him. And that's what he said, if you don't believe me, believe the works. Watch what I'm doing. Don't you see what it's doing for people? Surely you can see God in this. Well, that's the way our works ought to be. It ought to be so that people can see God in them. To know that God's real in our life. It's all I've ever wanted as a Christian. I don't want people to think I'm phony and fake, because I'm not. If I didn't believe what I believe here this morning, I'd give her up and quit a long time ago. But God is real. And God is hope. He's the only Even the dead raised to life. I mean in the most extreme cases. Here's Lazarus, been dead four days and Jesus did that on purpose. He knew Lazarus was sick before he died. And then he knew Lazarus was dead, and he still tarried four days before he went. And when he got there, Lazarus' sister said, Lord, if you'd been here, our brother wouldn't have died. But now it's just too late. He's dead. He's been dead four days. There's no hope. Well, you'd pretty well agree with him, wouldn't you? Except for Jesus, he said, I'm the resurrection and the life. He that believeth on me shall never die. Do you believe this, Martha?" And Lazarus walked out of the tomb. And he told those people, you loose him and let him go. Take that junk off of him that you put on him. He that was dead came forth. And you know what happened then? Immediately some of them said, we've got to kill him. Jesus, we got to kill him. We can't let him get away with this. Believe the works. Some of them are going to believe and some of them are not going to believe. No matter what you do, you can call a dead from the tomb and there's sight and they'll still hate you and want to kill you. That's how insane sin makes you. And how insane it makes you when you hate God and run from Him and won't yield to Him. Now, the words Jesus spoke of Himself are true of everyone who follows Him as His disciple. First, we're bound to do all we can not to be an offense to other people. I wish I'd have learned earlier on in my life that if any blame for the offense can be attributed to our pride, our passions, our ignorance, our arrogance, then we're not blameless and our good works will appear self-serving and hypocritical. If any bit of it can be blamed on my pride. I can't care what happens to me, what it costs me, what people think of me. I've got to be true to the truth, to God, and to love for other people. If we truly follow Jesus in this ungodly and pagan world around us, there are many people who will be offended by our very existence. They don't want us to even be on this earth. That's what they said about Paul, isn't it? It is not fit for such a fellow to live on the earth. That's what they said about the Apostle Paul. He don't deserve to breathe the air on this planet. He's such a rascal. The Apostle Paul, what was he doing? Same thing Jesus did. That's how they felt about him. And so we've got that side to deal with. And we can't let that make us hate them. We can't let that make us have bitter feelings toward them either. Or how we treat them. How do you overcome evil? Good, there you go. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. It's the goodness of God that brings men to repentance. Not the wrath of God or any of that. No, that's not what brings men to repentance. What brings men to repentance according to the Word of God is the goodness of God. When you realize how merciful and how good God has been to you and how rotten and careless you have treated Him, it overwhelms you. When it ever comes to that place where you really realize, Jesus loves me. He died for me. And I've not done a thing for Him. I've ignored Him and acted as if He don't even exist. It doesn't make you hate yourself, it just makes you realize, you're the one in the wrong. God's reached out in patience and long-suffering and given me every beat of my heart since I was conceived in my mother's womb. He's given me every breath I've drawn and kept me alive and delivered me from who knows how many times I could have died and went to hell. God spared my life this far. The goodness of God's what makes you say, all right. I'm done with this. I'm over. I'm quitting fighting. So, nevertheless, in spite of the fact that people are gonna feel that way about us a lot of the time, we should do the same works that Jesus was referring to here. Let me hurry here, but in Matthew chapter five and verse 16, he said, Jesus said this, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Do we understand clear enough what good works are, what we're talking about? It's how you view other people. It's how you perceive or how you treat other people. It's how you deal with them. How you speak to them. That's a big thing right there, just how you speak to them. Makes a big difference. When you meet somebody, that's the first thing that you do, really. You're assessing, who am I talking to? What kind of person is this? What's their attitude toward me? What's their attitude toward me, basically? Ephesians chapter 2 verse 10. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. So I'm not preaching a strange doctrine here this morning. If you're a Christian, you're created for good works. That's why we're here. That's why we're not in heaven. That's why we're still here. We're here to do good. As we find the opportunity, I've got a verse here in a minute to read. But Jesus lived to help people in need. He couldn't help the Jews, most of them, because they didn't think they needed help. Can't help somebody, don't think they need help. He said this, he said, they that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. You think you're righteous. I came to call sinners to repentance. Can't help those who don't need help, don't think they need help, don't want help. The blind man needed help. That's why he cried out. When he heard that Jesus of Nazareth passes by, he cried out, O thou son of David, have mercy on me. And everybody said, be quiet. You're making a scene. And it didn't stop him. He cried out the more. Help. Help me, Lord. He got help, didn't he? Yes, sir. Amen. That blind man wasn't sitting there saying, I don't need no help. I don't need to see. I don't need nobody to tell me anything. or do anything for me. I can make it on my own. Jesus would have passed by, wouldn't he? Jesus came to serve. This is real important and I'll be done in just a minute here, but He came to serve. You know what a minister is? Everybody thinks a minister is a preacher. Well, a preacher is supposed to be a minister, but everybody is supposed to be a minister. Did you know that? Jesus came to serve. He came to minister, not to be ministered unto. The word minister means servant or to serve. As a verb. If Jesus was a servant, then how much more should we have a servant's heart? And mind also. The mind of Christ is the mind of a servant. And the purpose of life is to serve, to minister, to help, to attend to the needs of someone beside themselves. That's what Jesus said, his mind. That's what the Bible said. I'm gonna read it here in a minute. But the mind of Christ was the mind of a servant. He didn't come here to Lord over the earth. He came here to serve. He said that over and over. And that is the attitude we're to have. You know what a servant is? Now, I've read this to you before, but it's right out of the dictionary. Listen. You think you know what a servant is? Well, listen. A person, male or female, that attends another for the purpose of performing menial offices for him, or who is employed by another for such offices, or for other labor, and is subject to his command. Mm. You listening? The word is correlative to master. In other words, servant differs from a slave. As the servant's subjection to a master is voluntary, the slave's is not. Every slave is a servant, but every servant is not a slave. Why do you serve? Because you want to. Because you want to. Why did Jesus come? To minister. Because he wanted to. Mark chapter 10 verse 45, for even the son of man, Jesus said this, for even the son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. He came to serve, to do good, to help people, not for people to help him. He didn't come as the king. They kept wanting to make him a king. He didn't come to be the king, not that time. The next time he comes, he's coming as king. Yes, sir. But which came first? Servant. Another verse, Philippians chapter 2, verses 5 through 7. So you see what Jesus was about. He said, the works that I do, you shall do also. Yet greater works than these shall ye do, because I send the Comforter. So, I think we all understand that if we're going to be a disciple of Christ, if we're going to follow Christ, we're going to be saved. We're going to be one of His. we're gonna have to follow him. I mean, that's the deal, isn't it? It's not just, say this prayer, we'll baptize you and you're on your way to heaven. Don't worry about it anymore. You're sealed to the day of redemption, no matter what you do. And I don't think that's the way we're supposed to, that's not the gospel. were created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God ordained before. I mean, this is the way it's... He saved us to serve. Saved to serve. Luke 22 verse 27, for weather is greater, Jesus said, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth, is not he that sitteth at meat, but I am among you as he that serveth. Did y'all get that? Were you listening? Jesus said, who's the greatest, the one that's sitting being served or the one serving? Well, the one being served is the greatest. But he said, I am among you as a servant. It's very clear. Jesus came to serve because he came to serve, he said, follow me. Isn't that what he said to everyone of his disciples when he called them? Follow me. Follow me. If we're following Jesus, we're going to be doing what he did. What does that mean? That means we're going to be starting to be conscious of what's around us here. This sea of humanity that's perishing in our presence here while we stay silent and absorbed in our own lives and doing our own things and caring for our own cares. No one can deny that there are people all around us in great need, just like there were when Jesus walked in Israel. Found a woman laying on the porch here a few weeks ago, in the middle of the day, nursing a hangover, she said. They're everywhere. They're just walking all around us. They're everywhere. You don't have to go far at all to find people that are in the darkness. that are on the brink, just like the woman at Piedmont last week. When are we going to care? Reach out. Grab a hold of them. Throw out the lifeline. There are many who are desperate for hope. Without God and without hope in this world, the Bible says. That's how it describes those without. Without God and without hope in this world. Where are you going to go? What are you going to do? If you don't reach out to God, what are you going to do? What are you going to reach for? Ain't nothing to reach for, except God. And He said, draw an eye to God and He'll draw an eye to you. You reach out to him and the prodigal son started home. He said, I'll go, I'll arise and go to my father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father ran to meet him, fell on his neck and hugged him. He didn't have to come crawling in the door, knock on the door and beg his father and wait on him. No, his father was more anxious for him to come home than he was to get home. And he was watching for him, yeah. There's a lot of people who are suffering from sickness and sorrow and grief. Sick people everywhere. So we can't get out and knock on doors like we used to because of the situation of everything. The hospitals are full of people. You can go in there. The jails are full of people. You can go in there. There's places everywhere where they're already gathered up for us. We just don't have the view that we need to have. I don't know if you're reading any of that book, but David Gibbs talking about being in that airport, and that other preacher said, ain't this the greatest opportunity we've ever had? These people are stuck, and they can't go nowhere. Now's the time. And so he was just going around, passing out tracts, and talking to people about God. And he was telling it to talk about himself, how he was grumbling and complaining because he was held up and he had places to go, things to do, he was going to be late. But the other man saw a great opportunity. When are we going to get like that? Are we ever going to get like that? Have you considered the fact that you might be somebody else's last hope? You might be the last person to talk to. You might be the last person that they've got the strength to reach out to. Yes, it happens. I've been that person. We let the cares of this life and the busyness neutralize us where we're ineffective and unaware until it's too late. Let's keep our eyes open and let us form habits of looking for people in need and an opportunity to do form what Jesus would do if He were there instead of us. And we're here in this place and we are to be doing what He did when He was here. And it's all about glorifying our Father in heaven and that people will look to Him. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Jesus said, don't believe me, believe my works that you may know that God is in me and I in Him. that there's a God in heaven. We're here. Now according to what Jesus said here, that depends upon our good works toward our fellow men. Glorifying our Father depends on our good works. So let's be careful to maintain good works. Titus chapter 3 verse 8 and 9 says this is a faithful saying, And these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. But avoid foolish questions and genealogies and contentions and strivings about the law, for they are unprofitable and vain." Good advice for... modern Christians. We need to understand just what good works are in the eyes of God and men and follow the example of Jesus. And I believe we will soon see the fruit of obeying God in all of that matter. I really do. I believe it works. It works. It takes time, but it does bring forth fruit. All right. Let's stay in I appreciate everybody being here this morning. Good to have visitors. Good to have Brother Gene here and these folks here, Briar and Alex and Elias. Good to have them. And Donnie and Julie, I'm glad you're here. Glad you're here, both of you. All right. Good to have Anna back there. Amen. And everybody else. Let's bow our heads and we're going to have a word of prayer and we'll be dismissed in just a second here. But, you know, if you're here this morning and you'd like to just say pray for me, we'd sure be glad to. Ain't gonna put nobody on the spot or anything like that this morning, but just want you to know here this morning that we care about people and we care about, I hope we care about one another in here too. I care about some of my family that's in here. I care about your family that's in here. We need to help one another and be a blessing to one another and strengthen one another in these times that we're living in. Anybody here this morning just say, I'm struggling with all of this about God and everything else, would you just pray for me? Just raise your hand and put it back down. I ain't gonna say your name or call you out or anything. Anybody? Anybody? All right, we're gonna have a word of prayer. And I'm gonna pray for God to speak to hearts and work in your life. Father, thank you for allowing us to be together this morning. I thank you for the good crowd and everybody that's here. Thank you for the good word of God, and thank you for the truth that we can see so clearly here. I pray you'd help us to be changed by this, and not that it'd just be another message we heard, but I pray it'd work on our hearts and minds, and that we would Actually walk out of this place and be different and do something about this. Start being more conscious of the souls around us and the situation that so many people are in. Help us Lord to be a blessing, a help, a light, a little light. that would shine into this darkness around us, into somebody's life, and help them to see that there is a way out. Lord, I pray for these families that we mentioned this morning that are grieving the loss of loved ones gone out of out of time, not supposed to be gone yet. Young people. Lord, please help these folks and their children that are left. I pray, Father, for all the other needs. Pray for Brother Williamson's funeral tomorrow. Please bless in that service. And I pray you'd be glorified and honored and help Brother Shepherd to preach and honor Brother Herbert, but also honor God and the gospel. And I know he will. I pray Lord that you would work in hearts as we leave this place. I pray the good word of God would find a place in every heart and mind here and that Holy Spirit of God that you would do the work that I cannot do. I've done all that I can do and it's not a very good job, but I pray that the word of God would bring forth fruit in every heart and mind here this morning and everybody else that might listen to this message. Lord, we love you. Thank you for your mercy and thank you for saving us so long ago. Thank you for all the years of blessings and all your love and mercy and kindness in Jesus name. Amen.