[0:00] Good to see you. Good to see you. Good to see you. Good to see you. Good to see you. Good to see you. Good to see you. Yeah, you're coming along. You're coming along. Yeah, amen, guys.
[0:10] It's always good to be saved. You know what? You know, we spend a lot of time in church, my wife and I and our family. And like we started last Sunday and went Sunday through Wednesday down in San Diego.
[0:24] They came up here Thursday and did Thursday through Sunday here. And usually Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday are not church days, right?
[0:36] You know what day I really like to be in church in? Saturday. I like to be in church on Saturday night. You know why? Because I know what some of you used to do on Saturday night.
[0:48] Now think about it. You know, before I was saved, if you had told me I was going to be in church on Saturday night, you wouldn't want to record my response. All right? And I just think, I really do.
[0:59] I think some people, some of us, we walk into a church on a Saturday night. God just says, look at that. Isn't that something? So good to be saved, guys. Always good to be in church.
[1:11] I'm going to talk to you about the book table. Like I said, probably nothing on that table to help you. But man, to help us, you buy this stuff, okay? We just got to unload it. This is actually the first book.
[1:22] It's The Understandable History of the Bible. That book has grown. It used to be a small book, about, you know, like that and about that thick. And it has, from the first edition to this fourth edition, I think I've added three chapters, three complete chapters, and then a bunch of other information.
[1:42] But it is understandable. Don't let the size of it scare you. I was talking to a guy one time. He was in Philadelphia, and his old Roman Catholic grandmother got saved.
[1:54] And she said, well, just where did we get the Bible from anyway? And they gave her that book right there. And she promptly broke a hip trying to pick it up. It's tragic. It's just terrible. But no, I said a couple months, she is coming into church telling them where they got their Bible from.
[2:09] So that one is back there. This one is one of the newest books. It's not mine. We publish it. I didn't write it. Brother Schwer, the author here, is actually out of our church.
[2:22] He teaches, and he's one of my teachers in the Bible Institute. And this is the third in a trilogy. Now, you guys are familiar with what they call them, historical novels? And it's true history, but the guy writes in between the lines.
[2:35] And that's what he does. And so he did the first one, second one. This one's probably only, I don't think it's been out a month yet. But I get a lot of parents.
[2:46] They say, this has got my teenager interested in reading the Bible. So that one is back there. This one, called Satan's Devices.
[2:57] Hard to believe it's about Satan's Devices. Be that thin, you know. Ought have been that big. But this is called Satan's Devices, a biblical neurobiological perspective of what impact too much screen time can have on our minds and bodies.
[3:13] I still think it ought to be thicker. Okay? Here's some of what he deals with. What does the Bible say about your eyes? How do screens affect my child with autism?
[3:26] How does blue light affect my prefrontal cortex? Does screen time increase anxiety? Does anybody really need a book to answer that question? I mean, you know, I was telling my wife.
[3:39] No, no, she did. I think my wife told me this. We get up one morning. You know, one of the first things you do is you turn on your phone. And think about this. Because of these, we can be up and within the first hour be depressed.
[3:54] Right? You don't have to wait until noon for the news to hear anything bad. Just turn it on and you can get your bad news, I mean, before breakfast. And so you can just, like, enjoy the whole day in turmoil.
[4:09] How do screens affect my circadian rhythm? Can someone be addicted to screens? Can screen time lead to photophobia?
[4:29] So that one is, that's a good book. This guy's pretty sharp that wrote that. And then this is the big one. I probably, I probably won't do this anymore just because the vocal cords wouldn't, it wouldn't last two days.
[4:43] But I used to do a 24-hour King James seminar. We'd start 8 o'clock in the morning on Thursday and go to 8 o'clock at night. Start 8 o'clock Friday, go to 8 o'clock at night. That's 24 hours.
[4:54] Now we would, we'd stop to eat, okay? We are Baptists. So in the remaining hour and a half, I'd teach. No, this, literally, this is 32 lessons.
[5:05] This is a year's college curriculum on the history of the Bible. So it, some, some of what it covers, it covers the two lines of manuscripts we've been talking about from Alexandria and Egypt.
[5:17] The Hexapola, the Apocrypha, the theories of inspiration. I always have to, I always, I'm always tickled when people talk about what I believe about inspiration. Because I don't care what, how you describe inspiration.
[5:32] You are, that book is going to do, it's going to walk all over your definition. And you know why that is? Because we like simple, simple definitions. And you know what we want to do?
[5:42] We want to define an infinite God in one sentence. And He's not going to let you do that. But we cover them, the six theories of inspiration. The establishment of the canon.
[5:53] Who said these 27 books belong in the New Testament? Who said those books over there don't? Reasoned eclecticism. Now, that sounds like something you go to the doctor for. But when you hear the word reasoned, don't you think like reasonable, we're going to reason together?
[6:12] Nothing could be farther from the truth, okay? I call this scholarship gone wild. And here's why. If you've got a friend that's got an NIV, you might say, well, your Bible is missing 17 verses.
[6:24] And they'll say, yeah, I know it is, but that's because they're not in the Alexander manuscripts because they don't belong there. At least they had a Greek manuscript, even though it was a corrupted one. They had some evidence to go to.
[6:34] I read the scholars. Here's what they say now. We put in what we think should be there and hope someday they uncover a manuscript that justifies our conjecture. That's what they do with the word of God.
[6:47] I wouldn't let that guy do brain surgery on me. Dysidarius Erasmus, two names you never want to give your children. So what's in here are 12 DVDs of the 32 lessons.
[7:00] And then there's two CDs. One of them is the audio in MP3 format, just if you want to listen to it while you're driving. And the other one, this comes with a 130-page 8.5 by 11 syllabus.
[7:15] And so that is on one of the other discs. So that is back there. And like I told you, my wife will take your money. All right.
[7:25] I want you to turn to three places in your Bible. I want you to go to Isaiah chapter 40, Psalm 27, and Proverbs 27. Isaiah chapter 40.
[7:36] Psalm 27. And Proverbs 27. And we're going to look at, well, let's see if I can find Isaiah.
[7:51] Maybe we'll get you there. Isaiah chapter 40. And look at the very last verse, 31.
[8:06] But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. And they shall walk and not faint.
[8:20] Now let's look at Psalm 27. And in Psalm 27, we're going to read verse 14. Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart.
[8:35] Wait, I say, on the Lord. Now go to Proverbs chapter 27. And look at verse 18. Whoso keepeth a fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof, so he that waiteth on his master shall be honored.
[8:50] Let's bow our heads. Let's talk to the Lord. Father, it's good to be saved, God. It's good to be in church. You know, God, if you choose not to visit this meeting tonight, if you choose not to enter this room just because I am here, all you'll be doing is showing your holiness.
[9:07] I'm just myself alone, God. I'm good enough reason for a holy God not to step into the same room I'm in. God, we are all dirt. We are all undeserving of your salvation, undeserving of your attention, undeserving of your blessings.
[9:22] But that is what we ask for, God. And you do know what some of us did on Saturday nights before we met you. And this is the best thing we can do on a Saturday night now, God. We thank you for that.
[9:34] Now, Lord, please, please, for the sake of these people, especially some who drove so far, please, God, get Sam Gipp out of their way and out of your way and speak to people that they might be edified.
[9:46] And that they being edified, they would leave here and live to your glory. In Jesus Christ's name we pray. Amen. Now, I think you saw the common thread through that is waiting on the Lord.
[10:01] And I've often said this. I've always said that I don't know if you ever thought about it this way, but from the day you got saved, do you know where you've been living ever since you got saved? You've been living at a bus stop.
[10:12] What's a bus stop? Well, you go someplace, you go to the bus stop, and you wait for somebody to come and pick you up and take you where you want to go.
[10:24] You know what a bus stop is? When I got saved, I started living at a bus stop. And I got news for you. It was a pretty crowded bus stop. And there were some guys in there that were my age now that they're no longer at that bus stop.
[10:37] They found another way to get where they were going. And so we have spent our entire Christian lives living at a bus stop waiting for someone to come and pick us up and take us where we want to go.
[10:51] Is that not true? And so often, you know, we, especially now with the way the world is and all the problems, you know, people say, Well, just wait on the Lord. Wait on the Lord. He's going to come. Just wait. And that is a valid admonishment.
[11:04] That is a valid sermon subject. And that is not what I'm going to talk to you about tonight. Because there is another application for the word wait.
[11:16] You say, what? Well, you ever eat in a restaurant? Who brings your food? A waiter or a waitress. And what do they do? They wait on you.
[11:28] And, you know, one of the things that I, you know, when I'm teaching my guys in the school, I really flog them. I really work them over about being servants.
[11:41] We're not kings. Maybe we're going to reign on the other side. But the Lord said, if you want to be somebody down here, be a servant. And so I tell my guys, be a servant. Serve people. And we like being served.
[11:54] We don't always like serving. But the Bible says to wait on the Lord. And I think I told you this. Didn't I tell you that if we put a target here and man shoots, if God puts a target here and man shoots at it, he'll hit that wall?
[12:08] Man is always 180 degrees out from the direction he should be going. Isn't that true? And so we are here to be waiting on him. Is that not true?
[12:18] And every morning we tell him what he can do to wait on us. So what I'm going to talk to you about tonight, and really this is just some illustration because we have lived on the road for a long time.
[12:34] And we have eaten a lot of meals in restaurants, okay? And I'm going to talk to you because we have seen good ones and bad ones. You know, funny thing is our three boys would be with us. And we'd be sitting at a table in a restaurant, and they'd be critiquing the waiter or waitress.
[12:50] Oh, this guy's a lot better than that last guy. Yeah, that last guy. This guy was good. I mean, they just, because that's what they did. They lived there. And so I'm going to talk to you about some of the experiences that we have had with waiters or waitresses.
[13:03] Because, guys, if we're supposed to wait on the Lord, I don't mean wait for him to come and get us. I mean serve him. Don't you want to do a good job? Okay. So, if you see somebody doing a good job, you say, I'll do that.
[13:17] If you see somebody doing a bad job, you say, oh, good. I won't do that. So there's some things that if you're a good waiter or waitress, there are just some things that you do.
[13:28] The first one, I know this may seem crazy, but the first one, a good waiter notices you. Now, they say, I don't understand what you're talking about. I don't know.
[13:39] I don't know where this comes from. But have you ever walked into a restaurant that's basically empty? And there might be somebody sitting at a table. And they got this whole restaurant to put you in.
[13:49] And they put you at a table next to them. Now, I'm not going to be talking about, you know, stealing nuclear secrets or making bombs or anything. But I've always wondered, forgive me, this is just the early stages of COVID.
[14:02] Don't worry. No, I got asthma. I got asthma and it's killing me. But so Kathy and I, I think this was in Florida. And we walk into this restaurant for lunch.
[14:15] And the whole place is empty except one booth. There's two guys sitting in it. And sure enough, they walk us and put us right next to these two guys, which actually was good. Now, what happens when they sit you down?
[14:27] Do you ever see when like the waiter can't get to you right now? So what do they give you? They give you silverware. They give you a glass of water. They give you a menu and say, I'll be right with you. Correct? No.
[14:39] We sat there. And for 20 minutes, the waiter would come out of the kitchen and walk to the table these two guys were at. Now, look, he can't say they were over there.
[14:51] I didn't see them. We're right next to him. For 20 minutes, he never brought us a menu, never brought us silverware. He never brought us water. He never, he could have even done this. He could have looked over and said, I'll be with you.
[15:03] I'm very, very busy right now. I've got two whole people. But he never even looked at us and said, I'll be with you shortly. I mean, for 20 minutes, it was like we were invisible.
[15:15] And honest, guys, you may think that if I get bad service that I get obnoxious and ugly. I do not. I don't abuse people. But I told Kathy, I said, babe, I said, there's just too many restaurants.
[15:27] We don't have to sit here for 20 minutes. I mean, doesn't that sound like a headline in the National Enquirer? Couple stars to death in restaurant. And so I said, babe, I said, let's just go find a restaurant and find lunch.
[15:42] And so we're walking out. And the manager, you know, he says, how was your meal? And I said, Doc, I said, we sat there for 20 minutes. I said, the guy, I wouldn't, I don't listen.
[15:53] I would not have said anything to him. But, you know, he opened the conversation. And I said, the guy didn't give us anything, didn't give us water, didn't say, I'll be with you. I said, it was like we weren't even there.
[16:05] So I said, you know, and he goes, if you go in right now, I will guarantee you will be waited on in 30 seconds. I said, by an angry waiter?
[16:18] Do you want to have the guy that's carrying your food angry? No, that is, you know, I mean, of all the emotions that I want my waiter to be dealing with when he's bringing me my food, mad at me is not one of them.
[16:31] And so I told him, I said, I said, thank you. I said, but, you know, we'll just go. And we went down the road, walked in a restaurant. They sat us down, gave us menus, water, silverware, and we got our food. Guys, they got to notice you.
[16:44] They got to see that you're there. And here's the problem, guys. You know, that book says in Revelation chapter 4, verse 11, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
[16:58] We were put here to put a smile on the face of God, right? And every morning we tell him what he can do to put a smile on our face. That's that 180 degrees out. We don't tell him, we don't look up to God and say, what can I do to put a smile on your face?
[17:14] We tell him, here's what you can do to put a smile on my face. We don't ask him, hey, what do you need? We say, here's what I need. But he's not the waiter. We are.
[17:25] Some years ago, I think it was about 1992, I was preaching in Europe and I was in Austria and we went into a restaurant. And four of us, I think it was, we sat down and, you know, the restaurant had people in it.
[17:42] But there's one guy sitting at a table by himself, smoking a cigarette, got a cup of coffee, and staring daggers through us. All I can think of, he remembers the war.
[17:53] You know, we won. But, and nobody came. Nobody came. They didn't bring anything to us. No waiter came up. And I said, is there a party?
[18:04] And the guy says, don't worry about it, don't worry about it. I said, okay, you know. And the guy who was staring daggers, he sat there for about five minutes, smoking a cigarette, drinking his coffee, and just looking at us like he wished we'd dropped dead.
[18:14] And when he was done with the cigarette, he put it out, left his empty coffee cup on the table, and came over and waited on us. We messed up his cigarette break.
[18:27] I mean, is that not tragic? I felt so bad. I felt bad for a good 20, 30 seconds. But, but now look, guys, we're not kings now, right? Let me tell you, and you check this out for yourself, but you know what the mantra of business?
[18:44] Businesses used to be right up to about 1980. The mantra of businesses was the customer is always right. I have a publishing company. We're centered out of a station in Cincinnati area.
[18:58] I got a guy that runs it for me. And I don't have to tell him how to act because we feel the same. And with us, the customer is always right. And somebody will buy something and send something back that they have no right.
[19:13] We have no obligation to take it back. So what do we do? Take it back. So why? Customer is always right. But then about 1980, and this went from 1980 to about 2000, the mantra of businesses became, well, the customer, you just need to understand.
[19:29] They don't serve you. They don't do something. And instead of saying, I'm sorry, you're right, they say, well, you just need to understand. I was in a meeting. Kathy wasn't with me. And you know what I hate to do?
[19:40] I hate to go out of a motel at like 930 in the morning, come back after dinner, get back about 130 or 2 o'clock, and my room hasn't been done.
[19:51] So I'll call the desk or I'll go to the desk and I'll say, look, I'm going to be out for about an hour. Could you have them do my room? And they say, sure. So I go out, you know, and it was.
[20:02] I mean, in fact, I didn't get back to my room for eight hours. And when I got back to my room, there's no carts on the floor because everything's been done, and my room has not even been touched.
[20:16] And so I called the desk and I said, you know, I left here eight hours ago and asked you to do my room. And I said, nobody's done my room. And boom, you know, they brought two crash carts down.
[20:28] And while these two ladies come in to do the room, here comes the woman who's in charge of housekeeping. And I think her pronouns were him and her both. I think she's like a UFC female wrestler.
[20:42] And she struts in my room. And here's how this is the first words out of her mouth. Sir, you just need to understand. And that is all the farther she got. And then I explained to her who needed to understand what.
[20:55] Okay? But you see, that was the mantra of business from 1980 to 2020. See, what happened in 2020? From 2020 to now, is this not the mantra of business? Here's how we do it.
[21:05] We don't care if you like it or not. Over there in Boise, right about a block away from the church, there's a car wash. I always take my truck to that car wash. And at the end of September, about two days before September was over last year, I take my truck to the car wash.
[21:21] The guy, you know, he takes care of it. And he says, just for your information, as of October 1st, we won't be taking cash anymore. And I said, just for your information, as of October 1st, I'm going to find another car wash.
[21:34] Can you tell me what? Listen, doesn't every dollar you have in your wallet say legal tender? When somebody says we don't take cash, do you know that you can say you have to?
[21:46] You can press the issue. They don't care if they lose business. You know, Brother Gary's talking about Delta canceling flights. Man, I mean, over this COVID thing, if you didn't bow down with your mask on and hail the God of COVID, they would tell you not, they wouldn't put you off the flight.
[22:05] They would say, you can never fly with us again. Now, think about that. Because Delta is the airline that I use. And you're saying, you are, guys, I mean, it is not hard to pay.
[22:17] You're going to pay $1,000 for airline tickets. And you're going to cut off a guy that's going to give you, in a year's time, several thousands of dollars. And you're just going to say, we don't care if you do business with us.
[22:29] And that's the new mantra of business. Here's how we do it. We don't care if you like it or not. Guys, guys, we are supposed to serve him. Let me ask you something.
[22:41] You ever notice him? Are you, you know, we're sitting in that restaurant and nobody, that waiter never even noticed us? How do you think God feels?
[22:53] We shoot our mouths off. I'm a servant of the Lord. And the Lord probably says, first I heard about it. Because we don't do anything like a servant would.
[23:05] And so a good waiter or waitress notices you. And these are not any particular order. But the second thing that a good waiter or waitress does, they bring you what you want.
[23:16] When I go into a restaurant, you know the number one thing? I mean absolutely at the top of my list of things that I am not interested in is the waiter or waitress's favorite meal.
[23:32] I couldn't care less what they like, okay? We were, I was out with some preachers one time. And this preacher, the waitress comes, you know. And this was back, I think, when it might have been Clinton or Obama was in.
[23:47] But anyway, he says, ma'am, this item here on the menu, is that good? She says, oh, yeah, that's very good. Yeah. And so he ordered it. It wasn't good. Whatever that animal was, it died in vain.
[23:59] I mean, they probably should have taken the fur off of it first. But anyway, and when she came, he says, you know, ma'am, I hate to tell you, but she said, this isn't very good. And she said, well, I've never had it.
[24:09] I said, you better watch that line. You're allowed to end up in a White House. But guys, they bring you what you want. Did you ever go in, you know, like you go in to get a meal, but you're going to go in with like the package deal.
[24:23] They bring you salad and a meal and dessert. So we went into this restaurant. And this was back when I think all three of the boys were with us. And Luke was a baby, okay? And have you ever heard the term greasy spoon?
[24:36] You ever eat in a restaurant and figure out why they call it that? We used to play a game. You ever notice it on a restaurant? Most of the salt and pepper shakers, they're wide at the bottom and they're narrower at the top.
[24:49] And we'd play a game seeing if we could pick them up. And we'd pick them up and watch them just slide back down through our fingers. And so we went with this greasy spoon, you know.
[25:00] And we needed a high chair for our kid, Luke. It was such an old high chair, it didn't even have a seatbelt for him. But that's okay. Because when you put him in, he's stuck.
[25:15] That boy, I mean, you could have turned it upside down and he still would have been attached to it. But I had a short-sleeved shirt and I'm sitting there with my arm. And when I picked my arm up, the skin was just, it just kind of peeled off.
[25:27] And the waitress came, you know. And I said to him, I was holding a fork. I said, could you, do you mind bringing me a clean fork? And she said, there's something wrong with that one? And I showed her.
[25:38] I said, yeah, I said, last guy had eggs. You say, did she give you a clean fork? No, she charged me for the eggs. But it was one of these deals, you know. You get the salad, you get the meal, and you get a bowl of ice cream.
[25:52] That sounded like a good deal. So she, we make our order. She goes in the kitchen and comes out as quick as she can and brings us our ice cream. Now, I thought that was supposed to come at the end of the meal, okay.
[26:10] And we literally watched this thing turn into a bowl of soup while we ate our salad and our meal. Guys, do you know what you want?
[26:21] Do you know what you want when you go in the restaurant? I mean, you've got a menu, but I mean, at some point, you've got to make a decision and you know what you want. Isn't that true? And you want them to bring what you want. This happened.
[26:32] Now, I don't like liver, all right. But let me explain, let me explain. I already have a liver.
[26:44] I have never seen my liver. But I am completely satisfied with my liver. And I'm sure not looking for a replacement from a cow. So, I don't like liver.
[26:59] I don't like peas. I think this, guys. Don't you think this? When God came up with the taste for chicken, wasn't he on his game that day? Buddy, I mean, he really hit one out of the park with a taste of chicken.
[27:12] What was he thinking when he came up with a taste of peas? All I can think of is hell, okay? And so, I'm in this church in Indiana.
[27:22] And we went to a restaurant. You ever go to a restaurant? And they like have a Today's Special. And so, they put it in the menu with a little piece of paper. This Today's Special with a paper clip. And so, I sit down.
[27:36] And here are the specials. Liver and onions. Split pea soup. Liver bile soup. And I mean, just going down through a list of every combination of liver and peas that you come up with.
[27:53] The pastor's wife had told them to put that in that menu for them. And so, I think I ordered fried chicken or something. And they brought everybody's food. And this waitress came up from behind me and set my plate down.
[28:06] And it was a liver smothered in peas. And I stabbed her right there, I did. And the pastor's wife had cooked the liver.
[28:19] And she packed it up, put it in a plate, put the peas on it, and said, Whatever that guy orders, you know, give it to him. But put this on the table first. Boy, you know something? That was the most unexciting meal that I ever saw.
[28:32] People want what they want. Isn't that true? So, if you're going to wait on him, why don't you ask him what he wants? Have you ever asked him what he wanted? I'll bet you, you never have any problem telling him what you want.
[28:50] We're never short on things he can do for us. Isn't that true? But how many times do we ever get down and say, Something I can do for you? You know, did you ever do this? And this is what I'm thinking is, This is just a theory, but I think I'm right.
[29:05] Have you ever felt like you had this impulse you had to pray? And when you got down on your knees, You didn't know what to pray about? I always thought, maybe that's not me I'm supposed to pray.
[29:16] Maybe I'm supposed to listen. Maybe he's calling, and that's just the phone ringing. So, sometimes I just get on my knees and say, Lord, if you're trying to tell me something, We got everything shut down now.
[29:26] Here it is. And so, a good waiter or waitress Brings you what they want. A good waiter or waitress sweats the little things.
[29:37] You know what's wrong with little things? They're little. So, what are little things? A little more salad dressing. A little more butter for your baked potato. We use sweetener, okay?
[29:49] Guys, now let me explain this. I love sugar. I mean, I love sugar, okay? I don't even mean like raw sugar or, you know.
[29:59] I like that stuff where all of the food value is bleached out of it. You know, the poison stuff. I like sugar. But about, oh man, back in 2010, I had to go on a diet. I lost 62 pounds.
[30:11] And one of the things I gave up was sugar. But I like sugar. See guys, I have a medical problem. I don't talk about much. But every now and then, I have an attack of glaze withdrawals.
[30:25] Now fortunately, Krispy Kreme, Dunkin' Donuts, and Tim Hortons have put emergency clinics all over the country. So I can just, you know, if I pass out, just cut that data, put a little glaze in there, and I'll be okay.
[30:38] And I was talking about sugar one time, and this kid come down to, now, I thought, I thought, I'm not sure this is going to be real good. Did you ever one of those people, they're talking to you, but looking through you?
[30:54] This guy comes down like this, young guy goes, he goes, could I ask you a question? And I thought, that's pretty good one right there.
[31:06] I don't know if you can get two in a row. I said, yeah, go for it. And he says, you said something that offended me. Well, that's the 21st century.
[31:18] I said, what was it? He said, you talked about sugar like it's good to eat. I said, well, I tried smoking it once, pal. That didn't work. I said, drip down.
[31:29] I said, when that hits your chin, that is worse than hot pizza cheese. Comes over there, just slaps, gives you like that third degree burn on your chin. And he might have thought I was not taking him serious.
[31:42] And he said this, really the wrong thing to say. He said, I quit eating sugar, and it cleared up half my mind. Now, can I ask you a question?
[31:55] How come I got a feeling all of you just had the same thought that I had when he said that? Like, we need to check your diet, but there's something else you got to quit, because you ain't all the way across the creek.
[32:07] You got half that mind cleared up, but we ain't got the other half. I like sugar, okay? So I quit eating sugar, and I used the sweet and low, the pink ones. Kathy and I both used them. Now, I've often said this.
[32:19] There's always somebody, no matter what you do, there's always somebody to tell you you're doing it wrong. So I'm having coffee with one of the brethren, and he's asking me about losing weight, and I told him, you know, that I, well, it was the Atkins diet, and I don't eat sugar anymore.
[32:35] And so I pick up these two pink things to put in my cup, and he goes like this. He goes, very accusational. He goes, that kills brain cells. And I said, yeah, I've heard that.
[32:47] I said, but I monitor myself very closely, and I said, if reality TV ever gets interesting to me, I'll know I've killed enough brain cells. I'm going back to sugar. Guys, when I find myself saying, I got to watch Dancing with the Stars, or Survivor, or whatever reality TV program is out there, guys, when I feel like I got to see that, I will have killed enough brain cells.
[33:10] We're going back to sugar. So here's what happens. I like, now, like when I get a baked potato, you say I like it loaded. I don't. I like one thing on a baked potato, one thing, butter.
[33:23] But I want a pickup truck load. I tell him, I said, bring a lot of butter. I said, I got one artery left that I have not clogged, and we're going to finish the job today.
[33:35] Now, have you ever asked somebody for extra butter, and they bring you two little pats? You know, I think, if you're, how would you, would you like an extra tip?
[33:48] Like, how does this equate to your tip? And I'll say, bring me some butter. You know, and I'll tell them, I'll say, bring me a lot of butter. And they don't bring me anything which is normal. So they go, they put the food down and say, is there anything I can do?
[34:00] I say, yeah, bring me, you know, and I would say it's smart. I'd just say, bring me some extra butter, a lot of it. And here's what they think. Well, that's just a little thing. I'm not going to walk all the way back to the kitchen and bring it out now.
[34:13] I've got, I've got two tables down. That food's going to be ready pretty soon. And I'll just wait until I got to come back on this side of the restaurant and I'll bring it then. But by that time, my potato's cold. Guys, a good waiter or waitress sweats the little things.
[34:28] My wife and I, we like to use a lot of cream. Now, I don't know how people interpret a lot, but two is not a lot. Okay? I tell them, I said, I want it in a bowl, in a bucket.
[34:40] I said, bring a bunch of it. And by the time they get it to you or they don't have the sweetener, by the time you get it, your coffee's cold. They say, oh, you're just spoiled. No, I'm not spoiled.
[34:52] I'm a customer. And guys, I don't think I'm special. I'm preaching at your church. I don't think I'm special here. I don't think I'm special in the body of Christ.
[35:05] I don't think, listen, I got a ministry that goes around the world. When I'm at my church, you know what I am? I am just a church member. That's all I, I paint things in my church because that's what a church member ought to do. But when I am a customer, don't you believe this?
[35:19] When you go into a restaurant, aren't you the customer? Aren't you there to be served? To be waited on? It's not royalty. It's not pride. It's not arrogance. And guys, a good waiter, waitress, they sweat the little things.
[35:33] And I'm telling you, I have done this. I've said, you know, like, I'll see my water glass. And it goes, whoops, it goes down, down, down, down.
[35:45] So I set it out at the edge of the table so that the waiter or waitress can see it. And you ever have them walk past your table and you can tell they don't look your way? And so, you know, after about a half an hour and I'm about to seize up, I ask Kathy, I'll say, what do you, what do you think that I can throw on the floor that'll shatter and make a lot of noise to get their attention?
[36:08] Because that'll probably do it. Guys, I've been places where that water glass got about that far down and my waitress or waiter, boom, right there, filled it up. My coffee cup got not even halfway down, boom, they're right there.
[36:21] I've said, it always floors me when I say, bring me a lot of cream and they get a cereal bowl. I'm into those little cream packs and they fill up a cereal bowl with it. You say, is that the way it's supposed to be?
[36:31] Only if you ask for a lot. And if they forget to bring it, I'll say, well, here's what I want and they will go straight to the kitchen and straight back. You say, well, you think you're special? I think they ought to do that for every customer in a restaurant.
[36:45] And I'll tell you something, guys, if I have a waiter or waitress and they do well, I always tell them their service was good. And if I have, and they don't do well, I don't ever tell them.
[36:55] I don't rail on them. I don't, I don't humiliate them. I don't scold them. But a good waiter or waitress sweats the little things. And if you've ever been someplace and you needed a little more salad dressing or a little more butter for your baked potato before winter comes and somebody got it, you appreciated it.
[37:13] And if it took them a half an hour, you didn't appreciate it. You ever been sitting at your table needing something and you see your waiter or waitress over there talking to three other people or doing something on their phone? Look, do something on your phone on your own time.
[37:26] Guys, you know what's wrong with many of us? Now, here's what I, I think I'm right on this. I don't think in this room right now we have any serial killers.
[37:38] Isn't that good to know? We probably don't have any adulterers or adulteresses. We probably don't have any child molesters. That's the whole problem. If you got something wrong in your life, you know what it is?
[37:51] It's a little thing. And we're watching. Guys, are we not watching this country and some people with some big sins? I'll bet you nobody here ever burned down the downtown area of a city.
[38:04] I'll bet none of your names are on that, that Epstein's flight list. Right? You say, yeah, I'm not that big sinner. No, no, you got little ones. And you know why you don't get rid of them?
[38:17] Because you go, well, it's just so little. But God knows that little thing. Guys, a good waiter, waitress, sweats the little things. And if you ever had one and they take care of the little things, you appreciate it.
[38:31] A good waiter, waitress, has a good attitude. Again, I tell my preacher students, I said, if you have to go up and preach, I don't care if somebody in your family died three minutes before it happened.
[38:45] I don't care if you just lost ten zillion dollars. I said, you walk to that pulpit and no one should know there is anything wrong with you. I was, I was at a, or no, I heard about this.
[39:00] Now, one of the things I tell my students is this. I'm going to say this, you preachers, I'm going to tell you the great truth of preaching. There's one great truth to preaching. If you get this down, and it's easy, if you get the great truth of preaching down, you can be a great preacher.
[39:15] And here it is. In lieu of conviction, intimidation will work. Y'all don't get that. All right.
[39:26] Do you know what we do when we preach? I'm talking to you, and here's what I'm hoping. I'm hoping the Holy Spirit, it's called conviction, taps somebody in your heart and says, that's you. You're the guy with the little thing.
[39:38] See what I'm saying? That's conviction. If you can't get the Holy Spirit in the room, then I guilt trip you and make you think you're in a conviction. I'll show you how I'm going to do it. I'm going to guilt trip every single one of you, and you cannot stop me I have you in my power.
[39:54] Watch. Here's how it works. First off, guys, you don't want lost people to go to hell. Is that not true? You care about lost souls, right? And how many of you witnessed to 100 people this week?
[40:11] I didn't witness to 100 people. You don't really care about lost souls. I don't really care about lost souls. Guys, that's guilt tripping.
[40:22] When the guy says something and he makes you feel guilty, you say, well, how can I tell the difference? Real simple. If you want the guy that is preaching to know that you're not the dirty rat he's talking about, you've been intimidated.
[40:34] If you want God to know you're not the dirty rat, you've been convicted. And so here's what happened. These preachers were sitting here at this restaurant, about four of them, and this waitress just had a bad attitude.
[40:49] Did you ever get one of those waiter waitresses and you think, boy, they love their job? And this lady was just crass and rude. And finally, one of these preachers said this. He said, ma'am, he said, your attitude has been bad.
[41:03] Your service has been bad. We are your customers and you should do a better job. And he walked away. She walked away. And this is, now is this not just like a preacher? There's another preacher at the table who goes, he says to this guy, how do you know that a member of her family didn't just die and she's brokenhearted right now?
[41:26] That's guilt tripping. You know what the answer to that is? How does she know I didn't just have that happen? How do you know the guy you're serving didn't just come from his dad's funeral or his mom's funeral?
[41:38] Guys, a good waiter or waitress has a good attitude. There's a, there's a restaurant in a little town in Montana and it's called Ruth's Place.
[41:51] And, and I think it says Ruth's Place but I'm pretty sure the last half of Ruth has fallen off. I think it's Ruthless. And Ruthless definitely is a, is a UFC fighter.
[42:05] This lady got more hair in her arms and I got my head and, and in fact, in fact, people go there because she is so, so crass and rude. And so this preacher, he took his, his father-in-law and mother-in-law there which I think is a great place to take your mother-in-law.
[42:23] He took his father-in-law and mother-in-law there and here's how she comes out. She looks at her and she goes, what do you want? You know, like, I was doing good until you came in. And so she takes her orders and, and his mother-in-law ordered trout.
[42:35] And, and his mother-in-law was sitting so that the door to the kitchen was behind her and he was sitting across from her so he could see the kitchen door. He could see the food coming. And his mother-in-law is talking and here comes Ruth, you know, with all this food and, and she's leaning over talking to her husband and Ruth sticks her big old hairy arm right between the two of them, slaps this trout down, fully equipped.
[43:00] Head, eyes, everything that fish had when it came out of the water, it had when it was on that plate. And, and I don't know guys, this is something about eating something that's watching you.
[43:12] And this woman, and, and the woman just, she went, oh, Ruth says, what's the matter? Oh, I, I, I, I'm just not used to my fish having the head on it.
[43:30] Is that better? She ripped it right off. Just twisted the head off that fish, slapped that fish back down the plate. I don't want to go there. Man, people, isn't that funny?
[43:45] We say we love the Lord and we say we'll serve the Lord and we ask God what he wants us to do and as soon as he tells us, we gripe.
[43:56] You know, this is really the, the, the, the, the spiritual state of most Christians. Lord, what do you want me to do? Oh, you got a second choice.
[44:09] We don't want to do what God tells us to do. Guys, and then, and then we do, we do with a bad attitude. So guys, a good waiter or waitress has a good attitude.
[44:20] A good waiter or waitress has one goal, only one goal. Your satisfaction. They don't, look, I know they work for the, for the restaurant, but you are supposed to be satisfied.
[44:32] Guys, if you have ever gone out to eat in a restaurant, you know that the meal can be good and if the waiter or waitress is bad, it can ruin the whole night. Isn't that true? We did this.
[44:43] I like to take my wife out. I just like to take her out. I like to take her out to eat. Just watch her eat. Hear her eat. Kathy, maybe you could, maybe you could use the silverware.
[45:00] I know, but it's spaghetti. Well, could you just use one hand? But anyway, don't worry, she's heard it a thousand times. She's, she's not going to leave me. I want to take my wife out.
[45:13] It took me a while to save up the money for us to go out. Now, I want to tell you something. If I, like I like my steak medium rare, you can have it any way you want. I hope whenever you go, you get it the way you want. If you like it well done, I hope you get it well done.
[45:25] If you like it rare, get it rare. I hope you like it, get it the way you like it. You don't have to eat it the way I like it, but I do. And, and if I go out and order steak medium rare and they bring it and it's, it's well done, I eat it.
[45:40] I just don't want to throw away the food. But this was a special night and I'd been saving up to take my wife out. She likes her steak medium rare. So this waitress comes over, went to a restaurant and she said, what do you have?
[45:53] And so Kathy ordered her steak. How do you want to cook? Medium rare. Asked me what a steak, what do you want? Medium rare. And off she goes to the kitchen. So we're eating, we're drinking coffee and eating salad.
[46:03] solid. And pretty soon, waitress comes out, our steaks are cooked, she puts them on the table and walked away. And I'm looking at these steaks before I even cut into them and I thought, you know, those kind of look like the leather on the bottom of my shoes.
[46:20] I got a feeling these are really well done. Sure enough, man, I mean, these things were cooked solid right through. Now, I would ordinarily do that. But I'm taking my wife on a date, I'd just like to get her a steak that's the way she wants it and I'd like it the way I want it.
[46:35] So I called the waitress over. She says, is there a problem? And I said, when we ordered these steaks, how do we order them? She said, medium rare. And I cut in, I said, look at that. She goes, that is not medium rare.
[46:47] I'm getting you two more steaks. Off she goes. We eat some more salad and coffee and directly, she brings two more steaks out. And if I had not cut into that first one and she hadn't cut into her first one, I thought she brought the same steaks back.
[47:03] They look like they were cooked all the way through. Off she goes. I cut into it, she cuts into it. Man, they're both well done. Waitress sees us. She goes, is there a problem?
[47:13] I said, ma'am, when we asked for these steaks to be cooked, how did we ask for them to be cooked? She said, medium rare. Wonderful woman. I said, look at that. She goes, that is not medium rare. I'm going to get you two more steaks.
[47:24] Now, I'm starting to feel under conviction. I mean, I told Kathy, they're going to kill every cow in the state just so we can have two steaks. I mean, two people and six steaks. She brought the next two steaks out.
[47:36] She did not have to. She could have pointed to our table and they could have walked over there themselves. This is the first time I ever had a steak and I could have had a transfusion at the same time.
[47:48] They weren't medium rare. They were raw. And she just put them down and off she went. And I'm not sure, but I got a feeling, here's what went on in the kitchen. The cook went, give this to them.
[48:04] And I'm looking at this. I mean, I wouldn't have taken, we could have taken them home and cooked them. But she saw we weren't eating and she comes over and I said, ma'am, she's there problem.
[48:15] I said, ma'am, when we ordered these steaks, how did we order them cooked? She said, medium rare. I said, look at that. Those are raw, which I can't understand why she couldn't see it when she's carrying them. But she said, those are raw.
[48:26] And then she looked at me and she said, what do you want me to do? I said, put a steak knife in the cook's eye. And she did. And I felt better. No, I said this.
[48:38] I said, ask your manager if we can pay for all of the salad and the coffee that you consumed and we'll just go someplace else. And she went to the manager and came back and she said, manager says you don't have to pay for anything and off we went.
[48:52] But, guys, you know what the job of a waiter or waitress is to see to it that you're satisfied? They should treat you with some respect. Not because you're a god.
[49:03] I don't care if you work at Jiffy Lube. When you sit down in a restaurant, you're a king or a queen. You say, why? Because you're the customer. And they should see to it that you are satisfied.
[49:14] I was with a, I was in a church one time, I think it was upstate New York. Went out to eat and I don't know what kind of beef I ordered. It was some part of a dead cow, not the tongue. And, you ever bite into a piece of meat and you could tell it was spoiled?
[49:34] Man, I've been in this piece of meat, it tasted spoiled. So, I called the waiter over and said, I think this piece of meat is spoiled. And he said, well, what do you want in place of it? I said, well, just give me the same thing.
[49:46] And he gets real, like, snippy. He goes, well, it comes all off the same piece so the other piece would be spoiled too. So, I ordered something else. I think I wanted his left eye. But, so, I get another meal and then he comes out and he says, the cook took pieces off that piece of meat.
[50:03] It was spoiled. Like, you didn't have to tell me. But here's the kick. Now, I wasn't paying for the meal. He never took it off the tab. Have you ever been someplace and you got either bad food or bad service or some kind of a bad experience and they either did, they either said, I took that off your bill or they brought you a free dessert.
[50:25] Do you ever have that happen? You say, what is that? That's a good way to waitress. You say, why? Because you say, man, the food I got wasn't good but boy, did they handle it right and they give us a free dessert and I'm going to give the place another try because if you've had bad food and bad service, could you explain to me why you would want to give it another try?
[50:45] We don't owe it. Guys, are there not a lot of restaurants? We don't owe them a second chance at our service. Isn't that true? So the two things that are going to bring a customer back are good food and good service and if you're the waiter or waitress, you can't do anything about the food but you can do something about the service.
[51:04] So a good waiter or waitress, they care about your satisfaction. A good waiter or waitress checks on you regularly. I have had people, waiters or waitresses, they'll come out, they'll take the order, they go back, they bring the food and they'll bring everything we want and then I think they're either kidnapped by Muslims or go on their vacation because they know where Jimmy Hoffa is because that is where they are.
[51:31] I mean, they go someplace and you never see them again. Have you ever been in a restaurant and the waiter just keeps coming back, everything okay? Everything okay? You need anything? That's good service. Guys, wouldn't it be nice if we checked on the person we serve regularly and said, is there anything else you need?
[51:53] Am I taking care of you? Are you getting everything you wanted? I'm sorry guys. Look, I'm going to say it again. We act like we're the ones that should be served and Jesus Christ is the waiter and we snap our fingers and clap our hands and say, why aren't you taking care of this?
[52:11] And he looks at us and says, hey stupid, you're supposed to be waiting on me. So, a good waiter or waitress checks on you regularly. This one, this is true.
[52:24] Somebody is going to remember a waiter or waitress right now. A good waiter or waitress impresses you. They impress you so much you'll never forget them.
[52:35] I'm going to tell you about the waiter that impressed me. Look, I've forgotten about most waiters and waitresses. Now, I'll tell you what I had. I'll tell you this one lady. This lady was doing good. She was doing good.
[52:46] She was taking care of everything and I said, ma'am, I said, you have been giving us good service and she said, oh, thank you. You know, and a month ago, I didn't know I'd even be able to do this and then she told me she had something wrong with her brain and pulled out a copy of an x-ray of her brain and I'm going, cancel the spaghetti.
[53:08] I don't care about her brain, all right? Let me tell you, this thing was back in about 1985. That's how far back.
[53:19] I still remember this waiter. This waiter was about 18 years old. Maybe, he's probably 18 years old. Me and about six guys, seven guys from my church went out to breakfast. This kid comes out and this kid had to be the entire backfield for the high school football team.
[53:35] He had this much neck. He was this broad at the shoulders and just looked like he could pick the table up and throw us out one by one with it. He comes out, no pen, no pad, no nothing.
[53:49] And he comes out. He was gracious. He looks at the first guy and says, what do you have? And when he said that, I'm thinking, you're not writing this down?
[54:01] And the guy told him what he wanted, how he wanted it cooked, what he wanted instead of the other thing that they were supposed to have? And he goes, okay, what do you want? And I am watching this kid. He never wrote one thing down and went and took the orders of eight people with every one of their little specialties to their order.
[54:19] And I thought, this is going to be a memorable breakfast one way or another. Right? I mean, we're, this is going to, this kid's got a good memory or he's just going to bring us all spinach, you know, and Cheerios or something.
[54:36] So we're talking, but I'll be honest with you, I am preoccupied because I'm thinking about what is going on in the kitchen right now. And directly, out this kid comes and put every meal in front of the person that ordered it exactly as they ordered it.
[54:55] And when he said, is there anything else out of eight guys, this kid never wrote anything down, out of eight guys, not one guy said, oh, you forgot this. That's impressive.
[55:09] I am telling you about a waiter that really impressed me. Isn't that something? Wouldn't it be nice if the Lord was leaning over an angel and mentioned your name and said, you aren't going to believe what they did.
[55:26] Guys, wouldn't it be nice to impress the Lord? A good waiter or waitress will impress you. Man, that guy impressed me. And if you have a bad one, you'll never forget it.
[55:37] If you have a good one, you'll always remember it. The last thing, a good waiter or waitress gets good tip. Now, I'm a believer in tips.
[55:49] Please don't do this, people. Please don't do this. I had a guy one time, he's going to pay the bill, and I said, aren't you going to leave a tip? And he pulls out a gospel track and he goes, I'm leaving them the best news in the universe.
[56:07] Do you guys understand that they don't understand the value of that? Actually, it is the best news in the universe, is it not? But that is not the way they see it.
[56:18] They can't buy gas with that track. They can't pay, buy groceries. They can't pay their rent with that track. And, we are a believer in tipping. We tip above average to the bad waiter waitress.
[56:34] And to the good one, we make it memorable for them. But when do they get the tip? When it's all over. Guys, one of these days, look, you know, I'm looking, I feel, I'm like at a restauranter's convention.
[56:52] And I'm talking to a bunch of people who are waiting at the table and all you got is one customer. You can't take care of one? And what I'm trying to get through your head is that one of these days, guys, your customer is going to finish his meal and our service will be over and what kind of tip are you going to get?
[57:14] Everybody wants a good tip. Man, are we not in the age where people want a tip for breathing? The guy operating cash register puts a jar there, tips. Well, I'm supposed to give you a tip because you operate the cash register?
[57:29] Everybody wants a tip. I don't tip anybody. I tip the waiter or waitress. I tip the person that serves me and we try to tip them good. In fact, when I tell them that their service is good, I say, I make sure that I tip them exceptionally and yes, I give them a track.
[57:48] I give them something better than the money I give them and I hope somewhere along the line they realize that. But I don't, you know what waiters and waitresses say a lot? Christians are the worst tippers there are.
[58:02] You know, I just gave them a track. I don't believe in tipping. Yeah, you don't believe in nothing. Guys, we're a waiter or a waitress.
[58:13] So let me ask you, how do you think you're doing with that? I'd like you to stand with your heads bowed. You ever been to a restaurant and, you know, waitress, waitress, waiters and waitresses, you know, they have one section and they got a section that is jam-packed with people and they are running back and forth between the tables and the kitchen and run from one table to another and they're taking care of maybe 25 or 30 people.
[58:47] I keep them pretty busy. Guys, we only have one customer. You can't even say, I'm overwhelmed. we have only one customer.
[58:58] And he's not some street guy that somebody gave him 10 bucks so he can go to the restaurant and get a burger. This is the one that spoke the universe into existence.
[59:09] This is the one that bought our soul. Why would we not want to wait on him in a way so memorable that when it's done, he said, man, that was good.
[59:22] And we get a good tip. A good waiter waitress notices you. You've been noticing him? A good waiter waitress brings you what you want. A good waiter waitress sweats the little things.
[59:34] They have a good attitude. They think only of your satisfaction. They check on you regularly. And a good waiter waitress will impress you. Now if your head's bowed and your eyes closed, just answer this to yourself.
[59:47] If it all happened tonight, if it ended tonight, how do you think God would, how do you think he'd value your service? Oh, we all want a great tip.
[60:01] We're almost ready to demand a great tip from him. But that's supposed to come with good service. So how you been? How you doing with those little things? How you doing with checking on him regularly to make sure he's satisfied?
[60:16] How about bringing him what he wants instead of your favorite? How about asking him what he wants instead of telling him what you want? Maybe tonight you need to talk to your customer and say, I don't think I've done a very good job so far, but I'm still here so I still got time.
[60:35] And I'm going to try to do a better job. I'm sorry. Father, thank you for your goodness. Thank you for your grace and thank you for your very great kindness. Lord God, what an honor.
[60:47] You know, we go to restaurants, Father, and we'll see pictures of movie stars and famous politicians and sports figures and somebody will say, yeah, they were in a restaurant.
[60:57] I waited on them. They make, that's a big deal. It's not as big a deal as who we wait on. We wait on you, God. We're not waiting on a sports star, not a politician for sure.
[61:11] Thankfully, you're not a movie star. We are waiting on God himself. And while we sit down in a restaurant and almost like royalty demand good service, we think that you're just not, you're not being reasonable when you demand good service from us.
[61:31] My prayer tonight is that all of us will be good waiters and waitresses for you. That we will notice you. that we will be, we'll satisfy you.
[61:43] See to it that you're satisfied. That we'll take care of the little things, God. Those little things, they can make such a mess. I pray, God, that our attitude is good. God, I pray that we check on you regularly.
[61:58] And so maybe somebody here, God, as they evaluate their service to you, maybe they see some area, not all of them, but tonight they see some area where they're lacking. God, the only God, one customer.
[62:13] And we are the designated servant. So we'd best not be too busy to wait on you. So I hope you hear from some of your waiters and waitresses tonight about an evaluation of their service to you.
[62:30] And I hope we all do better. To your glory, God, to your satisfaction in Jesus Christ's name. Amen. With your heads bowed and eyes closed as the piano plays, if you need to talk to the Lord, why don't you talk to Him now?
[62:41] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.