[0:00] My competition, wow, that was good, that's on now. My competition is the cell phone and entertainment. And, you know, that's just, you know, I get it.
[0:12] You know, you would say, well, that's not the way we are, that's not what I think. But in reality, that's really what it is. In reality, we expect to be entertained somewhat.
[0:26] I think it was Charles Finney that preached real monotone. Okay, he's the one that I believe, is he the one that preached?
[0:37] No, it's Jonathan Edwards, Sinners in the Hands of the Angry God. But it was the presentation I hear anyway. My understanding is that it was just like almost a red sermon. And yet, if you've read anything about it, you understand that that was early on part, very much part of the Great Awakening start.
[0:59] But, you know, that's just the way it is today. So I'm not here to compete with the phone. I'm not here to compete with entertainment. That's just the way it is.
[1:09] So hopefully you can get a blessing. But you've got to want a blessing. You've got to be looking for something, you know. Just the way it is.
[1:19] 1 Corinthians chapter 3. I'm going to give you tonight just my latest thoughts. You know, I like fresh oil myself. I mean, I got a box of sermons.
[1:31] I could have probably reached in there and grabbed one. But I just want to give you what the Lord put on my heart recently. So let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter 3.
[1:41] And it was my memory verse tonight. But, you know, let me encourage you if you're not memorizing scripture. Here's what I'm going to talk about tonight. I'm going to talk about just doing a little more for God.
[1:54] Just doing a little more. You know, basically what the title was is doing more for God. But I understand. And, you know, when you say that, you know, it's a man. I'm just, I'm already doing.
[2:04] And I get it. Some of you have a full plate. And, you know, you're trying your best. And you're working hard. And you're involved. And you're like, I don't know if I could do a little.
[2:15] But you know what? You could. And I'm not here to beat the judgment seat of Christ in you tonight. I just want to encourage you. I want to encourage you just to do a little bit more.
[2:31] Just a little bit more. Just a little bit more. So I want to give you some easy ways to just do a little bit more. I think as you're sitting there, you're probably saying, you're probably saying, yeah, yeah.
[2:47] I get it, man. We're in no danger of doing too much for God. Huh? Right? Anybody thought that? I thought that. I guess I thought that.
[2:57] I was preparing the sermon, so I guess I thought that. We're in no danger of doing too much for God. I wrote a missionary today, Daniel Bardwell.
[3:08] I don't normally write missionaries. I just don't do it. But you know, I was reading his missionary letter. And he said he'd love to hear from you. You know, and I understand, man.
[3:19] I got to think. If I was on a mission field, man, I'd want to hear some words from home. He's been there for a long time because he's been on my prayer list for a long time.
[3:29] I got to say 20 years at least. So it said, and it gave his email address, and it was in blue. You know, that just means you push it, and it comes up, and you're in. You're writing. So I decided I'd get ahead and do that.
[3:41] And so I wrote him and just tried to encourage him, let him know somebody was praying for him. You know, and I don't know. I don't know how it is over there in Ukraine.
[3:53] I don't know how the weather is. I don't know how much the sun shines. You know, you hear about London. You know, London is dreary. That's what you hear. You know, you hear the sun doesn't shine much. I don't really know. I've never been there.
[4:03] And if they don't fly the American flag, I probably don't plan to either. But I told him something I heard years ago. And it was, you know, when it's cloudy out.
[4:15] You know, if you're in California, you know, when it's not sunny, I don't know about you, but I'm so used to it being sunny that I'm like, yeah. You know, back east, I remember in Florida, back east, it rained.
[4:27] It probably rained every day for just as long as I can remember. It was like, man, it just rains some every day. But here, I like the sun. When it's cloudy like that, I just, I don't know.
[4:39] There's something about it. I just, ah. I mean, I appreciate it. Very, very thankful for the rain. But, you know, I remember Pastor Dave a long time ago saying, you know, when it's cloudy, the sun is still shining up there.
[4:53] You know, and I don't know how it is by him. I know he's, you know, he's right in the middle of the war. And, you know, he's by a military thing that's shooting down these rockets coming over from Russia.
[5:05] It's the real deal. And I'm not knocking the people that cut and run, but this guy is there. And, you know, he's in the middle of it. But I don't know.
[5:18] I just picture it not being really great. But just remember, just remember, the sun is always shining on the other side. It's still shining up there, even when you can't see it.
[5:29] 1 Corinthians chapter 3. 1 Corinthians chapter 3, and starting verse 8, it says, Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one. And every man shall receive his only reward according to his own labor.
[5:41] For we are laborers together with God. Ye are God's husbandry. Ye are God's building. So it says, it says, he that planteth and he that watereth are one.
[5:52] You know how that goes, right? Right? One plants, one waters. But God gives the increase, right? Everybody understands that, right?
[6:03] How many knew that verse? Okay. Several of you. The ones who didn't memorize that verse is good. All right. So the idea is you plant, you know, you're planting a seed.
[6:16] You're just putting a track out somewhere, giving somebody the gospel. But then somebody follows up and wins that person in Christ. You're a part of the deal. You're a part of that. God gave the increase, but you did a part there.
[6:29] You know, Gary today, talking about that guy he gave that track to. Yeah, that guy took the track. Praise the Lord he took the track. But, you know, somebody may follow up on that thing. You don't know who. You know, I can picture how it happens, you know, that he puts that thing down somewhere and somebody comes up and goes, hey, man, what do you do with that?
[6:45] Oh, yeah, I'm a Christian. Oh, and it's on before you know it. I mean, I've heard of all kinds of people getting saved, all kinds of ways. So you don't know. You just got to do it. And it says, now he that planteth and he that watereth are one, and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor.
[7:04] So what I want to encourage you tonight is God's promise that you are to receive a reward for your labor.
[7:17] You labor. God promises you get a reward. Now, you know, I don't think God doesn't have to set up this reward system for us.
[7:33] You know, he's the creator. He created us. He created us for his pleasure. On top of that, he says, you know what? I'm going to reward you.
[7:45] What? That's pretty good. You know, and then he says, I'm going to reward you according to your labor. Every man's reward according to his. This isn't socialism.
[7:58] He's not socialist. He doesn't think, you know what, Mark, you're going to go ahead and labor, and I'm going to give everybody some of that reward. No. You know what he said?
[8:09] He said, you are going to get your own reward for your own labor. You labor. You labor. You're going to not. You know, I also heard years ago about God's dividends.
[8:20] I've heard a lot of preaching in 40 years, but he talked about God's dividends. And I don't know. But I got to assume that God's going to reward you a lot better than anybody down here.
[8:34] Amen. I could be wrong. I could be wrong. I don't know exactly how it works. But I got to think. I got to think. You ain't going to have one up on him. You're not going to have one up on God.
[8:47] When you get up there, I think, man, for your labor, you're going to go, wow. Wow. I wish I did more. I just wish I did more.
[9:00] Wow. Look at that. You know, there's that song. What does that song say? I don't even remember, but it just came to my mind about, you know, when I'm up there, you know, I'm just going to be looking at my Savior.
[9:16] I'm not going to be looking at and engaging at glory. Right? Is that what it talks about? And every time I sing that song, I'm like, Lord, I'm going to engage at glory. I mean, it's part of what you got. It's part of you.
[9:27] It's part of what you got going on up there. Yeah, I'm going to be going like this. Wow. That's what I think. I don't know. That's what I think.
[9:39] I long so much to be there. I want to engage, man. I want to engage. So, you know, he's got, he's promising you a reward for your labor.
[9:55] Not somebody else's labor, but for your labor. It says, for we are laborers together with God. You're not alone in this thing.
[10:05] You know, I don't even know what else to say about it. You're not alone. You are laboring with the Lord. That's what you're doing in this business. I was talking to somebody recently about, you know, just about our beliefs.
[10:21] And, you know, and I tell him, like, this is not a belief system idea. This is the real deal. If you ever think for some reason that you don't want to serve the Lord.
[10:35] Lord, just remember, he's the real deal. This is the real thing. You're not going to go wrong in this.
[10:52] This is real. God's creation and all that is real. And he's going to give you a reward according to your labor.
[11:07] You know, from the, from the youngest to the oldest, from the youngest to the oldest, you can do just a little more.
[11:19] You can do just a little more. Now, no, you know, I know it sounds, you know, if I just sat up, got up here and said, you need to do more for God. Look, just do, just do a little bit more.
[11:32] Just a little bit. Just add something. Trying to exhort you tonight just to do a little bit more. Hebrews chapter six.
[11:43] Hebrews chapter six. In verse 10, I recommend you memorize this verse. If you're not, if you, if you haven't, you know, look.
[11:55] When I'm encouraging you to do a little bit more, I'm trying to encourage you to do more in the spiritual world. Right? It's not in the physical world. So, you know, we talk about memorizing scripture.
[12:06] And in this church, we've memorized a verse a week. You know, people have for, to raise a song and all that for, wow, long have they been here, 35 years. And I'm just going to tell you this.
[12:18] I'm going to tell you this. I don't know about you, but I can speak from personal testimony that when I'm witnessing to somebody, verses come up that I haven't read in years.
[12:30] Well, I say years. It shouldn't be years, but you know what I'm saying? I haven't really said anything, talked about it. But you know why that is?
[12:40] I believe it's because of what the scripture says. The Holy Spirit is going to bring to you remembrance. How can he bring to you remembrance something that's not in your remembrance here? Look, I just want to encourage you to memorize the word of God.
[12:54] It is a spiritual work. You that have tried or you that have done a few, you know that Mr. Flesh doesn't like it.
[13:05] Right? You know that. And when you find those things that are, that are, have to do with God and the Bible and spiritual things, and you see that your flesh battles you, you're probably on the right path.
[13:21] Just saying. But I, if it wasn't, I tell you right now, Wednesday night is automatic for me.
[13:34] And it's because it's just something I've kind of went through all the years and I've tried to do that on a Wednesday night. Have a verse for Wednesday night. If we stop doing that, it'd be a struggle.
[13:48] It'd be a struggle. Yeah. Just, just saying. I understand it. I understand. But if you, if you got to the place where you started, you started incorporating that, you'd be on the road to a habit that would be good.
[14:01] Good for you. Good habits are good for you. Right? It's okay to have a habit. I understand what's supposed to be, you know, everything's supposed to be from the heart, you know, serve God from the heart and love the Lord.
[14:17] I get all that. But you coming to church every Sunday is just, it's a good habit. Right? You getting up early and reading your Bible, it's a good habit. It's a good habit.
[14:29] Okay. Getting that habit. Let your, let's, let that thing come to your mind. Hey man, you missed your Bible reading today. Let that happen. Go ahead and get some good habits. It's okay.
[14:41] I'd rather answer for a good habit than answer that I didn't do anything. Hebrews chapter 6 and verse 10, it says, For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have showed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
[15:00] You think, you think God's going to forget about what he told you to do, that he said, I'm going to reward you for it.
[15:11] You're highly mistaken. If you think, now I'm not a Calvinist. I don't, I don't believe everything that happens is the will of God. I don't think that if I trip and fall right here and fall on my face, I can go, thank you, Lord.
[15:26] I'm glad that's over with. I don't believe that. But you'd be surprised how many Christians believe that stuff. Because they go, well, if the Lord just wanted it to happen, that's why it happened.
[15:38] Well, it was meant to be. I don't know about all that. I don't know about all that. But I do know this. He's not unrighteous to forget what he told you he was going to reward you for.
[15:55] You can mark one thing down for sure. That when you get up there, you're not going to be shortchanged. He'll probably remember things you forgot. God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love.
[16:13] How many think the spiritual man inside of you is okay with doing a little bit more? How many think that? How many think the spiritual man inside is okay with doing just a little bit more?
[16:28] You think so? Right? Everybody, you think so? I'm trying to get you all to participate. It's really hard right now. Come on, Carla. Give me one. Give me, yeah, yeah. I got a couple of those. Oh, I got...
[16:41] Robin made up for somebody. Okay. How many think the flesh is not okay with it? None of these are trick questions.
[16:51] Say, look, I told somebody the other day, I'm not a practical joker. So I would never put you in the club. You can count on that. If I'm telling you something, I'm guiding you somewhere, you can count on one thing from this guy. He's not tricking.
[17:02] He's not putting you in the trick bag. Because I don't go in the trick bag real easy. So let me just warn you right now, don't do it. Because I just, I don't play those games. But that's okay. But you can count on the fact that I'm not going to do that.
[17:17] You know. If I tell you, you know, I tell you, hey man, your fly's down or something. You can count on it. Just go fix yourself. You know. You don't have to worry about going like that and going like that.
[17:28] Right? How many had that happen to him? Right? Of course. Yeah, you've done it to me. Okay. So, obviously, the spiritual man, he's okay with doing a little bit more.
[17:44] And the flesh is not okay with doing a little bit more. That was easy. So this is easy. This is easy stuff we're talking about right now.
[17:55] We're not talking about difficult stuff. We're talking about easy stuff. So I just want to give you just a few easy things that you can do to do just a little bit more. Would that be okay?
[18:05] Would that be okay? Okay. So the first thing, and you could probably think about all these if you actually spent some time thinking about it, which I did.
[18:17] Right? I guess I had to. Okay. It's in the area of your prayer life. Now, your prayer life is probably the most important part of your life and the most underestimated one.
[18:36] Right? It's probably the most important part of your life down here, but the one we spend so little. Hey, look. God said to pray always and about everything.
[18:50] And yet, we pray so little and about not much. Right? It's kind of crazy. It's kind of just, there's something wrong with that. But I understand it because prayer is not easy.
[19:05] Prayer is a spiritual word. Right? So I want to encourage you in these spiritual areas. And one would be your prayer life.
[19:17] So, this will really, you're like this. You're like this, you know. Prayer is your phone line to heaven. You know.
[19:28] You know why you're like that? Because everybody loves their phone. Huh? Nobody wants to give up their phone. I remember one time I told them I was preaching. I told them, put a basket out there. Somebody stand out there with a basket.
[19:40] Remember that? And collect the phones when they come in. Oh, man. Were you guys here when I did that? And so we collected phones. Oh. Who's going to watch my phone?
[19:51] How's my phone going to get lost? What about my phone? You want what? You want my phone? You know. Some people are like, I don't have a phone. What are you talking about? So, I just thought, you know.
[20:02] When I said phone line to heaven, you would like that. Because that's, man. Phone. It's a phone. Phone. I left my phone the other day.
[20:15] I left it home on purpose. It was like, just get away from me for a minute. Amen. But, but, but prayer is like your, is like your phone line to heaven.
[20:27] How many of you, how many of you have a prayer list? Okay. I want to encourage you. If you don't have one, especially young people, don't wait till I figured it out years down the road.
[20:44] Get one now. What, why, why would you have a prayer list? What do you think? Give me something. Why would you have a prayer list? Any reason? You don't have one. So, I don't, right.
[20:55] Yeah. I can't. I, I, I, I got to ask somebody, who has one? What? Easy to remember. Right? I wrote down, it's easier to stay focused.
[21:06] How many of you have prayed and in 10 minutes, man, you're praying, but you're, you're praying about what the Grand Canyon looks like.
[21:16] Or, uh, you know what I'm talking about? You just wander? Anybody done that but me? You're praying, man. You know, you, you, you, I'm going to pray for a few minutes. And then a half hour later, you're so far into the football game that you're like, and Lord, bless the Jets.
[21:32] I don't know what happened there. You know, you look at the clock, it's time to leave. And I tried to pray, and I got, I got pastor down, and I got my, my wife, that was it.
[21:43] The rest of it was the Grand Canyon and the Jets. I don't even know if the Jets are still a team, but whatever. That's when I was a kid. All right. So, you can do just a little bit more in your prayer life.
[21:54] I'm not saying spend more time. Just saying spend some more focused time. Get you a prayer list. If you don't have one, it's about time you did. I'm just saying, it's, it's, this is, this is the easy stuff.
[22:09] Make a prayer list. Tonight when you go home, prepare for your morning. And start you a prayer list. I've got, I've got, I don't know how many names on a prayer list. I understand that people are going to ask for prayer.
[22:21] And, and, you know, you're not going to put them necessarily on that list. Because, I mean, how many people can you put on the list? I mean, I got, I probably got, I don't know.
[22:31] I may have a couple hundred. I don't know, maybe a hundred. But, and I break it up into times. But you obviously, every prayer request, Robin's friend that wants salvation.
[22:43] I put that down for a little bit. I'm probably not going to pray for that every day. It's just, you know, that's what you're going to do. Right? I've got some of those too. But your prayer list will be like, like, like Pastor Walski's on my prayer list.
[22:56] Right? Duh. I've got a missionary prayer list. Probably got a hundred of them on it. And they, they're going to be on there. Every day I do my missionary list, that section of missionaries is going to come, is going to be dealt with.
[23:10] I mean, that's the real, that's the stuff. I want, when I get to heaven, I want to be part label with that. Amen. Because they're doing it. I don't know what I'm doing over here. But they're getting it done.
[23:23] And the ones that aren't getting it done, I'm praying for them to get it done. Because that's why we, that's why we pay money to send them over there. So get you a prayer list. Pray, just, just do something, just a little bit more to get your, to get, to get the thing, just a little more.
[23:42] Right? Just be talking about just doing a little more. And by you get a prayer list, you're going to be focused a little bit more. You'll pray a little bit more. You'll be right on, you'll be on the right track a little bit more.
[23:53] Or, something else, how about, give a little bit more money. I understand, you do your tithing offerings, and you know what?
[24:07] All I'm talking about is, add another buck. Anybody ever heard of, you know, just give up a Starbucks this week? How many times have you heard that? Just give up a Starbucks.
[24:18] Have you ever put the money in the plate from the Starbucks you gave up? And, purposely, when you write your check for $222.60, write it for $222.00.
[24:30] And if you did that, I don't remember, it's you. So, $222.70. Maybe $223.00. I don't know. All I'm trying to tell you is, do a little bit more, you young ones.
[24:42] Yeah, you probably tithing off, and your parents probably teach you to. And, you know, maybe you got that amount of money where you're going to put a dollar in the plate. Or, or it's come out to 70 cents.
[24:52] Just, just up with the buck. You're not going to, he's not going to shorthand you later. Just do a little bit more. Just a little something.
[25:06] God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love. Something else, real quick, is just, how about witnessing, witnessing just a little bit more.
[25:19] You know, I'm not talking about you quitting your job and going, going around and, and, and, and handing out tracks all day downtown. I'm not talking about that. I'm not talking about just, maybe, just, if you don't, if you don't pass out tracks, if you don't do anything with tracks, grab one at night.
[25:37] And leave it somewhere. Just leave it somewhere where somebody's going to walk by. And do it where nobody's looking. Right? Just take that thing. Whatever. You know?
[25:49] Grocery store. Gas station. I don't know. On a table. A picnic table at the park. Just, just, we're just talking about doing just a little bit more. Maybe, so, you know, you could do, you could leave a track somewhere.
[26:04] Do something with a track. Go ahead and open up your mouth for him just a little bit more. I don't know. Get used to just saying, man, praise the Lord, I'm saved. Or, I'll praise the Lord for that.
[26:14] Or, if somebody says, hey, man, it's, wow, the weather's great. Praise the Lord. Say something that will make them think about him. It may not be the big thing that gets them saved.
[26:27] But remember, one plants, one waters, and God gives you increase. Plant something.
[26:41] Maybe, how about this? How about just, how about wear something? You know? I got ball caps. One says, you army, of army of the Lord. Another one says, you know, it's not John Deere.
[26:52] It's John 3.16. Right? And, you know, there's other ones that you can do. You wear the shirts. Hey, do something. Do just a little bit more.
[27:04] You say, I don't know. I just don't do it. Well, go ahead and start doing it. You know, somebody's going to see that. I don't know how it's going to affect them. But just do just a little bit more. Just a little bit.
[27:15] How about reading your Bible a little bit more? You know, we've talked about in depth about memorization and all that. That's how you do well, memorizing verses. It's not going to, you're not going to go wrong there.
[27:26] But hopefully you have, I say a regimen, you know, a habit of reading your Bible. Now, I want to encourage you.
[27:37] You know, when I started reading my Bible, I'd fall asleep reading my Bible all the time. And it was a real big struggle for me. And, man, it was just terrible. I didn't get anything.
[27:48] I wasn't getting anything. Just, man, I was struggling to read and falling asleep. And then off to work I'd go, you know. But it got to where I could kind of stay awake drinking coffee.
[27:58] That's what I was doing. But, and now, the Bible's sweet. The Bible's just good. And if you're not at the place where reading your Bible is just good, stay with it.
[28:15] Stay with it. Because I'm telling you, I struggled for years. And it was this time where it just, man, it just got good. And, Brother Mark, it's been good ever since.
[28:30] Just telling you, it's still good. I just can't wait to get there. So, I understand if you're struggling to read your Bible and you're reading in Isaiah and you're going, Lord, ah, ah.
[28:44] You know, you always hear about the Leviticus, which I like. And, you know, the prophets and ah. Just hang in there. And go ahead.
[28:56] And do just a little bit more. If you're not faithful in your Bible reading, try to get there. If you're not reading every day and, you know, just pick it back up tomorrow. Just go ahead and pick it back up tomorrow and start doing it.
[29:10] If you don't, just do it again. Get right back in it. And just do a little bit more. So, you know, if I, hopefully it's just an encouragement to you tonight. I'm not trying to beat the judgment seat of Christ on you.
[29:21] Even though, even though that's where you're going to end up. And that's where the stuff's going to go through the fire. And what was for the Lord, you're going to receive a reward.
[29:32] What was not, it's going to burn up. It's all gone. So, do something. And from tonight, do just a little bit more.
[29:45] Do just incorporate something small. Just something else. Let's pray. Father, I thank you for thy word.
[29:59] And just, we live in the flesh. And you know that. You understand us. You know all about it. And we need your help to walk in the spirit.
[30:12] It's not something the flesh wants to do. And we struggle. And we falter. But you're faithful. And it's good to know that whatever our labor is for you.
[30:23] You, your reward system is, I'm sure. I'm sure we're going to be just mouth wide open when it's time.
[30:34] I love you, Lord. I fear you. And I pray tonight, you bless thy people. Bless the pastor. Make them well. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.
[30:44] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. sales professionals. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[30:58] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.