[0:00] All right, if you have your Bibles, turn to Acts chapter 20. Appreciate that introduction. And I do remember those visits, amen? He's watching right now, by the way, online, so be careful what you say about this ugly member of Whitfield Baptist Church.
[0:15] Amen. Or a huge member anyway, amen. I appreciate Brother Trent so much. Appreciate my children. You know, no greater joy than a father has that his children walk in truth.
[0:27] But I'll tell you something, a greater joy. When they distribute the truth, when they teach the truth, when they preach the truth, and when they just live the truth, amen? And I appreciate my children so much.
[0:40] And we have several members that used to be members of our church, the famous Jeff Bush and Mindy. I overheard the reason he came to our church is someone told him, he don't even know I know this.
[0:53] Somebody told him, he said, you need to join Whitfield Baptist Church because he's never going to leave that church. And I thought, well, what kind of deal was that, amen? But he joined, and we was glad to have him. And we had a lot of good times soul winning.
[1:06] Even, I think, a couple of days before one of the girls was birthed, they were out knocking on doors with me. And I looked across the street, and I said, my goodness, she's going to have that baby before the next visit, amen?
[1:19] And she almost did. But they were faithful, and I appreciate them. And I appreciate, sometimes when I think about our little church in Dalton, Georgia, and tomorrow I'll be telling you a few things about the demographics of Dalton.
[1:34] I've got to do a speech on pastoral demographics at the Rock of Ages Prison Pastor School, and I have no clue what that is. So I'm really in trouble.
[1:46] I mean, I asked Trent, he said, Google it. Now, that's a spiritual leader, amen? But anyway, so we Googled it, and we still don't know what it is, amen? But anyway, Brother Jeff will tell us tomorrow.
[1:57] But I just appreciate so much. Sometimes I just watch this service on Thursday night and say this is an extension of our church, of our ministry.
[2:10] And, you know, our town's very unusual, and there's a lot of things going on. I'm going to tell about the Oli Bible tomorrow when I teach on the charismatic confusion and the misunderstanding of the Holy Spirit.
[2:22] I've got three hours to teach on the Holy Spirit, and I hope I make it. But it's just a joy to be here. It's an honor. I appreciate so much your pastor and his wife.
[2:36] And Stephen and Stephanie were born on my birthday 40 years ago. Should I say that? 40 years ago. I think I'll celebrate 40 years ago, amen? So that makes me over the hill and old as can be, amen?
[2:51] I have 40-year-old babies that was born on my birthday. But I am so proud of them. And I cannot believe they're in the same church, and I'm preaching in a church, and my children all are members except Jason, and I won't let him leave because he's my associate pastor.
[3:06] And he's got to take over when I kick the bucket, amen? But anyway, that's five minutes of my time, amen? And they said I had to quit at 8 o'clock, and then my son-in-law started feeling a little pressure, and he says, oh, I'll go 40 minutes.
[3:19] I said, I'm not. I'm going to quit exactly in 30 minutes. But this doesn't count, okay? This is preliminary. This is preliminary. But I'll let you out quick.
[3:30] But Acts chapter 20, I saw the introduction on a line. He sent it to him to make sure. And I think what I had in mind is the pastor wanted me to preach something about starting a church.
[3:44] And we started our church from scratch, and that means we didn't know it was sold in Dalton, Georgia, in 1978. That was shortly after the Civil War. And it was 45 years ago.
[3:56] I'll be in the ministry 50 years January 20th. And I'll never forget the day that I drove down to Claxton, Georgia. And I worked for a guy that really was building a great church out of emotionalism and some different things that I didn't have a clue.
[4:15] And I got right in the middle of it and didn't become a part of it. But I know that for a fact that he committed adultery. And I know for a fact probably that he killed his wife, my wife's best friend.
[4:27] Now, that's the first two years of our ministry. And so after two years, I just wanted to quit. And I said, this is it. This is the most horrendous thing I've ever seen in my life.
[4:38] And I'm the assistant pastor. And then Brother Paul Forsythe came to town. And he rescued my life and ministry.
[4:49] Because I saw an example of a great man of God. And a man that just built the church on the Word of God. And he gave Miss Connie a bus route.
[5:00] And gave me a bus route in Reidsville of all places. And I had to bring in the, not the prisoners' kids, but the guards' kids. And they were far worse. And we had a time for two more years.
[5:14] And God trained me for the ministry in two years with Brother Paul Forsythe. And I indebted to my pastor. And I thank God for him. And he had to battle some terrible things.
[5:25] And get that church on solid ground. And then he died of a brain tumor when he was 55 years of age. And I still miss him. And I still want to pick up the phone and call him. And I just appreciate so much that you have a pastor and a pastor's wife that's going to stay with you.
[5:41] And they've done a wonderful job. And I know some of the things they've faced. But he don't call me with all his problems. I wish he would call me with some more. So it'd make me feel better.
[5:52] No, not really. But, you know, he has faced a lot. And I'm so, so thankful for him. And I might just say I'm proud of him. Amen.
[6:02] And my daughter. Born on my birthday. Amen. After I had twins on my birthday. This still doesn't count. Again. On every birthday, I just get a three-layer cake.
[6:17] And I was just glad that I had the little part of the cake. Amen. After you have twins on your birthday, you're just forgotten for a long time. Amen. But I've got over it now. I've got the joy of the Lord in my soul.
[6:28] Amen. All right. Acts chapter 20. I'm going to preach on one verse. Okay. One verse. I figure that's safe. Say amen, Brother Gregory. I've been inviting you 10 years to preach at our church.
[6:41] I ain't got there yet. Amen. We're going to do it. Amen. Acts chapter 20. Let's stay in awe of the Word of God. Verse 24. It's such a delight to be here. Appreciate my wife. She puts up with a lot, as you can tell.
[6:52] Amen. Such an encouragement. The Bible says, And none of these things move me. This is my life verse and ministry verse. Neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy in the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
[7:17] I'd like to preach a few minutes. I've always tried that. I wanted to. I'd like to preach a few minutes on a sacred trust of the ministry. You may be seated as I pray.
[7:28] Father, thank you for this wonderful singing and rejoicing and friendly church. And just God, to see my children serving you and loving you and God being a part of this great church.
[7:42] God, I thank you so much for Brother Trent and Steph. And I thank you, dear God, for their steadfastness. And Lord, for them just stepping up and filling the gap.
[7:54] And not just filling the gap, but taking the leadership by the Holy Spirit to guide this church to greater days and greater things for your glory. God, thank you for all the missionaries that's been influenced through this church and sent out of this church.
[8:10] It's just phenomenal. It's just wonderful. And Lord, I pray, dear God, that you'd help us to pray for one another and love one another more in these last days.
[8:23] And God, that we'd just expect greater things and attempt greater things than we've ever have in our life. God, thank you that you hadn't put us on the shelf.
[8:33] And Lord, we pray that you'd help us to finish right. And we'll praise you and thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. I want you to notice this verse. And before I preach this one verse, I'd like to draw your attention to verse 18 and lead up to it.
[8:49] That's a sneaky way of saying I'm just not going to preach one verse. But I want you to look at verse 18. The Bible says, and when they were come to him, and I want you to see this, he was counseling these elders at Ephesus.
[9:04] He says, you know, the first day that I came into you, came into Asia, after what it mattered, I have been with you at all seasons. Folks, I want to tell you something.
[9:14] First of all, I see a consistent man of God. I see a man that's been faithful in season, out of season. And when I look at the word season, I think about sports.
[9:25] You know, we have baseball season and football season. But Paul didn't look at pastoring or ministering the gospel and winning souls as a sport. He looked at it as a warfare.
[9:37] But in these verses that I'm about to get to, he looked at it as a sacred trust. That God had given him a sacred trust to minister the gospel of the grace of God.
[9:50] And folks, I count it as a privilege to be his minister, his slave. Look at the next word, verse 19, serving the Lord.
[10:02] Paul had a favorite title for himself, and he started in several epistles, that he was a slave. Now, they used the word servant, but he was using the word slave, I believe.
[10:14] And folks, I want to tell you something. And after that, he had always come into church for three things, not nickels and noses and commodious facilities. There was three things that he always thanked God for.
[10:27] And that was love and faith and hope. Every epistle. And I know some of the first paragraphs are very long, but in every opening paragraph of every epistle, I challenge you to look at it.
[10:43] He commends them for their faith and their hope and their love. That's a measure of a great church. But it's also a measure of a great man of God and a great minister.
[10:54] So he was committed. He looked at himself as a bond servant. And then I see in verse 19, and this is very key in the ministry, it says, serving the Lord with all humility of mind.
[11:06] He condescended. He was with humility of mind. And then it goes on to say, real quick, that with many tears. You know, I believe with all my heart that we sometimes cry about the wrong things.
[11:24] You know, Lassie gets lost or, you know, some movie stirs our heart to tears or Tennessee loses or whatever, you know.
[11:37] So it brings us to tears. I want to ask you, what did you cry over? You can tell a lot about a person by what he laughs at and what he cries about.
[11:48] And I think we ought to cry over the condition of America. I think we ought to cry over the condition of the world, the Middle East conflict. We ought to cry over souls. Paul prayed with all humility as a servant of God, and he wept.
[12:06] Our Lord wept. And I want to say this, we need to weep. We need to weep over souls, and we need to weep over the condition of the church in America.
[12:18] And then I see not only consistency and commitment and condescension, but I see conflict. In verse 19 it says, with many tears and temptations which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews.
[12:38] Folks, we see that there was a conflict. Religion versus a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Law versus grace. He called them beware of dogs in Philippians.
[12:51] Because they barked, law, law, law. That's a bad joke. But I want to tell you this, friend. They were against the message of the gospel of grace.
[13:02] Amen? And they opposed him. They persecuted him. I don't have time to go there, but if you'll read in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, he was beat more times than our Lord.
[13:13] He was shipwrecked. He was naked. He was in peril. Friend, I'm going to tell you something. It wasn't easy in the ministry. There was conflict.
[13:24] And then there was communication. Look at verse 20 real quick. And how I kept back nothing that was profiled unto you, but showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house.
[13:35] Now, I want to admit this. Several years back, I almost burned out because of the pressure of preparing three messages a week.
[13:48] I don't know if you realize that or not, but evangelists, they have it easy. You missionaries, you can preach the same message. Your wife mimics you before you even finish the sentence.
[13:59] Amen? They've heard it a thousand times. But a pastor has to come up with something fresh every week. And I want to tell you something. Because of this church, I was set free. I heard that you ought to preach every verse and every chapter and not skip one of them.
[14:16] And I want to tell you something. I'd read it by W.A. Criswell several years before that, that you ought to just let the Bible preach. And I thank God for a church like this that lets the Word of God speak.
[14:29] Amen? But it sets the pastor free. Amen? I don't have to get on Saturday and dial 1-800-Hotline-Outline. Or I don't have to go look at the sword of the Lord and try to find a message.
[14:43] I know where I'm going. I'm going to the next chapter in Acts. I'm going through the book of Acts. We just happened to be last Sunday on my favorite verse, Acts 20, verse 24. I'll be there before 9 o'clock or 8 o'clock.
[14:57] Amen. That clock says 843. I am really worried. But anyway, communication. He communicated by character. He showed you, he said.
[15:08] Folks, I want to tell you something. We need to stop talking the talk and start walking the walk. Your walk talks a lot louder than your talk. And folks, I believe we ought to walk it.
[15:19] I believe we ought to live it. And it speaks volumes. And he said we do it one-on-one and publicly, house to house. Many churches were in upstairs rooms. I don't know if they were going door-to-door soul winning, but they sure were getting the Word of God to homes.
[15:35] And folks, the contents of that communication was faith and repentance. Isn't that wonderful? And then I see the courage in the ministry in verse 22. And now, behold, I go bound in the Spirit.
[15:46] Isn't that an interesting term? In Jerusalem. Not knowing the things that shall befall me there. And they all said, don't go, Paul.
[15:57] They're going to kill you. And they did. And they're going to beat you. And they're going to imprison you. But I want to tell you something. He had courage in the ministry. I want to say this. I believe some of my greatest heroes are men of God.
[16:11] Amen? Last night, we're sort of carnal around Whitfield Baptist Church. But we had superhero night for the Master Club. And everybody was dressing up, you know, with Spider-Man.
[16:22] And my little grandson dressed up as a bumblebee. But he was a transformer. I said, well, that makes it manly, I guess. Praise God. I didn't know what in the world he was talking about.
[16:33] And he told me, he said, Papa, I'm a transformer. I said, whatever you want. Praise God. But you know something? I thought maybe one of the children, Brother Jeff, would show up in a tie and a shirt.
[16:46] No offense. A tie and a shirt and a coat. And they would say this. I'm Brother Wayne. Now, I know that's a little vain.
[16:58] And you think this story is about you. But I'm just saying, friend, Paul didn't have that problem. He was a humble man of God. Thank God he had courage to go on. And the Holy Spirit bound him, led him to a very dangerous field.
[17:14] And thank God for you missionaries that's going on anyway. And I want to say, folks, it takes courage to be in a ministry. The ministry is not for wimps. The ministries are not for quitters.
[17:26] Folks, I want to tell you something. I think about men of God like Brother Lester Olof. I remember he was preaching a message up at pastor school. And the theme was, don't quit.
[17:37] 1975, I was on the front row. And then he said, I'll just keep Paul in the valley. And folks, I want to tell you something. He ended his message saying there's no place to park in the ministry.
[17:49] Folks, I want to tell you something. It's worth being of good courage. And then he was controlled by the Spirit. That's the most important thing. And he was consecrated in the ministry.
[18:00] And I want to give you verse 24 in closing. The Bible says, but he said, save the Holy Ghost witnesses in every city. Now, folks, there is the word Holy Ghost mentioned the 39th time out of 55 times in the book of Acts.
[18:14] See, Luke wrote an epistle called Luke that showed the earthly ministry of our Lord and Savior. But I want to tell you something.
[18:25] He wrote another one in Acts to show us that the ministry continued in another body called the church. Amen? Me and you filled with the Holy Spirit to go out and witness to people.
[18:41] And see people say, because I want to tell you something. And I'll teach this in the second session in the morning. We can't convict. We can't even convince people that the Lord is real.
[18:52] But I know one inside of me that can. He's the witness. So he went to witness. The Holy Ghost witnesses in every city. He says, I'm going because the Holy Ghost needs to reach some people in Rome.
[19:06] Now, let me close. I close and close and close, but I'm trying my best. Because I see, first of all, that if we're going to be effective in the ministry, we must die to self. Look at verse 24, my favorite verse.
[19:19] The verse has kept me going and kept me from quitting. It says, but none of these things move me. Neither count I my life dear unto myself. One time I was riding to Chattanooga after Brother Dr. Lee Robson.
[19:34] He preached our anniversary Sunday every year. What an honor. Every year he preached our anniversary service. One year I got a little upset with him. He wouldn't stay for dinner on the grounds. He said, no, got to get on home.
[19:45] Just live by faith. And I said, Doc, what's the difference in one man and another man and their effectiveness and fruitfulness? I'll never forget what he said. I thought he'd say, just live by faith, son.
[19:56] Just live by faith. He said, it's the mount of yieldedness and dying to self. I never forgot that. Then we got to his house and he put his hand on my head.
[20:07] Started praying for me that I'd never quit. That I'd always be faithful. That I'd always be like Christ. That I'd be anointed by the Spirit of God. And I'm going to tell you something.
[20:18] I felt like I gave Moses a ride home to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Amen. But I'll never forget that. Die to self. And all through the Bible, Paul preached that.
[20:30] I'm crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, the life I live now. I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Folks, we need to die to self. We need to love the Savior more than we love ourself.
[20:43] We need to love sinners more than we love our personal time. We need to love to win souls. We don't win them. Of course, the Holy Spirit does.
[20:54] But we're the witness. Then I see second of all, he was dedicated to finishing his course. It wasn't his course. It was God's course.
[21:06] It was for him. It was by him and for him. Colossians 1.20. It was for his glory. It was for his honor. His honor. Not his. His namesake.
[21:17] That ought to keep you going. He's a shepherd that leads us in the path of righteousness for his namesake. Greatest purpose in life is his namesake.
[21:28] And so we see that he dedicated himself to finishing the course. But this is what I like. And Brother Trent kind of referred to it on a day that I tried to forget.
[21:42] But anyway, it says that I might finish my course with joy. Because I believe we ought to be excited about being in the ministry. And I don't believe you gift God with your yielding to God and giving your life to God.
[21:57] I think it's a privilege and honor. And oh, that we could have more faith to finish with joy. Somebody asked me one time, said, how in the world?
[22:10] And they were looking at me a little derogatory. I didn't like it, Brother Greg. I really didn't like it. Because they said, why? I mean, they asked that. Why have you stayed in one place? I think it was 43 years.
[22:23] Like, you know, don't you have any other place to go? I said, well, the reason that I've stayed in one place for 43 years is because it's easier for people to move their letter than for me to move my furniture.
[22:40] I'm staying. No, that's not the reason. And I said, well, I really like the ministry. And I really like pastoring. And I really love to preach.
[22:53] And a lot of people said, when are you going to retire? I said, when I stopped loving to preach. And that's been a few times this year. But I'm telling you, I love the ministry. And I want to tell you why you ought to keep in the ministry.
[23:06] It is the greatest adventure in life. What thrills your soul more than glorifying a living God?
[23:17] What thrills your soul more than winning somebody to the Lord and see somebody pass from death unto life?
[23:27] John 5, 24. I mean, resurrected right before you. What thrills your soul more? And what could bring any more joy than seeing somebody go to heaven for eternity?
[23:39] Instead of hell for eternity. You know, the Bible says that you can have abounding joy and full joy.
[23:51] And it's the fruit of abiding. John 15, 11 says, these things have I written to you that your joy might be full and that my joy might remain. And folks, I want to tell you what's the most joyful part of the ministry is bearing fruit for his glory.
[24:08] Say amen. The fruit of one Christian is another Christian. The fruit of one church is another church. I guess we're the mother church here. I think we constituted it and charted it.
[24:19] And I remember that service several years ago. I'm not sure, but I think we are. But I'll tell you this, friend. There's no greater joy than seeing another church started.
[24:31] When Jeremy starts another church, Whitfield Baptist Church has a part of that. When Kevin starts a church, we have a part of that. It's not our seeding capacity. It's our sending capacity that's important.
[24:42] And I'm just going to say it's a joy. We're touching the world through prayer. We're touching the world every time some little child gets saved at Count Rhino.
[24:53] I know he joined Vision Baptist Church, but we still claim Amy as part of our church. Amen. And Mark. No greater joy. The joy that he's your strength.
[25:09] That he equips you. That he enables you. That you don't have to live the Christian life. He lives it through you. You don't have to win souls. He's the soul winner. You don't have to preach the sermon.
[25:21] He's the preacher. Folks, it's just a wonderful blessing to be his branch connected to the vine and flowing with the joy of the Lord.
[25:32] Because there's fruit of holiness. John's Romans 6.22. There's fruit of praise, Colossians. I mean, excuse me. Hebrews chapter 13, verse 15.
[25:44] Or 16 or 17. Look it up. Amen. There's a joy of good works. Colossians 1.10. I'm telling you, there's a lot of fruit that ought to bring joy to your life.
[25:55] And I'll tell you what the greatest joy is. One of the greatest joys. It's when you bring your sheaves with you. Rejoicing. You planted doubtless the word of God into hearts.
[26:07] And you come again rejoicing. Bringing your sheaves. I'm going to tell you. I love to see people get saved. And folks, this ministry was not just a ministry of preaching to great crowds.
[26:22] He said to testify of the gospel of the grace of God. And so folks, let me just say real quick. He was consecrated and concentrated.
[26:33] And I want to tell you something, folks. He was the real deal. And he didn't quit. Because he said, I have received the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus.
[26:44] A sacred trust. Folks, I believe this with all my heart. When you surrender the call to preach, it's a sacred trust. When you become a pastor of the church, it's a sacred trust.
[26:55] When you're a deacon in this church, it's a sacred trust. When you're a Sunday school teacher, it's a sacred trust. When you do anything for the glory of God, it's a sacred trust. And God's trusting you with his name, his glory, his word.
[27:10] And it's his ministry, not ours. And I try to take my hands off the church every Sunday. And say, Lord, this is your church. If you want to increase your church, have at it.
[27:25] And I'll try to stay out of the way and die to self. So let me just say in conclusion. Folks, listen. Listen, we need to be thrilled and have joy in our soul that God's called us into the ministry of reconciliation.
[27:46] And the ministry of testifying of the gospel of the grace of God. What a blessing. What a privilege it is. And we ought to have a determination that's unmovable.
[27:59] None of these things move me. Well, I have a dedication that is unexplainable. Neither count I my life dear unto myself.
[28:10] The world cannot understand why you do what you do. And going overseas, and some of your parents and grandparents, they'll never understand it. Now, I've had to sit in their seats.
[28:22] And I've had to send grandchildren overseas. And my daughter overseas. And I was glad to send Mark over, but it broke our heart. When he said he was going to change from Peru to South Africa, I looked at the distance and said, Glory to God, that's going to be a long trip.
[28:41] But it was worth it. I just hope our church never loses the pioneer spirit. And I hope I don't ever lose the pioneer spirit.
[28:54] Folks, it's the thrill. Oh, what thrills your soul ought to be that God is magnified and God is glorified through your life.
[29:06] Even while Paul was in prison, he said, this has fallen out for the fulgurance of the gospel. And he said, whether by life or by death, so now also. That's in prison, so now also.
[29:17] I just want to magnify the Lord. Amen? What a privilege. What an honor. We ought to have a delight that's uncomparable, finished with joy.
[29:32] We ought to have a duty that's undeniable, testifying of the gospel of grace. That Jesus has given us.
[29:43] Oh, the value of one soul. Oh, the eternal fruit of being a yielded minister. Ministering in the name of Jesus.
[29:56] Oh, what a tremendous privilege to bring glory to God in our ministry. I can't think of a better life.
[30:07] I think if they elected me as president, and I should run with the candidates, but if they elected me for president, it'd be a step down from pastoring. Amen, brother?
[30:18] Amen. In 1 Corinthians 15, 58, it says that we are therefore. Therefore.
[30:30] And, you know, the Bible puts the therefores in there, and you ought to look at what's before. But Paul was saying, therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast. Unmovable.
[30:41] Unmovable. Always abounding in the work of the Lord. And what's the therefore? What's before the therefore? The resurrection. I'm glad to say that I serve a living God.
[30:55] Amen. I don't serve the Baptist movement. I don't serve Whitfield Baptist Church. I want to be a leader serving at that church. But I want to tell you something, friend. I serve a living God.
[31:06] And every time I remember that, I can go one more step, one more visit, one more sermon, one more counseling session, because one soul is so very important.
[31:20] Luis Pasteur, the pioneer of immunology, lived at a time when thousands of people died each year of rabies.
[31:32] Reminds me of a story one time of a lady that got rabies, and she was in the doctor's office making a long list. And somebody next to her said, are you making this list to ask these people to forgive you?
[31:48] And she said, no, I'm making this list of people I need to bite. But I want to tell you something, friend. Luis Pasteur, pardon the bad joke, lived at a time when thousands of people died each year from rabies.
[32:00] And Pasteur had worked for years on a vaccine, and he was planning to experiment on himself when a nine-year-old boy named Joseph Meister was bitten by a rabid dog.
[32:17] And the boy's mother knew of Pasteur and begged him to use the vaccine on her son or his son was going to die, even though it still had not been proven. And Pasteur was convinced his vaccine would work, and therefore injected Joseph for a period of ten days, and the boy lived.
[32:37] And decades later, before Pasteur died, he made this final preparation for his burial and headstone. And of all the things that Luis Pasteur could have etched on his headstone, he simply asked for three words.
[32:53] Joseph Meister lived. Joseph Meister lived. He considered that the greatest legacy, his work had caused someone to survive the effects of the disease.
[33:11] And can we be less impassioned to see that people who are threatened by the infection of sin receive the antidote of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ?
[33:23] And friend, I want to tell you something. If only one more soul gets saved, it's worth it all. How to finish right in the ministry? Look at it as a sacred trust. Look at it as a privilege of your lifetime.
[33:37] To finish your course, not your course, but his course with joy. Let's pray. Father, thank you for the privilege and honor to preach tonight.
[33:50] I always get nervous preaching here for some reason. But Lord, I thank you, dear God, that we can let our little old lives let people see Jesus.
[34:04] Lord, you're never going to be any bigger because you are almighty God. But God, we can magnify you with our yielded life, with our joy, with our steadfastness and determination, and with our passion for your word and for souls that you died for.
[34:35] God, help us to realize the ministry is a sacred trust. And that dear God, help us to finish right with joy and faith and love and hope.
[34:54] With every head bowed, every eye closed, have me to say tonight, preacher, Brother Wayne, I needed the message. I know I did. Because I want to be steadfast, unmovable, always about in the work of the Lord, but sometimes it gets a little mundane.
[35:14] Sometimes I feel like I'm just going through the motions. Sometimes I get a little weary and the reason you do is because you're human. But I need the joy of the Lord in my life.
[35:28] And I want the grace of God to stir my soul. And I want to realize what a sacred, holy trust it is to serve the living God in these last days and reach souls before it's too late.
[35:46] And I need the message tonight and I just want to draw closer to God and be a more yielded minister, more yielded lady for God than I've ever been before.
[35:57] Would you slip your hand up high for prayer? I've got to raise mine all over this place. God, thank you for speaking to hearts. I knew you would if I'd get out of the way.
[36:08] And I thank you, dear God, the wonderful privilege that we have to be faithful to the calling of testifying of the gospel, the grace of God.
[36:22] Lord, bless this church. Bless this dear pastor. Bless Brother Bo. Bless the staff and bless all the deacons and all the members to work together more than ever before to testify of the gospel, the grace of God.
[36:43] Lord, I pray that more souls will be saved than ever before. Churches will be built all around the world. And God, that you'd keep this light shining bright with love one for another and love for you as they reach out to a lost and dying world.
[37:02] And we'll praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.