[0:00] All right, if you turn to 1 Corinthians 1, verse 17, we'll read that in a minute, and we'll try to say what God's laid on our heart tonight.
[0:12] Robert, I remember I told the men, I remember the first time I met Robert in the old building. I'd go up the stairs and go up that way and turn left down the hall, and Robert was in there, and I was teaching, and the guys would preach five minutes or so, Daniel was in there some, and they'd preach some, and old Robert got up and he preached, and I didn't know him from anybody, and man, done a good job.
[0:38] I mean, I was left thinking, Lord help, if I could preach like that, I'd probably amount to something before I die. But I told my wife, he's a good preacher, and I've come to find out he's a good man as well, and I'm proud of him, and he's going to do a good job.
[0:52] This is a big night, big deal. He's getting ordained. He's going to stand up here, and we're going to pray over him, and we've already questioned him, and didn't ask him much just to be saved, and he knows he's called to preach.
[1:06] It's pretty easy nowadays, but it's a big deal, big responsibility for anybody like this, because, see, now Robert is responsible to this church, responsible to this pastor.
[1:21] He's responsible to me because my name's on that ordination paper. That's a big deal. I signed it because I believe in him, just like the church, just like the pastor, just like the members.
[1:35] I believe in him, so I signed my name. If I didn't believe in him, you better believe I would have put my name on his ordination papers. But the thing about it is, Robert knows God's called him to preach.
[1:49] I take his word for it. I've heard him. Thank God's called him. He knows. So that makes Robert responsible to us. The big deal is now he's responsible to God.
[2:04] God called him. He's standing. We're going to pray for him. He's stood up here, says God's called him to preach, and he's going to the mission field and all of that. But he's the only one who knows God's called him.
[2:17] Set him apart to do this. He knows. I just want to remind him of some things tonight. When Robert or whoever called me, Trent, about doing this, this immediately, come to my mind.
[2:33] You're a preacher. You're a missionary. I know that. So am I. He just opened up. Glory to God. I forgot to come up here. All the rest of them, I was hugging Chris and his grown-up children back there.
[2:46] I thought, Lord, help. I looked at him. Couldn't believe who it was. So I forgot to come up here. But he is opening back up. We should be able to be there in January. Please pray. So I read the Bible.
[2:58] I find one thing in there over and over and over again. All the way through it. Even in Genesis. 2 Peter says Noah was a preacher of righteousness.
[3:11] This guy's a preacher. Sometimes we forget it. We take on different name tags and all this kind of stuff and forget God just set us apart to preach the gospel.
[3:26] Preach the word of God to people. That's what I want to try to remind him and probably all of us. Tonight, the Bible's really a simple book. Not very.
[3:37] Some of it's hard to understand. Like Revelation. Daniel, if you're really smart and understand Ezekiel, God bless you. But the Bible says a lot about preaching.
[3:49] It says why. Tells me why. God called me to. I mean, I enjoy it now. Sitting back there. I'm about to pass out because I'm scared to death.
[4:00] I'm okay once I get up. I didn't volunteer for this. God called us. God called him. God set him apart. Ordained him. Anointed him. Whatever word you want to use.
[4:13] God did it. God even told us what to preach. He said preach good tidings, repentance, the gospel deliverance, Jesus, the word, Christ crucified, not ourselves.
[4:24] Preach a warning. Preach exhortation. Preach remission. Preach resurrection. Preach Christ forgiveness. Peace. Righteousness. Faith. And the cross. That's what I get to preach.
[4:35] Robert does too. Everywhere that'll preach. He told me where. I love this. Lord help. You know what it says? We preach as we go.
[4:47] That's pretty cool, isn't it? Then it says we preach in cities. Then it said we preach there also. So if you're trying to figure out where did I go preach? Go there also.
[4:58] How's that? That'll work. It's in the Bible. I read that. Acts 8, 4. Just preach everywhere. Everywhere. I say everywhere. Wherever you want to go.
[5:10] Preach the Bible. It'll work. Every creature. Do you realize in the Revolutionary War, preachers left their church and followed Washington to help make this a free country.
[5:23] So this guy and us could stand and preach without having to be worried about being shot. They did that. Washington had two or three preachers with him all the time during the war.
[5:37] They left. One guy preached. Had his rifle with him. He preached. Walked out the front door. Took his coat off. Laid it down. He said, I'm going to fight.
[5:48] Any of y'all want to go with me? And about 25 of his members walked out with him. And they joined the army. Just preachers. Preaching will change the course of history.
[5:59] It'll change countries. It'll change cities. It'll even change you. And it'll even change me. And anybody else that'll listen to the word of God preached. Bible says all kind of stuff about John the Baptist was a preacher.
[6:15] Noah was a preacher. Jonah preached and never repented. Noah was a preacher of righteousness. One of the greatest preachers ever lived was the apostle Paul. Gotten out onto Damascus Road.
[6:27] Looked up in the face of Jesus. And said, what do you want me to do? God said, go up. Preach the gospel. And he just started. All he did was preach. That's all. You look into cities that he went.
[6:40] He went to Salimus, Lystra, Derbe, Macedonia, Berea, Thessalonica, Troas. He just preached. He didn't have no counseling services. No healing meetings.
[6:50] He just preached the gospel. That works today. Seriously. I never did much counseling. I did it Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night.
[7:02] That's about all I'm qualified to do. I didn't go to school for that. They beat the disciples. Says, don't preach in his name again. You know what they did?
[7:13] The Bible says they ceased not to preach. They just said, phooey. I won't do it anyway. They beat them. They didn't care.
[7:24] They just preached. Preaching is authoritative. It's got God's power on it. Really. I ain't never done anything. I've just stood up and read some scripture and said what God told me to say.
[7:36] And a lot of things, a lot of folks got saved. Preaching is absolute. Do you realize there ain't but two places you can go. One's hell and one's heaven. You either live or die.
[7:47] It's heaven or hell. One or the other. I wrote this down. Y'all know what preaching ain't? It ain't talking. It ain't teaching.
[7:58] It ain't telltaling. It ain't tradition. And it ain't tickling somebody's ears. That's what it ain't. I got a picture of my study of John Knox. The Scotsman said, give me Scotland or I die.
[8:10] The old man got old. And they had to help him in his pulpit to preach the last couple of times. The old man ever preached. He said the last time they carried him up there. I read this, his biography.
[8:21] Last time they got him up there. He about tore the pulpit down before they could get him out. I was Knox. I'll tell you what preacher are. That'd start with an A and he is known.
[8:31] I'll tell you what preaching is. It's edifying. It's exhorting. It'll encourage you at daylights. I love you. And it'll enlist you to do stuff you never thought.
[8:42] And under God's green heaven, you could ever do. And you'll listen to somebody preach and tell you God said something. And you'll end up going to Argentina as a missionary. Just because somebody told you out of the word of God that you could do that.
[8:55] Amen. Preaching does that. Talk all you want to. All your stories. I don't really give a rip. Tell me what God said. Not what I'm doing. Is it a hide?
[9:06] Is it bad? Is it sin? Can I do that? Or can I not do it? It's in your ear. It's all very simple. So why preach? I ain't read my scripture. I have the Lord in me.
[9:18] My wife ought to tell me to shut up and read scripture. 1 Corinthians verse 17 chapter 1. This is Paul talking. He said, for Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel.
[9:33] Not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ be made of none effect. He said, God just call me and send me preach. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness.
[9:47] But unto us which believe are saved. It's the power of God. That's what Paul is writing. God told him that. For it is written. I'll destroy the wisdom of the wise. We'll bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
[10:00] Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For after that and the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God.
[10:12] It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Not foolish preaching. But it's sort of silly standing up here doing what I'm doing. But God ordained that.
[10:25] Seriously. God ordained that. Just preaching. Preaching what God tells them. For the Jews require a sign that Greeks seek after wisdom.
[10:36] But we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews' stumbling block and unto the Greeks' foolishness. He said, I'm just going to preach. Chapter 2, verse 1.
[10:47] It says, Now, brethren, when I came to you, you came not with excellent speech or wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
[11:03] I was with you in weakness and fear and much trembling. And my speaking, my preaching was not with enticing words of men's wisdom. But in... Listen to this. Listen to this.
[11:14] This is the difference right here. This is it. Listen to this verse. He said, My speech and preaching, I want to enticing words of men's wisdom. What was it? But in demonstration of the spirit and the power.
[11:27] That's God. That's the difference in preaching and not preaching. It's God. God does that. You can't do that. I can't do that.
[11:38] I don't know anybody that can do that. But God can take somebody like Robert, send them to Argentina. Use that in the power and the spirit. And things will change all the time.
[11:50] God said that. God gave it to Paul. And Paul says, okay, I'll try it. And he tried it and turned the world upside down. The Bible says that.
[12:01] Paul and some other fellas turned the world upside down. And we can try everything. Under the God blessed son. Preaching works.
[12:12] Always has. And it always will. So somebody ought to just preach like Robert. You say, why? Because sinners are dying.
[12:24] They're dying. And they're going to go to hell. 1.4 billion Indians. Going to die without God. And going to go to hell.
[12:36] Never know that Jesus loved them enough to go to a cross and die for them. I've known it all my life. They don't know nothing about it. They're dead.
[12:47] They're going to go to hell. Because they don't know. They're dead. They're ignorant. The whole world. Deceived. Depraved by the devil. And the only hope they've got is that somebody will show up and take out a Bible.
[13:01] And open the thing. And just tell them God loves them. And he died for them. And if they believe that. And repent. God Almighty will save their soul.
[13:12] That's all it takes. That's all it takes. It ain't that hard. It's real simple. All we got to do is take it to them. So you preach because sinners are dying.
[13:25] They're dying in Georgia. They're dying all over around this church. They're dying in South Carolina. Because ain't nobody taking a Bible and giving it to them. Isaiah 58.
[13:39] It says cry aloud and spare night. Lift up thy voice like a trumpet. Show my people their transgression and the house of Judah their sins.
[13:52] Nathan looked at David and he said you're the one. He did. To the king. You're the one. Sinners are lost. Why should we preach?
[14:04] Because of a summons. I don't know. Robert Becker that well. He might want to do something else. I don't know. But God changed all his plans.
[14:15] God changed his plans. All of them. I'm not sure he'd come down here and won't be a preacher or a missionary. But there was a day God said son I want you to preach. I want you to preach.
[14:26] Take cool plans. Funnel them. Flush them. I want you to preach. That's the job I've got for you. And Robert if he's like everybody else God called a preacher. I can't do that.
[14:37] I don't know how. God said don't worry about it. I got it. I can handle it. I've handled all the rest. I can take care of you. I'll give you a message.
[14:48] I'll call you. I'll give you a message. I'll send you somewhere. I'll fix it right there. I'll plug you in. You just get there. You show up. Do what I tell you dude.
[14:59] On the Bible. Preach that thing. I'll do the rest. I get the glory. You get none of it. That ain't hard is it? God does it.
[15:09] God saves us. And then God sends us where God wants us to be. Right person. At the right place. At the right time. With God's power. God almighty.
[15:20] God almighty. Is going to do something. Seriously. If I believe that. I'd quit. I'd go back to Duke power. And make some money. I'd quit. I believe that.
[15:32] Have all my saved life. Why should somebody preach Robert? Because I got the scripture. Do you realize Titus. Titus 1.3.
[15:44] You know what that says? I've read that a hundred times. Where God just put it in the Bible. And I've skipped it. You know what it says? Titus 1.3. But hath in due times.
[15:57] Manifested his word. Through preaching. Now that word manifest. I don't know a lot. But that word means show. So God showed his word.
[16:08] Through preaching. Seriously. So that's what we do. I got a Bible. I got 66 books. Of a Bible. Right here.
[16:19] All full. Of God loving sinners. And hating sin. And wants everybody in the world. To know what God knows. It's in my Bible. You know the problem?
[16:31] Sometimes I don't do what it says. Just like y'all. I ain't perfect yet. Working on it. But I'm nowhere close. Manifested the word. I got it.
[16:45] Right here. I got a Bible. All I got to do is open it up. Find what God wants to preach. And preach. And then sit down.
[16:56] It used to drive me crazy. What am I going to preach? What am I going to preach? And nobody gets saved. And I think God. What did I do? What did I do? So it dawned on me one time. I couldn't save nobody. Nothing I could do.
[17:08] All the language. All the stuff. I could say. Did no good. God did it. And times I thought I did good. Nothing happened. Sometimes I thought I stomp. Three or four get saved.
[17:19] And I thought. Oh God. There you go. Must be you after all. Robert. You take it to Argentina. God will go with you. And you'll be fine. You'll be fine. God help.
[17:29] You'll be great. God provided the scripture. So we just preach it. Why preach?
[17:42] Because salvation is possible. Do you realize anybody can get saved? Anybody? Whosoever wills. Comprehensive.
[17:53] I don't know who the whosoever wills are. Or the whosoever wants. I'm just going to tell everybody. Then God. God will figure it out. I don't have to. I don't have to know as long as he does. Ain't none of my business. I don't care. I'm just going to make sure.
[18:04] Everybody knows about it. It's comprehensive. It costs. It costs him his life. His blood. Anybody can be saved. You say. But you don't know this one. You don't know that one.
[18:14] Yeah. You don't know me. You don't know me. My wife don't know me. I know me. He'll save anybody.
[18:26] Any condition. Mark chapter 5. Luke 8. Trent mentioned it. When he was questioning that guy. God saved him. On purpose. Seriously. Crossed in a boat.
[18:38] Just to save that guy. In a stinking graveyard. God saved him. Because he wanted to reach two or three cities. And he knew that guy would do it. Really.
[18:48] So if God can save a guy that lives in a graveyard. Don't you think he can save anybody. All I got to do is tell him. That's all I got to do.
[19:00] I want to be preached to God. Somebody's got to share. What I know. What I know. Somebody's got to share it. 2nd Timothy 2. 2. We all know that verse. The thing that thou hast heard of me.
[19:13] Among many witnesses. The same commit thou. To faithful men. Who shall be able to teach others. We got to get them saved. Then teach them what we know. So they can. Take what I told them. What they know now.
[19:23] And tell somebody else. And place it all the way down. All the way. Way on down. Way down. So we all know. What this says. So we got to share it.
[19:34] We got to tell them. Lord have mercy. They need to know. That there was a person. And people like Robert.
[19:45] That when they got saved. Said Lord. Whatever it is you want me to do. I'm just going to do it. Whatever it is. I'm just going to do it.
[19:58] They need to know. They need to see somebody. Like whoever. Brother Wilson. They need to see that. They need to know that. I'll preach.
[20:09] I'll go to the fire. I'll do anything. Just because. You saved me. That should be the prayer. Of every child of God. That's saved.
[20:20] God. I don't care what it is. Where it is. You saved me. I'm yours. That's it. Robert. I love you son. I pray for you now. The baby.
[20:32] I pray for you now. I'm not going to stop. Now that you're leaving. You do what God tells you to do. Stay in this book. And just preach. Don't forget. God called you to preach. That's all you're responsible for.
[20:43] Preach this right here. Love that lady sitting there. Love them kids. And when it's all over son. You'll be fine. Father we love you. We thank you for your mercy.
[20:53] Your grace. Thank you that you use men. Ladies. To take this gospel. All around the world. And then everybody will hear. About you.
[21:04] And that'd be great. Father touch him. Cover him under your blood. Use him father. And we'll thank you. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.