[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. We take two questions and then we'll move on. So let's see what questions we have.
[0:15] I don't know. Is Matthew 16, 16 the only time Peter answered Jesus without putting his foot in his mouth?
[0:27] You know, thinking about it, it might just be. You scholars can answer that. That was a real quick and easy one. The one good thing is he answered the most important question right. Might have messed up a lot of the times, but he answered the most important one right.
[0:40] Next question. What are the practical implications of Galatians that we are called the children of Abraham? That's a very good question. So go with me. If I open your Bibles to Romans chapter 4 and I'll show you exactly what that's about.
[0:53] It's not calling you a Jew. And it's not doing away with Israel as a nation. And some people get confused by that because they're like, well, we're all the children of Abraham. And we are a spiritual seed of Abraham.
[1:05] But Abraham is in effect the father of faith. He is in effect the father of faith. When we want to talk about faith, we look at his example and look at what happened with him.
[1:15] And then coming down through Abraham, you have Isaac. And Abraham had another son named Ishmael. And that will be mentioned in the book of Galatians. In chapter 4, you'll find Abraham has a bondwoman.
[1:30] And he has the woman of promise. He has Sarah. And he has Hagar. And he has a child named Ishmael and a child named Israel or Jacob. And the promise went to Jacob or Israel.
[1:43] But if you really want to know what the implications, the practical implications are of him, I think if you go with me to chapter 4. And let's see. Look at, let's start reading.
[1:55] Let's just start reading in verse 1 real quickly. Romans chapter 4, verse 1. What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God.
[2:12] So he said, what do we learn from Abraham, our physical father, as a Jew? What do we learn? In verse 2 he said that if Abraham had been justified by what he did, by getting circumcised, by obeying God, by any of the sacrifices that he made, he would have had a right to glory.
[2:32] If he was, if his circumcision is what did it, he could have said, yep, I'm the first guy that did that. Ain't I something. But it wouldn't have been after God. Verse 3.
[2:43] For what says the scripture? Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. That's the key. Abraham believed God and it was counted.
[2:53] So it's not that he did it. It's not that he earned it. It was counted to him. It was, that's an accounting term for it. God put in the ledger, I'm calling that righteous.
[3:04] I'm calling you righteous based on that. And look what he did to get that. Look at verse 3 and underline. He believed. And this is going to be very important in the, in the whole passage. He believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness.
[3:16] So I believe God and it's counted to me for righteousness. Because in our churches, a lot of times we feel like I got to believe, then I got to get baptized. And then I got to, then I got to, and then I got to, and I hope I get counted.
[3:28] No, he believed God. It was counted to him for righteousness. Look at verse 4. Now to him that worketh is the reward, not reckoned of grace, but of debt. So if you get circumcised, you get baptized, you do everything you're supposed to do, you owe it.
[3:42] But it's not grace. If it's about what you do at all, it's not about grace. Verse 5. To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
[3:56] Now, what is righteous? Another word for righteous is godly. Another word for righteous is godly. And who does God, who does God justify?
[4:07] Look at verse 5 and see who God justifies. But to him that worketh not, the guy who doesn't do anything to earn it, the guy that doesn't do anything to merit it, the guy that doesn't do anything to get it, but believes on him.
[4:19] What we do is we believe on the one who justifies, makes right the ungodly. You should mark that in verse 5. Who makes right the ungodly. You don't get your life cleaned up.
[4:30] You don't start doing everything you're supposed to do so you can come to church and God will eventually count you as worthy. That's not what happens. You come unworthy. You come undeserving. You will never be good enough and God counts it to you.
[4:43] And so then in verse 6, even David has also described the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works. Another big word, imputeth. Imputation.
[4:54] Big word. And what that means, that's the same as counted. It's a Bible term for, you don't really, this is just what goes in the ledger books. This is what goes in the ledgers.
[5:04] And what God is putting in the ledgers is that you're righteous. Skip down if you would for the sake of time. Verse 9. Come at this blessedness upon the circumcision. That word circumcision right there is Jews.
[5:18] Jews. The circumcision are the Jewish people. By the way, there were other Jewish people alive, or excuse me, other circumcised people. Because Ishmael's family will also be circumcised.
[5:29] And the Arabs are also circumcised. But the Bible, when it talks about the circumcision, it's talking about the religious people, the Jews. And he says this, Come at this blessedness upon the circumcision only, or only Jews only, or only those that have done that, or also an uncircumcised people.
[5:41] Us. Gentiles people. For we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. What's reckoned to Abraham for righteousness? Faith is reckoned to him for righteousness. Verse 10.
[5:52] How was it then reckoned? Reckoned is another word like counted. It means the same thing. Counted, reckoned, imputated. Imputed. Imputation. Look if you would. How was it then reckoned?
[6:03] When he was in circumcision or uncircumcision? And here's what the question is. When did God say Abraham was righteous? After he got circumcised? Or before he got circumcised? He said it before he got circumcised.
[6:16] It wasn't about getting cut on that got him saved. Verse 11 says it pretty clearly. And he received the sign of circumcision. A seal of the righteousness of faith which he had yet being uncircumcised.
[6:30] That he might be the father of all them that believe. That's where you underline right there. There's your practical implication. He is the father of all them that believe.
[6:41] So he's my father and he's your father because we're believers. He's the one that gives us that, shows us that step of faith. So he is the believer and he shows us that.
[6:51] And verse 12, And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk at the steps of that faith of our father.
[7:03] So what would be the practical implications of the book of Galatians? The practical implications of us being the sons of Abraham is we are believers. We are people of faith.
[7:13] And that is how we got saved. You got saved because you believed God. You didn't get saved because you got baptized. You didn't get saved because you prayed a certain. And by the way, this will help you with security.
[7:24] You say, I'm not sure I prayed all the right words, not the words. You didn't even have to pray to be saved. Okay. Like somebody said, well, if you didn't pray these words and you got saved, you didn't get saved.
[7:35] You don't have to pray that in the Bible, you don't pray necessarily. What you had to do was believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is the son of God, that you're a sinner, you deserve help, and that Jesus died to pay your sin debt.
[7:46] And so the practical implication is not. So I don't know who asked the question. I'm going to cover two things. One, Abraham's the father of faith. That's who we are. But don't try to mix Israel and the church.
[7:58] And that's what ends up happening. You read that and you're like, well, the church is the son of Abraham. So the church is Israel. No, it's not. We're in a big parentheses in history. We're in a big time where God has stopped using his people, Israel.
[8:14] He has stopped using them as a nation, not individually, as a nation. Individuals that are Jews still get saved. Individuals that are Jews still become a part of the church.
[8:25] But the nation was being used. Now the nation is off to one side and the church is being used, which is made up of Jews and Gentiles. And shortly there will be a rapture.
[8:36] And he'll take all of us believers out of here. And by the way, he is going to immediately do some miraculous things. And Israel is going to kick it into high gear and fulfill the job of world evangelism in seven years.
[8:48] They will evangelize the entire world. We've been working on it for 2,000 years. They'll knock it out in seven. And we have provoked them to jealousy. And so that's the real story.
[8:58] So the fact that he is our father doesn't mean that we're any less, that we're not the church. It doesn't mean that you're Israel. The reason I don't wear a robe is I'm not a part of Israel.
[9:10] I'm not a priest. I'm just a pastor. I'm just a brother with you. And I have no special Abrahamic, Aaronic priesthood. I have none of that.
[9:20] I'm just a brother in Christ. I want to read you one more verse before we move to the next one, one more set of verses. Open your Bibles to Romans 11. I was sitting there thinking about what it means to be the sons of Abraham.
[9:32] I was like, good question. Whoever asked that. You know, we love Jews. Okay. We would never have a bad attitude about that nation.
[9:43] I got my Bible from them. God used them to give me my Bible. I got my Savior from them. I got the foundation of my church from them. And they're a big lesson for all of us.
[9:55] And that is, if we don't do our job, God will replace us. Not personally, but collectively. And so if you want to read with me, Romans chapter, this is where people really get messed up in Romans 9, 10, 11.
[10:06] But look at Romans 11, 17. And some of the branches be broken off. Thou being a wild olive branch were grafted in among them. And with them partaker of the root and the fatness of the olive tree.
[10:20] Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. I'm going to put that in hillbilly English for you. Make it a tad simpler. You see, the olive tree, that's Israel.
[10:33] They're God's people. And he picked them. And he chose them to carry his gospel to the world. In Genesis 12, they ought to be a blessing to the world.
[10:45] And in verse 17, he says, Take off some of the wild branches. I mean, take off some of the natural branches. And in verses 17, 18, right in there, they have broken off those old branches and we've been grafted in.
[10:58] We're the wild branch. Look at verse 19. Thou wilt say then the branches were broken off that I might be grafted in. Well, because of unbelief they were broken off. Thou standest by faith.
[11:10] Be not high-minded, but fear. For if God spare not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold, therefore, the goodness and severity of God on them which fail.
[11:22] Severity, but toward thee, goodness. If thou continue in this goodness, otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. Verse 24. For if thou wert cut off out of the olive tree, which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature in a good olive tree, how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
[11:43] I would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own conceit, that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.
[11:56] So let me just tell you another blessing of Abraham. Another blessing of Abraham. And that is that what happened is the natural branches quit believing.
[12:06] They didn't lose their salvation. They lost their ministry. It was a big deal. You don't lose your salvation. You lose your ministry. And these natural branches, they lost their ministry.
[12:17] And then God went over and found us. Wild branches and a wild olive tree. And he cut us off and he brought us over and he grafted us in the tree. And we don't hold the tree up. The tree holds us up. So Israel's being used of God to hold us up.
[12:29] And so we're doing the ministry. And don't you get to being too braggadocious about it like Israel messed up and we got it because he said, hey, if God could graft you in, don't you think he can graft them back in?
[12:40] And he's going to graft them back in. And so as a child of Abraham, as a child of Abraham, a practical implication, I am always going to love Israel. I know that those who bless Israel get blessed and those who curse Israel get cursed.
[12:53] And I know that God used Israel to bring everything here. And I know that God's, he is not through with Israel. So that's just a little extra there for you. Go ahead with the next question, Dr. LZ.
[13:06] So if Betty only paid $4 and you paid $3, does that mean she's the managing partner in your marriage? I don't know who asked that question, but you have seen the light.
[13:17] We have been married 41 years and I am the head of our home. But Betty is the neck that turns the head anywhere she wants to. And so, yep, she has been the managing partner for a long time.
[13:28] And I like it that way. Every now and then I do have to remind her that I am the head. And she said, well, you better watch it or I'll shake you the wrong way. Next question. What was the craziest thing you have ever seen on the mission field?
[13:42] Hmm. You know, there's so many hundreds of things. Let me tell you one of the most beautiful things. Pastor Tony Howitt that you know used to come down and preach every year. Brother Tony's been a great friend to me.
[13:54] I knew Brother Tony when he was like a 19 or 20 year old getting started in the ministry at Whitfield Baptist Church. Brother Wayne Cofield had been used by God. I'm not sure he got saved at Whitfield.
[14:04] I think he did. But if somebody comes up later and says I was wrong, I mean, it was a long time ago. I wasn't around to know. But Brother Tony was in Brother Wayne's church and then I had become a member of that church.
[14:16] And Tony used to go to Peru every year. And Tony was raised in a very horrendous background. He's an orphan child.
[14:27] And he got shipped from house to house. Abused, mistreated because he was an orphan. And nobody loved him. He tells the story of a time that he was moved into a family and they were so sweet and loving to him.
[14:41] And he was so much in love with them. He thought they were the greatest in the world. And the mama said to him one night, said, you know I can never love you like my own children because you're not one of mine. His eye, he had problems with his eye.
[14:54] And you've seen a roving eye or a dead eye. He goes in as an orphan and they clip the wrong nerve. And he loses that eye. That eye doesn't work at all. And finally got adopted by the house.
[15:07] And a great family that has loved him and let him be their child. But Tony came to preach and prove. We had an auditorium that probably, probably wasn't any bigger than this room right here.
[15:18] I don't think it was this wide, maybe a little bit deeper. And then there was a house sitting back there. But it was under the roof. And then there were sides of it. And I would have Tony come down and we'd have it.
[15:31] He always preached the Youth Congress. And there were 750 people in the room that night. And you can't imagine that. But like where Tony was standing to preach, and my son David would translate for him, there were literally people sitting all around us.
[15:45] Every spot was taken. People were on the steps. People were sitting on the floor. People were sitting in chairs. People were sitting on the rooftop out there. People were sitting down the sides on both sides. You would have been as excited as I was.
[15:56] I loved it. I couldn't believe. That's stuff my granddaddy was talking about, and I was getting to watch it. And that night, Tony preached on how to get over bitterness from all the bad junk that's happened to you.
[16:07] And he told his story. And he told them how God helped him get over all the garbage. He said, Maybe some of you can relate with me tonight. And when the invitation was given, and I'm pretty sure my son David was doing the translating, and David is just a super excellent translator.
[16:23] And when the invitation was given, if you'd had a machine gun, you couldn't have mowed people down any faster. They hit that altar. It was crying and weeping and wailing. And, I mean, a handful of people might have been still standing up.
[16:35] And God worked major miracles. It was a great night. People were coming up and saying, I've hated so-and-so. I've hated my mom. I've hated this person. I've hated this person. But tonight, I'm learning that I can forgive.
[16:47] So that's probably one of my favorite things. Crazy things. You know, we came home from church one night.
[16:59] And we lived right across the road from a banker. And the park was right in front of us. And the Montenegros lived. If you'd come out our front door, if you'd come out our front door to the left, their house was up on the other side of the park.
[17:12] And we got home that night. And I was walking up to the house. Well, I parked outside because when I got there, the dog was in the front yard. And when I say front yard, you'd have to understand that in a Peruvian home, like our house, the front yard might have been this big.
[17:27] Maybe, maybe more like this big. But anyway, really small. And there was a backyard. It was a little bit larger, maybe as large as the whole platform if you squared it up. And the dog was in the front yard. So I knew something was wrong.
[17:38] How'd the dog get from the backyard to the front yard? We got 10 foot walls all around our house. And there's a guard out front. And so I'm like telling the family to stay back. And I'll go in and see what happened.
[17:48] And I see that the glass has been broken out of the front windows beside the doors. And I go in the house, the glass has been broken in several different parts of the house. The dog has been able to come through the back because the windows have been broken.
[18:00] And she could easily get out to the front. And glass was stuck in the wall. And a bomb had been placed in front of the banker's house. We were at church. And glass had gone everywhere. And I went out to the guard.
[18:13] And I didn't pay the guard. I went out to the guard. I said, you want to tell me what happened? He said, you want to pay me? I said, I don't care if I pay you or not. Could you at least tell me who broke into my house? And that's when I found out about the bomb. And it was amazing to me.
[18:24] We were at church. It was church time. We were at church. A bomb went off. My family was safe. That was a pretty crazy one. Good crazy one. You know that Jeff and Mindy were in their home in La Plata.
[18:37] Here's a Jeff and Mindy one. And you'll have a hard time getting them to tell it. But Jeff and Mindy were in their home in La Plata. And they got home from church, wasn't it? I believe they came home from church. And they walked in the door.
[18:48] And before they could get the door shut, some guys rushed into the house and held them at gunpoint. Kids are crying. Did they tape you up or tie you up or anybody?
[18:59] And then they went and they found the money that the church had, stole even down to personal things like rings and everything, and left. And here's the sad thing. Most of the time when weird stuff like that happens, somebody from church, somehow they know.
[19:15] How did they know where the church money would be kept? How did they know? I mean, it wasn't a deacon. Praise the Lord, I hope. I'm not sure. I've been looking at Micah recently. But, you know, it wouldn't have been a faithful.
[19:29] I'm sure it wouldn't have been. There's guys that are with Jeff until today that just love him. But that's a crazy one. Jason Holt was held up at Knife Point in the name of his area.
[19:42] Can you think of the name of his area right now? Maipu. My son David has so much fun with Maipu. He always says, we're going to go down and play with Jason and Maipu. But he was out, passed out gospel tracts.
[19:55] They held him up at Knife Point. They held Chris up one time at Knife Point. So, crazy things. I think that's enough. Peruvians, especially when I first got there, believed some of the weirdest witchcraft you've ever heard.
[20:14] So, if you sneezed real hard, you could lose your spirit. And so, this one guy came to church. And, man, he was pale. He looked horrible. And so, I said, man, what's wrong?
[20:26] What's wrong? He said, I've lost my spirit. I said, well, how'd you do that? He said, I sneezed. I said, well, I mean, you're still alive, buddy. He said, I lost my spirit. I said, what you going to do?
[20:36] He said, I've got to go back where it is so I can pick it up. Those things were a little bit funny. Those things were a little funny. I knew how they said you could put a thing on your girlfriend, make her marry you.
[20:49] They have all kinds of stuff. That was all fun. I don't know. Somebody gives me a more specific one. I can tell you. There's tons, tons of things. I can tell you this, that the missionaries are super blessed.
[21:02] But if you think that it's like living in America, it is completely not like living in America. It is completely not like living in America. Even if you live in a place like London.
[21:15] You know, Chris Way had his bicycle stolen. A pretty expensive bike. I own a several hundred dollar bike. And it's just things are a little different than they are in America, even in great places like Britain.
[21:28] Plus, man, we are spoiled. You don't have to go to New York City to get the feeling. We'll be in Burkina Faso tomorrow. Well, it'll be Tuesday afternoon before we get there. But we'll fly out tomorrow. And that's a weird one.
[21:40] Oh, I got a good one. I'll give you one good story. I got one good story. But I was in Burkina. They have geckos in the house. And, you know, like the gecko gecko.
[21:52] They got them in the house. And they chirp at you. And they look at you. And I was in the bathroom. And I'm doing my business. And I looked up and I saw him in the corner. And I was like, Lord, don't let that stupid thing come this way.
[22:02] Do not. I'm in a compromising position right now. And all of a sudden he goes, shoom. And I looked at you and boom. He ran over there. I said, well, at least he's on that wall. And that wall is about a foot and a half in front of you.
[22:15] And then a few minutes later, he came right behind me. That was a little unnerving for me. But I think Jeff and I were together in Argentina. Brother Jeff and I have been together many times in many places.
[22:25] But we were in Argentina. We were staying with a missionary. And, you know, usually you think when you're staying with a missionary, you're going to stay in a reasonably American-style home. But we got there and it wasn't much of an American-style home.
[22:37] And so they took me back into my bedroom. And it was like an army cot. And their son was a very large boy. And that was the bed I would be sleeping in. And so it already was dented in, sunk in everywhere where you needed to be sunk in when you weighed more than I weighed.
[22:51] And so we go in there. And Jeff's got his little cot. And I got my cot. And the bathroom door won't shut. The bathroom door comes to, like, when you go to shut it, it hits the cabinet.
[23:04] And so you're never alone. Ever. That's a place I enjoy being alone. And so you go in. You want to make sure you go in when nobody's going to be around because you might, you know, you just don't want to do that.
[23:16] And so I go to take a shower one morning. And the water's cold. And so later on, the missionary says, well, I'm sorry. He said, my wife forgot to put the firewood out there to heat the water up because they have a wood fire heater.
[23:34] So by the next morning, I'm not in my most spiritual mood, just to be blunt honest with you. And I'm like, all right, Jeff, fix it, go in our bathroom, freeze my rear off, and go in there.
[23:45] So I got in the bathroom, got ready, got in the shower. You know, you're nude. There's not a, they don't have shower curtains. So, I mean, you are like. And I'm standing in the shower, and I look down, and there was a brown pile about this big.
[24:03] And I said, God in heaven, I cannot believe this. I do not believe you let me have to be in places like this. And I had hurt my toe. A few days before, I pulled a garage door over.
[24:14] I still don't have a toenail there. It was horribly hurt, blood everywhere. I feel my foot shoe up with blood every night. I'm sitting here. My toe's hurting.
[24:25] I know the water's going to be cold. I turned the water on. And so the water struck me, and it was warm. I was like, well, I was going to be good. And all of a sudden, it jumped at me. It was a frog. I kicked the wall with my bad foot.
[24:36] But blood's gushing everywhere. And I was praising Jesus. Next question. But that happens a lot more than you might think. What was the hardest thing about going and staying on the mission field?
[24:48] And how did you get through it? I think the hardest thing for anybody is being away from home. It is not being with your family. It is not having, you know, my grandkids are in the basement right now.
[25:00] And what can I say? It's a pretty nice thing. Lelia comes up and gives me one of those hugs you just wouldn't believe. It has to be a granddad to understand what I'm talking about. She hugs me.
[25:12] You know anything about that, Brett? I mean, she just hugs me, and it's so sweet. And I say to Caleb, I say, I love you. And he said, I love you. And I said, I love you more than you. I love you more. And so he's only like two, you know, or whatever.
[25:25] And Benjamin, he's always, Benjamin's, you know, he's just getting Spanish or English. And so Benjamin, he's a punk, you know. And so Benjamin, he always tells me, he hugs me, and he says, I love you, grandmother.
[25:40] He knows what he's saying. It's not an accident. And so it's okay, granddaughter. I love you too. And so that's great. And all of a sudden, you're on the mission field. You don't see your family.
[25:50] You don't see your kids. We were pulling into Stephanie Young's house, our daughter, when one of the babies was going to be born. And so we were pulling in. Eight babies, so we were there a lot.
[26:01] But we were pulling in, and Betty started crying. And I said, honey, what? And no, she cries all the time. I mean, honestly, it's just like, please stop. And so we're pulling in. I said, what are you crying for? She said, we're going to have to leave.
[26:12] I said, we just got here. She said, I know, but I'm just thinking we're going to have to leave. So that's the hardest thing. And the hardest thing is, you know, you can enjoy the food, and you can put up with the elements of insecurity.
[26:27] Like we were robbed or attempted to be robbed 55 times in the first three years, and that's what we wrote down. Robbed or attempted to be robbed 55 times. And so you can put up with that, but being gone from home is probably the hardest thing.
[26:40] Not being with family. And, you know, some of you would have moved from one side of the U.S. to the other and never see your family, so you have a little bit of it. But maybe you could drive over or fly over or whatever a little more often than a missionary would do.
[26:53] And that's probably, I'd say, the hardest thing. And what helps you get through it? To be blunt and honest, Betty would have to tell you more about it. I was so focused. All I could think about is start this church and move.
[27:04] Start this church and move. Get a new church started. And so literally, when I would land on the field to start a term, I cannot explain. Four years of my life would fly by, and I would honestly, it would be time to come home, and I'd be like, I cannot believe it.
[27:18] It has flown by. Because, you know, you're always starting churches, and you're always training preachers, and you're always doing wrong. And students are always messing up. And missionaries are messing up.
[27:28] And I spent my entire life running like a wild man to keep things going. So the 20 years that we were missionaries literally flew by. The hardest time for me was furlough.
[27:40] And furlough, you know, you don't have a house. You don't go to bed in your bed. You're always traveling. And in Peru, I often felt like when I, on the days I was the tiredest and the most discouraged, I felt like I would get up in the morning, and I'd lay down, and I held my arms out for them to put IVs in and suck my blood all day long.
[27:58] And all day long, people were, I was helping them spiritually. I was helping them financially. I was giving away money literally by the thousands of dollars beyond what you can understand for a guy with my income.
[28:09] I was giving away money. And so often I would go to bed at night thinking I just, I've got to have a few hours to recharge. I literally don't know if I'm going to be able to, I don't think I can do it tomorrow. And I wake up next day and I'd get up chipper and happy and go do it again.
[28:22] The beautiful thing about Peru, the beautiful thing about Peru is, in Adequipa, my city, the city I love, is the sun's up by 4.30. So I sleep in all the time to 6, 6.30.
[28:36] You say, why don't you sleep a little longer? It's hard when the sun is staring you in the face. I mean, you know, in America, in America you wake up in the morning and God wakes up the sun two hours after you get up.
[28:48] That's like ridiculous. That's hard, but in Peru it's pretty easy. At 6 o'clock at night, sun's down every day. And so I would just say to you, loving the people, which I adored those people, loving the country, loving what I was doing, made my time fly.
[29:05] My life flies by now. I can't explain it to you. It seems like I run from week to week. It seems like there's never a break, but I love what I'm doing. So next question, Dr. Elsie?
[29:16] Oh, that's a good question. Who did that? What can we do for Vision Baptist Church to be a blessing? You know, the ladies at Vision Cobber are lonely.
[29:32] The men are lonely. You come to Vision here, and we'll finish church here in about 14 minutes.
[29:44] Things will be over, winding down. And you won't leave. And you will hang around and talk to each other, and that is beautiful, and that's wonderful. Well, you know, you can talk to everybody at Cobb and be done in about three minutes.
[29:57] Because there's just like the Schwartz and the Vorices and Bo that are the strong core. So I talked to Bo about the possibility of setting up a monthly ladies' meeting where several ladies from here could go down there and just have a Bible study and eat some dessert and do whatever women do.
[30:15] And just spend a little bit of time with those ladies. I think that would be great. I think it would be nice if we could do some kind of men's thing. Financially, their finances are probably a little tight. So if you want to pray about that, Christmas on the west side, Bo said it was great.
[30:30] But the truth is, you know, I know what preachers feel like. And Bo's already learned to be a good preacher liar. And Bo said it was all great, but they spent all the money to get everybody to come and not one person came. And so he's trying to put the preacher spin on it.
[30:43] But so that put them in some financial bind. But they are giving the missions. And they are doing work that are going forward. So I just think praying for them, loving them, calling them, trying to get with them, just loving them personally.
[30:59] And if you know anybody, man, send them their way. Send them their way. Next question, brother. Why was God so evident in the Bible and seems so hidden today?
[31:10] You know, I just don't think it's any different than it was then. You got 39 books that are covering roughly 4,000 years.
[31:24] So it's not a lot of Bible, if you consider how long it is. You got, you know, the New Testament is what, 100 years? You've got, you know, from the time John the Baptist steps out and starts speaking until, or even when John's going to be born, the angels make the announcement, the apostles are going to be dead by 100, 120.
[31:47] And Paul's journeys are going to be over. It's all going to be over. And so I really believe that God is just as evident today as he ever was, if not more so. We live in probably the most exciting age you could ever dream of.
[32:01] And that's because God is allowing his word to run, have free course, and be glorified all around the world. And so God's not evident because you're trying to think in terms of charismatic gifts.
[32:15] You're trying to think in terms of speaking in tongues, of people getting healed, but that didn't happen even in the 120 years of the New Testament, give or take.
[32:26] That didn't happen there either. By the time Paul finishes writing his part of the New Testament, he has two of his friends that are sick. Timothy's sick, and Paul says to Timothy, take a little wine for the stomach's sake.
[32:39] Why didn't he say, here's a cut out piece of my t-shirt. Put that on your forehead and you'll be fixed. He didn't do that. Why didn't he say, I'll come walk by you, let my shadow fall over you.
[32:49] So there were these miraculous days. But they were over very quickly. I never say his name right, but Ephrodites, he gets sick. Or whatever his name is, he gets sick.
[33:00] And to the point of dying, Paul was terrified. Paul said, y'all pray for him. You hear? Instead of saying, yeah, healed him when he got sick. So I think there's an easy misconception.
[33:11] By the way, there are very few miracles in the entire Bible. Contrary to what the Charismatics tell you, there are very few miracles. And they only come in transitional periods in the Bible.
[33:24] And they're brief. So you have an Elijah and Elisha. You have some of that going on there. You have a Moses. You have several times when God does these things, but most of the time he doesn't.
[33:35] So how is God evident? The last book of the Bible should tell you how. It's called Revelation. And it means God saying, check me out. So God is extremely evident today if you get in the Bible.
[33:51] I'm going to have them. I didn't get them called yesterday. I'll try to get them called before I fly out tomorrow. But David Velasquez's grandparents, he was 42 years old.
[34:02] And he was making, he said, $500 a week in 1968, which would mean pretty good salary. When I graduated from high school, or maybe it was my senior year, minimum wage was like $1.65.
[34:15] I graduated in 72. And Brother Witherill was in a church, and a man came into the church and said, we need missionaries in Peru.
[34:26] Brother Witherill said, I just thought, the Lord wants me to do it. I'm going to do it. He went and got him a passport. And six months later, he was in Peru, in Chosica. And I said, well, how much support did you have?
[34:39] And he said, I didn't have any. He didn't have any. He said, nope, how do you live? Well, whatever you got to do, you got to do. He said, I thought God wanted me there, so I went. And one day he had found, he had decided to quit doing his, he was doing chalk art and the drawings on top of an RV.
[34:59] And he said, he would ride through, as he would ride through these villages, and they would preach the gospel, and he would do chalk art with a black light and all that sort of thing. And he thought about it one day, and he said, you know, they ought to have a church, and this mystery ain't never going to start a church.
[35:12] So I'm going to stop, and I'm going to start a church. And so he decided to start a church. He said, I just thought, he said, I didn't have any Bible training. Nobody taught me anything. And he said, so I just thought I'd do that. He said, so I started a church.
[35:22] And he said, when I rented the building, I needed $60. And the lady said, you're going to have to pay me $60 if you don't rent this building, $60 a month. And Brother Wilder was like, I don't know how we're going to get $60.
[35:34] I just don't know. $60 is too much. And a letter came in the mail that day or a day or so before, and inside was a $60 check. And the lady said, I do not know what's going on, but I am severely impressed that God wants you to have $60.
[35:52] And it was two months, 60 days before he got the money. She said, I'm just immensely impressed that God wants you to have $60. Please write me and tell me why you needed the $60.
[36:04] So Ms. Witherell wrote and said, well, we were going to start a church. We needed $60. We didn't know where we were going to get $60. And your money comes as an answer to prayer. And the lady wrote back and said, don't worry.
[36:15] It will be there every month to pay for the rent for that church until you don't need it anymore. So just tell me. He left that church with 250 people that have since started eight or ten more churches. And one day he heard about Venezuela.
[36:27] And he said, I think I'll just go up there. I've got my job done here. I've got me a church going. I've got these people cranked up. I think I'll go up there. And so he tried to get into Venezuela. He couldn't get into Venezuela. And so he said, I just don't know why.
[36:38] The Lord seemed impressed on my heart to go to Venezuela. I can't get into Venezuela. And somebody said, Spain. He said, I think I'll just go there. And so he went to Spain. And the church where David's dad was the pastor, Brother Witherell started that church, left them with a building.
[36:53] And then when Brother Witherell was 70 years old, he arrived in Venezuela. And he said, I had to get to Venezuela. And he started a camp in Venezuela and built a camp.
[37:05] And he said, this summer they had 200 or 300 kids out there. And he said, you know, then the mission called me one day and said, look, you need to retire. And he said, I don't want to retire. He said, but they said somebody had gone to the mission and said, we've got $100,000.
[37:21] It has to be for a missionary that's been on the field at least 40 years. We want to build him a house. He can live rent free until he goes to heaven. And so Brother Witherell came back. And if you heard him say it here at the church, he said it to me too.
[37:33] He said, I'm bored. There ain't nothing to do anymore. He's 89 years old. So, yeah, God's still evident. You just got to step out. There are people in this room that have stepped out by faith in giving and seeing God answer prayer and do big stuff.
[37:48] There are people who have stepped out to start Sunday school classes, start churches, raise support, go win some way to Christ. You know, you want to see God evident. You've got to step out to something where you can't by yourself.
[38:00] So, like, here's a person that you know needs the gospel and you wish God would do something. Well, the best thing to do is pray, pray, pray, pray. And say, God, if you'll help me, I wouldn't assume.
[38:11] And then when you step over there, you're going to find that God does something and helps you. And helps you share the gospel. And helps him get saved. And when you come back, you're going to be like, you're going to believe that God was there. And I'm going to go, yeah, I believe it.
[38:22] Because when does God step in? Honestly, if you give God what's left over out of your money, he don't need to step in. If you give God what's left over of your time, he doesn't need to step in. But God is evident.
[38:33] And he's more evident. He feels every day be in the book. Every day be in the book. Every day learn how to apply it to your life. Teach your children. Teach them and watch them get saved.
[38:46] Watch your kids rebel and do wrong. And God bring them back. And do something great in their lives. I'm telling you, God's evident. So, I say he's as evident today as he's ever been.
[38:58] Next, is God opposed to pleasure? Absolutely not. Bible verse. Go with me to 1 Timothy. When Dr. John Pearson back there is teaching you, you write these verses down.
[39:13] You've come across them already. 1 Timothy chapter 6 and verse 17. I know he taught this one day. Charge them that are rich in this world that they be not high-minded nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy.
[39:33] From the first mention of God taking care of us, it was pleasurable. You ever heard of the Garden of Eden? That was a really nice place. You had kitty cats were the size of lions and tigers and bears.
[39:47] And every kind of fruit and every kind of thing you could possibly desire to eat was just there. You could even eat of the tree of life if you wanted to.
[39:58] There's only one place you weren't supposed to eat. Adam and Eve messed that up. So, from the very first time God made us, he made us. He wants you to enjoy life. For you to think that God doesn't want you to enjoy life is for you to not understand the Bible.
[40:09] However, when you hear that word, that doesn't mean you're never to live life for yourself. Let me tell you this. Money is not going to buy you enjoyment or pleasure.
[40:26] There's no place you can go, nothing you can buy that will give you lasting joy. Real joy is found in serving Christ and serving others. And so, but does God want you to, man, goodnight.
[40:38] I love my marriage. I love my children. I love you. I never step up here. Well, I can't say never, but hardly ever would I step up here to preach. You don't love it.
[40:48] I love sitting over there and everybody just sits around and talking. I just love it. I enjoy it. So, why do you sit over so long? Because I like it. That's why. You say, well, how do you feel about Friday when you sit with those missionaries for four hours?
[40:59] I love it. Yes, sir. This Friday I was at about 645. I was there and I got home about 10 o'clock night at night. All day long. I love it. So God wants you to enjoy things.
[41:11] God wants you to have a blast. Don't you dare think, well, I can't drive a snowmobile. I can't. God doesn't want me to have a ski do. That's not true at all. But you ought not ever be selfish.
[41:22] You ought to always be saying, I want to put God first. Do you tithe? Do you give a good portion to the things of God? God, here's the key problem.
[41:33] It's Matthew 633. In Matthew 632, he said, back at 31, he says, starting in 24, he says, everybody wants food and raiment, food and clothes and security and fun and all these things.
[41:48] Everybody wants that. He said, and I know you need those things. But here's all I ask. Seek me first. And I'll add that stuff to you.
[41:59] Seek me first. Matthew 633 says, but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. And so I will just tell you now, God is going to, the apostles, I could preach on this all night now.
[42:15] The apostles said, Lord, we've given up everything to follow you. And Jesus said, you give up, you give up fathers, I'll give you a hundred. My kids had Mexican grandparents.
[42:32] He called me this afternoon. I mean, God, he just loves us deaf. My kids had Peruvian grandparents. Everywhere we've gone, people have, I mean, like we gave up a lot of stuff and gained it.
[42:45] I came home from, Betty and I came home from language school, and Betty was still very scared because of the language and everything. And David was staying at home with a lady that took care of him while we were gone.
[42:56] We couldn't speak Spanish, and she couldn't speak English. And we came home one day, and David, who was two years, one year old, was not in the house. He was a one year old. He was not in the house.
[43:08] We searched the house over. He was not, it wasn't that big either. And he wasn't in the house. And so we're talking to the maid, and we're like, where's the baby? And she, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
[43:20] We're like, I don't know why I didn't, what she's saying. And she kept saying, we thought she was saying Alberto. So we drove over, and we got to Alberto's tienda, and when we got there, he had dressed David in a soccer uniform of his favorite team.
[43:32] He bought him the little soccer shoes, had the little soccer shorts, had the jersey, had him a ball and a little net to carry it with. And David was stinky. And he goes, whew, whew.
[43:44] We didn't know what he was saying, except everybody, that's pretty universal. And so I'm just saying to you, yes, God wants you to, goodnight, heaven's full of pleasure.
[43:54] Every, God's good in every way he's good. One more question, it is 601. Pick the one that's going to stump me the most. Ha ha, good question.
[44:05] Okay, Psalm 139. Goodnight, you guys trying to be a, Psalm 139. Okay, the Bible never uses the word omnipresent.
[44:19] So there are three big words that we use about God that are described in the Bible, but the words aren't necessarily used. Omnipresent, omniscient. Omnipresent means all-present. Omniscient, meaning all-knowing.
[44:32] And omnipotent, meaning all-powerful. And so God is that. He's all-present, all-powerful, and all-knowing. And so in one, you cannot run from God.
[44:44] You may run from God and you may feel like you're far from God, but when you get there, he's already there. Because you never get out of his presence. So in Psalm 139, let me see, here was the verse, hold on.
[44:59] Look up if you would in verse 7. Where can I go from your spirit? Where shall I flee to get out of your presence? Where can I run to to get out of your presence?
[45:10] If I go all the way up into the heavens, you're there. If I make my bed in hell, the grave, the center part of the earth, you're already there. If I take wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me.
[45:24] Thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, surely darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hides not from you. The night shines in the day. The darkness and the light are both alike to you, for thou hast possessed my reign.
[45:37] You have total control of me, and you have covered me in my mother's womb. So in the one sense, there's no place that God isn't. God's in this room right now.
[45:51] He's outside. He's everywhere. There's not a place where He's not. He's all-seeing, all-knowing, and all-powerful. It definitely doesn't mean hell is heaven. It just means that there's no place that God doesn't go.
[46:01] There's no place He doesn't reign. There's no place He doesn't rule. There's no place He isn't God. So in a sense, that would be true. I guess you can save all those other questions if you have more for the next time.
[46:11] Thank you very much.