WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.259 All right. Welcome to Sunday at First Baptist Henrietta. We like to see people get around here. 00:00:10.820 --> 00:00:16.699 Like to lift up the name of the Lord in worship and thank God for that. Thank God for that last 00:00:16.699 --> 00:00:22.699 hymn. That was incredible. Sometimes it's good just to go back to the basics. Y'all know how 00:00:22.699 --> 00:00:30.559 many original verses there were to Amazing Grace? Anybody know? Twelve. That's right. Twelve. 00:00:30.979 --> 00:00:37.679 Twelve verses. Have y'all ever sung them all here? I did that once when I was a minister of music at a 00:00:37.679 --> 00:00:43.640 church. The pastor who showed me all twelve verses, I wasn't even aware there were that many, 00:00:43.859 --> 00:00:48.960 and he said, would you lead all these on Sunday? And we did, and it was a lot of fun. 00:00:48.960 --> 00:00:56.039 Um, so maybe, maybe at some point we'll do that here. We are finishing up our series on salt and 00:00:56.039 --> 00:01:03.240 light here, and this is taken directly from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus' most, I guess you could 00:01:03.240 --> 00:01:08.159 call it famous sermon, so to speak, that he preached during his 33 years here on earth, 00:01:08.579 --> 00:01:16.140 found in Matthew chapter 5. Just by way of review, um, a couple Sundays ago we talked about 00:01:16.140 --> 00:01:24.879 salt. Salt. We began with two Sundays talking about salt, and the first takeaway was, are we worth our 00:01:24.879 --> 00:01:30.900 salt? We looked at the inherent value that salt had back in ancient times. Still very valuable today, 00:01:30.960 --> 00:01:37.299 of course, and scientists have discovered literally over a thousand uses for salt, uh, in our culture and 00:01:37.299 --> 00:01:43.140 communities, but salt back then was absolutely, you couldn't live without it. It kept your meat fresh, 00:01:43.140 --> 00:01:50.799 et cetera. Roman soldiers were often paid in salt instead of money, and so we ask the question, are we 00:01:50.799 --> 00:01:58.560 worth our salt? If Jesus said, you are the salt of the earth, are we living as the salt of the earth, 00:01:59.500 --> 00:02:04.760 or has it been wasted on us in our time here on earth? Let that not be said of God's people. 00:02:04.760 --> 00:02:12.379 And then a couple Sundays ago, we talked about the takeaway, uh, from the next Sunday on salt, which was, 00:02:12.640 --> 00:02:20.340 have we lost our flavor? Jesus said, if the salt has lost its flavor, how can it be good for anything 00:02:20.340 --> 00:02:26.240 except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet? And that is what the world does around us to 00:02:26.240 --> 00:02:32.120 everyone, is trample them under their feet. We see that, this heartless, cruel world around us. 00:02:32.120 --> 00:02:39.340 Jesus came to bring something different. He came to bring life. He came to bring hope. He came to bring 00:02:39.340 --> 00:02:47.599 grace, forgiveness, love. And now that he is back in heaven, he's left us, his church, his people, 00:02:47.599 --> 00:02:58.560 to be that life, that hope, that love, and to bring the truth of the salt. That is what brings the flavor 00:02:58.560 --> 00:03:04.920 that this world so desperately needs. So have we lost our flavor? Have we gotten away from the source 00:03:04.920 --> 00:03:12.560 of our flavor? And then last week, we talked about light. Jesus said, you are the light of the world. 00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:18.599 You are like a city on a hill. And we learned a couple things about that. A city on a hill attracts 00:03:18.599 --> 00:03:27.180 attention. Whether we like it or not, as the people of God, we will attract attention. What are we doing 00:03:27.180 --> 00:03:36.060 with the attention that we attract? And then after that, we talked about, kind of harking back to Gideon, 00:03:36.120 --> 00:03:42.360 the story of Gideon, back in the Old Testament, and how God commanded his people to take their lights 00:03:42.360 --> 00:03:48.580 and their lamps and put them inside a jar, and then at the right moment, break the jars, and then the light 00:03:48.580 --> 00:03:55.740 would shine, blow the trumpets, and God won a mighty victory that day through his way of doing things. 00:03:55.740 --> 00:04:01.900 Certainly not any military strategy that any of us would have come up with. And so the question was, 00:04:02.480 --> 00:04:09.460 does God want to break a jar in your life so the light can shine? We looked at Paul's writings, 00:04:10.100 --> 00:04:15.439 how he said, we are like a treasure hidden in a clay jar, an earthen vessel. 00:04:15.439 --> 00:04:25.120 And God wants that treasure to shine through our bodies, our lives, so he can do something through us. See, 00:04:25.219 --> 00:04:33.319 folks, we're all basically about the same. We're all run-of-the-mill people. We all have problems. 00:04:33.659 --> 00:04:41.819 We all have inconsistencies. We all have issues. And God has to have so much grace to work with a group 00:04:41.819 --> 00:04:48.319 people that looks like us. And he does this all around the world. He is using his people 00:04:48.319 --> 00:04:57.439 to shine his light into this dark, dark world. So what jar does God want to break in your life, 00:04:57.819 --> 00:05:02.420 in your life, so his light can shine through? Maybe it's a jar you've been holding on to, 00:05:02.420 --> 00:05:09.699 and that was the question ultimately we came to was, how bright is our light? Are we hiding it 00:05:09.699 --> 00:05:18.060 under a bushel basket? Are we hiding it inside a jar? Or is God's light shining through us? Are the 00:05:18.060 --> 00:05:24.580 family members, the co-workers, the neighbors, the people in our lives impacted by the light of Jesus 00:05:24.580 --> 00:05:31.580 Christ shining through us? So let's go to Matthew chapter 5 now. If you're not already there, turn to 00:05:31.579 --> 00:05:36.139 Matthew chapter 5. If you're able to join me in standing, would you do that in honor of God's 00:05:36.139 --> 00:05:44.139 word? And let's read it together. Matthew chapter 5 and verse 13. You, Jesus says, are the salt of the 00:05:44.139 --> 00:05:50.240 earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It's no longer good for 00:05:50.240 --> 00:05:57.879 anything but to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city 00:05:57.879 --> 00:06:03.699 situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one puts a light, lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, 00:06:03.879 --> 00:06:10.360 but rather on a lamp stand, obviously. And it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, 00:06:10.639 --> 00:06:17.159 let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father 00:06:17.159 --> 00:06:22.000 in heaven. Would you pray with me? God, I pray that you would give us wisdom and understanding from the 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:25.719 reading of your word today, from the preaching of your word today. Let it be your words and not mine, 00:06:25.720 --> 00:06:32.740 God. I sit and I prepare these sermons and sometimes I'm confident in what I have to say. 00:06:32.820 --> 00:06:35.660 And then other times it's like, man, God, you're going to have to take this one over. 00:06:36.600 --> 00:06:42.300 And I ask you to do that today, God. You leave us with something that you have for us. It's in 00:06:42.300 --> 00:06:47.960 Jesus' name we ask it. Amen. You may be seated. Thanks for standing. All right, we're going to do a 00:06:47.960 --> 00:06:55.320 little test of your Texan-ness, if that's all right. How many are native Texans here? You were born in 00:06:55.319 --> 00:07:00.060 this great state. How many of you are naturalized? You were born somewhere else, but you moved here. 00:07:01.079 --> 00:07:09.120 Good. Welcome. Thank you. Holly, your hands should be up. What's that? Imported? Yeah, imported goods. 00:07:11.180 --> 00:07:16.579 There's like extra taxes you have to pay on imported goods. Yeah, let's not get into all that right now. 00:07:16.579 --> 00:07:25.159 We don't need to. Listen, when I married my wife, I gave her a certificate that said you are now an 00:07:25.159 --> 00:07:32.839 honorary citizen of the great nation of Texas. It was great. Just by marriage, you know. So let me go 00:07:32.839 --> 00:07:40.620 ahead and give you your test real quick and then we'll move on. The stars at night are big and bright. 00:07:40.620 --> 00:07:50.780 Good. All right. We're in good company here. So there they are. There's the bright night stars 00:07:50.780 --> 00:07:56.459 in the sky in Texas. It's great. We love it, right? I was standing out in my backyard looking up 00:07:56.459 --> 00:08:04.199 and you know, normally I was mostly raised in cities. Now I was born in Fort Worth, but spent my first year 00:08:04.199 --> 00:08:11.639 of life in Mejia, Texas. Anybody know where Mejia is? Anybody know how to spell it? M-E-X-I-A. There's 00:08:11.639 --> 00:08:16.599 your real Texans right there, man. If you know how to spell Mejia. And by the way, it's not just Mejia, 00:08:16.759 --> 00:08:24.159 it's Mejia. If you're from there, it's Mejia. Mejia. But then we quickly moved to Corsicana and 00:08:24.159 --> 00:08:28.560 Corsicana is a little bigger now. I still wouldn't call it a big city by any stretch, but back then it 00:08:28.560 --> 00:08:35.659 was a lot like Henrietta. So it was smaller, you know. But mostly I lived in cities and when you're 00:08:35.659 --> 00:08:42.100 living in cities, you can't see as many stars at night up in the sky. But last night I looked up 00:08:42.100 --> 00:08:45.860 and did anybody else see? It was a pretty clear night. The sky was full of stars out there. It was 00:08:45.860 --> 00:08:51.320 really, really neat to see. And I just sat out there with a dog for a minute and found what I 00:08:51.320 --> 00:08:57.639 thought was the Milky Way. I'm convinced it was. And that's the only galaxy or constellation. 00:08:57.639 --> 00:09:05.220 Yeah, I'm not into astronomy at all. But that's the only one I know. So anyway, may I introduce 00:09:05.220 --> 00:09:10.199 a singular truth to you all that you probably didn't know until you showed up here at church 00:09:10.199 --> 00:09:20.960 this morning? Stars are made to shine. I see the shocked looks on your faces. Stars are made to shine. 00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:32.019 Of course we all knew that. It's what they do, right? What's our star in our solar system? The sun, 00:09:32.320 --> 00:09:39.860 right? It's a big old star. Provides heat, provides light. We're grateful for it. God certainly set it up 00:09:39.860 --> 00:09:48.019 the right way. If you look at the solar system that we live in and then you realize how small it is 00:09:48.019 --> 00:09:59.659 in just the vast space that's out there. I mean, space is seemingly unlimited by any study that science 00:09:59.659 --> 00:10:06.679 has done. They have not yet found the limits or boundaries of space out there. Why? Because 00:10:06.679 --> 00:10:14.159 there's no limit and boundary to our God. So our God has created something that is so much bigger than 00:10:14.159 --> 00:10:22.559 us. He's put us in our galaxy. But there are so many other galaxies out there that likely humankind 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:25.179 will never even have an opportunity to explore. 00:10:28.299 --> 00:10:30.939 It's so much bigger than you and I. 00:10:34.179 --> 00:10:42.279 One time I got to go and see this IMAX presentation on space and the constellations and galaxies and 00:10:42.279 --> 00:10:48.159 and they talked about that and they zoomed out the camera to show just how small and seemingly 00:10:48.159 --> 00:10:59.299 insignificant our planet is in the vast created space. And it's easy in those moments to think, 00:11:00.299 --> 00:11:11.139 man, me as one little person on this planet that is our whole world, right? But really our whole world 00:11:11.139 --> 00:11:18.679 is so small and we're so dependent on our sun and we think it's the biggest, brightest thing anywhere, 00:11:18.679 --> 00:11:24.179 but really it's just a medium-sized star. There's far bigger stars out there. 00:11:25.460 --> 00:11:28.000 I want to show you what the book of Proverbs has to say. 00:11:29.259 --> 00:11:33.559 The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, 00:11:33.559 --> 00:11:42.879 which shines ever brighter until the full light of day. Read that again, would you? The way of the 00:11:42.879 --> 00:11:50.459 righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day. 00:11:51.000 --> 00:11:57.659 Do you realize that God is comparing us and our lives, the way we walk, the way we live, 00:11:57.659 --> 00:12:09.179 earth. He's comparing it to what the sun does for our planet. He's saying you are the key. 00:12:10.459 --> 00:12:20.399 You are the essence of what it takes to live this life how God intended us to live. Why? Because we are 00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:28.240 God's representatives on this earth. You know, the Bible actually uses another word. It says we are 00:12:28.240 --> 00:12:38.679 ambassadors for Christ. We are emissaries. We are his hands and feet. We are his face. We are his 00:12:38.679 --> 00:12:48.039 mouth. We are his ears to listen. We are God's representatives on this earth. 00:12:48.039 --> 00:12:56.059 So when we live our lives, it is meant to be like the first gleam of dawn, 00:12:56.819 --> 00:13:04.559 shining ever brighter until the full light of day. What's it talking about when it says the full 00:13:04.559 --> 00:13:11.459 light of day that's coming? We're shining ever more brightly until that day when the full light 00:13:11.460 --> 00:13:24.139 of day comes. What is that? What's it talking about? He's thinking. Yes, sir. It's when Jesus comes back. 00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:33.879 That's when the full light of day will come. That's a prophecy of Jesus coming back. We can never shine 00:13:33.879 --> 00:13:41.179 as brightly as brightly as Jesus, but our commandment, our commission is to shine more brightly, reflecting 00:13:41.179 --> 00:13:52.620 people back to the sun, S-U-N, which in reality is the sun, S-O-N, of God, Jesus. Daniel chapter 12 is a, 00:13:52.840 --> 00:13:57.779 Daniel is a book full of prophecy that talks about the end times. You want to tie Daniel and Revelation 00:13:57.779 --> 00:14:03.679 together? They're intricately tied together in prophecy and fulfillment of prophecy, and it sheds 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:08.620 a little more light in what we're talking about. Daniel 12 and verse 3 says, those who are wise 00:14:08.620 --> 00:14:18.079 will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars 00:14:18.079 --> 00:14:27.220 forever. You want to know how to be a star for God? What do stars do? Stars were made too? 00:14:27.779 --> 00:14:35.120 Shine. Y'all pick up fast, man. You're a smart bunch. Stars were made to shine. So if you want to be a star 00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:41.740 for God that shines as bright as the stars in the sky, the big sky at night deep in the heart of Texas, 00:14:42.199 --> 00:14:50.759 then you lead many to righteousness. Because if you lead many to righteousness, you'll shine like the stars 00:14:50.759 --> 00:14:58.439 forever. What's it talking about when it says those who lead many to righteousness? Anybody want to 00:14:58.439 --> 00:15:01.360 boil that down, summarize it? What's it talking about? 00:15:03.899 --> 00:15:12.080 Sharing the gospel. That's it. Telling people about Jesus, about a way to find forgiveness and hope in 00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:19.920 Jesus Christ. That's how you turn people to righteousness. If you, the more people you lead 00:15:19.920 --> 00:15:28.220 to righteousness, the more brightly you shine in God's kingdom forever. Forever. Now you can shine 00:15:28.220 --> 00:15:33.780 here on earth for a temporary amount of time. You can shine brightly. You can get famous. You can get on 00:15:33.780 --> 00:15:38.800 TV. You can get a fat bank account. You can get all kinds of people who think you're important, 00:15:38.799 --> 00:15:46.779 but until you turn many to righteousness, your star does not shine brightly in God's kingdom. 00:15:47.219 --> 00:15:54.419 That's what it means when it says those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky. What animal or 00:15:54.419 --> 00:16:01.379 bird do you think of when you think of wisdom and being wise? An owl. All of you read the same kids' books 00:16:01.379 --> 00:16:11.320 that I did. Yes, we think of a wise old owl, right? But listen, true wisdom, let's look at what the 00:16:11.320 --> 00:16:18.399 word of God has to say about true wisdom. Proverbs chapter 11 and verse 30. The fruit of the righteous 00:16:18.399 --> 00:16:26.139 is a tree of life. We'll come back to that in just a second. Whoever captures souls is wise. 00:16:26.139 --> 00:16:35.659 What does it mean by that? Well, you got to tie these two things together. A tree of life. A tree that has 00:16:35.659 --> 00:16:41.939 the fruit of life. What's it talking about? It's talking about going and reproducing yourself 00:16:41.939 --> 00:16:50.120 as a follower of Jesus. Allowing God to work through you to share this life-changing message 00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:56.560 of the saving grace of Jesus. And then when somebody else hears that message because you allowed 00:16:56.560 --> 00:17:03.440 yourself to be the mouthpiece and allowed God to speak through you, then real change can start to 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:08.660 happen. That person's life can be transformed. First of all, they can be brought from death to life. 00:17:08.920 --> 00:17:14.900 They can be rescued from a destination of spending forever in hell and paying for their sins, 00:17:14.900 --> 00:17:21.660 which all of us deserve. But according to God's gospel message, none of us have to experience if 00:17:21.660 --> 00:17:28.019 we will turn to him and say, Jesus, I accept your payment on the cross for my sin. I believe that you 00:17:28.019 --> 00:17:36.140 rose from the dead and you are God. And if I place my faith in you, then I will be saved from that terrible 00:17:36.140 --> 00:17:44.259 punishment for my sin. So that can happen, which completely changes the course of that person's life. 00:17:44.900 --> 00:17:50.660 And if enough of that happens, many are turned to righteousness, then you know what else can change? 00:17:51.160 --> 00:17:59.259 The culture can change. I've seen it happen. Revival can start to happen. God can change anything 00:17:59.259 --> 00:18:07.340 if many are turned to him. So that's that tree of life that all of a sudden, it's not just one little 00:18:07.340 --> 00:18:13.980 plant. It grows into a great tree that bears fruit with many, many, many turning to Jesus. 00:18:13.980 --> 00:18:19.220 Not because you took on this great job, this great mission that you can't handle on your own. 00:18:19.640 --> 00:18:24.640 Trust me, I can't handle it on my own either. We can't save this whole world. We can't turn this 00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:32.420 whole world. We can barely get ourselves right, you know? Only with God's help. But together, 00:18:32.420 --> 00:18:46.420 as the church, we can't. God empowered us to. He equipped us to, to bear this tree of life. That is our fruit. 00:18:46.820 --> 00:18:54.940 That is the fruit of the righteousness. So how much fruit is on our tree? How much fruit is on your branch? 00:18:54.940 --> 00:19:05.320 How many have we turned to righteousness? Through prayer? Through fasting? Through falling down our 00:19:05.320 --> 00:19:14.000 knees before God and say, God, save my brother. God, save my spouse. God, save my grandson. 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:24.200 save my aunt. Save my neighbor. Save my coworker. And then not just taking them to God, but taking God 00:19:24.200 --> 00:19:31.680 to them. Saying, I want you to know what happened to me. I care so deeply for you, for your soul, 00:19:31.759 --> 00:19:37.579 that I can't help but share what God has done for me, and I hope he can make the same kind of difference 00:19:37.579 --> 00:19:48.579 in your life. That's capturing a soul for Christ. And when we do it as a church, we can capture a city 00:19:48.579 --> 00:20:00.679 for Christ. We can capture a county for Christ. There is no limit to what God can do with somebody who 00:20:00.680 --> 00:20:09.820 won't tell him no. There's no limit to what God can do through somebody like you or me, who just says, 00:20:10.220 --> 00:20:19.380 I'm not going to tell God no. That's what wisdom is. When you capture souls for Jesus, you are wise. 00:20:19.519 --> 00:20:25.480 And those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky because they're leading many to righteousness, 00:20:25.480 --> 00:20:32.519 and they'll shine like stars forever. So that's our question here. Does your tree have any fruit on it? 00:20:33.220 --> 00:20:39.420 Does my tree have any fruit on it? I can tell you this answer. My tree has some fruit on it, 00:20:39.420 --> 00:20:47.940 but not nearly as much as it should. I've gone for months at a time. I hesitate to tell you this because 00:20:47.940 --> 00:20:51.680 I'm the pastor of this church and God's appointed me as the shepherd of this ministry, 00:20:51.680 --> 00:21:01.000 but I've gone for years sometimes without leading a single person to faith in Jesus Christ. I can't 00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:06.779 save them. I can't forgive their sins. If I died on a cross, it wouldn't mean anything except a tragic 00:21:06.779 --> 00:21:12.400 death. But when Jesus died on the cross, it made all the difference. When he rose from the dead, he showed 00:21:12.400 --> 00:21:19.140 he was God, and I can introduce them to him. I can't do the saving, but I can do the introducing. I can make 00:21:19.140 --> 00:21:25.380 an introduction, you know. Let me introduce you to someone who can really help you. You know, in 00:21:25.380 --> 00:21:30.600 churches, sometimes people come to you with needs. Sometimes they're emotional needs, and you say, man, 00:21:31.020 --> 00:21:35.240 I'm having enough emotional problems on my own. I can't really have the bandwidth to help you and 00:21:35.240 --> 00:21:42.400 yours, you know. But you know who does? God does. So oftentimes, I will make an introduction and tell 00:21:42.400 --> 00:21:48.700 them what he has to say. And sometimes then God takes over and transforms that situation. Sometimes 00:21:48.700 --> 00:21:54.220 people bring physical needs. Say, man, I need help with this. You say, man, you look at my bank account, 00:21:54.280 --> 00:21:59.640 you're going to see I don't really have the bandwidth to help you in this physical need that you have. 00:22:01.980 --> 00:22:09.840 Church doesn't have the ability to fix all the poverty in our city, our town, or in Wichita Falls, 00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:15.759 or in our county, or in our region. We don't have the ability to fix every problem that exists in 00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:22.099 humanity. But we can make an introduction to the one who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, 00:22:22.480 --> 00:22:29.159 the one who hung the stars in the sky, the one who has unlimited resources, and oftentimes he will step 00:22:29.159 --> 00:22:34.500 in and do things that are so much better than anything that we could have conjured up to do, 00:22:35.159 --> 00:22:39.819 any solution that we could have come up with. I've gotten to go on so many trips to do mission 00:22:39.819 --> 00:22:45.859 work in other countries. My wife and I actually served as career missionaries for a time down 00:22:45.859 --> 00:22:51.839 in Central America and Panama, and we got to see very poor areas and places over in India and Thailand 00:22:51.839 --> 00:22:59.740 and Russia and just third world areas where they can only dream of having the basic, what we would 00:22:59.740 --> 00:23:02.919 call necessities of life here in middle-class America. 00:23:02.920 --> 00:23:08.200 And you wish you could just fix all their problems. 00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:15.600 You wish you could just get them a cell phone or give them a thousand dollars and that would just go 00:23:15.600 --> 00:23:22.680 so far, but you realize that's not really gonna fix anything. It's gonna run out. 00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:30.220 None of us can do everything that needs to be done to fix all the problems that sin has caused in this 00:23:30.220 --> 00:23:38.380 world. But you know who knows the solution to the problems that sin causes is Jesus Christ. 00:23:39.279 --> 00:23:46.140 He is the solution. So when we got to introduce Jesus to those people in third world countries 00:23:46.140 --> 00:23:50.960 in different parts of the world, you know what was real interesting? On future trips when you go back, 00:23:51.180 --> 00:23:56.920 all of a sudden they've got wells built in their town. All of a sudden everyone looks a little 00:23:56.920 --> 00:24:02.960 different. All of a sudden they're even dressing a little more nicely and that's kind of a weird 00:24:02.960 --> 00:24:08.120 road to go off on. Like what does a Christian dress like? I don't know. But you know, probably different 00:24:08.120 --> 00:24:14.120 depending on where you are in the world. But you know, you just see oftentimes the overall quality 00:24:14.120 --> 00:24:22.340 of life start to improve because God stepped into the picture and he can do so much more than the best 00:24:22.339 --> 00:24:30.480 humanitarian efforts can. Now oftentimes he'll use people that share the gospel to then go meet 00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:35.839 physical needs and we should. We're commanded to do that in scripture. But we've got to start at the 00:24:35.839 --> 00:24:41.299 beginning. We've got to start with the number one problem that those people have and it's not what 00:24:41.299 --> 00:24:47.819 they're lacking physically, it's what they're lacking inside. They're lacking a savior. They're lacking a 00:24:47.819 --> 00:24:56.460 father, a good, good father. So does your tree have any fruit on it? Or have you mostly been living 00:24:56.460 --> 00:25:03.119 concerned with yourself? That's where most of us live day to day. I'm not exempt from that. 00:25:05.200 --> 00:25:11.740 Most days we are more concerned with ourselves than we are anybody else. Let's look at Philippians 00:25:11.740 --> 00:25:20.940 chapter 2. When God does a work in us, Philippians chapter 2, Paul wrote this, he shows the fruit of 00:25:20.940 --> 00:25:28.940 it. He shows the results of it. When we are saved, the Holy Spirit of God moves in. He takes up residence 00:25:28.940 --> 00:25:35.500 and he wants to take over. And to the amount that we allow him to take over, then we show the results 00:25:35.500 --> 00:25:42.599 of our salvation. And so Paul commands us to work hard to show the results of your salvation. What 00:25:42.599 --> 00:25:50.559 does that look like? Obeying God with deep reverence and fear. Because God is working in you. And he's 00:25:50.559 --> 00:25:57.859 working in me. And he's giving us the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Why? Because we don't 00:25:57.859 --> 00:26:05.059 come naturally with that desire. We come naturally from the factory standard equipped with the desire and 00:26:05.059 --> 00:26:12.399 the power to please ourselves. And that never lasts long, does it? We please ourselves one day and 00:26:12.399 --> 00:26:17.679 we're displeased the next. Maybe we should call it by the hour because it can change that quickly or even 00:26:17.679 --> 00:26:23.460 faster. We are so wishy-washy. Sometimes we think we know what we want and we get it and we find out it 00:26:23.460 --> 00:26:29.399 wasn't as good as we thought it would be. We don't know really how to please ourselves, much less anybody 00:26:29.400 --> 00:26:37.980 else. And so God wants to replace that sin nature that we came standard issue with, with now a new 00:26:37.980 --> 00:26:48.040 nature. We are a new creation. And so we can show the results of our salvation by letting God work in us 00:26:48.040 --> 00:26:56.240 to give us that new desire to please him and the power to please him. So he spells that out. Do everything 00:26:56.240 --> 00:27:01.940 without complaining and arguing. Talked about this a little bit last Sunday. That's hard to do, isn't it? 00:27:02.400 --> 00:27:09.539 We're natural complainers. We love to complain. We love to argue. But we do this without complaining 00:27:09.539 --> 00:27:15.859 and arguing. We let God work through us without fighting him on it so that we don't open ourselves 00:27:15.859 --> 00:27:24.599 up for criticism. So that no one can criticize us for how we've gotten in the way of God working. 00:27:24.599 --> 00:27:30.319 If we just let God work through us perfectly, then everything would be just as it should be. 00:27:30.679 --> 00:27:35.539 Now God knows that we're never going to let him work through us perfectly because we're not perfect. 00:27:37.899 --> 00:27:48.079 But the more we live clean and innocent lives as children of God, then we shine like bright lights 00:27:48.079 --> 00:27:57.720 in this world like bright stars in the Texas sky in a world full of crooked and perverse people. 00:27:57.960 --> 00:28:04.139 Now we can get on board with that part, can't we? We talked about it last time. Would you describe this 00:28:04.139 --> 00:28:10.119 world around us as crooked and perverse? You're either crooked or perverse, especially if you're in 00:28:10.119 --> 00:28:16.980 politics, right? Sometimes both, unfortunately. And I thank God there are some good men and women 00:28:16.980 --> 00:28:24.799 trying to represent well our nation. But it's no accident that politicians have earned a reputation 00:28:24.799 --> 00:28:33.740 as being either crooked or perverse. We have an opportunity to shine differently, to shine brightly 00:28:33.740 --> 00:28:41.599 if we do everything without complaining and arguing, if we allow God to work through us 00:28:41.599 --> 00:28:50.779 and answer that desire to do what pleases Him. Then nobody can criticize us. They may not like it. 00:28:51.419 --> 00:28:57.579 They may not like the truth. They may not like the fact that Jesus says, I'm the only way to heaven. 00:28:58.500 --> 00:29:04.199 Any other religion that points you towards something else is wrong. That's intolerant in today's world, 00:29:04.200 --> 00:29:14.759 isn't it? But it's the truth. So we must hold fast to that. But we do it with the same love that Jesus 00:29:14.759 --> 00:29:22.600 showed toward us, full of grace and truth. Not just the hard truth, smacking people in the face with it, 00:29:22.680 --> 00:29:29.680 but doing it with grace. That's how Jesus approached us. That's how we must approach others. And that's how 00:29:29.680 --> 00:29:37.720 we shine as bright lights in this world. 2 Corinthians chapter 4. 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 5. 00:29:38.440 --> 00:29:44.560 You see, we don't go around preaching ourselves. If you ever show up to a church that's just preached, 00:29:44.640 --> 00:29:53.779 the pastor's preaching himself, walk out of that church. We preach Jesus Christ. We preach that He is 00:29:53.779 --> 00:30:02.740 Lord. We preach ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. I have a debt to you. My debt to you is 00:30:02.740 --> 00:30:09.259 the one that God gave to me. He said, you have the responsibility to preach the truth to this flock 00:30:09.259 --> 00:30:17.119 of my sheep. We're all His sheep. He is all of our shepherd. And then He has appointed under shepherds 00:30:17.119 --> 00:30:24.839 to be His representatives in churches all around this world. And He's given us a holy responsibility 00:30:24.839 --> 00:30:32.239 to preach the truth. And guess what? We all share that to a certain extent. You are the shepherd of 00:30:32.239 --> 00:30:37.479 the people in your circle. You're the shepherd of the people in your life. You are the representative 00:30:37.479 --> 00:30:44.719 of Jesus to those people. You can shine brightly. So Paul says, don't make it about you. It's about 00:30:44.720 --> 00:30:51.539 Jesus. And then in verse 6, because God who said, let there be light in the darkness. Remember back in 00:30:51.539 --> 00:31:00.880 creation, He said, let there be light. And there was light. Yeah. That same God who can create light 00:31:00.880 --> 00:31:10.559 from nothing because He is the light has made this light shine in our hearts so that you and I could 00:31:10.559 --> 00:31:17.940 know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus. That Jesus hanging on the cross. 00:31:20.679 --> 00:31:27.259 That Jesus healing people. That Jesus showing kindness when the world around Him was showing 00:31:27.259 --> 00:31:36.000 hatred to Him. That is the face of the glory of God. You want to know what God looks like? 00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:45.640 It's Jesus. Read about Him. Read what He did. Read what He said. The face of Jesus Christ reveals 00:31:45.640 --> 00:31:52.859 the glory of God. This is why we glorify God. This is why He's worth all the praise. This is why we sing 00:31:52.859 --> 00:32:02.119 the songs. Because we see who He really is in the person of Jesus. He's given us this realization. 00:32:02.119 --> 00:32:08.739 He's given us this understanding. He's given us this light to shine like lighthouses in this dark world. 00:32:09.439 --> 00:32:16.359 And we now have this light shining in our hearts. But have we hidden it in a jar? 00:32:17.839 --> 00:32:27.619 Have we hidden it in a basket? God wants you to shine your light so brightly. That's what He made you to do. 00:32:27.619 --> 00:32:35.179 That's what He's left you here to do. God's stars shine brightly. And you know the other side of that? 00:32:35.939 --> 00:32:43.939 God's stars shine forever. Forever. This is the last thought I'll leave you with here today. 00:32:44.319 --> 00:32:50.699 I want to go back to Daniel chapter 3. Daniel chapter 12, I'm sorry. Daniel chapter 12 and verse 3. We read it 00:32:50.700 --> 00:32:58.200 just a moment ago. Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky. And those who lead many to 00:32:58.200 --> 00:33:05.240 righteousness will shine like the stars. What's that last word? Forever. How long? How long, church? 00:33:06.340 --> 00:33:14.259 How long will God's stars shine? Forever. Guess what? Those are the only kinds of stars that will shine 00:33:14.259 --> 00:33:28.339 forever. The only kind. Running out of time and I want to share a couple things with you but 00:33:28.339 --> 00:33:32.339 sometimes you got to make hard decisions. And that's okay. 00:33:35.680 --> 00:33:37.099 Anybody know who this fella is? 00:33:37.099 --> 00:33:37.140 Anybody know who this fella is? 00:33:44.259 --> 00:33:45.660 A shining star? 00:33:47.440 --> 00:33:48.500 Not so much. 00:33:50.160 --> 00:33:51.480 Anybody know what this is? 00:33:53.379 --> 00:33:55.819 That's a car. I'm glad you figured that out. 00:33:59.400 --> 00:34:00.680 Yes, it's an old automobile. 00:34:01.859 --> 00:34:03.440 It's one of the first ones ever made. 00:34:05.220 --> 00:34:06.480 Anybody know what this is? 00:34:09.579 --> 00:34:10.059 Yes. 00:34:10.059 --> 00:34:13.599 It was one of the first semi-trucks ever made. 00:34:14.260 --> 00:34:16.160 Conceivably the first. 00:34:16.460 --> 00:34:17.240 But I'm not for sure. 00:34:18.300 --> 00:34:21.620 How would you like to get stuck behind that going down 287? 00:34:26.580 --> 00:34:27.940 Anybody know what this is? 00:34:31.360 --> 00:34:34.380 It was a race that happened between two cars. 00:34:34.900 --> 00:34:35.940 Do you know who's in one of them? 00:34:39.440 --> 00:34:39.880 Ooh. 00:34:41.000 --> 00:34:42.160 Look at you, Cadran. 00:34:42.159 --> 00:34:44.259 Yes, it was Henry Ford. 00:34:47.059 --> 00:34:48.659 Do you know who won that race? 00:34:49.619 --> 00:34:50.339 Henry Ford. 00:34:50.519 --> 00:34:51.599 Do you know who the other guy was? 00:34:54.059 --> 00:34:57.719 This was the only race that Henry Ford ever raced in. 00:34:59.639 --> 00:35:02.159 He raced his Model T against... 00:35:04.359 --> 00:35:07.519 I don't remember what the name of the other car was. 00:35:07.519 --> 00:35:08.440 That's kind of the point. 00:35:08.440 --> 00:35:09.900 It was a Winton. 00:35:10.940 --> 00:35:16.039 Yes, you know that huge auto manufacturer Winton out there. 00:35:16.639 --> 00:35:19.300 Anybody got a Winton on their property somewhere? 00:35:19.940 --> 00:35:20.920 In the barn? 00:35:21.219 --> 00:35:23.960 Just preserved and glistening. 00:35:24.480 --> 00:35:24.759 Listen. 00:35:27.400 --> 00:35:33.179 Alexander Winton created the first semi-truck. 00:35:33.179 --> 00:35:41.059 His Winton Roadster right here was the most popular car of his era. 00:35:44.279 --> 00:35:45.719 And this was Alexander Winton. 00:35:46.399 --> 00:35:47.419 But none of y'all knew that. 00:35:48.279 --> 00:35:50.399 Not a soul in this room knew who that was. 00:35:50.400 --> 00:35:59.480 Even though he was the most famous person in the early era of automobiles before Henry Ford came along. 00:36:01.000 --> 00:36:02.220 But you know what happened? 00:36:02.740 --> 00:36:05.599 He lost this race to Henry Ford. 00:36:06.599 --> 00:36:09.960 And his fame was quickly gone. 00:36:09.960 --> 00:36:14.039 He ended up selling his company. 00:36:14.840 --> 00:36:16.920 They merged with, I believe, General Motors. 00:36:17.000 --> 00:36:18.079 I'll have to double check that again. 00:36:19.579 --> 00:36:20.340 And it was over. 00:36:21.720 --> 00:36:24.039 But he was one of the most famous men in America for a time. 00:36:27.699 --> 00:36:29.220 How many of y'all follow high school football? 00:36:31.900 --> 00:36:36.179 Who won the state championship five years ago? 00:36:36.179 --> 00:36:40.440 Ours. 00:36:43.599 --> 00:36:44.039 Duncanville. 00:36:44.579 --> 00:36:45.679 How about ten years ago? 00:36:50.779 --> 00:36:52.039 Henry Ford. 00:36:52.319 --> 00:36:52.739 That was good. 00:36:53.619 --> 00:36:53.940 Look. 00:36:54.139 --> 00:36:55.019 I don't even know. 00:36:55.500 --> 00:36:57.119 Maybe I should have prepared that ahead of time. 00:36:57.119 --> 00:37:02.279 But truth is, these things move on quickly. 00:37:02.280 --> 00:37:10.260 Could you name any players from a recent state championship team? 00:37:11.000 --> 00:37:13.720 Could you name who won the Super Bowl ten years ago? 00:37:15.240 --> 00:37:17.840 Could you name who the most valuable player was? 00:37:18.840 --> 00:37:24.320 Could you name who lost the presidential election in 1980 whatever? 00:37:24.320 --> 00:37:27.539 Maybe some of you could. 00:37:28.120 --> 00:37:28.600 But listen. 00:37:28.780 --> 00:37:37.080 The point is, our 15 minutes of fame on this earth goes by so fast. 00:37:38.340 --> 00:37:40.800 You're a flash in the pan and then you're gone. 00:37:41.059 --> 00:37:45.700 You can work your whole life and succeed in whatever you're doing. 00:37:45.860 --> 00:37:51.580 And reach the top of the mountain until the next guy comes along and beats you in a race. 00:37:51.579 --> 00:37:53.239 And then your fame is gone. 00:37:54.259 --> 00:37:56.539 And then no one will remember you. 00:37:56.779 --> 00:37:59.579 And there's people out there that think Henry Ford invented the automobile. 00:38:01.500 --> 00:38:02.460 And he didn't. 00:38:03.380 --> 00:38:06.279 He invented the, or popularized the assembly line. 00:38:06.360 --> 00:38:08.679 Yeah, that made it so easy to mass produce. 00:38:11.880 --> 00:38:13.840 I did lose in a race to Caleb Wilson. 00:38:13.960 --> 00:38:14.279 You're right. 00:38:14.460 --> 00:38:14.799 I did. 00:38:15.059 --> 00:38:15.420 I did. 00:38:16.159 --> 00:38:18.860 See, my fame is not over because you still remember that. 00:38:18.940 --> 00:38:19.500 So that's good. 00:38:19.500 --> 00:38:19.500 00:38:21.579 --> 00:38:24.319 But listen, y'all. 00:38:26.000 --> 00:38:31.960 If you want to shine forever, lead many to righteousness. 00:38:32.659 --> 00:38:35.099 Because this world will come and go. 00:38:36.159 --> 00:38:41.099 And the stars of this world will have their moment and then that moment will be gone. 00:38:42.599 --> 00:38:44.819 Sometimes the stars turn into villains. 00:38:44.820 --> 00:38:51.740 But if you want to shine forever, invest in God's kingdom. 00:38:52.539 --> 00:38:54.580 Let him shine through you. 00:38:55.059 --> 00:38:58.240 We said this a few weeks ago. 00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:06.200 John Stott, great theologian, one of my favorite authors out there, said we should not ask what's wrong with the world. 00:39:06.199 --> 00:39:10.619 That diagnosis has already been given. 00:39:10.939 --> 00:39:11.639 It's called sin. 00:39:11.839 --> 00:39:12.859 That's what's wrong with the world. 00:39:14.359 --> 00:39:19.439 Instead, we should ask, what has happened to the salt and light? 00:39:21.219 --> 00:39:24.419 What's happened to my salt and my light? 00:39:24.420 --> 00:39:26.460 Has my salt lost its flavor? 00:39:27.460 --> 00:39:29.000 Have I hidden my light? 00:39:29.720 --> 00:39:36.059 Am I shining brightly like the stars in the Texas sky at night for Jesus? 00:39:36.840 --> 00:39:40.159 What difference am I making for God's kingdom? 00:39:40.579 --> 00:39:42.960 What difference are you making for God's kingdom? 00:39:43.059 --> 00:39:44.000 Would you bow your heads with me? 00:39:44.659 --> 00:39:47.380 God, I pray right now that we would make a difference. 00:39:47.840 --> 00:39:49.260 That we would make an impact. 00:39:49.260 --> 00:39:59.080 That every man, woman, and child would leave this building today and go home. 00:40:00.980 --> 00:40:04.040 And at some point, you would bring that question back. 00:40:05.240 --> 00:40:06.860 What impact am I making? 00:40:07.920 --> 00:40:09.820 How brightly do I shine? 00:40:10.020 --> 00:40:12.540 Or have I allowed my star to dim? 00:40:15.760 --> 00:40:19.040 Do the people around me know that I'm a follower of Jesus? 00:40:19.260 --> 00:40:23.360 Do the people around me know that I love them? 00:40:24.700 --> 00:40:26.220 And why I love them? 00:40:26.600 --> 00:40:28.360 Because Jesus first loved me. 00:40:30.640 --> 00:40:33.700 Do I treat the people around me like Jesus would? 00:40:35.600 --> 00:40:41.380 But most importantly, God, do I share the truth with them? 00:40:41.860 --> 00:40:44.380 Do I share the gospel message with them? 00:40:44.380 --> 00:40:45.380 Do I get the truth with them? 00:40:45.380 --> 00:40:45.720 Do I get the truth with them? 00:40:45.720 --> 00:40:45.720 00:40:45.720 --> 00:40:46.200 Do I get the truth with them? 00:40:46.200 --> 00:40:47.720 That Jesus died for them? 00:40:48.539 --> 00:40:51.800 That he loves them even though they're sinners, just like we all are. 00:40:52.920 --> 00:40:56.960 That he rose from the dead for them so he could live 00:40:56.960 --> 00:40:59.660 to be salvation for them. 00:40:59.659 --> 00:41:04.759 how much fruit is on our trees, God. 00:41:06.619 --> 00:41:08.179 Impact us. Convict me. 00:41:09.159 --> 00:41:10.359 Let it start with me. 00:41:10.799 --> 00:41:12.119 Let it start with this church. 00:41:13.219 --> 00:41:16.440 And let it spread like wildfire 00:41:16.440 --> 00:41:19.019 throughout our town, throughout our county. 00:41:19.799 --> 00:41:23.899 Let us capture our area for Christ. 00:41:24.639 --> 00:41:26.099 We'll give you the glory for it. 00:41:26.899 --> 00:41:27.980 In Jesus' name we pray.