Acts chapter 16. We'll begin our reading in verse
6. Now, when they had gone throughout
Phygeia, and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy
Ghost to preach the Word in Asia. After they were come to Mesa,
they assayed to go into Bethany. But the Spirit suffered them
not, and they, passing by Mesa, went down to Troas. And a vision
appeared to Paul in the night. There stood a man of Macedonia
and prayed him, saying, Come over to Macedonia and help us. And after he had seen the vision,
immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly
gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto
them. Now here in Acts chapter 16, we have the Apostle Paul and
Silas after successfully establishing the churches at Lystra and Derbe. They had gone as far east as
Galatia, where it seemed, it appeared to them, that the Lord
would have them continue to go east. So Paul assayed to go into
Asia. Well, something happened here.
What we exactly deterred Him, we don't know. But whatever it
was, the Scripture reveals it was the Holy Ghost. The Holy
Spirit forbade Him to go into Asia. And so Paul, after he desired
to go east and was not allowed, he desired to go north to Bithynia.
But again, the Holy Spirit forbade him to go into Bithynia and seeing
the great success the Lord had given Paul in preaching the gospel
seeing at at Galatia you know that that must have been something
the Apostle Paul had said success out there in Galatia the scripture
says that they would even give their eyes to him they received
him as though he was the Lord what he's told them in Galatians
I believe chapter three With all this success, God forbid
him to travel west, travel east. So then the only direction he
could go was west. The Lord hymned him in, so as
he could only go in one way, and he traveled west to that
port city of Troas. And then Paul had gone as far
as he could go. Here the Lord sends him a vision. The vision of the man of Macedonia. And the man of Macedonia says,
come over. He called and he said, come over
and preach unto us. Unto us. Help us. And so Paul, seeing this as supernatural
vision, he called of God. They went over and preached the
gospel. Behold how Paul, though hindered
and rejected, though he desired to preach in Asia, still he earnestly
sought the Lord's will. He sought God's will as to where
to go. And we know this, that the Holy
Spirit did guide him. The Holy Spirit sent him this
vision, and he comes to Macedonia. And what do we find him doing
there? Look at verse 10, they're going to Macedonia, assuredly
gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel to
them. And verse 13, when they got there,
they came to Philippi, the very first city. And verse 13, on
the Sabbath, we went out of the city by a riverside, where prayer
was wont to be made. And we sat down, We sat down
and spake unto the women which were resorted thither, and a
certain woman named Lydia, seller of purple, the city of Thyatira,
which worshipped God, heard us, whose heart the Lord opened,
and she attended unto the things that were spoken of Paul." Upon entering, they sought out
a place of worship. This is important. Paul didn't
just go into the middle of the place and try to kick open the
door. He found a place. He found a
place where there was want to be worshipped, where there were
want people to hear. And he preached the word unto
them, and the Lord saved this woman, Lydia. And then we find
he goes on and he saves that other man, that jailer, the Philippian
jailer, the Lord throws him in prison so they could preach the
gospel to this man in jail. And he did it with such boldness
and confidence. Why? Because he knew the Lord
had called him for this purpose. He knew the Lord had called him
to preach the gospel to them. I think it interesting for us
to account when Paul came into this, he did not seek money for
his mission. Did he? That wasn't his purpose
when he came into Philippi. He did not seek the missionary
board to find approval. Now, when God's will was made
plain, Paul did what Paul was called to do. He did what he
was instructed of the Lord and called to do. He preached the
gospel when God opened the opportunity for him to preach. Paul trusted
God for his provisions and the success of his gospel, yet we
know this. It was his responsibility to
preach. It was his responsibility to
preach. It was not his responsibility to open the door for himself.
It was not his responsibility to determine which way to go.
Remember, God determined where he should go. God opened the
opportunity for him to preach. And what was his responsibility?
To preach. That was his work. Trusted God and he did it with
boldness and confidence because he knew that's what God would
called him to do to preach the gospel This is the heart of everyone
who is called to preach the gospel Paul says this in 1st Corinthians
9 verse 16. He said listen for though I preach
the gospel. I have nothing to glory of Why for necessity is laid upon
me. Yea, woe is me if I preach not
the gospel. For if I do the thing willingly
I have a reward, but if against my will a dispensation of the
gospel is committed unto me. You see, there's no glory in
us preaching the gospel. Even though we are called of
God to preach the gospel, and it is committed to us to preach
the gospel, and woe is us if we do not preach the gospel,
even so now, hear it again, the Macedonian call here to preach
the gospel is not just for Paul, but it is for us. It is a call
to us as a church. Now this past week, I've been
thinking and considering my calling, what God has called me to do,
to preach the gospel. And in doing so, we must discern
at times what our congregation needs. And I always know this,
you need the gospel. You need the gospel. and it's also encumbered upon
me to discern our mission as a church to declare as I preach
the gospel to know that this is not just my responsibility
but it is all of ours to declare this gospel to further this gospel
so let us now as a church hear the call of the lost men who
God is purposed to save. Let us hear the cry of all those
who Christ has died for upon the cross, who still are in darkness,
who still are in the chains of their sin. It is incumbent upon
us as a church to understand this call. Come unto us and help
us. Now, how should we help the lost? preach the gospel. The same way
Paul helped these at Macedonia is the same way the church is
to be today, to preach the gospel. Let us learn our purpose then
and responsibility as a church, as the people of God, the sons
of God in this present world. We, like Paul, are responsible
to preach the gospel, to evangelize. To declare the gospel of Jesus
Christ wherever, listen, wherever the Holy Spirit opens the door. Now you see, Paul was told to
preach the gospel. Where couldn't Paul preach? Asia. He wasn't
allowed. He couldn't preach in Bithynia. He wasn't allowed. Where was
he called to preach? Macedonia. And so Paul, in obedience
to God, heard the call and obeyed, and did what? Preached the gospel. Now he didn't do anything different
than he would have done in Asia. Or Bithynia. He preached the
gospel where God determined he should preach it. And you know
what? In obedience, God opened the opportunity for him to preach. Both in that little prayer group
and in a dungeon. Now there are five things, five
things that are written here, I believe we can learn from this journey here of Paul, this
example that is set before us by the Holy Spirit. Five things
we are to remember so that we should not fail in our mission
as a church. The first thing is, we ought
to remember That all those that do not know the gospel of Jesus
Christ are lost and under the wrath of God. We should know
that. We should remember that. We should remember that all who
do not or have not heard the gospel of Jesus Christ are lost. And I believe that this truth
should strike near to our own hearts. It should. Why? Because that was our state
before the Lord saved us. We of all people should know
the miserable and depraved state of lost sinners, because we were
too lost and without God, without hope. Was that song, I was lost and
undone, without God or His Son, until when? He reached way down
for me. Scripture says, for we, you,
were dead. You hath he quickened who were
dead in trespasses and sins. We walked according to the course
of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.
We all had our conversation in this. We all understand where
they are now. Why? Because that's where we
were. We were lost. praise god we are now found but
now we see you see we can identify with me more than anybody else
and their lost condition we know what it is to be haters
of god and despisers of his gospel you know i know what that's like
i know i've been there I have been there and so have
you, but God." Two great words in Scripture. But God, who is
rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He had loved us,
sent His Son to die in our stead. and has
quickened us to life, and has given us the grace of faith.
Well, by grace you are saved through faith, and that faith
is not of yourself. It is a gift of God, not of works,
lest any man should boast. It's His grace that saved us,
that moved us to forsake all our works and religion, and set
our eyes on Christ. It was by grace. Now then, How did God come and
reveal this to you? How is it you're so smart that you've come to understand
this? No. It was by God's grace and power,
but it was through the means of preaching. Someone came to
you. Someone was sent of God to you
to hear the gospel. That's how you heard. You heard
by God sending a man. He sent someone who himself was
acquainted with your sin. Someone who knew you. Because
he himself was a sinner. Someone who knew how it is that
sinners are saved only by Jesus Christ. And what did He do when
He came to you? What did He preach that so moved
you to believe on the Son of God? It was the gospel. It was the gospel of grace. It was the gospel that showed
you the ruin of your nature. It showed you the sovereignty
of God. It showed you the perfect work
of Jesus Christ. It showed you that you had nothing
and Christ had everything and all who believe on Him shall
be saved. And by the grace and power of
God you heard. That's what happened to Lydia.
She heard what they said. And the Lord opened her heart. Now, Paul preached. He didn't
open her heart. It was the Lord that opened her
heart by which she heard these things. And so now, let us who
have been quickened by the grace of God hear the call of the lost
to us. Now, listen, Lydia, she didn't
know anything about this call. she didn't know that she needed
help needed in the jailer god be it but yet it was still there
need their call their crime common to us now this man of macedonia revealed
in this vision represented all the people of
that country and everything, this country had everything you
can imagine. This country was one of the most wealthiest places.
Macedonia, that region, was actually the place of King Philip and
Alexander the Great. It was a place of great wealth
and commerce and knowledge. Remember, Athens was in that
place where the Parthenon and all of those philosophers were
there, of Greece, were in that place. It was a religious place,
a very religious place. They had some supposed 30,000
gods. They had a god for everything. Paul said to those people, he
said, I perceive you are altogether too superstitious. You're too
religious. Too religious. These people were
like the rich young ruler. They had everything and lacked
one thing. The one thing of great value. Everything else is of no value,
no lasting value. The only thing that is of lasting
value is Jesus Christ. They lacked Christ. They were ignorant. They were
blind to the perfect salvation of Christ. They did not know
Christ. They were ignorant of this, of His person. They did
not know that Christ was God and man. That God condescended
to become a man. They were ignorant of His work,
that He came to be the Redeemer, the only High Priest, to offer
the only acceptable sacrifice to God for the sins of His people.
They didn't know this. They didn't understand this. And all who are ignorant of Christ
and His work, listen, they're lost. If a man doesn't know who
Christ is, and he doesn't know what he did, he's lost. He's lost. Now, at this point, the religion
of this age will object. They say, well, all men in our
generation have heard of Christ. Everybody knows the gospel of
Jesus. Today, we live in such an enlightened time. Back then,
we understand their need of spreading the gospel. But now, everybody's
heard it, so we really don't need to do that. you've got a
smooch a smirk at that but i'm i'm telling you that is exactly
what the southern baptist have written in their and their uh...
academic uh... charters that i know is a gospel
already we'll need to preach that they're going to preach
everybody knows about you i surely concede that most all
men in the world or at least in this nation have heard of
the name of jesus not concede that I can see that most people
in this nation have heard that there is a gospel. But I tell you this, it doesn't
matter what they know academically. If they have not been born again
of the Spirit of God, I don't care what they know. They don't
know Christ. They don't know Christ. Jesus
said, you must be born again. You must. A man can scale the heights of
all doctrine and be able to know all the mysteries of Scripture
and even preach with the voice of an angel. But if he is not
born again, all of his knowledge is dung. It is useless. It doesn't
mean anything. He doesn't know Christ. He's ignorant of Christ. Men
may know about Him, but if they don't know Him, if they've not
been born again of the Spirit of God, And I'll tell you this,
the only means by which the Spirit of God quickens men is through
the preaching of the gospel. It's the only means God's chosen.
Remember, Paul didn't change his means because he was denied
direction. He still intended to preach wherever
God sent him. And so then, believer, let us
not be moved from our purpose. For we know the gospel of freewill
works religion is a false gospel. Who among us does not know that?
We know that. We assert that. We believe that. We trust that that is so. That
the gospel is by grace. We believe on Christ. And all
who believe in that false gospel are lost and without Christ.
They are trusting in their works or will to make the work of Christ
effectual. Listen, they're ignorant. They're
just as ignorant as the Macedonians. I bear them record that this
religious age they have a zeal for God, but not according to
knowledge. There's a need then to hear the
truth. There's a need. And what we are
sent to do is to declare the truth as a church. That's our
purpose. That was the purpose of the Apostle,
and that is the purpose of every church. Jesus said this, you are the
light of the world. You're not becoming the light
of the world, you are. So what then is the purpose of
the light if you hide it? We're not here to hide. You set
it on a hill. You set it on a candlestick.
It is to be seen by all. That is our purpose. Now our
purpose is not to make blind men see. That's not my purpose.
My purpose is simply to shine the light. To declare the truth. That's what preaching is. It's
a declaration. How many then around us are walking
in darkness? Look around you. Look at your
family. How many? How many people you work with
are in darkness? How many people do you know are
so religious and have no clue who Jesus Christ is? So what
is our purpose? Our purpose is to declare the
gospel to them. To preach the gospel to them. How many are sitting, are setting
their souls on a fake Christ that cannot save? Or upon their
vain works or will that God will not accept? So then may the Holy
Ghost move our hearts to have compassion. That's the first
thing we should remember, that this world is lost and dying.
And that we are the means by which God calls His people. We are the means by which God
causes people. In Mark chapter 16, Mark chapter 16, in verse 15,
our Lord said, this is our commission is given to us here in this text.
And He said unto them, Go you into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature. And here's the simplicity of
it. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that
believeth not shall be damned. Is that not simple? Plain language. Believe on Jesus Christ. Let me ask you this. Are you
waiting for a bigger field? Are we waiting for a bigger harvest?
Are we waiting for a bigger group? Before we start preaching, are
we really waiting for something? What are we waiting for? Friends, we have enough of a
field already to harvest in. We've got enough of a field to
go ahead and sow the seed of the gospel in right now. Among our family and friends,
Spurgeon, he was talking to a bunch of people, a bunch of missionaries.
They wanted to go overseas. They wanted to go overseas and
preach to the heathen. And he said, well, what about
the heathen of London? Friends, we've got enough heathen here
in Sellersburg. We've got enough heathen running around in this
place to occupy our time until we go home. We've got enough.
We've got enough with our family and friends that we can definitely
preach the Word to them. We don't need a bigger group. May God open our eyes to see
the harvest is wide already. And I'll ask you this, is this
country not exactly as Macedonian? Rich and religious. And yet, when Paul came into
Macedonia and he preached, what did he find? He found two and
a little more. He found two. God had elected those two, that
jailer and that woman, and his household, it says, even. And so they obeyed in the gospel. They said, come and help us.
And what did they do? They came and helped by preaching the gospel.
Two, let us remember the greatest blessing that God can bestow
upon a land is sending a faithful preacher of the gospel. That
is the greatest blessing that God can bestow upon this land.
The Holy Spirit forbade him to go to Asia, forbade him to go
to Bithynia, and God sent him to this little city, Philippi.
What a blessing that was to those people. It was a great blessing. There were in this little city
of Philippi those chosen by the Father, two that were redeemed
by the Son of God, and two that were appointed to be called by
the Holy Spirit to life and faith. This is the appointed time of
God's grace and love to shine upon these His elect people.
One was religious and found in a prayer service, the other was
cruel and hateful and found in a dungeon, and yet God sent a
man to both of them. God used providential means by
which these two were brought together. God purposed to save
them both. Why? Jesus said, all that the
Father giveth me shall come to me. But by what means shall these
elect come? By what means has the Spirit
of God used to quicken these two people? The preaching of
the gospel. He preached the gospel to them
both and they both were called and saved. Now some in this generation
vainly dream that they have some measure of ability. Now listen,
I want you to understand why that the preaching of the gospel
is despised by this lost and religious world because they
believe man has some capability still left in him. That by any carnal means He can
exercise that power. That's why you don't need preaching,
because we can do plays, we can walk in nature, we can stay in
our homes, we can do what we want to, and something will happen
carnally that would move the man to believe. That's not true. That's not true. Jesus said,
no man can come to me except the Father which has sent me.
Draw him. And the means that God has chosen is not nature,
it's not plays, it's not music, it's not entertainment, it's
not carnal. It is a very spiritual thing.
Preaching the gospel. Preaching the gospel is the ordained
means of God. Let's go over to Romans chapter
10. Romans chapter 10. Listen to the sound of these
beautiful words in verse 13. Oh, here's the gospel. For whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Oh, that's
a good thing, isn't it? Whosoever surely meaneth me.
Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
What a wonderful message. But then there's a question.
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?
You can't call on somebody you don't believe. If you don't trust
fully in Christ, you'll never call on Him. Now some trusting
in Christ plus their work, they're not calling on Him. You've got
to fully believe Him, trust Him, His work, His person. But how
can you believe on somebody you don't know, that you've not heard
of? It's impossible. Impossible. Well, how shall they
hear then without somebody to tell them? A preacher. How are
you going to believe, ever believe in Christ if you've never heard
of Him? And how are you going to hear
of Him if you don't have a preacher? And listen, these preachers aren't
a dime a dozen. He said, how shall they preach
except they be sent? They're sent of God. Paul was
sent to Philippi for Lydia and for the jailer and for his family. Paul was sent and he preached
the Lord unto them and they believed. How beautiful are the feet of
them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings
of good things. But they have not all obeyed
the gospel. For Isaiah saith, Who hath believed our report?
Listen, not everybody is going to believe us. not everybody is going to believe but i know this faith cometh
by hearing and hearing by the word of god so the only way that
you're going to hear and believe is through this means of preaching
the gospel yet still men despise this and
hate it they hate it but yet no matter how they despise and
hate it this is the only way go to first corinthians chapter
one first corinthians chapter one few pages over verse seventeen
for christ sent me not to baptize but to what preach the gospel
not with wisdom of words lest the cross of christ be made of
none effect for the preaching of the crosses to them that parish
what foolishness but onto us What do we know about this gospel?
It is the power of God unto salvation. That's what we know. We know
this by experience. We know because God sent someone
to preach to us and we believed by the power and grace of God
through that word. We heard and we believed. Look at verse 21, for after that
in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. So how
is man not going to know by the wisdom of the world? You ain't
going to know God by the wisdom of the world. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. So this is God's means. And now you can be sure of this,
that wherever the elect sinner is found at the appointed time,
God will send the preacher. You'll send a preacher. We are
sure that this message that He will preach is Jesus Christ and
Him crucified. This message is always toward
sinners. Isn't that right? When have I
ever addressed you as anything but a sinner? Because that's what we are. But
see, I've got good news for sinners. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation that Jesus Christ came into the world
to save. Sinners. So when a preacher comes,
that's what he's going to be preaching to. He's going to be
preaching to sinners. They that are whole need not a physician,
but they that are sick. Sinners is who this gospel is
geared toward. And we will point sinners to
the perfect, complete, and victorious work of Jesus Christ alone. That's all we point you to is
Christ. Christ. Christ. Christ is all. Christ is all. It is finished. It is finished. All is ready.
All is ready. That's what we preach all the
time. Christ and Christ alone. And so whatever you have, throw
it out. Believe on Christ and trust in
His work. And listen, we preach this is
sure. You shall be saved. You shall be saved. will point
sinners to Him. And we are sure of this, that
the Holy Spirit will give life to as many as the Father gave
Christ. I'm sure of that. Paul said, you know, every time
I preach this, I'm victorious. And that's not arrogant. That's
just true. Why? Because I'm a saver of life
unto life to some, and a saver of death unto death to others.
Who's sufficient for such things? Who is sufficient for such things?
Therefore, when a man is truly a preacher of God, you know what
he's going to do? He's going to give all the glory to God. All the
glory to God. So then a faithful preacher,
we can definitely say this, how beautiful are the feet of them
that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good
things. Is that not a good thing that God sends a man? You know
what? i believe that this country you can see that this nation
itself is under the judgment of god because there are less
and less faithful preachers preaching the gospel that's a measuring
stick as you see the judgment of god upon a nation that god
takes away his preachers i'm telling you there are few
here There are few who are faithful to preach this gospel of God's
grace. Number three, it is our responsibility not only as preachers,
but all the saints of God to preach the gospel. Now, the apostle
said to Timothy, he said, I charge you, preach the word. This is a message to preachers,
to myself and every other gospel preacher. I charge you, preach
the word. be instant win when it's popular
and when it's not right now it's not popular what we do we preach
i don't care if it's popular not we don't change because what's
popular we preach the word that's what faithful preachers do but
yet i want you to know this is not only the responsibility of
this pastor to preach this word but it is the responsibility
of everyone believer in this local church spread this gospel
to witness of this gospel i'll ask you is the gospel being
preached in this place if it is you should let people know
unequivocally without any doubt. Otherwise,
you shouldn't be here. If this is not where the gospel
is being preached, you shouldn't be here. If it is, you should witness
to others that this is the place where the gospel is preached.
I don't know about any place else, but I know this is the
place where God meets with His people. And that's what we should
be doing. Go you into all the world, preach
the gospel. That's for every one of us. This
message, we ought to keep it to ourselves, publish it, proclaim
it to our generation. What did He say to the demoniac
of Gadara? He said, go into your house and
to your friends and tell them what great things God has done
for you. That was His charge. That was our charge. I'll use this as an illustration.
Someone you love was sick. doctor came in and told you said
your friend your loved one is sick they are dying and here's
the proof shows you an x-ray points it out where the where
the cancer is or whatever it is and he says but there's a
medicine that is good and it works now then do you need to
be a doctor to go out and tell your loved one what you just
heard you don't be a doctor to tell them they're sick You don't
have to be a chemist to tell them that the medicine works.
So you don't have to be a preacher or a theologian to tell them
men are sick, that they're dying and dead. You don't have to be
a theologian to tell them that Jesus Christ is the remedy. Matter of fact, that's your responsibility. Each and every individual believer,
that's your responsibility. To further the gospel of Jesus
Christ. Now, it's not your responsibility
to make them believe. It is your responsibility to
continually tell them. When? You remember that there's
someone among us who used to follow his wife around with a
tape recorder. until he annoyed her to death with the gospel.
Now that's not what I'm talking about. Remember, Paul didn't
kick down the door in these places. God opened the opportunity and
as soon as he had it, he used it. He knew it! He knew it. And so this is the fourth thing.
Remember that our labor and desire for sinners to be saved let us
always seek and submit to the Holy Spirit. Isn't that what
Paul did? Did he go to Asia? Did he go to Bithynia? No! Because God closed the door. I'm telling you, there are places
that I have been permitted to preach, and then all of a sudden
the door closes. What do I do? Do I fight? Do
I try to open the door myself? No. The Holy Spirit said, enough. And we moved. We move on to the
what? Next opportunity. What do we
do in the meantime? We preach the gospel. We preach
the gospel. We're faithful to do our work.
Where? Where we are. We're not to expect
anything more or less than what we have. What we have is what
we need. And when we need more, we'll
have more. This church is in sort of seemingly in a flux.
We don't have a permanent place to call our own. Well, what are
we doing in the meantime? We're doing the same thing we
did when we had a building. Nothing's changed. We're to preach
the gospel if we have a building or a garage, if it's in a parking
lot or in our homes. Preach the Word. That's our business. And when the Holy Spirit opens
opportunities for this church, we go through them. We take them
and we use them until God closes it. Or God prospers it, whatever
God intends to do, that's His business. But what are we to
do? Bow down. Bow down. Submit to the will
of God. So all this time, we are not
inactive in our labor, but actively preaching. Even so now, we are
to serve the Lord by preaching this gospel faithfully and witnessing
to others. Let us be constantly seeking
the will of God, and He will show us what His will is. He
will show us. Well, He hasn't yet, okay? Wait! And when He does, you'll know
it, and I'll know it, and we'll walk through it. Now listen, if God ever intends
for this Word to go throughout this city, He'll open the way.
We don't have to do that. And the last thing is, remember
this, believer, that God honors those that honor Him. God honors those that honor Him.
Did the Apostle, was his work not honored? It was. It was honored. Did he go through trouble? Yes. He was beaten and thrown in a
prison. Why? Because there was a man
in prison that he needed to preach to. See, God's purpose is, He has
purpose for what He's doing to us. This is not random. God has purpose for His church.
And our purpose in whatever providence is this. Look for opportunities
to preach and serve the Lord. As a church, this is what we're
to be about. This gospel that we preach, we
ought to understand that it's always effectually said, my word
that goeth forth out of my mouth shall prosper in the thing wherein
I send it to do. let us then honor the Lord and
so then in closing these five things I'll give them to you
again remember that those who are never heard the gospel of
God's grace are lost remember that God sends his preachers
for the purpose of preaching to bring in those whom he's chosen
and redeemed and it is a responsibility of all the church to spread this
gospel And as we are doing this, we must wait on the Lord. We
must be faithful, and wait, and bow to His will, and remember
that God will honor His Word. He will honor us who honor Him. I'm thankful for His promises. It's something we can hold to,
that this Gospel is always successful. Because Christ is successful.
And we need not fear what the world will do unto us. We need
not fear them. We must be about our Father's
business. What's the business of this church?
Preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Call sinners. to come to them
and preach to them the gospel. May God open opportunities for
us to do this and give us grace to be faithful to do it. Stand
and be dismissed in prayer.