Take my life and I will be ever
only all for thee. What was the very first thing,
the very first thing, the very first thing you learned after
God saved you by his grace, the very first thing? Something you
knew, knew really without anybody telling you. What was the very
first thing? I think I can answer that question
for every one of you who know God. I've got to be in God's
house. I've got to be where God's people
meet. I've got to be with God's people
at God's throne, worshiping God, hearing his word. And you arranged
to do so, no matter what the cost, no matter how difficult,
no matter what you had to give up. I've got to be in the house
of God with the people of God, worshiping God. David had that
attitude. God's servant, the sweet singer
of Israel, wrote many, many hymns about worship, worshiping God
in his house and with his people. Listen to the words of the sweet
singer of Israel in the fifth Psalm. As for me, as for me,
I can't speak for anybody else, as for me, doesn't matter what
anybody else does, as for me, I will come into thy house in
the multitude of thy mercy, and in thy fear will I worship toward
thy holy temple. This man, after God's own heart,
David, found great pleasure and satisfaction in daily prayer
and meditation. Daily private personal worship
was a characteristic of his life. With the rising of every morning
sun, his heart was lifted to God. Every morning he directed
his prayer to the throne of grace and looked to his Lord with a
heart of faith. Every evening he gave thanks
to God and laid down his head upon his pillow in the sweet
rest of faith. That's the way to begin and end
every day. Blessed is that man or woman
who worships God in private every day. Let all who know and trust
the living God worship Him daily and through the day. Let all
who follow Christ in the path of faith and obedience follow
Him to the solitary place of prayer. I would do everything
in my power to promote and encourage private worship among you who
are gods. Spend time every day reading
this book. Spend time every day on your
face before God, offering the sacrifices of prayer and praise
to God. But there's something even more
important than that private worship. I know that to some, that statement's
surprising, if not shocking. Most people who are genuinely
concerned for the glory of God rank personal private worship
above everything else. But I'm convinced that public
worship, what we're doing here today, if it is true worship,
is even more important than private worship. I'll say more. I'm convinced that where public
worship is neglected, private worship is neglected. Private
worship is inspired and directed by public worship, not the other
way around. David, a man after God's own
heart, gave the highest possible regard to the matter of public
worship. without neglecting private worship
at all. He said, as for me, I will come
into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy, and in thy fear
will I worship toward thy holy temple. He could not force others
to worship God and would not if he could. But he said, as
for me, this is what I'm going to do. I'll come to the place
of public worship in the assembly of God's saints as a sinner saved
by God's grace to worship the Lord my God with other sinners
saved by his grace. And when he came to the place
of worship, David was determined truly to worship God. He came to God's house prepared. to worship, seeking his face. He said, in thy fear will I worship
toward thy holy temple. That is, with reverence to you,
I come to your house. He was resolved in his heart
at every appointed time to come with God's people into the place
of public worship so that he might worship God in heaven,
in the temple of his holiness. Listen carefully to what I read
to you in Psalm 5. I will come into thy house. Not
talking about the physical building, though certainly there was a
designated place of worship just as we have here. But he's talking
about coming together with God's saints in the congregation of
God's saints for worship. I will come into thy house in
the multitude of thy mercy. It wasn't enough for him just
to go to church. He comes to the house of God
in faith, trusting the Lord's mercy, seeking from God mercy
that only comes from God. who is a God like unto thee that
pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the transgression of the remnant
of his heritage. We come here to worship God who
has pardoned our sins in his great mercy and begging of him
that he will show mercy to you who yet do not know him. I walked
in here today and saw your faces and then I sat down and saw some
others coming in, some of you yet without God. I pray God be
pleased today. God be pleased today to reveal
your son in them, give them life and faith in our Redeemer. Truly,
it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. And in thy
fear will I worship toward thy holy temple. If we worship God,
we must come to God's house with reverence and godly fear, seeking
to see him, to hear him, to adore him, to praise him, and to obey
him. This was David's resolve. May
it be yours and mine. May God, the Holy Ghost, give
us grace to make public worship our delight and truly give us
grace to worship him in the assembly of his saints. Nothing on this
earth is more important or more needful to our souls than the
worship of God in the public assembly of the saints. I said
nothing because I mean nothing. I have made it my business since
God saved me by his grace to meet with God's people in his
house every time God's people meet where I worship. I've made
it my business not to allow anything to interfere. And God has graciously
blessed that business. I let nothing interfere, nothing. No turmoil in my life, no pain,
no trouble, no opposition, no care for family, nothing, nothing. How come? Because everything
else is subservient to this. Everything else, everybody else. But our children have got nothing,
nobody. But my wife wants nothing, nobody. But my husband wants nothing,
nobody, nothing. Nothing is as important as God
my Savior and his worship. Would to God he would be pleased
to seal that fact to your heart and mine every day. I received
an email from a friend earlier this morning. One of the reasons
I was a little bit late getting in, I just felt like I had to
answer this for him. He asked, is it right to have
a Christmas Day service or a Good Friday service? That sounds wonderful,
doesn't it? Doesn't that sound wonderful?
A year ago, the question wouldn't have been raised. a year ago, I know exactly what
happened. They went to church this morning,
and somebody asked the question, wanting to have a Christmas service
or a Good Friday service. Everybody does it. Why, it'd
be a good time. Folks in the community would
come. Family would come. Everybody'd be, they'd be excited.
We might get some other people to come to church that way. I replied to him. This dear brother,
his father was a dear friend of mine, and he is. The church,
dear friends of mine, A year ago this week, the pastor of
over more than 40 years went to glory, and now folks are popping
up wanting to do stuff different. We, at old Fogie, he was nice,
but you know. We need to do things different
now. This is how I answered it. I've never done so, never had
a Christmas day service or a Good Friday service, I just didn't
go to Mass. I've never done so, I said to him, because I see
no benefit in it and much possible evil. Wouldn't it be wonderful? If all the people who talk about
getting excited about having a Christmas Day service, or a
Toad Day service, or even a Gay Day service, were just a little
bit interested in having a Lord's Day service. This you can read
from the pulpit as my opinion. People want something different,
get excited about something different. What's wrong? with worshipping
God in his house. What's more beneficial? What's
more helpful? What's more useful? How can you
better benefit your children than by having them here Sunday
morning, Sunday night, and Tuesday night? How can you more benefit
your family than by having them here Sunday morning, Tuesday
night, and Sunday night? How can you more benefit yourself
than by being here under the sound of the gospel every time
you can? Would to God, men and women,
were as interested in worshiping God as they are in playing religion. Now with that said, I want you
to turn to the 12th chapter of the Gospel of Romans. As God
the Holy Ghost will enable me, I'm going to try one more time
to preach to you about what Paul here calls your reasonable service. That's my subject, that's my
title, your reasonable service. Our text is the first 13 verses
of Romans 12. In this 12th chapter of Romans,
Paul is talking about believers living for Christ. He's calling
for devotion to Christ, consecration to Christ. Now listen carefully,
though few people seem to catch it. Few commentators, in fact,
I only read one of the commentators that I read on this portion of
scripture, and that was Dr. Gill, who saw this thing that
ought to be clear upon the first reading. You will see that devotion,
consecration to Christ, which Paul here calls for, is devotion,
consecration, and service to God's church. You see, we present
our bodies a living sacrifice to our Lord Jesus Christ, our
dear Savior, only, only as we present our bodies to God in
His house to worship Him and serve one another. Let's see
if I can make good on that. I beseech you, therefore, brethren,
by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service. And be not conformed to this
world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect
will of God. For I say through the grace given
unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself
more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly,
according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
For as we have many members in one body, and all members have
not the same office." You see the connection? Paul says, I'm
talking to you now about devotion to Christ in the body of Christ. So we being many are one body
in Christ, and everyone members one of another, having then gifts
differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether
prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith, or
ministry, let us wait on our ministering, or he that teacheth
on teaching, Or he that exhorteth on exhortation, he that giveth,
let him do it with simplicity. He that ruleth with diligence,
he that showeth mercy with cheerfulness. Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil, cleave
to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to
another with brotherly love. This is called serving Christ.
This is called devotion to Christ. This is called living for Christ. In honor, preferring one another. Not slothful in business. Fervent
in spirit, serving the Lord. Rejoicing in hope. Patient in
tribulation. continuing instant in prayer,
distributing to the necessity of saints, given to hospitality. Now, throughout this epistle,
Paul has been writing by divine inspiration and giving us a clear
declaration of the gospel of God our Savior, Jesus Christ
and him crucified. Here is the revelation of the
gospel we preach. The gospel, we're told in chapter
one, is the glorious good news of heaven, that there is a savior
for sinners, God's old dear son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is
a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. Listen to what Paul says about
this gospel back in chapter one. Back in chapter one, verse one.
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated
under the gospel of God, which he had promised aforetime by
his prophets in the Holy Scriptures. That is, the gospel is what the
prophets all talked about. concerning his son. The gospel
is all about Jesus Christ, God's son. It's all about him, not
about your feelings or my feelings and your works and my works,
not about the church and dogma. The gospel concerns God's son,
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Who is he? He is that God who
was made of the seed of David. He was made a man, made the seed
of David. He became one of us. according
to the flesh. And he was declared to be, not
made to be, he always was, but he was declared to be the son
of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by
the resurrection from the dead. This man, when he died, was buried
in the earth, and three days later, he rose from the dead. No man ever did that, except
this man. This man is the God-man, our
mediator. And then in chapter one, verse
18, going all the way down to the middle of chapter three,
the apostle Paul, writing in the book of Romans says, this
is the savior you need. Oh, will you hear me? Jesus Christ,
the son of God, by his doing and dying as the sinner's substitute,
accomplished eternal redemption for sinners. This is the savior
you need. This is the Savior you need,
for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven. God help you to
hear me now, you who are without Christ. You're under the wrath of God.
You're lost, you're doomed, you're damned, and you deserve it. You're
lost, you're doomed, you're damned, and you deserve it, and you know
it. The wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against you, and you feel it in your bones. You're
full of sin, and you have no ability to perform righteousness. The wrath of God is upon you,
and the wages of sin, your sin, is death. The evil that's in
you, let alone the evil you do. Screams, God damn me! That's the wrath of God upon
you. The only way you and I can be
saved, because I'm just like you. I know what's in you because
it's in me. I know what you are because of what I am. And I speak
plainly and honestly because you must hear it. The only way
you and I can be saved is by God saving us. Unless God steps in your way
and stops you, you're gonna run headlong into hell. And the only way God can save
such sinners as we are is by his free grace through the blood
and righteousness of his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Only in
Christ can God be a just God and a savior. That's what the
apostle tells us in chapters three, four, and five. Only in
Christ can God be a just God and savior. The only way God
can save you The only way you can do it, and the only way God
can save me, the only way you can do it is by a justice-satisfying
sacrifice, a propitiation for sin, and by perfect righteousness,
and by the gift of a new life. And that's all together in, by,
and through the doing and dying of Jesus Christ, God's Son. You
must be made righteous. You must pay for sin. You must have a new nature, a
new life. And these things Christ alone
can do and give. Christ alone has satisfied the
justice of God. Christ alone has brought in everlasting
righteousness. Christ alone can give you a new
heart, a new life, and a new nature. And then the apostle
tells us in chapter 6 through 8, if God has saved you by his
grace, you who are gods now, listen to me. If God has saved
you by his grace, you are indeed new creatures in Christ Jesus. You have been raised from the
dead. That's what we confessed in our
baptism. More than 50 years ago, I took
my place there in the watery grave, buried with Christ and
raised with Christ. saying to all the world by my
burial in the watery grave, I was crucified with Christ. I'm buried
with Christ. I was raised with Christ. I now
live in Christ in the newness of life. Old things have passed
away. All things are new. I've got
a new direction, a new life, a new way. We've been raised
to the newness of life. The Lord Jesus Christ, our God
and Savior, has released us from the law, freed from sin, freed
from its guilt, freed from its curse, freed from its condemnation,
freed from its rule, full of grace, we live in Christ. This
new life of grace has brought us into a state of perpetual
warfare so that everything I have said thus far, everything I have
said thus far, There's something in you that raises up against
it. Everything, there's something in me that raises up against,
no! Not like that, not like, there's something in us that
wars against it. But there's something else in
you that says everything you said, so. If it sends me to hell, it's
still so. It's all right, it's all right.
This is what God's revealed. We live in a perpetual state
of warfare with our flesh. And this new creation of grace, His life in the Spirit. Life in the Spirit. Then in chapters
8, 9, 10, or 11, Paul was inspired by God the Holy Ghost to explain
to us the mystery of God's providence. In those blessed chapters, he
reveals to us the secret that no one else in the world knows. Your neighbor didn't know this.
I don't care what neighborhood you live in. Your family doesn't
know this unless they're in the family of God. Your sons and
daughters, your mom and dad, they don't know this. Your brothers
and sisters don't know this. They talk about it, but they don't
know this. But you who are born of God, you know all that God
has done and is doing and shall soon do, he does just for you
to save you by his grace. Oh, if God's pleased yet to give
you life in faith in Christ, he will teach you to understand
that all that he has ever done and all that he is doing and
all that he shall do is just for you. All things work together
for good to them that love God to them who are the called according
to his purpose. And then we get to chapter 12.
Looking back over all of these things, in the light of all that
grace, in the light of all that you've experienced, in the light
of all this salvation, as one who was himself utterly overwhelmed
by it, Paul says to you and me, therefore, I beseech you, therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies,
a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service. Children of God, make it your business to live
in the house of God. I don't mean live in these four
walls, though certainly I'm talking about coming to be part of a
gospel assembly and worshiping God with his people. I'm talking
about in everything you do, live in the house of God, worshiping
toward God's holy temple. Live for God by living for one
another. Live for God by living for the
benefit of God's people. Live for God by living for the
salvation of God's elect. David said in the psalm we read
earlier in Psalm 84, while the believer, the redeemed, who passing
through the valley of Baca, through the valley of tears, make it
a well, the rain also filleth the pools. They that go from
strength to strength, every one of them to Zion, appeareth before
God. Oh Lord, God of hosts, hear my
prayer. Give ear, oh God of Jacob. J.C. Philpott wrote a very good
devotional book called Through Bacchus Valley. And he's talking
about the believer coming to God through a valley of weeping. Make it your business, children
of God, to be in the house of God, worshiping God with his
people. John Gill, commenting on this
84th Psalm, rightly observed, the way to Zion, to the house
of God and ordinances of God below, lies through the valley
of weeping. None can come rightly but those
who come weeping over their sins and unworthiness by repentance
toward God and by looking by faith to Christ whom they have
pierced and mourning for it. In this first three verses of
Romans 12, the Spirit of God calls for all who are joined
to Christ in life to make it their business to worship God.
To make it our business to be in the house of God with the
people of God when they're gathered to worship him and make it our
business to live with God's people as God's house. What could be
more reasonable? Here in the house of God, it's
here in this place. We're transformed and renewed
by the spirit of God as God speaks to us by his word. It's here
that we are taught how to avoid being conformed to the world.
Through the Word of God faithfully preached, we learn to worship
God in spirit and in truth. And we learn how to live in this
world always looking to Christ. I find it astonishing that when
trouble comes, that which we most need, That
which will do us the most good, we most quickly neglect. It is here in the house of God,
by the word of God, by the spirit of God, by prayer, by the influence
of one another, that we learn how to avoid being conformed
to this world. Here we learn what the will of
God is, the gospel, the salvation of God's elect, the glory of
God's Son, faith in Christ. We give our bodies a living sacrifice
to God. When trusting Christ, we devote
ourselves to the church and people of God. Listen now, not forsaking
the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some
is. The only way under heaven by which mortal men and women
can serve God is by serving his people. You didn't hear that,
did you? I'm sure you didn't. The only
way under heaven by which mortal men and women can serve God is
by serving his people. If we would do that, we must
think of ourselves as God teaches us to think of ourselves soberly. Knowing that as sinners saved
by grace, we are nothing but sinners saved by grace. Then Paul tells us that we are
one body in Christ. Obviously, all the inspired teaching
of Holy Scripture with regard to the church, to public worship,
to the ordinances of the gospel are specifically addressed to
local churches just exactly like Grace Baptist Church of Danville.
Just exactly like those churches that are named in Asia Minor
in the book of Revelation chapters 4 and 5, chapters 1 through 3,
excuse me. In verses 4 and 5, however, Paul, who was not a resident
at Rome, he was not a resident at Rome, spoke of himself as
being in the body of Christ with his brethren at Rome. How could
that be? Paul, don't you know you're not
a member of that local church at Rome? Oh, yes, I am. Oh, yes,
I am. I'm a member of Robert Street
Baptist Church in Dudley, England. I'm a member of San Diego Grace
Fellowship in San Diego, California. I'm a member of Todd's Road Grace
Church in Lexington, Kentucky. But I'm a member of the Grace
Patriot Church in Danville. You see, the church of God is
universal. And it is our responsibility
to give ourselves to the service of God's church locally, by all
means, and everywhere God's church is found. as members of the body
of Christ, being placed in that body exactly as we are where
we are by the grace of God, we each have gifts needful and useful
to the body. Gifts differing, differing, listen
to Paul's words, according to the grace that is given to us. It is our privilege and our responsibility
to use those gifts for the benefit of the whole body of Christ in
the service of God. If you're God's, as said Bobby
Estes, one of God's, you have some gifts. Gifts to use for
God. And the man talking to you, if
he's God, has some gifts. And they're not the same. They
give us different work to do. They give us different opportunities.
They give us different spheres of service. But one is not more
important or needful than the other. One is not to be exalted
above the other, neither the gift nor the service. And then
Paul lists several. He doesn't mention them all by
any means, but he lists several. He speaks of those who preach. prophesy. Those who are gifted
to preach the gospel, to prophesy, that's the fellow talking to
you, pastors. They must give themselves wholly
to the Word. That's the reason God set deacons
in the church. Now, there's not a rule saying
you got to have so many deacons in a church. Nowhere in the scriptures,
the church in Jerusalem had somewhere upwards of 10,000 people before
they had any deacons. But where deacons are needed,
set aside to care for and minister to carnal things, for this reason,
that those who preach may give themselves wholly to prayer,
to study, to preaching. That's to be the life of every
pastor. Prayer, study, preaching. Prayer, study, preaching. Prayer, study, preaching. Nothing else. Nothing else. I don't have any other talents
for anything. I don't speak with false modesty. I can't build this building.
I can't even paint it very well. I don't have any other talents
for anything. I can put a water hose on the
car if I have to, but the only time I ever replaced the fuel
pump, I got it on backwards. I'm not a mechanic. I'm not a
mechanic. I don't have any other talents.
God's gifted me to preach the gospel. And I want, by the grace
of God, to be the best preacher I could possibly be. I want,
as I grow older, to give myself more ardently than ever to prayer,
to study, and preaching. That's my responsibility, and
that of every man gifted of God to preach the gospel. Those who
minister, this is the word from which we get our word, deacon.
Those who serve. are to serve faithfully, helping others, serving
God's saints, serving tables. This doesn't just include deacons.
You who have gifts and abilities to help, opportunities to help,
opportunities to help, you will recall Several years ago, I was
in the hospital for a long, long time. Shelby, for weeks, sat
by my bed, and we got ready to come home. And two of our ladies,
Chante and Betty, and I think Ruth, not Ruth. I'll think of
it, Judy Sister, in a minute. Joyce, Joyce Montgomery, got
the keys to the house, went over and cleaned that place up and
down all over the place. Y'all spent a long time over
there. I know you did. It was spick
and span. How come? Because it needed to do it. It
just needed to do it, that's all. It just needed to do it.
Always you who have ability to do something, whatever it is,
be on the prowl looking for a chance, looking for a chance to serve
God's people. You who teach, older women teaching
younger women, older men teaching younger men, more mature saints
teaching the family's children, public teachers gifted to teach
the scriptures, should always be on the lookout to use your
gifts and improve You who are gifted to comfort,
console, encourage people, exhort others. And some folks are. Isn't it amazing how delightfully
comforting the company of some people is. They just have a way,
whether they touch you or not, or just putting their arms around
you or hugging you, and you just lay on their shoulders and do
your crying. They just have a way of doing it. You who have such
gifts, seek the opportunity to use them and comfort troubled
souls. You who have the gift of God
and ability to give generously, Always be modest, quiet, unseen,
without show, using your wealth for the benefit of God's saints,
his church, his servants, and the furtherance of the gospel.
I won't mention their names. You don't need to know their
names, and they don't want you to know their names, but I've told some of
you in the last few years, some friends in different places,
without me saying anything to them, And without them, they're
not even aware of each other. Have taken upon themselves to
see to it that when we travel, Shelby and I travel first class
on airplanes, simply because they recognize I can't work or
rest back there crowded up in coach class. And they've given
generous, just designate gifts so we can fly. And they've done
it for two, three years now. How come? Because they could,
had opportunity to. If you have the ability and the
means to give, give generously to the support of God's church,
his people, his servants, the furtherance of the gospel. You
who rule, this again is talking about pastors, those who rule
the house of God, faithful gospel preachers, must do so with diligence,
as diligent, faithful doorkeepers in the house of God. That's what
the doorkeepers in the temple portray. God's servants are doorkeepers
in his house. Doorkeepers. We live in this
day now, who would ever have thought that it would become
even something considered, and we're not considering it here.
I'm not concerned about that. I know most of you fellows come
packing anyway, but churches now are being guarded. Somebody's
got to keep the door. Spiritually, that's my job. That's
my job. The reason I wrote to my friends
in England as I did this morning before coming over here is because
I'm working to serve them, keeping the door. It is the pastor's
task, his responsibility wisely to keep error out and bring truth
in so that needy sinners can come and feast on the gospel. And you who are gifted to show
mercy, do it cheerfully. Now listen carefully. He or she who does the most good,
are you listening? He or she who does the most good
in the most places to the most benefit of other people is almost
always unseen. Almost always unseen. They are the least known for
the good they do. The least known for the benefit
they contribute. Now, look at verses 9 through
13 and learn how to do this. Here is the spirit in which we
must serve God and one another. Let love be without dissimulation. There's a poor man, there's a
rich man, it doesn't matter. All right, there's a young believer,
there's an older believer. That doesn't matter. There's
one who, man, sure looks like Joe messed up this time. Man,
Bobby sure did good. That doesn't matter. That doesn't
matter. They're gods. Let love be without dissimulation.
Abhor that which is evil. Evil doctrine, evil behavior,
evil in you. Cleave to that which is good.
Be, I love these next words, look at this. Be kindly affectioned
one to another. Just be inclined to be good. Just be inclined to be tenderhearted. Just be inclined to be affectionate
with one another, with brotherly love. In honor, in honor, not
to yourself, in honor to others, though this is certainly the
most honorable thing you can do for yourself. In honor, preferring
one another. Preferring one another. Push
somebody else out in front of you. Push their name ahead of
yours. Push their reputation ahead of
yours. Now watch this next word, verse 11. Not slothful in business. Not slothful in business. Oh,
a man ought not be slothful in his business. He ought to be,
man of his business, man ought to be good at it. Find me one
who's been in business very long who isn't. Find me one. I thought about Brother Oscar
when I was thinking about this this morning. He's a farmer, he's a farmer, and
he's getting older. And I haven't talked to him about
it, but I expect one of the things that really bothers him is that
nobody else will quite take care of the farm like he would. Shelby's
dad was a farmer. He wasn't a big-time farmer.
He had just 70 or 80 acres, beautiful farm on Blue Ridge Parkway in
Florida, Virginia. After he died, the first time
we went back, Shelby, you may not remember it, she couldn't
help weeping a little bit, because everything had grown up. Everything
had grown up. But that's not the business Paul's
talking about. He's talking about the business of worshiping God.
He's talking about business of serving each other. Don't be
negligent, indifferent, slothful about this business of giving
yourself to Christ. Fervent, oh God give me fervency
in spirit. Make me fervent, I'm anxious
to do what I have opportunity to do, serving the Lord. That's
what we're talking about. Rejoicing in hope. I've just
got a few more days to do what I've got to do. I rejoice in
it. Patient in tribulation. If I've
got to do it with an aching back, I'll do it with an aching back.
That's all right. Just here for a little while. Continuing instant
in prayer. Always calling on God. Distributing
to the necessity of the saints. What was it you needed? You need
a drink of water here. Can I take you somewhere? Can
I put a roof on your house? Distributing to the necessity
of the saints. Given to hospitality. Making your house a bed and breakfast
for God's people. Has God saved you by his grace?
Come, confess Christ, unite with God's people, give yourself.
Christ. Give your body a living sacrifice
to God by Him. Has God saved you by His grace? Don Fortner, come today. Give your body a living sacrifice
to God, day by day, in His house, serving Him, serving His cause,
serving His people. You see, everything done to and
for one of the Lord's children is done to and for Christ himself,
who loved us and gave himself for us. Oh, what would you give
if right now, I mean right now, you had the opportunity while
the Savior was resting back down there to get his shoes and shine
them for him. Huh? Oh, man. He let me shine his
shoes. Why not Merle's? Why not Lindsay's? It's called serving God in his
house. It's called giving your body
a living sacrifice to him who loved you and gave himself for
you. So be not slothful in this business. This, you see, is your reasonable service. Just
your reasonable service. Just your reasonable service.
Amen.