Let's have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we bow before you, Lord, asking that you would speak to us today. I have no means to speak anything of benefit to anyone, save what you've given me. And certainly I ask that you would speak to me, Lord, that you would speak to my brethren that will follow. that we might be an encouragement. And certainly we can't come into your house without mentioning the word of God. Pray that through my short presentation, you would fill in all the things that are missing. You would expound on it according to your great mercy and knowledge. We give us this time to you and ask these things in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and for his sake. Amen. This was kind of a different call because I'm not used to, in the limited experience that I have, coming in and giving a presentation that isn't based on a certain verse, trying to expound on it, trying to tell what the Lord is telling me in my life through that verse. So this is going to be a little bit unusual for me. I don't know how it affected you all. But generally, I try to compose sentences to express succinctly whatever thoughts I have in whatever situation. So as I pray, hopefully the Lord will expound on those things and make them beneficial to us all. And I'm gonna go through verses. I've got them written down here, so I'm gonna just read them. You guys may not be able to follow in that, that's okay. Micah chapter seven, verse 18. who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage. He retained not his anger forever because he delighted in mercy." When I started to collect my thoughts for this, it became a situation where I took a snapshot of a cross-section of the lives of two men. And that's kind of where I'm going with this. Just a snapshot of a cross-section, not an explanation of the life, not an expounding on it. I was born in an era in the late 1950s in which life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for my family had certain restrictions and limitations. Yet, I grew up in a home with a loving and providing father and mother who, when I really take focus on my memories of my childhood, they didn't transfer to me any anger or resentment for the limitations society had placed on them. My first years of education were in a segregated school, my first six years of education. But because of the way my parents raised me, when I left home for college, my perspective was I could achieve any goal, my hard work and discipline warranted. Everything was open to me. That was what I got from them. I saw no limitations in anything I cared about. My parents were reared in different circumstances. My father was born in 1895. Yeah, 18. 1895. My mother in 1919. They were married in 1945. For them, there were barriers that restricted opportunities for their pursuit of happiness. For them, changes brought through the civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s meant, at least legally, and end to many of the restrictions they lived under. It added some dignity to their lives, to their position in society, and freedom from some of the fears that they had. Some of the principles Martin Luther King, Jr. presented in leading the civil rights movement are nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people. Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding. Nonviolent seeks to defeat injustice, not people. Nonviolent told that suffering can educate and transform. Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate. And nonviolence believes that God is a God of justice. Psalm 147 verse 10. He, meaning the Lord, delighteth not in the strength of the horse. He taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him and those that hope in his mercy. Dr. King realized violence and force would only divide the country more. I'm not saying that there wasn't violence and force in that era, but that was what he espoused. Please consider this. How would our lives, be different if the major thrust of the Civil Rights Movement had changed to violence and pursuit of justice at any and all costs? How would our country have been changed? Would we live in the day that we live in? The Civil Rights Movement of the 50s and 60s put the focus on liberty and justice for a segment of our society that was lacking in some of the benefits this country was enjoying. I believe the overall message was that minorities were to have a greater opportunity to pursue their dreams. You know, they were going to pursue their dreams, weren't looking for a handout, just an opportunity. I believe many of the governing principles of this movement drew from the word of God. I think that much of Martin Luther King, Jr. influence in the movement was based, again, on biblical principles. So I give recognition and honor to the day, MLK Day, but especially to the God of the man of the day. So we consider, or we come to the other young man. We, brethren, didn't participate in that civil rights movement, but in a much greater movement, the expression of the gospel of Jesus Christ to all. I'd just like to read a few verses from Ephesians chapter 4, beginning verse 11. And he gave some, he, meaning the Lord Jesus, gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of faith, in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, that we being henceforth no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie and wait to deceive. But speaking the truth in love, many may grow up in him in all things. which is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplied according to the effectual working and the measure of every part, making increase of the body unto edifying of itself in love." I was not in Fayetteville when the MBBC, when MBBC organized Mission Boulevard Baptist Church. I came to this church in September of 1977. I believe Brother Brian Disney's calling and ministry was to teach and disciple anyone and everyone that the Lord brought his way. He had no reservations about teaching people of different races. Not all had that perspective, though, at that time. Some ministries might teach and even disciple, but not offer church membership to black people. What would Brother Brian do? Would he just fall to the pressure, you know, from his leaders, his mentors? Would he disciple those that he taught, but then recommend some other ministry when they felt the Lord was adding them to the church? How would he handle that? He followed his Lord, the one who invited all to come unto him. When I look at all of you, faces of you out there, I see a beautiful sight. Romans 10 verse 15 says, and how shall they preach except they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things. So you're all beautiful. Sister Becky, you're beautiful. Miss Anita, you're beautiful. She's not there by you, but Miss Chula, Brother Tim, you're beautiful. Brother Lonnie, well, no, Brother Otis. You're beautiful. Yeah, that's got to be the inside joke there. Yeah, all of you are beautiful. Brother Tom, great to see you this morning. You're beautiful. Why? Because I know that many of you, if not all of you, you have a heart. Your heart's desire is to be used by Christ to serve him and your brother and to walk righteously before the world. The beauty of BBC is that we, all of us, can meet together, we can rub shoulders, we can interact, we can encourage each other, we can agree, maybe even disagree, but reconcile in the spirit of Christ. We can do this even though we are of different socioeconomic backgrounds, statuses, races, and ethnicities. Christ is our common denominator. Finally, we live in a country that is in no way perfect, but if this country does allow an opportunity for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, for even the least in our society, then we'll all benefit. And finally, I'd like to read Luke, some verses in Luke chapter 4, beginning in verse 17. There was delivered unto him, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place wherein it was written, Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. We're glad you joined us for our services here at Mission Boulevard Baptist Church. We look forward to having you join us again online, but you are always welcome to personally attend any of our services at the Mission Boulevard Baptist Church here in Fayetteville, Arkansas.