Amen. Thank you, Brother Charlie. Turning your Bibles, if you would please, to Proverbs chapter 27. Proverbs chapter 27. Proverbs 27. Proverbs 27, verse 1. Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. Amen. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your blessings and goodness. And God, truly, we are handed this life, not just one day at a time, but moment by moment as the song goes, Lord. And we need your grace every moment. And Father, we pray this morning. I ask for the filling of your spirit to minister the word to your people, dear God. And Father, just be with Sister Michelle. I teach in Sunday School as well. Fill her with your spirit, dear Lord. Be with her there. And be with those that are with us online. Those that are ill, Father, that would rather be here than home today. Father, bless them, help them, and raise them up. Be with them, God. And Lord, we thank you for your watch care over us day by day and with each passing moment. And so, Father, we just pray for that now and pray for those that are in great trials in their lives right now for grace and strength and comfort and wisdom, Father. And Lord, we're looking to you to work as always, Father, to our amazement and And Father, to our comfort, and Father, for our edification, for our good, and for Your glory. Father, we do pray and we do ask these things in Jesus' name for His glory. Amen. Amen. You may be seated. We've often heard we live life one day at a time, and that's God hands us to that. We get up in the morning, we start a new day. We have the Today Show that many watch on TV, and you can go online and you can find today in history. okay and uh uh we would uh if you did that which i happened to do this morning when i found that i was teaching this morning uh by the way you never know what a day may bring forth all right uh brother dennis and sister pat woke didn't woke up today didn't didn't know they were gonna they weren't gonna be able to come to church today and uh And I didn't know I was going to teach today, but I'll tell you what, I wouldn't trade them places, all right? I'm sure they wish they could be here, and we're thankful for them and for that. But you never know what a day might bring forth. You know, they have the Today Show. today in history that you can find online. Today, September 3rd, 1777, according to history.com, our nation's American flag was flown in battle for the first time during a Revolutionary War skirmish at Cooch's Bridge on Delaware, in Delaware. So today, We talked about the Today Show. There's no Tomorrow Show, that might be a little bit more popular, okay, if they could have that. I was asking my wife, you know, they had a show on one time called Early Edition, I think it was, you know, and the guy received the paper, you know, the weekly newspaper, whatever comes, and it has, you know, Not just the day, but multiple days. Well, this guy happened to get the news early, okay? So the early edition, he'd pick up the paper, and it'd say what's gonna happen tomorrow, you know, and what's coming up, and he'd go, yeah, I guess he'd go around, I don't remember much about the show, but I guess he'd go around and try to fix what he could and do what he could for whatever was gonna happen, amen? But today, today, Hebrews 3.13, Exhort one another daily while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. It is a day-by-day concern we already have with working out this salvation that Christ has given us. And we have opportunities. We have trials. We have uncertainties. We have certainties. We're going to look at some of these things in regards to today. We saw already in Proverbs this book of wisdom. And of course, James in the New Testament writes, applying that wisdom. He writes to the believers there, James 4.13, Go to now ye that say today or tomorrow we will go into such a city and continue there a year and buy and sell and get gain. Whereas you know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanisheth away. And the older we get, the more that truth rings clear, doesn't it? For that you ought to say, if the Lord will, we shall live and do this or that. And so we ought to realize not only Where are we dependent upon God for tomorrow? We're dependent upon God for our very breath. But the Bible does at least tell us to say tomorrow, if the Lord will. By the way, that's a good way to witness. What are you doing tomorrow? Well, Lord willing, Hey there you just there you just put it you just put out the witness you're a christian lord willing i plan on going here or going there because that's what god says we ought to do why because you don't know if you're going to have tomorrow and by the way i don't either uh that's one thing that's always given me courage when i visit people in the hospital that may be on their deathbed or very sick I actually don't know who's going to die first. I can honestly say that. Because we don't know. I might walk out of that hospital or that nursing home and be hit by a bus, OK? And I may be gone before them. And so if we get the opportunity to witness to someone who may be in that case and not saved, We can present that to them. You know, it's important to know where we're going to go when we die, because really, even though you may think that we don't know who's going to go first, you or I, this could happen to me and I could be gone before you. And so that gives you an ease and a way to ease into being able to share the gospel with someone in that situation. So you can use that if that comes up today. Today could be one of many more to come. Today could be the last day you'll live on this earth. For the Christian, this could be true, obviously, in one of two ways. Isaac said to Esau, Behold, now I am old. I know not the day of my death. I don't know when I'm going to die. By the way, even when you're young, you don't know when you're going to die, okay? Anybody can say that. And for the Christian, that can be one of two ways. 1 Thessalonians 4.16, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. Amen. That could be today. All right. We may not get to finish this service. All right. So this could be the last day on earth for us in regards to that. Or if the Lord should decide to take someone today through death, that's possible for any of us. Today could be a day of healing. health and prosperity. Today could be a day of sickness and poverty. Boy, you know, you think about, well, can poverty come that quick? Boy, when you get the call from the doctor, it can, can't it? And I'm telling you, those things are expensive, all right? And it's been said, you know, people save all their fortune and have it all build up and retire, and then have to spend it all for the health to try and stay alive as long as they can. And today could be a day of healing, health, and prosperity, a day of sickness and poverty. Today could be a day of great blessing, of spiritual growth and victory. Today could be a day of great heartache, of deception, and sin, of chastisement, sorrow, and regret. And we are considering some of the uncertainties of today. All of these things we don't know. It could be either way for us, some uncertainties of today. Today could be a day of great joy, rejoicing, a day of great sorrow. You could pillow your head tonight, having what seems to be one of the best days of your life. You could pillow, or I could pillow our head tonight, having what seems to be one of the worst days of our lives, the uncertainties of today. Job pilled his head one day amidst some of the greatest blessings a man could know. Job pilled his head another day. having lost everything but his wife and his health. And that could be for any of us. And yet, what can we learn from Job? When that day came, he was right with God. Amen. And that's where we want to be because we'll never be ready for a day like that unless we're right with God. In the day of adversity, the scripture says, thy strength is weak. We say, well, wait a minute, when else would you faint when adversity comes? Why would that define your strength as weak? Well, because in adversity, what do we have to do? Call on the Lord, amen? And by the way, if we're not learning to do that, we're gonna be weak in the Christian life when that moment comes. Uncertainties of the day. There was a day when Job glorified God amidst great sorrow. There was a day when Job's grief was so heavy that he couldn't even speak. There was a day when Job opened his mouth and cursed his day. And Job learned some things through those trials. God had some growing for him to do. He did not fail in the way that the devil had hoped he would. He was victorious in that. He was faithful in that. And yet God still used that to draw him even closer to him and used him through that, the uncertainties of today. And then there are some certainties of today and each day, some certainties of today. Well, what are some of these? Well, one of the certainties of today is there is a time to praise God. Today is a day that we are to praise God. 1 Chronicles 16, 23, Psalm 96 and verse 2. Psalm 96 is a psalm of praise. Get there. Psalm 96. Sing unto the Lord a new song. Sing unto the Lord all the earth. Sing unto the Lord. Bless his name. Show forth what? His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the heathen, His wonders among all people. By the way, have His glories of salvation ever changed? No. Guess what? They're the same today, they were yesterday, they'll be tomorrow. Amen. And we can share that, we can share those. For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised. He is to be feared above all gods. And why? For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens, amen, and the earth. He is a living God, and honor and majesty are before Him. Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Give unto the Lord all ye kindreds of the people. Give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord whatever strength you have. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name. Bring an offering, come unto His court. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Fear Him before all the earth. Verse 11, let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad, let the sea roar, the fullness thereof. And he's going to judge the world with righteousness, end of verse 13 there, the people with his truth. So we are to be glorifying God every day, praising him. Psalm 104, what do we do when we come to God in prayer anytime? Enter into his gates, what? With thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. What about on my bad days? Yeah, on our bad days, too. Amen. And these are certainties of the day. We are to praise God. And there's a cause and a time for praise. And we need to be aware of that. And by the way, to be faithful in that. Amen. Today. Today. What's another certainty of the day? Of today? There's evil to face today. There's troubles and problems to face today. What did Jesus say when he was teaching about treasures and having your treasures in heaven and not being overly concerned about tomorrow? He said, take therefore, Matthew 6, 34, take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. What Jesus is saying is you have more things to worry about today that could be a problem in your life than worrying about what might or might not come tomorrow. Why? Because the devil and his demons, they don't take vacations, do they? And they're always out to get the Christian to fall. By the way, especially the Christian who's trying to walk with the Lord. And what did the demons say to those watered down believers trying to use, or maybe even unbelievers, but trying to use the Lord's name to cast out devils? And they tried to cast out the devils of one guy that was full of devils. And what did the devil say? The devil said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know, But who are ye? Who do you think you are? And the Bible says the devils jumped on them and attacked them and they ran out of the place. So if you're trying to walk with God, the devil's got your number and my number. And he passes that on to the demons. He's not omnipresent like God. He can only be in one place, one time. You study your Bible, it seems there's different times when the devil has his throne at a certain place. On the earth he camps out for a while one place camps out over here another place, but he's got his demons all over the earth And Jesus talked to the one church in Revelation. I forget which one it was right now. He says, I know you've been faithful even where my martyr was, where Satan's seat is. Satan was camped out on the earth at that time, the particular church he was talking about there. But he's got his demons all over the place. And he has only one job. That's to get you and I to quit living out our salvation. He doesn't have to get anybody lost, okay? We're already born that way. Now, I believe that I might preach on this sometime. I've been studying on it for years. I may preach a message on it sometime. But a little child, are they born condemned? Well, this I know. Where no law is, no sin is imputed. Amen? So there is no understanding of those things, it's not imputed. So is it just not covered? Are they actually not condemned? Until they come to that point. There's a point of argument there. If you have a voice that comes to mind where you can help me out on that, let me know, okay? I'm still looking into that, alright? This I know, we're born sinners, okay? And I'm not saying a little child doesn't sin. They do wrong. They do wrong. They plan online. But I'm saying that there's mercy toward them when they don't have the understanding to realize that's a sin against God, you see. And during that time of mercy, are they condemned but it's just overlooked? Or are they actually not condemned yet? Okay, interesting. I'm still looking through that. I'm not saying I've come to an absolute conclusion on that, but if you have some you want to let me know on that, I'd appreciate that. There's evil, there's troubles to face. There will be some sort of trial or trouble today in which you will be tempted to sin by your own fallen nature." Our own fallen nature desires sin. And it desires what? The pleasures of sin, even though they're but for a season. It desires the ease. It wants to shrink away from godly things. Why? Because godly things will often bring what? Persecution. And they're often hard to do or say and do the right thing at certain times. And our flesh wants the ease. It doesn't like to be uncomfortable. So we face those temptations all the time, evil coming our way. It might be a temptation to look at something you ought not to look at. Boy, with the social media and all that's out there, I tell you, minds are being destroyed and all that. The wreck that pornography's done and all the stuff that's online destroys families, it destroys people, it rots the soul inside of people that get trapped in those things. And we have to be careful in those things. The temptation to look at something you ought not to look at. To say something you shouldn't say. To hold your peace when you should say something. Tempted to do something or say something with impure motives, such as pride or jealousy or covetousness. And it might be that we might be tempted in some way. A financial setback, perhaps, even today. A report for the doctor that may threaten to send us into depression and such, whatever it might be. There's a temptation. to cause us what? As far as Satan is concerned, he just wants to get you and I to stray from God's will. He doesn't want the light of Christ to shine through you and me. Any way he can get us to get our eyes off Christ, that's when we begin to look dim. Our spirit gets dim and we lose hope and pretty soon he's accomplished what he wanted. I was talking with somebody the other day, I forget who it was, but they had echoed something that I've said and that I've heard said myself many times, that the reason that some people attend church and some people don't is the same. They met a Christian. And the question is, what kind of Christian do we want to be, amen? We want to be the kind that would draw somebody to church. And I look forward to coming to church. I mentioned I'd rather be here than anybody that's out there that wants to be here but can't. I don't envy them a bit, OK? I'd rather be right here in God's house and worshiping the Lord. Today, there's some evil to face today. Today, there's a need for prayer. Today, there's a need for prayer. Psalm 55, 17. Evening and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud and he shall hear my voice. Now, I preached a message not too long ago. I was thinking about that. And we saw recently in a message that Daniel in his life was kind of an example of purity in the way that he lived his life. And as we read about Daniel, when his captors made a law in their land that they were not to pray to any god but to the king. Remember that? And Daniel's enemies went and told on him. They knew they'd find him because his habit was to pray. morning, at noon, and evening, three times a day. And they went and caught him, and turned him in, and he got thrown in a lion's den. Of course, we know how that turned out, amen? Pretty good for Daniel, not too good for his tattletailers, okay? But it turned out pretty good for Daniel. But I thought about Daniel being pure, and of course, the psalm of David, evening, morning, and noon. Boy, there's a good one to follow. The law, there's no commandment in the law of Moses that says to pray three times a day. But Daniel had made a habit of it so much that he was willing to keep doing it when his life was at stake, even though the law of Moses didn't command it. He was trying to follow probably one of the most godly examples he knew, David. And the sweet song was David, the man after God's own heart. That's how Daniel wanted to be. And he said, I'm going to follow that. And he did it even when his life was threatened. We need to pray today. And I get up to review my stuff. And I'm glad that I prayed probably half an hour or so before I started the stuff and got the phone calls. Oh, you're going to be a little busier today, OK? And you know why? Because God gives that peace, doesn't he? God will provide. God gives that grace. And we pray for all those that are ill and that they'll get healed up quickly. Psalm 5.3, My voice shalt thou hear in the morning. O Lord of the morning, will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. We need to pray. And you say, well, what about if you work at night? You know, should you get up and pray in the morning? Listen, it's, yeah, evening, morning, noon, like I say, is a good time. But specific, but especially if you work at night, don't forget to pray before you go out there. Treat that like I would in the morning. That's when you're gonna go out among all the people and be a witness and face all those people in the world that you don't see at your house, you see? So if you work at night, you need a time of prayer in the evening. before you go, for God to prepare you for that and getting ready in that. There's a need for prayer, each. And every day, some certainties of today we're looking at. We need wisdom today. We need wisdom today. I don't know how to live today without God. And by the way, neither do you. Amen? The plan for living today is right here. is right here, and we have to read this word, hide it in our hearts so we can follow God's plan for today. Today is a day when we meet in the house of God. I don't have any other plans than that on Sunday, okay? That's not a question to me. Am I going to go to church? The only question is will it will I be able to go to church? Okay, we have to resolve those thing We have to have some resolutions the commitments in our life by God's grace if I have the strength I will do this, you know and and we make those make those resolutions Jeremiah 10 23. I know that the way of man is not in him. It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps Wow God's pretty bold a lot of times. It's like God's saying to you, can I tell you that you're not wise enough to put one foot in front of the other? You had no idea where you need to go today, what you need to do if you're depending upon your own wisdom, you know. And we need the word of God today, Job 23, 12. when Job was tested. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips. I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food." More than my necessary food. Now, this morning, I deemed it necessary to have a bagel with peanut butter and jelly on it, okay? I don't know what reason. It's been a while since I had one, okay? But I prayed before that, all right? I knew that I needed to pray more than I needed that bagel, all right? And more than I need breakfast, lunch, or dinner, I need to pray. I need to pray today. And we need the word of God today. Job said, it's more than my necessary food. Is the Bible more valuable than our necessary food? Or was Job just being poetic, just being dramatic, just being a fanatic? Is it more harmful for us to be physically weak or spiritually weak? Spiritually weak. Always more harmful. Why is that? Because anytime the devil, you know, it's interesting, the same one who wants to throw those temptations in front of us to weaken us and to cause us to stray is the first one to go to God and point his finger at us when we do. Did you notice that? Well, Job's serving you faithfully. Oh, that's just because you put a hedge about him. Take that away and he'll curse you to your face. That's what Job never did. Job was faithful in that to God during that trial. But the devil tries to get you out of the way. Let me go do it. See? See? And by the way, what limit did God have to put on Job? Don't take his life. See, the fact is, if we yield to the devil time and again to the point where we're spiritually weak, he's going to be there before God's throne begging to take our life away anyway. The spiritual will affect the physical, amen? That's why it's more important than the physical. Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, lean not on your own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy path. Goes on to say, it shall be health to thy navel and marrow to thy bones. Following the Lord, you see. You can have poor health and be spiritually strong and filled with joy. Amen. But you can have good health and not be spiritually strong as a Christian. You won't be filled with joy, all right? Doesn't matter how faithful you've been to the gym and all those things and how much you can press or how far you can run. It's not going to be worth it unless you're a believer walking with God. We need the Word of God. We need strength today from our Lord. It's another certainty. We need strength. John 15.5, I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For without me you can do nothing. May I ask you this? How often is the branch drawing from the vine? All the time. It's continually drawing from the vine. Continually. We need strength for today. strength for today. Deuteronomy 33, 25, I believe it's a blessing upon Simeon, if I remember correctly. Thy shoes shall be iron and brass, and as thy days, so shall thy strength be. And I think that applies to us. In other words, God will give you and I, what? Strength for today. We sing this song. Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow. Right? God will give me strength for what? For what meets me today. What meets me today. And we'll need that strength when that meets me today. What else is a certainty of today? Today, there's a time to be a witness. Amen? Today is a time to shine for Christ. It's a time to be that light. It's a time to be that salt that God has enabled us. through the filling of the Spirit, through the indwelling Spirit of God, Christ in us. He's enabled us. He is the faithful witness. John says, he that believes has the witness in him. And we are to be that witness. Second Corinthians 6.1. We then as workers together with him, Paul was talking about the minute, the being ambassadors for Christ and be given the ministry of reconciliation in Second Corinthians chapter five. And then it continues in 2 Corinthians 6, 1, Today is the day to be involved in the ministry of reconciliation. Why? Because somebody could be saved today. You see? One day, you are ready to be saved, and someone will witness to you. Amen? And by the way, you may say something to someone, and they're not ready to be saved, but you have planted, you have watered, you have sown. Today is a day to be sowing, planting a kind word, a kind deed, a Christ-like attitude, the gospel, if the opportunity is given. Why? Because today is the day of salvation. God is working. I will tell people at times that when I've been given the opportunity to witness to them, I will use this verse in 2 Corinthians 6, because that's what the context is talking about. After I give the plan of salvation out, I might say something like, now, do you know when God wants you to be saved? And they say, well, when? I say today. Look at 2 Corinthians 6, verse 1. Behold, what now is what? The accepted time. You know when it is accepted time for someone to get saved? As far as we know, according to the written word of God, when they hear the gospel. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. And then rather than, I'm not trying to pressure them. Well, you need to, you need to pray a prayer now, but I'll say something like this. And why do you think, why do you think God would want you to be saved when you first hear the gospel? For what we're talking about. You don't know if you're going to have tomorrow. We only have a moment in time. Only God, we don't know if we're going to live tomorrow. We don't know if we'll have another chance. God may not give them another chance. But I'll just share with them, because God loves you and you don't know if you're going to live tomorrow or not. You could go out and be hit by a bus. You could go out and be in a mall and be shot by some crazed terrorist. Isn't God a loving God? Do you see why he would want you to be saved when you hear this? Today is a time to witness. Paul wrote about believers, 1 Corinthians 4, 9, for we are a spectacle unto the world and angels unto men, actually writing about the apostles and such. But in other words, the world is watching us. Almost like a show. Okay, the world's against God. God loves the world, but he is against the ungodliness in the world. And the world is watching how you deal with that, how that battle works out. How do you stand against that? How do you love the world and yet hate the sin? And the world's watching all of that. We're a spectacle before the world. They're watching that. Today will be a time to witness. We are to be blameless, Philippians 2.15, and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom, what? Ye shine as lights in the world. And we need to be shining as a light, amen, today. Finally, there will be a time to reflect. today. Psalm 65, My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips, when I remember thee on my bed. And I guess that's not even guaranteed, we may not make it to bed tonight. But when the psalmist did, he said, when I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate upon thee in the night watches. When I got up to begin to pray and realized that I had to face today with all of these uncertainties and with all of these certainties, when I get to the end of the day and go to pillow my head, I can reflect, how did I do today, God? Show me by your Spirit. And many times he's already done that. We're aware where we failed, aren't we? And we say, oh man, I wish I hadn't done it. And we're thankful, as you think, where God gave us strength and opportunity to say something or to do some good deed for someone. We reflect on how God worked through us today. When I remember upon my bed, meditate upon thee in the night, watch this, Psalm 63, 6. Because thou hast been my help. Therefore, in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after thee. Thy right hand upholdeth me. Because he was remembering God, God, God for today. Remember the Creator, by the way, who made this day. God did. Psalm 118 24. This is what the day which the Lord hath made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Amen. God made this day. And by the way, there are no uncertainties for him. That's only us. We need him because we don't know. Amen. We need him because we don't have the strength and he knows all things. And by the way, Jeremiah wrote in Lamentations that I love it that he wrote it in Lamentations. because he's mourning all the tragedy that he saw when Jerusalem, when the enemies surrounded Jerusalem and literally starved the people to death so that they were eating their children. He saw those tragedies, the people, their skin turning black for famine and like leather and them dying in the streets. And yet, Jeremiah writes in Lamentation, it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. God was merciful just in not doing away with us altogether. We didn't deserve to even have a remnant saved, is what Jeremiah is saying. It's of the Lord's mercies we are not consumed because his compassions fail not. They are new, what? Every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. Great is thy faithfulness. And what are you and I doing today? We are to be Titus 2.13, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. He could come. He could come today. Let's pray. Dear God, I thank you for your blessings and goodness. And what if it were today, the song says, joy to my heart would bring. Glory, we would sing. Father, until you return, help us to live faithfully, Father, to call out to you for strength and wisdom and grace, and to direct our lives according to your word, as so many before us have done. Father, that should you tarry, that those after us may follow in our steps, dear God, and do the same. Help us in that, I pray, to be the lights and salt that we need to be today. And I pray, Father, today, should we pillow our heads, we could reflect on the grace and the strength that you've given, Father, and the way that you have allowed us to be salt and light, Lord, in some way to someone. And being prepared more, should you give us tomorrow, Father, to be a witness for you as well. Father, we're just thankful for your goodness and blessings on us, and we do pray and ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. We're dismissed and start up again in about 10 minutes.