Let me get rid of some stuff. Sandra said she'll give you a word to start. Yeah. Thank you. Good evening. Please stand as we sing number 439, Stepping in the Light. Trying to walk in the steps of the Savior, Trying to follow our Savior and King, Shaping our lives by His blessed example, Happy, oh happy, the song that we bring! How beautiful to walk in the steps of the Savior, Stepping in the light, stepping in the light. How beautiful to walk in the steps of the Savior, led in paths of light. Pressing more closely to him who is leading, when we are tempted to turn from the way. Trusting the arm that is strong to defend us, happy, how happy our praise as you change. How beautiful to walk in the steps of the Savior, stepping in the light, stepping in the light. How beautiful to walk in the steps of the Savior, bled in baths of blood. Walking in footsteps of gentle forbearance, footsteps of faithfulness, mercy, and love. Looking to Him for the freely promised, happy, how happy, our journey above. How beautiful to walk in the steps of the Savior, stepping in the life. Good to see you this evening. Let's go to the Lord in word and prayer. Lord, we ask you tonight as we do every service for your power upon the preaching, for your blessing upon the singing and the special. And I pray, Lord, that you just meet with us here tonight and give us something to take home with us. In Jesus name. Amen. You may be seated. We will be singing This World Is Not My Home, number 485. This world is not my home, I'm just a passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from heaven's open door. And I can't feel at home in this world anymore. Oh, Lord, you know I have no friend like you. If heaven's not my home, then, Lord, what will I do? The angels beckon me from heaven's open door, and I can't feel at home in this world anymore. They're all expecting me, and that's one thing I know My Savior pardoned me, and now I onward go I know He'll take me through, though I am weak and poor And I can't feel at home in this world anymore Oh, Lord, you know I have no friend like you. If heaven's not my home, then, Lord, what will I do? The angels beckoned me from heaven's open door, and I can't feel at home in this world anymore. I have a loving Savior up in glory land. I don't expect to stop until I with him stand He's waiting now for me in heaven's open door And I can't feel at home in this world anymore Oh Lord, you know I have no friend like you If heaven's not my home, then Lord, what will I do? The angels beckon me from heaven's open door, And I can't feel at home in this world anymore. By request, we're going to sing Happy Birthdays to the folks who had birthdays this month because apparently somebody had a birthday and thought we should get to sing to them. So who else had birthdays this month? Had birthdays this month? Several folks. So we'll sing to you too since Sean requested it. Then I told him, I said, well, if you're going to do it for you this month, make sure you remind me next month so we can do it for everybody next month. Otherwise, we're playing favorites. He reminded me of my young man, my young friend Brent, who always wants to choose what we have on Sunday for the snack. So we'll sing happy birthday to the folks. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday. God bless you. Happy birthday to you. And we might as well hit the anniversaries while we're at it. Who had anniversaries this month? Anna and Adam, anyone else? Only one couple married this month. All right, let's sing to these young folks. Happy anniversary to you. Happy anniversary to you. Happy anniversary, God bless you. Happy anniversary to you. Happy now? All right, always got to keep the man happy. This one, George and Sherry, it says, Dear Liberty Baptist Church family, thank you for your recent prayers. Also, thank you for the beautiful flower arrangement. I ask for your continued prayers as I continue the healing process. So it's good to see that she's back here at the church and that she's out of the hospital. I want to show you the big old newspaper from my little hometown in Sarkoxy. They put out the paper called The Record once a week. It's a six-page, I mean, it's a big, thick paper. But when I read this, my brother sends it to me. My wife used to like it more than I did, I mean, because it just gave us stuff that was going on. But when I read this one a couple weeks ago, I thought, this is really good. It says, Quit Complaining With Your Mouth Full. If you're looking for some lighthearted take on a strange news story this week, then read no further. This week, I'm dishing out my honest opinion. And by the way, this is written by a lady. So again, if you're wondering if it was some guy taking a shot at this woman, it was not. If you don't have the stomach or taste for reality, you might want to skip this course. A video recently created by an Ohio woman being housed at a homeless shelter is making the rounds. Is she voicing her appreciation for the nonprofit group providing a roof over her head, describing the struggles that led to her being homeless? No. This woman is complaining about the quality of the free meal provided to her. Now I'm not out to body shame anyone, but the most polite, objective description I can provide is that this woman has not missed many meals. That's why I said it's coming from a woman, don't think it's some guy. Still this woman admitted to herself complaining about the quality of her meal and even turning her phone to film her plate of food as she reacts in disgust. Yes, it appears she has a new model iPhone. Lucky for her, someone has given her a safe haven in which to live, as well as a substance. It makes me wonder where she got her phone and who is paying for her phone plan as well. I tried to stay objective until I saw her plate. On her plate, she added chicken breast, rice, and what appeared to be steamed vegetables. Oh, the humanity! I've been craving buffalo wings for months, but can't see myself springing for wings that are worth their weight in gold. Instead, I just gaze longily at the wing sauce sitting in my pantry every time I reach for my generic oatmeal. It is a good thing she isn't looking for a free meal at my house. I'm not sure what flavor of ramen she prefers, and I would hate to disappoint her. But seriously, she's a guest. I even opened a can of chicken noodle soup just for her. She complained that the chicken was dry, although it didn't appear a bite was missing. She also complained that it was bland and said that she didn't care about her diet touting diabetes as her concern. Her chicken is horrible for diabetes. Quick, someone hand her a little Debbie's. Some of you don't know what that is, so you can't even appreciate that. Maybe the food isn't heavily seasoned as the volunteers are likely feeding people with different tastes and health needs. I guess this story turned my stomach as I also hearing reports of people, of American servicemen and women who are struggling to feed their families with the price of groceries inflated over 13%. Are they being treated to free meals prepared by well-intentioned volunteers? No, the government's telling them to apply for food stamps. If they can't make ends meet, they're in rising inflation. I mean, we can't afford to pay you more than 87,000 IRS agents. I mean, we can't afford to pay you more. Those 87,000 IRS agents aren't going to pay themselves after all. I forgot a shelter. At some bases, even those who are able to snap up base housing are required to sign releases stating that they understand they may be housed in structures with asbestos, mold, or lead paint. At some point, we lost the plot, America. I'm really not judging this woman for having to find shelter or turn to a charity to help her through these tough times. What I'm passing judgment on is the fact that she is so utterly ungrateful to those trying to help her. Maybe it's because I was raised in appreciation of what was placed in front of me. As a child, I wasn't presented a menu or asked what I preferred for dinner. I helped in the garden where we grew the vegetables. I fed the chickens and helped take care of the cows. I felt rich and blessed that I had enough to eat, except for the liver and onions. I guess I'd have to admit that if the shelter fed me liver and onions, I might have to take my chances on the mean streets. Instead of griping about what volunteers from the local church put in front of her, maybe she should join their congregation and take part in the next potluck. Don't like the recipes? How about contributing one of your own? Until then, quit complaining with your mouth full." So I just thought that was funny. And by the way, if you wonder if that really happens, years ago when we had the food bank, we had someone come by one day and they asked me, We gave them some groceries. They looked at it. They pulled stuff out and said, I don't want that. I don't want that. I don't like that. And then she looked at me. She said, how come there's no cigarettes or ice cream? And I said, cigarettes or ice cream? She said, yes, the other church gives me cigarettes and ice cream. I said, sorry, ma'am, we're not giving you cigarettes and ice cream. But God bless whatever church apparently does that. She loved them to death and did not appreciate us. But again, don't forget to pray for all of our folks, the military especially. So we're at 1045 and then back in new places for Sunday school 945 church at 1050. One big event coming up in the very near future and that is next month the 17th we'll be having brother Jeff Owens here at our church on a Thursday night we'll be flipping the Wednesday and Thursday services so we'll have so winning on on Wednesday night we'll have church service on Thursday night and then we'll have Friday and Saturday over at Texas Baptist that is the youth conference where brother Owens Friday night starts at 7 o'clock Saturday morning starts at 10 p.m.. 10 a.m.. So again keep that in prayer as well Please stand as we sing number 495 brethren we have meant to worship Brethren, we have met to worship and adore the Lord our God. Will you pray with all your power while we try to preach the word? All is vain unless the spirit of the Holy One comes down. Brethren, pray and holy manna will be showered all around. Brethren, see poor sinners round you slumbering on the brink of woe. Death is coming, hell is moving, can you bear to let them go? See our fathers and our mothers and our children sinking down. Brethren, pray and holy manna will be showered all around. Sisters, will you join and help us? Moses' sister aided him. Will you help the trembling mourners who are struggling hard with sin? Tell them all about the Savior. Tell them that He will be found. Sisters, pray and holy manna will be showered all around. Dear Precious Heavenly Father, we thank you Lord for what you give us. and Lord, what your promises. Now's the time for us to do our part, Lord, and give back what you have given us, just a little. Bless each and every one of us, Lord, and if there's one here tonight that's lost, I pray they get saved, Lord. Come and get it right, get their heart right, and have a place called heaven for their home. We love you, Lord, in Jesus' name I pray, amen. We'll now be singing revive thy work number 313. Revive thy work, O Lord, thy mighty arm make bare. Speak with the voice that wakes the dead and make the people hear. Revive, revive, and give refreshing charge. The glory shall be all thy own. The blessing shall be ours. Revive thy work, O Lord. Disturb this sleep of death. Quicken the smoldering embers now by thy almighty breath. Revive, revive, and give refreshing shout. The glory shall be all thine own, the blessing shall be ours. Revive thy work, O Lord, create solace for thee, but hungering for the bread of life, O may our spirits be revived, revived, and give refreshing showers. The glory shall be The blessing shall be ours. As Jacob was traveling, was weary one day, his head on a stone for a pillow did lay. A vision appeared with a ladder so high. It stood on the earth while the top reached the sky. This ladder was tall and yet so well made. It stood thousands of years and never decayed. High winds from the heavens they railed and they rocked, But the angels they guarded from bottom to top. Come, let us ascend, or may climb it who will, For the angels of Jacob are guarding it still. And remember each step that by faith we press o'er, Some prophets or martyrs have trodden before. And when we arrive at the haven of rest, we shall hear the great tidings, come and hither be blessed. Here are the rays of light. Here are the mansions of bliss. Oh, who would have climbed such a ladder as this? Hallelujah to Jesus who died on a tree to raise up this ladder of mercy for me. Press onward, climb upward, the top is in view. There's a crown of bright glory waiting for you. Let's go to Romans chapter 16. Romans chapter 16. Romans chapter 16. Tonight we'll look at the title of the message is The Inseparable Couple. Notice Romans chapter 16 starting in verse 3. Grief Priscilla and Aquila, my helpers in Christ Jesus, who have for my life laid down their own necks, and to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. Likewise, grief the church that is in their house. Salute my well-beloved Epinatus, who is the firstborns of Achaia unto Christ, the inseparable If you know your Bible very well, you know that every time you find the name Aquila, you also find in the same verse Priscilla. You'll find that any time one is mentioned, the other is mentioned. There's never a time that Aquila is mentioned without Priscilla or that Priscilla is mentioned without Aquila. So, the inseparable couple. Father, I ask you tonight for your help. I ask you, Lord, to use me. I pray, Lord, that you would help us to get across the thought that we have tonight, that, Lord, it would be a help and a blessing to the married couples here and those that are even planning on getting married in the future. And I pray, Lord, that you would just help us to realize how much more you can bless and how much easier it is to serve you when we're both serving together. And I pray, Lord, that you'd bless the thoughts that we have tonight in Jesus' name. Amen. Now, I was a lucky man, and Brother Nichols is lucky in the sense that Brother Nichols met his wife at Bible College, that place where, again, she had already set herself and he had set himself aside to serve the Lord. Not all of you had that privilege in the sense of meeting or planning from the very beginning. Some of you were lost before you got married. So you got married, you were lost, you got saved after that. There are some of you that, again, for different reasons. I mean, some of you did not, I mean, one of you was maybe a Catholic and one of you was a Baptist, and you had to decide, do we both become Baptists or do we both become Catholics? And that is sometimes, again, I would not, I always, when I'm talking to young people or anyone else about getting married, I never recommend that a Baptist dates a Catholic. Fact is, I don't ever recommend that a Baptist dates even some Baptists, because there's some Baptists that are not correct doctrinally and are not faithful to the things of God. But, the truth is, to be the couple like Priscilla and Aquila is the goal that every married couple should try to set as their goal. Not an easy goal to meet. I can tell you the earlier you start, the easier it is. Because, again, it's a little harder when we get 30 or 40 years into this thing. We've got some habits and some some sometimes even bad habits. But again, we want to look tonight at this, the ideal couple, the inseparable couple, Priscilla and Aquila. Notice first in your Bible in Acts chapter 18, when we're talking about the ideal couple, they were tent makers who served God faithfully. Now, if you know anything about this, it is Paul speaking in chapter 18 of Acts, Acts chapter 18 verse 2. and found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy with his wife Priscilla. And again, I mention they're always together because Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome and came unto them. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them. So Paul and them worked together on the same public job. And then also in this case, Aquila and Priscilla worked with Paul when it came to many of the spiritual jobs as well. Notice in Acts chapter 18 verse 3 it mentioned that they, notice what it says, it says, and because he was of the same craft he abode with them and wrought for by their occupation. They were tent makers. They had the same profession. I mean them and Paul worked together. In this case it even looks like Aquila and Priscilla worked on the same job. Now, it is harder today to do this than it was back in my mom and dad's day. Typically, especially when a couple is on the farm, husbands and wife both work on the farm. I mean, mom works on the farm, dad works on the farm, the family grows up on the farm. It's not as easy in jobs today for both to work together. But in this case, Aquila and Priscilla both worked at tent making. It wasn't that Aquila was the tent maker and Priscilla was just his wife, they both apparently worked on the tents. Notice in your Bibles Romans chapter 16, they had church meetings in their home. And again, by the way, that is a great sacrifice. Some of you remember when we used to rent the property right next to us over here on the other side of that fence. Some of the older folks will. When we first moved in, Brother Nichols let my wife and I live in that property. They were already renting that property. We were using it for Sunday school classes. And so they allowed the church allowed us to live there for a while till we found a place of our own and finally we bought a house out in Heritage Heritage Park, but we lived there for a while and I can tell you if my wife had not been on board it would not have been easy for her every Saturday night to stack all the furniture from now because what we had to do was all the furniture from all the rooms we had to stack it I mean we had to move the couches we had to move the chairs we had to move the kitchen table We had to move all of it from those rooms because we had three rooms that we used for Sunday school. Because back then we had the 7th and 8th grade Sunday school. We had the 9th and 10th grade Sunday school. And we had the 11th and 12th grade Sunday school. So the teenagers were all over there. And so that means either after church on Sunday morning, if we wanted to have any place to sit or we had to move the stuff back out of those rooms. Many times the teenagers helped us. If they didn't, we were on our own. But I can tell you, if Mrs. Block had not been on board, that would have been some tough times. My wife was on board with that. And that's always a blessing when both of you are heading in the correct direction and the same direction. But they had church meetings in their house. It mentions also in 1 Corinthians 16, verse 19. Romans 16, 5 says it in 1 Corinthians 16, 19. Acts chapter 18 verse 18 and 19 makes this statement and Paul after after this Terry jet Terry there yet a good while and then took his leave of the brethren and sell thins into Syria and with him Priscilla and Aquila having shorn his head in Censoria for he had a vow verse 19 and he came to Ephesus and left them there and So again, they went with him on a missionary journey notice Romans chapter 16 you say blue block Are you hurrying through the first part? Yes, because I'm trying to get to the second part this evening So the first part we will we will go through fairly quickly They are both willing to die for Paul the verse that I read earlier I read you Romans chapter 16 verse 3 4 & 5 notice verse 4 who have for my life laid down their own necks and And what that means is they put their, they were both willing to die for Paul. They put, they, they, and again, by the way, Paul was not usually, there's a lot of places he went that he was not welcomed. A lot of places he went that, I mean, he wasn't, he wasn't applauded and a big parade in his honor. There's places Paul went where they chased him out of town. Sometimes they threw him in jail. But Aquila and Priscilla were willing to die for Paul if necessary. Notice another thing, Proverbs 31 verse 10 says, Who can find a virtuous woman for her price is far above rubies? By the way, he had a good helpmate. And by the way, they are hard to find. I always tell the young men and women in the Sunday school class, there's three things they should pray about from the time they're little bitty. Who does God want me to marry? What does God want me to do? And what does God want me to go to college? And those three things I tell them to pray about from the time they're little all the way on up. Now, it should not be that now most people are going to get married someday. So, the truth is, if we're going to get married someday, we ought to talk to God about it to make sure if we're going to marry, we marry correctly. Because again, it's hard to have a good marriage and it's hard to have a marriage that lasts. Now, 40 years ago, there were a lot of people that had been married 40 or 50 or 60 years. Nowadays, some people could add two or three wives or husbands together and still wouldn't reach that number of years. But again, years ago, it was... and again, partly because people just didn't believe in divorce back then. I remember I had my mom and dad's family. Dad had nine brothers and sisters. Mom had six with her. Between the 15 of them, there was only one divorce between those 15 brothers and sisters. When it first happened, they all looked down on my mom's sister because she got a divorce because she was divorced. Again, from what I heard of her husband, she was probably better off without him. But again, back in that day, if you say what happened, if you got married and it wasn't a good marriage, usually you put up with it. We had a family up the road that my mom and I, one day I heard them talking, and they apparently had not slept in the same room. They had not, I mean, they were married, but they didn't sleep in the same room. Hadn't in years. But they didn't believe in divorce, so they both lived in the same house. Both of them did their own thing, but they were not together. Now listen to me, that's not what a marriage is supposed to be like. A marriage is supposed to be, I mean, when a husband comes home from work or a wife meets with a husband, it's supposed to be a sweet time and a good time, not a time where you can't wait. As in some couples, my brother was dating a young lady and his family, his wife's family, had a relationship that stayed, that worked because he was a truck driver. And I said, what do you mean it works? Because he's a truck driver. He says, if they're together very long, they want to kill each other. But he only comes home for like two days. And so the first day, she's so glad to see him. He's so glad to see her. I mean, it's all hugs and kisses and all that. By the second day, they already both get on each other's nerves. And she's ready to see him get back on the road. And he is ready to get back on the road himself. That's not how a marriage is supposed to be. But that's how those were. And again, there's people like that. So again, guys, if you have a good helpmate tonight, You ought to thank God every day for her. And thank God that she was crazy enough to marry you. The next thing, Matthew chapter nine in your Bibles. Listen to me, every church, every pastor can appreciate an Aquila or Priscilla team because by the way, we always accomplish more when we're pulling together than if we're pulling separately. Notice Matthew chapter nine in your Bibles. Matthew chapter nine, verse 37. Then saith he unto his disciples, the harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Pray you therefore the Lord of harvest that he will send forth laborers into his harvest. Now listen to me, because of Aquila and Priscilla's Because of who they were, if you got one, you got the other. So the truth is, when they prayed for the laborers, they didn't just get one, they got two because they were a matched pair. Everywhere Aquila went, Priscilla went. Everywhere Priscilla went, Aquila went. I mean, they were together. And it is always a blessing. It strengthens a church to have strong families. Now the devil has attacked the family for years. That's why usually when you find these young men and women that are in their 20s, 16 to 25 years old in prison, more times than not you'll find a single parent in the home. A very large percentage of the time a single parent in the home. By the way, sometimes no parent in the home. They're being raised by a grandma or a grandpa We're an aunt or uncle again. We live in some terrible times where it's hard to find a good family But again, Priscilla and Aquila were a team that pulled together and notice Genesis chapter 2 in your Bibles verse 18 By the way, husbands, if you have a good helpmate, you ought to thank God for her, because I have in my notes here, if every wife helped her husband in the ministry, in ministering to others, there would be no imbalance in the family or in the ministry. Again, a wife that is in the ministry with her husband. Notice what it said in Genesis 2, verse 18. And the Lord God said, it is not good that man should be alone. I will make him a helpmate for him. Now again, I can tell you, it is always a blessing to have someone to help you. There are jobs today that actually have the worker and then they have the guy and his title is the helper. You know why they do that? Because they realize that two can get a lot more work done than one can by themselves. Now, I can tell you there's some jobs that two is required to even get this stuff done. For instance, I have some windows that I have to take down from my house and put some others up. You know there's no way that I can take all the screws out of that window, take it down and put the next one. It's impossible to do with one person. So the truth is, I have to have two people. Now, there are some jobs that the second person isn't quite as busy. For instance, when I used to hand my dad the tools. Now, when you're underneath the vehicle, you know the last thing you want to have to do? Get out each time to get a tool. Because no matter how well ahead you planned, there's going to be a tool that you missed. And the reason I know that was it happened last night. Last night, and all I had was Sierra, and she's not helped much help when it comes to going and getting stuff. But, I mean, I get home. I had a long day here. I thought, man, I get home. I'm gonna go inside. Well, I'm gonna feed the deer trail. I'm gonna go inside and work on my sermon. So I get to the house. I bring Sierra out. Of course, she's happy to see me. And it's always nice, by the way, husbands would be nice if your wife was happy to see you. Wives would be nice if your husband was happy to see you. Sierra's the best I got right now. So, I mean, she's happy to see me. I go get the can to feed. I put it on the four-wheeler. As I start to pull away, I see the cows are in with the hay bales, where they're not supposed to be. I just fed two bales of hay, like, two days ago. There's still plenty of hay out there. But guess what? They don't want that hay. They want the hay that's in there. And so they tore the fence down again to get in there. So I park the four-wheeler. I jump over there. I go in there. And I chase them all out. Now, I can tell you, cows are a reason that farmers cuss. OK? Livestock is the reason that farmers cuss, because they can really get on your nerves. Now, thankfully I didn't cuss last night, but I really wanted to. And I can tell you, I told Kurt, I called him, and he was going to come down and help, and I said, I'm chasing them out now, if they get in there again, I'm going to shoot some cows tonight. So, I mean, I was out of patience with them. But I get there, I start working at 5.30, so I get out there, I stop the four-leg over, I chase them all out, I thought I could just stand the fence back up, but they've tore it up so much, I can't just fix it. So I call Kurt and I said, because he has something that actually pounds those fence posts in the ground. It's a little automatic thing. He just hooks it up with electricity. And you say, what do you have to do? I have to do the little thing that drives those metal posts in the ground. So I chase the cows out. I start pulling the stuff out. And then I realize I need pliers. I need a hammer. I need some wire. So I go to the house to get that while I go out and get that. The cows get back in the hay. I chase them out again again wanting to cuss very badly but trying to be spiritual because I know I have to preach tonight and I don't have to stand up and tell you that I cussed the cows out last night so I chase the cows out again and then I I get in and I realize I do some work I straighten them out and I start I pull the panels off that they've been all up $40 panels that I bought that they've been all up and again 1,200 pounds pushing on a little metal panel 1,200 pounds wins every time and so I'm trying to straighten them out so I can put them back up there then I go over and I have to run the house to get something else And as I walked by, I realized they pulled the bucket of corn out that I was gonna feed the deer, dumped it down the ground, and they're standing there, I mean, very content, eating the bucket of corn that was supposed to go to the deer. And so I'm praising the Lord and thinking, I'm so glad I have a farm. And so that was my, but the truth is, it would have been nice if I had someone that could I have sent to the house, I could have sent them to the house, and I wouldn't have had to keep doing all this running back and forth. So sometimes it's just a matter of handing someone the tools. Sometimes it's just a matter of being there so someone's not by themselves. Again, sometimes it's it's not listen to me when I was a kid I've told you I had to run down in the field every night Every four nights to check the pigs because one of us and one of us had it We had turns so one of us had to take a turn Many times when we'd watch the scary movie now by the way when I say a scary movie I'm talking about the old scary movies I'm not talking about the Halloween stuff and all the Jason stuff and all that other stuff most of that is so stupid and crazy that and by the way the most of that just grows and and and stupid but but back when we had Frankenstein and the werewolf okay and Dracula alright so as a kid after we sit and watch a movie like that I did not want to go down and check the pigs in the dark because I mean I was going to get attacked by a werewolf so I don't know how many times I've asked a brother to go with me and the answer was always the same No. And I said, fine, next time we watch a scary movie and you want some help, I'm going to let the werewolf get you too. I'm not going to go with you. But many times I'd ask my mom, and my mom would walk with me. Now, listen to me. My mom was a little short lady. It's not like she knew karate and kung fu or taekwondo. She was not going to be able to help me if someone attacked me anyway. But it was nice to have someone else with me. By the way, it's nice to have a company. It's nice to have companionship. And that's what Aquila and Priscilla had. Again, a unique relationship in that respect. Notice another thing that they had. They also had, let me get my, I changed my notes a little bit. In Acts chapter 18, I mentioned this earlier, but I want to show you a couple of verses so you can see it. There was not a time in scripture that they were mentioned without each other. Acts chapter 18 verse 2, notice what it says. And I found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, and with his wife Priscilla. Notice Acts chapter 18 verse 18. And Paul, after this, tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence to Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. Notice Acts 18, verse 26. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue, whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard. Notice Romans 16, verse 3. Notice 1 Corinthians 16, verse 19. 1 Corinthians 16, 19 says the churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you. Much in the Lord with the church that is in their house. Then 2 Timothy 4, 19, salute Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. So every time that they were mentioned, that one was mentioned. Now, I used to pray for my aunts and uncles that way. I don't know how you pray for your family, but I used to pray for my aunts and uncles. It was Teddy and Norma Ray. It was Ervin and Josephine. And it was Rex and Dixie. I prayed for the husband and wife. Now listen to me. Aquila and Priscilla were always together. An ideal situation. And again, they were together because they were both serving the Lord together. And the last thing, as far as the first part is, they were together in marriage and ministry. Aquila was a helper to Paul, Romans 16, 3 and 4. We looked at that. Aquila was a teacher to Apollos, Acts 18, 26. And then he received thanks... again, they both received thanks from all the churches of the Gentiles, Romans 16, 4. Now if you look at each one of those verses, you'll see that it'll say, them. It wouldn't say him, it said them. Now, I can tell you that for you two to be together, if you're wondering whether you're important, the answer to that is yes. A silent partner, even though the silent partner doesn't say anything, a silent partner is very important in soul winning. When you're the bus captain, it's nice to have a bus worker. Now, the bus captain doesn't have to have a bus worker, but it sure is nice to have a bus worker. And again, in this case, every time we saw Priscilla, we saw Aquila. And when we saw Aquila, we saw Priscilla. I want to skip to the next thing. And that is this, how to be helpers in the ministry together. How to be helpers in the ministry. Go to Acts chapter 18. We read it earlier, but I want you to see it again. Acts chapter 18. Notice verse 3. Acts chapter 18, verse 3. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them and wrought, for by their occupation they were tentmakers." Work together. And I told you today, if you work at a store or at some place, your husband or wife probably doesn't work with you. But there are many times that a husband or wife can work together. Aquila and Priscilla did. Now, I know that some of you could not work together because if you did, you would end up killing each other. And I know that there's couples like that. By the way, there was times that my wife probably would have killed me if she had to spend all day with me. Now, the good news is if you stay together long enough and you get working together long enough, you become a really well-organized team and you have a real big help and a real big blessing. But you're going to go through some tough times at first. Kind of like any marriage, left the toothpaste off, left the lid up, I mean, throws his clothes all over the house. I mean, there's a little bit of training on both sides that has to go on. And then when you, but by the way, when you both get working together, it makes both of your lives so much easier. They work together. Number two, they serve together. In Acts chapter 18, verse 18 and 19, It said this, Now I can tell you my mom and dad were a good example of that to me. My dad was the bus driver. Now, I was a teenage bus captain, so I was a bus captain. We had teenagers at our church bus captains. I was a bus captain at 12 years of age. But needless to say, I can't drive at 12 to go visit my bus route. So guess who was my driver that took me visiting on Saturday? My mother. Guess who my bus driver was on Sunday? My father. And so the truth is, because of them, I was able to work in the bus ministry. Without them, it would have been very, very difficult to do that. My dad was not a preacher. He wasn't called to preach, but he preached at a nursing home. And when he preached at that nursing home, guess who went along? Mom and the rest of us kids. We would sing. Mom would always make you the cupcakes or cookies. Now, she could have stayed home, but she went with Dad. Now, again, my mom hated nursing homes. My mom made us kids swear. do not ever put me in a nursing home. That's why years ago when my mom got pretty sick and my brother called and said, what do you think? I said, no, no, no. You've been making the decisions for mom all these last years and didn't want any of my help. This one, you're on your own, buddy. Because I said, if you put mom in a nursing home when you get into heaven, Mom's going to be kicking your butt all around heaven. I mean, it's going to be a butt-kicking contest. Because I said, Mom made us swear, do not put me in a nursing home. Because back then, now there are some nice nursing homes today. I've been to some that are actually decent. But back then, all of them smelled. I mean, they smelled bad. And then the bad smell of human pee and feces, and then the stuff that they put on that to try to. And by the way, the mixture of those two made a very terrible smell. I don't know if they would actually have been better either one by themselves, but they went out a good mix. Today, there's much better smelling cleaning stuff than there was back then. But nursing homes back then, I mean, it was a place, I mean, you put people and usually, I mean, they went there to die. It wasn't a nice place and they didn't have activities and all that. I mean, they might sit in the room and watch TV or just sit in the wheelchair all day, maybe chase each other, I mean, have wheelchair races up and down the hall or something, but there wasn't a lot of activities back then. But my mom went with my dad, because dad wanted to go to the nursing home, and my mom went with him. My dad was a children's church leader and the director. My mom made puppets. She hand-sewed a bunch of puppets. I still have some of them in a chest at my house today. Mom made a bunch of puppets. And we had a puppet ministry. But mom and dad worked together. Now, it was a blessing to know that my mom and dad were both serving the Lord. It wasn't dad. Now, again, that first year that my dad got saved and mom wasn't saved, that was probably the only time in my life I ever saw my mom and dad bump heads a few times. But because mom was scared to get saved because she didn't want to become a fanatic. She saw dad becoming a fanatic and didn't want to become a fanatic. And you know the two terrible things that she didn't want to give up? her short pants and listen to Elvis. That was the two things that were so terrible that she didn't want to get saved because she knew she'd have to change. And by the way, today there are a lot of folks, trust me, the stuff that Elvis sings today is pretty good compared to the other stuff out there. So today Elvis looks like a Baptist preacher's son, and maybe he even was, I don't know. But the truth is, my mom didn't want to become, she didn't want to be a religious fanatic like my daddy. But again, my parents set a good example to us as far as serving together. By the way, Aquil and Priscilla taught together. Acts chapter 18 verse 26, and he began to speak boldly in the synagogue, whom when Aquil and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. By the way, sometimes you older couples, you can teach the younger couple some stuff. I can tell you, I have some wise, I have some people that I go to and I call them my wise counselors. Now when you get older, it's hard to find counselors older than you when you get old, because I mean, that means, I mean, you know, but the truth is I have some folks that are my wise counselors. I talked to one of them today. Now listen to me. There is so much you young folks could learn if you would just ask and if you'd also just listen. There's so many young women that have babies. And by the way, there's so many older women that could give you so many ideas. Listen to me. It's not the best thing is not to pick the baby up every time it cries. You will want to pick the baby up every time it cries, but that's not the best thing to do. If you keep that up, you're going to be carrying that kid around when he's about 12 years old. Every time he crosses, you're going to have to pick up the big old... But the truth is, those wiser older women can give you some advice about that. There's a lot of things they can... Again, that's why the Bible says for the older women to teach the younger women. That's why the Bible says for the older men to teach the younger men. Now, in order for that to happen, we have to be teachers, elderlies. By the way, in order for that to happen, you young folks have to be listeners. learners. But again, they taught together. In this case, they helped a young man that was trying to do right, and they helped him to become, I mean, he was already preaching, but they gave him, I mean, in this case they gave him some help and helped kind of straighten him out a little bit. My mom and dad helped a family by the name of Kenny. I don't remember the first names now. But I remember later they weren't as missionaries, but when they first got saved, they hung out with my mom and dad. They were younger than my mom and dad, and they looked at my mom and dad as parents. And the reason they did that was he was a Jew. As soon as he got saved, his mom and dad disowned him. He knocked on the door one day, and he told us about this, and I didn't realize it happened. I'd heard people talk about it, never had known it to happen. He knocked on the door, and they said, hi, mom and dad. And they said, who are you? And he named his name, and he said, I'm your son. And they said, we don't have a son. He's dead. He had zero, he could have zero relationship with his parents because he became a Christian. So they would come to my mom and dad's house and get counseling and spend time and they learned a lot from my mom and dad. And I watched my mom and dad teach him. I remember one time he got to the house and he said, see, so you think this is funny? And his wife said, don't do that. And he said, yeah, guess what she did? He said, she started out of the house wearing a pair of pants. But when we found, but he said, but when we got close to your house, he says, We've got to stop at a gas station so I can change. He said, because I don't want Cecil to see me in a pair of pants. And my dad said, well, I'm glad you think about me like that, but Jesus has already seen you that whole time. What about him? And that rung in my head, and I thought, my dad's pretty smart sometimes. But he said, you shouldn't worry so much about what I think. You should worry more about what Jesus thinks. But the truth is that my parents, who were the older couple, were helping that younger couple. So they taught together. By the way, they helped together. Notice Romans chapter 16 in your Bibles Romans chapter 16 Read a Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus Helpers I had someone tell me here a while back that one time when the preacher and Cindy was sick She went to make them a meal and take them a meal and her husband said what are you doing? I don't make the money around here so you can feed other people and You know what that's called? Stupid. That's what that's called. It's called they were an idiot. But listen to me, there are times that husbands and wives are not together. That's why you need to work together, help together. By the way, you ought to risk your necks together. Romans chapter 16, verse 4, we read that earlier, how they were willing to lay down their own necks. You should sacrifice together. Romans 16, notice verse 5. Romans 16, verse 5 says, Likewise, greet the church that is in their house. Salute my well-beloved Epaphanus, who is the first fruits of Achaiai. and to Christ. So again, you should sacrifice together. I am so appreciative of my wife. Very seldom did she ever fuss at me. I like to give to help people. I give people money alongside the road. I always give them a track too. Now I've found it's hard for them to turn down a track if you give them money as well. But again, she's never fussed at me about that. There was only a time or two because there was a family in the church years ago that, by the way, didn't appreciate the help that they got. They asked me for help and I helped them. Later they asked me for help and I helped them. They always promised to To pay back never did and my wife finally said you're working two jobs, and they're not even working Why do you get so there was only that's that's the only time my wife ever fussed at me about that stuff 90% of time She was always gonna listen to me. You ought to be willing to help people together I mean to do stuff with each other to be givers together I know that there's times that that husband's a wife want to do something and the other one does not want to and One might want to give the missions and the other does not. One might want to give to a special occasion or a special need and the other one does not. You ought to sacrifice together. And then the last thing as far as this is concerned, we should love others together. Notice 1 Corinthians 16, verse 19. 1 Corinthians 16, 19, that the churches of Asia salute you, Aquila and Priscilla, salute you much in the Lord with the church that is in their house. Now, they loved others together. Now, it was such a blessing for my wife to be with me when I was a teenager. She was on the same bus route with me. She loved the bus kids as much as I love the bus kids. When we worked here till she got six, when I came to youth activities, she came to youth activities. Mrs. Block was right there alongside of me. When I went to youth conference, she went to youth conference. Youth conference for all those years we went to Winter Hills, youth conference always fell on her birthday. It was always on that. Her birthday was July 14th, and Youth Conference always was like the 10th through the 14th, or the 11th through the 15th. It always fell on that week. So every year, my wife celebrated Youth Conference, celebrated her birthday at Youth Conference. Now, I can tell you, putting up with teenagers all the time, if you want to do something that will make you want to pull your hair out and pray to God for help, work with teenagers. Now, kids are a lot of fun, and they're very loving, and very giving, and very caring. are not, okay? I mean, now they love, but they love in a different way, okay? But the truth is, my wife was right there alongside of me with the teenagers. I mean, when it came to doing stuff with the teenagers, she was right there along with me. Again, love others together. And let me give you one other little area, and then I'll be through. You say, will it work? How does it work? Here's how it works. The Bible says for husbands, in Ephesians chapter 5, verse 25, to love your wives. even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it." Now notice the part where it says, love your wife. There are a lot of men that look around at other women and think about how great a wife they are, how pretty they are, how nice they look. By the way, that's not what the Bible tells you to do. The Bible says for you to love your wife. And then he says, you ought to love your wife as much as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. Wives, the Bible says in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 22, for you to submit yourselves to your husbands. Submit yourself to your own husband as unto the Lord. Two parts for the lady to get there. One, own husband. Some women treat other men or other people, other guests, better than they treat their husband. Not a good thing. He mentions, you say, well, my husband's not a very nice person. Then do what the last part says, as unto the Lord. Do it because the Lord asks you to. There have been times that someone didn't want to do something that I asked him to do, but here's what they said, I'll do it because you asked me to. So they were doing it as a favor to me. They were doing it to be a blessing to me. And here's what the Lord said, wife, submit yourself to your husband. And again, do it as unto the Lord. By the way, man, if you love your wife, it will be much easier for her to submit herself. Love is an action. Notice 1 Corinthians chapter 13. 1 Corinthians chapter 13. Now, men typically don't like to be emotional, but notice what 1 Corinthians chapter 13 says in verse 4, because this is talking about love. So again, the love that, I mean, he tells us to love our wives, so we ought to figure out what love is. He mentions in chapter 13 verse 4, charity suffereth long and is kind. Now listen to me, one thing when you suffer long, you know what you typically are not? Kind because you just suffered you just put up with it put up with it. Then it's hard to be nice He said I want you to suffer long and I want you to be kind he goes on Charity envieth not charity vaunted not itself is not puffed up does not behave itself unseemly Seeketh not her own is not easily provoked thinketh. No evil rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth Look at verse 7, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. So again, husbands, we're supposed to love. It's an action. It's not just a word. Now, it is easy to say, I love you. It is hard to love. It is easy. Again, it's much easier to say the word than it is to practice the word. Ladies, the Bible word for you was submit. By the way, it's a choice and an action. It's a surrender. Submit means, when you look it up, it means to place underneath, to put under, to be under obedience. Now, again, wives, if you submit, it is so much easier for him to love you as he should. So husbands, if you love, if we love like we're supposed to, it's easier for her to submit. By the way, wives, if you submit, it's so much easier to love. Many couples can't and don't do this because they don't start it. It's much easier when you start at an early age. Again, because at that time, we don't have as many bad habits, and we're not as set in our ways. I can tell you now, I put the lid back on the toothpaste, and Mrs. Block hasn't been around for almost 18 months now. Say why? Because she trained me well. I still put the lid down, and I'm the only one in the house. Sierra doesn't use the bathroom, so I'm the only one in the house. I wouldn't even have to put the lid down, but I still put the lid down every time, because that's what Mama asked me to do. Now, again, understand, can't or don't, but again, we want to start at an early age. Now, listen to me. There are a lot of kids that leave the house with no intentions to get married. You know why they don't want to get married? Because they've seen what marriage is, and if it's not a good marriage, they don't want anything to do with it. That's why today there's a lot of 30 or 40-year-olds, or even some 20-year-olds that aren't getting married. They'll live together. By the way, some of them will live together for 20 or 30 years. But they don't get married. Because of the fact that they, I mean, they always want to know that I can just step out anytime I want to step out. I can leave. I don't have that commitment. Don't just hold it together till the kids grow up. A lot of folks do that. A lot of marriages last till the kids leave and then the divorce happens. Some happens till retirement comes and then divorce happens. Don't just hold it together till the kids grow up or so that you don't have to split. I know folks who stay together because they don't have to split their income. If I get divorced, they'll get half my money. If I get divorced, they'll get half my money. built such a relationship early on, that when there's just the two of you left, that life's great. Marriage is great. He loves, she submits. By the way, you do that often enough, and it'll be just as easy as breathing. You won't even have to think about it. It's not a battle, it's not a struggle. It's called a relationship, and it's a good relationship. When you have the good relationship, not only will your life be easier and happier, The kids growing up will have an example of what not. I don't know how many times I've seen a young couple, they'll point over some older couple, the older couple, they've been married for 50 years and they're still holding hands and they're still looking each other in the eye and they're still smiling and people go, oh. Now listen to me, that's not easy to have. That took a lot of work. And yes, they could have got a divorce down through those 30 or 40 years if they wanted to. If you think it was all, I mean, roses and great times, it wasn't. There was some tough times. There were some hardships, but again, be the struggle and strive and work and pray to be the inseparable couple, the couple that mom and dad are both on the same, I mean, on the same page, working together. I mean, both, I mean, are happy to be at church. I mean, if dad doesn't go, mom still comes because this is her church too. I know times that one mate, I mean, one mate stays, I mean, if one mate's sick, the other mate doesn't even come because they didn't really want to come in the first place. And again, it's important that mom and dad are both on the same page, that again, you're working together. Quill and Priscilla are a good example of that. They were the inseparable couple. When you saw one, guess what? Next to him was the other one, and they were together. By the way, it makes life much more fun and much easier. Lord, we love you. Thank you for your blessing. I pray, Lord, you'd help us to work hard in our marriages that we might be the inseparable couple. Days come, the weeks come, the months come, the years come, they turn into centuries, and Lord, we're still there, and we're growing old together. We still love each other, and Lord, we just love each other even more after 30 years than we did at 20. We love each other more at 40 than we did at 30, and Lord, it just gets sweeter and sweeter. Instead, Lord, the other hand, where all the world has, where they put up with each other for so many years till they finally just get to the point that they just can't stand it any longer and they go their separate ways. I pray, Lord, you'd help us as Liberty Baptist Church members to set the example when it comes to this marriages that last forever. I pray, Lord, you'd help us realize that we're supposed to have one husband, one wife for one lifetime, that we'd work really hard to have that happen in our lives. And, Lord, if there's a young people here tonight I pray Lord you'd help them to to look to the right couples the men and women in the Bible and the men women in our church who are serving the Lord together