worship God in the beauty of His holiness. And holiness is a beautiful thing. It's not an ugly thing. And I like beautiful music. Amen. And I like songs that have chords that resolve. How many know what I'm talking about? Some of these new songs I hear in churches, the chords never resolve. They're just going up and all over the, I'm like, would you resolve that? It just drives me nuts. And I have my own opinion about why they do that, but that's not for today. Acts chapter 13, Acts chapter 13. Brother Jim has read our text for us and looking forward to working our way down to verse 27, 28, and 29. I don't think you have to be too aware as a child of God today to know that in America anyway, we are watching this kind of walking away, this walking away from biblical truth more than we really ever have probably at any time of our nation. different thing. I don't want to say over the world because there are other places of the world that the Gospel is going and growing and we are thankful for that every time we get some letters from some of our missionaries and what an encouragement they are in some parts of Asia and things like that where God is doing a wonderful work over there. But we look at our own nation and because we are We look at these things because they can be discouraging, right? It can be hard to explain. It can go and have an effect on us. And if we're not careful, it can pull us away as well. We can look at these things and kind of the case or us or what will be, will be. And you just kind of drift off yourself if you're not careful. And some of it is the evidence of the end times that we are living in. I do believe we're in the end times. Now, people say, what are the end times? Well, I think the end times, the last days, as Paul spoke of, are all of the days comprised of the time after the Lord Jesus Christ up to his coming. Those are the last days. Why? Because the Messiah has come. And there's not another one coming, right? And so these are the, we are living in the last days, but I think it's safe to say 2000 years later, we are closer than we've ever been. Is that an easy statement or what? We really are. And Jesus spoke about a falling away before he returns. And he even said, I think it was over in Luke 18, when I return, will I find faith? And I don't believe he was talking about, am I gonna find safe people? I believe he's talking about, am I gonna find anybody living by faith? And we look at our own nation and we look at the churches that we are familiar with, you begin to ask the question as well. What is going on? Where is it going? But in our text here in chapter 13, I think kind of just tucked away in this passage is a truth that is strengthening to the faithful, And it is also an indictment on the backslider. And I want to look at that this morning. And there is in this passage really, the subject is a prophesied rejection. And I want to look at this here in just a little bit. In verses 1 through chapter 13, verses 1 through 14, Verses one through 14, Paul and Barnabas have been sent out by their church at Antioch. They were a member of the church at Antioch. If you notice this, I think this is imperative to how we do missions. This is separate, okay? This is not a part of the message, but I can't get past this without saying something. It's so good. Churches send out missionaries. Churches send out ministry. And if you'll notice, the Holy Spirit of God didn't say, hey, Paul, Barnabas, go out and do something. the Holy Spirit of God told the church to send out Barnabas and Paul for the work that he had called them on to. If somebody says, I'm called to this, and the church goes, are you sure? You don't seem qualified for that. Listen, that's a red flag, right? The church, I believe the church is going to know that because the Holy Spirit is going to bear witness to that to the church to send them out. And so we see here that the Holy Spirit said as verse two, as they ministered unto the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, he was saying to the church, separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereby I called them. And when they had fasted and prayed and laid hands, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. And so they sailed out, they went, you know, I don't know, 15, 16 miles north and they sailed out there from Seleucia and they sailed their first, After they got on that boat, their first stop westward would have been the island of Cyprus. And it's a beautiful island. Obviously, it's still there today in that need. It hasn't sunk or anything like that. But they began to go about that 100-mile journey from the port of Seleucus unto the island of Cyprus. And it says in Acts 4 in verse 36 that this was the home of Barnabas. And I find this kind of interesting. Maybe it was heavy on his heart that he wanted to go to his home and wanted to be the first stop that he made. And I think it's a wonderful thing when you see people, they come into the United States from other countries and they get saved and all of a sudden they have a burden to go back to their country and to bring the gospel there. Maybe this is what happened to Barnabas and he just, they went there first, but whatever it was, I know what happened, they got there, amen? And they began in the city of Salamis and they began to preach there and they went through the, entirety of the island, all the way to that western city of Paphos. And it was there in Paphos where they met Sergius Paulus, and you can find some of the, there's some inscriptions of what happened there, and who was it, that sorcerer there, there are some inscriptions of that. of that event that were found on a boundary stone of Claudius in Rome. And I love when history catches up with the Bible. And it was, they were there on that island, on that city of Paphos, and they had heard, Sergius Paulus, he had heard Paul and Barnabas preach in the synagogue, and after he heard it, he goes, I wanna meet with y'all, I wanna hear some more. And so they came and they met with him, and he believed the gospel and he got saved. And so they were finished there in Cyprus, and they went from Cyprus and from Paphos there in that city in Cyprus, and they sailed over to Turkey, and they ended up in Cyprus. Perga and Pamphylia. You see that in verse 13. And so they are now on the very southern end of modern day Turkey. And from there they go from Perga up to Antioch, Pisidia. You can see that in verse 14. And they've moved quite a bit further inland now into the interior of Turkey. So Paul and Barnabas were doing what missionaries do. You see this? They're just doing what missionaries were called to do. They preached in Salamis. They preached in Paphos. They preached in Perga in Pamphylia. They preached in Antioch of Pisidia. All along the way, they had one mission, and that mission was to preach Jesus Christ, right? Brother Phelps and Sister Phelps, when you went to Papua New Guinea, you went to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Brother Goodall, when you're in Mexico, you went to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. On your way to Columbia, when you get there, you're gonna preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is the only hope that the world has, is the gospel of Jesus Christ. And listen, the mission hasn't changed today, amen? There has been nothing that has changed. The church of Jesus Christ has been commanded to preach the word of God throughout the entirety of the world, amen. Matthew 16 18 Jesus said I say into the hour Peter and upon this rock I will build my Ecclesia my church that word was used it wasn't a new made-up word by Jesus he said I'm going to build my Ecclesia my called-out assembly and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it It would a joy that is 2,000 years. We're still assembling today. We're still preaching the gospel today. We're still sending out missions across the world today. Why? Because the gates of hell still have not prevailed against the church of Jesus Christ. Amen. Mark 16, 15. He said unto them, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter four and verse two, preach the word, be instant, in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. See, the church at Jesus Christ has been commanded to preach the word of God. And listen, it's not a new thing, amen? We haven't taken up anything that has not already been done. John the Baptist preached, Jesus preached, the disciples preached, the first church preached, beginning there on the day of Pentecost and seeing 3,000 saved. They preached the gospel. The early church preached. They preached in caves. They preached in homes. They preached out on the streets. They preached in prisons. It was said of John Bunyan when he was put in prison that he would, for preaching the gospel without a license, he would get up to the bars of his cell and he would put his arms out and he would preach the gospel to the crowds that were outside of his cell and they would preach in prison and they would preach all the way, all the way to their death. They preach the gospel, and they preach that one message, amen? Jesus Christ crucified, risen, and coming again. They preach Jesus Christ, the way, the truth, and the life. They preach Jesus Christ, as John the Baptist said, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. Listen, nothing has changed today. Our mission in Nixa, in Missouri, and the United States of America, under the uttermost part of the world, is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. You either send or you go. You either give or you go, right? And you give here locally, all right? You might give to send regionally. We give in worldwide missions, but the mission for the church Crimson Avenue Baptist Church this morning, the mission is still the same. The gospel must be preached throughout all the world. How many of you have ever noticed that not everyone is as excited about it as we are? When Paul and Barnabas reached Antioch, Pisidia in verse 14, they find the local synagogue and they begin right there in that synagogue. Look at verse 14. But when they departed from Perga, they came into Antioch and Pisidia and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down. Now, why would they do this? Well, the synagogues were conducive to preach. They're already thinking of spiritual things. They're already assembled as a body, right, per se. They are assembled there. They are reading the Old Testament. Their mind is on the God of Israel. It is a perfect opportunity. Also, what lent itself to this was at the end when everything, the reading of the Old Testament would be done and whatever teaching was done, they would kind of open up the floor to any other testimony or discussion or anybody wanted to leave something extra in there, they left it and so it was an open forum. Look at here in verse 15, and after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, who was them? Well, Paul and Barnabas. saying, ye men and brethren, obviously understood, at least he knew that Paul was a Jew, men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on. And you know what Paul was gonna do here? He is gonna get up and say on. Thank you for the open door. You have no idea what you just opened, but you're about to. And so Paul here is gonna begin, And Paul is gonna preach, he's gonna have an opportunity here and he's gonna preach the Lord Jesus Christ. And look at verse 16. Then Paul stood up and beckoning with his hand, said, men of Israel and ye that fear God. There are Gentiles, probably some Gentiles here. You men of Israel and you that fear God, give audience. And so they're listening, they're ready to hear this. and Paul begins with a Jewish history lesson. You know, when I was in Israel back in 2019, we were going through Jerusalem and we were in Galilee and we went through certain stops and we were down at, we went up on top of Masada and we went down to the Dead Sea and all these different areas and locations where great historical events happened. And while we were there, I would notice all along the way, were those young people, 18 years, 19, 20 years old, who were members of the IDF, Israel's military. At 18 years old, male or female, they're required to enter into the IDF to protect their nation. And I noticed them all along the way. They're in their military garb. They have their M4s. They're just walking along in big groups. And if you listen closely, you'll notice what they were doing. They were getting a history lesson as well of their own nation. It was neat. I think we're lacking that in our own nation. I think our education system has become indoctrination, and not on American history, but indoctrination on communism and everything else that they wish to come in here. That's another subject. But here in Israel, they were getting a history lesson. Paul began with a history lesson. He began with this Jewish history in verse 17, beginning in Egypt, how God brought them out in Egypt. And in the synagogue, they would agree with this. This is a great part of our history. God brought us. out of Egypt. And then verses 18 through 21, he gives them the history of the judges and all the way that 400 and some years from the judges up into the time of King Saul. And they were agreeing with this, no doubt. They know of the judges and the time of the judges. And then verses 20 through 23, he shifts his focus on to King David. And no doubt they would have agreed with him on King David. I mean, this is an easy lesson that's going on here. They're like, amen, amen, amen, amen. This is awesome, right? He comes to verse 22, and when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be king, to whom also he gave testimony and said, I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill my will. my will. And he's focusing now on King David. I want you to notice this. He says, fulfill all my will. What is God's will? Listen, he was not saying that David personally is going to fulfill his will, right? Because he's going to sin greatly, right? Notice what it says, shall fulfill. Shall fulfill. This is future tense. What has God found? God has found in David a man after his own heart who is broken just like the rest of humanity. But he has found a man who has a heart for him. And God is going to fulfill his will through David. And what was God's will that he's gonna fulfill through David? Well, John 3.16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believed in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Over in 1 Timothy 2, at the end of verse 14, Paul writes and says, who will have all men to be saved? and to come unto the knowledge of the truth, not some men, not the elect, not those that I choose. It is well that all will be saved. He says he's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. He says that he has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. But he says over in Ezekiel, it tells them to turn and to repent and to come back to God. The Bible says in 1 John 2, 2, he's the propitiation for our sins, not for ours only, but for all the sins of the whole world. Amen. This is the will of God. Amen, that the world come to him. Now don't miss this. It is God's will that the world is reconciled back to himself, and he has chosen the line of David to fulfill his will in reconciling us back to him. Look at verse 23. Of this man's seed hath God, according to his promise, raised unto Israel a Savior. Who's the Savior? Amen, amen, amen, amen. Wait, hold on a minute. What? Jesus? I don't know about that. Watch, Paul is laying a foundation that a Messiah will come through David. They don't have any disagreement with that, and today Israel still doesn't have a disagreement with that. What they disagree on is who the Messiah is, and they have rejected the only Messiah that has come and that will come, and they have rejected him, and one day they will believe, but on a national sense today, they have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ. Yeah. Notice where he goes next in verse 24, he goes to John the Baptist. John was prophesied like 680 years before his own birth. You can find that back in Isaiah chapter 40. And John himself said, I'm not the Messiah, but I'm gonna come before the Messiah. I'm preparing the way for the Messiah. He's bringing them right down. If John is the preparation, and here we are, maybe, I don't know, several years after the fact that Jesus has come and gone, after the fact that John the Baptist has come and been beheaded and is gone, if we're this many years after, and John said he's the one who's coming, who else could it be? John himself said, behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Who else could it be, right? And so he works his way to the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse 27. For they that dwell at Jerusalem and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophet, which are read every Sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. And when they fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a sepulcher. Paul says it was all prophesied, folks. His coming was prophesied. His death was prophesied. The way He was going to... Jesus Himself said the way He was going to die before He ever was crucified. He said, if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto Me. It was prophesied. His resurrection was prophesied. Hey, His rejection was prophesied. So the question for these Jews here at this synagogue is, why do you want to continue in a system that has rejected and killed the Messiah? Now to us, we're like, amen. To them, they're like, oh no. You're a heretic. What are you saying? See, watch, if these Jews don't repent, they are gonna be in the very same place the rulers were who crucified Jesus. Yeah. It's like, be careful. You might fulfill prophecy you really don't want to fulfill. Fulfilled prophecy, what are you talking about? Would you notice something here? I wanna take a closer look at verse 27 and 28. We've established that Paul has gone out in the world to preach the gospel. He's gonna preach one man, Jesus Christ. Not everybody's gonna receive that. Not everybody's gonna rejoice in that. And these people here, obviously we're gonna see later, well not in this message, but maybe another time, we'll come back here and we're gonna see, they're not gonna take it. But I wanna focus, I wanna notice something here, a little bit something in verse 27, 28. And we'll be done. I did not say how long we'll be in 27 and 28. Verse 27, for they that dwell at Jerusalem and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath day, look at this, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. What did they fill? The prophecies. They fulfilled the prophecies by condemning Jesus. Those religious rulers at Jesus' day who said, crucify him, crucify him. In condemning Jesus, they were actually fulfilling the very prophecies that was prophesied that they would do. Look at this. They have fulfilled verse 28, and though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. And when they, who's they, the rulers, had fulfilled all that was written of him, their actions were actually the fulfillment of the prophecy that was prophesied. Did they have to be a part of that prophecy? No, they did not. Listen, the scripture, this hasn't been turned around into some Calvinistic thought process that because it was prophesied it meant that it was predetermined. God can know all things and not determine, amen. It's absolutely possible. He exists outside of time. He can know and not choose, amen. And so, here he is, these Jews, when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a sepulcher. They ended up being the ones who fulfilled the prophecy. Were all of the religious rulers a part of this? Actually, no. I mean, we know Nicodemus wasn't. Not all were. But these who chose to be were. They ended up fulfilling the prophecy. Notice this, the Jews that crucified Him actually fulfilled the prophecies of the God that they were rejecting. Listen, listen, the rejection of Jesus to prove Him wrong actually proved Him right. What is this on the part of Israel? Spiritual blindness. When they fulfilled. How on earth did they go along with this? Well, Paul tells us in Romans 11, 25, For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest that ye should be wise in your own conceits, that blindness in part is happened to Israel, and to the fulfilling of the Gentiles be come in. Now, I don't know how the church becomes Israel when you actually have a literal fulfilling time of the Gentiles, but anyway, that's another subject too. You notice this? Blindness in part has happened to Israel. Why in part? Because Jews are still getting saved. Paul got saved. Jews were getting saved. But there is an overarching blindness that is over Israel. Why? Because they rejected the Lord Jesus Christ. And that blindness, that national overarching blindness is going to be removed when the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled. When the Rapture of the Saints, when the Church is gone, and the Saints are gone I should say, and they are going to look upon Him whom they've pierced after the time of the Tribulation period, the time of Jacob's trouble. Yeah. Spiritual blindness. There's a blindness to the lost as well, right? Listen to Ephesians chapter four, verse 17 and 19. Ephesians four, 17 and 19. This I say therefore and testify in the Lord that you henceforth not walk as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind. He's telling these believers, don't walk as the unsaved. having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart, who being past feeling have given themselves over to lasciviousness to work all uncleanness with greediness. Why are these Gentiles, these unsaved people living this way? Because of the blindness of their own heart. There is a blindness of the lost. Now hold on a minute. There is a blindness that can come about to the saved. You realize 2 Corinthians 2.14, I didn't have this down here, but 2 Corinthians 2.14 says, a natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of the God, neither can he know them, for they, they, spiritual things, are spiritually discerned. If you travel on the rest of that chapter and go into chapter 3 and verse 1, it tells you, Paul says, in you are yet carnal and you cannot understand. And he was going, he was letting these believers in Corinth know just as the lost world is unable to receive spiritual things, sometimes, listen, a carnal Christian can't receive spiritual things either. There's a blindness there as well. Over in Revelation 3, 17, when Jesus was writing to that angel at the church of Laodicea, he said this, because thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. there is a blindness that can come upon believers when they get away from God. 2 Peter 1.9 he says, But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. And we know what that's talking about as we go through chapter 1 on Wednesday nights. and how to protect ourselves and keep ourselves from getting to that place. But they become, they get away from the Lord and they drift back into the world and drift back into carnality and they get this blindness over them. They don't even live in a way that is any way indicative that they've been saved and rescued from their old sins. They're right back where they were. See, today, what we're watching in our own nation, let's just say this, among some of the churches that we would say are of like faith, what we are watching is the blindness of those who claim to be born again and claim to be serving God, but there's a drift going on that you're like, what is going on here? Yeah, well, you know what's going on? There's a prophecy for them as well. No, this prophecy that these, the early, the Jews, the religious rulers of Jesus' day, the prophecy that they were fulfilling, unbeknownst to them, the rejection of Jesus was actually the fulfilling of prophecy. There is a prophecy for us, there are prophecies for us today. You're like, what are you talking about? Let me just give you a couple. 2 Peter 3, 3, 3, 4, knowing this first, that there shall come in the last day scoffers walking after their own lusts, right? We know 2 Peter 3, it says in the last day there shall be perilous times, in the last days perilous times shall come, right? Men shall be lovers of their own selves, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure, it goes on, lovers of God, all the list there of those. I do not believe that's talking to the lost because they've always been this way. He was writing to Timothy on how to pastor and is speaking to those in churches. There's coming a day when God's people and God's children are gonna look in such a way and act in such a way where they're gonna act in a way as scoffers walking after their own lust. You know, there are those that once walked with God who kinda, in a way, they scoff at the Word of God now and the way that they live, right? They scoff at the Bible. They scoff at godly living. They scoff at holiness. They scoff at all these things. That's not what it means and that's not what it says. They scoff at everything that has been preached since the word was given. They scoff at these things. There's prophecy against that. There's a prophecy warning of that that's going to come. To those who have left living God to chase the pleasures of this world, there's prophecy for that. 2 Timothy 3, this know also, I was telling you just earlier, in the last days perilous times shall come for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, listen to this, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. Have you seen on Sundays and Wednesdays so much pleasure going on like never before? Have you seen on, you know, you might have some special occasion, a special event, you might have revival one week, and you might have some missions conference another week, and there's just pleasure going on all over the place, and it's amazing how thinned out the churches get. Yeah. I know some people thin out after dark, and I get that. Some people can't drive after dark. I'm amazing what thins out among people that are well and able. Hey, be careful, there's a day coming where you're not gonna be able to serve God like you wanted to, like you want to, and you're gonna look back on a life that you wasted, wasted on yourself, and you're not gonna have that opportunity to make it up, and it's gonna affect you. You're gonna look back when you can't be in the house of God, wish you were in the house of God. There are those who have left the living for God to chase after the pleasures of this world. I mean, there's every game going on. There's pickleball, whatever that is now. I know what it is. That's all I hear about is pickleball, right? Tournaments, they're running all over the world. There's soccer. You see the sports fields all over the place. They're full on Sundays. They're full on Wednesday night. Do you think every one of those people on those fields are lost? I think some of them are children of God. Just living it up. Living it up. Pleasures of this world. Don't sleep on me yet, man. We're not done. We're almost here. Come on. There are those that are now questioning the second coming of Christ. They're questioning the rapture of the saints. There's prophecy against that, about that. 2 Peter 3 and 4 saying, where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. They're like, I don't know, now I just think, I used to be, I hear this all the time, I used to be pre-millennial, I used to be pre-tribulational rapture, I think I'm just a preterist now, I think he came spiritually, it wasn't literal, it was spiritual. Careful, it's been prophesied. There are believers today that are walking away from God. Listen, they believe they've got this newfound freedom, right? And they're free, they can do what they want, they can live how they want, right? They can create God in their own mind how they want Him to be, and they're just living it up, and they're trying to get as many to go along with them. Do you know there's a whole movement, right, called Transitioning? We were just talking about it yesterday. A guy down in Florida, Brian Sams, who goes into churches and teaches them how to transition away from the King James Bible. Listen, bud, go start your own church and be a man. Quit coming in and undermining. This is what Calvinists do, too. They come in and they undermine. They sink in and they undermine and undermine and undermine. They're not man enough to go out and just start something on their own. Fine if you disagree, big deal, that's great, go ahead. But you're a deceiver. They have this great newfound freedom. They're going around trying to drag as many people as possible as they can. But what they don't realize is they're actually proving God right and they're drifting away. It was prophesied. Listen church, like the Apostle Paul, we're to be preaching the gospel, but not everybody is gonna receive it. Not everybody is taking it like they ought to. And one of the saddest rejections of the truth of the Word of God are those who have received the Gospel, they're in Jesus Christ, but they've walked away from living a life, a Godly life according to the Word of God. They've just drifted away into something else. And it's sad to see. There are those who once received the Word with humility and obedience, they've just drifted off to doing their own thing. Many believe that they have shaken off the restraints of the Bible, and they're walking in this great freedom that they have. They've adapted to the world. They have filled their life with the world, and the pleasure of the world, and the pleasure of the world's entertainment. And it looks like, hey, listen, saints, it looks like they're doing just fine. Yep. But in their freedom, they don't even realize. fulfilling the very prophecy that they should have been warning others against. See the Jews who should have known the Scriptures rejected it and became the fulfillment of the prophecy against them. They all didn't have to do that but so many did. And there are believers today who should know the Word of God who have fallen away and have become the fulfillment of the prophecies that were given to us by about a falling away in our day. Hey, listen, either way, your life's gonna validate the Word of God. Either way, you're gonna validate it. You're gonna validate it by being those of the remnant who follow, or you're gonna validate it by being those who drifted and walk away in the last days. Let me give you a little application and we'll be done. I want to say something to those, I don't know of any, but it's possible somebody's here who's not saved, possible somebody's watching online who's not saved. It's possible, I'm just surmising here, but it's possible you might think the direction of the nation and of some Christians is validating your refusal to come to Christ. It doesn't. Your refusal proves the Bible true and it has proven again that you need to repent and come to Christ. To the saved. There's two things I want to talk about. They're real short. The first thing I want to point out to you is for correction. Has there been any drift with the crowd that's running away? Has there been any drift, right? You've watched it, right? It just gets tiresome sometimes. It's like, them, too? Now them? I didn't expect them to go this direction. And it's easy to come into your mind like, I mean, is it worth the fight? I mean the inertia and the movement is going this way. Is it worth, I mean, going upstream? Can I tell you? It is. It is worth going upstream, right? Listen, you do realize if you're drifting this morning with this crowd, you do realize that when you do that, you are just as a part of the prophecy that proves you wrong as they are. And what you need to do is you need to repent and return to a serious, obedient walk with Christ. You want some edification? You want to feel better? The falling away is proving that what we've preached for so many years is right, and the Word of God has been validated. Absolutely, amen. Listen, the problem is not what we preach. The problem is the heart of those who have walked away. This Word is still true, every last bit of it. What it says about Jesus, what it says about us, what it says how we ought to live as children of God, everything, it has not changed, it has been validated. Listen, don't get discouraged at the falling away. Don't get discouraged. Why? Because they're just proving the Bible true. So what do we do? We'll just keep preaching Christ. Do what Paul did, just get up and preach Jesus. He went from, why did he go from city to city to city? Why did he leave the ones that rejected it? Because he had to get to the next ones who would receive it. And what I'm saying this morning is, as you watch a drift and you watch those lives that are proving the word of God true, just keep preaching until you find the ones that will receive it. See, the command to preach doesn't hinge on those that are walking away. Amen. It does not at all. Listen, we just need to go out and preach the Word of God. Preach the Word of God. Let me ask you this morning, what prophecies are you fulfilling? No, I'm talking about your life and my life. What prophecies are our lives fulfilling? Are they fulfilling the prophecies of falling away? Or are they fulfilling the prophecies of a faithful remnant? just going to preach the Word. And when Jesus comes He says, will I find faith when I return? Will I find faith if we are here when He returns? If we are still on the planet when He returns that He would find us. And say, well done thou good and faithful servant. Amen. It's possible. Listen the choice is yours. The choice is yours. You can go ahead and fall away and go with the rest of the crowd and fulfill that prophecy. But Or you can take the Word of God and look at it and say, no, it's true. God is right. He's always right. And you can pick up the Word of God and preach and just carry on as a faithful remnant. It's a life of love and obedience to Christ and walking with Him. It's up to you. It's up to you. Father, thank you. Thank you for the, thank you for the correction and the warning and thank you for the edification. that though a world is falling around us, and though those that we once thought were strong have been, lately have shown to be weak and falling away, that Lord, we don't have to follow that. It just proves you right. And we just need to keep preaching what's right and living what's right. Would you help us to do that in a strange time that we live? No doubt it is. And I just pray that you'd be glorified in every life that's in here, that each life in here would be a life that continues to preach the Lord Jesus Christ, regardless of what society is doing, regardless of what other Christians are doing, that we would be faithful, living and preaching the Lord Jesus Christ. Help us in that today, in Jesus' name, amen. Why don't you stand this morning, the invitation. is open to you this morning and the instrument is gonna play. However, the Lord has spoken to you. I don't know how he's spoken to you today. Maybe you needed some encouragement. Maybe you need some correction, whatever it is. Would you come today? The Lord has spoken to you today. People are praying. The invitation is open. You come. Do you need to be saved? Maybe you've never been born again. Maybe you've never been saved. You need to come today and receive Christ. We have people that are trained in the Bible. They can show you from the Word of God how you can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that your sins can be forgiven and that you're on your way to heaven. You come this morning, we'll show you that. If you're watching online or maybe you're listening at a later date, you can write us or email us at any time, at any time, and ask us how to know Christ. And we'll get back with you and we'll show you immediately how you can be saved. Christian, what prophecy is your life living? What prophecy are you fulfilling in your life? I'm pretty certain the large majority of everybody in this room wants to fulfill that great prophecy of those who have not fallen away, of those 7,000 who haven't bowed their knee to Baal, who've been faithful in serving God. Can I tell you to just carry on? The decision of those that have drifted away have not validated themselves. They've just validated the truth of the word that we preach and the word that we should live by.