My great-grandmother, my great-uncles, and an aunt all lived down on the, right in the area where this church was planted. I've always been curious about the history here. Well, we came and went as a boy. I can tell you where the triggers are. And I learned how to ride an elevator over to Montgomery Wards Tower. Gave a pretty good exercise. Don't tell the brother that. But I've been praying all week, where do we go? Last night, Brother Smith preached a message on a mission church, wasn't it last night? And I've kind of settled in on a healthy church. I'm going to read some stuff, then I'm going to pray and start. In 1920, prohibition was enacted. No alcohol. It brought in the speakeasies, the gangsters, dancing ladies, and the back door clubs. Fort Worth had the biggest packing house, houses, Armor Star and what was the other one? I knew you'd know. I mean, our kinfolks, that's how they made their living. This was a money place. I took a tour of the stockyards several years ago. They took me over to the hotel where the ranchers would come with their thousands of head of cattle, 35,000 head of cattle a week. slaughtered right down there. At the Stormy End or whatever the name of this church was to begin with. No wonder they called it that. Three years after Prohibition, I take it that this fella named Toby, A.R. Toby, I've got a Hall of Fame right here. It doesn't go all the way, but it takes us all the way to 11. And I'm gonna deal with them in a minute. Somebody had a burden. for the Lord. You know, we've sung these great songs. How can it be that thou, my God, should die for me? I'm saved by the blood of the crucified one. It's not one thing that what I was worthy of, it was all what He was worthy of. And He who was God of very God, came to die for sinners. Over there in 1 Timothy, the Bible says it's a faithful saying worthy of all acceptation that Jesus Christ came to save sinners. Somebody got that. Somebody over there in the dark end of the slaughter area got that. And I just thought about, I mean, the gangsters were rising. Some of you guys know about this 199 strip. down through the place. And I've heard some talk about the tunnels and how you could go three blocks underground and run from the cops. And all of the sin holes the devil could dream up were right here where the West began. All of that money attracted Satan. And Satan attracted... I remember a sign that was up in one of the churches at Burke one time. It says, only fools fool with sin. That comes off of one of the Psalms. The Psalmist said, a fool. handles that sin thing. But there's many a fool that's lost his fortune and his character right down the street right here. I've got a series on what makes the church different. One of the things that makes the church different, Jesus said the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Can y'all agree with me? Gates do not make attacks. Gates are for defense. Those walled cities had gates. When the gates were closed, they were safe inside. So the attack is made on the gates. Jesus said, my church, that church I plant, that church that is planted on the rock, won't fail. And the gates won't win. Somewhere down there, those joints have still got some trails and somebody was telling me they were redoing some of the old tunnels and gonna make it a display place for tourists. I don't want to go there. But somebody on this list of preachers, somebody, maybe Brother Childs, maybe A.R. Tobey, 23 and 24, that's, I've got a list that I got from Bruce. He's the oldest member here, nearly. He's approaching C.R. But while Satan was doing his work, God was doing the work. If you think about what it was, we talk about we live in perilous times. A hundred years ago, right here was perilous times. A hundred years ago, those cowboys were still carrying guns. The fights went on right down the street down here, right there where the church was planted. And my uncle, my great uncle, played in a western swing band called the Light Crust Doughboys. The governor of Texas was elected because of the Light Crust Doughboys. That came from over here in Saginaw. That's where the elevators are. And the Lycrose Doughboys came out of that economy. A few years later, Willie Nelson was a member of the church down here. You know, ever since I've been thinking about this all week long, what I think would have been the crowning glory of this day If that old boy that sung Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain, if you've just got an old man sitting with you, come back to that club, and make him a doctor as well. He should walk back. Hey, there's something in him that that world does not see. You can't be both sides of the fence. You can't play both games. Jesus said you can't have two masters. You either love me or you hate me. You're either for me or you're against me. But mark it down. There's a payday someday. Right, brother? So, in the 20s, in prohibition, in the mafia move-in, they planted a church. And then everything got good, right? Not hardly. There was the Depression, the Dust Bowl. World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and it's still going on today. So I was just, as I, there's a lot more to say about all of that. You can go to Wikipedia and read it just like I did. And it'd help you to get a fresh vision. You know, somewhere in the 20s, there was a Baptist preacher in this town that dared to cross the line against the alcohol bootleggers and wound up shooting a man in his office. It was scary. That guy had been there before and threatened him with a gun. He came back the second time. And you know, when you're scared, you do stuff. That's what happened to Moses, wasn't it? So what's a church? I've got some stuff I want to say about the church. How has this church made a hundred years? All those men and all of the instances of their coming, their going, their problems, their heartaches, their victories and their defeats. There was some men came across this stage that could have said something about some of that. There's some people right here that have seen a few bumps in the road at the church. How in the world does a church make it a hundred years? Well, God's got a plan for a healthy church. The church is not a world institution. The church is not a organized entity of business. But the church is a spiritual creation of God. I just wrote some stuff. I've got a few things about the church, and then I want to get to my message. See, over there in 1 Corinthians, he says, I'm going to be back to Ephesians. I'm not through with it yet. Corinthians he said, 2 Corinthians, sorry, verse number 4, chapter number 4, he says in verse number 7, But we have this treasure, he's talking about the treasure of the church through the Lord Jesus Christ. We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. So what that says is, Jesus said over in Luke, that the kingdom of God is in you. The church is not this building. Wasn't that a good video we saw a while ago, starting over here, going all the way around the building, but that's just a building. I mean, it's got broken down air conditioners and everything else you can think of to grieve your heart. The church is right here and right here and right here and right here. The church is in you. That's what he said. So, if you want to know what the church is, you look for some old clay vessel. You all look up here and you say, that's Wayne Hudson. This is not Wayne Hudson. This is a clay vessel that houses Wayne Hudson. Wayne Hudson lives in there with Jesus. The Spirit of God indwells him. When that is gone, he's a dead duck. You'll be coming by here and watching him in the box. And what they bury won't be Wayne Hudson. It's just their suit that Wayne Hudson wore. That's the reason he looks like he wore out to a freeze. And that's who the church is. Spirit filled. Born again. If you come into this church legally, you must be born again. That's what Jesus said. Those two words, born again. means regenerated, born. Not with water, born of the Spirit, right? Spiritual birth. Regenerated with the spiritual birth from above. Born from above. We're no longer even citizens of this world. Our home's old Johnny Flanagan said, I'm already over on the other side waiting on my brand new body to be. Already. Saved as I'll ever be saved. When I got born again. When I got born again, I got a new heart, want to, desire. And so that made, that made, you say, well, you living above sin? No, I'm not. I still have problems. I thought by the time that I got this old, I used to sit behind old brother Harper when I was a boy, and I thought if I ever got as old as brother Harper, I wouldn't have to fight those temptations. I found out it's not so, you do. Satan would like to get you to think that. But you don't outgrow that. That old body's still that body. That old flesh is still that flesh. And you're not gonna change it. You're just gonna have to battle it. God gave us some tools. I've got a list here. I've got a little note here. Over in 2 Corinthians, that verse said that we have this spirit in earthen vessels. I wanted to just look at one thing with you while we're there. I got to looking at this one day. And he says, in Corinthians, I'm having a hard time keeping up with 2 Corinthians, excuse me. 2 Corinthians, he said, we have this treasure in earthen vessels, and I can't get there, sorry. And I listed five different things. Verse one says, in chapter four of 2 Corinthians, we have this ministry. And we have received mercy. We've been singing about that. We have this treasure. Verse 13 says, we have the same spirit of faith. He's talking about the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we have that same spirit of faith. We may not exercise it, we may not use it, but we have it. And one day, chapter five, verse one, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands. What I'm trying to say is the church has some stuff. God has not left us penniless and broke, helpless in this world. Hey, the gangsters moving in, all of the wickedness of the world moving in, but God planted a church. And he gives to us spiritual gifts. I've got, there are four, here's my little note on spiritual gifts. I'm not gonna go there. There are four lists of spiritual gifts. 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 4, 1 Peter 4. Four lists of spiritual gifts. They include supervisory gifts, sign gifts, There's three temporary gifts, and he lists them for you over in 1 Corinthians 13 verse 8. I'm not going to go there. And service gifts. Theologians make an estimate. Some say 17 gifts out of those four lists. Some say up to 21 gifts. Depends on how you look at it. But here's what you can depend on. Now we sung a while ago and said, I'm saved by the blood of the crucified one. Can you say that? If you can say that, the Bible says you have a spiritual gift. I don't know what it is, and you may not know what it is, but every born-again child of God has a spiritual gift. I had a guy come into my church one time. He said, I've got the gift of counseling. He liked to counsel, but I don't think it was a gift. He caused lots of problems in our church with his gift of counseling. I just, have you ever took one of those tests? I just never have believed that we can sit down and in our flesh figure out what God does with His Spirit. You may never know what your gift is, but it'll show up as you go through life and as you need it. If you use your gift So what I'm, now that's just the base, that's the groundwork for what I wanted to say. A healthy church, you find what I want to preach about it in Ephesians chapter four. They said there's 17 to 21 spiritual gifts, depends on how you read your Bible. and who's doing the reading. He did say, not many wise, not many noble, not many mighty are called. How come God doesn't fill up our church with the wise, the mighty, and the noble? Because they're wise and mighty and noble. What God's looking for is an empty vessel that He can put His Spirit, His power, His glory, His help in the middle of. You need to take a trip down this hall before you leave here today. Take a look at the faces and the people in those old pictures. Why, it's Uncle Tom and Grandma and Grandpa. I saw myself over there. Huddled over in the corner with my overalls on and just waiting to get ripped and tear around the church, you know. That was me. Had to go to the hospital one night because I ran into another kid and he put teeth marks. I still got a scar right here. He just shouldn't have gotten away, that's all. I mean, they're just people. I didn't see one big shot in all those pictures. I didn't see a Cadillac down in the pictures. What I saw was common, ordinary people. And some of y'all was in the pictures. I recognize some faces. They were a lot younger. But they're back there. You're on record. And you have a spiritual gift. That's all I wanted to say about spiritual gifts today. This church is not physical. It's spiritual. If we have a victory, it's a spiritual victory. If we have power, it's spiritual power. If we know, if we're obedient and know the will of God and stay in the will of God and know the other side of it, it's Him, not us. It's Christ that worketh in you. both the will and the do of His good pleasure. So, how'd you work, Lord? How'd you work? Ephesians chapter 4 says that in the church there must be three factors for success. I want to give you those three factors. And there's a lot of scriptures to read. I'm not gonna read everything. I just wanna make some points. Look down to verse number Ephesians four, verse number 11. Verse 10. Let me start reading in verse nine. You could really go to seven. Paul's talking about himself. Paul said, I was made a minister according to the gift of the grace of God unto me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me who am less than the least of all saints is this grace given. You get that? He was nobody in himself. It was God who must work in him. Get it, Christian. You are nobody in yourself. If you've got anything to brag about, it's the Lord Jesus Christ working in you. I tell these preacher boys in the college, the most dangerous place in the church is standing at the door where the lady comes out and says, boy, what a great message. I just don't see how anybody could have heard that message and not got saved. That's dangerous. Because see, I'm just a vessel. If there's any preaching done, God did it. If I say, thank you, ma'am, I'm taking glory away from Him. It's not me that preached, it's Him that preached if there was anything of value. Otherwise, it's just men's words and that is nothing. Aristotle and some of those guys proved that. All those wise sayings don't buy you anything. It's the Word of God. It's the power of the Word of God. He's gonna talk about, and make all men to see what is the fellowship of the mystery from the beginning of the world that hath been hid in God who created all things by Jesus Christ to the intent that now under principalities and powers and heavenly places might be known by the church. the manifold wisdom of God according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by faith in Him. He said in the church We paraded some people across. I'm so thankful Brother Bojack honored. Hey, there's some people that needed to be honored here today. Not because of who they are, but because of the Lord they've served. That lady right over there, she doesn't want me to point at her. Do you know she was in Africa and got kicked out. They learned one language to help those boys over there. They had to move over to the other place and learn another language and spend their time. Sometime you ought to talk to John and Mark about their mama. I kind of get the idea that in this Atkinson family, At least half the team is sitting right there. I mean, the one that would hop on the motor scooter and go off and check her patients in that foreign country by herself. See, she's a nurse. People like that made this church. That's the kind of people, I mean, people with no names. We're a bunch of nobodies from nowhere. The only name that's important today is Jesus Christ. But people like that made this church. They were carpenters and paper hangers and factory workers and mechanics and you name them. But they weren't rich folks. They weren't the politicians or the perverts. It's just common old ordinary folks that have a gift from God. So I wanted to say the first step, the first step is leadership gifted men. God gave this church, if I count it right, let's see, if I count it right, 15 preachers, including brother Bujak, in a hundred years. Gifted man. If you go over here in Ephesians chapter four, he's listed a few of the gifts. And then you come down to verse 12, No, verse 11, and he gave some apostles. The apostles are past tense. If you read chapter two, verse 21, 20, 21, 22, they were the foundation stones of the church. Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, that's what it says. They were the foundation stones. I remember years ago when those archeologists dug under the temple over there on Temple Mount, and they finally, you know, that wailing wall is there because the Jews were afraid to step into the holy place. They didn't know for sure exactly where the old temple was, so they set a wall that would keep them completely out. No danger of going where God didn't want them to go. But I used to get that Chosen People magazine, and somewhere back in the 70s, the archaeologist dug in underneath, and found those 200-ton stones. They still don't know how they got there. They could not be cut there. They had to be cut away from that temple mount. No battle noise. No noise at the temple. That's the law of God. But they had to bring those stones, those immovable stones, and they found the cornerstone. Jesus said, Peter, you're a throwing stone. You're one of them that skips across the water. But on this immovable rock, I'm going to build my church. Those stones, every building's got to have some foundation. Look at it. In verse number 11, he's no longer talking about spiritual gifts. He's talking about gifted men. He says, and he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers. He gave them a spiritual leadership of gifted men. They have gifts. He's already told us that. I've already explained that to you. But these gifted men are given, where? To the church. He said that over there in chapter number three. He said it's the church, the mystery that's been hidden from all the generations, the mystery that those old Jews didn't know about, the mystery that the angels would like to look into. It's that mystery of the preaching of the gospel that makes us children of the Father. We can step into the prayer room and pray, Abba Father, He'll hear our prayers. That was heresy in all days before. Gifted men, they're given men I just got three, and verse 12 and 13 says, they're guiding men for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. He did not say these guys were the smartest guy on the block. He did not say they would get the Chamber of Commerce Golden Hand Award. What he said was they had the Spirit of God in them and they had a spiritual gift to lead others to Christ. They were concerned about the name of Jesus and building the church in the knowledge. I wouldn't give you ten cents for a pastor that's there to build himself. There's just one reason to be up here preaching. That's to glorify Him. And the pastor's job, you paying that pastor to study his Bible, he's not paid to be the administrator. He's not paid to be the hand patter. He's paid to be the Bible student who will digest the truths of the word of God and bring them and plant them in your hearts. We kind of left it, hadn't we? Acts chapter 2, they said, or no, it's not Acts 2, it's further on. They said, you look you out seven men, and they'll take care of the tables, and we'll give ourselves to the study and prayer. That's his job, that's what we hired him for. He's gonna study it and he's good at giving you a mouthful to chew on every Wednesday night and every Sunday night. Right? And you stay with that about two or three years, you'll be ready to go to work for him. That's the object of the gifted men. They're here to guide us and to guard us. And he says that down in 14, that we'd be henceforth no more children tossed to and fro, carried with every wind of doctrine. But speaking the truth in love, we may grow up unto Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. Thank God Brother Boo Jack's not up here pumping up Brother Boo Jack. He's here talking about Jesus. And if you just come and, hey, if you need to know more about Jesus, come over here. He'll tell you something about him. That's what he's here for. Gifted men. So there's leadership. 15 of them. And their helpers. You know, we had, I don't know how many we had up here a while ago, but we had several. I thank God for the Hugh Atkinsons and that generation that poured themselves into me. I thank God for those gifted men I've told you about my big chief tablet story. They may not have been educated, but old Elmer Taylor put that pencil behind his ear, and check off number one, and he'd take you down the road, and you'd know something about Jesus before you left that place. He had the power of God on him. The gift is of God. The gift is to the church. The gift is the glorification of the person of Jesus Christ in every one of our hearts. And the anchor that drives us down into the sure doctrines of the word of God that we're not waving around every time Dr. Bottle Stopper comes by. Gifted men, leadership. The next step is membership. Now, I stepped on it. I stepped on it as I come by. I'll come back to it in just a minute. Let's go over here to Colossians, just a minute. Colossians chapter three, verse five. He says, mortify, put to death. Therefore, your members which are on the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, that is an intense desire for everything that's ungodly and against the Word of God. That's what that word means. covetousness, which is idolatry, and for which things sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience. That's a whole message, those two verses. But now ye also put off all these, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing you have put off the old man with his deeds and have put on a new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision, uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond or free, listen to this, but Christ is all and in all. Hey, We came in here today, somebody said, well, we come over here to get some of Alan's barbecue. No, we came in here today so Christ could be all, and in all. Somebody said, well, I just love to hear old brother Boo Jack sing, and I want to come hear him sing when he's singing. Well, I do, too. But he better be singing, Christ is all and in all. You understand what I'm saying? The theme of this church, the theme of the membership. Anybody can be a member here if you're saved, if you're baptized, if you'll make Christ all. That's what that confession's all about, by the way. If you're not willing to make him all and in all, I'm sorry, you can be baptized till you look like a prune. But until he has got your allegiance, you're not ready to be in the membership here. A gifted leadership and a sanctified membership. Back over there to verse 12, chapter 4. What are we going to do? For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry. Brother Thomas Smith used that word last night and explained it not to be diachronies. This word is diakones. It is work that is done, not in your name, but in His name. It is work that is done for another. We get our word deacon off of that word. Membership that serves, that's what I'm talking about. Membership that ministers. that we henceforth be no more children, verse 14, tossed to and fro, carried about with every way to get done. But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, fitly joined together and compacted by that whichever joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, make the increase of the body under the edifying of itself in love." He likens the church to the body. And some of you know this, Susie and I walk every day, every day we can. You know why? To keep my body working. To keep everything loose and limber and tough enough to take the knocks of being a Fort Worth, Texas citizen. right? Hey, he's not talking about physical work. He's not talking about physical. He's talking about spiritual. Getting your spiritual self in a shape that you can serve be molded like Christ. He says over in John, that you are the only Christ that somebody sees. First John. Over there in Philippians, he said, you are the light to a crooked and perverse world. The membership that is molded after the pattern of Christ. Are you? I'll tell you how to gauge that. Do you love Jesus more today than you did last week, last month, last year? When you go down there and look at those pictures, ask yourself this, church member, do I love him more now than I did then? Be a good test. If you don't, you better get serious about your service. Hey, that molding, shaping, stirring is the evidence of the birthing. He said, it's not who you are, where you come from, none of that applies. He took a no people to make of them his people. The only way you can be that is be like Him with a membership. Not everybody's in those pictures. Some of you remember some folks that I didn't never know. Some of you remember some folks that did some stuff for you. My pastor's wife when I was a boy, I was sick with something. My mother, when I was sick as a boy, if you're sick enough to miss school, you went to bed and stayed in bed. There wasn't any TV to watch, so you laid there and twiddled your thumbs and wished you was at school. But I've told you this before. Miss Fields came. She was a friend of my mother's. She knocked on the door. My mother went to the door. I was back in my bedroom. I could hear him talking. And they were, she, I just figured she was there to say my mother about something. And in a few minutes, my mother came to the door and she said, Miss Fields is here. I thought, well, I knew that. She said she wanted to come and visit you. I'm 10 or 11 years old, and Miss Fields, the sweetheart of Avenue Baptist Church, was coming to see me. She came and sat down by me and talked with me. My mother went back to the kitchen, did some stuff. After a while, she brought a bowl of soup. And my pastor's wife, my Sunday school teacher, fed me a bowl of soup. She was my sweetheart the rest of my life. The rest of her life. I preached her funeral when she was 94. I call her about once a month, she'd call me once a month. Every conversation was like this. It ended like this. Well, we love each other, don't we, Waney? When I was pastoring, and you know, that love never dies. We love each other, don't we, Waney? I can't tell you how much that meant. It shaped some corners in my life. As a teenager, it shaped some things in my life. Away from God, it shaped some things in my life. Are you doing it? I mean, are you getting closer? That's the membership. I've heard, I don't know how many times I've heard this week that this church has a reputation down through the years, how they love missions. You know why? Because there was some love right here. Because there was some shaping right here. Because there were some people that wanted Jesus more than they wanted the world, right here. I can still remember some love moments when Suzie and I came into this church. I mean, some of you, probably some of you sitting right here, I know some of you. We knew nobody, nobody. Brother Larry was a good friend. We had ate at LaRue's house a time or two. But we didn't know you. And some of you, hey, where you at? I'll talk to him just before I come in here. You remember, remember Susie? He used to talk to us right there. He died. Huh? Brother, hold your hand up back there. You know who I'm talking about. Your daddy was a joker and a cut up. There he is right there. He welcomed us. I mean, we'd come in here Sunday evening and they're having a choir practice. That old man would sit there and tell us stories and get us involved. Pretty soon it was somebody else and somebody else. Yeah, I can't hear y'all, but you know who he is. Yeah, yeah. And you know, that's what this church was. It was a refuge from loneliness and heartaches and sorrows. It was a place of peace and joy. I mean, your daddy, We'd cut up with each other and pull jokes on each other. We had such a good time. We found a place that we could fit. You know, it'd help you. If you're a minister here, it would help you. I don't know where you're going to church, but you need to find you a place like that. You need to find a place that you can just talk to somebody, that you can laugh a little bit, tell some old corny joke or some old story, and just have a good time together. And make sure they got a preacher that'll open the Bible and give you Jesus. That'll make a great church. You'd make a great church member. Hey, we could have rolled out the pictures. We could have rolled out pictures of members laying on the ground, praying over those containers that left this place full of Bibles and tracts. We could talk about the days of loading those. Hey, it's no little thing to load a container. and then lay them hands on it and pray over it and send it and become missionaries. One of the thrills to me of being in this church is having some touch with world missions everywhere. It's one of the things that drew me here. It's one of the things that has kept this place going for a hundred years. So that's leadership and membership, and there's so much more to say, but I can't say it right now. Maturing, ministering, molded in a pattern of Jesus. Membership. And then my last thing to say is, look at verse 3. to keep the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. Look at verse 13. Till we all come in the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man under the measure and stature of the fullness of Christ, that we be no more children. What he's gonna say is, up in verse four, he said, there's one body, here, get this, there's one body and one spirit, and you're called in one hope, and one Lord, and one faith, and one baptism, and one God and Father of all, who is above all. And see, I said a while ago, you're the church. So over there's one, over there's one, over there's one, over there's one, over there's one, and here's one. We're a group of ones. Y'all with me? If you got saved, if you're baptized, if you have made allegiance to that Bible, you're one. That's what he says. He gives you seven different ones in that list. But then he says, all you ones have got to become one. Look at this. Believer, unto every one of us is given grace according to measure. Wherefore he said when he ascended, he gave gifts. Every one of us is given grace to become a part of this gift of Christ. You see it? And so I'm no longer just Wayne Hudson. I've got a little bit of Gary Conner, and I've got a little bit of Jim Turner. I've got a little bit of Atkinson. I got a little bit of McKinney. I mean, that's who makes me up now. I'm a member of this church, but I am in fellowship with this church. I don't want to argue with you, fight with you. I want to help you. I want to be a part of all that's going on in your life because we are one. You're trying to serve God and you're outside the membership. You're spinning your wheels, buddy. You're headed for a train wreck. You think you can handle it on your own? You're gonna have to face God with what you do with it. Jesus loved the church and gave himself for it. And now he's made us one in Christ. Christ is all, and in all, we're one. And I'm a part of you, and you're a part of me, and we're a part of each other in Christ. That's called a unity of the Spirit. Don't you imagine there'd been a few fights along the way? hundred years? Don't you imagine there's been some broken hearts? Don't you imagine there's been some pouting and puffing and self-centered and march out the door and be my man? You better consider, friend, God put you here for a reason. If we go another hundred years, it'll take a church that has a gifted leadership and a submitted membership and a gathered fellowship. Hey, it's worked for 100 years. It's worked through 15 preachers. Can we make it work another 20? I figure I'll be out of here in 20 more years. Right? Don't say amen. Can we make it work? Only if we'll yield ourselves to Him. First of all, you've got to be born again. There's got to be a Holy Spirit in you. This church is a spiritual church. Getting your name on a paper is not membership. This is a spirit church. Who knows, you may be the gifted leader that got it raised up right here. But certainly you can be a molded member who's given to the ministry of this church. I've been proud of these boys right here. Somebody said the other day, these are not the church of tomorrow, these are the church of today, and you guys have proved that this week. Every meal, they've been back there cleaning up, pushing that trash barrel around, and they've done a good job. We need to pray for them, and help them, and link up with them, say hello to them, tell them good job, boy, good job. So they too becomes a part of this church. I wish I could just tell you how much the church means to me. Everything I am or ever have been. I mean, I went for the education. I heard them say summa, not summa, but cum laude one time. And when they put that rope on me and I thought, wow, this is not it. I looked at that paper, I'd spent 13 years going to school at night. That wasn't it. I became a superintendent at the chemical plant. Had the job everybody wanted. That wasn't it. But one day I got humble enough to say, I'll do whatever you want me to do. I'll be what you want me to be. I'll serve you in the church. That was it. I've never been sorry. You'll never be sorry when you submit yourself to the church. Where are you going to serve God if you don't do it in his church? Where are you going to fellowship if you don't fellowship in the church? Where's your hope? One of the great joys of my heart is this mission week and reaching missionaries, reaching around the world. We've talked to people. Hey, here's my hero right back here. He started late like I started late. I remember talking to him when it was all just, remember that day, brother? We was the strangers at the meeting. Nobody wanted to talk to us. They didn't sure they'd want us to preach. They might've let us lead in silent prayer, I don't know. But we spent all day talking to each other about what we're going to do, what we're going to do, where we're going, what's next, where we want to be. And he took off and did it. My mind, The missionary of this generation is sitting right there. I'm not trying to build him up, but it might be you. Could be you. Don't tell him what God will do with you if you let him have you. And that's the only way we're going forward. I thank God for a hundred years ago. But I wasn't here 100 years ago. I know about right now. And there's needs everywhere we are. And if we don't get busy, we're gonna lose it. It's time to get serious about the church. We got 100 years or so, or he could take us tomorrow. What are you going to do? Stay and hide your bad father? I just pray for you, have your way right now. God help us to be and do and care about where you put us and who we are. Oh God, thank you for saving us. Thank you, Lord. We're part of the crucified band. God, thank you that you put us in your church. That mystery that was hidden ages. Lord, hundreds of people have been saved right here. Preachers have went out of here. Lord, I pray you'd humble us. Help us to get our sights set. Not on a building, but on you. And on our service to you. Thank you for being our savior. Thank you for the blessed holy name of Jesus. Lord, have your way with us right now, in Jesus' name. Why don't you come? You don't need music, just come. Get in these altars, give it back to Him. Re-up for the next term of service with Him. If you've never been saved, right now's a good time to get saved. The power of God has been on this place all week. I want you to come and do business with Him right now. Brother John. Pass me not, O gentle Savior. Hear my humble cry. Do you have time for prayer? Parents you want to bring your children down put your hands on them and call to God for them the altars open Won't you come Maybe you need to get saved the Lord loves you As we sing, know there are people in this room that people are praying for you. People in this church have been calling your name out in prayer. Don't wait till it's too late. Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry. While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by. As we sing. Save me by thy grace. Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry. While on others thou art calling, hear my humble cry. One more verse and we'll close. Thou the spring of all my comfort, more than life to me. Whom have I on earth beside thee? Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry. While on others thou art calling, do not pass me by. Let's sing this before we close together. If you know how to harmonize, please do. God is so good. God is so good. God is so good. He's so good to me. answers rare. And all the saints of God said, it's been good to be in the house of the Lord today. We do want to say that if you've come and you're visiting here and you don't have a church home, we really would love you to consider coming back tomorrow on the Lord's day to the Metropolitan Baptist Church tomorrow. We're closing out our missions conference. Those of us who are members here are going to be making a commitment to give a faith promise offering to the Lord. And that's how we set our budget for the next year and how many missionaries we can help support. And we'd sure like to increase from where we were last year. And we're just asking for all of our membership to come together and ask the Lord What would you have me to do? And if we all do what the Lord wants us to do, I know that the Lord will provide exactly what we need. It's also been our privilege this week to have all of our missionaries under one roof. Brother Penny and Miss Robin are going to be heading back to their home in the next A couple of days. They brought several members of their church that are with us and we're going to miss you guys going back. We're almost asking you thinking about saying penny just stay on back here with us, but that would be selfish on our part and you make sure that you let them know that you appreciate him. If you're not going to be back tomorrow. Also, it's been great to have brother David and miss Kelsey with us this week. We're so thankful for that family and the Bruce Martin family, of course, and all the visiting pastors and preachers who have come You've blessed us with your presence, and we pray that this service has been something that you've really enjoyed. We also thank Brother Hudson for preaching. This man has a heart of gold, and he's been a true blessing to me. Where is C.R. Dominey? Is C.R. Dominey in this building? Brother C.R., come on up to this pulpit. This man prayed in a men's prayer meeting Last year about this time, and before I ever preached here, God told me I was coming here. It was during his prayer that God gave me peace that this was what he was doing in my life. I appreciate you, Brother Ciarna. He's got a 1923 Model T sitting outside, and if you didn't see it yet, you need to go outside. And kids, you don't touch that car. That's his car. Before he prays, ladies, if you've brought desserts here to this church this week, please, so that we can clear out some space, please go and get them. Also, if you have some time to lend a hand to my wife to clean up after this long week of cooking, if you could please lend a hand to her in the kitchen over the next few hours. We have one more meal to go and we have these services tomorrow that we're looking forward to. Brother C.R. Dominey, Brother Wayne said that he wasn't around a hundred years ago and not many people believe that. I always tease and say Brother C.R. is a charter member of this church. But he came here in 1960. Now, Brother Wayne offered some context to me, or Brother Bruce, in the video where he said this was the highest point in Tarrant County. And this was called the Church Up on the Hill. And when he prays, he always refers to the Church Up on the Hill. When I moved here, I didn't see that. But a lot of people who grew up around here did see that. Brother C.R., we love you here at the church. You close this meeting in prayer, if you would, please. I'd just like to say something about my mother, see? You know, I've got a business out there in Saginaw. I've been there for a long time. And so this man come in and see me one day. Well, he come by there every year. He drove in early. I knew Ford pickup. And he come by there and he said, CR, I just got back from a doctor and said he don't give me long to live. And I said, well, I hate to hear that. And I said, do you know the Lord? And he said, yes. And I said, well, how about if I pray for you? I said, you know, them doctors can be wrong. But I said, the almighty God, he'll take you home when he wants you to come. And so I told him, and I prayed for him, you know. And he said, well, I said, I didn't know what he was going to give me. I said, I hope it's a million dollars. I just said that in my evil mind. But anyway, that wasn't what it was. He said, I said, haven't you got any kids you're going to leave it to? And he said, no. He said, it's an old model T Ford. And he said, I brought that thing from California up here. And he lived there in Saginaw. And he told me, he said, he said, you know, I want to give that car to you. He said, it doesn't run. But he said, I know you'll get it running. He said, I know you. And I said, well, I appreciate that. And so I told him, I said, well, brother, if the Lord does take you home, I'll see you someday. And I kind of get choked up when I look back. I just pray, Lord, that you be with us today, and we thank you for Brother P. Jack. I was on the nominating committee when we voted him in, and he come on that screen, and the Lord touched me in a special way. And I thank you for him, his family. He's been such a blessing to our church. He's been blessing my family. He's blessed us many ways. Most of all, he's blessed this old church up here on the hill. This church has doubled in early in members here and people coming in off the street out there as they get started giving away the Bible give out. What a blessing it's been in my life to see this church growing because we got down there at one time I know Brother Turner was here a long time, and it hurt me so bad to see him leave. But we know that you replaced him, and we just pray that in a special way, Brother P. Jack and his family. Like I said, he's been a blessing to me and my family, and he's been a blessing to this old church up here on the hill. We love you, Jesus. We love you because you first loved us, saved our souls and was lost and unseen. And to our other meeting place here, we pray you take care of us, give us travel and mercy home, keep us all safe. I pray we witness someone this week. Someone might be coming in and getting saved next week. That's what it's all about, Lord. This old church on the hill. And souls are being saved. We love you, Jesus. Again, I love you because you first loved me.