I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag, and to the Savior, first and foremost. Amen. Pledge to the Bible. I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God's holy word. I will make it a lamp to my feet, and a light unto my path. I will highly swear to my heart that I will not sin against God. Esaias verse. Hebrews 619. We have this hope as a maker for the soul, a hope for sure and steadfast. Hebrews 619. I believe in the inspiration of the Bible, the Book of Job, and the New Testament. the creation of man by the direct act of God, the incarnation and birth of her of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, His identification as the Son of God, His vicarious atonement for the sins of mankind by the shedding of His blood on the cross, the resurrection of his body from the tomb, his power to save men from sin, the new birth through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and the gift of eternal life by the grace of God. Amen. Amen. I'm just going to charge my iPad. While he's charging his iPad, here we go. Standing as we sing, three, eight, four. Let's do the first, second, and last. One, two, and four. I love you. When I sit in my ancient home, I sit and think of all the past. The seeds of sin is here, those that have forgiven, promise to bless the street. And tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, Thank you, you may be seated. Well, without a whole lot to do, we have with us today a special speaker who has been traveling around for just a little bit, maybe more than just a little, and whose family we have known for quite a long time, actually. He has a brother, a missionary in Taiwan. He gets around, too. And some folks in the United States that we've been privileged to serve with. And now I introduce to you Mr. John Lehman. I'm sorry we're kind of at an odd space here. You guys make sure you're looking through the wall here. But thank you for this opportunity. I know that we've had a variety of crazy experiences ever since we tried to get back here on time. You know how the Lord doesn't always let things happen to you early, but he doesn't let you be there late. And so I'm thankful for how this has all come together. I thought I'd just start out. Pastor Bright suggested I share a little bit about what we are doing, and then get into why we are doing that, but then that leads into the topic, so to speak, of our time of worship. So I've been privileged to be part of, as your teacher mentioned, I've been part of a church ministry for 43 years. My wife and I have been married 43 and a half years, and her name is Susie, and we have We've known each other now even over about 47 years. We met back in 1977, about six months after we graduated from high school, and we dated three and a half years, and we enjoy motorcycling together, going on mission trips together, and she's actually a snow ski instructor, and so that's an interesting connection. She's done that for 23 years, ever since our youngest child started going to school. She did that a little bit, from South Carolina to North Carolina is where she actually drives. So that's our family, just a little bit. And then we have four grown and married children. And then, as you see there, we have two more. So actually, by November, we'll have 14 grandchildren. And just to show and share what the Lord has allowed in our lives. That's not to say anyone's better or worse for having fewer or more. Just to say that's where we are. I mentioned I've been in ministry for 43 and a half years, barely that long, partly in education, and I loved the time in teaching, and then administrating, and then pastoring over these last few years. And about 15 years ago, our two daughters, well, we have four children, three daughters and one son. The two oldest daughters at the time were not yet even dating anybody, but asked if I would write a book on parenting. And so I didn't, I'm not saying I wrote THE book on parenting, but I wrote A book on parenting. And as a result of that, I thought, well maybe I'll just go ahead and write another book, and I wrote one on marriage, then I wrote one on fitness, and then I wrote one on encouragement. The reason I mention that is because it was from those books that started our journey of going on mission trips. So as your teacher mentioned, I've been traveling quite a bit. And so over the last 15 years, various countries have asked us to come and speak on marriage or parenting, even fitness. No one has specifically, I guess one has on the idea of encouragement, how to be an encouragement to others. Well, after about 15 years of using our vacation time, we continued to meet more and more people, and we had more and more invitations than we could keep. And so we felt that the Lord wanted us to go into missions full-time. And so as of December of this last year, I resigned from our church there in Greenville, South Carolina, and we have been traveling, serving since. We were in London for the month of January, supplying a pulpit. The pastor was gone for a month and so we pastored there. And then during the month of February we had several Valentine banquets in churches and then in March and April we were in South Africa where we did a station supply they call it, so we actually lived in the missionary's home, took care of his dog, and the church, and then we came back to America. I went to Brazil and taught a counseling seminar there. I came back, my wife and I in June were in Germany doing some teaching there, pastoring there, filling a pulpit there, and then August we went to Nova Scotia and we did that same thing, that pulpit supply, where we lived in a certain home and pastored there. And then September, I went back to Brazil and did another counseling training in a different part of Brazil. Then in October, which is now, we were in Nepal doing a marriage seminar and then preaching in a service church there. And then we went from there to Myanmar and did the same thing, did a marriage seminar, actually was able to preach in a church, and then actually had an evangelistic service as well, and then taught in a seminary there. So that was just yesterday? Let's see. Today's Tuesday. So the day before, we came here, we arrived yesterday, and your principal picked us up from the airport, and we arrived here, and then we went out this morning just to try to do a little flay of the land and Our transportation didn't work out like we were expecting it, so we got here right under the wire. So we are here right now. I'd like to go back just a little bit. He asked if I would speak on missions. Let's see, how many of you are in 10th grade here? One, two, all right, cool. About the 10th grade, when I was in 10th grade, I was fortunate to grow up in a Christian home, and my parents were, of course, missionaries in Taiwan, and I remember beginning the thought process, what am I gonna do with my life? High school's fabulous, but you don't wanna spend your whole life in high school, right? And some of you are ready to get out right now, but you gotta finish the semester, then finish the next year, finish the next year. And I remember feeling convicted, challenged to help people. That's what I wanted to do with my life. Of course, as a 16-year-old, I had no idea what helping people was going to look like for the next 55 years. But I had that as a thought. And again, anything I'm saying is not saying, I'm better. If you've never had that thought, that's bad. My goal in this time is to encourage you to begin the process of thinking What does God want for me, for my future? He may absolutely want me to come back here to Soul Christian School and teach. He may want me to live right here in Seoul and develop a business. He may want you to do a variety of things. That's great. Helping people wasn't necessarily to preach or to teach, wasn't necessarily to evangelize or to translate. But it was the thought to help people. Interestingly enough, I can still remember being in, a little bit prior to that time, I remember that goal landed on my heart when I was in sixth grade. I had the privilege of growing up playing soccer. I guess you call it football or you play soccer? Soccer, okay great. So we played soccer. And I remember coming back to America and being on a soccer team with sixth graders, and they hadn't been exposed to soccer. And I have. And so, of course, the more you're exposed to something, typically, the better you get. I remember being very belligerent and kind of talking down to the rest of those non-soccer players out there. They didn't have any idea. What in the world? I remember being really belligerent. And almost like the road to Damascus, I remember the Lord, I remember the soccer field where I was, I remember right out there on this playground where we were playing soccer, just being struck with a thought. All right, John, who gave you the experience? Who gave you the ability? Why in the world do you think you're any better than anybody else? And it was one of the best lessons I ever had in my life, was the Lord to say, you are created by me, you've been purchased with a price, now I want you to do something for me. So I remember thinking then, Lord, I'm really sorry for that. And Lord willing, I'm not trying to say I'm not a proud person anymore. I think I, unfortunately, evidenced that more than I should. But I love it that we go back to the Lord and say, I'm sorry for that. Please help me not to be. So that was a movement. momentous occasion in my life, to trust the Lord that I am nobody except for what he's helped me to do. And then to think, I want to help people. So I went to college, and that journey began to be initially an education, to be a teacher. And then that developed into being an administrator in school. And that developed into being a pastor. And then now it's developed into being a missionary. So I thought I'd just share that, a little bit of testimony. And then I wanted to ask you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Acts. And we're going to look at Acts chapter 8, 9, and 10. And I know you have a class after this. I want to honor your time. And so I'm not planning to preach three messages. I have something from each one of those chapters. So Acts chapter 8, if you would, turn there. And I want to just ask you, what is your mission? And perhaps you don't have specifically a mission today. Well, I hope if you're a 10th grader, your mission is to be an 11th grader next year. I hope your goal if you're in 7th grade is to be an 8th grader next year. I hope your goal as a faculty member is to teach next year, or as long as the Lord enables or has you. So whatever it is, we all need a mission. So I want to ask this question of you. What is one word we often think of when we think of missions? What? What was it called? Traveling, okay. Traveling, what is, if you're gonna go travel somewhere, what do you have to do to do that? Move? Shorten that up by two letters. So actually, go, there it is. Yes. And so that's the Greek word for perevu, all right? And it is literally saying to go, to move, to travel. Whatever you want to put into there is to go. And so we're going to look at three specific ways that God told choice servants to go. And had they not gone, Now, of course, the Lord knew the Bible from the very beginning, but if they would not have gone, the people that they impacted would not have had Christ, and history would have been different. Now, of course, we know that God's in control, and God ordained that. But I'd like us to look at Acts chapter 8. When you think of the man Saul, what do you often think of when you think of Saul? Not the king in the Old Testament, but the man in the New Testament. What do you think of it? Persecuting Christians. Yes, ma'am. Persecuting Christians. So, let me read this. And Saul was consenting unto his death. This is talking back about how the Lord was going to have Stephen stoned. And at that time, there was a great persecution against the church, which was at Jerusalem. And they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And remember, those are the people that Saul was after. Now, if you would now, go down a little bit further on in your Bibles, and I want you to look down there at, let's see, Verse number 13. So, verse 12 says that Philip was preaching, and verse 13 says that Simon himself believed also. And when he was baptized, he continued with Philip. And it goes on and it tells all the different things that was going on. But here we see, when Simon saw that through laying on the Apostle's hand the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money. So he's wanting the ability to heal. It's like, here, I'm going to pay you for that. And they say, no. Thy money perish with thee. We don't want that money. What I want you to do is repent of your wickedness. And so verse 24 says, Then answered Simon and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things that you have spoken come upon me. And they, when they had testified and preached the word of God, returned to Jerusalem and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. So Philip has been impacted with the gospel. He's been impacted with God telling him what to do. Now, verse 26, "...and the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip..." That's what happens in our life when we choose to serve God, we choose to follow Him. He speaks to us. "...and the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and..." Paradur. "...arise and go toward the south, under the way that goeth down from Jerusalem, unto Gaza, which is a desert." OK, so now this is Philip. He says, and he rose and went, and behold, a man of Ethiopia, and eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship. And he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and he was reading Isaiah, or Isaiah the prophet. The spirit of the Lord, who had told Philip to go, says, what? And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou without readest? And this Ethiopian dignitary said, well, how can I? Except some man should guide me. And he desired Philip, and he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this. He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and I could lay him dumb before his shearer, so he opened not his mouth. In his humiliation, in his judgment, it was taken away, and who shall declare his generation? For his life is taken from the earth." And so this man says to Philip, well, what are you talking about? What can I do about this? And Philip now opens his mouth, he explains the scripture, and he preaches it unto Jesus. What do you think, Philip, thought when he was told to go. Where am I going? Who am I speaking to? What's going to happen to me? He didn't have the answers, right? But what did he do? He went, and he knew that he was supposed to do what God wanted him to do. And so what takes place next is, he's on his way, and he sees this Ethiopian dignitary, and he's sitting in this chariot, and he says, what are you reading? And he right away says, well, I'm reading Isaiah, but I have no idea what in the world it means. Did that ever happen to you? You're reading something, and it's like, what does this mean? Well, of course, that takes us reading and studying a little bit more. But what was interesting is he says here, verse 38, I think it was, he commanded, oh, 37. And Philip said, if thou believest with all thine heart, thou can be baptized. And so the man says, well, what keeps me from doing that? He says, here's water. Right away, he was obedient. And so, of course, Philip says to him, well, here, let me help you. And so he baptizes him. And then it's interesting. It says, when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuchs saw him no more, and he went on his way rejoicing. Now, of course, we don't know what happened to Philip. But we know that Philip When God said to go, he went. He went and did what he was told to do. Philip had gone about a hundred miles from Samaria here to preach. And when he went there, undoubtedly he kept evangelizing, he kept serving, he kept preaching, he kept telling. And here he gets to speak to one gentleman. Now, we'll never know until we reach heaven, who all that Ethiopian dignitary impacted to the gospel. Because here, in this case here, Philip heard the word, go, and he went. And I think that's just a wonderful statement, that he was willing to go and do what, of course, God told him to do, because that was the opportunity to baptize this gentleman and then say, let's go. You do what you're supposed to do. Ethiopian unit, you do what God wants you to do. What of Ethiopian unit? Ask. When there's water, what's going to keep me from being baptized? That was his core agenda. He was supposed to be baptized to follow Jesus in obedience. Oops, sorry about that. Next, let's go to chapter 9. And the same man that we talked about earlier is who we're going to read about in this chapter. Here's chapter 9, I'll read what I put in my notes here. And Saul, yet breathing out threatening and slaughter against his disciples, went unto the high priest. So Saul, who's wanting to kill these Christians, goes to the high priest and gets permission to do them. Isn't that crazy? And he desired, verse 2, and he desired with him letters to Damascus, to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus. And suddenly there shined around about him a light from heaven. And he fell to the earth and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou? And he said, who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. It is hard for thee to kick against the bricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the man which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth, and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. Can you imagine having a plan? You guys, at four o'clock, you're going to go participate in sports, you're going to participate in music, you're going to go play video games. You've got a plan. No one's in school without a plan for after school. Now, hopefully in there, you do some homework, right? Hopefully in there, you do some music practice. Hopefully in there, you do something that is going to enhance your educational status. But all in all, you have a plan. You know what that is. Right now, if I were to ask you, what are you going to do after school today? You have a plan. Well, Saul had a plan, but guess what happened? God came and shone that light on him, blinded him, and that changed his life forever. Seriously, I wonder if in this room, if all of a sudden you're on your way to that activity, to that wholesome desire, but all of a sudden God just says, okay, I'm gonna stop you short, I'm gonna blind you, because I have something I wanna tell you. What do you think that would be? I don't know. And I'm not trying to scare you. That's not my point. But we would be impacted if God got right in our face and showed himself. Well, right now, not because I'm here, not because any faculty members are here, but because God is here. You have a Bible in your lap that's impacting your life, that should impact your life. Well, here, what happens is, we'll keep reading there, verse 9. And so Saul, remember, he went from where he was, he was flying. Verse 9, if you follow with me. And he was three days without sight. Well, I can imagine three days without electricity, three days without being able to see, you would really begin thinking about your future, what's going to happen to me. We just left Regal, South Carolina about three weeks ago. And I don't know if you've heard, there was a hurricane that came through. And it went through South Carolina not quite as bad as it went through North Carolina. And there were some people that died as a result of that hurricane. There were people whose houses were destroyed because of that. There were people whose cars were ruined. There were people whose families were diminished by numbers. Then, of course, there were those that didn't have electricity. There were those that didn't have internet. All these things. And we get so accustomed to life as normal, don't we? And all of a sudden, he's blind for three days. And it goes on and says, he did not eat nor drink during that time. Well, that's really shows the difficulty. And there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias. And to him the Lord came to him in a vision, and said, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus. For behold, he prayed, and hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias said, I have heard by many of this man how much evil he hath done. to thy saint in Jerusalem. And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. But the Lord said unto him, What? Go. Yes, go. Go thy way. For he has a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel. This is God's speaking. For I will show him great things. He must suffer for my name's sake. Well, think about this. Who is Saul after? The Christians. Who is Ananias? A Christian. A Christian leader. So it's impacting him greatly. You mean, if I go and I help Saul see again, what do you think he's going to do to me? Probably kill me. Bind me. Take me to the authorities. One of those many things. But Ananias Verse 17 says, he went his way, and entered into the house, and putting his hands on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way, as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes, as it had been scales, and he received sight for it with, and arose and was baptized. And when he had received me, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples, which were in Damascus. If, in this case, Ananias would not have gone, if Saul would not have been blinded, if Saul would not have received his sight, we literally may not have had a major portion of the New Testament. Saul, who then became Paul, wrote much of the New Testament. And that is what we're talking about here. So Saul, who actually, in this stage, had really made a huge impact. We read earlier that this man was persecuted in the disciple of Jesus. But now Jesus says he is a chosen instrument. He chose, at some point, to stop him in his tracks. And there, what in the world do you think those first thoughts were? Ananias were, when suddenly Saul gets to see. Ananias knows the reputation of Saul, and he sees him and says, God has something special for you. In this case, Saul listened. And like I said, as a result of that, he puts his hands on him, and he receives his sight. And what an amazing to be blinded as a persecutor and to be enlightened as a servant of God. Now, he had no idea what was left in his life, but he needed to change what he'd been doing. And so we've seen two different people who were told to go, and they impacted More than likely a part of Ethiopia, that individual who came to Jesus. went back to his home, and we don't know the story. It wasn't inscriptorated, but we do know he was able to impact others. Of course, we know Saul impacted many people through the writings of his word, and he's probably impacted you greatly. Now, let's go to the next slide here, and go to chapter 10, if you would, go to chapter 10 in your Bibles, and let's look at the third horatio, the third go, all right? There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian Band, a devout man and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people and prayed to God always. So we're talking about this man, a certain man in Caesarea, Cornelius, and he saw in a vision, evidently about the ninth hour of the day, an angel of God coming into him and saying unto him, Cornelius, And when he looked on him, he was afraid and said, what is it, Lord? And he said unto him, thy prayers and thy alms are come up for a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter. So Cornelius is the one that's impacted by this vision. Now he's being told to send men to bring Simon. He says, he lodges with one Simon, a tanner whose house is by the sea. He shall tell thee. what that ought us to do. And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and about that soldier of them that waited on him continually. And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa. On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour. And he became very hungry and would have eaten. But while they made ready, he fell into a trance, so a vision, a dream, like some of you. You kind of fall asleep sometimes. And then you wake up and you've had a dream. It's like, oh, wow, what's that all about? Well, he saw heaven open and a certain vessel descending upon him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners and let down to the earth. wherein were all manner of far-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls in the air. And there came a voice unto him that said, Rise, Peter, kill, and eat. Well, Peter, because of the traditions of the Jews, he said, Not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. Let's note what God says. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice, three times, and the vessel was received up again into heaven. Now Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean. Behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate. So here's Simon up on his housetop, having fallen into a trance, dreaming a dream, dreams that he's supposed to eat what was considered unclean, and God says, no. If I say it's clean, what? It's clean. That's right. Good. Very good. And we need to make sure that we follow what God tells us in our lives, not what we really want to do. So what Peter thinks on the vision, The Spirit says unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down in what? Go, very good, and go with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them. So, of course, verse 21, Peter goes down to the men, which were sent to him from Cornelius, and said, Behold, I am whom you seek. Why? And it says, What is the cause? What do you want from me? And they said, Cornelius, the centurion and just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nations of the Jews, was warned from God by a holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee. So Cornelius wanted him to come talk to him. Then called he them in, and lied to them." But now Cornelius is from another group of people. What could the Jew have said about the people there? They were unclean. I'm not going to associate with them. But what is God saying? By that dream, no, if I call it clean, what? It's clean. He called them in and lodged them. And on the morrow, Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him. And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea, and Cornelius waited for them, and he had called together his kinsmen and his near friends. And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him. Well, what does Peter say? Well, I'm just a man, verse 26. But Peter took him up saying, stand up. I myself also am a man. And as he talked with him, he went in and found many that were come together. And he said unto them, you know that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company or come unto one of another nation. But God has showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore came I unto you, without gain saying, as soon as I was sent forth. I ask therefore for what intent you have sent for me. And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour. And at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, and he said, Cornelius, Thy prayer is heard, and thy arms are had in remembrance of the sight of God. Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter. He is lodged in the house of one Simon of Cana by the seaside, which, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee. And so immediately I sent to thee, and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here presently for God, to hear all the things that God commanded of thee. So if you think about it, what in the world did he have to do with Cornelius? Well, if I were to use an illustration, he said, how can I help people? And that's what God wanted him to do, go speak to this man. So now I've talked to you, 12 years old to 18 years old, and some of us are older than that. What does this mean for us? I think anytime we look at God's Word, what does being a horeiru, a going person, mean? Well, first of all, it means you don't have to know what it costs. Well, let me think, God. If I'm going to go there, he might kill me. If I'm going to go there, I might be called unclean. If I were to go there, I might, no. He didn't say what you're going to cost. He said, I'm on my way, because you told me to. Secondly, you don't have to know what your exact role is. He didn't know he was going to see the Ethiopian in that chariot. He was just told to pour over. He was just told to go. So he didn't have to know what it was. He just said, I will do it. Whatever you want me to do. Third thing he had to have in his life was, I must be willing to go. not just tell me what to do, but then be willing to do. I think that's one of the hardest things any of us face. It's not that we're told something, it's that we're willing to do what God wants us to do. We hear in a chapel message, in a chapel setting, in your churches, in your homes, in your own Bible reading, in your Bible classes, you hear the word of God a lot. Hearing it, like God says, doesn't make you a doer. He wants you to be a doer. So you must be willing to go. And then finally, you must be willing to trust God in all things. Trust Him with your life. Trust Him whatever age you are. Praise the Lord for the families you have. Praise the Lord for the teachers you have. Praise the Lord for the school you're in. None of it's perfect. You know it. We know it. We all know that. But God knows what is best for you. And the family you're in right now is the best thing you'll ever have going for you. The faculty you have right now, the best thing you'll ever have going for you. The churches you have, best things to learn about God. So finally there, trust God in all things. So I don't have to know the cost. I don't know what my role is. Always be willing to go. And of course, when it doesn't make sense, trust God. So how does this apply to you and me today? You go, and this picture is a setting of a work environment, but I'm going to call it a school environment. You come to an activity on a daily basis. How are you impacting others? How are you going? Are you helping others around you become more like Christ because of you? Or are you waiting for someone to help you become more like Christ? Be willing to go. Impact. the community that you're in, that is being a missionary today. You have neighbors. You have people that you come in contact with on a consistent basis. And I understand there's walls, there's sidewalks, there's various means and ways that you don't always be with people. But any time you're with someone, impact them with the gospel. Not necessarily with a tract, not necessarily with a verbal witness, But, like God says, have the joy of the Lord on your countenance and the joy of the Lord on your activities and your personality. Let God make you different than other people. You have a family. Anybody in your family can be impacted by your life. Well, my parents should be impacting me with the gospel. True. You should be impacting your parents with the gospel. My siblings should be teaching me. No, I can impact them. I'm younger than they are. God says, don't let anybody despise your youth. You are never too young to serve God. You're never too young to trust God. And then finally, you have the privilege of, in this case, discipling those that are younger than you. These elementary school students see you at various times in the day. I wonder what they take away when they see you walking down the hallway. You're joyful, and I don't know how much you even interact. I don't know all this, I understand that. But they see you walking out to your car. Is there a smile? Is there a hi? Is there an encouraging word? Or is life all about you? You can impact those younger than you. Don't wait for someone to impact you. You make sure you impact them. God is faithful. But God's faithfulness is calling you, but He doesn't make you do anything. You know, He loves you enough to let you choose to love Him, or He loves you enough to choose not to love Him. That is true love. You don't want a friend, every time you give him $25, to be your friend for a day. Because what happens when you don't give him $25? He's not your friend anymore. You want a friend that literally is there all the time. So, God's not faithful to fulfill your calling. You need to be faithful to fulfill your calling. He's going to call you. But just like each one of these men, they horay-ed you. They went. God said, go. And I sincerely believe in this setting, some of you are even today, some of you even in the past. Perhaps like me, being on the soccer field. Perhaps in another setting, you're impacted by God, like, do this. Help them. Encourage them. Influence them. You either have the choice to do it, or you absolutely have the choice not to. And I would encourage you, make sure you're just as faithful to what God calls you to do as He is in calling you. And that comes together from 1 Thessalonians 5, 24. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. In other words, if God tells you to do something, He's going to enable you to do that. He's going to enable the opportunities before you. He's going to encourage you along the way. God never gives you anything too much for you to handle. So let me encourage you as a conclusion to this message. Be willing to go. It might be across the street. It might be across the living room in your home. It might be across the playground. It might be just in the hallways. Encourage others to be more like Jesus because you're in their life. You're impacting people one way or the other. You're either encouraging them to be more like Christ, or you're discouraging them from being like Christ. You're never neutral. Let's make sure we're helping others. Let's go helping others be more like Jesus. Let me pray. Father, thank you for each one in this room. Help them to love you, serve you, and we'll look forward to how that'll look in Jesus' name. Amen. Praise the Lord.