John chapter 15, there's probably no greater privilege that I have as a pastor than to preach to the soldiers and veterans of the United States military. because of the great deep gratitude and appreciation that I have for your service. I served in the United States Army. I trained in Fort Leonard Wood, and then further I was sent here to Texas, the great state of Texas, to train at Fort Sam Houston. Back in the years where I served, I was a 91 Bravo, so I was a medic. So if anybody passes out today, I'd be happy to put the paddles on you and revive you if you decide to be revived. But today I want to just say that we we want to honor the men and women who've worn the uniform of the United States of America of all professions Soldiers understand truly what sacrifice is. A soldier pays a price that many civilians may never grasp. They leave their families for long periods of time, sometimes for months or even years. At my last church in Ohio, one of our young men from our church went on deployment right after the birth. Well, right prior to the birth of his firstborn son, he missed his son's first words, his first steps, his first birthday while he was on deployment. And during all that time, his wife did not have her husband around. They make great sacrifices just for their training and their deployment. They miss birthdays and anniversaries and holiday gatherings, countless precious moments, and many times they endure harsh environments, long nights, physical exhaustion, and much emotional strain. Many of our nation's military deal with post-traumatic stress disorder, and we give our greatest honor to those who have seen things in action that has caused them to lose sleep at night. And I want to say this on behalf of the Metropolitan Baptist Church. As the pastor here, I want to say I love veterans and our church loves and appreciates veterans. Ronald Reagan, who we just heard from in a speech in 1985, he said, we remember those who were called upon to give all a person can give. And we remember those who were prepared to make that sacrifice if it were demanded of them. At Arlington National Cemetery in 1986, he said, freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on. Their courage and their sacrifice give us the freedom we enjoy today. And I believe the same way, that we have veterans and our military to thank for the shed blood and for the freedoms that we have even to gather here today. We know that our nation's forefathers came over here from Britain in order that they might have religious freedom to where they could not have and would not have the state telling them how to baptize and how to worship. And today, in the United States of America, at houses of worship all over the place, people are able to meet, to worship God, and to practice their faith according to what they believe that the Bible says. We have veterans to thank for that and Almighty God. Soldiers understand sacrifice. They live it, they breathe it, they embody it. And the Bible is filled with soldiers. You may not be too familiar with the Bible or a Bible student, but there are soldiers that were written about all over our scripture. Joshua was quoted by President Reagan just a few moments ago on the video. Joshua was a great military commander who declared at the end of his days, this is what he had for his family. Joshua was a true leader. He was a true man. He was somebody that made decisions for his whole family, and he said this, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. And that's what every man should stand for today, as Joshua did, a great military commander. You know that David was called the apple of God's eye, he was a military man, he was a young man who chose to put his life at risk when he descended into the valley of Elah to face a ten-foot giant who had been defying the armies of God. And he told that giant that, I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel. whom you've defied and he declared that all the earth may know that there is a God in heaven. David was certainly a great soldier who's written about in the scripture. You might remember that it was prophesied that soldiers would gamble. over the clothing of the Lord Jesus Christ on the day of His crucifixion, and in the New Testament that they did. There was also a Roman centurion who after darkness fell upon the earth between the hours of noon and 3 p.m. during the crucifixion of Jesus, the Roman centurion, Roman centurions were not known for their faith in Christ. He said these words in the book of Matthew, truly this was the Son of God. Paul told Timothy toward the end of his life that he would have to endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, and Paul himself, facing death, said, I fought a good fight. Soldiers understand hard work and diligence and excellence, effort, self-denial and sacrifice. I distinctly remember in basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, which was affectionately called Fort Hole in the Woods, one of my drill sergeants getting up to tell the soldiers who had signed up and he said, some of you signed up for GI Bill benefits, but I'm here to tell you some of you may never reap those benefits because you may be in battle in six months. And he told us real quick that we'd signed up to be soldiers. His words took me out of my adolescence and brought me into manhood. His words made it clear to me that my blood could be sacrificed because I chose to serve in the United States military. I taught, I was taught things in the military that, you know, how to make a bed and how to hang up clothes and how to shine boots and we did not want to cross the military, the drill sergeants. Drill sergeants would commonly tell me not to get close to them or look them in the eye because they would defend themselves. They were doing that to turn us into men. They wanted us to know how important it was to obey orders. Some people never learned to obey. Some people never learn to do menial tasks. I remember listening to a soldier one time say, you want to have a productive life, start out by getting up and making your bed. Okay, you don't believe that, it's fine. Here recently on a Monday Night Football episode, Jason Kelsey, who's now with the media, did a story on Sergeant Rodney Davis, who was the grandfather of his teammate, whose name was Tyler Sheen. During this emotional segment ahead of Veterans Day, Kelsey shared the story of Sergeant Davis, a U.S. Marine who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his sacrifice during the Vietnam War. Key details of the story was in September 1967, a grenade landed in his bunker where Sergeant Davis and several other Marines were located. Without hesitation, Davis threw himself on the grenade to shield his fellow soldiers from the blast. His sacrifice saved at least five lives that were in that bunker with him. Over 50 people are alive today as a result of his sacrifice. Five made it, but those five that made it came back and they have children, one of which is going to be playing for the Philadelphia Eagles tonight. And all that I can say about those situations that happen just like that in our nation's military is that our military men and women understand what sacrifice is all about. And Sergeant Davis showed that he had love for his friends. Now in John chapter number 15 and verse number 13, the Bible declares, and these are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ had something to say about friends and love. Jesus Christ knew everything about love. He was there at the beginning when this world was created, and Jesus Christ came to this earth to take upon Him the form of a servant, and during His earthly ministry He said these words in verse 13, greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. For his friends. Now some people have very few friends. Me and some of our members were talking and I have one remaining very close friend from high school. Some people who've lived a long life might realize that the friends you made in high school don't often last throughout your whole life through. It's a rarity. And some people are very lonely as they go through life because they don't feel like they have very close friends. But can I tell you something about the Lord Jesus Christ? The Lord Jesus Christ called every person in this room His friend. because He laid down His life for you." And Jesus said, no one has greater love than that. He spoke those words knowing exactly what lied ahead. He knew the full weight and sacrifice of what He was about to do. Before the world began, Jesus Christ knew the price of redemption. Standing before Pilate in John chapter 18, Jesus declared that His kingdom was not of this world, and said if His kingdom was of this world, that His servants would fight. Now personally, I'm thankful that Jesus didn't call His angels to deliver Him from the cross, because if He did, we would have no hope of salvation. Jesus had to go to Calvary. His blood had to be shed. This is what John the Baptist said in John chapter 1 when he said, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. He would do that through the crucifixion, through his death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus understood, like soldiers do, the concept of sacrifice. Fully, deeply, and completely. Many soldiers understand it all too well, and their family members. Abraham Lincoln, while giving the Gettysburg Address in 1863, said, the brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. He wrote a letter to a lady named Mrs. Bixby in 1864, who had lost five sons in the Civil War. And he said these words, I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement. and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom. You know, no soldier accidentally ends up on the battlefield. They know the risks and they accept the cost. And just like soldiers, I would say this, Christ knew His mission fully. He chose the cross, He chose to embrace the sacrifice that would be required, and He gave freely. In the book of Isaiah, in the Old Testament, written hundreds of years before Jesus was born, the Bible said that He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. And then speaking of mankind, it says this, all we, like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord, speaking of God, has laid on him, speaking of Jesus Christ, the iniquity of us all. Later in the New Testament, there was an Ethiopian who came by chariot into Israel and he obtained a copy of the book of Isaiah, and God sent a preacher named Philip to go and preach to him. He was reading that very passage in the Bible, and he asked the preacher, he said, who is this passage speaking about? And the Bible said that Philip opened his mouth and began at that Old Testament passage and preached unto him, Jesus. Thank the Lord for Jesus. Many soldiers understand sacrifice for their nation, and thank the Lord they do. They know what they signed up for. But sometimes soldiers have never understood how that Christ sacrificed himself for them. If you're a soldier here today, thank the Lord for your duty and your courage. And our church is so appreciative of what you've done, me as a veteran myself, what a blessing it is to have people in our presence who understand, giving up a part of their life to serve the country. But I want you to know that the most important decision you'll ever make is to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Theodore Roosevelt made a statement in 1897, and he said something that I'm not sure I fully agree with, although I do respect President Roosevelt, a man's man, if you've ever read his books. Theodore Roosevelt was an outdoorsman, a hunter, and many of our national parks exist because of him. But he said this in 1897, he said, a man who was good enough to shed his blood for his country, is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards. Now I'm not sure I agree with Mr. Roosevelt on that, although I do think it's a noble thing and even one of the highest forms of sacrifice that anyone could ever give. But I don't know of anyone who, after reading the Bible, could say, I want a square deal in eternity. I don't want a square deal because if I got the just reward for my deeds, the Bible says that I will not go to heaven. I will spend eternity without Christ. And what we could say about that is that even though Teddy Roosevelt may not have been right when he said this, his eyes certainly were on eternity when he made the quote. None of us want a square deal, because the Bible says this, by the way, this is the very first step in knowing Jesus Christ is your Savior. It's Romans 3.23, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. If you're a soldier, you're just like the rest of us in this matter, we're all sinners. If you don't believe that we're all sinners, get married. Your wife will tell you, you're not perfect. You may think you are. I've met some Marines, you know, I'm just kidding. No, I mean, if you think you've never done anything wrong, well you're sadly mistaken because the Bible says there's none righteous, no not one. We've all come short of the glory of God. But God loved you and sent Jesus Christ to pay your sin debt on the cross. Now you must admit, if you're understanding what the Bible says, is that no good deed can outweigh your evil deed. Some people have a mind about eternity that it's like Lady Justice. So if I do enough good works and they outweigh my bad works, well then maybe I'll get in. But the Bible has a much better way for people to know they're saved. And that's through the blood of Jesus Christ. If you put your faith and trust in Christ, you can know for sure, through Christ and His righteousness, that you're on your way to Heaven. And there may be somebody here today who's never put their faith in the Lord, and we're going to talk to you just for a few moments about that. You know, Christ died not just for the whole world, He died for individuals. He died for mothers and sons and daughters, and I'm pleased to report to you today that many soldiers in the Bible recognized that Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus, I could say this, without any fear, he died for soldiers. Did you agree with that, church? Jesus Christ died for all men. It declares this in John chapter 3 and verse 16. It said, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. All men everywhere can be saved. That word whosoever means anyone without exception. That includes every soldier who's put on a uniform, every veteran who's shouldered a burden, every servant and service member who's ever walked into danger. Years ago, I had the privilege of meeting with a late Vietnam veteran by the name of Dennis Luckenbill. He was a member of a church where I was a member. I was told that he had a gun collection. And when I went to his house to pay him a visit, this was a man who dealt with PTSD and depression. He dealt with a lot of the after effects of a war, a violent war. I asked him if he could show me what his favorite weapon was. He said, sit right there, I'll go and get it for you. What he brought back was almost like a military relic. It had a bayonet on the top. It was an old rifle. I didn't know who manufactured it. I'd never seen anything that was like it. And he said that he had to take the life of the man who was carrying that rifle. That was a sniper's rifle from someone in Vietnam. And after having to take that man's life who was killing members of his platoon, he carried that man and his weapon back to camp with him. When he was discharged, the military gave him that weapon to remember it. And he said, this gun that I'm holding in my hand killed my best friend. Those are the kind of sacrifices made by our soldiers. That's why we ought to pay respect to our nation's military. Jesus didn't just die for a couple of people, He died for the sins of the whole world. John 3.16 declares that. In 2 Peter chapter 3 and verse number 9, it says that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Listen, everybody can be saved. You realize that the payment for the sins of the whole world has been made and it's been paid in full. When Jesus cried from the cross in John 19 and said, it is finished, you know what was finished? The payment for all the sins in all the world. The sins that people would commit, the sins that people had committed, Jesus suffered the wrath of God on the cross and paid for all sins. Now in order for that payment to be applied to your account, there are some requirements. Now you guys who were serving in the military might remember when you put up your right hand and you promised to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and then you stood in line for at least two weeks. signing your name to paperwork, standing up against a wall, getting shots by people that were not too gentle. I just remember there was a great process that we went through in order to receive our boots. I was one of those poor soldiers that had wide feet, and so they couldn't find a pair of boots that fit me, and then they finally brought me a pair of boots that they said were custom-made to my feet, and they looked like the feet on a duck-billed platypus. So for my entire basic training, I was the young man who had white tennis shoes on with fatigues. So if you're trying not to, you know, my brother was leaving basic training when I came into basic training, I said, I called my brother, I said, hey, you got any advice for me? He's like, don't stick out in the crowd. So I was one of 300 soldiers that was wearing white tennis shoes as we marched, and I had a drill sergeant by the name of Decker who thought it was the funniest thing that I only could wear tennis shoes throughout basic training, and every day at chow when Decker was there he'd be like, boot rack, get over here! My name is not boot rack. They called me boot rack and a bunch of other names that I won't say from the pulpit They never called me by my last name But he brought me over to the table and he always wanted to make me know that if I ever went to war I would get shot in one of two places My feet or my head and then he told me to get out of there which I did so I was made fun of and Go figure, for the size of my head and the width of my feet, this is what our soldiers have to go through. You should pay respect to them." Perhaps she didn't find it as funny as I did. The point is this, in order to get the payment to be applied to your account, there's a process to enter into. First of all, you have to agree with God that you in fact are a sinner. And you also have to agree with God that there's only one way to be saved. That way is through Jesus Christ. Jesus said this in John 14, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. You have to get to Heaven through Christ. There is no other way. You say, well I was baptized when? That's salvation and baptism are separate and distinct items and incidents. Salvation is when you receive Christ as your Savior. Baptism is when you make a public declaration that you have received Christ as your Savior. And there are examples in the Scripture of those who could not be baptized and went to heaven. The thief on the cross is one of them. You don't go to heaven because you got baptized. You get baptized because you're on your way to heaven. So, the first part is accepting what Jesus did for you. He died for your sins on Calvary. That's what it says in 1 Corinthians 15. It says that Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture. Now, the military and military personnel, I can assure you that there were very few people who only used wholesome language during basic training or in my military career. Military men need to be forgiven of sins. Military men sometimes have regrets for things that took place while they were out in battle. And Dennis Luckenbill was no different. But Jesus Christ wants soldiers to be saved, and no sin or failure is beyond His forgiveness. There are those who need to forgive themselves for whatever some carry burdens from the battlefield. Some people have decisions that were made that they regret, and I would say that it's not just soldiers who have to deal with that. Many times people are carrying trauma and guilt and shame and secret sorrow, but none of that can keep Christ from saving a repentant sinner. If you're here today, no matter if you're a soldier or a soldier's family member, I want to say this, you are loved and cared for, and Jesus called you His friend. Now that's saying something. I remember the day that I got saved back in Warren, Michigan, when I was about 13 years old, and I was overwhelmed with the fact that Christ knew me and all my failures, and He still loved me, and He called me His friend. And during the invitation time, my pastor, whose name was Paul McCorder, was preaching so eloquently about Jesus dying for all the sins that I'd ever committed, but he still loved me. And when we got to the time to stand at the end of the service and go through a time of reflection and decision, he asked the question, if you're lost, why? If you haven't believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, why? He loved you, He paid for your sin debt, but you must come and you must believe. And that was the day my life changed forever. I left the pew, I bowed my knee to the Lord, I confessed myself a sinner, and that day I believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and He saved my soul. I've never been lost since. He saved me. You say, Pastor, have you sinned after you got saved? Of course I've sinned. The Lord doesn't turn people into robots after they believe on Jesus Christ. He gives you a choice, and many of us, sometimes we still fall short after salvation. Aren't you thankful that God doesn't require perfection once you get saved? Your perfection's been achieved by Jesus, and your righteousness has been assured by Him. So today, as we honor veterans, we thank you for your sacrifice, your courage, your loyalty, your willingness to lay down your life for others if you're called upon to do so. But I want to lift up to you today, as we close our service, the greatest sacrifice that was ever offered. His name was Jesus Christ, the captain of our salvation, who laid down his life for the salvation of the souls of men. To every veteran, every soldier, every family touched by service, I'll say Christ knows your sacrifice. If there was anyone who could understand sacrifice, it's Jesus Christ. And Christ offers salvation today, not through other sacrifice, but through his own. He laid down his life. There was a time when Peter said, Lord, you can't go up there to Jerusalem. Don't go up there. They're thinking about killing you up there. And Jesus said, get behind me. No one was going to deter him from fulfilling his life's mission. He came to die. This is what he was born for. We're just about to come into the Christmas season, and you'll see nativity scenes all around, and what a beauty it is to remember how Jesus Christ, who was God in the flesh, was born through the womb of the Virgin Mary. And he was laid in a manger where cattle would feed. He was born in a barn. He was born next to animals, and the shepherds came and they were told by the angels that Christ had been born, and they would, this would be a sign to them that they would find Him lying in a manger, which is not a place where you would find a newborn child. The glory of Christmas is certainly something that's worthy of our consideration, but the end of that life was the cross. and Jesus did that because He loved you. If there's somebody in the church house today and you've never received Jesus as your Savior by faith, why won't you do that today? Every sin you've ever done has been paid for in full, but you must come to Christ by faith and fully trust Him for the salvation of your soul if you want that payment to be applied to your account. God is willing to absolve anyone, to forgive anyone of any sin if they would come to Him in faith, acknowledging that they're a sinner and putting their faith and trust in Christ. You know, salvation is a simple act of faith. It's a simple act of faith to admit that you're lost and that you need a Savior. Don't put off salvation. If you don't know Christ as your Savior, do it right now. And maybe you're here in the church house today and your heart is heavy from some situation. I know that in our church, We have situations that would call our attention even now to bow our knee to the Lord and say, Lord, we need your help. Some people are going through great physical problems. Would you consider coming to the altar today and laying their names before God in prayer? Jesus said, my house should be called the house of prayer. Let's give these next moments to the Lord for God to work in our congregation. Let's stand together. With our heads bowed and our eyes closed, we're going to prepare to have our invitation. Maybe there's somebody here today and you just need to come to the altar and pray. No one will bother you when you come to the altar. It's just a place where you bow the knee and pray and say, well, can I pray in my seat? Absolutely. You don't have to come to the altar to pray. You can sit in your seat, make an altar right there in your seat. In just a few moments, the piano will play, I Surrender All. The songwriter who wrote it said, all to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give. If you're ready to give your soul to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith, I want to encourage you to come as we sing this song, I Surrender All, on page 153. Won't you come if God's spoken to your heart? All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give. If God spoke to your heart today, won't you come? Some need to come. If you're lost, let the Lord save you. If you've got a friend who needs prayer, the Lord's ready to hear your prayer. I surrender all, all to Thee. I surrender all as we sing. All to Jesus I surrender. Humbly at his feet I bow. Worldly presents all forsaken. Take me, Jesus, take me now. I surrender all. I surrender all. All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all, as we sing. All to Jesus I surrender. Make me, Savior, wholly Thine. Let me feel the whole. Holy Spirit, truly know that Thou art mine. I surrender all. I surrender all. One more verse. Love and power, let Thy blessing fall on me. I surrender all. And while these are praying, let's join together by singing the first two verses of God is so good. Let's try that again. Here we go. God is so good. God is so good. God is so good. He's so good to me. He answers prayer. He answers prayer. He answers prayer. He answers prayer. He's so good to me. me." And all of God's people said, Amen. We do thank you for being here today. We're going to do more of a recognition of those who are here as far as what branch of the military you've been in. During the meal afterwards I'm going to ask Brother Earl Cavanaugh to join me on the stage. Brother Earl is our young adult Sunday School teacher. He And if you're a young adult, whether you're young and married, you might want to join his Sunday school class, which is at 10 a.m. each Sunday morning. He does a great job. But Brother Earl is going to lead all of our veterans and our visiting veterans and their families over to the gymnasium where we'll be having our meal afterwards. Some of you've never been here before. It's a large facility. And so Brother Earl is going to stand over here. And at this time, if you are a visiting veteran, and if you're a veteran from our church, if you guys could be dismissed at this time and start heading over to the congregation, or to the congregation, to the gymnasium, where we'll be serving this steak dinner. Don't be afraid. You can move. If you're a veteran, take your family. Follow Brother Earl. And we're going to go on over and have a meal with our veterans and their families. And if you have that visitor card, if you would please give that to me before you leave. Brother Earl will lead you on over there. For the rest of our congregation, tonight we'll be having service at 6 p.m. If you are a deacon or a trustee, we'll be having a brief meeting after the evening service, so please be mindful of that when you come to church this evening. Brother John, are we doing choir practice today, 445? All right, choir practice today at 445, and we'll look forward to seeing you back at 6 p.m. tonight, 445 for choir. Pastor, deacons, and trustees will be meeting in my office after the evening service. As you know many of you who are members here know that our piano player sister Deborah has been battling cancer she was recently diagnosed with cancer and She is in the hospital at Harris Southwest Some of the treatments that they've been giving I've had an adverse effect upon her body and right now she is in a very She's not in good health. And the family would appreciate your prayers, your cards, your efforts to reach out, mostly by text or call to Brother Ronnie. Ronnie and Deborah have been so faithful. Miss Deborah has played the piano for our church for over 20 years. And to some, she's like a daughter to them. And we just need to be in prayer for her at this time, that God would do a miracle in her life, and also just to trust the Lord with what He's doing. We may not understand all that the Lord is doing, but we know this, He doesn't make any mistakes. And so let's remember to pray for the Stevens family. Let's bow for prayer, and I'm gonna ask Brother Tim Abrams to come to the pulpit and dismiss the service in prayer, please. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you so much for allowing us to meet in your house today. Lord, we thank you for our military veterans that came today. Lord, we thank you for what they have sacrificed. And Lord, I pray that you'll bless this day of recognition for them. But Lord, we lift you up for the one who gave the most sacrifice. Lord, for our souls, for each and every one of us. Lord, I pray that you'll just continue to work in our hearts, Lord. We thank you for visitors today. Lord, we lift up Deborah and Ronnie. Lord, I pray that you would just lay your hand upon them in a special way. Comfort them, bless them in a special way. In Jesus' name, amen.