All right, well take your Bibles and turn to 2nd Corinthians chapter number 4 2nd Corinthians chapter number 4. It has been a delight to be here We have enjoyed it. My kids want to move here and Especially want to live with the Georges forever And that's a blessing they've turned on me and but that's okay. We'll get them back in the car. Amen Nothing, no good old-fashioned paddle can't handle a man. I And I'm just, but we are thankful to be here. We've had a great time. We've enjoyed it. What a blessing. God's heartbeat is missions to reach the world. It came to seeking to save that which was lost. The Independent Fundamental Baptist Church is a church that has come together to reach the world. That's what our job is. That's what God's called us to do. It is not a church to come together to have potluck. Not a church to come together to have softball. Not a church to come together to sew and knit. And he said, well, we don't do any of that here. Well, I've been to a lot of churches, and they have Afghan ministries. They have all that. And those are great for fellowship. But man, we are to fellowship out on the streets, reaching people. And we're to give to missions and ask God to help us with that. And then God's the one that does it through us. He'll give through us what he will not give to us. And missions is exactly where God's heartbeat is. And so I'm thanking the Lord for that. And I said this in my testimony in 1966, August 1966, a man walked into Wessatch Avenue Baptist Church and got saved. And he was the father of my preacher who got saved when he was 16. And my preacher's son was 16 years old when he knocked on my door. They did it through missions money. We went to Philadelphia eight and a half years ago to reach people. Under missions went ten months on the road. God gave us exactly what we needed I thought we needed more but when we got there God provided the rest and he's done it ever since we're starting the Bible Baptist Church a mile and a half away from where I live right now and We're raising money for that. We need a lot of money. I need $300,000 right now to build a building and I'm about to tear down a building possibly and And I'll tell you this, I believe God will give me that $300,000 within the next three or four months and we'll be done building the building in the next three or four months. He said, well, man, how's he gonna do that? I have no idea how he did it the first time, but he just seems to do it. And so I don't have a plan. I'm not messing around. I don't know what I've done or how I've done it. And the truth of the matter is I've not done anything. But we do need to reach the world and so first Corinthians in Corinthians chapter number four I want to read a little bit to you and I want to give you something just very quickly And I'm going to speak very fast and I've lived in Philadelphia long enough to be able to talk real quick. Amen And so therefore, seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not. He's talking to the Corinthian church, and the Corinthian church is a local New Testament Baptist church. You say, well, how is it a Baptist church? Because that's the church of this New Testament, amen? There is no other church. If it is lined up with the Word of God, it makes us a Baptist from the top of our head to the bottom of our feet. We are Baptist by doctrine, by conviction. And so he's talking to the church. He says, we've got a ministry. What is that ministry? The ministry of reconciliation. We see that in the Corinthian book. Reconciliation, bringing people to God, bringing people back to God. He says, see, therefore we have this ministry. We faint not. We cannot faint. We cannot quit. We cannot stop. God wants us to reach the world. I'm glad November 17, 2002, about the three weeks before that, two boys knocked on my door because they had the ministry of reconciliation. And they went and they didn't faint, and it was because of mercy. Because we've got mercy, we've got to get the mercy of God to other people. And that is God wanting that. God desires that. The reason he hasn't come back, because his promises are not slack. What he says in Peter, he says he's long-suffering to us-ward. He's not willing that any should perish. He hasn't come back because there's still people to be reached. And it says, but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness. And I like this one, not handling the word of God deceitfully. And I want to come back to that, and I want you to see what he's talking about there. But by the manifestation of the truth, now look what it says. Everybody listen to me now. Look what it says. Some of us are looking around, looking at Bible, amen. It says, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. Now Paul, the Holy Spirit, they put that in there, that's pretty big time stuff right there. Commending ourselves in the sight of every man's conscience. Then he says, but if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. And Brother Ian said, in whom the God of this world had blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, now he said commending ourselves, now he says we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus, the Lord, and ourselves, your servants, for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, look what it says, to give. Hey, not to take, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that's us. The treasure of God lives inside of us. And so, I wanna talk to you a little bit, just for a few minutes, and I got my timer set, and it's gonna be just fine, but I wanna talk to you about something. I've given my testimony here, and I can give my testimony in 30 seconds, 60 seconds, two minutes, five minutes, 10 minutes, an hour, two hours, whatever the preacher would want me to do, I always wanna do that. And so, I'm gonna kinda run through it just a little bit in case you weren't here, but when I was 10 weeks old, I was adopted. My brother or my mom gave me up to adoption to her brother and his wife. They couldn't have children I had two little two older brothers where we were to warn and then and then I was born My mom had me out of wedlock and with another man. I'm half Mexican. My real name is Scott Christopher Marquez My mom gave me up for adoption because she couldn't take care of us But she kept me in the family gave me to my uncle and his wife. They renamed me Burton Dale Gates jr My birth certificate changed and I lived with them and my mom and dad for this day out My mom and dad went into the military very young and my dad began to become a Drinker an avid drinker my mom and dad they partied on weekends. They were they were just that's what they did They they provided for me, but all they did was drink every weekend of our life every weekend at 10 years old I used to bartend for my dad in their house. They didn't they did we just didn't this way lost people live now It's nice. We get saved and we think why are they like that? Well, why were you like that? I mean we're like that because we're without we're blinded our minds and And so I would bartend for my dad. He'd have whole battalions in our house. And we would bartend. And I could make all the drinks. And then they smoked and drank. And that's what I wanted to do when I got older. And when I was 16, my dad said, you can drink if you want. You just can't go nowhere afterwards. And I could drink at my house. And I went crazy. And when I played college football, it went even worse than that and lost my mind. And I should have died many times and had a lot of bad things happen in my life. And I just got out and got in so much trouble that I couldn't even go back to Texas where my mom and dad lived. I was wanted. And then they moved to Arkansas finally after a few years. And after seven years, I went home to be with my mom and dad. And I came for Christmas, but they didn't know I bought a one-way ticket, and I was hoping they'd say I could stay. And they weren't gonna let me stay, because back in 94, I sold everything they had one day when they went to my grandfather's funeral for crack cocaine, sold their whole house. And they came home to an empty house, and they said, what happened? I said, I don't know. Somebody broke in. But they knew me. And they knew what was going on. And so my mom put me out and said, son, I'm sorry, but you can't ever come back to this house. And man, it was a rough life. And I had it rough. And then my life was messed up. Started going to jail at 13 years old, just really, really out. And I went back to Arkansas for a couple weeks and told them I'd never do it again. And please let me back in. And they let me stay. And I went and got a job. I was a Pizza Hut or a Pizza Inn manager and was doing good. Then I got fired because I was closing the store early. And they had cameras. And I wanted to get out and party. And he said, what time did you close last night? Oh, about 11. And he goes, well, the camera says you closed it at 930 and left. And I said, well, yeah, that's true then if the camera says it. So eventually, I got a job at Applebee's in El Dorado. El Dorado's 18,000 people. Applebee's was the best restaurant they had. That was all they had. And I became the Applebee's bartender. I bartended in California before I moved home. I've been bartending for about eight or nine years at that point, and I was real good at bartending. But my mom and dad, when I moved home with them, they said, son, you can move in, but you can't get into that life again. And I said, oh, no. But when I lost that job, I went down to Applebee's and said, I can make any drink you can think of, and if you'll let me work. And they did. And man, I got out of control again real quick. Well, about a year and a half later, those two teenage boys knocked on my door. Life was rough, man. I didn't want to be alive anymore. I pointed guns at my head many times. I was having a terrible life. And I kept thinking, Lord, and I said it, I said, God, can you just give me one more chance? But I'd ask God for many chances in jail, if he'd let me out this time, I promise. I promise, and I didn't even know God, and he'd let me out. Man, I'd be clean for about a week, and then I'd go back to it. And so, when them boys knocked on my door and I went to church, and they came back to my house four weeks in a row, and I finally went to church. Man, he preached, and I got under conviction, holy ghost conviction, and I was already under conviction. I knew I needed something, I just didn't know what it was. And let me say this, you say, we knock on doors and they don't want it. Well, I didn't want it either when they knocked on my door. I wanted money, drinks, women, and cars, and fame. And they knocked on my door, and I'm like, oh, well, you know, I'm glad you came. And they kept coming back, and I decided to go. And I got saved that day, and God changed my life. And I began to come to church on Sunday mornings, and I'd get paid 600 on Friday, and I'd bartend, and by Sunday, I'd have about eight bucks. That's all I did, even after I got saved. And I'd take that eight bucks and throw it in the offering, and I thought I was doing something. I ain't never heard of tithing, never heard of anything. I never heard any verses. And they began to love me, and they'd sit up and say, let us pray for this young man, for God to touch him and help him. And I'm thinking, man, that's nice of them. And I used to think, I wonder if they knew what I had done. They wouldn't want me here. I hope they never find out what I'd done. And they'd come over to my house, and they'd visit me on Saturdays, and they'd see all the beer cans. And I'd think, man, I hope they don't see those beer cans. Because they'd almost just forced away, oh, yeah, come on in. I'm thinking, oh, man. Hey, let's go over here. And man, they just loved on me, and they knew. Not quite as extensively as I know they know now, but they kept coming back and asked me to go to camp. Camp changed my life, and I made some decisions at camp, and I never, I said, God, if you'd help me, at the end of the week, I said, God, I'll never drink again, get high again, touch another woman again, steal again, or go into another bar again, and God honored those. I never told you this, on the way home, I read my Bible. I think I did, I tell you, I read my Bible for 12 hours on the way home. I got in that Bible, it's a 12-hour ride to Comfort, Texas, and I got all the way up past Exodus. I remember getting to Joseph and thinking, this is incredible. And I got up and looked back at Brother Paul, he was the assistant pastor then, and he was 22 years old out of Bible class. I said, Paul, you ever hear of this guy named Joseph? And he goes, Burton, Joseph was the man. And I'm like, he is the man. And now if you ask me about Joseph, anybody ask me, you know what I say? He's the man. And I began to get up into Exodus and I thought, man, this is not a movie. This is real deal stuff. I'd never read the Bible. I thought Geraldton Heston and that was just a movie. And so I got into that and began to read the Bible, and God began to move on me. And I got home, and I was different. Went to my mom and said, mom, I'm different now. And I went to her house and made her open up her door. And at 1 o'clock in the morning, I had my own place. I went over there when I got home from camp, and I said, mom, something happened. I'm different. She's like, yeah, son, go to bed. I know, I know. She'd heard it all before, but they learned that stuff was different little by little. I used to go over to their house after I got saved. I was running bus route and stuff. And after camp, I got dedicated. I wasn't dedicated before camp. I hadn't turned that corner of coming down to the front and saying, my life is going to be given to God from here on out. And I got dedicated, man. I began to learn these songs and stuff. I remember one day, my dad's an infantry soldier for 25 years in the military, 26 years and nine months. And an infantry soldier, he was a tough guy, man. He knew judo and all this stuff. He was only 165 pounds, about 5 foot 8, but he could take me out to this day. And I got in his bed when they were in their bed and I said, we're going to sing a song for him. I go, Mom, they're like, son, you better get out of this house. My dad's like, boy, don't make me hurt you. And I said, we're going to sing. And they wouldn't. I jumped up in their bed and stood over them. You say what I say. And they wouldn't do it. And finally, they did. And we sang Old Soldier. And they knew something happened to their boy. They'd come to church, and they'd think the preacher was reading their mail, and man, God moved in. And so after camp, I went to my mom's house, and we were talking, and she said, son, me and your dad prayed God give us a child, because we couldn't have one. And there's a story in the Bible about a girl named Hannah. And I didn't know the story yet. My mom sat and told me, and she said, that God would give us a baby, and God gave Hannah a baby, and she gave him back to the Lord, and she says, son, I'm so sorry, but we never gave you back to the Lord like we said we would. and i've uh... and i'd nine i understand the impact now my mom uh... i can blame it all on her if i wanted to and it may it may not be wrong that they cursed us my but why would i be eleven years old one of rob i mean i've robbed people eleven years old miles never taught that my dad didn't but they're broke one law that was drinking and driving because that's what he did was use a drinker but he'd really break no laws and uh... We began to talk, and then she said, I'm so sorry, son. And I'd say, Mom, I went home after camp, said, I gotta win my mom and dad the Lord. I didn't think they were saved. And I asked her, I said, Mom, are you saved? And she goes, son, when I was 15 years old, this independent Baptist bus in Michigan used to pick us up. Our whole family takes us to Sunday school, and I got saved. Now, here's where I wanted to get to you at. I said, I began to think about that. And then she got saved, and I thought, Mom, how come you never told me? My mom just looked at me with a blank stare. I said, because when I got saved, man, I began to worry about everybody. I began to tell everybody. And I may not be the best soul winner, but I'm a soul winner. I want to get them. And I thought, you got saved on an independent Baptist bus? And he was an old-time, hardcore preacher. He's still alive. I said, Mom, why? Why didn't you tell me? She goes, I don't know, son. And we used to pray, but I never knew about being saved. I never even heard that till the day I walked in church. I thought I knew him. I pray now, I lay me down to sleep, and we pray every night when I was a kid. If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. I didn't, I'm not gonna preach it, and I got just a few minutes here, and I wanna give you something very quickly. But if I titled this, and I have a longer message out of this passage, I titled it The Best Kept Secret. What's the best kept secret, Brother Burton? Your testimony. Everybody's testimony in the room. When's the last time you gave your testimony to somebody? I promise you this, there's not very many days that have gone by in 15 years in my life that I've not told somebody 15 years ago, God came and got me. And it's the best kept secret. If our gospel be hid, commending ourselves in the sight of man. We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus, and then he says right there, we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves, your servants. Hey, listen to me. This is real deal business here. This is serious as a heart attack what I'm about to tell you. The Apostle Paul's the greatest Christian that ever lived in my heart. He told everybody. He said, well, we live down here, Brother Burton. I know you're drowning in the gospel down here, and nobody wants it. But they're drowning up there without it where I'm at, and they don't know it. And so we talked to a lady at the shoe store yesterday. Ma'am, do you know the Lord? Oh, yeah. I'm a Lutheran. And immediately, we all just went, I'm sure, in all our minds, whoo. And it didn't present ourselves enough to really get really down there. I was about to say, man, 15 years ago, he got on me and he did something. And it didn't present itself yesterday. And we're hoping that lady comes to church. And I think she will. She knows some of y'all. And so, seeing we've received this ministry, as we receive mercy, we faint not. And then it says, nor handling. the Word of God deceitfully. You know what, when you don't give your testimony and you don't tell people what happened to you, girls, you don't tell people what happened to you, you handle the Word of God deceitfully. I'm telling you. You say, well, Brother Byrd, how have your testimony? Man, that's great. Why don't you say, hey, My mom and dad used to take us to church, and when I was five years old, Jesus came and got me. And he's changed my life, and it's been great, and I haven't had to slip down into the gutter like everybody else, and what a testimony! I wish I didn't have mine, but I can only tell you mine. And I hope that I don't make anybody want what I've got. And that's happened through the years. I wish I had your testimony. No, you don't. But listen, we've all got one. And if you ain't got one, you better get saved. And God says we cannot handle the word of God deceitfully. And we've got to commend ourselves to every man's conscience. And if we don't, the gospel's hidden to them that are lost. Mom, what were you doing? Son, we just, we were young and we asked for you and your dad, we moved to Germany. And it's just, you know, my mom and dad ate popcorn in Germany to feed me Similac, because I was adopted. And they used the rest of their money to party with, which wasn't a lot. And through the years, and man, at 11 years old, my dad's saying, son, what are you doing? Why are you doing this? At 13, they're kicking me out of Germany and saying I can never come back. And luckily, my dad got orders to go to Southern Germany. And we moved after I robbed and mugged people at 13 years old in graveyards. And we moved and things happened and I got down there and it changed again. And finally they said, he's going into a home in Germany. And my dad said, well, I've got orders to leave. Can we just leave? And they let us leave and said, don't ever let him come back to Germany ever again. That's at 14 years old. What happened? My dad would say, son, why are you doing this to us? And I said, I don't know, dad. I don't know. Because the gospel was hidden to me. My mom knew the gospel. My mom and dad got saved about 10 years ago. They got down beside their beds and said, God, if we're not saved, we want to get saved. And they're all in right now. I mean, they are plugged into a great church. But folks, if you don't tell somebody your salvation testimony every day, So, Brother Burton, you got a cool one, and boy, you're a preacher, and da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. Why have I found that to be a command to a preacher? But 2 Corinthians 4 is big time stuff. And I want the God, I want everybody to know. And I'll stop and get gas on the way out of here. But I guarantee you someone's gonna know what happened to me. And it wouldn't matter what the subject is, salvation's gotta come up. Not because I'm just, because I want people to know, and I don't want God to say, Bert, you could've done something. I thank God for my kids. But I would've wanted to hid it from them. Amelia got saved, they both all got dedicated this week, and what a wonderful life that is, but now I gotta teach my kids. Don't be ashamed of your testimony. This message for my wife, man. Honey, you better start telling people what happened to you. At 10, she got saved in a tent meeting, but made a profession before that. And her mom and dad said stuff changed with her after she got saved. Her attitude changed and different things. And Karen knows she's saved. And so I'm just telling you. You've got to do it, or if it's hit, it's hit to them that are lost. And God said it's committing ourselves in the sight of man, in the sight of God, to every man and their conscience in the sight of God. And if it's hit, it's hit to them that are lost. Father, we love you. Lord, please bless it in Jesus' name. Amen.