so Welcome, good morning, to the Sunday morning service. Please stand. I'm going to be singing Blessed Be The Name. Blessed be the name of the Lord. His name above all names shall stand. He called it more and more. Had God the Father's own right hand, were angel hosts adored. Blessed be the name. Blessed be the name. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, blessed be the name of the Lord, Reaper, Savior, Friend of man. Thou hast saved thy salvation's plan, for Thou hast died for all. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, blessed be the name of the Lord. Good morning. Glad you're here here today. I just wanted to come up and welcome Brother Sutmeyer to the pulpit this morning. He is a missionary to Mexico, has been for a quarter of a century or more, and doing a good job there. And we're glad that he's with us today. Now, just so you'll know, we're going to take this morning two offerings. The first offering we take in a few minutes during the song service will be the regular Sunday morning tithes and offerings, and then after the service, we'll take another offering for Brother Sutmeyer. And just so you'll know that, we don't usually take two offerings. We always take one offering as a service, but we seldom take two, but today is one of those days that we're going to. We're glad you're here. Let's pray and then you can be seated and I'm going to go down and sit with you. Father, thank you for the privilege of coming to church today. Thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ and his death and burial and resurrection. and salvation that we have through him. Now we pray for your help and for your blessing this morning on this service. Bless the singing and then the preaching. Fill Brother Nick with the power of the Holy Spirit and bless him, I pray, this morning. Draw any who are lost to the Lord Jesus. Help them to come to him and be saved. And bless the word of God to your people this morning. In Jesus' name, amen. Be seated. But for him, Satan, to you he hath said, Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed, for I am thy God. Shaken thee heav'nly, and caused thee to stand alone. unimpotent, and with you through every trial, thy pathway shall flow by grace of the Father. The nation shall be Thy supply, The flame shall not burn Thee, Thy only design, Thy drops to consume, And Thy gold to refine. And it's always a privilege to have folks visiting with us. If you're here for the first time, or the first time in a long time, we want to be able to give you a visitor's card. Anybody like that? Don't want to miss anyone. Glad all of you are here. Again, on the prayer list. We were asked to pray for Janet DeLeon's Aunt Lily Miller. And he flew up just for a short time, then he'll be flying back. And again, he mentioned Natalie in the Sunday school. She's also on the prayer list. Again, still having a lot of issues with all the stuff that she's had. Then every time she goes back to the doctor, they find another issue and give her more medicine. So if you just keep praying for Natalie, we'd appreciate that as well. For this morning's service, Brother Nick will be speaking for us. He spoke for us in Sunday school, and then he'll speak for us in just a few moments. Then tonight at 6 o'clock, our evening service, Brother Nick will be speaking again this evening. Wednesday night at 7.30 for prayer and Bible study. Thursday night, soul winning at 6.45. And then we also have Saturday, we have bus visitation and soul winning at 10.45, and then back in our place for Sunday school and church. Mrs. Sanders probably doesn't want us to mention her, but continue to pray for her. She has a wound that's healing, so keep her in prayer as well. And again, we want you to don't forget to always read the missionary boards. I don't bring them all in here and let you know all about them, but many of them have needs. And again, you can find that by reading the missionary boards. Anytime we get an update, we stick it up there. But again, you should pray for them all the time, because we never know when they're going through something. And they don't usually, we don't find it out till we get the next missionary later. And by that time, sometimes the problem's already passed. That's why you should just pray for them on a regular basis. Again, all of those of you that were involved yesterday with the men shooting, we appreciate that. Most of you know this, we have security guards out on the property. We have had for years. Back then, we didn't guard it for the same reason we guard it today. Years ago, we started it because one time during a service, we had a visitor here, had a, I think a suburban. And then after church, we went outside and his suburban was still here. The problem was they jacked it up, took all the tires off, put concrete blocks underneath of it, took all the tires off, ransacked the inside. And this is a visitor. So after church, he had no way to continue his trip. So we started security guards back then just to protect, I mean, the vehicles and things like that. And that was years ago. Now we do it to protect the vehicles and also to protect you and I from the craziness that goes on all around us. Someone asked me to say this. We don't usually mention stuff like this. We have guys on security every service. We have fellows with walkie-talkies and other stuff, and you'll see some of them out and about. But someone said, well, do the people in the church know what to do if there's a problem? And here's the thing not to do. The thing not to do is stand up and run around. because typically we have guys on most every door. They're there for a reason. They have a conceal and carry. They're sitting there to protect you and I, and you will not be a helper if you get up and start running around in a panic. You say, why don't you exit out back? And I told someone this yesterday, we don't exit out back because there could be a bad guy out back, and you'd run right into them. So the best thing to do is just stay calm and get down. And we will take care of whatever the problem is that's here. And again, I know that someone mentioned to me one time, they said, do you realize some of the guys are carrying guns? And I went, you'd be surprised. It's not just guys. We have some ladies. We have several ladies that have concealed and carry as well. You say, are they good shots? Sometimes the ladies are better shots than the men. You say, how do you know that? Because I've seen some of the ladies shoot, and I've seen some of the men shoot. So you don't have to worry about our ladies. They'll take care of you as well. Again, thank you guys for having a part in that yesterday. And again, I appreciate Brother Peugeot and the others that was running that, Brother Price. But again, from what I understand, we'll do that on a regular basis. Brother Vineyard used to be in Oklahoma City when he was passing there. He used to tell the police officers that they don't shoot enough. And he was telling them they should shoot, again, he was in the military, they should shoot so many rounds a month. So that's what we're trying to do is make it where our guys can practice. So again, thank you for all of you that had a hand in that yesterday. And the reason I announced that you ought to just get down is they asked us, do the church members know what to do? And I said, no, they probably will do the thing that's common and that is duck and get down. But if you didn't know that, that's what we want you to do. We want you to duck and get down. Because we'll, I mean again, that's why we also, we're trying to stop it out in the parking lot so it doesn't get in here. So that's why we have guys outside with walkie talkies and guys upstairs with walkie talkies and all the cameras going. So they're keeping an eye on you and keeping you safe. So you can sit in here and hear the word of God and not worry about any of that. Please stand. All that thrills my soul is Jesus. You can cheer the heart like Jesus by His presence so divine. Oh, how blessed to call Him mine. For all that thrills my soul is Jesus. He is more than life to me. And the fairest of ten thousand in my blessed Lord I see. Christ so freely given, grace of God beyond degree. Mercy higher than the heaven, deeper than the deepest sea. All that fills my soul is Jesus, He is more than life to me. And the fairest of ten thousand In my blessed Lord I see What a wonderful redemption Never can a mortal know How I sit there when my grave Can be wider than the snow. All that fills my soul is Jesus. He is more than life to me. and the fairest of ten thousand in my blessed Lord I sing. This is the Offering Preacher, Mason. That is our regular offering. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your love to us. As you bless the service, bless the preaching. Leave those that are lost, Lord, this morning. And we pray they might be saved. Bless this offering in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. No one ever cared for me like Jesus. I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus Since I found him in my friend so strong and true I would tell you how he changed my life completely He did something no other son could do No one ever cared for me There's no other friend so kind as He. No one else could take the sin and darkness from me. Oh, how much He cared for me. Every day He comes to me with new assurance. More and more I understand His word and love. But I'll never know just why He came to save me. Till someday I see His blessed face. No one ever cared for me like Jesus. There's no other friend so kind as He. No one else could take the sin and darkness from me. Oh, how much He cared for me. Since I started for the kingdom, since my life he controls. Since I gave my heart to Jesus, the longer I serve him, the sweeter he grows. The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows. The more that I love Him, more love He bestows. Each day is like heaven, my heart overflows. The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows. Every need He is supplying, plenteous grace He bestows. Every day my way gets brighter, the longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows. The longer I serve him, the sweeter he grows. The more that I love him, more love he bestows. Each day is like heaven, my heart overflows. The longer I serve him, the sweeter he grows. How many of you have ever been down to Mexico City? If you ever go down to Mexico City, you ought to go to two places. Brother Wynn's church. And then Brother Nick's church. I know Brother Nick was seeing Brother Nick's church. I got to see it just the last, I believe it was last summer. But it was a blessing to see his church. God has been real good with Brother Nick and Patty. And again, as much as we pray for Natalie, you should pray for Patty's health as well. She has a lot of health issues as well. But again, they finished, I know when I was down there, they were starting, getting ready to start on the kitchen. They're finishing the work on the kitchen. They finished that and now they're waiting on permits to They're going to expand the building. Now it'll hold about 300, 350. When they get it expanded, it'll hold up to 800. So they're going to start on the expansion. It is always a blessing to have him come. Some of you were in Sunday school, so you already got to hear him speak in Sunday school. He'll be preaching for us this morning and then tonight. But again, always pay attention. Grab your King James Bible and listen. Brother Nick's going to come preach to us the Word of God. What a blessing to be here. Thank you for allowing me to preach Brother Nichols and it's a real honor to be here and we're so thankful for all of your prayers for our family, for Natalie and for Patty as well. Thank you. She was going to come with me to come up here and it's just not the same without her. I told her that probably a dozen times already, but just because of Natalie's heart, the issue she's having with her heart, she didn't want to be here and something would happen and all that. So she's there in Mexico City. will be coming out in May, so she'll be able to be here. Of course, she's my better half, amen? And the better, the best half, amen? But thank you for your prayers for Natalie, and just keep praying for her. Pray for the doctors to have wisdom. I know you are praying for her, and it's very obvious, amen? Thank you for... your prayers for us. God's good. Amen. He is good. And so Patty and Natalie both wanted me to say hello to everybody. And Natalie enjoyed her time here when she was here to get her shots for the MS. And we're just very thankful. God is so good. Amen. And that provided that medicine for her. And we just keep going through this. Amen. Little by little, day by day, but God's grace is sufficient. Amen. I wanted to give you a little something that happened in Paraguay this year. We had over 30 people, we had 30 people surrender to full-time service in a conference we had down there. For 25 years, Brother Cordova, he's a pastor, national pastor there in Mexico, averages over 2,000 in his church every Sunday. But he's a huge influence in South America, Latin America. I mean, just God's doing a great work and using Brother Cordova in a great way. And he's good friends with Brother Nguyen as well and preaches in the big conferences always there. And so Brother Córdova had been praying for 25 years that they would be able to start having revival fire conferences. It's called Fuegos de Evangelismo. Revival fires conferences there in Paraguay. And out of his church, there's a missionary and he and his wife are doing a tremendous job there. And as soon as they got to the field, Brother Cordova said, we're going to start having those conferences now. And so they didn't have anybody that they could use before to host a conference like that. And it started off a couple years ago in 20, I believe it was, I don't know. I had to get a COVID shot in order to get into Paraguay. And trust me, I did not want to get that thing, but I said, okay, Lord, this one's for you. It's the only way I'm going to be able to go to preach in this conference. And it was just a couple of people that came, just really a little over, I mean, not very many people had come to the conference. and some pastors had come and everything and during these conferences there are sessions to teach pastors how to sow in, bus routes, all kinds of ministry outreach and all that and so to reach the lost and we got to go to the people and get them saved and get them baptized and teach them God's word. Well, we started off there and this year was, I mean, God just blessed and we had over 300 in every service. Several pastors had come. The pastors that had been coming, the one that came, one of the pastors that came the first time When he came the second year, he gave testimony that his church doubled in a year, more than doubled in a year just by going soul winning and starting a bus route and all that. Now they have several bus routes in there and actually he's gonna host the conference this next year in February there in Paraguay. I mean God is so good and one of the young men, I mean they have now, God is calling people and these families are going to Mexico in order to get their training to go back to Paraguay and start churches. It's just a real blessing to see that and now in other countries, Brazil and other countries, Peru and Colombia, all kinds of South American countries, they're having big conferences like that but there are churches being started out of these conferences And then also the pastors that come to these conferences, they learn about going how to win somebody to the Lord, go door to door soul winning, and it's just a real blessing. So just pray for South America, amen? God is doing something great, and it was just an honor and a privilege just to have a little piece of that and be a part of that, but it's God, amen, that does that. And so just keep praying. and they're at our church, God is good, the Lord's just been blessing and we've had a lot of people saved and baptized, a man who's a doctor came and got saved and baptized in our church and he said, pastor, he said, I'd like to start doing some therapy with you if I could. if you let me and I you know you don't know you know sometimes you just wonder he's very humble man and wonderful man and and he said he said he said I'm gonna help you with your nervous system you know having PTSD that kinda it sounded good to me you know and and he said I wanna I just wanna help you out and I said well what am I what's this gonna cost me and all this he said no no no no he said you don't understand I have a big debt with you I said no your debts with God he said but God used you amen so he said I'm gonna do my part to help you. And so he's been giving me treatments to help me with my nervous system and all that. And it's a real blessing. Amen. So God is good. Amen. He's just so good. Joshua chapter number three, if you would. Joshua chapter number three. And it's because of your prayers that things like this happen. Amen. And and God's good, amen? Joshua chapter three, verse number 14. The Bible was, if you'll please stand for the reading of the Bible. Joshua chapter number three. If you can stand, if you can't, no problem. Just read along with us here. The Bible says here, Joshua chapter number three and verse number 14. And it came to pass when the people removed from their tents to Passover Jordan, and the priest bearing the ark of the covenant before the people. And as they that bear the ark were come unto Jordan, at the feet of the priest that bear the ark were dipped into the brim of the water. For Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest. that the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon a heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Saritan. And those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the Salt Sea, failed and were cut off. And the people passed over right against Jericho. And the priests that bear the ark and the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan. and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground until all the people were passed clean over Jordan. This morning I'd like to preach this message, why Christians don't understand the things of God. Why Christians don't understand the things of God. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your goodness and blessings. Thank you for the hymns that we sang, preparing our hearts, singing to you, Lord, lifting up our voices. Thank you for the special. What a joy, what a joy. I just pray and ask Heavenly Father that you'd meet with us now and I pray that you would change our lives because of the preaching of your word, the proclaimed word, your word being proclaimed. And I pray and ask Heavenly Father that you would use me this morning to be a blessing to each one of these wonderful people here that are here today. Thank you for our church. Thank you for our pastor. Pray that you'd strengthen us, Lord, and give us your grace. In your precious name we pray. Amen. You may be seated. right here in Joshua chapter number three. You see, this was after being in the wilderness for 40 years, the children of Israel are now crossing the Jordan River. I mean, they should have crossed it after leaving Egypt, After the blood was applied in Egypt, they were released, they were free to leave from the bondage of Pharaoh. And that's a picture of salvation for us. Until the blood is applied, the blood of Jesus is applied to our lives. There's no salvation, amen? Because He's the one that died for our sins, amen? And His finished work on the cross, we don't have to worry about if I'm good enough or no. The thing you have to worry about is if Jesus was good enough, amen? And He's perfect, He is God, amen? God in the flesh, God Emmanuel, God with us, amen? And what a blessing. So here in Joshua, the children of Israel, they're going to cross over the Jordan River. And when Moses was there before the Red Sea, he lifted his rod and God opened the Red Sea and they walked across on dry ground. And I believe that God was showing the people here that they just needed by faith to cross that Jordan River. They didn't build a bridge, they didn't do anything. God says, cross it. I'll worry about the rest, you just cross it. And what they had to do is they had to step into that water. And when they stepped into that water, the Lord stopped the water and they crossed over on Jordan River. to dry ground. And a lot of times Christians don't understand the things of God because we don't take that step of faith and do what God says to do. And we want to see it. We want to see a bridge built. We want to see all these things happen before we'll take that step. God said, just cross it. Amen. Just walk across that thing. And you know what? They did. And as soon as those priests stepped into that water, the water was parted right there. It was heaped up. It was stopped. It was all stopped. You say, how can that happen? Well, you're talking about the great creator, amen? There's nobody greater than God, amen? I mean, just like the glory of Everest is the fact that there's no other mountain as big as Everest. There's no other mountain. Everest is so tall, it reaches into the streamline. I mean, that's a huge mountain. There's no other mountain as big as Everest. That's the glory of Everest. But you know what? The glory of God is there's no other God like God, amen? He is the one and only God, amen? And anybody else is an imitation, amen? And their bones are still in their graves, by the way. But my Savior, his bones aren't there if you're looking for them. And God said to cross the Jordan River, and he opened that, he stopped, he heaped up the water, stopped that water, so that his children could go across the Jordan River. And it's a step of faith, it's a step of obedience as well, amen? And they're both together, and that's when we see the miracles. That's when we start seeing the power of God in our lives. But we've got to step, amen? Now, why Christians don't understand the things of God? You see, a lost person doesn't understand the things of God, all right? And that's what the Bible says. Look with you, if you would, over here in 1 Corinthians. First Corinthians, chapter number two, the Bible says here. Now, the lost person, he does not understand the things of God. And naturally, because he doesn't know God, amen? But here the Bible says, in First Corinthians, chapter number two, And if you're lost here, if you don't have Christ and you don't know him as your personal Savior, church is not going to make much sense to you. Why? Why? Why? Why? Why get dressed? Why get up? I could be sitting at home, watching TV, doing whatever you want to do. Why do I need to go to church? We see someone who's lost, they don't understand why we should be at church, amen? And the Bible says here in 1 Corinthians 2 and verse number 12, 1 Corinthians 2 And verse number 12, the Bible says here, now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us by God. of God, that we can know God, the things of God. And so the Bible says here, which things also we speak not in the words of man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth. comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. You see, the natural man, the man who does not know Christ as his Savior, The Bible says, some people say, well, I'm a good person. You could be a great person. But if you don't have Christ, you're lost. You're without your sins being forgiven. The Bible says in John, chapter number 14, verse number 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. When Jesus was talking to Nicodemus, he said, you must be born again. And there's only one way to be saved, and that's through Jesus Christ. And the person who is lost, the natural man, the person who does not know Christ as their personal Savior, he does not understand or discern. To him, it's foolishness. It's crazy to go to church. Why give my tithes and offerings? He doesn't understand the things of God because he's lost. He's without Christ in his life. Amen? The Bible says in John 3, 5, let's go back here, over here where Jesus is talking to Nicodemus, and the Bible says here, John 3, verse number 5, Jesus answered, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. You see, that which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. And so, he was saying that you must be born again, verily, verily. In verse number three, Jesus answered and saith unto him, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. You've got to trust Jesus as your personal savior. The Bible says, He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son hath not life. Are you with me? In Mexico, people say, I mean, I think it's the same here as well, I mean, all the good people are going to go to heaven and all the bad ones are going to go to hell. Well, the Bible says, as it is written, there is none righteous, no not one. No, there's nobody that's righteous. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You see, coming short of the glory of God. You see, we're without a right to enter into heaven. None of us have a right to enter into heaven. The only reason we're going to get into heaven is because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He's the sinless Lamb of God. Amen? And you see, in order to get to heaven, you and I must be born again. John 3.16, the Bible says here, the Bible says in verse number 15, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 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. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. Verse number 18, he that believeth on him is not condemned. But he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Amen? You see, without Christ, we're condemned already. Before Christ, you and I, we were condemned. If you don't have Jesus in your heart, you're condemned to an eternal lake of fire. Oh, well, I don't believe in hell. It doesn't matter if you believe in jail or not, you break the law, you're gonna go to jail. It doesn't matter if you believe in hell, you break the law, you break God's law, you're gonna go to hell. You see, we were born in that condition. And the only way to get out of that condition is to trust Jesus as your personal Savior. There's no other way. He died for you and I. You see, verse number 24, the Bible says, John 5, 24, the Bible says here, I just, I love these verses right here. I mean, just, this is, when I trusted Christ as my personal savior, when you trusted Christ as your personal savior, this is what happened. Verily, verily, I say unto you, John 5, 24. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. You see, we were dead before Christ and we were passed unto life. He that hath the Son hath life. Amen? You see, with Christ, you and I have an opportunity. With Christ, you and I, our sins are forgiven. We are no longer condemned to an eternal lake of fire, but we have everlasting life. Everlasting life. So the worst thing that could happen to you and I that are saved is to die here on earth and enter instantly into heaven. Where Mrs. Moss is right now, doing circles around heaven. I was talking to Brother Moss. I said, Brother Moss, she's more alive than you and I are right now. Sure gonna miss her. I mean, going over to their house on a visit, you would have never known there was something wrong with her. The fun that we had there, and I walked away from there just blessed. My heart just blessed. And one day we're going to all be together. Amen? I'm sure Brother Craig heads up there. He's got a choir put together and all that. Mrs. Moss is in there singing with them. Amen. But they said, we're not going to let Brother Nick in it. OK, because he brings us down a whole octave. Amen. So but doesn't matter. Amen. You see. This you see. This man that doesn't have Christ, he is lost. This natural man, he does not know Jesus. He's lost, he's condemned. He's on his way to a eternal lake of fire. And you see that, but that's not what God wants for us, amen? He said, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. You see, Jesus died on the cross for you and I so that we could be forgiven of our sins. He's given us a way to enter into heaven, but it's only through his son. It's through Jesus Christ. You see, this natural man, he'll drink beer even with his priest. You know, with the priests down in Mexico, I don't know if they're, I think they're the same here because my grandpa, he's in heaven right now, but he got saved and everything, and he told me, he said, he offered me a beer, and I said, no, thank you, grandpa, but you know, I've had my time and all that, but you know, I don't believe it honors God if I do that, and so I'm just gonna pass, you know? And he said, well, he said, well, Nicky, he said, you're just starting off. He said, I don't think you really understand it all, really. He said, my neighbor, he's a Catholic priest, and he drinks beer with me all the time. I said, well, Grandpa, he can do whatever he wants, and I can do whatever I want or don't want to do, amen? The priest down in Mexico, they said, they'll tell the people, they'll say, you know, hey, look, in church, we got to play, we got to behave ourselves. But out here, he said, I'm the priest when we're in the church, but out here, I'm just your buddy. While he's sipping his beer, right, drinking, chugging them down just right with everybody else. You see, it's the blind leading the blind. That's just pure religion. Are you with me? But anyway, the carnal man, The carnal man is someone who, the natural man, he doesn't understand the things of God. And the carnal man, he just can't digest the things of God. He don't understand it either. Look with, if you would, over here in 1 Corinthians. Let's go over here, 1 Corinthians chapter number 3. The Bible says here, 1 Corinthians chapter number 3. You see, the lost man, he don't understand the things of God. But look at this, the Bible says here, and brethren, 1 Corinthians 3.1, the Bible says here, and I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk and not meat. For hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal, whereas there is among you envying and strife and divisions. Are ye not carnal and walk as men? The Bible's saying right here that someone who's carnal doesn't understand the things of God. They have to have milk. instead of meat, amen? I can't understand. Someone who is governed by his flesh, his emotions, the lust of the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. This carnal man has a very, very hard time understanding the things of God. He doesn't understand it. He just doesn't get it. Just almost like the lost man, he's almost just like him. The only difference is the lost man is condemned. He'll spend eternity in a lake of fire. The saved man, he's gonna go to heaven even though he doesn't understand the things of God. But praise God, the man who got saved, even if he is carnal, Praise God, he understood that Jesus died on the cross for his sins. He put his faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, amen, but never grew. But praise God, he got saved anyway, amen. All right, but he doesn't understand the things of God, the natural man and the carnal man. Giving tithes and offerings, they don't get it. Just don't get it. Why give all my money to that church? We're not giving the money to the church, we're giving it to God. He doesn't need our money. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He doesn't need our money. He needs our faith and obedience. He needs our love. Amen? And we do it with love. Listen, live in a separated life from the world. These people, they don't get it. The lost man, he don't get that. The carnal man, he doesn't get that either. And listen, God doesn't want us to stay in that condition. He doesn't want you to stay in the lost condition. He doesn't want us to stay in a carnal condition either, amen? He wants us out of there. Soul winning, why waste my time? I mean, I just don't have the gift of soul winning. I just don't have the gift of giving the gospel to people. Well, it doesn't matter if it's... It's not a question of whether it's a gift, it's a question of obedience. Are you with me? I mean, how would you like it if your son... You say to your son, son, I need you to take the trash out. And he says to you, dad, I just don't have the gift of taking the trash out. You see, it's not a question of gift. It's not a question of ability. It's a question of do it, amen? It's a question of obedience. Now if it was me and I said something like that to my dad, I would have died without Jesus in my heart because that, are you with me? And it just takes getting knocked on the floor once or twice, you know? But me, I didn't get it. I must've hit my head too hard and I got knocked down quite a few times, amen, but growing up. But anyway, having a prayer life, they just don't get it. Don't get it listening to rock music. Oh, I was listening to my favorite song, you know, and country music, whatever it is, Taylor Swift, whatever it is, they just don't get it. They don't get it. the lost person and the carnal man. They don't get the things of God. But a spiritual man, he's someone who loves the Lord. If you love me, keep my commandments. You see, obedient to God, and he fears God. You know, one of the best verses here, look at, if you would, in Proverbs chapter number three, Proverbs chapter number three, the Bible says here, Proverbs chapter number three and verse number six. I mean, this is one of the best verses of a spiritual man, I think it really sums up a lot here, in all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths. You see, I believe that's a great definition of a spiritual man. You, in all thy ways, in all everything that we do, we got to acknowledge him, amen? God first, amen? In all our ways, and he shall direct thy paths. You see, go into all the services, he gets it. Sunday school, I better be there. I'm in my place. The people that guard the parking lot and does security here, the ushers and everybody, they get it. They gotta be in their place. We gotta be in our place. And a spiritual man understands. I need to read my Bible before I take off this morning. I need to have a prayer life. I need to be faithful in my tithes and offerings. He gets it because he loves God, amen? And he discerns the things of God. You see, good understanding have they that do his commandments. A lot of people don't understand the things of God because they don't obey God. God says, obey me first and then you'll get it. That's just the opposite of what the world thinks, isn't it? You see, before I do, I'm gonna have to understand this, you know, and that's with reason. But with the things of God, you see, we're a new creature. Behold, all things have become new. It's not like the old life. Look at Psalms 111, Psalm 111, the Bible says here, Psalm 111, in verse number 15. 10, I'm sorry, Psalm 111, 10, the Bible says here, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Hey, that's when we're starting off. Yep, God made me, he saved me, he forgave me. You know how the millions and billions that live in this planet, he came to see me. He gave me the opportunity to trust His Son as my personal Savior. You see, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. You see, without me, you can do nothing. We can't do anything without Christ. The Bible says here, a good understanding have they. Have all they that do His commandments. His praise endureth forever. You see, the Bible says, a good understanding have all they that do His commandments. See, they're doers. You trust God. He just says, do it. The people that in order for them to enter into the victorious Christian life, they just had to do what God said to do. Step on a cross, amen. Cross the Jordan, just get out there. And they had to step into that water. You see, good understanding have they that do his commandments. A lot of Christians don't understand the things of God because they're not doers of God's word. God says you do it, and then you're gonna understand it. When I got saved, I trusted Christ as my Savior. I didn't understand everything that I did, amen? I just did it. But you know, after I did it, I understood. Jesus just saved me. He just forgave me of my sins. I'm a wicked old man, and He just had mercy over my soul, amen? I mean, I got it, I got it. I didn't get it about going to church yet. I was still carnal, very carnal. I was still living according to my feelings, according to my, the way, my way. Are you with me? And then the power and the power and grace of God's happens at the moment we obey. You see, when the priest stepped into that water, God heaped it up. They just had to step. Amen? You know what you and I have to do? Just step out. Just obey. Just do what God says. Amen? Because we love Him and we know that this is what He said and I'm just going to trust Him and He's going to get us through it. Amen? He just wants us to step. We have to do. Be doers. Okay? Listen, I'm not talking about religion, amen? You know, when I was over in Saudi Arabia, and I was working at this checkpoint, we had a counterpart with us that was from the air defense of Saudi Arabia, And they didn't, some of them spoke English and we had a counterpart that was, he turned out to be a pretty good friend and all that. And now I was lost as a goose in a hailstorm, I didn't have Jesus in my heart or anything. But anyway, over there they said, oh you can't take your Bible outside your tent, you can't take your Bible outside a personal area and all that. Well, they gave me a Bible when I went there, but I never looked at it. I opened it a couple times and it was in NIV, some of the verses were missing, so I was like, well, what am I going to do here? But anyway, I didn't understand all that, but I considered myself a Christian because I believed in Jesus. And they said, Allah and God are the same person. It's just a different name. I thought, I never heard that before. I went to church with my aunt and uncle, I went to church all the time and I never heard the word Allah in my life. And so, anyway, they said, no, no, no, it's just another name for God. And I thought, I've never heard that. And so they can't eat pork there. And that really got me because I'm thinking if Allah and God are the same person, man, I should have been dead a long time ago. I said, what happens if you eat pork? Allah will kill you. I said, well, he hasn't killed me. I love pork. I love ham, amen. I love cracklings and all that stuff. Big's feet too, amen. So anyway, I thought, man, I'm just gonna try it. Brother Howard, could you help me out for just a second? And so, anyway, I thought, you know, I'm going to find out if this is right or not, you know? I mean, I've had ham. I've never died and all that. Probably high for your cholesterol. Who knows? But anyway, all this ham. So I waited. You know, those guys there, let me see here. Let me get this. Let me find somebody that's probably about the size of one of them soldiers over there. I don't know, would you stand up? I just wanna see, yeah, about this size right here. But if you could imagine, if you could imagine if he had the face of a man, okay, but at this size, that's what the soldiers look like from Iraq. I mean, they're just little guys. I felt like a giant over there, you know? Hey, buddy, you know? Okay, you can sit down now. But so did the Saudi guys. They're just little guys, but they had, but man, there was one guy, look like this. And I thought, boy, right there's my experiment. Ham slices in those MREs, you know, meal ready to eat. That's what we ate all the time. We hardly ever had a good hot meal. But in order to heat it up, we'd put it on the engine blocks of the generators or hummers or whatever. we had there and you just put that pack on there for a little while it heats it up and you can have a nice ham slice you know and those were my favorites so I had three ham slices in my ruck so I pulled one out and I started cooking it there and then it's behind those lights you can't see anything so he didn't know what he was eating and uh and I just gave him one and he chewed it down I mean, he scarfed that thing down, and I kind of got back, you know? I thought, a little guy like that, Allah's gonna kill him right off the bat. I mean, the wind's gonna blow, and he's gonna be gone like Dorothy, you know? And so, but anyway, so I kind of got back just in case, you know? Nothing happened to him. So he's like, man, I said, was that good? He's like, yeah, that was good. And so I said, you want another one? He said, yeah. I thought, well, he's big, he might need two. So I gave him another one. He ate that thing. Nothing happened to him. He wanted my third one. I said, no, no, that's mine. Bunch of religion. Bunch of religion. You see, when we obey God, things happen. When you step out by faith, when you decide, I'm gonna do what God says to do, I don't care what the rest of the world says, because there's only one true God, amen? That's the God of heaven, the God of our Bible. That's Him, amen. Thank you, Brother Howard. I know you didn't really do much, but you were a big help for this illustration. I mean, he was probably that size right there. So anyway, I thought, ah, this is a bunch of religion. You see, the moment, the moment they stepped into the water, they just simply believed God and did what he said to do. That's all they did. They just, you know what? And then you're gonna understand. And God had them, God had them build, take out these 12 big rocks and put it there as a memorial. Remember what God did here. Remember, you walked across on dry land, but remember, it took that first step. Took the first step, you believe me. And buddy, that's when you begin to enter into the, that's when you enter into victorious Christian life, when you just believe God and do what he says, amen? Now, now. Bible says that we must present our bodies a living sacrifice. You see the natural man in the carnal man. He don't get this Hey, he don't get it present my body a living sacrifice. What are they gonna do burn me or something? Are you with me? They don't get it but somebody who's spiritual, someone who obeys God, someone who's obeying what God says. He says, present your bodies a living sacrifice. Romans chapter number 12 and verse number one, Romans 12, one. The Bible says here in Romans 12, verse number one, I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. You see, it starts, this transformation happens in the mind. The heart is really the processor, okay? It's in here. But when this heart is all full of garbage, you know, it's full of the politics and all that kind of, you know, I mean, I think you ought to know what's going on. But sometimes that stuff can just overload. It just, it can overload you. And you can get bogged down and bogged down. You see, just confess it. Lord, you know what? I've gone too far here. Got all this garbage going on, there's not, I mean, the news has been much better since Trump has got into office, I'll admit that, amen? And actually, it's actually kind of enjoyable anymore. But the Bible says here, this natural man says, Living sacrifice? What? What do you mean? Reasonable service. They ought to pay me for showing up to church. They ought to pay me for doing all these things, working on that bus route. You mean they do it for free? They don't get it. Natural man, he's lost. A carnal man, he doesn't get it either. Carnal man says the same thing, basically. their mind needs to be renewed. You see, when I got saved and baptized for about six months, I wasn't faithful to church, I didn't read my Bible. I mean, I had my Bible, my friend that invited me to church the night I got saved, He bought me a King James Bible. And, you know, he said, now this is a King James Bible. It's a King James Bible. And I'm like, okay, King James Bible, I get it, get it, thanks, you know. Whatever that means, King James Bible, I didn't know. And so, anyway, I had a Bible when I was a kid, and I thought, I wonder what kind of Bible that was, you know. Look back and it was a King James Bible. Thank God. Amen, but I never read it any either It's so but anyway, I had that Bible and then I would take it with me everywhere I go and man I had my Bible there and sometimes I just opened my Bible and just say alright Say something You know You see that's Cardinal That's carnal, but if you're desperate, just do it, amen? God's happy anytime we open his word, amen? And it doesn't return void, he'll give you something. But listen to this, after I got saved, I wasn't living for the Lord at all. And I didn't have a prayer life, I didn't read my Bible or anything, I had it with me, but I didn't read it. I didn't study it, and only opened it up every now and then when I needed something from the Lord, you know? And usually, something, he would give me something there. But that's dead, but crossing the Jordan River is a picture of entering into the victorious Christian life. Some people say it's a picture of entering into heaven, but in heaven there are no battles to be fought. It's over. Once we're in heaven, it's done right there. Until we come back with Christ, amen? When we come back with Him, okay? But there are no battles to be fought there. But here in Psalm chapter number 34, look at this. This is very good. This is all good, amen? The Bible's all good. The Bible says here in Psalm chapter number 34, the Bible says here, Psalm 34 verse number eight, The Bible says here, O taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth in him. You see, O taste and see that the Lord is good. He wants you to step out. He wants you to obey. Take that step of faith. Start a prayer life. Take that step of faith. Go soul wedding. Decide you're going to be there at every service. Every time them doors are open, I'm just going to do it. Amen. And see the blessings of the Lord. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth in him. I mean, this little thing that I'm getting, I'm getting one from the VA, but the representative that had it, I talked to him on Friday, and I started this process on Friday because I met with this veteran man, he's a retired Chief Warrant Officer, and he said, man, this thing has done wonders for me and my wife, his wife is a veteran as well, and PTSD, both of them, and everything. And so he said, it's worked wonders for us. So I went in there and had an appointment. I set it up, got an appointment, walked in. And the doctor that was there that I saw, he really didn't know much about it. He was just filling in. And so I thought, oh, great. But he said, I'm going to put these notes in. I'm going to send it to your primary doctor. And he said, but I will schedule you for, we'll get the process start so you can get a wellness check and maybe we can get it through this process. I said, but it's not gonna be by Monday, right? He said, no, I don't think so. He said, we just don't work that fast, you know. And so I said, okay, I get it, no problem. So let's just do what you said, okay? So anyway, and then I was done there and I went to see Brother Taylor, but he's in Florida right now, I think. And so he wasn't there and so I went up I thought, you know, I'm going to call the company and just see what is this about. What do we do? And so I called there and she says, oh, we have a representative right there at Audie Murphy. She said, actually, I'll give you his name and number. I said, oh, let me get pulled over here. I'm driving. Let me get that number. So I called him and I told him my situation. I said, I'm leaving. But he said, oh, he said, I don't know. It's got to be approved. It's like a lot of stuff. You got all the hoops you got to go through. He said, I don't know if you'll get it by then. And I told my mom and dad the night before, I said, mom and dad pray that we can get this thing. And I think it'll be a help. I think it'll be a blessing. So anyway, they said, OK, we'll be praying for it and everything. I mean, you just get the prayer going. Amen. You see, God moves mountains, but prayer moves God. So I said, let's just do this. And so anyway, he told me, he said, well, I'll see what I can do. We'll see what we can do. So he went to the, he called me back. He said, man, I don't, your primary is not here at this hospital. I looked everywhere. I looked under every stone, your primary doctor. I said, oh no, she is on this other clinic. And so he said, I'll go there personally. So he went there personally. And so the clinic called me and they said, well, we cannot confirm or deny that you were with us. So just for your privacy and everything. But there's a man out here. He's a representative from this company. And if you could just give him a call and tell him that your doctor has already approved that and just let him know that, please. And I just couldn't believe it. You see, taste and see that the Lord is good. Just taste and see. God is so good. So I called him and he said, you know what? The VA, he said, all right. He said, the VA is going to send you one of these by mail. And I said, I know, but that's not going to do me much good. I'm leaving on Monday. And he said, don't worry about it. He said, I'll give you a loaner. I said, what? I said, I'm not going to be back until May. He said, I'm not worried about it. He said, I can't even believe this is even happening that we're having this conversation. He said, this is just, I can't explain it. I said, I can. I got people praying and we've got a big God. And he said, well, can you do it on Saturday? And I said, I can't be there. I've got this thing with the veterans group and all that. And I'm not going to be able to do it on Saturday. He said, what about Sunday? I said, well, I'm preaching all day on Sunday. I don't think I'll be able to. And he said, I'll tell you what, where are you at? I'll come bring it to you. What time do you have to be at the airport? I said 11. And he said, on Monday, he said, I'll be at your mother and father-in-law's house at 9.30. Got it. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. I mean, you folks that have been dealing with the VA, you know how big of a miracle this is. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. You just got to step out. You got to take that step. You just gotta believe it. I just wanna show you something here. Look what it says over here in 1 Peter, chapter number five. 1 Peter, chapter number five. We're getting to the end of the introduction here. I'm just kidding for some of you. Your pacemaker just kicked in, right? But 1 Peter, chapter number five. 1 Peter, chapter number five. The Bible says here, 1 Peter chapter number five. We're almost done. Bible says here, 1 Peter chapter number five, verse number five. Bible says here, likewise ye younger submit yourselves to the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another and be clothed with humility for God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble. You see, we're not going to take that step if we're proud. That step's not going to be taken if we're proud. This says here, verse number 6, that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour. You know what he's looking for? He's looking for the Christian that doesn't have their Bible. Are you with me? I mean, even during the preaching there, he's looking for someone who don't even have a Bible. And knows they should have a Bible, but they don't have one. Oh, no, I got my Bible right here. Like Brother Coral said, you know, it's one thing walking into a crowd, a rowdy crowd, with this in your pocket. or having this carrying around in your hand. Everybody's going to notice something's up with this one, okay? Amen? Well, anyway, that's free. I'll just leave it at that. The Bible says here, humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. You see, before we take that step, there's a lot of concerns. Just cast it on him, say, okay, Lord, you know what? It's in your hands. How are we gonna get across this Jordan? How are we gonna do this? Nope, just step across, cross it. What? Just cross it, cross it. How are we gonna cross it? Bridge? No, no, just cross it, step in there. Step out there. The Bible says here, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, that's power, that supernatural power, God's gift for us. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you. You see, most people don't get to that point because they don't take out that step. No, we don't allow God to establish us. I just wanna illustrate this really quick if I could. Let me see here. Henry, can you help me out? Let me see. Jose, can you help me out too? All right. All right, Henry, come on up here. Come on up here, yeah. You're gonna be this guy over here. You're gonna be the renter, all right? And then we got Jose here. OK, let me see. Can I get someone else here? Brother Howard, can you help me out again? All right. You didn't do much the first time, but we're going to have you do some more stuff this time, OK? I know he's willing to do it, too. So anyway, here's us, OK? And here's this renter here. And you like the house that you're in? Yeah. More or less? More or less. OK. How's that landlord doing? Has he fixed off when you? How is it? It's iffy. Iffy. OK. Well, hey, Jose, you've got to work on that, OK? But anyway, so every month, you've got to pay the rent, right? In order to stay there, OK? Come on over here, Jose, if you would help me. I can't do the cash app or anything because it would ruin the illustration. So you're going to have to pay him in cash, all right? Kind of, kind of, okay, pay him in cash, all right? Give him a check, whatever you need to do, make sure you count that. I know this guy, okay? All righty. Okay, that's just how them landlords are. You look at that look on his face and all that, you know? You think just after getting married he'd have a bigger smile, but he doesn't matter. He's over there. Okay, so there you go. and now next month okay now you can breathe for that day and now you got to start saving up again to come back over here next month you got to pay him again all right pay him you know there he is he's good at this all right all right now Alright, these two are something else here. So anyway, month after month after month this happens, right? So anyway, Jose decides, I'm going to sell that house. And brother Howard says, I'm looking for an investment and I want to buy that house. All right, and so they do an agreement here. He buys the house, all right? So Brother Howard comes over here with the old landlord. Come on over here. And they introduce him and says, Brother Howard says, you know what? I'm gonna respect the contract that you have with Jose, all right? Same, everything is the same. We're gonna respect that until that contract expires, then we'll do up a new one, okay? So we're in agreeance, right? Okay, so go on back over here. All right, so new owner, right? Okay, Jose, go get your rent. No, no, no, go get your rent. Go get your rent. What in the world? Thank you, Brother Sanders. He's trying to talk some sense into you. He's the old landlord. You just paid him. Now, come on over here, Brother Howard. Get your rent. Wait a minute, he doesn't have any money now because he just gave it over there. Foreclosure. Get him out of there. That's what I would do. Just don't even give him any mercy, all right? All right. But you know what? We do this with God. We do this with God. You see, if you go back over there, Brother Howard, you see, we used to have to pay the devil. I mean, Real resemblance here. No, I'm just kidding. Okay. No You see we used to pay him and it was obligated. It was an obligation. Are you with me? Because Pharaoh the devil you see we were we were before we got saved we were his son the devil's son children of Satan So so so so we were paying him. I mean whatever he needed whatever you wanted. We were just paying it out and But you see, when Christ came in, he said, I'm not gonna respect no contract with that idiot. The devil, I'm sorry. This is a good guy, okay? So with the devil, okay? He said, I don't respect it. We're gonna have a new contract now, buddy. You see, you were bought with a price. Amen. You see, my son died on the cross for your sins. And now, Now, now, when you give to Him, listen, it's voluntary. It's got to come from your heart when we obey Him. Are you with me? All right, you can go back over there, Brother Howard. But you know what? You know when we pay this guy over here? Come on over here. You know when we pay him? When we're up all night, Saturday night, we know got church in the morning, but man, we got the cell phone, we're on the phone. All night long, and you know what? Man, it was two o'clock in the morning. It was a late night, so I'm just not gonna be able to sleep tonight, all right? Don't read my messages, please. And so, you know what? You know what we're doing? We're paying Him. We're paying Him. And then when it comes time to do something for God, there's nothing left. There's nothing left. When it comes time for time that we devote to step up by faith and all that, we just, you know what we gotta do? We gotta renew our mind. We gotta get it set in here. No, no, no, no, no. This old one? No, no. The new one. Jesus. We have to present ourselves a living sacrifice. And the Bible says it's our reasonable service. Are you with me? All right. Thank you guys. Thank you very much. Let's give them a hand. They kind of, they were, You see, sometimes the carnal man, he just doesn't get that. He doesn't get it. He still keeps paying the old landlord. You see, the natural man, he just pays that landlord anyway. It's an obligation for him. But whenever we pay that old landlord and we're a new creature, you know what, that's voluntary also. It's because we choose to. You see, and we're not going to get it. But look what Jesus says here in Luke 22, 31. The Bible says here, Luke 22, 31, and we'll finish up here. We're done. Luke 22, 31. Here's Peter. Now you know Peter, he had his ups and downs. And he really had it. But listen, look how the Lord loves him. He said, and the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not. And when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. He said, Peter, when you get it in your head, when you get it in your heart, to obey me. Serve me with all your heart. Strengthen your brethren. In order for you and I to make a difference in this world, we're gonna have to be different. You see, an obedient Christian is a different Christian. He goes by the book, amen? An obedient Christian, he goes by the book. That's what God said to do, I'm just gonna do it, amen? I don't get it right now, but hey, that's gonna come. Because we'll understand whenever we begin to do his commandments. We don't understand it right now, you don't understand it before, you may not understand it while you're doing it, but God says you'll understand it once you start doing it. that do great good understanding have they that do his commandments. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for your goodness and your blessings. I pray and ask Lord that you'd help us today. Lord, we come from different situations, we've got different things going on around us in each one of our lives. You sort it all out, there's no way