And we'll turn in our Bibles, please, to 1 Corinthians, in chapter 15, and verse 31. So 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, and the church Bible is page 1197. So if you have a black church Bible, it's page 1197. And actually, it's 1198, all right? So you got to turn the page there. But 1 Corinthians 15, verse 31. What I want to preach this morning is part of our Crucified With Him study. That's our theme for 2025. And this morning, we're gonna look at, as you can see up here, crucified with him unto longevity. All right, unto longevity. And so again, the text is 1 Corinthians 15, 31. It's good to have Logan back for the summer. So we're glad that he's here. He attends Ambassador Baptist Bible College. He is a ministerial student studying pastoral studies. I was in Bible College and it's surprising to me how long ago it was that I was there, but, When I was a ministerial student, there was a class that we had. It was called expository preaching. Some places call it homiletics, and Logan's going to have homiletics at some point. It's basically the art of writing a message and preparing a message and presenting a message from the Word of God or a sermon. And so again, although it's been a couple of decades since I was there at university, I still remember that there's three types of sermons that you could write or preach. And the first would be expositional. Normally at our church, we do expositional preaching. And so I study and I prepare a message and I'll go to a text like what we read this morning. And I'll go through it and outline it with all the main points and sub points coming from that and that's expository preaching. It's very good in that it stays right with the Word of God and you just go right down through it. Textual preaching, the main points are from the Bible. and then the sub, well, from the text, I should say. It's all from the Bible, okay? Main points are from the text, but then the sub points could be supported from elsewhere in Scripture, and you bring those things out. Topical is just Scripture, but it's disjointed. So you might want to look at something like we did. We looked at a message recently on why do the righteous suffer? or some other topic like that, and you could go and you could study what does the Bible say about that. It's more broad, but that would be a topical message. This morning, I'm going to preach textually in that the main points come from the text, but the sub points are elsewhere, but supported by scripture. And I think you'll understand why I'm doing that. because our text this morning is probably the smallest text that I've ever preached from and that's because it's just three words that we find in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 31 and it's right the end. Paul said, I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord. Then he said the three words, I die daily. And that's the text that we want to look at this morning, that statement by Paul, I die daily. To give you an idea of the context, and so the surrounding area in the scripture there, what is Paul speaking about? Well, Paul is going to defend the truth of the bodily resurrection, and that's the focus of what he's speaking about. And so 1 Corinthians 15 verse 14, he said, if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Paul was a man that risked his life physically for the sake of the gospel. He hazarded his life for Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 1 verse 8, it says, in so much that we despaired even of life. But we had the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves but in God which raiseth the dead who delivered us from so great a death and doth deliver in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us." So Paul said we risked our life trusting in God that raises the dead. Very much like Abraham, right? When God said to Abraham, take your son, your only son, Isaac, the son of promise, walk him up to that hill, Mount Moriah, sacrifice him there for me. And the Bible says that Abraham did that believing that God was able to raise him from the dead. Paul said, I risk my life for Christ because I believe in God. I have the sentence of death in ourselves and not trusting in ourselves, but in God that raises the dead. And so Paul put himself on the altar trusting God with his life. Now in our text, again, in the context, if you look down at verse 55, at the end of the chapter, Paul says, O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, the strength of sin is the law, but thanks be to God. which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. He's preaching on the resurrection of the body. He's saying risk it all for Christ. There's a resurrection, a glorious day coming. And he said, know this, that when you're fighting for God, living for God, you're not going to regret it because your labor is not in vain in the Lord. It will be worth it all, as the song says, when we see Jesus. And Paul says, I stake my life on that. I live this way because I trust in the living God that raises men from the dead. Now back to that scripture that he said when he said, I die daily. Question, was Paul's death, though he's speaking about the physical resurrection of the body, was the death that Paul did daily, was that spiritual or was that physical? Spiritual, because he didn't die daily, okay? So understand when he says those words, I die daily, though he's speaking in the context of I risk my all for God, because I believe in the resurrection of the body. When he spoke those words, he was speaking about the fact that spiritually he died daily, which is our theme idea of crucified with him. So Paul's death was one of taking up his cross and following Jesus. I die daily, why? Because I've got the instrument of death on my back. I'm walking in obedience to God on the path that God has for me. Paul's death was one of presenting his body a living sacrifice, as he said to us to do. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice. Paul did that. Paul's death was one of what Christ said, losing his life for my sake in the gospel and finding your life. So it was spiritual death, not physical death, but something that Paul said, that statement, I die daily. Paul's daily death enabled him to live for the Christ life and have spiritual longevity for Jesus. Okay, Paul, he got there for God, okay? He went from beginning to end serving God. We're studying it right now. I encourage you to come to the 10 o'clock hour in Sunday school. We're looking right now at Paul and what Paul did, and we see him getting in there for God, but guess what? He makes it all the way because he has longevity for Christ. What I want to encourage us about this morning is we need to have longevity for Jesus. Yeah, have you ever heard that minor talk of a flash in the pan? You know, here in Scotland, I don't know if you know, we've got gold, okay? And you can go and you can pan for gold in the Lead Hills and somebody recently found a big gold nugget, you know, but sometimes somebody could... get in their pan something that, you know, it glitters and it's like, oh man, this is exciting. I've struck it rich. You know, this is going to be great. I'm going to be very wealthy, but it peters out and it's just a flash in the pan and it doesn't really pan out. And so it's not what it seemed like. It just turns out to be empty. You know what we do not desire at Southside Free Baptist Church is a flash in the pan for an individual, for a family, for our church. We don't desire something that is very temporary, that looks maybe exciting and good, but then come three months, six months, nine months, a year, two years, five years, you scratch your head and you look back and go, whatever happened to that? That looks so good, what God was doing. It seemed in the life of that person, but they didn't go on for God. That's not what we want at Southside. What we desire is by the grace of God to teach the Word of God, preach the Word of God, and God's people to take it in and say, you know what? My life is not about just having that temporary excitement about God. It's about me living my life for God and getting to the end of my life to be able to look back and say, praise God, I did it. I finished my course, I fought the good fight, and praise God, I finished. serving God. And so we need to have spiritual longevity for Jesus. Let's pray and ask God to help us as we come to our text this morning. There's those three points, I die daily. Let's pray. Father, I thank you for the Word of God this morning. I pray that the Spirit of God would challenge us with the truth of this statement and that it would stick in our hearts and stick in our minds. And Father, really be something that we put in our pocket and take away and say, I'm going to hold on to this because I need this. And Father, I praise you for the Apostle. He's got such a great example of somebody that his life was transformed. It was changed. It was not temporary. It was real. He was vital. He was involved. He got it done for Jesus Christ. And I pray that, oh God, we need men in our church that would lead for God. We had a prayer breakfast yesterday because we recognize as a church that we need men that are spiritual leaders, men that are guiding their family, men that are leading out for Jesus Christ. And Father, we need women that love God. We've got the Ladies' Meeting coming up a week from Monday. Father, why do we have these focuses? Because we need godly mothers and godly women that have a heart for God and are involved in God's work and serious about the things of God. And then, Father, we have youth activities. Because we recognize that children are the teens and that are the next generation. We have got the kids club and we've got the focus on them. Why? Because they are the leaders of the future. And Father, again, we don't wanna see them start out in church and turn away from God. And so I pray, may the Spirit of God wrap the truth of the gospel that is in this text and the truth of that zeal for God and that burden for God, wrap it to our hearts. And Father, I pray for the kids' class this morning. It's good to see those children that are here this morning. And Father, some are very young, but what a great thing if they never knew a day where they did not, with the family, go to the house of God on the Lord's day and worship God. And that is just the pattern of their life that they understand from their infancy that they're gonna serve God. Oh, what did God, we have some Samuels in that group. And Father, bless those teachers, help them. But Father, as we study the Word of God today, may the Spirit of God just open up the Word of God to our hearts and minds. I can't speak without your enablement. I do ask that the Spirit of God would help me to preach biblically, practically, lovingly, and powerfully the truth of the Word of God. And I ask, Father, that we'd have ears to hear. And again, Lord, that we wouldn't go in our hearts and minds. I'd like to listen to that or I heard that, but Father, that we take it away and say, you know what? One thing I know, God spoke to my heart. And Father, I pray, oh God, in your mercy, be not silent to us, lest Lord, like David said, we go down to the grave. And I just pray, oh God, that our hearts would be awakened and alive unto God today. It's in Christ's name we pray, amen. Okay, so we need to have spiritual longevity for Jesus. And so there's three points. Again, I die daily. I is consecration. It's me putting my life there. Die is conviction. It's that will. I'm gonna exercise that. I die daily is continuation. So we've got consecration, conviction, and continuation. And really, if you have those three things in your spiritual life, you're gonna go on for God. There's no doubt. If you've got consecration, conviction, and continuation, you're gonna finish your race for the Lord. And so, let's start this morning with consecration. It says, I die daily. I is the object to be sacrificed. Okay, now, consecration means to devote irrevocably to God. or to set apart as holy." In other words, God, this is for you. God, this is no longer mine. This is not something I'm holding back. God, here it is. I place this on the altar. sacrifice was consecrated to God. They would bring it. They would kill it. They would offer it wholly to God. It was protected. It was without blemish and to be something that was very good that they would put there on the altar for God. Those offerings were both for their sin and as well as for God's pleasure. So you think about it, for their sin, they'd come and they'd offer a sacrifice to appease God and obedience to God, but they would offer a sacrifice as well that would be pleasing to God in the sense that maybe a tithe or bringing meat to the house of God or bringing wood to the house of God so that the house of God would be a furnish and that the servants of God would have what they need and God's work would prosper. So there was two aspects, men's sin and also God's pleasure. So they came because of God's transgression and because God was worthy. You know this morning Why don't we have sacrifices? My brother just got four kids, okay, not his children, but four goats. Yesterday he bought them and so he sent a picture and they're very cute, but imagine coming into church this morning and somebody's got a wee goat and you bring it into church. Why are you bringing the goat into church? Because of our sin and we wanna appease God and we're gonna sacrifice this little goat. Why don't we do that this morning? Because the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, came. And as our sacrifice, he came and he died for us and he paid the complete price so that there's nothing for us to pay. He didn't stay in the grave having paid for our sin, but he rose from the dead. And anybody who believes on Christ and the finished work of Christ can receive God's gift of everlasting life, having their sin taken away. And when we sin against God as believers, we understand that we go to God through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and God takes away our sin. So praise God, the sin part's taken care of, it's done by Christ. But understand this, isn't there something in your heart this morning that says, but I still want to give something to God just to please him? Just to show him, my heart, that God, you are worthy of this. And so Paul said in Romans 12 verse one, I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Okay, and again, Paul said, I die daily. And it's like Paul came himself and he said to God, God, I'm not much, I am what I am, but who art thou Lord and what wilt thou have me to do? And God, I die daily. and I put myself there. Has there ever been a time in your life where you personally said to God, maybe in a service you're sitting there and you're listening to the preaching of the word of God and the conviction of the Holy Spirit is there, and you're just thinking, right, I've gotta give my life to God, because it's no longer about me and doing my things and my plans and anything like that, but I just wanna go to God and say, God, here am I. I may not be much, but I put myself on the altar, God, here I am. Has that ever been your heart, your desire, your, doing? Have you ever done that? Because you might think, well, you know, what does it look like on paper, Pastor? The idea I say to God, okay, God, I die daily. I consecrate my life to you. What does that look like on paper? You know, when a person dies, the coroner has to come and agree that they're dead. You know, that's one of the things that happens. Somebody dies, this man comes and he checks for a heartbeat, you know, he checks for breathing and a pulse and goes, you know what? The person is deceased. If the person is smoking, guess what? They're not dead. If they're drinking, they're not dead. If they have appetites and they're still functioning, the coroner looks at them and goes, look, I'm not gonna sign the death certificate, the person is not dead. This morning, if we were to say to God, I die daily, we're saying to God, God, I'm dead, but would God look at us this morning and say, you're right, you're right. And so what about us dies? If we're gonna say to God, God, I'm dead, okay, here it is, then what about us has to die so that we can be honest and say what Paul said, I die daily? Well, let's talk about the old man's pleasures. The old man had appetites and desires that are characterized by the world, and they're totally contrary to Christ. 1 John 2.16. It says, for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. Okay, so if the old man is still alive, and it's not true that I die daily, then his pleasures are gonna be yielded to you, and they're gonna be the main thing in the life of somebody that is still very much physically alive and hasn't died with Christ, the old man. And so the lust of the flesh, it's the fact that our flesh has desires that are contrary to Christ, and somebody can live after the lust of the flesh, or they can live after Christ. So that would be things like cigarettes, or alcohol, or drugs, or immorality, gluttony, gambling, greed for money, wicked music, wicked entertainment. You know, things that our flesh desires that God does not desire, that Christ would be Far from those things, but those things are alive in our life. The lust of the eyes is that covetousness that is looking and desiring. It could be pornography, it could be theft, it could be embezzlement, it could be materialism, but it's the lust of the eyes and imbibing that and just feeding that. If that's alive, then it's eating. Pride of life, it speaks about. That's desirous of the pride that comes from this world. It could be profanity to make yourself look good in the eyes of a coworker. It could be blasphemy. It could be idolatry. Things like that, that I've gotta have this because this makes me look good in the eyes of the world, but God is far from that, but I care about that because of what I am afraid of what people will think about me if I don't do that. You see, those things there are the pleasures that are not of God. So they're the pleasures of the old man. It says these are not of the father, but they are of the world, and the prince of this world is Satan. And so sometimes there are things that we like to eat, things that we don't like to eat. This week, I took a picture of Logan with his first date, okay? It was a fruit that the tids left. And Mac, I tried to get Mac to eat it, and Mac's like, it looks like little sausages. And he didn't want anything to do with it, you know, and I don't know, I guess he finally tried it. But there are things that our flesh, we desire, and things that we don't desire. This morning, would you say, if I was honest, that what I desire is the things that are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, that those things are alive in my life. Those are the things that need to die so that we could live unto God. Solomon sought after those things and those things were vain. Ecclesiastes 2 verse 10 says, And whatsoever my eyes desired, I kept not from them. I withheld not my heart from any joy, for my heart rejoiced in all my labor, and this was my portion of all my labor. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, on the labor that I had labored to do, and behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit. There was no profit under the sun. And so somebody that lives their life for the lust of flesh, the lust of the eyes and pride of life, and is living after pleasure, contrary to God, it's empty. It's something that at the end of life, they've got nothing to show for what they lived for because it was just vain. And yet when we live for God, there is great purpose in our living. Galatians 5.24 says, and they that are Christ have crucified the flesh with the affections and lust. As a church this morning, if we're saying, man, I die daily, then it's us looking at our life and the desires that our heart has that are contrary to God and saying, look, that is to die with Jesus Christ with that bad music, that wicked viewing, that those things that my flesh longs after, that maybe nobody else knows about that are contrary to God, those things have to die for me to live unto God. Praise God, there is true pleasure with God. Psalm 16, verse 11, thou wilt show me the path of life. In thy presence is fullness of joy. At thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore. It's an awesome thing, those that live their life for Christ, to understand that, you know, I died to self, and I'm alive in Christ, and it's incredibly satisfying. The Bible says, in Psalm 37, verse four, delight thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. So if I say to God today, I die daily, it's that I don't say, well, I'm going to watch whatever I want to watch, listen to whatever I want to listen to. I'm going to do those things that please my flesh, but rather I'm going to do those things that please God. And so the old man's pleasures. Secondly, the old man's places. You know, there are bad places that are in this world, places that a believer should not go. The Bible says in Psalm 74, verse 20, for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. There's a lot of dark places in our world that are very ungodly places that a believer should not be in. Even online there's a place, I don't know if you know, called the dark web that is a place of wickedness and secrecy. And about it, online it says, given its anonymous nature, the dark web is also used for illicit and even illegal purposes. These include the buying and selling of illegal drugs, weapons, passwords, stolen identities, as well as the trading of illegal pornography and other potentially harmful materials. And you know, you read about the dark web, you think, man, a believer should stay off of the dark web, but how many of you understand that there's a lot of things on the web and places on the web that we ought to stay away from as well? There's a lot of things out there where a believer shouldn't be. A believer shouldn't be involved in that and in that place of wickedness that is there because Satan would desire us to be away from God in those places. Proverbs 4 verse 14 says, enter not into the path of the wicked and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it and pass away. And so are there places in our life today that say, I die daily, there are places that I do not go because I am a believer and I want to honor God and I am dead unto myself so I do not go to those places. So pleasures, places, but then also the old man's people. In that Proverbs passage that I referred to, it warns of people. It says again in Proverbs 4, 14, Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. For they sleep not, except they have done mischief, and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some men to fall. I mean, again, the world, we looked at it this morning, Sunday School, elements of sorts are seeking to draw away Sergius Paulus from the truth. There are people that their thing is to pull, and they are wicked, and they're ungodly, and a believer ought to be separate from somebody like that, You can't die daily and serve God if you're being pulled away by somebody that is anti-Christ and against God. There was a young man that was a pastor's son, and I grew up with him, we were good friends, and I'd go over, I'd stay at their house, they'd come stay at my house. But there was a younger brother that was a part of that home, and that younger brother got with the wrong crowd, and lo and behold, one day they said, let's rob a petrol station. And so they're casing the place and they're driving back and forth and he's in that car and somebody got wise to it and they called the police and he's arrested. because he was with the wrong crowd. We understand this morning that Satan again is seeking to draw us away. The Bible says in Proverbs 13, verse 20, he that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. And you might say to me today, well, pastor, I'm not hanging out with anybody that's thinking about robbing a petrol station. I'm not walking with people that are illegal or things like that, but let me say this, are you yielding to people that God wants you to be somewhere for Him and doing something for Him, but that person is pulling you away from God? And see, if I die daily, I look at that and I go, look, I live to God and I wanna please God, and so I'm not gonna let those people come between me and obedience to God. And so the old man's people, those people that are away from God, and then the old man's priorities, priorities. My mom was a very good teacher. I think she still is a very good teacher, but she would always do the Sunday school opener at our church. And so though we didn't have women speaking to adults generally at our church, there were times that we did when my mom would get up and she'd speak to the kids, the kids would be there and we'd all be listening in to what she was teaching. And she would do an object lesson and she would use something to teach a Bible principle and so she, one time she had three jars that she set up and there was a jar with big rocks and a jar with little rocks and a jar that was empty. And she said to us, how many of you think that you could get all of these two jars into this jar? And the kids are like, no, there's no way. And so she takes the little rocks and she pours them in. And then she pours the big rocks in. Of course, they don't fit. They're standing up way above the glass. And the kids are like, see, it didn't work. But then she takes it and she puts the big rocks in first. And then she pours the little rocks in and gives it a little shake. And guess what? They all settle down in. And she was teaching about priorities. A lot of times in our life, we have priorities. There are things that we look at and we say, well, to me, that's the most important thing, but it's not God, it's not following God, it's not seeking God. It's things that are just empty things, things that are vain, that are never gonna let us really achieve for God. You're the ungodly, don't put God first. Philippians 2.20. It says, for all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ. And I'll just say some priorities you might look at and say, well, pastor, that's important. It's important that I provide for my family. It's important that we be able to pay our bills. It's important that we spend time with family and things like that. But in those priorities, is there anything that you say, pastor, the main thing is God, whatever God wants, whatever God desires, and pleasing God, and God is right there in my day. I get up in the morning and I say, God, you've got first place, Or is it that, God, you got last place, or maybe no place, this is my priority, my priority is X, Y, Z, but it has nothing to do with God or the Bible. Because we can't say this morning, like Paul, I die daily, when if we were honest about our life, we'd say, you know what, my priority is, God's not there. You know, I don't really, as I look at that point, I don't see middle ground. It's either God is my priority or God is not my priority. And there ought to be something that says, God, you're speaking my heart about it. I need to die. You are not my priority. God, forgive me. And I put myself on the altar today. The old man's plans is another thing that needs to die. You know, often as a, a young person gets older at our church, and they're growing up, and we might ask them that question. You know, what are your plans? What do you wanna do? And we ask them that question, and the plan we're speaking about becomes increasingly more detailed as they get older, and they're really trying to figure it out, and they start to put something into place so that they can achieve whatever it is that they maybe desire to do. There's an end goal that it's based upon. You know, if you were to share the plan for your life, what would it be? What's the end goal? Like, you're driven and you're trying to achieve something. What is the main thing that you're seeking? You know, the old man's plan is pretty simple. It's to please himself. It says, satisfy himself. And so God, the Lord said to a man in Luke 12 16, he spake a parable saying, the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. And he thought within himself saying, what shall I do? Because I have no room where to bestow my fruits. And he said, this will I do. I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided? So is he that laith up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God. This guy was a hard worker, and he's like, man, it's going so well, and I've gotta build bigger barns and bigger things, and why? Because I wanna retire, and I wanna get there, and I wanna say, soul, take thy ease, eat, drink, and be merry. And Jesus looks at him and says, thou fool, don't you know this day thy soul's gonna be required of thee? Then you amassed all these things, and it's vain, it's vain. And if we're honest about our life today, would we have to say, you know, pastor, that's kind of me. It's all about money. It's all about what I'm gonna achieve. And maybe we try to make it look good by saying, I gotta provide for my kids. I gotta provide for my wife. And that's good because the Bible speaks about it, that we're worse than an infidel if we don't provide for our family. But let me ask you this, is God's plan that we have these things, is that it? Or could we say to God, God, I put that on the altar. If you want me to have them, let me have them. But God, you're gonna have first place. So it's not gonna be about my plans and what I wanna do and what I want to achieve because I die daily. The old man's principles is the last thing I wanna think about with the old man and what he needs to do to die and consecrate himself. Principles are the guiding truth of someone's life. In other words, I do this because, or I don't do this because. And so they're the principles by which we live. You know, sometimes we don't like politicians because their principles are like this. You know, it's kinda like, which way is the wind blowing? And it's humanism, and it's what does men think and men care about, and that's their doctrine, the doctrine of men. But let me ask you this morning, as you make decisions, are your principles from self, or are they principles of God? And again, to say to God, God, I die daily. Because the Bible says in Judges 21, 25, in those days there was no king in Israel. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. And it was him looking at his life and saying, well, I think that's okay. I feel like that's right. And his principles were based upon self instead of, as we'll look at, the word of God. Proverbs 12, verse 15 says, the way of a fool is right in his own eyes. Proverbs 21, two, every way of man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord pondereth the hearts. And again, humanism is, my guiding philosophy for my life is what I think, how I feel. But again, as believers, we ought to step back from that. We'll look at that in just a second and say, but that book is my philosophy. What does God say? And so this morning, are you consecrated? Can you say, there's a time in my life where, pastor, I put that on the altar, my places, my people, my priorities, my plans, my purpose and things like that. I set it right there before God and say, God, I consecrate my life to you. Consecration. Secondly, conviction. It says I die daily. That's the decision to be sacrificed. A conviction. is a firmly held belief or opinion. It's something that somebody tenaciously holds onto. And to kill the old man, there has to be conviction there. There has to be something that says, I am gonna do this, I am gonna obey God in this, and I'm gonna die to self and I'm gonna live unto God. Romans 6.11 says, likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Okay, and so if I have, by conviction, I said I consecrate my life to God in these areas, then we're also saying I am going to grab hold of God's will in these same areas. And so very quickly, I choose God's pleasure. In other words, what Christ desires. John 8, 29, Jesus said of himself, he that sent me is with me. The father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things that please him. Jesus said, hey, my desire, I want to please the Father and what the Father wants of me. 1 John 2, 16 says, for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. The world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God. That's God's pleasure, abideth forever. Did you get up this morning and say, God, what would please you today? Lord, I'm not alive to myself, so I'm not gonna decide to do my things. God, what's your pleasure today? Recently, someone in our family, for somebody's birthday, purchased several chocolate bars, okay? And one of them, the person that received it, not their favorite, and the giver became the eater, okay? And we kind of like that in life, especially if we like what we bought for somebody, we're like, oh, you know, I'd like to have that. You know, some of us are saying to God, God, here, I give you your pleasure, but in actuality, many times, it's like God would look at it and go, that's not what I want, and the person consumes it. We wanna say, and I'll just say to us today, I understand this morning, if as I preach these points, everybody would say, I want to say that I do God's pleasure. But we've all gotta say, but is that really what God wants? Does he have an appetite for that in our life this morning that we could say to God, God, I truly am living for you and what you desire, oh God. I choose God's places where Christ wants to go. You know, there are a lot of unbelievers that would say, I wouldn't be caught dead in church. But you know, some of them sadly will be because they'll have a church funeral and they'll go to church, but they go there dead. They say, I don't want to go there. On a Sunday, where do they go? They go to the mall. They go to the pub. They go to the golf course. They go to all sorts of places because in their heart, there's no desire in their heart for God's place. But as you read the Bible and you see the truth about God, there's a great desire in the heart of a believer to say, I desire to go to God's house, God's place. Isaiah 58 verse 13. So if thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable, and shall honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words." And God was saying to them, look, I want to bless you, but look, my day has been neglected and you've turned your back on me and you're not in my place. And God says, if you get back to that, I will bless you. Jesus Christ himself on a Sabbath day, where was Jesus? Jesus Christ was in the synagogue. And so Mark 6.2 says, when the Sabbath day was come, Jesus began to teach in the synagogue. You know, the church house ought to be someplace that's sought out by conviction. Somebody, I die daily. How do I know? I'm in the house of God. The things of God are important to me. There ought to be something in our heart that resonates with that. If we're crucified with Christ, that we say, I want to be there in the house of God because the next thing is, it's God's place and it's God's people. There ought to be something in our heart that just thrills to be around believers. We've got, right now, two of our, well, our son, Benson, is getting married next month, all right? June 1st, he's getting married July 19th. But Benson and Christina just spent three days together. She flew into Virginia Beach where he was, and they had that time. I'm sure they weren't excited that they had to part, but now they know next time they see each other, it's gonna be very quickly after that that they get married. How many of you would believe somebody really loves you if they neglect you? They don't wanna spend time with you, and they're like, oh, I love you, I love you, I love you, but I'm never with you. We'd go, that's hypocrisy, right? I don't even know why you're saying it. Why do you say you love me, but you stay so far away? Again, there ought to be something in our heart this morning that says, I love God's place and I love God's people, and I praise God at Southside Free Baptist Church. There is sweet fellowship, but I'll tell you this, when you're not here, we miss you because we long to have you with us. And there ought to be something in our heart if we've died daily where we say, hey, the church house is a priority, and being with the family of God is a priority. By this shall all men know that you're my disciples if you have love one to another. I choose God's people. I choose God's place. I choose God's pleasures. I choose God's priorities. You know what's important to Christ? Luke 19.10. says, for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. It says about Jesus in Matthew 20, verse 28, even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. We already talked about he did God's pleasure. My need is to do the will of him that sent me. So we know about Jesus. Jesus, what was your life about? My life was about the gospel to seek and to save that which was lost. Jesus, what was your life about? My desire was to fulfill the will of God and to minister to those that were about me. Again, this morning, as you think about that statement, I die daily. I consecrated my life to the Lord. Could you say that my purpose is the same as that of Christ? My purpose is gospel. I have a gospel focus. My purpose is ministry. I've got a ministry purpose. Because if we've died with Christ, there ought to be something in our life that says, my life is like Christ, and the big focus of his life, doing the Lord's pleasure, getting the gospel out, and ministering to God's people. And so this morning, do you share the gospel by conviction? Is it a regular practice in your life that you are a gospel light? Do you minister within the body of Christ and join with the body, say, this is my place, God brought me here, I wanna get involved in serving God? Because again, if we've died daily, those things would be in our life. I choose God's plan, what Christ wants to do. Many believers do not know the joy of letting God lead them. Instead, they make their plans. They decide what job they're going to get. They decide what hours they're going to work. They decide where they're going to live. Never pray to God and say, God, what do you want me to do? When do you want me to work? Where do you want me to go? And even investigating, if I'm gonna move to that area, is there a good church there? Is there somewhere where I could get my family in the house of God? Instead of that, it's just about what do I wanna do, what do I feel like doing, and making plans outside of God. John 6, 38, Jesus said, for I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. Jesus did not plan his life. Jesus Christ lived his life as a servant, obeying the Father, knowing that the Father had a plan for his life. Proverbs 3 verse 6 says, in all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy path. You know, have you matured to the point where you say to God, God, what do you want me to do? God, where do you want me to go? And you let God lead in your plans. And then I choose God's principles. what Christ thinks, not what I think. John 7, verse 16, Jesus answered them and said, my doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. You know, it's not what my, my doctrine is not philosophical, what I feel like, what I think, but my doctrine is this is what God the Father said. Can you say this morning, pastor, the guiding light in my life is this book right here. It is this truth. and I follow it and what it says I do. We read the scripture this morning in the Sunday School Hour, if you were here, in Psalm 119, where it speaks about, I will run the way of thy commandments when thou shalt enlarge my heart. David said, my doctrine is God. Again, if we've died, then God's principles are alive in our life and we're living for God. And so to have spiritual longevity, you must have consecration. I, okay, is on the altar. Conviction, die. Okay, that's not easy. I'll just tell you, you might say, well, pastor, those are some extreme things you're talking about this morning, but that's what death is. Death is extreme. And me saying to God, God, I'm gonna put myself in the altar, I'm gonna look at it, I'm gonna be honest about it, and I can't say that I am consecrated if it's my plans, my people, my things, and my pleasures, instead of, God, your plans, your things, your pleasures. But if that's the case this morning, and I have done that with God, I've consecrated my life, and by conviction I've died, then thirdly, continuation. Paul said, I die what? Daily. Paul didn't die and then forget about it and go back to living. He died daily. Luke 9.23, he said to them all, Jesus said, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, what? Daily, and follow me. Take up your cross daily. Daily because the decision is made, okay? Paul said, I die daily. They cast a die for the king, you know, with the coinage that has come out now, and so we've got the king instead of the queen on the coins. But once they cast the die, the die is set, and so every time it stamps, what's the image gonna be? The king, because the die is cast. Has the die been cast in your life? Paul looked back and said, I die daily. Paul could say that because he died. He said, the die was cast, it's done. And so when I get up today, Paul didn't go, am I gonna go to church? Am I gonna read my Bible? Am I gonna evangelize? Am I gonna obey God? Am I gonna please God? He didn't ask himself the question. He knew what he was gonna do because he said, I die daily because he died. Does that make sense? So in other words, it's not this morning as I preach this message to say that you need to every day get up and say, I'm going to make that decision again to die. You're going to get up and say, I made the decision to die. And I'm going to continue for God. And see, that's different, isn't it? Then someone that goes, oh, you know, do I, am I gonna have my pleasure today or God's? Am I gonna go God's places today or mine? Am I gonna be with God's people today or other people? Somebody like that, let me just say the flesh has never died. The decision has never been made because the flesh is still very much alive saying, do this, do this, do this. But Paul wasn't like that. Paul said, look, I die daily because the decision was made. Daily, because the past is forgotten. Philippians 3, 13. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Paul didn't go, I died back then, that was good, and so now I'll do whatever I wanna do. Paul said, I forget that. Because it's not about the past. It's not about some little bit that I serve God. It's about today I need to serve God and tomorrow I need to serve God. So he went on for God. Daily because the past is forgotten. Daily because the opposition will be overcome. Acts 20 verse 22, now behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there, save that the Holy Ghost witnesses in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me, but none of these things move me. Paul said, he's going to do the will of God and the spirit of God is saying, look, Paul, you go there, you're gonna be bound. He's gonna be sent by ship to Rome and that's all gonna take place. But he said, he knew about it ahead of time. And he said, it doesn't matter. None of these things move me. Why? Because I die daily. You know, some of us, we get a little kickback from somebody. Oh, you go to church. And we go, because of that, I'm just gonna stop. If you're gonna make fun of me for reading my Bible, I'm gonna stop. You make fun of me for doing evangelism, I'm gonna stop. Paul wasn't like that. He said, I die daily, I will overcome. He was focused on serving God no matter what. So I just say to us this morning, you decide to die, guess what? It's gonna be tested. You decide, I'm gonna go to the house of God. It's not gonna be easy. How many of you found it easy to go to church this morning? It's not gonna be easy. You make a decision for God, it's gonna be tested. But Paul said, I'm gonna go through that test for God. And then daily, because the race will be finished. 2 Timothy 4, verse 7. Paul said, I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I've kept the faith. Paul didn't get up one day and say, well, that's me, that's me done. That's as far as I can go for God. Paul said, I'm gonna finish my course for God. I just encourage you, again, as a believer, make that decision. I'm gonna consecrate myself to God, hold it by conviction, and then say, I'm gonna continue. It doesn't matter. I'm not gonna stop until God takes my breath away and I die physically. That's the last day I die spiritually. I just wonder this morning. Where are you gonna be in a year? Where are you gonna be in five years? Are you gonna be those that lament and say, well, pastor, I never thought it'd be me, get out of church, walk away from God and my kids, rebel and turn their back on God? Or will you be somebody that says, I'm gonna get stuck in there, I'm gonna obey God, I'm gonna grab hold because I want what Paul had. I want that longevity for Christ because we're talking about crucified with Him. Crucified with Him is not easy. It's not something I can say as pastor, you know, it's just kind of give God half-hearted effort or anything like that. Crucified with Him is all in or not. And I'll just tell you, in my youth group growing up, we had young people that went all in for God and young people that went all into the world. And very little that I could look at and see otherwise. It's either they went for God or they went away from God. And those that went away from God, they never consecrated themselves to God, they never had conviction for God, and they certainly didn't continue for God. And so I wanna encourage you this morning, can you say with Paul those words, I die daily? We're gonna sing a hymn, and the hymn is, I've Decided to Follow Jesus, and as we look it up, I'll just tell you, it's page 635, 635. But think about what we're singing. What we're singing about is I, that's consecration, Have decided, that's conviction. No turning back, that's continuation. You know, this morning, would you have to be honest and say, well, pastor, you know, to be honest, I'm not dead to the old man. The old man's pleasures, places, people, priorities, plans, purposes, it's all very much alive in my life. Or would you say, you know, pastor, by God's grace, as best I know, I could say with Paul, I die daily because I have surrendered my life to the Lord and I'm gonna live for God. Let's go ahead and bow our heads and pray and then we'll sing. Father, I praise you for the grace that you give. Thank you for the time that we've been able to spend in the word of God this morning. And Father, if you're speaking to hearts this morning, then I dare not neglect to give an invitation and ask Lord, if there's anybody this morning that would like to say, you know, today I need to die to self and surrender my life to the Lord because I can't say that I've died. And so Father, we'll pause in this prayer time and ask that question. And so I do ask this morning, if there's anybody like that this morning, the Spirit of God speaking to your heart about dying daily, you're not consecrated to God, you'd have to be honest and say, you know, God's place isn't that my priority. My priorities are not God's priorities. The people around me, it's not about being with my church family and really encouraging each other in the Lord, I'm not serving God, maybe, and things like that, I've not become a member of the church, and God's speaking my heart, and I need to make a decision today. Is there anybody like that today that would just say, God's speaking my heart, I wanna be able to say with Paul, I die daily, but to be honest, I'm not living for God like I should, and God spoke my heart about it, and I need to change. Anybody like that this morning? Anybody at all, just by an uplifted hand? Nobody looking about and just, Between you and God, and my eyes are open this morning just as a witness. Anybody like that this morning? God, speak in my heart, I need to die to self and live for Christ. Anybody? Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, I just thank you for the grace that you give. I pray that it's truly our heart's desire to live for Jesus Christ. It's in Christ's name I pray, amen. Let's stand, please.