You know, I was listening to that and hearing that second verse, all my life was wrecked by sin and strife. And I don't know what goes through your mind at such a time, but I kind of saw a slideshow. One on Skid Row. One with broken home. Little children who were starving. And I thought, Lord, how can those three lovely young ladies sing that song so beautifully? And I have such a picture. And then I realized, folks, they're singing about what used to be. What used to be. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Sweetest name I know. Amen. It's what used to be. Amen. It's not what has to be. Sin will destroy your life, but it doesn't have to stay that way. Amen. There is redemption in Jesus Christ. I'm going to invite you to open your Bibles this morning to 1 Samuel, chapter number 30. 1 Samuel, chapter number 30, and we'll read one verse, verse number 24, and then we'll talk quite a bit about the chapter. But I want to do this this morning in preparation for our missions conference. We're going to start our missions conference on Wednesday. We'll be running Wednesday through Sunday. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, the services will be at 7 o'clock. And then on Saturday, we will not have a regular service. We will have a Cajun supper at 6. Now, don't miss the Cajun supper. Amen? And bring some food. Now, we haven't given any instructions for that, ma'am. Bring your favorite Cajun dish, a two liter drink, okay? Cake or ice cream for the unbirthday party. Now folks, the unbirthday party is a secret, remember? It's a surprise. So we'll be talking about it after this evening's service. Now, I think we still have two or three tags out on the board. So if you haven't gotten a tag for the unbirthday party, please pick one up. And please remember the limit on those is supposed to be $40 apiece. The limit. Grandparents. All right. Yeah, I know who I'm talking to, amen? Okay, so be gentle. All right, and let's be reasonable with all of those. I'm so looking forward to Missions Commerce. We have some missionaries coming. We have one of our veterans, Brother Drew Hawkins from Brazil. And Brother Drew actually, I mean, you can say he's been a missionary from the day he was born. And grew up with Brother Joe in the Amazon. And we're really looking forward to having them with us. And then we have some other missionaries who are new, have one going to The island of Abaco. I thought I knew everywhere on earth till he said he was going to the island of Abaco Okay, I hope you're as confused as I was amen and But haven't run across that one yet, and and then we have another missionary going to Brazil We have one going to Africa to where Gambia, West Africa. So make plans to be with us through the week. And each of those nights, somebody will be presenting their work. And then, of course, we'll be hearing reports from our veteran missionaries as well. And Missions Conference is always a great time. Amen. You've got to do better than that. Missions Conference is a great time. Amen. That's better. Amen. You know you need it. You know you need it. So make sure you get here. Amen. Now, 1 Samuel chapter 30, verse number 24. The Bible says this, and this is the theme verse for our Missions Conference this year. And the Bible says, For who will hearken unto you in this matter? But as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff. They shall part alike. Amen. Father, we just ask that you bless the time we have now. Help me, Father, as I share from the Word of God in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Now, you're probably familiar with this story. This is during the time when David is hiding from Saul. And he's being chased through the wilderness, and Saul is doing everything he can to kill him. And David finally settles in this little town of Ziklag. Now, there's one problem with Ziklag, and it's behind enemy lines. David now is living in Philistia, rather than in Judah. And he goes off to be part of the Philistine army. He signs up, he takes off, he follows this Philistine warlord, and off they go, and he's going to fight with the Philistines. Now God preserves him from that, because the other Philistines look at that and say, wait a minute, that's David. How many of us has he already killed? He's just going to get out there in the battle and turn on us. He cannot go. And so the Philistine warlord comes to David and says, sorry, David. They say, no, you can't go. And David goes, Oh, I'm heartbroken. You know, and he heads back to Ziklag. Well, there's a problem in Ziklag. When he gets back, he found that there's a group of Amalekite raiders who have come and they have burned Ziklag to the ground. And they have taken all the families and all of the goods away, and they are off. Now, some of these men immediately wanted to stone David. In fact, in verse number 6 of chapter 30, it says this, and David was greatly distressed. For the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved. Every man for his sons and for his daughters, but David encouraged himself in the Lord." Now, David encouraged himself, and then he says, Lord, do we go get them? The Lord said, go get them. Go get them. And, having been given liberty by God, David takes off after the Amalekites. Now, from this little story, I want to draw three points today, and the first one is pretty simple. The first one is, it is not the will of God for everyone to go. How about that? It is not the will of God for everyone to go. I want you to look at chapter 30, verses 7 through 9. David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray thee, bring me hither to Ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David. And David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? Shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue, for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all. So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayed. That's an interesting thought. David asked the Lord's will. God's will was they pursue the villains. And David took off with 600 men. Now I believe that's all the men that David had. And he was taking off and they were going to try to catch these raiders and repossess everything that was theirs. And David started with 600. But a funny thing happens and you get to verse number 10. But David pursued he and 400 men, for 200 abode behind which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor. The Bible says here, so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor. Now, it doesn't say they were afraid. It doesn't say they were unwilling. They didn't quit on God. They just came to the point where when it came time for some of them to go on, there were some who could not. I think it's reasonable to say that these men were providentially hindered. Could not God have given them strength supernaturally? Could not God have given them health? He'd already said, go after them. But for some reason they come to the Brook Bay store and 200 of them are unable to go forward. They're stopped right there. Now folks, I want to say something about those of us who will not go to the mission field. Okay? That's okay. Can I say that this morning? That that's all right. You know, in fact, most of us will not go to the mission field. Most of us will be right here doing what we do. You know, in Acts 13, when God called two men to go to the mission field, He called Saul and Barnabas. He said, send them out for the work that I've called them to do. What did He do with everybody else in Antioch? He left them there. That's okay. You know what? Not everybody can go. Not everybody will go. Now, there are some who will refuse the call. And I believe that's a problem. I believe we have way too many preachers who ought to be somewhere else who are sitting in congregations in the United States. I believe they have refused the call. There were some who will get caught up in this world and they will miss the call and they will not hear the call. And one of our missionaries is going to give that testimony. He grew up on the mission field. He came back home. He got himself a nice secular job and was doing everything he could and serving God on the side. And God said, uh-uh. That's not what I've got for you. And he didn't want to do that. Eventually, God got his attention. And now he's on his way back to the mission field. Some will hear. Some will want to go, but they'll be unable to go. You know, you can be providentially hindered. There are circumstances that God will allow into your life that will keep you right where you are doing what you do. God knows your heart. And you know, I've got some folks in here who with all of their heart, with all of their soul, would go anywhere in the world God would send them. And God will do something to make sure that you're not misled. He'll keep you right where you are. He's that good of God and that wise of God. Folks, most of us will be perfectly in the will of God right here. Because otherwise there wouldn't be a church, would there? I mean, well, is it reasonable for me to say that God would call everybody here to the mission field? I'd be preaching to a bunch of empty pews. That's okay, I don't mind preaching to empty pews. But they don't pay very well. Amen? And that's a problem. Who's going to keep the doors open? Who's going to send money to all those folks over there? Who's going to do what needs to be done here? Folks, we are. Those who stay by the stuff. Amen. Now, I'm afraid often our preaching and conferences are geared toward getting people to go. Well, staying by the stuff isn't designed to encourage the people who stay. Because that's what we are, and that's what we do. Now, second, I want you to know there's something to do even if you don't go. And you knew that, right? Y'all said, yeah, we knew that. That's why you're berating us all the time. That's exactly right. Those are the things we need to be doing here. You know, 1 Samuel 30 verse 24, look what David said. He said, but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff. Now, David didn't just say that those guys laid down and rested. And I don't believe that has anything to do with what they did. They didn't just sit there. David said that they tarried, that is, they remained by the stuff. What stuff? Whatever carriages they were going by, the bags, the baggage. These other guys were traveling light. Everything that they left behind, these guys were taking care of. They were stationed at the pass, guarding the brook of Bezor. Now, I suggest to you that that was probably an important job in and of itself. What happens if David's guys get beat? by the Amalekites. They need a way to get back. They are there, they're preserving the route. They're taking care of the supply route, they're taking care of the retreat route, if there's one that's necessary, and they're guarding the home front. They weren't just staying by the stuff, they weren't just taking a break there, they had work to do. And that's a very important support role. David said it's important enough so that whatever you get, you get. He could see that. It's not as if, remember, that they were unwilling to go. They were willing to go. They were willing to fight. They were willing to do whatever God wanted them to do. But they were unable. And God let it be that way. Now, folks, for those of us who stayed by the stuff, there is a lot to do. Amen? I mean, consider those who aided the Apostle Paul. Look over at 2 Corinthians 1. That's just a few examples from the life of Paul about folks who stayed by the stuff when he was a missionary. 2 Corinthians 1 verse 11. Paul writes this, he said, you also helping together by prayer for us. Now, let me back up a little bit, because this is a time when Paul's life was incredibly difficult. Verse 8, he says, we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life. But we have the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God, which raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver, in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us, ye also helping together by prayer for us." Paul said, we're in the middle of the mess, okay? But God is going to help us through that, and one of the things He's going to use to help us is your prayers. What is the best thing? What is the best support that you can provide to a missionary? You pray. You know, when I was traveling on deputation, the pastor would say, we can't support you. He said, we don't have the money. I said, brother, I'll come anyway. He said, why did you do that? Because if I can get one person in that church to pray for me regularly, I've done far more than any financial support I'll ever get. If I get one person to pray for me regularly, if God will touch one person in that church to unite with my ministry overseas, then I have gained far more than I could ever gain from a check. Because they're talking to the guy who writes all the checks. They're talking to the one who's going to protect my family. They're talking to the one who's going to protect my ministry. And folks, we who stay by the stuff, we have an opportunity, not an obligation, an opportunity to be involved in supporting those missionaries through a prayer ministry. I have encouraged, encouraged, encouraged, and I know everyone else has too. Find yourself a missionary. Pray for that missionary. You know, I pray for the missionaries that I know in Ukraine, but I also pray for Joe and Elaine Hawkins. Those are my guys. I pray for Rick and Washburn. Jackie Washburn, and I pray for Mickey and Masada Funakoshi. Those are my missionaries. And I pray for them when I pray. When I sit down to pray, before I'm done, I pray for those three missionaries. Because that's the best way I can help their ministry. I'm standing by the stuff. And I'm helping them. What else did they do for Paul? You know, Philippians 4, verse 15. Paul says this, now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but you only. For even in Thessalonica you sent once and again unto my necessity, not because I desire a gift, but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. But I have all and abound, I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you. an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God." They prayed and they gave. They prayed and they gave. You know, we give to missions. This conference is going to be about faith promise. Now, some of you, I've got folks in here who've never heard of faith promise. Now, I'm going to give you a nutshell of what faith promise is. Faith promise means that sometime over this week, I'm going to God and I'm going to ask God how much money He wants me to give to missions. Now, I'm not looking at my checkbook. I'm not looking at my budget. I'm not looking at anything. I'm getting on my knees before Almighty God and saying, God, how much money do you want me to give to missions this year? And then I've got enough faith that God says, you give this amount to promise Him that amount. And then I'm going to pray that He supplies it. And I'm going to give it. Faith promise is not a pledge. We want to know how much you're pledging to God, but we don't want to know your name. Because that thing is between you and God. But we want you to pledge something in the faith promise missions. We want you to give as part of staying by the staff. Just like prayer is an opportunity to be part of a ministry, so giving is an opportunity to be part of a ministry. And folks, we need to be used of God to do this thing. You know, we've been talking about for several weeks now, we've been hammering on the Great Commission and our responsibilities here. This week, we're going to talk about our Great Commission and our responsibilities here and there. And one of the things is that when God commits resources to us, we give them back to Him to do His work. Now, and I'm going to say this, and you may hear Brother Tony say it again. In fact, I have no idea that Tony will preach from this passage this week. That's why I'm doing it today. Amen. God may lead him somewhere else. But folks, when you turn in that faith promise card, you are voting for the missions program for this year. You are making a decision and you're saying one of three things. I'm going to increase my giving. I want to see our missions grow. I'm going to keep my giving the same. I like it the way it is. I'm going to decrease my giving. I want to see the missions program reduced. That's it. That's it. Now, I have the boldness to believe and to suggest to you that if you will honestly seek God's face, he will never go backward. For World Evangelism, he will move you forward. And in most, you know what I'd really like to hear? I'm going to get to this later. I'll save that. I'm going to save that. Because it's really good. One of the things they did when they stayed by the stuff was they gave. And in Philippians 4.18 it also says, I have received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you. You know that there is a ministry of encouragement in missions. That you can stay by the stuff and be a help and a blessing. to those folks who you encourage. We took a group to Costa Rica in August. You know, more than anything else, we wanted to go to a group of missionaries who were there for the first term, in the middle of their first church plan, and we wanted to be a blessing and encouragement to them. And you know what? I believe God put us right there at the right time. Mr. Juan already gave testimony when they went to Ukraine. Mickey came to her and said, God put you here at the right time. And folks, part of staying by the stuff is just knowing when to pick up the phone. Know when to write the card. You know, do you believe God will tell you when to write a postcard? Yes. God is speaking your heart. He'll say, man, you need to make contact with this guy. And you won't know, you may never know the impact of that. Do you need encouragement sometimes? So do they. And sometimes their situation is a lot more isolated than yours. Some of those missionaries, they're not going to stand up. You got missionaries in Belgium tonight that are going to stand up this morning and if they preach in front of 16 people, they'll have a great service. And they've been doing it for 7 years. You say, why is that? Because, brother, it's hard to build a church in Belgium. And you know what? Sometimes they need to hear somebody say, Brother, we're praying for you. You're doing a great job. We're proud to have you representing our church over there. Stay in the stuff. Amen? Folks, that's worth doing. You know, I was kind of interested in thinking about this and staying by the stuff and the home front, and I started working on World War II. Now, World War II is just a little before my time. Thank you, Josh. Okay. Josh thinks I'm over the dirt. All right. Rachel. Okay. All right. Rachel also thinks I'm over the dirt. But when you consider the war effort as a whole, when you start, you know, I don't know if any of you have ever looked at what the country as a whole did to get behind that war effort. But I want to say, that was one of the most amazing times in the history of this nation. Anybody ever hear of somebody called Rosie the Riveter? Huh? Sure, you've all seen the little poster, right? Okay, but who was Rosie? Rosie was representative of all the women who left their homes, got into the workforce, and did the jobs that men used to do, that they couldn't do now because they were fighting that war. And they encouraged, they said, Make a sacrifice. Invest in this war effort. And folks, it was a big deal. You know, there were sacrifices. You know, recycling really began in World War II. They began to recycle materials that were essential to the war effort. Metal, paper, rubber, those things they brought in because they needed them. And they were using them for the war. Anybody ever hear of a war bond? What's that? Financing the thing. That's getting in the pockets. The government was borrowing money from its own citizens to fight a war. Now they just steal it. I shouldn't have said that. Amen. Clothing. You know that they actually change the styles to conserve material so that they would have more material. to put into uniforms and soldiers' work. Rationing. You know, there never was any rationing in this country, but they rationed gasoline, sugar, coffee, meat, butter, eggs, cheese, all kinds of things that they couldn't, I mean, they didn't have enough of. Anybody ever hear of a victory garden? Huh? They encouraged the people to plant gardens, and it says that 40 million Americans in World War II grew a vegetable garden. to supplement what they were able to give. Folks, I'm talking about a place where this entire nation gathered together to see something happen, something that needed to happen. And they did it on a sacrificial basis. You know, in fact, when you study this, you find that even the political differences kind of went away. Why? Because suddenly the Democrats were not the biggest enemy. Amen? By the way, let me throw something out to you. They're probably not the biggest enemy today. And I might suggest to you who I think is, and I'm going to say Islam. And I'm going to say consider your understanding of Islam, not now as a religion, but consider Islam as a political ideology, like communism, socialism, Marxism. tolerates no dissent. Folks, maybe if we get a hold of that one, we can clear up some of these little petty differences. What they had here was a situation where if this nation didn't do what it had to do, then we were going to be in serious trouble. And they saw that, and they did it. They stayed by the stuff for a greater cause and a greater good. Folks, isn't that what God is having us do? I mean, really? Isn't that what we are as a local church? We are here to stay by the stuff and keep it going forward. And folks, there are things we have to do. You know, we talk about sacrifices. Speaking of which, I want you to look at Luke 21. And this would be in verse 1. And Jesus is in the temple. And the Bible says in Luke 21 verse 1, And he looked up and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting into their two mites. And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all. For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God, but she of her penury," and that word, by the way, means poverty, "...hath cast in all the living that she hath." Now, we're talking about sacrifice, and I'm going to make a suggestion to you, okay? That until we stop, let me see if I can say this. I'm going to say that we are mostly like the rich end, in all fairness. We are giving of our abundance. You know, and I don't want to be unfair, I don't want to be mean, okay? But what I'm saying is that God has blessed us bountifully, most of us. And when I sit down and I write the check, or when I give a gift to missions, or when I determine my faith promise, I'm not sacrificing. I'm just tossing it in. It doesn't cost me. You say, wait a minute, I had to give up three Wii games last month. Thank you. And that's what I'm talking about. The three Wii games. I can only go out to eat last night 20 times instead of 22 because I gave division. I can only retire at 56 instead of 52 because of what I'm pouring into the church. Folks, that's not sacrifice. That's giving out of our bodies. Now, I want to be fair here, okay? Because I want to tell you that for most of us, you know, most of us, money, we're not going to get there with money. God has blessed us so abundantly that we won't ever make a point of sacrifice with our money. You say, wait a minute, Brother Tom, wait a minute. I want you to think about this, okay? In that case, maybe our sacrifice should be coming somewhere else. Maybe it should be our time. Amen? Maybe instead of putting our support in financing, maybe we need to be given hours of time. Folks, I'm going to tell you, and I'm just going to be honest with you, if it costs you nothing, it means nothing. And you need to invest something that costs you. You won't appreciate it until you do. Now, folks, we are here staying by the stuff, and one of the things that we can do is we can sacrifice. To win World War II, people sacrificed. They sacrificed money. That's better. They sacrificed luxury. They sacrificed food. And you know what, they just took less for themselves, and they gave more to the war effort. And I'm going to ask you a question that I asked not too long ago, and I'll probably keep asking until you begin to answer it. And the question is simply, how much is enough? How much is enough? You know, we talk in the Sunday school about simplifying our lives. And how much nicer life might be if we simplify it a little bit. In fact, we discussed this person who tried to cut themselves down to a hundred possessions. By the way, I said they cheated immediately. They said, I'm going to cut myself down to a hundred possessions. I said, books don't count. But folks, where do we draw the line? Do we draw it at a hundred? At a thousand? At ten thousand? At a hundred thousand? When is enough enough? When am I quit gathering for me and start gathering for God? Now come on folks, I'm talking to folks who have. Amen? And I do too. I understand. You know? I am gasoline engine poor because I'm not running one of them, I'm fixing one of them. But how many of them do you need? That's sacrifice. When I look at the bank, when I look at the house, when I look at the cars and I say, you know, praise God, that's enough. And here's what we say then, you can have the rest. You know, those 200 guys, they also guarded the home front. They gave, they served, they helped, they supported, but they also guarded the home front. You know, one of the saddest things I ever heard in my life, when Joe Hawkins stood in this pulpit, he said, what have you guys done with my country? You remember that? Did that hit you like it hit me? What have you guys done with my country? I left you here to guard. I've been down in the Amazon for 50 years and I'd come back. Listen, folks, I want to tell you. I hesitate to tell you what I heard on the radio. I was driving the other night. I was going through channels trying to find a football game. I happened on a hip-hop station. I said, I don't know what hip-hop's like, so I'll just listen to one of these and see what that's like. Do you know it was audio pornography? X-rated. Audio pornography. And this was number nine on the count. I don't understand. The Fifth Dimension did a song called Wedding Bell Blues when I was a kid and they shut them down on the radio because she suggested to him that they get married. And I got hip-hop pornography. Folks, if we can't get upset about something, then we can watch the home front die. We're not staying by the stuff. Listen, it's okay to dress modestly. It's not just okay, it's right. It's okay to stand for morality in this country. It's okay not to have TV in your house. It's okay to be more concerned about my kid's character than their ability to get along in the real world. And folks, somebody's got to stand up sometime and say, you know, that's wrong. That's evil. That's wicked? And I'm not going to have it in my house, in my church, or in my community, or in my country. And you may bring it in here, but you'll drag it over here with me kicking and screaming. My goodness, folks, we're staying by the stuff. We need to be guarding the home front, or pretty soon there will be no support for those who are gone. Do you understand? If there is nobody who will live for God, who will stand for God, who do you think is going to send missionaries around the world? I'll tell you who. It's going to be Brazilians and Koreans and Chinese and Africans. We've got to stay by stuff, folks. And we've got a lot to do. One other thing. You know, there's just as much reward for those who stay by the stuff as for those who go off. Share and share alike, folks. God makes no distinction. You know, there was a group here in 1 Samuel who said that those who stayed by the stuff shouldn't get any of this fall. No reward for them. They didn't fight. You know what the Bible says about them? Look at 1 Samuel 30. Verse number 22, Bible said, Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial of those that went with David and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them aught of the spoil that we have recovered. Bible calls them wicked. Calls them sons of Belial. And David called them down right quick. Verse 23, Then said David, You shall not do so, my brethren. Verse 24, But who will hearken unto you in this matter? He said, We're not listening to you here. We don't want to hear anything you've got to say. That's not going to work. He said, But as his part that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff. They shall part alike. Folks, we need to realize that the staying by the stuff is critically important. If we don't stay by the stuff, there's nobody to go, there's nobody to sin, there's nobody to pray, there's nobody to encourage, there's nobody to hold the fort, there's nobody to be salt and light. There is nothing. Unless some of us stay by the stuff. Look at Philippians 4.17. Paul knew this. Paul didn't have any doubt about it at all. Philippians 4, 17, Paul said this, not because I desire a gift, but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. When you stay by the stuff, you produce fruit. And you know, for the fruit that you produce, you get credit in your account. And say, which account? That one. Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust doth not corrupt, nor thieves break from the steel. You're investing in that account. And folks, whatever you do to aid those who labor, you benefit as well as they do. Now I know some of you are not football fans, but I want to give you an example. I want to give you a football illustration. Tim Thiebaud, before he went to the hospital yesterday, rushed for 123 yards. Now that's a lot of running for a quarterback. And he will get the records. And when the statistics show up, they will say that Tim Tebow, the quarterback, rushed for 123 yards. But I'm going to tell you, if not for five guys in front that nobody can name, Tim Tebow would have got killed yesterday. I mean, he almost did anyway. But you hand him the ball without a center, two guards and two tackles, and see how far he runs. And you know what? You don't know who those guys are, do you? Nobody knows. But you know what? If they win a conference championship, or if they win a national championship, they'll all get ranked. Amen? They'll all get the reward. And you know, hope soon is going to be a reward one day for us. And we're all going to stand before the throne of God. And God is going to judge the things that we did in this life. And he's going to pass out rewards. He's going to say, you get this and you get this and you get this and you get this. And we're going to be shocked. When God evens things up, amen. You know, I'm going to tell you the truth, some of the ones that you're expecting to get the greatest reward, first of all, they're not going to make it. But we look on the wrong side. We look on the outside. God looks on the inside. And some of us that we think are going to win great rewards in heaven for all the things they've done for God, they're going to be standing for a different fraud. And in others who do make it, the Bible says the last will be first and the first last. And I'm just convinced. I'm convinced with all my heart that there's a little old lady somewhere in outer Mongolia that's praying and that God's honoring. That's doing a special work for God. And when she stands before the beam of judgment, there's going to be a special reward for her. And a lot of us are just going to go, who is she? What'd she do? Where'd she come from? Jesus knows. You stay by the stuff. You do what you're supposed to do. You take your part. And God will see that He does His. Amen. You don't need to worry about that. And God doesn't use the same standard we do. Some of you are going to be surprised when you stand before God. at what God grants you for the way you stay by the stuff. Because God is looking for faithful people. Let's stand. You know on Wednesday we're going to start our annual missions conference. Stay in by the stuff. And you're going to hear an awful lot about those who are going and those who are there and everything that's going on there. And that's exciting. You know, I'm going to tell you the honest truth. When I sit down there and I hear a missionary presentation at least nine times out of ten, by the time he's through, I'm ready to go. I'm ready to go. You know, I like funny food. I like funny languages. I like going places I've never seen. God, you want to send me anywhere in the world? I'll go. I almost said accept. I don't dare do that because he has a sense of humor as well. You think God didn't originate laughter? You're wrong. It all came from Him, amen? If He gave it to us, that means He got it somewhere. But folks, God's got a work to do. He's doing it in you, and He's doing it through you. And I want to invite you today, Lord, as we get ready for this Missions Conference, to find your part. Just find your part in that work. And get right in the middle of it. And let God do something special. Don't you miss this Missions Conference? Folks, you know that. You know if you're here at 7 o'clock, you hear that missionary presentation, you hear Brother Tony Allen preach, you're going to be different. God's going to do something in your life and your heart. You make sure you're here this week for that Missions Conference. If you need a ride, you let me know. We'll get you here. I don't have to preach, I can drive. I'd be happy to. Some of these other folks would too. Let me ask you something else. We had a hard Sunday School lesson this morning. This whole series we're doing at Sunday School, it's difficult. It's difficult because it gets right down where we live. And we were talking about the peace of God. How to have it, how to keep it, And at the end of the Sunday School time, I made an invitation. I said, you know, I'm talking about something that some of you have never experienced. Some of you have never known the peace of God. It's because your sins have never been forgiven. You're still dragging them around with you just like you always have. You drag them into church, you take them out and you drag them home. And why? Because the blood of Christ has never been put on that list of sins. Never been put on your account. You've never come to Christ. And you need to do that. You need to do that. If you're here this morning and you have never trusted Christ as your Savior, then boy, you will not understand what that missions conference is about until He saves you. And then you'll know. You'll not understand what having the peace of God is about until you've got it. And then you'll know. And the only way to get it is by having the blood of Jesus applied to your sins. And you do that by faith. God said it's real simple. You have to know you're a sinner. You have to recognize you can't save yourself. There's not a thing in the world you can do about it. But Jesus did everything. He died. He went to that cross. He shed his blood as a sacrifice, a payment, and a covering for your sin. And you receive that payment by faith. And if you're here this morning and you've never been saved, then today is a great day. Have your sins covered. Amen. Christian, you need to be praying. You need to be praying about what God would have you do this year in missions. You need to be praying about what God would have you do right here in Grace Baptist Church. What does it mean for you to stay by the stuff? Let God speak to you. Father, we thank you for this morning. Thank you for these folks who are here. Lord, speak to our hearts. Show us, Father, what you have for us, what direction you want to take us. And Lord, work and move in your church. Father, I pray, Lord, if there's one of you this morning that knows that they're not saved, knows that they've never had the blood of Christ applied to their sin, that they would come this morning and let us open a Bible and show them how they can be saved. Father, bless our invitation. In Jesus' name.