Good morning. I love this auditorium. I really do. I want to share a couple of things with you. First of all, I want to thank you for the Hume family for putting up with us, okay? Brother David had to make two pots of coffee this morning. And the girls lost their room and we ate veggies, okay? I guess you guys all understand that, right? But it's been a blessing, amen? And we're excited about that. I'm already in trouble. I haven't been here two minutes yet, amen? Let me share another thing with you, okay? And this is missions related because I am one. But I want to tell you in this church that you have one of the greatest missionaries that I have ever encountered in Thailand right now. Now, I got to visit with Odell and his family in Thailand two years ago. And I want to tell you, there are missionaries who are not effective, but Odell Summers is not one of them. And I am so excited about what he's doing. In fact, I have taken on the role of being a prayer partner with Odell. And I keep in touch with him, and I love he and Beth and the family. And I just want to tell you that you have a great missionary. And what an amazing privilege and responsibility that is, okay, as a church. The other thing I want to tell you is you have an amazing pastor. You already knew that, right? in a time when pastors come and go so quickly, to have a man of God here who has been a man of God as long as Brother Bill has. And I had the privilege of serving with him as an associate. And I can only tell you That time in my life has been priceless as I have been a pastor. So many times when I would be confronted with this situation, I would go back to something Brother Bell said or how he handled something or how he did something. And many times I've called him. You know, I get stuck. I think I know who to call. OK, who are you going to call? Brother Bill. OK. And just you just you are blessed. OK. And I am blessed to have been here and to have worked with him. It's a great privilege to be back here. And it's an amazing privilege to be in this pulpit, because I also know that not only is he a man of God, he's a man of the Word. And it's a little intimidating. There are some places where I'm intimidated, and this is one of them. Amen. So I just want to thank you so much. I want to introduce you to my wife, Linda. Linda, stand up, be embarrassed, turn around, look. Okay. This is my wife, Linda. This is my better half. I expected no less. Okay. Those who give it should be prepared to receive it. Amen. Okay. But I guess my former pastor said it best. Somebody called him about us in the ministry and he said, he said, take Tom if you have to. He said, but get Linda. Okay. And so we are, I am blessed to have had her now as a Life partner for... You were supposed to let me figure it out, right? 41 years. My goodness, she's getting old. Amen. 41 years. More trouble, right? Well, I'm going to get in more trouble yet, okay? Bradley, Brother Young, what a blessing, what a blessing. The choir, and I'm going to sing again if that's okay, if I can. I wasn't there by the shores of Galilee when Jesus touched those blinded eyes and made them see. And though I did not see the empty tomb that day, I still believe. Yes, I know what Jesus did for me. And I believe there is power in the blood of the Lamb. And I believe there is healing in the touch of His hand. But the greatest of all miracles was when my Jesus saved me. Yes, I know what Jesus did for me. I love this auditorium. Praise the Lord. It's good to be here. Open your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter number 15. Chapter number 15. You know, I look out at a church body, and the Lord has blessed Linda and I at Grace. We have a group of people who are willing to serve. And I know that's the case here. I mean, you look at the labor that's being invested. You know, the Sunday School ministry, the Sunday School ministry in this church as well as any other church that I know of is probably the largest ministry out in the church. And the number of people that are involved. To do a Sunday school right takes a lot of work, a lot of effort, a lot of hours. Amen? It just has to be that way. Children's ministries. You know, we have an Awana ministry. You guys still doing Awana? No? OK. But those of you who are involved in it, any children's ministry, that's an investment, folks. That's an investment. You know why it's an investment? Because, first of all, it's pretty thankless sometimes. Who are the most selfish people on earth? Well, they're about this tall. OK? Right? Amen? Am I wrong? Okay, that's the way life is. You know, it doesn't matter where you're laboring, whether it's with children, whether it's in education, whether it's in Sunday school, whether it's in music ministry. And what a blessing, what a blessing this music is. Thank you so much. But folks, there's a lot of work that needs to be done. And there's a lot of work that's ongoing. And you know, if it wasn't enough that we had to labor in the ministry, we are laboring in a time and in a culture when simply being a Christian will wear you out. Amen? I mean, there's so many of you who... I mean, all of us have to deal with that, right? We're reaching a point where we're being pushed further and further and further off of the mainstream. You know, we've become the friend. If you're a Bible-believing Christian today, you're out on the margin of society. Say, no, yes. Yes, you are. You know, I love 1 Corinthians chapter 15. And you know, when it was read, I want to get up and shout, because I think that's what Paul did here when he recorded it. You know, he starts in verses... chapter 15, first of all, is about the resurrection. And he's pretty excited about that, okay? Jesus is alive. Jesus is risen. Jesus is in heaven with the Father. Jesus is on our side. And he's pretty excited about that. He says, don't you make a mistake. He said, not only is Jesus up there, but you're going one day too. And it reaches the climax of the chapter in verses 51 to 58. By the way, did y'all notice the nursery verse? Nursery verse is verse 51. Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. Oh, come on now. All right. You guys knew that. But he keeps going and he gets into verses 54. So when this corruptible shall I put on incorruption, and this mortal shall I put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. Can you see him? You know, I think Paul was quoting this and it was being recorded by someone else. And I think we got this place, he jumped up out of his chair, you know, he starts shouting, oh, death, where is thy sting? Oh, grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be to God. Verse 57, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And then in verse 58, Paul, Paul was a preacher, okay? And he gets excited. You read through this, he gets excited. But Paul was a teacher too. And as soon as he got through verse 57, as soon as he got through with the shouting, then he said, wait a minute, wait a minute, there's something here you need to grab hold of. And in verse 58 he says simply, therefore, therefore, understanding all of these things, that Christ is a victory, that we're going to rise from the dead, that mortality will put on immortality, corruptible will put on incorruptible, with all these things in mind, therefore, my brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding. in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." Now I'm going to stop right there today. I want to focus on that verse. Now there's a lot here. There's a lot of places you could go, okay? But today I want to work on verse 58 for a little while, all right? Verse 58, where the Bible simply says, therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Let's pray. Father, we again bow before you. Father, it's a worship service. We have worshipped in song. We have lifted our hearts in prayer. We have worshipped in our giving, in our offerings. And Father, we come now to worship at the proclamation of your precious word. Heavenly Father, I pray, Lord, that you would forgive us our sins, our failures, that you would cleanse our hearts, and that, Father, you would allow the Holy Spirit to do the work that he desires to do in each and every one of us. Father, bless the speaker. Father, bless the hearers. And, Lord, may we leave here today confident that we are different from the way we came in. because of you. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Your labor is not in vain. You know, the chapter is about the truth and doctrine of the resurrection. Christ rose from the dead. You will also rise from the dead. And because you know that you will rise and that you're destined for eternal life, you should also know that the things that you do here, your service for God, is not in vain. It doesn't end with this life. I was given my testimony in the youth department. By the way, what a blessing. I enjoy that so much. You couldn't have done better, okay? You know, God just keeps throwing me in with kids, okay? You know, I told them I love kids, baked, boiled, or fried, it doesn't matter. My spiritual gift is annoying teenagers. OK. Aggravating teenagers. That's what God put me on earth to do. Some of you were teenagers when I was here and you understand that. Amen. You do. Yeah. Yes. Amen. But I was given my testimony in the youth department and I was telling them that the way God brought me to himself was by showing me the vanity of life apart from him. He used a testimony of a man that I worked with to show me that, I say, God used Ecclesiastes to bring me to Himself. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. And He let me see that beyond, in this life, there is only this life. And if what is in this life is all that there is, folks, it's not much. And that's what Paul is teaching us here. He said, listen, it doesn't stop here. The things that are valuable are things that go on for eternity. And he's saying, listen, you're going to rise. You're going to live forever with Jesus. And you need to understand that the things you do here are going to transfer there. Your labor is not in vain. And because you know that, there's some things you need to know. And he says, first of all, he says, brethren, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast. Steadfast. Now, the Bible appears here to say the same thing twice. It says, steadfast, unmovable. Okay? Now, if you want to make that distinction, do it this way. Steadfast has to do with internal influence. Unmovable has to do with external. So if we work with it that way, you think of Proverbs 20, 25. It says, it is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy and after vows to make inquiry. That phrase, after vows to make inquiry, I have this written in my Bible as a translation, an interpretation. It says simply, don't dig up in doubt what you buried in faith. Don't dig up in doubt. what you buried in faith. Say, Brother Tom, what are you talking about? Listen, Jesus rose. And because you too will also rise one day, you are able, you should be able, you should be willing, you should be steadfast, you can stand fast in the doctrines that you have been taught. Why should I change? I'm going to heaven when it all is unveiled. Listen, Jesus is the only way to heaven. Boy, that was good. Let's practice that, okay? All right? On three, say, Amen. One, two, three. Amen. Oh, that was marvelous. Okay. All right? Jesus is the only way to heaven. John 14, 6, Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, the life. No man cometh unto the Father. but by me." Folks, there isn't any other way. You know what? I get to witness to folks frequently, and I always get to this point, somebody says, listen, there is one way to heaven, and it's Jesus. And I say, how do I know that it's Jesus? I say, because God's not stupid. Then I usually get, you know, how do you know that? I say, because if there was any other way, that we could get to heaven with God and put his son on a cross and let him die in our place? No. God's not stupid. Jesus is. The only way to heaven. Second, God did create the heavens and the earth in six literal days. I can stand fast on that. I don't have to guess about it. I don't have to wonder about it. I don't have to reinterpret it. I don't have to do anything with it. All I have to do is read it, believe it, and stand fast. The Bible is the very Word of God given to us direct from heaven. There is a real heaven to be the eternal home of the saved. There is a real hell and a real lake of fire that are destined to be the eternal home of all who reject Jesus Christ. We are called to share the good news with the lost all over the world and we can live holy, separated lives that stand in opposition and contrast to what's out there. Stand proud! The end is coming. You are going. It's all going to happen. And Jesus rose, and you're going to rise, so you be steadfast. You hold the doctrines that you have. 2 Thessalonians 2.15, therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you've been taught, whether by word or our epistle. Paul encouraged them many times. Stand fast. Folks, don't we need that occasionally? Have you ever experienced that the world is a little overwhelming sometimes? Huh? Amen? Yeah. Yeah. Folks, they're trying to bury us. You know, we have an enemy. We have a real enemy and he has a real world system and he wants to destroy everything that's godly. And I'm looking at a lot of godly right now. Folks, you can stand steadfast in spite of a world that's trying to bury you. What's it say second? Well, that's the internal thing, right? It says, be unmovable. Steadfast was internal faithfulness, and unmovable is the external pressure. We live in a world that, for all intents and purposes, has rejected the God of the Bible. They've simply rejected it. And as such, because of this, and this just follows along, They bring unbelievable pressure on us to conform to their way of thinking. Romans 12 says, be not conformed to this world. What's the idea? Pressure. And by the way, if you don't conform, you get a pretty bad rep. I mean, immediately you are narrow-minded, intolerant, bigoted, ignorant. Folks, if you have an experience that you haven't read anything lately. Am I being unfair? OK. This is the way the world deals with us now. And folks, we're being pushed further and further out. Listen, if you can't see what's coming, you're not looking. By the way, I want to ask you this. How much longer do you suppose they're going to allow us, ignorant, intolerant, and narrow-minded, to indoctrinate our children in the doctrines of faith? They are taking it away now. Can I tell you that every society that's tried to banish Christianity from its borders at one point has made it illegal to teach young people the doctrines of the faith. It is still illegal in many countries. When we served in Ukraine, one of the things we learned about the communist government there was that no one under the age of 30 could be baptized. So what do they do? They're trying to steal our children. Anybody familiar with the 414 window? We all know about the 1040 window, right? You know about the 414 window? What? Huh? Oh, 414 window says 90% of the people who will be saved will be saved between the ages of 4 and 14. See why children's ministry is important? Why? Because between the ages of 4 and 14 you can still talk to them. They're still available. They're still open. They're still managed. They're still pliable. They still have a room for God. They haven't been talked out of it. Communists knew that. Muslims know it. And folks, so do the folks who would ban Christian education, home education. Folks, it's all pressure. Reformers Unanimous, we had a chapter there for several years, describes all this external pressure as persecution. They said, this is what persecution is. And persecution is simply outside pressure to cause the soul to yield to the influence of the flesh instead of the Spirit. Persecution is based on fear. And in order for persecution to be effective, we have to fear those who can kill the body more than we fear God. Amen? Now, Jesus warned us about that, right? Matthew 10, 28. Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him able to destroy both soul and body in hell. When we succumb to external pressure, it's usually out of fear. It may be fear of physical persecution, but that's not usually our problem here, is it? Ours is emotional. What do we fear? Embarrassment, humiliation, rejection. Okay, now I'm going to meddle just a little bit, okay? You know, there are Christian parents who really don't want their children to be different. You know, I want them to get the label. I want them to understand. I want them to go to church, but I don't want them to stick out. I don't want them to be different. I don't want them to draw attention to themselves, to draw trouble for themselves. Folks, Jesus promised us one thing, trouble. How's that? Singing. I should never sing. OK. Grandparents who are afraid their grandchildren will grow up ignorant. Afraid they'll never get into a good college. Folks, these are just symptoms. These are signs that we're really more concerned about the world than we are about God. We may succumb to external pressure out of fear. We may succumb to external pressure out of lust. One of the characteristics of love is a desire to be with the one I love. Right? Right? You tell me you love him, but you don't want to be with him. There's a problem. Okay? Fairly. That's fair. If I love the world more than I love God, then I'm not going to want to be separated from the world. I'm going to spend my time there. But God tells us that to spend my time with the world is to be separated from God. You cannot do both. 1 John 2, 15, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loved the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6, no man can serve two masters. For he that hateth the one and loveth the other, else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and family. A Christian who is unwilling to separate himself or herself from the world is not a friend of God. They have simply succumbed to the pressure that the world has brought to bear. And God tell you this morning, they are practical unbelievers. No matter what they call themselves, if I am unwilling to separate myself from the world, if I am so immersed in the world that it's obvious that's where my love is, then why do I carry a name otherwise? records something completely different. He says, be ye unmovable, be ye steadfast. He said, because Jesus rose and because you too will one day rise, you can resist the world's pressure to conform. What's the next thing? Go back there. He says, always abounding in the work of the Lord. You like word study? I can't, makes me go to sleep. I hate it, you know. I do it because, you know, you have to sometimes. And these are good words, like always. Always means every when. Right? You like that? Every when is always. At all times. Okay? Always. Works pretty good, yeah. Always. Abounding. Abounding. Abounding. To super abound, to be in excess. Oh, let me give you a good Louisiana word, right? Lanyap. Anybody know what lanyap is? How do you know what lanyap is? Praise the Lord, okay. All right. Lanyap is a good Louisiana word and this means extra. It means that there's something that's added on top. It's like, you know, you do what you're supposed to and then you do a little more just because it's good. And it's lanyard, you know? It's like when the IRS sends your tax return and they add $100 on it just because they love you. It's lanyard. Right? Huh? Well, if they did it, it would be lanyab. But you understand, right, what I'm talking about? Okay, so lanyab. And that's abounding. Abounding is lanyab. And then there's work. Okay, boy. Millennials? Millennials, raise your hand. Millennials. Okay, work is foreign to you guys. I know that, all right? Now I'm in more trouble, okay? You know, I think I've gotten every group in the room at this point, all right? Sorry, millennials, I can't help it, you know. I have two living in my house. Work. It means labor. It means search. You better quit. You better quit. And so what this Bible says is that all times go above and beyond what anyone would reasonably expect in your service to the Lord. at all times go above and beyond what anyone would reasonably expect in your service. Go to Matthew chapter 5. One of the most hateful passages in all of scripture. Matthew chapter 5. Matthew chapter 5. I'm going to get a reading of verse 39. Just follow along. By the way, this is the Sermon on the Mount. And Jesus in verse 39 is speaking. He says, But I say unto you, that you resist not evil. But whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee. from him that would borrow of thee, turn not thou away. You have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. For he maketh his Son to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And if you salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." You know what Jesus is teaching here? But more than that, He's teaching what is really unnatural, is it not? That's why it says the most hateful passage in all of Scripture. You look at this and say, nobody can do this. And you know what, I agree, apart from the grace of God. But folks, I don't have to do it apart from the grace of God. Because I'm a child of God and I have God living inside me and I have the Holy Spirit working through me. And He says, simply, you be like your Father, which is in heaven. There's another way, he put it in Luke 17. Luke 17, it says this in verse number 7, but which of you having a servant plowing or feeding cattle will say unto him by and by when he is come from the field, go and sit down to me. And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup and gird thyself, and serve me till I have eaten and drunken, and afterward thou shalt eat and drink. Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants. We have done that which was our duty to do." Always abounding in the work of the Lord. going above, going beyond what anybody would reasonably expect. Paul repeated that time and time again. 2 Corinthians 9, 8, God is able to make all grace abound toward you that ye always having all sufficiency in all things may abound, same word, to every good work. Titus 3.1, put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work. What does it say? It says we are saved to serve, not saved to sit. Right? Okay, let's try it again. One, two, three. That was half-hearted, okay. Not only are we to serve, but we are to serve as though the kingdom of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ were the most important things in our lives. Why wouldn't they be? What in this world can supplant or replace the gospel in our lives? was telling the young people about an illustration. In fact, God just, it's one of those things, you know, the best illustrations come from within our lives. And in this case, I was performing a funeral service in Pineville, okay? And I happened to be walking around the cemetery prior to the service. I was waiting on the hearse to get there. And I found myself standing over this huge stone And the card on the stone was the man's name and the date of his birth and his death. And then it listed underneath there, it said, President, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Oil Company. It listed the dates. And I was looking at that, and I began to think, Standard Oil, Standard Oil, Standard Oil. That's Exxon. That guy, or at least that dust, was the president and chief executive officer of Exxon when he left. Wow. Boy, he's really dead. I wonder where he is today. See, folks, we don't understand it. That's the offer the world makes. That's the temptation that Satan came to Jesus with. You see all these kingdoms? He says, I'll give all of them to you if you'll bow down and worship me. He's still making the same offer. And you know what? There are going to be so many. who make that choice. They'll make a bad choice. And they'll follow hard after what the world has to give. And they will miss the kingdom of God. They will miss the opportunity to serve Christ. Galatians 2.20 says, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me." Turn over to 1 Peter chapter 4. Begin reading in verse 1, for as much then as Christ has suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind. For he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lust of men, but to the will of God. For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lust, excess of wine, revelings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries, wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you. who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead." Verse 4, when you do live for Jesus, when you say, you know what? Standard Oil is nice, Exxon is nice, but it's not better than the gospel. It's not better than God. It's not better than the love of God. And when you choose that, when you choose to serve Him abundantly, when you hold steadfast, when you are unmovable, you will confound this world. They will not understand. In fact, He says, they speak evil of you. But verse 5 tells you, you know the difference. you know that one day you will give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. First Corinthians 15, Jesus, the whole chapter tells us that Jesus most assuredly rose from the dead and that one day just as certainly you and I will do the same. And then it goes on, he says, he finishes up, he says, because you know this, He said, first of all, he says, don't talk yourself out of it. Be steadfast. Second, don't let anyone else talk you out of it. Be unmovable. And finally, he says, work like a madman to further the kingdom of God. See, we don't have that long. We don't have that long. And what's he say? Your labor is not in vain. You know, it's interesting here. Our perseverance is not based on visible results. It's not based on worldly definitions of success. Our labor is based on the faith that one day we will be with Jesus and that we will be rewarded for faithful service. Amen. Father, we do thank you for this time. Thank you for the precious Word of God. Father, I pray that you have encouraged everyone here today to be steadfast, unmovable, abounding in the work. And Father, I pray today that if there is one here who has not yet bowed their head and their hearts to Jesus, that Father, this would be the day when they realize that to gain everything in the world and lose their own soul would be tragic. Father, I trust that you will work in their hearts, that you will draw them, that you will open the Scriptures, and, Father, that they might come to faith in Jesus Christ. Lord, there are many of us here who are Christians, and, Father, for some of us, it's been a great week. For some of us, it's been a lousy week. We've been beaten and battered and pushed. We've surrendered. We quit. We whined and sniveled and griped and moaned. Father, we haven't shown up very well for you. And Father, we ask your forgiveness. And Father, we ask your grace to stand back up and get it right and go forward. Father, I pray that whatever the need is, whatever, in each heart, Father, whatever it is you've spoken to us about, that you would find us listening, submissive, and obedient to the Spirit of God. Lord, I ask you to work in this time in Jesus' name.