You know, if I were an individual that was not happily married or not married at all, I would come to Ambassador Baptist Bible College and get a wife. But I'm happily married, so that's not any problem, all right? But we are glad to be with you tonight, and I'd like to introduce you to my wife. And I can remember 1974, June 8th, Garnet Mesa Baptist Church, Delta, Colorado. I married this wonderful woman. Jeanette, would you please stand? My wife supported me through all these years and I praise God. And I hope you men that are marrying are getting someone as good as mine or close to as good as mine. Alright? I hope you are. I pray you are. That will be a great blessing to you. We have three children. My oldest daughter and her husband, I heard someone talking about going to China. They're going in July to China. to do mission work for two years in teaching English. They've been to Poland on a short-term ministry. She's a school teacher. But they are moving that direction. Our oldest son, Michael, is headed to Calgary, Alberta. He's with our mission board, Open Door Baptist Missions, just starting deputation like the McBrides are, except they're going the other side of Canada. And the issue is that they are hopefully going to be there within a year or so. We have one son that's got one semester after if he passes test this week. You know, Brother Comfort, this is a real test of my preaching ability here. They're in the midst of exams. They just had a big meal. It's Saturday night and a bunch of them were out on a camp out last night. And I have got to keep them awake. Isn't that something? This is going to be a real test, isn't it, folks? Well, I appreciate Brother Childs, Brother Norman Johnston as well, was my freshman prayer group buddy. We were in the same prayer group years ago at school. We've got so many connections here. We've got your business administrator's daughter and her husband and family there at our church at Morningside. We've just got wonderful connections. We have our director of our mission board come up every year for your missions conference. Dr. John Burnett is here every year with Open Door Baptist Missions. We praise God for his leadership. In the last three years, under his leadership, we've increased about 30 missionaries to our mission board. And we're just praising God. The most recent one is Brother Surratt's son and his wife from Pennsylvania going to Peru. Praise God for that new couple. We've got another one that's coming in this month, a couple, and it looks like another one the following month will be coming in as far as couple. We just praise God for what Brother Burnett is doing. In fact, I'm giving a paid political announcement if you don't know. Go see Open Door Baptist Missions display next year when Brother Burnett is here if you're headed for a mission field. Okay? Now, how much do I owe you for that, Brother Comfort? Yes, alright, none. Alright, we're going to go to the Word of God tonight. How about you tonight? Are you like I am after that meal, fed up? I sure am, and it was good fed up, wasn't it? Hebrews chapter 11, the great faith chapter, the hall of faith chapter, Hebrews chapter 11, would you turn there with me tonight? I appreciate, Brother Comfort, We were talking at the table tonight about a mission emphasis, but also evangelism missions combination and what God has done in His life. He was at a two-week meeting at our church about ten, twelve years ago. Souls saved every night. We just came out of a revival meeting a week ago this week. With Tom Farrell, Sunday through Friday at Soul Saved Every meeting, he's on your board here. Our next scheduled evangelist is Mike Pelletier. You would think there's some connections with you folks in evangelism, wouldn't there? We praise God for those that are ministering connected to this and to our Morningside Baptist Church. If you ever live in Greenville, come and see us at Morningside. Stand with me in respect to God's Word as we begin to read about this man Moses. It says in verse 23 of Hebrews 11, by faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper or a beautiful child. And they were not afraid of the king's commandment. By faith, Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. steaming the reproach of Christ's greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he had respect under the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. Through faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood last He that destroyed the firstborn should touch them." Now that would be quite a touch by that death angel, wouldn't it? Oh my, death of your child. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry ground which the Egyptians, a saying to do, were drowned. Let us pray. Our Father tonight, we thank You for these that are graduating. And God, we thank You that these are being honored now and in their commencement Friday. We thank You that they will be given recognition for their efforts. And thank You for these women as wives that have supported their husbands and helped them. Oh God, I pray these ladies would know Your rich reward for their faithfulness. I pray they would be great helpmates in ministry to their husbands. And God, we pray for these graduates. We ask, O God, that You would anoint them with Your power. Enable them to do a mighty ministry for the delivering of people from hell, Satan, and sin. And, O God, use many of them to equip the saints, to edify those that are going to do the work of the ministry. Use them in different ways, but God, use them as You have gifted them and supernaturally empower them. Father, we pray for those that are here that are going to continue on. God, may they keep themselves in Your love. May they build themselves up in the most holy faith. And God, I pray that You would use them this summer in their different places of ministry. And we'll thank You in Christ's name. Amen. You may be seated. Some 10 or 15 years ago, I will never forget a similar thing to Frank and Ernest in the comics. One picture and one line. This man was in academic regalia. You could just see by his sophisticated look, he was the president of a college addressing a crowd of graduates. And he made one statement. He says, I want you to know as a college, we're doing everything we can to make our football team proud of us. Whoa! Isn't that typically what's going on in most secular universities today? But not here. These faculty members, this president, no doubt, has done everything they can for you graduates to make you give God pride. Glory to Him so He can praise you. Think of that. They've done everything to make people glory in God and proud of God. Have you ever thought about that? Being proud of God. Oh, that's a wonderful thought, isn't it? Aren't you proud of God tonight? Hey, this man Moses, he was a man by faith that ultimately we would have to say, he made God proud. But how did he do it? By faith. Oh, he came from a family of faith. His mom and dad by faith, after three months of hiding him, put him in this little ark, You know, he was pinched over. They put him right there on the Nile. Hey, there was calculation there. Right where Pharaoh's daughter came out to bathe on a regular basis. With Miriam, his sister, watching over that little boat to see. And you know, I think an angel of God came down out of heaven and just at the right time pinched that baby so it would cry. Oh my, I got the hold of a woman's heart. Oh, this is a little baby crying. I've got to help it. You understand what God did right there? And then she took and adopted him and trained him up, sparing him. God delivered this man Moses to be a deliverer. Now, think about that. The message of Exodus is a message of God's power. Now, I use advisedly the term sovereign. Don't be fearful. I am not a Calvinist, alright? I understand Calvinism is dead here, alright? But the issue is, that is a good biblical term. The sovereign power of God to deliver. That's what the theme of Exodus is all about. God delivering His people by His sovereign power. And He uses people to do it. He used this man Moses by faith. What do we want to look at tonight as we read through here? You can look at verses 24 and 25 and you can see this man forsake. being Pharaoh's son and what we would call grandson. Yeah, Pharaoh's daughter's son. He refused it. Then what does it say in the next verse? Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for the season. What I want you to see tonight is that word choosing. Choosing. Oh, how our choices determine how things end up in our lives, and for eternity in our lives. This man, by faith, chose rather for the better. That's what I want you to remember tonight. If you don't write down anything at all about my message tonight, write down that Moses, by faith, chose rather for the better. Now, he had to make a choice, just like all of you have to make a choice. I think of you graduates. Some of you are making choices. One man over here said, pray for me, I don't know what I'm going to do. You pray that he will make the right choice as God orders his steps. You pray that God will cause him to make sequential choice after choice, choosing rather. Continued action of choosing right over and over again. Oh, how critical it is, the choices we make in life. And this man, by faith, made some choices that would be contrary to naturally what you would have thought this man would have done, brought up in Pharaoh's court, in his home, under Pharaoh's daughter, trained in the culture, trained in all of the ethics, trained in all the academics, trained in whatever literature, and even maybe the poetry of Egypt, and even exposed to their many false gods. But this man did not choose for the natural, but by faith he chose for the supernatural. He chose for what God wanted him to do. He chose God's will for his life. And look at it here. What did he do? Whenever we see what he chose by faith, what could he have had if he would have chosen the other way? Ever thought about that? He would have possibly been Pharaoh. That would be like saying, I'm going to have the opportunity to be the President of the United States, but I'm going to turn it down. Now, in some ways, that might be a good choice. That's no Sunday school picnic up there in the White House, if you haven't already observed that in life. But the issue is this. My pastor used to put it this way. He used to say, it would be greater to be the Son of God, or a son of God, than to be the President of the United States. Do you realize tonight, if you're a child of God, that's better than having a position of that greatness? But people many times don't recognize that. But this man, he refused that potential position of being Pharaoh when he said, no, I'm turning. What else did he turn down? Well, he turned down the pleasures of sin for a season. Do you realize that sin is pleasurable? They say, I know that, I've experienced it. Yeah, nobody would go for sin if it wasn't pleasurable, would they? It's pleasurable. Sin is pleasurable, but notice it's only pleasure for a season. Yes, it pays pleasure now, but boy, when it pays afterward, the wages of sin, it's a bad payment. It is a bad payment down the road. And this man, by faith, he says, nope, not immediate gratification for me. I want the long term. I am going to pay now and enjoy later, rather than enjoy now and pay later. Hey, have you determined that in your life, that you're going to take the approach in life, whatever you're doing, that you are going to pay whatever it costs on the front end, but, oh, have the blessing on the back end? Yes, pay now. Enjoy later. He chose to do that. He chose by faith to pay now the sacrifices. Suffering with the people of God. He identified with those that were God's people. Oh, he went out that day and he saw an Egyptian smiting one of his brethren. And he looked this way and he looked that way. And then he said, I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to settle this. I'm identified with him. He's a Hebrew. I'm a Hebrew. And I'm not going to tolerate this. And a man that had authority and rule in his own household, being in Pharaoh's household, he stepped up. Now, he took the wrong method. You know, he tried to do God's will in the flesh, is basically what happened. And it put him out in the wilderness. But through that wilderness time in Midian, God humbled him. And he came to realize, you're not going to do it by fleshly force. You're going to have to deliver God's people by my supernatural power. Now, the whole issue is, whenever it happened that he smote that guy, he says, I'm leaving. He turned his back upon the pleasure of sin for a season. And no doubt in that court, there was carnal pleasure. It was as a king's authority. He could command and say, I want this, I want this, I want wine, I want women, I want song. He could have called for it, but he turned his back on it. Choosing rather for the better. Oh, suffering now, but oh, blessing later. You know what happened then after that? What could he have possibly had besides possession and besides the pleasure of sin for a season? We see in verse 26 this. What do you see there? Possession. Possession, it says, there is steaming the reproach of Christ, greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. You know, as a king, there would be gold and silver and all kinds of jewels and whatever. And he would be the most wealthy man in the nation. And you know what? He chose against that. He turned his back on it. Choosing by faith, rather for the better. And he chose for what? The reproaches of Christ. Wow! You know, that's quite a statement in Hebrews 11. whenever it tags it, is not just the reproaches of God's people, but the reproaches of Christ? Whoa! I didn't realize that Jesus Christ was in the Old Testament. Oh, you see what I'm saying here? Think on this. Oh, connecting right to Christ. You know, it doesn't matter whether you're an Old Testament saint, lived while Christ was here on earth, or right now, as people, I just read about a Turkish killing of three Christians. Three Christian leaders just here recently, where some Muslim young men under 20 years of age, about a half a dozen of them, killed them, feigning that they wanted to be a part of their Bible study, and then just slitting their throats and tormenting them for hours on end. Wow! The reproaches of Christ. Folks, that's still happening in our world. In fact, somebody said this past century there were more Christian martyrs in this past century than all the previous. Centuries put together. Wow! We are facing it, folks. And some of you may face that. Do you realize that in immigration last year they caught, besides Hispanics that are coming in, they caught 170,000 illegal immigrants trying to come into this country. Do you realize what that represents? That represents Muslim people that want to kill Gentiles if they're the radical group. You understand? You may face this. You may have to make a choice to suffer reproaches and persecution and pain with Christ because you're a Christian. But the issue is this. We see that He chose not the riches of Egypt, but He chose for suffering with Christ. But why did He do it? By faith, He knew there was a recompense of a reward. He knew payday was coming one day. He knew the good payday was coming one day. He knew what sin and position and pride and all the possessions of this world would ultimately end up in, in a crash. And he says, by faith, I'm not choosing for that. I'm choosing rather for the better. I wonder if you will. I wonder in your life if you will do that. Oh, I think of some young people that I've known through the years. They didn't make the right decision. I think of my freshman roommate that encouraged me to join the particular society I was involved in and said they have a great extension and soul-winning outreach. And I wanted to do that at Bob Jones University. I had only been right with God for about 11 months. And I wanted to do everything spiritually to grow and advance. And I think of this young man. He grew up in a fundamental Baptist church from the Midwest, Christian parents. Yet, whenever it came right down to it, this guy, he was choosing for pleasure on a regular basis. Oh, he enjoyed basketball. He enjoyed people. Nothing wrong with either one of those in their place. But the issue was, whenever he'd come to the evening to study, he would be out socializing in the dormitory for an hour or so. Hey, he'd be out playing basketball for another couple of hours. After three semesters of that, guess what? The teachers in this room know what? This guy was on academic probation and failing out. Yes, he chose for immediate pleasure the things that he enjoyed. Ball games and people. Nothing wrong with him and themselves, but he was going for pleasure now, and then he was going to pay later. I recently heard of this young man. Yeah, at my age, he's no longer a young man. And the issue is, he's not even in a fundamental church. He's in Hawaii. He's had a broken marriage as far as I know. He's not even in a good preaching church there. You know what? Pleasure now, pain later, ends up bad pain. Now, what we see here was not only what would he have possibly had But what would have happened to Moses if he had made the other choice? What would he have gotten later? Oh, like my freshman roommate. If he would have chosen for pleasure. Oh, he would have been a bad payday. Let's stop and think about it. Let's say he is Pharaoh. Let's say that he is reigning in that court. And let's say he has all those erythrolytes. And now Moses is Pharaoh. What would have happened? One day there would have been a Hebrew that is like Moses was supposed to be, that would march into his court and say, Jehovah says, let my people go. Oh, now. Yes, a snake out of a staff right before him. And God begins to do His miracles. And we see now that the man is facing a choice. Is he going to let these that are his slaves that have served him go? Or is he going to keep them? Moses would have had to have made that decision as Pharaoh. And no doubt, if he had been making the wrong choices, he would have made the same choices Pharaoh did. You see, he would have been down the road. He would have been down the road in the wrong direction. And what would he have been facing? He would have been facing ten plagues. Ooh, how would you like to drink blood water? How would you like to have frogs all over your dormitory rooms, huh? Hey, one more night with the frogs. Some of you remember that message, don't you? Hey, he just wanted, he wouldn't let them go. He wanted another night with the frogs, you know. How about lice? How about hail? How about lightning? How about it all? He would have been facing the plagues that Pharaoh faced. You say, well, that's alright, but how about your firstborn son? Would you want to lose your firstborn son? Moses would have had that experience. Hardened, going the wrong direction, making wrong choices, not living by faith, being Pharaoh. Hey, what would have happened after that? How about chasing the Israelites into the Red Sea and drowning with your army? Oh, sin does pay, doesn't it? Oh, a bad payment. It eventually will pay death. I want you to see tonight, if you choose the wrong direction, and you go for pleasure and possessions, and you don't live by faith and take God's step, you'll end up that way. You'll say, oh no, I'm in a Bible college. I'm studying for the ministry. I think at Bob Jones University, my senior year, there were four that were voted as young men for Christian leadership besides four young ladies. You know, that kind of honor is given to those that have exemplified themselves. There was a young man that was very gifted that year. And I remember that he was an evangelist. He was going to go out and be an evangelist, gifted to evangelism. I look back and retrospect through the years, and three of those Christian leader men have gone on for God and have been used of the Lord. One of them, you know, Ken Collier at the Wiles. Director of the Wiles Christian Camp. Another one is a missionary in Australia, Wally Jaworski. Been there for years. What a wonderful servant of the Lord. Used of God. But this young man, by the name of Ken, Yes, he went out and somehow possessions got in his eyesight. He looked at what he could gain materially. And he began to focus on that. And I don't know the whole process or the whole story, but eventually he was taking Christians into business deals that he embezzled money out of them and ended up in prison. Lost his marriage. Went to prison. Lost the ministry. You say it can't happen to a Christian worker. It can. God says don't entangle yourself with affairs of this world. But you've got to do that by faith, by keeping your focus on what God has called you to do. Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Stay focused. It will be a good payday eventually. But suffer now and enjoy later. That's what it comes down to. But don't enjoy now and then pay a big payment later and lose the ministry. Now this is exactly what we look at here with this man Moses. He would have been Pharaoh and oh the bad payday that he would have had. But then we look as it goes on though. What by faith did he get when he was choosing rather for the better? You know what did he forsake? Yes, position, possession and pleasure. What did he not get is the consequences of what Pharaoh got. But oh, what did he get? Oh, if he had never made that choice by faith, he would have never enjoyed some of the most wonderful things in life. Oh, he had to suffer. Yes, he went through some difficulties. Growing and getting into the condition that he could be God's leader took him 80 years. You know, recently talking to a person that's in the ministry, going to minister, and they're saying, I wish this thing would get settled. I wish we'd find out what God wants. And I had to say, hey, it took 80 years for God to get Moses ready, to do 40 years of ministry. Do you understand what I'm saying? Yeah, and so the issue is this. We see now that he has position. You say Moses has position? He has the greatest position any human being could have ever had in his era. Not Pharaoh! He's the leader of God's people. In a burning bush, God comes and says, you're it, Moses. You're my leader. You're the one that's going to lead my people out of Egypt. And I'm going to keep my covenant with Abraham through you. And I'm going to deliver my people, as I told 430 years ago. Yes, you are going to be Him. You're going to have it. Wow! And you know what? Even with the Egyptians, if you read later on after the ninth plague, it says that Moses was great in the eyes of the Egyptians. See, when it comes later on, he suffered first from the Egyptians, but later on, he's even great in the nation's eyes of Egypt. Wow! And then we see not only this. Did he have position? The greatest position came later. We see that this man not only had position, he had power in his life. Now, there is such a thing as a secular political power, and he could have had that, but he had a different power as God's leader. Oh, he could come in there and throw his staff down, and it would be a serpent. Then he could pick it up and it would turn back. Oh, he could take water and spill it out on the ground, and it would turn blood. Yes, he could stand before Pharaoh with great authority and confidence, not fearing the king, it says in verse 27 and 28 through that stretch. He had no fear of the king. He stood before that wicked man who oftentimes is typified as Satan in the Old Testament, and he had no fear. Oh, there's a rock group called No Fear, but that's not what we're talking about, folks. We're talking, by faith, no fear of the greatest authority in His presence He could stand before. Power. Plagues. Stand before the Red Sea with an outstretched rod and open up. You know, that's one of the six sins I wish I could have experienced in the Old Testament. Have you ever thought about things that you would have liked to have seen? I'd have liked to have been there when Joseph's brothers bowed down to him, and came begging, fulfilling the dream, and they'd sent him down there, and I'd have liked to have just been a mouse in the corner, you know? You know, it would have been great. Hey, but this is another one, the Red Sea. Stand still. Be not afraid. And see the salvation of the Lord. Oh, Moses is getting ready to stretch that rod out, and it's going to be dry ground, and they're going to go through, and then the Egyptians are going to die that are willing to kill him. Oh, you talk about miraculous power. The power of God upon this man. Almost like no other one. You know, you go to the New Testament and you see the Revelation 11, you know, that section about the two witnesses there. Yes, they had power over what things. Moses, we believe, is one of those witnesses. The power of God upon him is still going to be in the future. Oh, you talk about giving up power and then later getting it God's way. He had it. Now, let me go on with this. We say this. The praising of God. The praising of God. After that Red Sea crossing, you talk about happy campers. Oh, there were some happy campers. Look at that song again. Oh, how they're glorying in God. They're a great judge. They're a great captain. They're a great captain of their army that's just delivered them. They're rejoicing in the Lord. They are happy campers. Now, let me tell you something. If you choose to serve God, you'll see some wonderful things in life. Oh, wonderful things. You know, we just recently saw some 30 souls come to Christ in our church and revival meetings. And just blessings of God touching people. And Brother Farrell made a choice. Brother Farrell was thinking about law and the Marines. In fact, he told me he came into an encounter with me at Bob Jones University, checking rooms, and his roommate left, and he stayed because he couldn't even take a room check. Two freshmen made two different choices. His freshman roommate left and he said, I finally stayed. And look at how God is using him in a powerful way. The power of God upon his life. Oh, just this past week, I had the joy of seeing God's wonderful power. I was with a preacher missionary friend, and there was a young man that he had had this call about that this young man was suicidal and wanted to kill his parents, and told us in the living room there of this preacher friend, I want to slit my pastor's throat. Now, tell me about a young man like that. He's tried to commit suicide ten times. Comes out of a Christian family. Oh, Satan had control of this young man, but let me tell you, just two days ago, God took that young man and by the power of God's Word, delivered him from the satanic control in his life, and he is a free man today that loves his parents, loves his pastor. He had the power of God come on his life. Oh, it's good. It's good to choose rather by faith for the better. I want to ask you, are you determined you're going to choose rather for the better by faith like Moses did? Oh, there's a good payday down the road of life for you. Yes, we not only see the praising of God, His power and leadership that He'll give, and the presence of God. The presence of God. Yes, in Exodus 3.12 and also in Mount Sinai later at the same place, We see that he comes into the presence of God, probably like very few men have ever experienced on the earth. By faith he chose, and he got the presence of God. In fact, when he came off of that mountain, the Israelites that were around that camp saw him come off and said, Hey, put a veil on your face. We can't look on the glory of God's presence on you. Please veil your face. Oh, the presence of God, choosing by faith, rather for the better. We could go on and look at a couple of other things, but I wanted you to look with me at a couple of things concluding. Moses. What's his life counting for? Someone put it this way. The great use of a life is to spend it for something that would outlast that life itself. Tomorrow morning, I'll be standing up and preaching in the book of Exodus. What do you think fired me up for this message so much and reminded me of when God gave me this passage some years ago? Ah, Exodus. But who wrote the book of Exodus? Who wrote Genesis? Who wrote Leviticus? Who wrote Numbers? Who wrote Deuteronomy? Moses! He would have missed out on being the human instrument for the foundational books of the Bible. If he had not chosen by faith that day and said, I'm turning my back on all these things and I'm going to go God's way, he would have missed out on that opportunity. Oh, what he would have missed out on. Oh, I was saved at the age of eight, and my parents dropped out of church because of a church conflict, and I wasn't in church but a half a dozen times probably from age eight to nineteen. But oh, God began to work upon me my senior year in high school. And He began to work at me, and through injury took my God out of my life. Sports. I couldn't go play on the contract that I'd signed to play college ball, but God was turning me another direction. I came to the conclusion, after trying four or five different things after high school, I am unhappy because of this. I'm unhappy because of this. And I'd try something else, and I'd try something else. And I had one option. I'm going to go homestead out in a remote area in the Northwest, and that's where I'm going to find happiness, because I'm going to get away from people. That's a wondrous goal, isn't it? Get away from people. Oh, boy. And find happiness. Oh, I got away from people, my family, my friends. No one's around. I'm in a remote area. And I'm still unhappy. What happened? Hey, I begin to read the Word of God. I hadn't read this Scripture for years. Starting in the beginning of the Bible, of course, the books of Moses. God began to deal with my heart. And oh, He began to convict me. And one day He brought it to a climax in the situation where I had an accident with a chainsaw and almost cut off my right arm. And, oh, the conviction is so strong in that circumstance, and within a couple of minutes, I was right with God. God, the reason I'm unhappy, I'm not living for the greatest person in the world, You, God. From here on out, whatever pleases You is going to please me. Oh, that's coming this fall, 40 years ago, October 10th. I made that decision to choose God. You! Pleasing you is going to be happiness. Ever since then, it has been. Oh, that was the turning point of forsaking Egypt and forsaking trying to get happiness out of the world for myself and get it out of God. Oh, it's never been the same. It's been wonderful. Oh, I haven't been perfect. And oh, I've had trials. Oh yes, but by faith there's been so many blessings. But it was Moses. I'm going to get up into heaven and I'm going to look at my Savior and talk to God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit after all of those humble Christians that really were not even on the front scene that served God so faithfully. Eventually, maybe get there, but then, where's Moses? And I'm going to say, thank you, Moses. Thank you, brother. Thank you for writing those books that spoke to my heart by the Holy Spirit of God. Thank you. You catch what I'm saying, folks? He's been used to make the difference in millions of people's lives for eternity. His life is counted for eternity. And somebody says, oh, He's gone to His reward. He's up there in heaven. Oh, no, no. It's multiplying. You know, you can get compound semi-annual interest, can't you? Well, let me tell you something. It's compounding every year, His dividends in heaven. Because people that his books affect, they affect somebody else. And then somebody else gets saved under one of the books he's written. Oh, it's compounding and compounding. Oh, what a reward he's going to have. Choosing rather for the better. Now, let me just say this. It really hit me fully one year. Our children were young. My wife and I were invited to go to Mexico and preach the graduation of a Bible college. Somehow I get caught up in some of that, alright? And there also we had a pastor's conference. And I know Brother Comfort loves to go to those pastor's conference and minister in foreign field. And we were there that following week ministering that way through the book of Timothy there. Had a wonderful time coming out. We threw tracks along the road. You know, in countries that are third world countries where people walk the roads for their transportation, I learned from a missionary over in Australia in 1970, he said, you're going through some of these places, throw tracks out, they'll pick them up. We distributed some 400, right at 400 tracks coming out of Mexico, some 400 miles or so. It was great. We had a wonderful time. I took my family up to Western Colorado, where we come from. I flew back and worked in my office for a summer week. And then I led the first mission trip of adults from our church, Morningside Baptist. At that time, I was not the pastor. I was just a layman working at Bob Jones University, so to speak. But after we went to a Caribbean island and had a week, We were bone tired. We had seen 35 people come to Christ during that week of adults and children coming into Atlanta. I've got to fly now from Atlanta out to Colorado and then drive my family back for the rest of the summer here. And as I'm checking in at the counter at the gate, there's a man next to me. He's old and wrinkled. I think back then, you know, I know you could smoke and I was smoking. And the guy over there said, could I have your signature to him? And I looked over and it was Sandy Colfax. Now some of you say, Sandy Colfax? Is that a woman or a man? How many of you know Sandy Colfax? Oh yeah, many of you. And many of you know it because In the conclusion of the last century, Sports Illustrated did a segment on the top athletes of that century. Number one on the list, not Michael Jordan, but Sandy Koufax. Pitcher for the Dodgers when they were winning the pennant in the 60s. But I looked at him, wrinkled and old looking. Not that much older than me. Smoking. I thought, he's empty. I didn't have time. I was rushing transition. But whenever I looked over and I saw it, I had to go to the men's room and then I had to board. But he was sitting in first class. Oh yeah, he's got the comforts of this world and the wealth of it. But I gave him, this was your life, Chick tract. I prayed God would touch his heart. That man is a Jew unsaved. He doesn't have the glory. Oh, the glory of man is like the grass. It passes away. He had his glory, but does he have the glory of heaven? Oh, and as I looked at that, I went away that day. And I said, God, I wanted to be a professional athlete, and you took it away. I couldn't even go play college ball because of that injury. God, you took it away. But then I said, I've just been to Mexico in the last month. preaching to preachers, helping equip them for the work of the ministry. I just got back from Antigua and I'm worn out, but we had 35 souls saved on this team that I'm leading. I get to work with hundreds of young men through the school year that are going to go all over the world and serve you. And tears became to my eyes. And I said, Oh God, thank You that You took athletics away. Oh God, thank You that You worked in my heart and I got to serve You. Now, I want you to know you ought to, by faith, choose rather for the better and keep choosing all the way to the end of life. In conclusion, could I say this to you? Some of you are going to be back here, Lord willing, next fall. You're not going out into full-time ministry yet. How's your summer going to be? I'm going to give you a passage of Scripture that I challenged my spiritual leaders, my hall leaders in the dormitory every year before they would go home. See, some of you are going to do camp ministry. Camp Joy was mentioned tonight. I'm going to be at Camp Joy for their leadership camp in June. You know, there's others. Shatech, our son, was at Shatech this past summer as a counselor. You know, and there are those kind of scenarios. But let me tell you something. Satan is going to be after you. He is going to go after you. We took mission teams for six years out into Mormon territory of Bob Jones students in the summer, helping those good missionary pastors in establishing churches. But I would tell them at the end of the summer, I would say, watch out, you've had a spiritually victorious summer. Satan's after you. Watch out. Jude, would you turn there with me? I could say the first chapter, the second chapter, and the third chapter, and the last chapter of Jude, and you'd get there, wouldn't you? Because there's only one chapter, Jude. Make this your theme passage for this year, you that are going home, but coming back in the fall. You're not stepping out into that full-time ministry yet, though you ought to be serving God full-time this summer. Let's look at Jude. In verse 20, let this be your theme. But ye, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost. Okay? Bible reading. Building yourself up by faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Stay in the Word of God every day. devotions. Not just duty, but devotions. Let it be a meeting personally with God every day. And then he says, praying in the Holy Ghost. Don't give up praying. Be praying for yourself and asking God to keep you true. And like the Lord's Prayer is, Deliver me from the evil one. Lead me not into temptation. And then it says in verse 21, keep yourselves in the love of God. Obeying God. If you love me, keep my commandments. Every time you face something, you immediately obey God and show Him love. Not just out of duty, but do it because you love Him, because He first loved you. So, obeying. And then it says, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. unto eternal life. Hey, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Oh, keep your focus on the soon return of that blessed Lord, our glorious Lord. And then we see having a compassion, making a difference, you know, and others saved with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Soul-winning compassion. Whether it's by tender tears or force pulling them out of the fire. Soul winning fervor and then rely upon God is what it concludes with. Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy to the only wise God our Savior be glory and majesty and dominion and power forevermore. How about it? When you come back next fall, are you going to have to at the beginning services say, I messed up this summer? Or are you going to say, I kept myself in the love of God? It'd be better you keep yourself in the love of God and not have to get right in evangelistic services. So graduates, by faith, choose rather for the better. You've got that, haven't you? If you didn't get it, you were sleeping. Hey, you that are coming back, come back saying, I kept myself in the love of God.