Amen, thank you very much, ladies. Appreciate that great number this morning. Appreciate the orchestra as well. And just the enthusiasm of the music. I am very thankful for the nature of gifted musicians in local church ministry. There's a reason why I have a music pastor or director, whatever they're referred to right now. He's a gifted individual and I enjoy hearing him sing. If I were the one that had to lead the singing, it may be tough. And I'm so thankful for gifted musicians. I often say that I look forward to heaven when I can sing like them. And right down here on earth, I make a joyful noise, right? That's the nature of the way it is. Okay, well, if you have your notes from yesterday, remember, we're in a slow cook here, all right? We're gonna walk back through just a little bit of yesterday and lead forward to our text this morning in 1 Samuel. But I wanna just rehearse a couple of things with you from yesterday. Remember our opening point yesterday morning there in 2 Peter 3, beloved, beware. And the word of God admonishes us and it says, beware lest ye also being led away with the error of the wicked fall from your own steadfastness. Bible college student, individual training for the ministry, I do not wanna see you fall from your own steadfastness. I want you to go into the ministry and I want you to stay the course. I want you to be fruitful in ministry. I want you to abound. As the Bible says there in verse number 18, I want you to grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus. But I do, to be honest, we must be honest with ourselves and honest with what the scriptures say. The apostle Peter admonished them to look back and to take a note or two or three from the prophets and the apostles and the epistles. And so we looked at four things yesterday morning, beware. You remember Elijah? Beware when there's a great victory. Satan will take note. It is unbelievable as to what you find in that great victory in chapter 18 and the great despair in chapter 19. They almost don't fit together. a great victory there over the prophets of Baal. You remember the great wisdom that's given to Peter? I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Peter, you are correct. Flesh and bone have not revealed this to thee. You are accurate. I am the Christ, the Son of the living God. Peter, get thee behind me, Satan! right on the heels of great spiritual wisdom. He's a mouthpiece for Satan thinking to himself that he can correct an infinite God. Hey, I had great wisdom just a bit ago. Let me go ahead and correct what Christ is saying right now. And we didn't take a lot of time on it, but the fact of the matter is Christ was laying out for the apostles the redemptive work that would be done. I'm gonna go up to Jerusalem, I'm going to die. I'm gonna shed my blood, but I will rise again. And Peter says, no, Lord. Right on the heels of this great spiritual wisdom, Satan's taking note, and Satan used him as a mouthpiece. Beware, beloved. You remember the third one? Jonah is there in perhaps one of the greatest revivals that's ever occurred in human history. What a great response, what a great spiritual victory there as he sees the city of Nineveh repent in sackcloth and ashes. And on the next, the next chapter, but it displeased Jonah. Now for all of you guys going into evangelism, If a city responds to your preaching and comes the next night to services in sackcloth and ashes, please don't leave the service in disappointment. Please be in great excitement and rejoicing. Lord, I told you this is what would happen. I knew if I preached the truth, these people would repent and get right. What a tremendous passage. There with the victory in Nineveh, but yet Jonah is displeased. Satan took note. Now we've come all the way to David. And working our way through these four different ones, we've come to David. We're in 1 Samuel. And would you recall, beloved, beware when you attain that position. Here David is moved from the pasture to his house. And the prophet Samuel anoints him as the next king in Israel. Everything is moving forward and progressing. If we put it in today's terminology, you graduate the top of your class, you win the preacher boy competition, you have the best message, everything is just unfolding for you. The top church in the country has asked you to come and be their youth pastor. The top evangelist has said to you, perhaps, why don't you travel with me for the next year, year and a half? I mean, everything's just going beautiful. The most beautiful girl in all the campus has said yes, for some unknown reason, and has agreed to become your bride. Everything, oh Lord, this is just being laid out perfectly. This is just as I planned. But David, in all of this, from the pasture to the palace, you remember what happens to him? He moves into the palace as the chief musician for Saul. Hey, that's great. He then kills Goliath and demonstrates his medal on the battlefield. What a tremendous victory. Saul has slain his thousands. David has slain his 10,000s. He then acquires the deep friendship with Jonathan. Jonathan, I believe, was a tremendous man of faith. I believe that there's a significant reason why Jonathan and David were such good friends. I believe they were almost mirror images of each other in their faith before Almighty God. But God had chosen to remove the kingdom from Saul and the kingdom from his offspring. And yet Jonathan's soul was knit with the heart of David. Then David marries the daughter of the king. What could be better? Well, he goes into work one day, and while he's at work playing away on his instrument, The king sees a javelin sitting next to him and says, you know what? I think that javelin would fly through the air pretty smoothly. And you know what? I really don't like how the musician's playing today. Ladies, you better sing well. Men, you better play well. You better sing well. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. So Saul says, I'm gonna pierce David. He takes that javelin and hurls it at David. David evades it. But now we have been on an upward trajectory where everything seems to be going so smoothly. And this morning in the second part of the message, I want to give you the other side. We could have done this with Elijah. We could have done this with Jonah. We could have done this with Peter. You would see very much the same thing as it all unfolds, but I've chosen to end it with David. We're going to now change in trajectory on this uphill climb into the palace to now where we're on a downhill trajectory. And I'm gonna give you this title for the sake of the message this morning, fear or faith, fear or faith. I said to you yesterday, beware beloved, when one of these things occurs because the devil will take note. They say in this passage that the devil has taken note and he is going to work further in every way that he can to discourage David and to move David, as it says in 2 Peter, to move him from his steadfastness. So we've been on this uphill trajectory and everything seems to be working out wonderfully well. I'm in the palace, my best friend is the king's son, I'm married to the king's daughter, but uh-oh! The king just tried to kill me. That can't be good. That can't be good for our future of working together. That can't be good for him as a father-in-law. This is going to make for some tough days. So what happens to Peter, or Peter, I'm sorry, what happens to David? Well, let's conclude the message this morning with both sides of this issue, fear and faith. Go to chapter 21 with me, 1 Samuel chapter 21, 1 Samuel chapter 21. We worked our way all the way through 16, 17, 18 yesterday, and just giving a summary. 19 and 20, David's in the back and forth between whether or not Saul is really going to try to kill him and has hatred towards him and he needs to leave the kingdom altogether. We come into the final signal from Jonathan at the end of chapter 20. We move into chapter 21 and I would identify chapter 21 as a chapter of fear. David is right on the cusp of falling from his own steadfastness, if you would. Verse number 1, Then came David the nob to Ahimelech the priest, and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David. And said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee? And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know anything of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee, and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place. Now therefore, what is under thine hand? Give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what is there present? And the priest answered David and said, there is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread. The young men have kept themselves at least from women. And David answered the priest and said unto him of a truth, women have been kept from us about these three days since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy. And the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day of the vessel. So the priest gave him hallowed bread, for there was no bread there but the showbread that was taken from before the Lord to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away. Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord, and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul. And David said unto Himalek, is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? or I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me because the king's business required haste. And the priest said, the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If thou wilt take that, take it, for there is no other save that here. And David said, there is none like that, give it me. And David arose and fled that day, here it is, for fear of Saul. You get this, folks? In just a few previous chapters, David goes up against Goliath, who is nine feet, nine inches tall. That, my friend, took great steadfastness. And now, just a few chapters later, David is afraid of the man who was afraid of Goliath. He is being moved from his own steadfastness David's on this climb towards the palace, everything's coming together, everything's working out, but chapter 21 is a chapter of fear. And we're gonna go there first and then we'll transition into the answer to this and kind of bring these two messages to a conclusion. Again, I've already said, I believe we could do this with every one of the others, Jonah, Peter, and also Elijah, but we're gonna choose, I choose to do it with David and see the outcome. And I trust that in the end of the message today, it'll be an encouragement as we partner these two messages together. Let's pray. Lord, thank you again for the opportunity to preach to these dear folks. I pray that I'd be an encouragement to these young people. I pray that they'd know that we have an almighty God that is with us on the mountaintop, that is with us in the most difficult of valleys. And I pray, Father, that you would direct my heart in delivering the message today. I pray that as we partner these two things up, that you would accomplish your will and way in each heart and life. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen, amen. Only two points today, okay? Fear, what did David look like when he was acting in fear? How can you tell when you're acting in fear? And then we'll move to the matter of faith. How can you tell when you're acting in faith, all right? If you've got your notes there in handy, let's look at what David did when he was acting in fear. He's on the run from Saul. He has come to a Himalaya. And we find, first of all, that David acts in deception. deception. The first matter that comes to him now on this downward path, he's reached that pinnacle, but now he's become more afraid of Saul than he has of anyone else. He's nervous. He's scared. He's on the run. And in the flight, we see four things about his fear. Number one, he acts in deception. He comes to Ahimelech, the high priest, or the priest, and he says to Ahimelech, I am on the king's business. He lied. He was not on the king's business. He was running out of fear for the king. Ahimelech, the Bible says, is a bit unnerved by his visit. And so David responds, and he lies to the high priest. Young people, if there is ever a day in your life where you are living in deception, you are not living in faith, you are living in fear. I have watched individuals that lived lives of deception for so long that when the truth finally came out, they really struggled to discern the difference between truth and deception. David, this great man, this great future king in Israel, seeks to deceive Ahimelech, and he's acting in deception. You know, I think back to the other individuals that we find in the Word of God that acted in deception. And they felt like, I will act in deception because this is my only path to get what I want. Boy, young people, stay away from this path. Avoid it. Boy, there may be consequences for telling the truth, but just come out and tell the truth. Just come out and tell the truth. I look back to my own life and so many occasions where I thought the best course of action with my mom and dad is to lie. And it only made it worse. It only made it worse. David is acting in fear and so he deceives those around him. The second thing we find is that he's acting in desperation. Everything has to be done immediately. Everything has to be decided right now. I can't take time to seek counsel. I can't take time to address the necessities of life. He's acting in desperation. The priest says to him, look, I've got this food or that food. And David said, listen, we left with such haste. that we didn't even have time to get the bare necessities of life. And it's gonna go further. He's gonna say, I don't even have weaponry with me. I don't know about you, but I might leave a lot of things out. But if I'm on the king's business and it's a top secret mission, I'm not leaving weaponry. It's not gonna happen. Maybe you could say that the bread was forgotten or whatever, but as we walk through this passage, David is acting in desperation. He's a desperate man as he lives it out in fear. He's so hurried that he hasn't even taken food. He hasn't even taken sustenance. He is not prepared to handle what was ahead. Number one, he acted in deceit or deception. Number two, in fear, he acts in desperation. Number three, are you ready? In fear, he acts with dissatisfaction. He acts with dissatisfaction. Would you look at verse number nine again with me? And take this into mind this morning. The priest said, the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If thou will take that, take it, for there is no other save that here. And David said, look at these words, there is none like David, can I clue you in on something right here? I know a sling and a stone that's far better than that sword. But in this action of fear, he looks at a man-made instrument and says, this is my solution. This is the right path. This will bring victory for me. This will save me. Saul thinks he's gonna take me down. Well, he doesn't know that I have the sword of Goliath and there is none like it. All of a sudden, the simplicity of the sling and those five smooth stones, were a distant memory. I've got the sword of Goliath. He's acting in dissatisfaction. Boy, young people, I've noticed a lot of individuals that go in the ministry and when it doesn't work out the way that they think it should work out, they begin to use man-made methods to bring about a contrived worship experience. Now folks, you can go out in the ministry and you can get a great crowd. But I believe with all of my heart that the crowd ought to come with our adherence and obedience to the Word of God. So I do not step outside of the fence line of the Word of God so that I can have a crowd so that the ends will justify the means and the crowd, in that crowd, someone might get saved. I believe we ought to operate within the confines of this blessed book, within the fence row of this blessed book, and God is the one that gives the increase. Oh, how often are we looking for the swords of Goliath, because we think that's the ultimate answer, and we don't come back to what is really the power, the power of Almighty God. Dissatisfaction. He's operating in fear. He first deceives Ahimelech. He then says, look, I was in such a hurried, frantic mess. I didn't even have time to bring sustenance. I didn't even have time to bring my sword. I mean, I don't even have it with me. Everything is desperation. And then he turns to the sword of Goliath and acts as though, hey, that's the answer. Then we move down to verse number 10. And boy, this is a low ebb. This is David right on the cusp, if you'll allow me to use the wording again, 2 Peter 3, what is it? He's walking away. He's right on the cusp of leaving his own steadfastness. Look, you guys know the truth. There's not one person that's sitting here in Bible college, be it freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, that doesn't know pretty well the truth of Scripture. God has set before you life and blessing or that of disobedience and cursing, and you're gonna make a choice. We'd love to say that there are 100% of the graduates of Bible colleges across America that are still following God faithfully and living in obedience. Oh my goodness. I'm 27 years removed from my graduation day. It'd be unbelievable to go back to the 800 or so graduates that were in my graduating class and see how many of them are still a part of a Bible-believing, Bible-preaching, independent, fundamental church today. I mean, I have no way to know. But it would be incredible to even know that. Why so many of them have fallen from their own steadfastness. They bought into the devil's lie. The devil took note that they were being successful for the Lord, and the devil worked in their lives in such a process that they began to follow a path of deception. They began to act desperately. They began to become dissatisfied with the tools that God has given for us to operate in ministry. And by the way, you'll never find better tools than what God has afforded to us. But here's what so often has happened. And I would say again, as I did yesterday, beloved, beware of this. It's the fourth one, it's desertion. Would you go with me to verse number 10? I mean, just realize what this verse says. And David arose and fled that day for fear of Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath. All right, Bible college students, who else is from Gath? I don't get it. How in the world could David go and find solace amongst the people of Gath and amongst the king of Gath? Well, you know what? He's not thinking in faith right now, is he? He's thinking in fear. You remember yesterday when I said, beloved, beware for when you get that position, I've watched so many young men get the position and then they begin to act in fear. Oh no. Oh no, I might lose this family if we stay with this book. I might lose this family if we stay with these standards. I might lose this family if we have this kind of music. If we stay within the confines, the fence line of this blessed book. Oh no, I might lose all these things. And so they begin to act out of desperation. They become dissatisfied and very slowly, and listen folks, this happens again and again and again. If I could stand before you this morning and begin to name church after church after church. In 1989, I sat in a ministry that averaged 6,000 people in services. And here in 2019, 30 years later, that church is not even in existence. They filled the auditorium with pastors and preachers and missionaries and evangelists, and they rejoiced in the blessings of God, but they departed from the truth. And today that church does not even exist. How is that possible? How could that kind of thing happen? Somewhere along the line, someone moved from their own steadfastness. Someone was not alerted. Someone was not aware. Someone was thinking to themselves, living in the land of Gath is the best place to live. Are you kidding me? No, that's the worst place to go, David. That's the people of Goliath. We find out how that turns out. He plays himself to be mad. Thankfully, God protects him here. And I want you to now transition with me from fear to faith. Would you go to chapter 22 with me in verse number 1? I think this is a very telling statement and I just, I don't know that you couldn't highlight or underline the opening part of chapter 22 in verse number 1 because right here is where it changes. So here's the second part of the message. We could apply this to the others, but we're gonna apply it in David's life. Here it is. David therefore departed thence and escaped. And to that we say amen. He escaped the path of fear. He's on this uphill trajectory. He enters a condition of great fear. He acts in desperation and deceit. He acts with dissatisfaction to everything that God has provided thus far. And he's right on the cusp of absolutely departing from the people of God. Deserting. Boy, you know that's not a good word, is it, if you're in the military? There's a deserter. That, my friend, is not a great statement about anyone that's serving in a military scene. David is on the path towards the enemy, but we find that he escapes. And look what the Bible says, chapter 22, verse one. And when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him. And everyone that was in distress, and everyone that was in debt, and everyone that was discontented gathered themselves unto him, and he became a captain over them. And there were with him about 400 men. This is where everything changes, and I believe this is the best way to close the message. Turn with me to Psalm 142. Psalm 142. Again, I pray that the messages on these two days would be a benefit to you in 20 years. And perhaps you're studying alone in your own office and you read in 2 Peter that someone was moved from their own steadfastness. Perhaps you received a phone call from a fellow man, a fellow graduate, and he says, I just don't think this business of being a fundamental Bible-believing, Bible-preaching church is the best way. I can fill our auditorium in another way. I can do this. I can do that. And they desert the faith. They begin acting out of fear of people. They begin acting out of fear of popularity. Pray to God that they'd have a moment like David where they make it to the cave. Psalm 142 and here's the other side and how this all comes out. Psalm 142 and verse number one, perhaps you have this in the highlight of your Bible. This is a prayer of David when he was in the cave. Psalm 142, verse number one. I cried unto the Lord with my voice. David was right on the cusp of finding solace with the enemy. He has deceived the priest of God. He has acted with such irrational action and activity. He has acted in such distress. And praise God that at that moment, something spiritual or something from his past, something from his training woke him up and said, wait a minute, I can't stay amongst the people that are the enemies of God. And he made it to a cave. And in the cave I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and my voice unto the Lord did I make my supplication. I poured out my complaint before Him. I showed before Him my trouble. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, when Thou knewest my path, in the way wherein I walked have they privately laid a snare for me. I looked on my right hand and beheld, but there was no man that would know me. Refuge failed me. No man. cared for my soul. I cried unto Thee, O Lord, I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living. Attend unto my cry, for I am brought very low. Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are stronger than I. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Thy name. The righteous shall come past me about, for Thou shalt deal bountifully with me. Young people, I pray that I have been faithful to the scriptures in causing the beloved to beware. of different spiritual victories that can come to those that are serving the Lord. But know this, whenever spiritual victories are there, Satan will take note. And when you are working and laboring on behalf of Almighty God, Satan will take note of it, and he and his forces will do everything that they can to bring defeat, because he does not want the advancement of the Kingdom of God. Beloved, Watch this with David. Everything seems to be going so smoothly. Beloved, listen to me. All these best laid plans are working out beautifully. Satan takes note and he desires that you begin to act in fear. Please, my friend, come back to Psalm 142 and act in biblical faith. This is what faith looks like, number one. His prayer to God, verses one and two. I cried in the Lord with my voice, with my voice unto the Lord did I make my supplication. I poured out my complaint before him, I showed before him my trouble. It is the picture of a prosecutor taking the case before the judge and pleading his cause. And it's not just enough to say, hey judge, would you act on this matter? It is the laying out of everything that is before him and he pleads before Almighty God. God, if you don't act, then I have no other answers. David's prayer to God, verses one and two. Verses three to six are David's protection from God. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, I looked on my right hand. Refuge failed me. No man cared for my soul. But he said unto the Lord, I said, thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living. What a difference when David began to act in faith. When you reach some of these levels of great victories and Satan takes note and he begins to attack and he begins to fight against you and you are thinking that there's probably another way, that probably you need to act because this is going to happen or this is going to happen, go to the cave and spend some time with Almighty God. That cave may be your car, and you might find yourself with the windows rolled up, listening to good Christian music, listening to a great message, or just praying alone, and you're all alone with Almighty God, and for you, your cave is that automobile as God brings you back to a place of faith. Perhaps it's being there in that closet. I remember one time in my own ministry, we had been through a difficult meeting with the church family back in 2003. And for me, the cave was an isolated set of stairs behind the baptistry where no one else was there. And I just put my head in my knees and in my hands and I said, Lord, you are going to have to work. I have no other answer. And by God's grace, he did work. And he worked exceedingly above anything that I could have asked or thought. I don't know where it may occur for you, but there are times where you have to be shaken and woken up from the nature of acting in fear, and you need to come back to faith and say, no, my God is a rock. And my God will be victorious. Number one, David's prayer to God, verses one and two. Number, the second one is David's protection from God as he act in faith, verses three through six, and it always results in praise for God. Would you look at verse number seven, bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name. You know, when you're acting in fear, it's as though your soul is imprisoned. But boy, when you start acting in faith, It's being released from the shackles. Being released from the prison network. And he says, I, that I may praise thy name, the righteous shall come past me about, for thou shalt deal bountifully with me. Again, can you turn back just one more time? Last time, 1 Samuel, chapter number 22. I want you to consider this in closing, the stark contrast of where you'd rather be. In the end of chapter one, he's amongst the family of Goliath. You suppose David was a real popular guy with the family of Goliath? You suppose that they were just so excited to have him in for their reunion? Hey, David's here. Yeah, he killed my boy. You think that was a great place for him to be? Well, I tell you what, and this probably would be a great message for one of you guys to develop, where would you rather be, with the family of Goliath, or you go down to chapter 22 and being with the family of God? Man, I tell you what. When you come into chapter 22, in spite of all the things that they faced, they were discontented, they were in debt. I believe it's because Saul was bringing in a great hardship onto anyone connected with David. And so they're all together there, and the Bible says he had his mom, his dad, and there were 400 men with him. Now what's the better place? Would you rather be at the end of chapter 21 in the family of Goliath, Or would you rather be with the family of God? You see, there's the difference between acting in fear and acting in faith. In fear, I begin to be deceptive. I begin to be irrational. I'm acting just out of desperation. There's no doubt that I become dissatisfied. And boy, I'm right on the cusp of deserting Almighty God. But boy, it was wonderful. David came to his senses and said, what am I doing here? And he played the part of a madman in the end of chapter 21 and God brings him to the cave. And we have out of that Psalm 142, praise God. Young people, I'm praying for you because I want you to be entirely successful for the Lord. Young ladies, perhaps your husband will be in a ministry position and it will be very difficult. And perhaps he comes home one day and he says to you, I just don't know that we're on the right path. Perhaps we need to loosen some things or change some things or move away from what we've been told. Young lady, would you do this favor for Almighty God and for your husband's future? Would you say, young man, go to the car, get alone with God and spend some time in the cave? Give that husband of yours a swift kick in the pants for Almighty God, all right? That's not really politically correct, but that might be what he needs. Because I've watched too many people that begin to act in fear, that know better, that should have never been moved from their own steadfastness. But tragically, before they're coming to their senses, listen to me, They desert. It should be that every graduate of Ambassador Baptist College is in full-time ministry for Almighty God. And I don't mean necessarily full-time paid ministry. It just is, this is why people are investing in you and you're going to go out from this place and give your all to God. But there are some that have been lured away. Because when Satan took note of the victories that they had experienced, he said, oh no, it's not gonna be that easy. He brought in opposition and they did not stand in faith. They walked away in fear. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for the opportunity to speak these two days. And I am so appreciative of the attentiveness of these young people through the course of the messages. And I know it's been a little bit to kind of follow along with the theme and the direction, but I believe with all of my heart, this is what you put on my heart to be able to speak on with these folks. As we walk through the four different things yesterday, and I said to each of them, beloved, beware. Perhaps there's some things this morning that the young people need to be aware of. Perhaps there's some young people that are right on the cusp of acting in fear. Well, Pastor Abby, I appreciate the message, but you don't know the pressures that I'm facing from back home. I have unsaved parents or unsaved siblings, and there's great pressure to return and to do something else, to leave the ministry prospects. Pastor Abby, you don't know the fear that I face with this whole matter of finances. I don't have the resources to be able to stay and I fear the resources. Perhaps there are other things that are causing the young people to act in fear. Lord, would this be the day that you help them to realize or to be shaken into truth and I don't want to dwell with the family of Goliath. And even on a day like this where there's a bit of rain and there's a coldness and a crispness in the air, somehow, someway you direct these young people to get alone in the cave. It might be the recesses of their dorm room when everybody else is away in class. It may be in the proverbial prayer closet. It may be in their vehicle and they have time alone and they just say, I don't want the family of Goliath. And today you'd encourage them. Maybe it's a phone call that would be received. Maybe it's a check in the mail. But somehow, some way, a home church would send a note, a care package or something, and today they'd receive it and they'd begin to realize, no, I'd rather be apart with the family of God. Today they'd plead their case. even before your throne. They begin to realize that their only source of real protection must come from on high and it will cause them to rejoice and to say, I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow. Lord, I pray that your will and way would be accomplished in each heart and life from the faculty to the students, everybody involved this morning. I pray that the message would find its resting place. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. With heads bowed and eyes closed, would you stand to your feet with me this morning? I give invitations carefully because I believe it's my responsibility to simply present truth. And I don't know all the ways that God would take the truth and make it relevant in your life. I don't know what number this may be in the hymn book, but if it's in the hymn book, would you play today's Search Me, O God? Just play that number this morning, and I pray that each of you as young people and faculty and adults alike, that you just say, okay, Lord, search me. Do I have all these plans to be moved from the pasture into the palace? I've got everything laid out. Oh, it's gonna happen so wonderfully and beautifully. You know, that may be the case, but I'm gonna tell you right now, Satan's gonna take note. He's gonna wanna bring you down. He's gonna wanna ruin your effectiveness, your ministry. And if you buy into what he's selling, he'll take you on a path of fear. I pray that each one of you will act in faith. Will you come, maybe do what God would have you do this morning. Search me, oh God.