Yes, the old account was settled long ago And the record's clear today, for he washed my sins away When the old account was settled long ago When at the judgment bar I stand before my King And he the book will open, he cannot find a thing. Then will my heart be glad, while tears of joy will flow, Because I had it settled, and settled long ago, Long ago, long ago. Yes, the old thing now was settled long ago, And the record's clear today, for he washed my sins away. when the old account was settled long ago. O sinner, seek the Lord, repent of all your sin, for thus he hath commanded. If you would enter in, and then if you should live a hundred years below, out there you'll not regret it. You settled long ago, long ago, long ago Yes, the old agow was settled long ago And the record's clear today For he washed my sins away When the old agow was settled long ago Good to see you tonight. Let's go to the Lord in word of prayer. Father, we thank you for the chance to come to church again. We pray, Lord, that you would just bless now the rest of the singing. I ask for your power during the preaching. And Lord, if there is one loss, that they might get saved tonight. In Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated. We'll be singing number 171 as a volunteer. A call for loyal soldiers comes to one and all. Soldiers for the conflict, will you heed the call? Will you answer quickly with a ready cheer? Will you be enlisted as a volunteer? A volunteer for Jesus, a soldier true. Others have enlisted, why not you? Jesus is the captain, we will never fear. Will you be enlisted as a volunteer? Yes, Jesus calls for soldiers who are filled with power. Soldiers who will serve him every day and hour. He will not forsake you, he is ever near. Will you be enlisted as a volunteer? A volunteer for Jesus, a soldier true. Others have enlisted, why not you? Jesus is the captain, we will never fear. Will you be enlisted as a volunteer? And when the war is over and the victory is won When the true and faithful gather one by one He will crown with glory all who there appear Will you be enlisted as a volunteer? A volunteer for Jesus, a soldier true. Others have enlisted, why not you? Jesus is the captain, we will never be. Will you be enlisted as a volunteer? Good. Mike has my keys. I don't know where Mike's at. So wherever Mike's at, he's the one with my keys. Don't forget to give me my keys before I go home, Mike, wherever you are. Don't forget to pray for these folks. Again, always pray for Preacher and Cindy. And again, Betty and Dina. Yeah. Okay, I'll do that. Thank you. And so Friday will be again, there won't be a youth activity, but there'll be skip practice and game practice for the activity that's coming up on the 19th and 20th. And again, everybody's invited to go to Texas Baptist. We'll start at seven o'clock on the 19th, which is a Friday night. And then Saturday, it starts at 10 in the morning and goes till three or four in the afternoon. And that will be the 19th and 20th. Brother Coral's coming up. That is the 25th, which is a Sunday. going through the 28th, which is a Wednesday. He'll be with us in September. So August with Brother Owen, September with Brother Coral. So again, then bus captains and bus workers. Saturday morning, 9.30, so we're in at 10.45, and then back in our places for Sunday school and church on Sunday morning. Good to see all of you. Mrs. Marcel, especially good to see you. And if you haven't got a chance to go by and say hi to Valerie and Jeff, they sneak in and sneak out because she has problems with crowds sometimes. So don't crowd her. But go by and it's been good to see them the last three services. So it's been a blessing to them. So again, anytime we have a visitor, you ought to make sure you make them feel welcome so they want to come back. Because usually people go to church where they either know somebody or they like somebody. So again, that's a good way to get people to come is get to know them, spend a little time with them. We will be singing number 281, Jesus Saves. Stand please. We have heard the joyful sound. Jesus saves, Jesus saves. Spread the tidings all around. Jesus saves, Jesus saves. Bear the news to every land. Climb the steeps and cross the waves. Onward to our Lord's command. Jesus saves, Jesus saves. Walked it on the rolling tide, Jesus saves, Jesus saves. Tell to sinners far and wide, Jesus saves, Jesus saves. Sing ye islands of the sea, echo back ye ocean kids. Earth shall keep her jubilee, Jesus saves, Jesus saves. Give the winds a mighty voice, Jesus saves, Jesus saves. Let the nation now rejoice, Jesus saves, Jesus saves. Shout salvation full and free, highest hills and deepest caves. This our song of victory, Jesus saves, Jesus saves. Told you we would take up one more offering. Thank you for whoever it was to put in money last week You designated for youth conference the offering tonight go to youth conference We're trying to now the teens sold candy and some of the adults did too to pay for the food and a lot of the other stuff But we are also into half of the preachers love offering our churches and Texas Baptist is doing half and then also a night in the hotel So that will be what tonight's offering goes to so appreciate in advance for those who they've been helping with that Father, we want to thank you again tonight that we had the opportunity to come here, Lord, and worship and praise and hear the preaching of the Word of God. I pray you bless the man of God as he preaches the Word of God, Lord, and speak to our hearts, Lord. And I pray for the upcoming youth conference at Texas Baptist Church, Lord, that you just be in this with us lord we want to see uh our young people grow in the nourishment and admonition of the lord jesus christ help us with this uh offering here lord we we love you lord because you first loved us in jesus name i pray amen Amen. We will be singing 317, Savior like a shepherd lead us. Savior, like a shepherd lead us, much we need thy tender care. In thy pleasant pastures feed us, for our use thy folds prepare. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, Thou hast bought us, Thine we are. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, Thou hast bought us, Thine we are. We are Thine, do Thou befriend us, Be the guardian of our way. Keep thy flock from sin, defend us. Seek us when we go astray. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus. Hunger lower us when we pray. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, hear, oh hear us when we pray. Early let us seek thy favor, early let us do thy will. Blessed Lord and only Savior, with Thy love our bosoms fill. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, Thou hast loved us, loved us still. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, Thou hast loved us, loved us still. you What love could remember, no wrongs we have done, Our nations all knowing, He counts not their sum. Thrown into a sea without bottom or shore, Our sins they are many, His mercy is more. His mercy is more Stronger than darkness through every morn Our sins they are many His mercy is more What patience would wait as we constantly roam? What Father so tender is calling us home? He welcomes the weakest, the vilest, the poor. Of sins they are many. His mercy is more. Praise the Lord. His mercy is more Stronger than darkness through every morn Our sins they are many His mercy is more of kindness he lavished on us. His blood was the payment, his life was the cost. We stood neath a debt we could never afford. Our sins, they are many, his mercy is more. Praise the Lord, His mercy is more Stronger than darkness, new every morn Our sins they are many, His mercy is more Our sins they are many, His mercy is more Also, those of you that went last night, I didn't know this until I wondered why Mrs. Silas sent a picture afterwards, said, thank you for taking us to the ballgame, then sent me a picture of a cookie. And I thought, I was taking Miss Bell home, and I said, what's that mean? She said, she's just saying she appreciates it and showing you the cookie. And I thought, that didn't really make much sense. And Grandma told me, now, if you have your missions ticket, is it on the back or the front? On the back. On the back, you can drop, where was the place you go to get the free cookie? Cookies, crumbles. You can go get a free cookie. So if you haven't, like with me, I just emptied my pockets through on the counter. So I said, I still got all the tickets and the extra ones that we had. So I'm going to give some of them to grandma. Talay wanted me to give them to her, but I'm going to give them to grandma. Talay will have to wrestle grandma for them. But again, if you have your tickets from last night, not only did you get a free Whataburger, but you also can get a free cookie. So you can get breakfast and dessert. That's quite a deal. Also, for those of you wondering why it's hot again in here and as cool as Sunday, We got the Fellowship Hall air conditioner fixed on Monday, but we found out that the fuses that kept blowing that one continues to blow it. And we will have to, we was hoping it was just a bad fuse, but it was not. So we've replaced the fuses either two or three times and it keeps blowing, so we have to replace a whole. We just replaced one about a month ago. And if we replace just the compressor, we can put an old compressor in the compressor. Years ago, a compressor was much cheaper than this. The compressor now is like $3,000. just to do the compressor in the old unit, still have the old inside, or we can go to the $6,000 to $10,000, which has replaced the old unit and the thing inside. Because apparently, you can't replace the old unit with the same type of, because we use the R22, which is the old Freon. If you've ever had to put Freon in your air conditioner now with that R22, they'll charge you about $200 a pound to put that in there. It's very, very, very expensive. They're trying to punish you and make you buy a new air conditioner instead of repair the old one. So that is, if you're wondering about the air conditioner, that's where we was at on the air condition. And so again, pray about that. We're still trying to get that fixed. So we haven't got there yet, but we are working on it. Go in your Bibles to the book of Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 5, Ephesians chapter 5. I'm going to read a verse there, then I'm going to read a verse in Colossians chapter 3. Ephesians chapter 5 and Colossians chapter 3. And there's something else I was supposed to tell you too, and I can't remember, it'll maybe come to me in the middle of the service and I will remember it. We will see. Oh, I was going to ask you, if you'll pray, one of the church members found one of the pills that I was taking after my wife's death to help me sleep at night. They told me they found out that that could cause liver damage or heart damage. I called my doctor and was weaning myself off of that. So the bad news is now I, like last night, I went to bed about my normal time, about 1.30 and I laid there. It's not good when you lay there and the sun comes up and you're still awake. So I didn't fall asleep till about 6.30 this morning. And so if you'll pray that, now my dog, she didn't have a problem. She just laid over and went to sleep and she was not any help at all. And so I was listening to music and I'd already listened to my verses and other stuff. The good news is I got to pray for all of you two, three times. I'm caught up. I don't have to worry about tonight. If I fall asleep tonight, I'll be like, I prayed enough for him last night. But if you'll pray that I can get to sleep, that would be nice. It's nice to sleep. Notice in Ephesians 5, notice verse 19, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Notice Colossians chapter 3, Colossians chapter 3, notice verse 16, Colossians chapter 3, verse 16 says, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Tonight we'll speak on this thought, character and music. Character Father, I ask you for your help tonight. I ask you to use me in Jesus' name. Amen. Character and music. He said this, good Christian music should uphold the principles, the communication, and standards of God. Gospel music promotes good character traits such as work, appreciation, determination, growth, advancement, obedience, consistency, self-control, work pays, patriotism, excellence, courage, and self-examination. So, now again, I mentioned that Brother Coro will have some good music on his table when he gets here in September. Also, Brother Owens will have some good music on his table. When the college group came through, they had some good music on their table. It is hard to find good music anywhere else. And so if you go to the bookstore, or even if you find a Christian radio station, about half the stuff on the Christian radio station, because of the beat of it, you can't even understand what the words are. So again, you have to be careful about music. There is good music, but it's a little harder to find than it was before. So he said this, Christian music can teach Christians how to live. The first thing he said was Christian music can teach us how to, it talks about work. we sing a song called work for the night is coming and that is the the words are by anna l cog hill the music by loel mason and it says this work for the night is coming work through the morning hours work while the dew is sparkling work uh mid springing flowers work when the day grows brighter work in the glowing sun work for the night is coming when man's work is done. Jesus mentioned that. Go in your Bibles to John chapter 9. John chapter 9, Jesus Himself set the example for us when it came to work because He made this statement in John chapter 9, notice verse 4. John 9, verse 4 says this, I must work the works of Him that sent me, He was talking about His Heavenly Father, while it is day. Now He wasn't meaning just daylight. What He meant was while there's time. "'cause he then went on and said, "'The night cometh when no man can work.'" Now again, it is true, back then, they had to work during the daylight because unlike today, now today, we can light up the outside like the sun's up. I mean, they got some amazing, I mean, you and I even can get flashlights. Sometimes you can get a flashlight that, I mean, you can see a long ways off. I mean, it's blinding if someone puts it in your eye. Back then, they didn't have that. Say, what'd they have? They had candles, and sometimes they had a kerosene lamp or something like that. And I can tell you, all of those don't give very good light. It's not like they like very much distance. But again, Jesus himself set the example. By the way, if you're going to work, it will always be on purpose. Fannie Crosby wrote the song, To the Work, and it says this, To the work, to the work, we are servants of God. Let us follow the path that our master has trod. With the balm of his counsel, our strength to renew. Let us do with our might what our hands find to do. Now you'll find this, work, if you do work, it is going to be on purpose. purpose. Notice in your Bibles, Nehemiah. I appreciate Nehemiah. Nehemiah was a character, an example to us all. But Nehemiah, in the book of Nehemiah itself, chapter 4, notice verse 6. It tells that they accomplished a lot, and it tells us also why they accomplished a lot. Notice Nehemiah chapter 4, verse 6. So built we the wall, And all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof." And then he gives us a reason for that, why it got done. For the people had a mind to work. Now again, you don't work on purpose. Now, we often will joke and tell you that when your kids are little, they want a plastic vacuum cleaner. They want one of those fake little ovens. And we often will joke and say, Let them do it while they're still fun because there'll be a day in the future it's not fun to use that vacuum cleaner. It's not fun to use that oven. It's not fun to wash dishes. But again, we have to work and we must work on purpose. The second thing that we can learn through songs is consistency. Notice in your Bibles, Hebrews chapter 13. Consistency. the words and the music, both written by Philip P. Bliss. And he says this in Hold the Fort. Hold my comrades, see the signal waving in the sky. Reinforcements now appearing, victory is nigh. Then here's what he said. Hold the fort, for I am coming, Jesus' signal still. Wave the answer back to heaven, by thy grace we will. So he said hold the fort. What he said is just hang on. Now notice when we're talking about consistency, notice Hebrews chapter 13 verse 8. We often quote this, and by the way, it's a good verse, and we also can appreciate this because it mentions this truth. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. What that means is whatever power of Jesus, whatever Jesus did in the New Testament, by the way, He is still capable of doing today. He could do it yesterday, He can do it today, and by the way, He'll still be doing it if the rapture doesn't happen any time in the near future, He'll still be doing it a thousand years from now because Jesus Christ is consistent. It said He's the same. yesterday today and forever notice in your Bible Acts chapter 10 Acts chapter 10 again when we're talking about consistency the New Testament Christians were also consistent notice Acts chapter 10 Notice what it tells us in Acts 2, verse 46. And they continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, to eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart. Now notice the first phrase, they continuing daily. Notice chapter 5, verse 42 of Acts, chapter 5, verse 42. and daily in the temple and in every house they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. Now what it means is they did it day after day after day after day after day. Many of you were here when a fellow by the name of Harold Clayton came. And Harold Clayton was famous for a certain message. Brother Taylor, what was that message? The turtle and the hare. And here's what he said. If you know the story, you know that the rabbit outran the turtle. I mean, far faster than the turtle. But you know why the turtle won the race? Because he just kept plodding on. He wasn't near as fast, but the rabbit would run ahead and lay down and take a nap. And then the turtle passed and the rabbit would wake up and see the turtles in front of him, take off running again, get in front of the turtle, he'd lay down and take another rest again. But the reason the turtle won was because the turtle was consistent. It just kept plodding on. And Brother Clayton said, a lot of Christians are like that. Revival comes, the men, they're like that rabbit, they take off running. And he said, you know what? But after a little while, after the revival's passed, they go lay down and accomplish nothing. They go back to sleep. And then we have some kind of big day and they get all excited. So he said, there's a lot of Christians that are rabbit Christians. But what he said is we need more Christians that are total Christians, just the ones that just keep plotting on and just keep... I mean, you're here Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, and you've been here for the last 20 years. And if you live that long, you'll be here for 20 years in the future as well because you're consistent. So again, consistency is something that Psalms can teach us. Notice the next thing, teaches that work equals pay. Now, the principle of working. We sing a song called Bringing in the Sheaves. Now, when you think of bringing in the sheaves, It mentions that you sow in the morning. You sow seeds of kindness. You're sowing in the noontime and the dewy eve. Now, if you sow, guess what you'll do? You will reap. Notice in your Bibles, 2 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians chapter 3. There's a Bible principle that a lot of people don't like to talk about because it seems harsh. But in 2 Thessalonians chapter 3, verse 10, they made this statement. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, Neither should he eat. Now they taught a principle in the Bible times of, you know what, if you're able, now there are people that are not able to work. By the way, I have no problem helping those who are not able to work. I help a lot of people and give money to people and help with folks because I realize there are some people that are less advantageous than I. But you know what, there are some of those folks that don't work on purpose. They don't want to work. They have no intention. They have no desire to work. Now, especially in today's economy, you can work at McDonald's and get $12 an hour. I remember the days when you worked at McDonald's and you got whatever the minimum wage was, $3 or $4 or $5 an hour. I don't know what they do for the employees that's been there for five years because they're probably only making about what the new folks start at. I don't know how they've fixed that. You'd think they'd have to give them a raise. I don't know if they have or not. But again, there's plenty of jobs out there. I always tell people all the time, when people come to me and say, I can't find a job, I say, that's amazing. I've got three and I didn't even have to look very hard. hard to find a job. Now, by the way, Brother Vineyard used to tell us, if you want to find a job, make a job of finding a job. He said to get up in the morning, if you're going to work for eight hours, go out and put out applications for eight hours. He said, you won't have to do that many days before you get a job. You know what most people, years ago I had someone come by, they dropped by and they said, I'd like to get, I'd like to apply for a job at your school. And I said, I don't need any teachers. They said, it doesn't matter. I don't want to teach you anyway. I just need, I have to turn in so many applications if I'm going to continue to get my benefits. I said, Brother Block, did you let him give you an application? I did not. Because he wasn't wanting to work. He was wanting me to help him not work. Now again, he said, again, it was a biblical principle. If you want to eat, work. Notice 2 Corinthians chapter 9. Again, I told you that work equals pay. 2 Corinthians 9, verse 6 says, But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly. And he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. If you're wondering how to be blessed a lot, it's called you go out and be. You bless a lot and you'll get blessings back. Brother Vineyard used to tell us this, you give out nickels, you'll get back nickels. You give out dimes, you'll get back dimes. He said God will always give back to you more than you gave to him because he said you'll shovel it out and God shovels it back to you and God uses a bigger shovel. That's why he tells you, you give it to me and I'll give it back to you pressed down and running over. You can't ever give out and give God, you just can't. Say, I'd like to try. Knock yourself out. I think it was J.C. Penney that at the end of his life, he was living on the 10 percent and giving to God the 90 percent. You say, how do some businessmen become successful? Some of them learned a biblical principle. Give to God. But again, he said, you know what? I want you to work. Again, there's songs about that. There's songs of patriotism. We sing, my country, tis of thee, sweet land of liberty. Now listen to me. It is important. My problem with having five or six notes tonight is I somehow got my notes mixed up here, so I was trying to find the one and I can't find it. But most of you know My Country, Tis of Thee. It's written by Samuel Francis Smith, the music by Henry Carey. By the way, the Bible teaches patriotism. It teaches you and I if you know through the Bible the Jews I mean God the Jews were God's chosen people and he always told them your mind So you you live a certain way you act a certain way I mean, by the way, he tells us in the New Testament. You and I are ambassadors of Christ We are supposed to be representatives of him again We ought to be a good representative of him teaches us courage. No, it's revival acts chapter 9 teaches us courage When I said it teaches us courage We sing a song called Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus. And here's what it says. Stand up and stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross. Lift high his royal banner, yet must not suffer loss. From victory unto victory his armies shall he lead, till every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed. Now, he teaches courage. Now, notice what Paul said in Acts chapter 9. Acts chapter 9, notice verse 29. Acts chapter 9, verse 29. Notice it says, and he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians, but they went about to slay him. You say, was Paul timid? He was not. He was bold. That's why the Bible tells us to be full like the Holy Spirit. Now listen to me, when you're full of the Holy Spirit, he likens it to a person who's drunk. You say, what about a person who's drunk? A person who's drunk's loud. They don't worry about what people are thinking. I mean, they're just blurting it out. So he says, you know what? I want you to be filled with the Holy Spirit like that. I want you to be out there. Now listen to me. I've seen some meek people fool the Holy Ghost, and they are bold. I mean bold. I mean like bulldog bold. I mean out sowing and passing out fracks and inviting people to church. Again, it'll teach us courage. Stand up. Stand up for Jesus. Notice Mark chapter 15. Now there are a lot of folks during this time that were kind of, I mean, they were shying away from owning up to being one of Christ's disciples. But notice what Mark chapter 15 verse 43 says. Mark 15, 43 says, Joseph of Arimathea, an honorable counselor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came and went in boldly in a pilot and craved the body of Jesus. Now most folks were running from Jesus at this time. He had just got killed and there was a lot of folks that, I mean, that's why Peter denied the Lord a few days before this. But now Joseph of Arimathea, by the way, someone who has something to lose. I mean a fellow that was well off. You know what he valued more than his money? He valued taking care of Jesus. So he went in to ask for the body because he wanted to take care of the body of Jesus Christ. Ephesians chapter 6 verse 20. I mentioned that ambassador thing a moment ago. It says this, for which I am an ambassador in bonds that therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak again. We want to have some courage. A child of God should have courage. Another thing that a child of God should have, and again we can learn in song, is excellence. Excellence. Brother Prairie's favorite song is a song that's called Our Best. S.C. Kirk wrote this, and he said this, And I've often said this, your best is not the same as someone else's best. My best is not the same as yours. This is not one of those races that's a hundred-yard dash and a hundred-yard dash a slow people are I mean it's not fair But see this is one of those long races. This is one of those marathons and by the way in a marathon It's just a matter of who's the most determined and who stays at it the Christian life is a marathon But again, he wants our best notice Ecclesiastes chapter 9 verse 10 the verse we often use when we're talking about this and Ecclesiastes 9 10 says whatsoever thy hand find it to do do it with thy might now We always put in it. We always put to do with all thy might that's not in there That's something people like to add when you when you if you quote it very fast But it says do it with thy might for there is no work nor device nor knowledge nor wisdom the grave where the dog was from that What are you saying is one of these days? You can't do anything because you won't be dead. So you got to do it while you can So again, we want to do our best excellence is taught again in the Word of God There's a song that says this It's written by Edwin Young. I wonder have I done my best for Jesus who died upon the cruel tree. To think of His great sacrifice at Calvary, I know my Lord expects the best from me. How many are the lost that I have lifted? How many are the chained that I've helped to free? I wonder have I done my best for Jesus when He has done so much for me. Now I can tell you, you can never give back to the Lord and overpay Him. No matter how much you work for the Lord, you will find yourself still in His debt. I remember when Brother Vineyard used to tell us in Bible college, he said this, when I was lost, I was a good sinner. So he said, I decided when I got saved, I was going to be as good a Christian. I was going to work just as hard being a good Christian as I'd work being a good sinner. And he said, honestly, when I was a sinner, I was a big sinner. I was, I mean, I did it with all my, all my talent, all my ability. I put all my energy into being a, he said, I was a wicked sinner. So he said, I decided, and by the way, he said, I also decided I've wasted all those years. I've got a lot of catching up to do. That's why I get so excited when kids get saved at 5 or 6 or 7 years old. They're not like some folks that get saved at 30 or 40. At 30 or 40, those children can accomplish stuff at 7 or 8 or 9 or 10 years old that at 30, we haven't accomplished yet if we just got saved. So again, we want to make sure that we do our best. Excellence. By the way, another thing that's taught in song is appreciation. Appreciation. We sing a song called Count Your Blessings. It says, when upon last billows your attempt is tossed, when you are discouraged thinking all is lost. You know what you should do at that time? Count your many blessings name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done Paul told us that in Philippians chapter 1 verse 3 Philippians chapter 1 verse 3 in your Bibles Philippians chapter 1 verse 3 Paul made this statement I thank my God upon every remembrance of you now what he said is you know what I have some fond memories of you folks whenever I think about you I'm just thankful for you Now there were some folks that Paul wasn't thankful for. There were some folks that did some stuff to Paul that, trust me, he'd like to have forgot. But he had some godly Christians. He had some godly men and women that did stuff for him. And he said, you know what? Every time I think about you, I think of you with some good remembrance. Notice Hebrews chapter 3, a verse that my youth director taught me when he taught us to write thank you notes. Hebrews chapter 3 verse 13 makes this statement. Notice what it says, but exhort one another daily while it is called today. Listen, if you'd be hardened to the deceitfulness of sin. Now listen to me, while you're thinking about it today to say thank you, he says do it while you're thinking about it right now, because tomorrow you might not have the same feelings toward them. Husbands, wives, when you feel like, you know what, I ought to tell them how much I appreciate them, how much I love them. Do it because tomorrow you might not be in quite the same mood toward them. Children when you're thinking about how blessed you are to have the parents that you have Tell them about that because by the way tomorrow when you get in trouble, you might not think the same thing Again, well, that's why he says do it while it's today because what he says is something's going to come along and you're gonna your heart's gonna get hardened like pharaoh's heart and and you won't be so appreciative, but again, we should show Appreciation the eighth thing that we should that we can learn from song And again, you can go to first corinthians chapter 2. We'll be there in a moment and that is determination We sing a song. I am resolved by Palmer hearts No, and he said this I am resolved no longer to linger charmed by the world's delight things that are higher things of the nobler These have alert my sight now again. We can be resolved. We can be determined notice Paul said in first Corinthians 2 2 in first Corinthians 2 2 Paul said this for I determined Or he could say he said I am determined He said I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified He said you know what? I'm not gonna chase all those rabbit trails I'm not going to get off on it. He said, you know what? All I'm going to think about is Jesus Christ and him crucified. That's the message. Now I can tell you, there are a lot of folks, someone asked me one day, they said, Brother Block, if you meet a Mormon and Jehovah Witness, do you spend a lot of time talking to them? And I told them no. Because most of the time it's a waste of time. Now listen to me, the devil doesn't mind me arguing with a Mormon and Jehovah Witness because at the end of the night, they're not going to convince me and I'm not going to convince him. You know what we just did? I just wasted a lot of time. I could have went next door and there might have been somebody next door that needed to get saved. So the devil was more than happy to let me stand there and argue with that Mormon or Jehovah Witness. Now listen to me. If you say, well, I might convince him. Well, I asked the same soul into this. I said, in a half hour, could someone talk you out of being a Baptist? And they said, no. I said, well, hopefully not. And by the way, there are a lot of Mormon and Jehovah Witness that used to be Baptists. So the truth is, a lot of Baptists have got talked out of. By the way, that used to come because we don't know our Bible very well. Then they start, because they're very good about using scripture. Problem is, if you don't know scripture to combat their scripture, they'll get you thinking about it. And by the way, that's what they want you to do. They want you to spend some time dwelling on it. And by the way, that'll mess you up. Again, we want to be determined. Paul also said this in Philippians chapter 3, verse that we often quote, verse 13. Now what Paul said is, you know what? I've got my eyes on the goal. I've got my eyes on the mark. Now, if you've ever ran in any type of race when it comes to track, you realize this. You always have your eyes in front. You do not want to look behind you. You've got to look in front of you. Now, I used to do what they call the high hurdles. And again, I was pretty good at the high hurdles, and I was fairly fast. But listen to me. If you don't jump at the right time, You jump too soon, or you jump too late, and you hit that hurdle. When you fall down from that high hurdle, it hurts when you hit that gravel. And by the way, it's not easy to jump back up and take off running again. I mean, you've got some scratches on you. I mean, you've got to make sure that you keep your eyes in the front. That's why they tell you all the time when you're driving, keep your eyes on the road. now most of us do not but again that's what they tell us keep your eyes on the road because we're watching in front we have a lot less accidents a lot less problems again we want to be determined you want your Bibles to flip in chapter 3 another thing the Bible that we can learn through through song is growth and advancement flip in chapter 3 now again Paul Harvey sings a song that I really like. I enjoyed it. Now, I knew Bill Harvey because he was at Windsor Hills for several years. And he wrote a song called, I Want That Mountain. We've sang it here at Liberty Baptist Church. And the first verse says, there was a giant of laziness who said I wouldn't go. And witness for the one who set me free. I've come from out the wilderness. I'll witness now I know. I want that mountain. By the way, the one promised to him because he said, it belongs to me. Now, what he said is, I've got, I mean, there's something I want out there. Again, when we're talking about growing, notice in your Bible, I mentioned Philippians chapter 3. Notice what it says in verse 3. We just read it a moment ago, but we looked at something different. Notice at the end of it, it says this, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. Now, he said, I'm going to forget the stuff behind me. I'm gonna reach forth what he says is you know what I'm gonna keep growing I'm gonna keep going also by the way tells tells us that and Peters tells us that in 1st Peter chapter 2 verse 2 1st Peter 2 2 says as newborn babes desire the sensual milk of the word why should we do that Peter that you may grow thereby now again we should be growing we should be moving you and I should not be the same Christian we were last year we should not be the same Christian we were 10 years ago Now the very worst thing would be if we're not as good a Christian as we were. The truth is we're supposed to become a better Christian and a better Christian and a better Christian just as we physically grow. Now again, there are children that don't grow. There are children that have growing problems. There are kids that, by the way, I mean, there's something wrong with them. It usually has to do with their bones don't grow, their body don't grow, but they're short or they're little. They have a problem. Now, listen to me. In their case, it doesn't matter what they eat. It's not a matter that they're not eating. Now, usually, our parents will tell us, eat your vegetables so you grow strong. And again, I can tell you, I eat a lot of vegetables. You say, but Block, do you eat a lot of vegetables now? I do not. That's because the only growing I'm doing now is growing out. And you say, well, if you ate more vegetables, maybe you wouldn't do that. That's possible, too. But I also don't like most vegetables. I do not like peas. I do not like carrots. Now, I love corn. I love french fries. I love baked potato. I do not like scallop potato. If you invite me over for a scallop potato, I will eat it. I will say, hmm, that's good. I am lying. I don't like scallop potato, okay? But because my mama taught me to eat whatever's in front of you, I will eat it and I will lie to you and tell you it was good. When you ask me if I want any more, I'll tell you, I'll lie to you again and say, I am full. So you say, but Block, you ought not lie. That's why I'm telling you now, do not invite me over when you have scallop potatoes. That way you won't make me lie to you, okay? But again, we're supposed to grow. The kids know that. They sing a song, read your Bible, pray every day, and what will happen? You'll grow, grow, grow. So again, songs can teach us to grow. Next thing that we can learn from song is obedience. Obedience. We sing a song, trust and obey. When we walk with the Lord in the light of his word, what a glory he sheds on our way. While we do his goodwill he abides with us still and with all who will trust and obey we want to be obedient Notice God we ought to obey God Acts chapter 5 Acts chapter 5 in your Bible Acts chapter 5 verse 29 makes this statement and Peter And the other apostles answered and said, we ought to obey God rather than man. And by the way, that principle is still true. We still should obey God rather than man. We not only should obey God, but by the way, we should also obey our leaders. Notice Hebrews chapter 13, Hebrews chapter 13 in your Bible, Hebrews chapter 13, notice verse 17. He says, obey them. that have the rule over you. And submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls, as they that must give an account, that they may do it with joy and not with grief. Kenzie said that again is unprofitable for you. Now, it's important that we not only obey God, but we obey the man of God or the men of God that God's put over us. Might even be a Sunday school teacher, might even be a woman of God, a lady of God. But by the way, we're supposed to obey those who have the rule over us. I always tell people all the time, your boss doesn't care whether you're black, white, short, tall. If you are a hard worker, he or she will like you. You say, well, I'm a Christian. Most time that doesn't make a big difference. Unless you're being, unless you're being a pain in the rear. I mean, but again, most time they don't care whether you're religious. They don't care whether you love God or don't love God. They don't care whether you, I mean, what color your skin is. If you make them money, they like you. By the way, if you do what they tell you, they like you. Now there are folks that always say, you know what? I don't like listening to them. I've got more training than them, or I've been here longer than them. And that may be true, but here's the bottom line. If they're the one that's over you, they're your boss. You have two choices. Go out and be your own boss, and I can tell you there are a lot of businesses that start because people want to start their own business because they think all business people are rich, and I can tell you there are a lot of businesses that fail. Having your own business doesn't always mean you're going to make a lot of money. For some reason, people have the tendency to think if someone owns a business, they're rich. That isn't always true. Sometimes the place, I mean, a lot of times those folks have, I mean, have a business, they're not making any money. I mean, they're, and by the way, sometimes they work a lot of hours. They don't just work eight hours a day. They work 12, 14, 16 hours a day. I always appreciated Rick Schieffer buying, many of you remember him. He wasn't, his business was not successful because he had a college degree because he didn't. His business was successful because he worked really, really hard. And by the way, went through a lot of ups and downs until his business became a success. And then when he sold it to Brother Perry, he moved to Alaska. And Brother Perry is still, by the way, he's 77 years old and he still works all the time. And again, that's why, again, the business is a success. Not all businesses are success. We have to learn to work. We have to learn to obey. Another thing that we can learn through song, notice in your Bible, Matthew chapter four, Matthew chapter four. we can learn self-control, self-control. Horatio R Palmer wrote and it's called yield not to temptation for yielding is sin Each victory will help you some other to win fight manfully onward dark passion subdued Look ever to Jesus. He will carry you through in math in Matthew chapter 4 notice verse 1 Then was Jesus led up to the up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil now listen to me Jesus was tempted of the devil. It didn't stop with him You and I will be tempted of the devil, but you know what we're supposed to do. We're supposed to show some self-control You say, well, is Jesus hungry? And when the devil said, won't you turn those rocks to bread, was Jesus hungry? You bet he was. Now, he didn't just go a day or two without food. Now, I've never fasted. Has anyone in here ever fasted 40 days? We might have someone that has. Someone has. I know some folks have fasted, I mean, a week or two. 40 days is a long time. By the way, a week is a long time. For some of us, a day is a long time to go without food. Yeah. For us grown boys, I mean, a couple hours. Listen to me. He was hungry, but again, he wasn't willing to do what the devil wanted him to do. You know what he told the devil? He didn't say, I'm not hungry. He just went, and by the way, then he took him, each of those things, by the way, the reason they're called the temptation was they were tempting. And there will be times the devil will try to tempt you. You know what you gotta do? Have some self-control. You know why? Again, sometimes I watch someone on TV, some guy that had a beautiful wife or someone who had a nice, I mean a husband, and they'll chase off after somebody else. I'll think, what are they, stupid? Yeah, because here's what happens in a marriage. Sometimes it just gets normal. It gets old. or in a job, it gets ordinary. And so sometimes, by the way, we look around and we only, for some reason, in our mind, we think, man, that would be a lot of fun. And by the way, it might be. But again, you'll find this if you go, because you say, how do you know that? Because I know folks who've been through the third or fourth or fifth divorce. You say, why do they have that many divorces? Because they thought it can never be as bad as this one. They get into another one. It's like, oh, yeah, I was wrong. It could be as bad as that one. And then now listen to me. Sometimes, sometimes What happens is, it was a matter of, now I know people that got divorced. I know several people in our church that got divorced because of biblical reasons. I mean, their husband or wife was immoral and did some other stuff. They left them, but again, most time when it comes to almost anything, by the way, the same is true of chasing jobs. I always tell people, I like to get to a job and stay there. I know folks that, I mean, they leave job every year or two. They go to a different job. Now, by the way, when you do that, you never get seniority. And by the way, if you wonder whether seniority matters, it does. Sometimes when you've been there for a while, I mean, it gives you some privileges the folks who haven't been there a while do not have. But again, there'll be times you'll be tempted for something. There are a lot of good-looking girls or guys out there, and the devil will say, ooh, look at that. And you go, ooh, yeah. We often joke, the other day, Ms. Bell, I was selling honey at Tractor Farm and Supply, and a guy came out and started talking to us, and I told him my wife had passed about 15 months ago, and he said, oh, so this isn't your wife? I said, no, this is a young lady that I see sometimes, and he said, let me tell you a story. So then he stood there for about 20 minutes, he talked, his wife pulled Ms. Bell over to the side, and she said, he's 20 years older than me, but we got married. So in the car, a little bit later after they left, Ms. Bell said, wow, The girl told me he's 20 years. I said every man's dream and she said that's not nice I said I said I'm just saying that's what most guys what we think we always think whoa if I mean cuz by the way Now we don't think about the fact how we look at 60 and she looks at 40 We just think about how she looks at 40 And I told my wife that one time. I said, babe, when I get 40, I'm going to trade you in for 220s. But as Brother Taylor's often said, or here's why I've told him, we're not wired for 220. So the truth is, when I said that's every man's dream, what I meant was in our flesh, we always think, man, it'd be nice to have this. By the way, when you see a nice car go by and you're driving the old beat up piece of junk that you're driving, sometimes you think, man, that'd be nice. I can tell you that vehicle comes with a really high payment as well. So sometimes I'll just keep driving mine because mine's paid for, okay? And that one's not. Again, self-control. I mean, there's times you just have to tell your flesh, no. You want it. You desire it. It looks good. But you have to say no. Self-examination, and I'll be done. Notice in your Bibles, 1 Corinthians. We'll be there for two verses. 1 Corinthians. Self-examination. We sing a song called Cleanse Me. Here's what the song says. Notice what the Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 11. We'll read verse 28 and verse 31. Verse 28 says, but let a man examine himself, so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. Verse 31, for if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. Now I can tell you, self-examination is less painful than if someone else has to examine us. I can tell you, if I correct myself, it was much less painful than if my parents corrected me. If I correct myself, it is much less painful than if my boss corrects me. If I correct myself, it is much less painful than if Jesus or God has to punish or correct me. So he says, you know what? Examine yourself. That's why that song says, search me. What he's saying is, you know what? I want you to check me out. And again, you and I should understand that good godly music I don't know if you're like me, sometimes there'll be a song that goes on, I never even knew the song, but the chorus or something sticks in my mind and I'm still singing it an hour later or two hours later. The other day I was humming something or singing something and someone said, stop. Now that's all I can think of, that song just is in my head. It's good for you to have some good godly songs. I like the song that we taught the teenagers called Do Right. Do right till the stars fall. Do right till the last call. Do right if there's no one else to stand by you. Do right if you're all alone. Do right if it's never known. Do right if you love the Lord, do right, do right. There are a lot of good godly songs, and by the way, songs can teach us some character. Now I can tell you there's some songs that you can listen to that aren't going to teach you character, or they will, they'll just teach you bad character. That's why I said I was raised up listening to country music. And by the way, there is some good country music, but you know what there also is? Some bad country music. There's some songs that talk about loving them and leaving them. There's songs that talk about drinking. Listen to me, we don't need to listen to that stuff. We don't need to hear about, I mean, how we left her for the other woman. You know what? When you got married, you know what you said? Till death do us part. And by the way, killing them does not count in that case, okay? It's not supposed to be helped along, okay? You'll go to jail for that and then it's not going to do you very good. But again, it's till death does us part. I mean, we're supposed to be in it for the long haul. By the way, you and I, my youth director used to say this, when you're a teenager you listen to rock music and it teaches you about going out and having sex and dissuading your parents and doing bad stuff. He says after you listen to that you get married for your should to someone you shouldn't and then you start listening to country music and it talks about leaving them and so you do that and he says the devil just likes to use that progression of music in our lives. Listen to me. That's why he says, I want you to sing some songs and hymns and spiritual songs. By the way, making melody in our hearts to the Lord. And again, they will also influence our lives. Father, thank you for your goodness. I pray, Lord, you'd help us to realize how important it is to listen to the right kind of music. Lord, I'm so thankful that Liberty Baptist Church doesn't have what a lot of churches have nowadays. There's a lot of churches that have a band up in the choir, and they're playing some crazy stuff, and they're singing some music. Lord, that the music's so loud you can't even