If y'all would, open to Proverbs 27, if you got your Bibles with you. Verse 23 through 27. I'm gonna read. Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. For riches are not forever, and doth the crown endure to every generation. The hay appeareth, and the tender grass showeth itself, and the herbs of the mountains are gathered. The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field. and thou shalt have goat's milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance of thy maidens. Father God, Lord, I just pray, Lord, that you would help me, Lord, to preach the sermon that you would have me to preach tonight, God. Give me the words to speak, Lord. I pray you'd open our ears to your word, Father. Lord, we thank you for giving us this time to come together and fellowship around your word, God. I thank you for these people, God, Pray you'd keep anybody who's not here tonight, Mike, safe, Lord, help us all, Lord, to be gathered back together here next week. But I just pray you'd bless this evening, God. Be with our fellowship, in Jesus' name, amen. So one of the reasons that we left Texas and moved to Missouri, if you remember, was we had a lot of people that wanted to raise animals. And there was a lot of land out here in Missouri, abundant land in the Ozarks. And it seems to be primarily intended for raising livestock. Farming is difficult, especially for those of us that have no idea how to farm. The soil is full of rocks. Ozarks, it's a Native American word that literally means too many rocks. No, it doesn't mean that. But this is good country for ranching. It seems keeping cattle is big business here. And goats and sheep are seen all over the place. We get enough rain most years to grow plenty of grass for grazing and for hay. I never considered myself the kind of person who might keep goats or sheep, but when we arrived out here, I tried my hand at both of these things, and I quickly found out that it wasn't as simple as just buying some animals and throwing them out to pasture. It's certainly important to have the land for them to graze, but domesticated animals need a lot of attention from their humans if they're going to thrive and be a source of blessing. Fences are very important. Keeping your flocks contained is a difficult task. Goats will go through just about anything. We had made a paddock for ours using field fence. And while it was mostly successful at keeping them in, it had the drawback of allowing them to stick their heads through the fence and then not be able to pull them back out because their horns would get caught in the woven wire. I don't know how many times I had to go out and twist one of their necks around and shove their head back through the fence while they screamed at me. And then they would just go back and do it again later. And of course, animals get sick. If you don't know how to treat them, they can die. You can always call a veterinarian, but when you're a poor hillbilly living rough on the side of what some people call a mountain, spending money that you don't have to doctor a goat is a hard choice. So you're going to have to learn to deal with these ailments or lose animals. We've since downsized our ambitions to chickens. But keeping them alive is also proving to be difficult. The forests are full of predators, foxes, coyotes, neighbors' dogs. Chickens are delicious, in case you didn't know. The animals in your area will figure out pretty quick if there's a hole in your fence or a spot where they can squeeze under or jump over. But I'm not ready to give up on them yet. We'll get more chickens to replace the ones we've lost. I'm going to spend the time and effort and money to try and make them less susceptible to predators because they are providing something that I need. Eggs. I like to eat eggs. We use eggs for all kinds of things. While eggs are not hard to come by usually, I always wonder how long I would be able to get by if there were a food shortage if I didn't have a ready supply of eggs coming from my own flock of hens. This is why I think that the book of Proverbs tells us to be diligent, to know the state of our flocks, and to look well to our herds. As humans, God created us with certain basic needs. We need food. The Bible calls it necessary food. We need clothing. Without it, we would be exposed to the elements. It would be hard to survive harsh winters without warm clothing. Both of these needs are met by keeping flocks. The sheep produce wool that can be spun into thread and woven to produce fabric that is exceptionally warm. Goat's milk can be made into cheese and other foods, and of course goats and sheep can be eaten. When riches fail and food cannot be purchased, a man who diligently keeps his flocks will be cared for." In verse 25 it said, "...the hay appeareth, and the tender grass showeth itself, and the herbs of the mountain are gathered." Hay and grass are not able to feed our families. We aren't made to digest these things. But they grow abundantly in most places without any effort on our part. I spend more time trying to keep my grass from growing than I ever have trying to grow grass. God has given man these incredible machines that can mow the lawn and then convert the grass and hay into meat and milk and cheese and textiles. We just have to look after them and not get complacent about it, because there is always some danger lurking about. Solomon probably learned a lot about sheep from his father David, who was a shepherd. When Samuel was sent to Bethlehem to anoint a new king from among the sons of Jesse, it says that Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. In 1 Samuel 16 we read, And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord's anointed is before him. But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance or on the height of his stature, because I have refused him, for the Lord seeth not as man seeth. For man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel, and he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this. Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by, and he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this. Again Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him, for we will not sit down till he come hither. And he sent and brought him in, Now he was ruddy, and with all of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him, for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up and went to Ramah." God chose David, the youngest son of Jesse, who kept the family's flock of sheep. We know that David took the job of keeping those sheep seriously. Although it seems that his brethren despised the keeping of sheep. When Jesse had sent David to the valley of Elah to see how his brothers were doing, he got this response from Eliab. Eliab, his eldest brother, heard when he spake unto the men, and Eliab's anger was kindled against David. And he said, Why camest thou down hither, and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride and the naughtiness of thine heart, for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. In Eliab's eyes, keeping those few sheep was a job for a child, not like the important business of war. We know that David took the job of tending his sheep seriously because of what transpired on the field that day. Goliath, the giant Philistine, had been goading the Israelites for 40 days, morning and evening, challenging them to send someone to fight him. 1st Samuel 17 says and there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines named Goliath of Gath whose height was six cubits in a span and he had a helmet of brass upon his head and he was armed with a coat of mail and the weight of the coat was 5,000 shekels of brass and he had greaves of brass upon his legs and a target of brass between his shoulders and And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron, and one bearing a shield went before him. Goliath was huge. He was strong. And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? Am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? Choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants. But if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us." And the Philistines said, I defy the armies of Israel this day. Give me a man that we may fight together. When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. Forty days Goliath had been taunting the armies of Israel and nobody was willing to fight the giant. Even Saul himself was afraid. What had happened to Saul? He had been rejected from being king because he had presumed to make an offering to God himself instead of waiting for Samuel, and the Spirit of the Lord had left him and was now upon David. Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brethren, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up and went to Ramah, but the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him." So David is now filled with the Spirit of God, and he's on the scene, and he's not willing to stand idly by and listen to the big mouth of Goliath talking about the army of his God. And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage and ran into the army and came and saluted his brethren. And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines and spake according to the same words. And David heard them. And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were sore afraid. And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? Surely to defy Israel is he come up. And it shall be that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel. And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away their reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? And the people answered him after this manner, saying, so shall it be done to the man that killeth him. And Eliab, his eldest brother, heard when he spake unto the men. And Eliab's anger was kindled against David. And he said, why camest thou down hither? And with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride and the naughtiness of thine heart. For thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. And David said, what have I now done? Is there not a cause? And he turned from him toward another and spake after the same manner. And the people answered him again after the former matter. And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul, and he sent for him. And David said to Saul, let no man's heart fail because of him, thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. And what made David think that he could fight Goliath, this giant? Saul didn't think that he could possibly survive a fight with Goliath. Saul said to David, thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him. for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.' And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep. And there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock. And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth. And when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.' And David said moreover, the Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.' And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee." David had been trained for this battle through the keeping of his father's sheep. He knew that God, through him, had delivered that lamb from the lion and from the bear and kept him safe. And the same God could deliver him from Goliath and give him victory in the fight. And of course we know he did deliver David, one of the greatest victories recorded in the Bible that day. So those few sheep that David washed over not only provided for the household of his father and brothers, but they provided a deliverer and a king for Israel. The admonition to look well to thy flocks could be applied to whatever responsibility that God has placed upon you, wherever you are employed, in whatever capacity. God can use your daily occupation to prepare you for greater things. and to refine you into a man that God can use for his purpose. Just being faithful to tend to your duties is a commendable act. Gideon was simply threshing wheat when God chose him to deliver Israel from the Midianites. God wants his people to be willing to work in the face of adversity, not shrink from their duty when things get hard. He could have given up trying to grow wheat, saying it was no use, the Midianites would just take it. But instead he found a way to get it done and to hide it from them. And Judges 6 says, And there came an angel of the Lord and sat under an oak, which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite, and his son Gideon, threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. And Gideon said unto him, O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then has all this befallen us? And where be all his miracles, which our father told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord hath forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. And the Lord looked upon him and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, O my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. And the Lord said unto him, surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. Who could say which of these young people God might choose to accomplish a great work if they will be faithful in the little things that God has given them to do right now? Maybe so, Paul, building these buildings with Hank, swinging that hammer. One day he might swing that hammer and crush a giant skull. Who knows? When there is work to be done, oh, sorry, then there is the work to be done in the kingdom when God will have some of his faithful saints to rule with Jesus on this earth. In Luke 19, he said, therefore, a certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. And he called his 10 servants and delivered them 10 pounds and said unto them, occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him and sent a message after him saying, we will not have this man to reign over us. And it came to pass that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained 10 pounds. And he said unto him, well thou good servant, because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over 10 cities. And the second came saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, be thou also over five cities. these servants that were faithfully occupied in their business while their master was away. He blessed with more responsibility, greater position in his kingdom. But then there was the wicked servant that laid up the pound as master gave him in a napkin and did nothing with it. And another came saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin. For I feared thee because thou art an austere man. thou takest up that thou layest not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping what I did not sow. Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds. For I say unto you, that unto every one which hath shall be given, and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds, for riches are not forever, and doth the crown endure to every generation. The hay appeareth, and the tender grass showeth itself, and the herbs of the mountains are gathered. The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field, and thou shalt have goat's milk enough for thy food. and for the food of thy household and for the maintenance of thy maidens. I don't think I need to remind anyone in this church that the future of our nation is uncertain, and there is reason to think that there may soon come a day that we may need to have our own flocks in order to survive. We are rich in many ways, but riches are not forever. We may soon find ourselves overrun with Midianites, and we may need to hide what we have from them. It's hard to imagine a day that we can't just go to Walmart and buy eggs and butter and milk and meat, clothes, and everything that we need. We've been blessed with an abundance of these things for so long, but those things may disappear, and many of us may be too soft to adapt to a life of subsistence. God will provide for us, but we may have to labor much harder than we are accustomed to in order to reap the provisions. I think we may want to get back to some of the things that we began to do when we first came to the Ozarks. I know that I was not as diligent as I could have been in taking care of my sheep or goats. But I think there would be profit in starting again in order to have those flocks against the time when there may not be a Walmart full of food down the road. And I think that there's a blessing to be had in training these young men to take care of them while there is still time to train. Father God, Lord, I thank you again, God, for giving me this opportunity to speak tonight to this congregation, Lord. I thank you, God, for everyone in here, Lord. I just pray, God, that your word would just sink down into our hearts, God, and that it would cause us to tremble and to fear you, God, and to want to be ready for you when you return, Lord. We know that you're coming soon, God. We pray for our elections coming up, Lord, but we know that our hope is not in Donald Trump, our hope is not in any government on this earth, Lord, but on your coming kingdom, Lord. And we just pray, God, that you would come soon. God, come quickly. Lord, we ask that we would all be accounted worthy to enter into your kingdom, God. Help us to be ready. In Jesus' name, amen.