Okay, now your heads if you would now dear Lord and Heavenly Father we thank you for the Word of God the Bible the only thing in this Crazy world that makes any sense whatsoever. It's the mind. It's the will It's the essence of God. We just thank you for it. Thank you for giving us your essence And we ask toward that you give us wisdom in your word in Christ name. Amen All right. What do you want to start? We went through all of our questions on this thing. Is there any that you'd like to cover? Or is there any that you didn't get? For instance, on the last page, everybody has the last page, right? The last page has no numbers on it. And the page prior to that goes up to number 32. 32, these are the last page or the ones that I made out on top of the others, but let's go through them briefly. I just want to go through the questions. Explain Babylon of Revelation. Can you do that? Is everybody that can't do that? Apparently not. You can all do that, right? Explain Babylon of Revelation. Explain the King of Pierce Countenance in January 23. What is the type of? You can all do that. So, if anybody that can't do that, we need to know it. Explain the 70th week of Daniel, can you do that? That's one more I tell you, I'll get back to it. If there's anything you don't understand, or it's anything you don't understand, we need to cover it. Explain the ten toes of Daniel, compare with other scripture, can you do that? Can you do that? What are the ten toes of Daniel? What are that? 10 teams. Where did you go to in the Bible to prove that? Other than Daniel. Very good. Revelation chapter very good. 17. Very good. You need to be able to do this. I'm not just up here beating my gums, you know. I don't have any teeth left so I can beat my gums regularly. You can all do that, very good. Good. By the way, 10 toes are also in Daniel Chapter 7. Yeah. 10 toes are also, but they're not called toes. They're literally called 10 Kings. Explain pre-med post-regulation in which do you believe in? What do you believe in? Pre-med. Pre-med. Absolutely. And you know why? Second facility. Chapter 2 for one thing. Okay, that's why we won't see the antichrist. We will not see him. Although I believe he's on the scene today, but we'll never know who it is. Oh, you'll know from up there. Yes, but not while you're on this earth. I think Hillary rotten Clinton as far going the closest to the antichrist, other than the outdoor and some of the others. I got to tell you, I had a meeting today, I used to work for CDI by my health insurance through CDI, they sent me a thing in the mail and I had to go to a meeting today because I didn't understand it about that pick on my health insurance. So I went to the meeting, bottom line is they're trying to get me to sign up on health insurance, I only had one option and the option is when I sign up on this, they will be in charge of my Medicare. I don't think so. This is just one more indication that the anti-crisis right on the scene today. And the reason I know that the reason I believe it 100% is we're headed for real quick is because we're headed for a one-world government in a minute. If you ever listen to Hillary and all those other politicians, as soon as she's in office, if she's elected, you will be a a socialist government in this country immediately and that's exactly where we're headed and that's where the anti crisis headed and that's where headed for a one-world socialistic government. You ought to be glad, grateful, that you've trusted crisis, you're safer and you ought to be not only that on top of that, you ought to be worried about your relatives if they're not saved because they'll be left behind the facing and if they accept him as he is they will not only excepting they'll take the mark and expand the turn of the inhale so we're headed there very quickly. Okay the tool of doctrine you all got that I'm sure the tool of doctrine which is what what the what the nomination adheres to the tool of doctrine Calvinist yep it's a five-point plan we call it the tool of doctrine and they do too but they if you talk to them about it they'll deny it but they do believe in it. Explain biblical baptism and Mark 16, 16, and Acts 22, 16. When over this, we went over this pretty, pretty adamantly, I thought. So you should be aware of that. Explain biblical baptism. Especially Acts 22, 16, where it said, and I said, Paul, rise and be baptized and wash away thy sins. And what was that all about? Why did he do that? Was he sinful? Did he have to wash away his sins? What was it all about to you? You might be asked to explain that if you're ordained in this little church. Okay? Any questions on it at so far? All right. What is primary interpretation? Practical application and prophetic implication. And if you're studying the Bible, this is an important thing to know if you're going to teach the Bible, if you're going to teach it. When I teach the Bible, I always try to give the primary interpretation, the practical application, and the prophetic implication if there is any. And it helps you to learn the Bible, it helps you to compare Scripture with Scripture and so forth. And most important, most important, what is the importance of knowing the difference? between salvation and service. What is the importance as a matter of fact? Darryl? I know back in, like I guess it's a bondage because they're going to see onto the screen. You know, like if people believe they can lose the salvation, they're always stuck in there and you know it's worried and hang on. It is absolutely bondage. When the Bible uses a term bondage, it's used in the relations as a matter of fact. And the word bondage literally means bondage. a false doctrine having a works righteousness is bondage. I remember, we were talking about, remember Germa? Haven't heard from him in a long time, but he was really into a works righteousness and talk about being in bondage. It drove him nuts, didn't it? He called me up many, many times. Oh, pastor, what am I gonna do? This verse says, I can lose myself. And I talked for hours on the phone, hours, hours. But if you believe in a work righteousness, I've got to be good, I'm safe, but it is devastating. And I've known some Christians who literally wound up mental cases because they thought they could earn a work for it. And if you don't just crisis your Savior plus nothing, I doubt very much if you're saved at all. I can't remember it was Peter Paul who they said about the anxious for nothing, you know, that's one thing the anxious about is that we're going to spend a turn to you know. Paul said that, yeah. The term, the term is the relationship of collective work of work. The big thing is what the eighties don't get is no matter how hard they describe, that you're still going to send, if you're still in your simple body, but you can that stop sitting. You're trying to try to do what you're not going to do it. And by the way, Bill, you're going to bring a message on tithing one of these days on Sunday morning. I'd like to have you do it. Yeah, do do one on whatever you want Sunday morning. All right. Some Sunday morning maybe yeah, let me know when you're ready. The fact is I'd like to have everyone if you do something on Sunday morning. You know, it's one thing to do it on Wednesday in this group. Well, we have a pretty good group. But I'd like to have each and every one of you prepare a message for Sunday morning. And you're on, OK? We're an understanding, a little church here. Our group is understanding. And I think most of you are qualified. I think you can do it. So whenever you're ready, prepare something and… I have so much better time than ever chance I get. Well, you'll get it. You'll find it. Yeah? I get a couple of the cases I've got before I don't mind Bible now. I don't know what to tell you about all that, but I do know that you guys aren't qualified. You know the Bible every one of you. You have the desire, I'm almost positive with that, I don't know for sure, I can't get inside your head. But I do believe you're qualified, you have the knowledge, you have the ability to rightfully divide the word, and so do our ladies. Our ladies in our church are phenomenal. And but anytime you guys are prepared, I mean, it's really better. Get ready. Jay? I should. I should. There's something I want to go over first. next week. You don't have a lot of questions. The only question we had was Darryl wanted to cover something, which is fine. We'll go back and cover that. The 70th week of Daniel. You know, when anybody likes to cover that briefly, but Darryl would. But anyway, there's something else I'd like to cover. If you ever want to serve the Lord, there's some questions that you have to ask yourself, and there are some answers that you have to answer. I'd like for you to turn into Bibles for Romans chapter 12, if you will. I've been thinking about this for a few days, and you know, Jay was talking about wisdom, which is a very good subject, and he did a good job. I really thought he did a good job. Wisdom is something that you get when you're saved, that you get from the Holy Spirit. And actually this God gave the men wisdom to build the altar and the tabernacle, things that they could not have built if the Holy Spirit had not given them wisdom. The Holy Spirit gives each and every one of you wisdom. You know how I know that? From the way that you relate with me and the Bible and so forth in each other and some of the other things. I know that each and every one of you has wisdom and you have the ability to take a Bible and understand it. I know that. As a matter of fact, it makes me kind of proud of them of the pastor of a church like that, which a job that I never did ask for. It's not that I got it. I'm pretty proud of the fact that our people are like that. But in Romans chapter 12, if you really consider and serve on the Lord, if you're not then don't pay attention to a word I'm I'm going to say, because it'll just be mute, huh? What kind of experience do you want to say that? Serving the Lord. The context I'm talking in and not being a pastor. Any whatever your service is is a personal thing between you and the Lord. Whether it's a Sunday school teacher, whether it's a janitor and a church, Maintenance man, pastor, or just a simple member who doesn't do anything in the church, but has their own life between them and the Lord Jesus Christ, whatever if you just witness to people. That's a ministry. That's your personal ministry. Being a pastor has nothing to do with being in deacon, making decisions, anything else. ministry is whatever you do for the Lord, no matter what it is. If you lead one person to Christ every month, or even one a year, that's your ministry. But the enrollment, so that's the capacity, your personal relationship and your service to the Lord Jesus Christ. You may never know specifically what that is. But once you make that first step toward serving the Lord, and in order to serve the Lord, one thing you have to do before anything else, one thing you have to do is put the rest of the world behind you. The rest of the world comes behind you. You're still in the world, you live in the world, you've got to go to work every day, but when you put Christ first, the rest of the world comes last. Second, or fit. And for you fellows, when you put Christ first, your wife comes next. If you have children, they come next. Mom and dad, they come behind that. The wife comes first. You might not like that, but the wife comes first. That's the biblical concept. That's what… Well, that's another story, Lonnie. The fact is, you don't have a wife at this time. Okay, you're wiping off from first, but I'm going to give you a little advice now that you bring it up. The next time you choose a wife, go to the Lord first. Yeah, that's a little good advice because my wife, when I picked my wife, the Lord was behind it. I didn't choose my wife because she was pretty or had nice legs or anything like that. The Lord was behind it, but my wife comes first after the Lord Jesus Christ. When it comes to my ministry, Jesus Christ comes first. My wife does not make my decisions. Now, she makes a lot of decisions in our household. She writes out the checks. I could care less. I'm not one of these self-righteous preachers. I said, I handled the money. I'm the head of the house. Don't give me that crap. My wife can write all the checks she wants because the Lord gives me the money that I need to do, what I need to do. I don't care what she does with the money. if we're broke, irrelevant. I can serve the Lord Jesus Christ in a pair of beat-up old divides. It doesn't matter to me. But I do have a ministry. And I got that ministry from Jesus Christ. Why he did it? I do not know because I'm a simple, worthless human being, but he did it. So if you ever think about serving the Lord which you should, he should come first in your life, because if you don't, your life's a mess, quite frankly. If you call yourself a Christian, saved by grace, by the blood of Christ and you don't put him first, your life is a mess. You'll never be happy. You'll never have anything. You'll never feel like anything. You will never, ever amount to anything. Once you're saved by the blood of Christ, and you don't put him first, that's just the way it is. Now I'm not talking about what's that? It absolutely will. Here, pay attention, what I'm saying, I'm not kidding you. This is the biblical concept. If you're married, your wife comes first. Your children come immediately after that, almost at the same point. And if you put Christ first, now remember this triangle. I give you this all the time. I'm here, my wife is here, Christ is here, up at the top. The closer my wife and I get to Christ, the closer we get to each other. You see the concept? You put your wife first after Christ before anything else. And if you have a job and you put the job first, and I know a lot of people to do, God is not going to bless that job or the money. Remember one time in our church, a couple of our guys of our guys and over to schoolhouse. They said, well, I don't like I hate my job. I said, find another one. Boy, some of the women went out there mad at me. Oh, man. But you know what? How in the world can you lead a happy life going to work every day in a job that you hate and come home and treat your family nice? You got to find a job that you're happy yet or reasonably happy. You'll never be a hundred percent happy going to work every day. Let's face it. But the concept is the same. You put Christ first. Your job here, me here. And if I work at Christ, my job will come up to meet. And I'll be reasonably happy in my job. That's the concept. Christ first. Now then you say, well, what do I have to do? You know, what does he want for me? What kind of a ministry I might not have? I don't know. But I'm going to tell you what they are. In Romans 12 I'll tell you what your ministry is. They're all listed here. If you really want to put Christ first, if you really want to serve Him, if you really want a happy life, a contented life, a joyful life, you have a ministry. I'm not talking about something that you do well. Everybody has something that they do well. I always wanted to be an artist until I realized I wasn't very good at it and I gave it up. And I always wanted to play the guitar until I realized I wasn't very good at it but I gave it up. But what I was good at, what I was good at only became a spiritual gift when I took what I was good at, my attributes and put them toward serving the Lord. Do you think whatever you're good at and put that towards serving the Lord? If you're an artist, you draw pictures that honor the Lord. You put together a book, but you do this. Whatever you do, you put that toward serving the Lord. It becomes a gift. You see. So in Romans chapter 12, by the way, if you want to serve the Lord, there's three questions you need to ask yourself. First of all, you might want to write this down. You say, well, I want to do this and I want to do that. Well, I don't know what the Lord wants me to do. Here's what I want to do. I don't know what the Lord and I know many, many people that said to me, I want to serve the Lord but He just won't show me what He wants me to do. Well, I'll tell you what, you've got a problem in your life somewhere that you're not telling me about because if you really want to serve the Lord and you have a desire, He will allow you to do that. So don't tell me the Lord's not showing you something to do. You're not telling me the whole truth. I had one of my boys telling me that and I had my brother telling me that. I want to serve a little bit. The problem with them is I know what their problem is in their life. I know why the Lord's not using that, okay. I'm saying they have a problem in their life. Now I wouldn't call it a sin, but I would call it a problem that keeps them from serving the Lord, that they need to work out. They do. They do indeed. But there's a couple of questions you ought to ask yourself. First of all, is it biblical? Is the ministry that I want to pursue biblical? If it's not biblical, hang it up. If you want to go partying with the boys, So, well, I'll just party with the boys that way. I'll leave them to the Lord. That's not biblical. Forget it. That's not a ministry. The Lord won't use it. His mind ministry is what I want to do with the servant of the Lord is biblical. The next question you need to ask yourself, will I be happy? Will I be happy doing this? No. If you're not happy serving the Lord in this capacity, it's probably not what the Lord wants from you. You know, Paul was happy, yet he was beaten three times almost to death. He was stoned to death literally. He was literally stoned to death with the Lord reviving. Remember he went up into paradise? Paul was stoned to death. But he was happy. He says, I have learned in whatever state I am to be content. Contentment is happy. Do you want to be happy, be content. That's happiness. I had time I get killed but it's in the book of Acts and in second Corinthians he said a lot of times I don't remember the Bible either anymore, I'm getting old and my memory just pfft. But I used to know it like the back of my hand. Now I can't turn my hand over to see the back of my hand so I have a problem. But anyway, in second Corinthians he said I knew a man who was caught up in the paradise, He was talking about himself. No, that was Paul. He was caught up into paradise into the third heaven. Yeah, he was with Christ. And he heard things that were unspeakable. And that happened when he was stoned. Yeah. No, I believe in the book of Acts. He was stoned. He was liberally stoned by the Jews. And I believe that that's what happened. Okay. Hey, look at that. Well, I'd be happy. Is it biblical and will I be happy? be happy. Being content, by the way, is happy. You won't be happy with a new car because it's not new very long. Picking the right woman will not make you happy unless it's really the right woman. Being with the right man will not make you happy unless it's really the right man. Because after everything else wears off, you have to be content with that person. happy, you see? After all the newness wears off, after the waiting and everything else wears off. And quite frankly, after the sex wears off, are you still content? Will I be happy? And then the third thing you need to ask yourself, is there a need for my ministry? Is there a need for what I intend to do to serve the Lord? Is there a need for you to ask yourself those three questions. Is it biblical? Will I be happy? And is there a need? And then if you're going to acquire a ministry, what you should, you should be looking for that. You should be looking for your own personal ministry. And then there are two things you need to do after you ask yourself those questions. You need to be willing and be available. If you're willing and available, God will use you. You know, it's one thing to say, well, ask yourself all these questions but not be willing. Are you willing to go to Alaska to the remotest parts of Alaska where the mosquitoes will drive you nuts and you'll freeze at that in the winter time? Are you willing to do that? Or are you willing to go to Hawaii or it's warm, all-meat reasons? I'll go to Hawaii, Lord. That's where I'll go. Yeah, I'm willing and available for that. Maybe it doesn't want you there. You know, my wife and I would have talked many times about having a place down south in the winter time. I hate when it can't stand it. And I had a lot of people say, well, why don't you do it? And I say, well, Lord doesn't let me. What? That's my answer. He put me here. This is where he put me. This is where I'm going to stay until he puts me somewhere else because I'm willing and available. This is what he wants. It'd be nice to do that. But I'm not going to do anything unless the Lord wants me to do it. He put me here. He's in charge. He did it. I had nothing to do with it. So here we go. Yes. Is there a need for your ministry? Let me ask you this question. What do you think the basic need of serving the Lord? If you were going to serve the Lord, what is the basic need? If you're going to serve the Lord, what is the first primary basic need that God might need you for? He doesn't need any of us. Let's be frank. He doesn't really need any taking you with anybody he wants to. But if I'm going to serve you and I want to the basic need is the bottom line is anybody going to get saved from my ministry. That's the need. So let's suppose you start a singing ministry okay. Let's suppose you start a singing ministry. I wouldn't do that I don't I can't sing. Will people get saved from that or will you be glorified? You see? So speaking most about events, those are the leads. Don't people have to be saved? If your ministry moves in that direction, then that's the need. And if you feel led to do that, that's the need. So the first thing you need is there a need? What is the need? People need to be saved. Does this ministry that I am endeavoring to acquire, to get into? Is it biblical? Will I be happy? And is there a need? the basic need, the bottom need, the foundation for the need to be in the ministry is that people will be saved, that's the need. And if you're going to teach the Bible, you're going to teach people how to live the Christian life, that there's a need there. There's always a need, but you have to ask yourself, you know, how many people I've seen and a mystery. Their goal was to glorify themselves and build big churches. A good example is Joe Osteen. Joe Osteen. I don't think so. Not unless I get sick and want to be healed before the whole thing starts. I need to be healed I'll go see. All he'd always did. Before he does his program that you see on TV, he has his healing service, all yes. Because he wants to have a big, large congregation in a way, he can do that, it's a big kind of costalism. It's in a way he can do it. He does. That's how they do it. And he gets everybody all worked out before the service that you see on television, it's everybody all worked up, all exhilarated, all excited, and then that's what you see when he's on television. He's not stupid. He's one of the smartest men I've ever seen. I'll tell you what he is. He's a false prophet. He wouldn't answer any questions. He wouldn't not commit himself. What he did say with the layer of king was, I'll leave that up to the preachers, to the biblical preachers. That's what he said. So he's a false prophet and but he does have a big minister. But that's an example. And then the next thing, after you have decided all these other things, are you willing and available? If you're not, you might as well forget everything else. And if you discover and come to the conclusion that it's biblical, I'll be happy, and there is a need, and then you come to the conclusion that you are willing and available, then there are three things you need to do before the Lord will use you. All these rules regulate, isn't it terrible? No, it isn't terrible. It's just plain common sense. The next thing is you need to be dedicated, motivated, and committed. You may tell me after I'm willing and available, I've got to be all this. You better believe it. If you know how many people in the Bible are in the Bible like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Hosea, all the prophets, Moses, at first we're not willing and we're not even available. Good when God told him, I don't want to do that. No, no, no, no, not me. Well, as long as you say, no, no, no, not me, that's the way it's going to be. The Lord's going to say, okay, no, no, no, not you. You just go over there on the shelf and I'll just leave you there. But the Lord really wants you. A minute or a call, a few were chosen. Many as As all Christians, few are the ones that answer these questions properly. Many are called. Many means every Christian. Look up and look the word out when you get time and you can translate that as every, not many, but all Christians. All Christians are called to do what, serve, but very few are chosen. What's that? I don't know. What do you say? I don't know. Okay. And then after you go through all that, you're dedicated. You're motivated, and you're committed. Let me, Jay. I'll be in a respect that's maybe different, but I want to say a few. What is the difference between being dedicated and being committed? Dedicated. Committed, I'll try to explain what I think the difference is, okay. Committed means, it doesn't mean committed to an enzyme or anything like that. But a dedicated person is one who takes one area, one thing, and focuses on that. That's dedication. Dedicate myself to this. This is what I'm dedicated to. I'll give you a good example. I used to know a good friend of mine who got into the ministry and he wasn't enough to be a preacher or anything like that. He dedicated himself to the hearing, the deaf ministry. That's what he was dedicated to. But he wasn't committed until he went to school, he literally went to school in Tennessee, made that commitment and learned how to relate to the debt. That's the difference. Dedicating is dedicating myself to one thing, or this thing, or that thing, and then making that commitment and walking to it. That's the difference. And you'll never do any of that unless you're motivated. You'll never do it unless you're motivated. Motivation. Now, let's take a look at your possible ministry here, okay, begin probably in verse four, if you will. Well, let's back up to verse three, I guess, but if you read the other two verses, Paul is on by the way, chapter 12 through 16 of Romans, if you ever want to read the whole thing, has to teach us how to think as a Christian. 12 through 16 of Romans teaches us how to think in every area of the Christian life. And in verses 1 and 2 of chapter 12, we present ourselves to Christ. That's you present your bodies. This body that you're living in, even though it's simple, you present it in your service to Christ. So your body, whenever you get into the surf Christ, your body is going to do what your mind tells it and so forth and so forth. You present your body as a perfect will of God, and we'll skip the verse 4 we have. Talking about the entire church, every saved human beings has ever been born. The entire church are all many members, one body, all members have not the same office. So not everybody is going to serve in the same capacity. I think a son does not become what his father was. John Hagey is the past, his son is trying to be another John Hagey, it'll never happen. That will never, ever happen. His son is his son. He's got to have his own ministry, do his own thing in his own way. He is not his father, John. So that's one mistake we make trying to be somebody else. Everybody is the difference in the church. Now we don't have the same office. So we, being many, are one body in Christ and every one members one of another. So no matter what my ministry is, no matter how big or how small it affects the whole church, no matter what my ministry is, we have people in this church who do things, little things, big things, this thing, that thing, wrong cleanse the ties, tall letter, that all works together for the whole church. I've read books written by great Christians over the years. I'm part of the church that book benefits me. You see, whatever you do for the Lord will benefit the entire body of Christ. Once you answer all the other questions, is it difficult? Will I be happy? Is there a need? Answer all these other questions, then the rest just fits together. You see, your ministry will be no bigger or no smaller than the big, powerful preacher on TV that matter. If your ministry is important in the entire body of Christ, no matter what it is. You know what, C.I.S. Gofield was led to the Lord by one little boy while he was still a drunk, one little boy. That was that little boy's ministry, because he was C.I.S. Gofield came to. He gave us the school field Bible that everybody ought to carry, that one little boy, his own personal ministry. That's an amazing story. In verse 6, having then gifts differing according to the grace that has dimmed to us, now here are the gifts. Prophecy, according to the proportion of faith. Prophecy does not mean new revelations in God, by the way. Prophecy simply means forth-telling the Word of God. So if you witness to someone in the mall that's Prophecy if you're forth telling the word of God. Yeah, I didn't make any sense. Why not? John 3, 16 says, or God's the Lord of the world, He gave His only begotten Son, that who swear, believe in Him, shall I praise that very last and white? That's prophecy. That's forth telling the word of God. If you tell somebody that prophecy isn't some new vision, some new revelation, that's not what prophecy is. Look the word up. Prophecy, yeah. Fourth telling. So maybe that's your gift. Actually, that's every Christians gift. Some people use it more than others. Some people expound on it. Some people write about it. Some people do this, but that's a gift. And then there's another one here, ministry. The word ministry means attendance, servant. You know what it means? Just to attend to other people's needs, if you're a Christian, to sick, to elderly, anybody in the church that needs help, anybody outside of the church that needs help and if people get saved by it, it's part of the ministry. So that's part of the ministry. Ministry, divinia, attendant, servant, or he that teach. The word teach on teaching means to teach. Comes from the word didasco. By the way, all these words revert back to the Holy Spirit in one way or another. So that's what teach ministry, or he that exhortate on exhortation. exhortation means to comfort comes from the word paracletos where we get the word for the Holy Spirit paraclete. You see, teaching then the exhortation comfort comfort people comforting. You know what a awful lot of Christians I know have had hard times in their life and you know what I hear them say, why do the Lord do this to me? Oh my it's a terrible thing. the Lord did this to me. I don't give me a break. Get off your great big pity party and realize that whatever the Lord does to you will teach you something so that you can comfort somebody else down the road. Did you know that? No, the Lord hates me. Why did He do this? Give me a break. exhortation, comfort, and he did give it, let him do it with the word here as the liberality, simplicity really means liberally. That is a ministry, giving. What does that mean? What do I have to give? Yourself, give yourself in one way, shape, or another. Dana does it all the time, it's part of her ministry, one of the few things she does, sorry Dana, don't want to embarrass you or anything, but she's a giver, she gives herself, she's the first one here on Sunday morning in the last one to leave, and she's usually here during the week half a dozen times, she makes coffee, never bitter, and she has a right to be. She has a right to be, but she's never better. That's her ministry, and she does a darn good job at it. And I bet she can answer the questions, is it biblical? Will I be happy, and cetera, and cetera? Am I willing? Am I available? Dedicated, motivated, committed? It's a ministry. Or how about he that rule up with diligence? He that ruled. What does that mean? Giving the preachers a boss doesn't have anything to do with the preacher at all. Let me ask you a question. How about a Christian mayor? How about a Christian police chief? Do they rule? Certainly. How about a Christian president? I don't know if we ever had one. Christian vice president. Christian politician. Not very many of those, I don't think. If they are there a bunch of the lousy hypocrites and cowards, you'll never hear them speak up a ruler That's a ministry as long as I Rule with the Lord first that then it's a ministry and None of these are gifts unless you use them in your service to the Lord You say well Think about that if you would You take an attribute that you have or something that you're good at and you use it to serve the Lord that becomes a gift, a gift. You know what you do with a gift? It's free, right? And it's something that you cherish, right? Unless, of course, my wife gives me a gift that she gives me as a circuit or so, so I can build her something. I don't know. I guess it's the same thing. I don't know. or he that show mercy. The word mercy means sympathy manifested. You know what it means to feel sorry for someone that needs it. Some poor elderly person in a nursing home that really needs your sympathy. I used to have a ministry in a nursing home in one particular nursing home in Orwell. I used to go up there every Sunday after church and teach the Bible some of those other people and while I was there I had to answer questions for them but most of the time I had to feel sorry for them. That's what they needed and they tell me they're troubles. Some of them know what kind of troubles they had, they didn't know where they were at. But they still ask me things and I had to feel sorry for them. That was part of my duty. I guess that's what I went out there for and that's what I did. One guy in particular was in a wheelchair, all been over, brilliant, sharp as a tack, knew everything, was aware of everything, and taught him the Bible, things he didn't realize. I didn't know that, but he got a grip on it. And while I was there, he wanted me to write a book on his wife, a brief little book about 30 pages because he knew that I had a printer and I did that kind of stuff. I didn't really want to do it. But he wrote it all down on some of the nurses in the nursing home health came right in and it was about a little over 30 pages and he wrote it down. I couldn't hardly read his writing. I had a heck of a time on telling him. It took me months but I did it. I put it in book form, typed it, typed it, printed it, correlated it, stable it together, did the artwork and gave him a bunch of coffee so he could pass him up, he was happy. And one of the last times I saw him, I moved to Perry Church, and I didn't have time to go all the way out there, and there are just a lot of things. He gave me something, one of his most precious possessions, a stick pen for my thigh, with a diamond in him, with quite a bit of money, I don't know. But that's what my ministry meant to him, my being there. So your ministry means something. Being a preacher, being in a ministry doesn't mean that you just make people feel good all the time because what if a person's wrong? What if a person is doing something that God doesn't like? He just can't say, well it's okay. It's okay, my child, you know, like the Catholic priest. Part of the ministry is telling people what they don't want to here. That's pretty hard to do it. He hard to do. There are times I felt some of you guys saying that you don't want to hear, times when I do that. That's part of my ministry. I'm obligated to do that. You see. But the reason I, one of the reasons I am in the ministry is because there's a need. I know that. And I can see the need when I see how this little church has progressed from where I began in Heritage Bible Church many years ago, progress to Rome, to a church out there that didn't work out. I didn't feel bad about it. Just another day went back here, went there, went here, wound up here. I'm perfectly content. Like Paul said, I'm content wherever I am. I'm happy in my personal ministry. I do believe there's a need and I do believe it's biblical. I'm perfectly happy, but I do know that I wouldn't have done it if I was not willing and available. Initially, I was not willing to be a pastor of the church. Sometimes that happens gradually. I didn't want to do that. What I really wanted to be was a big time evangelist. I wanted to go around barnstorming churches and just iron them up with sort of a pride-filled thing, don't you think? Maybe that's why I didn't work. And then I, there were some other things that I tried to do on my own that I thought that's what God wanted me to do, didn't work out. I thought I wanted to start a big writing ministry with the real fancy covers and all that Bible studies on the inside and millions of people would buy it and read it, that didn't work out either. Sort of a pride-filled thing, don't you think, wasn't what God wanted. Nevertheless, I was still willing and available. I just wasn't willing to be a preacher. Now I am more than willing, but I do know one thing. I am dedicated, and I'm committed, and I believe I'm pretty much motivated. If you get all those things down, you will find your ministry no matter how big, no matter how small. The Holy Spirit will give you the wisdom to answer any and every question. The Holy Spirit will be there to guide you, to lead you, to teach you. He will keep you out of trouble. He will keep you safe from harm. I'm going to say something that I probably shouldn't say. Over the past, over the many years in my own personal life, and I don't know why it happened, probably just coincidence, I don't know. But I do know two people, in particular, over the years, that were thrown in my side and really quite an obstacle to my own personal life, my health, and my ministry, and my service to the Lord. You know what happened to those people? They're dead. The Holy Spirit, not probably shouldn't tell you this. You might get the wrong, but the Holy Spirit will move people out of your way, but they're going to be a hindrance to you unless you deserve that. I didn't, I didn't, it will happen if you have all of this. And I don't know, maybe you don't want to be in the ministry, that's up to you. Maybe you don't want to serve the Lord. That's entirely up to you, that's when you're in the Lord. But if you really want something better for your life, if you're saved, born again Christian, saved by the blood of Christ, you really want something better for you. I'm not talking about money, power, prestige, recognition, I'm not talking about recognition. You may never get recognized. You may be in a smallest church in the world. I've never seen a smallest church in the world in West Virginia. The church was about that big. One person could hardly get into it if it's just sort of a first attraction. But the Lord may put you in a very small church. He may do that. Being in a ministry doesn't mean power, prestige, none of those things. But it will make you happy. I guarantee it. If you'll be content, I guarantee it. you serve the Lord in the capacity that He wants you to be in. And you will know it when the time comes and you will know it because He will show you. And I'll tell you something. It's a blessing and an honor to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. It really is. And if that's where you want to be, and if that's what you want to do, then if you just follow the simple basic basic diagram but I lay down and maybe you maybe you're not there yet maybe you don't have any idea what the Lord wants you to do maybe you don't have any idea what you want to do I know over the years I always thought I want to be this always thought I want to be that on a personal level person talk about myself so much but I remember going to art school I thought what a waste of time I want to be an artist but I know I wasn't gonna be but the Lord has allowed me to use that in my own ministry and drawing covers for books and stuff like that, other than the ones J did for me, which I do appreciate. And I always thought I wanted to write books. You know, I don't sit on the over show. Oh, I wrote this book. Yeah. You know what, I do a lot of writing in my own personal ministry, but I wouldn't call myself a writer, but the Lord has allowed He has made everything come to pass that I ever wish for in His capacity. It truly is a blessing isn't it? So if that's where you're at that's what you think in that's what you're up to and just consider all those things and always be able to lead you in the right and as far as Sunday morning you're all on anytime just let me know when you're ready okay because you need the exposure and it's a good jump start it's a good jump start in a right direction everybody has his own ministry in his own way just don't try to be somebody you're not just be yourself serve the Lord as you are and he will use you in a mighty way if you let him. Okay? Let's have word prayer and we'll close if you will. Dear Lord we thank you for the word of God, the Bible, the Holy Spirit that you gave us when I trusted Christ as my Savior. He indulges me, gives me wisdom, gives me the ability to overcome obstacles, gives me the ability to understand myself, to understand people, just to understand my position that you put me in in life, that's where I belong, and I thank you for, and I thank you for my own personal ministry that you gave me, and we just thank you for it in Christ's name. Amen.