In Pursuit of a Vision

Maybe we could kneel for prayer. Praise you, Father. Praise you forever and ever.

Father, I want to thank you for opening my eyes, but yet I don't see as I want to see. God, I need more understanding. I need more practical application of what I know.

Father, I do pray for this dear brotherhood, this beautiful gathering of saints at Burn, Indiana. Lord, would you draw near to us this morning and help us. I just desire, Lord, that you would fill me with your spirit for the preaching of the word.

Lord, I'm so dependent on you. God, I pray that you would, in my humanity, keep me from saying or doing things that would be an offense or cause someone to be weak or stumble. Lord, we pray for the light to shine brightly.

In Jesus' name, amen. I might begin this morning a little bit by, oh, I don't know, a little word of explanation. We were intending to be here early in March for that weekend of meetings, or the week of meetings that was had here.

Yeah, it seems like a combination of things happened to me where there were some, maybe the most difficult years of my ministry since we came to Kentucky at least, happened in the last two years, and then followed that with a very intense fall, three weeks of meetings in the course of about four months, besides preaching more Sundays than not, and a midweek Bible study at Caneyville and other meetings, and I just physically came into an overload there, and add to that using some caulk in my basement while it was cold outside and I could work inside, and I was supposed to have it well-ventilated and cross-ventilated, and I had neither, and I breathed those fumes that I didn't have any idea were as toxic as they were, and all told, I could seemingly not handle any stress, not even little decisions. Anyway, but the Lord has raised us up, and during all that time, there was no sense of the Lord being far away, felt more power to pray during some of those times than we had other times, and yeah, so we're just committing our lives into His care. I do find that I can't handle as much sleeplessness.

Sorry for not staying at the prayer meeting last night, but yeah, we just find our limitations. Feels like I'm old, but I'm still young, according to Brother Laverne, and so that's a little bit of where we find ourselves, and rejoicing in God's goodness and strength, and thankful that the Lord puts in our hearts a burning fire, and in beginning here, the message titled today is In Pursuit of a Vision, In Pursuit of a Vision. The reason that I say In Pursuit of a Vision is that I'm not sure that as life goes on that we ever see as clearly as what we ought to see, or as we'd like to see, and what we see makes an enormous difference in the things that are pressed on our hearts, and sometimes what we need is more light, and God's Word will bring that, but In Pursuit of a Vision.

I'll read here from Leonard Ravenhill, our status quo in page 47. Oh, Pastor, no, and again, no, no. Do not disturb our status quo.

We love our Zion with cushioned ease, and ask you not to disturb us, please. After all, we carry a little care and often sing sweet hour of prayer. Dear Pastor, we do not understand why you grieve for those in foreign land.

We have the sick and needy poor 10 yards outside our own church door, and Pastor, dear, we often wonder why at times you seem to thunder against our hearts which you say are cold. It seems to us you're very bold. We believe in sin and regeneration.

Would you have us throw off the recreation that gives us fun and makes us sleep? Would you have us pray and fast and weep for the heathen lost and you say damned? A thing we hardly understand. Our lives will need re-evaluation if we are to care for another nation. We have gorgeous homes, soft beds to die on.

We like it soft in our little Zion. Oh, Pastor, please again, no, no, do not disturb our status quo. On page 45, Jungle Girl.

I looked in her eyes like saucers, just a girl on the jungle track. She was one of the forest's daughters with a bundle slung over her back. She was naked except for a G-string and as black as a cob of coal, but the dirt on her smelly body was white against the filth of her soul.

Beneath that skin was a woman, though she looked as wild as a beast, but she knew no rights as a woman to say the very least. She worked for her man in the daytime. She slaked his lust at night.

A woman, dear Lord, a woman without her human right. Oh, Lord, as things are going, it very well might be she'll learn of communist Russia before she learns of thee. I flick back a page of my memory to our churches and people there who spend less time a-praying than they do in styling their hair.

Those who plan for frivolous parties with frolics and food and fun, but no one cares, but no cares for the wasted hours with so little praying done. Oh, God, dear God in compassion, look down on our tearless eye, baptize us with thy holy passion for the heathen we've left to die. I only regret this morning that I've used my years so limited in the Lord's work and that I only have one life to live in his service.

I wish I was young again and could learn Spanish. They tell me I still could. I'm not sure.

But if I could learn Spanish, I think I'd go waste my life in South America. I'm told that you could put your finger anywhere in Ecuador and go there and have some measure of success at winning souls and building a church in that country. Bolivia may be much the same.

And the years roll on by. In 15 years, I'll be 70 years old. And it feels like 70 years is sort of what's prescribed except by reason of strength.

And my life is gone. And why have I accomplished so little? The need for a vision. Proverbs 29, 18 says, without it, the people perish.

They cast off restraint. In the natural, if you don't have vision, they won't let you drive. I recently got my driver's license renewed.

And I went in there. And since 2007, I had a sawmill accident that I hit iron on the carriage, a circular blade, and the tooth came out and hit me flat ways in the bone above the eye. That was a mercy.

I felt like God just verified I'll guide that when things are flying. But if it had been a half inch over, it hit me in the temple, probably killed me. If it had been a half inch over this way, it hit my eyeball and pulverized it because it was going about 90 miles an hour.

And I have ruptured retina. When I close my right eye, there's a big black spot right here. I see lower and left.

But that's not enough to drive with. And so in Kentucky, they're making you take a test. You have this thing, you stick your head up to it.

And you look in there and they tell you to read the whole top row. And I read what I could see was two boxes. And the lady says, read the whole top row.

And I read it again. And she said, no, the box all the way on the left. And I said, there's nothing in it.

And she said, you'll have to go get a paper from an eye doctor that you're good enough to drive. And so we left there, went to the eye doctor. Many people do not have spiritual vision.

If you can't see other drivers, the curve ahead, or can't see what you're doing, you have lots of wrecks. Many people do not have spiritual vision. They can't see what they're doing.

They do not know and understand God. They don't know why God placed them on the earth. The eyes of their understanding have never been enlightened.

They can't see. A child is born to them and they have no idea that in 20 years, that baby will be an adult with either the mark of God on them or the mark of the world and the devil. They can't see it.

Oh, the need for being able to see. Jesus came to Jerusalem and he had that triumphant entry. And as he approached Jerusalem there and he looked over the city and he said, oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem.

If you would have only understood the things that belong to your peace, but now they're hid from your eye. What do you see? Time and eternity depends on what we're able to see. Can you see? Can you see where you are and where it's going to take you? Have you cried to God to see? One day blind Bartimaeus was on the roadside and he was there and he was just hoping to get enough for dinner tonight and begging as people went by and he hears this tumult.

He hears a larger group of people passing and I don't know what he thought. He said, you're probably somebody kind in this bunch is going to give me something. And well, he says, what's the noise about? Oh, Jesus of Nazareth is passing by and all of a sudden he got vision for something more and then just a gift for tonight.

And he says, oh, I want to see. He says, Jesus, Jesus, have mercy on me. You're making too much noise.

And old Bart, he got fired up more. I don't know. Did he get up and put his hands through his mouth and he hollered and he just stopped and says, what do you want? I said, I want to see.

And if I could see better, sometimes I would make less mistakes and I would have more of an eternal vision and eternal values and eternal approach. If we could see eternity, oh, if we could see ourselves and our hearts desires. Oh, if we could see God for who he is, if we could see sin for what it is and what it does, if we could see, then we could live in the light of eternity.

We could live in the temporal in light of the eternal. Spiritual eyesight is so rare that people go through life stumbling around and have no idea what they're stumbling over. They can't see and they keep wrecking, but they can't see.

I want to consider four Bible concepts today from the Bible and the first one is faith comes by hearing and I'm thinking in eternal values and in eternal terms. I'd like to turn to Romans chapter 10 here this morning and remind us this morning that faith cometh by hearing. Faith comes by hearing in Vernon, Indiana.

It comes by hearing in Kentucky. It comes by hearing in Africa. It comes by hearing in South America.

It comes by hearing among the people of God and comes by hearing among the lost. Those whose eyes would be opened. Faith comes by hearing.

Romans 10 and verse 8. We won't get into the dialogue ahead of here. There's too many details for us to look at here, but it says in verse 8 in Romans 10 verse 8, But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart. That is the word of faith which we preach, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Why does it say, The scripture saith, In the human heart comes a temptation to think that if I follow God's way one of these days I'm going to be embarrassed about it. And the Bible assures you that he that puts his trust and confidence in God is never going to be ashamed that he did that.

Whatever difficulties come along the way with that God will carry them through those things. And the scripture says it because in the human heart we think that to take God's way is the weaker is the lesser way but it isn't. Now we'll go on in reading in verse 14.

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard and how shall they hear without a preacher. So here in our in our priorities we should be doing the calculation and the math in light of the scriptures what should we be producing in a congregation in our homes and in our lives we should be producing preachers so that the preaching is increased so that faith increases and those who call upon the Lord are going to be increased. Can you see that? Can you think of putting a priority on that but tomorrow morning comes and all the work that's in Burn, Indiana is going to lie at your door and say do me do me.

Hey pay attention to me. I'm in. You know how it is.

But if you can see you can see our next point that all these things are going to be dissolved and there's only going to be one thing that God is taking from this universe and this cosmos with all its beauty and intricacies it is the church. It is those redeemed souls and those there is a calling in this land for men and women to give their lives for the souls of men for the word of God that faith would be increased in the earth and that around that great banquet hall there would be people at that great banquet supper that otherwise would not have been if you would not have heard the call to be a preacher of the gospel and go forth and preach the word of God at the loss of your future at the loss of your own life here temporarily and looking like you're losing all of the wealth of this world and the future in this world. If you can see if you can see it says in verse 15 and how shall they preach except they be sent together and so it seems like it never works out real good when somebody says hey send me I'm a preacher send me no they need to work together with a brotherhood draw together with a brotherhood and develop their gifts and grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus working together with a brotherhood and the vision comes upon them.

I've got a call. I need to go. OK we're going to send you into this work going to send you into this work.

You know Jesus gave up everything. Come to the earth. So that we might have life.

There was a family. They had this man that lived across the field over yonder. They always had this lonely old man over for Christmas and Christmas Eve and dad would open the book of Luke and he would read the Christmas story and he'd read about how Jesus left his heavenly family and came to the earth for the earthly family and he allowed the heavenly family to be broken up.

So that the earthly family could become part of that. And finally one year this man said no I'm not coming for Christmas this time. I want you to send one of your sons.

To have Christmas with me. Now this was a pill for this family. And they weighed it.

They weighed things out. And decided to do it. And the one son.

Mid to older teenagers. Left. His home.

Went across the field. Thinking about what's going on over here. With his family.

And doesn't know what Christmas is going to be like with this old man. And he got to the door. And the man met him with a big smile.

He said you did it. He said you all kept reading the story of how the family in heaven was broken up. So that we could be part of that.

But I didn't know if you would be willing for your family to be broken up. For me. Let's go over with the first of the family.

And so they went back across the field and joined the rest of the family. The family had passed the test. And if you are going to be a preacher of the gospel.

It's going to cost you family ties. It's going to cost you many earthly. Pleasures and comforts.

And I've come this morning to stir you up. Because I believe it's what God wants me to do. Faith comes by hearing.

If we're not preaching. If we're not living. If we don't have a vision for why we're here.

We're going to miss it. And we're going to waste our lives. Maybe you say.

Look brother. Circumstance has it so I cannot go. There's no doubt that I cannot go.

What can you do to assist that it happens. That's what I want to know. What can you do to see to it that it happens.

Will you pray that your son might go. The son of your right hand. And if it works out that he can go and it costs you.

Are you willing to take the losses that it takes. Send him. Pray for him.

Pray for the people that he's going to minister to. You know it says in John chapter 16 that when this Holy Spirit comes. He's going to convince men of sin of righteousness and a judgment to come.

And you can begin even now before your son is going. You can begin praying that God when my son gets there. Would you have a people that have conviction already working in their hearts and lives.

That they're being convinced of sin and righteousness and judgment. A friend of mine was traveling in Ecuador and he was on a bus and he said they play violent movies on there and they pulled their toques down and you know plug their ears and everything. But after the movie was over he said he and this other person started talking.

And this young man tells him that somehow he was in the dregs of of sin of alcohol and he was drinking. And he says somehow God convinced him that if he keeps drinking it's going to take him to hell. And he says I've quit drinking.

He said my family still drink social they don't understand what's going on with me. But he said I got convinced that I have to quit drinking. And he says to this young brother he says I have other sin in my life.

How can overcome sin. The young brother was a bit stumped. He wasn't sure what to tell him but he encouraged him to read his Bible a lot.

But here is God preparing a soul for a preacher. If we see spiritual eyesight let's go. Here we have the necessity of God's word if we would know God and come to saving faith.

There is a great need today for the reading of the word of God. To get to know God what he does and what he values. In verse 17 of this passage it says so then faith cometh by hearing.

I guess we never even read the finished reading the passage. Well we hop back up to verse 14. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard and how shall they hear without a preacher and how shall they preach except they be sent as it is written how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things but they have not all obeyed the gospel for Isaiah saith Lord who hath rebelieved our report.

So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. The reason that people's lives are crippled is they have a lack of the quantity of the word of God in their hearts. It's an amazing thing to me brothers and sisters to be preaching the word or meditating on a message and God brings this passage over here a verse over here and a thought from over here and an illustration over here.

It's an amazing thing but it doesn't come unless you've read it unless you have pursued it unless you have pondered it and for many years I have read few other books besides the Bible and God works in me and I pray that he works in you. We need to know what God thinks and pursues to know him with our eyes our ears and our minds to read his word to think his thoughts to hear convicting preaching to understand in our hearts and to change our lives to what we see. Faith comes by hearing many have little faith and little comfort of the Holy Ghost and they are not in pursuit of God and eyesight of the heart by reading diligently their Bibles and in those who are weak in their Bible reading and their devotional life we could say it that way.

Guess what? They begin to wonder does God keep his promises? If they read that Bible even in just the book of Genesis I was talking to an older couple and I asked them these were multi-time grandparents maybe even great grandparents I said have you ever read the Old Testament all the way through? No we've never read it. I said read the book of Genesis at least and the wife looked at me and says why? I said it's the foundation for who God is and how he is and what he does. Well if you read the book of Genesis you find out that a man got a promise.

He got a promise of a son and it seemed like God doesn't keep his promises because 15 years have gone by and there's no son and if you don't know that 25 years later after all human possibility of it being able to happen Abraham and Sarah got a son and it was so ludicrous that they'd have a son that they all laughed about it and God says actually we're going to call him laughter that's what Isaac means. Everybody's going to laugh about this because God kept his promise and if you know that in your mind and you have read it with your eyes then your heart anchors on God is the promise keeping God. One person says that God will keep his promise though all the roads that lead to it are closed.

God will keep his promise. Well maybe you're throwing for a loop because somebody loved God's going through deep waters going through deep troubles. Where's God? Read the book of Job and all the wrestlings and perplexities friends they come and say oh you're hiding sin.

You've got hidden sin in there. God doesn't do this to righteous people. No.

Oh. God had something bigger going on something bigger going on and you learn those things by reading this book and strengthening your faith. Why is the songs of Fanny Crosby some of my favorites because they have many Bible idioms or phrases from the scriptures or God's working here from the world we turn Jesus to seek.

Hear me loving voice tenderly speak. And I I'm I'm a master at crossing over on the verses so I won't go further. Here at thy feet we bend.

What does that mean. Worship. Oh let thy smile descend.

We long for thee. And here is a hymn writer who was blind. But if I have it right her grandmother.

Helped her memorize Genesis Exodus Leviticus numbers and Deuteronomy many scriptures she in the New Testament memorized and she thought in terms of scripture and the revelation of God. Faith comes by hearing brothers and sisters. Maybe.

You find yourself giving your life to serve Jesus. And you find yourself in the midst of difficulty. You can turn there to Matthew Mark Luke and John.

And read. And see. That Jesus suffered.

Terribly. Misunderstanding accusation. Even lost his life.

If the master went that way. Faith says that it's safe to follow him. You and I. It's safe to follow him.

I'm just talking about faith coming by hearing and how our eyes are opened in their perspective as we consider the word of God and what is written and how others lived and what God had to say about those things. Faith comes by hearing. Here we see in verse 14 and 15.

How should they call on him in whom they have not believed and how should they believe in him whom they have not heard and how should they hear without a preacher. How should they preach except they be sent as it is written. How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things.

I never did think that feet were very pretty. My wife's are fairly but feet normally aren't the object of beauty but those feet that carry that preacher across the mountains. God says our beautiful feet and how it goes with the preachers and their vision and their passion in a church.

Sorry brothers. I don't mean to load you up over much. That's how it goes in the church.

This will be the effect in the church. We need sound inspired preachers teachers advisors shepherds to open the word of God to us. Oh God give us sound disciples that aspire to effect to effectual preaching of the word to bring it to bear with simplicity on our conscience and why why would we have a preacher because God wants someone to take the word of God and open it to us and lay it on our conscience not to introduce it to our theology theology.

God wants preaching to affect the person's inner man to where our conscience goes to work and we say God where am I in relation to this. Let me come into line and God goes to work through the preaching of the word. Brothers don't merely share.

There's a time for sharing and there's a time for preaching. If any man speak let him speak is the oracles of God. I may never preach here again.

But if I do I hope I'm not passive or suggestive. I have a burden that our young men get a vision for taking this book and doing something I'm not very good at is going through and showing what is in this book and being able to communicate it in an edifying way to the body of Christ and thus enriching the lives and the perspective of the body of Christ through the word. We have a dearth of deep thinkers and we need to increase it rather than spending your afternoon beating a ball around.

Take your Bible. Go to the woods for two hours. There's young men that have done that and they told later about how that first little while they agonized and felt foolish and dry bone dry out there.

But it didn't stay that way. They began to get eyes that can see eyes that can see men who have come to know God's word and God himself men in whom the fire burns as they nurture their own souls their families and their belief and the believers. You know I probably wouldn't be a preacher today if I wouldn't have started with my family.

I started with my wife. We were just married and I had to call to preach while we were courting and she knew that. But somehow I don't know she didn't connect the dots and we started having family devotions and I started preaching to her and she got the strange look on her face and I said honey what's wrong.

She says I don't know why you talk to me in that tone of voice. I'm practicing to preach. Oh you're practicing to preach.

Just go ahead. Go ahead. Preach.

I had two little boys two and four years old and I assumed that if I couldn't keep their attention by talking to them by preaching being alive something's wrong with the preacher. If they were distracted hey if I see my audience going to sleep there's something wrong with this guy. Preach.

Sorry. I didn't know you're sleeping brother. Men in whom the fire burns as they nurture their own souls their families and the believers you know we could say hey I'm up for that.

Just give it to me. I'd love to have that but how do you get it. Oh.

Stir yourself up. Get out of bed in the morning. Seek God.

He'll come through for you. He wants fire in you too. And me.

Faith comes by hearing how should the lost hear if no one tells them if no preachers are sent if no Bibles are sent and no one rides with the Ethiopian to explain it to him. Many read their Bibles like an outdated book that has little application to our modern times. The Bible leads to faith which is man's greatest need.

Faith leads to holiness and holiness is the essence of wholeness. You are right on it brother Milton. If God were anything other than what he is he would cease to be whole.

He would cease to be complete. And that's why when we pursue holiness in our own lives it leads to wholeness and completeness and actually the ability to live life to the fullest. With very little.

I just am so inspired by brother Heisey. I'm not sure what old stories to tell you. They were down there in Woodbury Tennessee and brother Malin Gerard was making arrangements for preaching and who did what.

And they asked brother Heisey to come have a message on a Sunday morning at Gravel Switch. And they came. They were there.

He seemed like he had a little bit of a headache. He put his hand up here when he started preaching but by the time he was done he was over. I mean the headache was gone.

And later he told the story of what happened. He said I think three times that night he had been got his wife out of bed got her in a wheelchair. Rolled her in the bathroom.

Got her on the stool. Cleaned things up. Back in the wheelchair.

Did I say hi chair? Back in the wheelchair. Back over here. Get her in bed and get her situated like she liked to be and lay down try to get a little sleep.

I think three times that night he had her to the bathroom that way and four o'clock in the morning their daughter came to help mom get ready to go to Kentucky to preach. I think I would have said look I'm too old. I simply can't.

You know we're handicapped here but not him. They get in that car and he don't have a GPS and they're coming up the road. Boom boom boom.

Coming up the road. And somehow they missed the 127. Don't know where the 127 is.

Well he says over here in the corner of an empty store place he said I see this man throwing um I don't know trash in a trash bin. And he said I pulled over there and I said sir he says can you tell me how to get to the 127. Well he said he looked at me and said where do you want to go? He said I want to go to Liberty.

Well he said that's where I'm going. Follow me. Really? What's the chances of that happening? Neil? I think it was an angel.

Got in front of them and drove all the way to Liberty. And from there he found his way over to Gravel Switch. They'd gone through all that and he comes up there and preaches a message like nobody's business.

Edifies everybody. Has lunch. And head back for Tennessee.

My hat's off to him. Even my hair. He tells about hopping out of bed ten times in the night.

To help his wife like I described. And he couldn't take it. And he says God give me the want to.

Give me the want to. Help me want to get up and help her. And as soon as he heard her in distress his feet hit the floor and take care of it.

Ten times in the night. There's no doubt that there was some divine enablement in that. And what might God do with you if you would say here am I. Lord.

I'm willing just to present myself. What do you want me to do. What do you want me to do most.

Got a burden as a young man. You want to be helping with the church somewhere somehow. And so he offered this consider the lawn mowed for this next summer.

I'll take care of it at my own expenses. And kept that lawn mowed. After a summer or two he's got so many other things.

Where he could serve he said you had to get somebody else take care of the law and I can't do that anymore. Ended up being. A man mightily used of God.

God. Wants to show himself strong. To you.

And to others through you. And many times that cannot be accomplished. Unless you and I go through difficulty.

I mean how do you show that a truck really has power. You put a load on it. God doesn't want to show our power.

He wants to show his power. Thank God. Is your Bible and up to date book.

Men and women of faith can see they know where they're going and not going they have discernment. The second concept today is in 2nd Peter Chapter 3. Verse 9. 2nd Peter Chapter 3 in verse 9 it says the Lord is not slack concerning his promises some men count slackness but his long suffering to us were not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. This is in context here of in verse 4. Where is the promise of his coming for since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.

Now it's interesting to me that I would say that in the last 20 years of my life I've heard less preaching on the Lord's return than I did the 10 years previous to that. And it seems like towards the end there's going to be somewhat of apathy about this subject. Are we getting closer? Just those comments now verse 9 the Lord's not slack in verse 10.

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise and elements shall melt with fervent heat. The earth also and works that are there in shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved.

What manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation and godliness looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and elements shall melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless we according to his promise look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore beloved seeing that you look for such things be diligent that you may be found of him in peace without spot and blameless.

All these things shall be dissolved don't establish your kingdom here brother sister. The Bible is very clear that he that would not work neither should he eat. There are different kinds of work.

There's the physical work. There's the things that need to be taken care of every day. Your mother's you know you know that and those babies they wake up they got to be changed they got to be fed these little children they got to be rocked they need to be educated and they need to be fed and there are many things that the Bible says that if you do this in a physical way to one of these the least of these you will not lose your reward in the eternal.

And so there are many things in that bracket. There's relief work Aaron Bauman in Tennessee a man of tremendous inspiration to me. He would give his life in a practical way gathering together stuff for the poor in Honduras.

He would load a semi-trailer and he would with cutoffs from the local metal shop six foot pieces of metal. He put some of that in there. He gathered together shoes he'd go to 127 yard sale and he'd see this bunch of shoes over here and he'd say to the person that had him says I'll offer you a quarter a pair on those shoes and they'd about get angry with him and he pointed at his pickup and the little sign that he had on the side of his box says shoes for the poor.

And so he would and he said I don't mean to offend you. This is what I'm doing. They would many times sell those shoes to him for a quarter pair but he wasn't done.

He'd go and put them upstairs in his letter shop and they had a platform a table up there and he'd take every pair of shoes and bend the sole like stretch it to where see if there's cracks there. Is that going to be a lasting worthwhile something to cart and he'd load those shoes on that semi-trailer. He put hospital beds.

He put wheelchairs crutches all kinds of stuff like that and get it in that semi and then he got my Michael horse. Some of you know Michael horse got him to haul it to port and scared him. He was ten thousand pounds overweight.

He said there next time you got to weigh that trailer stop putting so much in there. They'll find me terrible if they catch me and so he slipped that thing on that then Aaron sends the thing across custom twelve thousand pounds twelve thousand dollars to hold this thing over by sea container. Then he goes down there and by his own hands up into the mountains handing out stuff to the poor.

He says a piece of three by six roofing metal doesn't mean much to you but he says if your wife is cooking with one of those outside dirt ovens and she's getting water on her head because that there's nothing up there while she's cooking supper. We're going to piece of metal actually is a mighty fine piece and so he distributed this stuff up there spent three months doing it. Comes back home and well he said I don't think I can afford to do this next year.

He's a wheeler dealer bargaining buying this lots partnered out all kinds of ideas. He said one day I was doing business over here and he says I cleared twelve thousand dollars in one lot. He said it wasn't expected.

I never saw it coming. He said just fell in my lap. He said well I guess I can afford to send another container because he saw that these things they're temporary.

They're going to be dissolved but in his lifetime he had a way of making money and he sent it out. He said he had three things. Jesus said sell that you have and give to the poor and he says I have a home.

I have a business and I have a farm. He said let's just say I need one more step of faith. He said the thing I need the least is the farm.

He sold it. Best of my knowledge gave it all away. We come up to a Berlin Ohio here.

I don't know why I'm telling you all these things. I don't have any of this in my notes. We come up here to Berlin Ohio.

Zinc's fabric outlet. At the end of the year he needed to get rid of a lot of fabric because he bought clothes out you know. Odd stuff.

He would have 20 yard bolts of fabric for a dog. And we come up there a bunch of us. We bring pallets.

We bring corner posts and some siding cut off and we'd make pallets and filled these pallets full of fabric for the sewing centers in Romania and wrap them with shrink wrap and haul them down the road into Cam's warehouse and from there they took it on. Loved it. Loved it.

He hasn't suffered for lack. I just talked to him recently. He said I have a And he said you know the Lord says cast your bread upon the waters and after many days it's going to return to you.

He's yeah. Anyway he told me a little where he's at. He's in his 70s now.

And he is not living for here and now. Can I stir our hearts. Set your affection on the eternal.

The heavens will pass away with a great noise. Johnny whatever his name is that wrote the book. Heartbridge.

Romanian was part of that children's home over there. Now he's a phone counselor to Cam. People call in with with the cam team.

And somebody says you mean you don't believe in a big bang. Oh yeah. He said I believe in a big bang.

He said the Bible says the heavens are going to pass away with a great noise. I think it's going to be a big bang. The earth will dissolve.

Dissolve. What what's what's dissolved. It speaks of a fervent heat.

And what kind of person will you and I be then. One generation after another builds plants lives and struggles succeeds or fails. To where this seems almost unreal that anything is going to change.

But the Bible says that the heaven and earth they're going to pass away. And we according to his word look for new heavens and new earth. Let us see this time in light of eternity.

We need to be able to see with our hearts that all these things will be dissolved. To live as diligent in business. But is all that we're living for going to be dissolved.

We were living in Tennessee and things reached a point spiritually there in the situation where we were where we realized we needed to move. We made our last payment in February on a home place. And left it in September.

Driving out that road you know I was going through my mind. I said why did we work so hard. Just to drive off and leave it.

And then I thought. Is that how it's going to be when I go to eternity. Why did I work so hard.

For something that I just simply have to drive off and leave. But Jesus says you can go to work now. And lay up treasure in heaven.

Moth or rust. Won't affect it. Thieves won't be able to get to it.

And there is not a soul here. That isn't able to enter into that. Let's get a vision for verse 13 and 14 here.

Nevertheless we according to his promise look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore beloved seeing that you look for such things be diligent that you may be found of him in peace without spot and blameless. The third concept today God has invested in all of us and he will return one day to see what we did with his investment.

Matthew 25. Verse 14. Matthew 25 verse 14 says and this is right after the parable of the five foolish virgins the five wise virgins.

And it seemed that the dilemma of the foolish virgins was that they didn't keep their focus up to date. They did not keep their oil up to date. There was none left when it came midnight.

Verse 14 for the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country who called his own servants and delivered unto them his goods and unto one he gave five talents to another two and another one to every man according to his several ability and straightway took his journey. Then he that received the five talents went and traded with the same and made them other five talents. And likewise he that received two he also gained other two.

But he that received one went and digged in the earth and hid his Lord's money. After a long time the Lord of those servants cometh and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents saying Lord thou delivered unto me five talents.

Behold I have gained beside them five talents more. His Lord said unto him well done thou good and faithful servant thou has been faithful over a few things I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.

He also that received two talents came and said Lord thou delivered unto me two talents. Behold I have gained two other talents beside them. His Lord said unto him well done good and faithful servant thou has been faithful over a few things I will make thee ruler over many things.

Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. Then he which had received the one talent came and said Lord I knew thee that thou art a hard man reaping where thou hast not sown and gathering where thou hast not strawed. I'm just guessing he had done very little Bible reading.

What do you think? You think he would have thought of God as such if he would diligently been applying his own heart to the scriptures and the revelation of God. Thou art a hard man. His Lord okay verse 25 and I was afraid and went and hid thy talent in the earth.

Lo there thou hast that is thine. His Lord answered and said unto him thou wicked and slothful servant thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not and gathered where I had not strawed. Thou oughtest therefore to put my money to the exchangers and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.

Take therefore the talent from him and give it unto him which hath ten talents for unto every one that hath shall be given and he that hath abundance from him. But from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath and cast you the unprofitable servant into outer darkness there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. I just notice here in God's goodness the one that had applied himself the most the one who had received five talents and had gone to work with what he was given.

He had accumulated five more but the Lord didn't come and say hey. He says that one that this guy squandered he didn't do anything with it give it to him. Give it to him and amazingly what you do with opportunities.

What you do with opportunities you say well I just hardly get any opportunities. Can you make some. God has given all of us an investment.

God has invested in all of us and he will return one day to see what we did with his investment with us. What has he invested in you. Two of these men went to work with what they had and it increased.

One was lazy ungrateful and had a wrong view of his master. By diligently exercising what they had they got what they did not have before. And I find it very interesting.

I don't know if I should do this. I never dreamed that I'd ever preach at a Bible school. That's way too advanced.

That's scary stuff. No. But I had a passion for spiritual youth.

And so there in Tennessee I began taking young people to Pennsylvania to Bible school young people that would not have had opportunity to go if I wouldn't have taken them. So I went. I was going to be edified myself sitting in the back.

And we got there and they're saying it's important that everybody has a name tag. Get in line and get your name tag. And so.

I'm not sure. So I got in line to talk with Mark Brubaker. And I said I've got permission to be here for the week and I'm just sitting in the back and and you know brought some young people in.

And he says well we'll give you a counselor badge. And I said now wait a minute. I said nobody made me a counselor.

He says you are now. The time of my life. I live for that week at Bible school and they preach to those 600 plus young people and God's word was plowing in their hearts and evening a message was given invitation was given and here these broken young people come around the back after they've responded and I got to be in that lot to go with a prayer group leader and talk to this distressed young person and help them through.

It gives me the goosebumps to this day and I started living for it. It was a high. What a blessing.

I took an opportunity. Well. We kept going and one day my phone rings.

And Mark Brubaker says would you bring two of the evening messages. Oh. Big stuff.

Yeah. Way too big. Can any good thing come from Muddy Pond.

But God continues. To pour in grace. And things happen.

And no way would happen before. Alan Overholtzer many of you know Alan Overholtzer. I don't know if I've ever saw a man to had his low opinion of his opinion is Alan Overholtzer.

But he kept being faithful. I knew there were years there. We spent considerable time fasting and praying weekly.

And God was answering his prayers. And you start hearing it in the nomination for deacon. And didn't work out for a time or two.

But finally he was ordained as a deacon. And he got freer and got more confidence and increasingly yeah got freer. And then he got chosen to be an elder.

And he claims he don't know anything about being an elder. But God's using him. Because he was faithful with the.

What he was given with his talents. You've been given something. Maybe you've been given a stable home.

Where love prevails. Are you taking that for granted. And actually going lower in your existence than what your parents started you out at.

Or are you investing and saying. Hey I was given some tough stuff. I was given some good stuff.

Let's build on this good stuff. And come up higher and increase the treasure in my store. And when my master comes back.

I can hold up my face and say. I sought to do your will. Thank you for receiving me into your kingdom.

He's coming back. And all of us are going to be finding out what did we do with what we were given. I'm thankful that I didn't receive five talents.

I don't think I could handle that much. But let me take what little I have. And do all that I can.

By diligently exercising what they had they got what they did not have before. Spiritual gifts. Maybe it's the fruit of the spirit.

Maybe God gave you a bunch of love and joy. And peace. But you didn't get a lot of patience.

Anybody identify with me when you didn't get a lot of patience. Well. I was going through affliction you know patience comes in affliction.

I was praying for patience. Somebody said that's dangerous to do. But there's another way to get it.

Ask God to give you his patient spirit. There was this man his car stalled in the intersection. And try as he might he couldn't get it going and the horn started behind him.

A chorus of horns. He hops out of his car and goes back to the person behind him and he says hey he says I can't manage to get my car started. I'll tell you what if you'll go up there and give it a try I'll stay here and blow your horn for you.

You think that was a patient man? I think that was a patient man. He was unraveled by the horn blowing. He was not he was totally unaffected by the horn blowing.

He had patience. And I want that kind of patience. Howard Bean also said that patience is able to keep your engine out of idle when you feel like stripping the gears.

And when God gives us something of his spirit he wants us to use it and increase it and grow in the spiritual vitality of that spiritual presence. It may be that God has given you the ability to see how to minister to others. Andrew Zimmerman just told me this last week or he said it in my hearing he said my business does a fourth of what it could do.

But he said it's doing fine as it is. But he said if I would throw myself into my business it probably would do four times what it's doing. What? He spends his days working with troubled young people.

And he says he's got a list. He's got a waiting list. And he's had to cut it down some because he simply can't handle it.

Investing. Investing. What has God given you? He said well you know I wish people would come to me for help.

Well why don't you take interest in them? It may be that God has given you the ability to make money that he intends somebody that isn't as good at it profit from it. I mentioned zinc. Zinc fabric outlet.

I don't know. He says be careful what you what kind of deals you make with God. He said he may just take you up on it.

And he had stores all over the place and was such a busy man. He said it can wear you out looking after it. But it seemed like he was running business for the kingdom of God somehow.

Aaron Baumann said there's no doubt that preaching is the better calling than physical serving. But he said it doesn't look like God is calling me to that other so I'm going to give myself to this one. And he has.

You know what he told me one day. He told me if I get over my lazy attitude about preaching and preparing to preach. He said our church would be full.

I had to take it. Because he so demonstrated his calling. And if he got a chance to have a message he'd spend up to three days studying and preparing for that message.

So I had to take it. I learned from him. God is invested in you.

What are you doing with it? Some of you are making good use of what you have reflecting God's values and faith. Some of us are tending towards unbelief and making excuses. This will never do when he comes to check on his investment.

What has God given you? What has he given you in faith, in family values, in practical godliness? He's coming back. Point number four, the fourth concept today is we are the savior of Christ in every place. Did you know that, we'll go to 2 Corinthians chapter 2, did you know that the amazing calling that you and I have on us is that when we've been in a store something of Christ's smell should be there while we're there and maybe after we leave.

Let's read our scripture here. 2 Corinthians 2, in verse number 14, now thanks be unto God which always causes us to triumph in Christ and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place. That savor is simply a smell.

For we are unto God a sweet savor of Christ. Now this is a different word. We are to God a sweet savor of Christ.

He smells in here and he says beautiful. That is such a good smell among that brotherhood. We are unto God a sweet savor of Christ in them that are saved and in them that perish.

To the one we are the savor of death unto death and to the other the savor of life unto life and to the other the savor of life and the savor of life and They said D.O. Moody also heard of another situation where D.O. Moody got pretty rough with a couple of guys that were Causing trouble. He didn't reflect the image of Christ It wasn't the Savior of Christ and he publicly apologized for what he had done Fannie Crosby's presence was felt by those who knew her without seeing her as she entered the place of worship This is our lifelong calling to be the Savior of Christ Have we accepted that calling to have the kind of attitudes that he would have To assume his responses To assume his love his devotion and care and who is sufficient for these things. It's been very convicting to me Today, can you see the call to be the Savior of Christ everywhere you go? You can't live in sin and have that aroma It quenches it Can you see God's investment in you? Where all has he invested in you? Can you see that all these things are going to dissolve? Can you see your need for the Word of God continually and Can we see together the need to be able to see I'll just say yet about that that need to be able to see Is there are some things I cannot see For instance To be able to thread a needle.

It is extremely difficult for me. My wife can see it to do it really good But now I'm farsighted and going down the interstate. I can probably read a bumper sticker a reasonable amount of time before my wife can You get these details right up here close.

I cannot see them I cannot find an intricate piece if something falls down in among something else I need my wife. I need somebody else that can see To get that thing out of there because if I can't see it How can I get it? We in the brotherhood We see things together My brothers see things that I cannot see I need to listen to them If we'll share what do you see and we can in kindness say well I see this oh Well, I see this we can get a much more complete picture if we can maintain the relationships to be able to express together to see What we're able to see and God will give us a vision and God will give us light and brightness I'm not going to preach apologize for preaching a little long. It's a good habit of mine One preacher said there's no such thing as preaching Patience into people unless you make them exercise it while they're listening