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Alright, now in First Thessalonians 2 here, there's a great chapter, there's all kinds of great doctrine here. I'm going to be focusing in on a couple verses, but right before I get to that, you know, basically I want tonight to be like a challenge for you. And the Bible says, you know, I'm sure everyone here is familiar with the Golden Rule, right? And it's, you know, basically people just kind of summarize and say, well do unto others as you'd have them do unto you, right? The way that's worded in Scripture is in Matthew 7-12, it says, Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them, for this is the law of the prophets. It's basically saying, look, this is a summary, this is saying all the law of the prophets can be summarized, it's basically two great commandments, this is one of them, it's basically love other people as yourself. Whatever you want people to do to you, that's how you should treat them. I mean, you wouldn't want someone coming in and stealing your stuff, right, so you don't go and steal their stuff. This is how all the law is laid out, I mean, you don't violate someone else's property or their person or all these other things and all these laws that are created for us to obey and follow. It's all summarized in that one statement, and see, this statement is something that's, I'm sure it's preached a lot on in churches, they do unto others as you have them do unto you, but I kind of want to go really deep into this and really dig into it and really understand what this means, and we get a good view here. Look at verse eight and verse nine, what we just read in First Thessalonians chapter number two, because it is a good kind of thing, like, you know, we in this church and in other Baptist or fundamental churches, you know, we preach hard on sin and we're separated and we kind of have a distinction between a lot of other churches in this day and age, but the Bible talks a lot about a lot of different subjects, and tonight is a pretty positive message, and it needs to be preached because it's part of the Bible and it's actually a very big theme of the Bible, so, you know, you might hear something like this in other churches and that's fine, if they're preaching something that's right, then good, they're doing something right, but I really want to dig into this and wrap our heads around this, because it's a great principle and you find it in many, many places throughout scripture. Look at verse number eight, where we just read in First Thessalonians chapter two, it says, so being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because you were dear unto us. For ye remember, brethren, our labor and travail, for labor and night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God. Now this is the type of spirit that I want to have in this church and I think that we ought to have. It says they imparted unto you not the gospel of God only, so say, look, not only did we preach the gospel unto you, which, yes, that's what we're doing, we're going out, we're preaching the gospel, we're trying to reach the loss and to reach to say we're going to bring the gospel to them, but he says, but also our own souls. They care about this. This is something that means something to them. It's not just something that you do like a robot where you go, well, we're supposed to knock on doors and win souls and you just do it out of commandments and that's what you'll find. The Jehovah's false witnesses, they're just a perfect picture of this, because they go out and the only reason they go out and do it is because they believe that they're commanded to do it and they have a workspace salvation, so if they don't go out and do it, then they're not going to get to heaven or they're not saved or whatever. Whatever reasons they do it and they're not excited to be out there. You see them dragging their feet and going really slow. We ought to be excited about it for one, but not only bringing the gospel, but he says their own souls. I mean, they care about these people so much or a little bit earlier, it says in verse seven, it says, but as we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherishes their children and another verse it talks about as a father, death his children. So he's referring to these people with the same amount of care and tenderness and love that a nurse does for her child. My wife nurses our children. She cares for them. She holds them nice and keeps them safe and protected and really takes care of them or the father does their children. I love my little girls and I would do anything for them. I'd lay down my life for them. I do all kinds of things because I love them. This is the same type of love and the same type of attitude that the apostle Paul had towards the Thessalonians, towards these people. He said, look, towards this church here at Thessalonica, he imparted unto them not only the gospel, yes, he brought the gospel to them, but he imparted their own souls. That's a deep desire and this willingness and this love for these people that don't skip over that. It's really important and we really ought to have our hearts right with this to care that much about other people and it's the true spirit of ministering unto other people and really putting other people above you and above yourself and how you think of yourself being humble and esteeming others better than yourself. It's truly, you know, embodies that when you can love someone so much that you're imparting your own soul to them because you care about them so much. So we need to get the gospel out there, yes, absolutely, but let's not stop there. As we're giving the gospel, let's try to impart something, part of our soul unto them and just help these people because that's what we're here to do. Now notice here in verse nine and two, it says, for you remember, brethren, our labor and travail. Labor and travail, that's hard work. I mean, he's talking about like serious work, laboring night and day. So it says they labored night and day. This is not something that they just treated as just something they do on the side. This is something they were laboring for night and day. Now it says they didn't want to be chargeable unto them. So it says in Psalm 104, 23, it says, man goeth forth unto his work and to his labor until the evening. Just saying basically, you know, we go out as men, especially go out and work, provide for our family, and we do that during the daytime. You know, typically have a day job, you go out, you work, you provide for your family. But they did this, now the apostles did this because they didn't want to be chargeable. It means that they didn't want to hold them, like they didn't want to be financially supported by that church. They wanted to work hard themselves, and basically they were doing it for them as an example. You can see that in other chapters and in other portions of the book, that they were trying to be a good example, saying, look, we're working very hard for you. We're not asking anything of you. We're not asking you to support us. Even though they could have, as rightfully as the apostles of Christ, they decided not to. They said, no, we're going to work, we're going to labor, we're going to travel, we're going to work night and day. By day we're going to work, we're going to support ourselves, we're going to feed ourselves, you don't have to take care of us. And by night, we're going to be working, we're going to be studying, we're going to be preaching, we're going to be doing everything that we need to do to bring the gospel unto you and to teach you and to do everything that we think you need to do to grow. Now go ahead and turn to 1 John chapter number 3. 1 John chapter number 3 near the end of the Bible. Because preaching the gospel, it's a lot of work and it's labor. And being prepared to preach the gospel too. I mean, it's one thing to go out, and it is, it's work, you go out, you start knocking on doors, you get in conversation with people, you talk to them, that can be a lot of work. But there's a lot of work also wrapped up in even getting to that point and knowing the Bible and learning the Bible and having God's understanding just be poured out and just the study and the learning that you do. It's also work. And it's one thing you have to do, you know, night and day, something you need to put your heart into, and it's labor, it's work. You don't have to turn there, but I'm going to read, you're in 1 John chapter 3, stay there in Hebrews chapter 6 verse 10, it says, For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, and that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. So we're saying here, God's not unrighteous, he's going to look out, he's going to see your work, he's not going to forget that you're doing all this good work, first of all. God will reward you. The good works that you do down here after you're saved, those good works are going to be rewarded in heaven. So there's a very good incentive, there's many, many incentives to do the good work. But one of the incentives is God's not going to forget this, and the labor that he's talking about in this verse, it says, in that ye have ministered to the saints and do minister. Now saints are people who are already saved, people who are sanctified. So this is something that we need to do within the church. Minister unto those that have need. You're there to help them, that's what a minister does, you're ministering unto them. It says that we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end, that ye be not slothful. Slothful just basically means lazy. You don't want to do any work, you just want to sit back and not do anything. It says that ye be not slothful but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. So you say, look, we need the labor, this is hard work, this is something that we're called to do, this is something every Christian is supposed to be doing in ministering to the saints, helping other people, impart your soul unto them, have some kind of value associated with another person's life. Look at that person and love them and try to help them. It's going to involve a lot of studying, working, teaching. This is what love is all about, this is what ministering is all about. You're in 1 John chapter 3, look down at verse number 16, it says, here by perceive we the love of God because he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. So again, this is a love that we ought to have towards the brethren, towards those in the church, towards those that are saved. Love them so much, I mean, we ought to lay down our lives. Have that kind of love for people, I mean, again, and I preached on this a little bit earlier in another sermon, but like, you know, the church is a family. A lot of people can think of another family member, a spouse, you know, a mother, father, brother, sister, someone like that, where you would say, yeah, I would lay down my life for them because they're close to you and that makes sense, I mean, they're your family, you love them. Well, we ought to have that same type of love towards the brethren, towards people in church and towards just those that are saved in general. Have that kind of love for them, they're your family, they're your brothers and sisters in Christ. Love them enough to think about them and pray about them and do things for them when they're, especially when they're in need. It says in verse 17 of 1 John 3, it says, but whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him. So he's saying, look, if you happen to be someone that has this world's good, you have things, you know, you have some riches, you have wealth, you have things and you see that your brother is in need, I mean, he's struggling and there's just, he just has this need, right? And you shut up your bowels of compassion for you have no compassion on him as a brother, you have this wealth, you have the means, you can help someone out who says, you shut up your bowels, and says, the bowels says, how dwelleth the love of God in him. How is God's love even dwelling in you if you just shut up and you have no compassion on your brother? It says in verse 18, my little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And this is where the rubber hits the road because it's easy to give lip service. Again, as I was mentioning this morning, it's really easy to say, yeah, I love this person. Yeah, you know, my tongue, I could just say like, I love everyone in this church. Well, it doesn't mean anything if you're not able, if you're not willing and able to do something about it. Indeed, in truth. Really using your actions to show and express your love and really just to fulfill. It's like a proof of, it's not just words out of your mouth. It's not just something that you say. It's easy to know something's right and to say it. It's another thing to act on it and to do it. Let's not be people who just love in tongue and just give lip service to it. Let's do it in deed and in truth too. I think of James chapter two, and I brought this analogy up before, but you go ahead and turn to James chapter number two, because this is exactly what this book is about. The book of James is exhorting believers and trying to get believers to do good works that we shouldn't just sit back and think, oh, well, because salvation is by grace through faith, then I don't have to do anything. I'm just going to sit here and be saved and forget about everybody else. We want to be, you know, being justified before men. James two explains this, what we need to do and look at verse number 14 of James chapter two, it says, what doth it profit my brother though a man say he had faith and have not works can faith save him. So as they look, just because you say you have faith and you have a works, that's not going to profit anybody. If you're not doing anything about it, yes, you may be saved. You would be saved. If you have faith, if you put your faith in Christ, you are saved. The Bible is very, very, very, very clear about that. You're saved. But what does it profit? What is it doing anybody else any good at all if you have no works? And he kind of explains this in verse 15, he says, if a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, they have no clothes and they don't have food, they don't have daily food, just food to live on. And one of you say unto them, depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled, notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit? He's saying, look, if you just say, hey, yeah, be warm, be filled, have some food and get some clothing and you'll be warm and filled, that doesn't help that person at all. It's zero value as no profit. We have the faith. I know that the people in this room have faith. Let's make sure that we have the works too. Let's make sure that our faith is not dead. Let's say people can look at us and say, hey, you know, as he said, I have faith that was work or I have works out of faith. Show me that faith without that works and I'll show you my faith by my works. Let's be a church of people that of course we have the faith, but let's have the works too. Let's show it. Let's go out and do the good things and help other people out, help the brethren, impart our own souls on the people and really do the help that they need. I mean, when you get to a point, we all need help in different areas, but as you grow and the more you learn and the more you receive from God, the more knowledge you have, the stronger faith you have, the stronger vision you become, hey man, help other people out. You think about maybe you didn't have very much help, but how great would that have been if you did get a lot of help while you were trying to grow in the Lord? Try to be a blessing for someone else in that sense where, hey, you have a lot of knowledge. You understand a lot about the Bible. You're pretty strong. You're pretty stable and rooted down in your faith. A lot of people aren't, especially those that are newly saved, the people that we're preaching the gospel unto. Let's make it a point to really love them and reach out to them and try to disciple them. Try to follow up with them and just help them out because that's what we're here for is to help people. The Bible says in John chapter 15, go ahead and turn to John chapter 15. I want you guys to see this. Turn to John chapter 15. This is a little bit too important. I want to just read this for you. I want you to see this. John chapter 15, look at verse number eight. Here it is my Father glorified that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be my disciples. So first he said, look, God is glorified when you bear fruit, bear much fruit. God wants all of us to bear much fruit. He wants us to be fruitful. He wants us to go out and preach his word. He wants us to get people saved and bear that kind of fruit. He says, so shall ye be my disciples. In so doing that, that's how you're going to become a disciple of Christ, someone who follows Christ and does what he wants you to do. Verse number nine, as the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. Continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love. So the way that we can abide in Christ's love is by obeying his commandments, cleaning up our lives, following what he has for us and obeying his commandments, even as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. Verse 11, these things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full. So he's saying, look, you bear fruit, you keep his commandments, you abide in his love, and you're going to be joyful. You're going to have a lot more joy. The more you obey the commandments of God, the more joy you're going to have. Look at verse 12, it says, this is my commandment that ye love one another as I have loved you. Jesus Christ is commanding us here that we have to love one other. He says, as I have loved you, greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. And that's exactly what Jesus Christ did for us. He laid down his life that we might be saved. That is the greatest love that you can have for somebody. What else can you give up? What more can you possibly do than give up your entire life for somebody? And this is what Jesus said, he said that we need to love one another as I have loved you. So the same way that Jesus Christ has loved the disciples and has loved the world, has loved people, that's the same type of love that we ought to have for one another. That's the type of love we have. And we're going to look now and see, since Jesus is the example, and this is what he's telling us to do, as Jesus loved us, that's the example that we have to follow. This is what we need to live up to. He is the best example of ministering, I want to read some of these to you. Go ahead and turn to John chapter 13, we're already in John 15, just flip back, I'm going to read a couple to you. Because see, Jesus took on the form of a servant. Philippians chapter 2, I'll read this for you, verse 4 says, Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. So don't just pay attention to your own stuff and be worried about your own deal. It says also on the things of others. Be worried about what other people, you know, how they're doing and how they're faring and how well they are, it says, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. So first thing we see from Jesus is that he took on the form of a servant. A servant is someone, obviously, he serves other people. He's not there to be served. He's not there to have people come unto him. Now, when he comes back again, he's going to come, he's going to rule, he's going to reign, he's going to set up his kingdom on earth. He's not going to be our servant, he's going to be the king. Okay, but when he came the first time, he came as a servant, and he was giving us the example of how we ought to live our lives as a servant, we're here to serve other people. Don't think of yourself so high in that, oh, people need to come and do this for me and do that for me. And especially even me as a pastor, you know, just because I'm in a position doesn't mean that, oh, I just need other people to be working for me and doing all this stuff for me, no. That's not what it's all about. I'm here to minister unto you. I'm here to help you out. And that's why I was giving my life unto God by even pastoring this church, just so I could help other people out. And that's my personal goal, to do that, and to live this and try to have the love that like Jesus had for us. Be in the form of a servant, and he says in Matthew 20, 26, it says, but it shall not be so among you, but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister. And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant. So he's saying, look, you want to, he's explaining to his disciples in this passage, you want to make it, you want to be, you know, the chief in this kingdom of God, you want to be really high? You need to be a minister, you need to be a servant, that's the only way you're going to get any type of credit, you need to take that form on. No, he said, even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, he didn't come here to be ministered unto, he didn't come here for people to do things for him, it says, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. That's why Jesus Christ came. He came because he loved you, and he loved you so much that he gave his own life for you. Here in John chapter 13, look at verse number three, it's kind of a long story, this is at the, you know, the Passover, the Last Supper that he had with his disciples, and this is a pretty, it's a pretty amazing story because you think about Jesus Christ as God in the flesh, and again, it's easier to read some of this stuff, but when you really think about it, like, man, God in the flesh, he became a servant, he came here to minister unto us, I mean, what are we, we're just created beings. We're just, I mean, we're just sinners, I mean, we can't even, we can't even obey his commandments properly, you know, we screw things up, we're just flesh, and he came and ministered unto us to help us out, I mean, obviously, we ought to be his servants and do what he will, what he wants us to do, but God came down in the flesh and ministered unto us, but he gave us that example of what we need to do, look at verse number three, this always blows me away when I read this, the humility, the humble attitude that Jesus Christ had, and the amount of love that he had for us, and what he is willing to do, to just be that example, and to be that shining light for us. Look at verse number three, it says, Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God and went to God, he riseth from supper and laid aside his garments, and took a towel and girded himself, so he puts on a towel and that's what he covers himself with, because after that he poureth water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with a towel wherewith he was girded, so you get the picture here, they're all sitting at the table, and Jesus Christ, when they're done eating, gets up, and they're probably just wondering, like, what's he doing, you know, he takes all of his clothes and puts on this towel, and he covers himself with a towel, gets a basin full of water, and he gets down, and he starts washing his disciples' feet. That's a very humble job, it's a very humble thing to do, to get down and start scrubbing and washing someone else's feet. Now, anything about your feet, like, and especially the type of footwear they have, you know, the feet get dirty, you know, the feet are stinky, I know my feet stink really bad, and I would hate for someone to have to go wash my feet, I'd probably be embarrassed by it, but, you know, Jesus did this, he took on this humble job of just, you know, I'm gonna wash your feet. And this is God in the flesh, I mean, this is a big deal, this is something that he's doing, and he's doing this for a very specific purpose, we're gonna see that here, and he's taking this towel, what he's wearing, basically he makes this his clothing, his towel, and he's drying off and wiping his feet with his towel, he's washing them, and he's using his towel, and he goes on, and he does it from person to person, and he washes all their feet. And then it says in verse number six, it says, Then cometh he to Simon Peter, and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? So Peter's kinda like, look, wait, what are you doing, you know, you shouldn't be washing my feet. Then in verse seven, Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now? He said, you don't understand this right now, but thou shalt know hereafter. You'll understand here in a minute, it says, But Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands, and my hands, okay, well look, I wanna have a part with you, so wash me everywhere, you know, like I don't, I definitely don't wanna have no part with you. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every wit, and ye are clean, but not all, for he knew who should betray him, therefore said he, ye are not all clean. So he knew that Judas wasn't saved, Judas was gonna betray him, and that's why he said they're not all clean. But then he says in verse 12, it says, So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? So he said, Do you know what I just did? It says, Ye call me Master and Lord, and ye say well, for so I am. Jesus Christ is Master, He is Lord. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet. He did it, He is proving us a point. Not any single one of us can ever think that we're above a certain job that God has for us. This is a humble job. The Master and Lord came, and He took on and did this job of washing, getting His hands dirty and washing the feet of His disciples. It's a humiliating job. It's something that nobody would want to do. And He did it. He said, basically, you have absolutely zero excuse not to do any of this work for Christ. He did everything. He gave us that example. He showed us that look, it might be humiliating. You might have to suffer that. You might have to just be ridiculed. You might have to take on a job that's not very pleasant. It stinks. It might be something that, you know, this work that you have to do, you're at labor, you might not feel like you're even getting anything out of it. But we ought not to think that we're above that, and that that's not for us, okay? If Jesus Christ came down and did it, if anyone should be above that, it's Him. He's the Master and Lord, but He was showing them, look, He came and washed a piece, and you need to do the same thing. You need to be able to take that and do the same thing that He did for you. Jesus Christ is the perfect example. He worked hard. I'm not going to go into all that He did. I mean, you know, if you've read the Bible at all, you understand the amount of hard work Jesus Christ did. I mean, they traveled from town to town. They went through. Jesus Christ was healing. He was preaching the kingdom of God. He was, you know, He raised the dead. He healed the sick. He did all these wonders. He would have people, you know, multitudes thronging Him, and surrounding Him, and pretty much everywhere He would go. And when all that was said and done, you know what He even did then by night? He prayed. Look at, you don't have to turn there if you want to read, Matthew chapter 14 is the story where He feeds the multitudes. I don't remember if it's the 5,000 or 7,000, I think it's the 5,000. He feeds His multitude with bread. He performs His miracle. I mean, He's out. They're following Him, and He's preaching, and He's teaching, and He's doing all His work, and people are loving it. They're eating up. They're following Him, and they're like in the middle of nowhere, the middle of the wilderness. And, you know, people are getting hungry. They need to be fed, so Jesus feeds them. He feeds them. He performs His miracle. He's working. He's working all day. And then in verse 22, it tells us what He did, then later, it says, and straightway Jesus constrained His disciples to get into a ship and to go before Him unto the other side while He sent the multitudes away. So, He said, okay, you guys, I'm going to send the multitudes away. You guys just get in a boat, get out, you know, head in this ship, and get out on the other side of the lake, you know, I'll be there a little bit later. I'm going to send these people away. It says, and when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up into a mountain apart to pray. And when the evening was come, He was there alone. So He was there, we don't know what time of day it was, but, I mean, He was there all the way, definitely up until evening, and He was there all by Himself, and He was praying unto God. And it says in verse 24, when the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves for the wind was contrary, and in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them walking on the sea. Now, it's important there because it says, the fourth watch, the fourth watch, I mean, in the evening, what they would do, they would set watches, right? I mean, they had to watch, especially in boats, they would watch for the land, or if they were, you know, in a city, they would watch for enemies coming. You always have people watching. So if you're in a boat, they would watch, watch for big rocks, you know, watch for danger ahead. The fourth watch is very, very early in the morning or late at night. I mean, everyone will look at it, right? It's basically like the last watch before daybreak is when Jesus then is walking on the sea out to them, which means he just spent, you know, the entire evening and part of the night, however long he had, to pray until then he started his trek and started walking out to them onto the water. And this is the travail, this is the labor that Jesus Christ did on a regular basis while I was here. I mean, I can't imagine, it's funny, you know, I always think of like Pastor Anderson, he's someone that it seems like, man, how does he even find the time to do all the stuff that he does? It's like, the guy must not sleep. Well, I can't, like seeing him, he is far from Jesus Christ. I can't imagine what it must have been like to be around Jesus Christ, because you read about all the work that he did, and just all the people he healed, and he was only in this ministry for a few years, right? And the amount that he accomplished and all the things that he did, I mean, he was working and travailing and laboring and praying and teaching and healing and doing all this stuff for the people, and consumed them, I mean, that's all he did. He didn't even have time to eat many times, he was just, I mean, he was just work, work, work, work, work. He worked, he had a lot of stuff to do, and that's the example they left for us. Now, helping people does not happen by accident. It's not something that's just gonna happen, you're not just gonna fall into helping people out. It's not something that you need to make a conscious effort to do, and individual people matter. And I was talking to my wife about this just before service tonight, because I was out soul wedding this afternoon, and I didn't really get a chance to talk to very many people, but I talked to one lady, and she was older, she was like 81 or 82 or something, and she was saved. She was already saved, and it was great, you know, I mean, she was solid on salvation. She lived alone, she was by herself, and we talked for a while, and, you know, I spent some time with her, and we were talking about the Bible, of course, and some of the different things, but it meant a lot to her, and you know what, individual people matter a lot to God. I mean, some people might say, oh, well, you were out soul wedding, you need to go out and, you know, try to, you know, don't spend so much time with that person, go out and get someone saved. I don't believe that. I mean, I think, yes, it's important as a time we need to go out and we need to try to win as many souls to Christ, but you know what, that lady matters, that lady matters to God. That lady matters to me. I love her enough to spend some time with her. She doesn't get very many visitors, she doesn't talk to that many people, especially about the Bible. I mean, she pulled out her Bible, she was excited, she had all these notes and all these things highlighted, and she loved it. She said, when I left, she said, you know what, you made my day, and you know what, I think that means a lot, I mean, that person means a lot in God's eyes, and we ought to have a love for people, not just to brush them off or even get distracted, even with good things. I mean, it's a good thing to go out and reach people and reach loss and preach the gospel to them. So it's not a bad thing to be focused on doing that, but let's not, you know, in that zeal, forget about the brother and forget about people who also need love and need attention and not to be ministered unto. And that's what I was trying to do. Individual people are better. I mean, even if you can make a difference in one person's life, I mean, imagine that. I mean, one person's life is huge. If you can make a big difference in someone's life, don't think, oh, I've only helped one person. One person's great. What if that one person was you? What if you were that person? I mean, that would mean the whole world to you. Like, I mean, bringing the gospel to someone, if that person was you, and it has in all of our cases, someone brought the gospel to us. We heard the gospel from someone somewhere along the way and believed, and that meant the world of difference for us. My challenge tonight is for you, and this is what I did, okay, I have these index cards around the auditorium, and there should be pens out. And you can do this or not do this, do whatever you want to do, but this is my challenge because I want you to make a schedule for yourself, and I want you to think about one person. Because again, it's easy to come to church, it's easy to hear a sermon, it's easy to think about this stuff, but it's really easy then to leave and to not make any changes in your life and just to go away and forget what you heard and think, oh man, that's a great sermon, I want to do that. And I mean, I've done this. Look, I'm guilty of this. I've done this many, many times. I think, man, you know, I really need to pray more, I really need to read my Bible more, I really need to do this more. And your heart's right, and you want to do it. And it's something that you look at and say, I want to do this, but you fail to follow through. Okay? So, what I want to do tonight is help you follow through, and if this is something that you think is important, helping other people, if you see from the scripture, look, yes, we need to do this. My challenge tonight is I want you to make a schedule for yourself, at least just for this one week, the week of Christmas. Pick one person, one person in your life, one person that you know, pray for them, and think about something, one thing even, that you can do to help them. One thing that might be, listen, something they won't expect, something that you can just say, you know what, I love you, I'm going to do something for you. And maybe someone's not even saved. You can give them the gospel if they're not saved. You can do, you know, there's all kinds of things you can do, but I want you to do this. And the reason why, and I'm going to do this myself, so we can get in a habit, and the reason why I have the index cards is so that today you can write down, like, maybe if you have someone in mind, you can write down that person, you can think of something that you want to do for them, write it down and hold onto it and keep yourself to it so that you can try to get yourself in the habit of doing this regularly where you're thinking about other people. You're thinking about them and you're focused on what do they need? What can I do for them? I mean, we already know it's obvious what we need in our own lives. You know what you need, you know what you need to do. Let's not be so wrapped up in our own lives, in our own, in what we're doing that we forget about everyone else. We're here to minister unto other people. And again, I mean, you could, you have a lot of flexibility in this. Do this however you think. Maybe it's, maybe it's even just, you know what, I'm going to go out and give the gospel to someone and then do something for that person or whatever. Maybe it's someone you already have in your life. But pick someone and try to do it, try to stick to this and really think about it during the week and hopefully you can apply this to something you can start doing regularly in the new year or whatever because I really want us all to be able to grow and to apply the scripture to our lives and to, you'll get a better, fuller appreciation when you actually start doing the things that God's laid out for us. I think it'll help with your understanding and, and when you put in some time and when you labor and you travel, it's an investment. When you invest your time in something, you care about it more. You care a lot more about it than, than someone who doesn't spend very much time. The people, when I go out and you know, cause as pastor, I'm studying the Bible, I care about you guys. The whole reason I'm even doing this is because I care about you. Someone that's here tonight, I care about you and I put a lot of thought into this. I pray and I study the Bible and I'm trying to share with you what I have learned and what I have for myself and, and I'm not saying this to bring honor and glory to me at all, but it's something that, that, you know, as my job to minister unto you, I'm trying to help you to grow and to be better so that you can also intern and help other people out because that's, again, that's the whole purpose. So let's try to think of something that you can do and especially those that are, that are incapable of repaying you. There's a special blessing and being able to, to help people out and do something for someone where they have absolutely no means of repaying you for whatever it is that you do for them. Luke 14 verse 12 says, then said he also to him that bade him, when thou make us a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen nor thy rich neighbors, lest they also bid thee again in a recompense be made thee. But when thou make us the feast, call the poor, the maim, the lame, the blind, and thou shall be blessed for they cannot recompense thee for thou shalt be recompense at the resurrection of the just. You're saying, look, God's going to see your work. God's going to see what you do and he'll reward you for the things that you do. But, you know, it's, it's extra special if you can do it for someone who truly is in need, someone who has a need, something that they, you know, they can't do on their own. And when you can help fulfill that need for somebody else, it doesn't have to be financial. I mean, it could be anything. I'm not always just talking about, you know, it's not just talking about money. Money is one thing, one thing where people might have a need with, but that's, that's far from the only thing. There's a lot of ways that you can, you can help people out that doesn't have anything to do with money. You know, this is, this is the attitude. I hope we have this type of spirit in the church where we're constantly looking out for other people. We're constantly looking out, especially for the brethren, people who are saved and, and, and loving and lost enough to bring them a gospel. And then once they get saved, man, imparting unto them your own soul as well. The attitude that, that John the Baptist had was great. In John three, if you're in, you're going to go ahead and turn that if you'd like, if you're still in the book of John, just turn, flip back to John three and verse 26, the Bible reads, John three 26 says, and they came unto John and said unto him, rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan to whom thou barest witness behold the same baptized that then all men come to him. John answered and said, a man can receive nothing except to be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth and rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice, this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. So these people came to John and said, cause John had a big ministry. I mean, he was out there. He was reaching a lot of people. He had a lot of disciples of his own. People were following him and listening to him and learning from him. And that was great. But then they say, Hey, wait, you know, this, this guy that you were with, he's getting a lot of people following him. He's like, wait, what's going on with that? And he explains to them, look, I said that I wasn't the Christ. I just came before him. And he said, you know, he must increase, but I must decrease. Okay. And that's the type of attitude that we have about Christ and serving God. God gets all the honor and the glory. Now we're here to do his will to be a servant unto him and to help others. But he's the one ultimately that gets the increase and he's the one that deserves the credit and the honor. And you know what, one last thing to remember too, is that when you decide to help people out, okay. A lot, many times it can be a thankless job. It can be something where people aren't always grateful for what you do for them. Okay. But that's not why you're doing it. You're not doing it to get that credit again. You know, God will get the credit and you know what, God will take care of you anyways. He'll reward you for the good works that you do. And this verse kind of sticks with me a lot in 2 Corinthians chapter 12. I'm going to close with this. Apostle Paul says, and I will very gladly spend and be spent for you. So he's talking about now the church of Corinth. He was basically saying the same thing to the Thessalonians. The Corinthians, he's saying the same thing. He said, look, I will gladly spend and be spent for you. I'm going to put my all into this. I'm going to give, I'll spend my resources, I'll be spent. I'll do whatever it is, you know, I'll labor, I'll work hard. I want to help see you succeed. I want you to grow in Christ. I want you to grow in the Lord. I will gladly be spent for you. I love it. I want to do that. I want to help you out. But then he adds this. He said, though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved. And this is something, maybe it's kind of sad, I don't know, but it can be the truth. A lot of times you might invest a lot of time in somebody. You might love that person and you're trying to help them out, fulfill them. And sometimes the more that you love them, the more you try to do for them, the less they're even loved to them and the more they take it for granted and the less they care about it. But that doesn't mean not to do it, okay? Because we're not doing it to get that credit that, you know, it doesn't matter. The whole point is to minister unto other people and help them grow. And like I said, the best thing you can do if you're pretty established in the faith, the more you are, the more you're going to be able to help others. The more that you've received from God, the more you've received knowledge-wise and the more you've learned, the more you understand, the more also that's going to be expected of you to impart and to give unto other people. You've received it freely. It's not something you had to pay for. It's something that God has given you. Freely you have received, freely give. And again, I mean, this is the perfect time of year. This morning I was preaching against the covetousness and against the lack of contentment, which often is pervasive in this time of year. But tonight I want to preach the positive. This is what we should be doing, especially this time of year. I mean, this is the whole spirit of Christmas, of Christ, of what He did when He came to minister unto people. Let's help people out. There's a lot of people in need. Let's find people. Let's give them the gospel. Let's bring them into church. Let's help them. I mean, there's a lot of people, new believers especially, man, they've got a lot of needs. They need a lot of help. They need to grow. They need to get rooted in church. And man, would the God that we can just do that and be a blessing and pray for these people. When you see people come into church, especially visitors, new people, people who are newly saved, add them to your prayers. Pray for them. Pray for them every night. There's people I pray for in this church every single day. I pray for everybody in this church every single day. You're in my prayers because I care about you and I want you to succeed and I want you to grow in Christ. And the more that people can do that, the more we get everybody involved in that, man, God is just going to bless this church and great things are going to happen here. And let's all try to have that attitude to be ministers unto other people. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Dear Lord, I thank you so much for the Bible and for your words, your God and your truth. Lord, we love you and we thank you for the amount of love you've given us, dear God, to lay down your life for us and to come down and to serve us and do all these things for us, dear God. We're nothing. We don't deserve that by any means and you know what, maybe there's a lot of other people that don't deserve help or things that we can do for them, but it doesn't matter. That's not the point, dear God. I pray to you, please help us to serve them anyways because you gave us the example of how we ought to live and how we ought to live our life, dear God. Help us to impart our souls unto the brother and unto the saints and to really care for them to help them to grow and to do whatever is in our power to help other people to succeed and to grow in the knowledge and truth that you've given to us freely, dear Lord and we love you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.