(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

But I appreciate all of you being here. Thank you very much. I know some of you traveled a long ways and from Ohio and Virginia and different places. Brother Mark came from New York, and I got your text, by the way, just so you know. I didn't respond because I was talking to someone, but I saw a thank you. And so I just want to say thank you very much for being here, and I appreciate you coming out. You're there in Matthew chapter number 13, and I'd like you to look down at verse number 20, Matthew chapter number 13 in verse 20. And the Bible says this, but he that received the seed into stony places, the same as he that heareth the word and anon with joy receiveth it. And tonight I'm not preaching on the subject of the parable of the sower, but I do want to just begin tonight by just highlighting this portion of the parable for you. And I want you to notice that in this parable, we have the seed being sowed, which is the word of God being sowed in different soils or different grounds, different hearts. And here we have the seed that was sown in stony places, the Bible says, and I want you to notice, and I didn't talk to Pastor Robinson about this. I probably should have, and I apologize for not doing that, but I'll just give you my thoughts on this. And some people have different thoughts on this. And if my thoughts differ from Pastor Robinson's thoughts, I'll just tell you right now, he's right and I'm wrong, okay? So just listen to him. But my opinion is that this seed are people who were saved. Here in Matthew 13, 20, it says, but he that received seed into stony places, the same as he that heareth the word and anon with joy receiveth it. And I believe that these people were saved because of the fact, and again, this is a parable, so we can be careful, we need to be careful about being too dogmatic about different things. But you know, the Bible says verily, verily, Jesus said, verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. So in this passage here, where it says that they received the seed, which is the word, and then it says that he that heareth the word and anon, the word anon means soon, with joy receiveth it. You know, I believe this is a reference to the fact that these people got saved. But I want you to notice in verse 21, the Bible says, yet hath he no root in himself, but doereth for awhile. So I want you to notice that this is someone who received the word and I believe they got saved, but they didn't last long in the Christian life. Now, of course, that doesn't mean that they lost their salvation. That doesn't mean that they're not on their way to heaven, but in regards to just living the Christian life, being involved in the things of God, the Bible says that they had no root in himself, but doereth for awhile, for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, by and by he is offended. And I believe that this is an example of many Christians, who people who get the gospel preached to them, they receive the word, they hear the word, they believe the word, they get saved, but they don't endure in the Christian life. And again, that doesn't mean that they're not saved. That doesn't mean that they lost their salvation. We must understand that salvation and sanctification are two different things and getting saved and then being a disciple of Jesus Christ are two different things. In order for you to get saved, you don't have to give anything up. In order for you to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, you have to give everything up. The Bible says you have to forsake all. The Bible says you have to take up your cross and follow him. So being a disciple of Christ, being a follower of Christ and being a believer are actually two different things. And these people, they receive the word, they heard the word, but they did not endure. The Bible says they do it for a while. And tonight I wanna preach on the subject of how to stay in for the long haul in the Christian life. Because many people get saved and maybe even start coming to church and start trying to live the Christian life and they don't endure. They do it for a while. They don't last very long. I remember when I was growing up, I had a pastor who say this and I'd hear preachers say this, that the Christian life should not be measured in years but in decades. Our goal in the Christian life should not be to be able to state how many years I've been serving the Lord, how many years I've been soul winning, how many years I've been reading the Bible, but instead how many decades I've been serving the Lord, how many decades I've been soul winning, how many decades we've been faithful. But today there are many people who just don't stay in it for the long haul. They don't stay in it very long. They maybe get involved, they get connected, they get excited, but there's no root in themselves and they don't last long. And I wanna give you three thoughts tonight in regards to how to stay in for the long haul, how to make it in the Christian life, how to get to the end of the Christian life, being able to say, hey, I've fought a good fight, I've finished my course, I've kept the faith. I wanna give you three thoughts. You're there in Matthew. If you go with me to the book of Luke, if you would, Luke chapter number 17, Matthew, Mark, and then Luke. Luke chapter 17. We're gonna talk about how to stay in it for the long haul. And I wanna give you three thoughts and I'd encourage you to write these down if you would, if you don't have a baby on your lap or something like that. How is it that you can make it? In fact, in September, you, this church, will be celebrating three years of ministry and that's a great milestone. Three years is a great time. The Bible talks about the fact that a tree is really not really expected in the Bible, a tree is not expected to really begin to bring forth a lot of fruit to that three year mark. And three year marks is a great time. In September, at Greater Baptist Church, we'll be celebrating our 10 year anniversary. And to think about the fact that we've been now in ministry, my wife and I have been in ministry for 10 years, makes me feel old. But you know, I think to myself, man, that's one decade. And I'm excited to see what God is gonna do in two decades and in three decades. But what we learn about Christians as we watch Christians is that sometimes we get excited and then we lose the excitement. In fact, the thing about a three year mark for a church is that when this church got started three years ago, there's probably lots of people that were really excited about the fact that a church was getting started in their area. Finally, there's gonna be a church that's gonna preach the gospel, that's gonna preach it right, that was not gonna hold anything back, that was not gonna water things down. And here's the thing, three years later, there's still a church that is doing all those things, but oftentimes we lose our excitement. Oftentimes it becomes old to us. And you know, we begin to think, oh, we're just gonna go sowing again, we're just gonna have another service again, there's gonna be another preaching again, there's gonna be another Bible study again. But we want to be the type of Christians that make it for the long haul, that are able to be, look, I want you and I would hope that you would have a goal, that you would say, hey, I was there for year one and year two or year three or whenever you came, but you know, you gotta have a goal to be here for year 11 and year 12 and year 13 and year 21 and year 22 and year 23. God would give some church members here at Mount Baptist Church that one day, a very old Pastor Robinson could look at some members and say, this family's been with us for 10 years, this family's been with us for 20 years, this family's been with us for 30 years, how do you make it in the Christian life for the long haul? Number one, you must clarify a sense of duty. You must clarify a sense of duty. You're there in Luke 17, like in look down at verse number seven, and this is again another little parable. Luke 17 and verse seven, the Bible says this, but which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him, by and by, when he has come from the field, go and sit down to me. This is a very interesting parable to me, because Jesus is saying, if you have a servant, a worker, and they're all out there plowing or feeding the cattle, and then they come in from the field, you know, what master is gonna say, oh, you know, come, have a seat, go and sit down to me, let me get you something to eat. Look at verse eight, he says, and will not rather say unto him, make ready wherewith I may stop, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken, and afterward, thou shalt eat and drink. Here's what he's saying, he's saying, a servant doesn't work all day, and then come home and have his master say, oh, let me get you something to eat. He says, a servant works all day, and then they come home, and they better make sure the master has his food, they better make sure the master's been taken care of. Look at verse nine, he says, doth he think that servant, because he did the things that were commanded him, he says, I tro not, the word tro there means to think, he says, I think not, he's saying, I don't think that's how it works in this relationship. Notice verse 10, he says, so likewise ye, and you might look at that and say, well, that's not very nice, I mean, you know what, the master's not being very nice here. He's saying, look, does a master have to think, and let's put it in our modern terms, does an employer have to thank an employee for doing the work that he's paying him to do? Now look, obviously, it would be wise of an employer to not be a jerk to his employees, we understand that, right? It would be good of an employer to be nice and to give affirmative words and to go to his employees and say, hey, let me tell you something, I appreciate the work you're doing here. But honestly, the truth is this, an employer is not obligated to thank an employee for the work that he's paying the employee to do. Because they're getting paid to do that, it's their duty to do that work. Notice verse 10, he says, so likewise ye, when ye have done all those things which I commanded you, say, we are unprofitable servants. Notice, we have done that, which was our duty to do. You say, Pastor Jimenez, how do you make it in the ministry 10 years? I've now been soul winning for over two decades. And I'm not saying that to glorify myself, you know, my wife and I have been soul winning now for years and years and in ministry for years and years. And sometimes people ask, how do you do that? How do you make it that long? How do you not get burnt out? How do you live the Christian life that way? And I'm here to tell you, the first thing you need to get in your mind is to clarify a sense of duty. If there is one thing, if there is one thought, if there is one idea that I could teach people, that I would teach people, there's one idea that I could teach church members, that I could teach volunteers, that I could teach soul winners, that I could teach preachers. If there's one thought that I could get into people's minds in regard to how to serve God, it'd be this thought, duty, it is duty, it is duty, he says, we have done that which was our duty. You say, Pastor, man, you're coming upon 10 years, are you gonna celebrate? We're gonna have a big family friend day and celebration, and we're gonna do all those things, but really, at the end of the day, we have done that which was our duty. I love the song, it says, rescue the perishing, why? Because we like it? Well, we should do it because we like it. Because we love them? Well, we should do it because we love them. But you know, at the end of the day, it is our duty. Rescue the perishing, duty demands it. Duty is what we need to realize, we must get a clear sense of duty because the truth is this, there are going to come times when you don't wanna go soul winning. I mean, let's just be honest, right? There's gonna come times when you don't wanna go soul winning. I mean, the Bible says confessing your faults one to another, can I confess my faults to you? Just don't tell our church people this, okay? You know that sometimes Pastor Jimenez doesn't wanna go soul winning? You know that Pastor Jimenez has written a soul winning curriculum, a soul winning seminar that we use at our church and has been used in many different churches and many different, it's a train. I've written a whole soul winning curriculum teaching people how to go soul winning from how to get dressed to how to follow up and bring them to church. You know, we push soul winning, we average somewhere between 80 and 90 soul winners at Verity Baptist Church every week. And we preach about soul winning and we motivate soul winning and we mobilize soul winning. Every once in a while, I wake up on a Saturday morning and I don't wanna go soul winning. And you don't either. You know that Pastor Jimenez sometimes doesn't wanna go to Sunday night church? I'm preaching and sometimes I don't wanna go. In fact, sometimes I don't wanna go because I'm the one preaching. And sometimes, and look, sometimes your pastor, and I'm not gonna ask him to admit it, but sometimes your pastor, I'm sure, is tired on a Wednesday night after working all day. It's tired on a Sunday afternoon. And it's tired when it comes to soul winning time. And you say, well, what gets you out there? It's one word, duty. It is our duty. We have done that, which was our duty. You say, well, nobody thanked me. Nobody needs to thank you. It's your duty. Well, no, nobody encouraged me. Well, I hope somebody encourages you along the way, but you know what? If nobody ever encourages you to read the Bible, if nobody ever encourages you to be paid for the church, if nobody ever encourages you to go soul winning, if nobody ever appreciates the fact that you cleaned the building, if nobody ever encourages you with whatever it is you do around here, you gotta do it because it's your duty. You say, how do I last in the Christian life? You must get a clear sense. You must have a clarification in your mind in regards to your sense of duty. And by the way, let me just say this. It is reasonable to serve Jesus. Did you know that? I mean, notice the little parable here again, verse seven. But which of you having a servant plowing or feeding cattle will say? He says, who's gonna say this? Unto him by and by, and when he has come from the field, go and sit down to me. Notice verse eight, and will not rather say. He said, this is what they're gonna actually say. Make ready wherewith I may sup. Look at verse nine. Does he think that servant? He's asking, does he think that servant? And then Jesus says, I tro not. He says, I think not. He says, I don't think. Here's what he's saying. He's saying it's reasonable to do what you've been asked to do. In fact, when you do what you've been asked to do, and look, I'm not trying to hurt your feelings. I'm just trying to help you understand something. When you show up to church on Sunday morning, when you show up to church on Sunday night, when you show up to church on Wednesday night, when you work all week long, men, and you show up to church three times a week, when you've been homeschooling your children, ladies, taking care of the babies all day long, and then you get them ready, and you get them ready for Wednesday night service, you get them ready early on Sunday morning for church, you go soul winning in the afternoon, you show up for 4 p.m. service, you show up for the men's prayer meeting, you show up for the ladies prayer meeting, when you do all those things, you say, yeah, well, I just think somebody should, you know, acknowledge my faithfulness, and I think they should give me a gold sticker, and I think they should put my name in the bulletin, and they should make a big deal about me. No, you know what? When you've done all things, when you've done all those things, you should walk away and say this, we are unprofitable servants. You say, what do you mean? After all that Jesus has done for us, we can't but serve him. We can't but give him our lives. Go to Romans chapter 12, if you would. Romans chapter 12, you're there in Luke, and you go, John asks Romans. Romans chapter 12, these are well-known verses, you know these verses, I'm sure you have them memorized, but let's look at it. Romans chapter 12, look at verse one. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your Sunday mornings as a living sacrifice. Is that what it says? That you present your, you know, just a small amount of your life. Is that what it says? It says that you present your bodies, all of it, everything, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God. You say, man, that sounds like a lot. That sounds like a tall order. That sounds like you're asking for a lot. Notice what he says, which is your reasonable service. He says it's reasonable. Go to the book of Psalms, if you would, Psalm 24. If you open up your Bible just right in the center, more than likely you'll follow the book of Psalm, Psalm 24. The word reasonable means appropriate, fair, or sensible. You know that giving God your entire body and life, presenting your body a living sacrifice is appropriate, fair, and sensible? It's reasonable. The Bible says Christ, who is our life. It's the opposite of unreasonable. You say, how is it that we make it in the Christian life, in the long haul? You've got to get a sense, a clear sense of duty. And you need to realize that serving God with our lives is our duty. It's our duty to do. And if no one acknowledges it, and if no one appreciates it, and if nobody takes note of it, we need to realize that God in heaven takes note of it, and it's our duty. We have done that which was our duty. We have done that which was expected of us, and it is a reasonable service. Psalm 24, are you there? Look at verse one. Psalm 24 in verse one, the Bible says this. The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof. You know what that means? That means that the earth belongs to God, and everything that the earth is full of also belongs to God. So the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof. Then he says this, the world, don't miss this, and they that dwell therein. You know what that means? That means that the earth is the Lord's, the world is the Lord's, everything that the earth is filled with is the Lord, and everyone that dwells in the Lord, in the earth, belongs to the Lord as well. They that dwell therein. Anyone who lives in the world belongs to God. Whether they're saved or not, none matter, they belong to God. The Bible says, thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou has created all things, and for thy pleasure they are, and were created. Do you know that Jesus never went anywhere that didn't belong to him? You know that Jesus never went anywhere where he didn't have the right to be there? You know that Jesus never asked a question that was too much? You know that Jesus never asked of anyone too much? When Jesus looks at a little boy and says, I need your lunch. So just a lad, a few fishes, a few pieces of bread, and here you got a grown man. I mean, have you ever thought about that story? You got a grown man, Jesus, with these 12 grown thugs taking a lunch from a little boy, and you think, good night. Have you no shame? But you know what, Jesus never asked too much of anyone, anything ever. You say, why? Because the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. The world and they that dwell therein. Look, everything you have belongs to God. Everything you are belongs to God. Everything I am belongs to God. My time, my talent, my treasure, everything I have belongs to God. And when I serve God with my life, I can't give him enough. I can't give him my life and then say, I did too much. No, when I give him everything, I say, I've done my duty. And when I give him less than everything, you know what I should say? Is that I am an unprofitable servant. That he has still given more than what I've given back. And by the way, let me just say this. When God gave his only begotten son, he gave more than we will ever give back. So how do you last long in the Christian life? You must clarify a sense of duty. You must learn this word duty. Look, when it's time to go sowing and you'd rather sleep in, have this word in your mind, duty. When it's time to read your Bible and you'd rather go on Facebook, get this word in your mind, duty. When it's time to tithe and you'd rather spend it on something else, get this thought in your mind, duty. It is my duty. It is my duty to serve God, rescue the perishing, duty the man. It is our duty to serve the Lord. How do we last? How do we stay in it for the long haul? I said, number one, you must clarify a sense of duty. And I'd like to give you a second thought tonight. Go to Matthew chapter five, if you would. Matthew chapter number five. Let me give you a second thought and maybe you can write this down. I said, number one, you must clarify a sense of duty. Number two, how to stay in it for the long haul. You must connect to a source of power. You must not only clarify a sense of duty. And by the way, let me just say this. These three points that I'm gonna give you, they all build upon each other. You must clarify a sense of duty. But let me say this, that will not keep you in the ministry, that will not keep you faithful, that will not keep you serving God for 10 years, 20 years, 30 years. That'll get you going, that'll get you started, that'll get you to the place where you've developed some habits and you've developed some patterns about your life. But then there's another thing that you must do. Number one, you must clarify a sense of duty. But secondly, you must connect to a source of power. Now I wanna explain this to you and I wanna use an illustration from the Bible and you're gonna have to kind of pay attention a little bit and follow me with this. But I want you to notice in Matthew chapter five, in Matthew chapter five, the Christian life is pictured in the Bible as a lit candle. Matthew chapter five, look at verse 14. Jesus said this, ye are the light of the world. These are well-known verses. He says, ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. He says, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Jesus said, ye are the light of the world. Other praise in the Bible say, shine as lights. The Christian life is often pictured by this idea of a lit candle. And by the way, I don't have time to develop this, but in the book of Revelation, we learn that a church is pictured as a candlestick. And God places those lights on a candlestick, the pillar and ground of the truth, and he uses this to bring light into the world. But the Christian life is pictured as a lit candle. The problem is, go to the book of Leviticus, if you would, in the Old Testament, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus. The problem is that many Christians burn out. You ever heard somebody say that? I'm just burned out. I'm just done with it. I mean, just week after week after week of the same thing, just the same, you know, reading the Bible, praying, living a separated life, I'm just wore out. I'm just kind of burnt out. And it's actually a very fitting term to use because the Bible uses, illustrates the Christian life as a candle that is lit. And here's the thing, a candle that is lit and not connected to a source of power will actually eventually burn out. And if you say, if you've ever said it out loud or thought it in your mind, I'm burnt out, just realize, realize that you are telling on yourself a little bit that the problem is that you're not connected to a source of power. Because the key to the Christian life is this, the key to enduring is being a lit candle that never burns out. I mean, if the Christian life is pictured as a lit candle, then the key to being a lit candle, to being a Christian that lasts for the long haul is to be a lit candle that does not burn out. So here's the question, question, can you keep a candle from burning out? And the answer is yes. In fact, in the book of Leviticus, God expects it. Let me show it to you. And I wanna kind of give you this illustration. Leviticus 24, look at verse one. Leviticus 24, verse one, the Bible says this, and the Lord's faking to Moses saying, command that the children of Israel, command the children of Israel, notice verse two, that they bring unto thee pure oil, olive, beaten, notice, for the light. Notice that God commanded in the book of Leviticus, when they were setting up the tabernacle, when they were setting up all the furniture in the tabernacle, he said, I want you to bring oil, olive beaten, why do you want us to bring oil, God, for the light, why do we need oil for the light? What's the purpose? Notice, to cause the lamps to burn continually. See, God actually commanded that the lamps, the lights in the tabernacle, he commanded for them to never go out. He said, look, I expect you to light a candle and to keep it lit continually, to never allow it to burn out. In fact, we're not gonna look at it tonight, but there are stories in the Bible where when they allowed the light to go out, God killed them. When they allowed the light to burn out, God killed them because of the fact that they were never allowed to, they brought strange fire and they brought different things to try to light it, but they were supposed to keep that fire burning. Look at verse four, Leviticus 24, verse four, he shall order the lamps, he's talking about the priest, he shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the Lord continually. He said, I want those lamps lit all the time. He said, well, how in the world were they supposed to do that? Well, go to Exodus 25, you're there in Leviticus 24, just flip back to the book of Exodus, Exodus 25. When Moses built a tabernacle, God gave him very specific instructions. I mean, you've read these chapters in Exodus, right? When you read the book of Exodus, you have the first part of the book is super exciting, the plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea, then you get into a little bit of the wilderness, then you get these really exciting chapters where it's just chapter after chapter after chapter where God is just telling him, I want you to build the furniture for the tabernacle this way, I want you to do it this way, I want you to do that, I want you to do these things. And then you get all these chapters where they're doing what God told them to do. You know, people usually skip those chapters, but you shouldn't skip those, right? All scripture is given by inspiration of God. Exodus 25, look at verse 31, the Bible says, and thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold, of beats and work shall the candlestick be made. So he said, I want you to make a candlestick for these candles, and I don't want these candles to go out, I want them to burn continually. But notice he says, when you make the candlesticks, here's how I want you to make them. Notice verse 31, the middle of verse 31, his shaft, referring to the length of it, then his branches, where you're actually gonna hold the candles, then he says, his bowls, his knobs, and his flowers shall be of the same. Why don't you notice that when God commanded him to build his candlestick, he said, I want you to put a shaft, I want you to put branches, and then I want you to put bowls. And what you're actually gonna do, is you're gonna place those candlesticks on inside of those bowls, and then you're gonna fill those bowls with oil. Let me just read to you a little thing I found. It's from a website called teacherscorner.com. It's for doing little experiments with children, but it fits with the illustration here. It's called creating an oil lamp science experiment. It says pour about half an inch of vegetable oil into the bowl, crumble up a paper towel into a ball, and place it into the bowl with the oil. You want the oil to soak the entire ball of paper, but you also want the paper to stick up above the surface of the oil. Use a match or a lighter to carefully light the top edge of the paper towel. It should easily catch fire. Now watch carefully. The fire continues to burn, but the paper towel does not burn up. As long as there's oil in the bowl, the flame will continue without burning up the paper. How can that be? What you have made is an oil lamp, very similar to the ones that have been used for thousands of years. The paper towel serves as a wick to carry the oil up to the flame. As the oil and the paper is burned, more oil soaks up into the paper. The oil actually keeps the paper cool enough so that it does not burn except at the very edge where you first lit it. See, the idea is this, that if you take a candle and light it, it will consume upon itself and it will eventually burn out. But if you take that same candle and place it in a bowl and fill it with oil, it will consume the oil, it will suck the oil, it will burn the oil, but the candle will never burn out. The interesting thing about this little illustration is that in the Bible, oil is a picture of the Holy Spirit. Now I don't have time to run through all the verses and I'm not gonna go through all that. You go to John chapter five if you would, but let me just read to you from 1 John chapter two and verse 27, the Bible says this, "'But the anointing,' referring to the oil being anointed, "'which ye have received of him abideth in you.'" That's the Holy Spirit. "'And ye need not that any man teach you, "'but as the same anointing teaches you of all things "'and is truth and is no lie, "'and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.'" If you remember all throughout the Bible, oil is a picture of the Holy Spirit. If you remember when David was anointed by Samuel, the Bible says that when he was anointed with oil, the Holy Spirit came upon him because of the fact that oil is a picture of the Holy Spirit. And here's what I'm here to tell you this. You say, how do you last long? How do you not burn out in the Christian life? Please understand this. If you are doing the Christian life, if you're doing the Christian life out of your own strength, of your own power, you will eventually burn out. You will not last long. You will not be a soul winner for decades. You will not be a preacher for decades. You will not read your Bible for decades. You will not pray for decades. You will not be faithful to church for decades. You will burn out. But if you get connected to the power of the Holy Spirit, if you make sure that there is a constant refilling and filling of oil in that bowl, then you can burn. Then you can burn and not burn out. I mean, remember the burning bush? Remember when God appeared to Moses and Moses, he saw the burning bush. What was it that attracted Moses to go look at the burning bush? The fact that the bush was burning and not being consumed. The Bible says that our God is a consuming fire. God wants to consume your life, but he doesn't wanna burn you out. God wants all of your life, but he doesn't want to destroy your life. See, what you and I need, what you and I need is to be a light that burns, but does not burn out. In fact, it's interesting because this is what the Bible says. This is what Jesus said about John the Baptist. John chapter five, are you there? Look at verse 35. John chapter five and verse 35, the Bible says, he was a burning and a shining light, and he were willing for a season to rejoice in him, in his light. Look, the point is this, I want to be a light that burns, but does not burn out. I want to be a light that shines, but continues to shine. How do I do that? How do you do that? We must connect ourselves to a source of power. And look, this concept is taught all throughout the Bible. Go to John chapter 15. You're there in John five, go to John 15 if you wouldn't. You see, how is this done? How do you do this? Well, connecting to a source of power is done through the word of God. And you say, well, I thought it was the Holy Spirit. But if you remember, the Bible is called the sword of the Spirit. See, Jesus said, these words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life. So you say, I want to be filled with the Spirit. Well, then you better get filled with the word of God. I want to have the power of the Spirit. Then you better get a hold of the power of the word of God. I want to be used as a spirit. Well, then you better pick up the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. John 15, look at verse six. Notice what the Bible says, if a man abide not in me. Jesus said, if a man abide not in me. Now again, Jesus is saying, you need to abide in Jesus. But remember, Jesus is the word. The word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus is the word. Notice what he says, if a man abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered and men gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned. He says, look, if you abide not in me, you will wither. Notice verse seven, if he abide in me and my words abide in you, he shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you. I want you to notice the emphasis on the word of God. If he abide in me and my words abide in you. You say, how do I abide in Christ? Well, you have to have his word abide in you. Because Jesus is the word. Look at verse three, same chapter, John 15, verse three. Now ye are clean through the word. Notice the emphasis on the word. Through the word which I have spoken unto you. The Bible says, look, please understand this. The Bible says that the only way you can make in the Christian life is as you are connected to the word of God. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standing in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the squirter. But his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit and his season. His leaf also shall not wither and whatsoever he do it shall prosper. You say, how do you do that in the Christian life? You know how you do that? You get connected to the power. You get connected to the source. It's like planting a tree by the rivers of water and its roots can dig down and get the source, the nutrients from that water. Go to Jeremiah chapter 17, if you would, Jeremiah 17. Look, while you turn there, let me just say this. You will never make it in the Christian life until you develop a daily devotional time with God. Just that, that's simple. It's that simple. You must feel, you must be filled with the Holy Spirit through the spirit of the word of God. You must have the words of God abiding in you. If you are not a regular Bible reader, you will not make it in the Christian life, period. Look, I'm here to tell you, sermons are exciting, but there's only so much a sermon can do for you. There's only so long a sermon can take you. We are here to try to preach the Bible to help you. The purpose of preaching is to help you go further, faster, but at the end of the day, you gotta read the Bible. You gotta get connected to the word of God. You've got to read the word of God. Jeremiah 17, look at verse eight. The Bible says this, for he shall be, this is similar to Psalm one that I quoted to you. Jeremiah 17, for he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, notice, and shall not see when he cometh, but her leaves shall be green, and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. See, sometimes the year of trouble comes, sometimes the year of droughts come, sometimes other people, you know, circumstances come that get other people to quit, to wither, to fall away. You say, but how is it that some Christians make it through those difficult times, make it through those hard times, make it through the years of trouble, make it through the years of drought? How do they do it? They figured out a way to get connected to a source. It's the word of God. Look, if you don't get a root down, you will do it for a little while. Look, if you don't get a root down, and I'm not minimizing Bible preaching, I believe in Bible preaching, but if you don't figure out a way to develop the duty to get up tomorrow morning and read your Bible, to get up Tuesday morning and read your Bible, to get up Wednesday morning and read your Bible, you are not going to make it, because the Christian life is hard. The Christian life is difficult. Paul said, we are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not forsaken, cast out, but not destroyed. You say, Paul, how can you be persecuted and not destroyed? How can you be perplexed, but not in distress? How can you make it in the Christian life? He says, though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. So how do I make it in the Christian life? Well, number one, you must clarify a sense of duty. You got to get it in your head. It is my duty. It is my duty to serve God with my life. It is my duty. You say, you guys asked for quite a bit. I mean, Sunday morning and Sunday night, Wednesday night. Then you asked for your soul winning. Then now you're saying, I got to go read my Bible every day. And then on top of that, you want me to give 10% of my income? Are you crazy? I mean, don't you kind of feel like you're asking for too much? Look, you can do all that. And at the end of the day, I am an unprofitable servant. It is my duty. It is my reasonable duty to serve God. You say, I don't think I can make it. You can't make it on your own, but you get connected to a source. You get connect, you get those roots down into some water, the water of the word of God, and it'll give you the nutrients you need. It'll help you make it in the Christian life. I said, number one, clarify a sense of duty. Number two, connect to a source of power. Number three tonight, how to stay in it for the long haul. You must commit to have a spirit of joy. You must commit to have a spirit of joy. Go with me to the book of Philippians, if you would. Philippians chapter number four. While you turn there, I'll remind you. Remember Nehemiah chapter eight, verse 10. I won't read the whole verse, but I'll just read this last part of the verse to you. Nehemiah said this, for the joy of the Lord is our strength. We must commit to have a spirit of joy. We must commit to have a spirit of joy. Philippians chapter four and verse four. Notice what Paul said. Paul said, rejoice in the Lord always. Rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say, rejoice. You know what that word always means in the Greek? I don't know. Pastor Robinson probably knows. He's a Greek scholar. We should ask him. But you know, whenever I see that word always, I always think these two words. I think always and all the way. Rejoice in the Lord always. And rejoice in the Lord all the way. He said, you know, however, whatever the Greek says, I'm not sure, but however way you want to split it, rejoice in the Lord all the way. We should be rejoicing all the time. We should be rejoicing. And by the way, rejoicing is something you choose to do. I choose to rejoice. I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content, whether that state is West Virginia or California. I've just learned to be content. I've, whether it's New York, you know, whatever it is. I've just learned to be, I have learned in whatsoever state I am. It's something you decide to do. It's something you choose to do. Go with me if you want to 2 Timothy chapter four. Let me tell you something. You say, I want to make it 20 years. I want to make it 30 years. I hope you make it 30 years. But please understand something. You will not make it 20 years, 30 years, 40 years in the Christian life, serving God, being faithful to the house of God. You will not make it without joy. Because the only way we can do it is with joy. Notice what Paul said, 2 Timothy chapter four. 2 Timothy we have Paul writing at the end of his life. Now I want you to notice what he says, 2 Timothy chapter four verse seven. He says, I have fought a good fight. I hope, I hope by the grace of God that I can get to the end of my ministry. I pray that Pastor Robinson can one day get to the end of his ministry. And like the Apostle Paul say, I have fought a good fight. And he says this, I have finished my course. You know what that means? He says, I stayed in it for the long haul. I didn't quit. I didn't fall out. I didn't, I look, we were cast down, but we were not destroyed. Sometimes, look, sometimes you get knocked down, but don't get knocked out. A just man falls seven times and rises up again. Sometimes you take a hit to the chin. I've taken many. You know, sometimes I'm talking about spiritual warfare here. Things don't go your way. Think things just, they don't go the way you think they should go. They don't go the way you think you prayed and asked God for him to go. Sometimes you get cast out, but you get back up because you want to finish your course. Because you want to get to the end. He says, I finished my course. He says, I've kept the faith. But I want you to notice something that I love about the Apostle Paul. He says, I finished my course. And usually when you, if you ask somebody, hey, you know, what verse, you know that verse where Paul says, I finished my course. Usually most people are going to think of 2 Timothy 4.7. I fought a good fight. I finished my course. I've kept the faith. But you know, that's not the only place the Apostle Paul said that. He also said it in Acts chapter 20. Go there if you would. Acts chapter 20. And look at verse 24. In Acts chapter 20 and verse 24, he says this, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts. Acts chapter 20 and verse 24, he says this. Acts chapter 20 and verse 24, he says, but none of these things move me. He said, I'm not quitting. You're not going to knock me out. You're not going to take me out. He says, but none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself. You say, Paul, why do none of these things move you? Paul, why do you not count your life dear unto yourself? And by the way, I believe that Paul would say, because it's my counting my life dear unto myself would mean that I think there's some value in my life. But the truth is this, I am a servant and I have done my duty. Paul, you've given your life to Christ. You've given your youth, your strength, your energy. He says, I don't count my life dear unto myself. He said, for me to live is Christ. He said, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. In the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself more. And he said, I count not. He said, none of these things move me. Neither count I my life dear unto myself. Notice what he says. He says, so that I might finish my course. But notice these words, with joy. You know how I wanna finish my course? With joy. You know how you should finish your goal to finish your course? You gotta have a goal to finish your course. You say pastor, I'm gonna finish my course. Duty. And look, I believe in duty. I preach that. I believe it. Bless God, I'm gonna stay married out of duty. Well look, I hope you stay married out of duty. And if that's what it takes for you to stay married, then you stay married out of duty. But that's not the goal. You know the goal is not to just get to the end of your life You know, your kids and your grandkids get together. They throw you a 50th anniversary for great grandma and grandpa, you know, anniversary celebration. They've been married for 15 years. Grandpa, say something. Grandma, say something. Well, let me tell you kids, we stayed married out of duty. We stayed in until the bitter end. It was miserable the whole time, but we just stuck with, is that how you want to end your life? But I don't want to get up to the end of my ministry and say, man, it was miserable. I hated every minute of it, but bless God, I never quit. No, you know what? I want to end my course with joy. I want to get to the, I want to get to 50 years of marriage and say, hey, we had a great time. We had joy. We rejoice in the Lord all way. We stuck with it. Yes, with duty, but in the way we connected to a source of power. And we got a spirit of joy about us. Let me tell you something. You say, Pastor Mez, I'm just not, I'm just not happy going soul winning anymore. I'm just not happy doing the work anymore. Well, you do it out of duty, but realize that while you're doing it out of duty, you need to get something right in your heart because you want to finish your course with joy. Go to the book of Revelation, if you would have finished up Revelation chapter two. I believe in serving God out of duty, but duty will only take you so far. You say, Pastor, I'm a little burnt out. It's been three years now. I was really excited at first, but I'm kind of getting burnt out. Well, look, I'm not trying to, I'm not trying to hurt your feelings, but it's probably, you're probably not in your Bible the way you should be. You need to start reading the Bible. You need to start memorizing the Bible. You need to start getting in the Word of God. You need to connect yourself to a source of power because look, any of us, any of us, and all of us who try to do this in our power will burn out. Say, well, what do I do? You got to start pouring some oil in that bowl. You got to start getting the Holy Spirit in your life. You've got to clarify a sense of duty. You need to connect to a source of power. You need to commit to have a spirit of joy. Paul didn't say, I'm just going to, I'm going to get to the end of my ministry and bless God, I'm going to finish this thing. Paul said, I'm going to get to the end of this thing and I'm going to do it with joy. So some of you parents, sometimes I talk to parents and they get this idea, like, I'm just going to make it till they're 18 or 20, I'm going to talk and marry them off and they had good riddance, bad rubbish. You know, I'll tell you something. My wife and I were trying to raise our kids, but I want to get to that, I want to get to that day when we send them off, when we have our sons go off and start their own home, or when we give our daughter away to the man that she's going to marry. And I want to get to that with joy, don't you? I don't want to say, well, those are some tough years. I want to say, hey, it was a great time that God gave us with those kids. It was a great time that God gave us in that marriage. It was a great time that God gave us in that ministry. You know, I don't know what God's going to do at Verity Baptist Church. I don't know how long I'm going to live, but I want to get to the end of this thing. Look, we're coming up on 10 years, but I want to get to 20 years and 30 years and 40 years and just say, it was good. God is good and serving God is good. Revelation chapter two, look at verse four. The Bible says this, nevertheless, this is Jesus speaking, to the churches of Asia. And he's talking to the church at Ephesus here. He says, nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee. Notice what he says, because thou has left thy first love. See these people, they lost their first love. At first, they were excited. Man, Pastor Robinson's going to start a church in West Virginia. Yay! Now it's like, Pastor Robinson started a church in West Virginia. Yay! He says, look, they left their first love. Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee because thou has left thy first love. He said, what do I do? How do I get back? How do I get back? Pastor, do I need a break? Pastor, I think I need a two-year sabbatical from cleaning the building. I think I need a three-year sabbatical from soul winning just to get refreshed. And look, I realize we should take time to rest and take breaks and vacations, and I believe in all that. Say, well, what do we do? You know what he says? Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee because thou has left thy first love. Notice those two words, first love. In fact, if you don't mind writing in your Bible, underline your Bible, I'd underline those two words, first love, first love. He says, thou has left thy first love. Then in verse five, he says this, remember therefore from whence thou art fallen and repent. And then he says this, and do the first works. You see first love there? Underline these two words, first works. How do I get my first love? You get back to your first works. How do I get my first love? You get back to the first work. You do it primarily out of duty, beginning with duty. You say, I'm gonna get back to Bible reading. You say, I don't feel like reading my Bible right now. Then you just read it out of duty. I don't feel like showing up to Wednesday night church this week. Then you just show up to Wednesday night church out of duty. I don't feel like going soul winning this week. Then you just go soul winning on duty. I don't, I can't tell you how many times I've thought to myself, I don't wanna go soul winning this week. I'm only showing up for soul winning because I'm the pastor. I don't even wanna go. And then I go out there, I'm knocking north. Hi, we're coming for A.D. Baptist Church. Yeah, I'm the pastor, hope you can come. Yeah, whatever. Knock the door. Hey, we'd love for you to come. Hey, knock the door. Hey, do you know for sure if you're not today, are you on your way? Can I show you? Yeah, really? You are? Okay. Open up the Bible. Start reading verses, start communicating, start talking. Somebody bows their head and gets a statement. I walk out of there thinking, praise the Lord. Hallelujah, somebody gotta say. You ever had that? You ever showed up to church on a Wednesday night and you're just kinda like, oh. Welcome to Wednesday night service. We're glad you're here. We're in some book. Then you start singing with God's people. Holy Spirit starts working in your heart. Pastor preaches a sermon, something you needed. You walk out and say, man, it was good to be in the house of God. You say, how do I get back to my first love? You get back to your first works. How do you get back to, you say, I'm struggling getting back to my first work. You get back out of duty and you connect to a source of power and you're determined to have a spirit of joy. And like Paul, you'll be able to say, I fought a good fight. I finished my course. I've kept the faith. Henceforth, there's laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous God will give in that day. It's duty, but it's not just duty. It's being filled with the Spirit. It's not just being filled with Spirit. It's rejoicing all the way, all the time. That's how you make it in the long haul. And here's the truth, and it's sad to say, and I'll just say it. The truth is this, when it comes to church, people come and people go. I'm sure Pastor Robinson has learned that already in the last three years. People come and people go. I tell our people sometimes, I feel like I've pastored like 10 different churches. You know, by the time you realize how many people have came and gone and came and gone and came and gone, it's true. But I hope that you here at Mountain Baptist Church will just decide, I'm gonna get my root down. I'm gonna walk with God. I'm gonna get a source of power. I'm gonna get connected to the Word of God. I'm gonna stick in this thing for the long haul. I'm gonna get a spirit of joy about me. And I'm gonna be happy in the work of the Lord. I'm gonna be happy in what we're doing for God, on a duty with the power of God, with a spirit of joy. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you Lord for your Word. Lord, thank you for the Bible. And Lord, I pray you'd help us, because it gets hard sometimes. We get tired, and we realize that physically we get tired, and we have to let our bodies rest, and we need to take time to rest, and we understand that. But Lord, I pray that you would help us spiritually to not burn out. Spiritually to be a light that burns, but doesn't burn out. And Lord, help us to do that by clarifying a sense of duty. It is our duty to serve you with our lives, period. Whether we want to or not, whether we'd like to or not, we need to just serve you. Because if we don't, when we don't, we are unprofitable servants. But Lord, I pray that you'd help us take a step further and get connected to a source of power. Help us to take it a step further and develop a spirit of joy. Lord, help us to come to the end of our ministries, happy in the Lord. I pray that you would help the members of this church and other churches represented here tonight that they would determine in their minds and hearts to make it for the long haul. In the matchless name of Christ, we pray, amen.