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

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Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! 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For all of us who are welcome to enjoy Lewis' Songbooks, turn to song 415, song 415. Victory through Grace, 415. Let's sing it out on first. Conquering now and still to know dear, why did the king in his light, leading the host of all the people, to the lights of the flight, seen and repaired at that scene, guiding the buildings away, shouting the name of their leader, hear them and tell to be safe, not to destroy the earth so badly, not to disrupt his own race, yet to the true end of the path, into his hand. Four hundred fifteen on the second, conquering now and still to know dear, who is this wonderful king, when saw the armies waiting to meet, yet none of his glory is seen, he is our Lord and Redeemer, son of a man like divine, Lord of the stars and forever, why did his kingdom shine, not to the strongest of others, not to the strictest of eyes, to end that battle with too much promise, four hundred fifteen, sing it out on the last, conquering now and still to comfort, Jesus the ruler of all, those in their scepters, others shall perish, those in their splendor shall fall, yet shall the armies lead us, faithful true to the last, joining thy nations eternal, rest in thy word for it is just, not to the strongest of others, not to the strictest of ways, yet to the true end of the path, into his hand. And we'd like to welcome you to this service here at Verdi Baptist Church. We're so glad you're with us, and we of course would like to begin the service with a word of prayer. So let's go ahead and bow our heads and pray together. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do love you. We thank you for allowing us to gather together today. Lord, we pray that you would bless the service this morning, this evening as well. We ask that you be with us as we sing praises, as we study God's word, and of course the fellowship. Lord, we pray that you would draw us closer to yourself. In the matchless name of Christ, we pray. Amen. Turn to song 175. 175. It's just like his great love, 175 on the first. A friend I have told Jesus, whose love is strong and true, and never fails how e'er to try, no matter what I do. I've seen against this love at last, but when I go to die, I'm facing all my guilt to hear, the sea clouds roll away. It's just like Jesus to roll the clouds away. It's just like Jesus to keep me day by day. It's just like Jesus all along the way. It's just like Jesus to die. I picked this song months ago. I didn't know it was going to be cloudy today. All right, so let's sing it out on the second. Sometimes the clouds of trouble meet in the sky above. I cannot see my Savior's face. I doubt his wondrous love, but he will have its mercy seen beholding my his fire. In the first I felt his fear, and he shows me the truth. It's just like Jesus to roll the clouds away. It's just like Jesus to keep me day by day. It's just like Jesus to die. It's just like Jesus on the third, when sorrow's clouds won't take me, and worth upon my hands. I know he's gone and useless, and I would better pay. I won't give in to Jesus' love, nor do I want him not. But every hope he holds that shows the sunshine will have to turn. It's just like Jesus to roll the clouds away. It's just like Jesus to keep me day by day. It's just like Jesus on the third, when sorrow's clouds won't take me. Good. You guys are singing well. Sing it out on the last. Oh, I could sing forever of Jesus' love divine, of all his parents and friends, who passed the life of man. His love is in every people, and in every day. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Lord, Jesus, Jesus. Sing it out. It's just like Jesus to roll the clouds away. It's just like Jesus to keep me day by day. It's just like Jesus on the third, when sorrow's clouds won't take me. It's just like Jesus to keep me. Amen. All right. Well, let's take our bulletins. We'll look at some announcements this morning. If you did not receive a bulletin on your way in, just raise your hand, and one of our ushers can get one for you. If you need a bulletin, just put your hand up. We'll get one for you. The verse this week, Psalm 37 3, Trust in the Lord and do good. So shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily, thou shalt be fed. And that's a good verse there. We like that. If you open up your bulletin, you'll see our service time, Sunday morning service, 10 30 a.m. And we're glad you're with us, of course, on Sunday morning on the Lord's day for church. We do invite you to be back tonight at 6 p.m. for the evening service. And the evening service is different than the morning service. Different songs that are sung, different sermon that's preached. Just one more opportunity to be in God's house with God's people under the preaching of the word of God. And then, of course, we have our Wednesday evening Bible study at 7 p.m. And we'd love for you to join us for the midweek service. If you look at our sowing times, our main sowing times on Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. And then we have an additional sowing time on Sunday at 2 p.m. We also normally have Thursday and Friday at 2 p.m. But we've got workdays on those days. So those are postponed for now. But we do want you to know that there is a time available for you to go sowing this afternoon, if you'd like, at 2 p.m. And then, of course, our main sowing rallies at 10 a.m. on Saturday mornings. If you are a first-time guest, if it's your first time here at Verity Baptist Church, we're so glad you're with us. And we have a gift we would like to give you as you walk out of the church building this morning. If you go out our main foyer, or if you go out our secondary foyer, you'll see a little table set up. And on that table, you will see these little gift bags. Please grab one on your way out as a gift from us to you for being our guest this morning. There are several resources in this bag that we'd like you to have. But the one I'd like to highlight is this documentary that our church made. It's called Being Baptist. It's very well made, very interesting. We think you'll like it, and we want to give this to you as a gift. So please make sure you don't leave here this morning without grabbing one of those gift bags on your way out. And if you are a guest, we'd ask that you please take a moment to fill out the communication card, which is inserted in your bulletin. If you need a pen, just raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you by a Verity Baptist Church pen, and you're welcome to keep the pen as a gift from us as well. We're not gonna do anything odd with your info. We would just like a record of your attendance. We actually would like to send you a little gift, but we need your information to do that. So please take a moment to fill the card out When we're done with the announcements, we're gonna sing a song. When we're done singing, we're gonna receive the offering, and as the offering plate goes by, you can drop this card in the offering plate, or you can hand it to me after the service. I'll be standing at the main door greeting people on the way out. I hope you'll come by and say hello. If you notice there in the announcements, we of course are a family integrated church. What that means is that children and infants are always welcomed in the service. We do not separate children from their parents for any reason. We do have mother-baby rooms and daddy rooms available throughout the building for your convenience. All of the rooms have comfortable seating. They've got monitors set up so you can watch the service and listen to it, and if you have a child that's been distracting during the service, or if you need some privacy, we would encourage you to please use those rooms as needed. If you're not sure where they're at, you can look at the back of the bulletin and you'll see a layout of our church building. It'll show you where the restrooms are. It'll show you where the mother-baby rooms are. It'll show you where the daddy room is as well. If you need to be baptized, please let us know. We'd love to baptize you. The baptistry is filled. The water's warm. You can let us know in your communication card on the back. Check off that you'd like information about baptism, and we'll follow up with you and talk to you about that and get that set up. If you look at the announcements and upcoming events, of course, on Sundays, we're going through a series called Wilderness Wanderings. It's a study through the Book of Numbers. We're gonna continue that this morning and this evening. On Wednesday nights, we've been going through a verse-by-verse study through the Book of Hebrews, and we encourage you to stay with us on Wednesday nights for that. Then, of course, a couple of big announcements. The biggest announcement is the VBC Workdays. They are continuing, and we need your help, guys. We've got some fresh sign-up sheets in the back. If you could sign up, we would appreciate it. Of course, we'll continue with the schedule we've had. Thursday, October 26, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, October 27, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, October 28, 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. There are three shifts on the Thursday and Friday, two shifts on Saturday. If you go to the foyer, you'll see several clipboards there for different things. We're getting to the place where some of these things are gonna be a little more specific. I wanna just take a moment to explain that to you guys. This week, the major focus is gonna be on electrical. If you go back there and you look at the clipboards, you'll notice that there'll be a clipboard for Thursday, October 26, Friday, October 27, and for Saturday, October 28. Then there's slots. There's actually three slots for each shift for each day for electrical leads. If you have experience with electrical, you're an electrician or you know what you're doing when it comes to electrical, we could really use your help. If you could go by there, look at the dates that fit your schedule, the shift that fits your schedule, and go ahead and sign up for it. Then also, there's a couple of slots for each shift for each day for electrical helpers. Maybe you have enough experience with electrical that you're comfortable helping someone. Maybe you're not comfortable being a lead, but you can help. Then there's a couple of slots there for you as well. Then if you say, I don't do electrical at all and I don't know anything about that, that's okay. We've got more work that needs to be done with the ceiling abatement. There's a couple of slots there for each one of those shifts. Miscellaneous, just work and cleaning that needs to be done on all of those days. On Saturday, there's also, I think, a shift there for working on offices and construction in the offices. Please make sure you go by there, guys, and check that out. Also, there's a couple of other clipboards there. One is, you'll notice, it just says BBC Workday. This is for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The official workdays are Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. We can't get enough. We just love work around here. We've got some slots available Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday as well for semi-skilled tasks. We're just trying to get a feel. If you're available on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday and you've got some sort of skill in the construction area, please go by there and let us know your name and when you're available. Brother Joel will be in contact with you if we can use you on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday getting things ready for Thursday, Friday, Saturday so we can hit the ground running. Also, we've got another clipboard out there for Friday, October 27th specifically, because some of you are like, I can't do any of that. None of that applies to me. Okay, well, I've got work going on on Friday all day regarding landscaping. So if you've got any sort of landscaping experience, if you know how to use a weed eater, we've got four acres of land out there that need to get cleaned up and ready so please, if you've got any experience with that, we've got a sign-up sheet for you. We've got four slots there. We're starting on Friday at 8 a.m. with that, so that will be at the same time as the work's being done in the building, work will be done outside the building, and then we've got four slots there for general laborers. Maybe you say, I don't have any landscaping experience, but I can try to help. Then we've got room for you. So please make sure you go by there. I understand there's a lot of clipboards there. I understand there's a lot of shifts there, but there's a lot of work that needs to be done, and I hope you don't get tired of hearing about it because you're going to hear about it for a while. And I realize that there are some men that can work, and there are some men that cannot. But if you are a man that can work, I mean, you can work, and you can put in hours, and you can get things done, and you can get up early and stay up late and do all the things you need to do, then we could use your help. We would appreciate your help. So go by there and sign up, and we would appreciate your help with that. And then we've got the Harvest Party coming up. This is a little more fun of an announcement for you, and that's on Tuesday, October 31st at 6 p.m. And, of course, if you're looking for something to do on October 31st that doesn't include worshipping the devil or death, then we'd love for you to join us for the Harvest Party. We'll have the annual chili cook-off, and, of course, that will be the meal for the evening. We'll have a $100 gift card for the first place winner and a $50 gift card for the second place winner. And then we'll have bags of treats for all the kids in attendance. We'll have games. We love sign-up sheets around here. So there are sign-up sheets in the foyer, all right? These are for you ladies. If you can help bring cornbread and dessert for the Harvest Party, that would be great. Homeschool group, they've got P class on November 2nd. There's other things there for you to look at. Please don't forget to turn your cell phones off or place them on silent during the service so that they're not a distraction to anybody. If you look at the back of the bulletin, birthdays and anniversaries for the month of October this week. We have Liliana Pettis' birthday is today, October 22nd. And then tomorrow we have Noelle Rosenberg. Ji-Yoon Davidson has a birthday on October 21st. Emma Gonzalez has a birthday on October 25th. My brother, Abraham Jimenez, has a birthday on October 26th. And Brother Ron Kolak has a birthday on October 26th. Praise Report, Money Matters, all those things are there for you to look at. I do have a couple of baptism certificates I need to hand out, so I'll go ahead and read this. It says, Certificate of Baptism. This certificate is awarded to Armin Sheboyan in recognition of his baptism on the 11th day of October of the year 2023, presented by Verity Baptist Church with the verse there, Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in union of life. And we've got some pictures here for Armin to remember the day of his baptism. And then we have another baptism certificate for his daughter, who is baptized on the same day, Ileana Sheboyan, and it says the same things. And we have pictures for her to remember the day of her baptism as well. And let's go ahead and give them a round of applause. All right, praise the Lord for that. Let's go ahead and take the chorus of the week, which is the insert in your bulletin. And we're going to sing, I stand amazed as we prepare to receive the offering this morning. And this is the kind of song you have to sing on purpose and with passion. All right, so let's go ahead and sing it out on the first. When I examine that old rugged cross, the mighty gold it's fair. It reaches down to the brains of hell to have it golden set. Sing it out in the chorus. I stand amazed. I stand amazed. Of the love the earth sought me, saved the end of me. I stand amazed. Sing it out on the second. When I imagine and worry that day, when all of heaven's works fail, as God imparted the Savior, who can dine upon all the reason. Here we go, sing it out. I stand amazed. I stand amazed. Of the love the earth sought me, saved the end of me. I stand amazed. Amen. Good singing. We'll have the guys come up and help us with the offering at this time. And let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do love you. We thank you for allowing us to gather together today. Lord, we pray that you bless the offering, the gift and the giver. We thank you for all the work that's going on in the new property. And Lord, we pray that you'd continue to help it to go forward and help us to be able to move in at the time that we've structured to be able to do that. And Lord, I pray that you'd help us to meet with you this morning as we open up your word and say the Bible together. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Turn your Bibles to Numbers chapter 14. Numbers chapter 14. If you do not have a Bible, raise your hand and an usher will bring you one. Numbers chapter 14. This morning we'll read verses 30 through 45. Numbers chapter 14. Just keep your hands up and an usher will bring you a Bible. Numbers chapter 14. Beginning at verse 30, the Bible reads, Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I swear to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. But as for you, your carcasses, they shall fall in this wilderness, and your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years and bear your hoardings until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness. After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise. I, the Lord, have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation that are gathered together against me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die. And the men which Moses sent to search the land, who returned and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land, even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the Lord. But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still. And Moses told these sayings unto all the children of Israel, and the people mourned greatly. And they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the mountain, saying, Lo, we be here, and will go up unto the place which the Lord hath promised, for we have sinned. And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the Lord? But it shall not prosper. Go not up, for the Lord is not among you, that ye be not smitten before your enemies. For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword, because ye are turned away from the Lord, therefore the Lord will not be with you. But they presumed to go up unto the hilltop, nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the Lord and Moses departed not out of the camp. Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah. Let's pray. Father God, thank you for this day. Thank you for this opportunity to come together. Please bless Pastor and the message. Let it bring glory and honor to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen. Amen. All right. Well, we're there in the book of Numbers. Numbers chapter number 14. And, of course, on Sundays we've been going through a series entitled, Wilderness Wandering, and it is a chapter-by-chapter study through the book of Numbers. And we've spent a little bit more time than we have on other chapters in chapters 14 and 13, because, like I've explained before, these are kind of very important chapters in this book because of the fact that the events that took place in these chapters changed the biblical narrative, the biblical history, and the history of the children of Israel for all of history, really. The entire Old Testament was affected because of the decisions made in these chapters. And, of course, we learned in Numbers chapter 13 that the children of Israel, if you remember, the 12 spies were sent in to the land, and 10 of them came back with an evil report. They had fear. They were full of fear. They lacked faith, and they allowed that fear to spread to the congregation, and they rebelled against God. They chose not to go in to the Promised Land. And then, of course, we saw that God has now told them that because of that, they are not going to enter in at all, and that they will wander in the wilderness for 40 years until that generation dies. And we have been seeing in chapter 14 how the people responded in verses 1 through 4. We saw how Moses and Aaron responded in verses 11 through 20. Last week, we saw how Joshua and Caleb responded in verses 6 to 10. And this morning, we're going to see how this whole thing ends in this chapter as we look at verses 30 through 45. Tonight, we're going to begin Numbers chapter 15, and I hope you'll join us for that. But I just want you to kind of understand what we're looking at. And what we're seeing is that God has brought the children of Israel to the edge of the Promised Land. The Promised Land is God's perfect will for them, for their lives. That's what He wanted for them. He's brought them to that edge, but they refused to go in. It wasn't that He withheld them from going in. They refused to go in, and they did not make themselves available for God's use. And what we're going to see in this portion of Scripture, verses 30 through 45, is what happens when someone, whether it's a congregation or an individual, when someone makes themselves unavailable for God to use them. God has a purpose and a plan for each and every one of us. And He has certain things that He's already planned for us to do, but God is not going to force Himself upon us. We have to make ourselves available. And unfortunately, some people don't. Some people do, some people don't. And what we're going to learn this morning is what happens if God cannot use you. What happens if God wants to use you, God has a plan for you, God has a purpose for you, God even brings you up to the edge of the Promised Land of His will for your life, and then you refuse, you rebel, and you decide to not go in. What happens then? And I'd like to give you four thoughts this morning regarding what happens when God cannot use you. And we'll begin there in verse number 30. Why don't you notice, of course, in verse 30 we have God, the Lord, speaking to the children of Israel. And here's what He says. He says, Doubtless, ye shall not come into the land. That word, doubtless, there is just, the way we would say it today is without a doubt or no doubt. Without a doubt, God is saying, ye shall not come into the land. He's telling the children of Israel, they've rebelled against them, they've rebelled against Moses and Aaron and against God, they've murmured against them, they've complained, they've even set up a captain to take them back into Egypt, they've done all these things, and now God says to them, because He brought them to the edge of His perfect will, and they refused to go in because of fear and because of their own hard hearts, God says, Doubtless, ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I swear to make you dwell therein. Save Caleb, the son of Jephthah, and Joshua, the son of Nun. And of course, God is telling them, you're not going to go into the land, you're going to die in the wilderness, and He says, except for, save for, Caleb and Joshua. Caleb and Joshua would be the only men of that generation that would enter into the Promised Land. Look at verse 31. He says, But your little ones, and when He says your little ones there, that is a reference to their children. He's saying, but your children, your little ones, which ye said should be a prey. And if you remember from earlier in the chapter, they use their children as an excuse to not do what God has called them to do. They said, if we go into that land, our children are going to be a prey. They're going to die. We're all going to be killed. And God is now saying to them, but your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, He says, them, the them there is referring to the little ones, the children. Notice what He says. He says, them will I bring in. I don't want you to miss what God is saying here. He says, He says in verse 30, Doubtless ye shall not come into the land. He says, but them, your little ones, will I bring in. And, look at verse 31, they, they there is referring to the little ones, shall know the land which ye have despised. He said, I brought you to this land. I gave you this land, and you despised it. He said, you rejected it. You refused to go in. Because of your hard heart, because of your murmuring and your complaining, you would not go in. And God says, doubtless, He says, without a doubt, I've made the decision, you're not going to come into the land. Even if you want to, I'm going to keep you out in the wilderness, and you're going to die in the wilderness. The little ones, the ones that you said would be a prey, He says, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. And in these two verses, we find the first lesson for this morning, when it comes to what happens if God cannot use you. And if you're taking notes, and I always encourage you to take notes on the back of your course of the week, there's a place where you jot some of these things down. And I would like you to jot this down, because I think this is something that we are all in danger from time to time of refusing to be available for God. I want you to notice the first lesson we can gather from this passage is this, that if God cannot use you, He will use someone else. If God, and here's the idea, you're there in Numbers 14, that's our text for this morning, I'd like you to keep your place there, and go with me, if you would, to the book of Esther. If you're in the book of Numbers, you'll go past Deuteronomy, past Joshua, past Judges, past Ruth, past 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, if you find those one, two books, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, Esther, all right? 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, Esther. I'd like you to go to Esther, but here's the point that I'd like you to understand. If God brings you to the place where He wants to use you, He brings you to the edge of the Promised Land, His perfect will for your life, the opportunity that He's giving you, the things that He wants you to do and He wants you to accomplish, God brings you there, and you and I decide that with our hard hearts and our evil hearts, that with our rebellious spirit and with our lack of faith and full of fear, we decide that we do not want to go in, do not want to be used, do not want to make ourselves available for God, then here's what you need to understand, and here's the first lesson. If God cannot use you, He will use someone else. He tells the children of Israel, you don't want to go in, all right, you want to use your children as an excuse to not go in, no problem, but your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, He says, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. And when you fast forward in the biblical narrative, when you fast forward in the biblical history, what you find is just that. When you go through the book of Joshua, and the book of Joshua is my favorite book in the Old Testament. It's the reason we named our firstborn son, Joshua. I love the book of Joshua because when you look at the book of Joshua and read the book of Joshua, you read about a man, Joshua, the leader of the children of Israel at that time after the death of Moses, and this congregation that is following behind him, and they are entering into the land with confidence and faith in God, conquering the land and taking the land. And when you read those great stories of Jericho and all those things, what you're reading about is these little ones, these children, whose parents said we will not go in, and God responds, well, if I can't use you, I'll use someone else. If I can't use you, I'll use your children, your little ones, which ye said should be a prey. The ones they said would be a prey are the ones that went in and conquered the land. Now, how do you go to Esther? Because it might seem odd, but Esther to me is a very interesting parallel to this passage. Because in Esther we find all the same dynamics that we find. The four lessons I'm going to show you from the passage in Numbers 30 through 45 are all basically represented in the book of Esther as well. The book of Esther, the story of Esther, parallels this story in a very interesting way. Now, you might think, well, that's kind of odd. It seems like Numbers and Esther would not be something that would parallel. And there are some differences, and let me just explain that quickly before we look at Esther. There are some differences in the parallel, and there are some comparisons. There are some comparisons and some contrasts. First, I need you to understand that in the passage in Numbers, we are talking about a congregation. It is a group. When we look at Esther, we're talking about an individual. The reason for that is because these things apply on both ends. Both an individual can decide that they are not going to enter into the Promised Land and allow themselves to be used of God, but also a group and a congregation can decide that they will not allow themselves to be used of God. So we see that contrast, but it's for a reason. Both a congregation, both an assembly, both a nation, both a group of people, and an individual can decide to not make themselves available, and both will meet the same consequences. In this story, though, I want you to understand that when we're looking at Numbers 14, we're looking at, one, the congregation reaping the results of their decision, of course the children of Israel, and in the other, we are seeing Esther being warned about what will happen if she does not allow herself to be used by God. So in one instance, we're seeing them after the fact, and in another instance, we're seeing them be warned. But I want you to notice that we'll see some similarities. And of course, ultimately, one does not make themselves available, the congregation, and ultimately, one does make herself available, Queen Esther, and she fulfills God's will for her life. But I'd like you to notice, in Esther chapter 4 and verse 13, we have Mordecai who raised Esther, her uncle, and Mordecai and Esther have now become aware, I'll just catch you up to the story if you're not familiar with it, they've become aware of this man named Haman who has conspired a plan, who has set forth a plot to kill the Jews, which Mordecai and Esther are. And Mordecai is now sending a message to Esther and he's explaining some things to her. And it's interesting to me because the things that he explains to her are the things that God says to the children of Israel. Because God told the children of Israel, if you do not make yourself available to be used, that's all right, that's your decision. God is not a Calvinist, he's not going to make you do anything. He says, but if God says, if I cannot use you, then I'll use someone else. I'll just let you wander in the wilderness and wait till you die, and then your children who you said would be a prey, I'll use them. If God cannot use you, he tells the children of Israel, Moses tells the children of Israel, then he will use someone else. In Esther chapter 4 and verse 13, we see Mordecai say basically the same thing. Notice what he says to Esther. Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther. This is what he says to her. He says, think not within thyself, that thou shall escape in the king's house more than all the Jews. He says, for if thou altogether holdest thy peace. Because Mordecai is telling Esther, Esther, you have been positioned to be able to do something about this. You have access to the king, and you can go in and let him know about Haman's plan, and you can deliver us from this certain death. But here's what Mordecai says, if thou altogether holdest thy peace. If you decide not to go in. If you decide not to make yourself available to God. If you decide not to go and tell the king. If thou altogether holdest thy peace. What is he saying? He's saying, if you're not willing to be used of God at this time, notice what he says. Then shall their enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place. I want you to notice that Mordecai says to Esther, Esther, if God cannot use you, then he'll use someone else. If God cannot use you, then shall their enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place. Here's what Mordecai knew. Mordecai knew that it was not God's will that the Jews would be killed at that time. That God still had a use for them, of course, in the Old Testament. And that the children of the captivity were still to go back to their land and rebuild the walls and rebuild the temple. He knew that God was not done with them at that point. So Mordecai expresses to Esther that if God cannot use you, then he'll use somebody else. And we see with the children of Israel in the book of Numbers that if God cannot use them, then he will use somebody else. And the message for you and the message for me today is this. That if we do not make ourselves available for God to use, then we need to understand this. That God will just use somebody else. You say, well, what's the big deal with that? We'll talk about that in a minute, but I just want you to understand this. You are irreplaceable. The Bible says that when the Bible talks about a congregation, and of course, let's apply it to us today, the Verity Baptist Church, the congregation of this church, the Bible calls a church a body. It uses the illustration of a body to illustrate a church. And literally, it calls every member of the church is like a body part or a body member of a body. And the idea is this, that you are irreplaceable. Look, if somebody loses a body part, if someone, because of an accident, maybe loses a limb, or loses a finger, or loses an eye, or loses an ear, or loses a leg, that may be irreplaceable. You only have one right hand. You only have one left eye. You only have a certain amount of body parts. And the Bible says that God has brought us together. The Bible says that God has tempered the body. The Bible says that God, if you are here, and you're part of Verity Baptist Church, and maybe you're visiting and you're a first time guest, and we're glad you're here, and we hope and pray that God maybe would bring you here and make you part of our church. But I'm talking about to our church family, if you know that God, that this is your church, and Verity Baptist Church, you're a member of this church, then here's what we believe. We believe that God brought you here. He tempered the body together. And He brought you here because we needed you and you needed us. And you are irreplaceable. Just like my left eye or my right eye or my left hand is irreplaceable, you are irreplaceable. But before you get a little too caught up on yourself, remember this, that just because you and I are irreplaceable does not mean that we are indispensable. Because if I lose a limb, I can never replace that limb, but I can go on. If I lose a body part, I may never be able to replace that body part, but I can continue. It's always interesting to me when people, they get so lifted up with pride when they get backslidden and sinful, and people sometimes over the years, we've had individuals leave this church, and they kind of have this idea like, once I quit that church, it's going to fall apart. It looks like it's doing all right. It looks like we're doing fine. I'm going to personally hand deliver some of the flyers when we move into our new building. Look how we're doing now. It turns out, turns out, maybe you are irreplaceable, but you're not indispensable. You and I need to remember that though God values you, and God loves you, and God cares for you, and God has a plan for you, and God has a purpose for you, and you are irreplaceable in the will of God, you are not indispensable to the will of God, and if God cannot use you, he will simply use somebody else. Go back to Numbers 14. Please keep your place there in Esther. We're going to come back and forth between Numbers and the book of Esther, Esther chapter 4. Go back to Numbers chapter 14. I said number one this morning, if God cannot use you, he will use somebody else. He will use someone else. You say, well, what's the big deal with that? Then maybe God can just go ahead and use somebody else. No big deal to me. Well, here's statement number two, and I'd like you to see it here in verse 32. Because in verses 30 and 31, God just got done saying, if I cannot use you, then I will use somebody else. He said, in fact, if I cannot use you, then I will use them. The little ones that you said would be a prey. I'll use them, and they will conquer the land, and they will know the will of God for their lives, but if I cannot use you, I'll use somebody else. And then you might be thinking, because maybe you are in a rebellious, sinful, backslidden state, and you're just kind of like, well, then what's the big deal? Let God use somebody else. Well, here's what you need to understand. What happens if God cannot use you and uses someone else? Look at verse 32. Here's where God deals with that. He says, but ask for you. Because he just got done telling them, I'm not going to use you, I'm going to use somebody else. He said, well, what about us? God says, I'm glad you asked, verse 32. But ask for you, those who are not willing to be used. He says, your carcasses, a carcass is a dead body. Your carcasses, they shall fall in the wilderness, and your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness, after the number of the days in which ye search the land, even forty days. Because remember, the spies went in and searched the land for forty days. And God said, I'm going to give you one year for every day, forty years you're going to wander in the wilderness, each day for a year, so ye bear your iniquities, even forty years. And ye shall know my breach of promise. I, the Lord, have said, I will surely do it. All this evil congregation that are gathered together against me in this wilderness, they shall be consumed. And, notice the words, there they shall die. You say, well, I don't care if God can't use me, let him use someone else. But here's the thing, but as for you, but as for me, if we make ourselves unavailable to God, you say, what happens? Well, if God cannot use you, not only will he use someone else, but if God cannot use you, then you will waste your life. Because these people, think about it, from this point forward, God said the rest of your life will be a waste. The rest of your life will be spent going in circles, in a wilderness, waiting for you to die. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't want to live the rest of my life, I'm 37 years old, I don't want to live the rest of my life knowing that God is just waiting for me to die, because he really needs to use somebody else. You say, what happens if we do not make ourselves available for God? Well, if God cannot use you, then he will use someone else. You say, well, what's the big deal with that? Well, the big deal with that is this, that if God cannot use you, then you will waste your life, you will wander in a wilderness, walking in circles, doing nothing, accomplishing nothing, being nothing, the rest of your life. He says, I'll just have you wander in the wilderness. And look, I'm not trying to hurt your feelings, and I'm not, I am trying to tell you the truth, some of you have spent too many years already walking in a wilderness, doing nothing, accomplishing nothing, doing nothing done. I don't want to come to the end of my life, I don't want to be in the last days of my life, and look back on my life and say, I wish I would have done something, I wish I would have accomplished something, I wish I would have tried something, attempted something, and dread something, and had a vision for something, and tried to do something for God. Hey, I want to look back on my life and know that it matters. But if you do not make yourself available, not only will God use someone else, but you, you will waste your life in a wilderness wandering around. Notice what Mordecai says to Esther, keep your place there in numbers, go back to Esther chapter 4. Look at verse 14. Remember we see the same idea but with Esther, with an individual. Esther 4 and verse 14, Mordecai says, For if thou all together holdest thy peace, Esther, if ye are not willing to be used of God, Esther, at this time, then shall their enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place. He says, God can use somebody else, no problem. But thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed. I want you to notice this phrase, he says, And who knoweth, Esther, who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? So what is Mordecai saying to Esther? Mordecai is saying to Esther, and I don't have time to go through the story of Esther, I preach verse by verse through the book of Esther, maybe a couple years ago, and you can check out those sermons if you'd like. But what Mordecai is saying to Esther is, Esther, you've had a very difficult life, but we can see the hand of God on your life. Esther had lost her parents, she was an orphan, raised by Mordecai, her older family member. As a result of being born during the time of the captivity, even though she was raised by this man Mordecai who loved her very much, the Bible teaches, and I believe the Bible teaches, and again, I don't have time to go through it, you can study it out on your own, that she was forcibly removed from the custody, that's the word the Bible uses, of Mordecai and brought into the custody of the king. She was then forced to be part of this procedure where the king would choose a fair maiden, and the Bible seems to indicate be with a fair maiden every night until he chose one to marry, and Esther was chosen. Not a good situation, but the Bible says that all things can work together for good. And Mordecai is reminding Esther, Esther, who knoweth? He says, who knows whether maybe all these things that happened, maybe the fact that you were born during the captivity, maybe the fact that you lost your parents and therefore came to live with me, and maybe the fact that as a result of living with me you were near Shushan, the palace, and you were taken from my custody and given to this process of being chosen as the queen. Who knoweth, Esther, whether thou art come to the kingdom, whether all these things happened in your life and brought you to this place and positioned you for this. And what Mordecai is saying to Esther is, if you do not make yourself available to God, all of that will be wasted. If you do not make yourself available to God, then everything, then maybe everything, then maybe everything that God, the road that God has brought you down, maybe all of it will be for naught. So he says to Esther, what God says to the children of Israel, if God cannot use you, no problem, he'll use someone else. But before you start rejoicing, lazy, if God cannot use you, then you will waste your life. Because remember that Christ is your life. And if God cannot use you, then your life and all the things that God has brought you through and all the things that God brought you to this point, this place in your life will be for naught. Let's look at some New Testament passages that kind of explain this. Go to Luke chapter 9, if you would, Matthew, Mark, and the book of Luke, Luke chapter 9. The Gospels you have, keep your place in Esther in Numbers, but go to the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke, Luke 9, Luke 9, 24, the Bible says, for whosoever will save his life. The word save there is not talking about spiritual salvation or anything like that. It's not even talking about physical salvation. It's just talking about someone who wants to keep it all for themselves. Pastor, I can't shut up for a work day. I've got too many fun things to do. For whosoever will save, whosoever will be selfish with their life, whosoever will be selfish with their time, energy, resources, ability, whosoever will save his life, want to enjoy his life, not want to waste his life. Notice what the Bible says, for whosoever will save his life shall lose it. The greatest way to waste your life is to spend it on yourself. Because they who focus only on themselves in the end only have themselves. And Jesus here in a moment of insight, trying to help his followers says, look, understand this, whosoever will save his life. The person that says, no, no, no, I can't do anything else. I can't invest in anything else. I can't do it because I've got to focus on myself. It's my happiness and all the things that I need to do. Jesus says that's a great way to waste your life. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it. But whosoever will lose, whosoever will lose. You say, look at all those losers spending 12 hours Thursday, Friday, they go towing and a workday Saturday. Man, whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. And then here's what he says, verse 25. For what is a man's advantage? If he gain the whole world and lose himself. Or be, and I want you to notice this phrase, or be cast away. Now, this verse here might sound a little familiar to you because there's two versions of the same verse. And they're applied in different applications. The one that you probably are aware of is in Mark 8, 36 and 37. You don't have to turn there, I'll just read it for you. But that one has to do with salvation. It says, for what shall a man profit if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? That is applied to salvation. He says, what does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and he goes to hell? He loses his own soul. I want you to notice that in Luke, this is now the same principle. Jesus is not applying it to an unsaved man, but a saved man. He says, for whosoever will save his life shall lose it. And whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall, the same shall save it, his life for my sake, the same shall save it, verse 25. For what is a man's advantage if he gain the whole world and lose? Notice, he doesn't say soul, he just says himself, his life, his time, his resources. He says, or be cast away. That word cast away means to throw away, to throw in the trash. And here, Jesus is saying, if you endeavor to save your life, and it's all got to be about me and I can't give any time to anything else, I got to focus on myself. God says, I'll end up throwing you away. He said, I don't like that. Well, I didn't say it, Jesus did. Some of you need to stop shooting the messenger and start getting mad at the word of God. He said, I'll throw you away. I'll cast you away. He said, if I can't use you, here's what he's saying, if I can't use you, then I have no need for you. I don't like you saying that. Well, I'm sorry your little public school education taught you. Now, we'll just pass you along even if you don't know how to read, but God says, no, you've got to bring some value to the table. He said, if I don't have use for you, then I'll throw you away. He said, I don't like you saying that. I'm not saying it. God is. Go to 1 Corinthians 9, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians. I often tell people, at Verity Baptist Church, we give you in one 60-minute sermon what your parents failed to teach you in the 20 years you lived with them or whatever. You don't get a gold star for being lazy. I'm not talking about salvation. Salvation is believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. Hey, call upon Jesus in faith, and we'll see you in heaven. But you want to be used of God? Get involved. Get to work. God says this, what is a man's advantage if he gained the whole world and he loses himself? Or be cast away, be thrown away. Look at 1 Corinthians 9, 27. Here's what Paul said. Paul said, I, therefore, run. This is not about salvation. This is about his work ethic and his involvement in the things of God. He says, I, therefore, so run, not as uncertainty. So fight I, not as one that beateth the air. Paul is using these analogies of exercise and of sports. And he says, when I run, I run to win. When I fight, I don't beat the air. He said, if I'm going to get in the ring, I want to hit somebody. He said, if I'm going to do something, I want to do it. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy mind. And this is the type of guy that Paul was. He was intense. I, therefore, so run, not as uncertainty. Paul says, look, when I run, he's like, I'm not just out there just kind of running. Paul says, when I run, it's like, ready, set, go. That's what he's saying, not as uncertainty. So fight I, not as one that beateth the air. Shadow boxing. I'm going to get in there and hit somebody. That's what Paul says. He was intense. By the way, you like sports analogies? We'll see you. We're having two-a-days, Sunday, Sunday morning, Sunday night. You like your little sports football analogies? Two-a-days. Practice. We'll see you tonight. Look at verse 27. He says, but I keep under my body and bring it into subjection. He said, I'm disciplined with my body. I bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be, don't miss it, cast away. Is he saying lose my salvation? That's not what he's saying. He's not saying lose my salvation, but here's what he's saying. He's saying, I can get thrown away, I can get cast away, where God no longer uses me and my life is wasted. It might as well just be cast away, be throw away, for what is a man's advantage if he gains the whole world and loses himself or be cast away? He says, I keep under my body and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be cast away. And here's the application. God wants to use us. He has a purpose and a plan for you. He has a purpose and a plan for every person here. But if we do not make ourselves available to his use, we might miss the entire purpose for our lives and waste our lives. Think about that. I don't know what God's purpose for your life is, but I know this. God has a purpose for your life. I can tell you, I know the purpose for my life. I know the purpose for my life and for my wife is to be the pastor and the pastor's wife of Verity Baptist Church. And could you imagine, could you imagine if we refused to go into this promised land that God has for us? And, you know, I just did something else. I mean, I'd hate to get to heaven and be like, yeah, I'm glad that you're an accountant. And I'm not bashing accountants. Accountants are great. I'm just saying. I'm glad that you were whatever. And, but you were supposed to do this. This is what I had for you. This is what I planned for you. But you're too scared. You're too fearful. You lacked faith. Paul says, I don't want to get cast away, so I'm going to be intense. When I run, I don't run uncertainly. When I fight, I don't beat the air. He said, I discipline myself because I don't want to be a throwaway. I don't want to waste my life. And look, you ought to be afraid to waste your life. We ought to think every day of the judgment seat of Christ. And I want to get to the end of my life, like Paul, and be able to say, I am now ready to be offered. Because to the best of my ability, I've fought a good fight. I've kept the faith. I finished my course. Go back to Numbers, chapter 14. We're talking about what happens if God cannot use you. I said, number one, if God cannot use you, he will use someone else. I said, number two, if God cannot use you, you will waste your life. Here's number three. Look at verse 36, Numbers 14, 36. And the men, remember there was 12 spies? 12 spies went to spy on Cain, and 10 were bad, 2 were good. The men here is referring to the 10 spies. Notice what it says. And the men, which Moses sent to search the land. These are the spies. But it's only the 10, not save Caleb and Joshua. And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land. Doesn't it seem like God really takes this personally? You are slandering me. Verse 37. Even those men, what men? The 10 spies. Because remember, God just got done telling the congregation, you're all going to die. You're all going to die by wasting your life. You're going to wander in this wilderness for 40 years, and you're going to waste your life. I'm going to wait until your carcasses fall on this earth, and then I'm going to use somebody else. But then God focuses in on the 10, the 10 spies that came back and said, no, the walls, the cities are walled, and there's giants, and we were grasshoppers in their side, and blah, blah, blah. He says, even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, verse 37, notice what it says, died by the plague before the Lord. God said, I'm going to kill all of you in the wilderness eventually, but then he kills these 10 guys immediately. Even those men that did bring up an evil report upon the land died by the plague before the Lord. Verse 38. But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephthah, which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still. And think about that. You've got 12 guys lined up. God is rebuking these people and telling them, I'm so sick and tired of you. You want to refuse and you want to rebel, that's fine. You can die in this wilderness. I'll use someone else. You can waste your life. And then God says, and by the way, I'm going to kill these 10 guys. And then they just fall dead from the plague. And Caleb and Joshua were just like, you know, like, yeah. Praise the Lord. Here's statement number three for you. If God cannot use you, he'll use someone else. If God cannot use you, you'll waste your life. Here's statement number three. Some of you aren't going to like it because it's not politically correct, but I don't care. If God cannot use you, he might get rid of you. I mean, he got rid of these guys. Oh, you don't want me to use you? Oh, no, no problem. Died by the plague before the Lord. Notice what Mordecai says to Esther. Go back to Esther chapter four. Look at verse 13. Esther 4, 13. Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther. Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house more than all the Jews. Remember, Haman's coming for the Jews. And Mordecai's reminding Esther, don't think that just because you live in the palace that thou shalt escape in the king's house more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace, if you're not willing to be used of God at this time, then it shall their enlargement and deliverance arise to Jews from another place. But, here's what Mordecai says, but thou, Esther, and thy father's house shall be destroyed. What is he telling Esther? If God cannot use you, he'll use someone else. If God cannot use you, you will waste your life. And if God cannot use you, Esther, if God cannot use you ten spies, he might just get rid of you. Because I don't know if you understand this, but God doesn't care about your job. God doesn't care about the house you live in, the neighborhood you live in, the car you drive, the clothes you wear. God doesn't care about any of that. God cares about his purpose and his plan for your life. Now, if you can accomplish the purpose and plan that he asked for you while living in the house you want to live in, driving the car you want to drive in, wearing the clothes you want to wear, and taking as much vacation as you want to take. If God can fulfill his plan and purpose while you do those things, God's fine with that. He wants to prosper you. But the moment that you can't do this, he doesn't care about that. It's this idea, if the Lord delight in us, and it's always interesting to me when people are like, Well, I'm so busy building an empire, I can't serve God. I think to myself, that empire's going to crumble. Because if God cannot use you, he might just get rid of you. Well, that's Old Testament. That's when God was angry. God's still angry. Go to New Testament, Matthew 5. Let me show you some New Testament passages that prove this. Matthew 5. These are the things your public school teacher and Sesame Street, PBS, your mom, they didn't tell you. I'm telling you. Matthew 5, 13. Or I'm not telling you. Jesus is telling you. How about that? Matthew 5, 13. He or the salt of the earth. That's your plan. That's your purpose. But if the salt have lost his savor, the word savor means taste. If you speak Spanish, the Spanish word for taste is sabor. Here's what he's saying. If salt doesn't taste like anything, what's the point of salt? I love salt. I put salt and pepper on everything. I just like, I could be, I could have been an Old Testament leaver. I'm telling you, I could have ate manna all day long and they're just putting salt on everything. They're like cooking meat, salt. And Jesus, you know, I must be a man after his own heart because all the analogies he uses, I'm all for them. You know, give us this day our daily bread and give us salt. I love it. He says, ye are the salt of the earth, but if the salt have also savor, wherewith shall it be salted? Notice, it is henceforth, don't miss it. This is what your mom, this is why you're such a stinking wimp. What your mom and dad failed to tell you. It is, henceforth, good for nothing. You know that there are some people that are good for nothing? I don't think you should do that. It's hurting my feelings. Then start being good for something. Ye are the salt of the earth, but if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing. Understand this. God looks down on earth from heaven and he looks at some Christians and he says, that guy, good for nothing. It is henceforth, I didn't say I said that. I mean, I say that, but I would never say that to you. It is henceforth, good for nothing. Don't miss it, but to be cast out. Remember Castaway, Luke 9.25? Remember Castaway, 1 Corinthians 9.27? It is good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden underfoot. God says, if I have no use for you, I might just get rid of you. Well, that's one passage. Jesus was having a bad day. That's the Sermon on the Mount. It's like the most famous sermon of Jesus. Go to John 15. Let's look at another one. John 15, look at verse 5. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. John 15, verse 5. Look, I'm not up here like the mafia telling you, we're going to make you go away. But I'm telling you, God might make you sleep with the fishes. Notice what Jesus said. John 15. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. That's God's will. That's God's purpose. That's God's plan. For without me, ye can do nothing. Verse 6. If a man abideth not in me, he is, don't miss it, cast forth. Remember Castaway, Luke 9.25? Remember Castaway, 1 Corinthians 9.27? Remember Castout, Matthew 5.13? He is cast forth as a branch. He is thrown away and it withered and men gathered them and cast them into the fire. That is not talking about losing your salvation. People like to act like this is talking about losing your salvation. He's just saying this. What do you do with a withered branch? It's good for nothing. You just use it for kindling. You cast it into the fire and they are burned. He's saying, look, if I can't use you, I might just get rid of you if I don't have a need for you. I live in the ghetto. My house is falling apart. But if I lived in an ice house, if I drove an ice car, if I felt comfortable walking around in my neighborhood at night, I'd make sure I was doing everything God wanted me to do so he wouldn't take that away from me. Because God says, I got one use for you. You can have the blessing. You can have it all if you do what I want you to do. But the moment you lose your savor, you're good for nothing. I just cast you away. I throw you away. I didn't say you lose your salvation. He said, I just get rid of you because you're not useful. I don't like this. This is not helping my self-esteem. Some of you would be helped with your self-esteem if you humbled yourself. And realize that you are irreplaceable, but you are not indispensable. Look, please understand this. You are a human being and you are valuable in the sense that you are a human and you were made in the image of God and all of that. There is value to that. But with all that said, let me just let you in on a little secret. You are not that special. I am not that special. It is by the grace of God that we can be used of God. It is a privilege to be used by God. It is a privilege to have God's anointing on our legs. You're not special. I'm not special. It is a privilege to be used of God and God doesn't have to use any of us. Go ahead and waste your life. God may get rid of you. I'm going to give you another passage. Go to Luke 13. You say, why are you preaching like this? Because I spent 12 hours at the work day and I didn't have a chance to write a nice sermon. So you get this. This is what happens when I don't study. Luke 13. Look at verse 6. Here is another example. Same thing. Jesus says this over and over again. Look at it. Luke 13, 6. He spake also this parable. A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard and he came and sought fruit thereon and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of the vineyard, behold, these three years I come seeking fruit of the fig tree. You know that most people only make it in church about three years before they start fading out? Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, behold, these three years I come seeking fruit of this fig tree and find none. Notice what he says. Cut it down. Why cumbereth it the ground? You say, what does that word cumber mean? It means to hinder, to obstruct, to burden, to take up resources. To take up nutrition. Here's what he's saying. In this parable he's saying, this tree is planted here. And while it's planted here, it's taking up space, it's taking up resources, it's taking up nutrition, but it's not producing anything. So because it's not useful, I'm going to get rid of it, I'm going to cut it down, I'm going to remove it, and I'm going to put a tree in its place that will actually produce something. Because it's cumbering the ground. Because it's taking up needed resources. And let me tell you something. If you're not going to be helpful, at least don't be a burden. You know what I mean? Sometimes I want to tell people, look, if you're not going to do anything, at least just sit there and don't cause problems. If you're not going to be resourceful at a resource, at least don't use up the resources. Because he says, it cumbereth the ground. Look at verse 8, and he answered and said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it and dung it, and if it bear fruit, well. Look, God doesn't just want to get rid of you. He wants you to produce. But notice, and if not, then after that, thou shalt cut it down. So just, you and I need to understand this, that if God cannot use you, he might get rid of you. You say, Pastor Jimenez, you know, you have all these death threats, you have all these people coming after you. How do you feel safe? You know, here's how I feel safe. I try to make myself as useful to God as possible. And I'm just like, if I'm producing, then he won't get rid of me. Then he'll invest in me. Then he'll help me and protect me and be with me. Go back to Numbers chapter 14. We're talking about what happens when God can't use you. When God cannot use you. If God cannot use you, we said, number one, he will use someone else. If God cannot use you, we said, number two, you will waste your life. We said, number three, if God cannot use you, he might get rid of you. The tennis pies, they learn that the hard way. Let me give you the fourth one and we'll finish up. Look at verse 39. And Moses told these sayings unto all the children of Israel, and the people mourned greatly. And they rose up early in the morning and got them up into the top of the mountain saying, Lo, we be here and will go up unto the place which the Lord hath promised, for we have sinned. I want you to notice what's happening here. God said, God brings them to promise and he says, there it is, the promised land. I'm with you. I'll protect you. I'll fight on your behalf. Go. And they said, no. They rebelled and they refused and they said, no. They had an evil heart and a hard heart and they said, we will not go in. We will go back to Egypt. We'll make ourselves a captain. And they slandered God and they murmured against Moses and they had a bad attitude. And then God comes down and says, fine, I'm done with you. I'll use someone else. You can waste away in the wilderness. I'm going to get rid of some of you right now. And now they realize something. You know what they realize? Here's what they realize. That if God cannot use you, you might miss your opportunity. And they realize the moment it was too late, that it was too late. And now they're trying to backtrack. Look at verse 40. And they rose up early in the morning. It's just one day too late. They rose up early in the morning and got them into the top of the mountain saying, now they're saying, now they sound like Caleb, lo, we be here. They're like, we're already here and we, we, and we'll go up into the place which the Lord has promised. For we have sinned. You say, well, that sounds good. Yeah, but the problem is, it was too late. Look at verse 41. And Moses said, wherefore? He said, for what reason? Why are you going to go up there? They said, we will go up. Lo, we be here and we will go up into the place which the Lord has promised. We'll go into the promised land. And Moses is now saying, why? For what reason? Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the Lord? You can tell Moses is getting really fed up with them. He's like, you people just cannot listen. God tells you to go and you won't go. Then he says, fine, don't go. And now you're like, we're going to go. And he says, wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the Lord? Verse 41. But it shall not prosper. Remember, Caleb said the only reason we can prosper is if the Lord delight in us. He will give us the land. Now they said, well, let's go take the land because we're missing our opportunity. And Moses says, no, no, it shall not prosper. Verse 42, he says, go not up. Don't miss it. For the Lord is not among you. Remember the God factor? The Lord is not among you that ye be not smitten before your enemies. They hadn't missed their opportunity. Let me tell you something, if God cannot use you, not only will he use someone else, not only will you waste your life, not only might he get rid of you, but if God cannot use you, you might miss your opportunity. And once it's gone, it's gone. He already told them in verse 25. Look at Numbers 14, 25. Tomorrow turn ye and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea. He said, it's done. You're done. And look, please understand this, that God is the God of the second chance and the third chance, but he's not necessarily the God of the 14th and 15th chance. And though God can always try to use you in some capacity, there are some opportunities that once they're gone, they're gone. Do you understand that? You only get to raise your children once. And you can sit there and waste away those years and have your children exposed to all sorts of worldly people and bad people and take them here and take them there and whatever. Go ahead. But once they're grown and once it's done, you can have all the regrets and say, I wish I could go back. You can't go back! There are some things that once they are done, they are done. There are some opportunities that once that door closes, it closes and it's not opening back up. And if God cannot use you and you do not make yourself available, you might miss your opportunity. I'm not trying to pick on you. I'm not trying to make you feel bad. I am trying to warn some of you that are wasting your opportunities right now. Look at verse 43. For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword. No, no, you said we could win! No, ye shall fall by the sword because you are turned away from the Lord. Therefore, the Lord will not be with you. Things have changed. Do you understand that God is not necessarily with you? Have you ever stopped to consider? If this is a real question, I really wish you would take the time to think about this. Don't answer out loud, please. But have you ever stopped to consider and ask yourself, I wonder if the Lord is with me right now? Am I pleasing Him? Is He delighting in me? Because these people miss their opportunity. And if God cannot miss, if God cannot use you, then you'll miss your opportunity. Go to Esther chapter 4. Look at verse 14. Esther chapter 4, verse 14. Esther 4, 14. Remember Mordecai, what he says to Esther? For if thou all together holdest thy peace, if you are not willing to be used of God, Esther, at this time, then shall their enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place, God of you, someone else. But thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed. God might get rid of you, though. And who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom, don't miss it, for such a time as this. Esther, Mordecai says, Esther, you're going to miss your opportunity. God brought you here for this moment in time. This is your time. Don't waste your opportunity. Don't waste it. Go back to Numbers chapter 14. Last week, I was preaching in Texas, so I didn't get a chance to be part of the workdays. This week, I was able to be part of the workdays. I had a good time working with these guys. We got some good guys in our church. At the end of one of the days, Brother Matt Barello was there. I was talking to him, and I was just thanking him. He'd been there all day, and not just him. Lots of these guys had been there all day, literally 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. I was just thanking him for being there and giving us a day and, of course, to time off at work and all that. I don't remember exactly what he said. I should have asked him, but he said something along these lines. He says, I want to be here to make these memories. What he was saying was this. I don't want to miss this opportunity. I don't want to miss this opportunity. Guys, honestly, it's worth coming to these workdays just to hear some of these guys. It's worth just hearing Brother Joel and Brother Adam and Brother Vladi just going back and forth. I'm not going to tell you what they say, but it's entertaining. Sometimes I think, maybe we should just eat our lunch in silence, guys. There's an opportunity for these men to bond. Guys, they like war stories. Here's the thing. One day we're going to be in that building. There's going to be beautiful Corinthian pillars in the front. There's going to be this beautiful auditorium. I think we have 260 people in church this morning. One day we're going to have 500 people in church. These guys are going to be telling stories about, remember when this happened? Remember when that happened? Remember on that workday? Remember how this looked like? Some of you guys are going to be like, no, I don't remember. Don't miss the opportunity. Get involved. Especially you men. Get to know these guys and just enjoy them. These guys, one of these days, I don't remember which day they were there, Brother Graham was in one of the rooms, I think it was in there with Brother Shaw, just all suited up and just working away. He comes out and he takes his mask off. He's just completely drenched in sweat. I said, how you doing? He said, this guarantees we're going to heaven, right? I'm like, yes. Whatever religion is right, you are getting into heaven. These are the memories you don't want to miss out on. So many guys, they're so into, and ladies, so into themselves, they just miss the opportunities. Miss the opportunities. Here's the thing about opportunities. Once they're gone, they're gone. So if God cannot use you, he will use someone else. If God cannot use you, you may waste your life. If God cannot use you, look, I'm not going to lie to you, he might get rid of you. If God cannot use you, you are the one that will miss the opportunities that God has given you. God has given you. So don't miss them. Look at the last two verses. We'll finish up. Numbers 14, 44. But they presumed. The word pursue means to suppose that something was the case when it wasn't. This idea of arrogance. They're going to do something even though they're not sure. But they presumed to go up unto the hilltop. Nevertheless, the ark of the covenant of the Lord and Moses departed not out of the camp. Moses said, I'm not getting involved with this. You guys want to go up there, you go up there. I'm staying here and the ark is staying here because the Lord is not with you. Look at verse 45. Then the Amalekites came down and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill and smote them and discomforted them. That word means to easily embarrass them, to beat them, even unto Hormah. You say, what happened? What happened was that God wanted to use them, but they did not make themselves available for his use. And they missed the opportunity. And once it was gone, it was gone. And I hope you won't miss your opportunity, whatever they are. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father. Lord, thank you for these stories. Thank you for these passages of scripture. How applicable they are to us today. Lord, I pray that you'd help us to make ourselves available for God. Because if he cannot use us, it won't be good for us. I pray that we'd be a church that would make itself available. A church that would make itself available to serve God, work for God, accomplish great things for God. In the matchless name of Christ, we pray. Amen. We're going to have Brother Matt come up and lead us in a final song. I just want to remind you, of course, that we've got all sorts of clipboards and sign-up sheets in the foyer. Please make sure you go by there. We've got a couple of clipboards for the Harvest Party. And if you ladies can help us with making desserts or cornbread for the Harvest Party, we would appreciate that. And then, of course, guys, the Workdays. There's all sorts of clipboards. I'm not going to go through all of it. But we're specifically looking if you can do electrical work or help with electrical work, there's slots for you. If you can just work on other stuff, there's slots for you. Friday is a big landscaping day. If you can use a weed eater, you've got experience with landscaping, or you can help with that, there's a time for you. And then Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, if you have some sort of skills and you're available Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, write your name down. Brother Joel will be contacting you if he can use you and if the times work out in that way. So lots of opportunities, lots of work to be done. And I've always thought of our church as a working church, and I'm thankful for that. I like that word, work, and I hope that you do too. If there's anything we can do for you, please let us know. I want to encourage you to be back tonight at 6 p.m. I call it the most exciting service of the week, and it's the Sunday night service. We're going to sing favorites, and we're going to get some great lessons out of Numbers chapter 15. So I want to encourage you to be here at 6 p.m. If there's anything we can do for you, please let us know. We'll have Brother Matt come up and lead us in a final song. We're going to change up this last song. Go to song 406. 4-0-6. Who is on the Lord's side? 4-0-6. Let's sing it out on the first. Who is on the Lord's side? Who will serve the King? Who will be His happens, otherwise today? Who will lead the Lord's side? Who will face the foe? Who is on the Lord's side? Who's working with the Lord? By Thy call of mercy, by Thy grace divine, We are on the Lord's side. Stay here before Him. On the second. That for way of glory, that there's no end now, And to reach we are here, praise the Lord your Son, But for love that created, Christ your name be done, And for love that created, Christ your name be done, And for love that created, Christ your name be done, We are on the Lord's side. Stay here before Him. Jesus thou hast brought us, loving for the child, O thou who art firm for thy dire love, With thy blessed healing, pleased to come to thee, Thou hast made us, willing thou hast made us free, By thy dead redemption, by thy grace divine, We are on the Lord's side. Stay here before Him. Good on the last, fierce may be the conflict, Strong may be the foe, but the kings are worthy, One can ever go, round with standard ranging, Good to listen, good to listen, Changing makes no challenge at all, Toward the land of mystery, by thy grace divine, We are on the Lord's side. Stay here before Him. This song number 15, lead me to Calvary song number 15. On the first, king of my life, I crown thee now, Thine shall the glory be, lest I forget, Thy hope and love, lead me to Calvary, Lest I forget this enemy, lest I forget the rivalry, Lest I forget the memory, lead me to Calvary, Show me thy spirit thou hast made, day by day, warm and warm, Angels of Calvary, coming whilst I stand, Lest I forget this enemy, lest I forget the rivalry, Lest I forget the love of thee, lead me to Calvary, Let me, like Mary, through the roof, come with a gift to thee, Show to thou me thy true truth, lead me to Calvary, Lest I forget this enemy, lest I forget the rivalry, Lest I forget the love of thee, lead me to Calvary. Amen, alright, well this morning we have a baptism, we have Alec Manear coming for baptism, and Alec and his wife Laurel have been coming to our church for several weeks, and we're excited of course to have them. Alec, have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior? Alright Alec, by your profession of faith, I baptize you, my brother, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, buried in the likeness of his death, and raised to walk in newness of life. God bless you. Alright, well thank you very much for being here this morning, and again, we'd love for you to come back tonight, 6pm for the evening service, we've got the clipboards back there, and if there's anything good for you, please let us know. Please be in prayer for all the things that are going on, lots of things going on right now, super busy, but it's exciting times, I'm very Baptist Church, and we're glad that you get to be a part of it, and that's where the Matthew would not mind dismissing us with a word of prayer. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word that was preached to us this morning, Lord, let us consider our lives and the opportunities that you've set before us. Pray Lord that you bless everyone today, keep us all safe, bring us back to church safely this evening, in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen. Amen.