Latest / Meadows Baptist Church Podcast / You’re The Missionary - 8/30/26 - Meadows Baptist Church Missions Conference - Bro. Gary Crisp

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You’re The Missionary - 8/30/26 - Meadows Baptist Church Missions Conference - Bro. Gary Crisp · Meadows Baptist Church Podcast

• 0:02
  Welcome to [music] the podcast of
• 0:04
  Meadows Baptist Church of Walnut Cove,
• 0:07
  North Carolina. We're so glad [music]
• 0:09
  you joined us today. If you enjoy
• 0:11
  today's message, be sure to subscribe,
• 0:13
  [music] follow, and share with your
• 0:15
  friends. Now, let's join Pastor [music]
• 0:18
  Charlie Branch with a word from God.
• 0:26
  >> Thank you, brother. Well, it's good to
• 0:27
  be back in the house of the Lord
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  tonight. Amen.
• 0:29
  >> Trust you had a good afternoon and u got
• 0:33
  you a good meal for lunch and a good
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  Baptist nap this afternoon. Amen.
• 0:38
  >> And uh back in church ready to worship
• 0:41
  the Lord. Amen.
• 0:43
  I appreciate already the hospitality
• 0:46
  that you've shown us. And uh Sister Abby
• 0:50
  came out carrying a huge basket after
• 0:53
  church this morning. It probably weighed
• 0:55
  about 50 lb I guess. and somebody went
• 0:58
  grocery shopping for us and gave that to
• 1:01
  us and a basket of fruit as well. Thank
• 1:04
  you so much for little things. A lot a
• 1:07
  lot of times it's a little things that
• 1:09
  says so much and we appreciate that more
• 1:12
  than you know. Acts of kindness have
• 1:14
  already been shown to us tonight and I I
• 1:16
  really appreciate that and I trust the
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  Lord to bless you for it. Amen. Take
• 1:22
  your Bibles this evening. Let's go to
• 1:23
  the book of Acts. Acts chapter number 13
• 1:27
  tonight. Acts chapter number 13.
• 1:31
  And uh gonna be a little bit different
• 1:33
  tonight. I hope that be all right.
• 1:36
  Got a friend of ours that came down from
• 1:38
  Virginia, Sister Denise back there, and
• 1:41
  she said she came to hear some good
• 1:43
  preaching. I'm afraid she'll probably be
• 1:45
  disappointed tonight. And I don't know
• 1:48
  how much preaching I'll get to do
• 1:50
  tonight, but uh do have something real
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  near and dear to my heart and I want to
• 1:54
  share with you this evening. Ezekiel
• 1:57
  chapter number three says this
• 2:01
  that I sat where they sat and remained
• 2:05
  astonished for seven days. Now that's
• 2:08
  not a missions text. It's not talking
• 2:10
  about missionaries.
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  But Ezekiel sat. he put himself in
• 2:15
  somebody else's circumstance [snorts]
• 2:19
  that he might understand and might might
• 2:23
  realize what someone else was dealing
• 2:25
  with, what someone else was going
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  through. This is a missions conference
• 2:30
  and um I do believe this is a
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  missionminded, maybe even a
• 2:35
  missionhearted church. I'm grateful for
• 2:38
  that. you have missionaries come through
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  quite often and appreciate that. I don't
• 2:45
  know exactly how many support, but God
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  keeps good records of all of that and um
• 2:51
  there'll be a reward for it one day.
• 2:53
  Amen.
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  It is an investment
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  >> when you support when you partner with
• 3:00
  these ministries and these missionaries.
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  You're you're making an investment. And
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  anytime you make an investment, you hope
• 3:07
  to have a return on that investment.
• 3:09
  >> Amen.
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  >> Paul at one time was only being
• 3:12
  supported financially by the church at
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  Philippi.
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  And he's writing the letter, the book of
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  Philip Philippians is a it's really a
• 3:22
  prayer letter, if you will. And he's
• 3:24
  thanking them for how God's using them.
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  And he mentions the financial support.
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  And uh he said, "Not that I desire a
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  gift, but his desire was that fruit
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  would be added to that church's account
• 3:41
  for their investment that they had made
• 3:42
  in him." And that's what missions is.
• 3:45
  You're making an investment in these
• 3:47
  ministries and what God's doing. And
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  there will be a return. There'll be
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  fruit added to your account one day.
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  Isn't that a blessing? What's the good
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  port portion of that is that most of us
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  get to stay at home and enjoy air
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  conditioned church buildings like
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  tonight. Somebody say amen right there.
• 4:05
  >> I'm glad thankful for this modern
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  convenience. Ain't you
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  >> good padded pews to sit on. Isn't that a
• 4:12
  blessing?
• 4:13
  >> Somebody said we need to go back to the
• 4:15
  old time way. Well, we do spiritually,
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  but let's don't let's don't get rid of
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  the padded pews. Somebody say amen.
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  Amen.
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  >> I I'm thankful we don't have a wood
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  stove sitting out in the middle of the
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  floor and somebody having to come about
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  2 hours early to light that thing that
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  we might be warm when we worship in the
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  winter time. Y'all with me?
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  >> I'm glad that everybody's not sitting
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  with a fan tonight having to fan
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  themsel. I'm thankful for this modern
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  stuff that we have. It spoiled us pretty
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  good.
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  But there is a crowd tonight that's
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  serving and worshiping the Lord that
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  don't have that.
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  >> Some of them are meeting in pole barns
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  tonight and it's about 120 130 degrees.
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  Amen. And they're
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  Y'all going to have to help me just a
• 5:03
  little bit.
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  >> I think we're on the good end of this.
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  What do y'all think? Amen.
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  >> We get to stay at home and drive nice
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  vehicles and go home into our nice beds
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  at night and
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  >> and we don't have to worry about the
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  crickets jumping across the bed and
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  snakes crawling under the bed and
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  >> Yeah.
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  >> Amen.
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  >> And we get in on their reward. What
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  about that now?
• 5:30
  >> I think that's pretty good end of the
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  deal if you ask me.
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  And so, uh, y'all have these
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  missionaries come through and you you
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  see their prayer cards and maybe maybe
• 5:41
  I'm not real sure about this, maybe read
• 5:43
  a few prayer letters,
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  but outside of that, we don't know a
• 5:47
  whole lot about what's going on with all
• 5:50
  the missionaries. At least that's the
• 5:52
  average church folk.
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  Brother Charlie mentioned something
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  about finances and I'll be honest with
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  you, I'm not real sure that usually I
• 6:01
  know what I'm going to deal with about
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  each service when I come into a meeting
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  like this. I'm not that way this week.
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  I'm not real sure what we'll do tomorrow
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  night to be honest with you. Good chance
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  we probably deal with finances sometime
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  during the week. Don't let that scare
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  you off. All right.
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  >> There's a reason for that. Brother
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  Charlie, I we do preach on finances a
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  lot in the missions meeting. And let me
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  clarify why. The majority of the people
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  we're going to be preaching to in a
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  mission conference like this is not
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  going to go to the mission field.
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  >> You might you might make a missions trip
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  and I'd encourage you to do that.
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  >> Yes.
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  >> But most of you, a lot of you ain't even
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  going to do that. Now, I'm not saying
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  that's wrong. I'm just saying that what
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  you're going to be doing in reaching the
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  world with the gospel is going to be
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  through your finances.
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  Others are going to sell their homes and
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  move their family halfway around the
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  world.
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  >> But for the most of you, the way you'll
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  be involved is going to be through your
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  finances.
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  >> Now, I'm I'm taking for granted that
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  everybody's going to pray.
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  >> We got to pray.
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  >> But outside of praying, the way that
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  most of you will be involved in missions
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  is going to be through your financial
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  giving.
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  They don't give plane tickets away to
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  missionaries.
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  They don't give land to missionaries
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  when they get to the field.
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  They don't buy their groceries for them
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  while they're on deputation. And when
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  they get to the field, there's a
• 7:31
  financial side of this. And the way most
• 7:33
  church members are going to be involved
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  in missions is going to be through your
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  financial giving. So, we'll preach on
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  some money a little bit in a meeting
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  like this. And really, um, that
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  shouldn't bother us. If you've got a
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  problem with a preacher preaching on
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  money, you you probably had a big
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  problem with Jesus.
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  >> Amen.
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  >> He used about 32 parables while Jesus
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  was here and 16 of them deals directly
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  with money.
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  >> What about that? So, if you got a
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  problem with preacher preaching about
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  money, you'd have a problem with Jesus.
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  >> I'm going to try my best to leave you
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  money along at least tonight and share
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  something else with you. I want to put
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  you I want to put you in the shoes
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  and put you in the seat of a missionary
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  tonight
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  and uh let's see if we can figure out
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  what that would be like.
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  Let's look in Acts chapter number 13
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  this evening. We'll begin reading in
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  verse number one.
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  The Bible said, "Now there were in the
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  church that was at Antioch
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  certain prophets and teachers as
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  Barnabas and Simeon that's called Niger
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  and Lucius of Sirene and Manan which had
• 8:46
  been brought up with Herod the tetriarch
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  and Saul.
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  As they ministered to the Lord and
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  fasted,
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  the Holy Ghost said, "Separate me
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  Barnabas and Saul for the work wherein
• 9:00
  to I have called them." And when they
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  had fasted and prayed and laid their
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  hands on them, they sent them away.
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  And so they being sent forth by the Holy
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  Ghost, departed unto Seucia. From then
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  they sailed to Cyrus. Let's pray.
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  Father, we want to thank you for the
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  good day that you've given to us and the
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  service this morning. Lord, thank you,
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  Father, for the opportunity to gather
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  back again tonight and the songs that
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  have already stirred our hearts. We're
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  grateful for that.
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  But now, Lord, for the next few minutes
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  as we take the time to look into the
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  word of God, would you please help us
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  and speak to us once again? We really do
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  need you tonight and praying that you'd
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  do what only God could do in this
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  service.
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  Lord, help us tonight as we try to
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  experience a little bit if we can, God,
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  what it would be like, Lord, to be
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  called of God
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  to sent by the church to take the gospel
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  to a people that wasn't even wanting us
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  there. Help us, Lord, I pray, to have a
• 10:06
  greater understanding,
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  a greater love, a greater compassion, a
• 10:12
  greater zeal for what you're doing, not
• 10:14
  just around here, Wet Cove, but Lord,
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  what you're doing around the world. Have
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  your will and your way in every heart
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  that's here. And we'll be careful to
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  thank you for what you do in Jesus name
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  we pray. And amen.
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  Here we find the churches at Antioch. I
• 10:33
  wished I had time to develop this a
• 10:36
  little bit better. This is going to
• 10:39
  become the hub
• 10:41
  for missions and what God does in the
• 10:44
  beginning of the church age. Really, it
• 10:47
  should have been Jerusalem.
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  I don't have time to deal with that. I'd
• 10:51
  like to.
• 10:53
  Jerusalem is where they first gathered.
• 10:55
  That's the first church. And that's
• 10:57
  where Jesus told them to carry into
• 11:00
  Jerusalem till they be endued with power
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  from on high. And after that power
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  comes, then they're supposed to take the
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  gospel beginning in Jerusalem, all
• 11:09
  Judea, Samaria, and the other most
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  places. But they failed to do that. They
• 11:15
  never did take the gospel out until Acts
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  chapter 8 verse number one. When they
• 11:21
  went should have went out in faith. God
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  made them go out in fear. through
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  persecution, they scattered that church.
• 11:28
  >> Matter of fact, if you'll read Acts 8:1,
• 11:31
  scattered them to the very places that
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  he told them to go to in the beginning.
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  Long story short, now it seems like
• 11:40
  things have moved to Antioch.
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  Antioch's going to become the hub, if
• 11:45
  you will, what God does in the days of
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  the Apostle Paul. Paul, outside of the
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  Lord Jesus Christ, is our first
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  missionary. Would you agree with that?
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  >> He's the first one to take the gospel
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  out and begin to preach Christ and plant
• 12:01
  churches to the Gentile world. Amen.
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  >> I think probably most of us, if not all
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  of us tonight, are Gentiles. Ain't you
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  grateful that God used Paul to take the
• 12:13
  gospel to our people? Amen. Yes.
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  >> But he's going to be sent from Antioch
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  and he's going to be this missionary
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  that goes out. And notice what the Bible
• 12:24
  said as they're there at Antioch. It
• 12:27
  starts to introduce us some to some
• 12:29
  people that's a part of that church.
• 12:31
  First of all, we'll see that Barnabas is
• 12:33
  there. And then it mentions Simeon,
• 12:37
  which is called Niger. He he's at
• 12:39
  Antioch. Lucius is at Antioch. Man's at
• 12:42
  Antioch. And then we find Saul is at
• 12:45
  Antioch. What are they doing? Verse
• 12:47
  number two said they're ministering to
• 12:49
  the Lord. What are they doing? They're
• 12:51
  serving the Lord at Antioch. They have a
• 12:55
  church at Antioch. That's their church.
• 12:57
  And they're serving the Lord in their
• 12:59
  church. What are they doing while
• 13:01
  they're serving the Lord? They're
• 13:03
  praying and they're fasting there at
• 13:06
  Antioch. And then while they're serving
• 13:08
  the Lord there at Antioch, the Holy
• 13:10
  Ghost steps in. And the Holy Ghost said,
• 13:13
  "Separate me." Two of them now, Saul and
• 13:18
  Barnabas.
• 13:20
  Said the Holy Ghost said that I have
• 13:22
  called them to do the work that he's
• 13:26
  wanting them to do. Here we are at
• 13:28
  Meadows. What we're doing here, at least
• 13:31
  what y'all are doing here, I hope you
• 13:33
  are. Hope you're serving the Lord here
• 13:36
  at Antioch or this is your church right
• 13:39
  >> now. If this is not your church and
• 13:41
  you're looking for one, I can highly
• 13:43
  recommend Meadows Baptist Church. Think
• 13:46
  it'd be a good church for you and your
• 13:49
  family. Amen. Get in here and serve the
• 13:52
  Lord together. While you're serving the
• 13:55
  Lord here, what if the Holy Ghost
• 13:58
  stepped in and said, "Separate me."
• 14:02
  And maybe it's you and your family.
• 14:05
  Maybe you're the Saul. Maybe you're the
• 14:08
  Barnabas and said, "I have called you to
• 14:11
  do a work wherever it is that God would
• 14:14
  have you to go."
• 14:17
  Big decision here. What if God steps in,
• 14:19
  calls you? I've been praying for you.
• 14:23
  Jesus left us with one prayer request.
• 14:26
  Any of you know what it was? The only
• 14:28
  time he ever asked us to pray about
• 14:30
  anything, he said, "Pray that the Lord
• 14:34
  of the harvest would send forth laborers
• 14:36
  into his harvest." But Charlie, I'm
• 14:38
  trying to honor that prayer request.
• 14:40
  I've been praying God send forth some
• 14:42
  labors into the harvest.
• 14:43
  >> Yes,
• 14:44
  >> the harvest is plenteous,
• 14:47
  >> but the laborers are few.
• 14:50
  Right now in 2026,
• 14:53
  we have fewer missionaries
• 14:56
  going to the mission field than we have
• 14:58
  had in years and years.
• 15:01
  There for a little while, the amount of
• 15:03
  missionaries that was going out was
• 15:05
  climbing, but it reached a plateau and
• 15:08
  now it's declining. Fewer and fewer is
• 15:11
  going. I don't know. I have some ideals
• 15:14
  as to why. I'm not going to deal with
• 15:17
  any of those tonight. That's not That's
• 15:19
  not why I'm here this evening. I will
• 15:21
  mention maybe convenience might have
• 15:23
  something to do with it.
• 15:24
  >> Yeah.
• 15:25
  >> Amen. I don't know for sure, but it sure
• 15:28
  seems like that might be a possibility,
• 15:30
  but we're in great need of some laborers
• 15:32
  tonight. I've been praying God send some
• 15:34
  families out. We need some missionaries.
• 15:37
  I tell you, you could take a globe
• 15:39
  tonight and spin it, stop it with your
• 15:42
  finger, and if your finger lands on
• 15:44
  land, there's a good chance they need
• 15:45
  they need a missionary there.
• 15:47
  >> Dire need for somebody to take the
• 15:50
  gospel. I've recently found out that the
• 15:53
  Philippines
• 15:54
  are rapidly approaching, if not passing
• 15:59
  America as the country that's sending
• 16:01
  out the most missionaries. The
• 16:03
  Philippines.
• 16:05
  What about that?
• 16:08
  We need somebody to go to the field,
• 16:11
  take the gospel of Christ.
• 16:14
  >> What if it's you?
• 16:16
  >> What if God came by where you are
• 16:19
  >> and begin to deal with your heart about
• 16:22
  taking the gospel somewhere? Say, I
• 16:23
  ain't preacher. What if God calls you?
• 16:26
  >> Uh I'm I'm not able. I ain't either.
• 16:31
  Takes God to enable us to do anything.
• 16:33
  Amen. Right?
• 16:34
  >> You can come up with all kinds of
• 16:35
  excuses, but what if God was to center
• 16:38
  you out and called you to be the
• 16:41
  missionary? Boy, you talking about a
• 16:42
  decision.
• 16:44
  Let's look first of all at this decision
• 16:46
  that you're going to be faced with. Am I
• 16:48
  going to go? Am I going to go? I feel
• 16:53
  for those, there are some tonight, no
• 16:56
  doubt, that's dealing with this type of
• 16:58
  decision.
• 17:00
  God's calling. God's drawing you to go
• 17:03
  somewhere. I don't know where it's at
• 17:05
  yet, but God's dealing with your heart
• 17:07
  about me. What are you gonna do? What
• 17:09
  are you gonna do? I thought about the
• 17:12
  the different things that's going to be
• 17:14
  laying heavy on your mind. Are you
• 17:16
  willing, listen to me, are you willing
• 17:18
  to lay aside the luxuries
• 17:21
  that we have as an American? Are you
• 17:24
  willing to lay that aside
• 17:27
  and go to a place that don't have what
• 17:30
  we have here?
• 17:31
  Now, there might be a possibility God
• 17:33
  might call you somewhere to America. Let
• 17:35
  me say this. Don't overlook America. We
• 17:37
  need some missionaries here.
• 17:39
  >> Amen. Used to be that was a you don't
• 17:42
  talk about that. But I'm telling you,
• 17:44
  our country is in as bad of need of
• 17:46
  missionaries now as a lot of these other
• 17:48
  countries are. He might send you
• 17:50
  somewhere here. That'd be wonderful.
• 17:51
  You'd still have a Walmart to go to.
• 17:54
  Amen. Still have a Dollar General right
• 17:56
  around the corner. Somebody say amen
• 17:58
  right there. I I don't know who the CEO
• 18:01
  is of Dollar General, but I really want
• 18:03
  to get them involved in missions.
• 18:05
  >> If they can put a Dollar General on
• 18:07
  every street, maybe we can get them in
• 18:09
  missions and they can put a church on
• 18:10
  every street. Somebody help me.
• 18:12
  >> Yes.
• 18:13
  >> Maybe God calls you somewhere in America
• 18:15
  and you'd still have the convenience of
• 18:16
  America. That'd be wonderful. But what
• 18:18
  if God calls you to a third world
• 18:20
  country?
• 18:21
  You willing to lay aside the luxurious
• 18:25
  lifestyle that we long for, that we
• 18:27
  want. you willing left side that and go
• 18:30
  somewhere and endure hardships for the
• 18:33
  cause of Christ. That's a pretty big
• 18:35
  decision.
• 18:37
  Maybe you're a homebody.
• 18:39
  Maybe you're [snorts] attached to mama
• 18:41
  real well. Maybe you got grandbabies and
• 18:44
  you don't want to you don't have to go
• 18:46
  halfway around the world and leave them
• 18:47
  grandb babies behind. I I don't know
• 18:49
  what's holding us here, but would you be
• 18:52
  willing to lay some of that aside,
• 18:55
  pay a price, make a sacrifice that most
• 18:59
  is not willing to make? That's a pretty
• 19:01
  big decision. Would you agree with that?
• 19:04
  >> Amen.
• 19:05
  >> Maybe you got health issues and maybe
• 19:06
  you'd think, well, I if I leave here,
• 19:09
  then I won't have I won't have the
• 19:11
  health available that I need or the
• 19:13
  health care available that I need. a lot
• 19:16
  of things going to weigh heavy on your
• 19:18
  mind and making a decision like that.
• 19:24
  All right, for a few moments. I I'm I'm
• 19:27
  not a long- winded preacher. Usually, if
• 19:29
  I'm going to be long-winded, it's going
• 19:31
  to be tonight. So, don't let that make
• 19:32
  you nervous. Uh I I want to I want us to
• 19:35
  help us this evening. All right. You
• 19:38
  make a decision that you're All right.
• 19:40
  You're going to go, Brother Charlie, you
• 19:42
  get me a couple of men. help me right
• 19:44
  here real quickly. I probably don't have
• 19:46
  enough of these for everybody.
• 19:49
  Um
• 19:51
  but um I have enough I think for at
• 19:54
  least every family to have one. All
• 19:56
  right. And just get those out here. You
• 20:00
  make the decision. You're praying about
• 20:01
  it. God's put some something in your
• 20:03
  heart. He's calling you to be a
• 20:05
  missionary. And then when you get these
• 20:08
  cards here, these p papers here, this is
• 20:11
  going to be your destination. All right.
• 20:13
  God's calling you to be a missionary and
• 20:16
  you're fixing to find out where you're
• 20:17
  going soon as they get these handed out.
• 20:21
  When you get them, take a moment, look
• 20:22
  over them real quickly. Up at the top,
• 20:25
  it simply says, "You're the missionary,
• 20:28
  having been called of God." We do
• 20:29
  believe it's a calling. Having been
• 20:32
  called of God, Acts 13:2, you are now
• 20:34
  preparing to go to the mission field.
• 20:37
  Then you'll see where you're going. It's
• 20:39
  got the name of the country or state
• 20:41
  there near the top. It's got a map. It's
• 20:44
  going to give you an idea where it's at.
• 20:46
  It's even some of them's got a world
• 20:48
  globe there to give you an idea where
• 20:50
  it's at. Then right there in the middle,
• 20:52
  it's going to tell you how many souls
• 20:54
  are there. The world calls that the
• 20:57
  population. We don't call it the
• 20:59
  population. We call it souls because
• 21:02
  every one has a soul. Y'all with me?
• 21:05
  >> Amen. Some of them is going to be real
• 21:07
  big numbers.
• 21:09
  Some of them might not be so big, but
• 21:12
  every one of them is a soul. Then it's
• 21:15
  going to have some pictures, let you
• 21:16
  know a little bit what to expect as far
• 21:18
  as the culture, what the people might
• 21:20
  look like, what things might look like
• 21:22
  around you. Then it's going to have some
• 21:24
  information down at the bottom. Going to
• 21:25
  tell you a little bit about the
• 21:26
  government. Going to tell you about
• 21:28
  ethnic groups, languages, religion, the
• 21:31
  climate even. And then it probably have
• 21:33
  a note down there at the bottom that you
• 21:34
  might ought to read. So, you've prayed
• 21:36
  about it. God's really been dealing with
• 21:38
  your heart about being a missionary, and
• 21:40
  now he's told you where he's sending
• 21:43
  you.
• 21:45
  Let me take just a moment as you're
• 21:46
  looking at them. I'm going to ask a
• 21:48
  couple of you where you going tonight.
• 21:49
  Brother Charlie, where you and Miss Abby
• 21:51
  going?
• 21:53
  Oh, you didn't get one.
• 21:57
  >> Was there any extras?
• 22:00
  Idaho. We got one going to Idaho right
• 22:03
  here. He gets a American state. That's a
• 22:05
  blessing, is it not? But let me say
• 22:07
  this. Idaho is in dire need of a
• 22:09
  missionary.
• 22:10
  >> I know a couple out there and um you go
• 22:13
  out west, any of you ever been out west,
• 22:17
  you can drive miles and miles and miles
• 22:19
  and even more miles and not come across
• 22:22
  a Biblebelieving
• 22:24
  Bible preaching church. Dire need out
• 22:27
  there. How many souls are in Idaho?
• 22:30
  1,600,000
• 22:32
  >> 1,600,000 souls just in the state of
• 22:35
  Idaho alone. Wow, that's a lot of
• 22:38
  people. Let's see here, brother. Where
• 22:40
  y'all going?
• 22:43
  >> Okay, that's a I'm glad you got that.
• 22:45
  I'll come back to you. They're going
• 22:47
  What? I I don't know if I'm pronouncing
• 22:48
  it right either. The Piccarian Islands.
• 22:51
  Okay, I'm coming back to y'all in a few
• 22:52
  minutes. All right, let's see here.
• 22:55
  Where y'all going?
• 22:57
  >> Argentina. Do y'all know how to speak?
• 22:59
  Is it Spanish?
• 23:01
  >> Spanish.
• 23:01
  >> I guess it's Spanish.
• 23:04
  That's gonna be interesting. Amen. I
• 23:06
  have trouble with English.
• 23:08
  I don't know if I can deal with the
• 23:10
  Spanish or not. Let's see over here.
• 23:12
  Where y'all going?
• 23:13
  >> Massachusetts.
• 23:14
  >> Massachusetts. They got American State.
• 23:16
  That's a blessing, brother. Where y'all
• 23:18
  going?
• 23:19
  >> Dominican Republic.
• 23:20
  >> Dominican Republic. What language they
• 23:22
  speak over there?
• 23:23
  >> I have no idea. [laughter]
• 23:25
  >> I don't either. You're gonna find out if
• 23:28
  you go, though. Amen.
• 23:30
  I could ask all of you and there's a
• 23:33
  couple I'm going to ask for. Who got uh
• 23:35
  who got India? Anybody get India right
• 23:38
  back here? Sister, tell us how many now
• 23:40
  it's been a while since I've done these.
• 23:42
  How many souls are in India? That's a
• 23:44
  big number.
• 23:47
  That's a lot of souls in India. When I
• 23:50
  did these, China was the biggest one.
• 23:52
  Who's going to China?
• 23:54
  >> Right over here. There's a lot of souls
• 23:56
  in China. I think that's flip-flopped
• 23:57
  now. Indry, India has passed China and
• 24:01
  population or souls. Now, uh either one
• 24:05
  of you, you're going to have a hard time
• 24:07
  being a missionary where God's called
• 24:09
  you. I'll come back to that in a little
• 24:10
  while. Who got the Hawaiian Islands
• 24:15
  way back here in the corner? Everybody
• 24:17
  in here wants to trade with y'all.
• 24:20
  They want to go to Hawaii. Amen. I'll
• 24:23
  come back to y'all in a few minutes as
• 24:24
  well. All right. You found out where
• 24:27
  you're going. Now, we need to we need to
• 24:29
  talk about some things. If God's called
• 24:31
  you there,
• 24:33
  it is a calling. I would never suggest
• 24:36
  anybody try to go the mission field on a
• 24:39
  burden. There's a big difference between
• 24:41
  a burden and a calling.
• 24:44
  >> Burdens come and go,
• 24:45
  >> but a calling will not leave. Amen. And
• 24:49
  so, you've been called to go there. You
• 24:51
  going to obey God?
• 24:54
  That's probably the biggest question.
• 24:55
  You going are you going to go? Are you
• 24:58
  willing to drop everything here?
• 25:00
  Probably most of you, if you're going to
• 25:02
  go somewhere like that, there's a good
• 25:04
  chance you might as well even sell your
• 25:06
  house. You you willing to do that? Some
• 25:09
  of you had a house given to you. It was
• 25:11
  mama's house. Or maybe you through sweat
• 25:14
  and blood, you built it with your own
• 25:16
  hands and you are you willing to give
• 25:18
  that up?
• 25:20
  Man, that's big decisions going to have
• 25:23
  to be made. We'll talk more about that
• 25:25
  maybe if we get time. But are you going
• 25:28
  to go where God's called you? All right,
• 25:30
  you decide you're going to go. You've
• 25:32
  prayed about it. Uh what' be the first
• 25:34
  step to take after you've discussed it
• 25:36
  amongst yourself, your family, husband
• 25:39
  sat down with the wife and wife has
• 25:40
  talked it over with the husband. I'd say
• 25:42
  the first thing I'd do is I'd be I'd be
• 25:44
  sitting down with my pastor and I'd talk
• 25:46
  to my pastor. What do y'all think?
• 25:48
  Probably pretty good ideal. God's really
• 25:50
  put this on my heart. Talk to your
• 25:52
  pastor. Your pastor going to help guide
• 25:54
  you and help you in the next decisions
• 25:56
  that you're going to have to make. And
• 25:58
  I'll mention this one briefly. Um are
• 26:01
  you how you going to do it? Are you
• 26:02
  going to use a mission board or you just
• 26:04
  going to go out of your church? Now, I
• 26:06
  do believe in the authority of the local
• 26:08
  church.
• 26:09
  Uh and mission boards, a lot of people
• 26:12
  don't know a whole lot about mission
• 26:13
  boards. I'll say something real quickly
• 26:16
  about that. A mission board is not the
• 26:19
  missionar's authority. That that really
• 26:21
  is not their authority. A mission board
• 26:24
  is simply an agency to assist that
• 26:28
  missionary and that sending church in
• 26:31
  getting a missionary to wherever God has
• 26:33
  called them to go. We do have some
• 26:36
  that's anti-mission board.
• 26:39
  Brother Charlie, the biggest reason I
• 26:41
  can find out why some don't like mission
• 26:43
  boards or don't don't believe him is
• 26:45
  simply this. And it's it's going to be a
• 26:46
  valid point, but I want you to listen to
• 26:48
  me. You can't find it in the scripture.
• 26:52
  Okay? There's no mission board in the
• 26:56
  Bible.
• 26:58
  Let me clarify something for you.
• 26:59
  There's no need for a mission board in
• 27:02
  the Bible. Okay? Paul was sent out of
• 27:04
  the church at Antioch. That's his
• 27:07
  sending church.
• 27:09
  >> But Paul's the only missionary. Barnabas
• 27:11
  goes with him for a little while. has a
• 27:13
  couple others come alongside of him,
• 27:15
  help him a little while, but he he's the
• 27:17
  only one. Let me tell you about a
• 27:19
  mission board real quickly. It's about
• 27:21
  10 to 7, y'all. Okay. If I get too
• 27:24
  longwinded, somebody just raise your
• 27:25
  hand and uh
• 27:28
  we'll see what happens. I'm afraid I'm
• 27:31
  afraid to afraid to say that. We better
• 27:34
  leave that alone, I guess. I'm going to
• 27:36
  try my best to hurry, but let's talk
• 27:37
  about some things. I believe more we
• 27:39
  understand, more we know about missions,
• 27:42
  more able we're going to be able to know
• 27:44
  how to help in missions. Amen. A mission
• 27:47
  board. A mission board wasn't started. I
• 27:49
  mentioned brother William Kerry this
• 27:51
  morning. Y'all y'all remember I
• 27:52
  mentioned him. After William Kerry
• 27:54
  settled in his heart that it was the
• 27:56
  church's responsibility to take the
• 27:58
  gospel to the heathen, he began to
• 28:00
  gather with some other preachers that
• 28:02
  began to see eye to eye with him. They
• 28:04
  started praying about it and asking God
• 28:06
  to send somebody to the mission field.
• 28:10
  Well, again, in those days, most people
• 28:12
  wasn't for that. But yet, a few of them
• 28:14
  got together and as they're praying, God
• 28:17
  brings a guy into the life of William
• 28:19
  Kerry that had been in India. Long story
• 28:22
  short, God calls William Kerry then to
• 28:25
  be the first missionary. He left the
• 28:28
  country of England to take the gospel to
• 28:30
  the country of India.
• 28:34
  as they're gathered together and he's
• 28:36
  made the announcement. He said, 'I will
• 28:38
  go.' William Kerry makes this statement.
• 28:40
  Y'all with me? Here's what he said. I
• 28:43
  feel like India is a gold mine of souls.
• 28:48
  He said, I'll go down in the mine. He
• 28:51
  looked at these other preachers that was
• 28:53
  with him. He said, I'll go down the in
• 28:55
  the mine if y'all will hold the ropes.
• 29:00
  H Andrew Fuller was one of those
• 29:03
  preachers and there's a couple of more
• 29:05
  and they looked at William Kerry and
• 29:06
  said we will hold the ropes if you go.
• 29:10
  Those three or four preachers stayed
• 29:12
  back and they formed the first Baptist
• 29:16
  missionary society. That's what they
• 29:18
  called it. Basically what they done,
• 29:21
  they formed the first mission board.
• 29:24
  Their goal was to help William Kerry in
• 29:27
  any way and every way they possibly
• 29:29
  could. Raise support for him, whatever
• 29:31
  they could do, recruit other
• 29:33
  missionaries to go to the field and
• 29:36
  help. That was the sole purpose of the
• 29:38
  First Baptist Missionary Society. That's
• 29:41
  what a mission board does today. Simply
• 29:43
  there to help that missionary, to help
• 29:45
  the local church. We try to do anything
• 29:48
  that we can to make sure they get there,
• 29:50
  stay there, have what they need while
• 29:52
  they're there, assist the churches and
• 29:54
  sending so many different things. That's
• 29:56
  what a mission board is. You're going to
• 29:58
  go through the local church or you going
• 29:59
  to go through a mission board. Maybe
• 30:01
  pros and cons with a little bit of each.
• 30:03
  If you go through a mission board, they
• 30:04
  might be a church out there that don't
• 30:06
  like mission boards and they won't help
• 30:08
  you. That's their prerogative. But I
• 30:10
  believe the pros outweigh the cons.
• 30:13
  You're going to get a lot of help from a
• 30:15
  mission board that you're not going to
• 30:16
  have if you try to just go it alone by
• 30:18
  yourself and just through your local
• 30:20
  church. Lots of help. I don't have time.
• 30:23
  If you got questions later, we'll try to
• 30:24
  answer some of those, but we help in a
• 30:26
  lot of different ways. So, you're going
• 30:28
  to have to decide if you're going to go
• 30:29
  with a mission board, which one you
• 30:31
  going to go with. We'll say more about
• 30:32
  that as the week comes. But then the
• 30:34
  next thing
• 30:36
  once you start deciding whether you're
• 30:38
  going to go with a mission board or not,
• 30:39
  you got to start putting a plan
• 30:41
  together. How you going to do this? I
• 30:43
  highly doubt that there's any of you in
• 30:46
  here that can afford to do it on your
• 30:49
  own.
• 30:53
  Have Is any of you in here I'll just go
• 30:56
  ahead and say it this way. Is any of you
• 30:57
  in here rich enough tonight to go move
• 31:00
  your family halfway around the world
• 31:02
  without getting a job when you get there
• 31:04
  and still be able to buy your groceries
• 31:06
  for years to come that you're able to do
• 31:08
  all I doubt any of you can do that. You
• 31:10
  know what you're going to have to do?
• 31:11
  You're going to have to find some help.
• 31:14
  >> You're going to have to find somebody to
• 31:15
  help you get the gospel to where God's
• 31:18
  now listen. God's called you. You've got
• 31:21
  to get there. And when God calls you, he
• 31:24
  puts something in your heart. You will
• 31:26
  not be satisfied until you get where
• 31:29
  God's called you. Y'all with me there?
• 31:31
  You just cannot be satisfied until
• 31:34
  you've done what God called you to do.
• 31:35
  You're going to have to find some help.
• 31:37
  So, what you're going to have to do now
• 31:39
  is put a plan together about going out
• 31:41
  on what we call deputation.
• 31:44
  We'll deal with that. Before we
• 31:47
  before we do though, I want to I want to
• 31:48
  talk about where where you're going, the
• 31:50
  destination. We need to find out some
• 31:52
  things because it's going to have big
• 31:54
  impact on your deputation. Let's look at
• 31:57
  a few things real quickly together.
• 31:59
  We've done mention with some of you. How
• 32:02
  about communication? Where you're going,
• 32:04
  do they speak English? How many of you
• 32:07
  is going to a place that don't speak
• 32:08
  English? Let me see your hands. Got
• 32:10
  quite a few of you. You're going to have
• 32:12
  a challenge
• 32:14
  right off the bat. You're going to have
• 32:16
  to learn another language.
• 32:19
  You're going to have to I go on mission
• 32:22
  trips. Matter of fact, u matter of fact,
• 32:24
  two weeks from tomorrow, Jenny and I,
• 32:26
  we're going to England. I'm thankful I
• 32:29
  don't have to have an interpreter for
• 32:30
  the most part when I get to England.
• 32:33
  Yeah,
• 32:34
  >> it's a little bit different English
• 32:35
  >> and we we struggle a little bit.
• 32:37
  Especially some of the older crowd when
• 32:39
  I get over there, they can't hardly
• 32:40
  understand me and I can't hardly
• 32:42
  understand them. But it is a form of
• 32:44
  English. January, I'm going to Honduras.
• 32:47
  They don't speak English in Honduras.
• 32:49
  It's Spanish. I'm only going to be there
• 32:51
  for a few weeks. So, Brother Charlie,
• 32:53
  what I'm going to do is use an
• 32:54
  interpreter. I'll be preaching in
• 32:56
  Honduras. And I'll preach with an
• 32:58
  interpreter. You can get by like that
• 33:01
  for a little while, but if you're going
• 33:02
  to go live amongst those people and
• 33:04
  start a church there, you can't get by
• 33:06
  with just interpreters. You're going to
• 33:08
  have to learn the language. What you're
• 33:12
  looking at, if you're going to a country
• 33:13
  that speaks a different language, you're
• 33:15
  looking at a good chance you may have to
• 33:17
  take about six months
• 33:20
  just to go to language school. Used to
• 33:23
  be real popular. Now, what's more
• 33:25
  popular and gaining more is going to the
• 33:28
  mission field and hiring a tutor to
• 33:31
  teach you when you initially get there
• 33:33
  as long as it takes. But you've got to
• 33:36
  learn that lang. That's a big obstacle
• 33:38
  right there immediately for those of you
• 33:40
  going to a place that don't speak
• 33:42
  English. So, communication,
• 33:44
  let me mention this one quickly.
• 33:46
  Control.
• 33:48
  You got to find out that government.
• 33:49
  What what's that government going to
• 33:51
  allow you to do in order to be a
• 33:54
  missionary where God has called you? Let
• 33:56
  me ask you this question. Can you go as
• 33:59
  a missionary or are you going to have to
• 34:01
  go into the country some other way to do
• 34:04
  the work of a missionary? Give you a
• 34:07
  couple examples. Right now, China,
• 34:11
  you're probably not even going to get in
• 34:12
  China as an American, much less as a
• 34:15
  missionary. It's closed. Okay? There are
• 34:18
  still missionaries in China. Some of
• 34:20
  those are Americans that have been
• 34:22
  married to a Chinese and they've worked
• 34:24
  around some things and they're able to
• 34:25
  do the work. Going in front in the front
• 34:28
  as a missionary. It's impossible. India,
• 34:31
  you're going to be able to go as a
• 34:32
  missionary. Really can't go as a
• 34:34
  missionary. You're going to have to go
• 34:35
  probably as an English teacher or
• 34:37
  something of that nature. And when you
• 34:39
  get to India, you're only allowed to go
• 34:41
  in for six months. After 6 months, you
• 34:44
  have to come out of the country. They
• 34:45
  will not allow any foreigner in the
• 34:48
  country longer than six months at a
• 34:49
  time. So, you're going to have to leave
• 34:51
  a little while and then you have to re
• 34:53
  reapply for your visa and go back in
• 34:56
  again for another 6 months. You're going
• 34:58
  to have to find out what you can and
• 34:59
  can't do. You'd be surprised which
• 35:02
  countries are considered or thought to
• 35:04
  be open that not are not near as open as
• 35:08
  you would suspect.
• 35:10
  Mention we're going to England in two
• 35:11
  weeks. Brother, often, Brother Charlie,
• 35:14
  we'll take church groups on a mission
• 35:17
  trip or youth groups on a mission trip.
• 35:20
  Anytime we go, how many of you ever
• 35:22
  flown out flown out of the country?
• 35:23
  You've been out of the country before.
• 35:24
  Got a few of you that have, you probably
• 35:27
  a little bit familiar with some of this.
• 35:29
  If you leave this country and go into
• 35:31
  another country, number one, you got to
• 35:32
  have a passport. And in most places,
• 35:35
  even England now, this only changed
• 35:37
  about two years ago, you have to apply
• 35:38
  for a visa. There's different types of
• 35:41
  visas that you can get. Long story short
• 35:43
  is you've got to find out how to first
• 35:45
  of all get in the country. Once you get
• 35:47
  in the country, you're going to go
• 35:49
  before a customs agent.
• 35:52
  First thing when you land, before you
• 35:55
  get out of the airport, probably even
• 35:57
  before you get your luggage, you're
• 35:59
  going to go before a customs agent.
• 36:01
  You're going to hand them your passport.
• 36:03
  They're going to look at your passport
• 36:04
  and they're going to look at you and
• 36:05
  make sure it's you. And then they're
• 36:07
  going to ask you a question. Why are you
• 36:09
  here?
• 36:11
  Don't matter where you go. I go to
• 36:12
  Honduras, they want to know why I'm
• 36:14
  there. I go to England, they're going to
• 36:15
  want to know why am I there. When we
• 36:18
  take these groups, we usually tell our
• 36:19
  groups, don't tell them that we're there
• 36:23
  as a missionary.
• 36:25
  We're not trying to be deceptive. We're
• 36:27
  just trying to be wise. Okay?
• 36:30
  What we usually tell them is, and this
• 36:32
  is 99.9%
• 36:34
  of the time true, we're there visiting
• 36:37
  friends. We got a missionary already
• 36:39
  there and we're going to go visit them.
• 36:40
  So we'll tell them we're there visiting
• 36:42
  friends. It's just even in England, it's
• 36:45
  probably wise to do that. For an
• 36:47
  example, four young preachers got
• 36:49
  together, go to England on a mission
• 36:50
  trip to have a missionary. They were
• 36:52
  told this very thing that I'm telling
• 36:54
  you. They go before the customs agent
• 36:57
  and the first preacher says, they asked
• 36:58
  why he's here. He said, "We're here
• 37:00
  visiting some friends." They stamped his
• 37:02
  passport and said, "Welcome to England."
• 37:04
  The second one stood before the customs
• 37:06
  agent. They said, "Why are you here?" He
• 37:08
  said the same. They stamped his
• 37:09
  passport, said, "Welcome to England."
• 37:11
  Third, same. Fourth one was a young
• 37:13
  preacher full of zeal and real excited.
• 37:17
  Usually, I like that, but can't get you
• 37:19
  in trouble. Third, the fourth one stands
• 37:21
  before the customs agent and they said,
• 37:23
  "Why are you here?" He said, "We here
• 37:24
  preach Jesus.
• 37:26
  Y'all forgot about him. We're here to
• 37:28
  reintroduce him to you." I mean, that's
• 37:30
  that sounds real spiritual, don't I
• 37:32
  mean? Well, the customs agent kind of
• 37:35
  lowered their glass, said, "Excuse me."
• 37:37
  And he said it again and they said,
• 37:40
  "Sir, would you step aside?" And he
• 37:42
  stepped stepped aside and they found out
• 37:44
  those other three preachers was
• 37:45
  traveling with him. They pulled them
• 37:47
  back, put them in a room together. This
• 37:49
  true story happened in England, London,
• 37:51
  England. put them in a conference room,
• 37:54
  kept them there for about five hours
• 37:55
  questioning them. Ended up put them on a
• 37:58
  plane, sent them back to America, and
• 38:00
  refused entry into England. It's where
• 38:04
  we came from. Better find out what you
• 38:07
  can and cannot do if you're going to a
• 38:10
  foreign field to take the gospel. Can
• 38:14
  you own property when you get there? Can
• 38:16
  you get a driver's license when you get
• 38:18
  there? Are you legally able to drive
• 38:21
  when you get there? So many things you
• 38:23
  better find out before you head off and
• 38:25
  go somewhere. Every missionary has to do
• 38:28
  this. Probably the best resource that
• 38:32
  you would have is to find a missionary
• 38:34
  that's already there and they can inform
• 38:37
  you a whole lot about what you can and
• 38:39
  cannot do. We have missionaries in
• 38:41
  Scotland. We have found out that a male,
• 38:45
  the daddy, the father cannot work while
• 38:48
  he's in Scotland. It's not allowed to
• 38:50
  work. They only keep jobs for their
• 38:53
  people.
• 38:55
  Sounds like a pretty good ideal to me.
• 38:57
  But anyway,
• 38:58
  the the wife can work, but the husband
• 39:01
  can't. Isn't that strange? Got to find
• 39:04
  out what you can and cannot do as a
• 39:07
  missionary. You going to have to buy
• 39:08
  land through somebody that lives there.
• 39:11
  You going to rent a ve vehicle? Rent a
• 39:14
  place to have church. So much you've got
• 39:16
  to find out control. Here's a quick one
• 39:18
  I want to deal with you real quickly.
• 39:20
  What about cost?
• 39:22
  I think that's pretty important. How
• 39:24
  much is it going to take for me to move
• 39:27
  my family wherever it is that God's
• 39:30
  calling me to? Whether it's
• 39:32
  Massachusetts or whether it's Africa or
• 39:35
  China, where what's it going to cost for
• 39:37
  me to move my family? not only move my
• 39:41
  family, find a place to live,
• 39:44
  transportation,
• 39:46
  got to start a church. What's all that
• 39:50
  going to cost? Keep in mind, when you do
• 39:52
  start a church, you don't have a
• 39:54
  congregation to take up an offering
• 39:56
  from. If there's going to be rent paid
• 39:59
  on a building to have a church, guess
• 40:01
  who's paying the rent?
• 40:03
  Missionary is. If you're going to have
• 40:06
  song books, who's getting the song
• 40:07
  books? The missionary is if there's a
• 40:10
  power bill, who's paying the power bill?
• 40:13
  The missionary is. Hey man, he don't
• 40:15
  have a congregation he can take up an
• 40:17
  offering from like we do here. It's all
• 40:20
  on that missionary. You got to count the
• 40:22
  cost. How much is it going to cost for
• 40:24
  me to move, live, survive in another
• 40:28
  place? A lot of times it's a whole lot
• 40:31
  more than what we would think it would
• 40:33
  cost.
• 40:35
  Therefore, you got to take all this into
• 40:37
  consideration on how much support you're
• 40:39
  going to need. How many churches am I
• 40:42
  going to have to be in uh introduced to?
• 40:44
  How many how many do I hope is going to
• 40:46
  take us on for support? All this going
• 40:48
  to be involved in finding out what the
• 40:51
  cost is. Speaking of cost, not
• 40:54
  everywhere you go uses a dollar.
• 40:59
  If you go to Europe, it's going to be
• 41:00
  the euro.
• 41:02
  If you go to an Asia country, it's
• 41:05
  probably going to be the yen. If you go
• 41:07
  to the UK, it's going to be the pound.
• 41:10
  And the pound and the euro especially is
• 41:14
  worth more than a dollar is. So, you got
• 41:17
  to take all that into consideration.
• 41:19
  Have a actually the missionary that
• 41:21
  we're going to go fill in for in a
• 41:23
  couple of weeks. He watches the uh
• 41:25
  exchange rate about like a lot of us
• 41:28
  Americans do watching the stock
• 41:29
  exchange. I mean, it's real important.
• 41:32
  And and it's amazing. Overnight, your
• 41:36
  buying power may drop 20% overnight. So,
• 41:40
  here's what's happening to some of these
• 41:42
  missionaries. They're losing they're
• 41:45
  losing support without any church even
• 41:48
  dropping them because of the exchange
• 41:50
  rate. Now, there may be a time when it's
• 41:53
  stronger than what it is at other times,
• 41:56
  but that's something else you've got to
• 41:57
  consider. Cost. What's it going to cost?
• 42:01
  Climate. That's pretty important.
• 42:04
  Uh, who's going to Alaska?
• 42:07
  This couple right back here is going to
• 42:09
  Alaska. Hope y'all like cold weather.
• 42:12
  Amen. Who's going to an African country
• 42:16
  right here? Who's going to Bkina Faso?
• 42:18
  Anybody got Bkina Faso?
• 42:21
  That's y'all. I've been to Bkina three
• 42:24
  times. Bkina Faso is a western African
• 42:28
  country. The first time I went there, I
• 42:29
  went there in October. My wife was with
• 42:31
  me on that trip. And when we got to the
• 42:33
  Bkina Faso, the average temperature in
• 42:36
  October was 106.
• 42:39
  It was every day. And uh so I hope y'all
• 42:42
  like hot weather. Amen. That's pretty
• 42:44
  big deal for us Americans that are
• 42:46
  spoiled with air conditioning, is it
• 42:48
  not? Uh there the missionary in in
• 42:51
  Burkina Foso, still there today. Veteran
• 42:53
  missionary Keith Shoemaker. I don't know
• 42:55
  if y'all know him. Brother Charlie does.
• 42:58
  Keith Shoemaker's a veteran. I mean,
• 43:00
  he's topnotch. They only run our
• 43:02
  condition at night. They can't afford it
• 43:05
  all day long. They run at night just so
• 43:07
  you can sleep, make it comfortable
• 43:08
  enough to go to sleep. When we go to
• 43:10
  visit, if we're staying at his house, we
• 43:13
  get to turn the hour on after 9:00. It's
• 43:16
  a real blessing. Amen. Uh, a lot of
• 43:18
  times we go over there, we don't even
• 43:20
  stay at his house, though. Sometimes we
• 43:21
  sleep out under the stars. Totally
• 43:24
  different story. So, you've got to
• 43:26
  you've got to consider these things. How
• 43:28
  about health care? I mentioned that just
• 43:29
  a little bit earlier. Uh what kind of
• 43:32
  health care is going to be available?
• 43:33
  First time I went to Honduras, my wife
• 43:36
  and I was being drove through town. He
• 43:38
  was the missionary was showing us around
• 43:40
  where we was. Drove us by the local
• 43:42
  hospital.
• 43:44
  When we drove by the local hospital, and
• 43:45
  I don't mean this in a derogative way.
• 43:48
  I'm not I'm not being judgment. I'm just
• 43:50
  saying how it is. hospital's very
• 43:52
  rundown building. Outside the main
• 43:54
  entrance was a gurnie uh caught. Still
• 43:58
  had sheets on it and it's covered with
• 43:59
  blood, hadn't been touched, hadn't been
• 44:01
  cleaned up. And I just looked at my wife
• 44:03
  and I said, "Pray we don't have to go to
• 44:05
  the hospital while we here."
• 44:08
  I am a spoiled American, okay? I can't
• 44:10
  help that. You got to find out what's
• 44:12
  going to be available when you get
• 44:14
  there. Uh I went back to I was in
• 44:16
  Honduras last year and guess what I had
• 44:18
  to do? I had to go to the hospital while
• 44:20
  I was there. Uh had a had a large kidney
• 44:24
  stone got lodged and anyway different
• 44:26
  story. Uh what little was available? I
• 44:30
  was thankful for it. All right. So you
• 44:32
  got to find out what about medication.
• 44:34
  If you're on medication, can you get it
• 44:35
  there? Um
• 44:38
  so many things 100 things going through
• 44:41
  my mind, but you got to figure all this
• 44:42
  stuff out before you go. Deputation
• 44:45
  time. Any questions so far? It's a
• 44:47
  little bit interactive. Told you it's
• 44:49
  going to be different. I want you to
• 44:51
  learn more about missions. Any questions
• 44:53
  so far? Anybody?
• 44:56
  Anybody? Feel free to ask. Let's talk
• 44:58
  about deputation. You figured all this
• 45:01
  out. You've got to get a plan together.
• 45:03
  You've got to get a presentation
• 45:04
  together. You got to get some meetings.
• 45:06
  How you going to get meetings? In this
• 45:08
  day and time, it's tough. Used to be we
• 45:10
  had Yalla pages, had church listings in
• 45:12
  it with church phone numbers. You'd call
• 45:14
  them. Most time there wouldn't be nobody
• 45:16
  answering, but you at least try. And now
• 45:18
  we got cell phones. Nobody has landlines
• 45:21
  anymore. And so you try to find out some
• 45:24
  cell phones or some preachers. Uh there
• 45:26
  are lists out there, brother Charlie. If
• 45:28
  your name and number gets put on one of
• 45:29
  them list, they probably a few call you.
• 45:31
  However, in this day and time, I'm
• 45:33
  hearing this from every pastor I go go
• 45:35
  around, they're saying, "I don't get
• 45:36
  hardly near the calls I used to. Just
• 45:40
  ain't many going anymore." But you've
• 45:42
  got to try to find a way to get some
• 45:44
  meetings. Why? Because you're seeking
• 45:46
  out support to help you to get where
• 45:49
  God's called you to. Let me clarify
• 45:51
  something for you. A lot of churches
• 45:53
  have this mindset that these
• 45:55
  missionaries, the only thing they're
• 45:56
  interested in is our money. And a lot of
• 46:00
  times they're looked at as machinaries.
• 46:03
  You ever heard that word before?
• 46:04
  Probably have. You'll be Baptist Church.
• 46:06
  A lot of them look at them say they're
• 46:08
  just a bunch of machinaries. They just
• 46:09
  want money. They can't get to where
• 46:11
  God's called them without some help,
• 46:13
  without some money. And so, listen,
• 46:16
  they're not really after our money as
• 46:18
  much as we are ought to be after their
• 46:20
  fruit.
• 46:22
  >> Amen. We ought to look at it that way.
• 46:24
  So, they've got to get these meetings
• 46:26
  and try to find the support that they
• 46:27
  need. You got to put a presentation
• 46:29
  together. What are you going to say when
• 46:30
  you get up in front of everybody?
• 46:33
  I mean, you're wanting I don't mean to
• 46:35
  sound like this, but you know about what
• 46:37
  it is. It It's about like they got to be
• 46:39
  a salesman.
• 46:41
  >> Amen.
• 46:43
  And they threaten their kids. You better
• 46:45
  be on the best behavior that you can
• 46:46
  possibly be. We don't want to go into
• 46:48
  this church and ruin a chance of getting
• 46:51
  supported. Y'all with me. Amen. And so
• 46:55
  they're they're took from church to
• 46:57
  church to church. They're in a different
• 46:59
  bed almost every night. At least every
• 47:02
  other night. When they go to church,
• 47:04
  they have no idea what to expect. Every
• 47:06
  church ain't like your church. Amen. And
• 47:09
  they have no idea what to expect when
• 47:11
  they get there. And so they get a
• 47:13
  presentation together. They get a they
• 47:15
  get a the thoughts. They get statistics.
• 47:18
  Things like that to try to share with
• 47:20
  the people that maybe put a video
• 47:22
  together. Pictures do say a thousand
• 47:24
  words. Used to be. It used to be the old
• 47:26
  slide presentation. Now it's these nice
• 47:29
  videos with music in the background and
• 47:31
  everything. and they're trying their
• 47:33
  best to get people on board with what
• 47:36
  God has called them to do. And there's
• 47:38
  challenges around every corner. I
• 47:41
  mentioned this. Who got Hawaii back here
• 47:43
  in the corner? Sister, can you imagine
• 47:46
  God called you and your family to go to
• 47:48
  Hawaii?
• 47:50
  Put yourself in their shoes. Can you
• 47:52
  imagine calling a pastor and saying,
• 47:55
  "Hi, I'm so and so. We're missionaries
• 47:58
  to Hawaii."
• 48:01
  What just went through that preacher's
• 48:02
  mind?
• 48:04
  He He's human. He can't help it. He He
• 48:07
  wouldn't say it, but it went through his
• 48:08
  mind. Yeah, right.
• 48:11
  You You want to go on permanent vacation
• 48:13
  and have God's people to pay for it?
• 48:14
  That's what you're after. That's what
• 48:16
  went through his mind. And so, it's
• 48:19
  going to be real difficult to get a
• 48:20
  meeting. All right. If you get a
• 48:22
  meeting, you get four people. You get up
• 48:26
  in front of the people and your your
• 48:28
  video that you play on the screen, it's
• 48:30
  not little hungry African children. It's
• 48:32
  beautiful waterfalls.
• 48:37
  How you going to get support like that?
• 48:39
  Ain't nobody want to jump on board and
• 48:40
  send you to paradise.
• 48:44
  It's going to be a challenge.
• 48:47
  On top of that, if if this family was
• 48:50
  going to Hawaii as missionaries, how
• 48:52
  much money they going to need? How much
• 48:54
  support's it going to take? Let me give
• 48:56
  you a little idea. This when I done this
• 48:59
  research, been a while, it's probably
• 49:00
  changed. A one-bedroom apartment in
• 49:03
  Hawaii about $2,500 a month. One
• 49:08
  bedroom.
• 49:10
  That's a lot of support right there.
• 49:13
  Hopefully, you want to get a church
• 49:15
  started. Nine times out of 10, it
• 49:17
  probably get started in your living
• 49:19
  room. Have a little Bible study. Get
• 49:21
  some people interested. introduce them
• 49:23
  to the word of God. Introduce them to
• 49:25
  Christ. Hopefully, he's going to outgrow
• 49:27
  your living room, though, and you're
• 49:28
  going to have to have somewhere to meet.
• 49:30
  Nine times out of ten, something like
• 49:32
  that might start out in a conference
• 49:34
  room in a motel. Maybe maybe the motel
• 49:37
  owner might be gracious enough to let
• 49:39
  you use it for free. Probably not.
• 49:41
  Probably going to have to pay rent on
• 49:42
  that. Hopefully, outgrow that. Going to
• 49:46
  have to get into a building. How about a
• 49:47
  storefront? If a one-bedroom apartment's
• 49:50
  going to be $2,500 a month, how much is
• 49:52
  a storefront building going to be to
• 49:53
  rent?
• 49:56
  I can't imagine all of that's going to
• 49:58
  have to come out of your pocket.
• 50:00
  How much support you going to need?
• 50:02
  Transportation, gasoline, eight bucks a
• 50:05
  gallon. You going to buy a vehicle? You
• 50:08
  going to buy the gas? You're going to
• 50:11
  depend on public transportation.
• 50:13
  All this stuff's going to have to be
• 50:15
  considered. And all of that's going to
• 50:17
  be on that family. I knew I knew of a
• 50:19
  couple that was missionaries to Hawaii.
• 50:24
  But Charlie, they stayed on deputation
• 50:26
  for actually several years and never
• 50:29
  made it. Gave up.
• 50:33
  I know it's tropical paradise, but let
• 50:35
  me ask you a question. Does Hawaii need
• 50:37
  a missionary?
• 50:39
  >> You better believe it. From my research,
• 50:43
  I think I don't remember how many
• 50:44
  islands they are. Anybody know how many
• 50:46
  islands there are? I can't remember
• 50:48
  exactly. Out of all of Hawaii, I think
• 50:50
  there's three when I best research I
• 50:53
  could find three decent Bible preaching
• 50:56
  churches in all of Hawaii.
• 50:59
  Dire need there. But you talking about a
• 51:02
  challenge talking about going to be
• 51:04
  difficult to try to get support to go
• 51:07
  somewhere like that. Alaska. Who's going
• 51:09
  to Alaska? This couple right back here.
• 51:12
  Talking back to the finances. My wife
• 51:15
  and I got to go to Alaska. Was it last
• 51:17
  year? Year before last. Year before
• 51:19
  last. Got missionaries up there in
• 51:21
  Cordova, Alaska. The Helms family. We
• 51:24
  went up there and visited them a little
• 51:25
  while there in Cordova. Cordova is a
• 51:27
  fishing village. You don't drive to
• 51:29
  Cordova. You either got to go by boat or
• 51:33
  by plane. It's on the way in. And so we
• 51:35
  went in by plane. There's there's two
• 51:38
  grocery stores in all of Cordova.
• 51:41
  And uh they took us to both of them. And
• 51:44
  I'm I'm the typical tourist. I'm going
• 51:47
  down the aisles in the grocery store
• 51:50
  with my phone out taking pictures of
• 51:52
  prices.
• 51:54
  A gallon of water,
• 51:56
  no name brand, just a gallon of drinking
• 51:59
  water, clear b clear jug, $8.99
• 52:04
  for a gallon of drinking water.
• 52:07
  A 24 pack of bottled water, $39.99.
• 52:13
  24 pack.
• 52:16
  Bag of potato chips, $13.99.
• 52:19
  Bag of potato chips. Everything has to
• 52:22
  be transported in. They don't have
• 52:25
  anything there. You can't grow nothing.
• 52:28
  You can't make nothing. Everything's
• 52:30
  brought in. shipping costs, gonna have
• 52:33
  to have a lot of support probably to go
• 52:35
  to somewhere like Alaska. All these
• 52:38
  things going to have to be considered
• 52:39
  before you start deputation. And then
• 52:41
  you go into these churches and you're
• 52:42
  trying to convince people to get on
• 52:44
  board with you can be difficult. A lot
• 52:48
  of things factor on how quickly you
• 52:50
  raise your support. They tell me right
• 52:52
  now the average time on deputation is
• 52:56
  somewhere in between two and three years
• 52:58
  of deputation.
• 53:01
  Uh most of these missionaries, depending
• 53:03
  on how far they go out, they're going to
• 53:05
  travel probably around 40,000 miles a
• 53:08
  year.
• 53:10
  They're going to have to probably visit
• 53:12
  over 200 churches to get the support
• 53:16
  that they're going to need to get to
• 53:18
  where God's called them to. Some might
• 53:21
  be longer, some might be shorter. Again,
• 53:23
  several things factor into that. Things
• 53:25
  that you wouldn't think about. Uh, does
• 53:28
  this family sing together?
• 53:31
  Uh, do they have pretty harmony?
• 53:34
  Y'all think I'm crazy, but I'm telling
• 53:37
  you how it is.
• 53:39
  Uh, there's a missionary family. They're
• 53:41
  in Scotland right now. Love them dearly.
• 53:44
  Uh, the Alverson family. Did they ever
• 53:46
  come by here?
• 53:48
  The Alverson family is missionary
• 53:50
  Scotland. It's it's brother Howard
• 53:52
  Alverson's the dad, his wife Rebecca,
• 53:55
  and while they're on deputation, they
• 53:57
  had three young ladies, three girls,
• 53:58
  three teenage girls. Brother Charlie,
• 54:00
  they sang beautifully. Wife played the
• 54:03
  piano. The girls sang. It's this perfect
• 54:05
  harmony. They got their support real
• 54:07
  quick. They really did. God blessed and
• 54:10
  mighty way. Brother Howard called me one
• 54:12
  day and he's all excited.
• 54:14
  I asked him, I said, "Why are you so
• 54:16
  excited?" He said, "Preacher, you'll
• 54:17
  never guess what happened." I said,
• 54:19
  "What happened?" And he said a church
• 54:21
  took us on for support without hearing
• 54:22
  the girls sing.
• 54:26
  That singing family was an advantage for
• 54:28
  him. It helped greatly. If you're going
• 54:30
  to Africa or somewhere like that, you
• 54:33
  put videos up a little hungry youngans
• 54:36
  that pulls on people's heartstrings.
• 54:38
  People going to jump on board quicker.
• 54:40
  Just a fact. Depending on where God's
• 54:42
  called you is going to have a whole lot
• 54:44
  to do with how quickly you can get
• 54:46
  through deputation to get to where
• 54:48
  you're going. Think of the weary nights,
• 54:51
  long drives. Think of the coffee. Think
• 54:54
  of all this that they're going to have
• 54:55
  to think of the kids cooped up in the
• 54:58
  backseat of a car or a van or something
• 55:00
  of that nature. Up and down the road. Up
• 55:03
  and down the road. Don't have any kind
• 55:05
  of settled life. Why you saying all
• 55:07
  this? If nothing else, if God don't
• 55:10
  never call you to go anywhere, maybe
• 55:12
  you'll have a little more compassion on
• 55:13
  them that come by your place.
• 55:16
  >> Amen. Don't tell them where they came
• 55:18
  from. No telling what they've endured.
• 55:21
  No telling what they've experienced in
• 55:22
  churches that's supposed to love on
• 55:25
  them.
• 55:27
  >> No telling what they've experienced.
• 55:28
  Deputation
• 55:30
  is usually a dreaded word for those that
• 55:33
  goes into ministry and have to raise
• 55:35
  support. But deputation can be a
• 55:37
  blessing when you have churches like
• 55:39
  Meadow Baptist Church that love on them
• 55:41
  when they come by.
• 55:43
  Amen.
• 55:45
  I hope this is helping you just a little
• 55:46
  bit.
• 55:47
  Deputation's a big part of getting where
• 55:49
  God's called you to. All right, it's 20
• 55:53
  after. I'm hurrying. Okay, you got
• 55:55
  through deputation. Got your support
• 55:58
  raised. I mean, it's almost like a
• 56:00
  celebration for a family has gone
• 56:03
  everywhere and done everything and
• 56:05
  finally got enough support coming in
• 56:08
  that they can go to the field. All
• 56:10
  right, let me uh can I use y'all for an
• 56:12
  example? Can I pick on you? What's y'all
• 56:14
  names? Shane
• 56:15
  >> Beverly
• 56:16
  >> and last name
• 56:17
  >> Grubs.
• 56:18
  >> This is the Grubs family and they are
• 56:20
  going to the Pit Caring Islands.
• 56:23
  >> Okay. They got their support raised and
• 56:27
  um they're fixing to pack up and leave.
• 56:29
  Y'all got parents still living?
• 56:32
  >> No. Both of them both of ours is gone.
• 56:35
  But you got some still alive. You
• 56:37
  talking about being tough having to
• 56:38
  leave. Can you imagine how to be leave
• 56:41
  your parents?
• 56:42
  Some of them's getting on up in years. A
• 56:45
  lot of times these missionaries when
• 56:46
  they start to pull out, they don't know
• 56:49
  what's going to happen in the next
• 56:51
  little while.
• 56:52
  >> Y'all with me?
• 56:54
  >> It's going to be tough. Have to say
• 56:56
  goodbye. Grandians or kids or brothers
• 57:00
  or sisters, whatever the family might
• 57:02
  be, having to tell them goodbye. Used to
• 57:05
  be is looking about four-year period. Uh
• 57:10
  some mission boards require their
• 57:12
  missionaries to stay without an
• 57:14
  emergency up to four years before they
• 57:16
  come back on furlow. We don't have a set
• 57:18
  time. We look at every situation
• 57:20
  different. But uh you're going to be
• 57:22
  gone for a while. So that's going to be
• 57:25
  tough just saying goodbye. If the Grubs
• 57:27
  family is going to leave and they're
• 57:28
  going to go be gone, Peran Island is
• 57:31
  going to be a small place. I'll say more
• 57:33
  about that in a moment. Uh, what would
• 57:36
  y'all like for people to in your church
• 57:38
  and other churches you've been to? What
• 57:40
  would you like to them to think about
• 57:41
  y'all? You'd want them to think about
• 57:44
  you, wouldn't you? Don't forget us.
• 57:47
  >> But you know what? Out of sight, out of
• 57:49
  mind.
• 57:51
  Might be a prayer card laying around
• 57:52
  with a picture on it. Might get seen
• 57:54
  every now and then. And somebody, they
• 57:57
  might be a couple real faithful gonna
• 57:59
  pray for you regular basis, but they
• 58:01
  ain't gonna be many of them to be
• 58:02
  honest. out of sight, out of mind.
• 58:06
  They're going to be saying, "Well, I
• 58:07
  hope somebody reads your prayer letter.
• 58:09
  We're taking time to write them."
• 58:12
  There's going to be churches that's
• 58:13
  going to drop us if we don't write them.
• 58:15
  >> So, I hope somebody's going to read
• 58:17
  them. Y'all with me?
• 58:19
  >> Let me give you a little advice right
• 58:20
  here. Don't drop a missionary family for
• 58:22
  not sending a prayer letter when you
• 58:24
  wasn't going to read it anyhow.
• 58:25
  >> That's right.
• 58:26
  >> Okay.
• 58:28
  >> I mean, we're so strict in wanting them
• 58:29
  to send them.
• 58:30
  >> Why do we want them to send them? At
• 58:32
  least read them. Amen.
• 58:33
  >> Amen. I hope somebody reads them every
• 58:35
  now and then. How about a How about a
• 58:38
  remember me and communicate with me
• 58:40
  every now and then.
• 58:42
  >> You talking about excitement for a
• 58:43
  missionary family that's been gone for
• 58:45
  three years get something come through
• 58:47
  the mail. Amen. Something like that you
• 58:50
  don't think about, but man, it means a
• 58:52
  whole lot to them. Amen. Now in this day
• 58:55
  and time with all the modern technology
• 58:57
  that we have, how about a how about a
• 58:59
  FaceTime or a video over and that boy
• 59:03
  especially you got family back home.
• 59:05
  >> Amen. Just mean it's going to mean a lot
• 59:08
  for somebody to think about y'all
• 59:11
  and and maybe show a little act of
• 59:12
  kindness along the way. Amen. Things you
• 59:16
  need to think about. Come visit us, man.
• 59:19
  We'd love somebody come see us while
• 59:21
  we're over here. Amen. You ever took a
• 59:24
  mission trip?
• 59:26
  Let me give you a little encouragement.
• 59:28
  Take one if you get a chance. Preacher,
• 59:30
  it costs a lot. Vacations do too.
• 59:33
  Won't you take one of them years of
• 59:35
  vacation and all that money is going to
• 59:37
  spend on vacation. Why don't you invest
• 59:38
  that in a mission trip?
• 59:41
  You You can make it a vacation.
• 59:43
  Everywhere you go, there's something to
• 59:45
  see. Do a little sightseeing. But I tell
• 59:48
  you what's going to happen. you take you
• 59:49
  a mission trip, it's going to make a
• 59:51
  difference in you and your family.
• 59:54
  >> And in the meantime, you're going to be
• 59:55
  a real blessing to a missionary family
• 59:57
  that's longing for a little bit of
• 59:59
  conversation, a little bit of
• 1:00:01
  fellowship.
• 1:00:02
  >> Amen. You're going to hope somebody come
• 1:00:04
  see me every now and then. There's a
• 1:00:06
  missionary family I knew well down in
• 1:00:08
  Santiago, Chile, South America. Down
• 1:00:11
  there for eight years. missionary told
• 1:00:13
  me with a broken heart. He said, "Nobody
• 1:00:15
  in eight years has ever come to see us."
• 1:00:19
  Eight years was it. That's all they
• 1:00:20
  lasted. They came back off the field
• 1:00:22
  whooped and discouraged, out of sight,
• 1:00:25
  out of mind, and forgotten. Don't do
• 1:00:28
  that. Don't forget them. And they're
• 1:00:30
  going to say this, "Don't drop us."
• 1:00:35
  It's amazing how many churches drop
• 1:00:37
  their missionaries just over no little
• 1:00:40
  reason at all. Now, if it's doctrinal or
• 1:00:42
  they gone a different way and preaching
• 1:00:44
  a different Bible or different Jesus,
• 1:00:46
  drop them.
• 1:00:48
  >> Drop them. Don't We don't want to
• 1:00:49
  support that stuff. But if they're still
• 1:00:52
  staying on the field, they're still
• 1:00:53
  true. But say, "Preacher, ain't winning
• 1:00:55
  nobody to God." How many of you winning?
• 1:00:59
  >> How many of you winning?
• 1:01:02
  >> They're going to be some of these places
• 1:01:03
  these missionaries go and they ain't
• 1:01:05
  going to get to write back big fancy
• 1:01:06
  prayer letters that said, "We want a
• 1:01:08
  hundred to God."
• 1:01:09
  >> Yeah. They going to be some of them go
• 1:01:11
  to England
• 1:01:12
  >> and they going to write back and say,
• 1:01:13
  "We ain't seen nobody saved in 6 months
• 1:01:15
  or a year."
• 1:01:17
  >> They going to be some of them that write
• 1:01:18
  back and say, "We've been here for three
• 1:01:20
  years and hadn't seen nobody saved." We
• 1:01:22
  going to drop them for that.
• 1:01:24
  >> Come on now. It ain't all about the
• 1:01:26
  numbers. I know every everyone's a soul.
• 1:01:29
  I know that. But I'm telling you, it's
• 1:01:31
  about being faithful.
• 1:01:33
  >> Amen. Faithful. God's got them there for
• 1:01:35
  a witness. They may never win nobody to
• 1:01:37
  God, but I still think that's pretty
• 1:01:39
  good investment.
• 1:01:40
  >> Don't drop us. A lot of times you'll be
• 1:01:43
  amazed a new pastor comes in.
• 1:01:47
  But I tell you, every missionary gets
• 1:01:49
  nervous when they hear that one of our
• 1:01:51
  church supporting churches gets a new
• 1:01:52
  pastor. It happens so many times. Maybe
• 1:01:56
  the pastor just don't know them. Comes
• 1:01:59
  in, drops them all. Or maybe maybe he
• 1:02:01
  don't believe in mission. I don't know
• 1:02:03
  what it might be. But hey, before you
• 1:02:05
  drop somebody, you pray about that real
• 1:02:07
  hard.
• 1:02:08
  >> Amen.
• 1:02:09
  >> Think about that real hard.
• 1:02:12
  Do everything we can to keep from
• 1:02:14
  dropping one. Amen. Because when they're
• 1:02:16
  on the field, they can't go out and pick
• 1:02:18
  up support from another church just down
• 1:02:20
  the road. They ain't going to be another
• 1:02:21
  one down the road. It may be a while
• 1:02:23
  before they get to come back off on
• 1:02:25
  furlow. And it's sad. A lot of these
• 1:02:27
  missionaries when they do get a chance
• 1:02:29
  to come on furlow instead of getting to
• 1:02:31
  spend some time with their family,
• 1:02:32
  they're having to go into more churches,
• 1:02:34
  try to raise support because so many
• 1:02:35
  dropped them while they was gone. Y'all
• 1:02:37
  okay?
• 1:02:39
  >> I don't mean to be
• 1:02:42
  fussing, but I'm just I'm trying to help
• 1:02:45
  y'all. Amen. Help y'all. Picarian
• 1:02:47
  Islands, tell us how many souls are in
• 1:02:49
  the PCaring Islands.
• 1:02:50
  >> 57.
• 1:02:51
  >> Did you hear that? 57 souls. When I've
• 1:02:54
  done this, that was the smallest country
• 1:02:57
  in the world. I looked it up this week.
• 1:03:00
  There's 195 countries in the world right
• 1:03:03
  now. Changes quite often to be honest
• 1:03:05
  with you. When I done this research and
• 1:03:07
  all, that was the smallest one. There's
• 1:03:09
  57 souls. Let me ask you a question. I'm
• 1:03:12
  about done.
• 1:03:14
  You think it'd be a good investment? You
• 1:03:15
  think it'd be worth a family, let's say
• 1:03:19
  the Grubs family. You think it'd be
• 1:03:21
  worth worth them selling their home,
• 1:03:24
  quitting their jobs, spending three
• 1:03:26
  years on deputation,
• 1:03:28
  saying goodbye to family, loved ones,
• 1:03:30
  friends, elderly parents, what it might
• 1:03:33
  whatever it might be. You think it'd be
• 1:03:35
  worth a family moving? I mean, it's
• 1:03:38
  literally in the middle of nowhere. It
• 1:03:40
  used to be British controlled. I think
• 1:03:41
  it may still be British controlled. A
• 1:03:44
  little group of islands. I mean, out it
• 1:03:46
  ain't close to nothing really. You think
• 1:03:48
  it'd be worth a family going through all
• 1:03:51
  of that? Listen, with the best hope of
• 1:03:54
  winning 57 people,
• 1:03:57
  I mean, if that's if everything goes
• 1:04:00
  perfect, the best you can hope for is
• 1:04:02
  win 57 people to God. You think that'd
• 1:04:04
  be worth it? That's a lot of time and
• 1:04:07
  effort and a lot of money. I listen, I
• 1:04:10
  guarantee you this land ain't going to
• 1:04:12
  be cheap when you get there. You talking
• 1:04:14
  about finding a place to rent and live
• 1:04:16
  and have a church? That's going to be
• 1:04:18
  tough. You think that'd be worth it?
• 1:04:21
  Why not? Let's go somewhere where
• 1:04:22
  there's a billion souls.
• 1:04:26
  Let me say this. I know it's only 57,
• 1:04:30
  but can you put a price tag on one?
• 1:04:34
  >> Well, if you lived in the Pit Car
• 1:04:36
  Islands, hey, it's just by the grace of
• 1:04:39
  God you where you're at tonight.
• 1:04:40
  >> That's right.
• 1:04:41
  >> Amen. 57 57 Look down there at the
• 1:04:45
  bottom and tell us the religion. What's
• 1:04:47
  the religion there in the pit carrying
• 1:04:49
  islands?
• 1:04:49
  >> Mormon.
• 1:04:50
  >> Mormon. How much percentage?
• 1:04:53
  >> 100%
• 1:04:54
  Mormon. Let me give you a little
• 1:04:56
  information. The Mormons didn't start in
• 1:04:58
  the Pit Caring Islands. Somebody took it
• 1:05:00
  to them.
• 1:05:01
  >> That's right.
• 1:05:02
  >> Shame on us.
• 1:05:04
  Shame on us. They seen the need to go
• 1:05:07
  and it worked 100%.
• 1:05:11
  Wow. That's convicting right there.
• 1:05:14
  Convicting.
• 1:05:16
  What if God called you to be a
• 1:05:18
  missionary? I hope I've not painted the
• 1:05:21
  picture too black.
• 1:05:24
  That was not my intent tonight.
• 1:05:27
  Is there some darkness to it? Yeah,
• 1:05:29
  there's some sacrifice.
• 1:05:31
  Hey, some hardships.
• 1:05:33
  Hey, some weariness. Guess what? There's
• 1:05:36
  some discouragement going to come with
• 1:05:38
  that.
• 1:05:41
  But what an honor.
• 1:05:43
  >> Oh, help me, Lord. What an honor to give
• 1:05:47
  you life.
• 1:05:49
  I'm reminded somebody gave their life
• 1:05:51
  for me. What about that?
• 1:05:53
  >> What an honor it be to give your life
• 1:05:55
  for the one who died for you and and get
• 1:05:59
  to go somewhere and introduce Jesus
• 1:06:03
  Christ to a group of people that's good
• 1:06:05
  chance may have never heard of him
• 1:06:07
  before. Amen. and live a life of
• 1:06:10
  sacrifice like that. You say, "Preacher,
• 1:06:12
  it's going to be hope so hard, but think
• 1:06:14
  about the judgment seat."
• 1:06:17
  >> Amen.
• 1:06:21
  Not every hero wears a cape.
• 1:06:25
  >> Not every hero has a number on their
• 1:06:28
  jersey.
• 1:06:30
  >> Amen. Some of them carry Bibles and sell
• 1:06:34
  homes and move their families halfway
• 1:06:37
  around the world to tell somebody about
• 1:06:40
  Jesus. [snorts] Amen.
• 1:06:43
  >> That's my crowd. Amen. That's who I
• 1:06:45
  honor. That's who I'm thankful for. They
• 1:06:47
  may never do nothing for me except lay
• 1:06:50
  some fruit up for me on the other side.
• 1:06:52
  I think that's pretty big if you ask me.
• 1:06:55
  What if God called you to be a
• 1:06:57
  missionary? Man, that'd be a decision to
• 1:07:00
  make, would it not? So many things to
• 1:07:02
  consider. Well, God's still calling.
• 1:07:06
  I just don't think many's answering.
• 1:07:09
  >> But I want say thank God for them that
• 1:07:11
  are.
• 1:07:12
  >> Thank God for them that are. And I want
• 1:07:15
  them to know they ain't it by theirel.
• 1:07:18
  There's a group of people here in Walnut
• 1:07:20
  Cove, North Carolina for them. Amen.
• 1:07:23
  >> We love them. We're thankful for them.
• 1:07:25
  We're going to pray for them every
• 1:07:26
  chance that we get and we're going to
• 1:07:28
  try our best to support them the best
• 1:07:30
  way we can with our finances. Amen.
• 1:07:33
  Amen. Because they sure are doing
• 1:07:35
  something for God that we don't have to
• 1:07:38
  do.
• 1:07:39
  Well, if God called you to be a
• 1:07:41
  missionary, Ezekiel said, I sat where
• 1:07:43
  they sat was astonished for seven days.
• 1:07:47
  I think it' been good for us tonight for
• 1:07:50
  hour. Sat where they sat. Get a little
• 1:07:52
  idea what they go through. See what they
• 1:07:55
  see, think what they think, do what they
• 1:07:58
  do. Just a little ideal of it. We got to
• 1:08:02
  do it all here in an airond conditioned
• 1:08:03
  building on a patty pew. Ain't that a
• 1:08:05
  blessing?
• 1:08:06
  >> Father,
• 1:08:08
  help us to be more considerate. Help us
• 1:08:10
  to try to have greater understanding,
• 1:08:13
  Lord, what it would be like if God
• 1:08:15
  called us.
• 1:08:17
  Lord, what an honor it would be.
• 1:08:20
  Lord, I've got three children and 10
• 1:08:22
  grandchildren.
• 1:08:24
  I've often wondered what it would be
• 1:08:26
  like, God, if you called one of my young
• 1:08:28
  ones to be a missionary.
• 1:08:32
  And Lord, it would be it'd be difficult
• 1:08:34
  for the flesh,
• 1:08:36
  God, to see them walk away and move
• 1:08:40
  halfway around the world or wherever it
• 1:08:42
  might be and take my grandbabies.
• 1:08:45
  But Lord, if I know my heart tonight,
• 1:08:49
  what an honor it would be to know that
• 1:08:52
  they're serving you
• 1:08:54
  and gave everything for the cause of
• 1:08:56
  Christ.
• 1:08:58
  I know this, Lord. They'd be safer in
• 1:09:00
  the jungles of nowhere
• 1:09:03
  in the will of God
• 1:09:05
  than if he's on my couch, in my living
• 1:09:07
  room, outside the will of God.
• 1:09:10
  >> Lord, I don't know what you're doing in
• 1:09:12
  our hearts tonight. that don't know what
• 1:09:13
  you're going to do in this meeting.
• 1:09:16
  Lord, please help us to understand a
• 1:09:17
  little more, maybe have a little more
• 1:09:20
  compassion,
• 1:09:21
  maybe even a little more zeal, God,
• 1:09:24
  to see that these missionaries go and
• 1:09:27
  get to where you've called them and
• 1:09:29
  stay. And maybe, Lord, we know a little
• 1:09:32
  bit better about how we can help in
• 1:09:34
  that, Lord. whether it's finances,
• 1:09:37
  praying, or communicating,
• 1:09:41
  speak to hearts as only you can. And
• 1:09:43
  we're going to try our best to thank you
• 1:09:45
  for whatever it is that you do in Jesus
• 1:09:47
  name. Thank you for joining our [music]
• 1:09:49
  service today. We'd love it if you join
• 1:09:51
  us in person the next time you are able
• 1:09:54
  at Meadows Baptist Church. Our physical
• 1:09:57
  address [music] is 2988
• 1:09:59
  Stewart Road in Walnut Cove, North
• 1:10:01
  Carolina. Our service times [music] are
• 1:10:04
  Sunday school at 10:00 a.m., Sunday
• 1:10:06
  morning worship at 11:00 a.m., Sunday
• 1:10:09
  evening worship at 6:00 p.m., and
• 1:10:11
  Wednesday [music] evening Bible study at
• 1:10:13
  700 p.m. For more information, visit us
• 1:10:16
  at meadowsbaptisturch.com. [music]
• 1:10:19
  Thanks again for tuning in.