Dr. John Aker

Several weeks ago, Rose and I, actually several months ago, Rose and I began an in-depth study in the fruit of the Holy Spirit. And I want you to know that's a very challenging study. I don't know if you've ever tried to do that. But as I began, each and every time we looked at one of the nine graces that are cited there, it was though a mirror was being held before me. And before I could say, mirror, mirror on the wall, it seemed to say, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting. I mean, it's just really, it's a tough study, because I see how far short I fall of these graces that are given to us.

So that you know, Paul gives us these in Galatians chapter five, verses 22 and 23. He says the fruit of the Spirit is, and he uses a Greek word karpos, which is singular. And yet, despite the fact that it's singular, he goes on and lists nine distinct qualities that represent the Christ life. And even before I go into them, I want you to understand that I know that our justification is by faith alone. Justification is by faith alone, not faithfulness. And yet too often, we're not reminded that faithfulness is the very evidence of our being justified.

We have to see that, you know, faith means living in accordance with truth. Faithfulness is living in accordance with faith. In other words, our behaving, our behavior is supposed to line up with our belief. And the simple truth is, if we don't live it, we don't believe it. And so I look at these graces, and I call them graces.

And some people might have a little bit of difficulty with that, because we're not really keen as evangelicals on grace. But I know that Lance and I have studied together and actually preached sermons together where we've talked about grace. We've said that there is saving grace, there's sanctifying grace, sustaining grace, strengthening grace. There is also a suffering grace. There is a grace that softens. There's a grace that serves. There's a grace that safeguards. And then there's spousal grace.

So people have trouble with that word grace. Let me give you a simple definition of it. Grace is simply the manifestation of God working in us to accomplish his purposes and his good pleasure. So grace comes in many different forms. As a matter of fact, in Hebrews chapter 4 verse 16, it says that you and I are to draw near boldly with confidence to the throne of grace that we might receive mercy and find grace to help in a time of need. So grace is going to be polka dotted, many different shapes and sizes.

Grace is going to be that which enables us to display to a watching world that God is working in us for his purposes and his good pleasure. You know, as I think of, you know, the nine graces, the one that I want to look at with you today is simply the grace of faithfulness.

And I should tell you that if any of you using the King James Version and you go through the gifts as I suggested them, when you get to love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, the King James Version doesn't use the word faithfulness. It uses the word faith. And the reason for that is the Greek word for faith and faithfulness is exactly the same word. It's the word pistis. You would spell it in English P-I-S-T-I-S. That's the word for faith. It's also the word for faithfulness.

So a lot of it to know what you're talking about, whether we're talking about faith or faithfulness, you really have to examine the context. So I see the word being used in three different ways. I see it being used, first of all, of the gospel, that the gospel is represented by the Greek word pistis, faith.

So that in Galatians chapter six, verse 10, Paul says, as long as we have opportunity, let us do everything we can to do good for others, especially to those who are of the household of faith. And the word that's used there is pistis. So he's saying that we ought to do as much as we can to help those who belong to the people of the gospel. We're the people of the gospel. So in that sense, it's used to describe the gospel itself. Paul uses it in his letter to Titus. In the first chapter, the fourth verse, he refers to Titus as his son, as his true son in our common faith, meaning his son in the gospel.

So when you use the word, when we use that word faith, it refers to the gospel. And it's seen even more clearly in Jude, in the third verse, where Jude says to the believers, let us contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

In other words, let's contend for the gospel. You know, you as a church family, a few moments ago, you prayed for this nation. I have to tell you, I am so upset with the lack of the church to be the church when it comes to what's going on in our country right now.

We, you know, so many people are looking for this person, that person to save. You know, the only one that can save this nation, and the nation right now is hell bound, but the only one that can save it is the Lord Jesus himself. And it's a time for us to really proudly and boldly proclaim the truths of Jesus Christ, that he's the only one. I think of the first time that Lance went with me to Israel, it was his first visit, but it was my second.

And as we came, our aid, a fellow by the name of Moni Ravid, a Jewish fellow and not a believer, not even an observant Jew, but he said this, he said, if the world could only embrace the teachings of Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount, we would find a peaceful world. You know, you prayed for the president, you prayed for the vice president, you prayed for your governor, and you have to understand, you know, we ought to be contending earnestly for the faith, for the gospel. We don't want to tell it to everyone.

You know, we should be a people that can't be silent in any way, shape, or form. You know, you're all familiar with Butker and his speech last week or two weeks ago at the Benedictine College, where he really spoke about biblical masculinity. He elevated the role of womanhood. He spoke about the dignity of life. He actually excoriated the president for daring to make the sign of the cross at an abortion rally. But you know, he contends earnestly, that man, for the faith. So you have to see that when we talk about the word pistis, meaning faith, it speaks about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And then it goes on from there, it speaks not only about the gospel, but it also speaks about the gifts. It's the same word that is used for the gift of salvation. So Paul writes in Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 and 9, and you know that, for by grace you've been saved through faith, by grace you've been saved through faith, through pistis, and that not of yourselves. It's a gift of God, not as a result of works that no one should boast. That's faith. And you know, we divorce that quotation from the next verse, which is really the faithfulness.

For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which he ordained beforehand that we should walk in them. You know, so much of the Epistle of James is about faithfulness, just about faithfulness, the way we're supposed to live. And the truth is, if we're not living it, we can't expect the world to believe that we believe it. So this word for faith refers not only to the gospel, but it refers to the gift, the gift of salvation. And more than that, it refers to the gifts of service.

Let me ask you to turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 12, 1 Corinthians the 12th chapter, beginning at the fourth verse.

Paul says, there are a variety of gifts, but the same Spirit. So it's the Spirit of God who gives the gifts to us. And there are a variety of ministries and the same Lord. And the ministries in which those gifts are exercised are always to lift up the Lord Jesus, lift him up, never the Spirit, but to lift up the Lord Jesus. And then it says, and the varieties of effects are from the same God. So it's the Father who causes these gifts to affect his purposes. So if you look at the gifts, you see that the Trinity is involved.

It's the Spirit that gives the gifts. It's the Lord Jesus for whom those gifts are to be exercised, that he might be exalted. And it's the Father who effects the working of those gifts to accomplish his purposes. And then it says this, but to each one, look up for a minute, that means you, but to each one, the gifts are given for the common good. You have to understand that the gifts are given and that word for the common good, two Greek words, sumpheron, it has the idea of being brought together.

You're the brought together ones. So the gifts are given for the body of Christ. They're given to build up the body of Christ. They're given to be exercised from the body of Christ. The Bible knows nothing at all about lone ranger Christians. We are people who are united by the blood of Christ and we are a people of one body. So it says to each one has been given. So let me ask you a question.

Have you appropriated that gift? He's given it to you. Do you have the gift service? What's your gift of service? And if you read, he goes on and says this, but to each one is given the manifestation of the spirit for the common good for two. One is given the word of wisdom through the spirit, another, the word of knowledge, according to the spirit and to another faith by the same spirit. So faith is one of the gifts that is given by the Holy spirit, not simply saving faith, but the kind of faith that enables men of God to do great things.

Years ago when I was president of Slavic Gospel Association and I had the privilege of speaking at Liberty University and Jerry Falwell took me for a ride in his suburban. He wanted to show me Liberty University and we drove to a field and it was absolutely nothing. And he said, that's the medical school over there. And we drove a little further and he said, and do you see, that's the law school right there. Empty fields, that's all they were. And he said, over there, that's Liberty Mountain. You can see it's lit up.

I didn't see anything but a mountain. 18 months ago I went to visit my granddaughter who's a law student there and I saw the medical school. I saw the law school. I saw Liberty Mountain lit up at night and I saw a mountain nearby and this was in the fall of the year. It was a beautiful fall day, a little warmer than it is here in Southern California today. It was just a lovely fall day. But up on the mountain I could see students that were skiing and snowboarding. I gotta tell you that there are men who have that gift of faith.

They're able to see things that are there because of a God who can make them happen, you know. But that may or may not be your gift. Certainly if you're born again, you've had the gift of salvation for by grace you've been saved. But now in terms of the other gifts, do you know your gift? Because they're given for the common good. You know, at Daniel and Avery's graduation the other night, the commencement speaker said to the students, employ your gifts. Use your spiritual gifts. And Peter writes about that in 1 Peter 4.

And he says, since you've been given gifts, employ them for the good of others. So are you using your gifts within the body? Because as a visitor you can say what many times the preacher won't say. Because if you're not using your spiritual gifts, there's only one word for that and it's sin. God gave you those gifts. You know, I think of the gifts I give to my children or grandchildren. I just want them to appreciate them. I want them to be able to use them for their good and for the good of others.

And I think of our Heavenly Father and he gives these gifts and he wants them to use them for the good of others and for his glory. You've got to know your gifts. And I'll tell you this so you can write it down. Everything you need to know about spiritual gifts is found in four passages of scripture and only four. Scripture will highlight them in many different passages. But if you want to know about the gifts, they're found in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Peter 4. That's it. So this word faith is used to describe the gospel.

It's used to describe the gifts. And then it's used to describe the graces. The graces that are spelled out under the single word karpos, singular, where the gifts are always plural. It speaks to the fruit. It's singular. And let me tell you something.

The gift, the gifts of the Spirit always have to do with service. But the graces spelled out in Galatians chapter 5, they have to do with sanctification. Gifts has to do with what a man does. But the graces have to do with what a man is or what a man is becoming. I will tell you this, that Paul makes it clear that one day all of those gifts are going to cease, but the graces are the very essence of heaven because the graces are of God himself. Let me just prove that to you for a bit.

About a week ago, my wife and I were reading in Spurgeon's Morning and Evening. It was a Saturday morning and we read this, in Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form and you are complete in him. Did you get that? All the fullness of the Godhead rests in Christ and because we're in Christ, we are complete. We have everything that we need for life in Christ, absolutely everything. And it was given to us at the moment of our salvation. There was this great deposit of faith. It was deposited in each and every one of us.

He goes on and says it this way, all the fullness of the Godhead, whatever that marvelous term may comprehend, is ours to make us complete. He cannot, he cannot endow us with the attributes of deity, but he has done all that can be done for he's made even his divine power in his Godhead subservient to our salvation. His omnipotence, his omniscience, his omnipresence, his immutability and his infallibility are all combined for our defense. And later on he goes on and makes seven simple statements.

He says his wisdom is our direction. His instruction, rather his knowledge is our instruction. His power is our protection. His justice is our surety. His love is our comfort. His mercy is our solace and his immutability, his faithfulness is our surety. You can bank on the faithfulness of God. That's the most important thing when you think about it. So when we talk about faith, understand that it speaks first of all of the gospel.

The same word is used to describe very simply the gift of salvation and service, but also these graces, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and safe self-control. They're all there for us. And so the next would be to just look at some illustrations of faithfulness and I think the best place to go is simply illustrations that we find in the person of our father.

So I find his faithfulness in his works. I find it in his word. I find it in his promises and I find his faithfulness in his purpose. Let me tell you about his works.

We don't have time to turn there, but Psalm 104 speaks about the way God created this world. It's absolutely amazing if you think of it. We've had the privilege to travel at all or even to travel in your own state to see all the beauty of God's creation and to think there are people who think it just happened. There's such order, there's such beauty in God's creation. So Psalm 104 spells it out, but it also says he not only created it, he takes care of it. In the early 60s, there was a book that came out of Harvard, a school founded once upon Christian principles, and as you know of late, a school that's not worth anything.

If you have children thinking of going to Harvard, scratch that one off their list. Save yourself some money and save your kids some heartache. But you know, a book came out of Harvard in the early 60s. It was entitled The Unsilent Generation and basically written by the students of Harvard. Basically, they said that the world was created by this old, old person who had a long white flowing robe and an even longer gray beard who created the world and then sat back to watch it blow itself up in its own frenzied hate.

Boy, that's not the picture of my father's world. Psalm 104 says he made it, he takes care of it. Psalm 144, what I just read the other day, says the same thing that he made it and takes care of it. Psalm 145, which I guess I read on Friday, said that thou does open thy hand and thou does give every living being all that it needs. Psalm 147, which I read today, says very, very much the same thing. It says that God favors those who fear him and those who wait on his promises. Let me give you a little lesson on promises if I can.

I may never finish by 10, 15. You don't care, do you? No, because you're not, the next group is the one that goes to lunch, right? So we can go along, but I'm going to try not to do that. But you know, the word promise is something that just, I struggle. I go to a church that only uses the King James Version, and so even when I teach and preach there, I have to use the King James Version. I've never used it. I grew up on the new American standard, and sometimes I don't understand it. And this word loving kindness, loving kindness appears all the time.

Do you know what loving kindness means? I don't really know what it means, but I know what that Hebrew word means. A fellow by the name of Walter Kaiser was my professor of Old Testament theology, and to him, Hebrew was his mother tongue. He wasn't the one he began speaking, but he learned Hebrew and mastered it. And he came to the word chesed, spelled H-E-S-E-D, and he said that word translated loving kindness, translated sometimes mercy, he said that word really means this, the promises of his love, the promises of his love.

I just want you to think about that, because every time you see loving kindness translated the promises of his love, and that means something. I read loving kindness, and I go over it, but when I think about the promises that he's made to me in love, those promises are never going to fail. So I see in terms of his works that he takes care of his work. It's proof of it, the way he does, the way he cares for this world. And if you have trouble, read Psalm 104, read Psalm 144, and 45, read them all, you know, but the fact is you'll see how he cares for his creation.

That's his works. And in terms of his word, Psalm 119 verse 89 says, thy word, O God, is settled forever in the heavens. What did Jesus say? Heaven and earth itself will pass away, but not one jot or tittle of my word will fail. And I think of what Joshua said. I'm at that part in life, you know, I had a hard time getting up. Did you notice that Timothy was talking to me?

Did any of you see him? I couldn't hear a word, and I couldn't hear what Lance was saying either, so Lance had to write it out. But if he had said 10, 15, I could hear it. I wouldn't have paid attention to it anyway. But you know, I'm just getting so much older, and it's hard. It's hard to get up. I was glad to get on my knees because there's not another church that I've been in that asks people to get on their knees. What happens? Most churches, you know, if you read scripture, they stand to pray, they kneel to pray, they get on their face to pray, but they never pray on this.

And most of our churches, that's where we pray. And it's so refreshing when he says, those of you who can, join me on your knees. It's a wonderful thing. So it says here in Joshua chapter 23, verse 14, I love what Joshua says. He says, I'm an old man now.

I'm going the way of all flesh, but you all know within your hearts that not one word of all the good words that God has spoken of you, not one single word has failed, but all has been fulfilled. I want you to know you can count on it. If God says something, you can bank on that.

That's part of his faithfulness, his faithfulness in his works, his faithfulness in his words, and then his faithfulness in his promises. I just, I want to drive that one home. The word hesed, whenever you see loving kindness, please think the promises of his love. So Psalm 92 is a Psalm that I love. It says, it is good to give thanks to the Lord and sing praises to thy name, O most high. Listen to what it says, to declare thy loving kindness in the morning and thy faithfulness at night. I say, what does that mean, Tom?

To declare his loving kindness in the morning. But let me tell you what it means. You know, it is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to thy name, O most high, to claim the promises of your love in the morning and to come back at night and sing your faithfulness to those promises. That's what that means. It's a beautiful thing. God's made promises. What have you claimed besides John 3, 16? Can you point to a promise and say, it's yours? Chuck Swindle, you know, used to minister down the road.

He's now in Texas. You know, he said there were 7,474 promises in the word of God. I don't know whether that's true. He never counted them. Don't kid yourself. But, you know, I don't know how many there are. But I know as many as there are, Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1, verse 21, they are all yes in Christ. Those promises are for you and for me, every one of them. So I look at those promises and I thank God for them.

You know, I love that psalm. It's one that I claim because I find that most people don't have daily devotions. And I need daily devotions. I need in the beginning of the day to set up the net through which every thought, every word, and every deed is going to filter. I need to be reminded at the beginning of the day what it's all about. And years ago, I came across a poem and I sort of adapted it. Oh, now you see my age. No, you didn't have to get up and help me. Just sit there. Stay comfortable.

Listen to this. I met God in the morning when the day was at its best. And his presence came like dawning with the glory in my breast. Oh, my soul did his presence bless. All day long he stayed with me and we sailed in perfect calmness where many a troubled sea. Other ships were blown and battered. Other ships were sore distressed. But the winds that left them scattered brought to me true peace and rest. Then I thought of other mornings with a keen remorse of mine when I too had loosed the moorings and his presence left behind.

So I now have learned the secret from many a troubled way. You must seek him in the morning if you'd have him through the day. You know, it is good to give thanks to the Lord and sing praises to thy name, O Most High, to claim the promises of your love in the morning and come back at night and say, You did it, God. You did it. You know, we need more of that in the church. What would it do to? How can I get you excited about that? I'm looking out at faces that I can't move you. But I got to tell you, I am moved by his promises because I'm not where Joshua is.

But I can tell you, God has done more for me than I could ever believe, than I ever asked for. So that's his promises. In terms of his purposes, I love this. In Psalm 138 verse 8, he says this, David says, Thou wilt accomplish what pertains to me, O God. He says this, for the promises of your love are forever. There it is again, for your loving kind. Thou wilt accomplish what pertains to me. So God's purposes in my life are going to be fulfilled not because of me, certainly not because of me, but because he's faithful.

So as I look at this fruit that God wants manifest in my life, he wants me to be fruitful, and he has shown me in his own life, he's fruitful in his works, fruitful in his word, fruitful in his promises, and fruitful in his purpose.

And I just love that. And then if I leave my father, I want to think about the people that have gone before me, who have been faithful. I can point to my mother and father. They came to Christ later in life, but I know they were faithful. I know Lance's parents came to life later in life, came to faith later in life, and they were faithful. And so we can look at them, but you know, turn with me for a minute to 2 Corinthians chapter 11.

Otherwise you'll say I didn't get you in the book. So 2 Corinthians chapter 11. You should have been there by now.

Beginning at the 21st verse, this is what Paul said, To my shame I must say that we have been weak by comparison, but in whatever respect anyone else is bold, I speak in foolishness. I am just as bold myself. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? I am as well. Are they descendants of Abraham? Me too. Are they servants of Christ? I speak as if insane. I am more so. And then he says this, In far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death.

Five times I received from the Jews 39 lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I've spent in the deep. I've been on frequent journeys, in dangers from river, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on this. I mean, you can keep going. You understand, he was faithful. So I look at what's happening in this world today.

You understand that Christianity is under attack in this country by our president, by our vice president, by your governor. Our Christianity is under attack and Christians need to wake up about that. We need to be able to take a stand about that instead of saying, I can't talk about that in church because it's politics. It's not politics. It's theology. You can't thumb your nose at the God of heaven and do that with impunity. God is not going to allow that to happen. And so I look at what's happening and I believe that Christianity is going to come under attack, perhaps in my lifetime.

I see what's going on with the Jews. And I watched so many of the Holocaust movies because the name of our company is Acre Caston. Well, the Acres are evangelical Christians and the Castons are Holocaust survivors. And we took care of Mr. and Mrs. Caston until they died. And Herman had the numbers right there. His oldest daughter was born in the camp. His youngest daughter is married to my brother. So I see the Jews and all that's going on. I wonder, will I be someone, if it really comes to that, I can't believe they're shouting in America, death to the Jews.

And I don't hear any of the Christian leaders out there condemning that. But if that were to happen, am I one that's willing to go on the line? Am I willing to put my life on the line for the Jew? It becomes important to me as I think of it. I look at what Paul suffered and I'm saying, will I be faithful?

They're God's people, not to our exclusion. He chose them, not to our exclusion, because in the first promise to Abraham, he says, in you, all the nations, all the goyim, and we are the goyim.

All right. All the Gentiles are going to be saved. I see that. But am I going to be faithful during that time? So I look at them.

Just turn to Hebrews 11 for a minute. Hebrews chapter 11. Now remember, we are justified by faith, not faithfulness. Faithfulness, however, is the manifestation that you've been justified by faith. If there's no faithfulness, then you have to ask whether there's really been saving faith. But so when it comes to this, as I look in Hebrews 11 verse 4, by faith Abel, verse 5, by faith Enoch, verse 7, by faith Noah, verse 8, by faith Abraham, and on and on. Verse 11, by faith even Sarah. And then it says in verse 13, all these died in faith.

They died in their faithfulness to what they believed. Faith is living in accord with truth. Faithfulness is living in accordance with faith. So my faith governs how I'm supposed to act. Then my faithfulness is proof of that. My life ought to say this guy is saved because of his faithfulness to Jesus and his word. That's the simplicity of it. So I look at that and I see people like that.

And I remember years ago, having a young man by the name of Stephen Green come to our church and he sang. He sang this song. He said, we're pilgrims on the journey of the narrow road and those who've gone before us line the way. Cheering the faithful, encouraging the weary, their lives are stirring testament to God's sustaining grace. Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful. May the fire of our devotion light their way. May the footprints that we leave lead them to believe and the lives we live inspire them to obey.

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful. I have three daughters, 23 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren. I gotta tell you, I want to be faithful because they're coming behind. And he continues and says this, surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, the ones that have gone before let us run the race, not only for the prize, but as those who've gone before us. Let us leave to those behind us the heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives. After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone and our children sift through all we left behind, may the clues they discover and the memories they uncover become the light that leads them to the road we each must find.

Faithful. I look at that and I want to be faithful. I want to be faithful, especially for them. So we looked at the faithfulness of our Father, the faithfulness of the followers of the Lord Jesus, and then I want to make it practical for you. Actually, you didn't pick it up. I had five points today. The first was introduction, the second was my instruction, the third was the illustrations, and this is the fourth.

The fourth is simply the implications. The implications are godward and heavenward. I'm sorry, godward and manward. Here are the implications of that godward. In 1 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 2, Paul says, moreover of a steward it is required that one be found, can you tell me what the word is going to be? Faithful. Of a steward it's required that one be found faithful. So the old preachers used to talk about your time, your talent, and your treasury. You remember that? They speak about time, talent, and treasury.

That's not old-fashioned. God wants you to be faithful in your time because in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 16, it says let's be redeeming the time. Let's make the most of our time. Are we using our time? You know what Lance told me yesterday? One-third of all Americans are playing games on their, video games on their phone.

Are you one of them? That ain't redeeming your time. You know every once a week I get something that flashes up on my phone and it says this, your hours on the screen this week were such and such, you were either up or down by this percentage. Do any of you get that? Can you imagine if your bible did that? It'd be pretty telling wouldn't it? So in terms of God word, I have to remember to be faithful in terms of my time. I have to be faithful in terms of my talents. The gifts that God has given me, I've got to be willing to use and the gifts that he's given you, you have to use as well for the common good.

For this is the common good here and works that emanate from it, but for the common good. So in terms of my time, in terms of my talent, and in terms of my treasury. Turn with me to 1st Corinthians 16 for a minute.

1st Corinthians 16 says this in the first verse, now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also.

So Paul is saying as it comes to giving, here are some principles for you. First of all, on the first day of every week, that's today, your giving and my giving need to be a priority.

First day of the week and then let each one of you, that's very personal, each and every one of us, the giving has to be personal and my wife and I try to be very, I mean it has to be priority, but it has to be personal.

So Rose heard about your roof, and we're not members of this church, but you know God's given us money and he's given us to give away. I have to tell you, if there's anything, in the past when I never had a lot of extra money as an army chaplain, I didn't have a lot of extra money because I had three girls growing up, but now God's chosen to give me extra money. Do you know if there's any good thing about having extra money? You know what it is Tom? Giving it away, giving it away, it's the best thing you can do with it.

There's nothing that satisfies, there's nothing you can buy that is as pleasant as being able to give your money to someone that needs it. So you guys need a roof and our church in Florida is a brand new building and it's 93 degrees there right now, you know, but here's the thing, your giving has to be a priority, it has to be very personal, and then it says this, on the first day of the week, priority, let each one of you personal, put aside and save, it has to be planned.

You got to plan your giving, you plan everything else, you plan on your retirement, you plan your vacations, plan your giving, and then it says this, put aside and save as he may prosper. Your gift is supposed to be proportional, it's supposed to be an indication of how God has blessed you. So our church last year had a, what they call faith promise, you know, in all of my 40 years of ministry, I never had a faith promise, that's something that you ask the people to say, well we're having our missionary conference and we want to increase it, so what we want you to do is to think about how much God is going to give you this year, and you'll just say, God I'm going to trust you to give me an extra number of dollars each month, and I'm going to give that to the mission cause of the church.

I really never did that, I felt it was, you know, maybe a little gimmicky, I don't know, I hope you, I don't, do you do it here? Because I want to be careful I don't get in trouble, but you know, I never did it, and so the pastor put out a plea, and Rose and I, there are some missionaries that we support on our own, including the missionary church and the family that we go to, that we pay, that we support apart from that, and it's fun to support these missionaries and get their reports personally, it's really great, and so we decided, let's, let's do it, so we made a pledge, and it's only as God prospers you, and I wasn't looking for anything, I'm going to be honest with you, I don't, I don't like these guys on television say, oh I'm going to send you my miracle water, and you're going to get x number of dollars, that's a lot of garbage, don't believe it, but this is not, as God prospers, and a couple weeks later, I received a check for thousands of dollars, because I had left USAA, my insurance company for years, because I was an army officer, I left them to go to all state, but USA had what was called the savings account, and I didn't know about that, and all of a sudden I get this huge, someone that more than covered anything, I just want, you know, trust God, I'm not saying he's going to give you thousands, maybe I shouldn't have used that illustration, maybe it was a poor one, and if it was, forgive me, but the reality of it is, trust God, because he's faithful, so the God, who said that, just say it again, you're, you know, you're the only one awake here today, just you and me, all right, so listen, it's God worth, we want to be faithful in the use of our time, our time, in terms of our talents, in terms of our treasure, and in terms of talking to other people about Jesus, it's really important, and sometimes you don't get a chance to talk to them, I'm going to go a couple minutes long, don't tell Lance, he won't know the difference, but don't tell, let me just tell you, when I visited my granddaughter at Liberty, Jonathan Falwell was speaking, and he said, down in Liberty, down in Lynchburg, there's a street called Ward Street, where all the panhandlers are, with their signs, I guess you have them out here too, we have a lot of them in Florida, and he said, so he got tired of, you know, going down there without any money, so he kept a roll of bills in his car, so Rose and I talked about it, and in our cars, we put a roll of five dollar bills, I think we had to change, you can't buy much with five dollars anymore, you can't even buy a happy meal, you know, so, but we put this roll of bills, and then we had a little card, and the card said, you know, it's a joy to be able to give you this in Jesus' name, because he loves you, and he cares for you, and he's calling out to you right now, and we flipped it over, we had some scripture verses, you know, the other day, I was out with my nurse, two weeks ago, I was out with my nurse, and on the corner was a young man, and he was one of the panhandlers, I said, nurse, here, take this, and so he gave him the five with this little piece of paper, done it so many times, then I watch this young guy go over and sit down, and read the card, I get this, only time I've seen it, but it's worth it, let me tell you something, I know a lot of them buy drugs, I know a lot of them drink booze with it, I know all that, but God's not holding me responsible for what they do, but he's holding me responsible for the little people that he says, I ought to be willing to give a glass of cold water, and if only one person comes to faith because of that, that's well worth it, isn't it, it's more than worth it, so I want you to know, God word, you know, you've got to be faithful in your time, your talent, your treasures, and in talking to other people about Jesus, because you and I are surrounded by people who are hurting, and hell bound, and the last is man word, got to be faithful man word, so in Ecclesiastes 9 verse 10, Solomon says this, whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, in other words, when you're out there in the workplace, give your boss your very best, he may be an unbeliever, but you're called upon to give him your best, so someone asked this businessman, and I heard this just recently, how many people work for you, how many people do you have working for you, he said about 70%, in other words, there are a lot of them that aren't working, but don't be one of them, you know, you have to do that, so in the hurried and hurried walls of the marketplace, you need to be faithful, you need to be best, because you're calling yourself by the name of Jesus, can I tell you something, some of the people that we hire, and we have right now, before COVID, we had 185 people working for us, now we have 115 since COVID, but you know, some of the ones that are the toughest to work with are the ones that are professing Christians, isn't that sad, so if you call yourself by the name of Christ, you need to be the best in your place of work, so that's in the hurried and hurried halls of the marketplace, but listen, in the hallowed halls of your home, you have to be faithful, you really have to be faithful, you know, it is not Lance's job, or AJ's job to raise your kids, as a matter of fact, there's nothing at all in the Bible about Sunday school, there's nothing at all in the Bible about a youth ministry, it's not there at all, they are not to replace what you do, they're just there to reinforce what you do, it's your responsibility, God said it this way, through Moses, he said, hear oh Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might, and these words which I'm commanding you today, shall be in your heart, and then you shall teach them to your children, when you sit down in your house, when you walk by the way, when you rise up, when you lie down, put them as signs on your hands, and frontals on your forehead, write them on the gates of your home, I'm sorry, on the door posts of your home, and on your gates, it's your job, and you have to be faithful in doing that, you can't leave it to somebody else, and so many others, so many people are saying, like with your grandchildren, I mean some of you, I don't think you have children at home at your age, right, you know, but I mean some of us that are older, we're still involved in the life of our children, our grandchildren, and our great-grandchildren, we need to be there reminding them of what Christ is all about, up in Lance's studies, a book my wife wrote called Legacy, and it's a book that she wrote for the children, the grandchildren, you know, and she makes a point, a legacy is not something you leave, a legacy is something you live, and some people say, well, they're just little, yeah, Lori was three years old when she gave her life to Christ, your pastor's wife was three years old, she'd just been treated in New York for three weeks, in a New York, because of her sickness, in three weeks in a Chicago hospital, Dr.

Leon Robin walked up to me and said, Lieutenant Acre, I'm not sure you realize how sick your daughter is, the campus crusade worker by the name of John Vaughter shared the gospel with her, three years old, she accepted Christ, she's 58, maybe I'm not supposed to tell you that, but you know, she's 58, and walking with the Lord, you know, you have to do it when they're little, you know, I don't, I go to churches, I don't see people carrying their Bibles, I see them carrying the stupid phones, and the stupid iPads, can I tell you something about that stupid phone, do you know how many times stuff comes on that phone, that would lead me away from Christ, images and stuff, that's never happened when I opened the Bible, never, little kids, when they're three or four, you see them walking, I know they can't read, but they're learning that book is sacred, so one wag wrote this, said a precious little laddie to his father one bright day, may I give myself to Jesus, let him marsh my sins away, oh my son, but you're so little, wait until you older grow, bigger folks is true, do need him, but little folk are safe, you know, said the father to his laddie, as a storm was coming on, are the sheep all safely sheltered, safe within the fold my son, all the big ones are my father, but the lambs, I let them go, for I didn't think it mattered, little ones are safe, you know, they're not, so again, years ago, when my kids were little, I made a copy of this, and I've carried it with me, it was a sheep, by the way, he said 10, 15, then he, when I looked at him, kind of puzzled, he said 10, 20, just so you know that, it was a sheep, not a lamb that strayed, and the parable Jesus told, a grown-up sheep that had gone away from the 99 in the fold, out in the meadows, out in the cold, it was a sheep the good shepherd sought, back to the flock and into the fold, it was a sheep the good shepherd brought, and why for this sheep, should we earnestly long, and so earnestly hope and pray, because there's danger, if they go wrong, they will lead the young lambs astray, for lambs will follow the sheep, you know, wherever the sheep may stray, if the sheep go wrong, it will not be long, till the lambs are as wrong as they, so with the sheep, so with you sheep, I earnestly plead, for the sake of your lambs today, for if the lambs are lost, what a terrible cost, a sheep will have to pay, faithfulness, Godward and manward, because our father was faithful, in his works and in his word, in his promises and in his purpose, because those who followed him, were faithful, and they looked to a reward, so that Moses could say, I count the reproaches of Christ's greater riches, than all of Egypt, that's the reward, Jesus says, for you and me, in Revelation chapter 22, verse 10, I think, he says, it's not verse 10, he said, but I am coming quickly, behold, I'm coming quickly, and my reward is with me, to render to every man, according to what he has done, no, we're saved by faith, but faithfulness proves that we're saved, let's pray, father, thank you again, for your goodness to us today, thank you for saving grace, thank you for keeping grace, thank you for these graces, that speak of the life of Christ within us, and I just pray for the sheep today, that we will strive to be faithful, father, the introduction, the instruction, the illustration, the implications, but the fifth eye is I, what am I going to do about the areas of my life, where I am not, where I'm not now, faithful as I ought to be, spirit of God, please speak to us, and I pray your blessings on these, I pray, especially the grace of faithfulness, now and until the Lord Jesus comes again, as he most surely will, amen.