Countdown to Pentecost

Well, brethren, God's early spring holy days for 2018 are officially over as of sunset last night. To pass over the night to be much observed in the days of Unleavened Bread are in the history books. We examined ourselves. Once again, we acknowledged our acceptance of Christ as our Savior, our personal Savior. We sought repentance for our sins, and God was surely gracious to grant us repentance. According to our sincere hearts and minds, God does look at the heart. He does look deeply into our hearts to see why we do the things we do. We put 11 out of our homes and quarters, indicating our sincere desire to put sin out of our lives.

We ate Unleavened Bread throughout the days of Unleavened Bread, ingesting Unleavened Bread symbolic of our desire to have Christ live in us and to become like Him. Our desires and our intentions have been good, perhaps very good, but what about now? Our desire and good intentions enough. Is that enough? Or is there something more required? God's early spring holy days are over, but God's spring holy days are not completely over. There's a latter part to God's spring holy days.

The countdown to Pentecost has begun. What are we to be focusing on for the next 43 days? Pentecost is Count 50, and it starts from the Sabbath during the days of Unleavened Bread, which was last week. So we're already in to our countdown to Pentecost.

Should we consider these next six weeks before Pentecost? What should we all be doing as we count down to Pentecost? Why count 50 days to Pentecost? Well, mostly because God tells us we need to. That's what Pentecost means. It means count 50, and we're supposed to do that to get to the proper day.

But of course, there are other reasons for numbering the days and counting them. So let's just ask ourselves, what are those reasons? There may be a number of reasons. We know that the main pouring out, the giving of God's Holy Spirit, occurred on the day of Pentecost after Christ's death and resurrection.

The disciples were to wait in Jerusalem until Pentecost so that they might receive the gift of God's Holy Spirit. On Pentecost, Christ's disciples, not just the twelve apostles, but all of His true followers, gathered together on Pentecost and were given the wonderful gift of God's Spirit, they did receive power from on high.

Now, they had within them the power of God's very Spirit. A Spirit not of fear, but again of power and of love and of a sound mind. The New Testament church began on Pentecost after Christ was crucified and resurrected to eternal life. Christ, we know, now sits at the right hand of the Father. He makes intercession for us. That means He intercedes on our behalf because He knows that we're not yet perfect. None of us are perfect.

We've been called. We've been chosen. We are remaining faithful and hopefully we will continue to remain faithful, but we're not yet perfect. So Christ intercedes for us as is necessary. God grants us repentance depending on our heart, how we approach things. So certainly our intent is very important. Our heart is very important, but God also says we have to be doers of His law and not just hearers only. And certainly not just with our words professing, because we know some people profess many things, but they really aren't authentic.

Christ said, how be it in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men? Now, tremendous transformations were taking place because of God's Spirit. That first Pentecost, when the New Testament church began, the Apostle Peter, for example, was completely transformed into a courageous warrior after having denied Christ three times, the night that Christ was taken and crucified.

Miraculous healings were now commonplace in the early days of the New Testament church, as recorded in the book of Acts. We're all inspired by those early chapters in the book of Acts, especially when God's Spirit was so powerful in His disciples, His apostles. Shackles and chains were simply falling off of those disciples who were placed in prison because of their faith, because of their belief, belief in God and in Christ. Christ as the Savior of the world. They were guided out of prison by angels.

So those were certainly miraculous happenings at that time. The world was truly being turned upside down by the Spirit-led former fishermen, carpenters, tax collectors. And again, it wasn't just the 12 apostles. It was the 120 that were there on the day of Pentecost. But then it spread. 3,000, 5,000 were baptized.

And God's Spirit was moving mightily in many people at that time. But what do all those happenings of the early church have to do with us today? The answer? We, too, are Christ's disciples. We are Christ's disciples just as surely as those men and women were Christ's disciples back then. And certainly Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Now, that doesn't mean that everything is going to happen exactly as it did back then. Those were unique times.

God was acting in miraculous ways, establishing His New Testament church, showing that He was with those men and women, encouraging them so much so that many laid their lives down for what they believed. But we are Christ's disciples just as surely today.

And, you know, I was reflecting yesterday that it seems to me that God must be pleased with the people who have been observing His holy days, the Sabbath, the high days, striving to keep the commandments, striving to put sin out of their lives, striving to become unleavened for 40, 50, 60 years in many cases. I mean, we've had a rough history in the church of God, but when I look around, I see some very faithful people as well. And that's very encouraging to me. So when I look at the Bible and I see really very few examples of men and women who were faithful for 40, 50, 60 years, you know, you just don't see a lot of that in the Bible. I have to think that God is pleased with His disciples today and that God does look down and is thankful for all of us that He's called, that He's chosen, and that are remaining faithful. So I'm encouraged by the fact that I see as many people as I do today, and many of you have been around a long time, and many of you will be around a long time. Maybe you're young right now. Maybe you're a child in God's Church. But I believe that many of you will also be faithful, because this is important to you. It's everything to you. It means so much to you. And the parents are teaching their children, and God is calling our children as well.

Now, as I mentioned, a lot of us have been baptized for quite a while. In what ways has the Holy Spirit transformed us? That's a good question to ask. In what ways has God transformed us? What fruit have we produced by the power of God's Holy Spirit dwelling within us?

Are we still walking in the flesh, as we were certainly before God opened our minds and showed His truth? Or are we now primarily walking in the Spirit? Are we producing the works of the flesh, or the works of God's Holy Spirit, evidence that we have repented and that God is working in us and through us? Let's go to Galatians chapter 5, and let's contrast and look at the works of the flesh and the works of the Spirit. Let's strive to be honest with ourselves in regard to the example that we set in this way. Now, I'd like to begin in verse 16, and these are important verses.

Paul writes, I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

See, I believe that the countdown to Pentecost is calling all of us to walk in the Spirit.

We are to be walking in the Spirit, and we should stir up the Spirit of God within us as we move toward Pentecost every year. As we go from Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread, we need to be stirring up the Spirit of God and walking in the Spirit more faithfully than ever.

I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh, because if you're walking in the Spirit, you cannot be fulfilling the lust of the flesh. Not at the same time. They're incompatible. So we need to be walking in the Spirit, for the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. There is a battle going on. Paul wrote about that battle in Romans 6, 7, and 8. The baptismal chapter, and then 7 and 8 that follows it.

That's where Paul said, O wretched man that I am, who's going to deliver me from this body of death? Because Paul struggled, even many years after his conversion, he still struggled with the flesh, because the flesh is weak. The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak, and there is a battle that's going on. But we can have victory, and we will have victory if we wage warfare the way we're supposed to, the way the Bible shows us to, and guides us and directs us to do. We can have victory over sin. It doesn't mean we'll be perfect, but we have that intercessor who intercedes when we do fall short if we have a repentant heart and mind. So let's continue reading.

The flesh lusts against the Spirit, the Spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary to one another so that you do not do the things that you wish. Isn't that what Paul said? The things I don't want to do, I do, and you know, this is what he's saying here again. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. You're not under the penalty of the law. The wages of sin is death. That's what we all deserve. But we're not under that penalty. If we've accepted Christ as our personal Savior, if we've accepted Him and the sacrifice that He has given for us, then His blood has covered us. It has covered our sins. Christ was resurrected. He's now at the right hand of God. He now lives in us by the power of the Spirit of God Almighty. God and Christ have the same Spirit, Holy Spirit. They've given us that down payment, that earnest that seals us until the resurrection, the first resurrection referred to as the better resurrection. So this is a high and a special and a holy calling, not one that we should take lightly or take for granted. This is important. So God says, if you are led by the Spirit, you're not under the law. You're not under the penalty of that law because you've been forgiven your sins. And as long as you stay faithful and continue to fight the good fight, as many of you have done for many, many years, then your future is secure and God is with you. But again, we can't take things lightly. We can't take sin lightly. We can't play games with God. God's not interested in playing games. He wants genuine people who truly have surrendered to Him. Now, the works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, fornication, any type of sexual immorality, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions. These are things that easily beset us as human beings. Some of us have more trouble with some things than we do with others, but we all have trouble with these works of the flesh.

None of us are immune. Sin easily besets us. We have to fight against sin. We have to draw near to God. If we draw near to God, then Satan will flee from us. He won't be able to tempt us nearly as much. Even then, it's not easy. We still have to overcome ourself. We have to overcome Satan's temptations as well. Envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like. Anything that's like it, it's all included. It's not an exhaustive list. There are other ways to sin. There are other works of the flesh, and it's all included here. And he says, of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Now, that's very absolute. If you practice these things, you're not going to inherit the kingdom of God. So we have to be practicing the fruit of the Spirit. We have to be walking in the Spirit, not in the flesh. We can slip. We can fall at times. But we must not be practicing these things. We have to be overcoming. To He who overcomes, will I grant to sit with me on my throne? John says that many times in the book of Revelation. To He who overcomes, that's important. We have to be overcoming. We have to be moving in the right direction.

And we do need to be walking in the Spirit. And he says in verse 22, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering. You know, I've gone through all of these many times. I guess I preach a lot on this topic because to me it's likely the most important topic. We need to be producing the fruit of God's Holy Spirit. That's how we will be known. We're known by our love, right? That tops the list. But all the other attributes as well are fruit. All of these are fruit of God's Spirit, and we need to be producing all of the fruit of God's Spirit. We need to be growing in love, in joy, in peace, in long suffering, in kindness, in goodness, in humility. We need to be growing in all of these things, in self-control. I mean, this is a lifelong struggle. I mean, we need an entire lifetime to work on these things. Maybe that's why God allows some of us to get as old as we are, because we really need to, you know, we need a lot of time. Hopefully, I'll probably live to be at least 185 or 90. But we do need, we really do need to work on this. God is certainly helping us through this, but it is a struggle. It's a battle. And faithfulness.

God wants us to grow in faithfulness. God wants to be able to count on us. He wants to know who we are.

Going on, it says in verse 24, well, it says, against such there is no law. Of course not. These are the... this is what God wants us to do. He wants us to produce the fruit of His Spirit. He doesn't want us to walk in the flesh. There is law against walking in the flesh.

But there is no law against walking in the Spirit. Verse 24, and those who are Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. They have crucified the flesh. I believe, again, that is a lifelong battle to crucify the flesh, to put it to death and to keep it dead.

We have to continue to battle.

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

If you claim to have God's Holy Spirit, if you believe that you are a converted man and woman of God, then walk in the Spirit. Stir up the Spirit within you and walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited. Let us not be prideful, provoking one another and envying one another. Now, that isn't what God wants to see. He wants to see some harmony when He looks at this congregation. He wants to see a harmonious body of His people, humbly working together, forgiving each other, doing that which is right and pleasing in His sight, and really just working together in a way that would be very, very pleasing to Him. So, yes, I would encourage all of us to do better. I need to do better. I'm assuming you probably need to do a little better. We can all do better, and we should prod ourselves. We shouldn't get down on ourselves. We should rise to the challenge. Rise to the challenge. Don't allow yourself to get discouraged, but learn to rise to the challenge. God is the one that does the work in us, but we do have to submit to Him.

And so, we have to continually fight the good fight. We can't do this on our own. We can't earn our salvation, but we do need to strive to do these things and apply these things in our lives. Again, doers of the law, they are justified. So, we are being judged by the fruit that we are producing on a daily basis. Yes, we are being judged. Judgment has begun at the house of God. That's what the Scripture says. Judgment has begun upon the house of God. Those whom God is calling now, who are the temple of His Spirit, God is judging us. He's judging us by the fruit that we're producing. What type of fruit are you consistently producing? Okay, you know the answer to that better than I do. You know what you are consistently producing. I know what I'm consistently producing, and I believe I need to do better. I believe I can do better with God's help. I believe that I will do better with God's help. So, we are being judged by the fruit that we produce.

It is important, again, that we realize this is a high and a holy calling. It's worth the battle. It's worth the fight. It's worth the struggle. God has sealed His faithful servants for the resurrection to eternal life. When Christ returns, the first resurrection will take place. Those who are dead will first rise in Christ. They will rise. As Christ is returning, they will rise to meet Him in the air. And those who are alive will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. At the last trumpet, everything will be more than worth all the effort, and all the struggles, and all the trials that we've gone through when Christ returns. A profitable servant will be found doing good works at Christ's return when the Father sends His Son back to establish His government and His kingdom upon this earth. We are truly saved by grace, as I've mentioned already. I hope we all understand that fully. We don't deserve eternal life.

We deserve eternal death. That's what we deserve.

But because God is gracious, He saves us by His grace.

We shall enter God's kingdom by grace. Eternal life is a gift. It's a gift that God wants to give His children. He desires it. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. That's God's will. That's His desire. Of course, He doesn't force that upon anyone. We are free moral agents, and we do get to choose. But producing the fruit of God's Spirit in our life is something that we should be focusing on these next six weeks as we lead up to Pentecost. As I mentioned, those consistently and habitually practicing sin, producing the works of the flesh, as we cataloged in Galatians 5, walking in the flesh, unrepentant, shall ultimately be cast into the lake of fire. That's what the Scripture says, that if we habitually practice sin and we don't repent of our sins, then we will be cast into a lake of fire.

There are many Scriptures that point that out, even though many people tend to... some people believe in salvation for everyone, but when I read the Bible, I read so many Scriptures that I can't get past. Some will choose. Some will be unyielding. They will not yield. They will not surrender.

And God will have to cast them into a lake of fire because they've hardened themselves, and they've allowed Satan to work in their lives, and they have not repented, and they will be cast into a lake of fire.

Notice the very sobering, thought-provoking parable that Christ gave before his death, the parable of the barren fig tree. Let's go to Luke chapter 13 and consider this parable.

Consider what Christ is saying here. Let's first look at the context. We'll start in verse 1. Christ says, there were present at that season some who told him Christ about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

And Jesus answered and said to them, Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered such things?

I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

For those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwell in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Now, this is a consistent theme for Jesus Christ.

If we don't repent, we will perish. Repentance is required. God grants repentance.

God looks on our heart. God looks at us. He judges us. He decides. He determines.

Christ and the Father, they will judge us. They will work together in judging us.

Christ intercedes for us. He says, I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Repentance means to change. It means to overcome. It means to grow.

It means to fight that good fight and stay faithful in fighting the good fight and never giving up. Now, notice verse 6. He also spoke this parable. A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and he found none.

Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree. In other words, I've been patient. I've been patient. I've been looking for some fruit here, but I found none. Cut it down.

Why does it use up the ground? It's useless. It was created to produce good fruit.

It reminds me of a scripture in Ephesians that says we are God's workmanship, and we are created for good works.

It's very similar, isn't it? But he answered and said to him, Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. He was not ready to give up on it yet. The groundskeeper was not ready to give up on it. And if it bears fruit, well, but if not, after that, you can cut it down. Now, no doubt they were working together, weren't they?

The owner of the vineyard and the keeper of the vineyard and the people that were working together to help it produce fruit, they were going to give it a little more time.

To me, this is a very poignant parable.

I believe it speaks to each and every one of us.

God has given us time to change, to repent, to stay faithful, to fight the good fight. We have a certain period of time. Judgment is upon us now. Who knows how long we have? We don't know how long we have. So obviously it behooves us to get our house in order and keep it in order.

Because we do not know the day of our death. We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow.

But we do know that God is faithful. And we know that if we are faithful, we really have nothing to worry about. Because God is faithful and He keeps His promises.

But if we're not bearing fruit, if there's anyone here that is not bearing fruit, is just going through the motions, is not really committed, then I'm especially talking to you.

I'm especially talking to you. I'm talking to all of us, but I'm especially talking to those who are practicing sin, that are habitually sinning. I don't know where God exactly how God judges it all, either. None of us do. How much does He allow? He looks at our heart.

Some people I know struggle with some things for years and years. And they continue to struggle for 20 or 30 years. In some cases, I mentioned a man that I knew in God's church in a different area who said he struggled with a lustful mind and some actions for many, many years, for 30 or 40 years. It wasn't something, but he kept fighting against it.

And finally, God took it away or He overcame it or whatever, but He said it was no longer a struggle for him. He no longer had a problem with it. So I think we all need to look at ourselves honestly, genuinely, and consider our spiritual condition. Are we walking in the Spirit?

Are we truly walking in the Spirit? Are we producing the fruit of God's Spirit?

Or are we a little too much like the barren fig tree? And we're not producing the kind of fruit that we need to be producing. Maybe our priorities aren't where they should be. Maybe our focus isn't where it should be. Maybe we're squandering our lives like the prodigal son.

I would say go to God. Pray about these things. Ask God to show you where you are.

Ask Him to show you anything that you might need to repent of.

And ask Him to stir up His Spirit within you, that you might produce more fruit and that you might be more pleasing to Him.

In Luke 12, verse 48, you don't need to go here because I'm just going to refer to a principle that's given here. The principle is, for everyone to whom much is given from Him, much will be required. When God gives you His truth, and He opens up your mind to His truth, you have been given a great deal. You are accountable for that truth.

To the degree that you respond, you shall be blessed. I believe that that's in the Bible, that there will be blessings if we respond to these things. If we write God's laws in our hearts and in our minds, if we surrender ourselves to God, there will be tremendous blessings. Not always in the physical sense. Sometimes, I believe, God surely blesses us physically. Many times He does. There are many physical blessings that we enjoy, but the most important blessings are spiritual ones. Peace of mind, spiritual contentment, being able to cope with trials and problems and not worrying so much, but truly having faith and trusting in God.

To whom much is given, much will be required, and to whom much is committed of Him, they will ask the more. So, I believe that we have been committed a great deal. We've been given a great truth that we have to deal with. And we should be grateful because we have an opportunity to be in the better resurrection, to be changed in the Spirit at Christ's return.

So, there is great reward for those who are called now. So, again, we should look at it in a positive way, as knowing, and most importantly, just having faith that God will see us through.

The strength comes from God. It doesn't come from us.

God is our strength. God is our refuge. God is who we need to place our trust and our faith in.

We have to do our part, but God will also help us. He will fight our battles for us when necessary.

We have to fight some of our own battles, but God will also intervene as needed, according to our faith. So, God does expect His children to be bearing good fruit.

In Isaiah chapter 5, let's go there for a moment. Isaiah chapter 5, here's a parable in the Old Testament, and it's a very poignant one. It relates to what we just read in regard to the barren fig tree. I mean, there are parallels here. Let's go to Isaiah chapter 5.

This is, in my Bible at least, it's called God's Disappointing Vineyard. God's Disappointing Vineyard.

Isaiah writes, and Isaiah was inspired to write this. He said, now let me sing to my well beloved a song of my beloved. He's talking about God.

God is His beloved. God is our beloved. He's your beloved. He's my beloved.

We love God. My well beloved has a vineyard on a very fruitful hill. He dug it up and cleared out its stones and planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst and also made a winepress in it. So He expected it to bring forth good grapes. That's why He built it.

He expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes. Now, this is talking primarily about the children of Israel. The house of Israel, the house of Judah, is talking about His chosen people, those He had called out of the world to set an example, to be different from the rest of the world. So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, please, between me and my vineyard, what more could have been done to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? And now, please, let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned, and break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will lay it waste. This was a prophecy that actually did happen to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. Both were taken captive.

Both were basically decimated, scattered, decimated in many respects.

I will lay it waste. It shall not be pruned or dug, but there shall come up briars and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they reign, no rain on it. For the vineyard of the eternal host is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression. For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help. Woe to those who join house to house! I don't think I'll need to read any further, but again, we see God does expect us to produce fruit. When the children of Israel were not producing fruit, he allowed them to go into captivity. They suffered a great deal. There were tremendous trials and suffering upon the house of Judah. He loved them, but he did not keep them from harm, because that was the only way they were going to learn the lessons that they needed to learn. And, of course, the Bible catalogs what God is doing, his plan of salvation. Yes, he's going to restore Israel. We know what it says in the Bible. There are reasons why things happened the way they did, but people were also responsible. Things could have been different had people applied themselves better than they did. I mean, they were a rebellious, idolatrous, heath and bunch of people. Most of them, they were a rebellious people. They were a stiff-necked people.

They disappointed God. God was not happy. God was not pleased. There were consequences for that.

God does expect his children to bear good fruit. In John chapter 15, and we read this during the Passover. So perhaps we can just turn to it, and I won't take a lot of time with John 15. I could read the entire chapter, or at least the first half of the chapter, because it talks about... I'll read a little bit of it. I am the true vine. My father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away. And every branch that bears fruit, he prunes that it bears more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit itself, unless it abides in the vine. We have to be connected to our Savior Jesus Christ. We have to allow Christ to live in us, to live his life in us, to help us produce the fruit of the Spirit of God. It's a joint effort. Christ will live in us. He will work in us, but we have to be willing. We have to be willing to surrender and to allow that to happen, to yield. He says, I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit. For without me, you can do nothing. We can do nothing without Christ. We have to be humble in our approach because without Christ, we are nothing. Christ said, there's nothing good that dwells in us.

When Christ was in the flesh, he said that about himself.

If anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered, and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you. By this my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit, so you will be my disciples. We are to be God's disciples, Christ's disciples. Again, we're known by the fruit that we produce, and love is at the top of the chart.

Learning to love each other, learning what love is all about, becoming unleavened, becoming like Christ, becoming like God.

In Matthew 25, it talks about the parable of the talents. God expects us to use what he's given us.

That's a tremendous lesson from the parable of the talents. He said to cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness. The unprofitable servant is to be cast into outer darkness. We do need to be profitable servants. We do need to take our calling seriously and really be sure that we're praying and studying the Word of God on a daily basis, drawing near to God, allowing, again, God to work in us. Matthew 24, verse 45. Let's go there for a moment. Matthew 24. Matthew 24, let's see again what Christ says about his servants. Matthew 24, verse 45. Matthew 24, verse 45. Who then is a faithful and wise servant whom his master made ruler over his household to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. We're cautioned that we do not become weary in well-doing.

It is, I think, easy to become weary in well-doing, especially after many, many years of well-doing. But God says we have to keep doing well. We have to keep it up. Do not become weary in well-doing. Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.

Surely, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. But if that evil servant says in his heart, my master is delaying his coming and begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. So, the implication is that there was a time when he was right with God, but he became weary in doing well. And he became weary in fighting the good fight.

He said, if that evil servant says in his heart, you know, I don't know how well, I don't know how good he ever was, frankly. It says, you know, there are tears among us as well, the Scripture says. There are tears among us. If we have an evil servant among us, he may be a terror. Matthew 25, God expects us to look out for one another. Just the next chapter over. Again, I mentioned the parable of the talents, also the parable of the wise and foolish virgins is in this chapter. If we get to verse 31, when the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another as a shepherd divides His sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on the right hand, but the goats on the left. And the King will say to those on His right hand, Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I was hungry and you gave me food.

I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. See, these are actions. These are... it's not just prayer. It's not just Bible study. It's not just fasting.

It's actions. It's loving your fellow man. It's caring for others. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you drink?

When did we see you a stranger and take you in or naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and come to you? And the King will answer and say to them, Assurely I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.

Who is your neighbor? Everyone is your neighbor. Everyone is your neighbor. Anyone who needs help is your neighbor. You are to be a good Samaritan to all who need your help.

When were you sick? When did you come? It's when you did it to others.

So there are, obviously, actions that we all have to be doing. Just feeling content because we prayed today and we studied our Bible isn't enough. Where is your heart? Are you reaching out? Are you serving others? Are you totally committed to this way of life? Are you considering what you can do to do more in the future? We know what it says about pure religion, visiting the widows, visiting the fatherless, helping those in affliction, being there for them, praying fervently for one another. There's much to be done. There's much to be done. There are so many people who are sick and afflicted and need our fervent and faithful prayers. It means a lot to remember them in our prayers, and I know I have neglected that. There are many times when I've neglected to do that. I've made other things higher priorities.

Blessed is that servant whom his master shall find so doing. God expects us to look out for one another. Brethren, the countdown to Pentecost has begun. That's the title of this sermon, by the way. It's Countdown to Pentecost. The countdown has begun. Let us make the most of the next six weeks until Pentecost. Let us be diligent and yielding and surrendering to God in Christ, and let us allow them to live in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. If we're not yet baptized, and children, I'm talking to you as well because your example is important now. If you're willing to help your brothers and your sisters, you learn valuable lessons right now that will help you be an effective, profitable servant later on when you become an adult. You will be more profitable. You will be a better servant. So, kids, I'm talking to you as well. How you treat your brothers and your sisters and your friends. Do you really love your friends, or do you ridicule your friends behind their back? Do you do things like that? That's not being a profitable servant.

You know, we need to examine our hearts as children as well, and know that God sees all of us. We can have a relationship with God at a very early age. God loves all people. We're all His children, and so we should apply ourselves early on. We should listen to our parents. We should obey our parents. We should humble ourselves before our parents. We should realize that if it were not for our parents, we wouldn't have the food that we need to survive. We wouldn't have the clothing. We wouldn't have the place over our heads. We wouldn't have a shelter. We need our parents, and we should love our parents, and we should return that love by being obedient to our parents. So let us grow spiritually this spring season. Now, you've all noticed how things are really blossoming out there. I mean, the grass is turning green. The Bermuda grass is cold right now, so it's not turning a whole lot just yet, but it's going to really start turning as it gets warmer. But there are many flowers. There are many bushes that are becoming vibrant. I noticed some beautiful bushes on the way in today. Also, if you're a gardener, then the asparagus, the onions, the potatoes, the corn, the melons, the squash, the broccoli, some before others, the cauliflower, you know, the carrots and so forth, it's all going to begin growing.

Fruit is going to be produced. Vegetables are going to be produced.

It's going to grow abundantly. That's the way God is.

It is. God loves to see growth. God designed it that way.

God wants to see growth in you. He wants to see spiritual growth.

So let us grow spiritually, producing the fruit of God's Holy Spirit.

Let us truly walk in the Spirit as we count down to Pentecost.