Let Me First Bury My Father

You know, the West was an area of the country that was settled by pioneers. People were tough. They went through many rigors to settle in the West. And they traveled, you know, across vast distances to get here, to be able to be in the West. And, you know, they had to be self-sufficient. And they had to be resourceful. They had to be able to take care of themselves, to stand on their own two feet. They had to be self-reliant and tough because there was no one else that was going to bail them out or no one else to lean on in a time of need. There were no doctors. No, there was no food that was easily acquired when you were traveling across the prairie. There were no food outposts, no 7-Elevens along the way, no good restrooms to go to because the toilet basically was nature itself. I mean, wherever you were, you know, and there were no amenities of life for people when they were traveling across this land. Like I said, they had to stand on their own two feet and not lean on anybody else. Let's go to Luke 9 over here. Luke 9. You know, we live in a time, though, sadly, where it seems like that everybody's leaning on everybody. You know, that in fact, people aren't standing on their own two feet, as they once did, that people are again leaning on others. And again, that's not wrong of and by itself, but to live your entire life that way and to not be able to stand up for yourself and to take care of yourself is wrong. It's wrong for a society to get into that, you know, mentality, that attitude. Let's go over here in, you know, in Luke 9 and verse 57 over here. It says, now that happened as they journeyed on the road. Here's Christ going along here. And it says, someone said to him, Lord, I will follow you wherever you go. I'm going to be with you wherever you go. You know, you run into this kind of individual sometimes that they're so quick to say, Oh, I'm right there with you. I'm going to be with you through thick and thin. And when the thick and the thin come around, you look around, where are they? They're not there. They're gone. But notice in verse 58, and Jesus said to him, Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head. You know, you're going to follow me wherever I go. You don't know what you're saying, what you may be involved in. It's going to be a lot different than you think it's going to be, or you perceive it will be. And then he said to another, follow me. But he said, Lord, let me first go and bury my father. Now let me go bury my father. And really, this was an expression of, you know, someone making an excuse. Let me go bury my father. Well, you know, how long would that take? Well, it could take five or 10 years before my father died, but I'm going to take care of him and now bury him. And then I will come and follow you. So that was his attitude. It was an excuse that he gave. And it says that Jesus said, him, let the dead bury their own dead, and you go and preach the kingdom of God. You know, Christ might have been offering this individual an apostleship for all we know. And yet he was making excuses for what, of course, were empty excuses that were no reason. Obviously, Christ was not telling anybody that if your father or your mother died to not go to her funeral, their funeral, he's not talking about that. He's not saying that when it says, let the dead bury the dead, he's saying this person was making an excuse and we shouldn't make excuses.

And another also said, verse 61, Lord, I will follow you, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house. Again, an excuse. It's like somebody says, would you excuse me, please? I got to go see a man about a horse. And then, you know, you'd ever see them again. They never find that horse. And Jesus said to him, no one having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. Once we've committed ourselves to God's way of life and we look back, you know, he says we're not fit for the kingdom of God. We're like a spiritual Lot's wife, as it were. We have no value to God. And Paul, in another place, talked about it. He said we are not, you know, of that sort. We're not of that attitude. He says, I trust that we're not of that attitude. We're not of that approach. So, brethren, what is your excuse? What is your excuse? I remember many years ago, there was a man who was a Sunday keeping preacher and he had a whole church full of people that had excuses why they could not come to church. And so, he decided he was going to do a church day where it was a no-excuse day. And if somebody had a bad back, they could bring a recliner chair. You know, if they had, you know, another problem, if they had to, they could get out of bed, they could bring their bed. You know, they could do anything that, you know, would keep them from coming that it was a no-excuse day. But, brethren, what is our excuse? What is your excuse? You know, let me first bury my father, and then I'll come and follow you, Lord. Is that our approach? You know, it's like the old adage, the road to hell is paved with what? Good intentions. People thinking, well, yeah, I want to do it. Yeah, I want to do it. And as I mentioned one time, you know, there are sins of commission, where we committed sins, and there are sins of omission. And I'll tell you, God is going to condemn more people by things that they omitted doing than what they committed, what they did. In other words, they did not do those things that they were supposed to do. And hopefully again, none of us are in that case. So what is your excuse for not going forward, brethren, toward the great calling that God has given to you?

You know, we're going to examine the excuses that people often use, you know, in the remainder of this split sermon. But let's go to Isaiah 58 over here just quickly to Isaiah 58. This is primarily about fasting. But you know, if we look at it from the standpoint of how does God's Spirit work, if we are fasting, we have the attitude that is talked about here in Isaiah 58. And down in verse 6 it says here in Isaiah 58, it says, Is this not the fast that I've chosen?

So God wants us to choose this fast. This is what God wants us to do, to loose the bonds of wickedness. No, it will overcome sin. To undo the heavy birds, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke. So God wants us to do that, brethren, in our lives. That we no longer are slaves, you know, to our human nature. No longer slaves to our endless excuses that we can make. But notice here in verse 9, Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer.

If we have the right attitude of letting God's Spirit lead us, when we call out to God, He will answer us. You shall cry, He will say, Here I am. If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger in speaking wickedness, if you do that, you say, God, where are you? And God says, Here I am. I'm going to listen to you. One of the great excuses that people make, brethren, you know, when they are maybe avoiding doing the right thing in their life, is exactly what it says here, pointing the finger.

Remember when your little kid, your mom, or your dad used to say, Be careful. Will you point that thing? It might go off, you know. And I remember also, Mr. Armstrong used to say, When we point the finger at somebody else, what did he say? There are three that have pointed it right back. At us, all of us individually. So how do people make excuses? One of the great ways to do this is the pointing of the finger at other people.

And the scribes and the Pharisees were pros at excusing themselves because of what other people did. You know, that they were righteous. You know, that they did not make mistakes like these sinners. In fact, they were upset with Christ because he was eating with sinners. And Christ had to tell them, Look, I didn't come into the world to save those who are righteous. I came, you know, to save those that are unrighteous.

And he, of course, preached to and taught and set an example for sinners who did repent. Some were the egregious problems in their lives. But let's go over to Luke chapter 18 over here. Here is a classic example of the pointing of the finger. In Luke 18 over here, and it says, Also he spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and they despised others. They looked down their nose at other people. Now, sometimes people think they're more righteous, but God might think otherwise. In this story, we're not going to read through the whole part of it, but the publican was this tax collector.

He was a sinner. You know, he felt so guilty, he couldn't even lift his eyes to heaven. And Christ said he went down to his house justified, more than the Pharisee. But let's go on here. And it says, Two men were at the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other was a peon, a publican, a tax collector. And the Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, or with himself, God, I thank you that I'm not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.

And he pointed the finger. If he didn't do it physically, he did it in his mind. I fasted twice in a week, he was thinking, I give tithes of all that I possess, and oh, am I not better than everybody? You know, he was okay, brethren, until he said, in this tax collector, I'm glad I'm not like him.

He was okay. He probably did fast twice in a week. He might have been a decent person in how it was measured at that time. But where he made the mistake, he was pointing the finger at somebody else and saying, I'm sure glad I'm not like that person, or this person over there. You know, God doesn't want us to do that. The Carl approach, brethren, the Carl mind is to point the finger at others who seem worse than we are. We compare ourselves downward, don't we? Usually. If you ever see anybody compare themselves, it's always downward. They don't say, well, I, you know, I compare myself to this person up here. They're not going to feel too good about themselves, are they? They realize they got a little bit more that they need to accomplish, and all of us do, brethren, have a lot more that we need to accomplish. But if I can point my finger at somebody else and say, well, I'm doing better than they are, what does it allow me to do? It shrugs off my responsibility to try as hard as I should be trying in my life. You know, let me say this. Only the blood of Jesus Christ forgives sin, and no excuse in the world will forgive us of our sins. You can make all the excuses you want in your life. Any of us can, brethren, but that will not absolve us or remit any sin. Only the blood of Christ could do that. So pointing the finger, making that excuse, brethren, at others is an excuse that will net us zero. It will net us nothing. You know, God wants us to again have bigger minds. So let God's Spirit lead us and guide us to have the right attitudes. You know, God wants us to stand on our own two feet.

He does want us to use one another iron sharpening iron, but He doesn't want us to dull one another and to use the fellowship in that way. Let's go to Luke chapter 10 over here. Luke chapter 10 in verse 21 here. But Luke chapter 10, it says, in that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things, that is the magnificent truths of the plan of God, you have hid these things from the wise and the prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, so it seemed good in your sight. All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father and who is the Father except the Son and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Then He turned to His disciples and said, blessed are the eyes which see the things you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see and have not seen them and to hear what you hear and have not heard them. So, brother, the things that we know are precious. They're very precious and God wants to take this, the precious plan revealed by the Word of God. He wants to do something with it. Of all people on this planet that we've been singled out for the job of doing it, not to point our fingers at other people and say, why isn't He doing it or why isn't She doing it? It won't matter. It won't matter if they're not doing it and they follow that example if they don't inherit eternal life, neither will you. Neither will I if I do that or I had that approach. So that's an excuse people make. Again, remember this. If you ever compare yourself to somebody else, that this will get you nowhere as far as God is concerned. Another excuse that people make, brethren, that impedes their growth is they think they deserve better. You ever been around situations where you thought you deserved better? You know, for whatever reason that would be. Let me give a biblical example of what I'm talking about here. Jonah the prophet was a very great prophet. And God wanted Him, commanded Him to go to Nineveh to warn them to repent. Now, you know what the thing about Assyria is? Assyria's aim was to destroy Israel. So here Jonah's ordered to go and preach to the Assyrians if they repent. And here the Assyrian Empire wanted to exterminate Israel, just like they're wanting to do over there right now. They'd like to exterminate Israel. Iran would love to do that. By the way, I was dumbfounded the other day. I read an article by someone in Iran that was saying, we have never said we wanted to destroy Israel. I'm going to say, that's all they say.

You know, I surmise that what they meant by that is they don't want to destroy the land. They just want to get rid of the people. So you've got to understand where these people are coming from. Of course, they're lying. And they think it's okay to lie to infidels. So Jonah had this job of going to an empire that was going to destroy Israel. And that's why Jonah was so reluctant. He was a reluctant prophet. He ran from his responsibility. We all know the story of Jonah. But interestingly, Jonah did what God said. He went through the streets of Nineveh, took a long time, and lo and behold, of all the things a prophet does, they repented. They repented. And as a result of it, you know, many people were saved in Nineveh that would have been destroyed. Little children. We mentioned about little children here this morning. They need to be prayed for. Two-year-olds, three-year-olds. We've got a two-year-old boy, you know, little George. You know, just as cute as a button. You know, what kids are not. You know, just really adorable. But they were saved because of the preaching of Jonah. But you know what happened? What Jonah did actually delayed Israel's own downfall.

Because of what Jonah did, it allowed Israel to go forward. It may be even think about that the way he should have. But God's method was to provide a means for Israel's future enemy to repent. That's what he did. You know, Jonah warned Nineveh that they were they were going to fall. But, you know, as a result of what happened, they repented. Jonah got very sad.

But Jonah was thinking, I deserve better than this. I'm your prophet, God.

I ought to be able to go and preach to these people, and then you're going to destroy them, and you knock them out. Well, it didn't work that way. You see, God does things his way, not our way. And his way was he wanted to preserve Israel, and this is the way he chose to do it.

But Jonah became displeased and depressed. He thought he deserved better as a prophet, and he wanted to die. Just kill me, God. See, Jonah was not seeing the big picture. He wasn't seeing the big picture. He didn't see the big picture of compassion for the innocent people that would have died. You know, we sometimes we talk about the Muslims and other others, but there are many young children that are involved in the whole process. And someday, someday, those young children and the people that are there are going to be salvaged, you know, through the plan of God. God has a plan for that to occur. I don't know how it's going to happen, but God is going to begin to save some of these people. I found that very interesting that I believe it's WorldNet Daily was talking about how that there were Muslims that were converting to Christianity because they see the brutality of ISIS. And so, they're converting. Of course, they're converting to professing Christianity, and they're not, of course, seeing the truth at this point, but maybe some will. I know we have had some that have, you know, been interested up in the Bay Area. We had a young fellow that actually was coming to church on a regular basis. He was from a Muslim home, and his father went to the extent of removing him from the country so he would not become a part of the United Church of God. And last I heard, he was in Pakistan. I don't know what he did with the truth that he had. I haven't heard sense about what happened there, but his father was just really very indignant about his son. Learning about the Sabbath and the Holy Days, and he was really, really on the verge. He was asking all the right questions, and then his father yanked him out and took him to Pakistan.

But, you know, God is going to convert these people, and Jonah wasn't seeing that big picture. Keep in mind, we don't want what we deserve as well. You know, Jonah felt like he deserved better as a prophet. We don't want really what we deserve. God could have left him in the great fish, right?

He could have left him there. What a life that would have been. Or last days of his life that would have been. God is merciful to us, brother. I mean, think about your own calling, that you were brought into the Church of God. Did God rescue you from the world? I mean, I think he rescued me. And he was merciful to me. He didn't call me because I was some spiritual giant. And I trust that's the way it was for you as well. And if God was merciful to you, he was merciful to Jonah, why not these innocent children in Assyria, in Nineveh, as well, to show mercy to them? You know, God had mercy on us as sinners, and he called us. And if God is unfair to show mercy to our enemies, brethren, in case they might change, maybe they would change. And in the case of Nineveh, they did. And it, again, delayed the downfall of Israel. Let's go to John chapter 3 over here. John chapter 3. You know, one of the big, big problems in this particular part of this message here I'm talking about here, thinking we deserve better. You know, vanity can really destroy a person. What happens when we begin to think we deserve better, brethren? What does it do to you? What does it do to you? When you get into this mentality, I deserve better than this. Well, doesn't it make you angry? And that what happened to Jonah? He became angry. And if we allow ourselves, brethren, to let our vanity get the best of us, then it will make us angry. Let me show you an example of somebody who did it right. Over here in John 3, down to verse 28 here, it says, You yourselves bear me witness that I said, I am not the Christ. This is John the Baptist.

For I have been sent before him. You know, the job of John the Baptist was to prepare the way for Christ, a rival, the arrival of the anointed one. But it says, He who has the bride is the bridegroom. And the friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore, this joy of mine is fulfilled. You know, the friend that stands on the side rejoices that the bride and the bridegroom are together. And notice, he says here in verse 30, He must increase, but I must decrease. John the Baptist did it right. He had the right attitude. God's Spirit works with us, brethren. We have this kind of attitude. You know, we don't let our vanity get in the way. I'll tell you one place where vanity can get the best of you faster than any place or any job you can have on the face of this earth. You know where it is? The ministry. The ministry. If you let your vanity direct you, you will get angry over something, and many have, through the years, and they tumble right out of the church. I deserve better. You know, I need more respect. I should be more respected.

Well, brethren, have an attitude that John the Baptist had. I must decrease. He must increase. And maybe, and I pray, by the way, that we have young men that are being trained in the church. And I know Mr. Scriber, and Mrs. Scriber feel the same. Jonah and I feel this way. Look, I think I've preached enough sermons. You know, I've done enough in the way of Bible studies. I've driven up miles. I think it's time when we get to the, you know, a man gets to the end of his years. He has to have that attitude, doesn't he, to back away gracefully.

You know, we all want to be involved, but we shouldn't hang on to things tenaciously that we should say, like John did, and have that humble attitude, and not think, well, I deserve better. You know, we have some men, unfortunately, that to their own detriment, that feel like they've got to be in charge until they die.

And it just doesn't work that way, brethren. It really doesn't. So we've got to be very careful about that. You know, Cain's an example of this, again, thinking he deserved better, because he gave an offering to God that God did not respect. And then Cain was downcast because of it. He thought he deserved better from God. You know, you accepted Abel's offering, but you didn't accept my offering. I don't know what Cain did with his.

I know we tried to explain that before, but God said to Cain, why are you angry? Why are you dejected, Cain? And God says, if you do well, he says, show you not be accepted. You're going to be accepted. You know, don't worry about it. You're going to be accepted. But if you do not well, then sin lies at the door. And what happened with his attitude, I think I deserve better. Again, the anger set in. He began to think about it, how God accepted Abel's offering, not mine, and that maybe God favored him. And he ended up bludgeoning his own brother and killed him. He became the first murderer. You know, so, again, be careful, brethren. Don't let your vanity get in the way, ever. Thinking you deserve better. Realize that you don't want what we deserve. None of us want it, because we all deserve death. We don't deserve what God has given to us, how God has taken care of us. We're using the body as it pleases God. Regardless of what your job is, whether it's going to be a pastor, you know, an elder, a deacon, or deaconess, or a lead person in the church, whatever the job may be, you know, whatever the role that you may play, do it with your might. And don't let your vanity, brethren, your ego interrupt that, because we grove of the things we do. It's like I mentioned about being a profitable servant last week or last time I spoke to you that we are created to good works. God wants us to do good works. Don't let vanity get in the way of that. Another problem where people, you know, make excuses, and I've touched on this before, but I think it's a very good one to be a separate one altogether, is comparing ourselves to others. Comparing ourselves to others. This is what society does all the time. You know, society, basically, most people do what the majority of people do. You know, they're going to do something. They usually look around and say, well, what's everybody else doing? But you know what? Based on God's Word, the majority is usually wrong. The majority really is oftentimes going in the wrong way. Jesus Christ said the world goes the broad way, and he said that the broad way leads to destruction, right? He said you go the narrow way, the difficult way, because that leads to life. You know, God's way is like, again, the pioneers. It's the harder way to go. It's the more difficult way to go. And we have to make that effort. You know, the Bible tells us, don't follow the crowd to do evil. Yet this has been the MO of the world. And sadly, sometimes even in a church, we follow the crowd to do evil. No, we've had splits in the church, because people did that. And we were not as unified as we should be. So God wants us to, again, to stand on our old tooth and teeth. Don't compare yourself to another person.

You know, don't do that. God does not consider that wisdom. You know, why are we in God's church, brethren? Why are we in God's church? We didn't follow the majority of the professing Christians of the world when we did that, did we? If we were doing that, we would be looking for the church with the best chandelier, right? And it reminds me of a story, but I won't tell it for the sake of time. But, you know, we followed the Spirit of God that led us to the truth. And that's what, again, made the difference between us finding the church and being lost out there in the wilderness of confusion. Let's go to 2 Corinthians chapter 10 over here. 2 Corinthians chapter 10. 2 Corinthians chapter 10 over here is a very good, solid Scripture that teaches exactly this principle in this point. But in verse 12 it says, it says, For we dare not, Paul again saying, We dare not. No, we don't do that. We could put it another way. Above all things, don't do this to class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. You know, we don't want to compare ourselves to people that commend themselves. In other words, the self-seekers, the people that are inward thinkers and not outgoing. But they, measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves, a good thing to underline here, are not wise.

You know, Jesus said, the blindly the blind, what do you say? They both fall in the ditch. And when we compare ourselves to other people, if we start following other people in what they do, well, we're going to end up in the ditch as well if we're not careful.

You know, soon the United States is going to be embroiled in the greatest tribulation. That mankind has ever seen. Not just the United States, but Britain, and this whole world is going to be embroiled again. What will be the result of the coming conflict that's going to occur, that is going to throw this world upside down? We must pray that we are counted worthy to escape the things that are going to take place in the stand before Jesus Christ. But realize this, brethren. If God was going to save anyone, you know, He was only going to save that individual based on what they did. Nobody's going to be able to be saved based on somebody else's righteousness. Nobody's going to be able to go into the kingdom on somebody else's coattails. You know, it mentions over in Ezekiel 14, I'm not going to go there, but in Ezekiel 14, in verse 12 through 14, that if God was going to save someone in a city that was to be condemned, that if you had Noah and Daniel and Job there, these were the most righteous men in history, aside from Christ. They would only save themselves. So think about that, brethren, by their righteousness, by what they did. So get out of the thinking entirely. Throw that out of your thinking of comparing yourself to somebody else. You're going to compare, compare to someone you think is more righteous than you are, and try to mimic what they're doing. Like Paul said, mimic me, he said, as I follow Christ. That's what we ought to be saying. If you want to follow a man, mimic that person as they follow Christ, and only. And, you know, what does it say in the Bible, too? To the law and to the testimony. They speak not according to this word. The testimony of the Bible is because there's no truth in them. We've got to speak by the Word of God. So don't get into that problem, that foible of comparing oneself to another. Another excuse that people make, you see this all the time, brethren, they say, you know, or people would say, I'm different than others. You ever heard people say that? I'm different than other people.

You know, if we think we're different than others, God would expect us to do more.

If we think we're special, if we think we got all this ability, God expects us to do more. That's the God we serve, brethren. That God would expect us to go above and beyond the call of duty, which is what a profitable servant does in it. But this is a problem with many people in society. I am different than everybody else. You know, they wake up in the morning, I guess, and, you know, their breath doesn't stink. You know, they wake up in the morning, their hair is all combed already. You know, they, even the women, you know, they don't have to do their hair. You know, they just get up in the morning. And, you know, the makeups, they don't need makeup. You know, they don't have to beautify themselves. They don't have to do anything like that because I'm different than others. And maybe they are, you know, handsome or good-looking.

But, you know, sometimes people have the attitude of, I'm different than others. They come into a parking lot. The parking space says, handicap. I'm different than others. And they park in the handicap.

You know, while somebody in a wheelchair has to park clear out in the hinterland to get to the store. You know, I'm different than others. You know, why do they do that? Because there are exceptions to the rule. You know, I got up this morning, I had a little bit of a tinge on my back here, so I deserved to park in this handicap parking space. Of course, the police officer might not agree with you. I don't know how incisive they are with the law in every place, but if you ever get caught, you might pay a hefty fine. But people, again, have that attitude. I'm different than others. And maybe they think that they deserve more. Well, you know, if you think you're different, or I certainly realize I'm not different than most people, we're all physical human beings with human nature, aren't we? But if we think we're different, well, Jesus Christ. Do you think Jesus was different? Well, he was different, yes. But what does the Bible say? He was tempted at all points, and he never sinned so that he would be an able high priest for us. And he overcame his own physical human nature, or whatever the nature was that he had to battle against, the the the pulls of this world. Basically, he is what he had to deal with, the temptations that were out there. But he never sinned once. He never went contrary to God's law. And he would expect every one of us, even if we think we're different than others, that we deserve more. That we deserve more. That we're above every other's. He would expect us to live as Jesus Christ did. I'm not going to turn to 1 Corinthians 10, verse 13. You can read it a little bit later on.

But it talks about that there is no temptation that has not affected every human being. You know, that every person has gone through the different points that they were tested on, just like Jesus Christ was, every human being. And then people aren't different. We're all the same. We all go through the same tests, the same trials. And so we need to, again, apply ourselves. We all have common problems of overcoming our... And you know what the overcoming is? The overcoming of the carnality in us.

You know, we need to overcome that carnality. And we must repent and change. Whoever we are, however special we may think we are.

Jesus Christ was special, and he set the example for us, brethren.

Another excuse that people make, that's just the way I am.

I'm sorry, that's just the way I am. You know, why did you talk about this? I'm just the gossip. That's just the way I am. I talk about other people. That's what I do. You know, or, you know, why didn't you do that? You know what, I'm just lazy.

That's just the way I am. Or don't ask me to do anything. You know, I'm sort of a loader. I'm the kind of guy, the person, the woman, stands in the corner and watches people. Some people say, well, you know, I'm just a born critic.

Well, you know, you could make all kinds of excuses in this category of, that's just the way I am. You know, a common song that is sung in professing Christian churches is, Just As I Am, Dear Lord. You ought to have that as a theme music at Walmart, about midnight. I have never been at Walmart at that late hour, but I've got a friend of mine that sends me videos of people that show up at Walmart in the way they dress. It is a comedy, really. People show up with these, you know, incredible things. I mentioned Mr. Dobson up in Alaska. A number of years ago, he sent me a lot of these Walmart videos. I guess they were in YouTube or something. And I'll tell you, I laughed at what people would wear, you know, to Walmart and what they do. I guess this is just the way I am, you know, I'm this way. Well, you know, God, through Peter, in 2 Peter 3 verse 18 says, He commands us to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. So God is not accepting us just the way we are. He wants us to change. And, you know, the test of whether something that's alive is this. You ever want to know if something's alive, is it growing? If it stops growing, then what is it? It's dead. It's dead. You know, God says that about Sardis, by the way. They have a name that they're alive, but they're dead. And so, dead is dead. You know, a dead dog is like a rover dead all over. You know, over in James chapter 1 verse 22, we're admonished not to be hearers of the Word only, but doers. And it says, deceiving ourselves. If we only hear, you know, we get it, and we don't do it, we're deceiving ourselves. To keep thinking, this is just the way I am, I'm lazy, I'm a gossip, or I'm a loner, is not hearing and doing. Because when you come into the church, you are a changed person. I think there was more dynamism for that in years past, and sometimes we have in the church now. But we have to have that attitude of changing. Over in Proverbs 27 verse 19, it talks about how that just as a person sees their face in water, so we can know a man's, you know, a man by his heart, what his heart is. You ever notice you lean over, you look into a crystal clear water, it's like a mirror, you can see your face. If you want to know what human nature is, look at your own heart, look at what you're thinking. Examine again these points, are these points that I'm talking about here in your life. If they are, this is what you are. If you want to know what godly character is and what the Holy Spirit leads us to do, what do you do? What do you do? You look at the fruits of the Spirit. You know, that Mr. McKeehen mentioned about. You look at the fruits of the Spirit, and most of us come up a little bit short there, right? Love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness. You know, all of those fruits of the Spirit, we come up short.

And somebody who is letting God's Spirit lead them sees that about themselves. So look into God's law to get to know God. Look into your heart to know what human nature is, what carnality is, because we have it in spades. So, brethren, we want to again learn from these examples. Here's another excuse that people make. They just don't like me. They just don't like me.

Usually that's something that comes from people's inferiorities of thoughts of themselves, and we all have that. And we all could have that kind of a maudlin, downcast humility. But usually when we say they just don't like me, Julie directed an authority or what they perceive from somebody else.

They imagine something said that's directed to them. It reminds me of an old Larson cartoon, where it was a church scene and the minister was up giving the sermon, and the whole congregation was fixated on one person. I don't know if you've seen that Larson cartoon. But though that was intended as a joke in cartoon, sometimes people could think that, well, the sermon is about me. You know, it's like the song, you probably think this song is about you. You're so vain. You know, we should not allow ourselves to think somehow they just don't like me. You know, we can become paranoid about what's said at any time and any place if we have that attitude. Sometimes wonder again if the sermon is directed at you. You know, sometimes I've had people come up to me, were you talking to me? It's like that Robert De Niro. You're talking to me? You know, well, actually, yes, I'm talking to you. I'm talking to you, you, you, everybody.

Sermons are given for everybody. And it's foolish for a pastor to get up and give a sermon about one person, obviously. You would think he would have more effective use of his time than to spend a sermon on one person. But don't get paranoid. But you know, it says though in Proverbs 29 verse 1, He who is often rebuked and hardens his neck will suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy. So you can't allow yourself to get into the feeling that everybody's against me, nobody likes me, they just don't like me. You know, if you miss the point about what I'm saying in this sermon right now, by the way, I don't know, I hope you're not missing the point here. I hope nobody thinks I'm talking just to them because I am not. You know, I am trampling all over everybody's feet, I'm hoping at least, to have stepped on everybody's toe here in this sermon today. And mine, by the way, are black and blue. Now because I've stepped on my toes so many times by those things I've said here today. But you know, think about this. If we don't think the pastor's talking to us, has he really done his job? Has he been effective in giving the ceremonies that he's been given? And the answer is no. We need to respond then when we hear what has been said and change to make those changes in our lives. One final point on the excuse that people make is, I don't have any talent. No, I get the humility, brethren. All of us have that humility that we realize that it's by, you know, whatever God saw in us that he decided to call us that we realize we're not worth much. And that certainly is true. But brethren, to keep hanging on to this idea of why did God choose me and woe is me, you know, to me, it pretty soon gets old. You know, everyone has a talent, brethren. Have we not read that the parable Jesus Christ spoke about it? And to say that we don't have any talent, brethren, is an affrontary to Jesus Christ. So we need to take the talent that we have, don't make excuses about it, and begin to contribute to the church. And everybody should contribute in some way or another, even if it's praying for one another. And that's all a person can do.

The point of the sermon, brethren, is Jesus does not like excuses of why we are not pursuing the kingdom of God with all of our strength and might. But he wants to hear, brethren, reasons why we're pushing forward regardless of the obstacles. That's what God wants to hear. That's what Jesus Christ is the head of the church wants to hear. Don't let anything, brethren, stand as a barrier in your progress. We are pioneers of a new way of life that is leading to the new world that is coming, the world tomorrow. Let's make sure, brethren, we're like those pioneers and we've got to be as tough as nails. And we've got to press forward, brethren, and make no excuses for ourselves. Stand on our own two feet so we can be in God's kingdom when Jesus Christ returns.