What Are You Thankful For?

That is the question of this season, isn't it? What are you thankful for? Would you take the

Word of God with me and turn to Luke chapter 17? Luke chapter 17. I want to thank Jared and the

Luke 17 · chapter mention Luke 17 · chapter mention

combined choirs for leading us in such powerful worship this morning. I want to draw your

attention back to one of the lines in their choir special from Psalm 46, and it was,

Oh God who makes the mountains melt, come wrestle us and win.

What a powerful line, and I hope it didn't just get glossed over.

We're calling out for God to wrestle us and win. So is it wrong to wrestle with God? Oh no,

absolutely not. But it's only wrong if you win. He needs to win. And so I want to remind us that

on this Thanksgiving Sunday. What are you thankful for?

Before we read in Luke chapter 17, I'd like to draw our attention on the screens to Psalm 100.

Luke 17 · chapter mention

Psalm 100, and you can remain in Luke 17 in your Bibles. I've got it on the screen for you here.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him with joyful

songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his

pastures. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him,

and praise his name. For the Lord is good, and his love endures forever. His faithfulness continues

through all generations. I want to speak that word over you, that psalm over you, and with that in mind,

let's go to Luke chapter 17. And would you join me in standing if you're able to? I'm reading from the

Luke 17 · chapter mention

Christian Standard Bible, beginning in verse 11. While traveling to Jerusalem, Jesus passed between

Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men with leprosy met him. They stood at a distance

and raised their voices, saying, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. When he saw them, he told them,

go and show yourselves to the priests. And while they were going, they were cleansed. But one of them,

seeing that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice gave glory to God. He fell face down at

his feet, thanking him. Oh, and by the way, he was a Samaritan. When Jesus said, were not ten cleansed?

Where are the nine? Didn't any return to give glory to God except this foreigner? And he told him,

get up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you. Let's pray together. God, I pray that you would

impart to us, teach us, from a glimpse of this miracle, how important gratitude is.

How essential gratitude is to truly worship you. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You may be seated.

Thank you for standing. Point number one, I want to share with you this morning. Ingratitude is the

enemy of worship. Ingratitude is the enemy of worship. We see this spelled out in this amazing story

that no one could go out and replicate. You understand the impact that being a leper was

on your life back in these ancient times. If you had the disease of leprosy, your life was,

for all intents and purposes, over. You would be cast out of your town. You'd be separated from your

family. There was no known cure for leprosy at the time. And so you would be, have to live in a leper

colony outside of any area of civilization with other lepers. So these guys' lives were drastically

changed with their encounter with the Savior. How many of you would be able to testify by lifted hand

and say, my life was drastically changed when I encountered Jesus? Anybody? Yes. Every one of us,

by God's grace, would be able to have that testimony. My life was changed when I met Jesus.

Now, unfortunately, for many of us, our encounter with Jesus forgave our sins, rescued us from hell,

but it has seemed to have little impact on our lives over the years of supposedly walking with Jesus.

Why is that? Well, just because you've been saved, what we call saved, saved from the punishment of your sin

because of God's free sacrifice for you and paying for your sins on that cross of Calvary so many years ago,

and then rising from the dead to be alive today and listening and ready to hear your call for salvation

out to Him. And when that moment happened, He certainly saved you. But since that time,

so many of His children have failed to walk with Him. And years and decades will pass,

and perhaps we'll be faithful in church attendance, perhaps we'll be faithful to give of our tithe,

and yet we're failing to actually walk with Jesus. We don't know a whole lot more about Him now than when we first began.

That is the sin of ingratitude.

We're grateful that He saved us from hell.

We got our get out of hell free card, so to speak.

But we're not grateful enough

to go back

and give Him glory

and listen

to His voice

and follow His commandments

and sit at His feet

and allow Him to mold us

and shape us into who He

wants us to be.

It's like, God, thanks for saving me,

thanks for healing me,

but I've got it from here.

And how many people do we know like that?

Truth is, when we look in the mirror,

sometimes we're like that, aren't we?

Ingratitude is the enemy of worship.

Romans chapter 1 and verse 21 teaches us this.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

It says,

Though they knew God,

they did not glorify Him as God

or show gratitude.

Man, if you look at the people that He's talking about

in Romans 1,

that's terrifying.

Because we see these people

who were living godless lives,

maybe on the outside

they might look okay,

but when you peeled back the surface,

there was nothing of God

in their life.

But they knew God.

But they weren't grateful.

They didn't glorify Him as God.

They were like these others

who were healed by Jesus.

They had encountered Him.

They had tasted of His goodness.

They knew what He could do.

But they failed to come back

and glorify Him.

They failed to show Him gratitude.

Ingratitude is the enemy of worship.

How is that so?

Because ingratitude makes us discontent.

You see,

our lack of thanksgiving

is usually traced back

to discontent.

A lack of being content

with what God has given you

and with who God is.

I want to show you this study

from Duke University,

famous university for research.

And they did this study years ago

that said,

the top three factors

found to contribute greatly

to emotional and mental stability

were, number one,

the absence of suspicion

and resentment.

So in other words,

if you harbor suspicion

or resentment in your life,

you're prone to becoming

emotionally or mentally unstable.

Nursing a grudge

was a major factor

in unhappiness.

Number two,

not living in the past.

An unwholesome preoccupation

with the past

leads to depression.

Man, things just aren't

how they used to be,

are they?

Well, you can't go back

to the past, can you?

And God is not merely

a God of the past.

He is a God of the present.

But thank God,

He's a God of the future.

And you know

that big, scary future

that the world seems

to be headed toward,

God will still be God.

Jesus will still be King.

And so not recognizing that

can certainly lead

to depression,

mental and emotional instability.

And number three,

not wasting time

and energy

in fighting conditions

you cannot change.

Folks,

you can fight back

against what God allows

in this world.

But I can promise you,

you won't win.

You can wrestle with God.

But the only way

in which you will come out

the winner

is if God is the winner.

You've got to let Him win

because guess what?

Victory belongs to Him.

He's going to win

whether you allow Him to

or not.

So if eventually

you stop fighting

and stop wrestling

and say,

okay God,

I will accept

the circumstances

in which you have placed me.

And I will stop fighting

against conditions

that I cannot change

because seemingly

you have allowed this.

Clearly,

you have allowed this.

Now,

what's interesting

is that the Bible

teaches

all these concepts.

And it took

human researchers

a long time

to figure this stuff out.

It was groundbreaking research.

They could have just read

the Bible from the beginning

and realized

that we must trust God.

Let's go to

1 Timothy chapter 6.

1 Timothy 6 · chapter mention

1 Timothy chapter 6.

1 Timothy 6 · chapter mention

While you're turning there,

I want to say

this statement to you.

Discontentment

means we

know better

than God.

Discontentment

means we

know better

than God.

So if ingratitude

comes from

and leads to

discontentment,

what is this

discontentment?

What is

not being content

or satisfied

with what

God has given you?

Whether

material possessions,

circumstances,

health,

whatever your situation

is that is such

a struggle,

where is this

discontentment

coming from?

Ultimately,

you can trace it

back to this belief

that I know

better than God.

Now,

most of us

wouldn't admit that.

If you polled

the audience today

and said,

how many of you

believe that you

know better than God,

I believe we would

get overwhelmingly

say,

I don't know

better than God.

However,

our actions

speak otherwise.

Our clear

discontentment

speaks otherwise.

1 Timothy 6,

if anyone

does not agree

with the sound

teaching of our

Lord Jesus Christ

and with the

teaching that

promotes godliness,

he is conceited,

prideful,

conceited,

and understands

nothing.

But,

here's some

descriptors

of this kind

of person.

He has an

unhealthy interest

in disputes

and arguments

over words.

You know

anybody that

has an

unhealthy

interest

in arguing

and disputing?

Are you

that person?

From these

come envy,

quarreling,

slander,

evil suspicions,

and constant

disagreement.

Here's the fruit

of these kinds

of people

who are

discontent

and say

that they

will not

agree with

the sound

teaching of

our Lord

Jesus Christ.

They say it

with their

actions.

They might

say they

agree with

their words,

but their

actions speak

louder,

don't they?

From these

come envy,

quarreling,

slander,

evil suspicions,

and constant

disagreement.

Do you know

anybody like

that?

Do you know

anybody that's

just constantly

suspicious,

constantly in

disagreement,

constantly

quarreling,

constantly

fighting?

These are

people whose

minds are

depraved and

deprived of

the truth,

who imagine

that godliness

is a way to

material gain.

Guess what?

That describes

a lot of so-called

Christians in our

churches today.

They imagine

that godliness

is a way to

material gain.

It's a way to

power.

It's a way to

influence.

It's a way to

satisfy something

in themselves.

It is not a

means to

honor God.

Verse 6,

but godliness

with contentment

is great gain.

Just acting

godly

doesn't mean

you're godly

because the

truth is

you can't

ever act

godly all

the time.

You can put

on a good

show.

You can put

on a good

front.

You can

say what

everybody

expects you

to say,

but unless

it's real,

unless it

comes from

God,

then discontentment

will take over.

But godliness

with contentment

is great gain.

It's great

advantage.

That is the

power of

God.

And then over

in Romans chapter

Romans 16 · chapter mention

16,

I urge you

brothers and

sisters to

watch out for

those.

Watch out for

these people that

were described in

1 Timothy 6.

Watch out for

these people who

cause divisions

and put obstacles

in your way that

are contrary to

the teaching you

have learned.

If there's people

out there trying

to distract you

from the mission

of God,

watch out for

them.

Keep away from

them.

I didn't write

it.

Paul did.

Take it up with

him.

God allowed it.

Verse 18,

For such people

are not serving

our Lord Christ,

but their own

appetites.

By smooth

talk and

flattery,

they deceive

the minds

of naive

people.

Y'all,

this discontentment

is a big deal.

It's a big deal.

This lack of

gratitude is a

big deal in

God's eyes.

Ingratitude is

the enemy of

worship.

Ingratitude makes

us discontent.

Discontentment

means that we

know better

than God.

But we don't.

We absolutely

do not.

Let's move on.

Worship

produces

willingness.

Gratitude

leads us to

worship.

I got ahead of

myself.

Gratitude

leads us to

worship.

And then

worship

produces

willingness.

Let's look at

Luke chapter

Luke 17 · chapter mention

17 again,

our text this

morning.

Back in

verse 15.

Luke chapter

Luke 17 · chapter mention

17 and

verse 15.

We see this

gratitude leading

to worship played

out beautifully in

this story.

Verse 15.

One of them,

one of the ten

who was healed,

seeing that he was

healed,

returned,

and with a loud

voice he gave

glory to God.

He fell face down

at his feet,

thanking him,

and he was a

Samaritan.

Why was that

included?

Y'all talk back to

me for a second.

Why was it included

specifically in this

passage that he was

a Samaritan?

The Jews hated

the Samaritans,

didn't they?

There was a lot

of ethnic and

social division

between these

two people groups.

We talked about it

in our starting

point course

briefly this

morning,

but we see

that the Jews

and the

Samaritans

had this old

ancient feud.

The Jews

looked down

on the

Samaritans.

They considered

themselves a

higher class

of people.

They considered

themselves God's

chosen people,

and the

Samaritans

were the

worst in

their minds.

They were

the lowest

of the low.

They would

not do

business dealings

with them.

They would

avoid them

at all

costs.

That's why

it's so

powerful when

we see this

Jewish man

who was

beaten up

by robbers,

and the

priests

passed him

by,

and the

Pharisees

passed him

by,

but who

stopped

and helped

him?

The good

Samaritan.

What a

powerful story

that is.

And when

Jesus stops

at the well

and sees

this woman

drawing from

the well,

and she's

a social

outcast,

and she's

lived a

tough life,

and she's

made a lot

of bad

decisions that

have led

her to where

she is.

She's been

married three

times,

and now she's

with a guy

that she's

not married

to,

and Jesus

stops even

though she's

a woman

from Samaria,

and he says,

I want to give

you water which

will never make

you thirsty

again.

The living

water.

I want to

introduce myself

to you.

I want to

speak to you

in love.

I want to

talk to you

like you're

valuable,

like you're worth

something.

What a

powerful description

we see of God

blurring these

lines, tearing

down these

walls.

The one that

returned to

thank Jesus

was a Samaritan.

People that you

wouldn't want

around.

People you

wouldn't invite

over to

Thanksgiving.

The people you're

like, man, I don't

want them in my

church.

I don't want

them messing

this place up.

Jesus wanted

those people.

He loved those

people.

And time and

time again, he

showed them, he

showed his people,

the Jews, their

value.

So, we see it

happen in verse

16.

This man fell

down at the feet

of Jesus and

thanked him, and

he was a

Samaritan.

Then Jesus

said, wait a

minute, weren't

ten cleansed?

Where are the

other nine?

Didn't any

return to give

glory to God

except this

foreigner?

I'm sure his

disciples were

greatly impacted

by that.

Wow.

Jesus making a

point here.

The only one

that came back

and gave glory

to me was this

foreigner, this

outcast that you

would want nothing

to do with.

And he told

him, get up and

go on your way.

Your faith has

saved you.

Seemingly, he

was the only one

who was not only

healed of his

physical sickness,

but he was healed

of his spiritual

sickness.

Jesus.

His faith made

him whole in a

way that someday

he would bow

before God along

with the rest of

us when every knee

will bow.

Yes, even yours.

Every knee will

bow and every tongue

will confess that

Jesus is Lord.

All of us will bow

someday before our

Lord, and that will

be the second time

that this man gets

to bow before God

himself and thank

him and give glory

to him for healing

him.

worship produces

willingness.

We saw that

ingratitude is the

enemy of worship.

Ingratitude comes

from discontent,

and discontent means

that we know better

than God.

So if we're going

to truly worship,

the Bible teaches

us that worship,

true worship,

comes from that

which is done in

spirit and in

truth.

If we're going

to worship God,

it must be worship

from spirit and in

truth.

And genuine worship

will produce a spirit

of willingness in

us.

This Puritan preacher,

I read this quote

from Jeremiah Burroughs,

it was an old Puritan

preacher lived long

before any of us,

and he said,

worship is not only

doing what pleases

God, but is also

being pleased with

what God is doing.

Can we read this

together?

Let's all read it

together out loud.

Ready?

If you look at that

screen or this one.

Ready?

Worship is not only

doing what pleases

God, but is also

being pleased with

what God is doing.

Y'all, I think that's

where we go off base.

We will try and try

to do what pleases

God, as long as it

fits within our

acceptable, what seems

acceptable to us.

But where we have such

a hard time is being

pleased then with what

God does.

What if God doesn't

choose to do what we

think is acceptable?

What if God goes

outside that box?

What if God wants to

shake things up?

What if God is teaching

us that what's been

important to us is not

what's important to him?

See, I learned something

in some of my training

in ministry over the

years.

And it's this.

It's that we can put

two bubbles up here.

We can have a large

bubble and then a very

small bubble at the

bottom.

And in that large

bubble represents

everything that we think

is important.

And in the very small

bubble at the bottom

of that is what God

thinks is important.

What God thinks is

important is knowing

him and making him

known.

Knowing God and making

him known.

That is our mission.

That is God's will for

us.

That is our responsibility

to God.

God.

Walk justly.

Love mercy.

Live humbly with your

God.

Walk humbly with your

God.

Listen, it is of utmost

importance to look in

the scriptures and see

what God says is our

responsibility.

What God says our duty

is.

What God says we're

supposed to be spending

our time on.

Because if we don't be

faithful to do that,

then it's so easy for that

bubble on top to get

larger and larger and

suffocate what God

says is actually

important.

And then we become

just like everyone

else.

And then our churches

become just like every

other organization.

That we have what's

important to us.

And along the way,

it's suffocated what's

important to God.

What's important to God?

For people to be brought

into his kingdom.

Just like we were.

He wants others to come

in to the fold.

There's other sheep who

have not yet come home.

And somebody has to

mirror Jesus and has to

follow his example and be

willing to leave the 90 and

nine and go out and find

the one lost sheep.

And if we're not willing,

then we're focused on that

big bubble of what's

important to us.

Our fame, our fortune,

our political views,

what we're comfortable

with, what we think is

important, and it suffocates

the mission that Jesus gave

to us.

So are we pleased with what

God is doing?

Or are we too distracted by

what has become important to

us?

Psalm 51 gives us the answer

for this.

It says, create in me a

clean heart, God.

God, create in me a

clean heart.

Renew a right spirit within

me.

Maybe somewhere along the

way, I got a wrong spirit.

And now the way I interact

with others, with my

brothers and sisters in

Christ, with the leadership

that God has placed over me,

I have a wrong spirit.

So God created in me a new

heart, a clean heart.

Restore to me the joy of your

salvation.

What is that?

What is the joy of your

salvation?

That's gratitude.

That's thankfulness.

That's remembering what God

did for you.

Remember how sweet it was

when you first heard the

gospel message that you are a

sinner just like me and the

rest of us, and we're all

going to hell because of our

sin.

But God loved us so much that

he said, I don't want you to

go to hell.

And so I'm going to send my

son Jesus as the payment, the

sacrifice for your sins and

for mine.

And then I'm going to raise

him up from the dead to show

he is God, to prove that he's

somebody who can put your

trust in.

And now as many as will

receive him and believe in

him, to them he will give the

power to become the sons,

daughters, the children,

of God.

And that joy, when you first

heard that message, when you

first responded and said, yes,

Lord, I believe.

Restore to me that joy, that

thankfulness, that gratitude,

and then uphold me, keep me up

with your willing spirit.

God, you've got to give me a

willing spirit because on my

own, I become unwilling.

You ever know anybody like

that?

They're just unwilling,

inflexible, just can't work

with them.

Got to go on despite them.

God, don't let that be true of

us.

Don't let that be true of

First Baptist Henrietta.

Make us a church, a people with

a willing spirit.

Spirit.

And then worship results in

witness.

Worship produces willingness, a

willing spirit, and worship

results in witness.

Back to Psalm 51, down to

verse 13.

Then I will teach transgressors

your ways.

God, if you renew a right spirit

in me, you give me a willing

spirit, then I will teach

transgressors your ways.

I will teach sinners your ways,

and sinners will return to

you, God.

Oh, God of my salvation, my

tongue will sing aloud of your

righteousness.

Lord, open my lips, and my

mouth will declare your

praise.

There's a worship song that

says, come on, my soul.

Don't you get shy on me.

Lift up your voice, because

you've got a lion inside of

your lungs.

Come on.

Praise the Lord.

God, open.

Open the lips of your people

in First Baptist Henrietta,

that we will declare your

praise, that we will teach

sinners your ways, and they

will return to you.

God, we will see a material

fruit from the change, the

willing spirit that you create

in this body of believers, and

people will return to you.

Lives will be transformed.

Lives will be changed.

Otherwise, we're distracted.

We're focused on ourselves.

We're focused on what we have,

or what we don't have.

We're not focused on that lost

sheep.

Worship produces witness.

What are you a witness of?

Are you a witness of yourself?

Are you a witness of your favorite

political candidate?

Are you a witness of what's

important to you in the moment,

or are you a witness of the

power of God?

That's what's going to change.

That's what's going to change you

and change those around you.

Matthew chapter 5 is the last

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

passage we'll go to.

Matthew 5 and verse 13.

You are the salt of the earth,

but if the salt should lose its

taste, how can it be made salty?

See, folks, here's a warning.

Either worship produces witness,

or it's not true worship.

Because if it's not impacting

the darkness of the world around us,

the spiritual tastelessness,

isn't that interesting?

He compared us to flavor.

How flavorless would this world be

if Christians weren't in it?

Real followers of Jesus?

That's what I'm talking about.

The world has a lot of people

who call themselves Christians,

but we need real, genuine followers

of Jesus.

He said if the salt has lost its taste,

well, then it's not good

for adding flavor to anything.

Nothing can be made salty.

And y'all, if we're not being

made, if we're not making people salty,

that has another meaning, doesn't it?

Christians are actually pretty good

at making people salty.

If we're not adding flavor

to the tastelessness of this dark,

spiritually blind world around us,

then what are we good for?

It's no longer good for anything

but to be thrown out

and trampled under people's feet.

Again, don't get mad at me.

I didn't say it.

Jesus said you're not good for anything

but being thrown out

and trampled under people's feet

if you're not going to be

the salt of the earth.

Not just that.

He didn't end there.

He said you are the light of the world.

A city situated on a hill

cannot be hidden.

No one lights a lamp

and puts it under a basket,

but rather on a lamp stand

and it gives light

for all who are in the house.

In the same way,

let your light shine before others

so they can see your good works

and give glory to you

because you're such a great guy.

That's not how it ended.

They may see your good works

and give glory to your Father

in heaven.

That's where we lose him.

Yeah, Jesus, I'll do good works.

I want everybody to think

I'm a nice person.

I want everybody to pat me on the back.

It gives me this warm, fuzzy feeling

when I do something nice for somebody,

especially around the holidays.

Jesus said that's not what it's about.

It's about drawing people to me.

It's about rescuing them from darkness

and bringing them to light.

There is a great mission at stake here.

Well, you see, preacher,

I just don't know about that.

That's just not who I am.

Well, then you're salt

that doesn't have any flavor

and you know what happens then.

See your good works

and give glory to your Father in heaven.

You say, I worship God?

Then you gotta be a witness.

Johnson Oatman wrote this song.

If you grew up in church,

you probably heard this

at some point along the way.

Count your blessings.

Name them one by one.

Count your many blessings.

See what God has done.

Maybe it's time to go back

to a place of gratitude.

Maybe it's time to go back

to a place of thankfulness.

Says, God, you've done so much

for me along the way.

And somewhere,

I got my eyes off of that.

And I got my eyes on everything

I don't think is right in the world.

And you want me to count my blessings again.

You want me to go back

and see how good God is.

Psalm 118 says,

this is the Lord's doing.

It is marvelous in our eyes.

What's he talking about?

He's talking about all the things

that God has done.

Look what God's done

right here in this church.

Look what God's done.

I can't speak to the history

except what I've read in books

or what I've heard from you.

But look what God has done.

Number one,

he's kept the doors of this church

open since 1876.

Number two,

we've got multi-generational Christians

sitting in this room,

many of whom were raised up

in this church.

And if you're not one of those people,

man, we're so glad you're here.

Because if all it was

was people who were raised

in this church,

boy, that would be so sad.

We need fresh blood, don't we?

We need fresh people coming in

and seeing what God's going to do

through them.

Look what he's done

just in the last year and a half

that I've seen personally

with my own eyes.

How many have been added

to our number?

How many have followed

the Lord's command

to be baptized

and give that public testimony

of the transformation

he's making inside them?

21 in the last year and a half.

Thank God for that.

This is the Lord's doing

and it's marvelous

in our eyes.

Is it marvelous in your eyes?

Or could you take or leave it?

Is it marvelous in your eyes

or are other things

more important to you?

Is what God is doing

marvelous in your eyes

or has it been tainted

and diminished

because you're not content?

You're ungrateful.

So here's your takeaway.

There's two parts to it today.

Do God's ways get to win

over my will?

Do God's ways get to win

over my will?

God's ways are clearly laid out

in the word of God.

You say, who gets to determine

God's ways?

Scripture does.

The Bible does.

The Bible teaches us

what God's ways are.

The Great Commission

and the Great Commandment.

Go into all the world

and teach the gospel

to everyone.

Make disciples.

Jesus followers.

That is God's ways.

Love one another.

Love the Lord, our God.

Love each other as ourselves.

That's the Great Commandment.

That is God's ways.

Do God's ways get to win

over my will?

And the second part,

does my discontentment

reveal a lack of appreciation

for what God is doing?

Does my discontentment

reveal a lack of appreciation

for what God is doing?

Would you ask yourself

that question along with me?

If we're all honest with ourselves,

some of us won't be,

but I pray that the majority

of God's people here

would honestly seek our hearts,

ask God to reveal to us

am I being discontent?

Does that show

that I don't appreciate

what God's doing here?

Do God's ways get to win over me?

Would you bow your heads with me?

God, teach us to be thankful.

Teach us to thank you.

Let us not be like the other nine

who just went on their way

and said, oh great,

God did something great for me.

Wonderful.

I'm going to go on my way now.

I'm going to live my life

how I choose.

Let us be like the one

who returned

and cast ourselves

at his feet

and said,

God, thank you.

Thank you.

Restore to us

the joy of our salvation.

Then we will turn sinners to you.

We will speak of that salvation.

We will be your witnesses

in Jerusalem,

in Judea,

in Samaria,

to the ends of the earth.

What is our Jerusalem?

It's right here in Henrietta, Texas

in Clay County.

What is our Judea?

It's across this general area

in our state.

What is our Samaria?

The places we don't want to go.

The places that are distasteful to us.

We will be your witnesses there.

And the ends of the earth, God.

You might be calling people

to take your gospel message

to countries they've never visited,

to places that don't have

the wealth of the gospel

that we enjoy here

in our country.

Or you might just be calling somebody

to go across the street,

to speak a word at work,

to talk to a relative

at Thanksgiving.

Whatever way we can be a witness

and truly worship you,

will God's ways get to win

over our own?

Church, would you join us in standing?

As you do,

I'm going to ask these questions.

If you're here today

and you heard the gospel message,

the saving news of Jesus

preached to you,

and you would like today

to be the day

that you turn from sin

and turn to the Savior,

then please come down front

and meet me down here.

I'd like to sit down

and pray with you,

show you from God's word

how you can know

that you are the child of God.

If you'd like to place

your membership in this church,

please meet me down here.

I'd love to have

that conversation with you.

If you've got something

you just need to pray about,

maybe God's spoken to you

from his word

and he's convicted you

about something to pray about,

would you come down

and just use this if you'd like,

if you'd like to sit

and pray in your seat,

if you'd like to stand

and pray quietly,

that's up to you.

It's between you and God.

Jared's going to lead us

in this song

and let's use this time

as a time to do business

with our Lord.

I hear you