The Great Pursuit

From the Great Commission in Matthew 28 until the great multitude in Revelation 7,

God invites us to join Him in the great pursuit.

In a world filled with diverse cultures, languages, and people,

we are unified in this mission, His mission.

Since 1845, IMB missionaries have embarked on a journey to share the gospel,

make disciples, and plant churches in places where Jesus is not yet known.

But the task is monumental.

Billions are still unreached, living without the hope and love of Christ.

In 2023, over 879,000 people heard the gospel, 141,000 people believed, and 116,000 were baptized.

Yet, so many more still wait for their chance to hear and believe.

Lostness is not just a statistic.

It's an eternal reality for billions of souls.

But amidst the challenges, there's hope.

The Great Pursuit is a faithful journey fueled by love, compassion,

and the unwavering belief in the transformative power of the gospel.

Stories of redemption, reconciliation, and restoration inspire us to press on.

Our vision is rooted in Revelation 7, verse 9.

Revelation 7:9

A multitude from every corner of the world united in worshiping Jesus Christ.

You are called to play your part in this vision.

Whether you pray fervently, give generously, go boldly, or send faithfully,

your role is vital in the Great Pursuit.

Join us in solving the greatest problem in the world, lostness.

Together, we spread the message of hope and salvation to every nation, tribe, and tongue.

This is the Great Pursuit.

If you have your Bibles, I want to turn to Matthew 28.

Matthew 28, I'm going to be looking at a couple different places,

but that's where I'm going to start.

It is, as the song says, the most wonderful time of the year.

Whether you're ready or not, it's December.

And they say it's the most wonderful time of the year.

I say somewhat.

College football is almost over, so the most wonderful time of the year is leaving us.

But after yesterday, you can go.

But anyway.

However, this is one of those times.

We have a lot going on, and I want to encourage you to pay attention to the calendar in your bulletin

and make note of it on your personal calendar.

Next weekend, we have a wonderful opportunity.

Our choir and orchestra and drama team have been working together for Merry Christmas Pickens,

and it'll be a wonderful presentation of the gospel story.

It'll take place on Saturday night as well as both worship hours on Sunday morning.

And I want to encourage you not only to be here but to invite folks.

If they have their own church and can't come on Sunday here, then that's what Saturday's for,

is to allow folks and encourage folks to come and to be a part of that.

It's a great time together.

And then the Sunday preceding Christmas, December the 22nd,

please make note that we'll have our two worship hours.

We will not have life groups.

We'll not be meeting for those two hours for life groups,

but we will have our both worship hours on the 22nd.

There is no midweek because midweek is Christmas Day.

And then the 29th as well, we'll have one worship hour.

We'll all come together for one worship hour, one combined worship hour.

No life groups on the 29th, just one hour of worship together.

So please make note of that.

And we will not be meeting for midweek on January the 1st either.

Throughout all of that, however, we are focusing in on one of my favorites.

And that is the Lottie Moon Christmas offering for international missions.

And I will say that we have a task before us.

The national goal for the International Mission Board in this offering is $205 million.

And our church goal is $66,000.

Admittedly, we brought in more than that last year.

And this year's goal is our highest yet.

So if you're new to a Southern Baptist church and are not familiar with the Lottie Moon Christmas offering,

who is this lady and when are we going to pay her off?

That's what I've heard from children sometimes when they get done hearing somebody talk about Lottie Moon

and think, when are we ever going to pay that lady off?

Well, hopefully we won't.

Lottie Moon was a missionary in China at the turn of the 20th century.

And she had a tremendous burden to see folks come to know the Lord Jesus Christ.

And she served faithfully.

The mission board ran out of money.

And they told the missionaries to come home, that they could not afford to keep them on the field.

She refused to come home.

She knew that God had called her there and would not come home.

And she grew so burdened for that that it affected her health.

As well, she deprived herself in order to give to others.

And she dealt with some malnutrition.

Her faith became, I mean, her health became poor.

And finally, she was forced, because she was going to die if she didn't, to get on a boat and start home.

And it was on that boat on the way home that she died.

Before she died, she started a special offering because of the great financial need that the International Mission Board had,

the Foreign Mission Board at that time, had.

And she started asking for churches to give a Christmas offering for International Missions.

And after she died, some years later, that offering was named after her, the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions.

Now, so why do we bother to spend so much money on International Missions?

I will tell you that if we reach our goal this year, if you combine that with our cooperative program giving

and the portion of our cooperative program giving, because when you give a tithe to this church,

a portion of that in 2024, 10% of that will go toward the cooperative program.

Of that that goes to the cooperative program, about a quarter of that goes directly to International Missions.

If you put all those formulas together, between us reaching our goal for Lottie Moon

and between our cooperative program giving that goes to International Missions,

we'll give over $100,000 to International Missions as a church.

Why in the world would we put that much money into that?

Well, I'm glad you asked.

Matthew 28, verse 18 says this,

Matthew 28:18

And Jesus came and said to them,

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit,

teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you,

and behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.

That is known as the Great Commission.

It is the last words that Jesus spoke before he ascended into heaven,

and those words say that he has empowered us

and sent us out to reach the world for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We are to share Christ.

We are to make disciples by nurturing them in his word.

Now, our schedule changes about this time of year,

but if you typically look at a worship bulletin

and look at the schedule of the week,

you'll notice that on Sundays,

not only do we have corporate worship together,

but we also have life groups.

In addition to that, on Sunday evenings,

we have sessions for children and for youth,

as well as for adults.

You'll notice as well on Tuesday mornings

that we have Bible studies that take place across this campus.

On Wednesday morning, we have a Bible study on Wednesday evening.

We have opportunities for all ages as well.

All of those things are about making disciples.

Why do we meet on Sunday?

Why do we meet on Tuesday?

Why do we meet on Wednesday?

Why are we available throughout the week

and challenging you often to make disciples?

That means not only do we have the responsibility

to lead people to Christ

and be a part of Christ saving them,

but also we have a responsibility once they are saved

to grow them up in the Lord.

It's what we're called to do.

He also tells us to baptize.

To baptize, folks, is to lead people,

to take a private committal faith

and to make it public in a way that by Christ's commission

and by his example, he's told us to do.

Your faith, if it's in Christ, is not a private matter.

I want to be clear.

I've heard people say that before.

Well, my faith is a private matter.

Well, it's not a gospel faith then, friend,

because the reality is Jesus told us to tell.

He told us to go and to tell and to make disciples.

He told us to share our faith.

And so our faith is not a private matter.

We are to win the world of Christ.

He assures us that he will be with us all the way.

And I want you to notice something.

When it says making disciples,

it says make disciples of all nations.

Why are we always going places?

Or why should I go anywhere?

Because God's called us to go.

And so I want to challenge you as you look toward 2025,

go get your passport.

Let's go somewhere.

Let's do something for the Lord Jesus.

Let's get after it.

Because he guides us all the way,

and that's a big deal.

I want us to be a part.

I want us to influence the great multitude.

I hate the misuse of the book of Revelation so much.

The point of that book was to give a future hope

to a persecuted church in Asia Minor.

There were seven churches,

central locations where many, many small churches

met around those areas.

And John, while on the island of Patmos,

received a vision from the Lord

of a message that he was to share

to those seven groups of people.

He gives individual messages to those seven regions.

And then the rest of that book is to give them hope

in the midst of their circumstances.

The point of the book is to give them hope

by proclaiming not only a future victory by the Lord,

but sharing that God has already been victorious.

He is victorious.

And we will celebrate that around his throne.

It's going to be much better and more obvious in the future.

That's after it gets worse.

But I want you to notice something,

a beautiful scene in the book of Revelation.

I happen to love Revelation 1.

That's not our text for the day.

You don't have to look there.

But I'm just telling you, while I'm here,

I'm just going to camp out a minute.

Revelation 1 I absolutely love

because it's an amazing description of Christ

walking among the churches that were hurting.

He's addressing seven churches that are hurting.

And it says that Christ, and it's a powerful image of Christ,

is walking among the candlesticks.

The candlesticks represent the churches

that are to keep their flame lit

and are to light the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We're like a candlestick here in the midst of the darkness.

And he is walking among the candlesticks.

You know what that means?

That means that no matter how you're hurting,

no matter what's going on,

no matter what the world's doing around you,

the Lord Jesus loves this church

and is walking in the midst of us.

He is there with us, walking with us.

And then there's an amazing description of heaven at the end.

And there's a beautiful image of heaven in Revelation 7.

And when God allowed John to see a vision into heaven,

the scene is amazing.

And I want you to get this scene.

It's in Revelation 7, verse 9.

Revelation 7:9

It says this,

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude

that no one could number from every nation,

from all tribes and people and languages,

standing before the throne and before the Lamb,

clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands,

and crying out with a loud voice,

Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne

and to the Lamb.

And all the angels were standing around the throne

and around the elders and the four living creatures,

and they fell on their faces before the throne

and worshipped God, saying,

Amen.

Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving

and honor and power and might

be to our God forever and ever.

Amen.

What a scene.

What a scene.

Can you imagine?

It says there that there will be people from all nations

and there will be more than we could count

from all tribes, all peoples, all languages

around the throne of God together.

Can you imagine that?

Well, I want to let you in on something.

Not only can we be a part of that through Christ Jesus,

we can influence that.

We can influence that.

The reality is that most people that die today

will not get there.

Most people that die today will not be in heaven.

There will be more than we can count

from around the world throughout all generations there,

but the reality is most will not be there.

And so I'm saying let's play a part

and let's make it bigger.

Let's make the crowd bigger.

We don't have the ability to save.

Don't misunderstand me.

We don't have that ability.

We have the ability to point people to a Christ

that will save, that wants to save them.

God has instructed us to share

and promised us that he would bless us

and Jesus saves eternally.

Yes, he can save them without us,

but why in the world should he?

Why would we want him to?

Don't you want to be a part of that cause?

Which leads to the great pursuit.

In Acts chapter 1 verse 8,

Acts 1:8

Jesus said,

but you will receive power

when the Holy Spirit's come upon you

and you will be my witnesses

in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria

and to the end of the earth.

Now Jesus ascended from Jerusalem.

So let's get the context of this passage.

He ascended from Jerusalem.

When he tells them

that they are to be witnesses in Jerusalem,

he means that they are to be witnesses

right where they are.

Folks,

we have a responsibility

to be witnesses

right where we are.

Your neighbor,

God may have strategically placed

that neighbor beside you

so that they can have a relationship with you

and can possibly hear the gospel.

You're not responsible

for their response.

You are responsible

that they have a personal invitation

to come to Christ.

In the middle of football yesterday,

I sent out a message

in anticipation of the day

to over 700 people

and said,

pray,

invite,

anticipate.

And the reason why I sent that

was because I believe

God's placed us here

in our Jerusalem

where we live

to make a difference

in the lives of people

that are around us.

He goes beyond that.

He speaks of Judea.

How does that relate to us?

That's the wider region.

That's the South Carolina for us.

That's the North America for us.

He goes on to talk about Samaria.

You may be familiar that

I didn't like people in Samaria.

It's the further reaches.

It's the people around the world.

It's the people that

you may not have a burden for.

It's the people that

you may not want to have much to do with.

The reality is

that we have a responsibility

to those that would go unnoticed

unless we respond

if we don't do our part.

So what is our part?

Well, for one,

it's to pray.

We have 3,600 missionaries

with the International Mission Board

on the field

serving throughout the world.

In September,

I flew to Richmond, Virginia

to go to what was called

an International Mission Board

Senders Summit.

They said they wanted to talk

about building a pipeline.

I didn't really know

what they were building

a pipeline to

and I wasn't really sure

what the conference was about.

But quite honestly,

the reason I went to the conference

is because it was held

at a training center

for the IMB missionaries.

When they are called

and commissioned to go,

they go to this training center

for six weeks to be trained.

And I wanted to smell it

and taste it a little bit

and see what we were talking about.

I'll go far reaches

for a sermon illustration.

And so I wanted to be a part of that.

But as well,

I wanted to be a part of

meeting some of my heroes,

which are missionaries,

those that God has called

to go to other places

to serve the world,

pick up their families

and move them to other places.

It was quite amazing

to be a part of that

because the week that I was there,

the few days,

it wasn't a week,

the few days that I was there,

they had more

international missionaries

on that campus

than they had had

in over a decade.

There were over 100 folks there

doing the training

before they went overseas

to serve the world.

Now, our conference

was not interacting

with missionaries.

I was interacting

with IMB personnel

and some churches

that play a major part

in helping new missionaries

go to the field

and they were sharing

their stories with us

and those type things.

But we were on the same campus

and we ate in the same cafeteria

as all those missionaries

and their families.

And so I always made a point

with every meal

to sit down

and sit with another missionary's family

to get to know them

and to meet them

and to find out

what their story is

and where they were going.

I met guys

that had just graduated,

were about to graduate

from college

that were going to serve

as what's called journeymen.

It's a two-year mission

overseas

where they were,

one of them

was going to be a trekker.

He was simply going

to take people hiking

and while he took them hiking,

share the gospel with them

and build relationships with them.

There were all kinds

of different aspects

that they would do

and it was fascinating

to see these

who had been touched

by the Lord

and called by the Lord

to go.

It was amazing to see.

It's a training center

that's on the countryside

outside of Richmond

on I think about 140 acres.

I might have just made

that figure up

but you know

most statistics

are made up on the spot anyway

but I was able

to spend time with them

and I learned

that the strategy

that we have

as Southern Baptists

to reach the world

is through eight

different strategic areas

called affinities.

One is Europe.

The second one

is North Africa

and the Middle East.

The third is

Sub-Saharan Africa.

The fourth is Central Asia.

The fifth is South Asia.

The sixth is the Pacific Rim.

Seven is the Americas

and I don't know

if you can see that or not

but when it says number eight

it's sitting over South America

but it's got a little asterisk beside it

and that asterisk speaks

of not just South America

but the rest of the world.

That's the deaf community.

One of our affinities

are the deaf community

throughout the world

and how desperately folks

need to know the Lord.

I want you to understand

how desperate the need is.

For instance,

the United Kingdom

which we have had

a missionary here

a couple of times

since I've been here

from England.

Kenny is over

a large number

of missionaries

in the UK

and I grew up with him.

He's a dear friend of mine

and because of his position

with the International Mission Board

he had the opportunity

to move to other parts

of the UK

and he has recently moved

to Ireland.

He had planned to move

earlier than this

to Ireland

to Dublin area

and there was a hold up

that kind of delayed

not only his move

but our participation

with his new ministry there

in Ireland

but in the UK

only 1.46% of people

are Christian

and have a personal relationship

professing relationship

with Christ

1.46%

in Russia

only 1 in 500 people

are Christian

and I got to thinking

about 1 in 500

how does that range?

So if you

if that was the case

in Pickens County

if only 1 in 500

knew the Lord

those in attendance

here today

between our two

worship hours

would almost double

the amount of believers

in our county

that would be the entirety

of those

that would be saved

in our county

on those kind of

representations

in other words

people need

the Lord

and we need to pray

for that to happen

now to give more

guided prayer

during this particular week

there is available

in a foyer

a little booklet

it looks just like this

on both those black tables

I put them out there myself

just right before

the first service

and it's the Week of Prayer

for International Missions

2024

Prayer Guide

and it'll give you

somebody to pray for

you can go online

and get more information

about them

but they give you

somebody to pray for

every day

starting today

through next Sunday

it's the Week of Prayer

for International Missions

today's guy

is named Moses

Moses grew up

in West Africa

and Moses was saved

while he was in West Africa

and God led him

to come to America

and become

a Bible college student

and he came over here

and went to Bible college

and he and his wife

also felt led

to go to seminary

and they went to seminary

and then God called them

back to Africa

and he serves in Senegal

actually he serves

in islands outside of Senegal

now I went to Guinea

in 2000 April of 2017

on a vision trip

it was a partnership

that the state of Mississippi had

and I lived there at the time

and I went over

and went to Guinea

and some of the missionaries

that I dealt with

there

because again

I tell you

they're my heroes now

I mean

there was a family

that moved from Arkansas

that I ate in their home

they had about four kids

and they moved from Arkansas

to the biggest city in Guinea

sent their kids

to a primarily French

speaking school

their kids did not speak French

and nobody spoke English

except them

they had a wall

around their house

with a gate

and on top of that wall

there were pieces of glass

that had been cemented

into the top

to keep people

from coming over

the top of that wall

and they were walking

their kids to school

it was an amazing sacrifice

that these folks

successful people

in Arkansas

picked up and left

and went

I'm telling you

because of the gospel

and because of what God's placed

upon their life

those are my heroes man

to be able to do that

and move your family

and all that stuff

I've never felt led

to do that

I prayed about that

and asked God

what would you have me do

and hey

y'all are it

but I mean

I've never felt led

to do that

but I'm telling you

the people who

are led to do that

they're my heroes man

I can't help but

bump elbows with them

and appreciate them

and one of the reasons

why I love to go

is to encourage them

to let them know

we love you

we care about you

we're praying for you

and if there's something

we can do to help you

please tell me

because these folks

will step up

when they need to step up

and let us know

what we can do

sometimes it's very simple things

and sometimes it's not

but it's a wonderful blessing

to do that

but those people

had served previously

in Senegal

and Senegal was like

the nice place to stay

versus Guinea

Guinea is not the nice place

to stay

I promise you

but anyway

so Senegal was a nicer area

it had presentable beaches

instead of trash

all over the beaches

and all that kind of stuff

well Moses went to Senegal

not the Moses of the Bible

the Moses of the missionary

that I'm talking about

Moses went to Senegal

and he serves in the islands

off of Senegal

Moses can't swim

and he's very afraid of water

and God in his sense of humor

called him

to be an island missionary

and so he put on a life jacket

got in a boat

and went over to an island

and showed the Jesus film

the Jesus film

is a film

that tells the story of Jesus

I think it's translated

in over a hundred languages

and he showed them

that movie

25 people

that movie

in their language

and 15 of them

got saved

in that session

when he first got there

and he's been ministering

to them

ever since

pray

for Moses

that God would work

and move

in his life

life

you know

what I found out

when I was in Guinea

when I was in Guinea

was so many of them

animism is big over there

which is a cultic

kind of naturalistic

spiritual world

that they believe in

that is

that is demonic

quite honestly

but also

the Muslim faith

is very strong

there

and there are people

who have committed

their lives to Christ

but have yet to be baptized

because if they're baptized

they'll lose their job

they'll lose their family

they'll be completely ostracized

and so for somebody

to get baptized over there

and make a public confession

of faith

it is a life change

and so so many

of the people

that I met

along the way

were Christians

that were still struggling

with that whole deal

of what to do about that

because young people

give their heart and life

to the Lord Jesus

and if they get baptized

their family will disown them

they'll have nothing

and so they struggle with that

I was on a college campus

over there

meeting with

with the college students

and went

rode in

120 miles

over 8 hours

into the bush

and went into

a small village there

where people over there

need desperately

to hear the gospel

and I went over there

with a medical doctor

who treats folks

in a hospital

and by treating them

in a hospital

he also shares Christ

with them

Dr. Robert Pepper

wonderful

but anyway

God's doing wonderful

things over there

and he's doing it

through people like Moses

and we need to pray

for him

not only that

to pray

but we also need to go

it is my prayer

that God would call people

out of this congregation

to reach the world

for Christ

he's done it before

and I pray

he does it again

have you ever considered it

I mean let's think about this

have you ever even dared

to pray about it

it is the greatest pursuit

for the gospel

and I want you to get

a taste of it

we have put

purposely

put more money

for 2025

toward getting involved

in missions

and going on mission

than we've had previously

we have a team

that's going to Toronto

this summer

last summer

that team went

and did back

our Bible clubs

they plan to do something

very similar there as well

how about Peru

we've had an ongoing

relationship with Peru

for a long time

and Jeff Rafferty

and Jim Gilstrap

train pastors online

since COVID

they've done

Zoom calls online

where they'll meet

with as many

as 100 pastors

on a Friday night

late Friday night

teaching them doctrine

in order for them

to get training

that they can't get

otherwise

we support

a missionary

over there

that's going

into the jungles

he's native from there

but he's going

into the jungles

and sharing faith

and there's trips

that go

into the jungles there

we also are teaching children

and want to expand that

there's some light construction

that we're looking at doing

and so Jeff is already

in the planning stages

of planning a trip

to Peru

next year

what about Europe

Kenny has shared with me

my missionary in Ireland

has shared with me

that he'd love

for a small team

to come in September

and help in a church

that he is working in there

and supporting

to just get the word out

and to just be a help

on the ground

so we plan to do that

and what about

a community rebuild

we got communities

around us

ravaged by floods

we found out

after Helene came through

we didn't have to go

very far

to help people

rebuild their lives

and so

we have mission teams

that are planning

on going to

do a community rebuild

we don't have to go far

to be productive

in ministry

my question is

what would God

have you do

and are you even

open to do it

if he leads you

to do it

I just encourage you

to pray about it

encourage you to pray

what would God

have you do

and then prepare

yourself for it

as I told you earlier

go get a passport

be ready

in case God

leads you to go

go and

to share

however this time

I also ask you

to give

I ask you to give

10% of our

all undesignated money

that's given

to Pickens First

Baptist Church

in 2024

goes through

the cooperative program

more than half

of that money

stays in the state

of South Carolina

to provide support

for planning churches

and for raising up

missionaries

and supporting

our own county

RA camp

at Camp McCall

it supports that

however

when you give

to the cooperative

program

and when you give

your tithe

to First Baptist

you give the cooperative

program

a quarter of what

goes to the cooperative

program

goes directly

to international

missions

that total

that comes

from the cooperative

program

that goes

to international

missions

that nationwide

total

is about half

of what they need

the other half

of what they need

to keep personnel

on the field

comes from

the Lottie Moon

Christmas offering

and it takes

an average

of $77,000

to keep a missionary

on the field

now in some places

in the world

it's more expensive

than that

in some places

in the world

that's impoverished

it's a lot cheaper

than that

but on the average

what it takes

to keep a missionary

on the field

is $77,000

however

I promise you

that if we don't

support the Lottie Moon

Christmas offering

we will not have

the personnel

in place

in those

hard to reach areas

missionaries

will come home

and what we run into

is a real situation

in real time

now

missionaries

are retiring

and we need

part of that conference

that I went to

is to make sure

that we do

everything we can

to prepare

the next generation

to take their place

that we call

the called out

that we

support

the cooperative

program

to make our

seminaries strong

so that they get

the proper training

in order to go

so that we give

through the cooperative

program

to help

with international

missions

but also that we

give through Lottie Moon

because the difference

in giving to Lottie Moon

versus these other

things

is when you give

a dollar to Lottie Moon

that dollar

goes directly

to international

missions

it actually goes

to pay the salaries

of the missionaries

on the field

that's what it's for

they may raise

some support

for ministry

activities that they do

or special projects

along the way

and all that stuff

but they are guaranteed

through the Lottie Moon

Christmas offering

and through the cooperative

program

that they will be

covered if they'll go

and as missionaries

retire

we need to keep

to create

and keep pipeline

clear

to pipe missionaries

to the field

to keep them going

our goal this year

as a church

is $66,000

last year

our goal

was $1,000

less than that

but our goal

and I want you

to hear me this morning

but our goal

last year

was reached

during the month

of December

I went back

and looked

this week

to see

and we reached it

during the month

of December

my friend

that's the way

you do it

when God

puts a goal

before you

and we have

a responsibility

to fulfill it

and it's an aggressive

goal

but we get it done

as God allows us

to do

I think you ought

to set a goal

for the glory

of God

and then get it done

and as the little kid

said pay the lady

off

you know

get it done

and give faithfully

to Lottie Moon

now to be honest

with you

this church

has faithfully

given to Lottie Moon

for many many years

I'm thankful

that that is just

growing

quite honestly

and I feel sure

that we'll be faithful

to do that

there's envelopes

that look like this

with the blue

markings around them

you can pick one

of those up

as you leave

and always mark

that Lottie Moon

and you can give

that way

you can give online

you can give

any way

God leads you

to give

I encourage you

to give

to that

but more importantly

than all of that

while we try

to go throughout

the world

to share the gospel

my question is

do you

know the Lord

Jesus Christ

have you

ever surrendered

your life

to follow

the Lord Jesus

because I'm thankful

that the gospel

is

that if you confess

that you've done wrong

and that you're a sinner

that he'll meet you

where you are

and he'll forgive you

of your sins

and he'll come

into your life

and he'll save you

and change you

if you've never

given your heart

and life

to the Lord Jesus Christ

the greatest decision

you'll ever make

is to surrender

your life to Christ

maybe you've done that

and it's a private faith

you've done it privately

but you've never

done it publicly

you've never let

anybody else know

what God has done

in your life

I want to encourage you

to take that private faith

and be obedient to God

and make it public

the way we do that

by his example

and by his commission

is through baptism

baptism is a

public way

of confessing

what Christ

has done

in your life

privately

and if you've

never done that

I encourage you

to be obedient

to that

maybe God's leading

you to be a part

of Pickens First

Baptist Church

I'm thankful

we have several

guests here today

some of you

have been with us

for some time

and I'm thankful

for that

God's doing

a wonderful work

in Pickens First

Baptist Church

and if God's leading

you to be a part

of this church

you come

we'd love to guide

you in that process

but listen

I don't have a clue

what God's telling you

in your heart

and life

I just want you

to be obedient

you'll never be satisfied

until you follow

what his will is

for your life

and so you be obedient

if I can help

in that process

that's exactly

what this time

is for

stand together

if you will

I'm going to pray

and we're going to sing

Heavenly Father

I love you

and I thank you Lord

for your love for us

and I ask right now

that you will lead

and guide us

help us to simply

be obedient

as you speak

to our hearts

and lives

Father

in Jesus precious name

Amen