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I Must Go On My Way (Luke 13:31-35)
1 Plays3 seconds ago
Sunday Message recorded 28 June 2026
by Senior Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church - Columbus, TX, USA
1700 Milam St.
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
Recommended
Transcript
Gesture of gratitude during the Lord's Supper
00:00:06
Speaker
I just wanted to let you know at the end of a service when we have the Lord's Supper, we place the offering plates by the door for a reason. And the reason is that out of our gratitude for all that Jesus had done for us and out of his great love for us, we love other people.
00:00:26
Speaker
And this past week, there was a family that your gifts gave. Whenever we give this, whenever we place the offerings there, it's ah it's a freewill offering of love.
00:00:39
Speaker
And what it ah allows us to do is we can help those who are stranded, those who are passing through our community and they have us a really important need.
Support for a struggling mechanic's family
00:00:49
Speaker
So this week on Thursday, a man called me, he's a mechanic in North Carolina and he had traveled to California to get his wife tested. She began to have seizures.
00:01:01
Speaker
And he said that they said that there was a specialist over there that she could go and see. So they saw the specialist and he had planned for it. But he said, what happened? I was planning on two weeks, but he said it wound up taking a whole month.
00:01:17
Speaker
So he said, I'm so glad that we brought a tent. He said, we put the tent on top of our car. And so I just thought just in case. And he said, so we've been camping out all the way back to North Carolina. We're on our way back.
00:01:31
Speaker
They gave her the medication and so forth. But he said, as a result, he said, I've used up all my money. He said, I've got enough to make it back. I've i've figured it out on the mileage.
00:01:42
Speaker
But he said, i just need diapers. Mm-hmm. He said, my my three-year-old is still in diapers because he's seen his mom have these seizures and it's very traumatic for him.
00:01:54
Speaker
And he said, i just wonder if you could just buy some diapers for me. So i said, yeah. I said, yeah, we can. Because I kept asking him questions. I began to see he's authentic.
00:02:07
Speaker
He's real. He knows the Lord. His wife knows the Lord. They have four kids that are back in North Carolina that his parents are taking care of while they made this trip.
00:02:18
Speaker
But the youngest one, it had been so traumatic for him, they said, let's bring him with us. So they did. And so I used some of the offering that was given, you know, during a Lord's Supper time like this. after your' After we're dismissed, you can give in the offering plate, but this is just how I use it.
00:02:38
Speaker
I said, you know, I want to not only buy you the diapers you need for your son, but I said, I would also like for you to get whatever else that you need here at Walmart. So he said, well, we could probably use some energy drinks so that we don't dehydrate and we maybe could use some fruit snacks. So he got some energy drinks and fruit snacks and so forth. And so anyway, we checked out and I said,
00:03:03
Speaker
I think I would also like to fill your tank up. He said, well, I've got over three-fourths of a tank. We can get on down the road. And I said, yeah, but I'd like to top it up if you don't mind.
00:03:14
Speaker
He said, yeah, sure. That'd be fine. And I thought about them when I was pumping the gas. And I thought, you know, we have air conditioning. And if he's going to make it all the way back to North Carolina...
00:03:26
Speaker
He had said a few things about it being hot in Texas. A lot of people joke about that. But anyway, i said to him, you know, after I pumped his gas, I said, I think our church would also like to give you and your wife and your son a night in the air conditioning.
00:03:43
Speaker
And so I also paid for them a night in the hotel. But it's all about love, right? It's all about telling people about Jesus Christ. And I told him about Christ. But he said, we are Christians.
00:03:55
Speaker
We know the Lord. And he said, we've been praying that God would heal my wife. Her name's Tiffany. His name's Eric. Like I said, he's a mechanic. But he he when I let him off at the hotel, I said, I'm going to pray and I'm going to ask my church family to pray that God would heal Tiffany of that brain cancer.
00:04:15
Speaker
So anyway, I would really encourage you to join with me in praying for Tiffany, that God would bring healing to her.
Sermon on Jesus's determination in Luke 13
00:04:23
Speaker
Would you open now God's word to Luke, to Luke chapter 13.
00:04:37
Speaker
Luke chapter 13. We're going to look at the last few verses, verses 31 to 35.
00:04:49
Speaker
The title for the message is, I must go on my way. I must go on my way. It comes straight from the text. If you look in verse 33, if you look ahead, you'll see there it is.
00:05:01
Speaker
Jesus said, nevertheless, I must go on my way. And today we will learn how can we stay on the right trail, on the right path?
00:05:13
Speaker
How can we continue to obey God, God's will for our lives? You know, just before expressing his personal resolve to remain in the center of God's plan, he declared this. And the third day I finish my course.
00:05:29
Speaker
Will you finish like Jesus? Will you say, Lord, until my last breath, I want to honor you. I want to obey you. Many Bible scholars refer to Luke's record.
00:05:41
Speaker
Excuse me. One of those bread things is hung up in there. But anyway, many Bible scholars refer to the Lord's record of Christ's final journey from the Galilean city of Capernaum.
00:05:54
Speaker
And in chapter 9, way back in chapter 9, verse 51, that's when he left. until he goes to the entrance into Jerusalem in chapter 19 and verse 28. What they call this is Luke's travelogue.
00:06:10
Speaker
And so I put a map on the right-hand side of that slide that traces our Lord's route. He was in Galilee. Then he goes to Samaria.
00:06:21
Speaker
Then he goes through the Decapolis. It was kind of a region of 10 cities. And then he goes through Perea. And then he goes on down into Judea and does go to Jerusalem. But right at this point, he's in Perea.
00:06:34
Speaker
I don't have any scriptural basis for this, but I'm just curious if maybe this was the inspiration for the song, On the Road Again. I don't know. Anyway, you have to remember I'm from Tennessee, so it just comes out sometime.
00:06:47
Speaker
But God's will and God's work is more like a highway than a driveway. You know, sometimes it's like, God, just pull in and bless me. Bless me right here, right now, what I'm doing.
00:06:59
Speaker
But I think that God's saying, if you want my blessing, then I want you to be on the highway of my will. you know Tonight,
Aligning actions with God's timing
00:07:06
Speaker
we're going to learn about Enoch and how he walked with God.
00:07:10
Speaker
And so we'll talk about that, walking with God tonight. But this morning, I want us to think about the will of God. Some of you may be seeking God's will in your life. I see a lot of young people that are here today, and we're glad to have you. And so I want to share five principles related to God's will.
00:07:29
Speaker
And think each of these principles are demonstrated by Christ. And I know that I'm referring to Christ saying, nevertheless, I must go on my way.
00:07:40
Speaker
But you know, on Thursday of this week, the Lord confirmed that this is the message he wants me to share through my own quiet time in Psalm 143 verse Another man named David said, make me know the way I should go.
00:07:56
Speaker
Maybe there's some of you and you're saying, Lord, I just want you to help me to know which way to go. David later said in Psalm 143 verse 10, teach me to do your will.
00:08:10
Speaker
So I want us to look at this passage and see what can we learn from Jesus? He's our example. So I just want to give you five quick things before we dismiss. Would you stand in honor of God's word?
00:08:22
Speaker
I'm going to begin with Luke 13 verse 31 and read down to the end of the chapter. at that very hour, Some Pharisees came and said to him, get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.
00:08:37
Speaker
And he said to them, go and tell that fox, behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today. And tomorrow?
00:08:47
Speaker
And the third day I finish my course. Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.
00:09:01
Speaker
Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it. How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings?
00:09:15
Speaker
And you were not willing. Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you you, will not see me until you say, blessed is he who comes.
00:09:27
Speaker
In the name of the Lord. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Lord, let this come alive with application. I believe that Jesus, you stayed on target with the Father's will perfectly.
00:09:39
Speaker
You're a great example. And so show us how can we stay on target with the Father's will. Maybe not perfectly. We're all broken and we're redeemed.
00:09:50
Speaker
But yet we're still in process of becoming more like Christ. And so we want to do what you want us to do. What have you created ah each of us to do?
00:10:01
Speaker
Help us, O Lord, to walk toward that. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you. You may be seated. Well, I want us to understand better what he's meant when he said, nevertheless,
00:10:16
Speaker
ah Nevertheless, I must go on my way. So what does that mean? Well, I thought of these five things and I think it applies to all of us. First is the first principle of God's will is to stay in God's timing, to stay walking with him at the right pace.
00:10:35
Speaker
So why don't we say verses 31, 32, and are related to the pace The pace of the Lord. The context is the Pharisees are trying to push Jesus.
00:10:49
Speaker
They're trying to push him along. Has anybody ever tried to push you either away from God or push you away from a church or push you away from God's will? And so they're trying to interrupt what God wants to do in your life.
00:11:03
Speaker
Well, that's exactly what was happening here. So the question was, would Jesus... Allow someone else to cause him to get out of God's will. That's the issue that is at stake in these verses that are before us.
00:11:18
Speaker
I just wanted to remind you that sometimes we can be right about the content of God's will and yet be off concerning the clock according to God's will.
00:11:30
Speaker
You know, he has a schedule. He has a timing. Let me give you two really good verses. I'm going to give you some good verses. And so if you're seeking God,
Steadfastness in faith despite challenges
00:11:39
Speaker
you need to write these down. The first one is Ecclesiastes 8.5.
00:11:43
Speaker
I learned it when I was a student at Union University. But it says, a wise heart knows the proper time and procedure. There's a way that God wants us to do something.
00:11:56
Speaker
But notice that there's also ah certain time. that he wants us to do that. That's Ecclesiastes 8.5. But of course, if I were to take a poll in this room, most of us would have heard somewhere Ecclesiastes 3.1.
00:12:10
Speaker
Ecclesiastes 3.1. For everything, there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven. And so here you have these guys coming up to Jesus and They're trying to intimidate him. They're his critics.
00:12:26
Speaker
And they're saying, you know what? Time for you to be moving on, Jesus. And he's like, you know what? I'm just going to continue. I'm going to continue with the calling that the Lord has given me.
00:12:37
Speaker
And he says, referring to Herod Antipas, who was over that region there in Perea. He says, you go tell that fox. You know, and a fox is cunning.
00:12:48
Speaker
A fox is crafty. But one thing I read this week getting ready for this is a fox is also insignificant. And so for Jesus, he's saying, you know what? You go and tell him he's so insignificant.
00:13:00
Speaker
In terms of me doing what God has called me to do. But I noticed not only the intimidation from his critics. The continuation with his calling. But the completion of his course.
00:13:12
Speaker
He says something about that. Will you finish well? He says I'm going to move today. And I'm going to move tomorrow. And I'm going to move the third day. In the direction that the Father has given me to move.
00:13:24
Speaker
Sometimes we get in a hurry, don't we? We get stressed for unnecessary reasons. God's like, I got this. I heard a story about a woman who was invited by her aunt to go and do a little Christmas shopping. It was early, but she said, you want to go with me?
00:13:39
Speaker
She said, well, I got a lot to do. Okay. As long as we're back by six, because I've got to get supper ready for the family. She said, oh, no problem. But this lady begins to get frustrated and stressed because the aunt seems to be taking her time.
00:13:55
Speaker
So she just kind of poking along. And so she's like, you know, we're getting closer to six and we still got to drive to get in the house. And she said I know, I know. Let's go to the car right now. So they get in the car and she said, oh, I've got one more stop.
00:14:08
Speaker
She's like, I don't have time for another stop. I got to get home and get supper going for my kids. She's so stressed. And she said, it's okay. It'll only be a moment. I'll just pop in, pop out. She pops in, pops out.
00:14:18
Speaker
Then they get on the icy road. And so the aunt's driving and she's driving really slow. I mean, like unusually slow. And so the lady's like, couldn't you just step on it a little bit? She said, it's icy.
00:14:30
Speaker
So then they get to the driveway and of course the sidewalk is icy. So then rather than the woman going in really fast, the aunt says, I better hold your hand. Would you hold my hand? I'll hold your hand. That way if we fall, we both go down together.
00:14:43
Speaker
So anyway, they walk in and the aunt is like, I mean, not the aunt, but the lady is so frustrated. So she opens the door, puts the key in there and she's ready to say, see you later and so-and-so.
00:14:54
Speaker
But when she opened the door and flipped on the light, Her husband, her kids, and 25 other people said, surprise, happy birthday. And she said, I began to realize all of that slowpoke stuff.
00:15:09
Speaker
It was all about me not getting here earlier because she knew what time it was all going to be ready. Do you ever get that way with God? It's like God saying, I got a surprise waiting on you.
00:15:21
Speaker
Just relax. Trust me. And so just rest in God's pace in his time. You know, Abraham and Sarah had to wait about having a baby.
00:15:33
Speaker
Joseph knew God wanted him to be a leader. he had to wait. Daniel was thrown in the lion's den. Why didn't God just, you know, kill the lions right there and he could get out right that moment. But no, he had to spend the night in the lion's den.
00:15:47
Speaker
Ruth had to wait for a husband named Boaz. Mary and Martha, they had somebody they loved, their brother Lazarus. And instead of coming on the first day when he heard, Jesus waited four days before he goes to go and see Lazarus.
00:16:02
Speaker
What am I trying to say? I'm trying to say that God has a timetable. I'm trying to say that John 2, 4, Jesus told his own mom at a wedding, my hour has not yet come.
00:16:13
Speaker
My hour has not yet come. But then he told his brothers, his physical blood brothers, John 7, 6, my time has not yet come. But finally in John 12, 23, he said the hour has come for the son of man to be glorified.
00:16:28
Speaker
God has got your hour. I'm going two more quick verses and then we move on. The other one is Proverbs 19.2. Proverbs 19.2. Get this.
00:16:40
Speaker
who so have Whoever makes haste with his feet will miss his way. Have you ever been traveling and you zip right by the exit? It's like, oh man, there it goes. That's the way I needed to go.
00:16:55
Speaker
I've done that. Well, that's what happens when we're going too fast. But the other thing I noticed was Habakkuk 2.3. Maybe you don't spend a lot of time in Habakkuk. But Habakkuk 2.2.3 says, For still the vision awaits its appointed time.
00:17:13
Speaker
It hastens to the goal. It will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it. It will surely come. It will not delay. God's got this.
00:17:25
Speaker
Just walk with him. But as you walk with him, make sure you're not just on the right timetable, but you're also traveling the right road. So the second principle is the pathway, the pathway of the Lord.
00:17:38
Speaker
You know, Jesus said in John 8, 29, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him. And this is right before Jesus is going to Gethsemane. Are you willing to say, God, I don't want anything, no matter what it is, to get me off of your will, off of your road, off of the path, off of the design and the plan you have for me. Remember what Jesus said when he was in Gethsemane?
00:18:03
Speaker
In Luke 22, 42, he said, nevertheless, not my will, but your will be done. Not my will, but your will be done. You know the other day I was listening to Toby Mac and one of my favorite songs is, If You Want to Steal My Show.
00:18:18
Speaker
And what he means by that is, God, your will be done, not my will. When he's up there, you know, singing and so forth, he's saying, it's not about me. It's about him.
00:18:29
Speaker
Would you be willing to say that? This morning I was listening to a lady named Abby Gamboa sing Pure. It's such a great song. If you've never seen, heard that song, you should go to listen to that. Abby Gamboa, and it's the song is called Pure.
00:18:44
Speaker
But she says, I'm going back to the simplicity, to the simplicity of just knowing you, of just walking with you. I don't have any angles. It's just all about you. Well, you know, that's what I think is involved here whenever we're saying, I'm just going to do God's will and I don't have to have affirmation. I don't have to have everybody saying, you know, get a bunch of likes on my Facebook or Instagram account.
00:19:09
Speaker
I got to looking at these verses 32 and 33 and I thought, you know, really it's like, here's what the Lord is saying. One, even if there's disagreement, the Pharisees are in verse 32. That's who Jesus was talking to. That's the them.
00:19:24
Speaker
But they didn't always agree with Jesus. But he said, you know what? I'm telling you the truth. So even if people disagree... Is that okay with you? or are you going to say, no, I don't want anybody disagree with me.
00:19:36
Speaker
So I'm going to always go with whatever they want. But even if there is danger, because he says that Antibas, Herod Antibas, you know, he's going to kill you.
00:19:47
Speaker
Could he mean it? He could have meant it because he killed John the Baptist, remember, before this. And Jesus knew that. So I'm not saying he brushed it off and thought it was nothing.
00:19:57
Speaker
But he said, I don't care if there's danger. I'm still going to keep going on the path that God has for me. But as he was going on the path that God had for him, sometimes he ran into people that were demon possessed.
00:20:10
Speaker
And he said, you know what? I don't care if the demons come against me. I'm going to stay on the path that the Lord has me, even through the darkness. But also there was disease.
00:20:21
Speaker
Disease, he said, he would just perform cures. You know, would you say that if something really bad happened to somebody you loved with a disease, are you done with the Lord? You're saying...
00:20:33
Speaker
No more for me. he didn't heal him. So I'm done. Or would you say, even if there's disease, even if I have to walk through darkness, even if there's danger, even if people disagree with me, even if get this one death, even if death comes to me.
00:20:52
Speaker
You know, I thought it was interesting how Jesus says here, on the third day I finished my course. What did he mean? When he got to Jerusalem, he was going to die.
Recognizing one's place in God's plan
00:21:01
Speaker
He was going to lay down his life for the for the father.
00:21:06
Speaker
Eugene Peterson wrote a book a long time ago on discipleship. And I love the title by itself. The title is a Long Obedience in the Same Direction.
00:21:17
Speaker
Discipleship in an Instant Society is the subtitle. Would you be willing to say, I'll follow Jesus and I don't care what others did I don't care what's happening around me. i don't care what happens to me.
00:21:29
Speaker
I want to be where he wants me to be, which leads me to the place. The third principle is the place for the Lord. Mordecai told Queen Esther, and who knows whether you've not come to the kingdom for such a time as this.
00:21:43
Speaker
You see, God gave Esther a platform. He made her the queen, the queen of Persia. And so how would she use the platform God had given to her? How will you use the platform that God has given to you?
00:21:59
Speaker
Are you using it for his kingdom? Are you using it for his glory? Think about how Jesus' life went through various places. There was the place of his birth, Bethlehem. There was the place of his upbringing, Nazareth.
00:22:13
Speaker
There was the place of his ministry, Capernaum, Galilee. There was the place of his death, burial, and resurrection, Jerusalem. He says, nevertheless, I must. See, there's a sense of destiny there. There's a sense of calling there. He knows what God's will is.
00:22:30
Speaker
I have to get to Jerusalem. He said it three times, right? It's hard to miss where he was headed. Three times, verse 33, verse 34, almost back to back, three times Jerusalem.
00:22:42
Speaker
I'm not going to give them to you this morning, but I made a list here of 10, get this, must declarations that Jesus made. Look up every time that Jesus said, I must do this.
00:22:57
Speaker
It's because something was pulling him forward in that direction to that place. And so I encourage you to look at that sometime. Let me give you the fourth principle.
00:23:07
Speaker
And that is the passion of the Lord. The passion of the Lord. I believe that along with pace and pathway and place, that passion, passion is when God grabs your heart.
00:23:19
Speaker
And you say, that just, that pulls me in. Does something like that, does working with children pull you in? Does working with students pull you in? Does working with seniors pull you in?
00:23:33
Speaker
Does working with the poor pull you in? Working to try to reach the the wealthy pull you in? Those in the city, those in the country, those in America, those around the world. What pulls you in?
00:23:45
Speaker
You know what that is? That's nothing but a passion. God downloads his passion into the hearts of people. When I was going through strategy coordinator training to be a strategy coordinator in a section of Tokyo,
00:24:00
Speaker
I remember they invited a guy there who was like a specialist in how to build a team. And he told us, he said, if you're going to build a team, then here's what I recommend you consider. You ask them, what do you feel called to do Is God himself calling you to do something?
00:24:16
Speaker
Secondly, you would say, what are they gifted to do? Maybe someone might see and think that they're called to do something, but in the end, they're not gifted to do that. And so the gift's not there, but then somebody, maybe the Lord brings them into your life and they're experienced in what they do.
00:24:34
Speaker
And you would say, you know what? You've done what we need to have done here. So experienced. And then when they were doing what they, you know, so were doing in the past, were they fruitful there?
00:24:47
Speaker
What about joy? when so When you do, you know, this weekend, our family watched Chariots of Fire again. It's an oldie, but a goodie. But it's like when that guy would run, he would cock that head back, you know, and it's like he just ran out of sheer joy.
00:25:04
Speaker
What is it in God's work? it's like, it brings me so much joy just to it I'm not miserable when I'm preaching and teaching, when I'm pastoring and shepherding.
00:25:16
Speaker
No, I'm not miserable. I'm the happiest man on the face of the earth. That's exactly what God has called me to do. What has he called you to do? But also passion. What are you passionate about?
00:25:28
Speaker
i encourage you to find that out because notice, A person with passion, or you could say, why don't you add another prefix to it? Compassion.
00:25:40
Speaker
Passion, compassion. God will touch your heart for something, for some people group, for some segment of this society. And that's what he's wanting you to do. But notice that it's not related to the response of people.
00:25:56
Speaker
If you look at verse 34 carefully, you're going to see that Jerusalem was a rough city. Jerusalem was rough. jerusalem Jerusalem was not only rough, it was also resistant.
00:26:09
Speaker
Resistant. Think about the metaphor that he uses when he talks about how a hen wants to gather her brood. And what does he say? He said, look, I wanted to gather you, but you would not have it.
00:26:24
Speaker
So it's like God says, I'm willing, but they were not willing. I wanted to but you didn't want to. Maybe you've heard the gospel lots of times.
00:26:34
Speaker
You know, maybe not just here at First Baptist Columbus, but it's like, what do you do when that's the situation? Well, Romans 9, 1 to 3, Paul said, great sorrow and uneased unceasing anguish is in my heart.
00:26:49
Speaker
Later, we'll see in Luke 19 where Jesus, when he gets to Jerusalem, you know what he does? he just weeps. When's the last time you've wept? You wept over young people. You've wept over kids.
00:27:00
Speaker
You've wept over families. You've wept over marriages. You've wept over our community. Have you ever, have you ever wept over anybody in anything?
00:27:12
Speaker
Well, let me close with one last thing, and that is the promise of the Lord. The fifth fifth principle is the promise. God uses his word to give his servants assurance and hope and direction.
00:27:24
Speaker
You know, i remember when I applied to be a missionary in Japan, Jody and I had been serving in Alberta. We were way, we were, you know, 750 miles above the U.S. border. We were way into the interior of Canada.
00:27:38
Speaker
And I remember we had not had a break. We'd been serving for several years in a row. And so I just felt like God was calling us to to mission somewhere else. So we just said, okay, we got to go. So we gave our resignation and then we applied to the mission board.
00:27:53
Speaker
And I'll never forget talking to my candidate consultant. And he said, so you mean you don't have a job now? And I said, yeah, that's right. He said, they ain't going to like that. When it comes to the time when the board has to consider you, they're not going to like that.
00:28:07
Speaker
So I realized then, man, maybe I've just totally messed up royally. So in John 15, 16, I was on my knees in my bedroom in Milan, Tennessee. And I was saying, Lord, maybe I messed up.
00:28:20
Speaker
Maybe I didn't do what you were telling me to do. I was trying to put my wife's needs and our family needs before myself. But maybe I messed up. And then right open in front of me on my bed was my Bible. And in John 15, 16, this is what read.
00:28:36
Speaker
this is what i read And this was the day that the all of the directors and all the board, they were going to decide on us. There was about 80 of them.
00:28:47
Speaker
And I thought, Lord, what do I do? And here's what the Lord said John 15, 16. He said, you did not choose me.
Invitation to trust in Christ
00:28:55
Speaker
I chose you. And I called you that you would go, that you would bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain.
00:29:02
Speaker
And so I got up from there and I told Jody, I said, I don't know what the board will say today. She said, yeah, neither do I. She said, I didn't count on the thing that we we we quit but before we were done, you know.
00:29:14
Speaker
And I said, well, I just read something that God said. And he said, he chose us. We didn't choose him. And so I don't know what they're going to say, but I know what God says. And God says, you're going.
00:29:27
Speaker
And then the phone rang and I picked up the phone and the Canada consultant said, you know what? I don't know how this happened, but he said the board voted unanimously for you guys to go because of your experience in Canada, you know, planting churches and so forth.
00:29:44
Speaker
And so he said, they said yes. And so I said, thank the Lord. You know, I said, I'm so, I'm so grateful. But we went to Japan and we served 12 years and we did see fruit and we saw fruit remain.
00:29:57
Speaker
But I'm just so grateful that God uses his word. So how is it that you're going to know? If you're seeking God's will, stay in the word. Because whenever you see this last verse 35, behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
00:30:18
Speaker
Do you know that Jesus was quoting Psalm 13? 118 verse 26. He was living by the word. He was standing on the word. If you're seeking God's will, ask God to give you a word from his word.
00:30:31
Speaker
But also if you're saying, Lord, how can I stay? in the, in the will of God, stay in the word every day, every morning. When I wake up, I get my shower, i get my coffee. I sit there and I just sit before the Lord. I write down what he's saying. I talk to him. So just do something that simple. It's not hard.
00:30:52
Speaker
You know, some of you may be here and you may be saying, you know what? I don't even think I know a thing of what you're saying about, you know, doing God's will. Well, that's because the first step in God's direction is trusting Christ for salvation.
00:31:06
Speaker
There are many today who, like Thomas, do not know the way into God's family and the way to heaven. And so when Jesus is talking about heaven, Thomas kind of interrupts there.
00:31:19
Speaker
And so he says, wait a minute. Lord, we do not know where you're going. How can we know the way? And Jesus said to him, I'm the way, the truth, and the life.
00:31:31
Speaker
No one comes to the Father except through me. See, Jesus was saying, you just need to know me. That's what we would say here at our church. You just need to know Jesus on a personal level first, and then he'll guide you with all that you need to do after that.
00:31:47
Speaker
Have you ever said, Lord, I know that your way is for me to be saved through Christ. That's the only way. Peter even said, there's no other name under heaven given by which we must be saved.
00:32:01
Speaker
You know, why did Jesus stay so faithful to the way? I must go on my way. You know why he did it? Because he was spiritually blazing the only trail for us to reach the Father. Do you know that there are many people in your life that are like Thomas?
00:32:20
Speaker
They're all around you. And they don't know the way. But you know the way. You know the way. And so it's so important that we stay in the will of God so that the people can hear and see the way that people come to know the Lord. Let's stand together. i want to give an opportunity for any that need to make a decision today.
00:32:44
Speaker
want ask our musicians if they would please come up and get ready to lead us in this closing song. But I just want to want to remind you that Jesus already, he already made the way of salvation. All you got to do is trust him. All you got to do is let go of what you're trusting in.
00:33:00
Speaker
and go toward Christ and put your trust in him. Lord, thank you so much for this time to look into your word. We know that this is a holy time because we are going to close out our time and we want to give people an opportunity. Maybe nobody needs to make a decision here, or maybe there's a lot of people that need to make decisions, but not a lot of people need to come forward with the decision.
00:33:22
Speaker
Maybe there's something they need to talk to you right where they are. And so help us as we close this song to say, Lord, I surrender. I surrender everything I've got to you.
00:33:34
Speaker
Lord, that's the way that we can become a Christian by letting go of everything else and putting our faith and trust in Christ. But it's also the way we mature in Christ. It's the way we stay on the right trail.
00:33:46
Speaker
So bless this time of invitation. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
00:34:05
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.