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Stop Making Excuses (Luke 9:51-62)
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Sunday Message recorded 14 September 2025
by Senior Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church - Columbus, TX, USA
1700 Milam St.
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Excuses and Responsibility
00:00:06
Speaker
Well, good morning. Thank you so much for attending today and being here, and i pray that you've been participating in our worship and not just watching. Who do you think hears the most excuses across America?
00:00:22
Speaker
I would say probably teachers. There's an administrator for a high school in Northwest Oregon who published a list of actual excuses that were written out and turned in, and I'll read them just as they were on the little excuse slips that were turned into him.
00:00:40
Speaker
The first one said, Dear school, please accuse John for being absent on January 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and
00:00:52
Speaker
The second one said, Chris has an acre in his side. And the third one said, Mary could not come to school because she is bothered by very close veins.
00:01:03
Speaker
And then another one said, please excuse Joyce from PE for a few days. She fell out of a tree and misplaced her hip. um So sometimes people give excuses and sometimes they're real and sometimes they're not.
00:01:19
Speaker
I know one of our early leaders in our country, Daniel Webster, he was a 19th century statesman.
Historical Examples of Action Over Excuses
00:01:27
Speaker
He served as Secretary of State and he also served in Congress.
00:01:32
Speaker
But when he was just a boy, his dad left him and his older brother Ezekiel to do some chores. So when the dad returned, the chores were not done.
00:01:43
Speaker
So he starts with the oldest son first and he says, what have you been doing all day, Ezekiel? He said, nothing, sir. Well, Daniel, turns to Daniel Webster and says, what have you been doing?
00:01:57
Speaker
I've been helping my brother Zeke, sir. Sometimes we have excuses that just simply don't add up. But I think those that founded this country, those that have built Columbus and those that accomplish anything in their lives, they don't live by excuses.
00:02:14
Speaker
They live by their actions. They put their actions into it. and they accept responsibility, they're motivated by the Lord, they have biblical principles, and they have a passion for a vision that inspires them to move forward.
Lessons from Jesus' Journey
00:02:29
Speaker
I think those early men in our country like George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, they didn't have time or interest in offering excuses. They were men who said, you know what, let's get some things done.
00:02:41
Speaker
And I know there are many like that that are here this morning. You know, there's so much we can learn from men like that, but also there's a lot we can learn from Jesus and from the Word of God.
00:02:52
Speaker
This morning, I want you to turn with me to Luke's Gospel, chapter 9, verses 51 to 62. Luke, chapter 9, verses 51 to 62. luke chapter nine verses fifty one to sixty two This is a major turning point. It's kind of odd that it's right here, sort of toward the end of chapter nine.
00:03:10
Speaker
But most Bible scholars agree that what begins at chapter nine, verse 51, continues through chapter 19 and verse 27. Don't worry, we're not going to cover all that today.
00:03:22
Speaker
But what's going on is Jesus is on the road. He's on the road and he's making a journey from Galilee and he's going south down to Jerusalem.
00:03:33
Speaker
There are 10 references that are going to come to to pass as we keep going through the Gospel of Luke. But all along the way, what he's doing is he's teaching his disciples. So there was something that they needed to learn through what we're about to read. But I believe there's also something we need to learn.
00:03:51
Speaker
And that lesson from the teacher is this. Don't make excuses. Just do what God has called you and commanded you to
Rejection and Commitment in Samaria
00:04:00
Speaker
do. Let's stand together as we look at this passage, Luke 9, verse 51, down through verse 62.
00:04:07
Speaker
When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him who went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make preparations for him.
00:04:23
Speaker
but The people did not receive him because his face was set toward Jerusalem. And when his disciples, James and John, saw it, they said, Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?
00:04:40
Speaker
But he turned and rebuked them, and they went on to another village. As they were going along the road, someone said to him, I'll follow you wherever you go.
00:04:51
Speaker
And Jesus said to him, Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head. To another, he said, follow me. But he said, Lord, let me first go and bury my father.
00:05:05
Speaker
And Jesus said to him, let the dead bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God. Yet another said, I'll follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.
00:05:21
Speaker
Jesus said to him, no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.
Jesus' Sacrifice and Mission
00:05:28
Speaker
Let's go to the Father in prayer. Lord, open up our eyes that we can see what you want us to see through this passage today.
00:05:36
Speaker
Open up our spiritual ears that we could hear what the word of God is saying loud and clear. I pray that we would not try to give you excuses. instead of commitment.
00:05:48
Speaker
Help us to be ready to follow you, ready to to go through whatever you want us to go through so that we can be obedient servants to you. You're worthy, like we've sang earlier. Thank you so much for this demonstration from the Frudenbergs and also from Doug Jeske, that they were willing to follow you.
00:06:07
Speaker
And so Lord, help each one of us to make a similar decision as we go through our life. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Thank you. You may be seated. The road that Jesus was on at this time was going to take six months before he would reach the end.
00:06:25
Speaker
As you probably can guess, the end of it was the cross. The end of it was the tomb. The end of it was the resurrection. The end of it was his ascension back to the Father.
00:06:38
Speaker
It's like from chapter 9, verse 51, everything before that was telling us, hey, he's coming, he's coming, he's coming. And then he came and they're still saying, he's here, he's here.
00:06:51
Speaker
But everything after chapter 9 verse 51 is he's going. He's going. He's going to die on the cross. He's going to be placed in a tomb. He's going to be raised from the dead. And he's going to ascend back to the Father. And then one day he's going to come again to this earth.
00:07:09
Speaker
But twice in Luke's gospel, Jesus is called Lord. Did you hear James and John call him Lord in verse 54? What about the unknown seeker who in verse 61 also called him Lord?
00:07:22
Speaker
But Matthew 8, 19 says, says that Jesus was also called teacher at that time by those same men. So his lesson for us today is stop making excuses.
00:07:35
Speaker
You don't have to make excuses. You can be honest and genuine and real, authentic. And so I wanted to try to give you something from this passage that would be very practical if you're trying to let some excuse hinder you in following Jesus Christ.
00:07:54
Speaker
So let's look at the first excuse. Some people may be hindered from trusting Christ because they're still wanting to remain in their personal sin. You know, verse 51 tells us that Jesus was about to start a journey, right?
00:08:09
Speaker
Where was he going? He was going to Jerusalem. He was going to die on the cross as a substitute sacrifice for each one of us. He was gonna take the penalty for our sins.
00:08:19
Speaker
And so that's what verse 51 is all about. But he knew that his time for him to lay down his life, for him to provide atonement is the biblical word that sometimes is used.
00:08:32
Speaker
Whenever it talks about he atoned for our sin, he took the place that we deserved on the cross and he died for us. But what's interesting is it says, when the days drew near,
00:08:46
Speaker
The word drew near there actually means to be fully complete, to accomplish. Do you know that God actually had the plan for his son to die on the cross?
00:08:57
Speaker
you know that God actually sent Jesus down to this earth to pay for the sins that we've committed in our lives? It's a wonderful plan of redemption that goes all the way through the Old Testament and into the New Testament.
00:09:12
Speaker
But Jesus knew this plan and he knew there was a timetable on that plan. And he said, you know what? It's almost time. And so I need to start heading in the direction of Jerusalem.
00:09:23
Speaker
But did you catch what is also said? It's kind of odd, isn't it? Let's look at verse 51 again. When the days drew near for him to be taken up. What's meant there to be taken up? You see, he knew he was going to die on that cross. He knew he was going to be placed in a tomb, but he also knew that the father was going to raise him from the dead.
00:09:44
Speaker
Something that we can't do as humans, but he could do as the son of man. The father raised Jesus from the dead because sin, the wages of sin is dead.
00:09:57
Speaker
But Jesus had never sinned. And so that's why the Father took him up. He raised him from the dead. And so the asim the ascension happened after his atonement.
00:10:10
Speaker
you know why that was? The father looked at Jesus saying, I will pay what each one of us owed. You know why it was accepted? Because Jesus had never sinned.
00:10:21
Speaker
He was sinless. He was perfect. He was spotless. That's why the father said, my son doesn't deserve death. My son deserves life. And so after he atoned for us, the father said, you know what? I approve.
00:10:36
Speaker
I approve of your atonement for the world. And so that's why Jesus was so adamant to redeem through his atonement. Look at the last part of verse 51.
00:10:47
Speaker
He set, that word is sterizo in the Greek. It means determined. It means fixed. It means resolved. He was not going to be swayed from coming to die that cross for us. Nothing was going to change his mind.
00:11:03
Speaker
As a matter of fact, in Isaiah 50 verse seven, there's an ancient prophecy about these very words. Therefore, i have set my face like flint. So he was so set and determined.
00:11:15
Speaker
He went there for us. So why? Why would we want to stay in our sins? Can you atone for your own sins? Can I atone for my own sins? No way.
00:11:26
Speaker
I'm the one that's broken. I'm the one rebelling against God.
Confronting Sin and Redemption
00:11:30
Speaker
So why would anybody want to remain in their sins when there's such a gracious and such a complete atonement as the blood of Christ? you know, it's kind of like whenever Paul was talking about creation.
00:11:45
Speaker
And he said, you know, all that God has created, that ought to be enough for us to say, you know, there is a God. There is a God who's in control and there is a God who loves me. It says in Romans 1.20, so they are without excuse.
00:12:00
Speaker
Just looking at creation, there's no excuse for walking away from the true and the living God. But you know what also? Looking at the cross, looking at the cross, how he loved us in grace and mercy.
00:12:15
Speaker
He said, I will die in their place. Man, it's just an excuse for anybody that's saying, you know what? I'm not ready to have my personal sins forgiven. Why not?
00:12:27
Speaker
Well, let's move to the second excuse. You know, verses 52 and 53 would remind us, yeah, while personal sin hinders some from receiving Jesus,
00:12:38
Speaker
Past hurts prevent others from welcoming Jesus. Past prevent others from Jesus. You see, geographically, if Jesus was going to go from up here, this is Galilee, to down here, that's Jerusalem, he's going to have to go through this middle section.
00:12:54
Speaker
You know what the middle section was called? Samaria. So either he's got to go around Samaria or he's got to go through Samaria. But either way, Samaria is between where he was and where he's going to die on that cross for us.
00:13:10
Speaker
You see, the history behind this whole thing is like, why did the Samaritans not receive Jesus? Why weren't they welcoming to him? Well, part of the history is that 750 years before this event, the Assyrians attacked and they sacked the capital of the northern kingdom, Israel.
00:13:32
Speaker
And that capital was called Samaria. And so they took over Samaria. They took all the people. They murdered lots of people and they took others as slaves back to Assyria.
00:13:43
Speaker
But some of them stayed behind in the northern kingdom of Israel and in Samaria. And you know what they did? They made them farmers. And they said, don't let this place totally dry up and blow away.
00:13:56
Speaker
So those Assyrians stayed and they intermarried with some of the the Jewish people there. Well, because of that, there's been so many layers upon layers upon layers of animosity between the Jews and between the Samaritans.
00:14:14
Speaker
They simply did not like one another. And normally what would happen is if you're going from Galilee Jerusalem and you're a Jew, then you go all the way across the river, you come down and then you cross the river and you come over to Jerusalem without going through Samaria. But notice that Notice that Jesus took a direct route right through Samaria.
00:14:36
Speaker
You know what he's doing? He's taking a direct route through all of your past hurt and your past pain. Has a church hurt you in the past? Has an individual hurt you in the past?
00:14:48
Speaker
Don't you know that Jesus came and he came right through all of that all of that pain and all of that animosity and he's reaching out his hand to you And he's saying, I've come for you.
00:14:59
Speaker
Will you follow me? You know, what's interesting is about one year before this, John in the gospel of John, John writes in John four, seven through 42, that Jesus spoke truth.
00:15:13
Speaker
And he spoke love to a Samaritan woman sitting at a well in a place called Sychar. And you know what? She just broke down. Mm-hmm. And she believed that he was who he said he was.
00:15:26
Speaker
And so now here's Jesus taking the direction, going through Samaria once again. All they want to do is just prepare. They're on their way to Jerusalem. Maybe the the disciples that were sent ahead said to the Samaritans, look, we're not going to be here long. We're on our way to Jerusalem.
00:15:42
Speaker
That was all they needed to hear. When they said that, then all the drums started beating again. All the animosity comes up. The walls come up. You got any walls because of past hurt? The walls came up.
00:15:55
Speaker
And you know what? It says they rejected Jesus. Why? Well, they rejected him because of all this past hurt. You know, why does it say that they rejected him? Well, it's quite clear in verse 53, but the people did not receive him because his face was set towards Jerusalem. They said, he's just another Jew on his way down to Jerusalem.
00:16:22
Speaker
He's not staying here overnight. Sometimes people miss Jesus, but you know what happened? There's some good news. There's some good news because later there was a lay person named Philip who was a deacon.
00:16:37
Speaker
And Philip took the good news of Jesus over there into Samaria. And you know what happened? It was miraculous. All kind of people started trusting Christ. There was an incredible awakening that took place in the city of Samaria much later than where we're reading here. But in Acts chapter 8, you could read all about it But you see, there was no longer any excuse for the Jews to remain in their personal sin.
00:17:02
Speaker
Hey, the Savior had come. There was no longer any excuse for the Samaritans to continue to replay past hurts. Jesus wasn't coming to hurt them.
00:17:14
Speaker
The disciples weren't coming to hurt them. No. But now we come to another excuse because when James and John saw the rejection of Jesus, buddy, that got under their skin.
Human Reactions and Redemption
00:17:27
Speaker
What does it take to push your buttons? What does it take to really get you angry, to have that animosity within your heart? You know, Mark gives us some helpful but background information on James and John.
00:17:41
Speaker
You know these guys, their nickname, right? Sons of Thunder is what Mark 317. So why would Jesus, knowing that they have a short temper, why would Jesus call these guys? Why would he want them to be in his band of disciples?
00:17:58
Speaker
Because Jesus is thinking, i can change them from the inside out. I know just how to take the stinger out of that. And so I can totally change them. And I can get them to where they don't want to repay for all the piercing rejection that they're going to see.
00:18:15
Speaker
So look at their reaction, though, to the rejection. It's one thing whenever you hear somebody say something that rejects you, or why don't we say rejects your kids.
00:18:27
Speaker
Isn't that harder? If somebody rejects your kids, that's way harder than somebody rejecting you. But it's not just something they heard. It says it's something they saw.
00:18:39
Speaker
James and John saw the Samaritans say, no way, we don't want you here. And buddy, that just did not sit right. And so revenge begins to swell up within their hearts.
00:18:51
Speaker
Revenge for the reject rejection. And so what they say to Jesus is, hey, Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them? Don't memorize that verse, okay? That's not a good one for you to say. The disciples said it, it must be okay. No, wait ah wait just a minute.
00:19:11
Speaker
You know, they were trying to apply something that happened in 2 Kings 1, verses 1 through 14. There was a king, and he was a king in Samaria. And that king had disobeyed God and had turned the people toward idolatry. And God had pronounced judgment. And he said, you know what?
00:19:29
Speaker
You're going to die. And so he got really sick. And he said, oh, look he said, go call the prophet Elijah and tell him to come. Well, he sent 50 soldiers. I guess Elijah must have been one bad dude. He sends 50 soldiers to go and bring him to the palace.
00:19:45
Speaker
And you know what? Elijah said, Lord, let fire fall down from heaven. Wiped them out. And so then the king says, oh, no, I'm going to send another 50. Once again, Elijah says, Lord, let fire fall and destroy destroy them. And it happened again. Destroy those 50.
00:20:01
Speaker
And then the king sends another 50 and something changed. The commander of that army was not proud proud. He was not arrogant. He was not defiant. He was not demanding of the prophet. He said, would you please? He humbled himself.
00:20:16
Speaker
Would you please, you know, consider coming to speak to the king? So God told him, yes, I want you to go. But notice the rebuke that Jesus gave, the rebuke for the revenge.
00:20:30
Speaker
Jesus was not giving his approval on the revenge, was he? You know, if you were to look down at the bottom, let's say that your Bible is like mine and it doesn't include part of the part of the verse.
00:20:43
Speaker
Here's what it says. Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them And he turned and rebuked them, period. But if you look down at the bottom of your Bible, sometimes there's notes.
00:20:57
Speaker
And in mine at the bottom, in the margin, it says, some manuscripts add, and he said, you do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the son of man come not to destroy people's lives, but to but to save to save them.
00:21:14
Speaker
You see why Jesus was rebuking them from having revenge? It doesn't fit with what he was wanting to do in this world. So he wanted them to return and refocus on redemption. That's what he wanted. That's why they went on to another town.
00:21:33
Speaker
You know, isn't it interesting that they had already forgotten what Jesus told them when they sent them out on the mission trip? Remember back in chapter 9, we studied how he sent the 12 on a mission trip?
00:21:44
Speaker
Do you remember one of the things that he said in Luke chapter 9, verse 5? And wherever they do not receive you... When you leave that town, shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
00:22:05
Speaker
See, he didn't say anything about calling down fire. What he said was just move on. Just move on. Give God time to get those people ready. So there's no excuse for James and John to repay this piercing rejection of Jesus Christ.
Excuses Versus Commitment to Jesus
00:22:22
Speaker
That's not their job. That's what God would do, but that's not their job. Well, let's move down to the fourth excuse. There's also no excuse for the seeker. There are three seekers that are mentioned in the rest of this chapter.
00:22:34
Speaker
Let me just kind of cover real quickly the the different things that they were trying to do and why it was a problem for Jesus. I would say that the first seeker, he was trying to offer an excuse to only reach when it's plentiful comfort.
00:22:51
Speaker
In other words, if I follow you, Jesus, not. Is it gonna be comfortable for me? And look at what he says. He says, well, basically the creatures have more comforts than the creator himself.
00:23:03
Speaker
And so he said, if you're only gonna follow me for the comforts and for all the accolades and for all the high fives and fist bumps, if you're only gonna follow me as long as you receive a bunch of stuff, then you're not ready to follow me because I don't have a place to lay my head down.
00:23:21
Speaker
Isn't that incredible? Man.
00:23:26
Speaker
You know, he said, I'll follow you wherever you go. but sometimes people say things they're not willing to back up with their commitment. So we got to watch out for that kind.
00:23:39
Speaker
I remember when I was in elementary school, there was a guy named Bobby. He kept pushing me off the merry-go-round. And I was like, I'm so tired of Bobby pushing me off the merry-go-round.
00:23:50
Speaker
And so finally, I told one of my friends, I said, you know, i've not had it with Bobby. And he said, don't worry about Bobby. He's just a big talk little dude. So I went over there and I put little Bobby on the on the ground.
00:24:01
Speaker
And I told Bobby, don't take me off that merry-go-round one more time or I'm going to put you on this ground permanently. Bobby said, okay, I won't do anything. You know, he was a big talk little dude.
00:24:12
Speaker
I hope that you won't be a big talk little dude. Now don't go out and rough people up. I'm not saying I was doing what's right. This is before Christ, not after Christ. Well, let's go to the fifth excuse.
00:24:24
Speaker
The second seeker, I believe, tried to offer this excuse that, well, if I can stay with my previous priorities, then we're good. I'll follow you as long as I can always keep these previous priorities.
00:24:38
Speaker
you remember in Luke 5, four fishermen were called. Do you know what they did? They just up and left their fishing. but They left the boat. They left their nets. And they just followed Jesus.
00:24:48
Speaker
you remember also in the same chapter where a guy named Levi, who was a tax collector? Do you remember when Jesus said, follow me? Remember what he did? And he got up from the tax collection box and he just walked away.
00:25:02
Speaker
He said, you know what? There's something more important than money. And the the fisherman said, there's something more important for us than catching these fish. What about for you? What is the highest priority for you?
00:25:16
Speaker
Did you catch in this verse 59 where the man, the second seeker says this? What he says is, let me first. let me first Lord, let me first go and bury my father.
00:25:30
Speaker
And then all of a sudden it's like, while I was getting ready, the word me first came out. it just It just floated to the top. And I thought, me first. You know, when Jesus calls us, we have to say, okay, Lord, these are my plans. This is what I was wanting to do.
00:25:47
Speaker
If you want to change these plans, you're my Lord. I will follow you even if you will not stay with my previous priorities. Well. I remember Paul talking about a guy named Demas who was a disciple. And he said, you know what Demas did?
00:26:04
Speaker
He says at the end of 2 Timothy, he said, Demas, for Demas in love with this present world has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.
00:26:16
Speaker
You know, maybe you would say, I've always had the world. I've always had the crowd. I've always had the polls as being number one. But whenever you say yes to Christ, you got to say, Lord, you know what?
00:26:30
Speaker
What I had as number one now is changing. The last one was given an excuse of pleasant relationships. You know, if you follow Christ, if you trust Christ, if you follow in baptism, if you get involved in telling others about Christ, do you expect everyone to, you know, give you a hug? You think everybody's going to be so excited about that?
00:26:54
Speaker
You know, I believe that God loves our families. I believe he wants us to love our families, provide for them, protect them, pray for them. So what was it that was just half a bubble off with this guy's response when he said, I'll follow you, Lord, but let me first. There it is again. It keeps popping up, doesn't it? Let me first. Me first.
00:27:15
Speaker
Say farewell to those at my home. And Jesus said, no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom. Wow. You know the fatal flaw was a divided mind, a divided mind.
00:27:28
Speaker
See, this guy was saying, you know what? I'll put my dad first. I'll put my mom first. I'll put my brother first. I got to go home. If he would have went home, what if they would have said, hey, you can't go follow that guy.
00:27:40
Speaker
You don't know where he's going to lead you. We've got plans for you here. See, Jesus knows all that. You see, family should be a blessing and not a hindrance. Actually, God loves your family more than you do.
00:27:53
Speaker
So to put him first is going to be a tremendous way for God's blessing to come on them. You know, there are unfortunately some families across our world, and I've met some, I've met them.
00:28:08
Speaker
Some families across our world, because their family was Muslim, because their family was Buddhist or Shinto, because their family was secular and didn't have time for religion,
00:28:20
Speaker
Whenever somebody says, you know what? I'm going to follow a Christ. They get really upset. And what they say is, I disapprove. I disapprove of you following that Jesus and becoming religious.
00:28:33
Speaker
And it's like, no, it's not about being religious. It's about a relationship. And they're like, I don't care. I don't want you to get all tangled up in that. So if your family disagrees with you,
00:28:44
Speaker
Who will you follow? Will you say, okay, I guess I was wrong to pick that. I wanna ask you a very sobering question as we move into the time of invitation.
Invitation to Genuine Commitment
00:28:57
Speaker
It sort of summarizes everything we've been looking at Are you pleasing a family member instead of Christ? That's the first question. Second question is, are you holding on to previous priorities over Christ?
00:29:14
Speaker
Let's go to the third one. Are you living for comfort instead of Christ? Well, the next one would be, are you looking for revenge on those who reject Christ?
00:29:29
Speaker
Are you replaying past hurts rather than receiving the comfort from Christ? Are you remaining in sin rather than just simply trusting Christ?
00:29:44
Speaker
I'm not saying this mean-spirited, I promise. I'm just saying to you, isn't it time to stop making excuses and just say, you know what, Lord? I'm yours. You love me more than anybody else on the face of this earth.
00:29:58
Speaker
I am yours. That's what this invitation is about. It could be that you would say, well, I've never become a Christian. Somebody's gonna have to help me. We'd be glad to help you with that. Maybe you'd say, I'm so backslidden. I don't need to talk to the preacher. i need to come and talk to God.
00:30:15
Speaker
Well, you can come and do that during this time of invitation. Or maybe you'd say, this is the kind of church I've been looking for. I want to be a part of this church. I want to be a member of this church. Well, maybe that's what the decision you need to make would be. Whatever that is, I'll be standing down front. We have a deacon down here as well.
00:30:33
Speaker
We'll try to make sure that we can respond to whatever God has said to your heart. Let's stand together. close out this time in prayer and move into a time of invitation when I wait down front for those who have a decision that they need to make and talk to somebody.
00:30:49
Speaker
Lord, thank you so much for this time to look into your word. It's challenging. Today's message was not an easy message to hear or to preach, but yet it's true. It's based on your word.
00:31:01
Speaker
And the great thing about it all is you're worthy. You're worthy. You're worthy of whatever little things we have to let go of. So Lord, help us let go. Help us let go of excuses and just do what you're telling us we need to do.
00:31:16
Speaker
And I know that there's a blessing in there for us. Even if it's hard times, even if things are going to come that are going to be against us, that's okay. Because you are worth it. You love us more than anybody else.
00:31:28
Speaker
Bless this time of invitation. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
00:31:37
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.