Why Revival?

Temple Baptist Church - 7-10-2016

Psalms 85 

Introduction: 

A.  Next Sunday, Bro. Max Alderman will be with us, Sunday the 17th through Wednesday the 20th.  I want to look at this Psalm for a few minutes as it answers the question: “Why Revival?”  It needs to be understood that:

1.  Revival cannot be brought.  Bro. Max will preach but he will not bring revival with him when he comes.

2.  Revival cannot be bought.  No amount of giving of tithes and offerings can bring about revival.

3.  Revival cannot even be taught.  I thank the Lord for the great men of God that I have been privileged to sit under the past 40 years but their preaching and teaching cannot bring revival.

4.  Revival MUST be sought.  Verse 6 asks the question, “Wilt thou not revive us again?”  Revival is individual; revival is up to each of us; revival is life! 

B.  A lack of life of revival in a local church brings about some real problems:

1.  You lose the blessings of God – vs. 1  “favor

2.  You become a slave to sin – vs. 1  “captivity”

3.  You incur the chastening of the Lord – vs. 2-3  “wrath … anger”

4.  You will bring judgment upon your children – vs. 5  “all generations”

5.  You will lose the joy of your salvation – vs. 6  “rejoice in thee”

C.  What is or is not revival?

1.  Some Think That Revival Is Shouting – This is a result of revival, not revival itself.

2.  Some Think That Revival Is Soul Winning – This is a result of revival, not revival itself.

3.  Some Think That Revival Is Sanctification – This is a result of revival, not revival itself.

4.  Some Think That Revival Is Service – This is a result of revival, not revival itself.

5.  Revival Is Simply Getting Personally Right With God!  Revive means to make alive.  God has quickened us in salvation and yet we have a continual problem with leaving our “first love” and settling upon our lees.

D.  When do we need revival?  First, let me say that we need revival all of the time.  Psalms 85:6  Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?  (Again and again and again and again!)

1.  We need revival when we do not love Him as we once did.

2.  We need revival when earthly interests are more important to us to us than eternal ones.

3.  We need revival when we would rather watch TV than read the Bible and pray.

4.  We need revival when church dinners are better attended than prayer meetings.

5.  We need revival when we have little or no desire to pray.

6.  We need revival when we would rather make money than give money.

7.  We need revival when our Christianity is joyless and passionless.

8.  We need revival when we know truth in our heads that we are not practicing in our lives.

9.  We need revival when we make little effort to witness to the lost.

10. We need revival when we have time for sports, recreation, and entertainment, but not for Bible study and prayer.

11.  We need revival when we do not tremble at the Word of God.

12.  We need revival when we seldom think thoughts of eternity.

13.  We need revival when God’s people are more concerned about their jobs and their careers, than about the Kingdom of Christ and the salvation of the lost.

14.  We need revival when church services are predictable and “business as usual.”

15.  We need revival when believers can be at odds with each other and not feel compelled to pursue reconciliation.

16.  We need revival when Christian husbands and wives are not praying together.

17.  We need revival when our marriages are co-existing rather than full of the love of Christ.

18. We need revival when our children are growing up to adopt worldly values, secular philosophies and ungodly lifestyles.

19. We need revival when we are more concerned about our children’s education and their athletic activities than about the condition of their souls.

20.  We need revival when we tolerate “little” sins of gossip, a critical spirit and lack of love.

21.  We need revival when our singing is half-hearted and our worship lifeless.

22.  We need revival when our prayers are empty words designated to impress others.

23.  We need revival when our prayers lack fervency.

24.  We need revival when our hearts are cold and our eyes are dry.

25.  We need revival when we aren’t seeing regular evidence of the supernatural power of God.

26.  We need revival when we have ceased to weep and mourn and grieve over our own sin more than the sins of others.

27. We need revival when we are content with explainable, ordinary Christianity and church services.

28.  We need revival when we are bored with worship.

29.  We need revival when people have to be entertained to be drawn to church.

30.  We need revival when our music and dress become patterned after the world.

31.  We need revival when we start fitting into and adapting to the world, rather than calling the world to adapt to God’s standard of holiness.

32.  We need revival when we don’t long for the company and fellowship of God’s people.

33.  We need revival when people have to be begged to give and to serve in the church.

34. We need revival when our giving is measured and calculated, rather than extravagant and sacrificial.

35.  We need revival when we aren’t exercising faith and believing God for the impossible.

36.  We need revival when we are more concerned about what others think about us what God thinks about us.

37.  We need revival when we are unmoved by the fact that over 2.5 billion people in the world have never heard the name of Jesus.

38.  We need revival when we are unmoved by the thought of neighbors, business associates and acquaintances who are lost and without Christ.

39.  We need revival when the lost world around us doesn’t know or care that we exist.

40.  We need revival when the fire has gone out in our hearts, our marriages and the church.

41.  We need revival when we are blind to the extent of our need and don’t think we need it.

E.   Why do we need revival?

1.  We need revival in order to increase our zeal for the Lord.

2.  We need revival in order to increase our soul winning efforts.

3.  We need revival in order to increase our sacrificial giving.

4.  We need revival in order to increase our love for one another.

5.  We need revival in order to increase our joy.

6.  We need revival in order to increase our praise and worship of the Lord.

F.  When we fail to have revival:

1.  We lose the freshness of salvation – the excitement and wonder is gone.

2.  We lose our burning love for a wonderful Savior.

3.  We lose our desire for service – we become mechanical and go through the motions.

Psalms 85:6  Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?

1.  There Needs To Be A Discernment Of Need. “Wilt” (Notice the personal pronouns in these verses.  Revival is personal.  You cannot expect others to get right, but must make sure that you are perfectly right.  It is so easy to judge others while walking at a guilty distance from God yourself.)

Psalms 51:1-13  Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.  Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.  For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.  Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.  Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.  Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.  Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.   Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.   Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

2.  There Needs To Be A Direction Of Help.  “Thou” (Life comes from the Lord and revival comes from Him also.)

Acts 3:19  Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

Ezra 9:8  And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.

John 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

3.  There Needs To Be A Desire For Change.  “Revive” (As long as we are satisfied with our spirituality and life, we are not even a candidate for revival.)

Psalms 121:1-2  I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.  My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.

Psalms 34:14  Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

Psalms 27:4  One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.

4.  There Needs To Be A Determination To Achieve.  “Again” (Revival is a constant need of God’s people and does not exist in a simple 3-7 day meeting.  Revival needs to be daily and perpetual.)

Philippians 1:20-21  According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.  For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

A Compassion That Makes A Difference

Temple Baptist Church - 7-6-2016

Jude 22-23

Introduction:

A.  As a general rule, these verses are too often preached out of their context.  They are used as “soul winning” verses though nothing in the Book of Jude alludes to winning the lost to Jesus Christ.  I actually have no problem with a preacher making a spiritual application of these verses as long as he makes a Biblical interpretation (which is what I am going to do tonight).

B.  With that said, let us notice the people that are mentioned in Jude:

1.  Those that are saved but not contending.  Jude 1-2  Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: (2)  Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.

2.  Those that are saved and willing to contend.  Jude 3  Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

3.  Those that are lost and destroying the “faith once delivered.”  Jude 4  For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

C.  Jude gives Old Testament examples of those who “left their first estate” or, to use a modern term apostatized.  Again, the word “apostasy” simply means, by my definition, to “stand away from a former position.”  They once stood for truth and the faith once delivered but now have becomes the enemy of the truth and the Bible.

D.  Jude gives the Old Testament of Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesying the “falling away” of his day and the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and the final, eternal judgment of the ungodly.

E.  I see no place in the Book of Jude where we are to sympathize with the apostate or try to win them to Christ as they are under the eternal judgment of God.  Apparently, according to Jude, they have “crossed a line” with God!  At this point, let me say that I will witness to anyone anywhere as I do not know who has crossed a line with God of the difference between the true apostates and the ignorant believer who is led astray by them.

F.  There is no mention of the unsaved in general in the Book of Jude nor of the Great Commandment or Commission to win the world to Christ.  Jude is all about contending or not contending which brings us the context of verses 22-23.

G.  Verses 20-21 are the mature Christians who are self-starters, self-feeders, and walking with the Lord.  Walking with the Lord is walking with and in the Word of God.  Jude now admonishes the mature Christian who is earnestly contending for the faith once delivered to help those who are not!  Too many churches run off the people who do not “conform” instead of trying to be an encouragement to them and help those who get into trouble.

H.  I believe the two questions found in Genesis 4 can be applied at this point.  Genesis 4:9  And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?

1.  The Lord asked, “Where is Abel thy brother?”  I understand the interpretation but, by way of application, I believe that we are responsible to know where our brother is spiritually!  I believe that it is important that we watch, not in a critical way but in a loving compassionate way, over our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Why?  Because sometimes they cannot see the forest for the trees.  When they get involved in things that they should abstain from, they see through clouded eyes.

2.  Cain asked, “Am I my brother's keeper?”  We live in a day where “what I do is my business” or “MYOB!”  We are each other’s business spiritually.  Now, by that statement, I do not mean that you are accountable to me or report to me but what each of us does directly or indirectly affect others.  Plus, we do love each other and want the very best for each other.  

James 5:19-20  Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;  (20)  Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.  (In order to convert the sinful one, we must be able to observe their error.)

2 Thessalonians 3:13-15  (13)  But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.  (14)  And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.  (15)  Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.  (In order to “note that man,” we must be able to observe that man.)

I.  Now, I want to look at three points found in these 2 verses.

1.  “And of some have compassion, making a difference”  Not all Christians are the same and not all grow at the same rate.  Some reach a plateau of spirituality that they are comfortable with and want nothing else. Some are in good, fundamental churches.  They are taught by good pastors for many years and fail to grow spiritually.  Saved 50+ years and, when they should be teachers, still have need of the milk of the Word instead of strong meat.

2 Timothy 2:24-26  And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,  (25)  In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;  (26)  And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.  (What do you do for them?  Be compassionate and loving with them.  Be patient and gentle with them.  If they never grow, just love them!)

Hebrews 5:11-14  Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. (12)  For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.  (13)  For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.  (14)  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.  (Leave their spiritual state between them and the Lord but be there with them and for them.  I am so glad that God never leaves us nor forsakes us!)

1 Corinthians 12:25-26  That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.  (26)  And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.  (Make sure that they are as loved as the most spiritual or most talented member of the church.  Compassion can make a difference!)

1 Peter 3:8  Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, becourteous:  (The “Golden Rule” was taught to this pastor long before I came to know the Lord.  “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”)

2.  “And others save with fear … hating even the garment spotted by the flesh”  When we see a brother/sister walking in a sinful condition, we need to be careful while restoring them.  At this point, we need to be assured of our own personal spiritual state before making such a move.  A good “rule of thumb” is to alert the pastor with your concerns and allow him to assess the situation.  Pastors have to be careful at this point also as they too are susceptible to sin also.

Galatians 6:1  Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.  (We who offer help to the fallen need to “hate even the garment spotted by the flesh.”  True hatred for sin is a necessity for restoring a drifting or fallen brother/sister.)

Romans 15:1  We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. (“We that are strong” does not mean that, if we think that we can handle sin, then we can sidestep “abstain for all appearance of evil” and get involved.)

2 Corinthians 12:10  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.  (Spiritual strength is show when one realizes that, without Christ, they are as weak and susceptible as anyone else.)

1 Corinthians 10:12  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.  (Be careful and scriptural when trying to help some who has spiritually stumbled!)

Proverbs 16:18  Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

3.  “pulling them out of the fire”  We save them by pulling them out.  We have to pull them because they either will not come out or cannot help themselves.  Too often, God’s children drift to the point of “jumping from the frying pan into the fire.”  Eventually, there sets in a sense of helplessness and hopelessness.  At this point in time, we MUST be there to help and encourage them!  They have no one else.

2 Thessalonians 3:14-15  (14)  And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.  (15)  Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

a.  Note them – watch, in a right way, those who sit around you; watch, in a right way, when we shake hands before the preaching!  When someone misses a service where they had been faithful before hand, tell them that you missed them and are praying for them. 

2 Thessalonians 3:14  “And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man …”

b.  Keep yourself clean and on a high spiritual plane.  This does not mean that you avoid them.  Notice the word “company” that the Holy Spirit used.  It means to mix and mingle.  Company is when someone comes to our home.  “We have company!”  Evil communications still corrupt good manners! 

2 Thessalonians 3:14  “and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.” 

Galatians 6:1-2  Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

c.  Love them!  He/she is not your enemy but you brother/sister in the Lord!  Charity covers a multitude of sins.  Charity thinketh no evil!  Charity is longsuffering!  Charity is kind!

2 Thessalonians 3:15 “Yet count him not as an enemy”

d.  Admonish them!  To caution or gently reprove.  It does not mean to rebuke them as that comes under the heading of church discipline.

2 Thessalonians 3:15  “but admonish him as a brother”

e.  Pulling them!  Not pushing them but pulling them.  The Bible is always perfectly correct.  In order to pull someone from a fire, you have to keep the fire closer to them than it is to you.  They are between you and the fire.  The closer to the fire and the hotter the fire, the longer the rope!  Keep a safe spiritual distance from all types of sinfulness.

Jude 23  And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

d.  Disciplining them!  This is always a last resort and is to be beneficial the the sinful and as a protective measure for the people in the church as well as for the protection of the church’s testimony.  The Bible clearly names the sins that, when not repented of, bring about church discipline.  Church discipline is always to be done Scripturally, in love, and with repentance/restoration/reconciliation in mind!

1 Corinthians 5:4-7  In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,  (5)  To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.  (6)  Your glorying isnot good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?  (7)  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:  (Sometimes, you just have to let the fire either purge the sinful or destroy them!  Chastening is a sign of sonship and love.)

Is There Hope For America?

Temple Baptist Church - 7-3-2016

2 Chronicles 7:14

Introduction:

A.  Tomorrow, we will celebrate America’s 240th Anniversary. 

1.  It seems like only yesterday that we celebrated our Bi-Centennial Birthday.  That was the year that I was saved.  Forty years, over half of my lifetime, has now gone “under the bridge.”  I never get over the greatness of this country! 

2.  There is no place like home and no place on earth like America.   I still say, “Love it or leave it!” 

3.  I am a red-blooded American!  I love our nation; I love our flag; I love our prosperity; I love our freedom; I love our possibilities (you can be anything that you want to be); I love the topography and beauty of America; I love the diversity of America’s people; I love the variety found in our climate; I love our form of government and hate to see the progressive, liberal left change it from capitalism to socialism.

B.  The two biggest problems in America are ignorance and apathy.  A roving reporter came up to a man on the street and asked, ''Do you know what the two biggest problems in America are?'' The pedestrian said, ''I don't know and I don't care.'' The reporter said, ''You have them both.”  People don't know and they don't care. 

1.  People are ignorant of the principles upon which our nation as founded.  President Obama said that America was not a Christian nation.  Though America is quickly leaving its moorings found in the King James Bible, it was founded on the Bible and Biblical principles.  God has truly blessed America.  History is being changed and history books rewritten to remove God from our nation’s foundation.

a)  We are the only nation on earth built upon the Christian faith!

b)  President George Washington said, ''It would be impossible to govern rightly without God and the Bible.''

c)  Present John Adams said, ''It would be impossible to govern without God and the Ten Commandments.''

d)  The Pilgrim Charter of 1620 states that its purpose was ''to advance the enlargement of the Christian religion to the glory of God Almighty.''

e)  Before the Pilgrims arrived on our shores they gathered below the deck of the Mayflower and signed the Mayflower Compact which revealed their intent: ''for the glory of God.''

f)  In 1632 .... when Maryland was chartered as a colony, they wrote, ''We are motivated with the pious zeal for extending the Christian religion.''

g)  Andrew Jackson ..the 7th President said, ''The Bible is the rock upon which our Republic rest.''

h)  The last sentence of the Declaration of Independence signed 228 years ago today says, ''For the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance upon the protection of the Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.''

i)  Eight days after signing the Declaration of Independence ... printed on the side of the Liberty Bell was a quote from Leviticus 25.10, ''Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.''

j)  The fourth verse of the ''Star Spangled Banner'' ... our National anthem that Congress adopted in 1931, reads, ''Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation, then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, and this be our motto, in God is our trust.''

k)  It is a prayer of praise to almighty God! If you're going to take prayer out of school, you have to remove our national anthem because it is a prayer to God!

l)  God has blessed America because she was founded upon the promises and principles of the Word of God! Don't let some secularist tell you that America did not have a spiritual beginning! America was born out of a revival!

m)  Patrick Henry, that patriot and founding father of our country said, ''It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religions but on the Gospel...”

n)  The list could go on and on as I have many, many such quotes made by the founding fathers.

2.  People do not care about the failing morality and political corruptness that are changing our government and laws.

a)  Our nation’s laws are based upon the Civil Law of the Bible.  Because of changing morals, these laws are now being changed or ignored and not enforced.

b)  Our nation’s morals were once based upon Moral Law of the Bible. In today’s society, Biblical morals are mocked while perversion is on the rise and swiftly becoming the accepted as the norm.

c)  Biblical Christianity is being rejected and the “gods” of other nations accepted.  You cannot speak evil of their “gods” but you can say all manner of evil against ours!

C.  Is there hope for America?  We need to understand that our hope is not in the political realm or either presidential candidate no more than our hope was in the outgoing president.  Our hope is not in Republican held house or senate as they have been totally dysfunctional.  Our hope for America is in the God that helped to establish America.  I believe that there is always hope but, in order to have the blessings of God, our nation MUST change her direction by repenting and turning back to God!

Psalms 33:12  Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

Psalms 144:15  Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.

Psalms 146:5  Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:

D.  I fear that the problem with Christians today is very similar to those of the world that I mentioned above.

1.  Many Christians do not know because of generations of secular education and the encroaching liberal leftist teachings of socialism and atheism. 

2.  Many Christians have adopted the thinking of Laodicea and the practice of Calvinism.  We may not agree with the doctrine of Calvinism but we often practice it in many ways.  The world is lost but I am comfortable!  If the world is to be saved, let someone else win them!  If missionaries get to the foreign fields, let someone else support and send them! 

E.  What can we do to help America? 

1.  Stay awake or WAKE UP!  Romans 13:11  And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.  (Prosperity causes lukewarmness!  Mankind is still dying, souls are still crying, and hell continues to open her mouth without measure.)

Isaiah 5:13-14  Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.  (14)  Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.

2.  Stand Fast in the Faith!  Ephesians 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  (The “evil day” is here!  It takes strength and integrity to stand in the midst of ridicule and attack by the world.)

3.  Stand Strong in the Old Paths!  Jeremiah 6:16  Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.  (The “falling away” or apostasy as we call it has been in full swing for several generations and a general forsaking of the old ways has come to pass.  Now the enemy is within the local churches instead of without.)

4.  Supplication!  Continue to make supplications and intercessions for those in authority over us.  1 Timothy 2:1-3  I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;  (2)  For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.  (3)  For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;  (If you have ever prayed for America, now is the time.  This next presidential election will settle the Supreme Court one way or the other as the next president will probably appoint at least 2 new judges which will swing the balance of power one way or the other.)

5.  Share the Gospel!  Romans 1:14-17  I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.  (15)  So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.  (16)  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.  (17)  For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.  (The lost walk all around us and their eternity is at stake.  If we do not tell them the gospel story, then who will?)

6.  Show the world a Difference!  Titus 2:13-14  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;  (14)  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.  (As we see the day approaching, there seems to be more conforming than transforming!  We are the salt that adds the savor!)