WEBVTT 00:00:05.269 --> 00:00:08.150 Well, we are honored today to have Aaron with 00:00:08.150 --> 00:00:12.849 us from Camp Good News. I'm on the board there, 00:00:12.869 --> 00:00:15.230 and I see some of the things he's doing. He's 00:00:15.230 --> 00:00:18.670 doing a good job. He's a faithful man, and I 00:00:18.670 --> 00:00:20.929 appreciate his heart and his work. He does really 00:00:20.929 --> 00:00:23.089 hard. He's a good man. He's following in the 00:00:23.089 --> 00:00:26.350 shoes of Dennis. Dennis is the same way. But 00:00:26.350 --> 00:00:29.250 he's a good man. For some reason, when I stand 00:00:29.250 --> 00:00:33.270 next to him, I feel real skinny. We appreciate 00:00:33.270 --> 00:00:36.189 it. Come on up brother. You take whatever time 00:00:36.189 --> 00:00:40.229 you need. We're done. Thank you. Hey everybody. 00:00:40.689 --> 00:00:44.929 Thanks for having me this morning. Man, a lot 00:00:44.929 --> 00:00:46.969 going on in the past year, right? I was supposed 00:00:46.969 --> 00:00:49.770 to come last year right after, like the Sunday 00:00:49.770 --> 00:00:51.969 after the hurricane happened. And then I think 00:00:51.969 --> 00:00:55.070 I came in November. But a lot of things have 00:00:55.070 --> 00:00:57.950 been going on since then. There's some new faces, 00:00:57.990 --> 00:00:59.590 so I'd love to share a little bit about what 00:00:59.590 --> 00:01:01.469 camp is. You may know a little bit, but I'd love 00:01:01.469 --> 00:01:05.950 to share a little bit. Camp Good News, literally, 00:01:06.069 --> 00:01:08.530 it is a ministry to share the gospel with children 00:01:08.530 --> 00:01:11.010 of all kinds. And most of the kids who come, 00:01:11.010 --> 00:01:13.849 actually, are not from church homes. No, there's 00:01:13.849 --> 00:01:15.469 a lot from church homes. Like, I was a church 00:01:15.469 --> 00:01:18.230 kid. I came as a little boy, and I was a church 00:01:18.230 --> 00:01:21.170 kid. But it's a ministry to share the good news 00:01:21.170 --> 00:01:23.930 with boys and girls who come. And it's been that 00:01:23.930 --> 00:01:26.030 way ever since the 60s, when it was Camp Maranatha. 00:01:27.069 --> 00:01:30.209 And then after the late 80s, the couple, Ed and 00:01:30.209 --> 00:01:32.590 Nancy Wilcoxon, who ran Camp Maranatha, passed 00:01:32.590 --> 00:01:35.189 away. Dennis and Marcia Bailey had heard about 00:01:35.189 --> 00:01:37.349 the camp. They went out there. It was abandoned. 00:01:37.489 --> 00:01:39.590 It hadn't been used in 10 years. They walked 00:01:39.590 --> 00:01:41.250 up there. They prayed under the poplar trees 00:01:41.250 --> 00:01:42.950 that God would give them a camp. And then, here 00:01:42.950 --> 00:01:45.030 we go, God answered the prayer, and it became 00:01:45.030 --> 00:01:48.010 Camp Good News. But it's always been an ministry 00:01:48.010 --> 00:01:50.430 to tell children about Jesus. And so I'm glad 00:01:50.430 --> 00:01:51.930 to get to be a part of. It always meant a lot 00:01:51.930 --> 00:01:55.109 to me in my life growing up. That's the simple 00:01:55.109 --> 00:01:58.549 part of what the camp is. But since last year, 00:01:59.769 --> 00:02:03.049 we housed disaster relief groups from October 00:02:03.049 --> 00:02:05.769 all the way until mid -April. That's kind of 00:02:05.769 --> 00:02:07.969 the minister we took on so that they could go 00:02:07.969 --> 00:02:10.330 and help the community. Because I'm not a handyman 00:02:10.330 --> 00:02:12.590 by trade, so I don't know much about fixing up 00:02:12.590 --> 00:02:15.509 homes and all that stuff. But I knew we could 00:02:15.509 --> 00:02:17.349 use the camp to house them, so they could go 00:02:17.349 --> 00:02:19.360 and be part of that. So that's what the camp 00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:22.439 did. And some cool things came out of that ministry 00:02:22.439 --> 00:02:25.340 during that time. God always works in His will 00:02:25.340 --> 00:02:28.039 and His way. For whatever the purpose is, it's 00:02:28.039 --> 00:02:32.020 His will, right? But there was, we mostly housed 00:02:32.020 --> 00:02:33.719 men in that disaster service. They came from 00:02:33.719 --> 00:02:35.840 Pennsylvania. They wanted to come help the community. 00:02:35.879 --> 00:02:37.719 So they were the biggest group that used the 00:02:37.719 --> 00:02:40.340 camp through that time period. We had some from 00:02:40.340 --> 00:02:43.280 different churches around the state, different 00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:46.699 states actually, to come and use it during that 00:02:46.699 --> 00:02:48.990 time. But there was one particular group I just 00:02:48.990 --> 00:02:50.969 wanted to share this story with. They're called 00:02:50.969 --> 00:02:52.409 Work, Love, and God. They're out of Knoxville, 00:02:52.409 --> 00:02:56.210 Tennessee. And I had not talked to them prior 00:02:56.210 --> 00:02:57.870 to this. They had been praying. They told me 00:02:57.870 --> 00:03:00.430 the story. They had been praying that they would 00:03:00.430 --> 00:03:02.310 find a place to house 80 of their missionaries 00:03:02.310 --> 00:03:04.949 that would come the first week of April. And 00:03:04.949 --> 00:03:06.169 they had been praying. They had been looking 00:03:06.169 --> 00:03:08.050 at the places in Asheville. And it seemed like 00:03:08.050 --> 00:03:10.389 every place was either booked or not big enough 00:03:10.389 --> 00:03:12.969 or just wasn't available. And so they were praying 00:03:12.969 --> 00:03:14.610 as they were going down Old Fort Road, which 00:03:14.610 --> 00:03:16.680 is the road the camp is on. And they're praying, 00:03:16.680 --> 00:03:19.120 God, please just send us a place that we can 00:03:19.120 --> 00:03:20.919 house these missionaries. And they drove past 00:03:20.919 --> 00:03:22.800 the campsite, kept good news, and they said, 00:03:22.840 --> 00:03:25.080 hey, maybe there's some good news. So they drove 00:03:25.080 --> 00:03:27.599 up, and it happened to be working outside that 00:03:27.599 --> 00:03:30.240 morning. And we struck up a conversation, me 00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:33.060 and the guy, his name's Pastor Steven. It goes 00:03:33.060 --> 00:03:37.020 by preaching. And it was a connection there, 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:39.020 a feeling that, man, this is something God has 00:03:39.020 --> 00:03:41.479 put together. And it worked out, because we have 00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:44.539 82 beds, and they needed 80. So it was a perfect 00:03:44.539 --> 00:03:46.680 fit for them, two extra beds, and they came in 00:03:46.680 --> 00:03:50.900 April. It was a blessing to work with them. Particularly, 00:03:50.979 --> 00:03:52.699 I just think about that group because me and 00:03:52.699 --> 00:03:55.319 Pastor Stephen just made a good connection. And 00:03:55.319 --> 00:03:56.939 they did a lot of work for us. They were wanting 00:03:56.939 --> 00:03:58.580 to donate and loved the ministry. They loved 00:03:58.580 --> 00:04:00.620 what we stood for, telling the kids about Jesus, 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:04.750 even if they weren't from church homes. like 00:04:04.750 --> 00:04:06.289 eight grand in repairs for us. There's a lot 00:04:06.289 --> 00:04:08.530 of things I was going to get to eventually, but 00:04:08.530 --> 00:04:10.090 they just said, hey, we want to do this and we'll 00:04:10.090 --> 00:04:13.009 bless you in that way. So the biggest part of 00:04:13.009 --> 00:04:15.310 last year was spent housing those groups and 00:04:15.310 --> 00:04:17.730 connecting with those churches and places in 00:04:17.730 --> 00:04:19.829 that way. And it was a blessing to do that. It 00:04:19.829 --> 00:04:21.189 was a blessing to be able to do that and a blessing 00:04:21.189 --> 00:04:22.730 to get to know a lot of those people. And we 00:04:22.730 --> 00:04:24.730 may be doing that again this fall and this winter 00:04:24.730 --> 00:04:29.670 if the Lord wills it. But also during the, before 00:04:29.670 --> 00:04:31.410 the summer, before we get to the summer stories. 00:04:32.050 --> 00:04:36.370 We had different things like winter and spring 00:04:36.370 --> 00:04:38.689 advance. Those are weekends of camps and we call 00:04:38.689 --> 00:04:41.089 them advances because Christians don't retreat. 00:04:41.870 --> 00:04:43.490 Mr. Dennis used to say that, that's why we named 00:04:43.490 --> 00:04:45.889 him that. So pretty much everything I learned 00:04:45.889 --> 00:04:47.930 I learned from him. You guys know Dennis Bailey. 00:04:49.189 --> 00:04:51.209 But we had those and God really worked in a lot 00:04:51.209 --> 00:04:52.990 of those ways and we're grateful for what God 00:04:52.990 --> 00:04:56.170 did. During those times the kids learned about 00:04:56.170 --> 00:04:58.220 how to... how to live a Christian life, and that 00:04:58.220 --> 00:05:00.360 we live this life and we don't run aimlessly 00:05:00.360 --> 00:05:02.540 as 1 Corinthians 9 would tell us. We run with 00:05:02.540 --> 00:05:05.379 purpose. We live with purpose. We also learned 00:05:05.379 --> 00:05:07.600 about how we can be honoring to God in our faith, 00:05:07.819 --> 00:05:10.620 how faith honors God, and what that looks like. 00:05:10.699 --> 00:05:14.120 We looked at Hebrews 11, the Hall of Faith. Those 00:05:14.120 --> 00:05:17.420 who lived their life by faith trusted the promises 00:05:17.420 --> 00:05:19.160 of God, and they weren't doing it for nothing. 00:05:19.279 --> 00:05:20.879 There was a purpose. Even in the hardships and 00:05:20.879 --> 00:05:22.279 the struggles that they went through, there was 00:05:22.279 --> 00:05:24.660 a purpose in everything they did, and they honored 00:05:24.660 --> 00:05:27.420 God by their faith. Then we get to the summer, 00:05:27.680 --> 00:05:32.060 and hey, again, God worked, God moved. This year 00:05:32.060 --> 00:05:34.079 our theme was the seven seas, so we went through 00:05:34.079 --> 00:05:36.779 the seven seas of Bible history. We looked at 00:05:36.779 --> 00:05:39.519 creation, obviously the first one. Corruption, 00:05:39.620 --> 00:05:41.300 the corruption of man, how sin entered the world. 00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:43.360 We looked at the catastrophe, the flood of Noah, 00:05:43.500 --> 00:05:46.220 and how God judged sin in that way. We looked 00:05:46.220 --> 00:05:49.319 at the Tower of Babel, so it was creation, corruption, 00:05:50.120 --> 00:05:52.240 catastrophe, and then confusion, Tower of Babel. 00:05:52.589 --> 00:05:54.490 and how God changed the language of the people 00:05:54.490 --> 00:05:57.089 because they were prideful. And so he told them 00:05:57.089 --> 00:05:59.129 a certain thing. He told them to spread out and 00:05:59.129 --> 00:06:01.509 to obey and to populate the earth, but they decided 00:06:01.509 --> 00:06:04.050 to stay in one place. So he set confusion by 00:06:04.050 --> 00:06:06.009 language and then made them spread out in that 00:06:06.009 --> 00:06:09.670 way. And after confusion, we talked about Christ, 00:06:10.189 --> 00:06:12.410 cross, and then consummation. So those were our 00:06:12.410 --> 00:06:14.329 seven C's this year. And that was the biggest 00:06:14.329 --> 00:06:16.089 lessons that we did through the summer. And so 00:06:16.089 --> 00:06:18.290 we taught the kids from beginning to the end. 00:06:18.659 --> 00:06:20.379 Bible as best as we could. You only get five 00:06:20.379 --> 00:06:22.199 days. You only got so much time to teach them 00:06:22.199 --> 00:06:24.379 everything. But that's what we did. That's the 00:06:24.379 --> 00:06:26.600 biggest things that we did this year. We had 00:06:26.600 --> 00:06:29.660 323 kids come to camp. That's the biggest amount 00:06:29.660 --> 00:06:32.740 of kids we've had since before COVID. COVID really 00:06:32.740 --> 00:06:34.459 kind of plunged the numbers there for a while. 00:06:34.699 --> 00:06:38.100 And we built it back up slowly. And 16 of those 00:06:38.100 --> 00:06:39.800 kids this summer professed faith in the Lord 00:06:39.800 --> 00:06:44.560 Jesus. So that is a praise. And it was a good 00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:46.459 summer. But if I can be honest with you. This 00:06:46.459 --> 00:06:48.120 was probably the hardest summer I've ever been 00:06:48.120 --> 00:06:51.019 a part of, in a lot of ways. There's a lot of 00:06:51.019 --> 00:06:52.980 battles to go through this summer, with attitudes, 00:06:53.699 --> 00:06:55.660 bullying, as you guys know, kind of a little 00:06:55.660 --> 00:06:57.399 bit about, let's think about what that young 00:06:57.399 --> 00:06:59.379 boy said about bullying. We had to deal with 00:06:59.379 --> 00:07:01.920 a lot of that this summer. We had to deal with 00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:03.639 a lot of hardships. It was just a hard summer, 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:05.519 I'll be honest. It was a hard summer, but God 00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:08.779 is good, and God is faithful, and He... He worked 00:07:08.779 --> 00:07:10.759 in a lot of ways. So even though it was a hard 00:07:10.759 --> 00:07:12.959 summer, we saw God at work. And it was very good 00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:14.879 to be a part of it. Even though it was hard, 00:07:15.019 --> 00:07:16.879 you know, God taught us, I believe God was teaching 00:07:16.879 --> 00:07:20.100 us a lot about endurance and perseverance. To 00:07:20.100 --> 00:07:22.220 not give up, to see that He's at work even in 00:07:22.220 --> 00:07:24.639 the midst of hardships. And there's a lot of 00:07:24.639 --> 00:07:26.279 things that went on this summer that we had to 00:07:26.279 --> 00:07:29.300 just, you know, trust God with. To not fight 00:07:29.300 --> 00:07:31.100 our own battle, you know, not to fight the battle 00:07:31.100 --> 00:07:33.540 on our own, but let Him do the work. Let Him 00:07:33.540 --> 00:07:35.980 do the battling. And we just be faithful with 00:07:35.980 --> 00:07:38.160 what He's called us to do. And so that's what 00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:40.319 we were. But knowing these things, knowing that 00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:41.839 it was a difficult summer, I do ask for your 00:07:41.839 --> 00:07:44.939 prayers because I can see it going forward. Things 00:07:44.939 --> 00:07:49.160 are changing, right? We got a lot of children 00:07:49.160 --> 00:07:51.060 who, again, most of the kids who come are not 00:07:51.060 --> 00:07:53.240 from church homes or homes where their parents 00:07:53.240 --> 00:07:54.720 even tell them anything about Jesus. We have 00:07:54.720 --> 00:07:56.220 kids who've come who don't even know who Jesus 00:07:56.220 --> 00:07:59.019 is. That's kind of the kids who show up to our 00:07:59.019 --> 00:08:01.040 camp. They don't, they live in this area mostly. 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:04.879 They don't even know who Jesus is. So it is a 00:08:04.879 --> 00:08:06.579 privilege to take them in for that week and get 00:08:06.579 --> 00:08:09.060 the love on them and care for them and tell them 00:08:09.060 --> 00:08:10.939 God's word, teach them from God's word, tell 00:08:10.939 --> 00:08:12.600 them how to be saved, tell them why they need 00:08:12.600 --> 00:08:15.779 to be saved. But there's also a lot of some battles 00:08:15.779 --> 00:08:18.560 that come with that spiritual warfare. You know, 00:08:18.620 --> 00:08:21.120 we don't battle flesh and blood, right? But we 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:23.800 battle on the spiritual. It's a spiritual battle. 00:08:24.519 --> 00:08:25.860 But we need your prayers going forward because 00:08:25.860 --> 00:08:29.000 this is what I see. And it's hard to see it this 00:08:29.000 --> 00:08:30.500 way because I've been a part of camp since I 00:08:30.500 --> 00:08:33.309 was a boy and worked with. Worked with camp for 00:08:33.309 --> 00:08:36.269 so many years as a counselor. Worked with Luke. 00:08:37.009 --> 00:08:40.210 Saw Sage there at camp many times. But this is 00:08:40.210 --> 00:08:42.190 what I see. Kids' hearts are becoming harder. 00:08:44.070 --> 00:08:46.529 Their love is growing cold. Kids are not all 00:08:46.529 --> 00:08:47.909 the same as they used to be. They're still kids. 00:08:48.250 --> 00:08:50.590 We've always had typical kids. We've always had 00:08:50.590 --> 00:08:53.649 great kids. But what I see is hardened hearts 00:08:53.649 --> 00:08:57.230 of children. And that's really hard to see. And 00:08:57.230 --> 00:08:58.750 so we really need your prayers going forward. 00:08:59.090 --> 00:09:01.200 Because things are changing, like I said. And 00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:03.139 so not only pray for the kids and their families, 00:09:03.500 --> 00:09:05.620 we have a great ministry to provide them, I believe 00:09:05.620 --> 00:09:08.240 that. And God is gonna continue this camp as 00:09:08.240 --> 00:09:09.759 long as he wants to. And when it's done, it's 00:09:09.759 --> 00:09:12.639 done. We don't have any problems with that. But 00:09:12.639 --> 00:09:16.179 we need believers who are gonna step up and be 00:09:16.179 --> 00:09:18.899 ready to battle and be ready to face these hardships 00:09:18.899 --> 00:09:22.259 and to serve in this way, no matter how hard 00:09:22.259 --> 00:09:24.940 it is. And I'm grateful for all the people who 00:09:24.940 --> 00:09:26.860 came out and served this summer. We had 60 plus 00:09:26.860 --> 00:09:29.350 volunteers that came out. Some counselors and 00:09:29.350 --> 00:09:30.889 some that just came to serve when they could 00:09:30.889 --> 00:09:34.730 serve. And I'm thankful for every single one 00:09:34.730 --> 00:09:36.330 of them. But pray for them, because if they're 00:09:36.330 --> 00:09:37.649 going to continue to come back, they need to 00:09:37.649 --> 00:09:39.830 be ready. And pray for the ones who are going 00:09:39.830 --> 00:09:41.230 to come in the future, because they need to be 00:09:41.230 --> 00:09:44.649 ready for the difficulty of ministry. Especially 00:09:44.649 --> 00:09:47.129 as the Lord gets closer, the devil also is going 00:09:47.129 --> 00:09:49.690 to fight harder, right? But I also see it as 00:09:49.690 --> 00:09:52.889 an honor to go through some of those hardships, 00:09:53.070 --> 00:09:54.529 because that means we're doing something right. 00:09:54.980 --> 00:09:56.980 And if the gospel is the main thing, it's okay 00:09:56.980 --> 00:09:58.460 that we go through some of these things, that 00:09:58.460 --> 00:10:01.379 we face some of these battles that we do. And 00:10:01.379 --> 00:10:04.179 we do our best to honor God in everything that 00:10:04.179 --> 00:10:06.399 we do. And we keep Jesus the main thing. That's 00:10:06.399 --> 00:10:08.179 the main reason we have campus so we can tell 00:10:08.179 --> 00:10:10.340 boys and girls about Jesus. So whether they're 00:10:10.340 --> 00:10:12.519 from church homes or not, there's a plaque up 00:10:12.519 --> 00:10:13.940 at camp. If you've ever been there, if you've 00:10:13.940 --> 00:10:16.360 ever heard me say it or somebody say it, it says, 00:10:16.519 --> 00:10:18.179 there's plaque on this massive rock up there. 00:10:18.220 --> 00:10:20.879 It says that this camp, this property is dedicated 00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:23.039 to the spiritual growth and salvation of young 00:10:23.039 --> 00:10:25.320 people. And in all things the Lord Jesus Christ 00:10:25.320 --> 00:10:27.240 preeminence. So not only is it for the spiritual 00:10:27.240 --> 00:10:29.039 growth of those who have already been saved, 00:10:29.580 --> 00:10:30.899 but it's for the salvation of those who have 00:10:30.899 --> 00:10:34.360 never heard. That's what we get a lot of. So 00:10:34.360 --> 00:10:36.179 thank you to those things. Just be praying for 00:10:36.179 --> 00:10:38.019 us and praying for the future. Things are just 00:10:38.019 --> 00:10:39.399 changing. Things are just going to be different 00:10:39.399 --> 00:10:41.620 in the future. That's okay. But we want to be 00:10:41.620 --> 00:10:43.940 ready for what God has in store. We want to be 00:10:43.940 --> 00:10:46.080 ready for the ministry that he has us to take 00:10:46.080 --> 00:10:48.700 place in. Maybe you can be a part of that in 00:10:48.700 --> 00:10:50.279 a different way. Maybe you guys can come up. 00:10:50.879 --> 00:10:53.480 See what Lord is doing see how God works in the 00:10:53.480 --> 00:10:55.220 hearts of the kids because I still love camp 00:10:55.220 --> 00:10:57.200 But again, there's still just a lot that we have 00:10:57.200 --> 00:10:59.700 to deal with with bullying and was just Hard 00:10:59.700 --> 00:11:02.240 hardness really and so you can come up and you 00:11:02.240 --> 00:11:04.080 can be a light and you can share the gospel with 00:11:04.080 --> 00:11:07.200 with your life But the summer was good and I'm 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:08.940 grateful for all God did and what he's still 00:11:08.940 --> 00:11:11.539 doing And there's still ministry to be had. It's 00:11:11.539 --> 00:11:13.039 not just the summertime. I know a lot of people 00:11:13.039 --> 00:11:15.700 think oh summers over you're done, right? Never 00:11:15.700 --> 00:11:17.679 never done the ministry's never done. We have 00:11:17.679 --> 00:11:21.419 counselor trainings coming up we have against 00:11:21.419 --> 00:11:23.759 the weekends of camp, the advances. I actually 00:11:23.759 --> 00:11:26.080 brought a few of these. These are flyers I got 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:27.960 kind of for the fall one coming up, so we have 00:11:27.960 --> 00:11:30.120 three of these through the year. Usually they're 00:11:30.120 --> 00:11:32.720 just for teenagers, usually, but we're going 00:11:32.720 --> 00:11:34.379 to hopefully have some for the younger ones. 00:11:34.879 --> 00:11:36.779 I do have a few of these flyers. Again, this 00:11:36.779 --> 00:11:38.899 is a weekend of camp for teenagers. I have a 00:11:38.899 --> 00:11:40.700 few of these if you guys want to take some, share 00:11:40.700 --> 00:11:42.240 them with people in your neighborhood or share 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:45.039 them at your work, wherever. But the fall advance 00:11:45.039 --> 00:11:48.019 coming up next month, end of next month is... 00:11:48.539 --> 00:11:51.019 is October 24th through the 26th, and we're going 00:11:51.019 --> 00:11:52.940 to talk about how to be rooted in Christ, how 00:11:52.940 --> 00:11:54.740 to be rooted in our faith, what it looks like 00:11:54.740 --> 00:11:57.700 to be rooted. And so that when the storms of 00:11:57.700 --> 00:12:00.679 life come, that you're not easily shaken. So 00:12:00.679 --> 00:12:04.200 be praying for that, if you will. But it is good. 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:06.000 It is good to be a part of this ministry. And 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:07.940 I thank you guys for your prayers and support. 00:12:09.779 --> 00:12:12.580 And look, we just got to be ready. God's working. 00:12:12.759 --> 00:12:14.220 God's moving. Even when the enemy is moving, 00:12:14.220 --> 00:12:16.580 we know God's work even better. What he's doing 00:12:16.580 --> 00:12:18.889 is even better. We've got to have our hearts 00:12:18.889 --> 00:12:21.889 and minds ready. We've got to be prepared for 00:12:21.889 --> 00:12:25.690 all that God would have in store for us. And 00:12:25.690 --> 00:12:28.210 so thinking about that, I'd love to share with 00:12:28.210 --> 00:12:30.450 you guys from Romans 12, if that's okay. I'd 00:12:30.450 --> 00:12:32.049 love to look at that scripture for just a minute. 00:12:32.690 --> 00:12:34.590 And I know the easy, at least it's easy for me, 00:12:34.610 --> 00:12:36.269 maybe it's my own prideful nature sometimes, 00:12:36.330 --> 00:12:38.690 the easy thing to do is be like, oh, Romans 12. 00:12:39.169 --> 00:12:41.129 Heard that one before, especially if you come 00:12:41.129 --> 00:12:44.070 to church a long time. But God is always going 00:12:44.070 --> 00:12:46.009 to teach you something or show you something. 00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:48.620 Whether you've heard it before or not, you know, 00:12:48.620 --> 00:12:50.600 we just have to have our hearts and minds open 00:12:50.600 --> 00:12:52.879 to what He would have to teach us. So I'd love 00:12:52.879 --> 00:12:56.940 to share from Romans 12 verses 1 and 2 this morning 00:12:56.940 --> 00:13:00.320 for just a few minutes, if I may, as we think 00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:03.600 about camp. I think about not being conformed 00:13:03.600 --> 00:13:07.100 to this world. I think about how to be ready 00:13:07.100 --> 00:13:09.860 with our minds and our hearts ready for everything 00:13:09.860 --> 00:13:14.899 that God has. And so I want to look at Romans 00:13:14.899 --> 00:13:19.120 12, 1 and 2. this morning. I'll read it and then 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:20.500 we'll go through it, if that's alright, Pastor 00:13:20.500 --> 00:13:23.940 Peter. And he starts off this way. He says, I 00:13:23.940 --> 00:13:25.899 beseech you therefore, brothers, by the mercies 00:13:25.899 --> 00:13:28.820 of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, 00:13:29.559 --> 00:13:31.679 holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable 00:13:31.679 --> 00:13:34.500 worship. And do not be conformed to this world, 00:13:34.639 --> 00:13:37.059 but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, 00:13:37.259 --> 00:13:39.240 that by testing you may discern what is the will 00:13:39.240 --> 00:13:41.700 of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 00:13:42.860 --> 00:13:45.759 He says, I beseech you. Therefore well another 00:13:45.759 --> 00:13:48.960 way to say it beseech is appeal or I urge So 00:13:48.960 --> 00:13:50.559 he says I urge you therefore brothers by the 00:13:50.559 --> 00:13:52.779 mercies of God now. What are the mercies of God? 00:13:53.399 --> 00:13:55.279 Well if you Romans is one of my favorite books 00:13:55.279 --> 00:13:57.299 to read through it to go through consistently 00:13:57.299 --> 00:14:00.220 It's just so many so many great things to pick 00:14:00.220 --> 00:14:02.759 back up on and you know again If you read scripture 00:14:02.759 --> 00:14:04.480 any amount of time and you read the same thing 00:14:04.480 --> 00:14:07.279 again. God's gonna teach something new Because 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:10.840 it's it's living it's powerful right and it God 00:14:10.840 --> 00:14:12.259 will always teach you something if you're ready 00:14:12.259 --> 00:14:16.039 to learn from it But the mercies of God if you 00:14:16.039 --> 00:14:18.259 go back before chapter 12 We say all the mercies 00:14:18.259 --> 00:14:20.480 of God laid out through the whole book and I 00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:22.159 can't go through all those But we see that we're 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:25.100 justified from sin. We're see that we're adopted 00:14:25.100 --> 00:14:27.820 in Jesus. We're given an identification Within 00:14:27.820 --> 00:14:30.539 Christ Jesus were placed under grace. We have 00:14:30.539 --> 00:14:33.279 the promise of help and affliction We're given 00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:35.840 the confidence of the coming glory We're given 00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:38.460 in confidence that we can't be separated from 00:14:38.460 --> 00:14:40.759 God's love that we are We are always in his hand 00:14:40.759 --> 00:14:44.230 and nothing can separate us from his love We 00:14:44.230 --> 00:14:47.529 have the confidence in God's continued faithfulness, 00:14:47.690 --> 00:14:50.450 and we have confidence that salvation is a free 00:14:50.450 --> 00:14:52.190 gift. We have all these mercies that we can look 00:14:52.190 --> 00:14:54.309 at, all these mercies of God that we can look 00:14:54.309 --> 00:14:57.409 at. So he says, therefore, now that's why the 00:14:57.409 --> 00:15:00.710 therefore is therefore, by the mercies of God, 00:15:00.929 --> 00:15:03.669 I urge you to present your bodies a living sacrifice, 00:15:03.809 --> 00:15:06.029 holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual 00:15:06.029 --> 00:15:11.029 worship, or reasonable service. That phrase reasonable 00:15:11.029 --> 00:15:12.889 service or spiritual worship. I don't know how 00:15:12.889 --> 00:15:16.370 your translation necessarily says it Could quite 00:15:16.370 --> 00:15:18.210 literally be if I looked up commentary. I was 00:15:18.210 --> 00:15:20.570 studying it. It could be translated logical worship. 00:15:20.570 --> 00:15:23.669 It's only logical Seeing these mercies of God 00:15:23.669 --> 00:15:25.590 that you would present your bodies as a living 00:15:25.590 --> 00:15:27.629 sacrifice. That would make reasonable sense That's 00:15:27.629 --> 00:15:29.830 reasonable. That's logical. That is a logical 00:15:29.830 --> 00:15:33.710 logical reason to worship So in the sight of 00:15:33.710 --> 00:15:36.490 God's mercy and we offer ourselves to Him as 00:15:36.490 --> 00:15:38.610 a living sacrifice. It makes sense seeing that 00:15:38.610 --> 00:15:41.350 how good God is, how gracious He is, that we 00:15:41.350 --> 00:15:43.470 would present ourselves as a living sacrifice. 00:15:44.370 --> 00:15:46.529 And so to be a living sacrifice means that you're 00:15:46.529 --> 00:15:48.590 fully, you're always fully at God's disposal. 00:15:48.649 --> 00:15:50.309 Whatever He wants you to do, wherever He wants 00:15:50.309 --> 00:15:52.789 you to go, you're ready to be that living sacrifice. 00:15:52.850 --> 00:15:55.330 You're ready to present yourself in that way. 00:15:55.370 --> 00:15:57.549 That is a spiritual worship. That is a logical 00:15:57.549 --> 00:16:00.289 way to worship Him, to be a living sacrifice. 00:16:00.970 --> 00:16:04.330 Again, willing to obey God in anything, in every 00:16:04.330 --> 00:16:06.169 area of your life, whatever that is, are you 00:16:06.169 --> 00:16:07.850 a living sacrifice? That's a good question to 00:16:07.850 --> 00:16:09.950 ask yourself. So I try to remind myself, am I 00:16:09.950 --> 00:16:11.909 a living sacrifice today? Am I being a living 00:16:11.909 --> 00:16:14.970 sacrifice? Am I at God's disposal to do whatever 00:16:14.970 --> 00:16:17.690 He wants for me? To do whatever He asks me to 00:16:17.690 --> 00:16:20.889 do? And so these Christians though, as you guys 00:16:20.889 --> 00:16:23.129 know, they might have quite literally been a 00:16:23.129 --> 00:16:25.450 living sacrifice. They might have been martyred 00:16:25.450 --> 00:16:28.610 for their faith during this time. So they were 00:16:28.610 --> 00:16:32.100 almost quite literally a living sacrifice. Hey, 00:16:32.200 --> 00:16:33.759 sharing the gospel no matter what, it costs us 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:36.159 our life. They understood this life is not the 00:16:36.159 --> 00:16:38.240 only thing there is. This life is a lot shorter 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:41.539 than eternity. They were willing to share the 00:16:41.539 --> 00:16:43.860 good news, to share the gospel with those around 00:16:43.860 --> 00:16:46.899 them. And so they were almost truly a living 00:16:46.899 --> 00:16:50.259 sacrifice, but we have to be willing to be a 00:16:50.259 --> 00:16:53.100 living sacrifice. And the Christian life is daily 00:16:53.100 --> 00:16:55.379 giving our lives and our bodies in obedience 00:16:55.379 --> 00:16:58.500 to God, giving our wants, our desires up. to 00:16:58.500 --> 00:17:00.799 obey Christ, to be willing to do what he wants 00:17:00.799 --> 00:17:04.819 us to do. But as we know, we may, as Christians, 00:17:05.019 --> 00:17:07.460 we may soon in this country be a living sacrifice 00:17:07.460 --> 00:17:10.160 in a literal sense. It may be true. I believe 00:17:10.160 --> 00:17:11.519 there are people who are already being killed 00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:14.119 for their faith in this country. Whether it's 00:17:14.119 --> 00:17:16.420 in a political way or not, or by the government 00:17:16.420 --> 00:17:18.420 or not, we're still being killed for our faith, 00:17:18.960 --> 00:17:20.680 right? I think that's still happening, and even 00:17:20.680 --> 00:17:22.099 more so, it's going on around the world even 00:17:22.099 --> 00:17:26.019 now. So it may happen one day, but either way 00:17:26.019 --> 00:17:29.259 we know from 2nd Timothy 3 that all who desire 00:17:29.259 --> 00:17:31.339 to live a guided life in Christ Jesus will suffer 00:17:31.339 --> 00:17:34.059 persecution in some way, some shape, or some 00:17:34.059 --> 00:17:36.720 form. Now I haven't faced it in a physical sense 00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:38.900 yet. I've been yelled at a lot. I've been made 00:17:38.900 --> 00:17:41.640 fun of a lot. I've been talked about a lot, but 00:17:41.640 --> 00:17:43.359 I haven't felt it in a physical sense. Maybe 00:17:43.359 --> 00:17:45.559 you guys have. I don't know. But it may come 00:17:45.559 --> 00:17:48.019 to that one day. Are we still willing to be a 00:17:48.019 --> 00:17:51.950 living sacrifice with Lord Jesus? But thinking 00:17:51.950 --> 00:17:54.130 about that that we're always at God's disposal 00:17:54.130 --> 00:17:58.589 what he controls our life But you might say or 00:17:58.589 --> 00:18:00.390 you might hear people say well, it's it's my 00:18:00.390 --> 00:18:02.710 life. It's my body That's why I do what I want 00:18:02.710 --> 00:18:05.349 Why would I have to give up what I want to obey 00:18:05.349 --> 00:18:06.849 God like he loves me either way, right? Yeah, 00:18:06.849 --> 00:18:09.150 he does love you, but he calls you to be a living 00:18:09.150 --> 00:18:12.789 sacrifice and really if you're a Christian You 00:18:12.789 --> 00:18:14.890 are not your own right first Corinthians 6. It 00:18:14.890 --> 00:18:17.089 says that you are not your own you were bought 00:18:17.089 --> 00:18:19.990 with a price So therefore glorified God in your 00:18:19.990 --> 00:18:23.180 body We're not our own we are to be a living 00:18:23.180 --> 00:18:26.740 sacrifice at God's disposal To do whatever he 00:18:26.740 --> 00:18:29.880 wants it any at every point. We are his he has 00:18:29.880 --> 00:18:33.440 bought us with the price in Christ Jesus So let's 00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:35.599 be willing to be a living sacrifice and it goes 00:18:35.599 --> 00:18:38.660 on to say do not be conformed Don't be conformed 00:18:38.660 --> 00:18:40.440 to this world's way of thinking don't be conformed 00:18:40.440 --> 00:18:44.019 to this pad the pattern of this world Because 00:18:44.019 --> 00:18:46.500 again the world's gonna say for us to it's okay 00:18:46.500 --> 00:18:48.940 do whatever you want live however you want to 00:18:48.940 --> 00:18:51.140 live God still loves you. Do whatever you want 00:18:51.140 --> 00:18:52.700 to do. God still loves you. And while He does 00:18:52.700 --> 00:18:54.779 still love you, that's still not how He caused 00:18:54.779 --> 00:18:58.940 us to live, right? So don't be conformed to those. 00:18:59.240 --> 00:19:01.460 Well, God wants you to be happy. Maybe not in 00:19:01.460 --> 00:19:03.740 this way. Maybe it doesn't honor God. So God 00:19:03.740 --> 00:19:05.599 doesn't want that from me. Don't be conformed 00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:08.279 in that way. Don't be conformed to the world's 00:19:08.279 --> 00:19:10.900 way of thinking, the world's way of doing life, 00:19:11.000 --> 00:19:14.700 the world's way of living. But be a living sacrifice. 00:19:14.970 --> 00:19:17.750 We have to recognize and reject that the world's 00:19:17.750 --> 00:19:19.710 pattern of thinking, of feeling, of behaving, 00:19:20.390 --> 00:19:22.930 we have to reject that. We have to see it, we 00:19:22.930 --> 00:19:26.430 have to recognize it, and reject it. The world 00:19:26.430 --> 00:19:28.150 throws everything at us, right? We're always 00:19:28.150 --> 00:19:30.130 in the world, so we have to be careful to not 00:19:30.130 --> 00:19:32.210 be conformed to the world. You go to work in 00:19:32.210 --> 00:19:33.809 the world, you go to the grocery store in the 00:19:33.809 --> 00:19:36.369 world, you hear the radio, you watch the TV, 00:19:36.609 --> 00:19:38.430 you hear the things of the world, but we have 00:19:38.430 --> 00:19:40.289 to be careful not to be conformed to those ways. 00:19:40.730 --> 00:19:43.660 Because what happens is... You'll live in the 00:19:43.660 --> 00:19:46.299 world so long that maybe if you haven't been 00:19:46.299 --> 00:19:48.039 presenting yourselves a living sacrifice, if 00:19:48.039 --> 00:19:49.660 you haven't been transformed, we'll get to it 00:19:49.660 --> 00:19:50.940 in a minute, if you haven't been transformed, 00:19:51.759 --> 00:19:53.380 then you might not recognize that you're being 00:19:53.380 --> 00:19:55.799 conformed to the way of the world because maybe 00:19:55.799 --> 00:19:57.960 you're not paying attention. We gotta pay attention. 00:19:58.019 --> 00:19:59.940 We gotta be ready because the world's sneaky, 00:20:00.099 --> 00:20:03.359 right? Satan's sneaky. Satan is a deceiver, right? 00:20:03.359 --> 00:20:04.839 And he'll make things look like the way that 00:20:04.839 --> 00:20:06.440 they're not, just like he did with Adam and Eve. 00:20:06.980 --> 00:20:09.400 Just like he tempted Eve, just like he deceived 00:20:09.400 --> 00:20:11.700 her, as the Bible would say. He deceived Eve. 00:20:12.060 --> 00:20:14.480 And Adam ate. I didn't say Adam was deceived, 00:20:14.599 --> 00:20:17.500 but that's a different lesson, I suppose. But 00:20:17.500 --> 00:20:22.720 they were deceived. Satan made things look like 00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:25.380 what they weren't. Did God really say that you 00:20:25.380 --> 00:20:26.720 shouldn't eat this fruit? Did God really say 00:20:26.720 --> 00:20:29.180 that? Yes, he did. And again, that's going to 00:20:29.180 --> 00:20:31.099 be the way the world tried to flip sin. Did God 00:20:31.099 --> 00:20:34.059 really say this? Does God really want you to 00:20:34.059 --> 00:20:36.140 do this? Does God really want you not to do that? 00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:38.799 But again, that's the way that the world is going 00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:42.339 to try to conform us. Say, it's okay, it's fine. 00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:44.619 And then we'll take that, we'll take that if 00:20:44.619 --> 00:20:46.940 we're not ready to, if we're not being transformed 00:20:46.940 --> 00:20:49.880 by the renewing of our mind, right pastor? But 00:20:49.880 --> 00:20:51.880 again, we have to recognize and reject the world's 00:20:51.880 --> 00:20:53.440 pattern of thinking and feeling and behaving. 00:20:53.579 --> 00:20:55.180 And we can only do that when we know what God 00:20:55.180 --> 00:20:58.640 says and we know that God's way is better. So 00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:00.579 we need to embrace God's will. We need to embrace 00:21:00.579 --> 00:21:03.160 what He has for our life. And I don't know what 00:21:03.160 --> 00:21:04.500 that looks like for your life, I don't know, 00:21:04.819 --> 00:21:06.660 but we need to embrace that. And I know it starts 00:21:06.660 --> 00:21:08.559 by us knowing Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior. 00:21:09.829 --> 00:21:14.089 But it goes on to say, verse two, continuing 00:21:14.089 --> 00:21:16.869 verse two, it says, but be transformed by the 00:21:16.869 --> 00:21:19.009 renewing of your mind that by testing you may 00:21:19.009 --> 00:21:21.150 discern what is the will of God, what is good 00:21:21.150 --> 00:21:24.450 and acceptable and perfect. So we have to have 00:21:24.450 --> 00:21:27.710 our minds inflamed with the truth of Christ, 00:21:28.210 --> 00:21:30.009 the truth of God's word. What does God's word 00:21:30.009 --> 00:21:32.750 say? That's how we transform our mind. That's 00:21:32.750 --> 00:21:35.549 how we transform our way of thinking, to almost 00:21:35.549 --> 00:21:37.930 drown out what the world says and be renewed 00:21:37.930 --> 00:21:41.859 by what God says. So we have to reject the world 00:21:41.859 --> 00:21:44.059 in that way by having our hearts and our minds 00:21:44.059 --> 00:21:46.680 inflamed with the truth of Christ and God's Word. 00:21:47.619 --> 00:21:49.359 Again, the only way to replace the air of this 00:21:49.359 --> 00:21:51.279 world's thinking is to replace it with God's 00:21:51.279 --> 00:21:53.900 truth. Philippians 4 .8 would say, whatever is 00:21:53.900 --> 00:21:56.119 true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, 00:21:56.259 --> 00:21:59.180 whatever is pure, whatever is commendable, if 00:21:59.180 --> 00:22:01.119 there's anything excellent, if there's anything 00:22:01.119 --> 00:22:04.079 worthy of praise, think about those things. Think 00:22:04.079 --> 00:22:06.649 about those things, the things of God. Colossians 00:22:06.649 --> 00:22:08.970 3 1 & 2 were some of my favorite two of my favorite 00:22:08.970 --> 00:22:11.809 verses if you have been raised with Christ seek 00:22:11.809 --> 00:22:14.490 the things that are above Where Christ is seated 00:22:14.490 --> 00:22:17.150 at the right hand of God and set your minds on 00:22:17.150 --> 00:22:19.589 the things that are above not on the things of 00:22:19.589 --> 00:22:23.069 earth So again by not taking in the world's way 00:22:23.069 --> 00:22:24.890 we have to be put in our minds in the way of 00:22:24.890 --> 00:22:28.329 God's God's ways and our thinking has to be changed 00:22:28.329 --> 00:22:31.650 from Old and ungodly ways of thinking into new 00:22:31.650 --> 00:22:34.890 godly ways of thinking Second Corinthians 10 00:22:34.890 --> 00:22:37.450 5 would say take every thought captive to obey 00:22:37.450 --> 00:22:39.589 take every thought take all of our thoughts captive 00:22:39.589 --> 00:22:42.049 Is this obedient to God is what I'm thinking 00:22:42.049 --> 00:22:43.509 is what I'm wanting to do Is that going to be 00:22:43.509 --> 00:22:45.210 obedient to God is it going to be honoring to 00:22:45.210 --> 00:22:47.930 God? Is it going to be showing that and I'm a 00:22:47.930 --> 00:22:49.890 living sacrifice I want to be holy and acceptable 00:22:49.890 --> 00:22:52.490 to God which is my logical worship is it showing 00:22:52.490 --> 00:22:55.130 that I'm rejecting the world's ways and I'm being 00:22:55.130 --> 00:22:57.670 transformed in God's ways we have to take our 00:22:57.670 --> 00:23:01.069 thoughts captive and transformation through a 00:23:01.069 --> 00:23:04.740 renewed mind It only comes when we expose our 00:23:04.740 --> 00:23:08.319 hearts and our minds to God's Word. In prayer, 00:23:08.700 --> 00:23:10.480 in fellowship with other believers, and in serving 00:23:10.480 --> 00:23:14.440 God as God has called us to serve. That's how 00:23:14.440 --> 00:23:16.900 transformation takes place in our minds. And 00:23:16.900 --> 00:23:19.039 when we do that, when we transform our mind, 00:23:19.160 --> 00:23:21.220 we'll also discern God's will, whatever that 00:23:21.220 --> 00:23:22.819 is for your life. Maybe somebody he wants you 00:23:22.819 --> 00:23:25.759 to talk to, share the gospel with. Maybe somewhere 00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:28.720 he wants you to go. Now, truthful, I can't tell 00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:31.420 you what God's will is for your life. I can't 00:23:31.420 --> 00:23:34.460 do that, I don't know how. But I can tell you 00:23:34.460 --> 00:23:36.980 it starts with you knowing Him. I can tell you 00:23:36.980 --> 00:23:39.539 it starts with you knowing Christ. Now, there's 00:23:39.539 --> 00:23:40.940 only a few of us in this room, and you guys all 00:23:40.940 --> 00:23:43.799 know the gospel. But it'd be foolish of me, truthfully, 00:23:44.140 --> 00:23:46.019 to think that all of you know Christ, right? 00:23:46.200 --> 00:23:48.700 I don't know. I don't know your hearts. God knows. 00:23:49.460 --> 00:23:51.519 God knows your hearts. He knows if you're truly 00:23:51.519 --> 00:23:53.779 a follower. And I believe that you are. I'm just 00:23:53.779 --> 00:23:55.200 saying I don't know. I believe that you are, 00:23:55.200 --> 00:23:59.000 but I don't know. But if you haven't trusted 00:23:59.000 --> 00:24:01.789 in the Lord Jesus yet, You can do that. You trusted 00:24:01.789 --> 00:24:04.089 Him first and God has something else for your 00:24:04.089 --> 00:24:07.390 life. He has a work for you to do. We're God's 00:24:07.390 --> 00:24:09.150 workmanship, right? Created in Christ Jesus unto 00:24:09.150 --> 00:24:12.390 good works. He has a work for you to do. Now, 00:24:12.390 --> 00:24:13.690 I didn't know when I was a nine -year -old boy 00:24:13.690 --> 00:24:15.630 that work for me would be being a camp director 00:24:15.630 --> 00:24:17.890 one day. I'd never even heard about camp until 00:24:17.890 --> 00:24:20.349 Mr. Dennis came to my church, told me about camp. 00:24:20.609 --> 00:24:23.990 I was like, I went to camp nine years old. I 00:24:23.990 --> 00:24:25.369 didn't know. I know I fell in love with camp 00:24:25.369 --> 00:24:27.859 and I knew I wanted to keep going back. But I 00:24:27.859 --> 00:24:29.440 know that that was the work that God had set 00:24:29.440 --> 00:24:31.759 before me. But He does have a work for you. He 00:24:31.759 --> 00:24:35.180 has a will for you. But are you walking in His 00:24:35.180 --> 00:24:38.799 ways? Are you letting His Word be what guides 00:24:38.799 --> 00:24:41.599 your life? Are you guided by the transformation 00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:43.680 of your mind in His Word and in doing what He 00:24:43.680 --> 00:24:46.740 has you to do? Again, with that, when you do 00:24:46.740 --> 00:24:48.259 those things and you transform your mind, you 00:24:48.259 --> 00:24:51.299 will deserve God's will. It may not be a clear, 00:24:51.599 --> 00:24:54.079 like, do this or do that. But you'll know that 00:24:54.079 --> 00:24:55.759 when it's not, you'll know, hey, I can't go here. 00:24:55.799 --> 00:24:58.160 This would pull me away from Christ, right? It's 00:24:58.160 --> 00:25:01.240 kind of like when you... This is the example 00:25:01.240 --> 00:25:02.920 I like to use. My pastor did this once, and I 00:25:02.920 --> 00:25:04.920 won't do it perfectly. But you've got two options 00:25:04.920 --> 00:25:09.000 set before you. And, man, if you think of it 00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:11.140 this way, man, one is, I need to go here and 00:25:11.140 --> 00:25:13.440 share the gospel. God wants me to go to this 00:25:13.440 --> 00:25:15.680 new job. There's nothing wrong with that new 00:25:15.680 --> 00:25:17.859 job, right? Well, what about this place? Maybe 00:25:17.859 --> 00:25:20.240 God wants me to move here. There's nothing wrong 00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:22.750 with either. Now, if it would go against God's 00:25:22.750 --> 00:25:25.710 Word, if it's telling you to go away from God, 00:25:25.950 --> 00:25:28.809 use this as a guardian. This is a guardian to 00:25:28.809 --> 00:25:30.250 tell you, hey, not to go there, not to this. 00:25:30.329 --> 00:25:32.470 But sometimes you're faced with two choices that 00:25:32.470 --> 00:25:35.049 are not bad choices. You have to pray, you have 00:25:35.049 --> 00:25:37.829 to seek, you have to ask, and God will lead you 00:25:37.829 --> 00:25:40.750 where he wants you to go. But you're also going 00:25:40.750 --> 00:25:44.150 to know where not to go by having your minds 00:25:44.150 --> 00:25:46.109 haven't been transformed. You will deserve God's 00:25:46.109 --> 00:25:50.109 will in that way. But thinking about these things. 00:25:50.269 --> 00:25:52.410 I just want you to consider your own mind as 00:25:52.410 --> 00:25:55.670 we see the way that the world is going. People 00:25:55.670 --> 00:25:58.910 celebrating murder and people celebrating things 00:25:58.910 --> 00:26:01.569 that are ungodly. Whatever that is, we live in 00:26:01.569 --> 00:26:04.410 that current country now where people do celebrate 00:26:04.410 --> 00:26:07.250 those things that are ungodly and take pride 00:26:07.250 --> 00:26:10.609 in those things that are ungodly. What does our 00:26:10.609 --> 00:26:12.529 mind look like? What does our own life look like? 00:26:12.869 --> 00:26:15.170 Are we being conformed to this world? Are we 00:26:15.170 --> 00:26:18.829 being transformed? Are we living as a living 00:26:18.829 --> 00:26:21.980 sacrifice? Are we just like I'll just do whatever 00:26:21.980 --> 00:26:25.140 I want I'll just do what makes me what's most 00:26:25.140 --> 00:26:27.460 comfortable and typically what's most comfortable 00:26:27.460 --> 00:26:30.019 It's not always what's the godly thing. It doesn't 00:26:30.019 --> 00:26:32.900 mean that your life is gonna Always be uncomfortable. 00:26:32.980 --> 00:26:34.740 But as a Christ follower, it's gonna be a lot 00:26:34.740 --> 00:26:36.400 of uncomfortable times, right? You're gonna have 00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:39.079 to have to be ready to live in the uncomfortable 00:26:39.079 --> 00:26:42.559 because we are Despised by the world because 00:26:42.559 --> 00:26:45.240 of Christ and that's okay again. This is not 00:26:45.240 --> 00:26:47.460 the only life there is there's a lot far beyond 00:26:47.460 --> 00:26:50.480 this one an eternal an eternal life And that's 00:26:50.480 --> 00:26:54.019 what we've got to share with people. I don't 00:26:54.019 --> 00:26:55.240 know, that was my encouragement for you this 00:26:55.240 --> 00:26:59.180 morning. To be a living sacrifice because you 00:26:59.180 --> 00:27:02.579 know the mercies of God. You understand the mercies 00:27:02.579 --> 00:27:04.619 of God that has been set before you. So be that 00:27:04.619 --> 00:27:07.079 living sacrifice. Be holy and acceptable with 00:27:07.079 --> 00:27:09.700 God and don't be conformed to the way that this 00:27:09.700 --> 00:27:11.279 world is going because it's going to throw everything 00:27:11.279 --> 00:27:13.980 at you. It's going to be easy. It's easy to conform. 00:27:14.500 --> 00:27:16.880 It's easy to live sinfully, right? It's easy 00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:18.200 to live in the world's way. It's a little bit 00:27:18.200 --> 00:27:21.170 harder to live God's way. But we can live God's 00:27:21.170 --> 00:27:23.250 way when we're transformed by our renewing of 00:27:23.250 --> 00:27:26.930 our mind. Thank you for the time appreciate appreciate 00:27:26.930 --> 00:27:30.849 time and ask for prayers and Just any prayers 00:27:30.849 --> 00:27:33.190 you'll lift up We appreciate it. Thank you. Do 00:27:33.190 --> 00:27:35.069 you have any questions? Yeah, you guys have any 00:27:35.069 --> 00:27:40.730 questions? Yes, well we got Maitland and Slater 00:27:40.730 --> 00:27:41.849 which is our two -year -old then we actually 00:27:41.849 --> 00:27:44.769 just had our third our second child Roman four 00:27:44.769 --> 00:27:46.289 days after camp which was an answered prayer 00:27:46.289 --> 00:27:47.829 because I got please don't please don't let him 00:27:47.829 --> 00:27:50.319 come during camp That'd be so hard And it came 00:27:50.319 --> 00:27:52.019 four days after camp was over. But they're all 00:27:52.019 --> 00:27:53.880 good. May Lynn's actually helping in the kids 00:27:53.880 --> 00:27:55.319 ministry at church this morning, so that's why 00:27:55.319 --> 00:27:59.880 she couldn't be here. I've got two kids. Slater, 00:28:00.019 --> 00:28:02.059 who's the oldest, and then Roman. And they're 00:28:02.059 --> 00:28:04.579 doing good. And I'm grateful for children who 00:28:04.579 --> 00:28:07.420 are blessed and truly. And I teach a lot about. 00:28:09.779 --> 00:28:11.779 Hey, maybe in the future. I'm not saying no. 00:28:14.889 --> 00:28:18.109 Yeah, two was the surprise. We weren't pregnant 00:28:18.109 --> 00:28:23.910 last time I was here, so, two weeks later. I 00:28:23.910 --> 00:28:27.349 said, I think the congratulations are in order 00:28:27.349 --> 00:28:30.029 that you all were expecting. He goes, we already 00:28:30.029 --> 00:28:34.369 had them all. Some people, you know that, but 00:28:34.369 --> 00:28:35.970 some people I feel like are just pregnant forever, 00:28:36.109 --> 00:28:37.170 and then some people are like, you already had 00:28:37.170 --> 00:28:40.190 that baby? That's how I feel sometimes, thinking 00:28:40.190 --> 00:28:43.200 about people who are pregnant. Yeah, any other 00:28:43.200 --> 00:28:45.740 questions on behalf of me? What age do you start 00:28:45.740 --> 00:28:48.059 your summer camps at? So we have a day camp. 00:28:48.059 --> 00:28:49.900 We started a day camp week this year. I didn't 00:28:49.900 --> 00:28:52.019 show that, I forgot. We started day camp week 00:28:52.019 --> 00:28:53.400 because there's a lot of kids who just can't 00:28:53.400 --> 00:28:55.539 make it overnight. So we have day camp week, 00:28:55.680 --> 00:28:57.740 which is 7 to 10 year old boys and girls. And 00:28:57.740 --> 00:29:00.200 then we have six other weeks of camp, which runs 00:29:00.200 --> 00:29:02.799 from 7 to 16. But boys weeks and girls weeks 00:29:02.799 --> 00:29:05.000 are separated. And we start with the oldest boys. 00:29:05.339 --> 00:29:07.480 I worked out in the weeks to the youngest boys. 00:29:07.859 --> 00:29:09.640 And then we started with the girls and we separate 00:29:09.640 --> 00:29:13.559 them out that way, but with seven to 16. I'm 00:29:13.559 --> 00:29:17.220 hoping to have the applications ready for the 00:29:17.220 --> 00:29:21.700 next year by the beginning of 2026, hopefully 00:29:21.700 --> 00:29:23.880 sooner. But that's typically when the timelines 00:29:23.880 --> 00:29:25.859 I get them out on the first of the year. So that 00:29:25.859 --> 00:29:29.799 would be for camp for the summer of 2026? Yes. 00:29:29.960 --> 00:29:32.799 Yep. And that would go typically with day camp 00:29:32.799 --> 00:29:36.049 week around the middle of June. And then overnight 00:29:36.049 --> 00:29:39.230 camp starting the last few days of June all the 00:29:39.230 --> 00:29:41.750 way through August. Do you guys ever have any 00:29:41.750 --> 00:29:43.829 kids with medical needs that come to you? We 00:29:43.829 --> 00:29:47.609 do. And some of that depends. I mean, we've had 00:29:47.609 --> 00:29:50.029 so many different kids with different medical 00:29:50.029 --> 00:29:53.109 needs through the years. And we only have, you 00:29:53.109 --> 00:29:55.049 know, it would just depend, but we do have those. 00:29:55.650 --> 00:29:57.549 So whatever that is, we definitely talk about 00:29:57.549 --> 00:30:01.289 it. We try to always work with kids who might 00:30:01.289 --> 00:30:04.130 have medical needs. It's people who help with 00:30:04.130 --> 00:30:06.869 medicine. We have camp nurse. We have a lot of 00:30:06.869 --> 00:30:09.670 good counselors, too. So we always do what we 00:30:09.670 --> 00:30:19.450 can to help. We still have the campfire at the 00:30:19.450 --> 00:30:21.470 end of the week where kids come and share testimonies 00:30:21.470 --> 00:30:23.809 about what God did that week. And you know, it's 00:30:23.809 --> 00:30:25.710 always a blessing, too, during that time because, 00:30:25.710 --> 00:30:28.609 you know, there's so many things that can run 00:30:28.609 --> 00:30:30.009 through your mind as you're working through camp. 00:30:30.309 --> 00:30:32.109 Man, did they get it? Did they understand it? 00:30:32.269 --> 00:30:34.450 But you've got to remember that you plant the 00:30:34.450 --> 00:30:36.609 seed and you water it, God does the growth, right? 00:30:36.869 --> 00:30:38.450 That's the hard sometimes thing to remember because 00:30:38.450 --> 00:30:41.150 you're like, man, do they understand? They seem 00:30:41.150 --> 00:30:43.490 like they don't get it. But you did the part 00:30:43.490 --> 00:30:46.250 of sharing the simple gospel with the kids. Trust 00:30:46.250 --> 00:30:49.589 God to do the rest. And what's always so encouraging 00:30:49.589 --> 00:30:52.049 about the testimony time is kids will come up, 00:30:52.049 --> 00:30:54.809 and I saw that a lot this summer, that were here 00:30:54.809 --> 00:30:56.309 last summer. And they're like, last year I got 00:30:56.309 --> 00:30:59.250 saved. I'm like, I didn't know that. Hey, last 00:30:59.250 --> 00:31:02.079 year I learned how to live for Jesus. That's 00:31:02.079 --> 00:31:03.740 great, I didn't know that. You know you didn't 00:31:03.740 --> 00:31:07.519 know it took root. And sometimes, an encouraging 00:31:07.519 --> 00:31:09.319 thing I actually like to share from this summer, 00:31:09.859 --> 00:31:12.160 is there's a girl, her name is Macy, and she 00:31:12.160 --> 00:31:13.559 has been coming to camp since she was little. 00:31:13.680 --> 00:31:16.859 She's like 15 or 16 now. And through that time 00:31:16.859 --> 00:31:18.799 I'm like, man, is she getting it? She just doesn't 00:31:18.799 --> 00:31:21.299 seem to be getting it. And me and JP and Mr. 00:31:21.420 --> 00:31:24.619 Dennis all knew her, all knew her family. And 00:31:24.619 --> 00:31:26.140 you're like, man, are they understanding? I feel 00:31:26.140 --> 00:31:27.660 like nothing is happening and they just come 00:31:27.660 --> 00:31:29.059 year after year and they just don't, they're 00:31:29.059 --> 00:31:31.170 not getting it. And it feels like we're working 00:31:31.170 --> 00:31:33.230 for nothing. But again going back to that scripture 00:31:33.230 --> 00:31:35.690 first Corinthians two or three I can't remember 00:31:35.690 --> 00:31:38.789 things three We planted and we watered God does 00:31:38.789 --> 00:31:41.130 the growth in his time and how he wants to do 00:31:41.130 --> 00:31:43.509 it, right? Well this summer she got saved and 00:31:43.509 --> 00:31:46.410 I was so encouraging to see her Step into after 00:31:46.410 --> 00:31:49.069 years of you know pouring in and in some ways 00:31:49.069 --> 00:31:50.890 battling the enemy because man There's a lot 00:31:50.890 --> 00:31:52.650 of things that tug it at her particularly in 00:31:52.650 --> 00:31:55.430 her family But to see her transformed in that 00:31:55.430 --> 00:31:58.880 way And now I think soon she's going to be getting 00:31:58.880 --> 00:32:02.000 baptized, so those are encouraging. So testimony 00:32:02.000 --> 00:32:04.200 time at the campfire on Thursdays is always, 00:32:04.200 --> 00:32:07.319 always wonderful. And you guys were playing that 00:32:07.319 --> 00:32:09.539 song earlier. I don't know what exactly it's 00:32:09.539 --> 00:32:14.200 called. I just know the lyrics to it. Jesus I 00:32:14.200 --> 00:32:15.839 adore you, lay my life before. I remember Luke 00:32:15.839 --> 00:32:17.799 singing that years ago at camp, so that was cool 00:32:17.799 --> 00:32:20.660 to hear that again. He's a good boy. Yes he is. 00:32:23.309 --> 00:32:25.369 I know Mr. Dunison always had a lot of stories, 00:32:25.809 --> 00:32:27.750 and first and foremost, I appreciate your heart 00:32:27.750 --> 00:32:29.869 for the camp. And I know that it went through 00:32:29.869 --> 00:32:31.849 Mr. Dunison and JP and you, and I think it's 00:32:31.849 --> 00:32:34.170 a really good fit for you and your family. But 00:32:34.170 --> 00:32:38.950 outside of the spiritual needs, what kind of 00:32:38.950 --> 00:32:41.109 physical needs do you need at the camp and stuff 00:32:41.109 --> 00:32:44.829 like that? And I know we've been able to help 00:32:44.829 --> 00:32:47.910 with a couple of work days. Do you have any of 00:32:47.910 --> 00:32:50.150 those coming up? That's going to be something 00:32:50.150 --> 00:32:51.849 we're planning with with the board. Hopefully 00:32:51.849 --> 00:32:54.990 this comes about at the board meeting. But there's 00:32:54.990 --> 00:32:56.589 a few things that we definitely could use to 00:32:56.589 --> 00:32:58.829 help beautification -wise. We're supposed to 00:32:58.829 --> 00:33:02.049 be having somebody jump off a bunch of mulch, 00:33:02.069 --> 00:33:04.309 which is not always fun, but we need some mulch 00:33:04.309 --> 00:33:06.589 around our flower beds. And there's some buildings 00:33:06.589 --> 00:33:10.170 that could use some love, just because they're 00:33:10.170 --> 00:33:13.809 old, and definitely could use some help with. 00:33:14.519 --> 00:33:16.339 The director's house, and this is not me just 00:33:16.339 --> 00:33:18.299 promoting my own where I live. There's a director's 00:33:18.299 --> 00:33:19.920 house. It's not my house. It's director's house 00:33:19.920 --> 00:33:21.960 that can do some work. It got flooded a few years 00:33:21.960 --> 00:33:24.759 ago, and it's just kind of set for a while. So 00:33:24.759 --> 00:33:27.240 the downstairs could definitely use some love 00:33:27.240 --> 00:33:29.720 on it. We're having somebody come and clean up 00:33:29.720 --> 00:33:32.680 some mold. But once they do that, we're just 00:33:32.680 --> 00:33:34.799 trying to kind of put it together. You know, 00:33:34.859 --> 00:33:36.319 even if it's not us living there, somebody will 00:33:36.319 --> 00:33:38.740 live there eventually. But it got flooded during 00:33:38.740 --> 00:33:42.549 2021. And JP had to block off the doorways down 00:33:42.549 --> 00:33:44.589 there because the way that the water just ran 00:33:44.589 --> 00:33:47.509 in and messed up everything downstairs. So there's 00:33:47.509 --> 00:33:49.269 definitely some beautification around camp and 00:33:49.269 --> 00:33:51.930 some cabins and buildings that could use some 00:33:51.930 --> 00:33:55.269 help. If I can set forth a work day and let you 00:33:55.269 --> 00:33:57.170 know, you're welcome to come. And if you'd like 00:33:57.170 --> 00:34:03.029 to, that'd be great. Yes, sir. Any other questions? 00:34:07.549 --> 00:34:10.750 Just be praying for us. God is moving in my heart 00:34:10.750 --> 00:34:14.090 for a few different ways to use the camp and 00:34:14.090 --> 00:34:16.750 ministry, whatever that looks like. Obviously 00:34:16.750 --> 00:34:19.030 camp being one, summer camp being one, the weekend 00:34:19.030 --> 00:34:23.190 camp being another. But do be praying for some 00:34:23.190 --> 00:34:24.989 things God has been placing on my heart to share 00:34:24.989 --> 00:34:26.809 with the board to see if we can go forward in 00:34:26.809 --> 00:34:31.289 those ways. And also just truly, like I said, 00:34:31.489 --> 00:34:35.389 I think a biggest prayer right now is for future 00:34:35.389 --> 00:34:38.659 counselors. to really be ready for the work, 00:34:39.219 --> 00:34:40.760 to really be ready for the kids that are coming 00:34:40.760 --> 00:34:42.460 in, to share the gospel with them, and to be 00:34:42.460 --> 00:34:44.659 able to understand that there's going to be some 00:34:44.659 --> 00:34:46.099 spiritual battles, that it's going to be like, 00:34:46.219 --> 00:34:49.420 why is there so much chaos? It's because we're 00:34:49.420 --> 00:34:51.139 sharing the gospel, and the enemy doesn't like 00:34:51.139 --> 00:34:53.679 it, right? But that's just been on my heart a 00:34:53.679 --> 00:34:56.019 lot, is we're going to be praying about looking 00:34:56.019 --> 00:34:58.659 at, man, where do we find these counselors? We 00:34:58.659 --> 00:35:00.039 have a lot of great counselors, but that's not 00:35:00.039 --> 00:35:01.760 what I'm saying at all. But we're going to need 00:35:01.760 --> 00:35:03.960 some really strong counselors as the years come 00:35:03.960 --> 00:35:05.579 and as the Lord gets closer because things will 00:35:05.579 --> 00:35:07.659 get harder. That's okay. That's an encouragement 00:35:07.659 --> 00:35:10.420 to us, right? It's encouraging, but it's a good 00:35:10.420 --> 00:35:13.820 fight. It is a good fight. And there's nothing 00:35:13.820 --> 00:35:15.579 wrong with that. But we need to be ready for 00:35:15.579 --> 00:35:18.800 it. Right now we're not doing the after -school 00:35:18.800 --> 00:35:21.880 program because the biggest reason is because 00:35:21.880 --> 00:35:25.079 they just don't have enough help to run it. So 00:35:25.079 --> 00:35:27.159 we're praying through that. Like, who can we 00:35:27.159 --> 00:35:29.760 find to run? It's almost like having a secondary 00:35:29.760 --> 00:35:33.039 ministry. And it's hard to do both the camp and 00:35:33.039 --> 00:35:35.440 do the after school. And we want to do it well, 00:35:35.639 --> 00:35:36.980 and right now I just don't have enough help. 00:35:37.260 --> 00:35:38.559 So that's something we're praying through in 00:35:38.559 --> 00:35:41.559 the future. But right now we've paused it, hoping 00:35:41.559 --> 00:35:43.719 to do it in like an after school good news camp 00:35:43.719 --> 00:35:46.739 once a week until we can get back to where we 00:35:46.739 --> 00:35:49.119 can do it every day. But right now we're not 00:35:49.119 --> 00:35:54.780 doing it, unfortunately. Well, thank you pastor. 00:35:54.820 --> 00:35:56.880 Thank you guys for having me. Thank you.