In this sermon, the speaker reflects on the fleeting nature of life and the importance of giving while still alive. He shares a personal story of a trip to Las Vegas and witnessing a hotel fire, highlighting the transient nature of material possessions. The speaker also discusses the need for empathy and putting ourselves in the shoes of others. He emphasizes the importance of observing our own actions and attitudes as we go back to church.

And really, I do more than play ball. I've been coming down south for years, and I think most of these people down here think all I do is play ball and speak to teenagers. But I do have a thing called business. Sometimes there are things that really come across your mind that really shakes you up. But I feel kind of like a chihuahua now that's all the St. Bernard. When you follow Brother Horton, Brother Fan, and then they ask me to speak, just think of that poor little dog down there with the next St. Bernard. Then you'll know how I feel this morning. But I'll tell you what. Believe it or not, I stay in the farm fields of Iowa, and however, Vernon got me and some of the other brethren to come up to Canada last fall to speak to the workers' conference. Now, if you don't think that's a job when you try to straighten out 200 preachers. But they figured there was no one in the United States that could do at least a decent job more than I could. Ask Eddie, ask Tal, ask Johnny. But anyhow, it was a thrill. And we are going to have the workers' conference in Des Moines, Iowa. Take out that little blue book, put it right down there, and mark it, Des Moines, Iowa, the cornfields of Iowa, October the 6th, and you people from the south come on up and join some fellowship up there as well. You know the war is over. But we would like to have you come up there and really see how we do things. And you might change things down here for the better. You might be more satisfied. But anyhow, I do have some things upon my mind and my heart that is laid upon my heart because you see, I wasn't raised in the jungles of Africa, and you weren't either, and how I really do in all sincerity appreciate that ministry that he gives us. And Brother Fan, I might say that I spent one day at Beirut, and I saw those beautiful buildings before they were destroyed, and then I saw those mountains over there, and no wonder he says, over here everything is hurry, hurry. While in Des Moines, Iowa, it's hurry, hurry, hurry. And so we were not raised in the jungles of Africa, but most of us here are witnessing and feeling upon the asphalt jungles of our city. And this morning there is a few things I would like to bring before you as just a couple thoughts for we who desire to be leaders in the assembly, whether we are the ladies, the mothers of Israel, or those who are elders, or those who desire to be elders. Shall we pray? Our Father, we pray at this time that whatever is upon our hearts and our mind that would be preoccupied about that vocation back home, about that business transaction, or even about that personal problem that we have within our family, we would ask thee that this may be laid aside this morning as we gather here in this quiet place, and as we open up thy word, we pray, our loving Father, that everything that is said and done this morning might glorify the name of Jesus Christ, whose name we pray. Amen. The two verses I shared, and it certainly is a different message altogether, but I want you to turn with me please to Ezekiel. Ezekiel 34. And there are three verses there that have been heavily upon my mind recently, and one is also found in the 13th chapter of Jeremiah and the 21st. And as it says in Ezekiel 34, there are some questions here. And our brothers have been bringing before us some of the questions that we find in the word of God. And I would like to zero in with what they've been already saying so far in this conference, and what they will continue to say in this particular conference. And there are three questions, thought-provoking questions, that we find this morning. And in Ezekiel 34, in the last part of verse 2, it says, Should not the shepherd feed the flock? Verse 15. I will feed my flock. I will cause them to lie down. Oh, how important it is today. How important it is today. I will cause them to lie down. Saith the Lord God. Verse 31. And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord. And the one verse you don't need to turn to, in Jeremiah 13, verse 20, and the question is, Where is the flock that was given thee? Thy beautiful flock. Where is that flock that was given thee? Thy beautiful flock. Well, in my early days of Christian experience, I failed to realize that man is really a tripartite being, and there is so much emphasis on the saving of the soul. And thank God that there is. But I paid a little attention to the feelings and the emotions of people today. And it seems like that I was taught that, listen, the reason Jesus Christ hasn't taken you is because you're left here to be a witness. And I do believe that God, after he saved us, has left us here in his mercy and in his grace that we might be witnesses for our Lord Jesus Christ. But, oh, it's more than that. He left you here and he left me here that we might be a matured Christian, growing, being attracted members in the family of God. And I must remind myself that I'm not left here on this earth to make a living, but I'm left here on this earth to make a life. And these are the things that I guess as the older you get and you see the things that are produced by the world and you see those who are clamoring after the things that satisfy our time and as our brother reminded us that our time is running out, you know, it makes you realize and take the top priority of things and view them very differently. I guess business has also taught me that there's a way of persuading people, but people are not as merely persuaded as they are attracted. I can sell you a home, believe me. Come on up there, we need some clients anyhow. You think it's bad in Sunbelt? Come on up north. Anyhow, the point is that I've got a real estate home up there and I can sell it to you because you need a shelter. You need a place to live. You need an income tax deduction and instead of renting, you know what you do? You take it off the income tax and oh, you want me to talk to you about real estate? Sit here and I'll talk to you for hours about real estate and you know what? But when it gets down to it, you've got to like the home and you've got to be attracted to the home or you won't buy it. A lot of the byproducts that we have with Jesus Christ, the eternal life that he gives us, peace of mind and peace of heart, we don't need to worry anymore. We do worry and you know what worry is? We talk about all these sins. Worry is nothing less than sin. You know, it's telling God he can't take care of the situation. But one thing more than even the byproducts that we receive through Jesus Christ himself, we must be attracted to him personally. And if we're attracted to him personally, then other situations just seem to fall apart and I don't view them like I used to. And so it's very important that we must be thinking in regards to that. You know, my heart cries out every morning as I think of the psalmist and we've been talking about the psalmist. In the 8th chapter of Psalms it says, you know, O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth who has set thy fingers above the heavens. And then he goes ahead and he says, for thou hast made him a little lower than the angels. And he says, and what is man that thou art mindful of him? What is man that you even care for him? And I can see this psalmist that a brother of mine reminded us and the shepherd out here as the fold is there and here he is sitting as it were in the gates and he looks up to the galaxy of heaven and you know it begins to dawn on him even many, many years ago the glory of God what he really has and it is only to the degree that we appreciate the glory of God and what Jesus Christ has done for us will we realize how unworthy man really is. And I can see him looking up and says, what is man that you even care for him? That you even care for him? Well, I tell you what man was made in the tri-part being he was made he wasn't made just body, soul, and spirit man is body man is soul man is spirit they have emotions and feelings but beyond that emotions and feelings and that body is a spirit that lives forever and ever and I ask God as I get up in the morning and I do have a nice place I am not there very much but we have a little farm and a blast in the back and you know what I used to do every morning get up and go to my business and say, hey Lord, remember this problem God I pray that this transaction might go through just think how much money I can give you here and besides look at these people they are poor people they need a house and you can reason reason, reason all you want but I've come to the degree lately that first of all I thank him for who he is who he is then I get down here and then I thank him for what he is doing and you know what time I get through with that and I'm not a prayer warrior and I'm not trying to tell you I am a prayer warrior then I get down and start asking him for things and you know what I find out I don't have too many things to ask for I really don't oh if we could only realize the one that we're coming into the present and what he can do and then we will hear what we've talked about this still small voice and I don't care between all the commercial world's intrusions and all the things that take your time and my time you know we must remember that we were made in the image of God and then I ask you when we consider this and we look around and we see our fellow man and our fellow Christian then I ask the question where is thy flock? Thy beautiful flock I want to speak for a while this morning for those who are elders and those who desire to be elders and for those who are young sisters here that would like to be deaconess all there is such a big work out there and I can labor the point and turn you to 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 and I could read all about the qualifications of the elder and you know one thing that you wouldn't agree with me on that I may say so therefore I wouldn't say it but one thing you will agree with me is that he that desires the work of an elder he that aims at the work of an elder desires a good work is there anyone here who would tell me it's not a work? you know I'll tell you the biggest sin and what's wrong in our Christian gatherings today whether you be in a conservative church or in assembly testimony is today our biggest problem is we as Christians are lazy just lazy we've got the word of God we've got the knowledge we've got theology but we're lazy Jehovah's Witnesses the moonies name them what are they doing and what are they doing they're witnessing they're distributing literature and I'll tell you we still have the truth and Christ is still on the throne and I'm not one of these that's willing to bury the assembly I thank God that I can't go around and correct all the problems there are in assembly there's too many of them and don't tell me your problems are plenty more when I get through but nevertheless there's one thing I can do I can go there and I can exhort and I can edify Christians and I think that's important and by the way you know we talk about intellectually you know there's only 12 inches between being saved and lost head knowledge and heart knowledge just 12 inches but there is also only 12 inches difference between a chicken and a pan and a pan on the back remember that the next time we would like to condemn or talk about our brother or our sister oh it's so different you know when we just really get out there and we see what people's needs are and what is really happening and I really believe that it's very important now to be this leader to be what you really want to do I say this that time is a unique resource time is a very important thing believe me if anyone realizes it I think that's one part that I can grasp to some extent but one thing about time it cannot be cumulated like money nor can it be stockpiled like raw materials we are forced to spend it whether we choose to or not it's at a fixed rate of 60 seconds per minute and 60 minutes per hour and it's irretrievable unless our time is not managed I'm sure very little will be managed and so I was thinking of this in regards to being disciplined and one thing about being disciplined it isn't we can discipline ourselves whatsoever that must come from God himself but someone says I am only one I can't do everything but what I can do I ought to do and by the grace of God I shall do there's been a lot of books that have been written on management dozens of different types of lifestyles would tell us how we should live but I say this here that more than ever before that no matter who you are and where you are and how busy you are if you don't have that quiet time you're going to blow it there's no importance I have never had any time in my life between 8 and 8 at night I don't know how those people are following me or pushing me you know you're the same way they tell you it's time to slow up you better start taking it easy but just by the moment do you have a moment Eddie just to do one more thing one thing we got to watch out is too many Christians are getting burned out right or wrong professional men are getting burned out they're retiring early Christians can get burned out we need to stay in the Word we must realize there's no retirement as far as the things of God are concerned there's too much of it and we can get involved and oh if we could only go back and realize that I am doing what I am today because God would have me there because He can close doors as well as He can open doors and as long as He hasn't closed that door you accept what you're doing today as from Jesus from God to honor Jesus Christ and you'll be happier than you've ever been before there's too many people enduring life instead of enjoying life there's too many people afraid of dying and never began to live you know these things seem to grasp me very much recently in regards to as you see that the perplexity and the many problems you talk about you talk about the problems in this world listen to this the Wall Street Journal I took out of my Wall Street Journal just before I came down here tax cut picture is clear but effective of economy remains very cloudy some economists see surge others see stagnation inflation credit crunch did it tell you anything? no it doesn't tell you anything they confuse you you know now this is what if you're looking for results in Washington you're not going to be satisfied but all we as Christians sometimes we become so worldly invested and trying to find the solutions that way that we forget to look up where Jesus Christ is and I speak to my heart on that I don't speak to anyone else not at all you know you've got to have a time for quiet time you've got to have time for prayer but one thing don't ever do what I did you know time don't mean much to me sometimes I'll wake up at 3 o'clock and leave at 4 or 5 and go back to bed and get up or sometimes I get up at 5 o'clock and go back but I get my sleep but one time I looked at my clock wrong and my wife and I were eating breakfast at 4.30 that is a good way to lose a happy home and then of course she don't sleep much more than I do and one morning I had one of the most pitiful thoughts about seeing the Lord I forgot what time it was it was about 3 or 3.30 and actually sometimes she's awake so I thought she was awake so I started to share this pitiful thought about seeing the Lord and you know what she said you're going to see him quicker than you think if you don't shut up and go to sleep so really these are these are family secrets but I mean this is life this is what you what you see in business this is what you see in the home these are these are things not up here but down here that we must face and so time is very important and whatever it is use it as unto the Lord and then I was thinking in regards to some of these things that we not only must realize that time is very precious but if we're going to be a leader of any type in the assembly in our local church we must have compassion and empathy not necessarily sympathy sympathy can get you in trouble but empathy is putting yourself in the very shoes that that person walked in and this is the difference that if we can only do that we would really realize that you know there's a story here about the pig and the cow coming from Iowa I'm going to tell it to you a rich man once said to his friend why is it everybody is always criticizing me for being miserly when everything goes the way the vision is left that I possess the charity when I die this rich man is going to give everything away when he dies well said the friend let me tell you about the pig and the cow the pig was lamenting to the cow one day about how unpopular this poor pig was he said people are always talking about your gentleness and your kind eyes said the pig sure you give milk you give cream but I give even more I give bacon I give ham I give brisket in fact when I die they even pickle my feet still nobody likes me why is there the cow thought for a minute and then he said well maybe it's because I give while I'm still living and oh there's so many people that's always going to give something to the Lord when the time comes they're going to get their life in order and it's going to be there and pretty soon it's going to be life at best is very brief it's like the falling of a leaf it's like the snowflake on the river it is here then it's gone forever last December I went to Las Vegas didn't spend a dime on a machine either straighten that out but we had a century 21 convention 10,000 people there from our own one night I was on the 8th floor of the Hilton Hotel looking out over that beautiful city and I looked over there and just three weeks ago was the hotel that was sabotaged and burned you know and pretty soon I saw the fire truck coming down there you talk about love your neighbor I saw that fire truck coming down there I was on the 8th floor of the Hilton Hotel and I watched those lights those sirens those blue lights those red lights and every other kind of light and boy as they came to that hotel my heart sunk but as I passed that hotel went on to some other place I was elated that's love your neighbor as yourself you know but the point is we don't seem to relate to the very fact of having empathy of putting ourselves into the shoes of other people and you know I get home four weeks later and I check out the paper and here's where the fire started on the Hilton Hotel 8th floor you know God is a God of circumstances as well we've been hearing about that well anyhow I think what we need to do more than anything is to observe our pews as we go back next Sunday morning you know there's a lot of pews that are full and there are more of those that want to receive than give now if you receive you might be able to eat better but if you give you sleep better what do you want to do? do you want to eat or do you want to sleep? that's the difference now what we need to do more than anything else as we think of this and as we've been thinking of the sheep and the shepherd and I'm not a Philip Coward believe me I'm not a Philip Coward I live on a farm but I've never had a sheep on my farm okay? but anyhow they tell me one thing about it that the first thing the shepherd does when they get up in the morning is to be sure that the sheep is able to stand on their own feet it's very important that their feet are in shape and that they are fit and they are content because you see if the feet are not right they will not find the green pastures they will not find the clear water they will not be able to sit and have the exercise that they should have and why is the sheep feet not in shape? it's because of the rough terrain that they've been going over and Christian friends I want to tell you there's a lot of Christians with sore feet it's because they haven't been walking in the past that they should walk it and what we need to do more than ever is to help each other to tenderly take care of them and when you go out and you find that sheep that was lost and I'm so thankful that the Lord Jesus Christ blessed the 99 and he went out to the 1 but when you go out and you find that sheep take a little oil take a little oil leave the hot water at home what we need more than ever is this empathy and sympathy this understanding this compassion this empathy of being able to understand the problems that there is there where is thy flock thy beautiful flock you know should we give less time to the most beautiful occupation there is than the vocations that we have just to make a buck I never forget one transaction I had and I listed the home just that afternoon and boy things were different then you could sell them a little faster you know and so this is a friend I listed his home and so I got the offer he said he was taking I went out there at 8 o'clock this night and I said Dutch got your home sold and I thought he'd sign that offer just like that and I'd run out the door he said yeah Lou I told you I'd take that offer well I said sign it so I can get going no he said you know I got a particular just a little bug he says I never sign an instrument the same day that's presented to me I said well Dutch you told me you'd take it you know what that guy did he's not a Polack but I almost called him that he made me sit there to the very fact that I hadn't and he wasn't going to sign it the next morning and I said well I don't have anything else to do either I'm going to sit right here and I'll tell you why I'm going to sit right here someone else wasn't going to come in with an offer and about quarter after 12 oh I had never ate so much cake in my life and drank so much coffee in my life he won his point I won my point and the result was he took the pen he signed it and everything was fine what is my illustration here would we give any more time if we heard the bleeding of the sheep we spend time overtime all these brethren that work five hours tell me how much overtime they have to work and the result is that no responsibility seems to come in we just seem to be going by you need to get your priorities right when I was at this convention I heard Mr. Larkin one of Reagan's economists say let me ask you a question 10,000 gold coats out there he says if you only had one year to live what would your goals be so all these real estate people get out and they start writing their goals down and boy we have 2 million dollar producers 3 million dollar producers and all these all the goals seem to be that direction then he said I want to ask you a question if you only had one month to live what would your goals be well your goals would change wouldn't they they really would then he came down hard and I don't even think he's a Christian but he says if you only had 24 hours to live what would your goals be and I think that's the kind of good question we as Christians should ask ourselves once in a while what really are my goals when the time comes you know the world will look at things very differently and some of them measure how far man has come how many passed on the way and how much power and how much possession does he have but you know what we need to do is to take that time to be that leader that God wanted us to be I was reading a verse in scripture here that was just kind of hit me strange and I never read it before but anyhow King Solomon said he said some people are poor and some people are great and there is wealth and we will never know the richestness of that person until we really carefully get back to that arrangement of that mask that person has on you think you know people because you go to a certain place and Sunday morning you walk in they got a mask on they got a mask on you don't know unless we as leaders got our antenna out like this to really feel for the sorrow the broken heart the troubles there are in the home and in the families and everything you're never going to know that person we got to get underneath that exterior and I know you don't have this problem in your church or your assembly but one of the problems that I have and I've fought for 30 years is a little quick to sometime form and you know what you can't throw those brethren out of the seat to go some other direction to shake hands with someone they haven't shaken hands for quite some time and yet it doesn't look this way so I want to ask you do you get up out to you every morning and you go out to the same aisle do you shake hands to the same person how about that person that just slipped in in the back and has never been to him before how about that little lady that has been loneliness and no one has spoken to her for quite a while how about that young divorcee that has three children and we kind of say well too bad these are the things that we're talking about if our theology if our position in Jesus Christ if what you and I really believe does not affect our heart enough to touch those people we don't have much we don't have much this is the practical ministry you find on the street oh I tell you I could go ahead and tell you stories and I've only got about ten or fifteen minutes but we've had the sweetest relationship with two situations you know raising five boys and having five more you raise we thought we got our family done our house was robbed three times about quite a few years ago now they came in when we went to church on Sunday night they broke our window I happened to be treasurer they took the money and you know what happened they were quite hungry they came back Wednesday night because I was going to be in church you know and they broke in again well you know I don't catch on too quickly but one time I had a highway patrol guy that worked for me so I said hey we're going to church tonight now when we you leave the light yard you come you go in my house you stay in the back bedroom these corporates come I said whatever you do he says get him so he had a shotgun he goes in the back room a bedroom he turns off all the lights pretty soon we leave one door open one door unlocked here comes the kids and they've been there so often they do in my home and so they came in there they went right to the back bedroom and they took out the drawer and put it down there and started to take the money out he says drop your pants and put your hands over your head you know you don't run very far with your pants down you know when the Lord told Moses when the Lord told Moses take off your shoes I want to tell you right now you try to run when you're taking off your shoes you can't do it so this is what happened and he caught them well it's a long story but anyhow there are about three different groups and I helped them in the little league and everything else and they knew our home and they were meeting at the mall and therefore they came there but one person we never knew who broke into our house my phone rang months later just a few months ago and he says this is Darryl Edgingson I said yeah Darryl he says can I talk to you I said not today Darryl I said I'm so tied up well he says how about tomorrow and he came into my office there was a fellow who did seven years in prison seven years and he came he became a Christian and he said it was wonderful he came in and told me his problem and you know what we got people in my chapel who have never figured out what that long haired guy is doing that was a bald headed man you know this is what is so great but you know he stayed with us and he's had a little trouble but he's coming along and he's in Dallas, Texas right now and Ronnie knows him and he's staying in Ronnie's apartment but what I gotta tell you about I asked him to come home he says I won't I won't go in and he says I'll be back before you get there this time Lou and when Margaret who has fed millions of people to our house when he got through the meal he didn't say whoo that's a beautiful meal Margaret thank you he said gee it's so nice you don't have to run you know we gotta communicate we gotta get down out of the clouds it's nice to be in the heaven but we're still here on earth and these are the things that you relate to and everything like that and just before we left Saturday Friday night phone rang at 1115 Margaret Lou this is Gerald down in Texas and you got a job doing well got a few problems but he said I love you what greater things are that you know these are the things that have happened because we have to be in contact we're out there be available it's not our ability someone says it's our availability and this is what is so great about it and then the phone rang here about a month ago Vernon my name is in the assembly roster for Des Moines so I get a call Lou Clarkson from New Jersey yeah this is so and so say there's a fellow who's running away from home and I was running out the door to visit him meaning I am trying to take care of a sheep that's floating around here in the wrong pasture he shouldn't have been in that wrong pasture in the first place don't he know where the green pastures are but anyhow when he told me about that particular story and he said he's going to be in Des Moines he's on the Greyhound bus when you go down to meet him so we take off as usual and we go down tell him I can't be at the meeting I explain later it won't be the meeting we go down the bus and the only description I had was a 16 year old redhead with braids on his teeth and I walked in that Greyhound bus and there's no one there and I saw a sign here in Los Angeles because the bus was on its way to Los Angeles and I go in there and I'll tell you talk about guilt complex brother I was dressed to kill I do have a suit by the way I wear it every day in Des Moines but I went down there and I looked those guys in the eye that's on the bus and everyone's just going like this 90% of them were running away from something there had to be the guilt complex and this is what we got out here hearts filled with problems and everything well you want to know what happened I got out of the bus and looked in the terminal once again I heard someone saying Lou Clarkson Lou Clarkson his dad was calling his dad had already called us twice now we received the information through a brother who was a correspondent in the assembly his boy led this boy to the Lord it was a Catholic background family the mother was just a newly Christian the father and sisters and brothers were not Christian and that father called me up before I ever went down there and cried like a baby if we would go down and get his son well needless to say we got his son we brought Willie home and took him out for a walk and put my arm around him and said Willie we all feel like running away he says do you really I said you're in real estate business today you know what I'm talking about sure you'd like to run away but I said I would like to as well as anyone I got to be honest with you Willie but the trouble is you take your worst enemy with you and that's yourself now Christian I want to ask you what are you running away from are you one of these people that wants to take that camper on Saturday night and get off in the hill and let someone else take the responsibility of the local testimony are you one who's come to the says that I have done so much in the past my life is going to be my own now and I'm going to take off there's too much of this we have many gifts in the assembly we have the ability in the assembly what we need is use it to use it and I want to tell you you can be the greatest preacher of all time you can be the most outstanding missionary that ever was when that day comes brother and I want to encourage your heart and you stand before the Lord I think the hardest and tough problem that there is is for that local brother who has been in that small testimony and he feeds the sheep he cares for the sheep he waters the sheep he goes after the stray sheep and I believe that day when all the things are revealed that brother is going to receive a reward that we believe and anticipate because he cares for that one sheep man I was thinking of Moses and I got five minutes to get on and get off and Eddie I'll be off anyhow much has been said about Moses but you know what bothers me more about Moses than anything else is the very fact that he went down to see his brother and he had all the answers he was there in Egypt for 40 years so he goes down and he says the Egyptian treatment is very wrong so why don't he kill it the next day he goes back and he sees his brother and he says why do you wrong one another isn't that a good question that's all Moses asked this guy now if you read it in Acts the seventh chapter which we don't have time to get into you're going to find out there's a few questions there and it says supposing that his brother would understand and you know who the corporate was that chased him out of Egypt now listen to this I know there's the sovereign will of God brother and God overrules in all things but you got the will of man and he says hey who are you telling me what to do and who was the guy that was complaining the fellow who wronged his brother the fellow who wronged his brother it's always the cold-hearted backstabbing Christian it's always the person there that's never satisfied the way the assembly is functioning that causes the problem and it was this one corporate out there in Egypt that made Moses take off by his own will now Moses was learned in all the wisdom of Egypt and all the institutions he knew the economy he knew the religion he knew what he should believe he had all the answers but there's one thing about it his 40 years in Egypt did not qualify for him to be a leader he had to go to the backside of death and because we're businessmen because we got theological degrees does not necessitate that we are leaders in the assembly it takes compassion it takes love it takes time it takes work it takes understanding and we got to get back to the basics do you realize that as far as business is concerned there's only 2% who are born leaders there are only 21% that can be leaders after you educate them but you know one thing about it dear Christian friend those stats go out the window when you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior oh he gives you that gift that talent that ability anything we have and anything we shall ever be is only because of what he has given to us but poor Moses he had to learn the long way and he went out there and we've already heard about the burning of the bush there's one thing I'm learning just recently took me a long time to learn and this is it that God does not cause the circumstances circumstances only God is circumstances your circumstances are because that he has appointments for you and my disappointment is because I don't have more of his appointments do you know what's wrong with me I want God to show his will to me now God you just play it out here and you give me this choice and that choice and the other choice then I will make up my mind if I want to follow hey am I hitting you home am I hitting home you bet you want me to come on a little stronger well I can't my wife's here so I'll say this is really the truth he is the God of circumstances but we want it God will not reveal his will for us to debate but only to obey and we must realize this more than ever and he got Moses circumstances he got his attention out of the circumstances out of the burning bush and you know what I love what our brother brought out he got Moses attention there out of the burning bush but the need was already out there in Egypt and I'll tell you the need is out there in Egypt but the burning bush in your life or my life may be a little different but it's going to get your attention and he gives us this burning bush to get our attention and oh it's wonderful to know that these circumstances are his appointments so they'd be our disappointment and I think that is just as great as can be you know I've been reading about this great wise man Solomon and he said too he says I've seen servants upon horses and princes walking like servants upon the earth just that one day he looked out the lattice of that temple that he was in and he saw everything he owned you know it was really great it was beautiful pretty soon here comes a prey by almost and he says he sees a servant upon the horses and the princes following the horses now the trouble today Christian friend and I want to be very blunt with myself with you we got too many leaders following the horses we have to be the leaders we are to handle the situation and listen there are things that happen in our assemblies that no one wants to handle but by the grace of God if it's not a selfish decision if it's because you know it's for the benefit of the whole body and not just a little click you've got to take your stance you've got to call the shots the way they are and God will honor you and glorify you and you'll receive blessing like that you've never received before and all I say until the Lord comes I can see many things that would be very helpful as far as that goes when you think of the disappointment who else in the Bible do you read about that had his brother come up and said who may be ruler over me then he took his own brother Aaron who was a spokesman and look what he did made the golden calf and then pretty soon Aaron and Marian got together and spoke against him you talk about disappointment and no one had any more disappointment than Moses but he rose to the occasion and God really showed him and used him in closing I was thinking that you can look at your people and you can look at those around about you and you're really going to become disappointed and you're going to become disgusted but in Hebrews 12 it says looking unto Jesus looking unto Jesus he makes all the difference I don't care about your circumstances I don't care about your personal problems I don't care how big they are or how big they are for me the only time they become big is when I get my eyes off of Jesus on someone else but when I get my eyes on him yes how true it is turn your eyes upon Jesus look full in his wonderful face and the things on earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his marvelous grace oh I trust this morning that as we listen to all these things that we might really know what it really is coming from Iowa there's one other story some of you heard about the pig and you know the chicken walking down the street and so it's time for breakfast and they looked up and they saw time for breakfast so the chicken says to the pig he says let's go in and have breakfast and so they started in and that pig looked up and saw that ham and eggs and he looked at the chicken he says I'm not going in there the chicken says why not the pig said to the chicken to you it's only a contribution but to me it's total dedication and this is the difference