WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.500 All right, well, we are smack dab in the middle 00:00:01.500 --> 00:00:04.660 of a very strange three -way intersection of 00:00:04.660 --> 00:00:07.320 preaching series. This is one of those weird 00:00:07.320 --> 00:00:09.880 Sundays. Last Sunday, we wrapped up our study 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:12.740 in the book of Esther. Next Sunday, Adam is going 00:00:12.740 --> 00:00:15.439 to be back up here in the pulpit, continuing 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:18.960 his brilliant series in Ecclesiastes. And the 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:22.059 following week, which is February 15th, we will 00:00:22.059 --> 00:00:25.559 dive into a brand new series in the New Testament, 00:00:25.660 --> 00:00:27.859 Paul's first letter to the Corinthian church. 00:00:28.699 --> 00:00:30.100 So the question is, where does that leave us 00:00:30.100 --> 00:00:32.020 this morning? Well, this is one of those interesting 00:00:32.020 --> 00:00:35.439 Sundays where we get to hit pause and take a 00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:37.859 little bit of time to talk about who we are as 00:00:37.859 --> 00:00:40.820 a church and what convictions we hold to. As 00:00:40.820 --> 00:00:43.060 you can see by the title on the screen, that 00:00:43.060 --> 00:00:45.159 is the subject of this morning's time in the 00:00:45.159 --> 00:00:49.500 word, convictions. I recall many years ago when 00:00:49.500 --> 00:00:51.979 I was a young Christian back in the late 1980s 00:00:51.979 --> 00:00:57.070 and beginning to take seriously what it looks 00:00:57.070 --> 00:00:59.369 like to be a member of a local church. I remember 00:00:59.369 --> 00:01:02.350 becoming more and more interested about what 00:01:02.350 --> 00:01:04.650 was happening behind the scenes at the church 00:01:04.650 --> 00:01:07.709 that Tani and I were a part of. At that time, 00:01:07.730 --> 00:01:09.950 I was in the corporate world, and I was learning 00:01:09.950 --> 00:01:12.849 all kinds of skills about what business leadership 00:01:12.849 --> 00:01:15.469 looked like, but what really interested me was 00:01:15.469 --> 00:01:18.769 what was happening back in that back room. of 00:01:18.769 --> 00:01:20.829 the church. What about leadership in the church? 00:01:20.950 --> 00:01:23.549 How do these men who lead the church, how do 00:01:23.549 --> 00:01:25.750 they lead? How do they make decisions? How do 00:01:25.750 --> 00:01:28.030 they get along? I wanted to see the back room 00:01:28.030 --> 00:01:30.909 of the church. But back then, in that particular 00:01:30.909 --> 00:01:34.609 body, that was not possible. And sadly, I found 00:01:34.609 --> 00:01:36.370 out later on that much of what was going on in 00:01:36.370 --> 00:01:38.930 the back room was not super healthy, but a little 00:01:38.930 --> 00:01:41.870 bit dysfunctional. But that lesson stuck with 00:01:41.870 --> 00:01:44.709 me as a congregant. I wanted to know what was 00:01:44.709 --> 00:01:46.189 going on. And this is one of the things that 00:01:46.189 --> 00:01:49.060 makes Oak Hill, a little bit unique among churches, 00:01:49.159 --> 00:01:51.540 something I think is very, very important for 00:01:51.540 --> 00:01:54.680 transparency. Any covenant member at Oak Hill 00:01:54.680 --> 00:01:57.000 can come and observe one of our elder meetings. 00:01:57.500 --> 00:01:59.640 You can literally be in the back room of our 00:01:59.640 --> 00:02:02.920 church because we want you to be able to see 00:02:02.920 --> 00:02:07.200 how the sausage is made. Have you guys heard 00:02:07.200 --> 00:02:10.560 that? You heard that phrase? We want you to be 00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:12.439 able to see how it's made in the back room if 00:02:12.439 --> 00:02:14.770 you want to see it. It's not a requirement, but 00:02:14.770 --> 00:02:17.169 it's something that's available to members. We 00:02:17.169 --> 00:02:19.590 think it's really healthy, very valuable to watch 00:02:19.590 --> 00:02:23.229 how our elder team, how we pray together, how 00:02:23.229 --> 00:02:25.870 we study the word together, how we interact as 00:02:25.870 --> 00:02:28.550 both brothers and friends, how we're concerned 00:02:28.550 --> 00:02:31.310 about one another and one another's families. 00:02:32.169 --> 00:02:33.889 If you come, you get to see what kind of issues 00:02:33.889 --> 00:02:37.050 we face as we lead this church, how we go about 00:02:37.050 --> 00:02:40.069 making decisions. And we hope by making all this 00:02:40.069 --> 00:02:42.849 visible that you, our members, will become more 00:02:42.849 --> 00:02:46.229 confident in trusting us as your leaders. And 00:02:46.229 --> 00:02:48.759 that's so important in this day and age. where 00:02:48.759 --> 00:02:50.659 there's a lot of church hurt out there and a 00:02:50.659 --> 00:02:54.240 lot of unscrupulous men leading churches, we 00:02:54.240 --> 00:02:56.719 think growing in that confidence and trust is 00:02:56.719 --> 00:02:59.080 very, very important. Now, if you do take advantage 00:02:59.080 --> 00:03:01.099 of that opportunity and come observe one of our 00:03:01.099 --> 00:03:03.780 meetings, you'll often hear something take place. 00:03:03.840 --> 00:03:06.620 One of our guys, not always me, but one of our 00:03:06.620 --> 00:03:10.000 seven elders, will put an idea on the table for 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:13.169 discussion. And it might be something very small 00:03:13.169 --> 00:03:16.129 and very sort of procedural, or it might be an 00:03:16.129 --> 00:03:19.050 idea for a major shift in the direction of our 00:03:19.050 --> 00:03:21.129 church. And so we will come together as a team 00:03:21.129 --> 00:03:24.210 and we will discuss it. And the hope is in our 00:03:24.210 --> 00:03:26.110 discussion that we will come to a conviction 00:03:26.110 --> 00:03:30.050 about that particular idea. And to do that, we'll 00:03:30.050 --> 00:03:31.830 walk through a series of steps. First thing we'll 00:03:31.830 --> 00:03:34.360 do is... take that idea, that suggestion, and 00:03:34.360 --> 00:03:36.159 hold it up to scripture and say, what does the 00:03:36.159 --> 00:03:38.800 Bible say about this particular issue? Then we 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:41.520 will bring our various experiences in ministry 00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:43.379 and leadership to the table and apply those. 00:03:43.620 --> 00:03:45.740 Then we'll just talk about practical wisdom, 00:03:45.879 --> 00:03:48.240 talking about, well, okay, if we do this, what 00:03:48.240 --> 00:03:50.340 will that lead us as a body? Will it benefit 00:03:50.340 --> 00:03:53.439 the sheep? And what's the process we would need 00:03:53.439 --> 00:03:55.599 to get there? And here's the great news. About 00:03:55.599 --> 00:03:59.319 95 % of the time, we come to a pretty quick conclusion 00:03:59.319 --> 00:04:02.699 in absolute unity. And we will come to a conviction 00:04:02.699 --> 00:04:05.259 together. The other 5%, that's for another sermon. 00:04:06.740 --> 00:04:09.060 Yes, we do sometimes disagree, but it's rare. 00:04:09.199 --> 00:04:12.740 We have a unity of mind on our elder team. So 00:04:12.740 --> 00:04:14.780 we'll come to a conviction. Either yes, we're 00:04:14.780 --> 00:04:16.860 going to move forward with this, or nope, let's 00:04:16.860 --> 00:04:20.660 not. At least not at this particular time. By 00:04:20.660 --> 00:04:22.120 the way, it's important for you all to know that 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:24.220 when those ideas come from leadership or you 00:04:24.220 --> 00:04:27.360 hear about a change in direction, please know 00:04:27.360 --> 00:04:30.579 that it's never just my idea. I know we have 00:04:30.579 --> 00:04:33.279 this idea, this concept in our minds about church 00:04:33.279 --> 00:04:35.540 and the so -called senior pastor, which is not 00:04:35.540 --> 00:04:37.779 in the Bible, but the senior pastor who makes 00:04:37.779 --> 00:04:40.079 all the decisions, that is not what we're about 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:43.560 at Oak Hill. It's always a collective decision 00:04:43.560 --> 00:04:46.980 that comes from the entire team. A team, by the 00:04:46.980 --> 00:04:48.620 way, you should just to help you grow in confidence, 00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:53.139 has multiple theological seminary degrees. and 00:04:53.139 --> 00:04:55.620 has decades, I don't know how many years, decades 00:04:55.620 --> 00:04:58.360 and decades of experience in church leadership 00:04:58.360 --> 00:05:01.459 and biblical teaching. So having a plurality 00:05:01.459 --> 00:05:04.060 of voices at the table and never giving too much 00:05:04.060 --> 00:05:06.699 decision -making power to one man, that is both 00:05:06.699 --> 00:05:10.279 biblical and it is protective. That is often 00:05:10.279 --> 00:05:13.139 how abuse happens in churches. You get one guy 00:05:13.139 --> 00:05:15.959 who's so dominant in his personality that he 00:05:15.959 --> 00:05:18.800 takes over and everybody else just sort of kowtows 00:05:18.800 --> 00:05:21.779 to him and they rubber stamp everything he does. 00:05:22.060 --> 00:05:24.420 And he just, he eventually gets to the place 00:05:24.420 --> 00:05:26.100 where he can't be questioned and he can't be 00:05:26.100 --> 00:05:28.600 challenged by anybody. So as long as I'm here 00:05:28.600 --> 00:05:30.480 at Oak Hill, that is not going to happen because 00:05:30.480 --> 00:05:33.120 I don't want it. I don't want it. The guys don't 00:05:33.120 --> 00:05:34.860 want me to have it and you shouldn't put up with 00:05:34.860 --> 00:05:43.199 it. Amen? Adam's laughing over here. He knows, 00:05:43.319 --> 00:05:45.459 he knows. But having an elder team that develops 00:05:45.459 --> 00:05:48.100 convictions together and then stands on those 00:05:48.100 --> 00:05:51.110 convictions. is incredibly important to a healthy 00:05:51.110 --> 00:05:54.430 church. Developing convictions and then standing 00:05:54.430 --> 00:05:57.170 on them, especially in this day and age where 00:05:57.170 --> 00:05:59.470 you all know this, there are so many opinions 00:05:59.470 --> 00:06:02.310 and so many preferences out there and so many 00:06:02.310 --> 00:06:05.129 sort of church fads and trendy movements that 00:06:05.129 --> 00:06:08.209 are constantly flying around. Holding to solid 00:06:08.209 --> 00:06:11.800 convictions keeps a church stable. It keeps the 00:06:11.800 --> 00:06:14.220 church from being tossed to and fro by every 00:06:14.220 --> 00:06:17.060 new thing that comes down the pike, every new 00:06:17.060 --> 00:06:19.300 book that's written, every new ministry idea. 00:06:19.519 --> 00:06:22.800 We stay stable. A church that is constantly chasing 00:06:22.800 --> 00:06:26.500 trends and making dramatic shifts tends to give 00:06:26.500 --> 00:06:30.259 members what we call ministry whiplash, where 00:06:30.259 --> 00:06:32.379 everything is changing all the time and it creates 00:06:32.379 --> 00:06:35.379 anxiety among the flock. It creates insecurity 00:06:35.379 --> 00:06:38.019 in the body. So we want to avoid those things. 00:06:38.199 --> 00:06:40.199 Now, when it comes to arriving at convictions, 00:06:40.240 --> 00:06:43.040 obviously, Scripture is our most important guide. 00:06:43.139 --> 00:06:45.480 If the Bible instructs us, that is our conviction. 00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:48.220 If the Bible forbids it, that is our conviction. 00:06:48.420 --> 00:06:51.699 But, of course, not every idea, not every suggestion, 00:06:51.980 --> 00:06:54.459 every issue, not every situation that we face 00:06:54.459 --> 00:06:57.819 as an elder team is explicitly found in the Bible. 00:06:58.329 --> 00:07:00.189 So here's what that means. As a team, we have 00:07:00.189 --> 00:07:02.430 to approach these things using broader biblical 00:07:02.430 --> 00:07:05.050 principles that we see in Scripture. We have 00:07:05.050 --> 00:07:07.689 to take into consideration both our freedom in 00:07:07.689 --> 00:07:10.509 Christ, in those gray areas, but also the guardrails 00:07:10.509 --> 00:07:13.550 that would take us too far outside of that freedom 00:07:13.550 --> 00:07:16.470 to keep us from error. And in all things, to 00:07:16.470 --> 00:07:18.790 make sure that any decision we make or any direction 00:07:18.790 --> 00:07:22.490 we take ultimately gives glory to God and edifies 00:07:22.490 --> 00:07:25.410 you, the body. These are the things that we think 00:07:25.410 --> 00:07:28.079 about a lot. Now, here's something to remember. 00:07:28.220 --> 00:07:30.579 Not all churches and not all elder teams will 00:07:30.579 --> 00:07:32.579 look at an issue and come to the same conclusion 00:07:32.579 --> 00:07:35.740 or come to the same conviction. You may hear 00:07:35.740 --> 00:07:38.220 about another church that sees things differently. 00:07:38.279 --> 00:07:40.279 Even though we would agree on much of our theology, 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:42.980 they see things differently. You might wonder, 00:07:43.100 --> 00:07:45.899 well, why is that? What's going on there? Why 00:07:45.899 --> 00:07:48.639 does Church X or Church Y do that thing, but 00:07:48.639 --> 00:07:52.300 we don't do it? Or why does Church X have so 00:07:52.300 --> 00:07:55.720 many nice things that we don't have? And by the 00:07:55.720 --> 00:07:58.139 way, that's humanly very understandable. We all 00:07:58.139 --> 00:07:59.779 do that. We play the comparison game, right? 00:07:59.819 --> 00:08:01.560 We're like, wow, that looks really fun. What's 00:08:01.560 --> 00:08:05.319 wrong with us? Right? It happens. Differences 00:08:05.319 --> 00:08:07.579 are going to happen in the kingdom of God. And 00:08:07.579 --> 00:08:09.480 when they do, when they're over non -essential 00:08:09.480 --> 00:08:12.259 issues, right? Because there are essential issues 00:08:12.259 --> 00:08:15.199 we must agree on. When they're over non -essential 00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:17.839 issues. That's okay. We can have a difference 00:08:17.839 --> 00:08:20.040 in those things. And in those cases, we want 00:08:20.040 --> 00:08:22.819 to extend grace to each other and show charity. 00:08:23.160 --> 00:08:25.519 In those cases, we just say, look, this is our 00:08:25.519 --> 00:08:27.319 conviction. We're not saying it's right or wrong. 00:08:27.459 --> 00:08:30.199 This is what we've come to, and this is our conviction. 00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:33.100 Does that make sense? Good, so this morning we're 00:08:33.100 --> 00:08:35.480 gonna hit a bit of a pause and reset here in 00:08:35.480 --> 00:08:38.080 the new year to talk about some of the convictions, 00:08:38.299 --> 00:08:41.159 the foundational convictions that we have as 00:08:41.159 --> 00:08:43.519 a church. And my hope is for those of you who 00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:45.100 are newer, this might give you a little bit of 00:08:45.100 --> 00:08:48.139 insight into what we're about. And for those 00:08:48.139 --> 00:08:51.620 of you who are OGs, you're veterans of Oak Hill, 00:08:51.799 --> 00:08:54.379 hopefully this is a good refresher and reminder 00:08:54.379 --> 00:08:57.059 for you. Now, there's a long list of convictions 00:08:57.059 --> 00:08:59.139 that we have. I mean, I could be here for the 00:08:59.139 --> 00:09:01.200 next three days. talking about things that we're 00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:02.659 really convicted about. I only want to talk about 00:09:02.659 --> 00:09:06.259 two today, just two convictions. That's really 00:09:06.259 --> 00:09:08.620 all the time we have for in a one -off sermon 00:09:08.620 --> 00:09:11.399 like this. But know that these are two things 00:09:11.399 --> 00:09:13.340 that are very important to us. They are foundational 00:09:13.340 --> 00:09:16.559 to us. And interestingly, they are two things 00:09:16.559 --> 00:09:19.320 that I do get asked about from time to time. 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:22.159 Sometimes by new folks who are just asking good 00:09:22.159 --> 00:09:24.600 questions. Sometimes by long -term members who 00:09:24.600 --> 00:09:26.539 are, again, like I said, just wondering, wait, 00:09:26.600 --> 00:09:28.940 why do we do that? I've gotten used to it. I 00:09:28.940 --> 00:09:31.419 know it's what we do, but why do we do it? And 00:09:31.419 --> 00:09:33.259 there are times when the motivation behind the 00:09:33.259 --> 00:09:35.240 question, it just comes from that comparison 00:09:35.240 --> 00:09:37.720 issue, which we understand. We hear about Church 00:09:37.720 --> 00:09:40.399 X doing things this way or Church Y doing that, 00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:42.840 and the question comes, what about us? Why do 00:09:42.840 --> 00:09:45.799 we believe that? And why do we function as we 00:09:45.799 --> 00:09:48.460 do? Here's the first of the two convictions that 00:09:48.460 --> 00:09:51.240 we want to talk about this morning. And I don't 00:09:51.240 --> 00:09:52.480 know if this is going to surprise you or not, 00:09:52.559 --> 00:09:54.919 but here's the first one. And it is our preaching. 00:09:56.799 --> 00:10:00.080 I'm preaching about preaching, which is always 00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:02.620 a challenge. And obviously, this is very personal 00:10:02.620 --> 00:10:05.200 to me because it seems to be what God has called 00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:08.539 me to do with my life. And I have spent decades 00:10:08.539 --> 00:10:10.899 and decades studying this topic, both looking 00:10:10.899 --> 00:10:13.629 at it biblically. reading I don't know how many 00:10:13.629 --> 00:10:15.549 books about it looking at church history trying 00:10:15.549 --> 00:10:18.269 to understand what it is God wants when it comes 00:10:18.269 --> 00:10:20.309 to preaching and let me just share something 00:10:20.309 --> 00:10:23.429 with you even if you will never in your entire 00:10:23.429 --> 00:10:26.529 life ever get up and teach a bible lesson or 00:10:26.529 --> 00:10:29.370 preach a sermon you should know something about 00:10:29.370 --> 00:10:32.690 preaching you should understand the basics about 00:10:32.690 --> 00:10:35.090 preaching And the reason for that is this, wherever 00:10:35.090 --> 00:10:37.350 you go in this world, because not all of us are 00:10:37.350 --> 00:10:38.870 going to be at Oak Hill until the day that the 00:10:38.870 --> 00:10:41.750 Lord calls us home, right? Wherever you go, you 00:10:41.750 --> 00:10:43.929 should be able to walk into a church and know 00:10:43.929 --> 00:10:47.230 whether or not you're being fed God's word in 00:10:47.230 --> 00:10:50.350 a proper way. To be able to discern that is a 00:10:50.350 --> 00:10:53.070 very important thing for every one of us to understand. 00:10:54.029 --> 00:10:55.830 So here we are today, we're getting close to 00:10:55.830 --> 00:10:59.029 embarking on what will likely be, Lord willing, 00:10:59.129 --> 00:11:03.080 a multi -year preaching series. I mean, the guys 00:11:03.080 --> 00:11:05.240 are doing like a little game now. Is it going 00:11:05.240 --> 00:11:07.340 to be two years, three years, four years? I just 00:11:07.340 --> 00:11:09.320 don't know. The Lord knows, but I don't know 00:11:09.320 --> 00:11:12.980 yet. But it raises questions. Why do we preach 00:11:12.980 --> 00:11:16.039 through entire books of the Bible? Why do we 00:11:16.039 --> 00:11:19.919 do that? We just finished reading every single 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:22.440 word in the book of Esther, right? Every single 00:11:22.440 --> 00:11:25.519 word. Adam is very slowly working through every 00:11:25.519 --> 00:11:28.120 single verse in the book of Ecclesiastes. None 00:11:28.120 --> 00:11:31.159 will be left out. I did the math last night. 00:11:31.600 --> 00:11:33.240 Lord willing, over the next few years, we're 00:11:33.240 --> 00:11:37.320 going to study all 437 verses in 1 Corinthians. 00:11:38.179 --> 00:11:41.600 That's more than 9 ,300 words that we'll read 00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:46.039 together in the English. Why do we do that? Why 00:11:46.039 --> 00:11:47.480 don't we just do what so many other churches 00:11:47.480 --> 00:11:50.440 do, just move quicker, go from series to series, 00:11:50.639 --> 00:11:53.879 shorter, sort of lightning series, touch on just 00:11:53.879 --> 00:11:56.720 the most entertaining topics in the Bible. Why 00:11:56.720 --> 00:11:58.299 don't we do that? I'm going to tell you why. 00:11:58.700 --> 00:12:00.179 But first of all, we're actually going to open 00:12:00.179 --> 00:12:03.529 our Bibles. So grab them. I want you to turn 00:12:03.529 --> 00:12:10.870 to John chapter 17. John 17. Now there's many 00:12:10.870 --> 00:12:13.850 places we could turn to in scripture. By the 00:12:13.850 --> 00:12:16.549 way, both Old Testament and New Testament that 00:12:16.549 --> 00:12:20.909 speak to the transforming power. Hear me now. 00:12:20.990 --> 00:12:24.190 The transforming power of studying every word 00:12:24.190 --> 00:12:27.769 that proceeds from the mouth of God. And that 00:12:27.769 --> 00:12:31.480 is a foundational idea. that every word that 00:12:31.480 --> 00:12:34.600 comes from the mouth of God is for our good and 00:12:34.600 --> 00:12:38.139 for our edification and for our growth. But John 00:12:38.139 --> 00:12:40.080 17 is one of my favorite passages. We're only 00:12:40.080 --> 00:12:41.919 going to look at four verses here, beginning 00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:45.799 in verse 14. Remember, John 17 is this beautiful, 00:12:45.899 --> 00:12:48.879 famous chapter that we often refer to as Jesus' 00:12:49.139 --> 00:12:52.399 high priestly prayer. This is towards the end 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:54.620 of the gospel story. Jesus is about to be arrested 00:12:54.620 --> 00:12:58.399 and put on trial. And so in front of his disciples, 00:12:58.500 --> 00:13:01.440 for the very last time, he prays. And he prays 00:13:01.440 --> 00:13:03.779 to the Father with great passion. And in his 00:13:03.779 --> 00:13:06.299 prayer, we see all kinds of amazing insights 00:13:06.299 --> 00:13:09.539 into his relationship with God the Father and 00:13:09.539 --> 00:13:12.679 his identity as the Son of God. All kinds of 00:13:12.679 --> 00:13:15.919 great things. So as we read this, you have to 00:13:15.919 --> 00:13:19.019 remember, this is mind -blowing. This is inter 00:13:19.019 --> 00:13:23.019 -Trinitarian communication between God the Son 00:13:23.019 --> 00:13:24.860 and God the Father. And we get to eavesdrop. 00:13:25.309 --> 00:13:27.909 into that conversation. Don't take that lightly. 00:13:28.029 --> 00:13:30.730 That's an amazing thing. So in verse 14, Jesus 00:13:30.730 --> 00:13:33.629 says to the father, I have given them, my disciples, 00:13:33.830 --> 00:13:37.129 I've given them your word. And this is an important 00:13:37.129 --> 00:13:40.309 thing to acknowledge. Three times in the gospel 00:13:40.309 --> 00:13:43.169 of John before this, in chapter 8, 12, and 14, 00:13:43.429 --> 00:13:46.950 Jesus said something to the effect of, I do not 00:13:46.950 --> 00:13:50.230 speak on my own initiative, but I speak for my 00:13:50.230 --> 00:13:53.490 father who sent me. I speak what he tells me 00:13:53.490 --> 00:13:57.649 to speak. And so as we come here to this particular 00:13:57.649 --> 00:14:01.889 part of John 17, Jesus has clearly done this. 00:14:01.970 --> 00:14:04.750 Father, I have given them your word. This is 00:14:04.750 --> 00:14:07.389 God the Son fulfilling his unique role within 00:14:07.389 --> 00:14:10.750 the Trinity, right? He is the one God the Father 00:14:10.750 --> 00:14:13.649 decrees and the Son carries those out. And part 00:14:13.649 --> 00:14:16.669 of carrying out the decree here is to speak what 00:14:16.669 --> 00:14:18.889 the Father tells him to speak. I have given them 00:14:18.889 --> 00:14:21.889 your word, he says. And what is the result? Verse 00:14:21.889 --> 00:14:26.250 14 continues. and the world has hated them. Anybody 00:14:26.250 --> 00:14:29.570 feel that? I've given them your word, but the 00:14:29.570 --> 00:14:32.289 world has hated them because they're not of the 00:14:32.289 --> 00:14:36.110 world, even as I am not of the world. So just 00:14:36.110 --> 00:14:39.509 as Jesus belongs to the Father and has no part 00:14:39.509 --> 00:14:42.549 in the wicked systems of this world, you and 00:14:42.549 --> 00:14:46.190 I who are united to him, we also belong to the 00:14:46.190 --> 00:14:48.690 Father. Our citizenship is in heaven, and therefore 00:14:48.690 --> 00:14:51.659 we no longer belong to this. system down here 00:14:51.659 --> 00:14:54.179 on the earth. That's what he's saying here. And 00:14:54.179 --> 00:14:56.960 yet in verse 15, Jesus says, I do not ask you, 00:14:56.980 --> 00:15:00.259 Father, to take them out of the world, but to 00:15:00.259 --> 00:15:04.039 do this, to keep them from the evil one. Again, 00:15:04.120 --> 00:15:06.600 they are not of the world, even as I am not of 00:15:06.600 --> 00:15:09.179 the world. So Jesus prays for our protection 00:15:09.179 --> 00:15:12.179 in the midst of this wicked world system that 00:15:12.179 --> 00:15:15.700 we have to live within. And then we come to the 00:15:15.700 --> 00:15:17.580 primary verse I really want you to see this morning. 00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:21.330 Verse 17. Jesus prays, sanctify them in the truth. 00:15:21.809 --> 00:15:25.590 Your word is truth. Now, those are some of the 00:15:25.590 --> 00:15:27.629 most important words in the entire New Testament. 00:15:28.409 --> 00:15:31.830 Because of who he is, the words that come from 00:15:31.830 --> 00:15:36.049 God are the very definition of truth. You have 00:15:36.049 --> 00:15:39.370 to know that, the very definition. And that Bible 00:15:39.370 --> 00:15:42.009 that's now sitting in your hands, those words, 00:15:42.029 --> 00:15:45.250 that is the only infallible source of truth in 00:15:45.250 --> 00:15:48.809 the entire universe. Everything else is fallible. 00:15:48.850 --> 00:15:50.850 Everything else is human. Everything else has 00:15:50.850 --> 00:15:54.610 bias. What you're holding in your lap is the 00:15:54.610 --> 00:15:56.889 only infallible source of truth in all of creation. 00:15:57.190 --> 00:15:59.830 Do you understand the privilege of this? This 00:15:59.830 --> 00:16:04.679 is huge. It's by this infallible word, Jesus 00:16:04.679 --> 00:16:07.379 says, that God sanctifies us. He says, sanctify 00:16:07.379 --> 00:16:10.360 them in the truth. That verb in the Greek, hagiadzo, 00:16:10.480 --> 00:16:13.799 in a practical sense, it refers to setting something 00:16:13.799 --> 00:16:19.659 apart from sin and marking it out as holy. This 00:16:19.659 --> 00:16:23.539 is how God changes us, transforms us. He marks 00:16:23.539 --> 00:16:27.200 us out. separates us from sin, marks us out as 00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:29.700 something holy. So in essence, Jesus is praying, 00:16:29.779 --> 00:16:33.240 Father, set aside these, my sheep, set them apart 00:16:33.240 --> 00:16:36.779 from the wickedness of this world, refine them, 00:16:36.899 --> 00:16:39.779 purify them, make them more and more holy in 00:16:39.779 --> 00:16:41.600 their days upon the earth. And here's the key, 00:16:41.740 --> 00:16:46.559 do it by your word. That's what I want. More 00:16:46.559 --> 00:16:49.220 than anything else, Jesus is saying, sanctify 00:16:49.220 --> 00:16:52.279 them by your word because your word is what? 00:16:52.559 --> 00:16:56.149 It's truth. Now here's the point for today's 00:16:56.149 --> 00:16:59.929 sermon. If that statement is true, and we say 00:16:59.929 --> 00:17:03.669 it is, if God sanctifies us by his word, then 00:17:03.669 --> 00:17:06.670 that truth should be at the very core of how 00:17:06.670 --> 00:17:12.170 we approach preaching. Right? If that is true, 00:17:12.309 --> 00:17:14.950 if that's how we're sanctified, that should direct 00:17:14.950 --> 00:17:19.490 how we preach in Christ's church. Now, let's 00:17:19.490 --> 00:17:22.549 look at another passage. Go back to the Psalms. 00:17:22.549 --> 00:17:24.390 We're gonna go back to our call to worship passage 00:17:24.390 --> 00:17:27.410 from earlier this morning, back to Psalm 119. 00:17:32.769 --> 00:17:35.170 Remember, this particular psalm is famous for 00:17:35.170 --> 00:17:38.990 its exaltation of God's word. It dedicates 176 00:17:38.990 --> 00:17:43.829 verses, 176 verses to the glory of God's precepts 00:17:43.829 --> 00:17:47.109 and statutes. Lest you thought this was just 00:17:47.109 --> 00:17:52.789 a New Testament thing, right? Psalm 119, verse 00:17:52.789 --> 00:17:57.650 105, this very famous verse, your word is a lamp 00:17:57.650 --> 00:18:01.049 to my feet and a light to my path. How many of 00:18:01.049 --> 00:18:04.069 you guys have been through an earthquake? When 00:18:04.069 --> 00:18:07.210 the lights go out and it's pitch black, you love 00:18:07.210 --> 00:18:10.049 seeing that little bit of light. It's a game 00:18:10.049 --> 00:18:11.750 changer. Trust me, been through many of them. 00:18:12.500 --> 00:18:14.559 It's a lamp to your feet and a light to your 00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:17.319 path. The infallible word lights up the path 00:18:17.319 --> 00:18:20.160 of truth. It lights up the path of wisdom for 00:18:20.160 --> 00:18:23.880 believers so that God's ways can clearly be seen. 00:18:24.200 --> 00:18:27.000 Yet even as we have this path shown to us, we 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:29.259 also know this truth, we all stray from it at 00:18:29.259 --> 00:18:31.700 times because why? We wrestle with the flesh 00:18:31.700 --> 00:18:34.279 in our days upon the earth. So in verse 107, 00:18:34.359 --> 00:18:36.759 if you look at that, it tells us what to do. 00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:40.619 It says, I'm exceedingly afflicted. Anybody feel 00:18:40.619 --> 00:18:43.069 that way in life? I'm just afflicted. There's 00:18:43.069 --> 00:18:46.710 a lot going on. I feel pressure. So what do we 00:18:46.710 --> 00:18:49.690 do? We cry out. Look what we cry out. Revive 00:18:49.690 --> 00:18:53.910 me, O Lord. According to what? According to your 00:18:53.910 --> 00:18:58.329 word. Catch this now. It's not our effort or 00:18:58.329 --> 00:19:02.190 our determination that brings revival. It's going 00:19:02.190 --> 00:19:05.269 back to the truth of God's word. When we're afflicted, 00:19:05.269 --> 00:19:08.529 we go back to what he has said clearly. And we 00:19:08.529 --> 00:19:11.920 trust in his promises. This is how we do it, 00:19:11.940 --> 00:19:13.799 right? I think about church history. Back in 00:19:13.799 --> 00:19:16.079 the days of the Reformation, it was said that 00:19:16.079 --> 00:19:19.539 as the Bible was opened in that generation, Reformation 00:19:19.539 --> 00:19:24.319 was released. Before the Bible was opened, it 00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:27.359 was dark. The light wasn't being seen. Open the 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:30.400 Bible, preach the word, and Reformation. Luther 00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:32.500 says, I didn't have to do anything. The word 00:19:32.500 --> 00:19:35.559 did it all. I just opened the Bible and let God 00:19:35.559 --> 00:19:38.980 speak. Same thing here. That's how revival comes. 00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:42.180 But we know this to be true as well. The world 00:19:42.180 --> 00:19:43.920 and its systems, they're not going to give up 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:45.960 fighting against us, right? They're not going 00:19:45.960 --> 00:19:48.839 to be friendly to us. They want to inflict spiritual 00:19:48.839 --> 00:19:52.920 harm. So verse 110 says this, the wicked have 00:19:52.920 --> 00:19:56.359 laid a snare for me, yet I've not gone astray 00:19:56.359 --> 00:19:59.680 from your precepts. So God's word becomes part 00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:01.829 of our spiritual armor. As we're going through 00:20:01.829 --> 00:20:04.450 life and man, we all see the snares, right? The 00:20:04.450 --> 00:20:06.930 traps that are laid for us, the world just begging 00:20:06.930 --> 00:20:10.269 us to come their way. But when we stay rooted 00:20:10.269 --> 00:20:14.329 in God's word, we don't go astray. And for how 00:20:14.329 --> 00:20:16.410 long do we get to rejoice in God's word? Verse 00:20:16.410 --> 00:20:19.869 111, I have inherited your testimonies. How long? 00:20:20.809 --> 00:20:25.430 Forever. God's word will go on forever. Because 00:20:25.430 --> 00:20:28.470 why? They're the joy of my heart. Ask yourself 00:20:28.470 --> 00:20:31.599 that question. Is God's word the joy of your 00:20:31.599 --> 00:20:36.180 heart? Forever and ever, we will celebrate every 00:20:36.180 --> 00:20:38.240 word that proceeds from the mouth of the Almighty. 00:20:39.460 --> 00:20:41.279 But for the here and now, while we're still on 00:20:41.279 --> 00:20:43.500 the earth, we have an obligation. Look at verse 00:20:43.500 --> 00:20:46.839 112. What's the obligation? I have inclined my 00:20:46.839 --> 00:20:50.119 heart to perform your statutes forever, even 00:20:50.119 --> 00:20:52.839 to the end. This is an intentional posture that 00:20:52.839 --> 00:20:56.799 we take to incline our hearts toward God, toward 00:20:56.799 --> 00:20:59.299 the truth of his word, right up until the day 00:20:59.710 --> 00:21:03.529 that we pass into eternity. Here's the point 00:21:03.529 --> 00:21:05.869 of all this. With all of that laid out, both 00:21:05.869 --> 00:21:08.950 Old Testament and New Testament, we would do 00:21:08.950 --> 00:21:11.650 well, friends, not to let a single moment go 00:21:11.650 --> 00:21:16.190 by, let alone a Sunday, without diving into God's 00:21:16.190 --> 00:21:19.849 word to glorify him and to be sanctified by it. 00:21:20.109 --> 00:21:22.470 Why would we waste a Sunday doing anything but 00:21:22.470 --> 00:21:28.109 that? This is what honors him. This is what sanctifies 00:21:28.109 --> 00:21:31.019 us. So we ought to take the preaching of God's 00:21:31.019 --> 00:21:33.180 word seriously every single time that we gather. 00:21:34.039 --> 00:21:36.259 And if you want a high and lofty idea of this, 00:21:36.319 --> 00:21:38.900 John Calvin, the great reformer, believed that 00:21:38.900 --> 00:21:42.019 in any true church where the gospel is rightly 00:21:42.019 --> 00:21:44.119 preached and the sacraments are rightly administered, 00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:47.500 he said that the pulpit of that church represents 00:21:47.500 --> 00:21:53.299 God's throne for revealing divine truth. And 00:21:53.299 --> 00:21:55.539 that true preaching, when it comes from the word, 00:21:56.250 --> 00:21:58.369 should be considered by the congregation the 00:21:58.369 --> 00:22:00.690 very voice of God speaking through the lips of 00:22:00.690 --> 00:22:04.470 his servant. That's a big vision, isn't it? That's 00:22:04.470 --> 00:22:06.950 a heavy burden. And I feel it every single time 00:22:06.950 --> 00:22:10.309 I stand behind this pulpit. And so does every 00:22:10.309 --> 00:22:12.630 other guy in this church, every elder who gets 00:22:12.630 --> 00:22:15.250 up here. We take it very seriously because we 00:22:15.250 --> 00:22:18.250 know every time we open the word, lives and souls 00:22:18.250 --> 00:22:21.450 are at stake. And it's not to be taken casually. 00:22:23.039 --> 00:22:24.960 So with that in mind, let me share with you a 00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:27.819 few important principles related to our conviction 00:22:27.819 --> 00:22:31.440 about preaching. For the immediate goal of the 00:22:31.440 --> 00:22:33.700 preacher on Sunday mornings, the immediate goal, 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:36.859 it's very simple. It's twofold. Explain the text 00:22:36.859 --> 00:22:39.819 and apply the text. That's what you should be 00:22:39.819 --> 00:22:42.339 listening for. Explain the text, apply the text. 00:22:42.700 --> 00:22:45.839 In other words, here's what God has said, right? 00:22:46.160 --> 00:22:49.339 Here's how that impacts your walk with him. And 00:22:49.339 --> 00:22:52.680 here's how you need to respond. Make sense? Those 00:22:52.680 --> 00:22:56.220 are the important things. Now, there's many ways 00:22:56.220 --> 00:22:58.240 to do that in preaching. In fact, preaching is 00:22:58.240 --> 00:22:59.940 going to look and sound very different at different 00:22:59.940 --> 00:23:02.900 types of churches because God uses his servants 00:23:02.900 --> 00:23:05.599 with their unique personalities and their unique 00:23:05.599 --> 00:23:07.660 bents and their unique voices and all those things. 00:23:07.740 --> 00:23:09.119 So it's going to look and sound a little bit 00:23:09.119 --> 00:23:11.900 different, but something should always be present 00:23:11.900 --> 00:23:14.440 in biblical preaching. Let me give you a list. 00:23:15.579 --> 00:23:18.940 Proclaiming. There should always be a proclaiming 00:23:18.940 --> 00:23:22.759 aspect of preaching, proclaiming truth. Instructing. 00:23:23.700 --> 00:23:25.940 We're always instructing the congregation in 00:23:25.940 --> 00:23:30.279 some way. Persuading. Persuading. In other words, 00:23:30.339 --> 00:23:32.700 you see it on the page, but let me persuade you 00:23:32.700 --> 00:23:34.440 that it's actually true and you should do it. 00:23:35.359 --> 00:23:39.119 Persuading. Correcting. Maybe you came here with 00:23:39.119 --> 00:23:41.900 a wrong view, and so let's look at the word and 00:23:41.900 --> 00:23:46.220 let it correct us. Exhorting. Right? This is 00:23:46.220 --> 00:23:48.869 that, hey. Let's go. Get up. Let's go. Let's 00:23:48.869 --> 00:23:50.609 do this. We know it's right. Let's do it. We 00:23:50.609 --> 00:23:56.890 exhort. What else? Rebuking. Yeah, sometimes 00:23:56.890 --> 00:23:59.430 it requires rebukes, right? Because we're stubborn 00:23:59.430 --> 00:24:01.509 and we're holding on to things we shouldn't. 00:24:01.529 --> 00:24:03.809 So there's a rebuking aspect to it. Then there's 00:24:03.809 --> 00:24:06.170 the encouraging aspect. And this is where the 00:24:06.170 --> 00:24:08.910 grace overflows, right? So you're like, okay, 00:24:08.970 --> 00:24:11.529 I'm forgiven. The cross matters, right? So I 00:24:11.529 --> 00:24:13.650 can encourage you as well. And then there's the 00:24:13.650 --> 00:24:17.009 inviting. hey, come with me, let's do this. And 00:24:17.009 --> 00:24:19.529 maybe it's come to know Christ, maybe it's come 00:24:19.529 --> 00:24:22.490 to grow in Christ, but we're inviting one another 00:24:22.490 --> 00:24:26.130 in to do it together. But the ultimate goal as 00:24:26.130 --> 00:24:28.609 we explain and apply scripture is, of course, 00:24:28.609 --> 00:24:31.329 glory to God and second, to build up the believers 00:24:31.329 --> 00:24:33.670 in the faith. This is what Paul famously said 00:24:33.670 --> 00:24:37.190 in 2 Timothy 3. You all know this verse. He says, 00:24:37.230 --> 00:24:41.109 all scripture is inspired by God, God -breathed 00:24:41.109 --> 00:24:45.059 and profitable. That's a great word. All scripture 00:24:45.059 --> 00:24:48.599 will profit you in these ways, for teaching, 00:24:48.819 --> 00:24:52.059 for reproof, for correction, for training in 00:24:52.059 --> 00:24:54.380 righteousness, and here's the ultimate purpose, 00:24:54.640 --> 00:24:57.559 so that the man of God or the woman of God may 00:24:57.559 --> 00:25:01.079 be adequate or complete, equipped for every good 00:25:01.079 --> 00:25:05.559 work. 2 Timothy 3 .16 is a great verse to memorize. 00:25:06.559 --> 00:25:08.619 That's what every man who comes up to preach 00:25:08.619 --> 00:25:11.470 here at Oak Hill wants. to see every one of you 00:25:11.470 --> 00:25:13.769 grow towards that sense of completeness in the 00:25:13.769 --> 00:25:16.609 Lord, to be built up in your faith and equipped 00:25:16.609 --> 00:25:20.069 for whatever kingdom work God calls you to. But 00:25:20.069 --> 00:25:22.509 it comes through the preaching of the word and 00:25:22.509 --> 00:25:26.750 the teaching of the word. So let me just pause 00:25:26.750 --> 00:25:28.809 there. And before we go any further into what 00:25:28.809 --> 00:25:32.289 good preaching is, can I mention a few failures 00:25:32.289 --> 00:25:35.150 in preaching? I'm kind of an expert at this too. 00:25:36.089 --> 00:25:38.400 Been there, done this. but some things that are 00:25:38.400 --> 00:25:40.660 red flags, some things that as you're traveling 00:25:40.660 --> 00:25:42.579 throughout the world, you hear or see things. 00:25:42.920 --> 00:25:45.700 These are some ways that we can not do it in 00:25:45.700 --> 00:25:48.019 a biblical way. I'm going to give you, I think 00:25:48.019 --> 00:25:50.420 I got four of them. Here's the first one. I'm 00:25:50.420 --> 00:25:52.920 going to call this, oh, I want to tell you what's 00:25:52.920 --> 00:25:56.420 on my heart sermon. Okay, this is where the preacher 00:25:56.420 --> 00:25:59.400 routinely gets up on Sunday mornings and shares 00:25:59.400 --> 00:26:02.380 things that he really wants to tell you. He really 00:26:02.380 --> 00:26:04.319 wants to tell you what he wants to talk about, 00:26:04.420 --> 00:26:07.950 but it's not always grounded in scripture. And 00:26:07.950 --> 00:26:10.190 even when he does appeal to the Bible, oftentimes 00:26:10.190 --> 00:26:12.710 it's grab a verse here, grab a verse there, rip 00:26:12.710 --> 00:26:15.829 it out of the context in order to make his point. 00:26:16.369 --> 00:26:18.509 And ultimately what that means is the big idea 00:26:18.509 --> 00:26:21.150 of a sermon often comes from his mind, not the 00:26:21.150 --> 00:26:23.470 mind of God. It might not be evil, might not 00:26:23.470 --> 00:26:27.450 be bad, but it's his mind more than it is the 00:26:27.450 --> 00:26:30.109 Lord's. And in many cases, you'll find this happening 00:26:30.109 --> 00:26:32.569 at churches. And this is, I'm gonna give you 00:26:32.569 --> 00:26:36.220 one of my hobby horses this morning. It happens 00:26:36.220 --> 00:26:39.400 at churches that don't have pulpits. Have you 00:26:39.400 --> 00:26:41.519 noticed this? There is an actual history in the 00:26:41.519 --> 00:26:44.119 theology behind pulpits. They do actually matter. 00:26:45.079 --> 00:26:48.039 What happens in these situations is oftentimes 00:26:48.039 --> 00:26:51.339 a guy that has the skinniest little stand possible. 00:26:52.180 --> 00:26:54.559 Have you seen this? It's off to the side. And 00:26:54.559 --> 00:26:57.940 all he does is walk back and forth and make it 00:26:57.940 --> 00:27:01.079 look more like a TED Talk than preaching a biblical 00:27:01.079 --> 00:27:07.049 sermon. Okay, off my hobby horse. We call this 00:27:07.049 --> 00:27:09.730 the, I want to tell you what's on my heart sermon. 00:27:09.869 --> 00:27:11.630 The second one, which is already up there, I 00:27:11.630 --> 00:27:14.750 went to seminary and I'm determined to make sure 00:27:14.750 --> 00:27:19.990 that you know that sermon. This is a danger for 00:27:19.990 --> 00:27:22.869 me. Just being honest, right? You know when I 00:27:22.869 --> 00:27:25.089 get nerdy about history? Yeah. I have to be careful 00:27:25.089 --> 00:27:27.230 about this. This is where the preacher routinely 00:27:27.230 --> 00:27:30.329 tries to prove how educated he is and oftentimes 00:27:30.329 --> 00:27:32.789 flies right over the heads of the audience with 00:27:32.789 --> 00:27:37.009 unnecessary details. Now, there is a wisdom to 00:27:37.009 --> 00:27:39.170 what we call putting the cookies up on a high 00:27:39.170 --> 00:27:42.869 shelf. If you don't know this, backroom stuff. 00:27:43.190 --> 00:27:45.029 There's a whole discussion in preaching about 00:27:45.029 --> 00:27:48.640 where the cookies go on the shelf. Okay. In other 00:27:48.640 --> 00:27:50.640 words, do I put the cookies on the bottom shelf 00:27:50.640 --> 00:27:53.579 so everybody can understand it? Do I lift it 00:27:53.579 --> 00:27:55.680 up a little bit to make people sort of stretch 00:27:55.680 --> 00:27:58.380 to understand? Do I put it at the very top so 00:27:58.380 --> 00:28:01.380 nobody can reach it? It's an actual discussion. 00:28:01.759 --> 00:28:03.519 So we've got to be careful that we don't just 00:28:03.519 --> 00:28:06.720 put it so high with unnecessary details that 00:28:06.720 --> 00:28:08.799 all you're really doing is proving as a preacher, 00:28:08.940 --> 00:28:13.140 I'm pretty smart. That's not helpful. So in that 00:28:13.140 --> 00:28:15.359 case, folks walk out intellectually challenged. 00:28:15.920 --> 00:28:18.059 But they also walk out practically going, I don't 00:28:18.059 --> 00:28:21.019 know what to do now. And that's not good. Make 00:28:21.019 --> 00:28:24.740 sense? Okay, third one. This is the opposite 00:28:24.740 --> 00:28:27.640 of that one. I call it the, I'm in such a hurry 00:28:27.640 --> 00:28:30.160 to apply this text that I don't have time to 00:28:30.160 --> 00:28:33.940 show you where it comes from sermon. This is 00:28:33.940 --> 00:28:35.819 where the preacher jumps right to life application 00:28:35.819 --> 00:28:38.920 so quickly and spends so much time on it that 00:28:38.920 --> 00:28:41.079 you're scratching your head going, wait, is this 00:28:41.079 --> 00:28:43.500 actually from the Bible? Because I'm not sure, 00:28:43.680 --> 00:28:45.519 you haven't really showed me that yet. You haven't 00:28:45.519 --> 00:28:47.640 proven to me that this is actually a biblical 00:28:47.640 --> 00:28:50.700 principle. And that's not helpful either. And 00:28:50.700 --> 00:28:52.740 then the last one I'll mention is just the I 00:28:52.740 --> 00:28:56.240 have to phone this one in sermon. And this often 00:28:56.240 --> 00:28:58.200 happens when the preacher has either had a terrible 00:28:58.200 --> 00:29:01.420 week or he's going through something personal 00:29:01.420 --> 00:29:03.799 or there's family, whatever it is, he didn't 00:29:03.799 --> 00:29:06.900 have the time necessary to really put something 00:29:06.900 --> 00:29:11.440 together. Or, yes, it's true, sometimes preachers 00:29:11.440 --> 00:29:14.759 get lazy. And they don't commit the time on their 00:29:14.759 --> 00:29:17.519 calendar to put in the work that's required for 00:29:17.519 --> 00:29:20.839 such a serious undertaking. And it's serious. 00:29:21.400 --> 00:29:24.339 And so what happens in this case is the sermon 00:29:24.339 --> 00:29:26.799 comes out without any coherent structure to it. 00:29:27.079 --> 00:29:29.559 You all feel like it's all over the place. There's 00:29:29.559 --> 00:29:32.720 no clear transitions. The ideas don't really 00:29:32.720 --> 00:29:35.400 seem to connect. And at the end, you're not really 00:29:35.400 --> 00:29:37.960 sure where he was going in the first place or 00:29:37.960 --> 00:29:40.400 what the whole point of the message was. because 00:29:40.400 --> 00:29:43.900 it's so sort of jumbled up. So these are some 00:29:43.900 --> 00:29:45.660 of the things you've got to watch for. These 00:29:45.660 --> 00:29:47.700 are some of the things that you should be aware 00:29:47.700 --> 00:29:51.599 of, the common failures. And look, I did some 00:29:51.599 --> 00:29:54.240 calculations last night, and I may be crazy, 00:29:54.259 --> 00:29:56.940 and Tanya can correct me. I think I've preached 00:29:56.940 --> 00:29:59.720 somewhere between 800 and 900 sermons over the 00:29:59.720 --> 00:30:02.359 years here at Oak Hill. And I know I've laid 00:30:02.359 --> 00:30:06.019 some eggs on some of those sermons. I know, right? 00:30:06.619 --> 00:30:08.839 And the other team lets me know, hey, that was... 00:30:11.079 --> 00:30:13.619 You may have missed it. Look, we all do this. 00:30:13.640 --> 00:30:16.160 This happens to every single preacher. And when 00:30:16.160 --> 00:30:18.940 that happens, I appreciate your grace. And I 00:30:18.940 --> 00:30:21.559 want you to know that even at my age, I am striving 00:30:21.559 --> 00:30:24.700 to learn and grow and to get better at this calling 00:30:24.700 --> 00:30:26.980 that he has on my life. I want to get better 00:30:26.980 --> 00:30:29.599 and better at preaching every single year until 00:30:29.599 --> 00:30:31.680 the day comes he either calls me home or pushes 00:30:31.680 --> 00:30:34.900 me into retirement. because we should be lifelong 00:30:34.900 --> 00:30:37.059 learners and always growing, always putting in 00:30:37.059 --> 00:30:39.400 the work, right? Cooperating with the Spirit 00:30:39.400 --> 00:30:42.720 of God to bless the body more and more. So, all 00:30:42.720 --> 00:30:44.279 right, all that to say, we're coming now back 00:30:44.279 --> 00:30:46.559 to the original question. Why do we preach to 00:30:46.559 --> 00:30:49.920 entire books of the Bible? Why? Well, here at 00:30:49.920 --> 00:30:52.380 Oak Hill, whether it's me or it's Adam or Jeff 00:30:52.380 --> 00:30:54.880 Steele or any other elder, we practice something 00:30:54.880 --> 00:30:58.509 called expository preaching. I know some of you 00:30:58.509 --> 00:31:01.009 heard that term before, and you may think you 00:31:01.009 --> 00:31:02.849 know what it means, but it's good to talk about 00:31:02.849 --> 00:31:06.390 it. I put a subtitle on the screen there. Letting 00:31:06.390 --> 00:31:10.829 the scripture itself set the agenda and drive 00:31:10.829 --> 00:31:15.630 or shape the message. Right? Letting the scripture 00:31:15.630 --> 00:31:18.829 itself set the agenda and drive or shape the 00:31:18.829 --> 00:31:21.650 message. Every Sunday, what I try to do, and 00:31:21.650 --> 00:31:23.789 this is my constant prayer before I walk up here, 00:31:23.910 --> 00:31:27.230 is to get out of the way. so that you don't remember 00:31:27.230 --> 00:31:31.029 me in any way. I've likened it to, if you know 00:31:31.029 --> 00:31:33.329 anything about sports, the referees, they're 00:31:33.329 --> 00:31:36.490 supposed to disappear. They call the game, but 00:31:36.490 --> 00:31:38.430 if you remember the refs at the end of the game, 00:31:38.490 --> 00:31:41.170 they've done a terrible job. You want to remember 00:31:41.170 --> 00:31:43.809 the players, what they did. It's the same thing 00:31:43.809 --> 00:31:46.309 with me. I want to disappear. I want to deliver 00:31:46.309 --> 00:31:49.170 God's word, and you remember what God said, not 00:31:49.170 --> 00:31:52.049 what Jeff said, or what Jeff wore that day, or 00:31:52.049 --> 00:31:55.150 whatever, right? I'm not what really matters. 00:31:55.210 --> 00:31:58.269 It's not about me. So you don't want, it doesn't 00:31:58.269 --> 00:32:00.569 matter if I'm funny. It doesn't matter if I hold 00:32:00.569 --> 00:32:03.029 your attention. None of that matters. It's always 00:32:03.029 --> 00:32:05.430 about letting God speak through his word. And 00:32:05.430 --> 00:32:07.589 the best way to do that, this is our conviction, 00:32:07.809 --> 00:32:10.789 okay? Other churches may do it differently. This 00:32:10.789 --> 00:32:13.289 is our conviction, is that we should preach through 00:32:13.289 --> 00:32:15.630 entire books of the Bible from beginning to end. 00:32:16.690 --> 00:32:18.349 After all, that's the way they were written. 00:32:19.880 --> 00:32:21.720 And that's the way they were designed to be read. 00:32:22.140 --> 00:32:24.980 Imagine yourself for a second. Picture this scenario. 00:32:25.380 --> 00:32:27.480 You're a believer in a first century church. 00:32:28.240 --> 00:32:31.980 And the big news comes, the apostle Paul has 00:32:31.980 --> 00:32:34.920 written a letter. It's been copied and circulated 00:32:34.920 --> 00:32:37.559 and it's now arrived in your hands. And you're 00:32:37.559 --> 00:32:40.519 the preacher. And you get up on Sunday and you 00:32:40.519 --> 00:32:43.339 say, Paul's written a letter. And then you open 00:32:43.339 --> 00:32:45.720 the scroll and you go to the middle and you read 00:32:45.720 --> 00:32:49.000 like three verses. And then you close it up and 00:32:49.000 --> 00:32:51.440 you go, But let me grab the scroll from Peter 00:32:51.440 --> 00:32:53.940 or John, and I'm going to read a couple of verses 00:32:53.940 --> 00:32:57.400 there to make my point. Do you know what that 00:32:57.400 --> 00:33:00.480 congregation would do? They would question your 00:33:00.480 --> 00:33:02.920 sanity. They would say, just read Paul's letter. 00:33:04.079 --> 00:33:06.119 I want to read all of it from beginning to end 00:33:06.119 --> 00:33:08.359 because Paul has a whole big idea and a flow 00:33:08.359 --> 00:33:10.859 of thought and an argument, and we want to hear 00:33:10.859 --> 00:33:14.400 all of it. Don't just jump around. Does that 00:33:14.400 --> 00:33:18.099 make sense? So expository preaching works its 00:33:18.099 --> 00:33:20.700 way through the entire book of a Bible, explaining 00:33:20.700 --> 00:33:23.119 and applying. By the way, sometimes moving quickly 00:33:23.119 --> 00:33:25.740 and sometimes slowing down, depending on the 00:33:25.740 --> 00:33:28.720 context and the complexity of the passage. But 00:33:28.720 --> 00:33:31.519 ultimately, we want to teach you every word of 00:33:31.519 --> 00:33:34.460 every book. Here's the advantages to doing it 00:33:34.460 --> 00:33:37.339 this way. This is hopefully some things that 00:33:37.339 --> 00:33:39.839 will convict your heart as well as it's convicted 00:33:39.839 --> 00:33:42.180 ours. Number one, here's the advantage of this. 00:33:42.240 --> 00:33:44.359 It's the best way to make sure that the preacher 00:33:44.359 --> 00:33:46.500 doesn't stray from the text and just start doing 00:33:46.500 --> 00:33:50.700 his own thing. Right? Hey, we're going to cover 00:33:50.700 --> 00:33:52.940 these six verses today and then next week we're 00:33:52.940 --> 00:33:56.259 doing the next six. So it keeps that preacher 00:33:56.259 --> 00:33:58.359 on track. He's not out there doing his own thing. 00:33:58.720 --> 00:34:02.400 Number two, it authorizes the sermon. Meaning 00:34:02.400 --> 00:34:05.660 that... As the message comes out, you know it's 00:34:05.660 --> 00:34:09.199 from God and not from the guy. And that naturally 00:34:09.199 --> 00:34:12.420 happens. When you work your way through consecutive 00:34:12.420 --> 00:34:15.519 passages, one after the other, it can't help 00:34:15.519 --> 00:34:19.139 but be God's message, not your own. It authorizes 00:34:19.139 --> 00:34:21.579 the sermon. Number three, it teaches the congregation 00:34:21.579 --> 00:34:25.099 how to think through a whole book. And part of 00:34:25.099 --> 00:34:27.739 our job as pastors and elders is to help you 00:34:27.739 --> 00:34:30.360 to read, study, understand, interpret scripture 00:34:30.360 --> 00:34:34.099 for yourself. This helps you. You follow along 00:34:34.099 --> 00:34:36.960 passage to passage. You start to understand as 00:34:36.960 --> 00:34:40.139 we lay those on top of each other, the flow of 00:34:40.139 --> 00:34:42.219 the argument. What is it the author is trying 00:34:42.219 --> 00:34:45.570 to say? It helps you. as we're doing it. Number 00:34:45.570 --> 00:34:48.789 four, it introduces the congregation to the whole 00:34:48.789 --> 00:34:51.190 counsel of God. We are told that we should know 00:34:51.190 --> 00:34:53.750 the whole counsel of God, both Old Testament 00:34:53.750 --> 00:34:56.690 and New Testament, not just selected scriptures, 00:34:56.909 --> 00:35:00.230 not just things that the preacher wants to read, 00:35:00.309 --> 00:35:03.130 but the whole counsel of God. And number five, 00:35:03.150 --> 00:35:07.110 this is my least favorite, it forces the preacher 00:35:07.110 --> 00:35:10.550 to have to deal with really hard subjects. I 00:35:10.550 --> 00:35:13.960 don't get to go around things. Which so many 00:35:13.960 --> 00:35:17.920 preachers do. Be warned. They will work around 00:35:17.920 --> 00:35:22.860 things. When I look ahead to 1 Corinthians, it's 00:35:22.860 --> 00:35:26.099 daunting. I'm going to have to deal with a whole 00:35:26.099 --> 00:35:29.280 chapter on church discipline. And a chapter on 00:35:29.280 --> 00:35:33.820 male headship and head coverings for women. Pray 00:35:33.820 --> 00:35:37.440 for me. And I'm going to have to talk about divorce. 00:35:38.000 --> 00:35:39.840 And I'm going to have to talk about food sacrifice 00:35:39.840 --> 00:35:44.199 to idols. and a huge section on the gifts, the 00:35:44.199 --> 00:35:47.579 gift of tongues and prophecy and more. Really 00:35:47.579 --> 00:35:49.940 hard things. It's going to take extra work on 00:35:49.940 --> 00:35:52.039 my part, but I'm excited to jump into it. Let's 00:35:52.039 --> 00:35:56.059 go. But I could choose the opposite path. I could 00:35:56.059 --> 00:35:57.880 say, well, we're going to teach you 1 Corinthians 00:35:57.880 --> 00:36:00.579 topically, and then I could manipulate the series 00:36:00.579 --> 00:36:03.000 by avoiding all those really hard passages and 00:36:03.000 --> 00:36:04.780 touch on the subjects that are going to please 00:36:04.780 --> 00:36:07.619 the crowd and make everybody feel like you're 00:36:07.619 --> 00:36:13.210 okay. But that's not our goal. is it? And that 00:36:13.210 --> 00:36:15.110 brings me to the opposite of expository preaching, 00:36:15.429 --> 00:36:19.829 something we call topical preaching. Now, there 00:36:19.829 --> 00:36:21.829 is room for topical preaching in the life of 00:36:21.829 --> 00:36:24.750 a church. There is. In fact, sometimes it's really 00:36:24.750 --> 00:36:27.949 helpful in a particular season for an elder team 00:36:27.949 --> 00:36:30.570 to say, hey, we're going to hit pause and for 00:36:30.570 --> 00:36:32.590 six weeks we're going to cover this important 00:36:32.590 --> 00:36:34.610 subject. We've done that, for example, on communion. 00:36:34.829 --> 00:36:37.369 We've done that on membership. We've done that 00:36:37.369 --> 00:36:40.030 many times. By the way, this is a topical sermon 00:36:40.030 --> 00:36:42.449 that you're hearing today. So there are times 00:36:42.449 --> 00:36:46.409 for it, right? But here's the thing. A church 00:36:46.409 --> 00:36:49.670 should not have a steady diet of topical preaching. 00:36:50.590 --> 00:36:54.329 Not a steady diet. Because when it does, it means 00:36:54.329 --> 00:36:57.730 the preacher is setting the agenda. Not God. 00:36:58.230 --> 00:37:01.750 The preacher is determining what subjects you 00:37:01.750 --> 00:37:03.730 should hear about and which ones you shouldn't 00:37:03.730 --> 00:37:05.960 hear about. And where you find churches that 00:37:05.960 --> 00:37:08.139 don't want to preach on hard things for fear 00:37:08.139 --> 00:37:11.079 of offending or for fear that people might leave, 00:37:11.260 --> 00:37:14.699 in those places you will always find a steady 00:37:14.699 --> 00:37:18.400 diet of topical preaching. And in those places 00:37:18.400 --> 00:37:21.119 you'll find entire chapters, entire verses, entire 00:37:21.119 --> 00:37:24.800 books that will never be touched because of fear. 00:37:25.599 --> 00:37:28.360 They'll never be heard. And that is by design. 00:37:29.400 --> 00:37:31.739 So instead of me telling you what you need to 00:37:31.739 --> 00:37:34.320 hear, I want to let Scripture show you. what 00:37:34.320 --> 00:37:37.920 you need to hear. Make sense? Okay, did I beat 00:37:37.920 --> 00:37:42.860 that horse to death? Okay, good. Yes or no? Does 00:37:42.860 --> 00:37:45.760 everybody understand? Adam at okillbible .com 00:37:45.760 --> 00:37:50.059 with any questions. Adam is so busy, I don't 00:37:50.059 --> 00:37:53.880 know why. Okay, second conviction I want to talk 00:37:53.880 --> 00:37:55.900 about. This will be much shorter, so don't panic. 00:37:56.519 --> 00:37:58.800 But let me talk about the second thing that we 00:37:58.800 --> 00:38:00.780 really want to talk about. And this is what I 00:38:00.780 --> 00:38:04.090 call normative ministry in the church. At Oak 00:38:04.090 --> 00:38:07.150 Hill, we're convinced that normative ministry 00:38:07.150 --> 00:38:11.789 looks like this, steady, faithful, and ordinary. 00:38:13.670 --> 00:38:15.650 Now, that may not sound controversial, but let 00:38:15.650 --> 00:38:19.090 me expound on it. We live in an age where the 00:38:19.090 --> 00:38:22.170 goal of most churches, whether it's talked about 00:38:22.170 --> 00:38:26.329 openly or not, the goal is growth in numbers, 00:38:26.429 --> 00:38:29.730 always. And I know this to be true because I 00:38:29.730 --> 00:38:32.409 know too many pastors. And I've gone to too many 00:38:32.409 --> 00:38:35.150 pastors' conferences. And you know what the first 00:38:35.150 --> 00:38:36.789 question guys ask each other when they go to 00:38:36.789 --> 00:38:41.969 conferences? How big is your church? 100 % of 00:38:41.969 --> 00:38:45.210 the, am I right? All the time. It's the number 00:38:45.210 --> 00:38:47.610 one question. How big is your church? I know 00:38:47.610 --> 00:38:50.809 too many guys in church leadership. This is their 00:38:50.809 --> 00:38:53.949 obsession. And there's a reason for it. It's 00:38:53.949 --> 00:38:56.510 sort of built into us as human nature. You know, 00:38:56.610 --> 00:38:59.349 this equals success. Big church, successful. 00:38:59.949 --> 00:39:03.469 Small church, not successful. And it can become 00:39:03.469 --> 00:39:06.349 their identity. It's how they measure their worth 00:39:06.349 --> 00:39:09.429 before God. And when a church leader is driven 00:39:09.429 --> 00:39:12.110 by that kind of goal, they're always in the grip 00:39:12.110 --> 00:39:14.829 of a few great temptations. Number one is the 00:39:14.829 --> 00:39:17.550 temptation to compromise in the area of strategies 00:39:17.550 --> 00:39:20.190 for the sake of just growing the church, for 00:39:20.190 --> 00:39:23.550 putting people in seats. Compromise whatever 00:39:23.550 --> 00:39:26.230 it takes. Abandon biblical principles so that 00:39:26.230 --> 00:39:28.670 we can pump up the numbers and project, quote, 00:39:28.710 --> 00:39:32.070 worldly success. And then say, look what God 00:39:32.070 --> 00:39:36.849 has done. But it's a compromise. And so the guide 00:39:36.849 --> 00:39:39.110 in those types of churches in the back room is 00:39:39.110 --> 00:39:41.150 not really what scripture says. It's what works 00:39:41.150 --> 00:39:44.809 best. It's just practical. What works best to 00:39:44.809 --> 00:39:49.110 put people in seats. This is more common than 00:39:49.110 --> 00:39:52.099 you might think. So wherever you go in this world, 00:39:52.159 --> 00:39:54.460 make sure you have your eyes open and look for 00:39:54.460 --> 00:39:57.039 those red flags. The other great temptation of 00:39:57.039 --> 00:39:59.699 these kinds of churches, it's more subtle. It's 00:39:59.699 --> 00:40:02.579 the idea that lots and lots of activity equals 00:40:02.579 --> 00:40:06.000 godliness. Especially lots and lots of really 00:40:06.000 --> 00:40:09.519 big events, big exciting events. That equals 00:40:09.519 --> 00:40:14.840 success in ministry. We fill up the calendar 00:40:14.840 --> 00:40:17.539 with all kinds of programs and we seek after 00:40:17.539 --> 00:40:20.079 mountaintop experiences for our people that keep 00:40:20.079 --> 00:40:22.739 them excited so that they'll come back for more. 00:40:23.480 --> 00:40:27.039 And it's a constant spinning of the plates to 00:40:27.039 --> 00:40:28.659 make sure everybody's getting their dopamine 00:40:28.659 --> 00:40:32.739 hits in the church. Can I say that? Just keeping 00:40:32.739 --> 00:40:35.860 them excited. Hey, what's the next thing? In 00:40:35.860 --> 00:40:37.960 fact, if you pay close attention to most church 00:40:37.960 --> 00:40:40.900 announcements on social media. and I follow all 00:40:40.900 --> 00:40:43.099 the churches so I get to watch them, or even 00:40:43.099 --> 00:40:44.920 on Sunday mornings, you will hear the word excited 00:40:44.920 --> 00:40:48.980 so many times it'll make your head spin. We're 00:40:48.980 --> 00:40:53.300 so excited. Everything is so exciting. We're 00:40:53.300 --> 00:41:01.079 just excited. Ah. It's the mantra of church marketing. 00:41:03.119 --> 00:41:05.099 And you'll find many churches filling up their 00:41:05.099 --> 00:41:07.500 social media with this constant drumbeat of big, 00:41:07.519 --> 00:41:10.869 exciting news. And then it's conferences and 00:41:10.869 --> 00:41:13.190 guest speakers and retreats and concerts and 00:41:13.190 --> 00:41:16.349 celebrity appearances, all supported by big lights 00:41:16.349 --> 00:41:19.949 and big sound by the big worship team. And it's 00:41:19.949 --> 00:41:21.429 all too common. Now, I don't want you to get 00:41:21.429 --> 00:41:24.389 the wrong impression. All the things I just mentioned, 00:41:24.449 --> 00:41:26.570 they can be good and healthy and actually edifying 00:41:26.570 --> 00:41:28.809 to the body. They can be a healthy part of the 00:41:28.809 --> 00:41:34.130 life of a congregation if the goal and the motivation 00:41:34.130 --> 00:41:37.849 is biblical and correct. And that's a big if. 00:41:39.059 --> 00:41:43.480 Now, we plan events at Oak Hill, right? Right? 00:41:43.840 --> 00:41:48.440 We just last week, we had tacos. Was it exciting? 00:41:50.940 --> 00:41:53.340 I mean, I was pretty excited. They were delicious. 00:41:53.460 --> 00:41:56.420 Thank you, Ken. So, you know, we celebrated our 00:41:56.420 --> 00:41:58.440 anniversary. That was fantastic, right? We do 00:41:58.440 --> 00:42:05.139 church at the beach, which is exciting. I mean, 00:42:05.179 --> 00:42:07.760 almost, in ministry, almost you can't stop yourself 00:42:07.760 --> 00:42:11.460 from saying it. We do a chili cook -off. We do, 00:42:11.519 --> 00:42:13.920 you know, scramble events. You know, and we do 00:42:13.920 --> 00:42:17.500 have retreats, right? Men's retreats. Look, they're 00:42:17.500 --> 00:42:20.280 good things, but here's where it can go wrong. 00:42:20.619 --> 00:42:22.480 Is that what we're really building the church 00:42:22.480 --> 00:42:26.980 on? The next big thing. This is the conviction 00:42:26.980 --> 00:42:29.800 that we have. One mountaintop experience after 00:42:29.800 --> 00:42:34.059 another is not good. Just constant this, constant 00:42:34.059 --> 00:42:38.039 this, right? The dopamine hits. Kick the market 00:42:38.039 --> 00:42:39.880 plan into gear. Get the people really excited 00:42:39.880 --> 00:42:41.900 about the next big thing. Flood the calendar 00:42:41.900 --> 00:42:45.099 with a million options. And here's the fallacy 00:42:45.099 --> 00:42:48.059 of it, that that will automatically produce spiritual 00:42:48.059 --> 00:42:52.280 maturity. All the activity will just, it'll magically 00:42:52.280 --> 00:42:55.019 make people grow. If people are just participating, 00:42:55.219 --> 00:42:58.500 if they're just involved in everything. But we 00:42:58.500 --> 00:43:01.460 found that that's not true. One of the great 00:43:01.460 --> 00:43:04.539 truisms that I... that I learned in ministry 00:43:04.539 --> 00:43:06.800 many years ago comes from Mark Dever, and I'll 00:43:06.800 --> 00:43:09.039 put the quote on the screen because this is so 00:43:09.039 --> 00:43:11.179 valuable for anybody that ever goes into ministry, 00:43:11.340 --> 00:43:15.199 right? What you win people with is what you win 00:43:15.199 --> 00:43:18.980 people to. So if you attract people to your church 00:43:18.980 --> 00:43:21.780 with big events, what do you have to keep feeding 00:43:21.780 --> 00:43:25.380 them to keep them happy? More big events. In 00:43:25.380 --> 00:43:27.880 fact, you've got to get bigger and bigger, right? 00:43:28.000 --> 00:43:30.900 It's like a drug. More events, more things. Otherwise, 00:43:30.940 --> 00:43:33.519 what? They might go, Oh gosh, we're a little 00:43:33.519 --> 00:43:35.579 slow on big events, but oh, that church down 00:43:35.579 --> 00:43:39.840 the street, big event coming up, right? Or if 00:43:39.840 --> 00:43:42.039 you bring them in with tons of programs and you 00:43:42.039 --> 00:43:43.920 got to keep launching new programs for every 00:43:43.920 --> 00:43:45.579 little need in the body. You know, we've got 00:43:45.579 --> 00:43:48.380 a group for every, for left -handed women in 00:43:48.380 --> 00:43:52.860 college or, you know, we got to have a specific 00:43:52.860 --> 00:43:55.400 group for everything, right? Because at some 00:43:55.400 --> 00:43:58.099 point somebody may go, oh, you know what? There's 00:43:58.099 --> 00:44:00.239 not a group that meets my, oh, that church has 00:44:00.239 --> 00:44:03.059 that group. And they're out the door. What you 00:44:03.059 --> 00:44:04.639 win them with is what you win them to. Do we 00:44:04.639 --> 00:44:08.480 have any left -handed college women? Okay, yeah, 00:44:08.480 --> 00:44:11.820 yeah. But you get my point, right? What you win 00:44:11.820 --> 00:44:14.880 them with is what you win them to. So as an elder 00:44:14.880 --> 00:44:17.059 team, this is what we believe the antidote to 00:44:17.059 --> 00:44:21.059 that kind of mindset is. Just steady, faithful, 00:44:21.099 --> 00:44:24.230 ordinary ministry. Day after day, week after 00:44:24.230 --> 00:44:26.789 week, month after month, year after year, it 00:44:26.789 --> 00:44:29.670 is the regular grind of walking with one another 00:44:29.670 --> 00:44:34.150 through life and ministering to each other. Now, 00:44:34.190 --> 00:44:36.909 I know that doesn't sound exciting, but it's 00:44:36.909 --> 00:44:40.190 beautiful. It's actually what the Bible describes. 00:44:41.429 --> 00:44:44.269 So again, if the word is truth, look, again, 00:44:44.369 --> 00:44:47.250 retreats and all those things can be okay, but 00:44:47.250 --> 00:44:49.730 they're not found in the Bible. What is found 00:44:49.730 --> 00:44:52.360 in the Bible are things like Regular fellowship 00:44:52.360 --> 00:44:57.500 and consistent prayer and ongoing discipleship 00:44:57.500 --> 00:45:01.380 and outreach and evangelism in our community 00:45:01.380 --> 00:45:06.139 and seeking unity as a body and mutual encouragement 00:45:06.139 --> 00:45:09.699 and serving one another and gathering on Sundays 00:45:09.699 --> 00:45:12.360 and engaging in the preaching of the word, opening 00:45:12.360 --> 00:45:14.400 ourselves up to accountability and confession, 00:45:14.760 --> 00:45:18.320 bearing one another's burdens, loving each other 00:45:18.320 --> 00:45:21.650 well. That is steady, faithful, ordinary ministry. 00:45:22.510 --> 00:45:25.030 It's found in the word, rooted in the truth. 00:45:26.070 --> 00:45:28.050 And we believe that is normative Christianity. 00:45:29.230 --> 00:45:32.090 Those are the things we want to win people with. 00:45:33.789 --> 00:45:36.590 Because if you'll buy into that, if you'll say, 00:45:36.670 --> 00:45:39.449 that's what I want, man, we got opportunities 00:45:39.449 --> 00:45:42.289 for you to do that all day long. And it's good 00:45:42.289 --> 00:45:44.050 and it's biblical. That's what will win you too. 00:45:44.909 --> 00:45:47.289 And you can be a part of this amazing community 00:45:47.289 --> 00:45:50.079 of believers. And yes, by the way, we're going 00:45:50.079 --> 00:45:53.019 to sprinkle in fun events. That's okay. That's 00:45:53.019 --> 00:45:55.119 actually really good, right? Think of our church 00:45:55.119 --> 00:45:58.179 events that we have like a delicious piece of 00:45:58.179 --> 00:46:01.760 cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. It's 00:46:01.760 --> 00:46:04.360 like, I mean, you take me to Cheesecake Factory. 00:46:04.460 --> 00:46:09.800 Have I said that out loud yet? Oh, man, double 00:46:09.800 --> 00:46:14.860 fudge ripple, whatever. But you can't have that 00:46:14.860 --> 00:46:18.480 as your steady diet. But when you get it, it 00:46:18.480 --> 00:46:21.139 is amazing. It's the bomb, man. It's just so 00:46:21.139 --> 00:46:24.000 good. And that's how church events should be. 00:46:24.059 --> 00:46:25.940 Those should be really rich, precious times, 00:46:26.000 --> 00:46:29.000 but it can't be the steady diet. Does that make 00:46:29.000 --> 00:46:33.460 sense? In church life, things can be occasional 00:46:33.460 --> 00:46:37.460 and awesome, and they can be received with thanksgiving 00:46:37.460 --> 00:46:39.559 and enjoyed to the fullest. God gives us all 00:46:39.559 --> 00:46:42.340 things to enjoy, but it's the living out of the 00:46:42.340 --> 00:46:45.010 ordinary essentials of the faith. that should 00:46:45.010 --> 00:46:49.369 get us the most excited. So let me close with 00:46:49.369 --> 00:46:52.550 this. Let me come back to this. What are you 00:46:52.550 --> 00:46:55.389 supposed to do with this that I've just laid 00:46:55.389 --> 00:46:59.309 out today? Let me give you a couple things. First, 00:46:59.429 --> 00:47:00.969 I really want you to consider what I've shared 00:47:00.969 --> 00:47:03.869 this morning. And I want each of you, not just 00:47:03.869 --> 00:47:05.949 to believe me, but go ahead and hold what I've 00:47:05.949 --> 00:47:08.570 said up to scripture and to practical wisdom. 00:47:08.690 --> 00:47:11.530 Test it. That's a good exercise for all of us. 00:47:11.670 --> 00:47:15.440 Second, Ask any questions you might have. If 00:47:15.440 --> 00:47:17.139 what I've said this morning raises a question, 00:47:17.300 --> 00:47:19.420 will you reach out to me? There is never a bad 00:47:19.420 --> 00:47:22.000 question in church ministry. Reach out to me 00:47:22.000 --> 00:47:24.239 or to another elder. Say, I need some more clarity 00:47:24.239 --> 00:47:26.599 on this. I want to make sure that I understand 00:47:26.599 --> 00:47:30.659 this well. Third, be encouraged that your leaders 00:47:30.659 --> 00:47:33.880 actually think about these things. That our elder 00:47:33.880 --> 00:47:36.159 team takes them seriously. That we spend the 00:47:36.159 --> 00:47:39.280 time and the energy to develop convictions about 00:47:39.280 --> 00:47:42.340 them because they matter to you. They matter 00:47:42.340 --> 00:47:44.280 to all of us together. Be encouraged that our 00:47:44.280 --> 00:47:47.059 goal is always to bring glory to God and to see 00:47:47.059 --> 00:47:51.380 you grow spiritually, never to compromise what 00:47:51.380 --> 00:47:53.960 we know to be true, never to chase after trends 00:47:53.960 --> 00:47:56.960 or try to market ourselves into worldly success 00:47:56.960 --> 00:48:01.320 or church growth for the sake of numbers. And 00:48:01.320 --> 00:48:03.420 finally, number four, don't just rely on our 00:48:03.420 --> 00:48:07.059 convictions, develop your own. It's good that 00:48:07.059 --> 00:48:09.139 if you follow our example, right? Follow me as 00:48:09.139 --> 00:48:11.780 I follow Christ. but develop your own convictions. 00:48:11.940 --> 00:48:14.239 Paul told the Roman church that's exactly what 00:48:14.239 --> 00:48:16.199 they should be doing. He said, look, in non -essential 00:48:16.199 --> 00:48:18.920 matters, each man should be fully convinced in 00:48:18.920 --> 00:48:21.420 his own mind. You should develop convictions. 00:48:22.340 --> 00:48:24.840 Explore these ideas by the way of the word and 00:48:24.840 --> 00:48:27.440 in prayer and consultation with your leaders 00:48:27.440 --> 00:48:30.219 and let's do this together. Let's get to work 00:48:30.219 --> 00:48:33.460 building the kingdom of God with steady, faithful, 00:48:33.519 --> 00:48:37.039 ordinary ministry that powers this local church. 00:48:38.019 --> 00:48:42.389 Amen? Thanks for hearing me out. Let's pray. 00:48:52.250 --> 00:48:56.730 Father, these issues of ministry philosophy, 00:48:56.989 --> 00:49:01.070 of church life can be so confusing, God, because 00:49:01.070 --> 00:49:04.349 of all the activity that's happening down here 00:49:04.349 --> 00:49:07.489 on the earth and well -meaning folks and folks 00:49:07.489 --> 00:49:09.960 that may not be well -meaning, but but so many 00:49:09.960 --> 00:49:12.539 different variations and varieties of church 00:49:12.539 --> 00:49:15.619 to look at and to try to understand. And it can 00:49:15.619 --> 00:49:17.500 all be overwhelming, Lord. So many books being 00:49:17.500 --> 00:49:21.159 written. And Father, I just, I pray today that 00:49:21.159 --> 00:49:23.119 more than anything else, we would just come back 00:49:23.119 --> 00:49:26.000 to your word and we would focus our hearts and 00:49:26.000 --> 00:49:28.619 minds there on biblical principles. What does 00:49:28.619 --> 00:49:31.659 it look like to be a part of the greater body 00:49:31.659 --> 00:49:35.260 of Christ, but also a local body of Christ? And 00:49:35.260 --> 00:49:37.340 because of that, Lord, how does that impact us? 00:49:37.420 --> 00:49:41.340 And what should we do next? Father, I pray that 00:49:41.340 --> 00:49:45.119 you will continue to guide and lead our elder 00:49:45.119 --> 00:49:48.139 team as we seek unity in these important convictions, 00:49:48.260 --> 00:49:50.639 that we would take them seriously and that we 00:49:50.639 --> 00:49:55.559 would lead this flock of sheep with care and 00:49:55.559 --> 00:49:58.480 just being careful, Lord, to love them well and 00:49:58.480 --> 00:50:01.239 to not give them whiplash, but to walk with them 00:50:01.239 --> 00:50:04.110 patiently and kindly as we... as we take this 00:50:04.110 --> 00:50:06.309 journey through life together. And that's what 00:50:06.309 --> 00:50:07.889 it is, Lord. We want to love each other well. 00:50:07.989 --> 00:50:10.989 So help us to do that. And Father, now as we 00:50:10.989 --> 00:50:14.389 sing praises to you once again, may we sing with 00:50:14.389 --> 00:50:17.130 all honesty. May it come from the depths of our 00:50:17.130 --> 00:50:19.150 heart as we praise you for your goodness in our 00:50:19.150 --> 00:50:22.489 lives. Help us to do that well, we pray in Christ's 00:50:22.489 --> 00:50:22.690 name.