WEBVTT 00:00:01.409 --> 00:00:06.830 Let's pray together once again. Heavenly Father, 00:00:06.849 --> 00:00:11.250 we are thankful to be your children. We are thankful 00:00:11.250 --> 00:00:15.810 to be under your care. To have you as our Father, 00:00:15.970 --> 00:00:19.469 as our King, as our Savior, our intercessor, 00:00:20.570 --> 00:00:26.530 our helper and friend. We come again now to ask 00:00:26.530 --> 00:00:28.989 for your help, confessing our weaknesses and 00:00:28.989 --> 00:00:33.259 inabilities. Understand and comprehend your word 00:00:33.259 --> 00:00:38.359 to teach it to in any way accomplishing Accomplish 00:00:38.359 --> 00:00:42.640 anything good in this time apart from you So 00:00:42.640 --> 00:00:44.979 we ask you to own it. We ask you to own it for 00:00:44.979 --> 00:00:49.719 your own glory for our good that you would Enable 00:00:49.719 --> 00:00:53.179 us to be submissive to the Holy Spirit to apply 00:00:53.179 --> 00:00:56.079 all that we hear to ourselves and to no one else 00:00:57.730 --> 00:01:00.369 Thank you for this word this morning father and 00:01:00.369 --> 00:01:03.969 we come with confidence Knowing that you will 00:01:03.969 --> 00:01:06.569 accomplish all of your perfect purposes and will 00:01:06.569 --> 00:01:10.730 in the hearts of your people So we do ask again 00:01:10.730 --> 00:01:13.189 though this morning for the loss that those who 00:01:13.189 --> 00:01:15.769 were gathered here amongst your people and in 00:01:15.769 --> 00:01:18.689 other places as well that is that are Accurately 00:01:18.689 --> 00:01:20.989 proclaiming your word that you would have mercy 00:01:20.989 --> 00:01:24.950 on some Grant repentance and faith bring them 00:01:24.950 --> 00:01:27.790 unto Christ that they would join their voices 00:01:27.790 --> 00:01:32.329 with ours in the great chorus of praise We ask 00:01:32.329 --> 00:01:37.390 it all in Christ's name Well today we're going 00:01:37.390 --> 00:01:42.489 to be finishing up our series of messages on 00:01:42.489 --> 00:01:49.129 the church And no series of messages on the church 00:01:49.129 --> 00:01:51.969 would be complete without considering the role 00:01:51.969 --> 00:01:56.609 of are the ministry of the elders in the church. 00:01:57.890 --> 00:02:01.010 So that's what we will be looking at this morning. 00:02:03.329 --> 00:02:07.609 Hopefully, as the Lord enables, we will understand 00:02:07.609 --> 00:02:12.449 that the ministry of the elders is greatly dependent 00:02:12.449 --> 00:02:21.479 upon the people of the church. We'll start then 00:02:21.479 --> 00:02:27.719 in Ephesians chapter 4 I want to turn there with 00:02:27.719 --> 00:02:40.520 me Christ is ascended and in verse 8 We read 00:02:40.520 --> 00:02:45.099 wherefore he saith When he ascended up on high 00:02:45.099 --> 00:02:49.639 he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto 00:02:49.639 --> 00:02:54.699 men. So when Christ perfectly completed his ministry 00:02:54.699 --> 00:02:58.860 on the earth, his ministry was continued in heaven 00:02:58.860 --> 00:03:01.919 as the great intercessor, of course, and the 00:03:01.919 --> 00:03:07.879 giver of gifts. And so we would expect Paul to 00:03:07.879 --> 00:03:11.020 enumerate those gifts, some of them anyway, in 00:03:11.020 --> 00:03:15.479 the following verses, and he does so. So in verse 00:03:15.479 --> 00:03:21.719 11 we read, and He gave some apostles, some prophets, 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:26.099 some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers 00:03:26.099 --> 00:03:29.819 for the perfecting of the saints, for the work 00:03:29.819 --> 00:03:35.979 of the ministry, for the edifying of the body 00:03:35.979 --> 00:03:40.159 of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the 00:03:40.159 --> 00:03:44.379 faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God 00:03:44.379 --> 00:03:48.389 unto a perfect man. unto the measure of the stature 00:03:48.389 --> 00:03:53.370 of the fullness of Christ. So here we find the 00:03:53.370 --> 00:03:58.490 source of the elders of the church. Lo and behold, 00:03:58.610 --> 00:04:01.550 they don't come of their own selves, of their 00:04:01.550 --> 00:04:05.189 own power, or their own desire. They don't come 00:04:05.189 --> 00:04:08.370 because somebody else thought that they should 00:04:08.370 --> 00:04:11.689 be an elder. They don't come because they went 00:04:11.689 --> 00:04:15.849 to school. for three years of graduate school 00:04:15.849 --> 00:04:19.689 to become qualified to become an elder, none 00:04:19.689 --> 00:04:24.889 of those things are mentioned. What is mentioned 00:04:24.889 --> 00:04:29.370 is that the elders are a gift of God. The source 00:04:29.370 --> 00:04:35.370 of the elder is God Himself. And through the 00:04:35.370 --> 00:04:39.990 workings of many different ways and through many 00:04:39.990 --> 00:04:44.000 different people, He somehow gets his people 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:49.120 in the eldership Unfortunately, we can't say 00:04:49.120 --> 00:04:56.240 that All elders are gifts from God we all have 00:04:56.240 --> 00:05:03.439 experienced plenty of problems with elders Right 00:05:03.439 --> 00:05:13.160 not making it up So but We need to just really 00:05:13.160 --> 00:05:19.920 confine this to ourselves and so I Just ask I 00:05:19.920 --> 00:05:24.759 ask the elders I ask you is this true of us? 00:05:25.459 --> 00:05:31.939 Have we as elders been? Called set apart given 00:05:31.939 --> 00:05:37.040 the gift of being an elder and as you as a congregation 00:05:37.040 --> 00:05:41.709 to you have undeniable proof or at least a degree 00:05:41.709 --> 00:05:45.389 of confidence that the elders who serve the church 00:05:45.389 --> 00:05:49.110 here are indeed of God. That we are the gift 00:05:49.110 --> 00:05:53.529 of God for this church. Now how we view each 00:05:53.529 --> 00:05:58.829 other is important, obviously. Hopefully that 00:05:58.829 --> 00:06:04.110 we all agree on that. That the elders here were 00:06:04.110 --> 00:06:08.439 given by God. and that everybody is here, that's 00:06:08.439 --> 00:06:15.420 here, is put here by God. So what's the purpose? 00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:19.720 The source is God Himself, we've seen that. What's 00:06:19.720 --> 00:06:23.160 the purpose of the elder? He tells us that too. 00:06:23.800 --> 00:06:26.259 He says, for the perfecting of the saints, for 00:06:26.259 --> 00:06:28.800 the work of the ministry, for the edifying of 00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:36.209 the body of Christ. That's what elders do. They 00:06:36.209 --> 00:06:41.850 enable the membership of the church to grow in 00:06:41.850 --> 00:06:45.029 their faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ so 00:06:45.029 --> 00:06:49.670 that they can minister. So they can be effective 00:06:49.670 --> 00:06:52.970 ministers of Christ. That's what it says, right? 00:06:53.610 --> 00:06:55.870 Perfecting of the saints for the work of the 00:06:55.870 --> 00:06:59.949 ministry. Now if you think that the only ministry 00:06:59.949 --> 00:07:02.290 of the church is the elders, obviously we're 00:07:02.290 --> 00:07:06.899 not thinking right about that either. Our whole 00:07:06.899 --> 00:07:10.819 life is a life of worship and ministry. And we 00:07:10.819 --> 00:07:15.540 need to be constantly equipped for it. We need 00:07:15.540 --> 00:07:20.560 the elders to help us to do that. That's what 00:07:20.560 --> 00:07:24.319 the elders are here for. That you might be able 00:07:24.319 --> 00:07:27.959 to live a Christian life. That you might be able 00:07:27.959 --> 00:07:32.480 to go through this life doing what God has called 00:07:32.480 --> 00:07:37.379 you to do, whatever that is. Remember, if you're 00:07:37.379 --> 00:07:39.720 a doctor, you're supposed to be the best doctor 00:07:39.720 --> 00:07:42.379 that you can possibly be, to the glory and honor 00:07:42.379 --> 00:07:48.839 of God, giving all praise and glory to God. If 00:07:48.839 --> 00:07:51.579 you're a carpenter, it's the same thing. It's 00:07:51.579 --> 00:07:54.800 no less of a calling. It's no less of a ministry, 00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:59.519 to be the best carpenter that you can be, to 00:07:59.519 --> 00:08:02.439 be a witness wherever God has put you. That's 00:08:02.439 --> 00:08:04.560 what we're talking about here. The work of the 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:09.220 ministry. All of life is ministry if you understand 00:08:09.220 --> 00:08:14.399 it properly. So that's the purpose. That's what 00:08:14.399 --> 00:08:21.100 we're trying to do here. To what end or what 00:08:21.100 --> 00:08:28.000 is the goal? Tells us that too. Verse 13. So 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:31.920 we all come in the unity of the faith. Now the 00:08:31.920 --> 00:08:34.539 unity of the faith is the truth of the faith, 00:08:34.779 --> 00:08:37.460 the truth of the gospel. That's our faith, the 00:08:37.460 --> 00:08:41.500 truth of God. We all worship the right Jesus. 00:08:43.259 --> 00:08:46.100 We've all come in a unity to believe the right 00:08:46.100 --> 00:08:51.320 things about Jesus. That's what it means, the 00:08:51.320 --> 00:08:53.860 unity of the faith. It's not talking about our 00:08:53.860 --> 00:08:59.950 belief. It's talking about what we believe. So 00:08:59.950 --> 00:09:02.629 we all come to the unity of the faith and of 00:09:02.629 --> 00:09:05.370 the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect 00:09:05.370 --> 00:09:08.309 man unto the measure of the stature of the fullness 00:09:08.309 --> 00:09:12.090 of Christ In other words being transformed day 00:09:12.090 --> 00:09:16.090 by day into the fullness of Christ That's the 00:09:16.090 --> 00:09:19.909 goal being perfect being complete in him. When 00:09:19.909 --> 00:09:21.889 will that happen? Well, we all know we've said 00:09:21.889 --> 00:09:24.309 it a thousand times It doesn't have it's not 00:09:24.309 --> 00:09:28.100 going to be perfect till we get to heaven So 00:09:28.100 --> 00:09:31.500 what? Well, so that ministry then goes on and 00:09:31.500 --> 00:09:35.899 on indefinitely. It never runs out of steam. 00:09:35.960 --> 00:09:40.340 It's never unnecessary. It's a continuing ongoing 00:09:40.340 --> 00:09:45.980 thing. Shooting for the goal. That we would all 00:09:45.980 --> 00:09:48.460 come to the unity of faith. That we would all 00:09:48.460 --> 00:09:51.000 have the truth. We would all believe the truth. 00:09:52.840 --> 00:09:55.559 That we would all be conforming ourselves unto 00:09:55.559 --> 00:10:01.409 the fullness of Christ. That's the goal. That's 00:10:01.409 --> 00:10:06.809 what elders are working toward. And they're continually 00:10:06.809 --> 00:10:12.070 working to accomplish that mission, that ministry. 00:10:14.850 --> 00:10:18.870 So all that I want to go over to Acts, and we'll 00:10:18.870 --> 00:10:22.769 spend the rest of the time however long it would 00:10:22.769 --> 00:10:40.179 be. In Acts chapter 20, This is Paul's farewell 00:10:40.179 --> 00:10:45.200 address to the Ephesian elders. He spent three 00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:49.500 years in Ephesus teaching and training these 00:10:49.500 --> 00:10:53.740 elders, admonishing publicly, privately, from 00:10:53.740 --> 00:10:57.559 house to house. and doesn't tell us how many 00:10:57.559 --> 00:11:00.360 elders there were but there were a number of 00:11:00.360 --> 00:11:06.320 them. And so he gives them this exhortation in 00:11:06.320 --> 00:11:11.559 verse 28. Take heed therefore unto yourselves 00:11:11.559 --> 00:11:14.580 and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost 00:11:14.580 --> 00:11:18.000 hath made you overseers to feed the Church of 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:21.340 God which he hath purchased with his own blood. 00:11:22.740 --> 00:11:26.419 For I know after this that after my departing 00:11:26.419 --> 00:11:30.080 shall grievous wolves enter in among you not 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:33.820 sparing the flock also of your own self shall 00:11:33.820 --> 00:11:37.879 men arise speaking perverse things to draw away 00:11:37.879 --> 00:11:51.399 disciples after them so take heed you might have 00:11:51.399 --> 00:11:57.269 be on alert or pay careful attention to. King 00:11:57.269 --> 00:12:00.990 James obviously says, take heed. The verb there 00:12:00.990 --> 00:12:04.710 is a continuous action verb, just like in the 00:12:04.710 --> 00:12:09.549 Ephesians passage. It's an ongoing verb. It never 00:12:09.549 --> 00:12:14.830 stops. We never have taken heed enough. We never 00:12:14.830 --> 00:12:18.049 have paid careful attention, and so therefore 00:12:18.049 --> 00:12:22.350 we can stop paying careful attention. It's ongoing. 00:12:22.889 --> 00:12:28.210 Take heed. The first thing he admonishes them 00:12:28.210 --> 00:12:31.889 then is to take heed therefore unto yourselves. 00:12:33.509 --> 00:12:37.029 So he wants these elders to take heed for themselves. 00:12:38.909 --> 00:12:42.370 Now everything I'm about to say obviously is 00:12:42.370 --> 00:12:46.230 going to apply to the congregation as well. But 00:12:46.230 --> 00:12:49.990 Paul's not initially addressing their attitude 00:12:49.990 --> 00:12:52.970 or their responsibilities or ministry to the 00:12:52.970 --> 00:12:55.669 congregation. He's expressing the ministry to 00:12:55.669 --> 00:13:01.029 themselves. So elders, elders who are elders, 00:13:01.350 --> 00:13:08.169 must take heed to ourselves. We must pay particular 00:13:08.169 --> 00:13:16.149 attention to our character. We must pay particular 00:13:16.149 --> 00:13:21.070 attention to what we're learning. how we're learning. 00:13:23.250 --> 00:13:26.190 We must pay particular attention to our prayer 00:13:26.190 --> 00:13:33.250 lives. We must pay particular attention to the 00:13:33.250 --> 00:13:38.629 group as a whole. The ministry of the elder begins 00:13:38.629 --> 00:13:43.350 with the elders. If we see a problem with an 00:13:43.350 --> 00:13:46.799 elder then we are to confront that problem. If 00:13:46.799 --> 00:13:49.539 we see that one of the elders needs help, we're 00:13:49.539 --> 00:13:54.000 to give that help. We're to be constantly on 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:58.759 watch for one another as elders. That's our responsibility. 00:14:00.139 --> 00:14:04.220 That's taking heed to ourselves. We've got to 00:14:04.220 --> 00:14:08.820 be concerned in all areas of our lives that there 00:14:08.820 --> 00:14:13.200 can be no shame or disgrace or dishonor brought 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:17.799 unto Christ. the Christian ministry or in our 00:14:17.799 --> 00:14:24.299 case believers chapel because of us. That's what 00:14:24.299 --> 00:14:28.299 we're taking heed to. We're taking heed to what 00:14:28.299 --> 00:14:36.360 we teach. We spend hours on what we teach. What 00:14:36.360 --> 00:14:38.639 should we be teaching? What's the next subject? 00:14:38.759 --> 00:14:42.500 What's the next book? When we've established 00:14:42.500 --> 00:14:45.919 the topic or the book Well, we got to get it 00:14:45.919 --> 00:14:48.679 right it has to be studied it has to be figured 00:14:48.679 --> 00:14:53.440 out and Then after we've done all of that we 00:14:53.440 --> 00:14:59.279 have to apply it to ourselves Before we ever 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:04.480 say a word about it to the congregation There's 00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:08.259 no freedom there's no freedom up here preaching 00:15:08.259 --> 00:15:11.539 to other people if we haven't preached the same 00:15:11.539 --> 00:15:15.120 word to ourselves If we haven't taken the Word 00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:18.960 of God seriously in our own lives, believe me, 00:15:19.740 --> 00:15:24.340 we can't preach it to you. I'm confident. I'm 00:15:24.340 --> 00:15:28.919 speaking for the eldership. I know I'm speaking 00:15:28.919 --> 00:15:36.399 for myself. The power comes through receiving 00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:42.019 what God has for us first and then for the congregation. 00:15:44.039 --> 00:15:49.480 That's how we take heed. We submit ourselves 00:15:49.480 --> 00:15:55.220 unto the Word of God. We learn from Him. We grow, 00:15:55.460 --> 00:15:58.379 we're conformed more into the fullness of Christ 00:15:58.379 --> 00:16:01.639 through the Word, the study of the Word, through 00:16:01.639 --> 00:16:05.340 the reading of books, what all different areas 00:16:05.340 --> 00:16:08.659 and avenues that God takes us down, personal 00:16:08.659 --> 00:16:13.679 conversations, acquaintances. hearing something 00:16:13.679 --> 00:16:22.419 from you all. You never can finish being conformed 00:16:22.419 --> 00:16:27.720 to Jesus Christ. You've never adequately completed 00:16:27.720 --> 00:16:31.740 the task of being conformed to Jesus Christ. 00:16:32.220 --> 00:16:37.639 And really, if we are elders in deed, we have 00:16:37.639 --> 00:16:42.279 to admit that we've never... We have never exposited 00:16:42.279 --> 00:16:50.620 a text to its fullest extent. We can't do it. 00:16:50.860 --> 00:16:55.179 It's impossible. We do what we can. We do the 00:16:55.179 --> 00:16:59.779 best that we can. We try to get the word in a 00:16:59.779 --> 00:17:05.200 way that is edifying to ourselves and then edifying 00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:09.130 to the church, but we never. We can go back to 00:17:09.130 --> 00:17:11.410 the same text the next year, the next month. 00:17:11.410 --> 00:17:14.029 We'll get something else out of it. We know that. 00:17:16.269 --> 00:17:21.690 We know our limitations. Conrad used to tell 00:17:21.690 --> 00:17:25.170 me all the time, God's got very few silver trumpeters. 00:17:27.210 --> 00:17:32.789 He's got a whole lot of buglers. That's what 00:17:32.789 --> 00:17:38.309 we are here, is buglers. Maybe God's gonna raise 00:17:38.309 --> 00:17:43.809 up amongst you all a silver trumpet He hasn't 00:17:43.809 --> 00:17:52.230 yet So take heed to ourselves as a group as individuals 00:17:52.230 --> 00:17:58.230 Take heed to all the flack over which the Holy 00:17:58.230 --> 00:18:04.150 Ghost hath made you overseers Now as I said before 00:18:04.150 --> 00:18:09.740 is this how you view the eldership Notice it 00:18:09.740 --> 00:18:15.180 says all, all the flock. It doesn't say it's 00:18:15.180 --> 00:18:18.539 okay for part of the flock. It's alright if you 00:18:18.539 --> 00:18:23.380 don't handle all of the flock. That guy's too 00:18:23.380 --> 00:18:27.519 tough. He's too set in his ways. I know that 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:30.200 you're not going to be able to minister to some 00:18:30.200 --> 00:18:34.720 of these people. That's not what it says. It 00:18:34.720 --> 00:18:37.720 says you're to minister to all of the flock that 00:18:37.720 --> 00:18:41.400 God has made you an overseer. Everybody that's 00:18:41.400 --> 00:18:44.680 here, in other words, God has put under these 00:18:44.680 --> 00:18:51.000 elders, this eldership, all of you, you're all 00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:57.460 to be ministered to as the flock of God. None 00:18:57.460 --> 00:19:04.339 can escape. Well, how do we do it? How does an 00:19:04.339 --> 00:19:09.140 elder properly exercise his eldership in the 00:19:09.140 --> 00:19:14.700 Church of God? Well, the first thing we've talked 00:19:14.700 --> 00:19:18.460 about this many times is the relationship that 00:19:18.460 --> 00:19:23.079 the elders have with the flock, with the people. 00:19:24.900 --> 00:19:27.319 Do we have good relationships with the people? 00:19:28.279 --> 00:19:33.450 Do we know them? Do we know your strengths, your 00:19:33.450 --> 00:19:38.289 weaknesses, your needs? Do we have an acquaintance 00:19:38.289 --> 00:19:41.269 at least? Hopefully we have a real friendship 00:19:41.269 --> 00:19:50.250 with everybody here. How can we minister if we 00:19:50.250 --> 00:19:55.750 don't know you? It's impossible. How can we be 00:19:55.750 --> 00:20:02.059 useful if we don't know you? And you know I don't 00:20:02.059 --> 00:20:10.900 mean just know who you are. So assuming then 00:20:10.900 --> 00:20:23.460 that we do have this relationship, how does ministry 00:20:23.460 --> 00:20:31.299 take place? If you read any type of instruction, 00:20:31.460 --> 00:20:35.900 if you've ever read any preaching books, the 00:20:35.900 --> 00:20:40.259 beginning of the instruction is preaching. The 00:20:40.259 --> 00:20:44.019 exposition of the Word. The ministry of the Word 00:20:44.019 --> 00:20:47.079 in people's lives. That's where it all starts. 00:20:48.440 --> 00:20:50.740 There's nothing more important in the church 00:20:50.740 --> 00:20:58.339 than the ministry of the Word. Is that our attitude? 00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:01.099 It's the attitude of the elders. I know I can 00:21:01.099 --> 00:21:04.339 speak for all of the elders. But what is your 00:21:04.339 --> 00:21:08.319 attitude? What do you think about the time of 00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:12.220 the preaching and teaching of the Word? Is this 00:21:12.220 --> 00:21:16.140 your main meal of the week? Do you have a secondary 00:21:16.140 --> 00:21:20.740 meal on Wednesday? Do you think you can eat one 00:21:20.740 --> 00:21:24.200 meal a week and that's fine? Do you think you 00:21:24.200 --> 00:21:28.230 can eat one meal on the Word? and not the prayer 00:21:28.230 --> 00:21:30.910 meeting? Do you think you can skip the Wednesday 00:21:30.910 --> 00:21:34.529 meeting because you've got other reasons or other 00:21:34.529 --> 00:21:37.450 things going on? Well, why do we have a prayer 00:21:37.450 --> 00:21:39.569 meeting? Why do we have a Wednesday meeting? 00:21:40.170 --> 00:21:42.630 Why do we have a meeting on Sunday? Well, we 00:21:42.630 --> 00:21:45.390 all know or hopefully know that the Sunday is 00:21:45.390 --> 00:21:48.769 the day that the Lord set apart to come together 00:21:48.769 --> 00:21:53.089 to worship. He rose on the first day of the week 00:21:53.089 --> 00:21:55.589 and he appeared to the apostles throughout those 00:21:55.609 --> 00:22:00.210 next 40 days on the first day of the week. We 00:22:00.210 --> 00:22:04.190 know that. The church throughout history has 00:22:04.190 --> 00:22:06.630 met on the first day of the week. It's resurrection 00:22:06.630 --> 00:22:13.869 day. We celebrate it here week by week. So that's 00:22:13.869 --> 00:22:17.089 why we meet on Sunday, the first day of the week, 00:22:17.269 --> 00:22:24.710 the Lord's Day is what it's called. So there 00:22:24.710 --> 00:22:28.450 wasn't any decision needed by the elders to set 00:22:28.450 --> 00:22:31.809 up a meeting on the Lord's Day. We just followed 00:22:31.809 --> 00:22:35.210 the Bible. That's what they did in the Bible 00:22:35.210 --> 00:22:38.930 time. There was a decision that had to be made 00:22:38.930 --> 00:22:43.269 as to whether we would have a Sunday school curriculum 00:22:43.269 --> 00:22:46.789 or a prayer meeting. And whether we would have 00:22:46.789 --> 00:22:50.130 a prayer meeting before or after the meeting 00:22:50.130 --> 00:22:56.200 of worship. Somebody had to decide all these 00:22:56.200 --> 00:22:59.420 things in other words so the elders obviously 00:22:59.420 --> 00:23:02.940 as the as the leaders of the church had to make 00:23:02.940 --> 00:23:06.900 this decision and we did we said we would have 00:23:06.900 --> 00:23:10.619 the prayer meeting first followed by the main 00:23:10.619 --> 00:23:15.400 worship meeting and We would have a meal every 00:23:15.400 --> 00:23:19.720 Sunday and we got that out of acts and several 00:23:19.720 --> 00:23:23.640 other places where tells us what they continued 00:23:23.640 --> 00:23:26.279 steadfastly in. I'm not going over all of that. 00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:29.160 The point is, somebody, and it's the elders, 00:23:29.259 --> 00:23:34.839 had to make the decision. Now, are you in agreement 00:23:34.839 --> 00:23:42.019 with that decision? Do you view the activities 00:23:42.019 --> 00:23:47.819 of the church as a restaurant menu? That you're 00:23:47.819 --> 00:23:49.980 opening up the menu and you're deciding what 00:23:49.980 --> 00:23:53.009 you're going to have for dinner. You got all 00:23:53.009 --> 00:23:56.630 kinds of picks from. Is that how you view the 00:23:56.630 --> 00:24:01.450 activities of the church? As suggestions for 00:24:01.450 --> 00:24:07.849 meals? The elders really didn't have me in mind 00:24:07.849 --> 00:24:10.789 when they decided to have a Wednesday meeting. 00:24:12.849 --> 00:24:15.329 Do they really think I need to be here on Wednesday? 00:24:18.450 --> 00:24:25.210 Well, of course! Your reasoning is wrong. We're 00:24:25.210 --> 00:24:27.950 ministering to the church. We're not setting 00:24:27.950 --> 00:24:30.210 up a Wednesday meeting because we don't think 00:24:30.210 --> 00:24:33.410 it's needed. We're not doing it because it's 00:24:33.410 --> 00:24:36.890 tradition. We're not doing it for any of those 00:24:36.890 --> 00:24:40.789 reasons. We think that in order to equip you 00:24:40.789 --> 00:24:43.410 to do the ministry that you have been called 00:24:43.410 --> 00:24:47.170 to do, and to be conformed more and more to the 00:24:47.170 --> 00:24:50.519 fullness of Jesus Christ, that we as a church 00:24:50.519 --> 00:24:53.839 have to gather together here on Wednesday nights. 00:24:57.019 --> 00:24:59.460 It's not another menu item. Now I understand 00:24:59.460 --> 00:25:02.079 there's going to be times when we can't be, I'm 00:25:02.079 --> 00:25:05.559 not, you know all that. There's times when you 00:25:05.559 --> 00:25:08.220 can't get here on Sunday. I understand all of 00:25:08.220 --> 00:25:13.619 that. But I'm saying the tenor of our lives should 00:25:13.619 --> 00:25:20.849 be that we are here. That we do get here on Wednesdays 00:25:20.849 --> 00:25:23.250 That we're here for prayer that we're here for 00:25:23.250 --> 00:25:27.750 the worship that we eat meals together How does 00:25:27.750 --> 00:25:30.710 how do we get to know each other? You know if 00:25:30.710 --> 00:25:34.670 we can't spend just that minimum amount of time 00:25:34.670 --> 00:25:39.549 together throughout the week How do we know what 00:25:39.549 --> 00:25:41.710 that's your so what's your problems or how do 00:25:41.710 --> 00:25:46.710 we know what's what you're suffering from? How 00:25:46.710 --> 00:25:50.049 is it ever going to work, this relationship between 00:25:50.049 --> 00:25:54.950 pastors and congregation, amongst the congregation 00:25:54.950 --> 00:26:06.329 itself? Take heed. It's important. Take heed 00:26:06.329 --> 00:26:13.380 to yourselves. The pastors are taking heed. Why 00:26:13.380 --> 00:26:17.099 else do we come at least once a year in everybody's 00:26:17.099 --> 00:26:23.660 home? To have these talks and times together. 00:26:24.519 --> 00:26:28.920 To learn about each other. To help. To find out 00:26:28.920 --> 00:26:31.960 how we can minister more effectively. To take 00:26:31.960 --> 00:26:34.640 the criticisms that you give, if you give any. 00:26:36.619 --> 00:26:39.779 To take the encouragement to us that you give, 00:26:39.779 --> 00:26:46.609 if you give any. That's the whole purpose of 00:26:46.609 --> 00:26:51.650 ministry. It's a social call, but it's not a 00:26:51.650 --> 00:26:56.509 social call. It's really an important meaning. 00:26:57.109 --> 00:27:01.349 It's much more than a social call. It requires 00:27:01.349 --> 00:27:04.769 honesty, openness, the help of the Holy Spirit. 00:27:05.650 --> 00:27:07.890 That's part of the eldership. That's part of 00:27:07.890 --> 00:27:10.430 the elders' ministry. That's a part of the elders 00:27:10.430 --> 00:27:22.519 that are guarding and protecting the flock. I'm 00:27:22.519 --> 00:27:29.220 just being brutally honest. I don't know, I don't 00:27:29.220 --> 00:27:35.880 know that you know. So I'm telling you, when 00:27:35.880 --> 00:27:40.660 you show up here, it's a celebration to the elders. 00:27:41.700 --> 00:27:45.460 Just seeing you here on Wednesday, on Sunday, 00:27:45.640 --> 00:27:49.819 or any other special meetings, just seeing you 00:27:49.819 --> 00:27:53.230 here is an encouragement. and a cause for celebration 00:27:53.230 --> 00:28:02.329 amongst the elders. That's the truth. And then, 00:28:02.890 --> 00:28:08.750 you're here. And we begin to share our prayer 00:28:08.750 --> 00:28:15.289 requests. And unfortunately, everybody that's 00:28:15.289 --> 00:28:20.190 here doesn't have a prayer request. Now you know 00:28:20.190 --> 00:28:23.589 that's an impossibility, right? It's just not 00:28:23.589 --> 00:28:31.150 possible. That you don't need any prayer. That's 00:28:31.150 --> 00:28:35.390 eternal discouragement to the eldership. Sitting 00:28:35.390 --> 00:28:39.390 there mung, saying nothing. What does that say 00:28:39.390 --> 00:28:42.349 about you? What does that say about your relationship 00:28:42.349 --> 00:28:44.849 to all of the other people and to the elders? 00:28:44.970 --> 00:28:51.720 It says you don't trust us. That's the best that 00:28:51.720 --> 00:28:56.759 it can say. It also says I'm too proud. Hopefully 00:28:56.759 --> 00:29:01.019 it doesn't. I'm too proud. I don't need it. That's 00:29:01.019 --> 00:29:08.980 for other people. You want to encourage your 00:29:08.980 --> 00:29:13.599 elders? Make some prayer requests. Let us know 00:29:13.599 --> 00:29:20.160 you. Let us know how we can pray. You know that 00:29:20.160 --> 00:29:22.279 your elders pray for you whether you've ever 00:29:22.279 --> 00:29:26.859 made a request or not. Your elders are all praying 00:29:26.859 --> 00:29:31.420 for you day by day by day. Now it's not very 00:29:31.420 --> 00:29:35.799 informed prayer because you haven't told us anything. 00:29:37.460 --> 00:29:43.660 But it is prayer as best that we can. Hopefully 00:29:43.660 --> 00:29:45.720 other people in the congregation are praying 00:29:45.720 --> 00:29:49.359 at least on a somewhat consistent basis for other 00:29:49.359 --> 00:29:53.240 people in the church. We believe they are. Hopefully 00:29:53.240 --> 00:29:56.839 we're right in that belief. We take it to the 00:29:56.839 --> 00:29:59.680 next step then. You never requested a prayer 00:29:59.680 --> 00:30:03.920 and you never prayed. We never hear your voice 00:30:03.920 --> 00:30:08.640 in the prayer meeting. Never. Can that possibly 00:30:08.640 --> 00:30:12.109 be true? Can I possibly be right? Of course I 00:30:12.109 --> 00:30:17.869 am. Everybody knows I am. That's just not right. 00:30:20.529 --> 00:30:22.910 That's a total discouragement to your elders. 00:30:23.410 --> 00:30:25.589 Hopefully it's a total discouragement to the 00:30:25.589 --> 00:30:31.410 rest of the congregation. When you don't pray. 00:30:34.410 --> 00:30:37.230 What kind of ministry do you have if you don't 00:30:37.230 --> 00:30:39.329 need a prayer request and you don't think it's 00:30:39.329 --> 00:30:43.569 important that you pray for other people? That's 00:30:43.569 --> 00:30:48.710 what you're saying when you don't pray. You can't 00:30:48.710 --> 00:30:51.069 count on me. You know I'm not going to pray. 00:30:53.529 --> 00:30:57.910 Right? I don't know. I don't know what's going 00:30:57.910 --> 00:31:03.779 on. I do know that it's been way too long. Soft 00:31:03.779 --> 00:31:07.119 and pleasant words have been going on and on 00:31:07.119 --> 00:31:12.319 and on here about this subject. And nothing has 00:31:12.319 --> 00:31:17.599 changed. The same people that pray continue to 00:31:17.599 --> 00:31:21.579 pray, continue to persevere, continue to be an 00:31:21.579 --> 00:31:24.519 encouragement to their fellow Christians and 00:31:24.519 --> 00:31:28.059 to their elders. And the people that don't pray, 00:31:28.319 --> 00:31:37.140 they haven't prayed. That's all. Why? We have 00:31:37.140 --> 00:31:41.839 conversations. Everything that we can do, we 00:31:41.839 --> 00:31:45.680 pray that these folks would. It breaks our heart 00:31:45.680 --> 00:31:50.880 that this is going on. Our ministry is failing. 00:31:54.180 --> 00:31:56.680 Are we going to be held responsible for this? 00:32:00.430 --> 00:32:08.670 I mean, that's the reality. It's not just okay, 00:32:08.869 --> 00:32:11.049 it's just not something that the elders just 00:32:11.049 --> 00:32:15.769 can forget about. And it doesn't bother us. And 00:32:15.769 --> 00:32:19.430 we don't care. And we care so much because we 00:32:19.430 --> 00:32:22.809 love you guys. We want you to prosper. We want 00:32:22.809 --> 00:32:25.910 you to have a ministry in your life, a purpose. 00:32:26.470 --> 00:32:28.849 And we want you to be conformed to the image 00:32:28.849 --> 00:32:39.420 of Christ. That's the only reason for an eldership. 00:32:48.460 --> 00:32:53.460 Well, one more thing. How do you present yourself 00:32:53.460 --> 00:32:57.500 during the message, during the preaching of the 00:32:57.500 --> 00:33:03.000 Word? Most of us do... A much better job on that 00:33:03.000 --> 00:33:07.619 than we do at the prayer meeting. When I'm up 00:33:07.619 --> 00:33:10.799 here, anyway, and I'm trying to make as much 00:33:10.799 --> 00:33:15.319 eye contact as I can, I see people paying attention, 00:33:16.059 --> 00:33:19.960 for the most part. They seem to be wanting to 00:33:19.960 --> 00:33:23.000 receive the word. They want the instruction. 00:33:23.119 --> 00:33:26.740 They want the help. A lot of you take notes. 00:33:27.299 --> 00:33:31.130 Well, some of you take notes. We made it possible 00:33:31.130 --> 00:33:33.690 for everybody to take notes because we gave notebooks 00:33:33.690 --> 00:33:39.470 away. You know, so notes are good. That's a great 00:33:39.470 --> 00:33:44.390 thing. Some of you though, occasionally I see 00:33:44.390 --> 00:33:51.029 conversing during the message. You can't converse 00:33:51.029 --> 00:33:53.690 and pay attention, can you? I mean, I'm not wrong 00:33:53.690 --> 00:33:59.470 on that, am I? Sometimes it's a... It seems as 00:33:59.470 --> 00:34:02.529 though there's some joking going on during the 00:34:02.529 --> 00:34:04.529 message. Now, I haven't talked to the other elders. 00:34:04.589 --> 00:34:07.589 I don't know what they would say. Just talking 00:34:07.589 --> 00:34:12.789 about when I'm up here. So, that's what you're 00:34:12.789 --> 00:34:16.690 conveying. You're conveying that it's not too 00:34:16.690 --> 00:34:19.630 important. The Word of God is take it or leave 00:34:19.630 --> 00:34:24.510 it. When you don't pay attention. When you converse. 00:34:25.750 --> 00:34:29.840 When you... Whatever whatever that's taking your 00:34:29.840 --> 00:34:41.139 attention away from the Word of God So it says 00:34:41.139 --> 00:34:44.400 grievous wolves are going to be coming in here 00:34:44.400 --> 00:34:48.940 And we know that since Paul's day there have 00:34:48.940 --> 00:34:51.519 been grievous wolves throughout the history of 00:34:51.519 --> 00:34:56.920 the church Right on down to our own day They're 00:34:56.920 --> 00:35:00.360 still here. They're still hanging around. They're 00:35:00.360 --> 00:35:05.340 still waiting to destroy, to wreck havoc. The 00:35:05.340 --> 00:35:11.320 elders are on the front lines, folks. Not just 00:35:11.320 --> 00:35:15.400 here, a real elder is on the front line of this 00:35:15.400 --> 00:35:19.639 battle. He's going to be confronted by the devil. 00:35:21.199 --> 00:35:23.860 He's going to be tried to be discouraged. He's 00:35:23.860 --> 00:35:27.289 going to be tried... to give up. He's going to 00:35:27.289 --> 00:35:32.070 be trying to have grudges against certain people. 00:35:33.010 --> 00:35:35.369 He's going to be trying not to love everybody, 00:35:35.369 --> 00:35:42.210 in other words. We're on the front lines. And 00:35:42.210 --> 00:35:44.949 if I'm being totally honest, I deal with depression. 00:35:46.690 --> 00:35:49.989 And if I'm not careful, I can get down. I can 00:35:49.989 --> 00:35:53.769 just waste a whole day moping around being depressed. 00:35:55.119 --> 00:36:00.940 That's just the devil. I lost the battle. I've 00:36:00.940 --> 00:36:03.519 got absolutely nothing to be depressed about. 00:36:04.400 --> 00:36:09.199 Nothing. I'm the most blessed person that ever 00:36:09.199 --> 00:36:12.679 walked the earth the way I see it. That's the 00:36:12.679 --> 00:36:15.480 truth. But I don't always allow that to take 00:36:15.480 --> 00:36:23.360 sway in my life. Hopefully you guys are consistently 00:36:23.360 --> 00:36:29.659 praying for us. some degree of consistency that 00:36:29.659 --> 00:36:32.360 we would be able to win the battle, that we would 00:36:32.360 --> 00:36:35.880 be overcomers, that the devil would have no foothold 00:36:35.880 --> 00:36:38.400 in our lives and consequently in the life of 00:36:38.400 --> 00:36:44.880 the Church. That's what we hope is going on. 00:36:44.900 --> 00:36:49.019 That's what we want to go on. There's no escaping 00:36:49.019 --> 00:36:51.760 the battle. I'm not complaining about the battle. 00:36:53.099 --> 00:36:55.820 That's what the Christian life is, a battle. 00:36:56.969 --> 00:37:01.530 We battle with the devil or his minions Probably 00:37:01.530 --> 00:37:04.670 not the personal one man one person devil, but 00:37:04.670 --> 00:37:11.269 we we we have to fight the fight All manner of 00:37:11.269 --> 00:37:16.429 distractions all manner of stumbling blocks That's 00:37:16.429 --> 00:37:24.730 just part of And an elder's wife just thought 00:37:24.730 --> 00:37:29.750 about it An elder's wife is either an asset or 00:37:29.750 --> 00:37:37.349 a liability. And they can't be both. It just 00:37:37.349 --> 00:37:39.510 depends on the mood or the day or the week or 00:37:39.510 --> 00:37:45.010 whatever. So they need prayer. We need prayer 00:37:45.010 --> 00:37:47.730 to be the husbands that we should be. They need 00:37:47.730 --> 00:37:50.070 prayer to be the wives that they should be. To 00:37:50.070 --> 00:37:56.019 be helps to us. To be encouragers to us. To let 00:37:56.019 --> 00:38:03.019 us know when we mess up So don't forget them 00:38:03.019 --> 00:38:05.960 because they're important part in the life of 00:38:05.960 --> 00:38:21.000 the elder So I got four things I guess I'll end 00:38:21.000 --> 00:38:28.090 with Spiritual stagnation. That's what I call 00:38:28.090 --> 00:38:38.469 it anyway. That's always the danger. You get 00:38:38.469 --> 00:38:45.070 to a certain point and you stagnate. And you 00:38:45.070 --> 00:38:48.329 just got to get over it. You got to take the 00:38:48.329 --> 00:38:54.320 next step. Unfortunately, it's more common than 00:38:54.320 --> 00:38:59.800 what it should be, because we never stop growing, 00:39:00.599 --> 00:39:02.739 except that we do when we hinder the work of 00:39:02.739 --> 00:39:08.900 the Spirit. Stagnation is definitely needed to 00:39:08.900 --> 00:39:12.139 be guard against. It's a spiritual battle to 00:39:12.139 --> 00:39:15.380 want to progress, to want to study the Word to 00:39:15.380 --> 00:39:18.320 the degree that, yes, it does conform my life. 00:39:18.480 --> 00:39:21.559 to the Word, that yes, I am growing in Christ, 00:39:21.659 --> 00:39:26.079 that yes, I can see that I'm being conformed 00:39:26.079 --> 00:39:30.539 to the fullness of Christ. You've got to guard 00:39:30.539 --> 00:39:33.840 yourself from false teachers, false teaching. 00:39:33.980 --> 00:39:38.619 They're everywhere. They're not just in a certain 00:39:38.619 --> 00:39:41.039 group of people. There's plenty of false teachers 00:39:41.039 --> 00:39:45.260 in Baptist churches, in Presbyterian churches. 00:39:45.880 --> 00:39:48.760 They're everywhere. That's what Paul said they 00:39:48.760 --> 00:39:51.780 were going to do. And he's right. He was right. 00:39:52.059 --> 00:39:56.820 They always have been. And just to be consistent 00:39:56.820 --> 00:39:59.559 here, the Catholic Church is not a Christian 00:39:59.559 --> 00:40:03.599 denomination. Okay? That's full of nothing but 00:40:03.599 --> 00:40:07.059 false teachers. Now there's some Christian people 00:40:07.059 --> 00:40:10.679 there. I don't want us to be angry at Catholic 00:40:10.679 --> 00:40:14.019 people. We want to minister to those people. 00:40:14.110 --> 00:40:16.889 Same as we do anywhere else. But they're deluded. 00:40:17.090 --> 00:40:20.730 It's like a cult. Their minds are closed. They 00:40:20.730 --> 00:40:24.289 can't receive the truth. It's full of false teaching. 00:40:25.269 --> 00:40:28.050 The Catholic Church is sending millions to hell. 00:40:29.389 --> 00:40:36.570 Not purgatory. Hell. Be on guard. Don't care 00:40:36.570 --> 00:40:40.570 what kind of evangelicals and Catholics together. 00:40:40.610 --> 00:40:42.869 You guys are probably too young to even remember 00:40:42.869 --> 00:40:47.300 that. When that came up, it was a group of Protestants 00:40:47.300 --> 00:40:49.900 that met got together with a group of Catholics 00:40:49.900 --> 00:40:53.000 These are big leagues supposedly big league and 00:40:53.000 --> 00:40:59.360 came up with this Letter whatever and they this 00:40:59.360 --> 00:41:03.860 report Evangelicals and Catholics together here. 00:41:03.860 --> 00:41:07.559 We are we're brothers. We've got our differences 00:41:07.559 --> 00:41:11.840 Blah blah blah. It's a bunch of baloney The only 00:41:11.840 --> 00:41:15.619 people that said anything different was the Protestants. 00:41:16.519 --> 00:41:19.019 Catholics didn't change a word of what they believed. 00:41:20.500 --> 00:41:23.340 So you know that's no good. And there were some 00:41:23.340 --> 00:41:28.619 real big time people involved in that. Well known. 00:41:32.260 --> 00:41:34.539 So I just want to be consistent that I always 00:41:34.539 --> 00:41:37.480 make sure that I speak about the horribleness 00:41:37.480 --> 00:41:42.150 of the... teachers in the Catholic Church. Don't 00:41:42.150 --> 00:41:46.150 be fooled. Don't be fooled because you've studied 00:41:46.150 --> 00:41:49.630 the true word. You know what the word looks like. 00:41:50.070 --> 00:41:54.329 You know what it is. They can't fool you. They 00:41:54.329 --> 00:41:57.710 can't put a bunch of balonies on you. The health 00:41:57.710 --> 00:42:00.650 and wealth gospel. That's just nothing but lies. 00:42:01.269 --> 00:42:05.110 Name it and claim it. Seed faith. All kinds of 00:42:05.110 --> 00:42:08.869 stuff. That's all baloney. That's all that is. 00:42:09.710 --> 00:42:13.929 They're false teachers. We can have differences 00:42:13.929 --> 00:42:19.849 of opinion amongst true believers. That's okay. 00:42:20.429 --> 00:42:22.449 We can still have fellowship even though we don't 00:42:22.449 --> 00:42:25.630 have a hundred percent agreement with true believers. 00:42:26.670 --> 00:42:29.190 In other words, we can... That church polity 00:42:29.190 --> 00:42:31.889 here is, hopefully you all know it or you remember 00:42:31.889 --> 00:42:34.559 it. You don't have to be a Baptist to be a member 00:42:34.559 --> 00:42:37.199 here. You can be a Pato Baptist and come here 00:42:37.199 --> 00:42:40.340 and be a member. You can't teach Pato Baptism. 00:42:41.639 --> 00:42:45.860 But you can be a member. We can have fellowship 00:42:45.860 --> 00:42:49.280 with these folks. They actually, you know, they 00:42:49.280 --> 00:42:52.139 think that they're baptized. They think their 00:42:52.139 --> 00:42:55.579 children are baptized. They think they're following 00:42:55.579 --> 00:42:59.619 the Lord in what they have done. Just like we 00:42:59.619 --> 00:43:03.150 do. But we think they're wrong, of course, and 00:43:03.150 --> 00:43:06.510 they think we're wrong. But as far as the doctrine 00:43:06.510 --> 00:43:10.190 of salvation is concerned and the doctrine of 00:43:10.190 --> 00:43:12.409 living out your Christian faith, there's total 00:43:12.409 --> 00:43:20.110 agreement. So they're welcome here. It's just 00:43:20.110 --> 00:43:28.130 an example of what we're talking about. Guard 00:43:28.130 --> 00:43:31.670 yourself from sexual sin. Guard yourself against 00:43:31.670 --> 00:43:36.210 all sin. That's three and four. I mean, today, 00:43:36.909 --> 00:43:41.530 the sexual sin is everywhere. You can't walk 00:43:41.530 --> 00:43:45.210 out your door without being confronted, tempted. 00:43:47.449 --> 00:43:51.369 More so than ever. But you have to be in guard 00:43:51.369 --> 00:43:54.610 against sin. John once said, be killing sin or 00:43:54.610 --> 00:43:58.409 sin will be killing you. Those are your two choices. 00:44:01.039 --> 00:44:04.199 Somebody needs to redo that bumper sticker that 00:44:04.199 --> 00:44:10.800 we used to have. Sin kills. It does. Sin, and 00:44:10.800 --> 00:44:14.199 that's everywhere too. Sadly, it's right in here 00:44:14.199 --> 00:44:28.820 also. Kill that sin that remains in us. For the 00:44:28.820 --> 00:44:33.820 elders? You can't lead, you can't take heed to 00:44:33.820 --> 00:44:36.820 a flock until you have taken heed to yourself. 00:44:38.579 --> 00:44:43.079 Again, that's Tozer. Tozer used to say that he 00:44:43.079 --> 00:44:46.500 always prayed for the flock, but he spent much 00:44:46.500 --> 00:44:49.000 more time praying for the elders and himself. 00:44:51.179 --> 00:44:55.780 So I don't know if that's good or what, but it's 00:44:55.780 --> 00:45:00.949 definitely necessary. to pray for ourselves as 00:45:00.949 --> 00:45:08.769 elders as well as the flock. You can't lead by 00:45:08.769 --> 00:45:11.869 simply talking a good talk, you've got to walk 00:45:11.869 --> 00:45:15.929 it out. If your life doesn't substantiate your 00:45:15.929 --> 00:45:24.889 teaching, in other words, you've failed. And 00:45:24.889 --> 00:45:31.530 so then, lastly, And again, this is the thing 00:45:31.530 --> 00:45:36.130 that always should motivate us, is Jesus Christ 00:45:36.130 --> 00:45:42.289 precious to us. Do we love Jesus Christ enough 00:45:42.289 --> 00:45:45.849 to love each other, to tell the truth to each 00:45:45.849 --> 00:45:51.230 other, to give of ourselves to each other? Love 00:45:51.230 --> 00:45:55.449 rules. That's it. That's what we... Preach, that's 00:45:55.449 --> 00:45:57.969 what we teach. We don't have a set of rules and 00:45:57.969 --> 00:46:03.269 regulations. We have love that rules and regulates 00:46:03.269 --> 00:46:08.710 our behavior. Are we going to love Jesus Christ 00:46:08.710 --> 00:46:15.489 and love one another thus honoring Him? Acknowledging 00:46:15.489 --> 00:46:19.409 all that we have is from Him. He owns us. He 00:46:19.409 --> 00:46:23.329 owns this church. He owns everything in it. He's 00:46:23.329 --> 00:46:28.710 given us everything that we need. He's given 00:46:28.710 --> 00:46:32.409 us prayer, expository preaching, fellowship, 00:46:33.329 --> 00:46:36.010 the Lord's Supper. He's given us all of these 00:46:36.010 --> 00:46:39.610 things. He's brought us to a huge, large place 00:46:39.610 --> 00:46:45.010 of freedom, of service and honoring and enjoying 00:46:45.010 --> 00:46:49.119 Him. The church is a wonderful thing. Remember, 00:46:49.340 --> 00:46:52.320 it's a golden candlestick. It's not even brass. 00:46:52.440 --> 00:46:56.320 It's golden in the eyes of Christ. And where 00:46:56.320 --> 00:46:59.340 is it to be found? It could be found in the midst 00:46:59.340 --> 00:47:04.099 of the seven golden candlesticks. He's here. 00:47:04.159 --> 00:47:06.739 He's always here when we assemble ourselves. 00:47:07.739 --> 00:47:12.059 Remember these things. The great love of Jesus 00:47:12.059 --> 00:47:15.820 Christ. Can you imagine? loving people such as 00:47:15.820 --> 00:47:21.980 we are. You might be able to imagine that, but 00:47:21.980 --> 00:47:28.739 can you imagine loving people as we were? Before 00:47:28.739 --> 00:47:32.099 he got a hold of us and changed us and is transforming 00:47:32.099 --> 00:47:34.599 us into what we are today and what we're going 00:47:34.599 --> 00:47:38.940 to be? Before that ever happened, he loved us. 00:47:43.150 --> 00:47:47.949 We can't love Jesus too much. We can't be too 00:47:47.949 --> 00:47:51.829 zealous for him. We can't be too zealous for 00:47:51.829 --> 00:47:55.449 the church. For one another, in other words. 00:47:55.750 --> 00:47:58.789 Desiring to be useful in one another's lives. 00:47:59.969 --> 00:48:03.269 To be an example. To be a guide. To have a ministry. 00:48:04.550 --> 00:48:08.869 It's a glorious life. It's the only life to live 00:48:08.869 --> 00:48:13.170 that has real purpose. Real pleasure. real joy. 00:48:13.630 --> 00:48:17.389 It's the Christian life. It's the life of the 00:48:17.389 --> 00:48:20.670 church. It's a life of fellowship, one with another, 00:48:21.030 --> 00:48:24.949 helping each other along the way, leaving nobody 00:48:24.949 --> 00:48:29.789 behind. That's got to be the motto of the church. 00:48:31.710 --> 00:48:35.869 Forget the military. We're not leaving anybody 00:48:35.869 --> 00:48:40.730 behind. We're bringing everybody with us, whatever 00:48:40.730 --> 00:48:47.179 it takes. All the flock we minister to. All the 00:48:47.179 --> 00:48:50.440 flock we're bringing to perfection. Are the elders 00:48:50.440 --> 00:48:53.980 doing it? No, they're the means. One of the means 00:48:53.980 --> 00:48:57.480 at least that God uses to accomplish his purposes 00:48:57.480 --> 00:49:03.340 in the lives of his people, the church. Amen.