WEBVTT

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Wow, good job. Wow, the U -Bank girls are growing

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up, and she did an excellent, excellent, excellent

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job, and praise the Lord, and that's good. Miss

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Stapleton, have you been teaching her? Good job,

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and praise God for the investment in the next

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generation. Sister U -Banks, have you heard that

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song before? There's a few times in your house

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right there, you know, with their practice, they

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play it over. Take your Bibles, turn with me

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into the book of Acts chapter, Acts chapter number

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six, if you will, Acts chapter number six. And

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I'm excited to be in church tonight, and I know

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you are, excited to be about a part of a Bible

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-believing church. And I've been in church now

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for over 30 years, and I think about the 30 years

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I've been in church, really three churches I've

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been. A member of one for seven months, one for

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14 years, and now here almost next month will

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be 17 years. Wow, the years go by fast. But wow,

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in the church, my life, I have honestly solved

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very, very, very few church problems. What I

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mean, big problems. I hear these stories about

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church splits and churches where they're fighting.

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In my history of 30 years, I've never really

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seen that. I've never seen a church split. I

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haven't seen a lot of fighting. No, there's been

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problems. Churches have problems. But here's

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where we're going tonight. Church problems do

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not have to stop the work of God. Amen. Problems

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in the church don't have to stop the work of

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God. Every church has problems. But this message

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is about the problems, but it's not really a

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message about the problems, but it's gonna start

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with problems, okay? Doesn't make sense to you.

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I was reading a book and I finished it this week.

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Victory from Vic, don't see, that's problems

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over here. The third section right there. They're

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problem people. Ethan, you oughta be careful

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you hang around right there. Your mama is trouble

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and so praise the Lord. But church problems.

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A good man, I finished this book on G .B. Vic.

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and pastored the largest church in the world

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at one time in Detroit, and the church grew.

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But in the early 60s, the demographics of Detroit

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began to change. They'd have a Sunday night service,

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parking lots full, and there would be people

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that would come in and break the windows of the

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cars. and steal things out of the people's cars.

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And it became very, very obnoxious where people

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were scared and the attendants began to plummet

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in the church. And it was a problem. People began

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to be scared. And so G .B. Vick was getting older

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and all of a sudden he decided, you know, I just

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believe that the Lord wants us to do something.

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And what do we do? And so what they end up doing

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is he led the church to purchase a property in

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a different area that had acres of land and then

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build a brand new building. And you work through

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that biography, what it was was a problem, but

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he worked through the problems. Now, here's the

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thought. Sometimes people have problems and you

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can murmur about the problems. You can be one

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that murmurs, spreads the problems. or you could

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be like a GB Vic, you work through the problems,

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okay? Let's do this, let's read the scriptures,

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if you will. We're gonna read Acts chapter number

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six, and we're gonna read all together in unison,

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verses one through seven, and try your best to

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lift up your voice with me, starting in verse

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number one, ready? And in those days, when the

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number of the disciples was multiplied. there

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arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the

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Hebrews because those widows were neglected in

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daily ministration. Now stop right there. Understand

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the context. The church exploding in growth.

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The day of Pentecost came, 3 ,000 people saved

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and baptized. A couple chapters later, there

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was 5 ,000 and it was just an explosion of growth.

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But the growth began to cause problems. There

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were these Grecian widows. And you would think

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of it like this. Grecian widows were Jewish ladies

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that came from a different culture. They spoke

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Greek. It would be like us. Inside of our church,

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we have some people from Texas. And then you

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have some people from New Jersey. And you have

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some people from other places, amen. from the

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moon, amen. But all of a sudden you have different

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cultures come in and these cultures begin to

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clash right there and it was a problem. Read

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verse two with me. Then the 12 called the multitude

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of the disciples unto them and said, it is not

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reason that we should leave the word of God and

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serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out

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among you seven men of honest report. full of

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the Holy Ghost and wisdom whom we may appoint

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over this business. But we will give ourselves

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continually to prayer and to the ministry of

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the Word. And the saying pleased the whole multitude,

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and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and

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of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Procurus,

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and Nicanor, and Tymon, and Parmenas, and Nicholas,

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a proselyte of Antioch. Good job. Good job, and

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good job. Verse number six, ready? Whom they

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set before the apostles, and when they had prayed,

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they laid their hands on them. And the word of

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God increased, and the number of the disciples

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multiplied in Jerusalem greatly, and a great

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company of the priests were obedient to the faith.

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Oh, problems, problems. And there's gonna be

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two sides that you begin to go towards. You can

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become a part, of the problem, murmur, murmur,

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murmur, or you can become a solution. And there's

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two sides. It's gonna be awesome. I really learned

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something here, and it's helped me, and I believe

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it'll help our church. Let's do this. Let's bow

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our heads, go to the Lord in prayer one more

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time. Dear Father in heaven, help us on this

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Wednesday night to stop, open up our hearts,

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open up our minds, and learn some things. I do

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believe if, we as a church learn this truth or

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be reminded of this truth, our church will be

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stronger and really the word of God will increase.

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And I pray that you help us, help me to decrease,

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help all of us to decrease, and you to increase

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in a great way. We need you Lord, and I need

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you Lord tonight, in Jesus' name, amen. Amen.

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You may be seated. The first part is problems

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in the church. And I don't want to spend a lot

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of time here, but in verse one, you notice the

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murmuring, the Grecian widows. You begin to see

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that they were neglected in daily ministration,

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and there was murmuring. There was murmuring.

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Say that word with me. Murmuring, murmuring.

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Say it one more time. Murmuring. And I don't

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know if you can growl when you do it, but sort

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of murmuring. And this murmuring is like spiritual.

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grumbling under your breath. It's loud enough

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for people to hear it, but quiet enough to pretend

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you weren't saying anything. Okay. Here's another

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definition. We're trying to get the definition

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of murmuring. Murmuring is like the church committee

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that never officially meets, it never has an

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agenda, never takes minutes, never solves anything,

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but somehow everybody knows what was discussed

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in the parking lot. Okay. Okay, some of you,

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okay, we're going a little farther. You didn't

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get that one, okay. Murmuring is when someone

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says, now I'm not trying to cause any trouble,

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but, then they immediately begin to cause trouble,

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okay. Here's another one. Murmuring is like a

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leaky faucet. You know, drip, drip. and at first

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it doesn't seem like much, but after a while

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you get the water bill, you get it on everybody's

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nerves, you waste a lot and nobody deals with

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it, that drippy faucet can cause a lot of damage.

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Another way to look at it, okay? Think about

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this, some people give the church weather report

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every week, cloudy with a chance of complaining,

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winds of criticism coming from the back hallway,

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possible storm forming near the coffee pot. Okay,

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murmuring, I don't know if that's a good definition

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right there, but the church was multiplying.

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There was a problem and it was a serious problem.

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The Grecian widows, they were neglected and there

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all of a sudden became this murmuring and it

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begins to grow and it begins to build and it's

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not necessarily, it's bad, that's wrong, but

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it's not necessarily bad. Problems are not really

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problems, they're opportunities. And I really

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think this is an important part of our church

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right there. When you see problems in the church,

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now listen, when you see problems in a church,

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problems in a church, what do you do with those

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problems? Okay, this is where we're getting to

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the sermon, right? Miss Debbie, you said something

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right there. Here's what I said. You said you

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probably. are part of the solution, not the problem.

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And I appreciate that, Miss Debbie. You're absolutely

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a godly, wonderful woman. But look at this. When

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you see a problem in the church, what do you

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do with that problem? Do you talk to people who

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cannot fix it? Do you begin to stir the pot a

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little bit? Do you assume the worst? or do you

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become suspicious, critical, distant, or how

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do you handle that? How do you handle that? By

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the way, before we get to how you handle it,

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look at verse number two, if you will. Look at

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verse number two. Then the 12th called the multitude

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of the who? Undo them and said, it is not reason

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that we should leave the what? Word of God and

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serve tables. Okay, look at verse number four.

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But we will give ourselves continually to prayer

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and to the ministry of the Word. Now, this is

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a side note, side part of this right there. There's

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problems. There's big problems in the church.

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There's murmuring going on. But next thing you

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know, we find the apostles. The apostles, they

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never denied that there was a problem. They understood

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there was a problem, but they didn't say, they

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didn't say that does not matter because problems

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do matter. How many admit problems matter? Okay,

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problems matter, okay. These widows, they didn't

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say, the widows, you know, they're not important.

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Of course widows are important. Widows are important.

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Serving tables was not beneath the apostles,

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but listen to this. The church could not solve,

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they understood the church could not solve one

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problem by creating another, a greater problem,

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okay? I'm gonna explain this. but they realize

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the apostles said we can't solve one problem,

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put all of our attention on one problem and create

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a bigger problem by doing that. In other words,

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they're saying the apostles said if we were to

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leave prayer and the study of God's word and

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the ministering of the word to take care of some

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of these problems, we're gonna create a bigger

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problem. Okay, we're gonna create a bigger problem,

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okay. Serving tables is important. Caring for

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the widows is important. Solving a complaint,

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it was important, but the Word of God, the Word

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of God had to remain central in the apostles'

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life. They had to stay steadfast, unmovable,

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right there in the Word of God. You know, it

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is not reason, and we use that term, it is not

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reason. It said, it wouldn't be right, it wouldn't

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be wise, it wouldn't be spiritually healthy for

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the church for us to leave. prayer to leave the

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Word of God and serve tables. It's not that they

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were beneath serving tables. It's just saying

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there was a priority. They said, we have to handle

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this a little bit differently. The church needed

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prayer. The church needed the preaching of God's

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Word. The church needed a pastor that would get

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up and have a message that was from on high.

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You need to prepare for the preaching of the

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Word of God. And all of a sudden, and this is

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important, for example, Sunday school teachers.

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You have to teach Sunday school class, teach

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the Word of God. But if you get so busy, so busy,

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so busy, so busy, so busy that you never take

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time to study the Word of God, to be spiritual,

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to pray, to dedicate your heart and your mind

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to the Word of God, you're not gonna help anybody

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on Sunday. And so there has to be an understanding.

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The apostles say we can't neglect this. The devil

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would love for a church to become so consumed

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with problems that all of a sudden the study

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of God's word and prayer becomes secondary or

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never happens. You understand that? He'd love

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for his church to think that activity could replace

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the apostles' spiritual walk with God. And you've

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got to be careful. Moms and dads, Sunday school

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teachers, workers, church people, we just got

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to be careful that we don't get so busy that

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we forget to do our duty. You might say duty,

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but have a walk with God. Okay, okay. So let's

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go on a little bit further here and get to this.

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This is where we get to sort of the sermon. How

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did they handle the problem without leaving the

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Word of God? How did they handle it? They didn't

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ignore the problem, but how did they handle the

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problem without it? Okay, I want you to think

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with me about the workers in the church, okay?

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We're gonna look at this verse. Let's read it,

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look at verse number three. Wherefore, brethren,

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look at those first two words, verse three. Wherefore

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what? Okay, looky out among you. seven men of

00:14:00.090 --> 00:14:04.929
honest report, full of the what? Holy Ghost and

00:14:04.929 --> 00:14:10.590
wisdom whom we may appoint over this business

00:14:10.590 --> 00:14:14.330
right there. And we think about the sermon becomes

00:14:14.330 --> 00:14:17.970
very practical. Look out among you. The answer

00:14:17.970 --> 00:14:20.529
was not outside the church, the answer is actually

00:14:20.529 --> 00:14:25.169
inside the church. Okay, and I really we're gonna

00:14:25.169 --> 00:14:27.210
make application. I'm not trying to get the application

00:14:27.210 --> 00:14:30.049
We will get there eventually, but this is so

00:14:30.049 --> 00:14:35.129
applicable to Chesapeake Baptist Church In our

00:14:35.129 --> 00:14:39.049
church problems arise parking lot park parking

00:14:39.049 --> 00:14:42.610
on Sunday recently people have been coming into

00:14:42.610 --> 00:14:45.529
our church and they've been Leaving our church

00:14:45.529 --> 00:14:47.409
before they ever attend our church because they

00:14:47.409 --> 00:14:51.129
can't find a parking spot. That's good, but it's

00:14:51.129 --> 00:14:54.509
bad You know what I'm saying? We can ignore that.

00:14:55.230 --> 00:14:58.029
Okay, pastor could go out there and be a parking

00:14:58.029 --> 00:15:02.850
lot attendant. We could, but something has to

00:15:02.850 --> 00:15:07.450
happen. So there has to be workers in the church.

00:15:07.649 --> 00:15:09.950
There has to be something where we notice that,

00:15:10.210 --> 00:15:14.370
we make a plan to solve the problem. That's exactly

00:15:14.370 --> 00:15:16.350
what they're doing here. They're making a plan,

00:15:16.570 --> 00:15:18.169
and it's a powerful plan. Church problems are

00:15:18.169 --> 00:15:21.240
not solved only by preaching about them. Okay,

00:15:21.240 --> 00:15:23.559
I can preach about church problems, but they're

00:15:23.559 --> 00:15:26.740
not just solved by me preaching. There's a problem.

00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:29.840
There has to be a plan. There has to be an attack.

00:15:29.940 --> 00:15:32.700
There has to be some thought about how do we

00:15:32.700 --> 00:15:35.039
meet the need of the people? How do we carry

00:15:35.039 --> 00:15:37.820
this burden? How do we help these Grecian widows?

00:15:37.899 --> 00:15:40.620
How do we help the murmuring, the conflict, and

00:15:40.620 --> 00:15:44.500
what do they do? They chose men. And they chose

00:15:44.500 --> 00:15:46.460
these men to be a blessing. By the way, this

00:15:46.460 --> 00:15:48.940
is not a sermon necessarily about men, just only

00:15:48.940 --> 00:15:51.039
because in reality, the workers in the church

00:15:51.039 --> 00:15:52.659
are men and women. We're gonna get to that in

00:15:52.659 --> 00:15:56.120
a minute. But these men were chosen to work.

00:15:57.299 --> 00:16:01.379
These men were chosen to help. These men were

00:16:01.379 --> 00:16:04.539
chosen to solve a problem. These men were chosen.

00:16:04.659 --> 00:16:07.860
Now can you imagine? Hey Grant, I'm choosing

00:16:07.860 --> 00:16:11.399
you. and I got a job for you. That means you're

00:16:11.399 --> 00:16:14.200
gonna have to sacrifice some time, some effort,

00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:16.759
some energy, you're gonna have to get here early,

00:16:17.019 --> 00:16:18.820
you're gonna have to talk to some people, you're

00:16:18.820 --> 00:16:20.539
gonna have to deal with some people that are

00:16:20.539 --> 00:16:23.299
upset and angry, and all of a sudden you're chosen.

00:16:23.480 --> 00:16:28.740
By the way, it's work. It's work. Workers, work,

00:16:28.960 --> 00:16:31.759
labor. But I want to before I go any further,

00:16:32.240 --> 00:16:35.399
the work of the ministry is a blessing. You know,

00:16:35.419 --> 00:16:38.419
to be able to work for the Lord. Can you imagine

00:16:38.419 --> 00:16:42.059
the list of those men right there? We listed

00:16:42.059 --> 00:16:45.379
them. Look at verse five. They're saying please

00:16:45.379 --> 00:16:47.580
the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen,

00:16:48.340 --> 00:16:50.960
and that's a great name, Stephen. Yeah, your

00:16:50.960 --> 00:16:52.659
wife's smiling and she's nodding her head. That's

00:16:52.659 --> 00:16:56.299
a great name. Stephen, a man full of faith and

00:16:56.299 --> 00:17:00.139
a Holy Ghost, and Philip. And Procurus, we need

00:17:00.139 --> 00:17:02.279
one of those. We need those. Connor, Connor,

00:17:02.659 --> 00:17:08.000
one day. Nicanor and Tymon and Parmesian. And

00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:10.380
Nicholas the proselyte. I don't think it's Parmesian,

00:17:10.460 --> 00:17:13.099
but it's something like that. You said it confidently

00:17:13.099 --> 00:17:15.339
like Brother Reynolds said. And you got that

00:17:15.339 --> 00:17:18.180
right there. But the point, don't miss this.

00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:21.480
It's a blessing to work for the Lord. It's a

00:17:21.480 --> 00:17:23.920
blessing to work for the Lord. It's a blessing

00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:27.250
to work for the Lord. G .B. Vick. Their Wednesday

00:17:27.250 --> 00:17:29.750
night service for the Temple Baptist Church in

00:17:29.750 --> 00:17:32.589
Detroit, their Wednesday night, he preached to

00:17:32.589 --> 00:17:34.630
the work, he called it the workers meeting, is

00:17:34.630 --> 00:17:37.150
the workers meeting basically. And the Wednesday

00:17:37.150 --> 00:17:39.069
night was filled with the workers of the church,

00:17:39.170 --> 00:17:42.769
which was thousands of people. And it was amazing.

00:17:43.109 --> 00:17:45.390
But the workers of the church, they had a labor,

00:17:45.490 --> 00:17:49.410
it was sacrifice, it was, oh, oh, oh, yesterday.

00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:53.559
I got a text from a pastor friend of mine named

00:17:53.559 --> 00:17:57.380
John Wilkerson last night. And all of a sudden,

00:17:57.579 --> 00:18:01.000
he said, you know, brother Mike Goodall, and

00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:04.160
he's got cancer, and Mike Goodall. And he said,

00:18:04.279 --> 00:18:06.660
if you would, make sure you give him a call for

00:18:06.660 --> 00:18:09.980
me. And so anyways, I said, yes, sir. And I called

00:18:09.980 --> 00:18:11.900
brother Mike Goodall, Mike Goodall, Mike and

00:18:11.900 --> 00:18:15.539
Ann Goodall. amazing people, he would do a paper

00:18:15.539 --> 00:18:16.960
route during the weekends where he'd get up at

00:18:16.960 --> 00:18:19.079
like three, two, three in the morning, deliver

00:18:19.079 --> 00:18:22.539
papers, and then he'd spend all day on Saturday

00:18:22.539 --> 00:18:25.099
where they'd go up to the naval base, and they

00:18:25.099 --> 00:18:28.059
would bring sailors back, we would play sports,

00:18:28.200 --> 00:18:30.660
they'd preach to us, then we'd go over to his

00:18:30.660 --> 00:18:33.819
house, they'd let us sleep there. On Sunday morning,

00:18:33.880 --> 00:18:35.900
he gets back up at two in the morning, then in

00:18:35.900 --> 00:18:38.140
the morning, Miss Anne Goodall picked. fixed

00:18:38.140 --> 00:18:40.480
us breakfast. Then we went to church. Then on

00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:41.960
Sunday afternoon, we came back over the house

00:18:41.960 --> 00:18:44.480
and ate with them. Brother Mike Goodall, Miss

00:18:44.480 --> 00:18:47.460
Anne Goodall changed my life. And I talked to

00:18:47.460 --> 00:18:50.740
him and I rejoiced with him. He's got cancer.

00:18:50.759 --> 00:18:52.779
He's not taking treatments for it. Miss Anne

00:18:52.779 --> 00:18:55.839
has stage four colon cancer. And I got to chat

00:18:55.839 --> 00:18:58.359
with them last night. They're about to enter

00:18:58.359 --> 00:19:02.099
into glory. Okay, they're entering into the reward,

00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:04.579
and I wanna let them know, listen, your labor's

00:19:04.579 --> 00:19:06.599
not in vain. I told them about the souls that

00:19:06.599 --> 00:19:08.920
got saved this last week, and I said the people

00:19:08.920 --> 00:19:11.259
being changed here, and I said, you have a part

00:19:11.259 --> 00:19:13.039
in that, because I would not be here if it wasn't

00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:15.440
for Mike and Ann Goodall. Why they sacrificed

00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:18.440
so much, why they worked so much, you know, I'm

00:19:18.440 --> 00:19:21.420
thankful they did. I'm thankful they did. The

00:19:21.420 --> 00:19:24.059
work of the Lord right there. Now, I'm not trying

00:19:24.059 --> 00:19:26.680
to get ahead of myself, but God uses, now listen

00:19:26.680 --> 00:19:32.220
to this. Oh, okay. Can you imagine? Grant, okay,

00:19:32.220 --> 00:19:34.819
and I wanna mark this, and I love you, Brother

00:19:34.819 --> 00:19:39.240
Grant, okay? Who are we gonna choose for the

00:19:39.240 --> 00:19:42.500
work of the Lord? We're gonna choose the man

00:19:42.500 --> 00:19:46.240
with the biggest mouth. Okay, no, no, no, no,

00:19:46.420 --> 00:19:50.039
no. We're gonna choose seven men with the strongest

00:19:50.039 --> 00:19:54.920
opinions. No, no, just say no, no, no, no. Help

00:19:54.920 --> 00:19:56.890
me out, Grant, say no, no, no. Let's figure it,

00:19:56.890 --> 00:19:58.970
okay, okay. We're gonna choose seven men who

00:19:58.970 --> 00:20:02.529
know how to stir the pot. No, we're gonna find

00:20:02.529 --> 00:20:05.309
the seven men with the biggest bank accounts

00:20:05.309 --> 00:20:07.650
or we're gonna find the seven men with the biggest

00:20:07.650 --> 00:20:12.470
personalities. That's no, no, no, no, no, no,

00:20:12.470 --> 00:20:15.210
no. We're gonna choose the seven men who are

00:20:15.210 --> 00:20:18.809
the loudest, who complain the most. No, you begin

00:20:18.809 --> 00:20:20.970
to look at they were chosen because they were

00:20:20.970 --> 00:20:24.160
qualified. And I like this list, I like this

00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:26.380
list. God was going to use the right kind of

00:20:26.380 --> 00:20:28.319
people to make a difference in the church, but

00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:30.920
there's a qualification. Look with me at verse

00:20:30.920 --> 00:20:34.240
number three. Look at verse number three. Wherefore,

00:20:34.420 --> 00:20:38.079
brethren, look ye out among you seven men of

00:20:38.079 --> 00:20:42.759
what? Honest report, full of the Holy Ghost,

00:20:43.099 --> 00:20:45.440
and wisdom. Now, before we go any further, we

00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:49.140
have here at our church a worker's agreement.

00:20:49.740 --> 00:20:52.839
And I have one printed over there, but a workers

00:20:52.839 --> 00:20:54.420
agreement. Can two walk together except they'd

00:20:54.420 --> 00:20:55.759
be agreed? If you want to be a Sunday school

00:20:55.759 --> 00:20:58.339
teacher, there's some qualifications to be a

00:20:58.339 --> 00:21:00.660
Sunday school teacher, okay? And I think they're

00:21:00.660 --> 00:21:03.640
good. They're very, very good. But we can almost

00:21:03.640 --> 00:21:07.660
simplify our servants agreement down to these

00:21:07.660 --> 00:21:10.819
three things. Okay, and just to simplify the

00:21:10.819 --> 00:21:13.759
first one the first one when we look you out

00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:16.599
among you seven men They're chosen because they're

00:21:16.599 --> 00:21:19.099
called the first qualification for the worker

00:21:19.099 --> 00:21:22.299
was that they were of honest report So those

00:21:22.299 --> 00:21:25.099
two words with they were of what honest report.

00:21:25.099 --> 00:21:27.460
They were honest report What does that mean?

00:21:27.740 --> 00:21:32.039
That means these men you could trust them They

00:21:32.039 --> 00:21:35.289
were trustworthy The people knew what kind of

00:21:35.289 --> 00:21:38.349
men they were. Their lives that they lived right

00:21:38.349 --> 00:21:42.009
there carried away. Their words could be trusted.

00:21:42.410 --> 00:21:45.269
The contact that they had gave you confidence.

00:21:45.569 --> 00:21:48.410
No matter what the church problem was, these

00:21:48.410 --> 00:21:51.589
were people that you could trust. Hey, Grant,

00:21:51.950 --> 00:21:54.890
I got a job for you. I need your help. It would

00:21:54.890 --> 00:21:57.710
be a blessing. And all of a sudden, when I passed

00:21:57.710 --> 00:22:00.920
the baton to him to take care of that, I could

00:22:00.920 --> 00:22:03.380
trust him that he was going to follow through

00:22:03.380 --> 00:22:06.240
and do what needed to be done. He wasn't gonna

00:22:06.240 --> 00:22:08.940
say, oh, Pastor, got a little bit too late last

00:22:08.940 --> 00:22:11.059
night. I know you want it done, but I forgot.

00:22:12.099 --> 00:22:16.480
They had character. They had character. They

00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:19.980
weren't characters, they had character. And that's

00:22:19.980 --> 00:22:22.500
vitally important. Seems like a simple truth,

00:22:22.539 --> 00:22:27.400
but we need men and women of character. you can

00:22:27.400 --> 00:22:31.279
trust them. And a man may have ability, but if

00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:34.480
he doesn't have honesty and humility and a good

00:22:34.480 --> 00:22:37.299
report, he may make the problem worse. And the

00:22:37.299 --> 00:22:40.579
first qualification they had was a man who had

00:22:40.579 --> 00:22:43.200
character. People who helped the church are people

00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:46.119
that are trustworthy. Now, I'm saying this to

00:22:46.119 --> 00:22:48.019
all of us because by the time the end of the

00:22:48.019 --> 00:22:50.660
sermon, we all should be workers in the church.

00:22:50.990 --> 00:22:53.990
We all ought to find an area, but in order, you

00:22:53.990 --> 00:22:56.490
have to ask yourself, are you somebody who is

00:22:56.490 --> 00:23:00.650
of honest report? Do you have character? We live

00:23:00.650 --> 00:23:04.269
in a world that minimizes character in some form

00:23:04.269 --> 00:23:07.289
or fashion or people are not taught to have character.

00:23:07.309 --> 00:23:10.170
You can't rely on anybody. You know, you have

00:23:10.170 --> 00:23:15.430
to beg and plead and hope and bribe almost people

00:23:15.430 --> 00:23:18.049
to, you know, Bible says, let your yay be yay

00:23:18.049 --> 00:23:21.049
and your nay be nay. And you understand that.

00:23:21.269 --> 00:23:23.609
So character matters, character matters, character

00:23:23.609 --> 00:23:25.650
matters. And we're gonna get to the end of this

00:23:25.650 --> 00:23:27.849
because all of us need to work and make sure

00:23:27.849 --> 00:23:31.369
we have character, character. Okay, number two,

00:23:31.769 --> 00:23:34.410
and yeah, I could elongate this. We know Paul

00:23:34.410 --> 00:23:37.250
said this. I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who

00:23:37.250 --> 00:23:40.490
hath enabled me for that he counted me faithful.

00:23:40.589 --> 00:23:44.829
He counted me faithful putting me into the ministry.

00:23:45.069 --> 00:23:47.130
When we look at apostle Paul, he said, man, I

00:23:47.130 --> 00:23:49.910
thank God. that he allowed me to minister, he

00:23:49.910 --> 00:23:52.829
counted me faithful. He had character. It says

00:23:52.829 --> 00:23:54.329
like this in First Corinthians chapter four,

00:23:54.390 --> 00:23:56.750
verse two. More of it is required in stewards

00:23:56.750 --> 00:24:00.269
that a man be found faithful. Character matters,

00:24:00.690 --> 00:24:02.829
character matters. Just say that with me. Character

00:24:02.829 --> 00:24:07.130
matters. Okay, okay. Character matters, character

00:24:07.130 --> 00:24:11.410
matters. Character matters, okay? We'll try it

00:24:11.410 --> 00:24:13.089
one more time, okay? Here we go. If you just

00:24:13.089 --> 00:24:16.190
say it, we'll move on. Because in workers, character

00:24:16.190 --> 00:24:19.660
matters. Character matters, character matters,

00:24:20.180 --> 00:24:22.259
character matters. Okay, we can move on, okay.

00:24:23.619 --> 00:24:27.440
Thank you, Lord. Verse three again. Wherefore,

00:24:27.460 --> 00:24:30.740
brethren, look ye out among you seven men of

00:24:30.740 --> 00:24:33.799
honest report, number two, full of the what?

00:24:34.839 --> 00:24:38.299
Full of the Holy Ghost, full of the Holy Ghost.

00:24:38.740 --> 00:24:40.859
This is a theme throughout the Bible. Be not

00:24:40.859 --> 00:24:43.940
drunk with wine wearing his excess, but be ye

00:24:43.940 --> 00:24:47.529
filled with the Spirit, the Bible says. And this

00:24:47.529 --> 00:24:53.390
is worthy to slow down here a little bit. Oh

00:24:53.390 --> 00:24:57.650
yeah, Travis. Travis, you are just like your

00:24:57.650 --> 00:25:03.009
grandpa. He's always whining. So sorry about

00:25:03.009 --> 00:25:07.869
that. That's my grandson right there. They were

00:25:07.869 --> 00:25:10.890
spiritual. Number one, they had character. Number

00:25:10.890 --> 00:25:14.950
two, they were spiritual. And the issue is involving

00:25:14.950 --> 00:25:18.150
what? Food distribution, okay? It involved tables,

00:25:18.329 --> 00:25:20.549
it involved widows, it involved what you might

00:25:20.549 --> 00:25:23.210
say daily ministration. And someone say, well,

00:25:23.210 --> 00:25:27.250
that's just administration. And it is administration.

00:25:27.750 --> 00:25:30.490
It is making a plan. It is dealing with a problem.

00:25:30.789 --> 00:25:33.869
But God said the men needed to be full of the

00:25:33.869 --> 00:25:37.410
Holy Ghost. You know, when you're doing God's

00:25:37.410 --> 00:25:39.690
work, you need to have character, but you also

00:25:39.690 --> 00:25:43.609
need to live spiritual lives. even practical

00:25:43.609 --> 00:25:46.430
ministry required for spirit, or requirement

00:25:46.430 --> 00:25:50.069
with spiritual people. Carnal people may be able

00:25:50.069 --> 00:25:52.289
to organize something, but they can't handle

00:25:52.289 --> 00:25:55.569
the word of God in God's spirit, you might say.

00:25:56.009 --> 00:25:59.730
A carnal person may get a task done, but may

00:25:59.730 --> 00:26:03.710
hurt people while doing it. You understand, a

00:26:03.710 --> 00:26:07.490
carnal person may solve a problem on the surface,

00:26:07.549 --> 00:26:11.309
but they miss out on things spiritual. It's so

00:26:11.309 --> 00:26:13.950
important, spiritual matters, spiritual lives

00:26:13.950 --> 00:26:16.789
matter. And we're talking about the workers,

00:26:16.869 --> 00:26:18.630
they had to have character, but they needed to

00:26:18.630 --> 00:26:21.390
have a walk with God. They need to be filled

00:26:21.390 --> 00:26:24.349
with the Spirit. Cardinal people cannot fix church

00:26:24.349 --> 00:26:27.029
problems in a spiritual way. And listen, to sum

00:26:27.029 --> 00:26:30.289
this up, a church with problems, that's us, by

00:26:30.289 --> 00:26:34.250
the way, we need Spirit -filled people in more

00:26:34.250 --> 00:26:36.130
places than just the pulpit. By the way, you

00:26:36.130 --> 00:26:38.650
need it in the pulpit. I need to make sure that

00:26:38.650 --> 00:26:41.549
I'm spiritual, to have a walk with God. Shame

00:26:41.549 --> 00:26:44.190
on me if I don't, right? You don't want a pastor

00:26:44.190 --> 00:26:48.069
that doesn't walk with God, do you? And so none

00:26:48.069 --> 00:26:50.490
of us are perfect, but we all have to humble

00:26:50.490 --> 00:26:53.009
ourselves and have a walk with God. Spirit -filled

00:26:53.009 --> 00:26:57.029
deacons, we desperately, Sunday school teachers,

00:26:57.750 --> 00:27:00.950
I don't want you to watch my baby in the nursery

00:27:00.950 --> 00:27:03.210
if you're not a spirit -filled nursery worker.

00:27:03.809 --> 00:27:05.750
What are you doing up in the choir if you're

00:27:05.750 --> 00:27:08.069
singing for the Lord? How can you sing to the

00:27:08.069 --> 00:27:12.569
Lord if you're not spiritual? And it sounds like

00:27:12.569 --> 00:27:16.549
I'm angry tonight. I am! I'm not really angry,

00:27:16.809 --> 00:27:19.349
but you understand, there is an important part.

00:27:19.549 --> 00:27:22.309
First part, they required somebody with character.

00:27:22.789 --> 00:27:25.869
Number two, they required, number two, a spirit

00:27:25.869 --> 00:27:28.430
-filled person right there. Number three, look

00:27:28.430 --> 00:27:30.750
at this. Well, look at verse three again. Wherefore,

00:27:30.869 --> 00:27:33.170
brethren, look ye out among you, seven men of

00:27:33.170 --> 00:27:36.289
honest report, full of the Holy Ghost, and what?

00:27:37.589 --> 00:27:42.329
Wisdom, wisdom. Now, this is important, and I

00:27:42.329 --> 00:27:46.180
think this character, You're spirit -filled,

00:27:47.019 --> 00:27:50.299
but we desperately need to have wisdom. Wisdom

00:27:50.299 --> 00:27:55.839
is the ability to handle people, pressure, details,

00:27:56.519 --> 00:27:58.980
and difficulty, difficult situations in a way

00:27:58.980 --> 00:28:02.779
that please the Lord. And when you deal with

00:28:02.779 --> 00:28:07.880
people, you desperately need wisdom. Okay, just

00:28:07.880 --> 00:28:09.960
do you get him you get in the middle of that

00:28:09.960 --> 00:28:12.920
Grecian widow and those non Grecian You don't

00:28:12.920 --> 00:28:14.279
want to get in front of any of those ladies.

00:28:14.660 --> 00:28:17.819
It's dangerous Okay, but you certainly don't

00:28:17.819 --> 00:28:20.220
want to get in between those ladies without wisdom

00:28:20.220 --> 00:28:22.900
So I want to say this the phrase one more time

00:28:22.900 --> 00:28:25.480
wisdom is the ability to handle people pressure

00:28:25.480 --> 00:28:28.619
details and Difficulties in a way that that please

00:28:28.619 --> 00:28:31.539
God sometimes if you're not careful without wisdom

00:28:31.539 --> 00:28:35.160
you make things that are molehills into big mountains

00:28:35.579 --> 00:28:37.200
And I'll tell you, when you don't have wisdom,

00:28:37.240 --> 00:28:40.680
you make things worse. Okay, somebody say amen.

00:28:40.900 --> 00:28:43.079
When you don't have wisdom in dealing with people,

00:28:43.299 --> 00:28:47.339
you can make small situations huge. How do you

00:28:47.339 --> 00:28:55.220
know pastor? Been there, done that, wrote the

00:28:55.220 --> 00:28:57.940
book several times. Okay, anybody else ever been

00:28:57.940 --> 00:29:00.799
there? Okay, okay, we all have in some form or

00:29:00.799 --> 00:29:03.180
fashion. Okay, look, that they needed wisdom.

00:29:03.799 --> 00:29:09.799
They needed to listen without becoming partial.

00:29:10.759 --> 00:29:13.259
They needed to care. They needed to care for

00:29:13.259 --> 00:29:16.400
the people without stirring things up. You ever

00:29:16.400 --> 00:29:18.579
gone to somebody, I wanna help you, but rather

00:29:18.579 --> 00:29:20.720
than help you begin to stir things up a little

00:29:20.720 --> 00:29:24.779
bit, and you sort of enjoy stirring the pot a

00:29:24.779 --> 00:29:27.819
little bit, oh yeah. What were they thinking

00:29:27.819 --> 00:29:30.539
doing that to you? That was wrong. You understand

00:29:30.539 --> 00:29:31.900
stirring the pot? You understand how many of

00:29:31.900 --> 00:29:33.380
you know what stirring the pot is? You know that?

00:29:33.839 --> 00:29:37.039
Yeah, yeah, okay. They need to solve the issue

00:29:37.039 --> 00:29:40.460
without magnifying, you might say, the conflict.

00:29:40.799 --> 00:29:44.079
They needed to meet the need without making those,

00:29:44.079 --> 00:29:47.259
like I said, those mole hills into mountains,

00:29:47.400 --> 00:29:50.140
okay? So we get that right there. Every church

00:29:50.140 --> 00:29:53.619
needs wise servants. We need church servants

00:29:53.619 --> 00:29:56.660
in here, workers in here, that don't make or

00:29:56.660 --> 00:29:59.339
inflame or make every issue bigger than. And

00:29:59.339 --> 00:30:01.839
it is. We need people who don't assume the worst.

00:30:01.880 --> 00:30:03.900
And I have a whole list right here. But we need

00:30:03.900 --> 00:30:08.180
wisdom, we need wisdom, and we need what? Wisdom.

00:30:08.420 --> 00:30:10.759
Okay, so those are the three requirements. Three

00:30:10.759 --> 00:30:15.940
requirements, character, spiritual, and wisdom.

00:30:16.539 --> 00:30:19.279
Character, spiritual, wisdom. The three worker

00:30:19.279 --> 00:30:23.240
requirements. What is it? Character, spiritual,

00:30:23.519 --> 00:30:26.400
and wisdom. Now the end result, we love the end

00:30:26.400 --> 00:30:28.039
result. Look at the end result, Ruth here, if

00:30:28.039 --> 00:30:30.640
you will. Look at this next one. Oh, oh, oh,

00:30:30.640 --> 00:30:34.859
and I hate shortening the sermon. How many times

00:30:34.859 --> 00:30:38.640
have I blown it? Okay, don't answer that, okay?

00:30:39.279 --> 00:30:41.819
Actually, I don't want you to answer that. And

00:30:41.819 --> 00:30:44.859
you know, when preparing for this, I realize

00:30:44.859 --> 00:30:47.660
how many times I've blown it, okay? Pastor Cantrell,

00:30:47.779 --> 00:30:49.779
you ever blown it? Okay, we pastors, we're pretty

00:30:49.779 --> 00:30:52.650
good at that, okay? But especially me. And I

00:30:52.650 --> 00:30:54.809
got a nice story about how I blew it, but I'm

00:30:54.809 --> 00:30:56.250
not gonna tell you it tonight, okay? I'm gonna

00:30:56.250 --> 00:30:59.710
skip that. Time's sake, okay? Wisdom, time's

00:30:59.710 --> 00:31:01.650
sake. But look at this next verse, verse number

00:31:01.650 --> 00:31:03.970
seven. What's the result? And the word of God

00:31:03.970 --> 00:31:08.930
what? Word of God increased. Because these problems,

00:31:09.250 --> 00:31:12.859
yes, but because they had spiritual people. people

00:31:12.859 --> 00:31:16.119
with character, people that had wisdom, all of

00:31:16.119 --> 00:31:18.019
a sudden they were able to move on and the result

00:31:18.019 --> 00:31:20.640
was the word of God increased. The result was

00:31:20.640 --> 00:31:23.599
the murmuring did not define the church. You

00:31:23.599 --> 00:31:26.799
know, what defines your church? We're a murmuring

00:31:26.799 --> 00:31:30.460
church, no. We're a divided church, no. We're

00:31:30.460 --> 00:31:34.039
a church that's stuck, no. We're a church where

00:31:34.039 --> 00:31:37.000
God has spiritual people. People with character,

00:31:37.220 --> 00:31:39.279
men and women with character, teenagers with

00:31:39.279 --> 00:31:42.140
character, Sunday school teachers with character

00:31:42.140 --> 00:31:45.559
that are spiritual, that have wisdom. Man, that

00:31:45.559 --> 00:31:49.059
would be great. Imagine that. Teenagers? Man,

00:31:49.220 --> 00:31:52.460
you think about teenagers, right? Teenagers with

00:31:52.460 --> 00:31:57.059
character, spiritual teenagers, and not only

00:31:57.059 --> 00:31:59.819
that, but they're spiritual and they have what?

00:32:00.380 --> 00:32:04.019
Wisdom, okay. So now, this is... what I want

00:32:04.019 --> 00:32:05.759
for our church. This is what I want for Chesapeake

00:32:05.759 --> 00:32:07.319
Baptist Church. We're almost there, but we're

00:32:07.319 --> 00:32:10.839
not really. I don't want a church without problems.

00:32:11.720 --> 00:32:13.259
I don't want a church without problems. There's

00:32:13.259 --> 00:32:16.480
not such a thing. There's no such thing as a

00:32:16.480 --> 00:32:19.059
church without problems. Just say amen. We want

00:32:19.059 --> 00:32:21.400
a church where problems do not stop the word

00:32:21.400 --> 00:32:24.500
of God. We want a church where needs are met.

00:32:24.900 --> 00:32:26.799
We want a church where murmuring's not allowed

00:32:26.799 --> 00:32:29.940
to spread. We want a church where servants step

00:32:29.940 --> 00:32:33.930
up. We need help. We need workers. We need them

00:32:33.930 --> 00:32:40.130
to step up. It's awesome, I'll tell you. It's

00:32:40.130 --> 00:32:43.430
awesome. I mentioned one need over there about

00:32:43.430 --> 00:32:46.710
Sister Sini. During handshaking, a dear lady

00:32:46.710 --> 00:32:48.349
came up and said, Pastor, I'll take care of it

00:32:48.349 --> 00:32:51.009
until somebody else can maybe volunteer. You

00:32:51.009 --> 00:32:53.950
know how awesome that was? That's but that's

00:32:53.950 --> 00:32:56.569
our church and it would be great to have another

00:32:56.569 --> 00:32:58.190
lady come up and say hey pastor They don't need

00:32:58.190 --> 00:33:00.450
to do that every week. Well, we'll get on a rotation.

00:33:00.509 --> 00:33:03.450
I'll take care of the rotation and main line

00:33:03.450 --> 00:33:07.789
That's awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Okay Don't

00:33:07.789 --> 00:33:12.650
this is the sermon. Don't murmur Be a minister

00:33:12.650 --> 00:33:19.230
Okay, okay How do I get to this? Okay, cuz I

00:33:19.230 --> 00:33:24.519
got seven pages left Okay, we can be a part of

00:33:24.519 --> 00:33:26.839
the remembering or we can be a part of the ministry.

00:33:27.420 --> 00:33:30.660
I can complain about the long sermons or I can

00:33:30.660 --> 00:33:37.259
say amen in the sermons. Okay, thank you. Perfect

00:33:37.259 --> 00:33:41.839
right there. Okay, good. Okay. Okay, this is

00:33:41.839 --> 00:33:45.660
where we're at. This is where we get it. It's

00:33:45.660 --> 00:33:50.440
simple, I find. Do I, Matt Nettesheim, have character?

00:33:53.079 --> 00:34:00.000
Am I a spiritual person? Do I have wisdom? Now,

00:34:00.059 --> 00:34:01.779
when I ask me those questions, how am I doing

00:34:01.779 --> 00:34:05.039
with my character? Do I have character or are

00:34:05.039 --> 00:34:07.720
there things I need to work on? Probably in reality,

00:34:07.759 --> 00:34:09.619
we all have something to work on in our character,

00:34:09.719 --> 00:34:13.559
right? So the spiritual side, we all should be

00:34:13.559 --> 00:34:16.199
spiritual. We know that, should we work on it?

00:34:17.199 --> 00:34:20.070
What about wisdom? Wisdom, we all say yes, we

00:34:20.070 --> 00:34:22.010
need wisdom, but how many say we need to work

00:34:22.010 --> 00:34:24.670
on that? So in each of these areas, this is gonna

00:34:24.670 --> 00:34:28.070
be really, really slow, okay? Number one, work

00:34:28.070 --> 00:34:32.630
on your character. Men of honest report, we should

00:34:32.630 --> 00:34:36.989
be people that can be trusted. So what can I

00:34:36.989 --> 00:34:38.949
do to work on my character? Here's some things,

00:34:39.170 --> 00:34:40.989
and just think with them. I'm gonna go slow with

00:34:40.989 --> 00:34:43.650
this, but work on your character. Number one,

00:34:43.889 --> 00:34:48.559
tell the truth. Somebody who has character or

00:34:48.559 --> 00:34:52.400
has honest report, they tell the truth. You tell

00:34:52.400 --> 00:34:55.159
the truth. And there's a lot of verses I could

00:34:55.159 --> 00:34:57.320
have put right here, wherefore put away lying,

00:34:57.780 --> 00:35:01.159
and speak every man truth. Number two, keep your

00:35:01.159 --> 00:35:05.280
word. If you say you're gonna do something, do

00:35:05.280 --> 00:35:08.460
it. Let your yay be yay and your nay may. Tell

00:35:08.460 --> 00:35:11.199
the truth, keep your word. Be faithful in the

00:35:11.199 --> 00:35:13.239
little things. There's a Bible verse that, he

00:35:13.239 --> 00:35:16.119
that is faithful in that which is least is faithful

00:35:16.119 --> 00:35:19.800
also in much. So be faithful in the little things.

00:35:20.280 --> 00:35:24.860
Then this one, refuse gossip and half -truths.

00:35:25.320 --> 00:35:29.480
Just refuse it, refuse it. Don't carry stories

00:35:29.480 --> 00:35:32.760
or stir things up. Just refuse to stir things

00:35:32.760 --> 00:35:36.489
up. Refuse it. And do not repeat what does not

00:35:36.489 --> 00:35:39.110
help. Number five, the last one, live the same

00:35:39.110 --> 00:35:46.210
in public and in private. Be a Christian. Okay,

00:35:46.510 --> 00:35:50.239
be, I mean, at church. Be the same at home and

00:35:50.239 --> 00:35:52.800
at church, amen? Vitally important, those five

00:35:52.800 --> 00:35:54.460
things. That's character, character, character.

00:35:54.659 --> 00:35:56.780
How many say I can work on those things? Okay,

00:35:56.920 --> 00:35:58.460
I'm gonna read through that really, really, really,

00:35:58.460 --> 00:35:59.780
really, really, really quick. Tell the truth,

00:35:59.860 --> 00:36:01.619
keep your word, faithful in little things, refuse

00:36:01.619 --> 00:36:03.420
gospel and have truths, live the same in public

00:36:03.420 --> 00:36:06.099
and private. Number two, work on being spiritual.

00:36:06.400 --> 00:36:08.159
There were people of the Holy Ghost right there.

00:36:08.559 --> 00:36:10.320
What do you mean by that? What we can work on?

00:36:10.679 --> 00:36:15.260
Be filled with the Spirit. Read Galatians chapter

00:36:15.260 --> 00:36:19.159
five. Just say that with me. Read Galatians chapter

00:36:19.159 --> 00:36:22.239
five. Say it like you mean it. Read Galatians

00:36:22.239 --> 00:36:24.519
chapter five. Some of you would be some mean

00:36:24.519 --> 00:36:27.579
preachers, okay? You'd be nice preachers, okay?

00:36:28.659 --> 00:36:32.760
Walk with God daily. Walk with God daily. Not

00:36:32.760 --> 00:36:35.960
once a week, not once a month, but somehow learn

00:36:35.960 --> 00:36:39.019
to walk with God daily. Do not try to work for

00:36:39.019 --> 00:36:42.599
God publicly and neglect God privately. Okay,

00:36:42.659 --> 00:36:51.320
number three, read your Bible. Please, please

00:36:51.320 --> 00:36:55.059
read your Bible. Number four, be faithful to

00:36:55.059 --> 00:36:58.840
church. It's not a sermon on that, but church

00:36:58.840 --> 00:37:01.800
is good for me, for me. It's good for me. It's

00:37:01.800 --> 00:37:05.119
a reset button. And I like Wednesday night church.

00:37:05.320 --> 00:37:07.480
I like Sunday morning church. I like Sunday night

00:37:07.480 --> 00:37:12.920
church so much the more as you see the day approaching.

00:37:13.239 --> 00:37:16.460
and go to church, re -faithfully. Then tell people

00:37:16.460 --> 00:37:18.699
about Jesus. Go into all the world and preach

00:37:18.699 --> 00:37:22.780
the gospel. I tell you, it helps you and it challenges

00:37:22.780 --> 00:37:24.400
you when you go into the community and tell people

00:37:24.400 --> 00:37:27.820
about Jesus. Number three, not only be spiritual,

00:37:27.900 --> 00:37:30.659
not only have character, but work on having wisdom.

00:37:31.679 --> 00:37:35.119
Work on having what? Okay, one more time and

00:37:35.119 --> 00:37:37.420
I'm gonna say it. Work on having what? Wisdom.

00:37:37.539 --> 00:37:39.840
Good, good, good, good, good, good. So how do

00:37:39.840 --> 00:37:43.820
we do that? Ask God for wisdom? If any of you

00:37:43.820 --> 00:37:47.559
lack wisdom, let him ask of God. Give it to all

00:37:47.559 --> 00:37:48.920
men liberally and in the brain of God and it

00:37:48.920 --> 00:37:51.480
shall be given him. It shall be given him. But

00:37:51.480 --> 00:37:53.820
if you need wisdom and you do wisdom to deal

00:37:53.820 --> 00:37:58.420
with people, ask God for wisdom. Two, read the

00:37:58.420 --> 00:38:01.360
Proverbs. That's God's book of wisdom. There

00:38:01.360 --> 00:38:05.500
are 31 chapters in Proverbs. Read a Proverb a

00:38:05.500 --> 00:38:08.659
day. Let God teach you how to think, how to speak,

00:38:08.739 --> 00:38:11.840
how to work, how to listen, how to handle situations.

00:38:12.759 --> 00:38:16.920
Proverbs is absolutely amazing. Okay, good. So

00:38:16.920 --> 00:38:20.280
ask God for wisdom, read Proverbs, learn to listen.

00:38:20.940 --> 00:38:24.900
I don't know how many times I have not listened

00:38:24.900 --> 00:38:27.159
to somebody and I open my big mouth before I

00:38:27.159 --> 00:38:29.820
even listen to what they say. I have to work

00:38:29.820 --> 00:38:31.599
on that. How many else have to work on that?

00:38:31.739 --> 00:38:35.840
Okay, but we have to learn to listen. Learn to

00:38:35.840 --> 00:38:38.440
listen, be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow

00:38:38.440 --> 00:38:41.849
to rap. Number four. Get the facts before you

00:38:41.849 --> 00:38:45.670
form an opinion. Get the facts. You know, sometimes

00:38:45.670 --> 00:38:49.710
we come to a conclusion, ah! And we lay the hammer

00:38:49.710 --> 00:38:52.630
down before we know what we're hitting. How do

00:38:52.630 --> 00:38:57.650
you know? I'm good at it, okay? But stop and

00:38:57.650 --> 00:39:01.030
get the facts, then last this. Ask this, will

00:39:01.030 --> 00:39:04.650
this help the work of God move forward? Not this,

00:39:04.730 --> 00:39:08.090
can I say this? You're not doing. Am I technically

00:39:08.090 --> 00:39:11.530
right? Do I feel better after saying it? But

00:39:11.530 --> 00:39:15.750
will this help God's work move on? Is this what

00:39:15.750 --> 00:39:18.050
God wants me to do? Okay, we're done. We're done,

00:39:18.090 --> 00:39:19.710
we're done, we're done, we're done, we're done.

00:39:20.469 --> 00:39:26.110
Ah! And I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just think this

00:39:26.110 --> 00:39:29.289
is one of the most powerful truths ever. Because

00:39:29.289 --> 00:39:31.829
God has a special plan for Chesapeake Baptist

00:39:31.829 --> 00:39:35.210
Church. He's using us in a great way. And God

00:39:35.210 --> 00:39:38.150
is adding to our church. There's a lot of good

00:39:38.150 --> 00:39:40.610
going on. And I could spend the next 20 minutes

00:39:40.610 --> 00:39:43.309
doing that. I'm not going to. But what is a danger

00:39:43.309 --> 00:39:48.989
is we begin to murmur. And if we all, us, us,

00:39:49.090 --> 00:39:52.349
we work on having character, we work on living

00:39:52.349 --> 00:39:56.230
a spiritual life, and we work on having wisdom,

00:39:56.889 --> 00:40:02.469
man alive, the word of God will increase. Let's

00:40:02.469 --> 00:40:04.869
pray. Dear Father in heaven, we love you. Thank

00:40:04.869 --> 00:40:07.730
you for being good to us. And thank you for Acts

00:40:07.730 --> 00:40:10.070
chapter number six. And I pray that you help

00:40:10.070 --> 00:40:12.989
all of us, all of us, all of us work on those

00:40:12.989 --> 00:40:15.250
things, me included. I have much to work on,

00:40:15.369 --> 00:40:18.030
Lord. And I pray that you continue to bless our

00:40:18.030 --> 00:40:21.670
church. I pray that the word of God increases

00:40:21.670 --> 00:40:24.789
in a mighty way, Lord. We sure do love you. In

00:40:24.789 --> 00:40:27.889
Jesus' name, amen. Stand with me if you will.

00:40:30.030 --> 00:40:32.329
Good good turn around shake somebody's hand shake

00:40:32.329 --> 00:40:34.150
somebody's hand shake somebody's hands. I'm glad

00:40:34.150 --> 00:40:36.070
you came glad you came glad