Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Often-Overlooked Lives of Significance Msg 114

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Often-Overlooked Lives of Significance Msg 114 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: Over in the book of Second Samuel, chapter twenty three,
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Speaker 1: will read of the last words that were significant enough
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Speaker 1: for the writer of the book to include that fell
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Speaker 1: from the lips of David. And then we will move
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Speaker 1: over to First Chronicles and read of similar words that
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Speaker 1: were said at the beginning of David's move toward the
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Speaker 1: throne of Israel. So turn in your Bible to both
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Speaker 1: chapters if you will, Second Samuel twenty three, and then
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Speaker 1: in a moment we'll get over the First Chronicles eleven.
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Speaker 1: I have a friend who calls this section of Scriptures
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Speaker 1: the pots and Pans edition or section of the Scriptures.
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Speaker 1: It's often the place where people stop reading through the
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Speaker 1: Bible because it is full of words that are hard
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Speaker 1: to pronounce the names, and sort of comes across as
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Speaker 1: an obituary, when in fact it is a history at
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Speaker 1: its most exciting moment, though it doesn't seem like it
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Speaker 1: when you read words on the page. So follow along,
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Speaker 1: Second Samuel twenty three, Verse one. Now these are the
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Speaker 1: last words of David. David, the son of Jesse, declares,
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Speaker 1: the man who was raised on high, declares the anointed
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Speaker 1: of the God of Jacob, and the sweet Psalmist of Israel.
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Speaker 1: The spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and his
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Speaker 1: word was on my tongue. Verse eight. These are the
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Speaker 1: names of the mighty man whom David had, Joshev Bashevit,
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Speaker 1: a Takemnite chief of the captains. He was called Adino
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Speaker 1: the s Knight because of eight hundred slain by him
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Speaker 1: at one time. And after him was Eliezar, the son
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Speaker 1: of Dodo the Aoheight, one of the three mighty men
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Speaker 1: with David when they defied the Philistines, who were gathered
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Speaker 1: there to battle, and the men of Israel had withdrawn
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Speaker 1: verse eleven. Now after him was Shama, the son of
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Speaker 1: Agi the Harawite. And the Flistines were gathered into a
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Speaker 1: troop where there was a plot of ground full of lentils,
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Speaker 1: and the people fled from the Flistines. But he took
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Speaker 1: his stand in the midst of the plot, defended it
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Speaker 1: and struck the Plistines, and the Lord brought about the
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Speaker 1: great victory. The passage goes on to describe that. But
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Speaker 1: let's turn from there to First Chronicles, Chapter eleven, Verse nine.
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Speaker 1: David became greater and greater, for the Lord of Hosts
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Speaker 1: was with him. Now these are the heads of the
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Speaker 1: mighty man whom David had, who gave him strong support
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Speaker 1: in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him
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Speaker 1: king according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel.
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Speaker 1: Verse twenty two. Benaiah, the son of Jehoidah, the son
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Speaker 1: of a valiant man of Capzil, mighty in deeds, struck
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Speaker 1: down the two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also
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Speaker 1: went down and killed a lion inside a pit on
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Speaker 1: a snowy day. He killed an Egyptian, a man of
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Speaker 1: great stature five cubits tall Verse one of chapter twelve.
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Speaker 1: Now these are the ones who came to David at
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Speaker 1: Ziklag while he was still restricted because of Saul, the
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Speaker 1: son of Kish. And they were among the mighty men
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Speaker 1: who helped him in war. They were equipped with bows,
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Speaker 1: using both the right and the left to sling the
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Speaker 1: right hand and the left to sling stones and to
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Speaker 1: shoot arrows from the bow. They were Saul's kinsmen from Benjamin.
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Speaker 1: Verse eighteen. Then the spirit came upon Amesi, who was
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Speaker 1: the chief of the thirty, and he said, we are yours,
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Speaker 1: oh David, and with you, o son of Jesse, peace
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Speaker 1: peace to you and peace to him. Who helps you. Indeed,
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Speaker 1: your God helps you. The passage runs on down to
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Speaker 1: the end, where at the very end we read the
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Speaker 1: last sentence of verse forty, which describes the results of
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Speaker 1: all of their work and cooperation and bravery. The last
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Speaker 1: sentence reads, there was joy indeed in Israel. Now you
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Speaker 1: might wonder, what in the world are we going to
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Speaker 1: hear from this? I sort of thought that the first
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Speaker 1: of the week, last week, and it's all come together
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Speaker 1: in a wonderful way. The whole emphasis of this little
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Speaker 1: mini series is on the value of the unknowns. They
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Speaker 1: often overlooked lives we should, but we frequently failed to
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Speaker 1: acknowledge an honor. So when we finished with this, you'll
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Speaker 1: have a new appreciation for those we sometimes unfortunately call
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Speaker 1: the nobody's on this old planet. We've heard great music,
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Speaker 1: we've sung great music. We have listened as the Word
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Speaker 1: of God has been read. It's time that we pause
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Speaker 1: for just a few moments before the offering to pray
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Speaker 1: you join me. Our lives are busy, our father, so
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Speaker 1: busy that we often feel we can't miss a panel
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Speaker 1: of the revolving door. But we've learned and erroneously that
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Speaker 1: speed somehow is what life is about, when in fact
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Speaker 1: it is not at all. It is about depth. We
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Speaker 1: are in the midst of a competitive culture, but we've
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Speaker 1: come to realize that there is something far better than
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Speaker 1: the competition, and that's contentment in Christ. Help us, in
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Speaker 1: the midst of the speed of the day and the
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Speaker 1: pace of our times and the competition of our world,
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Speaker 1: to realize the value of moments spent sitting at a
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Speaker 1: place in a church, listening to great music, revisiting another
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Speaker 1: era when a composer was led to write a song
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Speaker 1: for our souls. Thank you for those people who have
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Speaker 1: helped shape our lives, whom our own family members and
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Speaker 1: often close friends may not even know. Thank You for
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Speaker 1: those who have now gone on who have left their
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Speaker 1: mark on us. Teachers who taught us, coaches who instructed us,
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Speaker 1: parents who loved us, Mentors who reproved us and encouraged us,
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Speaker 1: and aided us in the developing of skills which we
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Speaker 1: had in rough but they polished and helped make better.
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Speaker 1: Thank you for not forgetting those who have been significant
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Speaker 1: in times past. May we, in the brief rehearsal of
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Speaker 1: these few names that are hard to pronounce and difficult
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Speaker 1: to place in time. May we leave with a grand
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Speaker 1: reminder that no one is a nobody in your family.
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Speaker 1: Thank you for those nameless soldiers who today stand guard
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Speaker 1: on the front. Thank You for those who have lived
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Speaker 1: and died, paying that greatest of all prices that we
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Speaker 1: might be free. Thank You for keeping us protected from
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Speaker 1: terrorism just this week. We never take these weeks for granted,
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Speaker 1: our peace for granted. Thank you, Father for the way
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Speaker 1: you minister through various people in this great Church, for
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Speaker 1: raising up gifted, competent saints to serve and to give.
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Speaker 1: Thank You for these who filled this room today, whose
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Speaker 1: hearts are ready and hungry for the good word of God.
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Speaker 1: May the seed be sown carefully and well. May it
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Speaker 1: find root and bear fruit in the days to come.
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Speaker 1: Because of this and a thousand other reasons, we pause
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Speaker 1: and reach into our purses and our pocket books. We
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Speaker 1: write checks, and we give because we cannot restrain ourselves.
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Speaker 1: Thank you for making this flock so generous and so joyful.
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Speaker 1: We all sit in awe of what You're doing. And
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Speaker 1: may we may we stay close enough to give right guidance,
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Speaker 1: but stay aloof enough for the spirit of God to
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Speaker 1: move among us. Joyful, joyful, we adore you, our God,
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Speaker 1: and we give to you gratefully in Jesus' name. Everyone said, Amen, Well,
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Speaker 1: it's time to take a quiz, and so I'm going
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Speaker 1: to give you about five or six questions. See how
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Speaker 1: well you do. You don't have to write anything down,
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Speaker 1: but you need to draw on your bank of memory
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Speaker 1: to see how well you can remember some significant people
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Speaker 1: in the past. Question number one in the quiz. Who
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Speaker 1: taught Martin Luther has a theology and inspired his translation
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Speaker 1: of the Scriptures from Latin to German? Question number two?
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Speaker 1: Who spoke to Dwight L. Moody in the shoe store
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Speaker 1: that day and ultimately led him to Christ, which led
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Speaker 1: ultimately to a magnificent life of evangelism for the rest
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Speaker 1: of his days. Who was that man who served on
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Speaker 1: Harry Ironside's pastoral staff during his most significant years of
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Speaker 1: ministry at Moody Memorial Church in Chicago. Number four? Who
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Speaker 1: was the elderly lady who prayed every day of her
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Speaker 1: adult life for Billy Graham, especially during the heyday of
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Speaker 1: his ministry in his crusades. What was her name? Who
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Speaker 1: followed Hudson Taylor at China Inland mission giving it its
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Speaker 1: direction and vision in a remarkable manner for a long
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Speaker 1: number of year years. Who was the wife of Charles
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Speaker 1: Hadden Spurgeon, who helped Charles Wesley get under way as
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Speaker 1: a composer of music so that he would ultimately leave
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Speaker 1: the church with over five thousand hymns to sing? Who
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Speaker 1: was that person? Well, how'd we do? Isn't that amazing?
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Speaker 1: All of these significant people who, if they had not lived,
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Speaker 1: would have changed the shape of church history. We don't
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Speaker 1: know a name. We don't know one of those names.
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Speaker 1: Let me switch gears all of a sudden and put
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Speaker 1: you in the picture and make you one of the unknowns.
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Speaker 1: You teach a third grade Sunday school class at the
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Speaker 1: church you love and attend, and you have done so
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Speaker 1: for a number of years. Or you work in the
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Speaker 1: back parking lot wearing a bright colored vest, helping people
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Speaker 1: who are sometimes not that courteous find a place to
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Speaker 1: park at the church you love. You do it in
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Speaker 1: season and out of season, when it's hot or cold,
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Speaker 1: windy or dry, you're there. Let's say you're on the
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Speaker 1: staff of a ministry. The ministry has a few people
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Speaker 1: who are known, but you work behind the scenes. You
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Speaker 1: deal with the people of the staff, or people who
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Speaker 1: have complaints and concerns. You provide copies of information, You
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Speaker 1: answer phones, you meet the public. Everybody knows that other person.
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Speaker 1: But if you stood up in a lineup of twenty people,
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Speaker 1: no one or very few would even know your name.
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Speaker 1: Let's make you the receptionist. You think everybody would know
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Speaker 1: the receptionist name, wouldn't you, But they don't call to
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Speaker 1: talk to you. In fact, you get in their way
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Speaker 1: as they try to get a hold of someone else
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Speaker 1: they really want to talk to. It's a thankless job,
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Speaker 1: but you're there. You're responsible for getting the music together
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Speaker 1: for the choir to sing, or helping in the rehearsal
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Speaker 1: of the children when they sing on a given Sunday.
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Speaker 1: Or you're in charge of the sound system of let's
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Speaker 1: say some traveling, well known singer or musical group. You
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Speaker 1: take the wires, you set the mics, You determine the
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Speaker 1: speaker system and how it's set up. You record things
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Speaker 1: for this famous individual. Isn't that amazing? How important the
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Speaker 1: quote unknowns are? I thought of that just last Thursday night.
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Speaker 1: Cynthia and I, along with fifteen hundred plus other individuals
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Speaker 1: who love Dallas Seminary gathered at the old Majestic Theater
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Speaker 1: in downtown Dallas. Only thing older in Dallas than Dallas
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Speaker 1: Seminary is the Majestic Theater. It just been refurbished and
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Speaker 1: refurbished one of these great theaters. And Steve Green was
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Speaker 1: the singer. And what we all turned out to hear
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Speaker 1: Steve saying, everybody knows Steve. I was back behind the
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Speaker 1: stage and I got a chance to meet people nobody knows.
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Speaker 1: The fellow from California who plays keyboard for Steve Green,
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Speaker 1: the young woman from Orlando who plays violin, the gentleman
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Speaker 1: who plays several guitars beautifully, masterfully. These people accompany Steve
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Speaker 1: Green and make his performance memorable. I even got to
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Speaker 1: meet the man responsible for the sound. Steve brings his
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Speaker 1: own sound system and it was flawless. I mean, you
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Speaker 1: speak in the mic, every John and Tittle speaks sounds correctly.
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Speaker 1: I realized that when Steve's sound system was turned off
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Speaker 1: and the house system was turned on, and Mark Bailey,
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Speaker 1: our president, walked up to greet everybody, he took the
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Speaker 1: mic from the system in the house and he goes
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Speaker 1: good evening. Every tap here. Father seminary and he goes.
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Speaker 1: I want to say, get Steve's sound system back on.
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Speaker 1: Who knows the name of the sound engineer? Who knows
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Speaker 1: the name of the person who plays violin? One of
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Speaker 1: the great composers answered when I asked, what's the most
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Speaker 1: difficult position to fill? Gave the answer second fiddle who
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Speaker 1: plays harmony? Boy? Are they important? How about the nurse
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Speaker 1: who assists a famous cardiovascular surgeon when your chest is
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Speaker 1: open and he has your heart in his hands. What's
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Speaker 1: the name of his nurse who gives him the right
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Speaker 1: instruments or nurses? How about the airline mechanic who works
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Speaker 1: on the plane you're gonna fly in two hours. Don't
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Speaker 1: you hope he's awake, knows what he's doing. How about
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Speaker 1: the man in charge of scanning the luggage at Frankfurt
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Speaker 1: Airport in Germany on the l l flight to Tel Aviv.
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Speaker 1: Don't you hope he's paying attention. You don't even know
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Speaker 1: his name. How about the uniform soldier who has the
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Speaker 1: watch from midnight to three in the morning when all
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Speaker 1: the other troops are sleeping on the battlezone. Don't you
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Speaker 1: hope he stays awake? The person who does the lab
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Speaker 1: work or the X ray analysis after you've gone to
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Speaker 1: the physician because you can't quite figure out why you
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Speaker 1: have that pain in your abdomen. Don't you hope the
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Speaker 1: blood work is right and the analysis is correct. Or
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Speaker 1: the drugst who fills your prescription which you take without
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Speaker 1: even asking, or the person who takes your nine one
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Speaker 1: one call when you can't revive you're two year old
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Speaker 1: after pulling her out of the swimming pool. It's amazing,
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Speaker 1: isn't it. We call these people nobodies, you kidding, and
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Speaker 1: we can work around them for a long time and
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Speaker 1: not even know them. I decided it was time to
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Speaker 1: get a couple of new suits, or at least a
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Speaker 1: sport code and another suit. So I said to something,
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Speaker 1: I was going to go over to a place that
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Speaker 1: seemed like they would have what I would want and
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Speaker 1: had a good sale on. So I went over there
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Speaker 1: met a gentleman who waited on me, did a great job,
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Speaker 1: picked out a couple of garments and he said, well,
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Speaker 1: I said, shall we Taylor And he said sure, just
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Speaker 1: tell me if you like him, and I said, yeah,
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Speaker 1: I like them, Let's do it. See said I get
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Speaker 1: the tailor. So he brings a tailor, terrific man, probably
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Speaker 1: in his fifties fifty five, not from our country. And
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Speaker 1: I shook his hand. He was shocked. People getting their
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Speaker 1: suits tailor don't shake Taylor's hands. Usually, it's like learning
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Speaker 1: the name of your bus driver. And so I shook
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Speaker 1: his hand. Oh, and I said, Hi, I'm Chuck, glad
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Speaker 1: to meet you. Thanks for your good work. He finished
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Speaker 1: and walked away, and I said, man, he's terrific. How
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Speaker 1: long you had him? He said four years? I said, really,
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Speaker 1: what's his name? Said? I don't know. Four years. You
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Speaker 1: don't know the taylor's name who alters every suit you sell.
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Speaker 1: Reminds me of the story of Teddy Roosevelt, who's standing
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Speaker 1: in a presidential line greeting people at this reception, and
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Speaker 1: he had a man he kept on his left who
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Speaker 1: would whisper the names of people that are important who
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Speaker 1: are coming through the line, so he could greet each
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Speaker 1: one of them by name. And he looked a couple
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Speaker 1: of three people down and he said, who's the fellow
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Speaker 1: right down now? He said, oh, you know him, mister president.
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Speaker 1: He made your pants, got in front of him, said,
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Speaker 1: major pants. We're so glad you're here today. Welcome somewhere
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Speaker 1: back in time. You and I were taught incorrectly that
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Speaker 1: the real significant people are the star athletes. They're the
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Speaker 1: franchise players. Most important people are the ones folks applaud
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Speaker 1: Not true. Not true. The most important individuals are the
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Speaker 1: ones who make nobody's into somebody and never get the
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Speaker 1: credit or rarely even get mentioned. I loved it that Steve,
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Speaker 1: in the middle of his concert, turned around and introduced
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Speaker 1: us by name to each person who served behind the scenes.
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Speaker 1: Not that he had to do it, but I was
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Speaker 1: impressed that he knew their names, even knew where they
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Speaker 1: were from, and how long it had been with them. Why.
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Speaker 1: Because to Steve Green quote, the little people matter. My
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Speaker 1: daddy used to say, son, no matter whatever happens, no
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Speaker 1: matter how big you ever get, never forget the little person.
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Speaker 1: Wonderful piece of advice that doesn't come from our world
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Speaker 1: of miism. The Bible is full of the unknowns. I
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Speaker 1: came across one just this last week. Don't turn. But
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Speaker 1: Acts twenty three sixty didn't that, just like it isn't nobody,
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Speaker 1: So don't turn. Acts twenty three sixteen is a wonderful
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Speaker 1: story of the Apostle Paul, but he's under arrest. He
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Speaker 1: goes through several arrests and trials until finally he's beheaded.
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Speaker 1: But up until then, he's alive and he's protected, except
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Speaker 1: there's an ambush planned on his life by the people
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Speaker 1: who hate him, forty men who determined they would not
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Speaker 1: eat or drink until they kill Paul. Just so happened
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Speaker 1: that Paul's sister's son, Paul's nephew, overheard that conversation that
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Speaker 1: conspiracy reported it to Paul, who said to him, you
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Speaker 1: need to go tell the commander. And the commander had
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Speaker 1: enough presence of mind to respect the words of this
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Speaker 1: lad who is never once named in the Bible. And
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Speaker 1: they secreted Paul out by night, took him another way
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Speaker 1: on horseback, and his nephew saved his life. And not
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Speaker 1: a one of you can name his nephew because he's
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Speaker 1: never named. Before I go any further, I want to
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Speaker 1: tell you that the success of a church is because
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Speaker 1: of the people whom nobody knows. One of the worst
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Speaker 1: things you can do is called this Chuck's church. Believe me,
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Speaker 1: I've been here when nobody else is here. It ain't
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Speaker 1: very exciting. No lights are on there's no sound. There's
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Speaker 1: nobody to laugh at funny things. There's nobody to pray
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Speaker 1: with you. There's nobody to keep your company or encourage you.
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Speaker 1: It's a lonely dark hole inside this room. When I'm
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Speaker 1: here alone, it is all about you, us teaming together,
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Speaker 1: locked to arms, in lockstep, moving in harmony and unity
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Speaker 1: and humility, with great joy, toward a goal that's worth pursuing.
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Speaker 1: That's what the church is. Unfortunately, we have turned church
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Speaker 1: into entertainment where there are stars, even recording recording stars,
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Speaker 1: and it's all about him or her, rather than about
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Speaker 1: the head Christ, the head of the church. By the way,
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Speaker 1: they didn't bury the head of the church last week.
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Speaker 1: The head of the Church will never die. He was
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Speaker 1: raised from the dead, and he lives forever as our
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Speaker 1: exalted King of Kings and Lord of lords. He alone
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Speaker 1: speaks ex cathedral. He alone is full of thought. He
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Speaker 1: is the only perfect one who ever lived. And the
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Speaker 1: fact is he died for nobody's like you and me. Now,
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Speaker 1: with all that in mind, how was that for an introduction?
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Speaker 1: Now I will get down to the passage of scripture.
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Speaker 1: In Second Samuel twenty three. Second Samuel twenty three along
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Speaker 1: with First Chronicles eleven are like bookends. Problem is, First
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Speaker 1: Chronicles comes later, but it's the early part of David's life.
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Speaker 1: Second Samuel twenty three comes later and it's the last
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Speaker 1: part of David's life. So we go from the first
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Speaker 1: to the last. In fact, we're going to begin at
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Speaker 1: the end and work backwards as we watched David take
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Speaker 1: the throne. Now I got to understand something. Everybody knows
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Speaker 1: David around the world. His name is known. He slew
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Speaker 1: the Giant, and people who are uninformed thinks they all
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Speaker 1: think he went down to Northstroms, bought a crown, went
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Speaker 1: to the throne and said follow me. It didn't work
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Speaker 1: like that. He slew the Giant. He began to serve Saul,
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Speaker 1: who was king for a long time, like twelve or
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Speaker 1: thirteen years after David slew the Giant, and Saul hated
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Speaker 1: David and as a result he tried to kill him.
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Speaker 1: David escaped for his life and for twelve thirteen years
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Speaker 1: lived like a fugitive. He lived in the wilderness. He
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Speaker 1: lived in caves, he lived in the forests. He ate
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Speaker 1: on the ground, he slept on rocks. He had nothing
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Speaker 1: of creature comforts, and that's where he learned to king it.
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Speaker 1: That's where David learned to recognize the unknowns. It happens
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Speaker 1: to you when you're not a blue blood, when you
26:39
Speaker 1: come up from a background like that. He comes to
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Speaker 1: the end of his life. He's now seventy years old.
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Speaker 1: He began to reign when he was thirty. He reigned
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Speaker 1: for forty years as king. And then he records, or
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Speaker 1: at least is quoted as saying these things, and it's
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Speaker 1: all about David. You would think, until David says, no,
27:02
Speaker 1: let's mention the people that I want folks to remember.
27:06
Speaker 1: Look at verse eight of chapter twenty three of Second Samuel.
27:11
Speaker 1: These are the names of the mighty men whom David had.
27:17
Speaker 1: Joshav Shevit, a Kemnite chief of the captains. He was
27:24
Speaker 1: called Adino the s Knight because of eight hundred slain
27:29
Speaker 1: by him at one time. I'll tell you a little
27:33
Speaker 1: bit from the background of the military I've had. That's
27:36
Speaker 1: medal of honor stuff. I've never known anyone who got
27:41
Speaker 1: an honor for killing eight hundred people at one time.
27:44
Speaker 1: But he didn't do it for a reward. He did
27:46
Speaker 1: it because of David. He did it because he believed
27:49
Speaker 1: in his leader, and he put his name on the line.
27:55
Speaker 1: And there's another one that arose. His name is Eliezar
27:58
Speaker 1: verse nine, the son of Dodo the ile height. That's
28:02
Speaker 1: a bad name. One of the three mighty men with David.
28:05
Speaker 1: When they defied the Philistines who were gathered there to battle,
28:09
Speaker 1: and the men of Israel had withdrawn. Men of Israel
28:13
Speaker 1: are afraid. Why because they're fighting those junkyard dogs named
28:16
Speaker 1: the Philistines. Flistines loved to fight. They weren't very educated,
28:21
Speaker 1: but they knew how to fight. They were mean and
28:23
Speaker 1: tough and vicious. And Israel came upon them and thought, man,
28:27
Speaker 1: the guys are gonna whip our tails. And look at
28:29
Speaker 1: the next verse. He arose verse ten, and struck the
28:32
Speaker 1: Philistines until his hand was weary and clung to the sword.
28:37
Speaker 1: And the Lord brought about a great victory that day,
28:39
Speaker 1: and the people returned after him, only to strip the slain,
28:43
Speaker 1: and not a great scene. His hand clung to the sword.
28:47
Speaker 1: You ever held a weapon so long you couldn't let go,
28:50
Speaker 1: No Eliezar did. Then it mentioned Shama, the son of
28:55
Speaker 1: the Aggi of Aggi the high right Felistines were gathered
28:59
Speaker 1: into a t there was a plot of ground, and
29:02
Speaker 1: he defended it, and he struck them down, and there
29:05
Speaker 1: was a great victory brought about. And there are there
29:08
Speaker 1: are over thirty of these names. Nobody knows their name.
29:14
Speaker 1: There is unknown as those names that are written across
29:17
Speaker 1: white crosses at Normandy or in Flanders Fields, where the
29:22
Speaker 1: puppies blow between the crosses row on row that mark
29:27
Speaker 1: our place within the sky, the lark still bravely singing,
29:31
Speaker 1: fly the people who made us free people. When you
29:38
Speaker 1: visit those sites, you get to chill up your back,
29:42
Speaker 1: like the great monuments at our nation's capital, where you
29:46
Speaker 1: stand appropriately in silence and you weep because for once
29:53
Speaker 1: the real heroes are honored. That's what David's doing here.
30:02
Speaker 1: These are people who are with David in the stronghold.
30:08
Speaker 1: Matter of fact, the verse thirteen, three of the thirty
30:13
Speaker 1: chief men went down and came to David in the
30:16
Speaker 1: harvest time, to the cave of Adullam. Ooh, that sounds spooky.
30:22
Speaker 1: I mean, there's a venture in the cave of Adullum. Okay,
30:26
Speaker 1: look back at first, Samuel twenty two. You look at
30:29
Speaker 1: me like you don't believe that. So let's go back
30:31
Speaker 1: to first Samuel twenty two. Let's see there's not one
30:34
Speaker 1: Bible page being turned right now, so get with it
30:37
Speaker 1: out there. Turn to first Samuel twenty two. Want you
30:41
Speaker 1: to see this, This is an interesting section scripture. Yeah,
30:47
Speaker 1: David departed from there and escaped to the Cave of Adullam.
30:50
Speaker 1: He's running from Saul, and when his brothers and all
30:54
Speaker 1: his father's household heard of it, they went down there
30:57
Speaker 1: to him. Everyone look at this group. You might think
31:00
Speaker 1: these gods came really great guys, tucks, suits and ties. Nope,
31:05
Speaker 1: look at these guys. They were in distress. Everyone who
31:08
Speaker 1: was in debt. Everyone who was discontented. Sounds like school board,
31:13
Speaker 1: sounds like people who work where you were. It sounds
31:16
Speaker 1: like us, this whole group. And he became captain over them.
31:20
Speaker 1: Now there were about four hundred men with him. You
31:23
Speaker 1: imagine four hundred discontented, depressed, in debt souls saying lead us.
31:32
Speaker 1: And he did. In fact, he later hides his family
31:35
Speaker 1: out over in Moab, and then the prophet gad verse
31:39
Speaker 1: five says to David, don't stay in the stronghold, don't
31:43
Speaker 1: hang around the cave of Adullam. Go into the land
31:45
Speaker 1: of Judah, so David departed and went into the forest
31:48
Speaker 1: of Caareth. You never heard of the forest of Caareth.
31:52
Speaker 1: Chances are you've never been there. Hey, let me tell
31:55
Speaker 1: you something. Next time you go to Israel, ask your
31:58
Speaker 1: guide to take you to the caves of INGETI ask
32:03
Speaker 1: him to take you to the wilderness of Judea. It
32:06
Speaker 1: is rugged. And if there is a forest of Careth today,
32:10
Speaker 1: ask him to take you there and just stand quietly
32:14
Speaker 1: look at the caves. There's a little goat trail that's
32:18
Speaker 1: about this wide, and you always wish you had lost
32:21
Speaker 1: wheat when you get on the goat trail because it's
32:23
Speaker 1: a drop off and you go along kind of sideways,
32:26
Speaker 1: and you finally get up to the end of this area,
32:28
Speaker 1: and there's a waterfall that comes down here in the
32:31
Speaker 1: wilderness in Geddi, and it is refreshing fresh water. When
32:35
Speaker 1: we got there, I was dripping with with sweat, so
32:38
Speaker 1: I just stepped into it full dress. Water just poured down.
32:42
Speaker 1: All the other people in our group is staring at me,
32:44
Speaker 1: and then a couple of brave men stepped in with me.
32:47
Speaker 1: Before you know what, we did everything with shower. We're
32:49
Speaker 1: under this waterfall is pouring in, and I thought David
32:52
Speaker 1: might have done this. Why not? Maybe that's the cave
32:56
Speaker 1: of a dollum. But there's a David because there was
33:00
Speaker 1: that cave, and because he was able to lead these men,
33:04
Speaker 1: and as their ranks grew, they became the mighty men
33:08
Speaker 1: of David's camp. They became the significant people of David's life. Interestingly,
33:17
Speaker 1: as is often true, nobody knows their names today. First
33:25
Speaker 1: Chronicles eleven sort of picks up where that leaves off,
33:28
Speaker 1: wouldn't you know it? Verse nine, First Chronicles eleven, Verse nine,
33:34
Speaker 1: Here we go again. David became greater and greater, for
33:39
Speaker 1: the Lord of Hosts was with him. It there's nothing
33:43
Speaker 1: wrong with that, nothing wrong with God singling out a
33:46
Speaker 1: few and making them the leaders. If God's in it,
33:51
Speaker 1: and it's not the result of some selfish ambition. God
33:56
Speaker 1: has a way of putting his hand on certain individuals,
33:58
Speaker 1: and David was one of them. Became greater and greater,
34:01
Speaker 1: and the Lord of Hosts was with him. And then
34:03
Speaker 1: immediately verse ten starts to mention the reason he became great.
34:08
Speaker 1: He's got these mighty men around him. I want you
34:11
Speaker 1: to notice something. Let's move quickly through the chapter. Verse ten,
34:16
Speaker 1: the heads of the Mighty Men, verse eleven. These constitute
34:20
Speaker 1: the list of the Mighty Men. Into verse nineteen. These
34:25
Speaker 1: things the three mighty Men did, verse twenty two. A
34:30
Speaker 1: valiant man, mighty indeed. Oh, by the way, while I'm
34:35
Speaker 1: here with Beneya, he's worth mentioning. He struck down two
34:40
Speaker 1: sons of Ariel of Moab. He went down and killed
34:43
Speaker 1: a lion inside a pit on a snowy day. That's
34:48
Speaker 1: what guys do, like, you know, kind of pass the
34:50
Speaker 1: time of day. He killed a lion in a pit
34:53
Speaker 1: on the snowy day. That wasn't enough. Look at twenty three.
34:57
Speaker 1: He killed an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five
35:00
Speaker 1: cubits tall. Do the man a little over seven and
35:04
Speaker 1: a half feet tall tall? Is that guy that's a
35:07
Speaker 1: center for the Houston Rockets. Great big. I can just
35:10
Speaker 1: stand there and drop the ball in. This guy kills
35:13
Speaker 1: this man. Look how he does it. In the Egyptian's
35:16
Speaker 1: hand that's the giant was a spear like a weaver's beam.
35:21
Speaker 1: But Beneiah went down to him with a club and
35:24
Speaker 1: snatched the spear from the Egyptian's hand and killed him.
35:29
Speaker 1: With his own spear. Is that amazing about to sneeze here?
35:33
Speaker 1: It's so exciting this which reminds me he cut his
35:38
Speaker 1: throat so quick he didn't know it till he sneezed.
35:40
Speaker 1: I mean, Benieyah is one kind of warrior, and there
35:44
Speaker 1: are other mighty man. Look at twenty six. The mighty
35:46
Speaker 1: men of the Armies were, I said, hell, the brother
35:48
Speaker 1: of Joe, abbing on and on and on it. Listen,
35:51
Speaker 1: I like that group. In verse one and two of
35:53
Speaker 1: chapter twelve, these are the ones who came to David
35:56
Speaker 1: at Ziklag. That's another spot where David was hidden out
35:59
Speaker 1: from Saul while he was still restricted because of Saul.
36:02
Speaker 1: These were among the mighty men who helped him in war.
36:04
Speaker 1: Verse two. They were equipped with bows, using both the
36:09
Speaker 1: right hand and the left hand to sling stones. They
36:14
Speaker 1: were the first switch hitters. They were the switch slingers.
36:18
Speaker 1: I guess you'd say switch shooters, and to shoot arrows
36:21
Speaker 1: from the bow. They were sauls kinsmen from Benjamin. Look
36:25
Speaker 1: at verse four. These men were mighty men. Verse eight
36:30
Speaker 1: from the Gadites. There came over to David in the
36:33
Speaker 1: stronghold the wilderness. Mighty men of valor trained for war, handle,
36:38
Speaker 1: shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions,
36:44
Speaker 1: and they were as swift as the gazelle's on the mountains.
36:49
Speaker 1: Why don't you want to be around guys like that?
36:51
Speaker 1: Let me tell you, when war happens, you want people
36:53
Speaker 1: that are fast and strong and courageous. And David Adam,
37:00
Speaker 1: in fact, Steve Ferraar rights of the Gadites. These guys
37:04
Speaker 1: were not only tough, they were fast. Speed has always
37:07
Speaker 1: been important in warfare, and the men of gad haded.
37:11
Speaker 1: These guys could handle themselves. They were sort of David's
37:15
Speaker 1: navy seals Verse fifteen records. They were the ones who
37:20
Speaker 1: get this crossed the Jordan in the first month when
37:22
Speaker 1: it was overflowing its banks, and they put to flight
37:25
Speaker 1: everyone living in the valleys to the east and to
37:27
Speaker 1: the west. First month was flood season and the Jordan flooded.
37:31
Speaker 1: It was serious stuff. You're talking about getting across a raging,
37:34
Speaker 1: fast moving torrent of water a mile wide, one hundred
37:38
Speaker 1: and fifty feet deep. That's no exaggeration. In other words,
37:42
Speaker 1: these guys weren't swimming laps at the y. These Gadites
37:45
Speaker 1: were the original iron men, A triathlon would have been
37:49
Speaker 1: a piece of cake to the boys from Gad. They
37:52
Speaker 1: were the top riders, the special forces, the green Berets
37:56
Speaker 1: of the nation. Experienced soldiers were back. You know what
38:04
Speaker 1: I love about them. I love it that they're all volunteers.
38:10
Speaker 1: There wasn't any draft. In fact, they left Saul, defected
38:16
Speaker 1: from Saul's leadership, and that came to David because high
38:19
Speaker 1: taxes were running them economically. That's why they were so
38:22
Speaker 1: in debt. Life was coming apart, and they realized in David,
38:26
Speaker 1: even though he was a fledgling leader, he had what
38:29
Speaker 1: it took to lead them. So they gathered together around
38:33
Speaker 1: him and they became his mighty men of valor. They're
38:37
Speaker 1: all volunteers. I like it. Also, they didn't seek the limelight.
38:41
Speaker 1: There's not one glory hog among them. You know what's
38:44
Speaker 1: great when he finally becomes king, a couple of them
38:48
Speaker 1: don't come up to David and say, hey, man, remember
38:51
Speaker 1: I took out eight hundred for you. When you start
38:55
Speaker 1: putting the thrown together and choose your cabinet, I'm your guy.
39:00
Speaker 1: You know how that politics works. I did this for you,
39:04
Speaker 1: you better do this for me. That's not the way
39:08
Speaker 1: the godly talk. That's not the way, the humble of
39:11
Speaker 1: heart talk. You do your work behind the scenes and
39:14
Speaker 1: you forget about it. It didn't about you anyway, It
39:19
Speaker 1: didn't about any of us. It isn't about making a name.
39:23
Speaker 1: That's why their names are forgotten. You say, well, maybe
39:27
Speaker 1: they weren't really that committed. Maybe you're exaggerating, Chuck. Look
39:31
Speaker 1: at verse eighteen of chapter twelve. Spirit came on Amesi,
39:34
Speaker 1: who was the chief of the thirty. This is the
39:36
Speaker 1: chiefs guy. His words, we're yours, Oh David, we're with you,
39:42
Speaker 1: O son of Jesse. Peace, Peace to you, Peace to
39:48
Speaker 1: him who helps you. Indeed, your God helps you. They
39:52
Speaker 1: recognized God's hand on David's life, and they said, Shalom shalom, David.
39:59
Speaker 1: We're with you. We believe in what you're about. The
40:03
Speaker 1: story goes on and on till you finally come to
40:06
Speaker 1: the end of the account when he's won the victory,
40:11
Speaker 1: when Saul is off the scene. These qualified, obscure, rarely
40:17
Speaker 1: mentioned individuals devoted to David come together verse thirty eight.
40:22
Speaker 1: They're called all these look at first chronicles twelve thirty eight,
40:26
Speaker 1: all these men of war who could draw up in
40:30
Speaker 1: battle formation came to Hebron with a perfect heart. Why
40:38
Speaker 1: to make a name for himself. No, their goal was clear.
40:42
Speaker 1: It was to make David the king over all Israel.
40:46
Speaker 1: And all the rest of people of Israel were of
40:48
Speaker 1: one mind to make David king. Now, what do you
40:53
Speaker 1: do when you've reached the battle end and victory is
40:58
Speaker 1: won and your goal is amplished. Well, they usually have
41:01
Speaker 1: a feast. It's the time of celebration, and that's what
41:05
Speaker 1: they do. Is the earliest record of dinner on the grounds.
41:10
Speaker 1: Look at verse thirty nine. They were there with David
41:13
Speaker 1: three days, eating and drinking for their kinsmen had prepared
41:18
Speaker 1: for them. Look at that kinsmen aren't even named the
41:22
Speaker 1: guys that cook their food. Can you imagine how much
41:25
Speaker 1: these guys eat, these hundreds of men who are surrounding David.
41:30
Speaker 1: I got a grandson who's six feet three, and he
41:32
Speaker 1: almost gets frostbite standing in front of the refrigerator looking for
41:35
Speaker 1: something to eat. You can bring home a full meal
41:38
Speaker 1: from Masianos. You know, eat all that stuff, not only
41:42
Speaker 1: eat some of it. And you come home with a
41:44
Speaker 1: big stack of something you put a refrigerator. It's his
41:49
Speaker 1: He eats it. He eats that four chickens and two
41:54
Speaker 1: ducks and gallon of ice cream. Man, that's just one kid,
41:58
Speaker 1: and he just young. These guys are hungry. So all
42:02
Speaker 1: these people are prepared all this food, looking verse forty
42:06
Speaker 1: those who were near them, even as far as it's
42:08
Speaker 1: the car Zebulin and n Afterli brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, oxen,
42:15
Speaker 1: great quantities of flour, cakes, fig cakes, bunches of raisins, wine, oil, oxen, sheep.
42:25
Speaker 1: What is this? Hey, this is the best meal they've
42:29
Speaker 1: had since they started the fight years ago. Look at
42:33
Speaker 1: the last line. There was joy. Indeed in Israel, would
42:42
Speaker 1: she have love it? Wouldn't she have loved? Have been
42:44
Speaker 1: a bird in a tree looking down on that bunch
42:47
Speaker 1: as they're eating all that good food, talking about what
42:51
Speaker 1: God had done, telling David how proud they are to
42:55
Speaker 1: follow him, nobody looking for their name in life. It's
43:02
Speaker 1: magnificent moment and joy. There's joy. The laughter they must
43:10
Speaker 1: have told war stories to, you know, blew in the face,
43:14
Speaker 1: some of them funny. They're the original band of brothers,
43:19
Speaker 1: and they fought to the end. They've gained the victory
43:22
Speaker 1: and now God's brought them joy. I got some unwritten
43:29
Speaker 1: rules that go with the unknowns. Can I give them
43:34
Speaker 1: to you? Four of them? These are all original. Haven't
43:38
Speaker 1: found him anywhere, just came up with him when I
43:40
Speaker 1: put all of this together in my mind, here are
43:44
Speaker 1: the rules that we need to follow day after day
43:48
Speaker 1: as we grow our church. Number One, when you don't
43:52
Speaker 1: care about who gets the credit, you never complain about
43:56
Speaker 1: the role you fill. I'm na say that again. When
44:01
Speaker 1: you don't care about who gets the credit, you never
44:04
Speaker 1: complain about the rule you fill. All the risk and
44:11
Speaker 1: all the effort of David's men, there's not a single complaint.
44:15
Speaker 1: There's not a glory hog in the group. I mean,
44:22
Speaker 1: those guys had saved David's bacon wait, he's Jewish corn beef.
44:27
Speaker 1: They had saved David's corn beef and pastromi. He was
44:32
Speaker 1: alied because of those guys. There wasn't a prima don
44:36
Speaker 1: among them. We're honored to be a part of this team.
44:40
Speaker 1: Second rule, When you focus on the right objectives, you
44:45
Speaker 1: don't waste your time in wrong pursuits. When you focus
44:50
Speaker 1: on the right objectives, you don't waste your time in
44:53
Speaker 1: wrong pursuits. Many a church has gone wrong by losing
44:59
Speaker 1: sight of the objective. The objective, men and women is
45:04
Speaker 1: always to exalt the name of Jesus Christ. Always, whether
45:12
Speaker 1: you're two hundred, two thousand or twenty thousand, it stays
45:16
Speaker 1: the same. One of our great concerns as we think
45:19
Speaker 1: of our church growing, building larger buildings, having larger congregations,
45:24
Speaker 1: is that we might in somehow, some way lose the
45:29
Speaker 1: spirit of what has made us what we are. Not.
45:32
Speaker 1: As long as we keep the objective clear, it's to
45:35
Speaker 1: exalt the person of Christ, we won't waste our time
45:40
Speaker 1: and wrong pursuits if we keep that objective focused. Number Three,
45:44
Speaker 1: When you're surrounded by great people who give and serve,
45:48
Speaker 1: a spirit of unity naturally emerges. Listen to this. When
45:54
Speaker 1: you're surrounded by great people who are givers and servers,
46:00
Speaker 1: a spirit of unity naturally emerges. There is no infighting here,
46:08
Speaker 1: and there is none in this church, nor should there be.
46:14
Speaker 1: That kind of thing comes from the flesh. These people
46:16
Speaker 1: had a perfect heart and one mind, and that led
46:20
Speaker 1: them to a unified goal. And when they reached it,
46:23
Speaker 1: they said, as they sat for the feast, David, this
46:27
Speaker 1: is one of the greatest moments of our lives, and
46:31
Speaker 1: David rejoices with them. Rule number four. When you blend
46:36
Speaker 1: unity with humility, contagious joy is the result. When you
46:43
Speaker 1: blend unity with humility, there's a contagious joy that comes.
46:52
Speaker 1: You know, love may be the most significant thing in
46:55
Speaker 1: the family of God as we live with one another.
46:57
Speaker 1: Let me tell you what's the most attractive thing to
46:59
Speaker 1: those without Christ? Joy? People in this community, people outside
47:06
Speaker 1: these walls, People who don't know Christ are drawn to
47:09
Speaker 1: a place where there's great joy. That's why I love
47:13
Speaker 1: it that our goal is to encourage all people to
47:16
Speaker 1: pursue a lifelong, joyous relationship with Christ. Unless you're under
47:23
Speaker 1: deep conviction, you should leave every church service with a
47:26
Speaker 1: broad smile. Your heart should be leaping within you with joy.
47:33
Speaker 1: Ought to be among the most exciting things of life.
47:38
Speaker 1: Remember so much of your life you went to church
47:40
Speaker 1: and hated it. Didn't something seem wrong. Wasn't there something
47:44
Speaker 1: wrong with that? Ah, we got to go back to
47:47
Speaker 1: that church. You're at the wrong church, if that's true.
47:54
Speaker 1: Ought to draw us like a magnet. I began with
47:57
Speaker 1: seven questions that you couldn't answer. Now I have four
47:59
Speaker 1: quest since only you can answer Number one. You worry
48:04
Speaker 1: over who gets the credit. If so, it'll keep you
48:10
Speaker 1: except from accepting the role that God wants you to
48:13
Speaker 1: play in the body. You worry over who gets the credit.
48:17
Speaker 1: I hope God will deal with you if that's your battle,
48:21
Speaker 1: because the credit is not what ministry is about. Here's
48:26
Speaker 1: the second. Can you truthfully say your main objective is
48:29
Speaker 1: exalting Christ? Can you truthfully say my main objective is
48:36
Speaker 1: to exalt Christ? Here's a third. Are you a generous
48:42
Speaker 1: giver and a gracious server? Are you a generous giver
48:47
Speaker 1: and a gracious server? If that's true, then you're helping
48:52
Speaker 1: with the unity of the spirit in this wonderful place
48:56
Speaker 1: of ministry. Fourth, and finally, have you embraced unity and
49:03
Speaker 1: humility as your personal priorities? Have you embraced unity and
49:11
Speaker 1: humility as your personal priorities? Let me tell you the
49:17
Speaker 1: first of the consequences that comes in the wake of
49:21
Speaker 1: a church where its members lack unity and humility is
49:26
Speaker 1: an absence of joy. Absence of joy. You've been to
49:36
Speaker 1: churches of it't you? That could be called the uh
49:41
Speaker 1: the frozen, the frozen people of God instead of the chosen.
49:46
Speaker 1: What's missing joy? It's not fun anymore? Take away the
49:54
Speaker 1: fun I want out, take away the joy you don't
49:58
Speaker 1: want me. I found over the years of ministry that
50:04
Speaker 1: nothing lights my fire like the joy of God's people
50:10
Speaker 1: when they're living in harmony and unity, humility together. I
50:15
Speaker 1: want us to bow together for just a very few moments.
50:18
Speaker 1: Our time is up. It's a great moment to do
50:24
Speaker 1: a little soul searching. Remember I said only you could
50:28
Speaker 1: answer those questions. Maybe you've gotten a little crossways with
50:36
Speaker 1: somebody else. Maybe you've sort of licked your wounds over
50:41
Speaker 1: some little pick in a fence that has somehow become
50:47
Speaker 1: your whole focus. I invite you to come back to
50:53
Speaker 1: the cross, the one who died for those who spit
50:57
Speaker 1: on him, who prayed for those who Christ a crown
51:02
Speaker 1: of foreigns into his forehead. I urge you to pray
51:09
Speaker 1: that God will get you beyond yourself, prompt you to
51:16
Speaker 1: dig deeply as you participate in the future of this ministry.
51:23
Speaker 1: Volunteer quickly, enthusiastically, with no plan for being acknowledged or
51:31
Speaker 1: credited or rewarded, because most of what you do will
51:35
Speaker 1: be behind the scenes. If you've never met Christ, it's
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Speaker 1: no wonder to me that these thoughts would seem very
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Speaker 1: alien strange. You begin at the cross, where all the
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Speaker 1: ground is leveled, you'll see that it makes good sense.
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Speaker 1: Invite you to come there by faith, By faith in
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Speaker 1: the Lord Jesus Christ, you will discover that your life
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Speaker 1: is transformed. Before you know it, you'll be thinking more
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Speaker 1: of others than yourself. Giving and serving will become your
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Speaker 1: joy of living. How grateful we are, our Father for
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Speaker 1: the way you speak to us, even in sections that
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Speaker 1: some would call obscure and remote dull. Thank you for
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Speaker 1: putting lives before us that we've never met before, who
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Speaker 1: were such significant role players in the life of a
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Speaker 1: man everybody knows. Thank you that that still goes on.
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Speaker 1: For the dozens of people we all could name who
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Speaker 1: helped us become the men and women we are today.
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Speaker 1: Thank you for each one. Now help us to be
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Speaker 1: that for others as the church rolls on, as the
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Speaker 1: work of ministry presses on. Thank you for what you're
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Speaker 1: doing right here. May we all hold it loosely and
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Speaker 1: yet be firmly devoted to your work and prove it
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Speaker 1: by our actions that follow. It's in the name of
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Speaker 1: Jesus Christ. We've met, and we've worshiped and we pray,
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Speaker 1: and all his people said amen.
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Speaker 2: The preceding message, often overlooked Lives of Significance was copyrighted
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Speaker 2: in two thousand and five, two thousand and six, twenty twelve,
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Speaker 2: and twenty twenty four, and the sound recording was copyrighted
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Speaker 2: in twenty twenty four by Charles R. Swindall Incorporated. All
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Speaker 2: rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial
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Speaker 2: use is strictly prohibited