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A Precise Explanation of Ministry · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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  Speaker 1: How gracious of God to give us his book that
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  Speaker 1: is timeless and true. We can always count on this
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  Speaker 1: when we open his book. We will hear truth. Truth
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  Speaker 1: to learn and truth to live by. There's no exception
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  Speaker 1: as we turn to this little letter written to the Colossians.
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  Speaker 1: It too is truth to live by, truth to teach us,
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  Speaker 1: to be applied, to be claimed when we are alone
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  Speaker 1: or when we are with others. It is reliable information
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  Speaker 1: to take us throughout time and to prepare us for
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  Speaker 1: the life beyond. you have your Bible opened, we are
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  Speaker 1: going through this little letter together in 10 weeks. I've
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  Speaker 1: asked you to join with me in the project of
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  Speaker 1: reading it through once a week during each of the
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  Speaker 1: 10 weeks, and I hope you're doing that. The more
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  Speaker 1: we absorb it, the better we will grasp what it
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  Speaker 1: says and what it means. I'm looking with you at
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  Speaker 1: verses 24 through 29. It's really a passage that begins
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  Speaker 1: at the end of verse 23, just above this 24th verse.
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  Speaker 1: Once you locate it, I invite you to stand with
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  Speaker 1: one another as we hear the word of God. I'm
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  Speaker 1: reading from the New Living Translation, the end of verse 23.
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  Speaker 1: The good news has been preached all over the world,
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  Speaker 1: and I, Paul, have been appointed as God's servant to
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  Speaker 1: proclaim it. I'm glad when I suffer for you in
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  Speaker 1: my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of
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  Speaker 1: Christ that continue for his body, the church. God has
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  Speaker 1: given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming
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  Speaker 1: his entire message to you. This message was kept secret
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  Speaker 1: for centuries and generations past, but now it has been
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  Speaker 1: revealed to God's people. For God wanted them to know
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  Speaker 1: that the riches and glory of Christ are for you
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  Speaker 1: Gentiles too. And this is the secret. Christ lives in you.
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  Speaker 1: This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. So we
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  Speaker 1: tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with
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  Speaker 1: all the wisdom God has given us. We want to
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  Speaker 1: present them to God perfect in their relationship to Christ.
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  Speaker 1: That's why I work and struggle so hard, depending on
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  Speaker 1: Christ's mighty power that works within me. We provided you
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  Speaker 1: with an outline that you can use and follow along
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  Speaker 1: as we move into the message itself. You may want
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  Speaker 1: to locate that when you are seated. Please be seated.
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  Speaker 1: God raised up this little church about 15 years ago.
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  Speaker 1: We had our first rock in the cradle, if you will.
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  Speaker 1: We began as a group of people who didn't know
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  Speaker 1: each other and we find ourselves where we are today
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  Speaker 1: by his grace. In many ways, the secret of this
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  Speaker 1: ministry has been you, the people, who make the ministry
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  Speaker 1: what it is. We realize that we always have visitors
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  Speaker 1: who come and Therefore, I like to clarify when it's
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  Speaker 1: time for the offering that if you visit with us
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  Speaker 1: today and perhaps you are without faith in Christ as
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  Speaker 1: your own savior, I want you to be at ease
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  Speaker 1: during this offering. Please don't give. We're not here to
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  Speaker 1: get your money. We're here to make it clear to
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  Speaker 1: you that we all are in this together, struggling with
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  Speaker 1: the same issues. Some of us have found a solution
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  Speaker 1: in Christ and others of you have not. The solution
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  Speaker 1: has nothing to do with what you put in an
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  Speaker 1: offering plate. Therefore, just to clarify, the offering really is
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  Speaker 1: for God's people to participate in, And therefore, let me
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  Speaker 1: say a few words to you as well. You may
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  Speaker 1: or may not be a member of this church, but
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  Speaker 1: regularly you're in attendance and regularly you benefit in some
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  Speaker 1: way from the ministry. John Henry Jowett, one of the
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  Speaker 1: great preachers of yesteryear, put it very well when he said,
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  Speaker 1: ministry that costs nothing accomplishes nothing. If you are not
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  Speaker 1: investing with your finances in this ministry, you're getting very
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  Speaker 1: little out of it. Certainly not as much as you could.
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  Speaker 1: So for your sake, let me urge you to consider,
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  Speaker 1: based on the way the Lord is using this ministry
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  Speaker 1: in your life, becoming a faithful giver to the work.
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  Speaker 1: God doesn't need your money. You're the one who needs
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  Speaker 1: to know the joy of and the responsibility of giving.
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  Speaker 1: Easy to rationalize around that, isn't it? Like the farmer
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  Speaker 1: whose cow became pregnant, and the farmer under conviction said
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  Speaker 1: to his wife, you know, I just found out that
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  Speaker 1: our cow's going to have twins, and I want you
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  Speaker 1: to know I'm going to give the Lord one of
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  Speaker 1: those calves, and we're going to keep the other. I
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  Speaker 1: just want to go on record. As she reached the
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  Speaker 1: time of calving and gave birth, one of the twins
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  Speaker 1: was born dead. And the farmer that evening at supper
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  Speaker 1: was downcast. Wife said to him, what's wrong? He said, well,
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  Speaker 1: our cow gave birth today and the Lord's calf died.
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  Speaker 1: Isn't that interesting? Often in our planning, the Lord kind
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  Speaker 1: of gets the leftovers. Matter of fact, It's a known fact,
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  Speaker 1: and it's true in our church, that 80% do not
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  Speaker 1: give regularly. 20% give regularly. I would love for our
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  Speaker 1: church to be different than the average. I really would.
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  Speaker 1: You don't give to me. I don't have a clue
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  Speaker 1: what anybody gives, and I never want to know. That
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  Speaker 1: always gets in the way in the life of a minister.
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  Speaker 1: What you give is between you and the Lord, but
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  Speaker 1: you need to give. Start at 10%. Make it a
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  Speaker 1: regular habit. It's amazing what can happen in a life
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  Speaker 1: that learns to be generous. And you also feel more
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  Speaker 1: a part of the ministry when you participate in it.
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  Speaker 1: So you are the one who will guide your own giving,
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  Speaker 1: and you'll never be cornered by anyone, just your conscience,
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  Speaker 1: as the Spirit of God works to guide you. Think
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  Speaker 1: about it. Bow with me, please. We're grateful, Father, for
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  Speaker 1: those milestones in life, such as graduation, and we recognize
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  Speaker 1: that today in the lives of our high schoolers, a
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  Speaker 1: number in our congregation who are graduating from college, some
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  Speaker 1: from graduate school, seminary, and other places. How good you
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  Speaker 1: have been to provide all that was needed, the health,
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  Speaker 1: the discipline, the determination, the commitment, and now the reward.
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  Speaker 1: I pray for those who are still engaged in the process,
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  Speaker 1: those in educational pursuit, those in business, those serving you
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  Speaker 1: in some capacity in your work, others who have finished
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  Speaker 1: their work and are now in their retirement years. I
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  Speaker 1: pray that you'll remind them today of your grace. Giving
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  Speaker 1: to us what we don't deserve and can never, ever repay.
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  Speaker 1: For you never look for repayment. You look for our lives.
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  Speaker 1: And we want you to know, Father, we want to
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  Speaker 1: live for you strictly out of love for you. Not
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  Speaker 1: because we have to. But because we are in love
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  Speaker 1: with you. And you have shown us in that love
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  Speaker 1: relationship that it is enriching and rewarding. So encourage us
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  Speaker 1: today as we hear the music, as we participate in
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  Speaker 1: the offerings. As we reflect. On how much you love us.
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  Speaker 1: And with our gifts we're saying. Dear Lord Jesus. I
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  Speaker 1: love you. Here is my gift. In his matchless name
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  Speaker 1: we give and we pray. Everyone said.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Don't you sometimes wonder about ministry? And aren't you on
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  Speaker 1: occasion a little curious about ministers? I sometimes think about
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  Speaker 1: folks who drive by this building who've never lived never
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  Speaker 1: been inside, but they're regularly in the traffic around us
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  Speaker 1: as they look over and must wonder what goes on
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  Speaker 1: in there. I wonder about the people who lead what
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  Speaker 1: goes on in there. I wonder if they're real or
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  Speaker 1: if they're phony. It's interesting when we think about ministry,
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  Speaker 1: we're better at knowing what it's not than what it is.
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  Speaker 1: For example, we know it's not a commercial enterprise that
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  Speaker 1: is involved in goods and services that we sell. We
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  Speaker 1: know it is not an entertainment center that sells tickets
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  Speaker 1: and shows movies and offers plays and live theater. We
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  Speaker 1: know it's not a medical hospital where there are doctors
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  Speaker 1: and nurses on the staff that help people in their
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  Speaker 1: sickness and deal with the whole issue that may be
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  Speaker 1: related to dying. We also know that we're not a
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  Speaker 1: manufacturing plant that makes widgets, markets them, and sells them.
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  Speaker 1: And we're not an educational institution that offers degrees and
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  Speaker 1: diplomas for people who take courses. That's what we're not.
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  Speaker 1: Nor should we be. But are we a healthy ministry?
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  Speaker 1: Is this wholesome, what we're doing? Is it true that
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  Speaker 1: those who lead this ministry are trustworthy? You often don't know.
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  Speaker 1: One wag put it like this. I don't see the
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  Speaker 1: preacher all week long. I don't understand him on Sundays.
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  Speaker 1: The rather honest appraisal. Matter of fact, speaking of that,
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  Speaker 1: I came across the comments of a very fine minister
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  Speaker 1: who writes bluntly. By my mid-30s, after a little more
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  Speaker 1: than a decade in the ministry, I'd seen it all
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  Speaker 1: as to duplicity and hypocrisy and immense evil that can
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  Speaker 1: exist in church leaders. I knew a man who was
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  Speaker 1: prominent in his denomination and community. a man who was
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  Speaker 1: married and with his family, who was discovered regularly consorted
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  Speaker 1: with several of his male employees while no one was watching.
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  Speaker 1: In another instance, the church treasurer appeared in the church
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  Speaker 1: narthex on a Sunday morning, dead drunk, glass in hand,
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  Speaker 1: wildly whispering that he was leaving his wife and family behind.
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  Speaker 1: and departing that day on a private jet for the
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  Speaker 1: Middle East. I've known pious Bible-quoting, soul-winning murderers, he writes.
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  Speaker 1: And over the years, while speaking at pastors' conferences, my
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  Speaker 1: wife and I have had pastors' trembling wives seek us
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  Speaker 1: out and reveal abuse and perversion. By their publicly straight-laced husbands.
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  Speaker 1: Tales that sound as if they were scripted by Flannery O'Connor.
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  Speaker 1: He continues, I've said in times of despair that you've
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  Speaker 1: never been had until you've been had by a fellow
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  Speaker 1: believer who calls you brother. Church leadership can attract people
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  Speaker 1: with mixed and sometimes outrightly Sinful motives, the seeming prestige
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  Speaker 1: attracts some. The lure of power draws others. The spiritual
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  Speaker 1: directing of others' lives can be heady stuff. Some like
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  Speaker 1: the idea of having access to the supposed mysterious inner
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  Speaker 1: workings of the church. All these motives are empty. You
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  Speaker 1: may have come from a toxic ministry like that. My
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  Speaker 1: heart goes out to you. Getting past that, getting through
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  Speaker 1: that takes a long time. That's why we don't badger
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  Speaker 1: people about quickly after visiting they need to be involved
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  Speaker 1: in serving. Some of you need to be involved in healing.
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  Speaker 1: in recovery. You've been misled or lied to, taken advantage of.
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  Speaker 1: You've gone through the horror of a scandal or the
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  Speaker 1: heartbreak of a split. That's tough to live with. I
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  Speaker 1: wonder what goes on in that church. I wonder if
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  Speaker 1: I could trust the leadership. Good question. They ought to
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  Speaker 1: be asked. Thinking people aren't afraid to question that. Because
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  Speaker 1: you see, those who lead ministries need to be qualified.
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  Speaker 1: Because we'll be judged by a higher standard, which at
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  Speaker 1: times haunts me. I never want to get to the
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  Speaker 1: place where it's perfunctory, business as usual, nor do those
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  Speaker 1: on our staff. My colleagues in this ministry, we talk
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  Speaker 1: about that. You see, the Bible sets forth very high
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  Speaker 1: standard for those who lead people in the ways of God.
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  Speaker 1: Our middle names need to be characters. integrity, honesty. I
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  Speaker 1: suppose that's why when we get to a section like
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  Speaker 1: we're looking at today where Paul entails the truth, first
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  Speaker 1: regarding the minister and then ministry, that we have some
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  Speaker 1: guidelines to go by. We're not left adrift or awash
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  Speaker 1: we are able to pinpoint some things that make for
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  Speaker 1: a healthy and wholesome church and a reliable minister. So
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  Speaker 1: let's start here. Let's begin with the minister, and let's
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  Speaker 1: look at the end of verse 23, and then we'll
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  Speaker 1: work our way 24 through 29 as we pick out
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  Speaker 1: some of the characteristics that mark a healthy church. First,
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  Speaker 1: the minister. Look at Paul's words into verse 23. The
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  Speaker 1: good news has been preached all over the world. And
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  Speaker 1: now he gets specific. I, Paul, have been appointed as
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  Speaker 1: God's servant to proclaim it. That's noteworthy. When you read
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  Speaker 1: your Bible, pay attention to words. They are the building
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  Speaker 1: block of thought. And true thoughts lead to an understanding
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  Speaker 1: of God's truth. So look at the word, I've been appointed.
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  Speaker 1: The New American Standard Bible says simply, I was made
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  Speaker 1: a minister. So it isn't the idea of you sit
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  Speaker 1: home one day and you think, let's see, I think
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  Speaker 1: I'll try out for ministry. I think I'll throw in
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  Speaker 1: my resume and see if I can get hired on
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  Speaker 1: at a church.
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  Speaker 2: Whoa.
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  Speaker 1: You're appointed. You're called. And there's mystery in that. I know.
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  Speaker 1: I understand. You don't read cloud formations. There isn't skywriting.
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  Speaker 1: There aren't messages in the middle of the night saying,
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  Speaker 1: go into ministry. It isn't like that. But down inside,
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  Speaker 1: there is this sense of call. In other words, you
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  Speaker 1: cannot do anything else. I was asked that When I
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  Speaker 1: was applying for a place as a student at Dallas Seminary,
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  Speaker 1: the registrar, Dr. Campbell, said to me, would you be
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  Speaker 1: happy doing anything else, Chuck? I'd never been asked that before.
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  Speaker 1: I searched my heart. There I was in my mid-20s
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  Speaker 1: thinking about other things I might do. And I listened
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  Speaker 1: to what he said. And then I looked him in
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  Speaker 1: the eyes and I said, no, sir, I wouldn't be happy.
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  Speaker 1: I wouldn't be fulfilled doing anything else. He said, that's good. Otherwise,
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  Speaker 1: we wouldn't accept you. We are appointed. And please observe,
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  Speaker 1: it's not a matter of just hiring in. We are
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  Speaker 1: appointed as God's servant. God's servant. Not a celebrity. Not
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  Speaker 1: a big-time cheerleader. Not a motivational speaker. We're appointed as
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  Speaker 1: God's servant. And then we read of the single most
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  Speaker 1: significant task, servant, one who proclaims the message. Never doubt
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  Speaker 1: the paramount importance of proclaiming the message. John R. W.
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  Speaker 1: Stott has written an outstanding book called Between Two Worlds,
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  Speaker 1: and he's describing the world that we live in Between
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  Speaker 1: the place where we get the truth, that's the first century,
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  Speaker 1: and the place where we declare it, that's the 21st century.
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  Speaker 1: Two worlds. And we're between it. We who serve others
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  Speaker 1: and minister to others. And many of you are in
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  Speaker 1: the classification of a minister. You don't have to be
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  Speaker 1: ordained to be a minister. Though if you're serving a church,
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  Speaker 1: an ordination is often a requirement, an endorsement. That's part
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  Speaker 1: of your qualification. But I noticed from Stott's words, as
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  Speaker 1: he quotes Will Sangster, called to preach, commissioned of God
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  Speaker 1: to teach the word, a herald of the great king.
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  Speaker 1: And then he quotes Andrew Blackwood. Preaching should rank as
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  Speaker 1: the noblest work on earth. But by the way, have
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  Speaker 1: you noticed in our generation, it's fading. It's fading. In
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  Speaker 1: our post-Christian era, expositors are hard to find. Those who
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  Speaker 1: are willing to go to the word, keep their finger
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  Speaker 1: on the text, declare the message, explain the message, and
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  Speaker 1: then apply the message and then get out of the
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  Speaker 1: way and let the message do its work. And so
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  Speaker 1: Stott laments And so we come to the 60s, 70s,
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  Speaker 1: and 80s. The tide of preaching ebbed. The ebb is
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  Speaker 1: still low today. At least in the Western world, the
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  Speaker 1: decline of preaching is a symptom of the decline of
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  Speaker 1: a church. An era of skepticism is not conducive to
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  Speaker 1: the recovery of confident proclamation. He's so right. I say
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  Speaker 1: to everyone we ordain, I look them in the eye
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  Speaker 1: and I usually put my hand on his chest and
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  Speaker 1: I say, tell me, tell me you're going to be
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  Speaker 1: an expositor. Promise me that when you are engaged in ministry,
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  Speaker 1: you will make this book your text and you will
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  Speaker 1: faithfully study it and you will at every opportunity declare it,
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  Speaker 1: teach it, proclaim it. Let people know what God is
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  Speaker 1: saying in his word. Will you do that? Will you
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  Speaker 1: promise me that? When a young man who just graduated
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  Speaker 1: from seminary last Sunday morning, he was getting ready to
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  Speaker 1: begin churches in rural areas in another state. And I
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  Speaker 1: looked him in the eye. I'd never met him before.
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  Speaker 1: And I said to him, will you promise me that
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  Speaker 1: wherever you serve, you will be known as a. preacher
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  Speaker 1: of the word of God. He said, I will. I said,
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  Speaker 1: will you promise me that? And he kind of wilted
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  Speaker 1: and said, yes, sir, I promise you that. I said, well,
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  Speaker 1: you realize why I'm saying it like this. Because once
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  Speaker 1: you're engaged, there'll be every temptation in the world to
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  Speaker 1: pull you away from that. And you'll get involved in
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  Speaker 1: stuff that doesn't relate to that. And before you know it,
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  Speaker 1: you'll justify it. And the people you're serving will go hungry.
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  Speaker 1: like a chef that only fixes cotton candy for the meal.
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  Speaker 1: You're responsible to tell the story that God has revealed,
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  Speaker 1: not a bunch of pea patch stories, as my mother
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  Speaker 1: used to say. She used to say, son, when you
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  Speaker 1: get in ministry, don't tell a lot of pea patch stories.
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  Speaker 1: I think I know what she meant by that, having
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  Speaker 1: told a few and having been around a lot of,
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  Speaker 1: storytelling stuff. I am to proclaim the truth of God.
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  Speaker 1: That's my job. It's my calling. And so it is
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  Speaker 1: the calling of every teacher who hears me right now,
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  Speaker 1: every minister right now, everyone who serves the body, wherever
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  Speaker 1: you have a chance to minister, make sure you have
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  Speaker 1: your Bible open and make sure you're saying something from
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  Speaker 1: the scriptures. That's what God says he will bless. Now,
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  Speaker 1: let's look at the ministry itself. I have marked in
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  Speaker 1: highlight five words in verses 24 to 29. Let me
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  Speaker 1: give you the words before we look at each one,
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  Speaker 1: working our way through them. The word suffering, verse 24.
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  Speaker 1: I'm participating in the sufferings of Christ. So a wholesome,
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  Speaker 1: healthy ministry includes suffering. Engaged in suffering. A little later,
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  Speaker 1: we read the church by proclaiming his entire message to you.
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  Speaker 1: So let's mark that word, proclaiming. Your Bible in another
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  Speaker 1: version may use another word, but you see the word.
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  Speaker 1: Mark that. Suffering. Proclaiming. Drop down to verse 29. Warning. Everyone.
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  Speaker 1: Here's the next word. Teaching. Everyone. with all wisdom. By
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  Speaker 1: the way, you want to notice something? Look at everyone.
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  Speaker 1: Warning everyone, teaching everyone that we may present everyone. Each
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  Speaker 1: time he's repeating it for emphasis sake. So a church
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  Speaker 1: that's healthy and wholesome is a church that includes warning.
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  Speaker 1: That's the negative side of proclaiming and teaching. That's the
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  Speaker 1: positive side. And finally, I work and struggle so hard
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  Speaker 1: depending on Christ's mighty power. Depending. or whatever word your
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: Bible version may have. Ministry is a life of dependence.
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: So let's mark them one by one, okay? Stay with
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: me now. When anyone teaches the word, it is easy
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: for your mind to drift because you have to think.
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: But if you want to be entertained, you'll drift, not
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: being entertained. So if you are here to think and
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: to work your way through the text, you've come to
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: the right place. So let's pick the words apart and
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: apply them and see what they mean. He says, I'm
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: glad when I suffer for you. What an interesting comment.
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: That's his attitude towards suffering. I'm glad when I suffer
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: for you in my body. Why? See the little word for?
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: It explains why. Because I am participating in the sufferings
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: of Christ that continue for his body, the church. What
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: does that mean? Almost sounds like a tongue twister. How
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: do you participate in the sufferings of Christ? Well, we
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: know it does not mean what Christ suffered on the cross.
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: That's redemptive suffering and that's complete. Jesus said it is finished.
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: His work on the cross is the finished work. So
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: it's not referring to adding to what Christ started when
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: he died on the cross for sins. This is something else.
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: This has to do with the body of Christ, which
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: is here. the church. You see it? The sufferings of
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: Christ that continue for his body, the church. What does
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: it mean? A ministry that is healthy and wholesome enters
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: into the suffering of other people. People are not made
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: to be ashamed that they're suffering. Furthermore, There isn't a
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: hint of self-pity or resentment on Paul's part. He said,
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: I'm glad when I am able to enter into your world,
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: your suffering, where I'm participating in a very important part
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: of the ministry, and that's suffering in the body, the church.
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: Remember the words of Philippians 3.10, Paul wrote, the Amplified Bible,
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: that I may know him, that is, that I may intimately,
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: that I may become more intimately and progressively faithful. in
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: touch with him in so many words. Through the fellowship
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: of his suffering. This is part of the fellowship of
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: his suffering. Christ was a man of sorrow and acquainted
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: with grief. So the man or woman of God must
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: have a place in his or her life for sorrow
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: and grief. It is not our task to fix people
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: who are hurting. It is not the task of someone
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: in the church who ministers to another going through a
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: deep valley to try to jerk them out of the valley.
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: We get in the valley with them. We identify with
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: the pain. We feel the hurt. Outstanding book written by
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: Eugene Peterson is titled Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work.
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: It's not bedside reading. It's pretty deep stuff. One of
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: his chapters is on suffering. The pastoral work of pain sharing.
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: In that chapter, I find these words. Among other things,
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: pastoral work is a decision to deal on the most
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: personal and intimate terms with suffering. It does not try
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: to find ways to minimize suffering or ways to avoid it.
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: It is not particularly interested in finding explanations for it.
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: It is not a search after the cure for suffering.
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: Pastoral work engages suffering. I have a friend called me
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: and tells me that a tragic thing has happened in
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: the family. They've lost one of their family members. My
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: need then or later is not to try to make
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: him feel better. Or to help her dodge the pain.
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: I enter into the grief with them. I dignify the grief.
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: But telling them. I feel the pain. I too hurt
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: as they hurt. That's what he's writing. You see, he continues,
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: Scripture is not a lecture from God pointing the finger
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: of unfortunate sufferers and saying, I told you so, here
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: and here and here is where you went wrong. Now
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: you're paying for it. Nor is it a program from
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: God providing step by step for the gradual elimination of
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: suffering in a series of five-year plans. When a pastor
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: encounters a person in trouble, the first order of pastoral
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: ministry is to enter into the pain and share the suffering.
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: Later on, the task develops into clearing away the emotional
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: rubble and exposing the historical foundations. All suffering is triggered
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: by something. Now listen closely. There is a dateable event
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: behind an act of suffering. A remembered word of scorn
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: which wounded. A describable injustice causing injury. A death. With
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: a date on it pinpointing the hour of loss. A
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: divorce decree giving legal definition to a rejection. Suffering explodes
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: in a life and pain is scattered like shrapnel. At
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: the moment, the loss seems total, but gradually it is
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: possible to recognize and touch many, many things, persons, areas
• 33:25
  Speaker 1: that remain sound and stable, to discover weakness, to admit guilt,
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: to accept responsibility, even to be grateful for survival. But
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: if we fail to maintain a foothold in local history,
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: suffering like a helium-filled balloon lifts us off the ground
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: and we drift directionless through the air at the mercy
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: of emotional occurrence. and the barometric pressures of hormonal secretions.
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: Sorrow that does not have historical ballast becomes anxiety and
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: turns finally to mental illness or emotional bitterness. History is
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: necessary not to explain but to anchor. Wow. One of
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: my tasks as a minister and others' task is to
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: help people live through the pain and survive. and to
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: assist if I possibly can in helping them figure out
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: some of the causes. That's a very delicate, intimate relationship
• 34:32
  Speaker 1: that develops. Pastors who are too busy to do that
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: are too busy. People who enter into the lives of
• 34:41
  Speaker 1: others take time. We listen. We care. At times we weep.
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: At times we grieve. Paul says, I suffer for you
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: that Christ continues for his body, the church. So much
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: for that. A ministry is not healthy or wholesome if
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: there is not entering into the suffering of one another. Second, proclaiming.
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: Look at 25 through 28. God has given me the
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: responsibility of serving his church. How? By proclaiming his entire
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: message to you. To who? People of Colossae. Who were they? Gentiles, mainly.
• 35:33
  Speaker 1: Not Jews, mainly Gentiles. And in the first century, a
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: Gentile was called a dog by those who were proud Jews.
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: These people have lived on the back end of prejudices.
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: They've been kind of left out of the blessings of
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: God until Paul comes along with his message proclaiming the secret.
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: Look at it. My job is to proclaim his entire
• 36:02
  Speaker 1: message to you. This message was kept secret for centuries
• 36:05
  Speaker 1: and generations past. Your Bible may include the word mystery. Mystery.
• 36:13
  Speaker 1: A musterion, translated mystery in our Bible, is a sacred
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: secret hidden in the past but now fully revealed. For
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: the longest time, God was at work wanting to get
• 36:28
  Speaker 1: the message to you. That's why he sent Jonah to Nineveh.
• 36:31
  Speaker 1: But Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh. Remember the story?
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: He didn't want to mess around with those Ninevites, all
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: those Gentiles. He doesn't want to see them trust in
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: the living God. Because Jonah is a prejudiced prophet. So
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: he's now saying the veil of prejudice is lifted. Look
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: at this. This message was kept secret for centuries and
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: generations past. Now it's been revealed to God's people. God
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: wanted them to know that the riches and glory of
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: Christ are for you Gentiles too. And this is the secret.
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: Christ lives in you. Now, you hear that and you're
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: sitting in this 21st century setting and you think, well,
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: big deal. Oh, wait. If you lived in the first
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: century and lived under the threat that Gentiles lived under,
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: the awful, awful cloud of prejudice, you would think, oh,
• 37:35
  Speaker 1: how magnificent is this, that God gives us the assurance
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: of sharing his glory. Christ lives in me, of all people.
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: It's like the Emancipation Proclamation. Announce the slaves. You are free.
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: You are free. You are no longer owned by someone.
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: You can be free in this land. And little by little,
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: the message finally was believed. And finally, little by little,
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: the prejudice was set aside. Little by little, the slaves
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: came to know liberty and freedom. In this case, the
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: Gentiles are those. Let me just give you the practical
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: side of this. Prejudice has no place in the local church.
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: Whether the church is in the South or the North,
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: whether the church is in America or Canada or South America,
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: whether the church is in Africa or Asia, if there's
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: one place a person ought to know the joy of
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: being free of prejudice, it is the local church. Paul says,
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: I have the joy of proclaiming that the secret is
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: now known God lives in you. It's a message for
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: all Jew and Gentile alike. You're no longer excluded from
• 38:52
  Speaker 1: the glory and the riches of God's grace. You were
• 38:55
  Speaker 1: once hopeless and helpless. Ephesians 2 tells us that. But now,
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: now that predicament has been removed. You are filled with
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: hope since Christ lives in you, empowering you to please him.
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: We now tell others about Christ, he says in verse 28. Prejudice.
• 39:16
  Speaker 1: Bishop John Green of Sydney, Australia, told about working with
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: a group of boys, some of them of Aboriginal blood.
• 39:29
  Speaker 1: some of English descent. Racial tension was so great, they
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: could not sit peaceably with each other on the same bus.
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: One day when things were getting heated, Bishop Green stopped
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: the bus and had all the boys get home. He
• 39:48
  Speaker 1: spoke with great passion, exclaiming that they were no longer
• 39:52
  Speaker 1: black and white, no longer aboriginal and English. From now on,
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: you're all green. You're green. He then lined them up
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: and altered an order and made them repeat the same
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: two words as they got back on the bus. I'm green.
• 40:12
  Speaker 1: I'm green. Can't you hear those boys doing that? I'm green.
• 40:17
  Speaker 1: I am green. And they get on the bus. Here
• 40:20
  Speaker 1: are the rest of the story. They rode along quietly, integrated,
• 40:24
  Speaker 1: quote unquote, until he heard a voice from the back
• 40:27
  Speaker 1: of the bus. Okay, light green on one side, dark
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: green on the other. We can't get rid of it
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: unless it's done in the power of Christ. It cannot
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: be legislated. The heart has to be changed. And I
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: speak as a southern-born young man from days past, having
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: grown up by southern-born parents, having been around southern prejudice.
• 41:01
  Speaker 1: And I can tell you, the more I read passages
• 41:05
  Speaker 1: like this, the more grateful I am that God can
• 41:09
  Speaker 1: deliver us from a life of prejudice. Some of you
• 41:14
  Speaker 1: need that deliverance. You still entertain secret feelings of prejudice.
• 41:22
  Speaker 1: It still impacts you and your treatment of others, of
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: another race or color. A church that's healthy and wholesome
• 41:33
  Speaker 1: has no place for that. If the Gentiles of the
• 41:37
  Speaker 1: first century were freed, certainly all races are freed. Once
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: they come to Christ, we're all one in the body.
• 41:46
  Speaker 1: That's what it will be like in heaven, by the way.
• 41:49
  Speaker 1: Freed of all of that hang-up. Verse 28. So we
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: tell others about Christ, warning everyone. There's the third word.
• 42:00
  Speaker 1: A church that's wholesome and healthy warns everyone. As I
• 42:06
  Speaker 1: said earlier, this is the negative side of the ministry
• 42:08
  Speaker 1: of the word. It includes a admonition, instruction, reproof, discipline.
• 42:22
  Speaker 1: This word, from which the word warning comes, means to
• 42:28
  Speaker 1: counsel about avoidance or cessation of an improper course of conduct.
• 42:33
  Speaker 1: Those are big words that say you need to stop
• 42:35
  Speaker 1: doing certain things. A church whose pulpit no longer says
• 42:40
  Speaker 1: words like that is not a healthy church. If all
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: you hear is the positive, you're not getting a good diet.
• 42:49
  Speaker 1: You need a diet that includes admonition. Paul uses the
• 42:55
  Speaker 1: word when he speaks to the Ephesian elders saying, you
• 42:57
  Speaker 1: remember how I warned you that there would be wolves
• 43:01
  Speaker 1: that would come right from your own midst who would
• 43:04
  Speaker 1: take advantage of you. Acts 20, that warning appears. I
• 43:08
  Speaker 1: heard a televangelist interviewed once on one occasion in a
• 43:15
  Speaker 1: talk show, and the televangelist, well-known, big following, was asked
• 43:20
  Speaker 1: by the interviewer, why is it I never hear you
• 43:23
  Speaker 1: use the word sin? Do you use the word sin?
• 43:28
  Speaker 1: And the man responded, oh, absolutely not. People already know
• 43:31
  Speaker 1: they're sinners. They need to be told how good they are. Really?
• 43:37
  Speaker 1: Is that right? I have found that it's helpful to
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: know at times, how wrong things are. If I were
• 43:47
  Speaker 1: a physician and only gave you good news, I'd lie
• 43:49
  Speaker 1: to you about having cancer. That's called malpractice. You can
• 43:56
  Speaker 1: malpractice in ministry by telling someone only what they want
• 43:59
  Speaker 1: to hear rather than warning. This church stays healthy because
• 44:07
  Speaker 1: there are warnings. Warning everyone. That's the negative. Now look
• 44:12
  Speaker 1: at the positive. Teaching everyone. This is the positive side
• 44:19
  Speaker 1: of instructing. And read on. Teaching with all wisdom that
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: God has given us. We want to present everyone to God.
• 44:27
  Speaker 1: Mature in their relationship to Christ. So it isn't all negative.
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: It isn't all warnings. Otherwise, it'd be like driving and
• 44:38
  Speaker 1: all the signs on the side of the road will
• 44:40
  Speaker 1: tell you on the sign where the road does not lead.
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: You'd never get to your destination. This will not get
• 44:48
  Speaker 1: you here. That's just the negative. You've got to have
• 44:52
  Speaker 1: the other side as well. And when you get the
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: other side and the teaching is such that it comes
• 44:58
  Speaker 1: with wisdom, you have a balanced diet. And again, it's
• 45:02
  Speaker 1: for every one of us. So we're learning about five
• 45:06
  Speaker 1: ingredients in a healthy church. We enter into people's suffering.
• 45:10
  Speaker 1: We're involved in proclaiming. Some of the proclaiming is warning.
• 45:14
  Speaker 1: Other proclaiming is teaching. And now I love this last part.
• 45:21
  Speaker 1: That's why I work and struggle so hard depending on
• 45:26
  Speaker 1: Christ's mighty power that works within me. A ministry that
• 45:31
  Speaker 1: gets the job done is exhausting. No ministry is authentically
• 45:37
  Speaker 1: a healthy and wholesome ministry without hard work. Without a
• 45:43
  Speaker 1: deep and exacting commitment. Paul uses two words, I work
• 45:49
  Speaker 1: and I struggle. The first word for work is a
• 45:53
  Speaker 1: word for labor as when he made tents and he
• 45:57
  Speaker 1: uses it in that way in another place of one
• 46:00
  Speaker 1: of his letters. The second word struggle is agonizomai. We
• 46:04
  Speaker 1: get the word agony from the word. I agonize. But
• 46:09
  Speaker 1: all the while, I am depending. I'm depending on Christ's
• 46:13
  Speaker 1: power to stay at it. There are days at the
• 46:17
  Speaker 1: end of a day of ministry that you are exhausted.
• 46:22
  Speaker 1: Cynthia and I have a saying we share with each other.
• 46:24
  Speaker 1: We call it a 32nd night. Usually it's right after
• 46:29
  Speaker 1: we brush our teeth. getting ready to go to bed,
• 46:31
  Speaker 1: and I'll say to her, my tongue is a little thick,
• 46:34
  Speaker 1: this is a 30-second night, and about the time my
• 46:37
  Speaker 1: head hits the pillow, I'm snoring. And she says to
• 46:41
  Speaker 1: me the next morning, it was actually a 10-second night
• 46:43
  Speaker 1: that you had. I love the line from Dwight L. Moody,
• 46:49
  Speaker 1: who at bedtime after a laborious day rolled his sizable
• 46:53
  Speaker 1: bulk into the bed, and his prayer was, Lord, I'm tired, amen. Amen.
• 47:00
  Speaker 1: Not a bad prayer. If you love golf more than ministry,
• 47:05
  Speaker 1: don't go into the ministry. If you love some hobby
• 47:11
  Speaker 1: more than ministry, don't waste our time. Just do your hobby.
• 47:18
  Speaker 1: But when you are engaged in ministry, you can count
• 47:21
  Speaker 1: on it. It will be times of work and agony,
• 47:25
  Speaker 1: but you'll be able to make it because of your dependence.
• 47:29
  Speaker 1: on the Lord Jesus. Mark it down. Sloth is an
• 47:33
  Speaker 1: enemy of a great ministry. It has no place in
• 47:38
  Speaker 1: a pastor's life. So here it is. This is how
• 47:44
  Speaker 1: we do it. We depend on Christ's mighty power. When
• 47:47
  Speaker 1: you and I depend on Christ's power, don't miss this,
• 47:52
  Speaker 1: we don't watch the clock. We don't feel sorry for ourselves.
• 48:00
  Speaker 1: We don't move to another church because we'll make more money.
• 48:05
  Speaker 1: We don't run from hard tasks. We don't brag about
• 48:10
  Speaker 1: how hard we're working. We stay energized and excited and motivated.
• 48:17
  Speaker 1: We cannot wait for the next day to begin. I
• 48:19
  Speaker 1: confess to you, I am addicted to what I'm doing.
• 48:25
  Speaker 1: And I can't get up early enough to get started on.
• 48:29
  Speaker 1: I mean, why is everybody else asleep at 5 o'clock?
• 48:33
  Speaker 1: Preferably 4 o'clock. My kids were so glad to leave
• 48:37
  Speaker 1: the house because they said, Dad, you're the loudest person
• 48:40
  Speaker 1: at 4 o'clock anybody could possibly. You're moving things around.
• 48:43
  Speaker 1: I said, well, I'd just like for you to get up.
• 48:45
  Speaker 1: It's time for us to get up. And I'm all
• 48:48
  Speaker 1: excited about what? About ministry. About what's in front of me.
• 48:53
  Speaker 1: The opportunity, the privilege, the joy of teaching Colossians. And
• 48:58
  Speaker 1: if not teaching it, studying it. And the privilege of
• 49:01
  Speaker 1: being with colleagues who are engaged in the same thing
• 49:04
  Speaker 1: and being around people who love it. This is energizing stuff.
• 49:10
  Speaker 1: So let's see what this says to all of us.
• 49:13
  Speaker 1: And then I'm through. Four things. Number one. We're appointed
• 49:18
  Speaker 1: as servants. We're not hired to hold a job. You'll
• 49:25
  Speaker 1: never hear me refer to ministry as a job. It's
• 49:28
  Speaker 1: a calling. We are appointed as servants, not hired to
• 49:33
  Speaker 1: hold a job. Number two, we're thankful for suffering, not
• 49:38
  Speaker 1: resentful of it. It's important that I as a minister
• 49:44
  Speaker 1: don't try to interrupt what God's teaching you through your suffering.
• 49:49
  Speaker 1: I need to stay out of the way and stand
• 49:52
  Speaker 1: alongside you and hurt with you, but not try to
• 49:55
  Speaker 1: make you ignore it or get past it. We're thankful
• 50:00
  Speaker 1: for suffering. Number three, we're telling everyone the secret. We're
• 50:06
  Speaker 1: not keeping it to ourselves. Everyone deserves to know the
• 50:10
  Speaker 1: good news. And what a privilege it is to share it.
• 50:16
  Speaker 1: We don't pay attention to what race a person is
• 50:18
  Speaker 1: or what color. Our joy is to share the good news.
• 50:22
  Speaker 1: It's God's job to take it up from there. Fourth
• 50:26
  Speaker 1: and finally, we're giving it our all. We're not holding back.
• 50:30
  Speaker 1: One of my favorite lines comes from the martyred missionary
• 50:34
  Speaker 1: Jim Elliott. Get this. Wherever you are, be all there.
• 50:39
  Speaker 1: Isn't that a great line? Wherever you are, be all there.
• 50:44
  Speaker 1: Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be
• 50:47
  Speaker 1: the will of God. Live to the hilt every situation
• 50:52
  Speaker 1: you believe to be the will of God. I have
• 50:57
  Speaker 1: the privilege of living in that world, and it's perhaps
• 51:03
  Speaker 1: the highest of all privileges. Bow with me, will you please?
• 51:12
  Speaker 1: You've sat through this patiently listening and it may be
• 51:16
  Speaker 1: the reason you got a little bored is you may
• 51:20
  Speaker 1: not know the Savior. I don't know. It's my job
• 51:25
  Speaker 1: to tell you about him. It's what my calling includes.
• 51:31
  Speaker 1: The Savior died that you might have life. He paid
• 51:36
  Speaker 1: the price for your sin so you didn't have to
• 51:38
  Speaker 1: pay it. And because of that, he's ready to give
• 51:44
  Speaker 1: you his life if you'll receive his gift of eternal life.
• 51:53
  Speaker 1: Take it right now. And as you do, give him
• 51:57
  Speaker 1: thanks for coming and living within you, turning you in
• 52:04
  Speaker 1: the right direction, giving you a promise of eternity a future,
• 52:13
  Speaker 1: and a hope. We can help you in that decision.
• 52:17
  Speaker 1: That's why we exist. Connect with us in any way
• 52:22
  Speaker 1: you wish, and we will offer you hope and a
• 52:27
  Speaker 1: way to go on. Help us all, our Father, to
• 52:31
  Speaker 1: realize that our hope is in you and not really
• 52:36
  Speaker 1: in our times. Suffering has a purpose. It isn't designed
• 52:42
  Speaker 1: just to make us squirm and feel pain. The proclamation
• 52:48
  Speaker 1: is a privilege, and we who are under the teaching
• 52:52
  Speaker 1: of the scriptures consider it a great joy to be
• 52:57
  Speaker 1: instructed in truth. Help us, our Father, to live lives
• 53:02
  Speaker 1: of character and integrity and honesty so that people are
• 53:07
  Speaker 1: not disillusioned When they find out that has not been
• 53:11
  Speaker 1: going on. Guard us. From anything that would interrupt precious fellowship.
• 53:19
  Speaker 1: That is ours at Stonebriar. Guard us from wolves that
• 53:23
  Speaker 1: would come in among the flock. Guard us from the cults.
• 53:27
  Speaker 1: That prey. On those who are not well versed in
• 53:31
  Speaker 1: the scriptures. Guard us from sloth. Lest we become lazy
• 53:37
  Speaker 1: and perfunctory in our task. Give us the joy of serving.
• 53:43
  Speaker 1: May it mark our lives forever. In the name of Jesus,
• 53:49
  Speaker 1: we pray. Everyone say, Amen. Amen.
• 53:57
  Speaker 2: The preceding message, A Precise Explanation of Ministry, was copyrighted
• 54:03
  Speaker 2: in 2014 and 2022, and the sound recording was copyrighted
• 54:04
  Speaker 2: in 2022. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted
• 54:15
  Speaker 2: material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.