1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Welcome to the Liberty Baptist Sermon Archives. 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,040 The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,040 Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:17,120 or contact us at mylibertybaptist.org or just 5 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:19,760 look us up on Facebook. And now we hope that this 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:21,960 message from God's Word will be a blessing to you. 7 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:25,640 Who's. Ready for the Word of God this 8 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:27,520 evening. All right, two of you. 9 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:30,360 All right, everyone else, why don't you open up the First 10 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:32,400 Corinthians? That's why I don't normally ask 11 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:33,720 that. All right, First Corinthians 12 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:35,640 chapter #4 I don't ask you. We just give it to you, all 13 00:00:35,640 --> 00:00:37,640 right? But I'll say, all joking aside, 14 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:39,320 I mean, the fact that you're ready to hear the Word is that 15 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:40,480 you're here tonight. Amen. 16 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:43,440 You came to the House of God. You logged in tonight if you 17 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:46,080 weren't able to be here. Thank you so much for that. 18 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:50,160 It's sure a pleasure to be able to be in the Word with you this 19 00:00:50,160 --> 00:00:52,480 evening. I would tell you as a pastor, 20 00:00:52,480 --> 00:00:56,440 sometimes the hardest people to be able to work with are the 21 00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:58,440 ones who already know everything. 22 00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:02,840 You know what I'm saying? It's not those who maybe are 23 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:05,800 struggling in their Christian walk or those who have more 24 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:07,280 growing to do. If we've learned anything on 25 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:09,640 Sunday morning the last few weeks, we've all got a lot more 26 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:11,440 growing to do, don't we, in our Christian life. 27 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:14,360 Just like the old children's song says, He's still working on 28 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:16,480 me to make me what I ought to be. 29 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:19,680 But the ones who are sometimes the most difficult to pastor and 30 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:22,240 sometimes it caused the most heartaches in the life of a 31 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:26,120 pastor are the ones who already believe they know everything 32 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:29,560 they need to know. Benjamin Franklin said this. 33 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:35,600 The proud hate pride in others. Think about that for a second. 34 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:41,480 The proud hate pride in others. And pride is a very, very 35 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:44,080 dangerous thing. And that's the exact problem 36 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:46,320 that we find here in the Corinthian church. 37 00:01:46,320 --> 00:01:49,920 They are puffed up in their own conceit, thinking they are 38 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:52,960 something that they are not. It's not even the fact that they 39 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:55,440 are not godly. It's even beyond that. 40 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:58,600 It's that they think they are godly when they are not because 41 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:01,480 Paul has to first of all, deprogram them from thinking 42 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:04,160 that they are godly. They are doing well, they are 43 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:07,520 knowledgeable, they are wise. He has to remember, remind them 44 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:10,039 as he said, the beginning of chapter #3 you're babes in 45 00:02:10,039 --> 00:02:11,600 Christ. You're, you're drinking milk. 46 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:14,720 You ought to be eating meat, but you don't know what you think 47 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:16,840 you know. So he's got to kind of break 48 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:19,840 them down a little bit before he starts to build them back up to 49 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:24,880 being what they need to be. Paul, in essence, is going to 50 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:27,960 have to burst their bubble. You ever had someone burst your 51 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:31,000 bubble before you ever had someone kind of put you in your 52 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:32,960 place? And I'm not even talking about 53 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:35,800 someone that maybe is doing it in a worldly way or someone 54 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:38,520 that's doing it out of their own pride or arrogance, but someone 55 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:41,680 that gave you a reality check. I remember I was in Bible 56 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:44,720 college and you know, when you're at any kind of college, 57 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:48,680 usually they have resident assistants, Ras, and usually 58 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:51,000 those are the better students. Those are the ones that follow 59 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:53,840 the rules and toe the line and all that type of thing. 60 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:55,400 And I remember meeting with Brother Jett. 61 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:56,720 Some of you might remember Jamie Jett. 62 00:02:56,720 --> 00:02:59,520 He's preached here a couple times before at Liberty. 63 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:01,800 And one of the things I love about Brother Jett, he always 64 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:04,440 tells you what he's thinking. And I remember sitting in his 65 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:07,000 office and I've been in maybe a little bit of trouble and I want 66 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:10,880 to say what for because this is live, but I was in his office 67 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:14,760 and I was kind of being self deprecating as sometimes my 68 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:17,040 habit is. And I said, look, Brother Jet, I 69 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:20,320 know who I am. I know I'm not RA material. 70 00:03:20,640 --> 00:03:23,240 And I kind of threw that out there as a way for him to say, 71 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:26,320 Oh no, no, Adam, really. No, you really are, you know, 72 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:28,840 you should be in RA someday. We just get this little thing 73 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:32,000 fixed and all of that. And he looked at me with those 74 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:34,840 loving eyes like only Brother Jet could say, as I said, you 75 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:36,880 know, I know I'm not RA material. 76 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:38,800 And he looked at me and says, you got that right. 77 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:47,280 Head deflated immediately. He popped the balloon. 78 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:50,240 He, he had me all of a sudden realized I wasn't who I thought 79 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:52,200 it was. By the way, he was right. 80 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:56,320 I wasn't RA material. I wasn't listening to the RA's I 81 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:59,680 had, let alone being able to tell other people what to do. 82 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:04,480 Sometimes we need someone with some godliness within them to be 83 00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:07,040 able to tell us what we need. We we've talked about that a 84 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:08,400 little bit on Sunday night, didn't we? 85 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:11,200 About the prophet preaching confronts us about the things of 86 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:14,720 life that we need to know. Well, here tonight, Paul is 87 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:17,279 going to talk about this issue of Hey, Corinth. 88 00:04:17,399 --> 00:04:20,040 You're not who you think you are and you're not where you think 89 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:21,640 you are. And so he's going to give him a 90 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:24,240 bit of a reality check and a message that I have titled 91 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,440 tonight. Paul bursts Corinths bubble. 92 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:31,480 Paul bursts Corinths bubble. So let's go ahead and read First 93 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:34,800 Corinthians chapter #4 we're going to read verses 6-7 and 94 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:37,600 eight tonight. And it says this and these 95 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:41,000 things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and 96 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:44,120 to Apollo's for your sakes, that you might learn in us not to 97 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:47,920 think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be 98 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:49,960 puffed up for one against another. 99 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:52,280 For who maketh thee to differ from another? 100 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:55,160 And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? 101 00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:59,440 And if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou 102 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:03,160 hast not received it? Now ye are full, now ye are 103 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:05,480 rich. Ye have reigned as kings without 104 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:07,480 us. And I would to God ye did reign, 105 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:10,800 that we also might reign with you. 106 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:13,760 So what's happening to the people of Corinth here? 107 00:05:13,840 --> 00:05:17,760 What is Paul trying to deflate within their own mind to try to 108 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,360 get them to the place where they need to be spiritually? 109 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:22,640 Well, I see two things tonight, and the first is this. 110 00:05:22,840 --> 00:05:26,840 They were deceived by pride. These people of Corinth had been 111 00:05:26,840 --> 00:05:29,840 deceived by pride. Paul sets out to deflate the 112 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:33,240 arrogance that these babes in Christ have blown up within 113 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:35,160 their own heads. And he starts with this phrase 114 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:39,040 right there in verse number six. He says, and these things, 115 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:40,880 brethren, and I just want to stop right there. 116 00:05:41,280 --> 00:05:43,840 That's a phrase right there. It has a few words and then a 117 00:05:43,840 --> 00:05:46,040 comma. And these things, brethren. 118 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:48,560 Now let me remind you something that I've talked to you about 119 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:51,360 before in the past when it comes to the issue of Bible 120 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:53,600 interpretation. When you're reading your Bible, 121 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:55,720 you're studying your Bible, you're trying to make sure you 122 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:57,800 rightly divide the word of truth, right? 123 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:01,280 That we don't read into what the word of God says, but we allow 124 00:06:01,280 --> 00:06:04,440 the word of God to read us. So when you see something like 125 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:08,000 and these things, brethren, well, you have to ask yourself 126 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:12,240 the question, what things, what's Paul talking about here? 127 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:15,280 Because if we don't know the things that he's talking about, 128 00:06:15,280 --> 00:06:18,320 then we don't really understand what he's trying to tell us. 129 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:20,760 So listen, when you're reading your Bible, and again, this is, 130 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:22,520 this is just free tonight. All right, I'm giving you this 131 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:24,880 at no charge tonight. When you're reading your Bible, 132 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:27,200 you're trying to go a certain distance in your Bible read. 133 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:30,280 You're trying to read a chapter, 2 chapters, 3 chapters, whatever 134 00:06:30,280 --> 00:06:33,040 it may be. Don't get so caught up making 135 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:36,640 sure you reach the goal that you just plow through the reading 136 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:39,080 and you don't get what God is trying to tell you. 137 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:42,120 Now listen, I know you're not going to understand everything 138 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:43,560 from what you read. You know how I know that? 139 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:47,280 Because if you live to be 100 years old, you still wouldn't 140 00:06:47,280 --> 00:06:49,200 get it all, would you? I mean, the Holy Spirit will 141 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:51,800 keep teaching you and guiding you and helping you, but there's 142 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:54,000 always something new to learn. If you could learn at all. 143 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:56,240 Could you imagine getting to a point in your Christian life 144 00:06:56,240 --> 00:06:57,760 where you said, well, basically, I learned everything? 145 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:00,440 Those are the people I'm worried about. 146 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:02,640 Those are the people Paul's talking about here. 147 00:07:02,840 --> 00:07:05,360 So if you get into your Bible reading and you see something 148 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:09,120 like that, well in these things, brethren will say, well what 149 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:12,200 things is Paul talking about? And so we read the rest of the 150 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:15,200 verse and he says, and these things, brethren, I have in a 151 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:19,240 figure transferred to myself and to Apollo's for your sake. 152 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:23,400 So he says, there's some things I want you to know about me and 153 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:25,200 Apollos. And I can't go all the way back 154 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:27,760 to the beginning, but we understand Apollos was another 155 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:30,640 preacher who had been very influential in Corinth. 156 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:34,480 Remember, I'm of Paul, I'm of Apollos, I'm of Cephas, I'm of 157 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:36,680 Christ. And so he says there's a figure 158 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:40,360 that I want you to understand about us that we've talked about 159 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:42,240 before. Well, what is it? 160 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:44,760 Well, I believe that if you go back to verse number one and 161 00:07:44,760 --> 00:07:46,840 two, you'll see what it is. And this goes back to our 162 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:48,760 message before. So you might need to go back a 163 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:50,400 page. Just go back a few verses. 164 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:52,440 What does it say in verse number one and two? 165 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:56,680 Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ and 166 00:07:56,680 --> 00:07:58,440 stewards of the mysteries of God. 167 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:01,720 Moreover, it's required and stewards that a man be found 168 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:03,800 faithful. What did we see last week? 169 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:06,560 We are to be ministers and stewards. 170 00:08:06,560 --> 00:08:10,600 Now, are those lofty positions, are people spending billions of 171 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:14,360 dollars on television advertisements to run as 172 00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:18,200 stewards and ministers? No, They're spending that money 173 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:19,680 to be able to go to Washington, aren't they? 174 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:21,080 Or to be able to go to Beacon Hill. 175 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:23,760 No one's saying, you know, my name is Adam Rivero and I 176 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:25,840 approve this message. I'm running for minister. 177 00:08:26,480 --> 00:08:28,560 Unless you're in Great Britain, I guess, your Prime Minister. 178 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:29,920 But that's a whole different thing, isn't it? 179 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:34,120 But the idea is this. That's a lowly position, being a 180 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:37,280 minister, being a steward. It's not up high, it's up low. 181 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:40,640 And So what is Paul saying? He's saying these things, the 182 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:43,080 issue of being a minister and steward. 183 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:47,920 He says I'm really referring to myself and Apollo's. 184 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:51,160 He said I'm not just telling you to be a minister. 185 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:55,480 I'm saying this, I'm a minister. I'm not just telling you to be a 186 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:57,600 steward. I'm a steward. 187 00:08:57,800 --> 00:09:02,000 And he's trying to hammer this point across to the people that 188 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:03,640 they, yes, they may be in the ministry. 189 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:07,360 They may have a, a place out in front of other people, but 190 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:10,160 listen, they're no heroes. They're just doing that which 191 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:12,600 God has called him to do. By the way. 192 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:15,000 This is just something else that I, I want to give you this 193 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:17,760 tonight just to think about a, a little bit of a tangent here 194 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:21,280 this evening, but I'm so thankful for other pastors. 195 00:09:21,280 --> 00:09:22,920 I'm thankful for missionaries. We're going to have some 196 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:24,360 missionaries here in a couple weeks. 197 00:09:24,360 --> 00:09:26,880 We have our missions conference. We have another pastor who's 198 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:29,640 helped plant over 100 churches through his church and the 199 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:32,960 missionaries that have come from his church over here in the next 200 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:34,480 few weeks. I'm so thankful for them. 201 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:38,560 Pastors and missionaries, though, are not our heroes. 202 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:41,480 Say pastor, what are you talking about? 203 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:45,960 Sometimes if we're not careful in the course of a church, we 204 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:48,480 can build the culture of, well, we don't want sports stars to be 205 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:49,680 our heroes. And I'll wait till everyone 206 00:09:49,680 --> 00:09:52,400 says, Amen. We don't need sports stars to be 207 00:09:52,400 --> 00:09:54,600 our heroes. We don't need Hollywood stars to 208 00:09:54,600 --> 00:09:56,680 be our heroes. We don't need recording artists 209 00:09:56,680 --> 00:09:58,760 to be our heroes. We don't need influencers to be 210 00:09:58,760 --> 00:10:01,680 our heroes. So we could actually take that 211 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:03,960 and say, well, you know who should be our heroes? 212 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:08,080 Missionaries and pastors and evangelists and and pastors 213 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:10,280 wives and and those are the people that need to be our 214 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:11,800 heroes. Now listen, should we be 215 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:13,400 thankful for them? Yes. 216 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:17,160 Should we look at them with respect? 217 00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:20,240 I believe so. But what does Paul here say? 218 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:22,200 Can I put it this way? He says I'm no hero. 219 00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:26,040 Don't lift me up. I'm a servant and I'm a 220 00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:28,560 minister. The thing that I told you to do, 221 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:33,000 he says I got to do too. And it's easy to be behind a 222 00:10:33,160 --> 00:10:34,920 pulpit. Listen, it's easy to stand 223 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:37,720 behind a pulpit and have people sit here and listen to you for 224 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:41,040 30 minutes. There it is, John. 225 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:42,520 I was waiting to would laugh first. 226 00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:43,680 All right? Not 30. 227 00:10:43,680 --> 00:10:45,360 Say, when was the last time you preached 30 minutes? 228 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:46,040 I don't know. I think. 229 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:49,000 I think it was when the AC went out a few months ago, and I knew 230 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:51,280 everyone's gonna walk out if I didn't stop after 30 minutes. 231 00:10:51,520 --> 00:10:54,080 But you listen to me for 40 minutes, 50 minutes. 232 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:55,560 Tick, tick, tick, tick. All right? 233 00:10:56,400 --> 00:10:59,320 If I'm not careful, that could make me build myself up. 234 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:01,360 And they will look at what all these people think of me. 235 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:06,040 But what is it? I'm just a minister and I'm just 236 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:07,840 a steward. We're all to be ministers and 237 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:09,640 stewards. And so he says this, these 238 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:13,080 things, brethren, I have a figure transferred to myself and 239 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:14,920 to Apollo's. For your sakes. 240 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:18,480 What did he want them to learn about this ministry and the 241 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:20,920 stewardship? He said that you might learn in 242 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:25,080 us not to think of men above that which is written, that not 243 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:27,920 one of you be puffed up one against another. 244 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:32,640 Paul basically says this, I want you to look at how humble I am 245 00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:35,600 and you be humble. Now, first of all, that kind of 246 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:37,480 sounds like a little bit of a contradiction, doesn't it? 247 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:40,200 Like kind of like, say, hey everybody, see how humble I am? 248 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:42,760 That's like, well, you're probably not that humble if 249 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:44,520 you're telling everybody how humble you are. 250 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:46,440 Call that a humble brag, don't we? 251 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:49,800 That we want everyone to know I'm the most humblest person 252 00:11:49,800 --> 00:11:51,680 you'll ever know, and I'm going to tell everybody about it. 253 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:54,920 That's not really humility. But that's not what Paul is 254 00:11:54,920 --> 00:11:57,960 saying here. Paul oftentimes will say things 255 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:00,600 like this. In fact, he says it in chapter 4 256 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:04,320 verse #16 Look down a little bit in the column there in your 257 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:07,160 Bible. Wherefore I beseech you, be 258 00:12:07,160 --> 00:12:09,960 followers of me. He actually says, I want you to 259 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:11,800 follow me. Now that shouldn't bother us 260 00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:14,760 because in Chapter 11, and we're going to move a lot in our Bible 261 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:16,000 tonight. So I hope you got your Bibles 262 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:17,240 and you're ready for some exercise. 263 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:19,120 Go over to Chapter 11. Leave your ribbon there in 264 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:23,880 chapter 4, and then let's go to Chapter 11 and look at verse #1 265 00:12:30,270 --> 00:12:33,030 Paul says this being ye followers of me and what 266 00:12:33,030 --> 00:12:37,430 follows, even as I also am of Christ. 267 00:12:37,870 --> 00:12:39,710 So Paul is very comfortable in saying this. 268 00:12:39,710 --> 00:12:43,120 I want you to follow me, but the only way he can say that is if 269 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:47,920 he's following Christ. Now let me ask you tonight, is 270 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:51,600 there something within your life that you could rightly tell 271 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:55,160 people, hey, follow me. Is there something to be found 272 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:58,360 in your Christian life that you would be comfortable enough to 273 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:01,080 tell people follow me. Hey, you want to learn how to 274 00:13:01,680 --> 00:13:03,520 share the gospel with someone? Follow me. 275 00:13:03,520 --> 00:13:06,760 Do you want to learn how to be able to raise children in a 276 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:08,760 godly manner? Follow me. 277 00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:10,680 Do you want to learn how to pray? 278 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:13,640 Follow me. Do you want to serve? 279 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:16,400 Follow me. Now again, that could sound very 280 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:18,480 presumptuous and it could sound very prideful. 281 00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:21,240 Paul, listen, Paul's saying this by the inspiration of Holy 282 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:22,480 Spirit. So there's no pride here. 283 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:25,640 And if Paul could say this, I'm not saying that necessarily our 284 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:28,880 posture should be, hey, let me, let me teach you something and 285 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:31,040 going around trying to teach everybody everything. 286 00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:33,680 But kind of what I found. If you're just a faithful 287 00:13:33,680 --> 00:13:36,800 Christian and you just keep your head down and you do what God's 288 00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:39,240 called you to do, there will be people that will come around and 289 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:42,160 say, hey, can you explain to me how I should read my Bible? 290 00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:45,240 Can you help me with that? I've heard you give testimonies 291 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:47,320 before about your Bible reading. Will you talk to me about that? 292 00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:50,200 You might even see someone on a Saturday morning. 293 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:51,760 We have outreach. You say, hey, can I partner up 294 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:53,400 with you today because I want to learn how to talk to somebody 295 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:55,760 about Jesus. By the way, you can't do that if 296 00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:56,920 you don't come outreach on Saturday. 297 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:01,640 But they got a little bit of a nervous laugh there. 298 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:06,920 All right, but do you have a faith that others could follow? 299 00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:09,360 Or would you say this? I hope nobody would follow my 300 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:12,800 faith, boy, I hope nobody would follow the way that I go. 301 00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:15,640 I wouldn't want them to talk like I talk once I get out of 302 00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:18,280 the church. I wouldn't want them to look at 303 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:20,160 the things that I look at once I get out of church. 304 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:24,280 I wouldn't want them to read the Bible as much as I read the 305 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:26,600 Bible when I get out of church because honestly, I don't read 306 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:28,640 my Bible between Sunday to Sunday. 307 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:31,360 I pick it up for church, I put it down and I'll pick it up 308 00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:32,640 again till the next time I go to church. 309 00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:37,600 Paul says this follow me, but not because I'm me, but follow 310 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:39,640 me because I'm trying to follow Christ. 311 00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:40,840 And that's what he's saying here. 312 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:44,200 He says if you want a pattern of humility, follow me. 313 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:46,360 But he's not saying this in an arrogant way. 314 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:49,360 He has to be saying this in a way of humility. 315 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:52,560 He's telling these people that are so out of whack in Corinth. 316 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:56,680 He says this you, you, you think you are something and you're 317 00:14:56,680 --> 00:14:59,000 not. So if you want to see humility, 318 00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:01,920 look at me. And he's not even talking about 319 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:03,200 himself. He said look at Apollos. 320 00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:05,840 He says we're the figures that you need to be following. 321 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:09,120 Could we even put it this way? He wasn't just preaching the 322 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:10,600 Word. He was living the Word. 323 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:15,040 He wasn't just getting up behind the pulpit and say thus sayeth 324 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:16,640 the Lord. You know, every time I point a 325 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:18,600 finger at you and say thus sayeth the Lord, there's three 326 00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:22,120 fingers pointing back at me. I would say there's almost more 327 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:23,680 responsibility. Some of you were just trying 328 00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:24,800 that. I've also thought about 329 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:26,680 preaching just doing this so that I don't have any fingers 330 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:28,400 pointed me. But that doesn't seem fair, does 331 00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:31,920 it? But the idea is this, that if 332 00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:34,440 I'm speaking from the pulpit and telling you thus, saith the 333 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:37,360 Lord, there's a greater responsibility to me to make 334 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:39,760 sure that I'm living it if I'm putting it out there to you. 335 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:40,720 Amen. All right. 336 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:42,920 And so here's Paul saying this. I need to be humble. 337 00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:46,520 I need to be humble. Our lives should be signposts 338 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:50,320 for unbelievers to see Christ, but our lives also should be 339 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:53,800 signposts for other Christians to learn how to be Christ. 340 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:55,720 Like that's what Paul is saying here. 341 00:15:55,720 --> 00:15:57,680 Listen, don't, don't be proud. Listen. 342 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:00,560 Are you willing to be taught? Could you be taught by a Paul? 343 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:03,400 Could you be taught by Apollos? And that's what was so crazy 344 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:05,200 about it. And he even says it at the end 345 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:08,560 of the verse. He says, he says that no one of 346 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:10,960 you be popped up for one against another. 347 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:15,280 They're puffing up with somewhat about themselves, but they were 348 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:17,560 puffed up that there was the group that said, well, we like 349 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:20,160 Paul better and the other group says, well, we like Apollos 350 00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:23,000 better. And he says, do you realize you 351 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:28,240 are carrying the flag for people Paul and Apollos in arrogance? 352 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:30,040 And neither of these guys are arrogant. 353 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:35,120 Neither of us are honored. He's saying, by what you're 354 00:16:35,120 --> 00:16:38,760 doing by puffing yourself up. Well, this idea, what is what is 355 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:40,760 puffing up? What does that even mean? 356 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:43,560 We'll look at verse #18 drop down just a little bit. 357 00:16:44,080 --> 00:16:48,120 Now some are puffed up as though I would not come unto you, but I 358 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:52,040 will come to you shortly if the Lord will and will know not the 359 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:55,720 speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. 360 00:16:56,120 --> 00:16:59,160 Look at chapter 5, verse 2. This is a problem they had in 361 00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:01,240 court. The being puffed up and ye are 362 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:04,680 puffed up and you have not rather mourned that he had done 363 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:06,720 this deed might be taken away from among you. 364 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:09,319 We're going to see when we get to chapter #5 there was a man 365 00:17:09,319 --> 00:17:12,480 who is in gross sexual immorality and what do they do? 366 00:17:12,480 --> 00:17:16,160 Instead of making sure they, he took the steps they needed to 367 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:19,200 take to make sure that he repented, they kind of left him 368 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:21,319 in the church and they were puffed up about it. 369 00:17:21,319 --> 00:17:24,839 They said, hey, listen, how listen, how liberal minded we 370 00:17:24,839 --> 00:17:26,720 are. You can live any way you want. 371 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:28,040 You can be a member of this church. 372 00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:31,480 Well, that's OK if the church belongs to you, but the church 373 00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:34,920 belongs to Jesus Christ, and he's the one that decides what 374 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:38,800 the proper way of living is for a member of a church. 375 00:17:38,800 --> 00:17:41,360 And so they were puffed up about this. 376 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:44,600 Well, what do we know about true love? 377 00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:47,440 In fact, they would even say, well, you know, this is love and 378 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:49,400 this is what it is. Maybe they even said love is 379 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:53,640 love, which doesn't even mean anything because he can't define 380 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:56,360 the word by the word. That's a way for the world to 381 00:17:56,360 --> 00:17:59,680 try to confuse what the Bible says about marriage between 382 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:02,200 being between one man and one woman for one lifetime. 383 00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:05,360 But what do we see the Bible says about true love? 384 00:18:05,360 --> 00:18:10,000 You could say that it says in First Corinthians 13 verse #4 385 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:14,040 that charity is not what puffed up. 386 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:18,040 It's not puffed up. These people thought they were 387 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:20,600 loving that. These people thought they had it 388 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:22,720 all. And, and what's Paul doing? 389 00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:25,800 He's taking the needle to that balloon and he's just putting 390 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:27,960 holes in it. He's saying you aren't who you 391 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:31,240 think you are. Pride promised to make us 392 00:18:31,240 --> 00:18:33,640 bigger, better and more important. 393 00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:36,440 But typically it just makes us smaller and meaner. 394 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:39,440 It doesn't make us who we think it'll make us. 395 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:44,960 And then verse #8 he says this now year full or or rather verse 396 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:49,240 #7 he says, for who maketh thee to differ from another? 397 00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:52,520 And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? 398 00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:55,680 So he asked this question. He he says this. 399 00:18:56,680 --> 00:18:58,400 Who made you different from one another? 400 00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:01,120 If you want. You know, we think of Paul and 401 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:03,520 Apollo's, OK, they're different and you all are different. 402 00:19:03,960 --> 00:19:06,240 Well, who is the one that made you different? 403 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:08,680 Can we put it this way? He's asking the people of 404 00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:11,920 Corinth, who's the one that gave you the gifts and the talents 405 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:15,040 that you have in the first place, if you're going to be 406 00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:18,840 proud and haughty about these things that you see in US or in 407 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:20,200 others. Who's the thing? 408 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:23,440 Who's the person who gave those things in the 1st place? 409 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:26,800 And we know it wasn't a person. We know it was God Almighty. 410 00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:31,080 He says this, well, who made you a different from one another? 411 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:35,520 He says, What do you have that you didn't receive from God? 412 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:39,240 He says, what do you even think you've accomplished apart from 413 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:40,720 God? John 15 Five. 414 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:43,200 I am the vine, ye are the branches. 415 00:19:43,360 --> 00:19:46,160 He that abideth in me, and I and Him the same, bringeth forth 416 00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:48,320 much fruit. For without me you can do 417 00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:51,280 certain things, but just not as much as others. 418 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:56,160 No, it says this, for without me you can do nothing. 419 00:19:57,520 --> 00:20:01,120 He says what are you glorying in? 420 00:20:02,120 --> 00:20:04,520 It's not of you in the first place. 421 00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:10,480 What are you so puffed up about? There's nothing you have. 422 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:13,480 There's nothing that you are that you could have accomplished 423 00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:15,880 on your own. Listen, you couldn't come into 424 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:18,640 this world on your own. You can't breathe on your own. 425 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:20,600 You can't do anything on your own. 426 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:24,800 It's only by the good graces of God that you and I can be who we 427 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:27,160 are. So why would we be so proud 428 00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:30,960 about what we are when we're not who we are because of us? 429 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:34,320 Listen, I can't be proud of going to heaven, Ephesians 28 430 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:37,280 and 9, not of works, lest any man should boast. 431 00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:40,440 If I can't boast of getting to heaven on my own, how on earth 432 00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:43,280 can I boast about the things I can do on this earth on my own? 433 00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:46,840 It's only because of him. He says stop being so prideful. 434 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:50,440 Stop being so prideful. Told you before I worked for the 435 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:52,800 Tampa Bay Lightning, they won a Stanley Cup. 436 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:54,920 And I'll tell you this, they never gave me a championship 437 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:58,000 ring. They never do. 438 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:00,840 You believe they don't give the sanitation crew A championship 439 00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:03,440 ring? Could you imagine me walking 440 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:06,960 around the Saint Pete Times Forum in the bowels of the Saint 441 00:21:06,960 --> 00:21:09,480 Pete Times Forum around 2:00 in the morning, which is what I 442 00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:13,360 would usually have to do to get rid of everyone's trash out of 443 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:17,040 the form after a concert or after a game, as I was working 444 00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:18,880 in the ministry. But I was working overnight just 445 00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:20,320 to be able to put food on the table. 446 00:21:20,520 --> 00:21:21,640 And could you imagine me tell it? 447 00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:24,320 Listen, guys, I mean, I don't understand why they don't give 448 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:27,960 us championship rings. I mean, listen, we worked for 449 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:29,480 the Lightning. I mean, I don't see any of the 450 00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:30,760 players around here at 2:00 in the morning. 451 00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:32,800 This trash doesn't take out itself. 452 00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:36,640 And someone walks up to me and just kind of slaps me a back of 453 00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:39,120 the head and says, you think you had anything to do with what 454 00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:41,560 they did. You pick up trash. 455 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:45,000 I said, well, but yeah, do a good job at it. 456 00:21:46,120 --> 00:21:51,520 But I kind of feel the same way about us taking glory from the 457 00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:55,080 Lord, from our own life. Someone gets saved. 458 00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:59,400 Look at what we did. He it's almost as the Lord slaps 459 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:03,360 to the side heads. He said, yeah, I used you, but 460 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:08,040 you think you could have done that on your own, Lord? 461 00:22:09,120 --> 00:22:12,560 Pretty good preacher. See how many views we're getting 462 00:22:12,560 --> 00:22:20,920 online, It's in the dozens. Now we're going viral. 463 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:24,760 We're going viral. It's not a very contagious 464 00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:26,520 virus, but we're going viral, right? 465 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:30,600 You know what you say? You think that's you? 466 00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:36,440 Hey, Lord, doing pretty good in my ministry at the church. 467 00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:40,160 I think people are starting to see how good I am at my 468 00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:43,960 ministry. You think you had the strength 469 00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:47,320 to get up this morning? You think you had the dexterity 470 00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:50,880 to be able to get behind your wheel and drive and to be able 471 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:53,920 to get here and to articulate what you needed to to those 472 00:22:53,920 --> 00:22:56,040 children. To be able to let the notes come 473 00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:58,440 out of your mouth. To be able to sing so that you 474 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:00,840 could stand at the front door and shake people's hand and say 475 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:02,800 the right thing at the right moment that someone need to 476 00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:04,600 hear. You think that was you? 477 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:10,120 Sure you were willing, Sure I used you. 478 00:23:11,360 --> 00:23:14,520 But if I had taken my hand off of you and told you go ahead, do 479 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:17,320 it on your own, you'd be gone in a second. 480 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:21,880 And we start to think about how great we are. 481 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:29,040 Oh friend, pride kills. It kills, he says. 482 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:33,400 Now without it's receiving. Why does thou glory as if thou 483 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:35,280 is not receiving? He said. 484 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:39,120 He said, why? Why are you acting the way that 485 00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:42,200 you are? Why would you carry yourself 486 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:44,360 this way? Why would you glory in yourself? 487 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:46,840 You. What Paul often had to reiterate 488 00:23:46,840 --> 00:23:49,880 to the people of Corinth, he had to say this. 489 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:52,720 We've already read this before 1st Corinthians 131. 490 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:58,080 According as it is written, he that glorieth let him glory in 491 00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:00,320 the Lord. He said in Second Corinthians 492 00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:04,840 chapter 10 verse 17, But let he that glorieth let him glory in 493 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:07,880 the Lord. Pride cuts ourselves off from 494 00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:10,760 God, for who needs God if we're self-sufficient within 495 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:13,400 ourselves? Pride cuts ourselves off from 496 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:16,920 others, for who needs to be dependent upon others if in our 497 00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:20,560 pride we are independent. And pride cuts ourselves off 498 00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:25,040 from ourselves, for it does not permit us to face accurately our 499 00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:29,200 own self, self evaluation of who we are in Christ. 500 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:32,520 If I'm going to glory in something, you can go all the 501 00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:35,800 way back to the Old Testament, Jeremiah Chapter 9 verse 24. 502 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:40,320 But let him that glorieth glory in this that he understandeth 503 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:44,560 and that he knoweth me, that I am the Lord, which exercises 504 00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:47,920 loving kindness, judgment, righteousness in the earth. 505 00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:50,760 For in these things I delight. Say it, the Lord. 506 00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:52,120 There's something to glory in that. 507 00:24:52,120 --> 00:24:54,400 We can glory in our Lord. You could worship right there 508 00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:57,280 and go through all of those words and all those beautiful 509 00:24:57,280 --> 00:25:00,960 characteristics of our Lord, and you would never exhaust the 510 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:04,520 beautiful nature of our God. There's something to glory in. 511 00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:08,920 There's something to glory. You know, we oftentimes we talk 512 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:11,400 about Bible study. We talk about the principle of 513 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:13,240 first mention. You've heard me say that before, 514 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:16,880 that sometimes we see the first mention of a word in the Bible. 515 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:20,680 It helps us understand how to interpret that word throughout 516 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:24,520 the rest of the Bible. And I actually was looking this 517 00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:26,080 up today. I didn't realize this. 518 00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:29,600 I would have thought the word pride would have been very early 519 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:32,680 on in the word of God. And I look for pride in all the 520 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:35,320 forms of the word of pride, like prideful. 521 00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:38,440 But do you know the first time it's mentioned as Leviticus 522 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:42,160 2619? I will break the pride of your 523 00:25:42,160 --> 00:25:46,000 power, and I will make your heaven as iron and your earth is 524 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:48,440 brass. And God was telling Israel this. 525 00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:53,920 If you do not, once you go into the promised land, do not follow 526 00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:58,000 me and become prideful in your own selves, I'm going to have to 527 00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:01,640 break you. Now listen that. 528 00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:06,440 That sounds like a threat, but I will tell you it's God in his 529 00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:10,240 loving kindness saying this. He says I will break you of your 530 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:14,320 pride before pride breaks you, because that's what it'll do. 531 00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:18,880 I will break you of your pride before pride will break you. 532 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:22,760 You ever heard of a wild horse that needs to be broken? 533 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:28,000 Often times that's called the meeking of a horse, meeking a 534 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:31,360 horse and we hear that word meek and we don't think that's very 535 00:26:31,360 --> 00:26:33,840 good, do we? We often use the term meek means 536 00:26:33,840 --> 00:26:36,880 weak, right? But that's not what meek is 537 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:40,240 taking that horse and meeking it, taking that horse and 538 00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:42,960 breaking it of its pride and its arrogance because that's what it 539 00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:43,840 is. It's wild. 540 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:48,320 Listen to this, actually read this from a horse breeder today 541 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:50,400 because I I follow a lot of horse breeding blogs, probably 542 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:55,400 like you do, but big in that real big in that animal 543 00:26:55,400 --> 00:27:00,320 husbandry is a passion. But that's probably why we have 544 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:02,280 a couple dozen views right there, all right? 545 00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:06,480 But anyway, making a horse does not mean to strip the power from 546 00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:10,680 the horse, but rather to harness the horse's power from a state 547 00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:14,800 of wild independence to 1 of loyalty so that the horse could 548 00:27:14,800 --> 00:27:17,840 be used as the master of the horse intended. 549 00:27:19,760 --> 00:27:21,880 What does he have to do? Break us of our pride before 550 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:24,560 pride breaks us. And that first word of the use 551 00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:27,040 pride and breaking is not an accident. 552 00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:30,920 Why? Because God wants to meek us so 553 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:34,400 that we can be used for Him. So we start there with the 554 00:27:34,400 --> 00:27:37,400 people at Corinth. They were deceived by pride. 555 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:40,040 But secondly, they were also deceived by position. 556 00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:44,520 They were deceived by position. And what I love here in verse #8 557 00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:46,960 is that Paul gives us what I would call some sanctified 558 00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:48,920 sarcasm. I don't mind sarcasm. 559 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:50,480 In fact, I kind of like it, to be honest with you. 560 00:27:50,480 --> 00:27:53,320 I have to be careful sometimes in the pulpit about laying on 561 00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:54,880 the sarcasm a little bit too thick. 562 00:27:55,080 --> 00:27:57,960 But I will say this. Paul uses some real sarcasm in 563 00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:01,440 verse #8 he's not doing it again in an arrogant way because this 564 00:28:01,440 --> 00:28:04,440 is inspired by the Holy Spirit. But what he's trying to do is 565 00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:07,560 he's trying to put in front of them the lunacy of the way that 566 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:09,760 they're living. He's trying to show them how 567 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:13,760 absolutely crazy it is that they think that they are here, but 568 00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:16,040 they are actually here. How that they think they are 569 00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:18,840 doing so well, but they're actually doing so poorly. 570 00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:22,680 Look at verse #8 He says now you are full, now you are rich. 571 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:24,800 You have reigned as kings without us. 572 00:28:25,080 --> 00:28:30,080 I would to God He did reign that We also might reign with you. 573 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:35,400 Well, we'll find more context for this because you really have 574 00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:37,720 to go later on to verse 10 and beyond. 575 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:40,720 And as we look at the next time we're together in this passage, 576 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:43,400 we'll see a little bit more about what he's talking about 577 00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:45,320 here. But I will say he has this ID 578 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:47,760 says, hey, you're full. Now were they actually full? 579 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:50,480 No, you're rich. Were they actually rich? 580 00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:54,160 No, you've reigned as kings without us. 581 00:28:54,160 --> 00:28:56,720 Now, were they actually reigning as kings? 582 00:28:57,480 --> 00:29:01,320 They thought they were all those things, but they were not those 583 00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:03,400 things. And that's why Paul basically 584 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:05,520 says this, I wish we were doing as well as you're doing. 585 00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:10,040 Remember you, you said Paul and Apollo's how, how great we are. 586 00:29:10,360 --> 00:29:13,880 We're not even doing half as good as you all are because 587 00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:16,000 you're full. You are rich. 588 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:20,520 You have reigned as kings. They had their position. 589 00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:23,040 But Paul says this, I wish I had that position. 590 00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:25,760 I wish I was doing as well as you. 591 00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:29,160 You know, it's interesting, Paul later on in Second Timothy 592 00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:31,040 chapter 2, verse 12 would say this. 593 00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:35,040 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. 594 00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:39,320 You know what Paul understood? You want a position. 595 00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:41,800 It's not about being full and rich. 596 00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:44,240 In fact, it's quite the opposite. 597 00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:47,320 And I'm not saying you have to empty your bank account out 598 00:29:47,320 --> 00:29:49,160 before you can finally be right with God. 599 00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:50,720 I don't think the Bible teaches that. 600 00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:55,680 But I'm talking about spiritual poverty in your life where you 601 00:29:55,680 --> 00:30:01,080 realize I'm nothing without him. I can do nothing without Him. 602 00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:05,920 There is nothing within me that is good and right apart from 603 00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:08,640 what God has done within me in my heart and life. 604 00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:11,480 In fact, my flesh is evil and wicked. 605 00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:14,960 It's just the fact that the Holy Spirit lives inside of me now 606 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:18,840 that I have a fighting chance because greater is He that is in 607 00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:22,320 me than He that is in the world. There's nothing within me that 608 00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:25,600 that I can hang my hat on. But Paul says this, you're full, 609 00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:29,120 you're rich, you've reigned as kings, but you don't understand 610 00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:31,120 that that's not the way that you reign. 611 00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:35,480 In fact, I would even put it this way, that God calls us in 612 00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:38,920 this life to be able to be the ministers and servants because 613 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:41,640 someday there will be reigning to be had. 614 00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:46,280 There will be a Kingdom someday. 2nd Revelation 20 verse 6 says 615 00:30:46,520 --> 00:30:49,880 Blessed and holy is he that hath a part in the first 616 00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:52,480 resurrection. On such the second death hath no 617 00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:55,560 power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall 618 00:30:55,560 --> 00:30:58,760 reign with him 1000 years. There will be a time to reign, 619 00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:02,360 brethren, but it's not now. You know what we learn now. 620 00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:06,360 It's not about finding a position, it's about having a 621 00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:09,640 posture of humility. You know, right now is not about 622 00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:13,280 finding a position, It's about having a posture of humility. 623 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:15,800 We say, well, pastor, I mean, that just doesn't make any sense 624 00:31:15,800 --> 00:31:18,280 because obviously people have positions there. 625 00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:20,880 There's a hierarchy in church. You have a pastor, you have 626 00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:23,800 trustees and and you could have deacons, you'll have deacons 627 00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:25,720 right now, but you could have deacons and there's leaders of 628 00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:27,520 ministries. And so it doesn't even make 629 00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:30,120 sense that you would say that there would be no positions. 630 00:31:30,120 --> 00:31:32,880 And my answer that would be I didn't say that there were no 631 00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:36,520 positions. Pastor is a God-given position. 632 00:31:37,520 --> 00:31:41,800 Deacon is a God-given position. We understand that there has to 633 00:31:41,800 --> 00:31:44,280 be hierarchy in church if there's to be decency in order. 634 00:31:44,360 --> 00:31:46,480 I'm not talking about the hierarchy like the Catholic 635 00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:48,840 Church and the the abomination that that is. 636 00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:50,080 No, I'm not talking about that at all. 637 00:31:50,080 --> 00:31:52,360 I'm just talking about if you have a ministry, there needs to 638 00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:53,880 be someone in charge of that ministry. 639 00:31:54,560 --> 00:31:56,640 If there's something going on, there probably ought to be 640 00:31:56,640 --> 00:32:00,360 someone who knows what's that ministry is supposed to do so 641 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:03,560 that other people who are newer that ministry know what needs to 642 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:05,960 be done. What I'm saying is this is that 643 00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:09,160 we don't need to be seeking a position. 644 00:32:10,080 --> 00:32:14,120 We need to be seeking A posture. Say this, I'm not trying to see 645 00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:15,480 how high I can get up the ladder. 646 00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:17,320 By the way, the ladder at Liberty Baptist Church isn't 647 00:32:17,320 --> 00:32:19,480 very high. We don't have many rungs on our 648 00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:20,200 ladder. OK? 649 00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:23,240 Even someone with, you know, a fear of heights could probably 650 00:32:23,240 --> 00:32:25,600 get up the ladder of the rungs that we have here. 651 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:28,200 It's not very high, but it's amazing how many people want to 652 00:32:28,200 --> 00:32:31,280 try to scale the ladder. Even preachers trying to scale 653 00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:33,440 the ladder over other preachers, even though we're independent 654 00:32:33,440 --> 00:32:35,200 preachers. Well, I have this many of my 655 00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:36,720 church and I have this many of my church. 656 00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:39,160 Do you know what I try to do when I go to a preacher's 657 00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:41,280 meeting and people ask how many are at our church? 658 00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:42,920 I try to avoid the answer all together. 659 00:32:43,640 --> 00:32:46,520 What does it matter? What does it matter? 660 00:32:46,520 --> 00:32:47,720 Are we just being faithful to Christ? 661 00:32:47,720 --> 00:32:50,360 That's what really matters. No one says, hey, how how 662 00:32:50,360 --> 00:32:51,680 faithful are the people at your church? 663 00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:53,280 They want to know how many. You don't want to know how many 664 00:32:53,360 --> 00:32:55,080 because they want to make sure they have more than we do. 665 00:32:56,400 --> 00:32:58,920 And the times I've asked, it's because I want to know that we 666 00:32:58,920 --> 00:33:02,280 had more than the other guy did. Because in my pride, if I'm not 667 00:33:02,280 --> 00:33:03,600 careful, that could be what it is. 668 00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:05,360 No, I'm just being honest with you. 669 00:33:05,560 --> 00:33:07,720 But what does it matter to to posture this? 670 00:33:07,720 --> 00:33:10,920 Lord, I'm just your servant and however many you put in front of 671 00:33:10,920 --> 00:33:12,680 us, how many you put in these seats? 672 00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:15,280 How many people were able to minister into our town? 673 00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:17,400 I just want to be faithful to the ones you've put here. 674 00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:20,200 I don't need a position. I don't need to be prideful 675 00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:22,000 about it. I just need to be a servant. 676 00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:24,360 I could go to 3rd John, and we're not going to go there 677 00:33:24,360 --> 00:33:26,200 right now. But in 3rd John there was this 678 00:33:26,200 --> 00:33:29,520 man named Diotrophes, and I believe that was the beginning 679 00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:33,240 of the priestly Assumption, the idea of the priest gathering 680 00:33:33,240 --> 00:33:36,160 power to himself to the exclusion of others. 681 00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:38,480 Listen to what John said about Diotrophes. 682 00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:41,440 We therefore ought to receive such that we might be fellow 683 00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:43,760 helpers to the truth. I wrote it to the Church. 684 00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:47,640 But Diotrophes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, 685 00:33:47,920 --> 00:33:50,360 receiveth us not. Wherefore if I come, I will 686 00:33:50,360 --> 00:33:52,960 remember his deeds which he doeth, praying against us with 687 00:33:52,960 --> 00:33:56,400 malicious words, and not content therewith, neither does he 688 00:33:56,800 --> 00:34:00,400 himself receive the brethren. So Can you imagine the apostle 689 00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:04,760 John writing to the church and wanting to come to the church? 690 00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:09,280 The apostle John, the one who lay on the bosom of Christ at 691 00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:12,400 the Last Supper, he says, I want to come to your church, and I 692 00:34:12,400 --> 00:34:16,639 want to talk to you. This man Diotrophy says We have 693 00:34:16,639 --> 00:34:19,400 no part of you, John, we don't want to hear from you. 694 00:34:20,159 --> 00:34:23,120 What did he do? He wanted the preeminence. 695 00:34:23,679 --> 00:34:26,199 Can I tell you what kills churches faster than anything? 696 00:34:26,560 --> 00:34:31,040 People that want preeminence, we're all servants. 697 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:34,120 We're all ministers. And again, you might say, 698 00:34:34,120 --> 00:34:37,360 pastor, it's easy for you to say because you're the one that gets 699 00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:40,760 to stand in front of us and talk for all the time, all the time 700 00:34:40,760 --> 00:34:42,560 in the world. And the answer is, with that 701 00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:44,320 comes a lot of responsibilities too. 702 00:34:45,199 --> 00:34:47,360 And with that come a lot of heavy burdens too. 703 00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:50,480 And I'm not asking you for pity and I'm asking you for sorrow. 704 00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:52,400 I'm just saying it's not all that you think. 705 00:34:52,400 --> 00:34:54,719 Well, if I got up there and I got to tell people for 40 706 00:34:54,719 --> 00:34:59,520 minutes three times a week, I tell them what's going on, like, 707 00:34:59,840 --> 00:35:01,960 well, you can, but there's some other things that come with 708 00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:04,560 that. So what do we do? 709 00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:07,920 We don't seek the position. What do we do? 710 00:35:08,320 --> 00:35:13,360 Well, Psalm 75 versus 6 and seven says this promotion cometh 711 00:35:13,360 --> 00:35:17,560 neither from the east nor from the West or from the South. 712 00:35:18,400 --> 00:35:22,280 But God is the judge. He put it down one and set it up 713 00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:24,280 another. You know what I was never 714 00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:26,760 looking to do? Be a pastor. 715 00:35:28,440 --> 00:35:32,040 That wasn't something that was on my radar, but God put it on 716 00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:34,480 my radar. You know what I wasn't looking 717 00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:37,160 to do? Plant a church in Boston. 718 00:35:39,200 --> 00:35:41,680 They remind you, I live in Tampa, FL where all the people 719 00:35:41,680 --> 00:35:45,440 from Boston came. You could have planted a church 720 00:35:45,440 --> 00:35:48,280 in Boston, in Tampa and probably had it filled with Bostonians 721 00:35:48,280 --> 00:35:50,920 that are snowbirds and the people who migrated down there. 722 00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:55,160 To be honest with you, I wasn't looking for that, but it's what 723 00:35:55,160 --> 00:35:58,960 God had. Every single one of us have to 724 00:35:58,960 --> 00:36:03,560 get to the place where it's just listen, if I'm promoted or I'm 725 00:36:03,560 --> 00:36:07,280 not, that's God's business. I just want to serve. 726 00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:11,960 I want to help. I'd rather be a doorkeeper in 727 00:36:11,960 --> 00:36:13,840 the House of the Lord, the psalmist said. 728 00:36:14,280 --> 00:36:15,840 At least I'd be in the House of the Lord. 729 00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:21,200 I'd be doing something. I'd be there and listen if the 730 00:36:21,200 --> 00:36:24,080 Lord ever was to the place that had me in the place where maybe 731 00:36:24,080 --> 00:36:28,040 later on in life, I don't know, but that I was retired and I 732 00:36:28,040 --> 00:36:31,560 wasn't a pastor, I would tell you this, my joy and my desire 733 00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:33,480 to be in the House of God wouldn't diminish at all. 734 00:36:34,400 --> 00:36:36,600 And I'd be glad to shake hands when people came into the 735 00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:39,160 building. I'd be glad to clean up. 736 00:36:39,160 --> 00:36:41,280 In fact, I still do clean up. Plunge toilet. 737 00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:42,680 I fixed the toilet a couple weeks ago. 738 00:36:42,680 --> 00:36:46,880 That's why it's still messed up. But do you know you could fix a 739 00:36:46,880 --> 00:36:48,240 toilet flapper with a paper clip? 740 00:36:48,360 --> 00:36:50,600 Anybody know that? That's why it's still messed up. 741 00:36:50,680 --> 00:36:55,800 All right. But it's all about just, hey, we 742 00:36:55,800 --> 00:36:58,680 don't need a position. You know what his position needs 743 00:36:58,680 --> 00:37:01,960 to be this high and lifted up and everything else just needs 744 00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:04,640 to be us being low. I want to show you something 745 00:37:04,640 --> 00:37:06,560 that will be done. Turn to Isaiah chapter 14. 746 00:37:13,600 --> 00:37:26,260 Isaiah chapter #14 we're looking verse #12 Isaiah 14, verse 12. 747 00:37:26,900 --> 00:37:30,300 People court were deceived by pride, and the people court were 748 00:37:30,300 --> 00:37:34,020 deceived by position. Pride and position. 749 00:37:36,420 --> 00:37:39,620 What says verse #12 How art thou fallen from heaven? 750 00:37:39,620 --> 00:37:43,360 Oh, what's that next word? Lucifer, son of the morning, how 751 00:37:43,360 --> 00:37:46,680 art thou cut down to the ground which did weaken the nations? 752 00:37:46,880 --> 00:37:49,560 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into 753 00:37:49,560 --> 00:37:54,160 heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. 754 00:37:54,160 --> 00:37:59,000 I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides 755 00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:02,160 of the north. I will ascend above the heights 756 00:38:02,160 --> 00:38:05,160 of the clouds. I will be like the Most High. 757 00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:07,840 And I've said it before that you can see that Satan has an eye 758 00:38:07,840 --> 00:38:10,400 problem here, doesn't he? And not one of these, but the 759 00:38:10,400 --> 00:38:15,320 letter, I, I, I, I, I, I will, I will, I will, I will. 760 00:38:15,520 --> 00:38:20,560 What is he doing? He is deceived by pride and he's 761 00:38:20,560 --> 00:38:25,960 deceived by position. Do you realize that Corinth fell 762 00:38:26,440 --> 00:38:31,560 for literally Satan's oldest trick in the book, His oldest 763 00:38:31,560 --> 00:38:38,720 trick that he first played upon himself was pride and power, and 764 00:38:38,720 --> 00:38:42,160 he fell for it. But I'll tell you, you and I, 765 00:38:42,240 --> 00:38:47,640 when we go towards pride and power and fall for it in a 766 00:38:47,680 --> 00:38:51,240 different way, that there are consequences. 767 00:38:51,240 --> 00:38:57,000 It's literally Satan's oldest tools to have you filled with 768 00:38:57,000 --> 00:38:59,720 pride and to have you seek power. 769 00:39:00,720 --> 00:39:04,800 Matthew 5 three says this. Blessed are the poor in spirit, 770 00:39:05,640 --> 00:39:08,400 for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. 771 00:39:09,440 --> 00:39:15,120 Look, the Kingdom of earth is for those who are proud, but the 772 00:39:15,120 --> 00:39:17,560 Kingdom of heaven are for those who are poor in spirit. 773 00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:23,360 God has something for you if you are willing to put aside pride 774 00:39:24,480 --> 00:39:27,440 and you are willing to put aside position. 775 00:39:28,480 --> 00:39:32,160 I was 22 years old. I was a senior in college. 776 00:39:33,080 --> 00:39:37,920 We had Bethany and that was it. And as I've told you before, I 777 00:39:37,920 --> 00:39:41,880 was working probably 50 hours a week and going to school, work 778 00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:45,080 40 hours a week at Kay Jewelers, and I was working another day, 779 00:39:45,080 --> 00:39:47,480 day and a half a week shift at build-a-bear. 780 00:39:47,480 --> 00:39:49,920 I'm not proud. Don't talk to me about it after 781 00:39:49,920 --> 00:39:52,200 church, all right? Look, I knew what God had called 782 00:39:52,200 --> 00:39:54,280 me to do, and I was going to make some money, all right? 783 00:39:54,560 --> 00:39:56,640 So I don't want to talk to nobody about it after church. 784 00:39:56,640 --> 00:39:58,080 But I'm being honest with you, all right? 785 00:39:58,320 --> 00:40:01,320 That's what I was doing. And I got a couple calls from 786 00:40:01,320 --> 00:40:03,800 Brother Jett, who knew I couldn't be an RA. 787 00:40:04,280 --> 00:40:07,160 But I'd gotten better in a several ways. 788 00:40:07,640 --> 00:40:11,400 And he said, there's a church in Chickasha, Chickasha, OK, that I 789 00:40:11,400 --> 00:40:14,000 want you to preach at. I was a senior in college and 790 00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:15,080 now I'm preaching at this church. 791 00:40:15,080 --> 00:40:16,800 And they they wanted me to preach there. 792 00:40:16,800 --> 00:40:19,600 I remember Diane and I and Bethany who was just, I mean, 793 00:40:19,680 --> 00:40:22,680 so, so small. We drove out to Chickasha and 794 00:40:22,680 --> 00:40:25,920 I'd preach in the morning and we'd stay in the missions house 795 00:40:25,920 --> 00:40:27,200 in the afternoon. I'd preach at night. 796 00:40:27,600 --> 00:40:30,280 I was so I couldn't preach my way out of a wet paper bag. 797 00:40:30,280 --> 00:40:33,880 I remember preaching once and I was 3/4 through the message and, 798 00:40:34,120 --> 00:40:37,080 and it was just about right near the end that I realized what the 799 00:40:37,080 --> 00:40:41,760 message was about. Like, I just finally made the 800 00:40:41,760 --> 00:40:44,440 connections about what the text was saying and I'm preaching and 801 00:40:44,440 --> 00:40:46,960 I was like, that's it. That's it. 802 00:40:47,120 --> 00:40:49,800 Like Eureka, I'd found it. I mean, I finally found the 803 00:40:49,800 --> 00:40:54,760 point of the text while I was standing in the pulpit preaching 804 00:40:54,760 --> 00:40:56,800 the word of God. It shouldn't have been for the 805 00:40:57,080 --> 00:41:00,320 love or money, but I did that a few times. 806 00:41:00,320 --> 00:41:03,280 And Speaking of money, they would give us a $200 love 807 00:41:03,280 --> 00:41:06,000 offering. Now, that meant I could skip at 808 00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:08,280 least a couple shifts at build-a-bear every month, which 809 00:41:08,280 --> 00:41:12,160 was very helpful. That was a lot of money in 810 00:41:12,160 --> 00:41:15,160 Oklahoma when we made somewhere around, I made somewhere around 811 00:41:15,160 --> 00:41:22,640 $14,000 a year back then. So Deacon came up to me. 812 00:41:23,080 --> 00:41:24,400 Brother Adam, could I talk to you? 813 00:41:25,080 --> 00:41:29,120 Yes, Sir. And he took me off to the side 814 00:41:29,120 --> 00:41:31,320 and he said this. Talk to some of the folks around 815 00:41:31,320 --> 00:41:33,080 here. They'd like you to be the 816 00:41:33,080 --> 00:41:40,680 pastor. All Right, Reverend, I could 817 00:41:40,680 --> 00:41:43,960 feel it and listen. I knew there were problems 818 00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:46,920 there, but I was like that woman that always looked at the man 819 00:41:46,920 --> 00:41:49,880 said I can change him. I was like I could change these 820 00:41:49,880 --> 00:41:53,520 people. And he laid it all out to me. 821 00:41:54,320 --> 00:41:58,360 And the more he talked about it, the more I felt like this is it. 822 00:41:59,160 --> 00:42:02,440 This is what God put me on this earth for. 823 00:42:03,520 --> 00:42:06,520 And I was excited and I said, well, I can't answer you for 824 00:42:06,520 --> 00:42:08,680 sure. I need to talk to my pastor. 825 00:42:09,240 --> 00:42:11,960 That was Sam Davidson, some of you that know him. 826 00:42:12,840 --> 00:42:16,600 And so I remember going to him and I said, brother Sam, here's 827 00:42:16,680 --> 00:42:19,440 here's what it is. There's this church in Chickasha 828 00:42:19,440 --> 00:42:21,480 that wants to take me as the pastor. 829 00:42:21,920 --> 00:42:25,240 And I told him I'm ready, but I need to talk to you first. 830 00:42:25,720 --> 00:42:28,680 What do you think? And I was sure he was going to 831 00:42:28,680 --> 00:42:33,800 say, go in peace and serve the Lord and just kind of that's it. 832 00:42:34,720 --> 00:42:37,680 And he looked at me and I kid you not, he said, there's a 833 00:42:37,680 --> 00:42:41,000 fifth grade Sunday school class that needs a helper. 834 00:42:41,800 --> 00:42:43,040 We're going to get you plugged in there. 835 00:42:44,720 --> 00:42:47,720 And I thought, are you hearing me? 836 00:42:48,040 --> 00:42:51,840 I went from being a pastor to a fifth grade boys class helper 837 00:42:51,840 --> 00:42:55,400 didn't even make me the teacher. He made me the helper. 838 00:42:56,480 --> 00:43:01,720 And in that moment, I thought, who are you, Sam Davison, to get 839 00:43:01,720 --> 00:43:04,720 in the way of what God has for me. 840 00:43:06,360 --> 00:43:10,840 I thank the Lord that over the next few days, he worked in my 841 00:43:10,840 --> 00:43:14,960 heart, the Lord, not Sam Davison, but the Lord worked in 842 00:43:14,960 --> 00:43:17,520 my heart saying, you know, brother Sam's been in the 843 00:43:17,520 --> 00:43:20,920 ministry a long time. He knows that church in 844 00:43:20,920 --> 00:43:25,680 Chickasha. He knows you got at least pray 845 00:43:25,680 --> 00:43:29,080 about it and make sure that you're being cautious. 846 00:43:29,880 --> 00:43:33,600 And listen, can I tell you, and I mean this with all sincerity. 847 00:43:33,600 --> 00:43:39,680 I'm not trying to say this to to try to be dramatic, but like in 848 00:43:39,680 --> 00:43:41,600 that church, I never would have been here. 849 00:43:43,080 --> 00:43:44,840 You say why? Because you would have been in 850 00:43:44,840 --> 00:43:46,200 Chickasha. No, I don't even think I'd be in 851 00:43:46,200 --> 00:43:50,560 the ministry. I had no business pastoring that 852 00:43:50,560 --> 00:43:52,440 church. I'll tell you. 853 00:43:52,440 --> 00:43:56,120 It was appealing. Why appealed to my flesh. 854 00:43:57,760 --> 00:43:58,880 I wasn't even at a Bible college. 855 00:43:58,880 --> 00:44:01,040 I could be a pastor and I'm not even at a Bible college. 856 00:44:01,520 --> 00:44:03,240 Think of what people would think about that. 857 00:44:04,480 --> 00:44:06,640 And honestly, people probably think he has no business being a 858 00:44:06,640 --> 00:44:09,440 pastor. But in my mind now, I would 859 00:44:09,440 --> 00:44:12,600 never have articulated this, but the flesh chews on that, doesn't 860 00:44:12,600 --> 00:44:14,400 it? The flesh thinks that's pretty 861 00:44:14,400 --> 00:44:18,440 good and I'm pretty good. But I know this now, God 862 00:44:18,440 --> 00:44:22,520 protected me from what could have been a ministry ending 863 00:44:22,560 --> 00:44:28,360 decision, but I was very tempted to give in to pride and 864 00:44:28,360 --> 00:44:31,120 position. Now, I'm not saying that God's 865 00:44:31,120 --> 00:44:32,480 calling you to be a pastor somewhere. 866 00:44:33,040 --> 00:44:34,680 That's not what I'm trying to tell you tonight. 867 00:44:35,200 --> 00:44:39,880 But I will tell you this, pride and position, the lust of 868 00:44:39,880 --> 00:44:44,440 position, the quest for pride, or rather I wouldn't say the 869 00:44:44,440 --> 00:44:47,080 quest for pride, but the accumulation of pride in the 870 00:44:47,080 --> 00:44:51,920 Spirit will be your downfall spiritually. 871 00:44:54,280 --> 00:44:56,560 The church at Corinth, Paul says this. 872 00:44:56,560 --> 00:45:00,480 I wish I was as good as you. You guys are really good in his 873 00:45:00,480 --> 00:45:03,560 sanctified sarcasm. And we'll look more of what he 874 00:45:03,560 --> 00:45:06,200 was talking about the next couple weeks about the trials 875 00:45:06,200 --> 00:45:08,760 and tribulations he went through that they weren't ready to go 876 00:45:08,760 --> 00:45:12,600 through because they were too rich, they were too full, and 877 00:45:12,600 --> 00:45:15,840 they were reigning as kings. So I want to encourage you 878 00:45:15,840 --> 00:45:22,080 tonight that pride is the thing that we hate in other people, 879 00:45:23,440 --> 00:45:25,440 but we don't necessarily hate in ourselves and we don't 880 00:45:25,440 --> 00:45:27,440 necessarily recognize in ourselves. 881 00:45:28,120 --> 00:45:29,960 Lord, maybe you need to pray tonight. 882 00:45:29,960 --> 00:45:33,360 Lord, show me any pride or arrogancy within my life. 883 00:45:34,000 --> 00:45:37,360 Lord, help me to not seek a position, but to seek you. 884 00:45:37,360 --> 00:45:39,720 And when you just seek Him, you know what? 885 00:45:39,720 --> 00:45:43,080 He'll put you in places you never thought you would be when 886 00:45:43,080 --> 00:45:49,520 you just patiently seek Him out. Can I tell you, in the 21 years 887 00:45:49,640 --> 00:45:54,080 since I was offered that position, can I tell you that 888 00:45:54,080 --> 00:45:58,400 God did things that I can't even describe for lack of time 889 00:45:58,400 --> 00:46:01,440 tonight that never would have happened if I'd given in to 890 00:46:01,440 --> 00:46:05,480 pride and position? And none of us, no matter who 891 00:46:05,480 --> 00:46:09,280 you are or what your experience is, we must all make sure that 892 00:46:09,280 --> 00:46:12,560 we avoid the same. Thank you for listening to the 893 00:46:12,560 --> 00:46:15,160 sermon from the pulpit of Liberty Baptist Church. 894 00:46:15,600 --> 00:46:18,760 If this message was a blessing to you, or if there's any way we 895 00:46:18,760 --> 00:46:21,920 can serve you, please let us know by contacting us at 896 00:46:22,040 --> 00:46:26,800 info@mylibertybaptist.org. Or you can visit us this Sunday 897 00:46:26,960 --> 00:46:30,680 at 800 Washington St. in Easton, MA. 898 00:46:30,960 --> 00:46:33,760 May the Lord bless you as you grow in His Word.