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Welcome to the Liberty Baptist 
Sermon Archives. 

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The message you're about to hear
was preached at Liberty Baptist 

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Church in Easton, MA. 
You can find out more about us 

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or contact us at my 
libertybaptist.org or just look 

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us up on Facebook. 
And now we hope that this 

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message from God's Word will be 
a blessing to you. 

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All right, First Corinthians 
chapter 4, let's do it tonight 

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in the Word of God. 
First Corinthians chapter #4 As 

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we start a new chapter and go 
through the 1st 5 verses this 

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evening, you know we're going to
get to 1st Corinthians chapter 

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12 eventually. 
I don't know when that'll be, 

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but eventually we'll get to 1st 
Corinthians chapter 12. 

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But when we do, we'll find that 
it says that we as a church are 

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a body, that we here who are 
gathered here tonight, we are 

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like a body in so many ways that
God has put us all here together

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and that God has given us each 
individual tasks of which to do.

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It says that some are the hands 
and some are the feet and some 

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are the, you know, different 
body parts. 

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We could name any of them and 
that we as a church, we all 

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symbolize, we're all those 
different parts of the body, 

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that we all need each other, 
that there's not one part that's

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more important than the other. 
You start to realize in life, if

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you have one part of your body 
that's not working right, it 

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might even seem small, but you 
come to realize, hey, I need 

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that part of my body. 
I wouldn't have known what a 

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fibula was a few years ago. 
I had no idea. 

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But when they took it out of my 
leg and didn't replace it to be 

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able to rebuild my jaw from my 
cancer surgery on my cancers are

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my tumor. 
Surgery did not have cancer, but

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when they took that out and my 
fibula is gone, I realize, you 

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know, there's a reason God put 
the fibula there. 

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I kind of need that bone there. 
And it's been, you know, 

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problematic here and there. 
It's a part of my body I was 

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relying on. 
I didn't even realize it, but I 

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need it. 
And that's true for us as a 

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body, as a church, that God has 
put us all here together and 

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he's placed us here on purpose. 
By the way, none of us are here 

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on accident, that none of us 
came here just at random, that 

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God placed each and every one of
us here within His body members 

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within the church. 
But if we are all here and we 

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all have a job to do, then it's 
required of us that we're 

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faithful at that job. 
I mean, if it's one thing, if 

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we're all here, it's one thing 
of all the body parts are here, 

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but all the body parts have to 
kind of be working together. 

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And boy, Corinth has a lot of 
problems. 

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And we keep talking about that 
and we'll keep talking about 

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that throughout the entire book.
But one of the problems that 

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Corinth has is this, that people
that are supposed to be doing 

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the work aren't doing the work. 
People who are supposed to be 

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faithful aren't being faithful. 
And so tonight we're going to 

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look at this issue of being 
found faithful here in first 

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Corinthians chapter #4 but also 
why it's so important for us, 

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not just for the Church of 
Corinth, but for us as believers

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to be found faithful as well. 
So let's read the first 5 verses

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together and let's get right to 
it. 

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And it says this. 
Let a man show account of us, as

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of the ministers of Christ, and 
stewards of the mysteries of 

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God. 
Moreover, it is required and 

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stewards that a man be found 
faithful. 

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But with me it is a very small 
thing that I should be judged of

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you, or of man's judgment. 
Yeah, I judge not my own self, 

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for I know nothing by myself, 
yet am I not hereby justified. 

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But he that judgeth me is the 
Lord. 

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Therefore, judge nothing before 
the time until the Lord come, 

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who both will bring to light the
hidden things of darkness, and 

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will make manifest the counsels 
of the hearts, and then shall 

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every man have praise of God. 
So there's several questions 

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that are answered here in the 
text that we just read. 

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And so I want us to look at the 
first one here tonight. 

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And again, as always, if you're 
following along in your prayer 

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bulletin, you can write these 
down #1 is this the question? 

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What are we? 
What are we now? 

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Remember, they had just been 
talking about the dissension 

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that was found in the church. 
And now Paul is starting to 

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remind these people in court 
that haven't been living the way

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they're supposed to live. 
They're fighting one another. 

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They're living very loose moral 
lives. 

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And so he wants to remind these 
people in Corinth who they are 

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and, and really not just who the
people in Corinth are, but who 

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Paul and his accomplices are and
really who we are. 

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The issue that we're about to 
look at who we are isn't just an

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issue for Corinth. 
It's not just an issue for the 

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people of Bible times, but it's 
an issue for us today. 

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Who are we in the church? 
What are we supposed to be? 

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What's our function here at 
Liberty Baptist Church just as 

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much as we see what's the 
function of these people at the 

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Church of Corinth? 
And really, there's 2 answers to

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that. 
They're found there in verse #1 

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it says, let a man so account of
us as the ministers of Christ. 

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So first of all, what are we to 
be? 

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What are people to account of 
us? 

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Or really, we could maybe put it
this way, how should people see 

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us? 
People should see us as 

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ministers of Christ first of 
all. 

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Now, the minister is a name that
people would normally give me, 

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right? 
You're the pastor, you are the 

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minister. 
That's what people would 

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normally say. 
But I want to remind you that 

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throughout the Word of God, we 
see that the minister is not the

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only one who's supposed to 
minister, that all of us are to 

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be ministers. 
That if you are part of a Bible 

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believing church, that it's not 
your job to just come in, 

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receive and go home. 
And we'll look at that more in 

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just a moment, but the idea is 
that you are to be a minister 

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just as much I am to be a 
minister. 

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And Paul was going to hammer 
this home to the people. 

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Corinth, not just in this book 
but also in Second Corinthians 

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were 10 different times. 
He calls the ministers or some 

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form of the word ministers, your
ministers, your ministers, your 

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ministers, your ministers. 
That word minister means this, a

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chief servant, hence an agent 
appointed to transact or manage 

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business under the authority of 
another. 

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In which sense it is a word of 
very extensive application. 

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Meaning this, that the idea of 
being a minister, a chief 

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servant, is something that 
should affect every of your 

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life. 
Now God has laid a calling upon 

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me to be a pastor. 
God has laid a calling upon me 

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to be the leader, if you will, 
of this church. 

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Although we know the Lord is the
leader of this church, He's the 

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chief shepherd. 
I'm just the under shepherd, if 

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you will. 
But listen, even though I am the

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leader of Liberty Baptist 
Church, that means this. 

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I should be the chief servant. 
That's the calling that God has 

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laid upon me, that it's not just
for me to stand up and Thunder 

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from the pulpit down at you and 
tell you thus say at the Lord 

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and put my finger in your face 
and tell you the way it needs to

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be. 
Even though there are times that

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preaching in the Word of God 
requires to confront you with 

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different things, but still the 
idea is this. 

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I am called to be a minister. 
That means this serving people, 

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helping people, seeing where 
their needs are, and being able 

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to try to help them according to
the Word of God. 

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And what I'm talking about 
ministering to people, I'm not 

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just talking about giving people
money or giving people time. 

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Most of all, we want to give 
people the gospel message, and 

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we'll see that in just a moment 
as well. 

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But God has called me to be a 
minister, to be a servant, to 

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look for the needs of others 
really before my own needs. 

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But that's not a calling that's 
unique to me. 

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And that's what we need to see 
tonight, that that calling of 

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being a minister is not just 
something for the one who stands

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behind this desk, that it's one 
that God has placed upon every 

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single one of us. 
And he actually expounds on that

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when he says not just that we 
are the ministers of Christ, but

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also the stewards of the mystery
of God. 

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And steward is another word 
that's very similar to minister.

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It's not a word that we use very
much anymore, but it is one that

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we should understand. 
Often times we would use the 

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word manager today, but even 
that really doesn't convey 

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exactly what the idea of a 
steward is. 

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A steward, it's definition 
sounds very much like a 

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minister, a man employed in 
great families to manage the 

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domestic concerns, superintend 
the other servants, collect the 

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renter income and keep the 
accounts. 

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So a steward is someone who 
manages the affairs and 

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resources of someone else. 
Abraham had a man who was called

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a steward back in Genesis. 
His name was Eliezer. 

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He managed the affairs of the 
family. 

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Joseph would end up getting sold
into slavery, and when he was, 

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he went into Potiphar's house. 
And when he went to Potiphar's 

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house, he was the steward of 
Potiphar's house. 

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What does that mean? 
Well, the Bible tells us that 

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Potiphar trusted Joseph so much 
as steward. 

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He didn't even know what he 
owned. 

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He didn't even know what he had.
The only thing he knew was this.

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If I'm eating it, if I'm wearing
it, then I know I have it. 

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But otherwise Joseph has control
of it. 

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It all belongs to me. 
But Joseph has to reckon it 

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properly. 
That's his job. 

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So what do we see? 
Well, we are to be stewards as 

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well of our family affairs. 
You say, Well, what family? 

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The Rivero family, your family, 
you know, we are to be stewards 

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of the family business, if you 
will, the family of God. 

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God being our father, he is the 
one who's provided us 

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everything. 
Listen, we have nothing of 

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ourselves. 
We own nothing of ourselves. 

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There's nothing that we have. 
There's nothing that we are that

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we've acquired on our own. 
It all belongs to God. 

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And he's called us to do what? 
To be stewards of the manifold 

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grace of God, to be stewards of 
the mysteries of the gospel of 

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Jesus Christ. 
A steward is someone that is to 

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be a distributor, not a 
depository. 

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And this is what I mean by that.
We know what a distributor is, 

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right? 
Distributor is someone who gets 

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something, but they're just 
there to make sure it goes out 

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to the places it needs to go. 
That's pretty easy for us to 

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understand a depository. 
You've probably seen at the 

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bank, haven't you? 
Especially the night depository.

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What? 
What does that mean if someone, 

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a business, usually wants to 
deposit their funds after the 

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end of the day? 
I used to do this when I worked 

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at the jewelry store, and it was
nothing for me to have several 

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$1000 that I'd have to take to 
the night depository, which 

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always was a little bit 
unnerving, to be honest with 

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you, to be able to go and do 
that by myself. 

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I was 2122 years old. 
They're in Oklahoma City and 

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just taking the money, thousands
of dollars to this night 

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depository. 
What are you doing? 

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You're dropping it in so that it
locks in. 

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I mean, that's kind of the 
point, isn't it? 

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You don't want someone else to 
go that doesn't belong in there,

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going through the money and 
trying to figure out what's 

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going on. 
Once the money goes in, it stays

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there till the bank takes it 
out. 

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But the steward is not to be a 
depository, meaning this, that 

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we are not just taking in what 
God has given us and holding on 

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to it. 
Has God blessed you tonight? 

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All right. 
I want to make sure you're all 

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still awake. 
I want to make sure some of you 

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are still alive. 
All right. 

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Very good. 
All right. 

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So, yeah. 
Listen, God has blessed us so 

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much. 
His blessings are innumerable. 

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The help and guidance that he 
gives us, there's no way to even

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number how great God has been to
us. 

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But here's the problem, if we're
not careful that we can end up 

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as someone who has received 
blessings become a depositor 

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depository, meaning this we just
take those blessings and take 

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them and take them and take them
and take them and take them and 

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take them. 
And walk them away. 

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But what does God calls to do? 
As stewards, we take the 

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blessings of God and we 
distribute them to others. 

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We take how God has blessed us 
and we distribute it to others. 

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Has God got you out of some 
trouble in your life? 

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I think a lot of us should be 
able to say Amen to that, hasn't

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he? 
Hey, do you think God did that 

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just for you? 
He didn't. 

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Did God do it for you because he
loves you? 

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Yes. 
But as a steward, as a minister,

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you take how God helped you. 
And you know what you do. 

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You help others in the same way 
God's helped me through some 

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very difficult times. 
And what do you do? 

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You take those difficult times 
and you use it to help someone 

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else. 
For us, when we found out our 

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son had special needs, well, 
well, there were so many issues 

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that we were going through. 
There's so many hurts and 

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heartaches and confusions. 
And all of those different 

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things. 
But there's so much of it, as 

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I've told you before, when AJ 
had autism, I didn't even know 

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what autism was. 
I never really heard of it 12 

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years ago or so. 
I, I was so clueless. 

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And I don't say that because I'm
proud of it. 

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I was ignorant, totally 
ignorant. 

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You know, I'm thankful that not 
only did God help us to be able 

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to help him. 
But I'm also thankful that God 

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helped us to be able to help 
some other families along the 

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way so that now that in our 
junior church we have children 

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that are have all kinds of 
different special needs that 

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we're able to help in very 
unique ways. 

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Why? 
To be able to give them the 

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gospel so that they can know 
that Jesus Christ loves them and

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that Jesus Christ died for them.
It's it's incredible. 

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We can't just hold on to. 
That we had to help. 

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Now, a lot of times we don't, we
don't do that one because we 

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think if we do try to help other
people, it makes us seem proud 

256
00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:41,120
or we think about, well, there's
other people that can do it 

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better than I can or we may. 
Just think that it's 

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embarrassing to be able to share
a little bit about ourselves to 

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someone else. 
Listen, put all of that off to 

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the side and understand this, 
that you can be someone that can

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be a distributor, a minister, a 
steward of the grace of God to 

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00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:03,200
someone else and not just the 
grace of God specifically. 

263
00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:06,080
What does it say here of the 
mysteries of God? 

264
00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:08,440
And if we're to be really 
specific tonight about what it 

265
00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:11,200
talks about when it talks about 
the mysteries of God that really

266
00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:14,520
is talking about the gospel of 
Jesus Christ, that we're not 

267
00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:18,520
just to be a steward to someone 
else and to be able to help them

268
00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:21,200
through a difficult time. 
But if you're going to help that

269
00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:24,480
difficult time, you better help 
them by understand helping them 

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00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:28,520
understand the gospel message 
meaning this it would be OK for 

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00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:31,680
us to be able to help someone 
with some tangible needs. 

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00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:35,400
Maybe they need food or maybe 
they need some clothing or 

273
00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:37,240
something like that. 
But I would tell you this, if 

274
00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:39,720
someone comes here needing food 
or clothing, we're not just 

275
00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:41,040
going to give them food or 
clothing. 

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00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:43,320
We're going to make sure they 
know the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:47,080
You know, to be able to help 
someone that has substance abuse

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00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:49,080
issues, to be able to help them 
get clean. 

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00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:52,000
That's a blessing. 
But what blessing is it if you 

280
00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:54,880
don't tell them the fact that 
they need Jesus Christ as their 

281
00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:56,520
Savior? 
That's their real need. 

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00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:00,720
That's what we're trying to get 
across is that we are to be the 

283
00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:03,920
stewards in that way. 
We're to be the ministers in 

284
00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:07,240
that way. 
Not just of being nice people, 

285
00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:10,720
not just being the kind of 
people that make society better,

286
00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:14,160
but really beyond that. 
If we're to look way beyond that

287
00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:16,920
and not just look in the here 
and now, but look eternally, 

288
00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:19,920
what do we see? 
No, we need to be the stewards 

289
00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:23,920
to give the very mysteries of 
God, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

290
00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:26,240
And this isn't a mystery kind of
like the way we use the term 

291
00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:28,120
mystery. 
Now I wonder, you know what's 

292
00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:29,480
going on. 
Let me figure this out. 

293
00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:33,320
Let me unravel the mystery. 
You know, even in Mark chapter 4

294
00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:37,200
verse 11, it says and he said 
unto them unto you, It is given 

295
00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:39,600
to know the mystery of the 
Kingdom of God. 

296
00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:44,680
Jesus Christ has revealed the 
mystery of salvation to us 

297
00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:47,640
through himself. 
The mystery has been revealed. 

298
00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:49,840
So what do we need to do? 
The people who are still 

299
00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:53,560
confused about it when you go 
and tell them who Jesus Christ 

300
00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:57,120
is and to not just hold on to 
the gospel, to not just hold on 

301
00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:00,760
to grace for ourselves, but give
it out to as many people as we 

302
00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:02,560
can. 
Aren't you glad someone told you

303
00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:05,120
about the gospel? 
Aren't you glad someone didn't? 

304
00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:07,240
Hold it in to you. 
Aren't you glad that someone 

305
00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:10,360
cared enough about your soul to 
be able to put themselves out 

306
00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:13,080
there a little bit and tell you 
about Jesus Christ? 

307
00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:17,880
Listen, don't get over that and 
go tell someone else. 

308
00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:21,240
Help someone else, even if it's 
a very small way we talked about

309
00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:24,120
this Sunday morning, Even if 
it's in a small way, just go do 

310
00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:27,560
it and be a blessing and be a 
steward and a minister. 

311
00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:29,160
This is what God has called us 
to do. 

312
00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:30,880
So that's the question, what are
we? 

313
00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:34,120
We are stewards and ministers. 
Next number 2, here's the 

314
00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:37,000
qualification. 
What's the requirement? 

315
00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:39,600
What's the requirement? 
OK, pastor, I'm supposed to be a

316
00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:41,760
steward. 
I'm supposed to be a minister. 

317
00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:45,360
What's the qualification? 
Now you know what I mean by 

318
00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:47,440
qualification. 
If you, if you were to look at a

319
00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:50,800
help wanted ad, you'll remember 
what help wanted ads were as 

320
00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:54,000
before indeed.com and 
monster.com and stuff like that.

321
00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:56,760
You go into the paper if you 
needed a job and you look at the

322
00:16:56,760 --> 00:17:00,520
help wanted ads and you would 
read that and try to find you. 

323
00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:03,920
If you see some qualifications 
for a job, they say something 

324
00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:05,880
like this. 
You have to have a college 

325
00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:10,720
education or you have to have 
done an apprenticeship, but you 

326
00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:13,560
have to have a certain amount of
words per minute that you have 

327
00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:15,400
to be able to type. 
Those are the. 

328
00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:17,480
Qualifications. 
And if you don't fit the 

329
00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:20,000
qualifications well, you can't 
do the job. 

330
00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:24,680
So here's the question tonight. 
If we're to be the stewards and 

331
00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:28,359
the ministers God's called us to
be, what's the qualification? 

332
00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:32,080
Do you have to be the most 
educated? 

333
00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:35,560
Now you say, pastor, this sounds
a lot like some of the things 

334
00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:36,600
you were saying on Sunday 
morning. 

335
00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:39,080
I know there's going to be a lot
of overlap to what we talked 

336
00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:41,520
about on Sunday morning, but 
this is where the Lord has us. 

337
00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:43,240
And so this is what we're going 
to preach this evening. 

338
00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:46,320
But it's about being the most 
educated, No? 

339
00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:51,600
Is it about being someone who 
knows more than everyone else or

340
00:17:51,600 --> 00:17:55,440
knows enough of the Bible that 
that that you can say all 66 

341
00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:58,080
books and all of those things? 
There's nothing wrong with those

342
00:17:58,080 --> 00:18:00,280
things in of themselves. 
We should be learning more about

343
00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:02,640
the Bible. 
But the qualification is right 

344
00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:04,880
here in verse #2 this is the 
qualification. 

345
00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:09,320
Moreover, it is required in 
stewards that a man be found 

346
00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:11,720
faithful. 
You know what the qualification 

347
00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:13,960
is. 
Be faithful to your calling. 

348
00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:20,080
Be faithful to your calling. 
Listen, God can take people who 

349
00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:24,920
don't have much if they're just 
faithful and use them far beyond

350
00:18:24,920 --> 00:18:28,200
anything they could imagine. 
Moses was there at the burning 

351
00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:31,960
Bush and he says, but I'm slow 
speech. 

352
00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:35,280
He says I'll give you Aaron to 
be your minister. 

353
00:18:35,360 --> 00:18:39,200
And what did end up happening 
once Moses got to Egypt, Aaron 

354
00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:41,960
never talked anymore. 
Moses somehow found a way to be 

355
00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:44,160
able to use his. 
Voice and Aaron didn't have to 

356
00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:46,880
say much of anything but God 
said, listen, I created your 

357
00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:50,680
tongue, I created your mouth. 
You just follow me and I'll help

358
00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:52,440
you. 
David was just a boy. 

359
00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:54,440
Matthew was just a tax 
collector. 

360
00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:58,360
Elijah was a guy who felt alone.
I was just reading in my Bible 

361
00:18:58,360 --> 00:19:02,560
reading this morning about the 
Hebrew midwives, the the in in 

362
00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:08,240
Exodus chapter #1 just common 
folk, common women. 

363
00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:11,960
Pharaoh said, I want those baby 
boys dead. 

364
00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:14,800
And what did they do? 
They found a way. 

365
00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:17,760
To honor the Lord and make sure 
they would stay alive, including

366
00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:21,120
Moses staying alive. 
Were they? 

367
00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:24,200
What was their qualification? 
They were faithful. 

368
00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:26,000
I'm just going to do what's 
right. 

369
00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:31,320
And sometimes I think we get the
idea when we come to church that

370
00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:33,720
we have to be the most educated,
we have to be the most 

371
00:19:33,720 --> 00:19:36,840
qualified, that we have to be 
the one that's been in the 

372
00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:40,240
church the longest, that we have
to be this or this or this or 

373
00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:43,080
this. 
Listen, be faithful. 

374
00:19:44,120 --> 00:19:46,920
Just do what God has called you 
to do. 

375
00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:50,920
Be where you need to be when you
need to be there. 

376
00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:54,640
Just be faithful. 
Not the most talented. 

377
00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:57,680
The most, the richest, the most.
Intellectual. 

378
00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:02,480
This is what the world desires. 
And by the way, we saw this 

379
00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:06,920
earlier that those type of 
people, the glory ends up going 

380
00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:09,880
to themselves. 
But what does it say in first 

381
00:20:09,880 --> 00:20:12,240
Corinthians 127? 
I won't make you go back there, 

382
00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:15,240
but God has chosen the foolish 
things of the world to confound 

383
00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:18,000
the wise, and God has chosen the
weak things of the world to 

384
00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:20,520
confound the things which are 
mighty. 

385
00:20:21,360 --> 00:20:24,160
I always look at myself and I, 
I've know I've said this before,

386
00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:27,440
but when I was in high school, 
junior high school, that the 

387
00:20:27,440 --> 00:20:30,600
thought of public speaking was 
something that was absolutely. 

388
00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:35,080
Terrifying. 
And if I had known when I was in

389
00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:38,040
8th grade that God would have 
called me a pastor, I would have

390
00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:41,000
just hid under my desk in school
and cried. 

391
00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:44,840
There's no way now. 
Now, again, you can judge the 

392
00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:46,720
results now for yourself. 
I don't know. 

393
00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:49,640
But I do know this. 
I'm not afraid of standing in 

394
00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:54,440
front of you tonight. 
I feel the holy, the obligation 

395
00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:56,480
to be able to preach the word of
God rightly. 

396
00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:59,680
I, I feel that every time I get 
in the pulpit, not, not fear, 

397
00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:04,120
but I do feel a great deep sense
of making sure I rightly divide 

398
00:21:04,120 --> 00:21:05,960
the word of truth. 
There's no doubt about that. 

399
00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:08,080
And I would say any preacher 
that gets behind a pulpit and 

400
00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:10,800
doesn't feel like that shouldn't
be behind the pulpit preaching 

401
00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:13,200
the word of God, because these 
aren't my words. 

402
00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:15,640
These are the Lord's words. 
And I want to say it right and I

403
00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:18,480
want to say it true, and I want 
to be faithful to him. 

404
00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:24,920
But I do know this is that. 
God gets glory when people do 

405
00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:28,200
things that they wouldn't 
normally do just because they 

406
00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:32,840
trust Him and they're faithful. 
Well, Pastor, I can't talk. 

407
00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:38,200
Well, we trust him, and maybe he
can make those words come out in

408
00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:42,160
a way that's honoring to him. 
Well, Pastor, I just don't, I 

409
00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:45,640
don't think I can help. 
Well, will you just trust the 

410
00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:47,720
Lord and, and do that? 
And again, I know everyone has 

411
00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:50,120
different God-given gifts and 
abilities. 

412
00:21:50,160 --> 00:21:52,640
I know that the Bible talks 
about that, that there are 

413
00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:55,720
different gifts, but at the same
time, just be faithful. 

414
00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:58,320
I'll be honest with you. 
There are people that have come 

415
00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:01,040
through these doors over the 
years and some of them had very 

416
00:22:01,040 --> 00:22:03,400
spectacular resumes, quote UN 
quote. 

417
00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:05,640
I know we don't have resumes, 
but I'm just talking about the 

418
00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:08,040
idea of people that came in, you
know, the people that I love to 

419
00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:11,000
work with the most, the people 
that the people that I think are

420
00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:14,280
the biggest blessing more often 
than not are the ones that just 

421
00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:17,360
kind of keep their head down. 
They don't make a lot of noise, 

422
00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:20,880
but they're always here, always 
helping. 

423
00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:26,120
It's always just doing stuff 
over and over. 

424
00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:29,640
Those are the people that I've 
seen that God really uses, 

425
00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:33,200
because what God doesn't need is
someone with a great 

426
00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:36,320
personality, but God needs 
someone that. 

427
00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:41,440
Will be faithful to be able to 
do what he has called you to do 

428
00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:45,360
that and what's exciting about 
that is anyone could be faithful

429
00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:50,160
not everyone could be wise not 
everyone could be rich not 

430
00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:52,200
everyone could be intellectual 
not everyone can have a 

431
00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:53,480
sparkling. 
Personality. 

432
00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:57,800
I didn't say like I did, but I'm
just saying. 

433
00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:04,680
But everyone could be faithful. 
Everybody so just be faithful 

434
00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:08,160
and that's encouraging that yes,
you can be faithful I can be 

435
00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:11,480
faithful and if we're all 
faithful within this body, what 

436
00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:15,800
happens God can use this body in
a way that we don't even think 

437
00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:19,080
is possible. 
We can't even conceive just like

438
00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:23,000
when a body doesn't do what it's
supposed to do it things get 

439
00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:26,320
difficult. 
But if we all together work in a

440
00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:30,200
way that's harmonious and and 
doing what God has called us to 

441
00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:33,520
do, we. 
Can have great success and not 

442
00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:38,520
just the world success, but a 
Joshua chapter 1 type success. 

443
00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:42,920
So there's this idea that 
there's the question, but then 

444
00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:46,040
the qualifications. 
But then verse #3 through 5 

445
00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:48,160
bring up something different. 
And that's number three. 

446
00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:49,800
The quandary. 
I like that word quandary. 

447
00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:52,200
I need another word with AQ, but
it does fit there. 

448
00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:54,960
A quandary is is a problem, 
right? 

449
00:23:55,360 --> 00:23:57,840
It's it's a problem. 
But there's a problem here. 

450
00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:01,360
Who judges us? 
You say pastor, What does that 

451
00:24:01,360 --> 00:24:03,320
have to do with the 1st 2 
verses? 

452
00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:06,920
And it may not seem like there's
much that it has to do at first,

453
00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:10,960
but verses 3 through 5 pose a 
different question. 

454
00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:16,800
This idea is this well, how do 
we know if we're being a 

455
00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:19,480
faithful steward? 
Because here's the idea. 

456
00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:21,840
OK, pastor, I'm supposed to be a
steward. 

457
00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:25,040
I'm supposed to be a minister. 
I'm supposed to be faithful at 

458
00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:27,360
that. 
How do I know if I'm being 

459
00:24:27,360 --> 00:24:30,280
faithful or not? 
If you're at work, you know if 

460
00:24:30,280 --> 00:24:32,680
you're being faithful because 
someone will tell you. 

461
00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:35,360
Here are the qualifications and 
requirements. 

462
00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:37,080
You've either filled them or you
haven't. 

463
00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:38,880
That's the way at least work is 
supposed to work. 

464
00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:42,080
I know it doesn't always happen 
that way, but that's the way it 

465
00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:44,480
should be. 
But in this idea of being a 

466
00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:46,360
minister, how do we know if 
we're actually? 

467
00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:49,280
Being faithful or not? 
Is it just about making sure you

468
00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:51,720
come to three services a week? 
If you come to three services a 

469
00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:54,960
week, you're being faithful. 
Well, you know, I think it's 

470
00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:56,920
good that you come to three 
services a week, but I think 

471
00:24:56,920 --> 00:24:58,640
that's a little bit of a shallow
answer. 

472
00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:01,320
I think there's probably 
something deeper that we can 

473
00:25:01,320 --> 00:25:04,520
help help us understand if we're
being faithful in this job or 

474
00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:06,680
not. 
So this question, who judges us?

475
00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:10,320
Well, there's three different 
courtrooms, if you will. 

476
00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:12,680
There's three different 
judgments, if you will, that 

477
00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:14,720
Paul brings up to us in these 
verses. 

478
00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:17,640
And so letter A is the courtroom
of community. 

479
00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:23,040
Look at verse #3 it says, but 
with me, it's a very small thing

480
00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:26,280
that I should be judged of you 
or of man's judgement. 

481
00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:27,560
And I'm just going to stop right
there. 

482
00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:30,520
But with me, it's a very small 
thing that I should be judged of

483
00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:34,360
you or of a man's judgement. 
Now, that might sound a little 

484
00:25:34,360 --> 00:25:39,080
bit harsh for Paul to say this, 
like, oh, it's no big deal if 

485
00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:41,880
you all judge me or I don't even
care if you all judge me. 

486
00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:44,320
And in fact, there's some 
commentaries that you look at 

487
00:25:44,320 --> 00:25:47,240
that that's really what they 
believe Paul is saying that he's

488
00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:49,360
saying, I don't even care what 
other people think. 

489
00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:51,800
And. 
That's not what I believe he's 

490
00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:56,720
saying because he's not saying 
that it's no thing that other 

491
00:25:56,720 --> 00:25:59,600
people are judged, but he says 
rather it's a small thing, but 

492
00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:03,320
with me it's a very small thing 
that I should be judged of you 

493
00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:07,040
or of Mads judgment. 
Listen, Paul is not saying here 

494
00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:10,200
that we shouldn't judge certain 
matters. 

495
00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:12,920
In fact, if you go to chapter 5,
look at verse #3. 

496
00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:16,000
It says this. 
For I verily is absent in body, 

497
00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:19,480
but present in spirit, have 
judged already as though I were 

498
00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:23,040
present concealing concerning 
him that has done this deed. 

499
00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:28,320
Look at verse #12 But what have 
I to do to judge them also that 

500
00:26:28,320 --> 00:26:31,280
are without? 
Do not you judge them that are 

501
00:26:31,280 --> 00:26:33,360
within? 
In chapter 5, there's going to 

502
00:26:33,360 --> 00:26:36,640
be some gross immorality that's 
taking place in the church, and 

503
00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:38,000
Paul is going to have to talk 
about it. 

504
00:26:38,240 --> 00:26:40,520
And he's saying that there are 
some judgments that need to be 

505
00:26:40,520 --> 00:26:43,520
made. 
And when we do judge these types

506
00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:46,560
of things, we are to judge 
according to God's law. 

507
00:26:46,560 --> 00:26:51,160
Judge John 724, judge not 
according to the appearance, but

508
00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:53,720
judge righteous judgment. 
There are people who always say 

509
00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:56,560
this idea, don't judge me, don't
judge me, nobody can judge me, 

510
00:26:56,720 --> 00:26:58,560
don't judge me. 
The Bible says don't judge me. 

511
00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:01,600
And that's not really what the 
Bible says. 

512
00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:04,920
The idea of people not having 
judgment. 

513
00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:07,800
Listen, you made all kinds of 
judgments on the way here 

514
00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:09,400
tonight. 
You made judgment if you were to

515
00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:11,160
have time to get from work to 
church. 

516
00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:14,360
You made a judgement about 
whether you were going to eat at

517
00:27:14,360 --> 00:27:15,880
the place that you were going to
go into. 

518
00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:18,720
You made a judgement when you 
went to Wendy's and you went 

519
00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:20,280
there and you said you looked 
inside said. 

520
00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:22,640
I don't think this looks like a 
place I want to eat, now that I 

521
00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:24,480
think about it. 
And maybe you left, I don't 

522
00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:25,920
know. 
There are all kinds of 

523
00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:28,560
situations and things that we 
have to judge. 

524
00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:31,440
Now here's the idea. 
We don't need to have a judge 

525
00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:34,920
mental spirit. 
And when we judge, we need to 

526
00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:37,560
judge rightly. 
Listen. 

527
00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:40,680
If you don't judge the things of
the world, whether they should 

528
00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:43,280
be in your home or not, you're 
missing out. 

529
00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:45,440
You've got to make a judgment 
call. 

530
00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:48,920
If you don't judge whether this 
is something you should watch or

531
00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:51,880
not or listen or not, or this 
person's counsel is someone that

532
00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:54,920
you should listen to or not, if 
you're not making judgments in 

533
00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:57,000
those areas, you are totally 
missing out. 

534
00:27:57,240 --> 00:27:58,760
But this is not what Paul's 
talking about. 

535
00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:02,840
He's saying this when it comes 
to this issue of being a, a, a 

536
00:28:04,120 --> 00:28:07,920
minister of a steward. 
If I am deciding if I'm. 

537
00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:11,600
Faithful or not, by what other 
people think that I missed the 

538
00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:17,160
mark. 
Listen, your stewardship, your 

539
00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:23,880
ministry, if you will, should 
not be determined by what I 

540
00:28:23,880 --> 00:28:27,160
think of you or not. 
What I'm saying is this don't 

541
00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:32,240
serve to try to please me. 
No, I, I, if you serve, I want 

542
00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:34,000
to say thank you. 
If you serve, I want to have a 

543
00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:36,680
grateful spirit. 
I, I want to show humility even 

544
00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:38,840
in the way that I say thank you 
to you for serving. 

545
00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:42,360
But listen, if you are serving 
because of me, listen. 

546
00:28:42,680 --> 00:28:45,280
That's not being the minister 
that you're supposed to be. 

547
00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:48,960
Or if you're serving someone 
else, because maybe they will 

548
00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:52,560
give you an attaboy, or you're 
serving someone else because 

549
00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:55,760
maybe someday they'll serve you 
and they have something that 

550
00:28:55,760 --> 00:28:59,040
will be really helpful for you 
and so you want to help them 

551
00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:00,840
because someday they'll be able 
to help you. 

552
00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:03,160
Even more than you were able to 
help them. 

553
00:29:03,360 --> 00:29:05,280
Listen. 
That's the wrong attitude. 

554
00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:09,000
Listen, we don't serve for that 
reason. 

555
00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:11,720
We don't serve for the approval 
of others, by the way. 

556
00:29:11,720 --> 00:29:14,200
The approvals of others come and
the approvals go. 

557
00:29:14,360 --> 00:29:16,400
I can tell you people that years
ago who thought I was the 

558
00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:17,720
greatest thing since sliced 
bread. 

559
00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:20,560
And now if I was on fire, they 
wouldn't put me out in the 

560
00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:24,160
street. 
And I'm not saying anything like

561
00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:25,800
about me. 
I mean, that's all of us, isn't 

562
00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:26,680
it? 
I mean, that's kind of the way 

563
00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:29,160
life can go sometimes, isn't? 
I'm not, I'm not saying like I'm

564
00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:31,320
exceptional in that way. 
We all have that. 

565
00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:35,320
What I'm saying is if you serve 
to please people in those areas,

566
00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:38,000
what happens? 
You're going to find out that is

567
00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:40,720
a moving target. 
You try to please everybody. 

568
00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:44,480
You will please nobody. 
So he says this. 

569
00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:46,040
There's this courtroom of the 
community. 

570
00:29:46,040 --> 00:29:48,320
He says that's a small thing for
me to be judged of others. 

571
00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:50,560
He doesn't say that, that it's 
unimportant. 

572
00:29:50,840 --> 00:29:52,680
You know, we always want to have
a good testimony. 

573
00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:55,200
We want to be thought of. 
Well, there's nothing wrong with

574
00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:56,800
that. 
But he says this, it is a small 

575
00:29:56,800 --> 00:29:58,800
thing. 
It's not my motivation, it's not

576
00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:01,240
the way that I'm going to figure
out if I'm being the faithful 

577
00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:04,160
minister that I am or not. 
So there's this courtroom of the

578
00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:06,040
community. 
It's not a good way to be able 

579
00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:07,720
to tell if we're being faithful 
or not. 

580
00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:10,560
But then he also says there's 
the court room of conscience, 

581
00:30:10,560 --> 00:30:13,400
and that was right where I 
stopped us there in verse #3 

582
00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:16,000
because you see where we'll pick
up where I left off. 

583
00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:20,840
He says yay, I judge not mine 
own self, for I know nothing by 

584
00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:23,880
myself yet. 
Am I not hereby justified? 

585
00:30:24,520 --> 00:30:27,400
And we'll stop right there. 
Yeah. 

586
00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:31,560
I judge not mine own self, for I
know nothing of by myself yet. 

587
00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:36,760
Am I not hereby justified? 
This next courtroom is not one 

588
00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:39,480
that others make for us, but 
it's one that we make of 

589
00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:42,960
ourselves. 
Now Paul says that he judges not

590
00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:44,960
himself. 
Now again, we want to be careful

591
00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:47,440
in understanding the context of 
what Paul is saying here. 

592
00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:51,760
Is it important for us to be 
able to have self reflection of 

593
00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:55,360
our own lives, to be able to 
tell if we are in the faith or 

594
00:30:55,360 --> 00:30:59,600
not in the sense that we want to
make sure that that we're not 

595
00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:02,680
sinning, yes. 
In fact, again, we'll get to 1st

596
00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:06,680
Corinthians Chapter 11 verse #28
makes very clear that before 

597
00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:10,960
someone takes the Lord's Supper,
Supper, rather, there should be 

598
00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:14,400
a time of self reflection. 
Like you need to know that 

599
00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:16,480
you're not harboring sin within 
your own life. 

600
00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:20,280
You go to Psalm 51 with David, 
the idea of making sure Lord 

601
00:31:20,520 --> 00:31:24,440
reveal the wicked way within me,
show me the places where I've 

602
00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:26,720
sinned. 
This is real, that yes, we 

603
00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:29,040
should be able to have some self
reflection. 

604
00:31:29,200 --> 00:31:31,880
It's important for us. 
I would say even when you're 

605
00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:34,600
praying before you pray, just to
have that thought process. 

606
00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:37,880
I know I need to confess my sin.
I need to make sure that I know 

607
00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:40,880
what sin to confess. 
And I'll tell you if you ever 

608
00:31:40,880 --> 00:31:45,480
want to pray a prayer that God 
will answer, Lord, show me the 

609
00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:48,280
wicked way within me. 
In fact, once you pray that 

610
00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:51,240
prayer, you'll have to ask God 
to close the spigot because once

611
00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:53,560
you open that door, the 
floodgates will. 

612
00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:56,080
He'll show you. 
He'll reveal to you. 

613
00:31:56,080 --> 00:31:58,560
Oh, yeah. 
So I feel I've done pretty well 

614
00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:00,440
today. 
Lord, I know I need to confess 

615
00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:02,040
my sins. 
So will you show me like OK 

616
00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:04,240
enough Lord, I got enough to 
keep me. 

617
00:32:04,240 --> 00:32:07,720
Busy for a while, but again, 
this. 

618
00:32:07,720 --> 00:32:09,360
Is not what it's talking about 
here. 

619
00:32:10,280 --> 00:32:13,760
It's talking about the ideas 
that we can sometimes fool 

620
00:32:13,760 --> 00:32:16,960
ourselves in thinking we're 
being a faithful minister. 

621
00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:22,960
So we cannot be our own judge of
whether we're being faithful as 

622
00:32:22,960 --> 00:32:26,480
ministers or not. 
Listen, other people, that can 

623
00:32:26,480 --> 00:32:29,960
be a moving target. 
You can be a moving target as 

624
00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:34,560
well because oftentimes if we're
not careful, we think we're 

625
00:32:34,560 --> 00:32:36,560
doing better than we are 
spiritually. 

626
00:32:38,720 --> 00:32:41,920
Listen, I'm not going to ask 
anybody to raise their hand, but

627
00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:43,680
I'll just raise my own for you 
this evening. 

628
00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:46,400
There have been plenty of times 
where I have thought I was doing

629
00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:50,960
pretty well spiritually and I 
heard a sermon or I read my 

630
00:32:50,960 --> 00:32:55,240
Bible and it was like a 
spiritual 2 by 4 hit me right 

631
00:32:55,240 --> 00:32:58,320
between the eyes. 
Think I'm doing, I'm doing 

632
00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:00,520
pretty good. 
I'm not even talking about in 

633
00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:02,040
pride. 
I'm not even talking about an 

634
00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:04,000
arrogance thinking, wow, I'm 
doing well. 

635
00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:06,240
Just thinking, you know, things 
are going pretty well right now.

636
00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:08,600
I feel like I'm but the Lord 
reveals something to me. 

637
00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:11,920
He says no, but this is an area 
that you need to grow. 

638
00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:14,360
This is an area you need to do 
better. 

639
00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:18,360
And when I say he hits US with a
spiritual 2 by 4, one, that's 

640
00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:21,440
not literal, all right. 
And two, I'm not saying he does 

641
00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:24,280
it in malice. 
He does it because he loves us 

642
00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:28,120
and he cares for us and he wants
us to do right and to be right. 

643
00:33:28,680 --> 00:33:30,120
And he reveals these things to 
us. 

644
00:33:30,120 --> 00:33:32,240
He said you think you're being 
faithful, but you're not as 

645
00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:34,240
faithful as you think. 
This is an area you need to 

646
00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:37,600
grow. 
It's that whole idea of, you 

647
00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:40,480
know, I had this happen a couple
days ago. 

648
00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:45,280
I was eating something and 
Peyton says dad and Peyton wake 

649
00:33:45,280 --> 00:33:46,920
up. 
I'm talking about you all right?

650
00:33:47,800 --> 00:33:49,960
She says dad and she goes like 
this. 

651
00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:53,680
And I realized whatever I was 
eating was like all over my face

652
00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:58,280
because I still eat like a 12 
year old so and it was all over 

653
00:33:58,280 --> 00:34:00,520
me. 
And I said, oh, Oh yeah, I 

654
00:34:00,520 --> 00:34:02,040
couldn't see it. 
I would never saw it. 

655
00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:05,480
But what happened, someone else 
saw it in me. 

656
00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:09,159
And so that's where there is a 
help in the courtroom of 

657
00:34:09,159 --> 00:34:11,000
community, but not what you 
always think it is. 

658
00:34:11,520 --> 00:34:13,880
And that's where you should be 
able to self examine. 

659
00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:16,280
But you can't always self 
examine to the extent that you 

660
00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:18,239
see everything. 
How do I know I'm being a 

661
00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:19,880
faithful steward? 
Can other people tell me? 

662
00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:23,840
Not completely. 
Can I tell myself? 

663
00:34:24,679 --> 00:34:28,239
Not really. 
Do you know The real only true 

664
00:34:28,239 --> 00:34:32,040
way to know this is number 
letter C, the courtroom of the 

665
00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:35,120
Creator. 
He that judgeth me. 

666
00:34:35,239 --> 00:34:40,199
Verse 4 is the Lord. 
Therefore, judge nothing before 

667
00:34:40,199 --> 00:34:43,800
the time until the Lord come, 
who both will bring to light the

668
00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:46,600
hidden things of darkness, and 
will make manifest the counsel 

669
00:34:46,600 --> 00:34:50,719
of the hearts, and then shall 
every man have praise of God. 

670
00:34:51,280 --> 00:34:54,840
The final courtroom is the one 
we must step into tonight as we 

671
00:34:54,840 --> 00:34:58,640
consider ourselves in relation 
to being found faithful Again, 

672
00:34:58,640 --> 00:35:01,760
Paul's not saying that the other
courtrooms are unnecessary, but 

673
00:35:01,760 --> 00:35:04,240
they pale in comparison to the 
final one. 

674
00:35:04,440 --> 00:35:08,360
What's this? 
The only truly way to know if 

675
00:35:08,360 --> 00:35:12,400
we're being faithful or not is 
to be judged of the Lord, that 

676
00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:14,080
He is the one. 
Now, will there be a final 

677
00:35:14,080 --> 00:35:15,160
judgment? 
Yes. 

678
00:35:15,360 --> 00:35:16,760
We looked at that a couple weeks
ago, didn't we? 

679
00:35:16,760 --> 00:35:19,600
A few weeks ago that we looked 
at the judgment seat of Christ 

680
00:35:19,600 --> 00:35:22,840
and how there will be that time.
But I would say this the best 

681
00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:25,720
way to know. 
That you are being faithful is 

682
00:35:25,720 --> 00:35:29,840
to live every day in the light 
of the judgment seat of Christ 

683
00:35:30,720 --> 00:35:34,720
to the best way to know that you
are being faithful is to be able

684
00:35:34,720 --> 00:35:39,280
to live your life in the light 
that someday you will see Jesus 

685
00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:42,320
Christ and give an account for 
the things that you did in this 

686
00:35:42,320 --> 00:35:44,080
life. 
If you are a believer, that 

687
00:35:44,080 --> 00:35:45,800
shouldn't be something that 
should terrify us. 

688
00:35:45,800 --> 00:35:48,640
We're not talking about the 
great White Throne judgment, but

689
00:35:48,640 --> 00:35:52,640
there will be a time that I will
have to look Jesus Christ face 

690
00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:55,680
to face and he'll say this is 
what I did for you. 

691
00:35:55,880 --> 00:35:58,920
This is what I gave you. 
I put you into a loving family. 

692
00:35:59,080 --> 00:36:01,920
I put you into the United 
States, States of America, where

693
00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:04,400
you had more opportunities than 
you would have almost anywhere 

694
00:36:04,400 --> 00:36:07,680
else in the world. 
I put you in a good church. 

695
00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:11,240
I gave you a good family. 
I gave you all of these 

696
00:36:11,240 --> 00:36:13,560
opportunities. 
What did you do with? 

697
00:36:13,560 --> 00:36:16,360
Them. 
And I'll tell you, when you 

698
00:36:16,360 --> 00:36:21,680
think about being a faithful 
steward like that, it motivates 

699
00:36:21,680 --> 00:36:24,680
you a whole lot more than 
thinking about other people or 

700
00:36:24,680 --> 00:36:31,400
even in yourself. 
How will God see me on that day?

701
00:36:32,640 --> 00:36:35,640
I wanted to know this. 
I wasn't the brightest pastor on

702
00:36:35,640 --> 00:36:38,680
earth. 
I didn't pastor the biggest 

703
00:36:38,680 --> 00:36:41,920
church that. 
I, I I. 

704
00:36:42,120 --> 00:36:46,400
I didn't have everything 
together, but I wanted to know 

705
00:36:46,400 --> 00:36:49,040
this. 
I want to be faithful. 

706
00:36:50,920 --> 00:36:55,200
I want to be faithful. 
And the wonderful thing about 

707
00:36:55,200 --> 00:36:59,360
that, again, is that every 
single one of us are able to be 

708
00:36:59,360 --> 00:37:02,320
faithful, and we'll have to give
an account for that. 

709
00:37:03,640 --> 00:37:06,160
That courtroom, that's a big 
one. 

710
00:37:06,720 --> 00:37:10,200
Why? 
It's the farthest one off, but 

711
00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:13,280
it's the one where we'll meet 
our Savior face to face. 

712
00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:17,440
Psalm 7, verse 11. 
God judges the righteous. 

713
00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:21,160
Isaiah 3322. 
For the Lord is our judge, our 

714
00:37:21,160 --> 00:37:23,120
lawgiver. 
The Lord is king. 

715
00:37:23,400 --> 00:37:26,080
He will save us. 
This is a courtroom that you 

716
00:37:26,080 --> 00:37:28,560
can't avoid. 
There's a courtroom that you 

717
00:37:28,560 --> 00:37:32,240
can't manipulate, that every 
single one of us will stand 

718
00:37:32,240 --> 00:37:35,440
before him at the judgement seat
of Christ if you were saved to 

719
00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:37,640
give an account of whether we 
were faithful or not as 

720
00:37:37,640 --> 00:37:42,280
ministers or stewards. 
So live in light of that, live 

721
00:37:42,280 --> 00:37:48,160
with that thought process today 
so that we'll be faithful now if

722
00:37:48,160 --> 00:37:50,960
this is discouraging. 
They will How? 

723
00:37:51,080 --> 00:37:53,160
How can somebody be faithful 
under these conditions? 

724
00:37:53,800 --> 00:37:57,240
How can be somebody faithful 
under this type of pressure? 

725
00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:01,360
How is this even? 
Possible, Pastor, I have one 

726
00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:03,280
text I wanted you to look at 
that I hope will be 

727
00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:05,800
encouragement, and we're done. 
That's Revelation chapter #19 

728
00:38:06,080 --> 00:38:09,880
turn there very quickly. 
Revelation chapter #19 because 

729
00:38:09,880 --> 00:38:11,360
it does sound like a lot, 
doesn't it? 

730
00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:15,880
It does to be able to be 
faithful. 

731
00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:18,680
While it's simple, it's not 
always easy. 

732
00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:22,360
It's simple, but it's not always
easy to do. 

733
00:38:23,520 --> 00:38:25,440
Look at Revelation. 
Chapter 919 I love the sound of 

734
00:38:25,440 --> 00:38:27,600
those pages turning. 
That's always a beautiful sound.

735
00:38:28,240 --> 00:38:35,120
Revelation chapter 19 look at 
verse #6 it says this and I 

736
00:38:35,120 --> 00:38:36,960
heard. 
As it was the voice of the great

737
00:38:36,960 --> 00:38:41,000
multitude, as the voice of many 
waters, as the voice of mighty 

738
00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:45,200
thundering, saying Hallelujah 
for the Lord God Omnipotent 

739
00:38:45,240 --> 00:38:49,240
reigneth, let us be glad and 
rejoice, and give honor to Him. 

740
00:38:49,240 --> 00:38:52,640
For the marriage of the Lamb has
come, and his wife hath made 

741
00:38:52,640 --> 00:38:55,680
herself ready, and to her was 
granted that she should be 

742
00:38:55,680 --> 00:38:58,920
arrayed, and fine linen clean 
and white, for the fine linen is

743
00:38:58,920 --> 00:39:02,640
the righteousness of the Saints.
And he saith unto me, Right 

744
00:39:02,640 --> 00:39:04,960
blessed are they which are 
called into the marriage supper 

745
00:39:04,960 --> 00:39:07,480
of the Lamb. 
And he saith unto me, These are 

746
00:39:07,480 --> 00:39:10,360
the true sayings of God. 
And I fell at his feet to 

747
00:39:10,360 --> 00:39:12,680
worship him. 
And he said unto me, See thou do

748
00:39:12,680 --> 00:39:15,120
it not. 
I am thy fellow servant, and of 

749
00:39:15,120 --> 00:39:19,640
thy brethren that have testimony
of Jesus worship God. 

750
00:39:19,880 --> 00:39:23,080
For the testimony of Jesus is 
the spirit of prophecy. 

751
00:39:23,680 --> 00:39:27,080
And here in this, the marriage 
supper of the Lamb unfolds in 

752
00:39:27,080 --> 00:39:30,360
front of us, where believers 
will be gathered together at 

753
00:39:30,360 --> 00:39:34,720
this incredible feast that takes
place at some point during the 

754
00:39:34,720 --> 00:39:37,680
tribulation period. 
And here during the battle of 

755
00:39:37,680 --> 00:39:42,320
Armageddon, this very last point
of the tribulation period, that 

756
00:39:42,320 --> 00:39:44,640
seven-year period, look at what 
it says. 

757
00:39:44,640 --> 00:39:47,000
It says. 
And I saw heaven open and 

758
00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:50,400
behold, a White Horse. 
And he that sat upon him was 

759
00:39:50,400 --> 00:39:51,840
called. 
What's that next word? 

760
00:39:52,440 --> 00:39:56,240
Faithful and true. 
And in righteousness he does 

761
00:39:56,240 --> 00:40:02,040
judge and make war. 
God calls us to be faithful. 

762
00:40:03,840 --> 00:40:06,880
It's very simple, but it's not 
always easy. 

763
00:40:07,640 --> 00:40:12,720
Here's the blessing of it 
tonight, as that our Savior is 

764
00:40:12,720 --> 00:40:19,480
the faithful. 1 He is faithful. 
We can be faithful. 

765
00:40:20,480 --> 00:40:23,680
Because he is faithful. 
I didn't say he was faithful, by

766
00:40:23,680 --> 00:40:25,440
the way. 
He is faithful. 

767
00:40:25,960 --> 00:40:29,760
He will always be faithful. 
He can be nothing but faithful, 

768
00:40:30,320 --> 00:40:34,920
and the faithful One will help 
you be faithful to the things of

769
00:40:34,920 --> 00:40:37,480
God. 
Is it always easy to be able to 

770
00:40:37,480 --> 00:40:40,760
come to church? 
It's not, but be faithful. 

771
00:40:41,680 --> 00:40:45,600
Is it always easy to do right, 
knowing that temptation is real?

772
00:40:46,480 --> 00:40:48,720
It's not always easy. 
Be faithful. 

773
00:40:49,600 --> 00:40:52,920
Is it always easy to serve? 
No Be faithful. 

774
00:40:53,680 --> 00:40:56,760
It's always easy to give no, but
be faithful. 

775
00:40:57,520 --> 00:40:59,200
Is it always easy to share the 
gospel? 

776
00:40:59,200 --> 00:41:03,360
No, but be faithful. 
Is it always easy to be able to 

777
00:41:03,760 --> 00:41:07,160
encourage someone and disciple 
someone who's new in the faith? 

778
00:41:07,160 --> 00:41:10,280
No, but just be faithful. 
Is it always easy to be a new 

779
00:41:10,280 --> 00:41:13,440
Christian and try to figure out 
all the stuff when it seems like

780
00:41:13,480 --> 00:41:15,160
everybody else knows more than 
you? 

781
00:41:15,800 --> 00:41:19,040
No, but be faithful. 
Why? 

782
00:41:19,360 --> 00:41:22,960
Because he is. 
Faithful, and if He is faithful,

783
00:41:23,520 --> 00:41:26,280
He can help you to be faithful. 
What do we need to do? 

784
00:41:26,280 --> 00:41:28,120
We've seen the last few weeks 
need to grow. 

785
00:41:28,760 --> 00:41:31,640
Be faithful in your growth a 
little bit every day. 

786
00:41:32,040 --> 00:41:33,920
God will help you get where you 
need to be. 

787
00:41:35,240 --> 00:41:37,920
Thank you for listening to the 
sermon from the pulpit of 

788
00:41:37,920 --> 00:41:40,880
Liberty Baptist Church. 
If this message was a blessing 

789
00:41:40,880 --> 00:41:44,320
to you, or if there's any way we
can serve you, please let us 

790
00:41:44,320 --> 00:41:48,920
know by contacting us at 
info@mylibertybaptist.org. 

791
00:41:49,240 --> 00:41:53,760
Or you can visit us this Sunday 
at 800 Washington St. in Easton,

792
00:41:53,760 --> 00:41:56,560
MA. 
May the Lord bless you as you 

793
00:41:56,560 --> 00:41:57,760
grow in His Word.