Faith is Faithfulness Series # 2
Pastor David T. Elms Preached on 12/17/2024
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51:52
Summary
Pastor David T. Elms explores the gravity of spiritual offenses, warning that causing a new believer to stumble is a severe matter to God. He calls the church to move past Phariseeism into a Spirit of hospitality that peaceably identifies with the hurting and protects the 'little ones' of the faith.
Key points
- •Offenses (skandalon) are inevitable in church life, but Jesus warns sternly against being the cause of another person's stumbling.
- •Jesus uses the violent imagery of a millstone around the neck to illustrate that it is better to die than to cause a 'little one'-an undeveloped or new disciple-to fall away.
- •Biblical hospitality is defined as 'peaceably identifying' with others in their pain, rather than tolerating them with a judgmental Pharisaical attitude.
- •Maturity in Christ requires patience with those who cannot yet 'eat steak' (advanced spiritual concepts) just as we are patient with toddlers.
- •Faith is synonymous with faithfulness, which includes honoring marriage, avoiding covetousness/jealousy, and respecting spiritual leadership.
Scripture
Faithfulness
Hospitality
Judgment
Disigners
Church Community
Life application
This week, practice 'peaceable identification' by consciously choosing to embrace someone who looks or acts differently than you at church, looking past their outward presentation to see their soul.
Reflection questions
- Are there areas where I have been acting as a 'guardian of holiness' by judging others instead of showing hospitality?
- Who are the 'little ones' in my life that I need to be more patient with as they grow in their faith?
- How can I ensure that my conduct-especially on social media-is free from promoting covetousness in others?
- What does it mean to me that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever in the context of following spiritual leadership?
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Full transcript
0:00thee. And that's why you're in the house of God tonight. Thank you for
0:01being here. I want to continue our series on faith means faithfulness. I will be
0:07accentuating tonight as we're going to go verses 1 through 10. I will just be
0:13accentuating verses 1 and 2 as we go through that tonight. So I'm reading from
0:1917th chapter of the Gospel of Luke, verse 1, then said he unto the disciples.
0:25It is impossible, but that offenses will come. That word for offenses
0:31in the Greek is skandalon. It's a great word to remember because
0:37the way I remember it is when you say it, you just
0:42sort of look at it through the English vernacular. There's a skandalon.
0:48When someone's offended, there's a skandalon. If you didn't get it, you're
0:54forgiven. It's a skandalon. It says, it is impossible, but that...
1:00Things are going to happen to you that could possibly get you discouraged with your
1:04preacher, with your church, with the brother who sits on the pew in front of
1:08you. You're going to encounter people who don't parent like you think they ought to.
1:13You're going to encounter people who don't like the color of your car. You're going
1:17to encounter people that are so easily offended that they can't even take a little
1:21bit of an acid test in preaching. So eventually I will not keep them around
1:27because I'm going to just go ahead and preach the word without fear or favor.
1:31And sometimes it's going to rub against your fur. And that's okay with me because
1:36I'm not here to make you vote for me. I'm here to give you the
1:41pure, clean, considerable word of God that maybe you might not want to understand. But
1:46here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to make you grapple with it and
1:51you will have to grapple with the truth. And when you do so, it will
1:57make you a better person. So offenses are going to come. I mean, I
2:03don't think that this children's presentation this year had any challenges to it. But
2:08it's because generally through the years, we've had wise children's directors that were pretty
2:14sensitive towards taking care of the children. Because every Christmas, anybody who's ever pastored
2:20knows you're just waiting for that one child. and those two parents that are
2:26just waiting to get bothered at one another. And it's just going to happen year
2:32after year after year. But the Lord has been good to us here because it's
2:37kind of hidden from me. And I just keep them hidden. Okay, y'all settle it.
2:43You have a lot against the brother, go to them. Don't come tell the pastor.
2:48And it is impossible though, but that offenses will come. But woe unto him through
2:54whom they come. If you're the cause of the offense... something needs to be
3:00considered now that offense also is a word that causes one to
3:05fall woe be unto the one who causes another to fall verse
3:112 this is heavy it's tuesday in december it's still going to
3:17be silent night holy night in a few days but you need
3:22to know this is in your bible jesus is speaking and
3:28he gives us a violent word picture picture that is wise for us
3:34to listen to it were okay this isn't a bad thing i'm about
3:40to describe it's your best option you got to hear the word are
3:46you still with me sometimes we just skim through and read and capture
3:51the words we like no give me the word your best option it
3:57would be better for him now this is only men that's going to
4:03be offensive so all you women get a pass and
4:09you guys know if you're intellectually honest when it says this it's not talking gender
4:14specific okay but there's a lot of non-intellectually honest people who read their bible and
4:19use that as an excuse to write it off as if see there no you
4:24all have fun i know your game go do it all by yourself i'm going
4:29to be intellectually honest with the scripture it were better for him better everybody say
4:35it's better that a millstone were hanged around his neck just that picture right there
4:40has got me worked And he, now this is the
4:45next part that's better. After the millstone is hung around your neck. I mean,
4:51somebody call the chiropractor right now. It's still better if you have a millstone
4:57hung around your neck. And then better if you were cast into the sea
5:03than that he should offend or cause to sin. offend is a
5:09word in English. It's kind of taken on a little word that I kind of
5:14like things a certain way. And if you kind of mess up the way I
5:19think like things that I'm offended. Okay. There's a room for you. It's not this
5:25one. This offense that we're talking about is an offense that causes one to tumble,
5:30to fall, to falter, to turn away better that this description happens under him. Then
5:35he should offend one of these little ones. We're going to break that down. Because
5:41little ones may not be what you think they are.
5:47Now, there is an entire locus of thinking on the phrase little ones. It's all
5:52through the book of Matthew. It's in the book of Mark. It's also spoken of
5:57here in Luke. I'm not going to give you the whole grouping of thought that
6:02when Jesus refers to little ones, but we are going to dig into it just
6:07a touch. The term little ones, or it is also coupled in the Greek with
6:11those that are spoken of as least of these. least of these if
6:17you bring a cup of cold water to the least of these you've done it
6:23unto me you if you do something to the least of these so this phrase
6:29least of these also fits in the same format as those that are looked at
6:35as little ones and so the it's indicative of a close relationship with the Lord
6:40little ones least of these they're close to the Lord and it And it is
6:46a direct reference that if you take care of the least of these, my brethren,
6:51if you visit the least of these in prison, if you visit them in their
6:57sickness, the least of these, it's the same as if you've done it unto me.
7:03So the Lord is saying, when you think they're a least or a little or
7:08a diminished, when you think that, If you think that, then you've got to understand
7:14what I think about that person in that state of being. It's as if you're
7:19doing it unto me. And it is a direct expectation when it talks about giving
7:25a cup of cold water or visiting them when they're in seasons of needed benevolence.
7:30This is what the Lord is referring to when he talks about a hospitality that
7:35must be present in the kingdom of God. You know, we teach the LXMers, do
7:41y'all have your microphone? I'm going to have them help me preach. Y'all are going
7:45to read some verses, and then I will repeat after them and do it old
7:50school, can't mean style. We're going to see if anointing gets on them, though. You
7:54got to make your voice tremor and stuff. We're talking about old time brush arbor.
7:59All right. Y'all don't even know what a brush arbor is. You think that's something
8:04that you comb your hair with, brush arbor. Okay. Okay. And so here in
8:09Matthew 12, 48, the Lord asks this question and he uses this
8:15word in reference to least of these. All right. It's the same
8:21picture when he says, here are my mother, my brothers. They
8:27came and said to Jesus, you may remember the picture, Jesus is teaching and his
8:33mom and his brothers are outside waiting to talk to him. And somebody gets word
8:38in where he's at. And they said, Lord, your mother and your brothers are outside.
8:44They want to talk to you. And this is what Jesus said. He said, who
8:49is my mother and who are my brothers? But he that doeth the will, this
8:55is pretty powerful and scary. This is why I'm telling you. Aslan is not
9:01a tame lion. And I know all of you don't know C.S. Lewis. I hope
9:07some of you go to the Screwtape Letters because it's an amazing thing about voices
9:13of the devil talking. It's pretty cool. He said, he that doeth the will of
9:19my father, the same is my brother and sister and mother. And those phrases are
9:25the same phrase that refers to least of these things. These little ones,
9:30these young ones, these undeveloped ones are my brother and my sister. So
9:36this hospitality that the Lord is expecting to abide in the house of
9:42God is the opposite of the hurt model that the Pharisees were modeling,
9:48were demonstrating. The Pharisees thought that they were guardians of the holiness of
9:54God. And they rolled around with the scolding look on their face and
10:00continually measuring people up to see how many days did you fast this week?
10:05Have you really prayed an hour or was that just 42 minutes? And this
10:11is what the Lord is saying he has no time for. And yet human
10:17flesh loves to look good. And so the way we look good is when we
10:23do pray the full hour, we want everybody who didn't pray the full hour or
10:28two hours as is in our all-night prayer meeting. Isn't it cool that we pray
10:33two hours? You guys do that. That's special in 2024. And it's going to be
10:38special in 2025. I mean, that's like two mile going the second mile. It could
10:43be looked at as going the second hour, which is nothing compared to our grandparents
10:48who prayed all night long. Okay, so let's not act like we're special. Just
10:54a minute. Until you've really prayed all night long, you just pipe down and pump
10:59those brakes. Sometimes I think we dumb Christianity down as if we're special because we
11:05give them a minuscule effort. And I'm just not going to do it anymore.
11:11No, I'm not going to walk around without the hospitality of the undeveloped ones.
11:17See, here's the key. The difference in an apostolic church is while we're striving
11:22to present not just pre-VPK for church. A lot of churches, I'm not down
11:28on any church that's pursuing the Lord, but I'm telling you, I'm down on
11:34some preachers who think that everybody who walks through the door needs a pre-K
11:39version of the gospel. I'm sorry, you gotta learn
11:45more than mixing blue with red to make purple. You've
11:51got to understand there's more than Elmer's glue out there
11:56that's edible. And it tastes good. Lot of Elmer's. That's
12:02pre-K. That's kindergarten. Maybe first grade. Maybe second grade they
12:07do colors. I'm not sure. It's been a little while
12:13for me. And they, you know, the new kids are
12:19probably changing colors up to 12th grade nowadays. Who knows?
12:25It's a whole lot of different learning system in the world right now. But
12:31the opposite of the hurt mentality of I'm more advanced than you, the opposite
12:37of I'm more full of God than you is this mentality and this aspect
12:43that the Lord's putting out there that the church needs to walk in a
12:49hospitality that is welcoming. Biblical hospitality and principle is more than just tolerance.
12:55of somebody coming to church that doesn't have it like you've got it no you
13:00don't tolerate them and wonder why they're on your row that is not of god
13:06it's a peaceable identification with the other person so it doesn't matter how they come
13:11and everybody sends a message with how you dress okay this is why dressing is
13:17important to the cathedral of pentacles How you dress will never not be a part
13:22of this church's story. All right? That's the way it's going to be. And there
13:27are plenty of churches that have that other option. It's not this one. But I
13:32want to tell you something. You've got to say something with how you dress. And
13:37everybody walks into their same closet every morning. I mean, maybe 2% of the population
13:42just grabs something. Everybody else has thought thoroughly, how do I feel today?
13:48How do I feel today? Do I want to go purple or blue? What shirt?
13:53Do I want that saucy t-shirt that says Mrs. Claus said? Or what did grandma
13:59get run over by a reindeer? Not today. She's not getting run over by a
14:04reindeer. See, I wore my Christmas tie for y'all tonight. I'm saying something with my
14:09tie. Look at that. That's all you get to see. All right. I'm saying something.
14:15Is that what it says? I love my wife? Baby, listen. My t-shirt says that?
14:19Oh, you want me to tell them about my t-shirt? Did I not already tell
14:24them about the t-shirt? Listen, this is part of the privilege of being a part
14:28of the cathedral. Part of the privilege of being part of the cathedral is hearing
14:32a little bit of that, some stuff. I saw a t-shirt. It's a brilliant t-shirt.
14:36I wore it. I do. I tell them. I told them about this the other
14:40day, but I'll tell them again because you want me to. it says in
14:46all caps i love my wife and underneath a little
14:52smaller it says but sometimes i want to square up
14:57ah but i better not square up a mind she'd
15:03go jiu jitsu on me so biblical hospitality is more
15:09than tolerance biblical hospitality is peaceably identifying with the other
15:14person so you know a person is in a bad
15:20spot sometimes it's how they appear Sometimes it's just the way they
15:26come to church. Maybe they come to church and marijuana is reeking off of
15:32them. We have that happen often at the cathedral Pentecostal Sunday morning. Instead of
15:37looking at them as if how dare you come wait and bait. That's Phariseeism.
15:44The other way is peaceably identifying with them and saying, there must be so much
15:50hurt in this person that they don't know how to enter this day without some
15:55kind of an edge being cut off. And so I understand what pain feels like.
16:01So you know what they're going to get me? I'm going to plow right through
16:07that cloud of stink. And the skunk weed won't stop me. I'm
16:12going to hug them and say, if I was going through
16:18what you're going through, you're in the right place for me.
16:24That's revival. That's peaceably identifying with pain. That's looking at them
16:30that say a thousand message with their tattoos or how they
16:36wear their hair, which I say something too. We all do.
16:42And sometimes when I want to look saucy, I take, I don't use gel anymore.
16:48For all you men wanting some help, let me help you out. I use hair
16:53mask, okay? Mask gets more healthy for the hair. And I get the hair mask
16:58and I just apply it a little bit. And if I'm feeling saucy, then I
17:03don't slide it this way. I slide it this way. And then sometimes it's not
17:08enough. So I'll do that right there. You see the effect? It's
17:14already affecting you. I can tell by looking. And everybody in this house does
17:20the same exact. You just throw it over this way, that way. You get
17:25that strand down right here. You have that curl that accidentally on purpose you
17:31got to throw back in.
17:37Listen, listen, listen. People are saying things and what this church has got to
17:43continue in is the spirit of hospitality, of peaceably identifying with whatever you see.
17:49And when you see it, you don't assume what a Pharisee assumes. Pharisee
17:54assumes they were stupid. They've made bad decision can't believe they thought of walking into
18:00here How dare they corrupt this holy place? They're trying to drag me down to
18:06their level How dare they come and pollute this house don't they know they're in
18:12church Go ahead and get ready for that millstone start wiggling your neck Just wiggle
18:18your neck get it ready because the Lord said that would be your best option
18:24If you walk in this place thinking you got it like that And
18:30you see people in their pain. Jesus is talking about faithfulness. Faith is faithfulness. And
18:35he's about to hit us with some strong truth, so much so that the disciples
18:40say to the Lord, increase our faith. In other words,
18:45we're not sure we can live with that level of hospitality. And
18:51what he said to them is if you have the trying of
18:57just the size of a mustard seed, you can do more than
19:03say to that sycamore tree, be thou removed. In other words, faithfulness
19:08is faith. All right. Hebrews, Hebrews 13. All right. I've got my
19:14readers over here. Okay. Will you help me read? You're the first
19:20one, and then who, Olga's second. Eliana, Hebrews 13, 1 through 8. Y'all, don't judge
19:26her. Don't judge her. We're talking about peaceable identification, all right? But you should have
19:32a little tremble in your voice and speak like you've got a little anointing on
19:38you. Don't talk to me like you're some boring, no, no, no, no, just like
19:44a news anchor. You always do it that way anyway. She sounds like she belongs
19:49on some... podcast who cares about channels anymore okay all right
19:55hebrews 13 1 through 8. it's page number you found it okay
20:01peaceable identification did you hear all those people who realize that they
20:07don't know where hebrews is either okay go ahead all right hebrews
20:1313 1 through 8. let brotherly love continue all right sounds pretty
20:18good to me doesn't it let brotherly love do what
20:24Y'all are starting to feel like Brush Harbor kind of preaching on a Tuesday
20:30night. I mean, if I don't watch the clock, I could go long. Let
20:36brotherly love do what it's been doing since you guys got the Holy Ghost.
20:42I love that about the Bible. I don't care how negative people want to
20:47turn the Bible into. It is so positive. It blows a smile right onto
20:53my face. Let brotherly love. There's some people come to church.
20:59They're mean. That one doesn't pay any attention. They're talking during church. I'm
21:05out. Yeah, okay. We all know these things. But we also know that
21:11there's a beauty in the scripture that the Bible speaks of that I
21:17might see the good of thy beloved. All right. So let brotherly love
21:23continue. read on do not forget to entertain strangers for by
21:29so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels all right what version
21:34of the bible do you have in kjv all of them
21:40listen i can preach with any of them as long as
21:45it's not edited by the modern day i mean anyway because
21:51anyway all right so do not neglect to show hospitality to
21:56strangers For thereby some have entertained angels unawares. One
22:02of these days I'll tell you about my Uber driver last Tuesday.
22:08But I believe he's going to come to this church and then
22:13y'all will hear the story. But it was so spooky crazy. I'm
22:19talking about spooky crazy. That I literally started talking in tongues in
22:24my spirit while they were talking. And I thought, am I entertaining
22:30an angel? And I had to fight to not cry. Because
22:36it was that spooky crazy. And you all already know I'm kind of
22:42that way most of the time. But you throw me in a situation
22:48where I might be with an angel. My spirit begins to dance and
22:54I try to hide it. Okay, this might be an angel and I'm
23:00going to try to act like I'm normal. I mean, last week, I
23:06don't even need to tell you. I've had some amazing happenings this past
23:12week. But you know, when you get in those situations, you've got to kind of
23:17act like you've been there before, even if you haven't. So you pretend. And that's
23:21the way I feel when I might be in the presence of an angel. Okay,
23:25I think I know you're an angel, but I'm going to act like I don't
23:30know. How are you doing today? You could be an angel. Have you ever thought
23:34that about somebody that maybe the devil wanted you to think that they were a
23:39devil? It'll change your disposition towards people you don't like. You will learn
23:45a new level of hospitality even if you think, well, angels
23:50don't dress like that. Well, who told you that? Have you
23:56ever heard of going incognito? Some of you have entertained an
24:02angel unaware. They're not showing up without their kiss T-shirt on.
24:07Listen to me. Don't let what people present define the way
24:13you receive them. Whatever they present to you, if they present
24:18racial hate, don't receive the message of racial hate. If
24:24they present that they don't like somebody that looks like you, don't
24:30receive that presentation. Just present, I love people that look like you
24:35because God's power is greater than hell's power. And there is nothing
24:41that I'm afraid of. Let every wizard and warlom in full regalia
24:46marching to me with demonic fervor And I'll say praise the
24:52Lord. How in the world are you doing? I see you wanted
24:58to visit with me today. Glad you came. What can we talk
25:04about? They can't stand it when you have the victory. They think
25:10their presence ought to frighten you from the victory. When you stand
25:15there and just look at them like, oh, so you've come to
25:21see me today. It's like Job. He confused the devil. After all
25:27the boils... After all the pain, after the funeral
25:32of his children, after his wife says, curse God and die,
25:38the devil thinks he's going to get a reaction. And the
25:44man Job said, naked came I into the world and naked
25:50shall I return thither. The Lord gives, the Lord takes away.
25:56I don't want the taking away, but it doesn't matter if
26:02I gain or lose. He is blessed. Blessed be the
26:08name of the Lord. All right, don't forget to show hospitality. Read on. Remember? Remember
26:13the prisoners as if chained with them. All right, remember them how? As if you're
26:19chained with them. You need to learn how to extrapolate your present-present situation into the
26:24situation of those you're going to be with or ministering to. And if you say,
26:30well, I don't have it all figured out in my mind. Well, why don't you
26:35just imagine the worst case that they might be in? And if you treat them
26:41with the compassion as if they're in the worst place that they could be in,
26:46you might be mistaken. They might be in the best place, but I can guarantee
26:52you they're not going to hold it against you. Treat them as if they were
26:57in traumatic places. And God's not going to be upset with you that even though
27:02they may not be in the lowest of places, you still treated them as if
27:07it's possible that they are. You say, but I don't want
27:13to be wrong, Brother Elms. I think they're being nasty to God on purpose. Well,
27:18why don't you let God figure that out? And you just assume that they're being
27:23nasty to God because somebody hurt them so bad at church. And all they know
27:28is when they hear the word church, they start twitching. And why don't you stop
27:33shoving church at them and start loving the soul that they are? Because church is
27:38where they will go if they receive the right kind of hospitality. Man, Elms, that's
27:43some good teaching. All right, thank you, thank you, thank you.
27:48It's like Brother Hale, he'll say, sit down, sit down. Read on, read on. Those
27:54who are mistreated, since you yourselves are in the body also. Okay, remember, as if
27:59those who have been mistreated, you're with them because you are also potentially going to
28:05be mistreated also. Now, a lot of people stop right there because they don't want
28:10the preacher to get into the marriage stuff. We got our marriage stuff figured out,
28:15Pastor. You and Sister Elms have that little perfect marriage
28:21up there, and we get sick of hearing about it. Just let me
28:27dwell in my little old marriage penalty box that I've got my husband
28:33in. Well, we're just going to believe the Bible, ladies and gentlemen, and
28:39you're going to deal with it. Read on. Marriage is honorable among all.
28:45Marriage is honorable among all. And let what? Read on. And the bed
28:51undefiled. Okay. Read on. But for fornicators and adulterers, God will judge.
28:56Don't act like that's not in your Bible. You know, every time the Bible
29:02speaks of adultery in the Bible, it's talking about a healthy marriage. It's not
29:08talking about the bad one. It's talking about all of you that have one.
29:14You need to make it healthy. So every time you read adultery in the
29:19Bible, don't get mad at some woman that went off and had an affair
29:25or man. No, no, no. You get straightened up about your house.
29:31having healthy marriage not to your 35 and no more not
29:37to your 40 and then no more no you're married you
29:42have a healthy marriage all the way through well I'm past
29:48my childbearing years faster none adultery happens every season the black
29:53because somebody in the mayor thanks there don't have to be
29:59a part up this biblical story you better be corrected you're
30:05wrong You don't get to decide I'm only healthy until a certain
30:10age and then this is all over. No, the Bible, every time it speaks
30:16of that, it says this bed is to be a place of. Amen. It's
30:22getting tight in December, but that is good preaching right there. All right. Go
30:28ahead, sister. Eliana, I know you didn't expect to read that part.
30:35Let your conduct be without covetousness. Okay. Do things in a manner that
30:41isn't to others that you're walking in jealousy or you're going and presenting
30:47yourself in a manner to bring on jealousy of others. Okay. We have
30:52social media now. Some of y'all live in a fake life because I
30:58know you. You post every little thing that's perfect and all that rest.
31:04You kind of act like it doesn't exist. Or you follow people
31:09like that and you think that's the way their life is. We need to come
31:15right back down and sign off some of these things and live in the real
31:21world because those things can create covetousness in you. And you can also present yourself
31:27in a manner. In fact, I did it today. If anybody follows me on Twitter,
31:33I mean X, I posted a picture of me in front of Trump International in
31:38front of my truck. And I said, they left my
31:44truck in the front door area for over an hour. Thank
31:50you, Elon Musk, for making such an engineering marvel. But nobody
31:56follows me, so nobody here knows that I did that. So
32:01I might be okay, but the Lord proved me, and I
32:07kind of repented. Because I thought, am I making people think
32:13that's my world? I mean, it was a little bit. But
32:19that's not real! I drove!
32:26Okay, I'm not going to say it because it just my mother-in-law's car for years
32:31that was now looks good I'll still say it just because it's 2007 doesn't mean
32:36it doesn't look good, but I'm 50 something years old I get to have a
32:42little bit of candy in this age of my life You don't like it get
32:47to my place and move on I'm not trying to even impress you anymore I'm
32:52just gonna have my life, but my point is this don't present yourself in a
32:57manner to try to make others feel less than I And that comes
33:03to social media too. Man, that's amazing. Okay, read on, Sister Eliana. Be
33:08content with such things as you have. Be content with what you've got.
33:14Be content with what you have. Godliness with contentment is what? Great gain.
33:19That's what the Bible says. Godliness, it doesn't say godliness is great gain.
33:25Godliness with contentment. In other words, maybe you haven't prayed as much as
33:31somebody else, but why don't you just be content in what you offered
33:36the Lord? I'm not saying give them a lesser sacrifice. You know I'm not saying
33:42that. I'm saying sometimes you worked a 50-hour week that week and you fell asleep
33:46while you tried to pray. Do you think you're in, or 70-hour week, whatever. Do
33:51you think you're in trouble with God? No, you were holy when you were working.
33:56And that person that worked half of a job and came and hung out at
34:01the church all day, they're less spiritual than you are because you weren't called to
34:06come and hum all day. You get a job. You get in the community.
34:12You help people. It's going in your head. It's just like the man who helped
34:18the good Samaritan. He was on his way to a business transaction. This is Jesus
34:23telling the story. He gets to make the rules. The man is on the way
34:29to a business transaction. He doesn't take the time to sit with him.
34:35He pours oil in his stores. He goes to the innkeeper and says, listen, I've
34:41got some money. This is a very successful businessman, which means he doesn't have time
34:46to hang around and chit chat with you. Listen, I've got business transactions to do
34:52today, but I want to let you know, put this on his bill. And if
34:57there's anything more, I'll be back and I'll cover it. And he leaves the guy
35:03by himself. And Jesus is telling the story. I know some people like, if he's
35:09really Christian, he would have rubbed his toes, put a cold cloth upon his head.
35:14No, Jesus said he left him. Why? He was a businessman. He had stuff to
35:20get done. He's going to do what he can to move on. And the Lord
35:25said, that's a good cement. I'm glad I've got to work in church. I'm glad
35:30I've got to give in church. I'm glad you guys get the understanding that it
35:35costs to have church. I'm glad you understand that it's sacrifice. In this coming week,
35:41we're going to give a sacrificial offering to Christmas for Christ. Why? Because that's who
35:46we are. We're givers. And we're givers because we understand we've got to go and
35:51transact in a world that is in hurt and pain. I mean, today our plant
35:56operations director was supposed to go to the construction site right up the road and
36:01have a conversation with the job superintendent who happens to be using our church parking
36:06lot to turn all of their many-ton trucks around and see if there's not some
36:11kind of a negotiation that can happen for the process of us. And at church
36:16tonight, I had a little conference meeting with our church plant operations director, and you
36:21know what he told me? I said, i was too busy i couldn't get to
36:27the job site you know i told him i said never apologize for being so
36:33busy in what you've got to do because you'll get to it there's no panic
36:38in this house there's just a plan there's no panic just a plan and we're
36:44going to work that and those who want to give god a lesser offering i'm
36:49not going to be the one to call in call you out i mean i
36:55might one-on-one just let you know you could offer more but You choose your level
37:00and get your reward. All I got to do is tell you what the gospel
37:06said and then your blood's off my hands. I've got to just tell you what
37:11is expected of this. And so here's what he said. Be content with what you,
37:16when you can give him what you've got, be content with it. It may not
37:22be your best praise, but be content that you gave him the best for today.
37:27For he has said what? I will never leave you. Isn't she doing a good
37:32job? Did you hear her diction and the way she modulates her voice? Go ahead,
37:38try it one more time. I will never leave you nor forsake you. She even
37:43talks with a smile. Isn't that awesome? When you talk with a smile, it makes
37:48everyone else around you smile. Try it again one more time. I will never leave
37:53you nor forsake you. This is what the Lord said in response to all that
37:57that he just laid down, which you thought was too much information, didn't you? You
38:02thought I just covered areas that shouldn't be spoken of in the pulpit. Well, that's
38:08where the Lord said, after I tell you all these things, I want you to
38:13know I will never leave you, nor will I forsake you. Ladies and gentlemen, we've
38:19got to quote that verse in the context that it was given. And so here,
38:24what does he go on to say? so we may boldly say so we
38:30may boldly say the lord is my helper the lord helps my marriage i
38:35will not fear the lord helps me walk without uh making other people to
38:41have have uh the desire of of the words escape escaping me right now
38:47what word am i looking for y'all don't know is anybody listening what is
38:53the word when you make other people people jealous yes i'm glad you all
38:59finally helped me Covetousness. The Lord is my helper
39:04so that I won't post in ways to promote covetousness because
39:10the Lord is with me and he'll never forsake me. Those
39:15things that you thought was way too much information, it is
39:21the prelude to him saying, for you can boldly say, he
39:27is always with me. The Lord is my helper. I will not
39:32fear. What can man do to me? Go ahead. What does it say after that?
39:38Remembering those who rule over you. Okay, that's talking about your pastor. Did you know
39:43that I ruled over you? I know some of y'all are saying serious yes, and
39:48we're playing with the English right now. I just preach, and you don't understand what
39:53I'm saying. But there is a certain amount of respect of the office that is
39:59there, and it says remember your leadership. Those who spoke to you. What does it
40:04say in NKJV? Who have spoken the word of God. Those who spoke to you
40:09the word of God. This is your pastor, the bishop of this house, the judge
40:14of this house. Remember them who speaks the word of the Lord. And I want
40:20to hear King James and then I'll read my edition, this version I'm reading from.
40:25Go ahead. Whose faith follow. Whose faith follow. In other words, this is ESV I've
40:31got. Consider the outcome of their way of life. That's pretty strong for the preacher,
40:36isn't it? Go ahead. Considering the outcome of their conduct. The way they live their
40:41life. You judge me by the way I, husband, The way I father,
40:47the way I conduct myself on off time, you judge me. You consider it.
40:53And then it says what? Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
40:59That's coming, all right? We're not shouting yet. The Bible that I've got says,
41:04consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. What does
41:10it say in yours there? And follow their faith? Whose faith follow, consider the
41:16outcome. All right, imitate their way of faith. I'm not trying to act like I'm
41:21Mr. Magic Man, but this is what is called of a pastor. You are to
41:26carry yourself in a way that people can follow you and get to Jesus. Paul
41:31said, follow me as I follow Christ. And when God puts a pastor in your
41:36life, if I can't be that man, go get that man, okay? You've got to
41:41have a man who you can follow that you get closer to Jesus when you
41:46imitate the way he carries himself. Lord, help me. I've got a long ways to
41:52go, but I've been working at it for 33 years, 32 and 11 months, according
41:58to my wife. She won't let me say 33 yet. Okay. Okay. All right,
42:03Sister Olga, read 1 Corinthians 12, 26. We're talking about how this follows
42:09up another verse we quote all the time, Jesus Christ. You follow your
42:15leaders, and then Paul says, Jesus Christ. The same yesterday, today, and
42:21forever. When you put that verse that we often grab and throw on many
42:27places, when you put it back in context where Jesus said it, he says
42:33it right after he said, follow them, don't rule over you. Study their conduct
42:39and imitate the way they live their life. Imitate their faith. Jesus Christ, the
42:45same yesterday, today, and forever. That's an interesting place to put it, Paul. But
42:51he did it. Alright, 1 Corinthians 12. Sister Elms, come play. It'll make
42:56me think that I'm almost done. 12:26. 12:26. This is talking about the
43:02church. Talking about the hospitality. The opposite of the best thing happening to
43:08you being a millstone tied around your neck. Listen, go ahead. So if
43:13one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. If one member is
43:19honored, all the members rejoice with it. Alright, does this really happen?
43:25Y'all got to be honest with me. You're in the house
43:31of God. Does this really happen? It does happen at spaces.
43:37You know, the Bible is not given to us because it
43:43already would happen. The Bible is given to us to set
43:49a landmark. This is what it looks like. And that's the
43:55reason this is where we've got to get a sense of
44:00holy hospitality. in our heart and in our mind and in our
44:06presentation. Because if you don't, if you treat one of these little ones, which
44:12the scripture's not talking about children there, it's talking about young converts, undeveloped disciples,
44:18people, listen, I love my granddaughter, Vienna June. Is she awake or is she
44:24asleep? She's in the nursery. That's where she needs to be because she's a
44:30wild hare. Listen, did y'all see her dancing Sunday? I don't know
44:36if you noticed the pop pop stomp. There was a pop
44:42pop. She went, it took me down. I thought, that's my
44:47granddaughter. But she still won't let me hold her. I got
44:53asked for permission just to get a kiss. And many times
44:59it's, no, many times it's because of her mother. It's her
45:05mother's training. But listen to me. This little girl is so
45:11saucy. She is born Tabasco or Mr. Pete's. Probably that.
45:17Is that what I'm, is it Mr. Pete's? Texas Pete's. There you
45:23go, Texas Pete's. My dad was born in Texas. I was born
45:28in California. That little girl, if I took her, I ate some
45:34meat today, okay? Protein, I had protein. If I would have asked,
45:39even now, with her little tiny teeth, which are becoming a powerful
45:45vice, if I ask her to eat that chunk of meat with
45:51me for dinner tonight, I would be asking too much for
45:57her and she's almost two. When will she be two, Tessa? See, almost two. Almost
46:02two. And yet I've watched saints, if somebody comes and gets the Holy Ghost and
46:08they're a year serving God and they haven't changed much, act like all of a
46:14sudden you're not anything and you didn't get a good dose of the Holy Ghost.
46:20The church isn't going to change. You're not the guardian of holiness. Do
46:26you think anybody who doesn't live holy is going to soar in heaven with
46:32the rapture? It's not going to be the Lord checking with you saying, are
46:38they allowed? So why don't, none of y'all are in here. I'm talking to
46:43only those online. Why don't y'all get off your high horse acting like you
46:49have the judgment's list? Let God be God. He still cleans people up and
46:55pulls them out of the Maori clay. The church isn't backsliding.
47:01not backsliding. The church will always have consecrated,
47:07separated, disbelieving people in it. And if it's
47:12a good church, it will always have saucy
47:18two-year-olds that can't eat a steak. And if
47:23you get frustrated with them, your best option
47:29is to get a collar with a chain
47:34and get a millstone. This is your best
47:39option. and hang that millstone on you
47:45and then somebody get you in a boat like that. And
47:50you can't jump out in the beach. You got to go
47:56out to the deep. And then whatever struggle it takes to
48:01get the millstone over the side first, it's your best option
48:07for them to throw you over like that. I'm not making
48:12the picture up. Jesus gave us the picture. So this church
48:18is walking in revival. Sunday morning smells and looks like
48:24straight from a rave party. You continue. This is what
48:30I love about this church. Y'all don't really need this
48:36rebuke. I'm just saying it prohibitively. You, brotherly love, continue.
48:42Let it continue. I love it when our praise singers
48:48come down and pray with people. I wish I could
48:54give the guitar player and all these guitar players wireless
49:00guitar so they can walk and praise God walking down
49:06the middle aisle while they play it.
49:12Would love to have the band stand in the
49:17foyer and just greet people on the way into
49:23church So they would shake the hands of the
49:29superstars. What am I saying? Let brotherly love continue
49:35and when you encounter it in the apostolic movement
49:41where the spirit of the Pharisee comes around instead
49:46of getting Get pitiful for them because they've got
49:52a millstone in their future Shall we stand little
49:58ones? are the most underdeveloped of the Lord's disciples.
50:04And the Lord said, if you hurt my undeveloped ones, it
50:09goes in the category of child abuse. And I don't tolerate
50:15that. Now this has been a lot of heaviness. And I
50:20did drink eggnog this morning. So if it got a little
50:26too heavy, let's blame the eggnog, okay? I bought it from
50:31Fresh Market. It was supposed to be good stuff. But
50:37when I went to open it, it did
50:43not have a typical screw-off cap. It had
50:49an untypical peel-off cap. And it bothered me.
50:54I thought, are they trying to impress me
51:00that this is special just because I got
51:06it at Fresh Market? So that's been in
51:12my spirit today. And if it came out
51:18in my preaching, please forgive me. To be
51:24like Jesus. To be like Jesus. Earth, I
51:29long for life's journey to glory.
51:48Why don't we