Music
Alright for our next song let's go to song number 192
Song number 192
Ring the bells of heaven
Song number 192
Ring the bells of heaven
There is joy today
For a soul returning from the wild
See the father meets him loud upon the way
Welcoming his very wondering child
Glory glory how the angels sing
Glory glory how the twelve hearts ring
With a ransomed army like a mighty sea
Healing forth the anthem of the free
Ring the bells of heaven
There is joy today
For the wandering now the deck in style
Yes the soul is rescued from his sinful way
And is born into a ransomed child
Glory glory how the angels sing
Glory glory how the loud hearts ring
Tis the ransomed army like a mighty sea
Healing forth the anthem of the free
Ring the bells of heaven
Spread the beast today
Angels swell and laugh triumphantly
Tell the joyful tidings buried far away
For a precious soul is born again
Glory glory how the angels sing
Glory glory how the loud hearts ring
Tis the ransomed army like a mighty sea
Healing forth the anthem of the free
On the front is our Bible memory passage
verse of the week Proverbs 31 verse 8
On the inside we have our service times and our soul winning times
The church wide soul winning times meet here at the building and our regional soul winning times meet all throughout the DFW area
Please continue to report your numbers to your soul winning tribe
If you don't have one you should so if you don't have a soul winning captain
Let me know after the service and I can get you helped out with that
Please be praying for our expecting ladies there on the top right definitely plenty to be keeping in prayer
And then of course the best part of our bulletin is we have
The Zermanos had their child Priscilla Zermano
And for those that didn't hear this morning she was born on 11-9-23
At 11-26 p.m. weighing 6 pounds 7 ounces
And was 19 and a half inches long
I believe Mrs. Milstead organized a meal train for them
So if you'd like to be a blessing to them and get their family a gift card or bring a meal to them
You can go ahead and speak with Mrs. Milstead on that
We do have our prayer list please be keeping all of these prayers
To the Lord throughout the week and if you'd have any that you'd like to add
Don't hesitate to email us we'd be happy to add that for you
Other than that we have a few upcoming events coming up
Just in a few weeks November 30th through December 2nd is our Mexican
Missions trip it's always a great trip every year it's been very fruitful every year
We've gone and usually how it works is we just stay on the American side of the border
Travel in daily to Mexico get lots of people saved
Head back to the United States and you know stay the night in the United States
Stay on the American side of the border
Stay the night in the United States and it's always a lot of fun getting
The good food in Mexico the good soul winning in Mexico great fellowship
I know for me when I moved here I had already been learning Spanish for about a decade
But I never really applied it that much in real life
Because of the fact that when I lived in the Northwest I wasn't using it that much
You don't have a lot of opportunities and after I moved to Texas when I went to Mexico
For the first time it just helped my Spanish sky rocket
Lots of people that are always learning Spanish in our church and if you want your Spanish to go to
The next level just go one time to Mexico and it will help you a lot
I know brother Marcel your first time to Mexico I feel like your Spanish sky rocketed after that trip
And that's how it was for me too so I definitely encourage you if you can make it out to that
That is a great thing to go to and there's a sign up sheet for that at the front
If you'd like to go December 8th we have our ladies Christmas party
From 6pm to 9pm December 11th
Is Christmas caroling and like Pastor Shelley always says this is like our one ministry to the rich
We love to go soul winning in the poor areas
We love to go Christmas caroling in the rich areas. Why? They're the only ones that decorate their houses with lights
So we've got to knock on the doors that have the best decorations
And that's who we go and sing to so that's always a great time
December 16th is our children's Christmas music recital
And I remember last time we did that in Watauga that was beautiful
I was really impressed by all the children and how much hard work they put into learning
Their instruments and they did a great job looking forward to that again
December 24th we have our cookie bake off after the evening
Service and December 31st we have our New Year's Eve
Party and a men's preaching night so there will be more details to come
On that and with that that's going to be all our announcements this evening we'll go ahead and sing
Psalm 139
Alright
Psalm 139
Everybody sing it out together on the first
Surely thou wilt slay the wicked
O God, depart from
me therefore ye bloody men
Depart from me therefore ye bloody men
Do not I hate them
O Lord that hate me
Do not I hate them
O Lord that hate me
And am not I green
O Lord that hate me
For they speak against me wickedly
And thy enemies
Take thy name in vain
And thy enemies
Take thy name in vain
Do not I hate them
O Lord that hate me
And am not I green
With those that rise up against me
Do not I hate them
O Lord that hate me
I hate them with perfect hatred
I count them my enemies
Do not I hate them
O Lord that hate me
Do not I hate them
And am not I green
With those that rise up against me
Do not I hate them
O Lord that hate me
Now as the offering plates are being passed around, go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 2.
That's Romans chapter number 2.
Now as the offering plates are being passed around, go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 2.
That's Romans chapter 2.
Now as the offering plates are being passed around, go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 2.
That's Romans chapter 2.
Now as the offering plates are being passed around, go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 2.
That's Romans chapter 2.
Now as the offering plates are being passed around, go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 2.
Romans chapter 2
The Bible reads
Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judges
For wherein thou judges't another, thou kedemos thyself
For thou that judges't do the same things
For we are sure that thou art etho,
the same things, but we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth
against them which commits such things. And think of thou this, O man, that
judges them which do such things and do us the same, that thou shalt escape
the judgment of God, or despises thou the riches of his goodness and
forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God
leadeth thee to repentance, but after thy hardness and impenitent heart
treasure us up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and
revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man
according to his deeds. To them who by patient continuance and well-doing
seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life, but unto them
that are contentious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness,
indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that
doeth evil of the Jew first and also of the gentile. But glory, honor
and peace to every man that worketh good to the Jew first and also to
the gentile, for there is no respect of persons with God, for as many as
have sinned without the law shall all shall perish without the law, and as many
as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law, for not the hearers
of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be
justified. For when the gentiles which have not the law do by nature
the things contained in the law, these having not the law are a law unto
themselves, which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their
conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing
or else excusing one another, and the day when God shall judge the secrets
of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. Behold, thou art called a Jew
and restest in the law and makest thy boast of God and knowest its will
and approvest the things that are more excellent being instructed out of
the law, and art confident that thou thyself are a guide of the blind, a
light of them which are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of
babes, which has the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law. Thou
therefore which teach us another, teachest thou not thyself? Thou that
preaches a man should not steal, dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man
should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? Thou that aborse idols,
dost thou commit sacrilege? Thou that makest thy boast of the law through
breaking the law dishonors thou God? For name of the God is blasphemed
among the Gentiles through you as it is written. For circumcision verily
profiteth if thou keepeth the law, but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy
circumcision is made uncircumcisioned. Therefore if the uncircumcision keep
the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for
circumcision? And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if
it fulfill the law, judge thee who by the letter and circumcision does
transgress the law? For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is
that circumcision which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew which is one
inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit and not in the
letter, whose praise is not of men but of God. Let us pray. Father thank you so
much for this great church and we thank you for all the souls that were
one to Christ today. We pray that you would fill Brother Oz with your
Holy Spirit, help him to preach with power and authority, and lay on his heart
the message that he's prepared for us. And we thank you so much for the
missions conference, Lord. We just pray that it would continue to create zeal
within people to have a heart for missions. And we love you, Jesus, and we
pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. All right, well we are here this
evening in Romans chapter 2, and I want to read a bit of this chapter
starting in verse number 3. The Bible says, And thinkest thou this, O man, that
judges them which do such things and doest the same, that thou shalt escape
the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and
forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth
thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasures
up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the
righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his
deeds, to them who by patient continuance and well-doing seek for
glory and honor and immortality, eternal life. But unto them that are
contentious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness,
indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth
evil, of the Jew first and also of the Gentile. But glory, honor and peace to
every man that worketh good, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. For
there is no respect of persons with God. So notice we see here that those
that obey the truth and that follow after righteousness, they're going to
have eternal life and they're going to have blessings in heaven. And those that
don't obey the truth, those that don't obey the gospel, what do they have to
look forward to? Tribulation and wrath and anguish on every soul to the Jew
first and also to the Gentile. And throughout this passage we see the
Jews and the Gentiles being compared and contrasted, one with another, saying
hey, if they believe, whether they're a Jew or Gentile, they're good to go,
they're saved. And if they don't believe, whether they're Jew or Gentile,
they're going to have the wrath of God. Why? The answer is in verse 11 where it
says, for there's no respect of persons with God. And the title of my
sermon this evening is Respect of Persons. Respect of Persons. The fact
that God does not respect persons is one of the intrinsic characteristics of
the Lord. You know, God is love. God is omnipresent. God is omniscient. God is
wrathful. God is terrible, the Bible says. And just as much as He is all of
those things, God is not a respecter of persons. And so this evening I want
to do a study and basically go through this idea of God not being a
respecter of persons. I have several thoughts I want to give you tonight
about that. But first, I'm going to give you, based on my study of the
Bible, what I believe respect of persons is. And by the end of this
sermon I think you'll agree with me. This is what I believe the Bible
teaches about respect of persons. Respect of persons is when your
judgments, thoughts, or actions towards someone are influenced by that person's
social status, prestige, familial relationship, or other external
characteristics. I'm going to say that one more time. Respect of persons is
when your judgments, thoughts, or actions towards someone are influenced by
that person's social status, prestige, familial relationship, or other external
characteristics. That may seem like a lot at first to hear, but I think once we go
through some examples you'll agree with what I'm saying there. But here's what
respecting of persons is not. Respecting of persons is not
necessarily treating everyone the same at all times. Because we see that
clearly God does not treat all people the same at all times. God does
treat people differently, but He's not a respecter of persons. So go to James
chapter number two, James chapter number two. And my first statement this evening
is that God doesn't want us to judge people based on their status, prestige,
or other external characteristics. Those are things that God does not want us
to judge people by. James chapter number two verse one says this,
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with
respect of persons. So here we have a clear command in the Bible saying not to
have the faith of Christ with respect of persons. Well what does that mean?
Well right in the next verse the Bible gives us an example of what that would
look like. Verse number two it says, For if there come unto your assembly,
that'd be a church, right? If there come unto your assembly or your church a
man with a gold ring in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in
vile raiment, and ye, notice, have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing,
and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place, and say to the poor,
Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool, are ye not then partial in
yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Notice what's going on
here. You have two people that come into church. One's rich, one's dressed
really nicely, maybe he has a lot of money, a lot of prestige, whatever, and the
other person's just poor, and you decide that you're gonna have the rich person
sit in a great honorable seat, and you're gonna be really nice and kind to
him, but you're just gonna kind of throw the poor guy in the back corner
and not treat him well. Is there anything wrong with treating the rich
person nice? No, but what's wrong here, what's wrong is treating the rich
person nice at the expense of the poor person based on nothing other than
their financial status, right? That's wrong. That would be respecting persons
and saying, you're rich, therefore I'm gonna treat you better, or you're white,
therefore I'm gonna treat you better, or you're a man, therefore I'm gonna
treat you better. That is not righteous judgment according to the
Bible. That would be being a respecter of persons, and notice verse 4, it says,
are you not then partial in yourselves, and have become judges of evil thoughts?
So notice, this is a harmful attitude to have. Evil in the Bible just means
harm, and it's saying when you judge this way, you're causing harm to
people, right? It's not fun to be judged off of something arbitrary like
your skin color or your financial status. That's not just according to the
Word of God. That is not how God judges people. Now go to 1st Corinthians
chapter number 5. This is not saying that you can never judge someone. We
talked a little bit about this this morning. Of course, we should judge, and we
kind of went through the first part of 1st Corinthians 5. Let's focus on some
verses towards the latter end. Look at verse number 11. It says, but now I have
written unto you not to keep company if any man that is called a
brother be a fornicator or covetous or an idolater or a railer or drunkard
or an extortioner with such and one know not to eat. Now notice, all of
these sins that are listed that Paul's saying, hey, I don't want you to keep
company with this person. Does it say anywhere on here if any man that is rich?
Does it say if any man that is poor? Is any man that is Mexican? Is any man
that is white? It doesn't say that, right? These are all actions that we
are making judgments on, not just arbitrary things like their skin color
or their financial status. Look at verse 12. For what have I to do to judge
them that are also without? Do you not judge them that are within? But them
that are without, God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that
wicked person. So notice, according to the Bible, some people are not welcome at
church. But it's not because one's poor and one's rich. It's because, hey, if a
rich man tries to come here, that's an extortioner, he would not be allowed
in the house of God. And if a poor man came in here that was righteous, he
would. If a poor man came into church and he was an idolater, he was a
brother that was saved and he was an idolater, he would not be allowed in
church. Why? Because he's poor? No, because he's an idolater, right? Our
judgments are based on the person's sins, the person's actions, not just who
they intrinsically are. That wouldn't make any sense. Go back to James,
chapter number two. James, chapter number two. Look at verse five. It says,
harken, my beloved brethren, hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich
in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he had promised to them that love him?
But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you and draw you before
the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the
which ye are called? If ye fulfill the royal law, according to the scripture,
thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well. But if ye have
respect of persons, ye commit sin and are convinced of the law as
transgressors. Notice we have a clear statement in the Bible saying,
if you respect persons, that is a sin. And he's even here kind of giving them
an admonishment, saying like, hey, be careful not to just think too highly
of rich people because that's kind of our human nature as we see someone who's
climbed the social ladder and they have a lot of money, they have a lot of
wealth, they have a lot of prestige, and our flesh just seems to naturally think
that that's a better person and that that is a more godly person than
someone who's poor. Now, sometimes that may be the case, but not every time.
And so it would be foolish to say this person's rich, therefore they're good or
this person's rich, therefore they're bad. No, rather, we should look at the
person's actions and look at their character to judge them, not just the
external factors of their life. Now turn to Colossians chapter number three
and I'll read for you 1 Peter 1 verse 17. The Bible says, and if you call on
the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's
work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear. So we notice here that
God the Father, He judges without respect of persons, and what does He judge?
He judges our works, not just external characteristics about us, He judges our
work, and what should that motivate us to do? It should motivate us to pass the
time of our sojourning here in fear. Why? Because the fact that God is not a
respecter of persons is both comforting and fearful, okay? It's comforting in the
fact that if I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, I'm going to heaven, it
doesn't matter where I was born, doesn't matter how much money I have,
doesn't matter what skin color, doesn't matter what your gender is, no matter
who you are, when you trust in Christ, you can take it to the bank that
you're going to heaven when you die. And praise God for that, and that should
comfort us. But you know what? It should also terrify us that God is not going to
look at you and think that you're something special because of where you
were born, because of your skin color, because of how much money you have, and
excuse your sin, but rather He's always going to judge righteously.
That's a blessing, and it's also scary at the same time, right? That, hey,
praise God I can get saved no matter what, but also, man, I'm not so special
that God's going to overlook judging me, and you're not so special that God's
going to overlook judging you because you're an American, or because you have a
lot of money, or because you're well liked by other people. None of that
stuff matters with God. Why? Because He's not a respecter of persons. Let's talk
about this some more. Colossians 3 verse 22 says, servants, obey in all
things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service, as men
pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. And whatsoever ye do, do it
heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men, knowing that of the Lord ye shall
receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ. Hey, isn't it
a blessing that no matter who you are, when you serve the Lord Christ, you
receive the reward of the inheritance, right? When you're saved, it doesn't
matter what color, what nation, any of that, that is a great blessing that
when you serve God, we receive the reward of the inheritance. Look at verse
25, but here's the scary side of the coin, he that doeth wrong shall receive
for the wrong which he hath done, and there is no respect of persons. Again,
there's two sides of this, the blessing that whoever serves God,
there's no entry limit to serving God, anyone can serve God, but the scary
part is, is that God is going to judge you, you are going to receive for the
wrong that you do, there is no respect of persons with God. There's no white
privilege with God, there is no Texas privilege with God, there is no pretty
privilege. I've heard of this recently, I saw some video that was giving women
interview tips for jobs, and it was telling them that they should try to
look as beautiful as possible for job interviews, which is honestly it's a
pretty good idea, but he was saying the reason why is because women have
pretty privilege, and honestly that's true, that is true, women do, but not
before God. God doesn't care how what you look like, God's not gonna
excuse a woman's sins because she's beautiful, that doesn't matter to the
Lord, he is completely without respect of persons. Go to Ephesians chapter
number six, Ephesians chapter number six, and let's look at verse number
five, similar passage to what we just read, says, servants, be obedient to them
that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in
singleness of your heart as unto Christ, not with eye service as men
pleasers, but as the servants of Christ doing the will of God from the
heart, with good will doing service as to the Lord and not to men, knowing,
notice this, that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he
receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. Notice it does not matter what
your position in this world is, what your status is, whether you're bond,
whether you're free, you will receive blessing from God when you do service
for him. And that is a great blessing that you can hang your hat on and
know for a fact. Verse nine says, any masters do the same things unto
them, meaning having goodwill towards them, being the servants here, for
bearing threatening, knowing that your master also is in heaven, neither is
their respect of persons with him. So let's say you're a manager or a boss on
a job site. Don't think that just because you are the boss in that
situation that God will overlook your sins. Why? Because there's no
respect of persons with God. You know, God would have more respect for a
servant that obeys his boss and that works really hard than for a boss that
was cheating his employees of money, that was threatening them, that was
being a wicked person and blaspheming God. Just because that person's the
boss doesn't mean that God is going to overlook that person's sins,
right? And vice versa. Hey, if you have a really good boss and he's
honoring God and he's good to his servants, but the servant is lazy, he
back talks his boss, he doesn't do a good job, God's going to be angry
with that servant, not because of his position or anything, it's because of
his actions, because he's being wicked. That is why God would punish that
person. Why? Because God is not a respecter of persons. God is not going to
judge someone because of their skin color, their economic status, any of
those things. That is not what goes into the account when God is judging.
Number two, respecting persons leads to injustice. Go to Leviticus
chapter number 19. Respecting persons leads to injustice. Leviticus chapter
number 19. Look at verse number 13. Leviticus 19 and 13 says, thou
shalt not defraud thy neighbor, neither rob him, the wages of him that
is hired, shall not abide with thee all night until the morning. Thou
shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but
shalt fear thy God, I am the Lord. Ye shall do no unrighteousness in
judgment. Thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the
person of the mighty, but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy
neighbor. Notice, God is wanting us to judge righteously. He doesn't want us
to respect the person of the poor or esteem the person who's rich. Rather,
he just wants us to do what's right no matter what. And when you are a
respecter of persons, what can we can infer from that? It's that it
would cause us to be unjust. It would cause injustice to be brought in
that situation. Now, I wonder if this ever happens in our country. I wonder
if prosecutors and judges are ever presented criminal evidence against
someone that they pursue, they choose not to pursue because the
person's in the club. Maybe a guy like Hunter Biden. Okay, that
would be someone respecting person saying, Oh, no problem. You have
all this filth and disgusting crimes on your laptop and you're
breaking gun laws and you're just committing all these crimes. No
problem because your last name is Biden. What is that? That's being
a respecter of persons. Oh, you're the family of an esteemed family
in our country. You're the family member of the President of the
United States. Therefore, you get a pass. What is that? That is
being a respecter of persons. You know, I wonder if we have
this in the workplace where we have affirmative action in many
workplaces where people want to hire a certain amount of black
people, a certain amount of Asians, a certain amount of women.
What is that? That is being a respecter of persons. And as much
as the left likes to complain about racism, they're the ones
that are truly racist because they're not hiring people based
on their skills or their character. They're hiring them
based on their skin color. What can be more racist than
that? And just because you're hiring a black person doesn't
mean that it's not racist. Racism can happen against any
race, not just against black people and anyone that would
judge that way is a respecter of persons. Now, several weeks
ago, the communist senator of California died and went to
hell, Dianne Feinstein. Praise God for that. That wicked
woman that said that if it was up to her, she would
round up every single American's guns if she could.
Praise God this witch is dead. But when she died, the
governor of California pledged to replace her with a
qualified person, a person that cares about the
Constitution of the United States, a person that wants to
serve their constituents. No, with a black woman. Gavin
Newsom, the governor of California, when she died, said
I pledge to replace her with a black woman. What is
that? That is racism at its finest. That is being a
respecter of persons. Let me read this from CBS
News. It says earlier this month on NBC's Meet the
Press, Gavin Newsom said he would abide by his pledge
to appoint a black woman to Feinstein's post while
adding that he hoped he'd never have to make that
decision. Wow. And I don't know if since then he's
gone through that. Does anyone know has she been
replaced yet? Who cares, right? It's California
senator. No one cares, right? That is being a
respecter of persons. That is being a racist. I'll
read for you. You can go ahead and turn to Proverbs
chapter 24. I'll read for you Deuteronomy 16, 19. It
says this, Thou shalt not rest judgment. To rest
means to twist or to pervert. Thou shalt not rest
judgment. Thou shalt not respect persons. Notice
these things are always connected. Being a
righteous judge, not respecting persons. Neither
take a gift for a gift doth blind the eyes of
the wise and pervert the words of the
righteous. Notice if someone is going to be a
judge, if someone is going to be in a position
of power or authority, it has to be someone that
is not a respecter of persons. Why? Because if
they are, they're going to twist judgment. They're
going to pervert judgment. They may do things
like, oh, I don't know, accept bribes. Here's
another story I'd like to read. Texas judge
who accepted bribe money in beer boxes is
headed to prison. A former state district
judge in South Texas has been sentenced to five
years in federal prison after being found
guilty of accepting cash bribes in exchange for
favorable court rulings. Between 2008 and 2016,
he conspired with an attorney to accept
bribes in exchange for favorable judicial
consideration on criminal cases in his courtroom,
said the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern
District of Florida. So think about this. For
eight years, this judge was sitting in a
courtroom judging criminal cases where people's
future is at stake. I mean, didn't we learn
this morning that people are falsely accused of
things all the time, right? So people are
sitting in a courtroom where their future is at
stake. They could go to jail for 10, 20, 30
life for whatever crimes they're being accused
of. And this judge was accepting cash bribes
from the attorneys to give them a favorable
verdict. Talk about wickedness. How sick is
that? That you're willing to just destroy
people's lives. But we have to realize this
is what people are like, that are respectors of
persons. And when you see someone that is a
respecter of persons, that is a dangerous
person. That is a person you have to know and
realize, man, this person could be capable of
some pretty wicked stuff. I mean, to be willing
to send people to prison who may or may not
have even been guilty just for money. That's
incredibly wicked to me. Second Chronicles 19,
you could say there in Proverbs 24, Second
Chronicles 19, seven says, Wherefore now let
the fear of the Lord be upon you, take heed
and do it. For there is no iniquity with the
Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor
taking of gifts. Hey, praise God for that. When
God judges, there's no iniquity with him.
There's no respect of persons with him. And
he's not taking any bribes. He doesn't need
your stupid money. He doesn't need your
accolades or anything like that. God is always
going to judge righteously. And when
you're on the Lord's side, that can give you
a lot of comfort saying, Hey, you know what?
God knows I'm right in this situation. And
the righteous judge is on my side. That's
exactly how it was with steadfast going
through all of our evictions and lawsuits.
You know, I never once had a doubt of who
was right in that situation. And the
righteous judge never had a doubt of who was
right in that situation. And we were able to
take comfort and stand on that fact. Now,
Proverbs 24 23 Proverbs 24 23 says this.
These things also belong to the wise. It is
not good to have respect of persons in
judgment. Flip over to Proverbs 28 21.
Proverbs 28 21 says to have respect of
persons is not good. Notice this for for a
piece of bread. That man will transgressed
again. Like I said, when you notice someone
that is a respecter of persons, the Bible
says, Hey, that guy's ready to send that
guy's ready to transgress for a piece of
bread. And so realize that's the type of
person that would turn on you that would
turn on your pastor turn on your church,
someone that's a respecter of persons. You
know, being a respecter of persons causes
a lot of harm in this world. You know,
sometimes you'll see this even in church
where a pastor will just ordain his son who's
not even qualified just because he's the
son. And what that happens is that ends up
destroying the work of God. And here's the
thing. As a father, you can't really
abstract yourself enough in judgment in that
situation towards your own child. You're
always going to be respecter of persons
towards your own child. That's why it's
really just, in my opinion, not a good
idea for sons to be ordained by their
fathers, because it's just a dangerous
situation. And the house of God is too
important to just be giving it into the
hands of someone that was just only
approved by dad or only approved by mom.
I think that's dangerous. I don't think
that's wise at all. You know, and to
avoid being a respecter of persons, you
know, these are some questions that you
should ask yourself to help you realize,
are you being a respecter of persons? So
think about this. You know, let's say
that someone said something wrong. Let's
not even give a specific example. Someone
said something wrong. Think this. If my
best friend had said that, how would I
feel about that? If the person that I
don't really like that much said that,
how would I feel about that? The answer
should be the same for both. And if
it's not, then you're being a
respecter of persons. Well, if my best
friend had done that, if my best
friend had gone there, if my best
friend had drank that, had smoked that,
had done that, how would I feel? Okay,
if someone that I'm not really close
to had said that, done that, gone
there, how would I feel? And if those
answers aren't the same, then you need
to check your heart and realize that
you're probably not judging
righteously. If you're saying, well, if
my friend said that, I might just let
it go. Okay, well then maybe you
should let it go for the other
person too. If you're gonna show mercy
to your friend, maybe you should show
mercy to someone who's not really your
friend. Or if you say, hey, my
friend said that and that was wrong
and it needs to be called out, well
then, you could apply that to the
person who's not necessarily your best
friend too, and that wouldn't be
being a respecter of persons. That
would be judging righteously. And
think about this, when situations
happen, think, if I had done that,
how would I expect to be treated?
That also would help you. If you
could honestly look at yourself and
say, you know what, if I had made
that mistake, if I had done that,
I should be called out. Well, then
it's okay to call that person out
because you're not being a respecter
of persons. But if you're saying,
well, if I said that, I would want
people to show me mercy. Well, then
maybe you should show mercy to the
person that said something dumb to
you, right? These are good
questions to ask yourself to check
your heart to see, are you being
a respecter of persons? You know,
Nathan did this to King David.
Nathan kind of checked David's
heart. Go to 2 Samuel, chapter
number 12. We all know the great
sin that David committed, committing
adultery with Bathsheba, having
Uriah the Hittite murdered in
battle, terrible sin. Look at 2
Samuel, chapter number 12, verse 1.
And the Lord sent Nathan unto
David, and he came unto him and
said unto him, he's going to give
him a parable now, there were
two men in one city, the one
rich and the other poor. The
rich man had exceeding many
flocks and herds, but the poor
man had nothing save one little
ewe lamb, which he had bought
and nourished up, and it grew up
together with him and with his
children, it did eat of his own
meat and drank of his own cup
and lay in his bosom and was
unto him as a daughter. And
there came a traveler under the
rich man, and he spared to take
of his own flock and of his own
herd to dress for the wayfaring
man that was come unto him, but
took the poor man's lamb and
dressed it for the man that
was come to him. And notice
this, and David's anger was
greatly kindled against the man.
And he said to Nathan, as the
Lord liveth, the man that hath
done this thing shall surely
die. So when David is judging
other people here, notice you
have the rich man and the
poor man. Who's the rich man?
King David. Who's the poor
man? Uriah the Hittite. Uriah
the Hittite has one wife that
he loves and cherishes, Bath
Sheba. David has tons of
wives. And what does he do? He
doesn't take his own wives that
he already has. He takes the
one wife that Uriah the Hittite
had and took her from Uriah,
then had Uriah killed. Okay,
that's who, that's what this
parable represents. But when
David's not applying it to
himself, how does he feel? He's
wrathful. He says, Whoa, this
person needs to be put to
death. And he's talking about
animals here. How much more
adultery, how much more
someone's actual wife, right?
But, you know, David does
have a good heart because
notice this in verse seven.
And Nathan said to David, thou
art the man. Man, that's got
to be tough to hear for
David right there. That's got
to be, that's got to hit him
in the gut. That's got to
be humbling to him. He says,
Whoa, I was just getting
angry. I was saying this
person should be killed. And
that person's meat, Nathan the
prophet said. Thus saith the
Lord God of Israel, I
anointed thee king over Israel
and I delivered thee out of the
hand of Saul. But notice
David's reaction. And David
said unto Nathan, I have
sinned against the Lord. And
Nathan said unto David, the
Lord also hath put away thy
sin. Thou shalt not die. You
know, even though David did
something extremely wicked here,
once he applied the situation
to himself, he said, You
know what? You're right. I
have sinned. I messed up,
right? He didn't try to
excuse it. He didn't try to
justify it. He said that he
had sin, and he truly was
repentant here, right? And so
that is a good test. Think
about this story. When you're
dealing with sin or just
different situations in your
life and you're judging other
people, put yourself in that
position, right? Have you
been guilty of something that
this person is doing before?
You know, maybe right now
you're currently guilty of
something that you're judging
other people for. You know,
that's what Matthew chapter seven
in essence is talking about of
not judging hypocritically. So
that's some good tests you can
do to check your heart on
that. Let's go to Acts
chapter number 20, Acts
chapter number 20. My third
statement tonight is this.
God can use you mightily,
regardless of your status,
prestige or other external
characteristics. Why is
that? Because God is not a
respecter of persons, and
that is a great blessing for
us. Look at Acts chapter
number 20 verse 34. The
Bible says, Then Peter opened
his mouth and said of a
truth. I perceive that God is
no respecter of persons, but
in notice every nation he
that fear with him and
work with righteousness is
accepted with him. So notice
again, what makes you
accepted with God here is
your actions when you work
righteousness, when you fear
him, not just arbitrarily what
nation you live in. And
today, so many Baptists are
so carnally minded and are
such respectors of persons
that they think that God to
is a respecter of persons.
And they want to say that a
bunch of people that hate
the Lord Jesus Christ that
reject Christianity are
somehow special and are
somehow except accepted with
God for the sole purpose of
that. They live in Israel.
What is that? That's being a
respecter of persons. And
sorry, you're not going to
blaspheme God by making God
a respecter of persons.
That is blasphemy. You're
accusing God of being a
respecter of persons by
preaching all this zionistic
nonsense. It's garbage. It's
not what the Bible teaches.
And it is the exact opposite
of what God truly is. God
has always never been a
respecter of persons and he
never will be good. A first
Samuel chapter number 17.
Let's think of some examples
of men that were greatly
used of God. And let's think
about how different these men
were. Were they all rich?
Were they all a certain
skin color? Were they all
of a certain nation? Well,
let's see, let's think
about King David here. This
guy was a child who was a
keeper of sheep that was
used by God to kill the
meanest, biggest, baddest
Philistine that there was,
Goliath. Was it because of
something special about
David, something about his,
his hairstyle or how much
money he had? No, let's
look at what the Bible
says here. First Samuel 17
verse 41. And the
Philistine came on and
drew near unto David. And
the man that bear the
shield went before him. And
when the Philistine looked
about and saw David, he
disdained him for he was
but a youth and ruddy and
of a fair countenance. And
the Philistine said unto
David, am I a dog that
thou comest to me with
staves? And the Philistine
cursed David by his gods.
And the Philistine said to
David, come to me and I
will give thy flesh unto
the fowls of the air
and to the beasts of the
field. Then said David to
the Philistine, thou comest
to me with a sword and
with a spear and with a
shield. But I come to thee
in the name of the Lord of
hosts, the God of the
armies of Israel, whom
thou hast defied. This
day will the Lord
deliver thee into mine
hand and I will smite
thee and take thine head
from thee. And I will
give the carcasses of the
host of the Philistines
this day unto the
fowls of the air and to
the wild beasts of the
earth, that all the
earth may know that
there is a God in
Israel. Was it that that
God used David because
there was something
special about him? Or did
God use David because
he was giving the glory,
honor and praise to God?
Did God use David because
of the nation he was
born in? Or did God use
David because David's
heart was this, that all
the earth may know that
there is a God in
Israel? You know, I take
comfort in the fact that
me personally, if I make
my life's mission and
if you make your life's
mission, that all the
earth may know the name
of the Lord, if you make
it your goal in life,
that all of the earth
knows God, I promise
you God wants to use
you regardless of your
skin color, regardless
of how much money you
make, regardless of your
position, regardless of if
you're a stay at home
mom or a day laborer
or an accountant or a
preacher. If that is
your goal in life, if
that is your true
heart's desire, God is
ready to use you. God
is ready to use you.
That's why God has used
the, think about the
great men of our day,
right? Think about, I
think about the man that
got me saved, Pastor
Roger Jimenez, a guy
whose family came from
Venezuela with no money,
with no accolades, with
no prestige, but yet look
at the great work that
has been done through
Verity Baptist Church
through Pastor Roger
Jimenez, because there's
anything special about
him? Is it because he's
six foot four? No, it's
not. But you want to
know what it is? It's
because Pastor Jimenez
has a desire that all
the earth may know the
name of God. And because
of that, you know, there's
churches started in
Vancouver and Boise and
they, Pastor Thompson
started just about every
other church that exists
right now. You know, we
got Verity Manila and
they just started a
church in Poland and
Europe. And there's all
this great work being
done. And I could, I
could say the same
thing about Steadfast
Baptist Church. I could
say the same thing
about Faithful Word Baptist
Church, about all
these churches that are
being used by God.
They're being used
because the men that
are leading those
churches have a desire
for the name of God to
be glorified, not for
their own pleasure, not
for their own wealth, not
for their own glory. No,
they're doing it for
the glory of God. And
because of that, you
could see God's blessing
on it. You could see
God, God's hand on
those men and on the
churches that they're
leading because it's
their true desire. They're
men after God's own
heart, just like King
David. There's nothing
necessarily special about
servants of God in the
flesh. What's special is
that their desire is
sincere. That's one of
the true marks of a real
man of God is that their
desire is for God to be
glorified, not for their
own selfish reasons.
Think about another man.
Go to Amos chapter
number seven, Amos
chapter number seven.
You know what that
encourages me because
that makes me think,
hey, if my desire is
sincere, God can use me
too. Hey, and if your
desire is sincere, God
can use you too, no
matter what. Amos
chapter number seven. Was
there anything special
about this guy in the
flesh? Look at verse
fourteen. Then answered
Amos and said to
Amaziah, I was no
prophet, neither was I a
prophet's son, but I
was in Herdman and a
gather of sycamore
fruit. This guy was a
cattle rancher and a
farmer. And God used
him and inspired him of
the Holy Spirit to pen
down one of the words,
one of the books of
the Bible. I mean,
that's a pretty amazing
work, right? And why
did God do it? Because
there's something
special about him. No,
he was just a farmer. He
was just a cattleman. But
you know what? He had a
sincere heart of wanting
to serve God. And that
is why God used Amos.
Think about the
disciples of Christ. Go
to Matthew chapter number
four, Matthew chapter
number four. You know,
the disciples of Christ
were just blue collar
men. We're just men
working normal day jobs,
going about their life,
working hard, just
being normal people. They
weren't rich. There's
nothing special about
them. Look at verse
number 18 of Matthew
chapter four and Jesus
walking by the sea of
Galilee, saw two
brethren. Simon called
Peter and Andrew, his
brother casting a net
into the sea for they
were fishers, just
simple fishermen, simple
fishermen, verse 19. And
he says unto them,
follow me and I will
make you fishers of
men. And they straight
way left their nets and
followed him. Notice they
didn't ask, Hey, Jesus,
what's the compensation
plan like? How much are
you going to pay me?
Where am I going to
live? What are all the
tasks that I'm going to
be doing? No, you could
tell that their heart
was sincere because
Jesus gave them a
command and straight way
they followed it. They
said, yes, Lord,
whatever you want. You
want me to drop my
nets right now? You
want me to quit my job
right now? You want me
to close up my business
right now in the
service of you? No
problem. Yes, sir. It's
already done. That's
the type of men that
the disciples were. It's
pretty amazing when you
think about it. Verse
21 and going on from
this, he saw two other
two brethren, James, the
son of Zebedee and John,
his brother in a ship
with Zebedee, their
father mending their
nets. And he called
them and they
immediately left the
ship and their father
and followed him.
Notice they did the
same thing. No
questions asked. It says
straight way about the
first two. It says
immediately about the
second two. I mean,
these men got the
command from Jesus and
they just immediately did
it. Why? Because their
heart's desire was
sincere. Their heart's
desire was sincere. And
Jesus and his foreknowledge
knew that about these
men. That's why he chose
them. He didn't choose
them because he'd choose
them because they were
Israelites. He didn't
choose them because
there's anything special
about them. No, Jesus
Christ is not a respecter
of persons. Rather, he
knew their hearts and
he knew that their
hearts were sincere. And
that is why he chose
them. And so think
about this. It doesn't
matter what your station
in life. If you have a
desire to serve God, God
can use you. You know,
you say I'm a stay at
home mom. Can you raise
the next generation of
soul winners? God can
still use you. You say,
hey, I've got tons of
health problems. I can't
really go out soul
winning. Can you pray
for those that are out
soul winning? Can you
pray for more churches
to be started? Can you
pray for more pastors to
be raised up? Can you
pray for more missions
trips? Hey, you know,
you can't go out
physically soul winning.
Can you give money to
the local New Testament
church and give us the
power and the tools and
the equipment to go out
and preach the gospel
to a lost and dying
world? Yes, you can. You
say, hey, I'm a young
man. I'm just starting in
life. I don't have much
skills. Hey, you got two
you got a pair of legs
that work. Can you get
over here and go soul
winning with us? Can you
come knock some doors
with us? Can you be a
silent partner? Yes, you
can. You don't even
have to know how to
preach the gospel. You
could be a silent
partner and you just
come with someone that
knows how to preach the
gospel and you could
double our efforts. God
can use you greatly no
matter what situation
you're in. You know,
you say, hey, I'm old.
I'm old. I don't have
much time left in this
life. I don't have a lot
of energy. I don't have
the ability to go out
soul winning all the
time. Hey, you know
what you do have? You
have a lot of wisdom.
You have a lot of
wisdom. You could teach
and train the next
generation in the ways
of God. You could be an
encouragement to us
younger people and you
could still do all those
other things we talked
about prayer, giving
financially to the
church. You know, if
you have a sincere
heart, you don't have
to be a pastor to
serve God. You don't
have to be a missionary
to serve God. Look,
praise God for those
people. We need a lot
more of them, but don't
think that just because
you're sitting in the
pew tonight that you're
not essential and
important to God's plan
because you are. And so
don't ever get just a
lackadaisical attitude
where your heart's not
really in it. No, keep
your heart on fire for
God because God can use
you no matter where you
are. Number four, God is
not a respecter of
persons, but he is a
respecter of positions.
God's not a respecter of
persons, but he is a
respecter of positions.
You know, some people
get the wrong mentality
where I kind of
caveated at the beginning
of the sermon where I
said being a respecter
of persons does not mean
that you treat all
people the same all the
time. Okay. And God
does not treat all
people the same all the
time. God is not a
respecter of persons,
but he is a respecter of
positions. Now go ahead
and go to Galatians
chapter number six,
Galatians chapter number
six. You know, I've
even heard bad
preaching of guys
calling out pastors
saying things like, I
don't care if this
person is a pastor and I
don't care if they've
done great things for
God and I don't care if
they're saved and then
they just preach against
that pastor. But let
me tell you something.
I care about all three
of those things and so
does God. God does care
if someone's saved. God
does care if someone
does great things for
God and God does care
if someone's a pastor
and we should not just
flippantly disrespect
positions authority that
God has ordained. Now
here's the first
position that I respect
and that is the position
of a Christian, the
position of a saved
believer. I do not
believe that I should
treat the unsaved
world on the same level
as my brothers and
sisters in Christ. I
believe that brothers
and sisters in Christ
should be treated better,
should be esteemed
higher, should be more
highly respected. You
say, I don't know if
this sounds right. I'll
prove it to you.
Galatians chapter number
six, look at verse 10.
As we there, as we
have therefore
opportunity, let us do
good unto all men.
But notice this,
especially unto them
who are of the
household of faith. Notice
God says, hey, if you
have the opportunity to
do good unto someone,
great, do that. But
especially for your
brothers and sisters in
Christ. So what does
that mean? It means you
should treat your
brothers and sisters in
Christ better, respect
them more, esteem them
higher in your heart
than just some random
unsaved person. Now,
does that mean that we
hate unsaved people?
No, we dedicate our
life to getting them
saved, to preaching them
the gospel. But here's
the thing, if it comes
down to I have either
have enough time, money
and energy to help Joe
unsaved or any of my
brothers in Christ, I'm
choosing my brother in
Christ a hundred times
out of a hundred. That's
not being a respecter of
persons. That's being a
respecter of positions.
And that's what God said.
Go to Exodus chapter
number two, Exodus
chapter number two. Now,
as we read this, keep
in mind that in the Old
Testament, the nation of
Israel was God's chosen
nation. This was God's
people at the time of
the Old Testament. Now,
notice Exodus chapter
number two, verse 23,
and it came to pass in
process of time that the
King of Egypt died and
the children of Israel,
God's people, sighed by
reason of the bondage.
And they cried and their
cry came up unto God by
reason of the bondage.
Verse 24, and God heard
their groaning and God
remembered his covenant with
Abraham, with Isaac, with
Isaac and with Jacob. And
God looked upon the
children of Israel. Don't
miss this. And God had
respect unto them. Now,
how many times have we seen
throughout the Bible that
God's not a respected
persons, not a respected
persons? There's no
respected persons with
God. It's been a lot,
right? It's not just one
or two verses. It's
several verses. But yet
here in the Old
Testament, when God's
people cried unto him, it
says that he had respect
unto them. What does
that mean? It means that
God has a respect for
the position of a believer
in Christ. God has
respect for us as his
children, right? Just how
my kids, I esteem in a
higher regard than your
kids. No offense. Doesn't
mean I don't like your
kids. Doesn't mean that I
don't want the best for
your children. It means
that if it comes down to
me loving, helping and
supporting my kids or
yours, I'm going to
pick mine a hundred
times out of a hundred.
And God, the Bible
clearly says, had respect
unto the children of
Israel. God is a
respecter of position.
Go to First Timothy,
chapter number five,
First Timothy, chapter
number five. And if it
was that way in the
Old Testament, you better
believe it's that way in
the New Testament. You
better believe that God
has respect for
Christians. We are his
children. God loves us.
God, esteem's us higher
than the world, not
because of our skin
color, not because of
our nation, but because
we've put our faith in
his son, Jesus Christ.
That's why that's the
only reason here's
another position that I
have respect for. And
that is the position of
a pastor, an elder, a
Bishop. This is a
position that we should
have respect for. We
shouldn't flippantly say,
I don't care if this
person's a pastor. You
should care if someone's
a pastor, especially if
they're a good pastor,
especially if they're
saved and doing great
things for God. Of
course you should. Look
at First Timothy 5, 1.
It says, rebuke not an
elder, but entreat him
as a father. And Pastor
Shelley just preached
great about this. This
is very clear that an
elder is to be treated
differently than
everyone else. You're not
supposed to just rebuke
an elder. You're
supposed to entreat him
like you would talk to
your father, which also
implies what? You should
treat your father
differently than everyone
else. Why? Because God's
not a respected person,
but is a respecter of
positions. And God does
respect the office of a
Bishop. Look at verse 17.
Let the elders that rule
well. So here's even
this is an exclusive
class within an exclusive
class. You have elders.
Then there's those that
rule well. I mean, this
is even more exclusive
right here. It says, let
the elders that rule
well be counted worthy
of double honor,
especially they who
labor in the word and
doctrine. Notice again,
why are these people
being preferred? Why are
they being esteemed? Is
it because of their
external characteristics?
Is it because they're
white? Is it because
they're Americans? Because
they're Texans? No, it's
because that they're
pastors and it's because
they're ruling well. And
it's because they're
laboring in the word
and it's because they're
laboring in doctrine.
Because of all those
things, God has respect
for that office. And so
should we. If we have a
pastor, and we do, thank
God, who is ruling the
church well, who is
studying the word of
God, who's laboring in
the word, who's
laboring in doctrine,
who's leading us in
soul winning missions
trips, that man is
worthy of double honor.
And don't ever think
that is acceptable to
disrespect Pastor Shelley
or any man of God. You
know, and let me just
help some of you that
are newer to
Christianity. You're
supposed to call the
pastor Pastor Shelley.
Don't refer to him as
Shelley. Don't refer to
him as John. Don't
refer to him as Brother
Jonathan. You call him
Pastor Shelley. Okay.
And obviously, when
people are babes in
Christ and they first
come into church, you
don't have to just rip
someone's head off that
calls them that. But
eventually you should be
like, Hey, brother, just
so you know, this is
an important position in
the church. This is
someone worthy of
respect and you should
call him pastor. Don't
just flippantly call
Pastor Shelley any names
you want. No, he's
the pastor of the church.
You call him Pastor
Shelley. You know, you
go to Verdi Baptist
Church. It's Deacon
Oliver. It's Deacon
Gonzalez. It's Evangelist
Urbanic. It's Evangelist
Fur. You know, give
these men the respect
that they're due, not
because there's anything
special just about them
intrinsically. It's
because it's special
because of the work
that they're doing in
the office that they
hold. Look at verse
number 18. It says for
the scripture, say it
thou shalt not muzzle
the ox treadeth out
the corn. The laborer
is worthy of his
reward against an
elder. Receive not an
accusation, but before
two or three witnesses.
So again, we're seeing
more instruction of how
to treat elders for
sake of time. Let's go
ahead and talk about
another position that I
respect for. And then I
believe God has
respect for go to
Ephesians chapter number
five. That is the
position of a husband,
the position of a
husband. Now it's not
that ladies, whoever
your husband is, is
some super special guy.
Although you better say
he is okay. Whether or
not he is, you better
tell everyone he's the
most special guy that's
ever existed. All right.
But regardless of if you
truly feel that way, he
deserves respect because
he's your husband. Let
me show you that. Look
at Ephesians chapter five
verse 22. Wives submit
yourselves unto your own
husbands as unto the
Lord. This is something
the world really, really
hates. This is one of
those verses in the
Bible that makes liberals
head spin. Feminist
face starts turning red.
They start squealing
inside. But what does the
Bible say? That women
are to submit to your
own husbands as unto the
Lord. The same amount of
authority as the Lord
Jesus Christ has over us
is the same amount of
authority that a husband
has over his wife. And
you are not being a
respecter of persons by
respecting your husband.
You're being a respecter
of position. And God
wants you to be. God
wants you to respect
your husband. Ladies, God
wants you to obey your
husband. And the Bible
even goes farther of how
much he wants you to
obey. In Ephesians chapter
five, it goes on to say
in all things. In all
things. It's not just a
position of authority
that's limited in scope.
You know, like that of a
pastor, his authority is
limited in scope. It's
limited to the house of
God. The pastor is not
going to come to your
house and rule over your
house, right? But a
husband, his authority is
not limited. His
authority is all
authority. Everything as
unto the Lord. It's
getting quiet in here,
but I'm telling you, this
is what the Bible says.
Ephesians chapter number
six, Ephesians chapter
number six. Here's
another position that I
respect and that God
respects. That is the
position of a parent. The
position of a parent.
Ephesians six verse one
says this, children obey
your parents in the Lord
for this is right. So
notice again, parents,
just by virtue of their
position over their
children, they have a
certain amount of respect
and authority given to
them. Why? Because
they're mom and dad.
That's why. And you
know what? The Bible
doesn't teach this
communistic doctrine that
children belong to
communities, that
children belong to the
government. No, they
belong to mom and dad
and mom and dad are the
ones that you have to
listen to. You don't
have to listen to
other people's moms and
dads kids. You know, in
the house of God,
obviously there's rules
set in place and you
need to obey those
rules. But when it
comes down to who
you're really under,
it's mom and dad. And
you should respect mom
and dad for the simple
reason that they are
your parents. They
brought you into this
world. They pay your
bills, they feed you,
they clothe you, they
pray for you. They
love you. And you
ought never, ever to
disrespect your parents.
It's wicked as hell. And
parents, you are doing
your children a disservice
if you allow them to
disrespect you. You're
doing them a disservice.
It's unloving to them
because you're
hardening their hearts.
They're just thriving in
their rebellion to you.
You know what that's
going to carry over? It's
going to carry over to
their rebellion to God,
right? When you
discipline your
children, when you
make them respect you,
when you make them
obey you, they're much
more likely to respect
and obey God Almighty
God. And so don't
ever let these feminists,
these liberals, these
communists tell you
that spanking your kids
is child abuse, that
correcting your kids is
wrong. No, not
correcting your kids is
wrong. Sparing the
rod according to the
Bible is hating your
son. The most loving
thing you could do for
them is to force them,
force them to obey and
respect you. Don't let
them mouth off to you.
Don't let them
disrespect you. Here's
another position that I
respect, and this one
might be a little more
unpopular, but I respect
the position of the
government. Why? Because
this is a God
instituted organization.
Doesn't mean everyone's
good in it. Doesn't
mean that the things
that they're doing is
good, but it does mean
that they have
legitimate authority and
God is not a
libertarian. Sorry. God
is not a communist. God
is not an anarchist. God
has instituted government
in our planet and we
need government. Okay,
let's go to 1 Peter,
chapter number 2, 1 Peter
chapter number 2. This
isn't just my opinion.
We'll see right here
what the Bible says. 1
Peter 2 verse 13 says
this, submit yourselves to
every ordinance of man
for the Lord's sake,
whether it be to the
king as supreme or unto
governors as unto them
that are sent by him for
the punishment of
evildoers and for the
praise of them that do
well. For so is the will
of God that with
well-doing you may put
to silence the ignorance
of foolish men. Notice
the Bible calls us to
submit ourselves to the
ordinance of man, to the
governing authorities. Now,
of course, there are
limits to this and this
isn't what the sermon's
about, but really
quickly, of course, you
know, if the government
asks us to sin, we
wouldn't have to obey
that, right? If the
government is outside of
their realm of authority
in something, we don't
have to obey that. And I
believe if the government
is asking you to sin
against your conscience, I
don't believe you have
to obey that either. So
there, of course, is
limitations to this, but
don't just get this
stupid mentality where
you just hate government,
where you despise
dominion, like the Bible
describes reprobates as
being people that despise
dominion. Don't despise
the government. Don't
disrespect the police
officers when you
encounter them. Be
respectful, you know, if
there's any way you
can to live peaceably
with all men. I'm not
saying there's never a
time to rebuke those
guys, but look, I've dealt
a lot, a lot with police
officers because of
Steadfast Baptist Church.
Okay. I feel like I've
dealt more with police
officers than probably
anyone who's not a cop.
Okay. I've dealt with
them a ton and I never
felt the need to be
disrespectful to them.
Even when they've done
wrong, even when I
disagree to the things
that you're doing, it's
not beneficial to us. We
want to live quiet and
peaceable lives and as
much as possible, as
much as life in us, we
should live peaceably
with all men. And guess
what? I respect their
position. I respect
their authority. And we
have a problem today in
America of people, they
don't respect God's
authority. They don't
respect the office of a
Christian. They don't
respect the office of a
pastor. They don't
respect mom and dad.
Women don't respect
their husbands. And so
guess what? They don't
respect the police
either. And they just
flippantly want to
pull guns out on
police officers, try to
grab police officers
guns, try to assault
them. You know, they
never learned as a youth
to respect authority. And
so you have tons of
these idiots, these
morons getting killed by
police officers when it's
just so easy to avoid. I
mean, if police officers
were so dangerous and
they're just on a hair
trigger to kill everyone,
why is it that I've
had so many interactions
with them and never
once has anything got
heated? You want to
know why? It's because
I keep my hands
visible. It's because I
don't, I don't make
any sudden movements. I
don't flip them off. I
don't come off as
adversarial or aggressive.
I don't have a body
posture that I look like
I'm about to attack
them. I don't have
tattoos on my forehead
that says F the police.
I don't, I don't sag my
pants down and he can
see my gun falling out
on the floor. Okay.
That's why I've never
been shot by the
police. And if you do
those things, you will
never be shot by the
police. Okay, let's move
on. Last office here
that I have respect for
and that God has
respect for go to
Matthew chapter 18. And
is the office of the
local new Testament
church. You know, God
has respect for that
institution. God has
respect for that
position. I'll show
that to you in Matthew
18 verse 18. And this
kind of relates to the
pastor as well. It says
verily, this is Jesus
speaking verily. I say
unto you whatsoever you
shall bind on earth
shall be bound in
heaven and whatsoever
you shall lose on
earth shall be loosed
in heaven. Notice the
decisions that the local
new Testament Church
makes when it binds
something on earth. Jesus
Christ backs that up in
heaven and he binds it
in heaven. And when
you lose something on
earth, the Lord Jesus
Christ backs that up in
heaven and he loses that
in heaven. He has
respect for the church.
And so us as Christians,
we also should have
respect for the church
when the church makes a
decision. When pastor
Shelley has to, you
know, use church
discipline in the
future and he decides,
Hey, this person's in
violation of whatever
name the scripture, name
the sin in First
Corinthians five. And he
says, this person's cut
off from fellowship
from our church. This
person's cast out of our
church. We should back
him up on that. Why?
Because the church has
spoken the church that
God has respect for in
heaven. We should have
respect for as well. And
of course, you know,
this is referring to a
biblical church that's
acting biblically. This
isn't saying when some
insecure pastor kicked
someone out for being
a pastor Anderson
listener that Jesus in
heaven backs that up.
Okay. Obviously this is
within the realm of a
Christ honoring church
acting biblically, but
when a Christ honoring
church is acting
biblically, we should
back that person up,
whether it's our church,
whether it's a friend
church of ours, when
that happens, we should
have respect for that
church. So, you know,
what are we talking
about tonight? God's not
a respecter of persons.
And that's a great
blessing, right? Because
it doesn't, it means
that no matter where you
are financially, no
matter where you were
born, no matter what
language you speak, no
matter what color your
skin is, no matter what
your experience in
life has been, if you
want to believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ, you'll
be saved. And not only
that, if you have a
desire, a sincere
desire and longing to
magnify the name of
God and to serve him
with your life, he's
ready to use you no
matter what. And on the
flip side of that, God's
not a respecter of
persons that should
cause us to fear him
greatly and say, you
know what, just because
I'm saved, just because
I live in America or
just because I've done
good in the past or
just because my skin
color, whatever, that
God's just going to
overlook my sins. No, God's
going to judge us for
our works. Why? Because
God's not a respecter
of persons. And we too,
we should internalize
this and apply it to our
lives that, hey, we
shouldn't be respecters
of persons either.
Someone comes into this
church, one in the gay
clothing, not the
faggot clothing, the
happy clothing. Okay.
That's, that's what
gay really means.
Someone comes in here
and they're, they're
rich, they're well
off. Hey, be nice to
that person. Be
hospitable to that
person. Welcome them.
And guess what? If
someone comes in here and
they have nothing, they
have no money, they're
poor, they're not dressed
nice, they've got
marriage problems, they've
got problems with their
children, they've got
problems with their
finances. Hey, let's
take those people in too.
And let's disciple them
and let's teach them
the Bible and let's
love on them and
let's show them the
love of Christ so that
their life can get
better. Let's not treat
them different based on
their status. No, we're
not going to be
respecters of persons.
Let's not go out into
the community and want
to be friends with
one group of people
because of their skin
color and another
because of their skin
color, right? Hey, when
we go out and preach
the gospel, we don't
care what skin color
you have. We just see
you as a soul that
needs to go to heaven.
That's all we see. You
know, people accuse us
all the time of being
racist. It's funny how
we get accused of being
racist when we
literally spend of our
time, money, effort,
energy to go to a
country called the
Bahamas, which is 95%
black to preach them
the gospel. It's funny
how last time I checked
our church is located
in the South Dallas
area, which last time
I checked is a very
African-American place
of the world. And
when we go out
soul winning in
Cedar Hill, we got
soul winning in South
Dallas. Who do we
often run into? Black
people. And that's not
a problem. That's a
great thing because
they're actually
receptive to the
gospel anyways. And
you know who else I
get? Lots of people
saved Hispanics. I
probably get people
saved more in Spanish
than in English. I'm
not even joking. You
know, our, our
sowing time that I
really like to go to
is the Arlington soul
winning time on
Saturdays. And we're
constantly running into
Spanish speakers and
they're very receptive
to the gospel. When
we're knocking on
people's doors, we're
not thinking like, Oh
man, what skin color
are you? No, we just
see you as a soul
that's lost that we
want to make sure
goes to heaven
someday. You know, we
need, want to make
sure that we
internalize this and
make this part of who
we are as Christians,
that we're not going
to be respecters of
people, just like God's
not a respecter of
persons. But once we
internalize that,
let's not go too far
and then just say, Oh,
that means never have
respect for anyone.
No, of course we
should have respect for
God's people. And as
we have therefore
opportunity, let's do
good unto all men, but
especially under those
that are the household
of faith. Amen. And
Hey, let's respect our
pastor. Let's respect
our church. Ladies,
respect your husbands,
children, respect your
parents. You know,
citizens of America
respect the positions of
authority that God has
put in our country.
And don't just be some
sort of weird
anarchists. No, let's
not be a respecter of
persons, but it is
okay to be a respecter
of positions without
let's have a word of
prayer. Lord, thank you
so much for this day.
And thank you for the
wisdom in your word.
Lord, I just pray that
you would help all of
us to be Christians that
are not a respecter of
persons pray that every
single person group in
our country, black,
yellow, red, and white
would feel welcome
within the house of God
and that we would
welcome them in with
open arms. We'd preach
them the gospel and
get them saved. And I
just pray that you
would raise up a
generation that has a
heart that desires to
magnify your name.
And I pray that you
would use every single
person in this room.
I pray that you would
use steadfast Baptist
church mightily in the
future, Lord, for your
honor and glory. Thank
you for all that you
do for us. Jesus name
we pray. Amen.
Okay. In closing, let's
go to song number
136, song number
136 master. The
tempest is raging song
number 136 first master.
The tempest is
raging, the billows are
crossing high. The sky
is your shadow, no
shelter or help is
done.
Here is the one that we
perish. How fits now
lie asleep. When each
moment so badly is
threatening, the grave in
the game we meet. The
winds in the waves shall
obey my will. Please be
still. Whether the wrath
of the storm tossing or
demons or men or
whatever it be, no water
can swallow the ship
where lies the master of
ocean and earth and
skies. They all shall
sweetly obey my will.
Please be still. Please
be still. They all
shall sweetly obey my
will. Please be still.
Master in language of
spirit, I bow in my
three today. The depths
of my sad heart are
double. Awaken and save
my brain. Towards the
synod of anguish, sweet
for my sinking soul. And
I perish, I perish, dear
master. Oh, hasten and
take control. The winds
in the waves shall obey
my will. Please be
still. Whether the wrath
of the storm tossing or
demons or men or
whatever it be, no water
can swallow the ship
where lies the master
of ocean and earth
and skies. They all
shall sweetly obey my
will. Please be
still. Please be
still. They all shall
sweetly obey my will.
Please be
still.
Master, the terror
is over.
The elements
sweetly rest.
The time
is near
and heaven's within
my grasp.
Linger, oh blessed
redeemer.
Leave me alone,
no more.
And with joy I shall
make the West Harbor
and rest on the
blissful shore.
The winds in the waves
shall obey my will.
Please be
still.
Whether the wrath
of the storm tossing
or demons or men
or whatever it be,
no water can swallow
the ship where lies
the master of ocean
and earth and skies.
They all
shall sweetly obey
my will. Please
be still. Please
be still. They all
shall sweetly obey
my will. Please
please be
still.
Thank you.