Alright, we're here in March chapter 9, and we're starting a new series called Unwise Comparisons.
This is probably going to be a three week series, and I want you to notice actually in your bulletin the verse that's on the front there in 2 Corinthians 10-12.
It's kind of the theme verse for this series, and the Bible reads,
For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves,
but they measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves are not wise.
And so what the Bible teaches is that when you compare yourself to other people, it's not a wise thing.
It's not a smart thing. Another way to say unwise is Bobo.
Okay, basically it's Bobo to compare yourself to other people.
There's many reasons why we're going to see that during the sermon series,
but I want you to look in March chapter 9 at a great example of this,
and what we're talking about this morning is unwise comparisons in terms of your personal walk with God.
It is very foolish to compare your personal walk with God to other people's personal walk with God.
Notice what it says in Mark 9 verse 33,
And he came to Capernaum, and being in the house he asked them,
What was it that you disputed among yourselves by the way?
And so Jesus asked them, you know I heard you guys in an argument,
you guys were arguing about something, you're debating about something, so what was it?
And you know of course they don't answer. It says in verse 34,
But they held their peace. Basically they didn't say anything.
They didn't answer Jesus. You know why? Because they're guilty. They're myself. That's why.
For by the way they had disputed among themselves who should be the greatest.
And so what they were arguing about is basically which one of us is the best Christian.
They're arguing saying you know I think I'm better than you.
Someone's saying no I think I'm better than you.
And they're arguing about who is the greatest.
And of course when Jesus asks you, hey what were you arguing about?
They're not going to say well you know we're arguing about which one of us is the best
Christian. Which one of us is the most God. Which one of us wins the most souls to the Lord.
They obviously didn't answer that question. Why? Because it's obviously foolish and it
would be a sin to do that. Okay. Notice what it says in verse number 35,
And he sat down and called the twelve and saith unto them,
If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all and servant of all.
So what he reminds them of is this. If you want to be the best,
if you want to be number one, that means you're the servant unto all.
Basically you lay down your life more than anybody else.
Now I'm sure what they were basically arguing about was who's read the Bible more?
Who knows the Bible more? Who goes soul any more?
Who's more zealous? Who's the best preacher? Who's the most bold?
But you know what Jesus says, well which one of you is the biggest servant?
That's what makes you number one.
So they were considering themselves and looking at the achievements they've done,
how much they pray, how much they read the Bible.
Anyway, Jesus tells them, no, it's who makes himself a servant unto all.
Okay. And so we're going to look at four different points here this morning,
but I'm going to give you four reasons why it is foolish to compare
your personal walk with God to other people. Turn to Hebrews chapter five, Hebrews five.
And the first reason why it's foolish to compare basically how godly you are
or your personal walk compared to other people is quite frankly,
we've been saved different amounts of time.
In this room, there's people that have been saved for just a few years
or even less than a year. And there's people that have been saved for decades.
It's not the same comparison. I mean, wouldn't it be pretty foolish
if somebody's been saved for six months to be compared to someone who's been saved
since they were a five-year-old child, right? It's not the same thing.
It says in Hebrews five verse 12, for when for the time he ought to be teacher.
See, there's a time in your spiritual life where you should become a teacher.
You're someone who knows the Bible. You've learned the Bible.
You're someone who can instruct other people. You can teach them how to go soul winning.
You can give them wisdom from the Bible and how to read their Bible better.
Teach them things from the Bible. Now, obviously, I'm the one preaching the sermons
and obviously from time to time people get a chance to preach.
But even outside of that, you could still teach new members at church various things.
They're going to ask you, you know, why do you believe this doctrine?
Or what do you believe about this? And quite frankly,
new people are probably going to ask you and not me.
That's usually the way it works. And so it's very important for the
members to also know the Bible so you can help instruct new people.
And you can tell them, why do we believe these things?
It can't always be me. And so there's a time you ought to be
a teacher where you're no longer asking all the questions,
but you're actually giving the answers to the new people.
You're basically more seasoned as a Christian, okay?
But see, there's a time he ought to be teachers.
But when you first get saved, that's not that time.
See, when you're first saved, you're a babe in Christ, okay?
You don't know all of these things. Notice what it says in verse 12.
You have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the
oracles of God and are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat.
And see, there's a time when you should become a teacher.
And the problem here in Hebrews 5 is these people never really reached this point.
They've been saved for 20 years and they know nothing about the Bible.
They've been saved 30 years. They know nothing about the Bible.
They've sat through, you know, hundreds of sermons in their lives,
and they still don't read the Bible. They still don't pray.
They still don't go soul winning. They still don't come to church that often.
They've been there, and yet they're not teachers.
And they still need the milk because they're on the basis, okay?
When a newborn baby comes into this world, what do they drink?
They drink milk. You don't put a t-bone steak in front of them
and cut it up and expect them to eat that.
If that's what you try, that child will literally die if they don't get milk.
They need milk to survive. You know, I remember reading this article online.
There was this woman who was like a big liberal,
and she was like very much against, you know, eating meat or dairy.
Basically, she was obedient, and she thought it was a sin.
She probably would have thought it was a sin to kill like an ant or something like that,
but she thought it was a sin to eat meat, and it's a sin to drink milk or whatever.
And so what she did is she fed her newborn baby just juice,
and that child died after a couple weeks.
You say, why? Because a baby needs milk to survive.
A baby will not survive without milk.
Now look, you cannot lose your salvation, as one saved always saved,
but you will not survive spiritually unless you get the milk of the world.
As the Bible says here, you need milk and not the strong meat when you first get saved.
Now we know what the milk is. That's referring to the word of God, okay?
And so when you first get saved, guess what?
You don't need to understand that verse in Ezekiel chapter 32 that you don't understand.
You don't need to understand the book of Zechariah word for word.
What you need is the basics of guess what? You know, how to read the Bible,
how to have a consistent prayer life, and the basic doctrines.
Have a strong understanding about salvation
and the false systems of salvation that are out there.
Those are the things you need when you first get saved.
You don't need to understand these deep dark things during the end times.
Now is that stuff good? Absolutely.
But even at a church, do I just always preach about the end times?
No, I don't. I say, why?
Because quite honestly, that's not really what most of us need.
And honestly, no matter how spiritual you are,
you still need to be reminded about the basics of salvation,
the basics of the King James Bible, the basics.
And one reason why is there's going to be new people at church
and new people are going to need the milk and not the meat.
Now for someone who's reached the point where you really understand the milk very well,
you're at the point where you're a teacher and that's a good thing to be.
But you have to understand there's going to be new people at church, okay?
There is a time for the meat, but when you first get saved, it's still the time for the milk.
So here's the thing.
If you've been at this church and you've been saved for 10 years
and somebody else just got saved last week from soul winning,
don't expect someone who got saved last week to know what you do.
And it would be very foolish to compare how spiritual you are to someone who just,
I hope you're more spiritual than someone who just got saved.
I mean, if you've been saved for a decade,
I hope you've read the Bible more than someone who just got saved last week.
I hope you know more about the Bible than them.
It's not an accomplishment if you know more than them.
I mean, you should know more than them.
And so what people usually do is they compare themselves to someone who's not that spiritual
and they say, well, look at this person.
Yeah, this person doesn't read the Bible as much as me.
This person doesn't come to church as much as me.
This person doesn't come soul winning as much as me.
Well, I mean, if you've been saved for a long time though,
it's not an apples to apples comparison.
It's apples to bananas, apples to oranges.
Turn to 1 Peter 2, 1 Peter 2.
Now, you have to understand the analogy when it talks about a newborn baby,
because in Hebrews 5, it talks about a newborn baby getting the milk.
And it mentions the same thing here in 1 Peter 2, verses 1 and 2.
Wherefore, laying aside all malice and all guile,
and hypocrisies and envies, and all evil speakings,
as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby.
See, the Bible says, if you're a newborn baby Christian,
what you should desire is the milk, the word of God.
How does a baby express their desire when they're hungry?
What does the baby do?
They cry out.
See, the Bible has given us an analogy.
I mean, every time, you know, your son or your daughter's crying and you're like,
oh, it's so my Eni, man, I'm so annoyed right now.
Realize, you know, God's giving you a nice analogy.
That's how much you got to care about the word of God.
And sadly, with Christians, you know what?
They have the Bible right beside them.
They hardly ever read it, okay?
And so the Bible compares a baby.
Now, think about this, though.
It makes sense for a newborn baby or a one-year-old or a two-year-old
to be held by their parents and then their drinking milk.
What doesn't make sense, though, is someone who's 20 years old
to be drinking from a bottle.
Wouldn't it be really strange if I just brought brother Erwin up here?
It's like, it's time for your goddess.
Here you come, here's the bottle.
Here's your goddess, time to drink.
That would be weird, wouldn't it?
Now, when you think of this spiritually speaking, though,
there are a lot of people that have been saved for a very long time,
and yet they need the milk of the word.
They don't know the basics of the Bible.
Now, sometimes it's not really their fault
because they have the wrong church, okay?
That doesn't really encourage them and teach them what they need to know.
But quite honestly, if you've been saved for a long time,
you ought to be a teacher, okay?
It shouldn't be that you're always just drinking milk your entire life.
You need to move on to the meat.
But that comes with time, okay?
Spiritually speaking, when you first get saved,
you are a baby Christian.
But I will say this, that people start off at different levels
when they first get saved.
Some people start off a little bit more spiritual,
even though they both just got saved.
You say, why?
Because people have different backgrounds in life, okay?
It's completely different.
But no matter how much you know before you get saved,
when you first get saved, you are still a baby Christian, okay?
Now, in the Christian life,
you can accelerate faster than a baby can
just in an earthly setting.
If you really read the Bible, you really, you know, dive into church.
But at the same time, when you first get saved,
you're going to be a baby Christian.
So look, when someone is new to church
and they haven't been saved long,
you cannot expect them to know as much as you do.
It'd be a foolish comparison.
Turn to 2 Peter 3, 2 Peter 3.
Now, one thing we need to understand
is that it's not just knowledge of the Bible.
Because usually you'll look at someone
who seems like they really know the Bible,
and you think, man, that person is so spiritual, okay?
It's not just how much you know, though.
That's part of the Christian life,
and that's very important.
But it's also the way you act in your personality, okay?
Notice what it says in 2 Peter 3, verse 18.
But grow in grace and in the knowledge
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen.
What does it mean by grace?
Obviously, we know we're saved by grace,
but in this context,
what it's basically talking about is your personality, okay?
Here in a couple of months,
we're going to be doing a 10-week series
on the fruits of the Spirit.
There are nine fruits of the Spirit.
We'll have an introduction sermon,
and we'll have a whole sermon on each one of the fruits.
You say, why?
Say, I want to know about the end times.
Because of the fact you need to grow in grace as well.
And here's what happens in our movement.
When it comes to people who listen
to a lot of sermons online,
they learn a lot very quickly.
But at the same time,
when you first get saved, you're a baby Christian.
And just because you can learn a lot of doctrines quickly,
that does not mean your personality flips overnight.
That's something that it takes time to grow in grace, okay?
And so when somebody first gets saved
and they've only been saved for a short amount of time,
you can't expect them to know all that stuff.
You can't expect them to be as mature seriously
as maybe you are, okay?
And so even if somebody knows
how to prove the poster of rapture,
that doesn't mean that their personality
has really grown much.
Because you can learn how to prove the poster of rapture
in, I mean, pretty much five minutes.
I mean, the Bible is pretty clear about it.
But you might know all of that stuff.
You might have listened to a ton of sermons online about that.
But that does not mean
that your personality is going to get fixed overnight.
And quite honestly,
you're going to start off as a baby Christian,
and you know what?
It's going to take you time to grow.
And so you know what?
All of us in this room,
if you think there's somebody in this room
who maybe isn't very mature,
or maybe they don't know much about the Bible,
you need to be patient with that person.
For one, you've probably got areas of your life
that aren't so perfect either.
But at the same time, you know what?
Honestly, it takes people time to grow.
And honestly, since most people are not in good churches,
and honestly, most people in this room
have probably not read the Bible many times,
you know what?
Honestly, you're still in the stage of growth then.
And all of us are no matter how much we've read the Bible.
But look, if somebody's only been saved for a couple of years,
they're still in the process of growing.
And they might have a lot of knowledge,
but you know, they have to grow in grace as well.
And quite honestly, it takes time for a baby to grow.
It'd be pretty weird if tomorrow,
my son went from just being a baby
to just all of a sudden being like 15 years old.
Just, you know, cooking a steak,
and cutting it, and eating it.
What just happened here?
That doesn't occur.
It doesn't happen spiritually either.
You don't go from being a baby Christian
to all of a sudden you're a pastor.
I never did that in the Philippines, okay?
I understand the Baptist churches,
they go from being a baby Christian
to being a pastor like that.
That's not the way God has it though, okay?
Now turn in your Bible to Luke chapter 8.
Luke chapter 8.
And so, first off,
when it comes to being unwise
to compare yourself to other people,
it's, you know,
we've been saved for different amounts of time.
So unless you have somebody
who's been saved the exact amount of time as you,
it's already an unwise comparison.
If you've been saved for seven years
and they've been saved for five years,
honestly, that's not the same thing.
There's definitely more time to grow in there in two years.
But see, it's important
because sometimes people do the opposite.
Instead of comparing themselves to someone
who maybe is a new Christian,
some people do the opposite
and they compare themselves to someone
who maybe has been saved
for a really long amount of time.
I mean, there's probably people in this room
that in the back of your mind,
we're thinking,
man, I could never go so-and-so.
I can never preach a sermon like so-and-so.
Well, I mean,
if you've only been saved for a short amount of time,
you know,
why are you comparing yourself to someone
who's been training to be a pastor for a long time
or training to be a missionary for a long time?
It's not the same comparison.
And it's a foolish comparison according to the Bible.
Okay.
Luke chapter 8.
That's in verse number 13.
And the second point we have is this,
not only have people been saved
for different amounts of time,
but honestly,
people have had different places
where they were able to grow spiritually.
Okay.
And notice what it says in Luke 8, verse 13.
They and the rock are they,
which when they hear receive the word with joy,
and these have no root,
which for a while believe it in time of temptation,
fall away.
Now in verse number 13,
this is referring to someone who gets saved.
Okay.
And you can see this
when you cross-reference this story with other stories,
but they receive the word with joy
and receiving the word is when you get saved.
And when it says with joy,
it's saying they actually grew a little spiritually.
They got excited about the things of God.
They probably got baptized,
got connected to church,
but they don't have any root.
Whenever you look up root in the Bible,
it's talking about being rooted in church.
So they learn all these things,
but they don't really get grounded
and rooted fully in what they believe.
So they believe for a while
in time of temptation fall away.
That's not saying they stop believing the gospel.
All it says is which for a while believe.
It doesn't tell you what it's referring to,
but you can tell from the context,
it's referring to the things
that get you rooted in church.
Because when you come to a church like this,
you learn a lot of things.
But if you choose to backside
and fade out of church,
you'll stop believing a lot of the things
that you believe now.
Right.
One thing you will not stop believing though
is the gospel.
You say why?
Because when you get saved
you're gonna dwell with eternal life.
Okay.
It's the spirit of truth.
But if you were to leave this place,
honestly, a lot of your standards
for godliness and worldliness,
those would change quite a bit.
And when people leave a church,
they start to stop believing
some of the things they used to do.
They stop realizing the importance
of the doctrines and teachings
that are from the Bible.
And so these are people that get saved,
but you know, honestly,
they are on the rock.
Look, how successful is gonna be
a CB that's thrown on the rock?
It's not gonna be very successful.
What does it say in verse 14?
And thou which fell among thorns are they
which when they have heard go forth
and are choked with cares and riches
and pleasures of this life
and bring no fruit to perfection.
So in verse 13,
we basically talk about someone
who basically fades out due to persecution.
In verse 14,
someone fades out due to worldliness.
Okay.
Basically, they're too concerned
with the cares and riches
and pleasures of this life.
Instead of looking at the life
that we have up in heaven
and the rewards we can get,
they're concerned about this life
and gratifying the flesh.
This is someone who's thrown
amongst the thorns.
They also believe.
Okay.
But look, when you're thrown
amongst the thorns,
that is not the best place
to plant vegetables.
Right.
If you throw your gulai
inside of thorns or on a rock,
it's probably not going to grow that well.
But what does it say in verse 15?
But that on the good ground
are they which in an honest and good heart
having heard the word keep it
and bring forth fruit with patience.
It says last in verse 15,
that on the good ground.
These are the people
that last in the Christian life
and they win many souls to the Lord.
But I want you to understand
that these three different types of people
are three different types of people
that get saved, they believe,
but they're honestly not on the same ground.
Right.
And here's what you need to understand.
You know what?
A lot of Christians,
they don't have a church like this.
Right.
There are same people around town
that are not going to this church.
And quite honestly,
I find it unlikely
that the church they go to
is really teaching them
more about the Bible and this church.
And I'm not trying to say that
to be arrogant.
I'm just trying to say
that churches don't preach anything
because they want your money.
They don't want to offend you.
They don't want to speak the truth
about what the Bible actually says.
So quite honestly,
people go to churches like that
and they learn nothing about the Bible.
Absolutely nothing.
Look, I've been in churches like that
where I go to church
and I knew I'm going to show up
and learn nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
And when we brought visitors to church,
I realized the pastors
probably not going to teach them much.
So quite honestly,
I'm going to have to teach them
on the car ride over to church.
And look, many of you
have been in that situation before.
It's pretty frustrating.
But realize that if people
are in that situation,
you cannot expect them to grow
in grace or knowledge
as fast as you do.
Many of you in this room,
you've listened to years
of online preaching.
And it's a great opportunity
we have with the online preaching
and you learned a lot of things.
But realize some people
didn't listen to sermons
for 100 hours like you did.
And so you can't really expect them
to have the same knowledge
that you have
or the same grace that you have
because you're learning things
from the Bible as you hear
all of these sermons.
And so quite honestly,
there are people that get saved,
but they're not in great churches.
Now, when you're at a church
that's a good church,
you ought to grow more quickly
than if you're at a bad church
because you're learning
from all the sermons
and you also have like-minded people
in this room
that will motivate you
to go soul winning,
motivates you to read the Bible,
motivates you to live for God.
Now turn to Proverbs 13.
Proverbs 13.
And so when it comes to being
in different places for growth,
this really hits on
a lot of different things.
You have to realize
some people get saved,
but quite honestly,
they have acquaintances
that are not the best people
that they should be talking to.
Or they have friends that they know
that quite honestly,
they're better off
without those friends in their life.
Or maybe they have a job
where they're around worldliness
and ungodliness all the time
and they can't avoid it.
In this room,
people have a lot of different jobs.
And for some of you,
you know,
you're probably around people
that are talking about sin all the time.
And quite honestly,
it's going to affect you.
You say,
well, how do you know that?
Proverbs 13 verse 20.
He that walketh with wise men
shall be wise,
but a companion of fools
shall be destroyed.
And obviously,
when you go to a church,
you're around people
that are wise
and trying to live for God.
But you know what?
The Bible says that
we are in the world.
We're not supposed to be of the world,
but we are in the world.
And for some of you
at your jobs,
you're around a bunch of fools
all the time.
You're around a bunch of people
that are just ungodly.
I worked at a job in an office
where the person
that was beside me in the office,
you know,
she was known as like
the biggest gossip,
you know,
in our job.
And she knew everything
about every single person.
And people would come over to her
and tell her all their things
in their life.
And I remember one time,
another woman at work came over
and she was openly talking about
how she was committing adultery
on her husband to this woman.
And it's like,
you have to hear that.
And for some of you,
that's reality.
For some of you,
you work with people
that are very ungodly people
and you're hearing people
talk about foolishness all day.
That affects you.
And so honestly,
when it comes to
even people in this room,
even though you have
the same church
and you've been saved for a while,
you've heard lots of sermons.
For some of you,
you're in an atmosphere
you cannot avoid
every single week.
You know,
eight hours a day,
five, six days a week,
you're working
and you're around people
that do not love the Lord.
They don't care about
the things of God
and they talk about
sin openly all the time.
That will affect you.
Now, I'm not saying
to leave your job
because you know,
you have to earn money
and you have to be in the world.
It just is what it is.
We are in the world.
Where we're not just going to
put ourselves in a big bubble
and just expect
everything's going to work out in life.
You're going to have to go
to the grocery store.
You're going to have to do things
and you're going to be around
and see things
that are ungodly.
But the reality is,
the more you're around that,
the more it's going to affect you.
And so quite honestly,
even with our jobs
or acquaintances or relatives,
it's not the same situation.
Now I personally,
I do not advise people
to completely separate
from their family, okay?
It depends on the situation.
This is something where
you've got to decide
based on your situation.
I do not fully separate
from my family though.
I talk to my parents
on Skype every single week.
I have a close relationship
with my wife's family.
You know, they were in town recently
and you know,
I spend time with them.
They're obviously here
at church and everything.
I get along with them well.
You know, they're very nice people
and for me personally,
in my situation,
I don't think it's wise to separate.
You know, I enjoy
spending time with them
and gives opportunities
to preach the gospel
and they're very nice people
and things such as that.
But you know, for some of you,
you have family
that you do see on a regular basis
and they're not that godly
and they do talk about getting drunk
and they get drunk
in front of you all the time.
And unfortunately,
that's the situation you're in.
Now depending on your situation,
you might want to separate
but that's up for you to decide.
I'm not going to decide that for you
because I don't know your situation.
What I'm saying is,
you might be around people
and quite honestly,
they're going to bring you down.
And so our situations in this room
are not the same.
My parents are very nice people.
They're very good people.
My wife's parents are very nice people.
They're very good people.
That might not be your situation though.
And so if you're going to
compare yourself to me,
I mean, we're not in the same situation.
So why in the world would you compare?
Turn to Ephesians 4.
Ephesians 4.
And the reason why I say
I don't, you know,
advice is just fully separate from family
on most occasions is this,
you know, honestly,
I think you ought to give a real shot
of getting your family saved.
And when I say give a real shot,
I don't mean one shot.
I mean actually try to get your family saved.
You say,
but I gave them the gospel,
they didn't get saved
so they're never going to get saved.
Look, a lot of people
don't get saved for the first time.
The Bible talks about you sowing the seed
and then you water.
I'm not saying that you have to go
over their house every single night
and hang out with them every single day.
Okay?
And in your situation,
you might want to separate.
That's for you to decide.
But what I'm saying is
giving the gospel to somebody one time
and just throwing in the towel,
I think that's foolish.
If you have somebody you're friends with,
you know, your acquaintance is with,
you can try to give them the gospel many times.
You don't have to just give up
after one time, okay?
And with your family,
you know what,
I think you ought to really give it a shot
to try to get your family saved, okay?
It says in Ephesians chapter 4,
now we're going to talk about the church.
You have different places for growth
depending on what church you are at.
Notice what it says in verse 16.
From whom the whole body
fitly joined together
and compacted by that
which every joint supply,
according to the affection working
in the measure of every part,
make an increase of the body
under the edifying of itself in love.
Now, this sounds like a confusing verse
but it's really not
when you break it down.
When it says the whole body,
it's talking about a local church body.
This is a church at Ephesus.
This is an individual local body.
This Bible talks about as being
and it says the whole body
fitly joined together
and compacted by that
which every joint supply.
Basically, all of the joints,
all of the members,
they basically work together.
They're compacted,
they're put together.
We are a local body, okay?
According to the affection working,
what does it mean by effectual?
It means it has an effect.
What the Bible is saying is
when you're in a church,
it works effectually.
Other people will help motivate you
to be a better Christian.
Other people will help encourage you
to go soul winning.
Other people will help encourage you
to live for God.
Well, if you went to a church
and nobody went soul winning,
I can almost guarantee your soul winning
would be basically nothing.
You say why?
It's hard to be self-motivated
when nobody else is doing the work.
But when you're at a church
that actually is living for God,
it's effectual.
When we read the Bible together,
we memorize the Bible,
we're encouraging one another
to live for God.
But if you're not at a church
that's doing that,
you're not going to have
that positive effect come on to you.
And so it's going to be very difficult
to grow much when you're at a church
that does not teach the Bible
and is not really living for God.
Notice what it says in verse 14.
That we henceforth be no more children
tossed to and fro, verse 14,
and carried about with every
wind of doctrine by the sleight of man
and cunning craftiness
whereby they lie in wait to deceive.
But speaking the truth in love,
they grow up unto him in all things,
which is the head, even Christ.
And see, there's people
that quite honestly,
they bounce back and forth
on their doctrine
because they're not really being taught
what the word God says.
And they really don't even know
what they believe.
Now at a church like this,
our doctrine doesn't change.
It's very clear what we believe
and it's not going to change anytime soon.
On any core belief,
you're not going to see
any change at this church.
I know what I believe.
I've studied the Bible.
I've read the Bible.
I've preached there.
I know what I believe.
We're not going to change on those things.
We're not going to change on salvation.
We're not changing on the King James Bible.
We're not changing on the end times.
You say, why?
Because the Bible is very clear about things
and we know what's right
and we know what's wrong.
But honestly,
a lot of people bounce back and forth
because quite honestly,
there are churches
where they change all the time.
I mean, there's churches
that are changing their standards
on the LGBT.
Why are they changing their standards?
Well, because when you walk outside,
you see a bunch of guys
dressed up as women
and so they're changing their standards
because it's not popular anymore.
There's churches that are changing
their standards on the repentance topic.
It's like, why are you changing
your mind about salvation?
Decide what you believe
and stick to it.
There's churches where
one week you're reading
from the King James Bible,
the next week it's the NIV.
It's like, what are those churches doing?
They are changing
because they want to bring people in.
Look, we're not going to change.
You say why?
Because God does not change.
We do what the Bible says
and we're not going to change
whether it's popular or not popular.
And last I looked,
this room is filled full of people
that love the Lord.
And you like to hear the truth.
And so it might not be something
that most people want,
but honestly,
there's plenty of people here
in Manila that want to serve God
and want to know what the truth is.
Turn to Proverbs 22.
Proverbs 22.
When you think about churches,
there's two different churches
I can think of in the Bible
that are very different from one another.
The Church of Corinth
and the Church of Thessalonica.
Which church would help you
grow spiritually more?
The Church of Thessalonica.
You say why?
Because at the Church of Corinth,
there was a guy who was sleeping
with his father's wife.
And because there's open sin in the church,
and obviously the pastor didn't have
the guts to just preach hard
and get sinned.
But in the Church of Thessalonica,
it always talks about them being godly.
See, if you're in a more godly church,
you're going to grow more.
Why?
Because it's an effectual working,
and you affect one another.
It says here in Proverbs 22,
another thing I want to mention
when it comes to different places for growth
is the family that you're in.
Okay?
That's what it says in Proverbs 22, verse 6.
Train up a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old,
he will not depart from it.
See, the Bible says that if you train up a child
in the ways of the Lord,
when they grow older,
they will not depart from it.
Here's what you need to understand.
Some people get saved at 20 years old,
but quite honestly,
the way they were trained growing up was terrible.
Their parents did not teach them
to be hard workers.
Their parents didn't teach them
to be courteous and nice and respectful.
And quite honestly,
even though they get saved at the age of 20,
the same age as somebody else,
because they weren't trained in a very good way
before they were saved,
those are a lot of habits that they still have.
Now, I can honestly say
that my parents did a really good job raising me.
Okay?
My parents were very strict against a lot of things,
and when I was in public school and elementary school,
I remember my parents were the ones
that wrote that note that said,
No, our son is not allowed to watch PG-13 movies.
And I was like,
Mom, you're embarrassing me.
I'm like the only kid at school.
But you know, I'm glad I had parents
that, you know,
would have spanked me really hard
if they ever saw me drink or smoke,
because it kept me from being a bad person.
It helped keep me on the right path.
Honestly, a lot of people didn't have parents
like that growing up.
And when we see new people at church,
sometimes you see people that join church,
and honestly, you know,
their kids are pretty well behaved.
Now, I know of a family I can think of
in very Baptist church
that they've only really been kind of like minded
for five years.
And when they first came to church,
like two or three years,
but their kids were just very respectful,
very hard working,
very nice, good kids.
Why?
Because even before they were saved,
they're being trained in the right way.
But honestly, some people though,
they join church,
and their kids are bouncing off the walls
and everything like that.
It's like, well, you know,
people have different backgrounds
from when they get saved
and how they were trained and taught.
And honestly, you know,
a lot of people,
they have parents that could care less about them
and then don't teach them the rules
and what we're supposed to do.
And honestly, it affects people.
That's what I said in Proverbs 31.
Turn to Proverbs 31.
And so what happens,
some people,
when they get saved at the age of 20,
the life they've lived,
the first 20 years of their life
is maybe a lot rougher than somebody else.
And even though they both just got saved,
look, if you go down a road of living in sin,
it's a lot easier to commit those same sins.
I am pretty sure
that I'm never going to become
just addicted to cigarettes
because I've never smoked a cigarette.
I have no interest.
But if you're someone
who basically smoked your whole life,
quite honestly,
that's something that you might sell
a desire to do.
If you're someone who basically
used to drink a lot of alcohol,
when you first get saved,
it's not just overnight.
Wow, you have no desire to drink.
Quite honestly,
you might still have a desire
and you might still struggle
with that from time to time.
We don't have the same background.
Even if you get saved
the same amount of time
and you're in the same church,
the life you live beforehand
is not the same as other people.
Here's what it says in Proverbs 31, verse 1.
The words of King Lemuel,
the prophecy that his mother taught him.
Here in Proverbs 1,
Proverbs 31,
his mom is teaching him
about the dangers of drinking alcohol.
He had a mom
that was actually training
and teaching him.
A lot of people don't have that though.
And a lot of people know
they're pretty much kind of on their own.
They might get saved
through the online ministry,
but honestly,
they didn't have the background
where they were taught
what was right and what was wrong.
Quite honestly,
it's going to affect them.
Turn in your Bible to Matthew 6.
Matthew 6.
And so not only have people
been saved different amounts of time,
and not only do we have
different places of growth,
but I want you to understand
that it's not a 2 plus 2 equals 4 situation.
It's not just a really easy,
simple thing
when you're thinking about
comparing yourself with one another.
You say, why?
Well, notice what it says
in Matthew 6, verse 2.
Therefore, when thou doest thine alms,
do not sound a trumpet before thee
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues
and in the streets,
that they may have glory of men.
Barely I say unto you,
they have their reward.
See, the Bible says that
if you basically make it a point
to let people know
how much money you're giving,
you got your reward
by people knowing about it.
You're not going to get
rewarded by God.
You say, man,
I just put in a big donation,
but I told every single person at church.
That's your reward.
You're not going to get
rewarded by God.
And so even though people
might be doing the same actions,
it doesn't necessarily mean
they're going to get the same result.
Let's say two people
go soul winning
during the week for three hours,
but one person is doing it
because they want to be seen of men
and tell everybody how spiritual they are,
whereas somebody else
is just kind of doing it quietly
because they love the Lord
and they just want to get people saved
because they don't want to see people go to hell.
Well, the person that's doing it quietly
and not just making their works be known to men,
they're going to get rewarded by God,
but the person that's doing it
to be seen of men,
they already have their reward.
You can honestly do something great for God
but lose your reward
because of the way you do it
and because you want people
to know how spiritual you are.
You go on a four-day fast
and you come to church
and you say,
man, guess what I did these past four days?
I went on a fast because I love the Lord.
Well, you got your reward.
Everybody's aware of the fact
that you went on your fast
but you're not going to get a reward up in heaven.
You say, why?
Because God doesn't want you
to make your works be known.
He doesn't want us to brag
about every single thing that we do.
Everybody knew what Jesus did
but honestly he didn't go around
bragging about everything he was doing.
People found out about him
and he just kind of did it kind of quietly
and silently
and just it ended up being known by everybody.
Look at verse number five.
One example I can think of this
is GoFundMe.
Who knows what GoFundMe is?
I don't think it's as popular here
in the Philippines as the US
but basically you can set up something
for someone or even for yourself
when you're asking for money.
Like somebody has a hospital bill
and they can't pay it
and somebody can set up a GoFundMe
for that person.
We're trying to raise $5,000 or whatever
to help for this person pay.
When you donate on GoFundMe
you have two options.
You can either donate anonymously
where nobody knows that you did it
or you can let your name be seen.
You say which should I do brother Stuckey?
Well if you want to get rewarded by God
do it anonymously.
Right.
You say well you know
but I put in a big donation
I want everybody to know.
Well you got your reward then.
You should just keep your money then
if that's the reason
why you're going to do it.
No when you do things
you're not supposed to be
let it be known.
And honestly I've seen
when people have GoFundMes
and almost everybody puts their name.
And I don't know if some people
just miss the part
they don't realize you know
that you can do it anonymously.
But it's just like you know
everybody wants to be seen in men.
Everybody wants you
as other people to know
look at what I do
look at how Godly I am.
That's not what God wants you to do.
Verse five
and when thou prayest
thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are
for they love to pray
standing in the synagogues
and in the corners of the streets
that they may be seen in men.
Verily I say unto you
they have their reward.
Quite honestly there are people
that do this.
They make it a big point
to let people know
how much they pray
and they do it in front of
every single person okay.
There's a Baptist pastor
here in the Philippines
that he did supposedly some great work
and he puts it all over Facebook
he's on there
he's like you got your reward.
You're not going to get rewarded
by God up in heaven for that though
when you make it a point
to let every single person know
everything you did.
He's like he literally
he's like look at what I did
I did this and this
and this and this
Have you not read Matthew 6?
I mean most people start
in the New Testament.
It's only the sixth chapter.
I mean you only had
to get through five chapters.
I mean this is in the sermon on the mountain.
You haven't read the sermon on the mountain.
I mean the Bible is very clear
in Matthew 6.
Notice what it says in verse 16.
More of a wingy fast
be not as the hypocrites
of a sound count sad countenance
for they disfigure their faces
that they may appear on them
in to fast.
Verily I say unto you
they have their reward.
And people will literally
do this when they fast.
They may get a point
to look really sick and pale.
Why would they do that?
So people ask them
hey are you sick?
No I've just been fasting.
They're doing it a point
to be known to men.
That's the reason why
they're doing it
because they want people
to ask them so they can say
yeah this is what I did.
Okay look at me.
Turn to 1st Corinthians 3.
1st Corinthians 3.
Have you ever wondered
why all these false religions
have like really weird clothing?
You know how a lot of these
you know priests
not just with the Catholics
with all the Protestants
and the Orthodox
they wear these really weird things.
Buddhist monks
they wear clothing
that is just really strange.
You say why?
Because they want to be seen of men.
Because when you're in a public place
of 10,000 people
you can spot a Buddhist monk
from a mile away.
You say why?
Because their clothes just stand out.
You can spot the Orthodox priest
or spot the nun
in their clothing
from a long ways away.
They're intentionally dressing in a way
so it draws attention
to their self.
Look at me.
I'm a Buddhist monk.
I'm a guy wearing an orange dress.
Look at me.
Look at how godly
and spiritual I am.
Okay that's why they do it.
1st Corinthians 3 verses 6 through 8.
I have planted
a Paulist water
but God gave me increase.
So then neither is he
that planteth anything
neither be that waterth
but God that giveth the increase.
Now he that planteth
and he that waterth are one
and every man shall receive
his own reward
according to his own labor.
And see the Bible says
that you're rewarded
based on the labor you do.
What I want you to realize
is God doesn't specifically give you
what your rewards are going to be.
He doesn't say
one hour of Bible reading
equals two rewards.
He doesn't say
one hour of prayer equals three rewards.
He doesn't give you a list
of exactly what rewards
you're going to get.
So you say
well brother Stuckey
what gives you more rewards?
Doing two hours of soul winning
or two hours of prayer?
I don't know the answer to that
because the Bible doesn't have the answer.
What gives you more rewards?
Reading the Bible
or memorizing the Bible?
I don't know what the answer
to that question is.
But see I'm not trying
to live my life just worried about
am I better than other people?
And you shouldn't do that either.
You say why should I go soul winning?
Because you don't want people
to burn in hell
and because you love the Lord
and you want to do what the Bible says?
Why should you read the Bible?
Because God tells you to
and you should love the Word of God.
It shouldn't just be
well I'm trying to do these things
so I can be better than somebody else.
And so honestly
the way God gives you
rewards in the Bible
it's not a two plus two
equals four situation.
Obviously going soul winning
is going to get you some rewards
but that's not the only thing
that gets you rewards.
And quite honestly
we don't know the exact system
but I do know that the way
you do your works
will affect how much rewards you get.
And so you could honestly
do just as much soul winning
as somebody else
and get pretty much no rewards
compared to them
because you're doing it
to be seen in men
and people do that.
And you will honestly
lose your rewards.
But also
when we look at our country
it's very receptive here.
Two hours of soul winning
here in the Philippines
we're going to get more people
saved than two hours in America
or two hours in just about
any other country.
Does that mean
we're going to get more rewards?
Well I don't think so
because it's still the same
amount of work we're doing
and you have to realize
people are not in the same situations.
In our bulletin
we have a lot of
salvations in this church
but that's not the same thing
as a church
that's in a really unreceptive area.
We have more salvations
than our sending church in Sacramento
but we have less soul winners.
We're doing less hours of soul
but we have more salvations
because it's just more receptive.
You have to understand
that they're not the same thing.
It's foolish to compare them
because it's a different situation.
Turn to Romans 12.
And so in Romans chapter 12
the Bible reads in verse 3
Christ saved through the grace
given unto me
to every man that is among you
not to think of himself
more highly than he ought to think
but to think soberly
according as God
hath dealt to every man
the measure of faith.
So the Bible says
God's dealt to everybody
the measure of faith
but even more so in this chapter
it's not talking about faith
to get saved
but what it's talking about
is just different areas of your life.
Basically we all have different abilities
that we've been given.
And you say
Brother Stuckman
what's going to give you more rewards?
Doing song leading for church
and spending a few hours
practicing the music
or you know
taking up the offering at church
or doing the accounting
I don't know.
I mean you know
I'm not trying to spend my whole life
I don't have a ranking system
at this church
where this person
is going to get the most rewards in heaven.
This person is number one at a church
this person is number two
this person is number three
I don't know
and I will say this
that honestly
just because you're the person
preaching the sermons
that does not mean
you're going to get the most rewards
because you're awarded
based on the work you do
okay?
Now look
obviously I go soloing a lot
I spend a lot of time
about my sermons
but honestly
a lot of you are sermons
and God has quite a bit as well.
Now there are churches
where the pastors
they don't spend any time on your sermons
say how do you know?
Because you listen to the sermons
and you can tell.
They didn't spend any time on sermons
and they don't spend any time
reading the Bible.
So the Bible talks about
you know
an elder deserving double honor
when they labor the word of doctrine
part of preaching sermons
is quite honestly
studying the Bible a lot
and making sure you spend a lot of time
I don't just get up here
five minutes beforehand
and say well
let's just throw down these verses
and just kind of wing it
I spend real time
preparing my sermons
you say why?
Because that's the job you have
if you're preaching the sermons
but just because
you're the one preaching the sermons
does not mean
you get the most rewards
and honestly
I don't know if I'm to get the most rewards
or get less than a lot of people here
I don't really know
but I'm not trying to live my life
just comparing myself to other people
and say man
I gotta get more rewards than someone
I'm just trying to serve God
just like you guys are doing the same thing
and so comparing yourself to someone else
turn to Matthew 23
it's a very foolish thing to do
especially when you're comparing yourself
to someone else who loves God
you should just be thankful
that they love God
and are serving Him
whether or not they're doing
more or less than you
okay
compare yourself to other people
and the last point we have is this
another reason why it's foolish
to compare ourselves
is quite honestly
we really don't know
how godly people are
or what people are actually doing
in their lives
it says in Matthew 23 verse 15
woe unto you
scribes and Pharisees
hypocrites
for you compass sea and land
to make one cross the light
and when he is made
you make him twofold more
the child of hell
than yourselves
and obviously in this verse
we're talking about an evil person
a reprobate
a false prophet
but I want you to notice
what it says in verse 15
this person compasses sea and land
to make one cross the light
what is that saying?
it's saying they do every single thing
in their power
to convert one person to false beliefs
do you realize that people
that end up being false prophets
are usually the most zealous people
say what?
well I mean the Bible says
in verse 15
that's what's going to happen
they compass sea and land
to make one cross the light
basically they will do anything they can
to make somebody else a false prophet
it kind of boggles my mind
that when someone turns out
to be a bad person
people say things like
you know I can't believe that
I mean they were the most zealous soul winner
it's like that's always what people say
and what I've noticed is
what those people usually do though
is they make it a point
to let it be known
how zealous they are
they're never silent about
how much they go so many
people that end up being bad people
basically they not only do some
so many
they make it a point to let people know
every single time they go so many
and some people think they go
like all the time
because they're always posting about it
they're always talking about it
they're always saying
hey you know I did this
they're letting their works be known to men
some people think they're a lot more
spiritual than they are
honestly you don't know in this room
how spiritual other people are
you don't know whether so and so
spent 30 minutes praying this morning
before they came to church
or whether or not someone spent 30 minutes
you know watching a movie before church
you don't know
you don't know whether or not
somebody is singing the psalms and hymns
in their spiritual time
or whether or not they're you know
just you know listening to Len Zeppelin
when they go home
whatever the rock means
Justin Bieber
I don't know
Justin Bieber
Katy Perry
Lady Gaga
you know you don't know what people are doing
in their free time
and just because someone acts spiritual
in front of you
it doesn't mean they are spiritual
turn to first Thessalonians five
first Thessalonians five
and the Bible reads in
first Thessalonians chapter five
for they get sleep
verse seven
for they that sleep sleep in the night
and they that be drunken
are drunken in the night
okay
what I want you to understand is
there's certain things that are done during the day
and there's certain things that are done
during the night time
according to verse seven
people typically get drunk at night time
isn't that true
it's almost always true
whenever somebody gets drunk during the day
you're known as just being
the person who just wakes up
and the first thing they do is drink booze
that's honestly pretty rare
most people when they get drunk
they get drunk at night time
most people when they commit adultery
they do it at night time
most people when they fornicate
they do it at night time
they don't do these things in the day
to be seen
okay
most people that commit murder
they're going to do it at night time
where they won't get caught
the only exception that we know
is the catholic church
because they went through a lot of polls
they just did it in broad daylight
because they're the most powerful person
they can get away with it
most people though
when they sin and do wrong
they do it at night time
okay
and what you have to understand in this room
you honestly do not know
what people are doing in their free time
you do not know whether or not
somebody's reading the bible an hour every day
or whether or not they never read the bible
whether or not people from time to time drink
or whether or not people are living
just trying as godly as they possibly can
you do not know
and so it's very foolish
to compare yourself to someone else
because honestly we have no idea
how much people are honestly living for god
we don't know how much they're reading the bible
we don't know how much they're praying
we don't know how much they're going so many
i had a friend of mine back in college
and he had been saved for like five years
he was really excited one day
he told me he's like guess what brother Stuckey
i was like what
he's like i finished reading the bible cover to cover
in the back of my head i was thinking
i would have figured you finished that like four years ago
and i just kind of assumed this person read the bible quite a bit
but quite honestly you know that's the first time he had finished it cover to cover
and honestly in this room you might think
and so and so he probably spends two hours reading the bible every day
i mean you don't know that
and and honestly people do lie sometimes too
just because somebody tells you how much they're doing
that doesn't mean it's actually true
people lie sometimes
and turn to Philippians chapter three
Philippians three we'll look at one last place
and so there's there's two main reasons
that i can think of why it's very foolish to compare yourself
aside from all the points
but basically the problem is people either compare themselves to someone who's
very unspiritual or they think they're unspiritual
and it makes them very puffed up full of pride
because they're like look at me
i do more bible reading than anybody else at church
and you know honestly when people go to churches that are not very godly
it's very easy to look at your life and think man i'm going so many more than anybody else
i'm reading the bible more than anybody else
but once you have that sort of attitude
you're going to kind of stop doing that
because you're like well i'm already number one in church anyway
and so honestly when you compare yourself to people
that maybe you don't think it occurs as spiritual
it makes you very prideful
makes you very arrogant because you think you're something special
and pride is a guaranteed fall in your life
it comes before destruction and you will fall if you lift up full of pride
but the other thing people do is this
they look at their lives
and they compare themselves to someone who's maybe been saved for a really long amount of time
and they basically just get down on themselves
and they think man i could never preach a sermon
i could never go soloing
i don't know the bible as much as so and so
well notice what it says in Philippians chapter 3 verses 13 and 14
reverend i count not myself to have apprehended
but this one thing i do
forgetting those things which are behind
and reaching forth onto those things which are before
and so what Paul the apostle said was
the one thing he did is he forgot those things that were behind
now i would assume that everybody in this room
you probably have a better background before you got saved than Paul the apostle
say why?
Paul the apostle helped persecute christians
i'm assuming that nobody's done that before
Paul the impossible in his background was pretty rough
it would have been very easy for Paul the apostle to look at his life
and just say man i've been such a bad person
and just get down on himself and he would have never done anything for God
but we know Paul the apostle as being the most zealous person in the new testament basically
he wrote half the new testament
why?
because he forgot about those things which are behind
notice what it says though at the end of this verse
well this is verse 13
reaching forth onto those things which are before
okay
what do you reach with?
you reach with your hands right?
reaching forth onto those things which are before
things is plural
okay
what does it say?
basically you're reaching with both hands under those things which are before
you're fully
you're not holding on to the past and reaching forth
because it's multiple things
you're just fully reaching forward to what's before
and honestly you know some people never really grow spiritually too much
because they're holding on to their past
they can spend their entire lives and say wow man i i did this sin
i can never be used by God
or you know i've done this in the past you know
and honestly you're not going to grow spiritually
if you can't just forget about what's in the past
and so comparing yourself to someone else can make you prideful
but it can also make you feel very lowly and not do anything for that
verse 14
i press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus
and Paul the apostle said you know he presses towards that mark
and to do that you need to throw every single thing aside
and honestly when it comes to comparing ourselves
you say brother Stuckey is this really a problem?
i promise you it's a problem at churches
you say why?
because if the people Jesus specifically chose were arguing about this
then that's something people would argue about today as well
now here's the thing you might not argue about that utterly
but it doesn't mean that you don't think about this from time to time
and you're thinking about wow man i think i am more spiritually so and so
and i go so many three times a week
so and so only go so many two times a week
so and so you know they don't read the bible as much as i do
look if it happened during the day of Jesus
and these are the people he specifically chose
it's going to be something that's a sin that's common to man that anyone can struggle with
and it's something we all need to to put a check on
and not compare ourselves to other people
look it'd be very easy for me to just look at all the other pastors around this area
that aren't really preaching the bible
and feel like man i just know everything about the bible
just because they're not preaching anything in the service
no i still need to study the bible and learn and learn and learn and learn and learn
and grow in grace and in knowledge
and with all of us we shouldn't be comparing ourselves to other people
because quite honestly we haven't attained yet
there's still a lot that we we need to know
there's still plenty of things i could open up in the bible
and quite honestly i wouldn't know what it's talking about
every single day when i read the bible there's things i do not understand
you know i remember that somebody at verity baptist it was a while ago
they were and i think he mentioned this recently so i apologize if i did
but they just mentioned to me that um this is a long time ago
they were talking they were having kind of problems in their marriage
and then they were saying you know brother stuck you know this is something
you and sister tan never fight do you and i was like you know of course we fight
you know everybody does from time to time they just kind of assumed
man i'm sure brother stuck never gets in any fights with his wife
and it's just like sometimes we can have that attitude
we look at other people in this room and we might think they're really spiritual
honestly you know it's foolish to compare yourself
because you honestly don't know the sorts of lives that people are living
and quite honestly whether or not someone's more godly than you or less
your goal should just be to be growing every single week spiritually
let's close in order prayer