["Pomp and Circumstance"]
Good evening, everyone.
Welcome to Faith in the Red Baptist Church.
Great to see you all here for this amazing service.
If you all please have a seat.
We're at the hymnal, and we can open up our hymnals to the song number 14.
The song number 14, Kneel at the Cross.
["Kneel at the Cross"]
Amen.
Pray for us.
Thank you, Father God, for these days.
Thank you for the morning service this morning.
And thank you for this evening's service.
Thank you for those that went soloing.
And I thank you for every brother, sister, and Christ here.
We ask you to please bless the service tonight.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Amen.
Let's turn our hymnals to song number 97.
Song number 97, I Need Thee Every Hour.
["I Need Thee Every Hour"]
Alright, if you need a whole thing, go ahead and slip up your hand. Brother Adam will bring you on.
Always on the left-hand side, up at the top, we have our service times listed every Sunday at
10.30 a.m., again at 5.30 p.m. Thursdays at 7.
We're going through the book of 1 Kings, we'll be in Chapter 8. We're actually going to be in 1 Kings
7 again tonight. There was a lot in 1 Kings 7 last week,
I just wanted to touch on another thought I had, so we're going to be
in 1 Kings 7 again tonight, but we'll be in 1 Kings 8
Thursday, so come on out for that. Please be sure to silence your cell phones
if you've already done so. We've got the field trip listed there on the right-hand side,
if you're planning on going to that and you haven't signed up already, you need to do that,
probably let me know that you did at this point. Keep working on the New Testament 90-day challenge,
and don't forget we're going to have donuts and coffee next Sunday,
so come on out for that early at 10 a.m., which
in my book technically isn't that early, you know, we call it early, but
you can go ahead and roll on here a little earlier than normal, I guess,
and get yourself some coffee and get yourself a donut or two.
Don't forget this Friday in the back is movie night, we're going to be watching Being Baptist.
Who's already seen Being Baptist? Who has not seen
Being Baptist? I admit it, I haven't seen it. I watched the first
10 to 15 minutes, I thought, man, that's good, but I want to see it here on the big screen,
so we're going to be getting that all set up. So come on out and
if you want to invite folks out, please feel free to do that, just make sure you sign up back there
on the sign up sheet if you haven't done so. Who's coming but hasn't signed up?
Oh, shame, shame, shame.
So please sign up, let me know how many people you're bringing, that way I am sure
to get enough of the concessions so everyone is
happy. And we've also got the weekly Bible memory passage there
for the young people. How many of the kids
got this one done already? This one from this week?
This one right here? You just did Proverbs chapter 3 already? No?
No? Alright, I just thought, I'm just curious.
Who did last week's? Alright, who's going to do this week's?
Alright, so we've got some other upcoming announcements. Let's go ahead and count up below that,
but let's go ahead and count up the soul winning. And going back to
Monday or Tuesday, no wait, I mean Friday
or Saturday. Is there anything for Saturday? What about today?
What is that?
He's doing this. I don't know what that is.
Are you from Texas or something?
This would be Texas, right? Or something else.
So it's two?
Alright, we'll keep up the good work soul winning. We'll go ahead and sing one more song
before we get into the preaching tonight.
One, two, three, four.
piano music
Do not be the glory
great things we have done.
So loved to the world that He gave
us His Son.
To live His life with us all
for sin and open the life
His blood on Him will win.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord
let the earth hear His voice.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord
let the people rejoice.
Come to the Father through Jesus
the Son and give Him
the glory great things we have
done through the earth.
In redemption the purchase of God
to every believer
the promise of God
who truly believes
ever made from Jesus
the Father is seen.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord
let the earth hear His voice.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord
Come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give
Him the glory great things
He have done. Praise the
Lord, praise the Lord
and give Him the glory great things He have done.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord
and give Him the glory great things
He have done.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord
and give Him the glory great things
He have done.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord
let the earth hear His voice.
Come to the Father through Jesus
the Son and give Him
the glory great things He have
done.
Come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give Him
the glory great things He have
done.
Come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give Him
the glory great things He have
done.
Come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give Him
the glory great things He have
done.
Come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give Him
the glory great things He have
done.
Come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give Him
the glory great things He have
done.
Come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give Him
the glory great things He have
done.
Come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give Him
the glory great things He have
done.
Come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give Him
the glory great things He have
done.
Come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give Him
the glory great things He have
done.
Come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give Him
the glory great things He have
done.
Come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give Him
the glory great things He have
done.
Come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give Him
the glory great things He have
done.
Come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give Him
the glory great things He have
done.
Come to the
Father through Jesus the
Son and give Him the glory great
things He have done.
Come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give Him
the glory great things He have
done.
Come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give Him
the glory great things He have
done.
Come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give Him
the glory great things He have
done.
Come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give Him
the glory great things He have
done.
Come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give Him
the glory great things He have
done.
Come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give Him the
glory great things He have done.
Come to the Father through Jesus
the Son and give Him the glory
great things He have done.
Come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give Him the
glory great things He have done.
Come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give Him the
glory great things He have done.
Come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give Him the
glory great things He have done.
Come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give Him the
glory great things He has done.
Come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give Him the
you know, that we're not really good for anything. You know, we're henceforth good for nothing
but to be cast out and trodden underfoot of men. You know, parallel passage talks about it's not
even meat for the dung hill. You know, you can't, even dung has more value than, you know,
flavorless salt. You know, because salt you can, or excuse me, dung, you can at least spread on a
field and fertilize things and cause things to grow. You know, salt would have the opposite
effect. So salt has this very specific job and he likens that not only unto salt but also unto
light. He says that, you know, we are the light of the world and that a city that is set on a hill
cannot be hid. You know, we are to be a light of the gospel to this world. And he's saying, you
know, men don't light a candle and put under a bushel. You know, they don't hide it but they
put on a candlestick for everybody to see and that's how we're supposed to live our lives.
We're supposed to let our light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify
your Father which is in heaven. Now with that thought in mind of, you know, letting your light
shine, you know, being a bright light, you know, if your works are supposed to be something that
shines to the world, it's something that's supposed to be visible and open to the end that it does
what? That it brings glory to our Father, God our Father which is in heaven. You know, so go back if
you would to 1 Kings chapter 7 with that thought in mind. The thought of, you know, that we are the
light of the world. That, you know, our works are to shine. That they're to be bright. Okay, well,
and we're going to look at a specific character here in just a few passages of 1 Kings chapter 7
who goes by the name of Hiram. Now I try to figure out, you know, is it talking about the
king? Because remember there's Hiram king of Tyre. But then when you go back to 1 Kings 7,
it seems like there's this other Hiram that's mentioned. You know, and I don't know if it's
saying that this guy, you know, was, they called him Hiram because he was of Hiram or what. But
there's this other guy name who I believe just had a similar name. You know, that's, you know,
you'll see characters in the Bible that have the exact same name over and over again. Okay,
and it says in verse 13 of 1 Kings 7 that King Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.
He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass,
and he was filled with wisdom and understanding and cunning to work all the works in brass. And
he came to King Solomon and wrought all his work. So then you got a picture of a guy, you know,
who's coming to the king. And of course, Solomon is a picture of Christ. He's a picture of God.
And he's coming to the king to do this work, right? And his work is on public display. You
know, we talked about it on Thursday. I mean, he builds the pillars. He brings the molten sea. He
builds the bases and the labors. In fact, he builds everything. He's building all these things
out of bright brass. Verse 41, and it says that he built the two pillars, the two bowls of the
chapellars that were on top of the two pillars and the two networks to cover the two bowls of
the chapellars which were upon the tops of the pillars and 400 pomegranates for two networks,
even two rows of pomegranates for one network to cover the two bowls of the chapellars that were
upon the pillars and the 10 bases and the 10 labors of the bases and the 1 sea and 12 oxen
under the sea and the pots and the shovels and the basins and all these vessels which Hiram made
to King Solomon for the house of the Lord were of brass. But notice it doesn't say it was just
of brass. It was of what? Of bright brass. You know, the work that he did, he did in such a way
to cause it to shine. You know, he made that bright, he made that brass to shine.
Meaning this, you know, the application is that, you know, you need to let your light so shine
before men. If you're going to glorify God, which is in heaven, you can't just give him some
lackluster work. And so often that's what happens in Christianity. You know, people, they want to
live for God, they want to serve for God, but they kind of just give God the leftovers. You know,
they give God the scraps. You know, they don't give God the bright brass that he's worthy of.
You know, and there's a lot of application that can be made here, but the first thing I want to
point out is that, you know, when Hiram came to do the work, you know, he gave his best effort.
You know, he didn't just go into it kind of haphazardly, just kind of like, well,
see how well I can do. You know, he put his best foot forward and when it was done,
it wasn't just any old brass. It was bright brass that shone, you know, his light, you know,
his work shone as a light and it brought, and what did it end up doing? It brought glory to God the
Father. And, you know, that's the same approach that we have to have. Obviously, we're not going
to do these, you know, we're not going to be making molten this and molten that. We're not
going to be making some great ornate project, you know, in the house of God. But, you know,
our lives are our work. You know, the way we build our lives, the way we spend our time,
the things that we do in service to God, you know, we ought to put our best foot forward.
You know, if we're going to serve in some capacity, we ought to make sure that that
work that we're doing shines, that it isn't lackluster, that it isn't a dull brass.
You know, when I was locksmithing, you know, a lot of the hardware I worked with was brass.
You know, most keys are made out of brass. You know, in brass with time, it, you know,
it goes from that bright color and then it starts to turn into like a dull brown. And
eventually if it's not taken care of, you know, we'll actually turn green. It actually looks kind
of gross, you know, and that's, you know, that could be our works if we're not careful. You know,
that could be the way we serve God. You know, if we don't take the time to shine and to polish,
you know, and to upkeep our works for God, you know, they'll grow lackluster.
They'll start to be a little less bright. They'll be a little bit more dull. Eventually,
they might even turn green. They might even, you know, like some lock mechanisms just completely
seize up. You know, you can't, you got to, you want to make them work again. You got to, you
know, break things free and you got to lubricate. You got to scrub and take things apart and clean
it, put it back together to make a, you know, a brass piece of hardware work again, if it's
seized up, you know, that, that could be us in the Christian life. People who just, you know,
kind of just get, get lazy about serving God or just thinking, you know, it's not the most
important thing I do, or, you know, they've been at it for a while and it's just like, yeah, you
know, I know I'm serving God, but you know, it's not that big of a deal. Look, it's a big deal.
It's a big deal to serve God. I mean, Hiram comes to the King and he's like, let me do my best. You
know, let me make this brass shine before God. You know, not just before God, but also you have to
remember it's let your light so shine before men that they may glorify your father, which is in
heaven. You know, if you're doing something that other people are going to see, you know, you
should have an attitude of, you know, I want to, I want to make a good impression on their people.
You know, if your name is attached to some piece of work or something that you're doing in service,
you know, you should probably want to, you know, do your best so you can have a good reputation.
And not just be somebody who says, oh, you know, well, they do it half-heartedly,
you know, or they do things halfway. You know, you want to do things all the way. You want to
do your best, you know, before God, you know, and also before men. I mean, that's what Jesus said,
let your light so shine, what, before men. You know, Hiram went in there and everything he did
was on public display. I mean, imagine if he had got, you know, he went and he built the 12,
you know, the 12 oxen and he, and he got one turned around because it says they were all
faced inward, you know, but that 12 oxen, he's like, oh, whoops. You know, I lost track of what
I was doing. You know, I wasn't paying close attention. And that one's, you know, it's got
its rear end sticking out, you know, everyone that saw it would be like, what, what's this about?
Well, you know, it's just, it's having a bad day. You know, I just, I don't know. I mean,
I'd already built 11. I got to that 12th one. I was just kind of like, you know, whatever,
you know, that would have been, you know, that would have been embarrassing, wouldn't it? That
would be, but that would be something that everybody saw. You know, when people, you know,
when they see our works for God, you know, they should see that, you know, we're putting forth
our best effort. You know, when they come in here, they should see that, hey, you know, these people
are taking the service of God seriously. You know, they're putting their best effort. And by the way,
and I'm not saying be perfect in every way. I'm not saying never make a mistake. I'm not ever
saying ever slip up. I'm just saying that you're doing the best that you can. You know, that's
what's going to make your work bright. You know, if you're putting forth your best effort. And
that's what Hiram did. You know, when he, he didn't just go in there and, and, and just kind of,
well, you know, this is, let me just use some, you know, some sloppy tools. Let me just kind of get
this done halfway and just give, you know, just good enough. You know, you know, he wanted to put
forth his best effort, you know, and it's, and it's, it should be encouraging to us because I
think sometimes a lot of people, you know, they get it in their heads that, you know, for some
reason or another that they can't serve God like other people can't. You know, that, you know,
they didn't have the perfect upbringing. You know, they weren't raised in a godly church,
in a godly family. You know, they got saved in church later in life and they start to get this
attitude, you know, you know, I can't really do everything to the same degree that other people
can't do. Now look, obviously there's some things that if, you know, certain events, you know,
occur in our life that are going to be off limits to us. Okay. But you know what? That's really a
short list when you think about it. I mean, really like the only thing that comes to mind
is the pastorate. You know, if you're divorced, you know, the pastorate is off limits to you.
But I mean, is that the only place you can serve God? You know, but people think, well,
if I can't be the pastor, you know, then I can't really serve God to some great, you know,
actually you could out serve the pastor. You know, your works could be just as bright, you know,
your, your works could be, you know, shine just as brightly before men and God, it's anybody else's.
I mean, Hyrum, he didn't have the greatest upbringing. I mean, from the little bit that
we know of him. You know, and again, God gives us specific details, not just because he's trying
to fill things in. I think he's trying to show us something. It says there again in, in, in,
in 1 Kings 13 or 7, verse 13, and King Solomon sent and fetched Hyrum out of Tyre. Notice the
first thing we're told, he was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali and his, and his father was
a man of Tyre. So, you know, I don't know if his father was of Israel, it sounds like, you know,
she was of the tribe of Naphtali and he was, you know, he was of another nation. You know,
maybe he served a different God, you know, maybe it wasn't that household wasn't perfect in every
way. Maybe they won't, you know, walking in one accord, maybe there was some tension there.
You know, maybe dad died early on, you know, and he had to kind of learn to fend for himself.
You know, I mean, obviously, you know, he learned some things from his dad because it says that his
dad was a worker in brass and filled, and he was filled with wisdom talking about how Hyrum was,
right? So obviously there's some things he got from his father, but, you know, he's telling us
some of these details, look, that's not exactly the best upbringing, is it? You know, if you're
going to be, especially for, for men, you know, and, you know, and girls, everybody needs their
father. You know, people need a dad in their life. Maybe he didn't have the perfect, you know,
upbringing, you know, but you know what he had is he had a godly upbringing. He had a godly one. I
mean, his mother was, you know, of the tribe of Naphtali. She was of the children, you know,
she was of the tribe of Israel. She was one of God's people, you know? So again, you don't have
to have a perfect life, but you know what? You just have to have a godly one. You have to do
everything perfectly, but you know, if you put forth your best, you know, that's all that anyone
can ask of you. And that's all that God is looking for, your best. So, you know, that's what we need
to learn to do. Let our light so shine before men. Make sure all our works are what? A bright brass.
We don't want to do our works of some dull, lame material. That's not how I want my life. If you
were to sum up my life in some kind of material, you know, your life was styrofoam. You know,
you had a life of aluminum foil. Ooh, how exciting. You know, your life was a life of plastic wrap,
saran wrap. You know, I want my life to be bright. I want it to be a life of bright brass that shines,
that brings glory to God. And look, I'm not one who had a perfect upbringing. You know,
I doubt anybody in this room has had a perfect upbringing. In fact, I don't even really have
a godly one. I'm not saying that to fault my parents or, you know, cast shade on them. Just
say it in fact. You know, but still, you know, I could still serve God and do works. I could
still put forth my best effort at serving God and still what? Glorify God. That's the end of it. You
know, if you really want to glorify God, then you have to make sure you're putting forth your best
effort and not just doing things half-heartedly. You know, he had, you know, he didn't have the
perfect upbringing, but he definitely seemed to have a godly one. And here's the thing, you know,
God makes up the difference. You know, if God sees you putting forth your best effort, you know,
God will help make up the difference. He really will. I mean, isn't that what he said here? He
said, you know, he was a widow son of the tribe of Naphtali, verse 14, and his father was a man
of Tyre, a worker in brass. So, you know, so obviously, you know, his dad taught him some things,
right? But, you know, he wasn't, I doubt his dad was, you know, you know, decorating, you know,
these ornate temples under the living God. You know, nobody else did that. I mean, that's quite
the contract, isn't it? You know, you better make sure you don't just find anybody to do that kind
of work, do you? It wasn't just like, you know, just whoever, you know, we're just, you know,
we're just trying to build a temple under the true and living God. I mean, whoever you got,
hire him. Any guy will do, you know, as long as he knows a little something about brass,
you know, that's fine. You know, you know, his dad, you know, probably was a skilled tradesman,
but I'm sure he wasn't the perfect guy for the job. In fact, you know, Hyrum here was,
didn't even know, wasn't just, you know, naturally the most gifted guy. It says there that he was,
what, filled with wisdom and understanding and cunning. You know, that, that wisdom,
that filling came from who? It came from God. You know, his dad got him so far,
and then the rest to go to that next level, you know, his dad or God had to fill him with the
wisdom and knowledge and understanding. You know, that's something that, what I'm trying to get at
is that God will make up the difference. You know, Moses, I'm trying to think of the guy's
name. I had it earlier. The same when they built the tabernacle. You know, he said he brought him,
ah, the guy's name is escaping, but they, you know who I'm talking about. They brought him
this one guy. He said, behold, I have filled, who knows it? Anybody? Nobody? Okay. Well,
he says, I have filled him with what? Knowledge and wisdom and understanding to, to work in,
in purple and scarlet and brass. And, you know, he filled this guy with, with wisdom to go and do
the work that was needed in the tabernacle. You know, the same thing's happening here.
God finds a guy, you know, he's not perfect in every way. You know, he didn't have the great,
the perfect upbringing. You know, he didn't, he doesn't have everything, all of his ducks in a
row, but you know what? He's going to put forth his best effort. And God says, you know what?
I see that. I'll go ahead and make up the difference. I'll go ahead and fill you with
knowledge and wisdom and understanding. But you know what? God's not going to do that for the guy
who's not interested in putting out bright brass in his life. You know, the guy who's satisfied
with, you know, just some, just some lame, dull work, you know, God's not going to, because you
don't need God's help to do that. You don't need God's help to be just a lame, dull Christian.
You don't need that. Why would God help? Let me help you with that. Let me show you how that's
done. That's not going to bring any glory to God. You know, God's going to bless the guy,
fill the individual with wisdom and knowledge and understanding to go to the next level
when that person shows that, hey, I'm interested in putting forth out, you know, putting out my
best effort. I want to make some bright brass for God in my life. And you know, in the story,
notice also that it's bright brass that he builds everything that's outside the temple.
That when you get inside the temple, you know, he goes on and talks about how he made the vessels
that pray in the house of the Lord, the altar of gold, the table of gold, where the showbread
runs, the candlesticks of pure gold. You know, the closer they got to God, you know, the more valuable
that substance became, right? But you know, that doesn't mean that, well, you know, my work isn't
inside the temple of the house of God. So it really doesn't matter, you know, if it's brass
or whatever. You know, the picture is, you know, no matter what work you're doing, no matter what
you have to work with, whether it's gold, whether it's brass, you know what you need to do? You need
to make it bright. You need to make it shine. You know, brass and gold both shine. They might not,
you know, they might not be as rare of a substance, but you know, if all you've got in life to work
with is brass, so be it. You know, if that's what God gave you, so what? Go ahead and make it shine
before God. And some people look at that and go, I don't know if that's brass or gold. I can't tell.
They're both so bright. They're both shining so well. They're both so impressive. You know,
I doubt anyone saw Hiram's work and went, yeah, but it's not gold though. I mean, good night.
We looked at the dimensions of that, that sea last week, right? 10,000 gallons, that thing held
10,000 plus just all these massive works. I mean, just this great sea upon these molten oxen,
everyone's like, yeah, it's impressive, but it's not gold. Do you think anyone said that?
Do you think that's what you'd say? Yeah, but you know, it's just brass.
You know, you know, brass is incredibly heavy. Brass is incredibly hard to work with.
Very soft metal, right? People, you would be blown away and say, wow,
you probably want to cross your mind. Oh, what is that made out of? You just being so impressed
with how bright it is and how ornate it is and you know, how, what the skill and the craftsmanship
that went into it, you would care. You would say brass, gold. I don't care. You know, I'll take one.
Can you get one in my yard? The point is this, you know, whatever material you have to work with,
whether it's brass or gold, you need to just put forth your best effort. God will make up the
difference. You know, he'll fill you with the knowledge and the wisdom and the understanding
to make that work shine before God, if you want it. You know, but so many people are just,
they're just satisfied with just, just being lame. You know, just giving God, well, you hear
some tinfoil, you know, make the best out of that you can in my life. It's like, that's not,
no one's impressed with that. You know, I don't, you know, I don't care how cool a piece of
origami you make out of a piece of tinfoil. It's, you know, it's not that impressive.
You know, you chisel that thing out of brass, you know, then maybe I'd be a little bit more
impressed. You know, and Hiram here, he didn't have the perfect upbringing. You know, he wasn't
always working with the, you know, the most valuable material, but you know what, he took
what he had. He took the ability that his dad had given him and he went to the next level with it.
You know, he went to serve the king with what he had and God made up the difference.
But, you know, notice also that, you know, it wasn't that he just, you know,
had just no background at all in this. Obviously his dad was a worker in brass. You know,
we don't know at what point his dad died. You know, we don't really know, but it does point
out the fact that, hey, his dad was a worker in brass. So obviously, you know, he learned
something from his father. You know, obviously his dad, you know, I would guess probably took
him aside and said this, you know, Todd on the properties of brass, you know, you know,
you know, how it reacts in different temperatures, the things that you can do with it,
how to work with it, you know, what its melting point. I mean, he taught him all these things
about brass. He gave him some basic knowledge, some understanding, right? You know, and that's
the way it is, you know, and you, you Christian young people, you know, those of you that are
growing up in a godly home, you need to listen to me because, you know, if you have parents that
love God, they're trying to teach you and instruct you, you know, again, not perfect parents, godly
ones, that's what I'm talking about, not perfect godly, that care about you, that are trying to
invest in you in the Word of God, you know, or teach you the Word of God and invest you and
make you a godly young person, you know, that's only, let me just tell you this, it's only going
to get you so far. It's only going to be able to take you so far in the Christian life. You know,
at some point, you're going to have to decide either my life is going to shine for God or it's
not. Either I'm going to put my own, my best effort forward, you know, I'm going to put my
best foot forward, you know, and make something out of my life that's going to count for God,
that's going to bring, you know, glory to God the Father, you know, either I'm going to do that on
my own or I'm not. You know, eventually, you know, Hiram's dad was gone. You know, by the time he
gets around to serving a king, Hiram's dad has passed away, you know, but his dad has got him so
far, but to reach that next level, you need to say, you know what, no, now it's my turn. Now,
I'm going to be the example. Now, I'm going to be the one that is filled with wisdom and knowledge
and understanding. You know, you have to, if you want your life to count for God, you know,
you have to go beyond what your parents have given you and take it to the next level. And look,
that's not, that's not to, you know, let parents off the hook or something like that. Obviously,
parents, you know, we're instructed in Deuteronomy, you know, to, to teach diligently unto our
children, you know, the law, that we are to talk of them when thou sittest in thine house,
and when thou walkest by thy way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. You say,
Mom, Dad, why are you always dragging me to church? Why are you always getting out the Bible?
Why are you always talking about God? You know, because we want your life to count. We want your
life to shine for Christ. But you know what, we could talk about it. We could bring you to church
and I can get up and I could spit and yell and scream and shake the pulpit and everything,
but at some point you're going to have to decide, hey, I want to take it to the next level.
I want my life to count for something. I want to go unto the King and create something. I want to
make something out of my life because I want to. You have to decide to do that. And when you do
that, that's when God's going to show up and fill you with wisdom and knowledge, understanding,
and guide you. Your parents can only get you so far. Look, you know, that goes for everybody.
You know, the church can only get you so far. You know, I, I will, I know this morning I had you a
little bit longer than 45 minutes, but typically that's what it is. You know, I might only get you
for an hour and 40 hour, you know, two hours a week. You know, and a lot of that time, you know,
at preaching, I'm just trying to push out everything else that's been pumped in during the
week. You know, but I can only get you so far in your Christian life. I mean, I'll get you, you know,
the church will get you a lot further than you would without it. But you know what, at some point
you have to decide, you know, I'm going to serve God. I'm going to, I'm going to take it to the next
level on my own. You know, not independent of the church, but you know, hey, I'm going to go ahead
and, and, and I'm not going to have to have the pastor breathing down my throat or breathing down
my neck about Bible reading and prayer. You know, he's going to be preaching that to somebody else
and I'm just gonna be saying, yeah, amen. Cause I've already done that. You know, he's not going
to have to get after me about soul winning and serving God, living Godly in Christ Jesus because,
you know, I'm just going to go ahead and do that. You know, your works were already, already be
shining, but when is that going to happen? When you decide to do it on your own, when you decide
to take it to this next level, you know, that's when this church is going to reach the next level
is when people on their own, I don't know. I understand that everything rises and falls
in leadership and I have a part to play, but you know what? I can't drag people into taking this
church to the next level. People have to want that for themselves. And that when that's when
we're going to get to the next level, when people start saying, Hey, you know what? I want to bring
visitors out here. I want to see more baptisms. You know, I want to improve the music program.
I want to get more involved. I want to do this when they want to do it. And I'm not,
I'm not interested in dragging people, kicking and screaming through the Christian life,
because this is my experience with people. Well, you know, when you carry people,
when you set them down, they just tend to slide right back where they were,
you know, and then you got to pick them up and then they maybe get a little further and just
kind of slide back. When people pick themselves up and say, you know what? I got this. You don't
need to pick me up and start putting one foot in front of the other. You know, that's when
things start to get done. I'm going to say, they say, Hey, you know what? Preacher, you just start
walking. I'll just follow you. You know, and I'll put my own feet one foot in front of another and
we'll just follow you. You don't need to carry me. No, just, Hey, can you pick me up? Can you
give me where I'm going? That's what babies do, right? And that's what, that's what our little
Julie does all the time. I'm trying to put my, my shoes on. She comes scooting across the floor,
right? And she's just like, pick me up. It's time to go. You know, I can't put myself in the car
seat. Dad, you know, I can't buckle myself up. Mom, you're going to have to drive. I can't,
you know, we're not like Julie here, drive the car, get us to church, right? And I understand
that's where people start out in the Christian life. A lot of times we have to carry people to
a certain degree, but as you grow as a Christian, as you become more mature, you know, there should
be a point you just say, Hey, you know what? I don't, I don't need you to buckle me up in the
car seat anymore. I can, I can, I'm a big boy now, you know, give me the keys and I'll take,
I'll take over and I'll start doing things right. I mean, that's what it was for Hiram. You know,
at some point dad was gone and he had to decide either I'm going to make something of my life.
I'm either going to do something for the King that brings glory to God, or I'm not going to do it.
And, you know, that's why parents and others, the church, you know, all these spiritual influences
in your life are trying to, you know, we're trying to instill these things in you so that you will go
beyond, you know, and, and, you know, I hope somebody outdoes me big time and I'm telling you,
it's not going to take a lot. You know, I hope that, you know, we, we build this church, you know,
and it, and God blesses it and it grows. And I heard, I hope that whatever I manage to accomplish
for Christ in this life, I hope that there's somebody that I've either, you know, either my
own children or somebody I've influenced through this ministry says, you know what, I appreciate
what you did for us, brother Corbin, but I'm taking it to the next level. You know, that's
what I want. I wouldn't be like, Oh, you cannot do me. Nobody outdoes me. You know, you can't make me
look bad. You know, I want that. I want someone to say, Hey, do you push me out of the way? I say,
I'll take this next level. Give me that mantle. I'll run with it. Pass the baton. You know,
that's what we're looking for. That's what we need. You know, this whole thing's just going to
die out. You know, Hiram eventually had to decide for himself, Hey, dad's gone. It wasn't a perfect
upbringing, but it was a godly one. You know, I'm going to go and take what I have and go work with
some brass. You know, and he probably, and he got to work with the gold too. You know, he got to do
it all, but you know what? He started out and he started working his way in, you know, and that's
why it's important that, you know, we should be grateful for the people in our lives that are,
you know, trying to get us to that next level. You know, I imagine when Hiram was, you know,
making all those things, making this network of chains and the brass and the gold and just all
the things that he got through. I mean, what a privilege. What an amazing, I mean, I've had some,
I thought I've had some cool jobs, but that sounds pretty cool. How would you like that? Hey,
we need you to go to Israel. You know, we need to go to Jerusalem and we need you to make everything
for the temple of the living God. And it's all on you. You'd be like, wow, that's awesome.
You know, you need to go and you're all, I mean, isn't that what all craftsmen want is their work
to be recognized? You know, they like to, they like to make things that are going to last and
for people to see him and that's what they want. I mean, what a cool job, what a great opportunity
that he had, you know, but I doubt, and I imagine while he was going through that process, when he
was doing all that work and going through that process, he probably wasn't just like,
my dad was such a loser. He's just a man of tire. He didn't know anything. I mean, look what I'm
doing. You know what? He was probably, you know, making those things, making those oxen, making
that sea, whatever. He was probably just like, man, I'm so glad my dad taught me how to, taught
me the basics. I'm so glad my parents just taught me the basics. I'm so glad that my dad taught me,
you know, that brass melts at this temperature or whatever. I'm so glad he taught me how to
swing this hammer. I mean, it's not the most, when you're getting taught how to swing a hammer,
you're like, okay, wow, I'm ready to change the world now. I mean, it's not, it's not that,
it's not that impressive, right? But when you take that hammer and decide now I'm going to do
something with it, you know, that's when things, you know, get done. That's, you know, he's sitting
there making all this just amazing stuff because of the fact that his father was a worker in brass
and taught him some things, you know, and I imagine when Hiram was building all that, you know,
he had nothing but gratitude for his father, that his dad, you know, for the time that he had him,
was there to teach him, you know, how to work with this stuff. Otherwise, that opportunity
wouldn't have come his way. They didn't pick him for his name, you know, they didn't pick him
because he was the best looking dude. They taught, they picked him to say, hey, this guy knows
something about working with brass, you know, and he's into it, you know, and that's what we have
to remember and that'll help keep us humble is that whatever we're going to accomplish, you know,
it's because of the people that have invested in us. Your parents, your pastor, your peers, the
people that have, you know, as the Bible says, have spoken unto you the word of God. That's what
we read in Hebrews this morning in chapter 13. Remember them which have the rule over you who
have spoken unto you the word of God whose faith follow considering the end of their conversation.
And we have to remember those people. You know, I don't, you know, I considered a great privilege
to get up here and to preach the word of God to you. That's a, I mean, not everybody gets to do
that. You know, there's a lot of people that want to do that that are, you know, one disqualified
or just don't have the opportunity. You know, it's a great privilege for me to be able to,
you know, sleep, drink and eat the things of God, the word of God. You know, it's, you know,
to get up here and, you know, to make something, you know, so to speak, that's going to glorify
God. You know, it's not brass, but it's pen and ink. But you know what, I don't ever think,
well, of course I did it because, I mean, I'm just so great. You know, ask my wife. She'll tell you,
that's not, I don't walk out of here thinking how great I am. You know, poor woman. She's always
like, she's constantly having to boost my ego. No, it was good. And she's so biased. I love it.
I can never get, you know, she's honest. You know, she's telling me what she thinks, but,
you know, I would probably do well to find a second opinion.
Somebody will just tell me like how it is, you know, like, ah, you know, it wasn't that good.
Right. But even if I know I have a good, I had a good sermon that people were edified,
you know, that, that the spirit was involved, you know, I say, I don't know. Well, yeah,
because I'm Corbin because I'm so great. You know what? No, I think about the people who have
spoken on me, the word of God, you know, I'll be reading the Bible and I'll see something cool
thing. Oh yeah, man. That's so cool. It's like, oh yeah. I remember when so-and-so preached that,
you know, they spoke that I remembered that and now I get to preach it. Right. You know,
I think about the pastors that invested in me, the men of God that invested in me, you know,
even, even the layman, you know, the, the older Christians that took me aside and were just a
good example. Who's, who's, you know, whose faith I followed, you know, and, and I'm just,
and I'm not saying that to, to, you know, make this about me. I'm saying it as an example is
that that's how it should be for you. You know, that if you're going to accomplish something for
God, it's going to be because somebody else invested in you. You know, if your life turns
out being a work of bright brass, it's because there, you know, there was a father involved.
There was a preacher involved. There was, you know, another Christian involved in your life
at some point who spoke unto you the word of God, or as an example of living the word of God to you.
That's what's going to get you there. You know, so we should be grateful for that.
I mean, we could say that definitely to all of us when it comes to, you know, the word of God.
I mean, we should all be, we're all indebted to, you know, the, the, the, the prophets and the
apostles, aren't we? And that's what Paul keeps bringing up. And Peter, Peter said that you be
mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and of the commandments of us,
the apostles, the Lord and savior. You know, the only reason we know anything about God,
you know, is because of the prophets and because of the apostles of our Lord and savior and their
commandments. You know, we all stand upon that. No, we need to remember the words which were
spoken before of the apostles and of our Lord, of our Lord Jesus Christ. You know, we're all
indebted to people who have spoken unto us the word of God, if not in our parents, if not in our
church, at the very least in the men that are, that, that wrote this book that God used at the
very least. But the truth is, you know, we all have people that we're indebted to just like Hiram.
And again, you know, people get this attitude sometimes and they just think, well,
that's not for me. You know, I didn't have a dad who taught me how to work in brass or whatever,
but you know what? There, there is something, you know, there, you know, everybody can serve God.
Everybody has an opportunity to serve God. You could do whatever you want for the Lord.
You could take it to whatever level you want. You know, and again, I already mentioned,
I understand there's some things that some people are just, it's just not going to be in the,
in the books for them. It's just, it's off limits, but that, that's so little of the Christian life.
I mean, there's so much, and we read it this morning in first Corinthians, you know, there's
diversity of operations, diversities, diversity of administrations in the local church. There's
all these different opportunities for members to get involved and to serve in the local church.
It's just a matter of what do you want to or not? And what you really ought to ask yourself is,
you know, do I want my life to shine for Christ or not? Do I want my life to be bright brass
or do you want to just be another dull, lame Christian? Look, the world doesn't need another
dull Christian. There's plenty of them. There's so many of them that are out there. What we need is
more people who want to have a life of bright brass. If you would go to second Timothy chapter
one and we'll close here. I'm almost done. I know I kept you way too late this morning. I'm trying,
I told myself I wasn't going to do it tonight. I was going to keep it short, but I can tell
I'm already starting to go along. But bear with me. I promise I'm almost done.
You know, I think Timothy is another great example of this concept in the New Testament. You know,
you had Hyrum, you know, the son of a widow, you know, his mother was of Naphtali,
but then you have, you know, the fact that his father had died at some point. Maybe he wasn't
there to guide him through all the pitfalls of life. Maybe he had to learn a lot of lessons the
hard way, but you know, whatever it was, whatever the case, he still managed to accomplish something
great for God, didn't he? You know, Timothy is somebody who's in that same boat. Did you go to
second Timothy one? That's where I meant to have you go. Second Timothy one. He said in verse three,
and I thank God whom I serve for my forefathers with pure conscience, without ceasing I have
remembrance of thee and my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy
tears that may be filled with joy, when I recall, when I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith
which is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice, and I
persuaded that in thee also. So again, you know, Timothy is somebody who had an influence in his
life for God. You know, he had his grandmother Lois and he had his mother Eunice, who were both,
you know, they taught him the word of God. If you look at chapter 3 verse 14,
chapter 3 verse 14, he says in chapter 3 verse 14, but continue thou in the things which thou hast
learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them. You know,
and it wasn't just Paul that he learned all this from. You know, it was also from his mother and
his grandmother. Now go to Acts chapter 16. Acts chapter 16. You know, there's no mention of his
father teaching him these things. He says, look, remembering those things, you know, that thou hast
learned, continue thou in those things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of
whom thou hast learned them. You know, he learned them from his mother and his grandmother.
And from, of course, later Paul taught him a lot. You know, but even when that, it wasn't like
Timothy became this great Christian after Paul found him. When Paul found Timothy,
he was already a great Christian because of the things that he had learned from his mother and
his grandmother. You know, it seems like maybe his dad wasn't a spiritual guy and maybe his dad
wasn't around. Maybe it was a similar situation as Hiram. What I'm saying is this, is that it
wasn't the perfect upbringing, was it? But it was a godly one. It had something. And look,
even if you didn't have a godly upbringing, you could still serve God.
Maybe you're not going to start out at the same place everybody else does in life.
You know, I remember being told that early on in my Christian life. Hey, you know, you got saved,
you know, in your early 20s. You're getting to church in your early 20s. You know, and a lot of
these teenagers know a lot more about the Bible than you do because they've been learning it
since, you know, they were on their mother's knee. You know, they've learned. I mean, I didn't walk,
I wasn't raised a Christian home. I didn't walk in knowing all the old, I mean, I couldn't tell
you everything about how many days was known in the area. I mean, I didn't know the basics,
but you know what I was told? He said, you give it time, you're going to pass all of them up.
You'll grow right past them. You know, just because of your age, because of your ability to read and
study and you know, the time that you have to invest in that. And that's what I'm saying is
that you might not have the perfect upbringing. You might not have the perfect background,
but if you want it, the opportunity to excel for Christ is there. You know,
you doesn't have to be perfect situation for you to do something great for God.
Hyrum didn't have it. Timothy didn't have it. You know, Paul didn't have it.
But they did great things for God, didn't they? Look at Acts chapter 16, verse one.
Then came he, Paul, to Derba and Lystra, and behold, a certain disciple was there named
Timotheus. So here's where he first meets Timothy. You know, before first and second Timothy were
written, you know, before he knew him, this is where he's meeting him. The son of a certain
woman, which was a Jewess and believed, so he had a believing mother, but his father was a Greek.
So it sounds like again, there was this divided home. There was something lacking, right? And
Paul's just said, well, I can't do anything with that guy. You know, nuts to him. He can't,
he can't do anything for God. He didn't have a perfect upbringing. He didn't have a perfect
circus set of circumstances. No, you know what it says in verse two, which was well reported of by
the brethren, which were at Lystra and Iconium. When Paul found him, he already had a, he was
already well reported. What's that mean? He said he already had a good reputation. He was already
known as somebody that, Hey, Paul, this is who you want to take with you. Because, you know,
Paul is looking for somebody to go with him on his journeys. He's looking for another companion
to take with him, somebody to instruct. He's looking for another protege to train in the faith
to, you know, to take his, his spot when he grows old. And he's, and he's looking for a guy and he
finds Timotheus and he hears that, Hey, he's got a good report, but you know, but then he did a
background check. And then he found out that his father was a Greek and said, well, I can't use him.
You know, because he was, he's not the right pedigree. You know, he didn't, he didn't have
the right, he was not the right caliber of person because he didn't have the certain upbringing.
You know, that, that's a bunch of puffed up nonsense. The people that have that mentality,
look, it's out there. Oh, you're just, you're just not the right, you know, you'll do so much
for God, but you just, you're not the right pedigree. Like we're breeding horses in here
or something. You know, God doesn't care about any of that. God can use a Hyrum. God can use
a Timothy who don't have perfect upbringings it because those are guys that are willing to just
serve. They just want a life that shines for Christ. They just want to put, they just want
their works to shine for God. They want to glorify God. They just want to, you know,
they just want to do the work and get involved. You know what? And then God makes up what's
lacking. God makes up the difference, not to where they're perfect, but just, you know, Hey,
this is an area you need to work on. Let me give you some knowledge. Let me give you some wisdom.
Let you give us some understanding through the word of God, through the preaching,
through those that have spoken under the word of God. Let me make up what lacks. You know what?
And you can still do something great for God, regardless of what your upbringing was like.
It says in verse three, him would Paul have forth to go with him.
And of course there's that bit there. And he took and circumcised him of the, because of the Jews,
which was a mistake. But you know what? It says in verse four, and as they went through the cities,
they delivered them decrees for to keep. And they were ordained of the apostles, excuse me,
that were ordained of the apostles and the elders, which were at Jerusalem. And so the churches
established, were the churches established in the faith and increased the number daily.
And look, I mean, what an amazing opportunity for Timotheus, for Timothy. I mean, he's just there
in a, you know, an iconium. He's just minding his business. He's just doing the work. He's just
using what he's got for God. He's putting his best foot forward. And then one day the apostle Paul
shows up and says, Hey, come with me. Let's go do something big for God. I mean, I don't know about
you, but that, to me, that's, that's amazing. Can you imagine being Timotheus? You're following
apostle Paul around and you're getting, you're establishing the churches. I mean, what an amazing
opportunity. But again, it wasn't because Paul, you know, was, was, or excuse me, because Timothy,
you know, was just the perfect candidate who had, who was just, you know, had the perfect upbringing
because of his pedigree. No, it's because, you know what? He took what he had and he put his
best foot forward and he developed a good reputation. Just like Hyrum, you know, he
understood the basics with brass. He took what was given to him and he put it to it, you know,
he, he put his best foot forward. And then one day the king calls and says, Hey, I want you to,
I've heard you do good work. I want you to come, you know, decorate the temple of God for me.
And he gets to go and do this great work for God because he had a good reputation
because he was grateful. Both of these men, you know, had been taught by other people,
other people had invested in them, not perfect people, godly people. And rather than just them,
just going, you know, then, then, then Timothy and Hyrum just kind of having this know-it-all
attitude of just, well, I don't need them. You know, they were actually grateful for what had
been taught them and that allowed them to take it to the next level. You know, the Bible says,
and I'll close on this in Proverbs 19, he that wastes his father and chaseth away his mother
is a son that cause of shame and bringeth reproach. You know, if you've got people,
you know, if you've got a Lois, you've got a Eunice, if your dad's a man of Tyre, you know,
if you've got a mom, you know, who maybe she's a widow, maybe she's not perfect, but you know what,
she's, you know, she's of the tribe of Israel. If you know, if they're investing, if you have
people that are speaking into the word of God, you know, don't waste that. Don't chase that away
because you know what, all you're going to end up with is shame and reproach.
You're not going to have a life that shines. You know, and you, and you might have a life
that you might succeed in the world. You might succeed in making a bunch of money.
You might succeed in all these different areas that the world says are your great success,
but then you'll stand before God and God's gonna say, I don't care about any of that. What did you
do for me? You say, well, I didn't do anything because I didn't want to take it to the next
level. I didn't care about doing works that were going to be glory. You know what's going to happen?
Then, then it's going to be what? The shame and the reproach of a wasted life that did nothing
for Christ. You know, that's not what I want for my life. That's not what I want for anyone's life
in this room. You know, I want everyone's life in this room to count for Christ. I hope that,
you know, we can all get to the end of our, of our lives and say, Hey, my life was bright brass.
It shone for Christ. It was a city that would have set on a hill. It was a candle on a candlestick.
I didn't hide it. I didn't put under a bushel. I let that thing shine. You know how you're going
to accomplish that? By one, seeing that, realizing the fact that you have the opportunity to do
that. Everybody in this room has the opportunity to do something great for God, to shine for Christ.
And two, if you don't waste, you know, the people that are instructing you, that if you actually
take the things that you're being taught and the word of God that's being spoken unto you and do
something with it and stand on your own two feet and take it to the next level, that's how you're
going to have a life that's bright brass. Let's go ahead and pray. Dear Lord, again,
thank you for the opportunity to serve you.
Amen.
Let's start our hymn, song number 70.
Song number 70, Jesus Find His Father.
Jesus find his Father.
He's still watching,
waiting,
waiting when the Lord shall come.