We'll start our family service by singing the song number 351.
Let's have it to Jesus, that's song number 351.
Let's sing it out.
Tell me to Jesus, tell me to Jesus.
He is your friend, that's the Lord.
You know of such good and good.
Tell me to Jesus, oh Lord.
Through the tears flow down the trees of heaven.
Tell me to Jesus, tell me to Jesus.
Through the tears flow down the trees of heaven.
Tell me to Jesus, oh Lord.
Tell me to Jesus, tell me to Jesus.
He is your friend, that's the Lord.
You know of such good and good.
Tell me to Jesus, oh Lord.
Through the tears flow down the trees of heaven.
Tell me to Jesus, tell me to Jesus.
Through the tears flow down the trees of heaven.
Tell me to Jesus, oh Lord.
Tell me to Jesus, tell me to Jesus.
He is your friend, that's the Lord.
You know of such good and good.
Tell me to Jesus, oh Lord.
Through the tears flow down the trees of heaven.
Tell me to Jesus, tell me to Jesus.
Through the tears flow down the trees of heaven.
Tell me to Jesus, oh Lord.
Tell me to Jesus, tell me to Jesus.
He is your friend, that's the Lord.
You know of such good and good.
Tell me to Jesus, oh Lord.
Bless the rest of the service and thank you for all you do.
You can open up your song. What's this song number 96?
Song number 96.
That song number 96.
Sing it out loud.
Shaking in passion,
so rich is the sea,
that we must entrench it with the Lord.
Through the waterfalls,
there is no gain for sea,
that we must entrench it with the Lord.
So, through the waters,
so rich is the song,
that we must entrench it with the Lord.
So, through the waves,
so rich is the song,
that we must entrench it with the Lord.
So, through the waters,
so rich is the song,
that we must entrench it with the Lord.
So, through the waters,
so rich is the song,
that we must entrench it with the Lord.
So, through the waters,
so rich is the song,
that we must entrench it with the Lord.
So, through the waves,
so rich is the song,
that we must entrench it with the Lord.
So, through the waters,
so rich is the song,
that we must entrench it with the Lord.
Through the waves,
so rich is the song,
that we must entrench it with the Lord.
So, through the waters,
so rich is the song,
So through the fires,
so rich is the song,
So through the waves,
so rich is the song,
that we must entrench it with the Lord.
On the last,
the waves,
the water,
and the waves,
that we must entrench it with the Lord.
But we, in glory,
we turn,
through the waves,
entrench it with the Lord.
So, through the waters,
so through the fires,
So through the waters,
So through the waves,
so rich is the song,
So through the waves,
so rich is the song.
We'll begin singing this time.
All right. Well, if you'd like a bulletin,
go ahead and just raise your hand.
One will be brought to you.
As always, we've got the service times there.
get our left hand side and we'll be back this Thursday going through Genesis chapter number
seven and we have the birthday donuts of course this morning in honor of everybody celebrating
in the birthday in the month of February and don't forget the east side blitz so this is a
kind of a little mini soul winning marathon that we're doing down here
to try and get out to that east side and it does feel like it's a bit of a trek like those are the
everyone that lives has gone that far knows that that's you know a 20-30 minute drive getting over
there and getting back it kind of feels like you're getting out there a little bit feels like
you're going to another town but and so we're going to be back out there February 17th again
on Saturday March 2nd you can sign up on the old one I kind of scratched out the date and put the
new date on there just because we're so fancy around here but so if you want to go ahead and
sign up you can or you can just wait for that new sheet to roll out but hopefully we can have some
some people participating in that and don't forget we'll be sure to feed you we found our spot over
there in this area where we're going okay it's it's trust me if the soul winning might not be
enough to draw you out the food is okay it's good on the back don't forget we're starting a new
bible memory passage so to speak bible trivia passage if you will the six days of creation so
you need to get those memorized young people if you want to earn those cookies and milk so and
the prize will change you know over the course of doing this also the double bonus so you can double
the number of cookies by being able to name the four rivers that flowed from eden okay
I'll give you a hint it's in the book of genesis okay and it's pretty it's pretty early on chapter
two okay and again you know this I like this one because it kind of puts the adults on their
toes a little bit too because if the kids walk I mean I guess you could just use this you know
and kind of test them with that right but it kind of you know making sure you know some of these
things okay so uh anyway if you can recite those you know this is obviously reciting it word perfect
because it's not a bible verse isn't as much of a requirement on this one day three land seas and
plants they might say land seas and trees you know that might be a little bit easier to memorize
land seas and trees because seas and trees rhyme so they if they say it a little different as long
as they got the facts right they're good okay but if it's obviously if it's like if you can see like
the wheel turning like the loading symbol like just playing in front of their face like like
the dial-up internet is like you know it's just like taking a long time for them to get it
obviously they haven't gotten it down yet so keep working on that kids you got till next sunday on
this one so you got a week from today and there's plenty of cookies back there and uh you know so
don't be shy tempe events there's a wedding coming up for brother on some i know he's been down here
and preached for us before so he's getting married that's this friday at february 9th at 2 p.m so if
anyone would like to go up there you're more than welcome to do that i know it's kind of middle of
the afternoon but it is what it is so if anyone would like to take the church van that you're
always welcome to do that anytime you want to use the church van to go up to tempe and back
that's always available if as long as you're on the insurance uh the cake and punch is served at
the ceremony there's going to be small town soloing in eloi which is about 45 minutes north of here
that has been receptive in the past i know they're real close to knocking a lot of that
that region out brother alexander larson up in tempe has been heading that one up
so that's also available i i may go to that one i i might go so
to eloi yeah you'd have to drive you could just go to eloi and meet them there
yeah and then the same deal they'll feed you over there so who who would be interested in going to
the eloi's soloing you might okay because i'm i'm interested in going you know after
is there somebody else over here oh you're interested in going you're interested in going
okay well you know i i probably will go then so um if anyone wants to go on that saturday just
let me know and we'll get up there so we probably have to leave here around nine i think to meet
them i don't have all the details but um but i'll talk to anyone who's interested in going just
speak with me and we'll get it done speaking of soul winning let's go ahead and count up
the soul winning going back to friday there's anything from friday to report or from saturday
outside of the group that went and what about today for sunday how many two oh praise the lord
okay we'll go ahead and sing another song before we get into the preaching tonight
you're going to open your song books is song number 245
song number two four five the only count will settle that's song number 245
no
yes
oh
i said
and
so
Yes, the old account will settle on your door.
And the record's clear today for the much less intimate.
And the old account will settle on the world long last.
No, I say, you trust the Lord.
He plans for all your sin.
For thus you have your life.
For him to enter in.
And if you should wait, the heart
against the wall.
A day is now, and we'll settle on your door.
And the account will settle on the world long last.
Yes, the old account will settle on your door.
And the record's clear today for the much less intimate.
And the old account will settle on the world long last.
While the offering plate is going around,
if you can open up your Bibles to Matthew 10.
You can follow along with Brother Gabriel as he leads to us
from Matthew 10.
Matthew, chapter 10.
Verse 1, the Bible does.
And we had callings in his twelve disciples,
and even in power against unclean spirits,
to cast them out and to heal all manner of sickness,
all manner of disease.
Now, the name of the twelve apostles
are these, the first, Simon, who was called Peter,
and Andrew's brother, James, his son Zebedee,
and John, his brother, Philip, from Bartholomew, Thomas,
in Matthew, and publically.
James, the son of Alphaeus, and Lebaeus,
who surrendered his daddies.
Simon the king, and Judas Iscariot,
were also betrayed.
These twelve Jesus sent forth, and comically saying,
Go not into the way of the Gentiles,
and to any city of Samaritans, and should you not,
will go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
And as you go, preach, saying,
The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead,
cast out devils, freely you have received, freely given.
Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass,
nor purses, nor script for your journey,
nor the two coats, nor the shoes, nor yet staves,
for the workman is worthy of his need.
And to what sort of city or town you shall enter,
inquire who it is, is worthy, and thereby,
until you go thence.
And when you come into a house, salute it,
and if the house be worthy, let your peace go upon it.
But if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
And whosoever shall not receive you,
hear your words, when you departed out of that house
or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
Barely I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable
for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah,
in the day of judgment, than for that city.
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves.
Be therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as dust.
But beware of men, that they will deliver you up
to the councils, and they will scourge you
from your synagogues, and you shall be brought
with the government of the kings, for myself,
for testimony against them, and the Gentiles.
But when they deliver you up, take no thought
how and why you shall speak, for it shall be given you
in that same hour, why you shall speak.
For it is not you that speak, but the spirit of your father
who speaketh in you, and the brother shall deliver
up the brother to death, and the father to the child,
and the children shall rise up against their parents,
and cause them to be put to death.
And you shall be hated, the ballman of my name's name,
for he that endureth again shall be saved.
But when they perjure to you in this city,
lead ye into another, for verily I say unto you,
you shall not have gone over the cities of Israel,
till the son of man be come.
The disciple is not above his master,
but the servant above his lord.
It is enough for the disciple, that he be as his master,
and the servant as his lord,
that they have called the master of the house Beelzebub,
how much more shall they call them on this household?
Fear them not, therefore, that there is nothing covered,
and shall not be revealed, and hid, and shall not be known.
But I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light,
and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye
upon the housetops, and fear not them which kill the body,
or are not able to kill the soul,
but rather fear him which is able to destroy
both the soul and body of hell,
are not two sparrows sewn for a farthing,
and one of them shall not fall on the ground
without your father.
But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Fear ye not, therefore, that ye are of more value
than many sparrows.
Whosoever, therefore, shall confess me before men,
him will I confess also before my father,
which is in heaven.
But whosoever shall deny me before them,
him will I also deny before my father,
which is in heaven.
Think not that I have come to send peace on earth,
but came not to send peace, but a story,
for I am come to send a man of variance
against his father, and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter of mine against her motherland.
The man spoke should the day of his own household.
He that loveth father and mother more than them
is not worthy of you, and he that loveth son
or daughter more than them is not worthy of you,
and he that taketh not his cross
and falleth after him is not worthy of you.
He that findeth his life shall lose me,
and he that loses his life from my sin
shall find me.
He that receiveth few receiveth me,
and he that receiveth me, and him that receiveth me
receiveth him that sent me.
He that receiveth the prophet, the name of the prophet,
shall receive the prophet's reward,
and he that receiveth the reward
shall receive the righteous man's reward.
And whosoever shall get to drink
is one of these little ones, a cup of cold water,
only in the name of the disciples.
Back there in Matthew chapter number 10
a little bit later in the sermon,
but that is a bit of a bonus there
in Mark chapter number 3.
If you want to go back to Mark chapter number 3
in verse 16, when Jesus had called unto him
his 12 disciples, it says,
and it's Simon who surnamed Peter.
So what we see in this passage is that Jesus,
you know, he gives surnames,
or what do you want to call it,
a nickname, you know, just a name
that is other than their birth name,
to certain individuals, okay?
And first of all, he's leading with Peter, right?
And Simon he surnamed Peter,
and James the son of Zebedee,
and John the brother of James,
and he surnamed Boanerges,
which is the sons of thunder,
and Andrew and Philip and Bartholomew
and Matthew and Thomas,
and James the son of Alphaeus and Phadeus,
and Simon the Canaanite,
you know, which is kind of how he went by.
I don't know if that's necessarily something
that he was called by Jesus,
but he was a Canaanite.
And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him,
they went on into a house,
and the multitude came together against him
so much that the cadet so much as eat bread, okay?
Now if you would keep something there,
Mark, go back to Matthew chapter number 10,
where we were just reading a moment ago,
and we'll look and see again
that there's also that Thaddeus,
or as it says here,
and Phadeus in Mark is actually a surname
that was given to a disciple named Lebaeus.
If you look there in chapter number 10
of Matthew verse number 3,
Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew,
the publican, James the son of Alphaeus,
and Lebaeus whose surname was Thaddaeus.
So Thaddaeus is actually a surname
that you see mentioned in Mark.
It doesn't mention Lebaeus,
but it does call him Thaddaeus, right?
So you see here in this passage
that Jesus is giving names to certain disciples
maybe not exactly at this time.
You could say that Simon was already surnamed Peter,
you know, earlier on in John chapter 1
when he first meets him, which is true.
But the point being is that Jesus
is the one that's giving these names often, right?
He's giving that name to Peter.
He's giving the name to the sons of thunder here.
So God gives new names, right?
But here's the thing.
He gives it to some, but not to all, right?
Some people get this new name, this nickname, this surname,
and often these surnames would just be names
that are indicative of that person's personality
or some kind of a trait that they had
or something that they did or something that they are.
For example, Simon the Canaanite,
Matthew the tax collector, right?
You know, that's kind of what they did.
That's kind of how they're known, okay?
But he doesn't give it to all of them, right?
I mean, think about being in this group
in Mark chapter number three as the names are kind of being doled out here.
Now, I don't know that they were necessarily given in this order
because they're a little bit out of order in Matthew 10 where we were reading.
But imagine being, you know, the guy is in verse 18
because verse 17 reads, James, the son of Zebedee,
and John, the brother of James,
and he surnamed them Boanerges,
which at first he might be kind of like,
Boanerges, you know, what kind of a name is that, right?
But then, which is, you know,
But then, which is, when you interpret it,
the Sons of Thunder, right, which is pretty cool, right?
So you're there, you know, you're Andrew, Phillip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas,
and James, the son of Alphaeus,
and Phidias, and Simon the Canaanite.
Who cares how Judas felt about any of it, right?
But you might be one of these other guys that doesn't get a surname,
and you're thinking, man, you hear him being called the Sons of Thunder.
You're like, man, that's pretty cool. I wonder what he's going to call me.
Oh, you're Andrew.
Yeah, yeah, I know, but what's my, oh, that's it, no, just Andrew.
We're going to call these two the Sons of Thunder,
but you're just going to be Andrew.
You're just going to be Phillip, you're going to continue as Bartholomew,
and Matthew, and Thomas,
and I really don't know the significance of the Sons of Thunder,
what exactly, why it is that Christ chose to name them that.
That's something I've often wondered about.
I think perhaps that, you know, kind of thundered forth the word of God.
I'm sure there's probably a more significant explanation,
but, you know, I've looked into it, and I've never really come to a conclusion.
So if anyone has any ideas, you know, tell me later.
But, you know, the point being, like, imagine hearing these names being doled out,
and then you're just kind of Bartholomew.
You know, you're just Matthew. You're just Thomas.
The point being is that God gives new names to some, but not to all.
And that's not a knock on any of these other guys, right?
There's still the 12 disciples. There's still great men of God.
Just because they didn't get a surname or whatever,
you know, doesn't make them any less of a disciple or anything like that.
It's just for whatever reason, God chose to surname certain individuals,
but not those ones, okay?
Now, the way that we can apply this is that, if you would,
go to Revelation chapter number 2.
This is something that God will actually do in the future.
You know, a lot of people will take the passage we're going to look at
in Revelation chapter 2 and chapter 3
and try to say it's something that applies to all of us,
which I can definitely see where they're coming from,
and I tend to lean that way.
But I don't know necessarily.
Part of me kind of wonders if maybe it's reserved just for these specific churches, okay?
Because there are certain things that are mentioned to certain churches,
certain privileges that are going to be granted unto them
that I do believe are reserved for just those individuals at that time, okay?
But he does say here in Revelation, in a couple passages,
that God is going to give new names to certain individuals.
If you look at Revelation chapter number 2, verse 12,
And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write,
These things saith he which hath a sharp sword with two edges,
I know thy works, and where thou dwelleth, even where Satan's seat is.
And thou holdest fast my name, and hast not died my faith,
even in the days when Antipas, my faithful martyr,
who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
Verse 17, He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
To him that overcometh I will give to you the hidden manna,
and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written,
which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it.
So he does say here in this passage that Christ is going to give this white stone to people,
and in that stone is going to be a new name written,
which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it.
Meaning that when you receive it, you're the only person that knows it.
So even if it's something really cool, nobody else is going to know anyway.
And I'm kind of getting ahead of myself a little bit,
but if you notice, the names that he's giving are always of a positive note.
They're always positive mentions.
He's not going to hand you a stone that says loser or something like that.
Like this is a guy that just whatever, just some kind of knock.
So it's probably going to be something cool, whatever it is.
Now people will say, oh, that's for all of us.
And I could definitely see where they're coming from because in verse 17,
it says he that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit sayeth unto the churches, plural.
Obviously, verse 12 is addressed to the church at Pergamos, specifically one church.
But then by timing it to verse 17, he's saying this is applicable to the churches.
So I definitely think there's a case to be made that this is something that could happen to
people outside of the church of Pergamos, meaning us, potentially.
But there are some stipulations to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna
and will give him a white stone, meaning you have to be faithful like Antipas, even unto death.
So that might be a special reward that's given to martyrs.
I don't know that we're all going to get that stone.
And we can boo hoo about that.
But how would you like to be back in Mark Chapter three when James and John are being called the sons of Thunder
and you just continue on as Bartholomew.
And you don't get the cool name, right? You're you're in good company if you just get stuck with the old name that you had.
OK, go to Revelation Chapter three.
We'll see another example of this. I'll begin reading in verse seven of Revelation Chapter number three.
It says in the annual church in Philadelphia, these things saith he that is holy and that is true.
He that hath the key of David, he that openeth, no man shuteth and shuteth and no man openeth.
I know thy works. Behold, I have set thee before thee an open door and no man can shut it.
For thou has a little strength and has kept my word and has not denied my name.
So these are positive mentions. Look at verse 12. He that overcometh again,
will I make a pillar in the temple of my God and he shall go out no more.
And I will write upon him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God,
which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven. And I will write upon him my new name.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
So God does give these new names. He writes his new name.
You know, this is something that God is in the habit of doing.
This is something that God does. He gives the surnames. He gives the new name.
OK. Now, again, I'll mention that these names are always given on a positive note.
Right. If he's going to be giving the white stone to the martyr.
You know, that's going to be a positive thing. Right. You know, maybe that name is going to,
you know, be means you're faithful or you're consistent or, you know, you're bold or whatever it is.
Right. These are going to be positive things that God gives in the form of a name.
These are going to be positive names, not, you know, loser, as I said earlier.
If you would. Well, just go over to Proverbs chapter number 22, Proverbs chapter number 22.
And when you get to Proverbs, keep something there. We'll come back at the end.
I know I got you in Proverbs. Mark, Matthew. You can lose Matthew. We're not going back.
And I'll read from Mark. There's not anything new from Mark, really.
But keep something in Proverbs, although we will be in other passages of Mark later.
But this new name is given to those on a positive note.
Right. And that's because the Bible teaches us in Ecclesiastes that a good name is better than precious ointment.
So this here comes the practical application. OK. A good name is better than precious ointment.
Now, precious ointment would be like a perfume to be something that you would wear so that people would think you smell good.
OK. And here's the thing. You know, no matter how good you smell, no matter how much, you know,
cologne you put on, if you have a bad name, if you have a bad reputation, that's not something you can cover up.
You know, you can't just fool people with that. You can't just, you know, this is.
And by the way, this is not an excuse to not wear deodorant or something.
OK. If you stink, you know, take care of it. Right.
But if it comes down to having a physical stench or a bad name, the Bible's telling us you would rather have the physical stench.
You'd rather have a repulsive body odor. Right. Than a bad name. OK.
If you have repulsive body odor, you might have, you might kind of get known that that might be your reputation. Right.
But that's kind of the picture that he's drawing here. Right. A good name is better than precious ointment.
You don't want a name that stinks. OK. You want to have a positive name.
OK. God's giving out names in Mark. He's giving out names in the Book of Revelation.
And he's doing so in a positive way. Right. Now, obviously, he's called other people, other groups of people by negative things.
Right. He called the Pharisees, vipers, thieves, so on and so forth.
But when he gets down, a lot of times the specific individuals, you know, he often will give positive names to his disciples.
OK. We want a good name, folks. We want to have a good name and we want to have a good reputation because that's really what it means.
Right. To have a good name, to have a good reputation. Think about the example of Solomon.
Right. You think about it. There's several different characters that we could talk about. And if you would actually go to First Kings.
OK. Well, you're in Proverbs. Right. Proverbs 22. OK. Let's read that first.
And loving favor than silver and gold. So a good name is associated with loving favor.
If you have a good name, a good reputation, people are going to be more prone to show you loving favor.
Or preferential treatment. Right or wrong. Think about at work. Right. If you're known, if you have a reputation, a good name, as somebody that's hard working.
You know, when the time when the layoffs come around, they're going to want to they're going to show you loving favor.
When the you know, when the economy gets tight and they have to start laying.
Say, well, don't lay off so-and-so because they're a hard show up on time.
They do good work. They don't complain. OK. That's why it's better than silver and gold.
It's, you know, rather than be chosen over a good name is to be chosen.
More than what it you know, what is what good is a bunch of money and prosperity if every no one wants to be around you.
Valuable. And what's important. So we need to make sure that we guard our reputation.
That we don't be people that are hasty in our spirit, that are, you know, do things that give us whatever it might be, a bad reputation to give us a bad name.
Because here's the thing. Once you kind of develop a reputation or a bad name. That's hard to change sometimes, even if you try.
Because some you know, some people don't let people live things down. You know, some you do, you know, and that's not right.
I'm not saying it's right. I'm just saying that's the way it is. That's just human nature.
You know, and again, it's not right, but that's just the way it is. Your name gets out there, has some kind of a blot on it.
Your reputation is besmirched in some way. You know, you might never live that down because other people aren't going to let you.
They're just even if you're not like that anymore. So choose a good name.
It's better than great riches. Choose a good name. It's better than precious ointment.
OK. It will show you loving favor. Now, there's many different examples where we could think of people who were good people,
good, godly people, but did things in their lives that we will always remember. Right.
The Bible says that David, if you can't go to First Kings nine, by the way, that David was a man after God's own heart.
Right. That's a pretty good thing to say about something that God doesn't say that about a lot of people.
Right. He says, hey, this is a man who's after my own heart. He has a heart like mine.
And, you know, we often think about David. We preach about David. We read about David. We're inspired by David.
He's somebody to look up to. But I mean, in the back of all our minds, we all know that David also committed horrific sin.
Right. And it's in the Bible for all of eternity. It's not like God was just like, you know, David's, you know, David made a few mistakes.
Let's just we're going to let that pass. He's like, nope, as good as David was, he's also an adulterous murderer.
Right. And that's not me knocking David. That's not me trying to, you know, I got a bone to pick with King David or something.
That's just what the Bible points out about him. Right. And we all know that about him. That's that's out.
Right. Solomon's another example. Solomon, who wrote the Book of Proverbs, who wrote Ecclesiastes,
who wrote all, you know, had all that wisdom, that wealth and prosperity. Right. He had great riches.
But we also know about the end of his life, too, don't we? When he multiplied wives and they turned his heart from the Lord and he's committing abomination and idolatry to please as many wives.
So as good as those people were, we also don't forget the bad. They kind of got a you know, they've got a spot on the reputation.
OK, look at First Kings Chapter nine. This is, of course, when Solomon's finishing the temple, God's appearing unto him the second time in verse two, and he hears his prayer.
And then he says in verse four, And if thou wilt walk before me, God speaking to Solomon, as David thy father walked in integrity of heart and an uprightness to do according to all that I have commanded thee and will keep my statutes and my judgments,
then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel forever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail be a man upon the throne of Israel.
But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes, which I have set before you, but go out and serve other gods and worship them,
then I will cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them. And this house, which I have hallowed for my name, I will cast out of my sight.
And that Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people. And at this house, which is high, everyone that passeth by, it shall be astonished and shall hiss.
You know, they'll go, you ever notice when people do that? You say something, they'll go, right? They're kind of mocking at that.
That drives me nuts, by the way. I hate that. I remember when I lived in the, I don't know if I should share it because I don't know what exactly it meant, but I remember when I was living in the tropics,
I'd be walking sometimes and people would hiss at me. Like literally go, like across the street and you'd look at them and they'd go, like I don't know what that meant.
I don't think it was like a cat call. Because I mean, come on. But I think it was like they were just expressing their negative feelings towards me and say, well, what was the problem?
Well, it was probably because I was white or something. I don't know, maybe because I was from out of town. Maybe I didn't say good morning, whatever.
Right? But I always think of that when I read that. They shall hiss when they pass by and see that temple that God has cast out of his sight after Israel's just been removed from the land.
I don't think they're like literally hissing, but it's kind of like a like a just kind of a shaking of their head and just they'll hiss and they shall say, why have the Lord done this unto this land and to this house?
You know, it's kind of like a. Why did this happen? Right. And they shall answer because they forsook the Lord their God and brought forth that who brought forth their fathers out of Egypt and have taken hold upon other gods that have worshiped them.
Therefore, the Lord hath the Lord brought upon them all this evil. Right. So they what are they saying? What's that? What's what's the Bible showing us here is that God's people as a nation can can even develop a reputation, can't they?
That that's what they're going to be known for, that they forsook God and worshiped false idols. They forsook the God that brought them out of Egypt and God destroy them.
That's why he says, I will make them a proverb and a byword. Right. Being a proverb or a byword I want to say like, oh, don't pull a so and so. Right.
You know, I remember when I was roofing, I think I've shared the story before on the trusses and I fell and I landed on my my hip right on the sill plate.
But I put both of my feet through the drop tile ceiling and we landed all over the customers. I know you're shaking your hand.
You just like he's ready to hiss. Right. That's kind of what my boss did. Well, at first he's like, are you all right?
I'm like, yeah, I had a bruise like that big on my hip because I landed hard and all the drop tiles all over the washer and dryer down there.
And the homeowner was cool. He was he was glad no one got hurt and glad I didn't fall off the side. But, you know, he said.
My boss did a similar thing where we had the trusses exposed and he tripped and he put his foot through the drywall.
And he said, I pulled a Corbin. Right. That my name had become a byword to describe putting your foot through somebody's ceiling.
OK. And that's just the illustration I use to kind of help us understand what that means to be a proverb and byword.
Right. We could probably think of other examples, just nothing else is coming to mind for some reason.
You think I would be quick with that one, but. That's what God is saying will happen to his people. That will be your reputation.
Right. But that's not what we don't want to be a byword to people. Right.
We don't want to become people who are known for something negative. God wants to give us surnames.
He wants to nickname us. God wants to say things that are positive about us. He wants us to choose a good name.
Right. Those are the things that we ought to have and not become a byword. And this can happen to any one of us, spiritually speaking.
You know, there is, you know, we could say and even in our ministry and faithful word, we could say, hey, don't pull a so and so.
You know, don't come into church and start preaching damnable heresy. You know, and pull a so and so.
You know, don't come in and start, you know, get in and get on staff and, you know, get a following in the church and then, you know,
start teaching heresy on the Trinity. You know, don't pull a Tyler Baker. Right.
Don't pull, you know, we could just go down the list. Right. I mean, the guy's a byword. And rightfully so.
But that can happen to any of us. You know, if we are, you know, we do something foolish or sinful or bad enough
where we kind of ruin our lives or make a mess of things, you know, that's what we'll be known for.
And our name will kind of be a byword. And you don't want that. You don't want somebody saying that about you.
Well, that guy really pulled the so and so. Okay. You know, our names, these surnames, these are associated with our reputation.
And think about all the different biblical examples of people's names kind of representing a certain reputation. Right.
For example, if you want to go over to. Well, go over to John. Go to John.
You know, the Bible, the Bible has examples of people whose names are kind of a byword for things.
Right. Whose names kind of represent something, you know, having a certain doing something, having an attitude or making a mess of things.
Right. The Bible has examples of this. For example, think about this one.
Everyone who's ever heard the term. Don't be a doubting Thomas. Right. That's a perfect example of being a byword.
Right. Thomas wasn't a bad guy. I mean, he was. He did doubt. We're going to look there in John Chapter 20.
That's what he did. But here's the thing. Jesus didn't call him that. He didn't say, oh, you doubting Thomas.
Right. We read we read the story down through the centuries.
We've read about Thomas. People have read about him and said, oh, it's doubting Thomas.
And that's kind of been a thing when everyone's if someone's like skeptical of your plans or they're kind of just cast shade,
I guess is what we would say today. Right. If they're trying to just be a downer, they're being negative about plans you're making or,
you know, they're calling things into question. You're like you would say, well, don't be such a doubting Thomas.
Right. Sorry, Thomas. Right. I doubt he's out there listening, but I'm sure he's over it by now.
OK, look at John, chapter 20, verse 26.
We know the story. And after days again, the disciples were within and Thomas with them.
Then came Jesus, the doors being shut and stood in the midst and said, peace be unto you.
Then say, I think to Thomas, reach out of my finger and behold my hands and reach out of my hand and thrust into my side and be not faithless,
but believing, because if you remember, you know, I should have gone in the back story a little bit more.
But if you remember in the story, everyone knows it. They came and told Thomas that they had seen the risen Lord.
And he said, except I thrust my hand into his side and put my finger in the prince of his nails, I will not believe.
He's doubting them. He's like saying, you're making this up. Right. And then when Jesus shows up,
he confronts Thomas about it and says, behold my hands and reach out of my hand and thrust it into my side and be not faithless,
but believing, saying, don't be a doubting Thomas. And Thomas, you know, got it right.
And Thomas answered and said unto him, my Lord and my God. Right. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas,
because thou has seen me, thou has believed. Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed.
So he's saying there's people that are more blessed than you, Thomas, because it takes more than it doesn't require me showing up for them to believe.
So that's you know, that's just an example of what I'm talking about tonight. The Bible has examples of this.
Another example, if you would go over to Second Timothy, chapter number four, is Demas.
OK, and what I want us to notice about Demas when it comes to this idea of a good name,
our reputation is that it's something that can either be good or bad and we can start out good and ruin our reputation.
OK, we don't want to do that. We want to choose a good name. OK. Demas is a great example of this.
He's mentioned positively in other passages besides Second Timothy, chapter four, for example, in Colossians four.
In the closing, he says, Luke, the beloved physician and Demas, greet you.
So we learn that Demas is a companion of Paul that traveled with him in his ministries was probably a help to Paul.
I mean, what a tremendous blessing to be involved with the apostle Paul's ministry.
Right. You're kind of rubbing shoulders with with some, you know, a pretty important person at that point.
Philemon again, there salute thee, Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus.
Marcus Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellow laborers.
So Paul is calling Demas a fellow laborer with him. Praise God.
He had a good reputation. Right. People know who he is. But then if you look at Second Timothy, chapter four,
this is you know, when I say Demas, this is the passage we all think of because this is his reputation.
We don't think about Demas, the fellow laborer with Paul. We think about this passage, which is a negative thing,
because that's what people tend to do, isn't it? They focus on the negative.
I remember being taught that in sales, you know, when I was working in customer service.
You know, we'd always complain about this one customer or whatever customers came in that day.
We go, oh, this customer that. And I remember my manager saying, well, what about all the good ones that weren't like that?
I was like, oh, yeah. Right. Because we tend to focus on negative situations like negative things happen.
That's what we focus on as human beings. It's easier to remember the bad review than the good one.
Right. It's easier to remember the negative experience that you had than the good one.
That's why we always and that's human nature. And that's why when we think of Demas, we think of Second Timothy four,
verse 10, for Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world.
And he just goes when he and not serving Christ, you know,
at, you know, any particular time other than the one then when he was serving alongside the apostle Paul.
I mean, when you're forsaking the apostle Paul, it's not good.
And how many sermons, how many times has Demas come up since this was penned down?
How many thousands of sermons, how many hours have been preached about Demas using Second Timothy for 10 as example?
You know, some people probably didn't even realize that he's he's positively mentioned.
You know, and other other places are like, oh, I didn't even know that. Right.
Because that's what his reputation is. And this is why we need to choose a good name.
Look, God wants to give us a good name. God wants to, you know, bequeath upon us, you know, a positive surname.
Right. He wants to write that name in a white stone, whatever.
You know, that's the example I'm using. But we can't just expect that to happen automatically.
And we don't want to mess that up. We want to choose a good name.
OK. Think about another another example I want to look at very quickly is Marcus,
who I believe is John Mark or Mark. Right.
Who is the author of the book that we've been looking at.
He's passed several Sundays. The Gospel of Mark.
It says in Acts 15, verse 36. And after some days, Paul said to Barnabas.
I don't know if I did I have you go to Acts? Go ahead and go to Acts. Acts chapter 15.
I'll just begin reading in verse 36. After some days, Paul said to Barnabas,
let us go again and visit our brother in every city which where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they do.
OK. You know, this is always encouraged me when I read about people kind of.
You know, forsaking Paul or not being interested in his ministry.
It kind of it's kind of encouragement to me because I'm like, if people can flake out on Paul,
like when people flake out on me, I'm just kind of like, well, they flaked out on Paul.
I mean, they flaked out on Jesus. It's like, why should I why should I be surprised when people get flaky in this ministry?
You know, when people forsake this ministry and love this present world or whatever, whatever it might be.
You know, it's like it's nothing new under the sun, folks. And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.
Right. So he has a surname. He's Mark. But Paul thought not good to take him with them,
who departed from them from Pamphylia and went not with the work to them.
Went not to the with them to the work is what it says. Right. So that's the reputation he's developed.
Right. And this is early on. That's one of the first mentions of Mark. John Mark, this character.
And the reputation he has is he's one that went not to the work. You know, the long and short of that is he's lazy.
Right. He's inconsistent. And Paul saying, well, it's not good to take this guy because he doesn't want to do the work.
And the contention was so sharp between them that departed one from another.
So Barnabas took Mark and sailed into Cyprus and Paul chose Silas and departed being recommended by the brethren under the grace of God.
So Mark is kind of example for splitting up this great, this dynamic duo of Barnabas and Paul.
And these two guys were power. They were powerhouse missionaries.
OK. And all things work together for good to them that love God. Right.
Obviously, Barnabas went one way and Paul went another. They just could not see eye to eye on this issue.
And more work was probably done as a result. OK. So in the end, it was a good thing. You say who's right, who's wrong?
I mean, neither. Both. I don't know. OK. It was just a difference of opinion.
There's a lot we can learn from that. But, you know, sometimes men of God, leadership, people that we respect and look up to,
they're just going to have a different opinion on things and go different directions. There's nothing wrong with that.
The point I'm trying to make tonight is that the scripture is telling us that Mark had a certain reputation with Paul early on.
OK. I should have had you keep something in Second Timothy four. Right. Go back to Second Timothy, Chapter four.
Sorry, the color ink on the printer has just gone berserk. So it's hard for me to do my bookmarking.
It used to be all color coded. Now I just have to kind of wing it. All right. So. But that's OK.
You don't mind turning in your Bible. Right. I always like hearing those pages turn.
But Second Timothy, Chapter four, where we just were, we read about a guy who started out good. Right.
But ended up with a bad reputation, Demas, who forsook Paul, having loved the present world.
You get to the next verse, verse 11. We read about a guy, Mark, John Mark Marcus, who started out with a bad reputation with Paul,
but ended up having a good one. OK. Because if you look at verse 11, only Luke is with me.
Take Mark and bring him with thee, for he is profitable to me for the ministry.
So this is the end of Paul's ministry where he's come around on Mark. You know, that's why there's a whole lesson right there.
We don't want to just give up on people. OK. I tend to think that Barnabas had the right point of view.
And maybe it was just a personality thing where Paul is just not somebody who wants to micromanage or, you know, pull people along.
He likes people that are self starters that just kind of do their thing without having to be told.
Whereas Barnabas maybe is a more patient person that is willing to work with people and bring them along.
OK. That's a great lesson right there. But we don't want to give up on people. You know, people do something wrong.
You know, we shouldn't just write them off. Don't write off the marks in this world.
But John Marx, you know, Paul at the end is saying, you know what, he is profitable.
Why? Because somebody came along and took him under his wing and worked with him and gave him another chance and brought him up.
OK. So these are two great examples of how a reputation can be either good or bad.
And it's not a permanent thing. You know, I dare say it's fluid. Can I say that in this day and age?
Right. Everything else is fluid today.
But even your reputation can be fluid. Right. You can have a you can go from a good reputation to a bad one and you can go from a bad one to a good one.
Now, I will say this. It's harder probably to go from a bad reputation to a good reputation, which is why the Bible in Proverbs is telling us choose a good name rather than, you know, rather than silver and gold.
You know, a good name is rather to be chosen than those things. It's better than precious ointment. The Bible is really warning us.
Get a good reputation and keep it. Mark might be kind of an exception here.
Right. Because it's not like he forsook and loved the present world. He was still involved in the ministry to some degree.
When it was time to go back and revisit the brethren. It's just that, you know, he kind of got flaky out there.
Right. And Paul saying, look, this is a big job we're trying to do. We need solid people that we can trust that are going to do the work.
OK. John Mark's kind of an exception. The tendency is, is that people tend to take a good reputation and ruin it more often than having a bad one and getting it good.
That was terrible grammar, but forgive me. Let's look at one more person tonight, and it's Peter.
OK, if you want to go back to Mark, chapter number three, what I found interesting about this is that Peter is named first when this list of disciples is given.
And when you think about it, Peter in the scripture is a very is a very in the New Testament, especially in the gospels, is a very prominent character.
And, you know, I've never really sat down and like crunched the numbers or whatever and like and weighed it all out.
But just from having read the Bible and spent time in the word of God, having spent time in the word of God, it's pretty obvious.
I think most people agree that of all the disciples, Peter is the most prominent. Wouldn't you agree with that?
Everyone probably agree with that, right? Maybe John, maybe some others. But man, when it comes to the disciples, we learn more about Peter than probably any other disciple.
OK, and it's not all good. OK, and I believe the Bible is listing him first because he is kind of a preeminent disciple.
He's he's kind of the one that's the focus. And I say that because if you remember, he's not called first.
Andrew was actually his brother was called first and then he went and found Peter. If we could go to John one to look at that, we're not going to.
But in Mark three, you see that he's mentioned Simon Peter first, then James and John and then verse 18, then Andrew, Peter's brother.
He's kind of fourth, although he was called before Peter was right.
So the list of disciples isn't given in the order, the chronological order in which they were called to be disciples.
You see what I'm saying? Because if we go back and read the story, Andrew's called, he goes first and finds his brother, Peter, then James and John.
The point I'm making is that Peter is somebody that's very prominent in the scripture. There's a reason why he's named first.
And he's one that is given a surname. In fact, in John one, when he's called, he says, thou art Peter, which being interpreted as a stone, right?
Peter is his surname. And what I love about Peter is that he's such a his reputation, you know, is good overall, but he's a flawed character.
So why is Peter so prominent? Because he's flawed, just like the rest of us, right? I don't know that Peter necessarily volunteered for that job.
Like, hey, yeah, point out all my flaws, right? But I really, you know, of all the New Testament, you know, characters, I really love Peter just because he's so relatable.
Because we're flawed, he's flawed. And Peter is somebody who has a reputation as a flawed character, right? Because we're looking at different people who have different reputations in the scripture, different examples, of which there are many.
Just pointing out a few, you know, pretty run of the mill ones in Demas, Marcus, Thomas. But think about Peter. Peter is somebody who has a reputation as a flawed character.
In fact, I've heard pastors get up and preach and try to defend Peter and say things like, oh, Peter gets a black eye. Well, it's kind of deserved, though.
You know, Peter did put his foot in his mouth. Let's not forget that Peter did deny Christ. Even after having been warned, you're going to deny me thrice tonight, right?
After all that big talk of, though all men forsake thee, yet not I, I'll go thee to death. You know, all these other guys might leave you, Lord, but not me.
And then he's like, well, you're actually going to deny me three times before the sun even rises, buddy. And he did it. And he was warned. And he denied him to a maid. A little girl scared Peter off.
You know, that's the scripture. That's what the Bible says about him. He's a flawed character. That's his reputation. And, you know, people argue sometimes about whether it's right or wrong to go after Peter as much as sometimes people do.
You know, after Jesus sends, or before, rather, after Jesus has risen, right, and tells him to tarry in Jerusalem, you know, Peter actually goes fishing. Remember that? And backslides and goes back to his old life and takes all his disciples with him.
And Christ has to go and pull him out of the boat again and sit him on the shore and grill him while he's grilling fish, if you remember the story, right? He's grilling fish and Peter, right?
Lovest thou me more than these? Yea, Lord, thou knowest I love thee. And he said that to him three times. And Peter being grieved said, Lord, thou knowest I love thee, right?
And I believe it was done three times because he denied him three times, right? I don't want to get into the story, but that's what Peter did. And, again, the Bible, you got to kind of read between the lines there about what's going on in the story.
Peter was supposed to stay where he was. He backslid big time. And it was because he's probably filled with self-doubt, thinking that he's unworthy, unfit for the ministry because of the fact that he denied Christ.
That is very relatable. That is a very relatable story. Especially as one that is in the ministry, oftentimes you feel that way. You're like, I'm not cut out for this. I'm not cut out to preach God's word, to lead God's people.
That's a very relatable story, to feel unfit for the ministry. We might all feel that way, to be a disciple of Christ, to go out and preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. Like, who are we?
We might, in our own lives, look at the mistakes we've made and the shortcomings that we have and feel like, you know what, why even bother?
So, good on Peter for being such an open book. Yes, he has a reputation, but it's because it's to make him relatable. It's not just because God's picking on Peter. He's just got a grudge with Peter. He didn't get over the whole denial thing or whatever.
He's just, well, I'm going to let Peter have it. No, it's in there. That reputation he has is there so that we can relate to these people and apply it to our own lives.
You know, think about all the different, I mean, Peter's got all these things and I'll quickly go through it, you know, because I know I've kind of run out of time here. But think about at the Mount of Transfiguration. It's in Mark 9. I don't know where I had you go, but it's in Mark 9.
Whereafter, you know, Jesus is transfigured into all his glory and Moses and Elijah are there with him, right? And there's the shining is the firm and he's talking with these prophets.
And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three tabernacles, one for thee and one for Moses, one for Elias.
For he wished not what to say, for they were so afraid. You know, there's nothing wrong with just not saying anything, Peter. You could just be quiet and just be afraid.
But he's got to pipe up. He's like, you know, awkward silence. You know, let me fill the void here. Let's build three tabernacles for you guys. Like, what's that got to do with anything?
Like, what? It's just kind of a weird thing to say. And that's what the Bible's kind of saying there. He said that, why? For he wished not what to say. He didn't know what else to say.
He's like, just say anything, you know? Hey, silence is golden, right? In fact, God tells him to shut up kind of in a nicer way.
Because it says in verse seven, there was a cloud that overshadowed them and a voice came out of the cloud saying, this is my beloved son. Hear him.
Like, that's a nice way of saying shut up, Peter. You know, no one wants to hear from you. There's nothing to say. You just bask in the glory of Christ, okay?
The other two disciples, they're just zipped up, right? They're afraid. They're sore afraid. They're on their faces. They just can't believe what's taking place.
But Peter's the one that pipes up. This is what you see him doing. It's kind of the reputation he has. Peter is the one that kind of puts his foot in his mouth a little bit.
And believe me, I know what that's like, you know? My wife's not here right now. She stepped out for a minute, but she could confirm that.
You guys could because I get up and do a lot of talking up here and there's been more than once where I'm sure I've had a foot sandwich from behind the pulpit, okay?
So I can relate to Peter yet again. And you know what? We probably all could. We could probably all think of things that we said and as soon as we said it, we're like, oh man, I wish I hadn't said that.
We wish we could take it back, right? You know, Peter's relatable, but this is the reputation that he has as somebody who just kind of says things, right?
And let's not forget Mark chapter 8, right before Mark chapter number 9, where Christ starts to tell them about how he's going to be crucified and killed by the Jews and then would resurrect the third day.
And he spake openly, he says in Mark 8, 32, and Peter took him and began to rebuke him. Can you imagine doing that? Grabbing the Lord, I mean, taking him, pulling him aside after he's saying this and rebuking the Lord.
Rebuking Jesus Christ. You're like, no, you're not going to let that happen. It's not, you know what I mean? Like telling him he's wrong. Crazy, right? But that's what he did.
He began to rebuke him. He wasn't just like, it wasn't saying, oh, he was sad about it. He was really upset. That'd be, you know, that wouldn't be such a bad thing. That'd be a natural reaction.
But when you're actually rebuking him for what he said, you know, and he knows full well who Christ is at this point.
But when he turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter saying, get thee behind me, Satan, for they'll save us, not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.
He's saying, you got your priorities all wrong, Peter. Who do you think you are? Right? So Peter gets cut down again, right? Because he just opens his mouth and says things. This is the reputation that he has.
The denial. What about the time when Paul in Galatians talked about how he had to withstand Peter to the face? Because remember that certain of the Jews would come, he would eat with them.
Like he was being Judaized, right? He was falling into this, going back in the bondage to the law. He was being inconsistent with what he was teaching regarding the law.
And the Bible says, Paul said that I took Peter and rebuked him to the face because of the way he was being inconsistent. This is the reputation that Peter has in the scripture.
Go to Matthew 14. Lest you think I'm just up here to pick on Peter tonight, I'm making a broader application. Yes, Peter has this reputation.
Peter has a reputation for maybe being a little bit more, you know, loose with his tongue, right? But Peter is also a bold man. I believe that about Peter.
Because let's not forget what he did in Matthew 14. Remember when they were in the storm, in the sea, and Jesus came walking under them in the night?
And they cried because they thought it was a spirit. And he said, Fear not of his eye. And then verse 28, Peter answered and said unto him, Lord, if it be thou, they'd be coming to be in the water.
This is a very bold thing to say. Nobody else says that. John's not piping up that the sons of thunder aren't, you know, the ones that are getting ready to step out in the ocean in the middle of a storm.
It was Peter who did that. And he said, Come. And Peter wasn't just all talk, folks. And Peter, when he was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
I mean, that's a very bold move. That's a lot of faith. Peter was a man of faith. Right? So, yes, he's a flawed character, but let's not just only focus on the negative things about Peter.
You know, his reputation should also we should keep this in mind when it comes to his reputation that he was a bold man of faith.
He had his doubts just like the rest of us. I love Peter. He's so relatable. I wish I could be more like him in this instance.
You say, Well, yeah, but look how the story ends. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid beginning to beginning and beginning to sink, saying, Lord, save me.
Well, at least he knew who to call out to. At least he still had faith that God could save him. And immediately Jesus searched up for this hand and caught him and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
They could say, Well, he blew it at the end. He sank. Yeah, but he stepped out. And when he got back to the boat, I doubt anyone was like, idiot. Like, there goes Peter again.
You know, stupid Peter thinking he could walk. They were probably like, Dude, that was awesome. I wish I had said that, you know.
They could say, Oh, you sank. Peter's like, Well, you got a lot further than you did because you stayed in the boat. You didn't have the boldness.
You didn't have the faith. You didn't have the courage to even begin to step out. And, you know, there's so much we could talk about when it comes to that.
So Peter, you know, just the willingness that Peter had to be a bold man of faith when others weren't.
And, yeah, maybe that boldness, maybe that brashness, you know, had some, showed up in different, you know, negative ways in his life.
Okay, maybe, you know, but that's because he's flawed like the rest of us. And he has this reputation in scripture, but he has these redeeming qualities as well.
This boldness, the faithfulness. I told you to keep something in Proverbs. Hopefully you did. If you want to go to Proverbs, go to chapter number 20.
Proverbs chapter number 20. Look, we want to have a good name. Why is Peter at the top of the list in Matthew chapter three when the disciples are named?
Peter, right? Simon, who was surnamed Peter. You know, he wasn't the first one called. And, yeah, he's got a lot of character flaws.
But you know what? He's on the top of that list. Yeah, he did a lot of things wrong. But you know what? He's on the top of that list.
He's above the sons of thunder. I don't think that list, it's not chronological. You know, maybe Mark just had an affinity with Peter because Peter does refer to him as my son.
He wasn't literally son. He was Barnabas' sister son. He was the nephew of Barnabas, if you remember. That's Mark, Marcus, right?
But Peter did refer to him as his son, as in what Paul did to Timothy, my son in the faith, right? He was somebody that was like a father unto him.
So you say, well, you know, maybe Marcus or Mark, he just, you know, liked Peter more. Well, it's the same in Matthew, right?
It's the Holy Spirit that put him on the top of that list. That's why he's a prominent figure in the scripture.
He has this boldness, this faithfulness. He's relatable. He has a good reputation overall.
You know, we want to make sure we have a good reputation. Not perfect, right? Peter does not have a perfect reputation.
Big, glaring faults, right? Huge moments of doubt, rebuking the Lord, denying the Lord, forsaking the ministry, even after having done and seen all the things that he did.
He wasn't perfectly consistent, but you know what? He ended up coming back, didn't he? And he went on and served God, went on and did great things.
Again, not perfectly, but, you know, he preached boldly in the day of Pentecost. Thousands of people are getting saved.
I mean, bold preacher, bold man of God, greatly used, but not perfect. What was, you know, what was his redeeming quality?
His faithfulness. Faithfulness. Look, that's a reputation that we should all strive to have in our lives, is faithfulness.
Being faithful to Christ and faithful to the Lord. That's something we should strive for, you know, because that's something that will go a long way with God.
Because look, no one's perfect. None of us is. God's not looking down on us and going, well, I expect perfect, you know, you to just be flawless in every way.
You know, we have this treasure in earthen vessels. We're just clay, right? God remembers that we are but dust.
But I believe that if a person is just faithful over the years, faithful to the Lord, faithful, not perfect, that will go a long way.
And I believe that Peter's a great example of that. That's why we see so many of his faults and his shortcomings.
So you can say, well, what makes him, what redeems him? Why is he on the top of the list? Faithfulness.
Not always faithful yet, you know, because that's what faithfulness is. You don't give up. You don't quit.
You know, it doesn't mean that you never fail. It doesn't mean you never have doubts. It doesn't mean that you never maybe backslide.
It doesn't mean that you never, you know, come up short. It just means that when you do, you keep, you come back, you try again. You don't quit.
You know, you get back in the saddle. You know, you fall off the wagon, you get back on. That's what it means to be faithful.
It doesn't mean to never fail, to never have a shortcoming, to never have a flaw. Oh, I'm faithful because I'm perfect. No.
Faithful, you know, being faithful means that you're that way in spite of your flaws. You come back and you keep serving even when you've done messed up, okay?
Look at Proverbs 20, verse 6. Most men will proclaim everyone his own goodness. Most people will tell you what they think of themselves, right?
And this is really big on social media today. People will go out there and they'll just tell you how great they are and how everybody else isn't.
You know, most people will proclaim their own goodness, but a faithful man who can find. The Bible's putting the premium on faithfulness, not some braggart who just wants to tell you how great he is.
How he's better than everybody else, okay? That's most people. Most people have a pretty high view of themselves and it's usually wrong.
You know, the guy that, you know, thinks real highly of himself and wants to let everybody know is usually the most obnoxious guy in the room.
That's the guy that nobody wants anything to do with. That's the guy everyone's just like, well, you know, you're just a, just go live your life because I don't want to be around you.
No one likes a person like that. No one likes a braggart. It's awkward. It's annoying. It's obnoxious.
But a faithful man who can find. Not somebody who's going to go tell you how great they are, but someone who's just faithful, right?
Not someone who's going to tell you all the things that they're going to do. Not someone who's going to tell you, you know, how, you know, all the grand plans, all the great schemes they've got,
everything they're going to accomplish in life that tells you everything they're going to do, but someone who's just faithful.
Someone who doesn't, you know, can actually, you can actually look back on a history with them. You know, their walk with God does the talking for them.
They don't have to brag. They don't have to proclaim their own goodness because they have a track record. It's not flawless. It's not perfect, but it's, you know, but they're faithful.
You know, it might do this, you know. There might be peaks and valleys in their track record, but the overall trajectory is upward. That's faithfulness.
Go to Proverbs 24. You know what? Go to Psalms 37. I've got to wrap it up. Psalms 37. The Bible says in Proverbs 24, a just man falleth seven times and riseth up again.
You know, the just man, the faithful man is not, he never falls, never makes a mistake. His reputation is just flawless. It's as pure as the wind-driven snow.
You know, it's just immaculate. No, he falls. He falls seven times, but he's faithful. He's just. Why? Because he rises up again.
That's Peter. Peter has all these big glaring faults. That's his reputation, but you know what also his reputation is? Faithfulness. Faithfulness.
Look at Psalm 37 verse 23. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not utterly cast him down, for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.
So, you know, the faithful man, the good man, you know, he's going to fall, but he's not going to be utterly cast out. He's going to rise up again.
And God will order his steps in spite of his flaws. If we're what? Faithful. And that's the application I want to make tonight is that, look, no one's perfect.
No one has a perfect reputation. You know, there is no perfect church. There is no perfect pastor. There is no perfect, you know, layperson. There is no perfect spouse.
There are no perfect children. There are no perfect parents. Nobody's perfect. You know, but some people are faithful, and that's what counts more than anything is being a faithful person.
That's the reputation that we want. You know, that's what the reputation we want as a church, that's the reputation you want as a person in your life.
Not somebody who's perfect, but someone who's faithful. Let's go ahead and close in a word of prayer.
Dear Lord, again, thank you again for the word of God. Thank you for these great examples of faithfulness, Lord, and of flaws in the scripture.
Thank you that, Lord, we can look to the scripture, we can look to these people and learn from them, Lord, and see ourselves reflected in these people, even in their weakest moments, Lord.
We can relate to them, Lord, that you don't expect us to be perfect. You don't expect us to live up to a standard that is impossible for us to attain, Lord, but you simply ask us to remain faithful.
And Lord, that you're gracious and long suffering. And Lord, we know we're going to fall. We know we're going to make mistakes. We're going to sin.
And Lord, we know that we're not going to let it rain in our mortal bodies, but Lord, that we are still but clay, that we have feet of clay.
And Lord, we thank you that you have made a way for us to be cleansed from that sin and to rise up again, to fall and get up seven times.
And that in spite of our weaknesses, in spite of our faults, Lord, you will continue to guide us and order our steps so long as we remain faithful, Lord, to walking in that which you've decreed for us, Lord, as we walk in the light of your word and in your commandments, Lord, you will guide us.
And Lord, we just thank you for a faithful group of people in this church. Thank you for people that have been consistent, Lord, over the years and serving you and that love you and love your word.
And Lord, I look forward to what you'll do, Lord, through this church in the years to come. We praise you for it now in Jesus' name. Amen.
Alright, we'll go ahead and sing one more song before we are dismissed.
Sing it out.
We are Jesus. We are Jesus. We are Jesus. We are Jesus. We are Jesus.
We are Jesus. We are Jesus. We are Jesus. We are Jesus.
We are Jesus. We are Jesus.
We are Jesus.