Now the part of the chapter I'd like to focus on is beginning in verse number 18 there in Acts 2018.
It says,
When they were come unto him, he said unto them,
You know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons,
serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears and temptations which befell me by the line and way of the Jews,
and how I have kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly and from house to house,
testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
The thing that I want to preach about this morning is consistency, or being consistent, being there at all seasons.
You know, we don't want to be someone who's up and down, somebody who's really doing a lot for God, really in church and serious about things,
and then they kind of fade and they go back and forth.
And really the key to living the successful Christian life, and I'm going to show you that this morning,
the key is being consistent.
Not being like the parable, of course, not from the Bible, but the common story of the tortoise and the hare.
You know, the hare was much faster, but he just does a little burst, and then he stops, and he takes a break,
and he's not consistently like the tortoise, albeit slow, just plodding along there at all seasons.
Now Paul said at the beginning here, he said, you know, in verse 18, that from the first day that I came into Asia,
after what manner I've been with you at all seasons.
He's saying, look, I was there in season, out of season, I was there when it was easy to be there,
I was there when it was not easy to be there.
I was there when it was popular, I was there when it wasn't popular.
Go down, if you would, to verse 31.
It says, therefore, watch and remember that by the space of three years, I cease not to warn everyone night and day with tears.
You see the consistency there, day and night, all seasons, all the time, I was always there.
And I'm going to talk about several areas this morning.
The first area I want to talk about is just being in church, church attendance.
The first thing he said is that I've been with you at all seasons, okay.
He's talking about being with the church, because if you look at verse number 17,
it says, and from Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church.
So the people he's talking to is the elders of the church,
and he's basically saying to the elders of the church, I've been with you at all seasons.
I was there Sunday morning, I was there Sunday night, I was there Wednesday night, I was consistently there.
And, you know, we see that in our church and other churches across America,
where there are certain people that are just always there.
You don't wonder if they're going to be there.
I mean, you get in the car, you come to church, you don't wonder, hey, I wonder if so-and-so is going to be there.
You just know that they're going to be there.
And when they're not there, you're surprised, you know, and you know that something's wrong,
and you want to figure out why they're not there, and you want to give them a call and see what's going on,
because you say, man, if so-and-so is not here, something must be wrong,
because they're consistently there at all seasons.
That's the kind of person that Paul was.
Paul said, well, I was always there, you know.
And let's face it, there are going to be times when things come up that keep you out of church,
where you're providentially hindered from coming to church.
I mean, there are so many times where you could get really sick, you know, and you just can't drive yourself to church.
And you don't always necessarily want to come to church when you're sick,
because you don't want to spread the disease, right?
And so there are a lot of times when you're sick, you can't make it.
There are other times when, you know, unforeseeable things could stop you.
But it's amazing how certain people are just really consistent and just find a way to make it here, you know.
And they're only gone rarely.
And you know, that's great.
And you say, well, does the Bible tell us we have to be there three times a week?
Hey, the Bible doesn't tell you that, but it does say to be here.
You know, it says to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is,
and so much the more.
He said exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching.
So we don't need less church today.
We need more church in 2011, not less.
And so that's why I encourage you to be here at all seasons,
and that's where you're going to get the most teaching of God's Word.
You see, a lot of people think that someone's life is going to be changed in one service.
Now, I personally don't believe that. I don't see that.
I mean, I can see if somebody got saved.
Yeah, that's going to make a change in their life, obviously.
But you know, for the Christian today, and that's who I'm predominantly speaking to,
people that are already saved, people who already believe in Jesus Christ,
it's not one service that's going to set your whole life, just change my life, that one service.
You know what it is?
It's the weekly, week in, week out.
The Bible says, live must be upon line and precept upon precept, here a little and there a little.
It's a continual, just coming each week, you learn a little more, you learn a little more.
The Bible calls it growth.
And if I look at my children, they didn't just grow overnight.
It's not like they wake up, they go to bed at three years old, you know, and it's their birthday,
and then they wake up on their fourth birthday and think, wow, you know, my clothes don't fit.
No, you cannot see a child grow.
It's a slow growth, it's a little bit every day, it's a little bit every night when they go to bed.
You can't perceive it with the eye.
I see my children every day, I don't see the growth.
Other people might not see my children for a year, they're going to say, wow, your kids have really grown.
That's the way it is in the Christian life.
It's something that's a slow, continual process, and you know, just taking somebody to one church service
is not going to change their life.
It's coming again and again, week after week that changes your life.
Because it's just building line upon line, precept upon precept.
And that's why it's so important to be consistent.
To come week after week, to learn, to be consistent, and so forth.
Look at Luke chapter 4, you're in the book of Acts, just go back a few pages to Luke.
Luke, John, Acts, go back to Luke.
And we'll see more about attending church continually.
This is actually not church, but this is Jesus Christ in his early ministry.
And before he started his ministry, he basically went to the synagogue every week
in order to be there for the reading of God's word, the reading of the Bible.
And it says in Luke 4, 16, and he came to Nazareth, this is Jesus, where he had been brought up.
So this is his hometown.
And as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up for the reading.
Now notice what it says there.
As his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up for the reading.
And he of course reads that great scripture from Isaiah chapter 61.
That shows the consistency, where Jesus had a pattern of going to that synagogue with his family,
with his fellow town people there, and reading God's word, getting together and reading the Bible.
That was a consistent habit there.
Go to Deuteronomy chapter 17, if you would, Deuteronomy 17.
Because not only do we want to be consistent about our church attendance,
because that's where you're going to get the growth through the preaching
and hear a lot of things that you need, but also we need to be consistent with our Bible reading.
Look at Deuteronomy chapter 17, the fifth book in the Bible.
Deuteronomy 17, 18 reads,
And it shall be when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book,
out of that which is before the priests of the Levites.
And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life,
that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of the law and these statutes to do them.
So, reading the Bible daily is commanded by God in order to help you keep God's commandments,
in order that you might, as it says in verse 20,
not have a heart that's lifted up above your brethren, not be filled with pride,
not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand of the Levite,
that you might prolong your days, the days of your children.
We're to read the Bible daily.
Now, this is why this is so important.
You might sit down and in one sitting read the Bible for hours,
but if you consistently read the Bible every day, even if it's just a little bit,
you'll read a lot more Bible just by being consistent.
For example, if you just decide to dedicate 15 minutes a day,
which is not a huge amount of time, just 15 minutes a day to reading your Bible,
and you just read four chapters a day, you're going to read the whole book cover to cover in one year,
which most people have never done.
I mean, people who've been in church for decades today have not read this book cover to cover.
And you wonder why they're so easily duped by false doctrine.
They're so easily deceived.
They're so easily tricked by somebody getting up and just saying something that sounds good.
They haven't read the book.
They cannot even tell whether what's being preached is right or wrong because they haven't read it.
They have no idea.
And if you don't read the whole Bible cover to cover,
you're basically just at the mercy of whoever's preaching to you,
to spoon feed you whatever they want to spoon feed you.
You ought to get the Bible in your lap that you've read again and again.
And then when you're in church listening to preaching, you flip open your Bible.
You know the context.
You know what the chapter's about.
You know what the book's about.
And you can say amen when you know that what's being preached is right because you saw it in the Bible.
And you can tell when things that are being preached are not right
because they're not consistent with what you've read in the Bible as you read cover to cover.
And that's why it's so important to read the Bible consistently.
If you kicked it up to a half hour a day, hey, you're reading the Bible twice a year.
You kick it up to four hours.
I'm sorry, not four hours a day.
That might be a little intense.
But if you kick it up to an hour a day, you're reading it four times a year.
And definitely there are times to spend four hours in your Bible.
That's great.
I've spent literally a whole day reading the Bible.
I've spent the whole day memorizing the Bible.
But you're not going to be able to do that consistently because you've got to live your life.
You've got work.
You've got family.
You've got other things to do.
But read it consistently.
If you can put in a consistent hour a day, you're reading the Bible four times a year.
You're reading it more than the average pastor across America.
I'll tell you that right now.
And it's not that hard to put in that hour.
Now, what's the key to consistent Bible reading?
Well, the key is found in verse number 19.
The first words of verse 19 give you the key to consistent Bible reading,
and it shall be with them.
That phrase right there is the key to being consistent to read the Bible.
And it shall be with him.
You say, what?
The Bible has to be with you.
Now, I know this is really complicated indeed,
but you can't read the Bible if the Bible's not with you.
Now, I know.
It's hard to believe.
I'm ready to prove it for the Bible.
Anyway, it's got to be with you.
And it sounds silly, but that is really the key to consistent Bible reading is having it with you
because you have so many opportunities throughout the day
to read the Bible if it's with you.
And that's why I strongly recommend,
I don't have one in the pulpit, but they're out on the shelf,
get a New Testament and put that New Testament in your pocket.
And when you're in line at the post office,
when you're in line at the DMV,
when you're sitting around, when you have nothing to do,
when you're waiting for an appointment,
whip that thing out and memorize some scripture.
Whip that thing out and do a little reading.
And that will add up to a lot of reading throughout your day if you do that.
If you pull it out when you have a dead time and read it,
keep it with you.
Keep one in the lunchbox.
Keep one in the car.
Keep it with you, ladies, in your purse.
Keep it with you everywhere you go so that you can consistently read it every day.
Because you say, wow, I woke up late.
I didn't get to read my Bible.
Have it with you.
Keep it with you.
And that's one good thing about technology today.
This can be a way to have it with you
because I've got the Bible on here,
a free download of the King James on here.
And so if you've got one of these smartphones,
you can have your Bible on there.
But have the physical book.
This one's good for in the dark because it is dark.
Sometimes I'll be working somewhere in an elevator shaft.
It sounds crazy, but this is part of my job.
When I do fire alarms, I'll sometimes be on top of an elevator in an elevator shaft.
And I'll be up there for hours
because there's all these smoke detectors and heat detectors in the top of the shaft.
And I'll basically set one off
and then just have to wait until everybody gets everything reset
and then I'm going to do it again.
So that's where this comes in handy in a dark elevator shaft.
How many of you work in a dark elevator shaft?
Anyway, yeah, Solomon's done it.
He went with me on the job and went on the elevator.
But anyway, you can pull this out and you can read the Bible.
And so have it with you so you can consistently read it.
But read it every day.
And even if you just say, well, I've only got 15 minutes.
And everybody's got 15 minutes.
At least next year on February 20th, 2012,
you'll have read the thing cover to cover and you can say, hey, I see the big picture.
Now, I'm just a little out of context, but man, I see the big picture.
Four chapters a day.
But if you're not consistent, you're not going to get it done.
It's got to be four chapters a day every day in order to get it done.
Be consistent with your Bible reading.
And that's taught in Deuteronomy, chapter number four.
But not only that, go to Acts chapter five, if you would.
Acts five.
Acts chapter number five.
And while you're turning there, back in Acts 20,
where I originally read at the beginning of the service,
he talked about how he'd been with them in all seasons.
And he also said just right after that, in the next verse, he basically said,
And I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you,
but have showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house.
So not only that, be consistent with soul winning.
Go soul winning consistently.
You know, be in church consistently.
You're going to get a lot more teaching, a lot more learning,
just by being here every week and getting the teaching.
Read the Bible consistently.
You're going to get through that thing cover to cover again and again.
But not only that, go soul winning consistently.
He said, Hey, I was with you in all seasons, day and night.
I was out there preaching from house to house, publicly, the whole counsel of God.
And he says here in Acts 5 42,
And daily in the temple and in every house, they cease not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.
Now that's not necessarily saying that every single person was out soul winning every single day.
Because obviously there are other things that we have to do in life.
But usually there are opportunities that come up even in our daily lives to give the gospel.
And try to preach the gospel and try to get somebody on the job or wherever we are.
But not only that though, as a church, I think it's great that Faithful Word Baptist Church,
it can truly be said of us most of the time that daily in the temple and in every house,
somebody's out preaching the gospel every day in our church.
If I'm not out every single day, let's say I'm on a work trip because I travel sometimes for work.
In fact, I travel a lot for work sometimes.
But there's somebody out there almost every day.
And when I'm in town, it's me and other people.
And when I'm out of town, it's other people.
You know, just that consistency of Faithful Word Baptist Church is why we get so many people saved.
You say, how do you get somebody to do that?
Because somebody's out every day knocking doors for hours and hours.
And it adds up.
I mean if we got the whole church to just go out one day a year and just go out and do a big soul winning,
you know, we get a lot of people saved, but we're not going to get near as many saved if we will just keep going week after week,
week after week, here a little, there a little, daily, just a daily flow of going out and preaching the gospel.
We're going to get more people saved by that consistent day after day, in season, out of season, daily soul winning.
And I'm not saying that you necessarily are going to go daily, but as a church we'll be daily.
But you know, try to be consistent with whatever your pattern is, whether it's weekly, whether it's a few times a week,
whatever you've got, whatever time is available, you know, be consistent with it.
Because if you stop and think about it, let's say you go out soul winning just one hour a week, well that's 52 hours a year.
That's a pretty substantial amount of soul winning.
Let's say you go three hours a week.
We sit 156 hours of soul winning.
You know, the biggest soul winning time in our church is Sunday afternoon.
You know, that's usually our biggest soul winning push of the week.
Sometimes it varies to other days.
But pretty much Sunday is usually the big day that we really go out and push a lot of soul winning.
And on Sundays, you know, when we go out for three hours, hey, if you just join us for that, and some people go out for a shorter time,
whatever you want to do, you know, it's up to you.
But a lot of people go out for three, four hours.
And you know what, you times that by 52, that's 156 hours of soul winning if you be consistent with that and keep doing that.
And whatever your soul winning schedule, whether you like to come on Tuesday nights,
whether you do the Monday nights out in Mesa or the Friday nights out in Mesa,
or the Tuesday night here in Tempe, or the Wednesday evening right before the service,
which is pretty easy if you can make it here in time, just bust out some soul winning before church.
Hey, whatever it is, if you do it consistently, you'll do a ton of soul winning.
And you'll get a ton of people saved because even if you don't get people saved this week,
you'll get people saved next week or the week after.
And you'll just consistently, he that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing.
There's no doubt that if you go out consistently, you will reap the harvest.
You will get people saved.
And so that's what it's all about, being consistent.
Not just one big blitzkrieg, one big push.
No, it's got to be just that week after week after week.
And you know, my pastor back in Sacramento would call people sometimes a Roman Candle Christian.
You know, the Roman Candle, you know, and it's just gone.
And there'll be sometimes people who come into a church like that.
And man, they're all excited, you know, and they're doing everything, you know.
And it lasts for a couple of weeks or a couple of months.
And then they pretty much just quit doing it.
But you know what, the person who's here for decades, that's the one who's really going to get a lot of people saved.
That's the one who's really doing a great work for God.
The one who's just here for year after year after year after year.
Christianity, I heard someone else say, Christianity is not measured in years.
It's measured in decades.
You know, I thank God that I've done a decade of soul winning.
I've done, I think I started soul winning, yeah, a little over 12 years ago.
You know, so I've done 12 years of soul winning.
Now look, I wasn't always the best soul winner.
I wasn't always the most productive soul winner.
I wasn't always the one who was maybe leading the charge over the course of that 12 years.
But hey, just by the simple virtue of doing it for 12 years, you're going to get a lot of people saved.
Just by going every week for 12 years.
Whether you're a great soul winner or not so great.
Whether you're putting in a ton of time or a little time.
Just the fact that you did it for two decades or 12 years or 10 years.
That's going to get a lot of people saved because of the consistency of it.
Week after week after week.
And so it's all about consistency.
Not being the Roman Candle Christian.
Not being the hare, but being the tortoise who just keeps going, keeps being here, keeps on going.
And there's so many different areas this could be applied to in every area of life.
But Bible reading is a big one of course.
Church attendance, going soul winning.
Those are all key areas where consistency matters and consistency is important.
But not only that, go to Luke 11.
Luke chapter number 11.
Actually, you know what? Put your finger in Luke 11 and go to Luke 18.
We're going to look at both.
Go to Luke 18 and then put a finger in Luke 11.
And then take the thumb of your left hand actually.
Go to Luke 18 verse number 1.
It says,
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that man ought always to pray, and not to faint.
You get that?
Now this reminds me, we're going to keep reading, but this reminds me of 1 Thessalonians chapter 5.
He said, pray without ceasing.
He's saying, don't quit praying.
Pray without ceasing.
Don't cease to pray.
He says, man ought always to pray, and not to faint.
He's going to give a parable explaining that.
He says in Luke 18, 2, saying,
There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man.
Now that's really shocking, isn't it? Isn't that weird?
That kind of reminds me of the country that we live in.
But anyway, it says,
And there was a widow in that city, and she came unto him, saying,
Avenge me of my adversary, and he would not for a while.
But afterward he said within himself,
Though I fear not God, nor regard man,
Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her,
Lest by her continual, get this,
By her continual coming to me.
Did you get that?
Lest by her continual coming, she weary me.
And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge said,
And shall not God avenge his own elect,
Which cry day and night unto him,
Though he bear long with them?
I tell you that he will avenge them speedily,
Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh,
Shall he find faith on the earth.
The Bible's clear here that if we continually come to God,
He'll answer us.
He might bear along with us.
You know, he might not answer us right away.
He might not just instantly give us what we ask.
But he says here that if we come to him continually,
He says if even a corrupt, unjust judge,
Who has no fear of God, no fear of man,
But he just only cares about himself,
And lining his own pockets with bribery, etc.
Even that guy, if somebody keeps coming to him continually,
They're finally going to wear him down.
He's finally going to say, Okay, whatever, fine,
And give them what they want.
How much more God that loves you,
How much more God that's your Father in heaven,
That actually loves you and cares about you,
And wants to give you something,
If you come to him continually,
If you cry out to him day and night,
He hears you, he answers you.
It might not always be giving you exactly what you want,
But he will give you what's best for you.
He will give you what you need.
He will help you out.
He will step in if you ask continually,
Because consistency is what I'm talking about.
Just go in there continually.
Keep praying.
Not just praying when you're in a jail.
Not just, you know,
When a semi-truck is flying toward you,
That's when you start praying.
Probably pray before you leave.
That God's going to give you that state trip.
And you know, it's hardest to pray and to serve God
Someone during the good times.
And sometimes God has to send us bad times
In order to remind us that we even need him.
Because otherwise we just get pumped up,
And yeah, everything's going great,
And everything's fun.
But when we're in times of need is when we pray.
But God says, you know what,
Just pray without ceasing.
Pray continually.
Go to God continually,
And he'll answer you.
Go to Luke 11.
In Luke 11 we see almost the same thing.
In Luke 11.
And you know, you have to strive to be a consistent person
Is what I'm talking about.
It was said unto Reuben,
When Jacob was basically blessing his twelve sons
With his final words, his final admonitions,
When he was basing it on his deathbed.
He said unto Reuben,
Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel.
And we see that Reuben did not excel.
I mean, Reuben out of the twelve tribes of Israel
Is not really the one that you think of
As basically the leading tribe, the head guy.
Yet he was the first born.
He should have been leading the way.
He should have been the top guy.
But he was told,
Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel.
He said, you will not succeed if you're unstable.
If you're not consistent.
He said, you're not going to excel.
You know, unstable as water.
Because water is a liquid.
It conforms to the shape of whatever vessel it's poured into.
It sloshes around.
It's tossed to and fro.
Like the Bible says, he that wavereth
Is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed.
We ought to know how to be liquid.
We ought to be solid.
And so he's saying here that we need to be consistent in prayer.
Consistent reading our Bible.
Consistent going to church.
Consistent winning souls.
Go to Luke 11, 5.
He said unto them,
Which of you shall have a friend?
And shall go unto him at midnight,
And say unto him,
Friend, lend me three loaves.
For a friend of mine, in his journey,
Has come to me, and I have nothing to set forth.
And he from within shall answer and say,
Trouble me not, the door is now shut,
And my children are with me in bed.
I cannot rise and give thee.
I say unto you,
Though he will not rise and give him because he is his friend,
Yet because of his importunity,
He will rise and give him as many as he need.
Importunity is basically talking about persistence.
The fact that he keeps asking, keeps bugging him.
That's what importunity means.
And he's saying here,
Even if he doesn't regard the friendship,
The fact that he just keeps coming, keeps coming, keeps coming,
It's the middle of the night, he's in bed with his children,
And he wants to just get this guy off his back.
And that's the illustration that he's using.
And he says, because of his importunity,
He will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
And I say unto you,
Ask, and it shall be given you.
Seek, and ye shall find.
Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
For everyone that asketh, receive it.
And he that seeketh, find it.
And to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.
That's a pretty good promise right there.
He says in verse number 11,
If a son shall ask bread,
If any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone?
Or if you ask a fish, will he give him, for a fish,
Will he give him a serpent?
Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
And he said,
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children,
How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
And so we see that consistently coming to God.
Now here's the one thing to be careful of.
Go to Matthew 6.
Flip over to Matthew 6, first book in the New Testament.
Imagine Mark Luke.
We talked about being in church consistently.
That's the only way you're going to grow as a Christian.
Not one service where you come crying down the aisle in some emotional decision.
And we've all been there.
You know, we've all seen it.
Some of us that have grown up in church.
You know, you go to a camp.
You go to the Christian summer camp.
And there's some gut-wrenching illustration and some tear-jerking sermon.
And then people come to...
They're giving their...
They're rededicating upon their rededication.
And they're hugging each other.
Oh, I'm sorry we're going to live for God.
Yay!
You know, the sermon changed my whole life.
And then like a couple days later,
those people are living the exact same life that they were living before.
It's gone.
Because just as fast as it comes, it goes.
The feelings.
Because we can't be based upon feelings.
You know, you come to a service.
You get all riled up, aroused up.
And you're so excited.
And then, you know, the next day, it's gone.
It's gone.
That's why emotional-type Christianity is not going to get the job done.
Because it's fleeting.
It's up and down.
It's like a wave of the sea that ebbs and flows and that comes in and goes out.
You've got to be consistent.
I mean, the things that changed my life was things that I learned from the Bible.
Truth.
God's Word.
Dometry.
You know, sermons that taught me something that I could live by
and live my life by and anchor my soul to.
Not just a tear-jerking, gut-wrenching illustration
that makes you come down the aisle and make an emotional decision.
I'm sorry.
That does not lead to the consistent growth that's recorded.
And I saw it time and time again.
And I remember just being tired of the hypocrisy as a child and as a teenager
at these emotional services.
And I got to the point where I just refused to go down that aisle.
Because, you know, that's dumb, I said.
It's just you go down there.
You put on a show.
Everybody gets all excited or crying or whatever it is.
And they don't change.
And I remember one time I was in a service and they were putting so much pressure
to get everybody to come down that aisle and come down that aisle.
And pretty much everybody's down there.
Except me and the people who were totally rebellious against God
and hated God and my Christmas, and me.
And I wasn't rebellious against God.
And somebody came up to me, you know, hey, why don't you go down that aisle?
And I said, you know what?
Because I made a decision to follow Jesus Christ a long time ago.
I didn't have to make it today like you did.
Because I already made that decision.
I don't have to make it again.
You know, maybe you do.
And you'll probably need it again next week.
You know, but it's basically something that should be done consistently.
I mean, look.
You think I woke up this morning and decided whether or not I was going to come to church?
I don't know.
The weather, you know, it's a little bit rainy.
It's kind of a dangerous drive, you know, the quarter mile.
I'm going to go to church.
I don't want to slide off the road or anything.
But the bottom line is I didn't wake up this morning and say, hmm, I wonder if I'm going to be in church.
I don't wake up every day and say, hmm, do I feel like reading the Bible?
You see, I made one decision, one decision a long time ago just to always be here.
And I don't just decide every week, like Wednesday night, hmm, church or whatever.
I already made that decision.
And that's how you got to live your life.
You know, and you may not make all the same decisions that I make, but make a decision and be consistent with it.
Because I'll tell you what, if you're the type of person who makes a decision, hmm, am I going to go soul winning this week?
Should I, you know, should I read my Bible today?
Should I go to church?
You know what the devil's going to do, just send everything to stop you?
But if the devil sends everything to stop you and he just sees you just consistently doing it anyway, he's going to go work on somebody else.
Because the Bible says he walked at the battle of the roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Because there are others that he may not devour.
And the Bible says, submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil and he'll flee from you.
And when he sees that consistency, when he sees Paul who said, I've been with you at all seasons in Acts 20.
He said, I've been through all these bad times and yet none of these things move me.
None of it moves me.
None of it shakes me.
He says in 1 Corinthians 15, be ye therefore steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.
Always, all the time he said, steadfast, unmovable, for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
Hey, that's what we need today.
People who are like a rock, people who are consistent, not the talented, not the Roman candle, not the one with all the charisma and excitement.
But hey, the one who's just there every time.
The one who just consistently does it.
You know, I talked about this the other day.
Some people might throw a huge gift of money in the offering plate.
You know, oh wow, you know, put their name on a plaque, engrave it on the wall, you know, all this kind of thing.
But wait a minute.
It's the person who goes out and works a blue collar job, works with their hands by the sweat of their brow and just throws that 10% in every week.
That's what keeps the churches of America going.
Not some wealthy Mr. Big Bucks throwing in a one-time gift so that he can get all the glory of man and be looked upon by man.
No, it's the electrician, it's the plumber, it's the carpenter, it's the taxi cab driver, you know, it's whatever who just week after week throws that 10% in.
Hey, that is what builds the churches of America, not somebody who just for the glory does a one-time big thing, you know, big deal.
It's not some big name preacher coming into town and bringing in a bunch of Christian rock bands and having a big smoke coming out of the stage and pyrotechnics and he's going to preach the gospel to 1.5 million people and it's a satellite link off.
That's not what's going to get the gospel to this city.
It's you and I every day and every week going out and preaching the gospel consistently for the next 30 years.
That's what's going to do it, my friend.
That's the answer, not a one-time big boom, you know.
It's going to be week after week going back, knocking the same door again, planting the seed, watering it, watering it, reaping the harvest.
It's going to be done by being consistent.
Consistency, be consistent.
You don't have to be talented, you just have to be consistent.
You don't have to be the fastest runner, just be consistent.
You don't have to be the most spiritual person, although you've got to be as spiritual as you can, just be consistent.
I mean anybody can be here.
Anybody can drag their carcass down here three times a week.
Anybody can drag their carcass out soul winning and be a silent hardener and then learn how to do the talking.
Anybody can do it.
We're not looking for the talented or the good looking or the suave.
We just need those that are consistent.
Moreover, it is required in stores that a man be found faithful.
That's what God's looking for, just somebody who's faithfully there in season, out of season.
You know what was the secret to Paul's success?
Oh, he was a great speaker.
You know what, why did they keep criticizing him for the way he spoke?
In 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians, he goes on and on about how people say,
wow, he really talks big in his letters, but when he's here he can't even speak.
Paul was not a powerful public speaker.
Apollos was a preacher who was also a great man of God.
Apollos was a very good public speaker.
Paul, on the other hand, was not as good at public speaking.
But who do we know more about, Paul or Apollos?
Paul is the one.
And why is it that we know more about Paul than Bartholomew?
You know, and nothing against Bartholomew.
I'm sure he was a great man.
But the reason why Paul explained it, because he talked about the difference between him and other apostles.
And he said, you know what the difference is?
He said, I labored more abundantly than they all.
That was the difference.
It wasn't a great public speaking ability.
It wasn't a big powerful name.
Because you know what, those other 11 apostles did have a bigger name back then.
You know, Bartholomew had the bigger name back then.
But you know what, the apostle Paul labored more abundantly than they all.
And I'm not trying to write a poem right now and rhyme, but I am.
So basically, you know, Paul was just consistently, day and night, working harder than anybody else.
And that's why he was considered the greatest evangelist of the New Testament.
I'm going to turn to one more place quickly, 2 Timothy 4.
2 Timothy 4, 1.
2 Timothy 4, verse number 1.
The Bible reads, and this is the apostle Paul speaking.
Probably the greatest role model in the Bible, just being consistent.
Because I mean, look, if you study the book of Acts, the apostle Paul's ministry spanned decades.
It was year after year.
I mean, it spanned from his younger life all the way to his old age.
It was a really consistent ministry.
And it says in 2 Timothy chapter 4, 2 Timothy 4, 1.
I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead and disappearing in his kingdom.
Preach the word. Be instant.
In season, out of season.
Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine.
But after their own lust, shall they heap to themselves, teachers having itching ears.
And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
But watch thou in all things. Endure afflictions.
And watch this. Do the work of an evangelist.
He's saying evangelize, preach the gospel.
He's talking to a young pastor.
He says do the work of an evangelist.
Make full proof of thy ministry, for I am now ready to be offered.
And the time of my departure is at hand.
I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course.
I have kept the faith. He did it consistently.
That's the greatness of the man.
And if you want to be a great Christian today, you want to be a great soul runner today, just decide right now.
Hey, I'm going to be consistent.
Maybe I'm not the most talented. Maybe I don't have everything going for me.
Maybe I'm not the smartest or the most book learning.
But you know what? I'm consistent. Let's bow our heads in that word of prayer.
Father, thank you so much for your word, dear God, and for the admonitions here of our inconsistency.
Help us to be able to put this sermon to use in our lives.
This sermon could change our life, dear God.
But it's not going to change it today.
It'll change it over the years if we can be consistent.
So God, give us the grace to be consistent in our Bible reading, in our prayer life.
Help us to live our life by consistent principles of right and wrong.
Consistent ethics of biblical precepts of how to live, dear God.
Consistent rules that we live by from the Bible.
And help us to just be instant in season and out of season.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.