WEBVTT

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343, revive us again.

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Him number 343343, revive us again.

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343 let's sing it out together

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We praise thee, O God, for the Son of thy love,

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for Jesus who died and is now gone above.

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Hallelujah, thine the glory, hallelujah, amen.

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Hallelujah, thine the glory, revive us again.

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We praise thee, O God, for thy Spirit of light,

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Who has shown us our Savior and scattered our night.

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Hallelujah, thine the glory, Hallelujah, Amen!

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Hallelujah, thine the glory, Revive us again!

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All glory and praise to the lamb that was slain,

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Who has borne all our sins and has cleansed every stain.

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Hallelujah, thine the glory! Hallelujah, amen!

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Hallelujah, thine the glory! Revive us again! Revive us again!

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Fill each heart with thy love! May each soul be rekindled with fire from above!

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Hallelujah, thine the glory.

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Hallelujah, amen.

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Hallelujah, thine the glory.

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Refive us again.

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Then this time we'll open with a word of prayer.

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Heavenly Father, we thank you again for the opportunity to gather together this evening.

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I pray that you would be with those salvations that were had this afternoon, as well as those that were already saved that we ran into.

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Maybe Lord, just to be an encouragement in their life and to be an example of going out and preaching the gospel,

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not just to take a sit on salvation and do nothing with it.

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Lord, I pray specifically for this service that you would be with us, that everything would be done decently in an order,

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that you'd open our ears as always to the message and fill pastor with your spirit as he preaches.

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these things we pray and

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In Jesus' name, Amen.

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For our next hymn, number 43,

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We're Marching to Zion.

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Hymn number 43, 43,

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We're Marching to Zion.

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Hymn number 43, let's sing it out all together.

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Come we that love the Lord and let our joys be known.

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Join in a song with sweet accord.

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Join in a song with sweet accord.

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And thus surround the throne.

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And thus surround the throne.

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We're marching to Zion.

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Beautiful, beautiful Zion.

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We're marching upward to Zion,

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On the beautiful city of God.

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Let those refuse to sing,

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Who never knew our God.

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But children of the heavenly King,

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But children of the heavenly King.

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May speak their joys abroad.

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May speak their joys abroad.

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We're marching to Zion.

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Beautiful, beautiful Zion.

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We're marching upward to Zion, the beautiful city of God.

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The hill of Zion yields.

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A thousand sacred sweets

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Before we reach the heavenly fields

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Before we reach the heavenly fields

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Or walk the golden streets

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Or walk the golden streets

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We're marching to Zion

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Beautiful, beautiful Zion

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with

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We're marching upward to sigh,

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O'er the beautiful city of God.

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Then let our songs abound,

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And every tear be dry.

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We're marching through Emmanuel's ground,

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We're marching through Emmanuel's ground,

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To fairer worlds on high.

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To fairer worlds on high

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We're marching to Zion

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Beautiful, beautiful Zion

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We're marching upward to Zion

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The beautiful city of God

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Anchor Baptist Church glad to have you with us tonight we are going to go

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quickly through our bulletins so if you didn't get one this morning or if you

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need one feel free to raise your hand and an usher could bring you one we do

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have on the front our Bible memory passage of the week 2nd Timothy chapter

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2 verse 14 and remember that those kids 18 and under that can quote this on

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Wednesday will receive an ice cream we do have on the inside our service times

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listed there

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Sunday morning at 1030 Sunday evening at 430 and our Wednesday Bible study through the gospel of Mark at 7 o'clock

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Then we have our churchwide soul winning times listed there below

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Also, we have our year-to-date, soul-winning statistics, and we did have two salvations

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today, so praise God for that.

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We just went to the neighborhoods right behind our church over here, which I know we've hit

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a lot of the apartments close to our church.

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I don't know how often we've hit the neighborhoods, but it was the first time I've been there

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personally, and it was pretty middle-class, but two salvations for that is absolutely

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great, so thank God for that.

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And we did have a little bit of rain, so there's God's mercy for us.

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mercy

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drops around us are falling.

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So thank God for that.

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Excited for more of that, hopefully in the future.

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Also, we have our online visitor card there

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and our online giving information,

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as well as our prayer list.

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Make sure to email us if you have a request

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you'd like added to the bulletin

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and just indicate whether that is a public

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or a private request for myself.

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Then we have our upcoming events.

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I'm looking forward to our soul winning marathon in Joplin, Missouri.

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And so Lord willing tomorrow I should get everyone a hotel recommendation.

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If you want to go on Friday, the church will reimburse you for that.

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And so make plans to attend if you can.

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October 18th is the men's preaching night, or next men's preaching night I should say.

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And the sign up sheet is back there.

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So if you want to participate in that, just indicate the topic you would like to preach

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on and that would help us out if you do that.

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October 18th.

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October 24th is the Orr Family Farm.

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Great time of fellowship.

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It's a free event paid for by the church.

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So please join us for that and invite family and friends.

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October 31st is our annual Chili Cook-Off.

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It's on a Saturday this year.

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November 7th is the Enid Oklahoma soul winning marathon and then our two-year anniversary on November 22nd with Pastor Bruce

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Mejia

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So looking forward to that if you didn't hear this morning

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just want to say thank you to all those who came to Pawhuska and

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Participated in that or prayed for that event. We did have a total of 11 salvations

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And so praise the Lord for that result. It's just here and here a little there a little you know not necessarily every marathon

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He's gonna have 30 plus out

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But you know you make it to September and you look at the bulletin and it's like

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1466 salvations for the year so far so praise God for that and keep working hard out so winning

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That's it for announcements. We'll go ahead and go to our third song together

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for our third song this evening, number 288.

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288, I am resolved.

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Ahem.

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288, we'll sing there on the first.

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I am resolved no longer to linger,

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Charmed by the world's delight.

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Things that are higher, things that are nobler,

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These have allured my sight.

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I will hasten to Him hasten so glad and free.

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Jesus, Greatest, Highest, I will come to thee.

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I am resolved to go to the Savior,

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Leaving my sin and strife.

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He is the true one, he is the just one,

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He had the words of life.

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I will hasten to Him hasten so glad and free.

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Jesus, great as I is, I will come to thee.

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I am resolved to follow the Savior,

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legal and true each day.

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Heed what he sayeth,

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do what he willeth,

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he is the living way.

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I will hasten to him hasten so glad and free.

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Jesus, greatest, I ask, I will come to thee.

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Men, as the offering plates are being passed,

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turn, if you would, to Romans chapter number 12.

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Romans chapter number 12.

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Romans chapter 12, the Bible reads,

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I beseech you therefore, brethren,

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by the mercies of God that you present your bodies

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a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,

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which is your reasonable service.

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And be not conformed to this world,

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but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,

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that you may prove what is that good and acceptable

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and perfect will of God.

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For I say, through the grace given unto me,

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that to every man that is among you,

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not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think.

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but to think soberly according as God hath dealt to every man of the measure of faith.

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For as we have many members in one body and all members have not the same office,

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so we being many are one body in Christ and every one members of one another, having then gifts

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differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy let us prophesy according to

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to the proportion of faith.

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or ministry, let us wait on our ministering.

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Or he that teacheth on teaching, or he that exhorteth on exhortation,

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he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity. He that ruleth

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with diligence, he that showeth mercy with cheerfulness,

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let love be without disillusion, abhor that which is evil,

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Plead you to that which is good.

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Be kindly affection one to another with brotherly love and honor preferring one another not slothful in business fervent in spirit serving the lord

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rejoicing in hope patient and tribulation continuing

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instant in prayer

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distributing to the necessity of the saints

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Given to a hospitality bless them that persecute you

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Bless and curse not rejoice with them that do rejoice and weep with them that weep

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Be of the same mind one toward another

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mind not hide things but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

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Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be

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possible, as much as lieeth in you, live peacefully with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves.

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Rather give place unto wrath, for it is written, vengeance is mine. I will repay, saith the Lord.

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Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him. If he thirsts, give him drink.

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For in so doing thou shalt he close the fire on his head. Be not overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.

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Let's pray.

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Dear Lord, we want to thank you for your mercy and grace. We want to ask you to open our ears today,

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please see us open our hearts and eyes to understand and be edified, and feel cast away from your hero's fear.

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In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

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Amen. Romans chapter number...

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Let's start reading together in verse 1. The Bible says,

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I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living

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sacrifice wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed

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to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what

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is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

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For I say through the grace given unto me to every man that is among you,

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notice this, to not sorry, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think,

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but to think soberly according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

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What I want you to notice about verse number three, we get this principle here

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that God even cares how we think about ourselves, right? God is inter-

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in our hearts, he's interested in our actions,

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he's also interested in our minds,

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that we think the right things,

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and in fact, he's even interested

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that we think the right way about our own selves.

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And of course, the admonition there is to

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not think of yourselves above that he ought, right?

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Because that seems to be the default of mankind,

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is to become prideful and think of themselves more highly

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than we ought to think, but the Bible says rather,

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we should think...

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about ourselves soberly, meaning seriously or according to the right measure, not thinking

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of ourselves above that we ought to think, thinking of ourselves soberly.

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And so the title of my sermon this evening is this, thinking biblically about yourself.

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thinking biblically about yourself.

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I want to give you three points tonight

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on how to think biblically about yourself.

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So number one, realize that you are important to the work,

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but so is everyone else.

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You are important to the work, but so is everyone else.

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I think people often fall into like two extreme wrong views

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when they think of themselves.

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And one is like this fake humility, like this self-deprecation of, I'm worthless, I'm no

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one, I'm not important to the church, I'm not important to the work of God, God can't

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use me, I'm just nobody, I can't do anything like that.

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And that is not thinking soberly, I'm going to prove that this evening.

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That is not thinking biblically about yourself.

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Then there's of course, well I'm awesome, I'm the best, everyone needs me, I do, 90%

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of the church's soul.

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I mean, I'm the greatest Christian.

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That's not thinking of yourself soberly either, okay?

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We're supposed to not think of ourselves above

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that which we ought to think.

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It doesn't say, hey, don't esteem yourself whatsoever.

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Don't have any sort of self esteem

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or self worth whatsoever.

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Look at Romans chapter number 12 verse four.

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Notice what it says here.

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It says, for as we have many members in one body.

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and all members have not the same office,

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so we, being many, are one body in Christ,

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and everyone members one of another.

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Just like in the human body, we have different body parts,

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and not every body part serves the same function.

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Not every body part has the same office,

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but every body part works together to make one person.

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you

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In the same way in the body of Christ, we have many members.

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We have many different individuals inside of Anchor Baptist Church.

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We have many independent churches within Christendom.

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And you know what? Every single person in the body of Christ is important

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and serves an office and serves a function.

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And we don't want to have this view of just saying like,

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well, because I'm not the mouth or because I'm not the head,

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well, I'm not important. No, every single body part.

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matters. Go to 1 Corinthians 12 and we'll see this more explicitly. 1 Corinthians 12

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and Romans chapter 12 are both pretty similar chapters. But 1 Corinthians 12, when you get

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there, 1 Corinthians 12 verse 14, the Bible says, For the body is not one member, but

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many, if the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body.

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Is it therefore not of the body?

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So this is more of like the self-deprecating,

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false-humility type person,

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where the foot says, well, I'm not the hand,

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so I'm not of the body.

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Does that make it true,

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just because the foot may feel that way?

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Absolutely not.

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Because you know what, we need a foot.

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We need feet to go out and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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I happen to like having feet to walk on and to run on and to live life on.

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And so, you know, the foot doesn't need to say to the hand,

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well, I'm not the hand.

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Well, I don't get a whatever.

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Pick up the coffee cup, throw the baseball, type on the keyboard, whatever.

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Therefore, I'm not part of the body.

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It's like, no, the foot is important.

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And the foot shouldn't think un-soberly about itself,

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saying that it's just completely worthless or not important just because it's a foot.

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No, the foot matters, right?

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In the same way, every single person within a church matters and has a function.

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Look at verse 16.

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And if the ear shall say, because I am not the eye,

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I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body?

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It's like saying, this is not the right thought to have.

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OK, this is the wrong opinion or view of yourself.

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If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing?

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That would be a scary creature.

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If your whole body was just one big eyeball,

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that would be quite a scary creature walking around.

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And it's like, OK, well, if the whole body were an eye,

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well, then how would you hear?

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here.

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If you didn't have a foot, how would you walk?

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If the whole body were a hand, how would you do other things?

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It wouldn't make any sense to think that.

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If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?

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But now, hath God set the members,

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every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him?

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And if they were all one member, where were the body?

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But now, are they many members, yet but one body?

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verse 21, and the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee, nor again the head to the

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foot to the feet, I have no need of you. So this is kind of the opposite end of the spectrum.

29:27.400 --> 29:33.000
The foot is self-deprecating, saying like, man, because I'm not the hand, I am not of the body.

29:33.000 --> 29:37.720
Meanwhile, the eye is saying to the hand, I don't even need you. Or the head saying to the foot,

29:37.720 --> 29:40.600
I have no need of you. What is this? This is pride.

29:41.200 --> 29:47.200
And of course, both ends of the spectrum here is the wrong way to think about yourself.

29:47.200 --> 29:52.000
It does not matter what station you have in life, what leadership position, what position

29:52.000 --> 29:56.240
in the church, how long you've been saved, how many times you've read the Bible, you

29:56.240 --> 29:59.040
should not think to yourself, I'm more important than other people.

29:59.400 --> 30:01.600
I'm more special than other people.

30:01.600 --> 30:05.400
I'm more valuable to the Kingdom of God than other people.

30:05.400 --> 30:07.500
And also, you should not look at yourself and say,

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I can do nothing for the Kingdom of God.

30:09.500 --> 30:11.500
Well, I just got saved last year,

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so I can't really be a great soul winner.

30:13.700 --> 30:15.400
Well, I just got saved last year,

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so, you know, Anker Baptist Church doesn't care about me that much.

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Those are both wrong views, right?

30:20.700 --> 30:23.000
The sober view is to look at yourself and say,

30:23.000 --> 30:25.200
you know what? I'm made in the image of God.

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I am an ambassador of Jesus Christ.

30:27.400 --> 30:30.400
I've got the gospel of Jesus Christ. I've got the word of God.

30:30.400 --> 30:33.400
And you know what? God can use me in a great way.

30:33.400 --> 30:36.400
But I'm not going to think of myself, hey, God could only use me.

30:36.400 --> 30:40.400
And God's not using other people. No, the right way to view yourself

30:40.400 --> 30:45.400
is that you are important and so is everyone else.

30:45.400 --> 30:48.400
So is everyone else in our church. That's the right way to view yourself.

30:48.400 --> 30:50.100
Look at verse number 22.

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Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary.

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those members of the body which we think to be less honorable upon these we bestow more abundant honor and our

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Uncumly parts have more abundant

31:08.120 --> 31:12.340
Cumminess saying like hey, there's no part of your body that you just don't need right

31:12.340 --> 31:19.560
We need all the parts of our body working together and when one member suffers all the members suffer with it

31:19.600 --> 31:22.100
When there's one issue with a part of your body

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That's kind of what you focus on and that's what you feel pain and our focus

31:26.400 --> 31:29.200
And if you have an issue with one part of your body,

31:29.200 --> 31:31.400
maybe you didn't even think about that part of your body

31:31.400 --> 31:33.700
before, but when it goes out, it's like, wow,

31:33.700 --> 31:36.200
I can't believe how important this body part is.

31:36.200 --> 31:39.400
When I had shoulder surgery as a teenager,

31:39.400 --> 31:42.400
I tore my labrum, my bicep, and my rotator cuff,

31:42.400 --> 31:45.400
and I had to have, like, complete reconstructive surgery

31:45.400 --> 31:46.400
on my shoulder.

31:46.400 --> 31:49.400
And I remember for months and months, it's just like,

31:49.400 --> 31:52.300
wow, I didn't know you need your shoulder to sleep.

31:52.500 --> 31:55.220
Like, I didn't know that you can't sleep if your shoulder hurts.

31:55.220 --> 32:00.340
Like, I didn't know that opening a door, like, you just take these things for granted when

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you open a door and your shoulder works, but then you forget you have surgery and you go

32:03.460 --> 32:06.580
to open the fridge, it like brings you to your knees in pain, right?

32:06.580 --> 32:10.020
Saying like, hey, every part of our body is important.

32:10.020 --> 32:11.460
You know, I almost broke my pinky.

32:11.460 --> 32:14.660
I may have broken my pinky at Brother Hall's house on the 4th of July.

32:14.660 --> 32:17.460
And like, to this very day, it just hurts super bad.

32:17.460 --> 32:20.420
And it's like even that little appendage on your body, you hurt.

32:20.500 --> 32:24.900
it and it's just like, man, I didn't know how much I needed my pinky and how much I care about it.

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So the right view is not to say like, I don't need my pinky, let's just cut it off.

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Right. And it's also not to think like the pinky is just the best over every body part.

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We need all of it. Right. Say, Hey, we're all important. We're all important to the work of God.

32:37.540 --> 32:39.380
Now go to verse Grandians chapter number three.

32:40.100 --> 32:47.740
1st Corinthians chapter number 3 I believe that God has a purpose for every single individual

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Christian in this world.

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That means kids, you kids in here that are saved, God has work for you to do in your

32:54.300 --> 32:55.300
life right now.

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That it's not like, hey I go to a soul winning church and there are people who labor there,

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God has labor for you to do right now.

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Let's prove that.

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Corinthians 3 verse 1.

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And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even

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as unto babes in Christ.

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I have fed you with milk and not with meat.

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For hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

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For ye are yet carnal.

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For whereas there is among you envying and strife and divisions, are ye not carnal and

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walk as men?

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For while one sayeth, I am of Paul.

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And another, I am of Apollos.

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Are ye not carnal?

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One thing I want to point out is not only is every body part in a local church assembly important,

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but I would say even every local church assembly in the entire body of Christ is important.

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And the work that Paul is doing and his converts are doing are important. The work that Apollos is

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doing and his converts are important. We don't want to say like, well, God's only using Anker

33:56.940 --> 34:01.420
Baptist Church. No, there are other churches getting people saved in Oklahoma City. And you know what?

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At the end of the day, we should be...

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team. And we shouldn't just be like, well, I only will fellowship with someone who was

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saved by a new IFV soul winner or something like that. Hey, if someone saved, we're on

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their team. There's work for all of us to do. And let's prove that. It says, who then

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is Paul and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, notice this, even as

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the Lord gave to every man.

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Right? So every person in this world has a dedicated minister that God has given to them

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so that they could believe. By the way, again, the Bible is teaching this idea of the necessity of

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a soul winner in getting people saved. Right? People aren't just getting saved on their own.

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No, no, no. Apollo's and Paul, it's not that we need to pit one against the other. One is more

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special. One is more important. They're both what? Ministers by whom people have believed in Jesus.

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Right, Jesus.

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is the end goal. We want to bring people to Christ and God uses ministers, human beings

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that are able to do that and notices even as the Lord gave to every man. So here's the

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thing, the Bible has commanded us, Jesus Christ has commanded us to go forth into all the

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world and preach the gospel to every creature.

35:14.400 --> 35:18.100
So if I have this self-deprecating view of myself and say,

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you know what, I don't think I could get anyone saved.

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I don't think I'm special enough to do that.

35:23.400 --> 35:24.800
Well, one person could say like,

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that's a very humble view, brother.

35:26.700 --> 35:30.100
Man, you're so humble in saying you can't get anyone saved.

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Only God can get someone saved.

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But here's the thing, you're so humble

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that you're now worthless to the kingdom of God.

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Boy, it's so great that you're not super prideful

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as you do nothing for Christ.

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So we don't want to have just zero esteem of yourself.

35:44.760 --> 35:49.720
You want to have a biblical sober thought of yourself saying, hey, I am important to

35:49.720 --> 35:51.320
the work of God.

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And so are all of you.

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And so is every single minister of the gospel, which is any person that is saved.

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And if I decide to get selfish, or to get so humble that I stop soul winning, which

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that's not really humility, but if I get so selfish that I stop soul winning, you know

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what that means?

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There's people in this world that could have been reached by me that will no longer be

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reached.

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Now look, I don't get how people sleep at night knowing that, but that is what the Bible

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says that the Lord has given a minister to every man.

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And there are people all over Oklahoma City that only you are going to cross their path.

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I'm not going to cross their path.

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Other soul winners are going to cross their path, but they cross your path at the workplace.

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You talk to your neighbors, you talk to your extended loved ones, and you know what?

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You are that minister to those people and you don't want to have this view of saying

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Well, I can't do anything because that false humiliation.

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is just making you worthless and not profitable for the kingdom of God.

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And I would say that that is not thinking soberly of yourself.

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Let me read for you 2 Corinthians 4.3.

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The Bible says, but if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost.

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Right?

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I think about, you know, the parable of the servants with the talents, right?

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He's given the talents of his boss, and there was one who was given one talent and he buried

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it in the earth.

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And one person could say, well, like, hey, I mean, at least he wasn't prideful.

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I mean, at least he wasn't presumptuous, just trying to, like, get all these things done

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with his boss's money.

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Yeah, but you're so humble that you did nothing.

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Right, so you don't have this view where you're just so humble quote unquote and of course

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I'm using that word loosely because it's not humble to disagree with what the Bible says about you

37:30.520 --> 37:35.080
right agreeing with God's view and God's standard that's the most humble thing you can do

37:35.080 --> 37:40.680
and so true humility is saying hey God has chosen me to be a minister of the gospel and so I'm going

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to have the humility to obey Christ right. So let's look at some examples of this go to Exodus chapter 3.

37:47.400 --> 37:50.400
Exodus chapter number three.

37:50.400 --> 37:55.400
What I'm trying to show you is that we need to think of ourselves biblically.

37:55.400 --> 37:59.400
And thinking of yourself biblically is not just saying like, oh, I can do nothing.

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I'm powerless. I'm not special in any way.

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Exodus 3 verse 10 says this, Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh,

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that thou mayest bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.

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So here we have God Almighty.

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giving Moses a mission to do. So God has seen Moses to be fit for this job.

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God has called him to do this job. And if God has called us to do something,

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you know what that means? We should do it. If God tells you to do something, you must be

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qualified to do it if God is telling you to do it. But notice verse 11, notice the humility,

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quote unquote, and Moses said unto God, who am I?

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that I should go into Pharaoh and that I should bring forth the children of

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Israel out of Egypt. So at first Moses is very reluctant because of the fact

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that he does not think too highly of himself.

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And you know what, there's some virtue to that.

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That's good in a way.

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Is you don't want to be like, you know, God comes to one man out of all the people on

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earth and you're just like, of course I knew it.

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Of all the people in this world, I knew you would come to me.

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Moses is kind of like, hey, like who am I?

39:07.720 --> 39:11.960
Like here's God Almighty coming to me and who am I that I should go into Pharaoh that

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I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt.

39:14.980 --> 39:19.120
So on the plus side, it's like, hey, at least Moses isn't prideful, right?

39:19.120 --> 39:20.120
That's a good thing.

39:20.120 --> 39:20.500
that he was the

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meekest man on the earth and you'll often see great leaders when called to lead are

39:26.540 --> 39:28.580
often kind of reluctant at first.

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I mean even think about the first president of the United States, George Washington, he

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was kind of reluctant wanting to do that but everyone wanted him to be in that leadership

39:36.900 --> 39:38.540
position.

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Verse 12, notice, and he says, this is God speaking, certainly I will be with thee.

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this shall be a token unto thee that I have sent thee.

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When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain."

39:54.480 --> 39:59.940
So it's like, hey, let's just clear this up. Whatever you think about yourself, I have sent you.

40:00.400 --> 40:04.960
So if God has sent you, you just need to go and realize, hey, my view of myself,

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I shouldn't think too lowly because if God's asking me to do something,

40:07.920 --> 40:12.240
I better fulfill what He's told me to do. So, you know, God has told us to go forth into all

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the world and preach the gospel to every creature. So go ahead and just hold your, I wasn't called.

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Go ahead and hold your well. I'm just not cut out for it. Well, I'm just shy

40:20.680 --> 40:26.340
It's like well, hold on a second your view of yourself might not be a sober one because God has deemed you worthy

40:26.880 --> 40:30.800
God has told you to go and do this and so you should listen to what God has said about you

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Not your own internal thoughts look at Exodus 4

40:34.400 --> 40:39.500
Exodus 4 verse 10 verse 10 and Moses said unto the Lord. Oh my lord

40:39.900 --> 40:44.620
I am not eloquent, neither heretofore nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant.

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But I am slow of speech and of a slow tongue."

40:47.580 --> 40:49.100
On one hand it's like, all right.

40:49.300 --> 40:55.500
Moses glad you're not prideful. Moses I'm glad you're not saying like well of course I'm the greatest speaker that there is so of course

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That's why you would choose me. He's saying hey you called me last chapter

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But yet I'm still not eloquent God you called me and since you've started speaking to me my tongue is still slow

41:06.300 --> 41:07.660
What's going on here right?

41:07.660 --> 41:08.860
He has that view of himself

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But verse 11 says this who hath made and the Lord said on him who hath made man's mouth

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Or who maketh the dumb, or the deaf, or the seeing, or the blind?

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Have not I the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what

41:27.500 --> 41:32.540
thou shalt say." So hey, you know, it's good to be humble, but you don't want to be so humble that

41:32.540 --> 41:39.660
it keeps you from serving God. And so you say like, hey, I'm shy. Okay, well, maybe God has made you shy.

41:40.300 --> 41:43.860
Well, you know, I'm a little more quiet, I'm a little more soft-spoken.

41:43.860 --> 41:47.940
Well, maybe God has made you a little bit more quiet and humble and soft-spoken,

41:47.940 --> 41:50.740
but that does not mean God can't use you to get people saved.

41:50.740 --> 41:55.220
Here's what matters is if God is with your mouth, that God is with your lips,

41:55.220 --> 41:56.980
you say like, okay, I have a stutter.

41:56.980 --> 42:00.940
Well, you know what? People who stutter that have God with them can get people saved.

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people who are socially awkward but have God with them can get people saved people who are shy but the Holy Ghost comes upon them and

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They're filled with boldness can get people saved

42:11.440 --> 42:17.100
So what we don't want to do is have this view of ourselves that are looking so down upon ourselves that we say hey

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God can't use us. That's a lie. God can use you and yes, you should stay humble

42:22.000 --> 42:28.220
But you should not think about yourself so unbiblically to where you're not being used by God go to Judges chapter 6

42:29.400 --> 42:36.840
So how do we apply this? Well, anything the Bible tells you to do, just realize that that is God calling you to do it.

42:36.840 --> 42:41.240
Right? People talk about, you know, God's calling me to do this, God's calling me to do that.

42:41.240 --> 42:46.440
And I do think that God could place desires in our hearts and cause us to be very passionate for certain things.

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But here's one thing I know for sure. If the Bible is telling you to do something, God has called you.

42:52.500 --> 42:57.540
So any person who says that God has not called me to be a soul winner, my question to you is,

42:57.540 --> 43:02.340
oh, so you're not saved? Like, oh, I'm not called to be a soul winner. Okay, so you're just going to

43:02.340 --> 43:06.900
go to hell when you die. Because if you're saved, you've been called. You know why? Because that's

43:06.900 --> 43:13.540
what the Bible says. Also, I believe this, that if a man of God asks you to do something, I would

43:13.540 --> 43:18.180
just take that as God calling you to do that. Right? You know, I'll give you an example for my personal life.

43:18.900 --> 43:24.900
When I was working for Pastor Shelley, one day Pastor Shelley just told me that I was going to be a song leader.

43:24.900 --> 43:30.900
And I'm going to be honest with you, that is not something that I would have of my own volition signed up for.

43:30.900 --> 43:36.900
Hey, I want to do this. I was more than happy to sing in the pew or play guitar or something like that.

43:36.900 --> 43:40.900
But you know what? A man of God told me to do it. So I just said, this must be God calling me to do it.

43:40.900 --> 43:44.600
And you know what actually happened after years of song leading is I actually really enjoyed it.

43:44.800 --> 43:49.760
I actually had a great time. It was fun. It was a blessing being a part of Steadfast music ministry.

43:49.760 --> 43:54.080
And you know, I'm glad I just listened to the man of God that just said do this, right? So if the

43:54.080 --> 43:59.200
man of God asks you, hey, lead this soul winning time. Well, I can't, I can't do it.

43:59.400 --> 44:02.000
It's like, well, you're being called right now, so just do it.

44:02.000 --> 44:02.500
Right?

44:02.500 --> 44:04.700
Like if a man of God is calling you to do something,

44:04.700 --> 44:08.700
you should just have faith that God is going to enable you to do that.

44:08.700 --> 44:11.400
Believe it or not, I never asked Pastor Shelley,

44:11.400 --> 44:13.100
hey, can I be a pastor?

44:13.100 --> 44:15.900
I never told Pastor Shelley, hey, will you ordain me?

44:15.900 --> 44:17.900
That never happened one single time.

44:17.900 --> 44:20.700
We kind of had a conversation years ago where he was just like,

44:20.700 --> 44:22.900
hey, you know, what are your thoughts for the future?

44:22.900 --> 44:26.700
And I just said like, hey, whatever you think is best for me, I'm willing to do.

44:26.700 --> 44:27.400
And he's like...

44:27.400 --> 44:28.560
would you ever want to pastor?

44:28.560 --> 44:30.320
I'm just like, yeah, if you think I'm qualified,

44:30.320 --> 44:31.600
I would want to do that.

44:31.600 --> 44:32.760
And he said, yes.

44:32.760 --> 44:33.680
And so you know what?

44:33.680 --> 44:35.000
I believe God called me.

44:35.000 --> 44:38.240
I believe God's calling me through a man of God calling

44:38.240 --> 44:39.280
me.

44:39.280 --> 44:41.480
I believe if God wants you to be a pastor,

44:41.480 --> 44:44.100
he's going to make some man of God notice something about you.

44:44.300 --> 44:47.140
Right? God's gonna put men of God in your life to say like,

44:47.140 --> 44:48.540
Hey, this person's apt to teach.

44:48.540 --> 44:50.780
This person's a good leader or something like that.

44:50.780 --> 44:55.740
You know, you should have the humility to be sensitive to the call of God in your life

44:55.740 --> 44:59.740
and not just say like, well, I'm so humble that I can't be used by God.

44:59.740 --> 45:01.420
That's not a right view of yourself.

45:01.420 --> 45:03.500
That's truly not a humble view of yourself either.

45:04.460 --> 45:06.540
The humble view is not arguing with God's will.

45:06.540 --> 45:09.900
Okay. Genesis or Judges chapter six, look at verse 12.

45:10.400 --> 45:15.680
The Bible says, And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The

45:15.680 --> 45:17.160
Lord is with thee.

45:17.160 --> 45:21.640
Notice this description, thou mighty man of valor.

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Now this description, is it true of Gideon or not?

45:25.080 --> 45:27.760
It is, because it's the angel of the Lord saying this.

45:27.760 --> 45:30.200
But what you'll notice is that Gideon didn't say this of himself.

45:30.200 --> 45:31.600
Hi, I'm Gideon, nice to meet you.

45:31.600 --> 45:33.160
I'm a mighty man of valor.

45:33.700 --> 45:37.460
Now, if he would have said that, it technically would have been true, but that's kind of thinking

45:37.460 --> 45:40.080
of yourself above that which you ought.

45:40.080 --> 45:44.080
But the reality is that he actually was a mighty man of valor.

45:44.080 --> 45:48.040
So is it sinful to recognize strengths that you have?

45:48.040 --> 45:52.240
Is it sinful to recognize that you're blessed in a certain area?

45:52.240 --> 45:54.480
No, you just realize that the blessing came from God.

45:54.700 --> 45:57.100
And so it wouldn't be right for getting to say like,

45:57.100 --> 45:58.440
no, I can do nothing.

45:58.440 --> 45:59.440
No, I'm weak.

45:59.440 --> 46:00.440
No, I'm bad.

46:00.440 --> 46:02.300
It's like, no, you're actually a mighty man of valor.

46:02.600 --> 46:08.040
Notice his humility though in verse 13, and Gideon said unto him, O my lord, if the lord be with us,

46:08.040 --> 46:13.160
why then is all this befallen us? And where be all his miracles, which our fathers told us of,

46:13.160 --> 46:17.960
saying, Did not the lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the lord hath forsaken us and delivered

46:17.960 --> 46:25.400
us into the hands of the Midianites. And the lord looked upon him and said, Go in this thy might.

46:25.400 --> 46:28.360
So is he mighty according to God? Yes, he is.

46:28.900 --> 46:33.380
And thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites, have not I sent thee.

46:34.180 --> 46:40.740
Look at verse 15, and he said unto him, O my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold,

46:40.740 --> 46:46.740
my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. So he's kind of,

46:46.740 --> 46:49.540
he's being humble, but he's kind of arguing a little bit with God.

46:50.000 --> 46:52.200
God says, you're a mighty man of valor.

46:52.200 --> 46:54.300
He says, hey, go in this thy might.

46:54.300 --> 46:56.740
He said, hey, you're gonna deliver the people.

46:56.740 --> 46:58.700
And Gideon's reaction is just to say like,

46:58.700 --> 47:01.180
hey, you know, my family's the poorest in Israel.

47:01.180 --> 47:02.180
Who am I?

47:02.180 --> 47:03.340
He's kind of insinuating like,

47:03.340 --> 47:04.980
I think you've got the wrong guy.

47:04.980 --> 47:05.940
But hold on a second.

47:05.940 --> 47:06.940
Let's think soberly.

47:06.940 --> 47:07.920
Let's think biblically.

47:07.920 --> 47:09.020
Who was right?

47:09.020 --> 47:09.860
God was right.

47:10.500 --> 47:14.580
But what you'll notice about Gideon is that he didn't think that of himself, and he wasn't

47:14.580 --> 47:19.700
tooting his own horn, he wasn't thumping his own chest, praising himself, he was letting someone

47:19.700 --> 47:25.220
else praise him, someone else account him as a mighty man, letting God view him that way.

47:25.220 --> 47:32.100
I'll read for you Proverbs 27, 2. The Bible says, Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth.

47:32.600 --> 47:35.780
a stranger and not thine own lips.

47:35.780 --> 47:37.980
So look, there are people in this world

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that are very intelligent.

47:39.680 --> 47:42.080
There are people in this world that are great leaders,

47:42.080 --> 47:44.980
that are very strong, that are mighty men of valor.

47:44.980 --> 47:46.820
But here is what a person of character does,

47:46.820 --> 47:49.220
a person who thinks of themself biblically,

47:49.220 --> 47:51.660
they don't go around saying, hi, I'm a great leader.

47:51.660 --> 47:53.460
Hey, I'm an awesome person.

47:53.460 --> 47:56.000
Hey, be ye awesome as I am awesome, right?

47:56.000 --> 47:58.660
Hey, I'm just the greatest person in math.

47:58.660 --> 48:00.460
Or, you know, no one knows more about...

48:00.460 --> 48:00.600
Help.

48:00.600 --> 48:05.000
sports than me here. No one knows more about this topic than me. You let other people praise you.

48:05.500 --> 48:08.000
Right, so thinking soberly of yourself is not saying,

48:08.000 --> 48:10.400
I have no talents, I have no skills, I have no strength,

48:10.400 --> 48:13.400
I have no ability, oh, I can't be used greatly in any way.

48:13.400 --> 48:16.400
No, what you do is you just work hard, you stay humble,

48:16.400 --> 48:18.000
and you don't speak of yourself that way,

48:18.000 --> 48:19.700
you let another man praise you.

48:19.700 --> 48:22.000
And the greatest person you want praising you is God.

48:22.000 --> 48:24.400
Like you want God to look down from heaven and say,

48:24.400 --> 48:27.500
that's a mighty man of valor, that's a man of strength,

48:27.500 --> 48:30.600
and Gideon gets that praise from God, not of men.

48:30.600 --> 48:31.600
Go to Jeremiah.

48:32.000 --> 48:34.000
Jeremiah chapter number one.

48:42.700 --> 48:44.900
Jeremiah chapter number one.

48:45.600 --> 48:47.200
Look what it says in verse 4,

48:47.200 --> 48:49.600
Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

48:49.600 --> 48:53.120
Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee.

48:53.120 --> 48:55.680
And before thou camest forth out of the womb,

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I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

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Does it sound like Jeremiah is an important man?

49:03.040 --> 49:03.920
Absolutely.

49:03.920 --> 49:06.080
Sounds to me like he's got a divine purpose,

49:06.080 --> 49:07.920
that God has a will for his life,

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that God has called him to do something great.

49:11.400 --> 49:18.020
Notice verse number six then said I I Lord God behold I cannot speak for I am a child

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What is happening here? He has a lower view of himself than he should

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because guess what if God has called you to do something you shouldn't meet that call

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you should say okay well if you're esteeming me willing to do this then I better be willing to

49:30.480 --> 49:36.800
do it I better obey notice verse 7 but the Lord said unto me say not I am a child he says I don't

49:36.800 --> 49:42.000
like what you just said what you just said was not the right attitude was not the right thing to say

49:42.640 --> 49:49.840
for thou shalt go to all that I send thee and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak

49:50.400 --> 49:53.300
Be not afraid of their faces, for I am with thee

49:53.300 --> 49:56.120
to deliver thee, saith the Lord.

49:56.120 --> 49:59.100
So thinking of yourself biblically, what is it?

49:59.100 --> 50:01.320
Well, it's not thinking of yourself more highly

50:01.320 --> 50:02.400
than you ought to think.

50:02.700 --> 50:07.300
What does that look like? I'm the best. I'm the only one that's doing something for this church.

50:07.300 --> 50:11.300
This church needs me more than anyone else. I'm doing more work than everyone else.

50:11.300 --> 50:14.500
Well, of course, God has called me. Of course, I'm the greatest soul winner.

50:14.500 --> 50:18.500
Of course, I'm the best leader. Of course, I know more about this topic than anyone else.

50:18.500 --> 50:21.300
Thinking way too high of yourself, right? Unbiblical.

50:21.300 --> 50:23.500
Then we have people that are self-deprecating.

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Well, God can't use me. I'm just a housewife. I'm just a mother. I'm just a child.

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I'm just a layman. God can't use me.

50:30.700 --> 50:35.180
someone like me, that is also not a biblical view of yourself.

50:35.180 --> 50:38.140
And I'm here to tell you that God is displeased with both of these.

50:38.140 --> 50:40.580
If you're prideful, God is displeased with that.

50:40.580 --> 50:46.060
If you're so humble that you're disobedient to God, you're still in disobedience to God.

50:46.060 --> 50:47.060
Both of these are wrong.

50:47.060 --> 50:52.460
You need to have the biblical view of yourself, which has, I am important to the work of God,

50:52.460 --> 50:53.580
and so are you.

50:53.580 --> 50:56.060
That's actually the biblical view, okay?

50:56.060 --> 50:56.600
So.

50:56.600 --> 50:59.160
You know, thinking of yourself, how should you think of yourself?

50:59.160 --> 51:02.200
How about the fact that you are a child of God?

51:02.200 --> 51:03.400
That's very important.

51:03.400 --> 51:06.640
That's something that we just say, but I mean, the Bible literally says that we are the sons

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of God.

51:07.640 --> 51:09.000
We are children of God.

51:09.000 --> 51:10.000
We are men.

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You're made in the image of God.

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We have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.

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I mean, we have the third person of the Godhead dwelling within us.

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That is very important.

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The Bible says we are what?

51:19.880 --> 51:21.240
Ambassadors for Christ.

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Don't you think ambassadors have somewhat of a self-esteem about themselves?

51:24.900 --> 51:27.620
Saying, hey, I'm representing the United States of America.

51:27.620 --> 51:28.980
Hey, I've got an important job.

51:28.980 --> 51:31.060
Hey, I'm representing something important today.

51:31.060 --> 51:32.580
Not just like, well, who cares about me?

51:32.580 --> 51:34.180
I'm no one. I could do nothing.

51:34.180 --> 51:36.980
It's like, hey, we are representatives of heaven.

51:37.700 --> 51:40.980
When we go and knock on a door, I am not sorry that I'm there.

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I am not sorry to be bothering them. I am there with a message that's there to save them.

51:46.900 --> 51:52.980
I am there as a representative of Jesus Christ. You know, pastors, pastors are not to be lifted

51:52.980 --> 51:59.700
up with pride, lest they fall into the condemnation of the devil, right? But should pastors not

51:59.700 --> 52:03.860
recognize the great office that they have? The apostle Paul, though he wasn't a pastor, he said

52:03.860 --> 52:09.460
this, I magnify mine office, right? So pastors should not be prideful, but pastors should realize

52:09.700 --> 52:14.500
that they are humanly speaking in charge of the New Testament Church of God.

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That is a very important office that we should respect.

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And you know, speaking of pastors, the Bible says this, I'll read for you,

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Titus chapter 2 verse 15.

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These things speak and exhort and rebuke with all authority.

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Let no man despise thee.

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Right? So would the right view of self as a pastor say,

52:34.820 --> 52:40.820
well, I need to be humble so I should let people just openly mock me or disrespect me or walk all

52:40.820 --> 52:45.620
over me because I need to be humble? Would that be the right view of self? According to the Bible,

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absolutely not.

52:47.100 --> 52:52.460
But what happens is oftentimes people will get too comfortable or people will get way out of line.

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They'll rebuke pastors, they'll mock pastors, or they'll just carry themselves in a way that's

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not respectful to pastors. And then pastors will preach a sermon or correct issues or rebuke things

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and you know what people will accuse them of? Being prideful.

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Oh, preaching hard is being prideful.

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But no, no, no, that's actually a biblical view of self as a man of God is saying like,

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hey, yes, I'm going to be humble, but I'm going to be humble enough to do what the Bible

53:14.720 --> 53:18.160
tells me to do, which is let no man despise you, the Bible teaches.

53:18.160 --> 53:19.160
Okay.

53:19.160 --> 53:19.600
So number one.

53:20.100 --> 53:26.300
Sober thinking is realizing you are important. I am important, but so is everyone else number two

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You should use your gifts to serve others

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Not to beat your chest right go if you would back to Romans chapter number 12

53:34.620 --> 53:38.960
So biblical thinking of yourself is not saying I have no talents

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I could do nothing. Okay, that's not biblical thinking but biblical thinking is also not I'm the best at everything

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I'm wonderful. I'm you know, God's gift to just everything and everyone around me. No, it's recognizing that hey

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I do have talents. I do have strong suits

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I do have things that I'm good at but all of those things have been given to me by God

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for edification of other people

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It's saying, hey, I am good at stuff, but God gave me that ability.

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God gave me a mind to learn things.

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The Bible talks about He gives us power to get wealth.

54:11.700 --> 54:12.700
Okay, you're good with money.

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Well, that means God gave you that ability, and God gave you that ability to be a blessing

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to others, to teach others, to edify others, not to beat your chest about how I'm the best

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in any area.

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I'm the smartest in this area.

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That's not thinking of yourself biblically.

54:28.700 --> 54:30.200
Romans 12, look at verse 6.

54:30.700 --> 54:33.300
having then no gifts.

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Well, it doesn't say that, right?

54:34.700 --> 54:36.500
Having then gifts.

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But notice, gifts differing according to the what?

54:39.600 --> 54:43.300
Grace that is given unto us,

54:43.300 --> 54:45.000
whether prophecy that's preaching,

54:45.000 --> 54:48.600
let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith.

54:48.600 --> 54:50.900
So the right view of yourself is not to say

54:50.900 --> 54:51.900
that I have no gifts

54:51.900 --> 54:53.800
because the Bible says He's given us gifts.

54:54.000 --> 54:58.700
But He's given us different gifts and those gifts have been given to us what?

54:58.700 --> 55:00.080
By grace.

55:00.080 --> 55:01.580
So they come from God.

55:01.580 --> 55:02.800
It's a gift from God.

55:02.800 --> 55:07.960
It's something that He's given to us and we're supposed to do this for the edification of

55:07.960 --> 55:08.960
others.

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Look at verse 7.

55:09.960 --> 55:13.200
Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering.

55:13.200 --> 55:15.040
Or he that teacheth on teaching.

55:15.040 --> 55:16.040
Right.

55:16.040 --> 55:19.200
So if you have the gift of teaching, what should you do with that?

55:19.200 --> 55:20.000
Teach people.

55:20.300 --> 55:23.800
If you have the gift of prophecy of preaching, what should you do?

55:23.800 --> 55:25.560
You should preach the Bible.

55:25.560 --> 55:27.540
You should preach the Gospel.

55:27.540 --> 55:32.140
But these gifts are not given to you so that you could say like, I'm the best teacher.

55:32.140 --> 55:33.620
I'm the best preacher.

55:33.620 --> 55:35.180
I'm the best minister.

55:35.180 --> 55:36.880
I know the most about this stuff.

55:36.880 --> 55:40.340
It's like you are missing the point of why God gave you that gift.

55:40.340 --> 55:44.660
First of all, hey, humble yourself and realize God gave you that gift.

55:44.800 --> 55:49.240
God gave you that ability and He gave it to you so that you can preach to others,

55:49.240 --> 55:50.520
so that you can minister to others.

55:51.400 --> 55:56.840
or he that exhorteth on exhortation, he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity,

55:56.840 --> 56:02.520
he that ruleth with diligence, he that showeth mercy with cheerfulness, let love be without

56:02.520 --> 56:08.760
dissimulation, abhor that which is evil, cleave to that which is good, notice, be kindly affectioned

56:08.760 --> 56:13.800
one to another with brotherly love in honor, preferring one another. So if you have

56:14.300 --> 56:18.700
a gift that God has given you, you should, out of the kindness of your heart,

56:18.700 --> 56:22.180
want to share that gift with others to make them a better person,

56:22.180 --> 56:26.820
to help them be more skilled, not just so that you could feel

56:26.820 --> 56:30.780
like a big fish in a small pond, where you could just feel like, man, I know the

56:30.780 --> 56:31.060
best,

56:31.060 --> 56:33.800
I know the most about this topic. Like, let me give you an example.

56:34.000 --> 56:49.600
I was blessed enough my parents put me into sports at a very young age and my grandparents paid for my sports where I was able to play baseball, spring, summer, fall, winter from a small child just constantly in the gym, constantly being active, constantly playing sports, okay?

56:49.600 --> 56:59.600
I've done that my entire life. So like let's say that I took a newbie to the gym, right? I know the gym, I know working out, I know being healthy, I know running.

56:59.600 --> 57:01.800
Is that for me to take the newbie and just be like,

57:02.000 --> 57:05.560
Wow, you don't know how to do Bulgarian split squats?

57:05.560 --> 57:07.880
You don't even know what Bulgarian split squats are?

57:07.880 --> 57:09.560
You idiot, you fool.

57:09.560 --> 57:11.520
What was your mile time, huh?

57:11.520 --> 57:14.140
Oh, it was 14 minutes, wow!

57:14.140 --> 57:15.440
That's your mile time?

57:15.440 --> 57:16.600
What's the point of that?

57:16.600 --> 57:20.280
Right? Isn't that such a stupid attitude, such a prideful attitude?

57:20.280 --> 57:25.400
And look, it doesn't matter if you just like know more about working out than anyone on planet Earth.

57:25.400 --> 57:27.960
You're just the best fitness guru on Earth.

57:27.960 --> 57:29.960
No one wants to be around you.

57:30.600 --> 57:34.600
No one wants to learn from you because you're a prideful jerk.

57:34.600 --> 57:38.300
Right? So what is the right view of yourself is to say like,

57:38.300 --> 57:40.500
hey, I know about this topic.

57:40.500 --> 57:41.900
I'm good at this thing.

57:41.900 --> 57:43.000
And you know what I should do?

57:43.000 --> 57:45.400
I should humbly share that knowledge with others.

57:45.400 --> 57:46.900
Try to lift people up.

57:46.900 --> 57:49.500
Try to help them succeed, not tell them,

57:49.500 --> 57:51.400
hey, I know more than you.

57:51.400 --> 57:52.500
I'm better than you.

57:52.500 --> 57:53.500
I'm awesome.

57:53.500 --> 57:55.000
Be awesome as I am awesome.

57:55.000 --> 57:56.100
That's not helpful.

57:56.600 --> 58:01.960
You know what you love? You love the senior guy at work who actually cares about the next generation

58:01.960 --> 58:06.280
and when they get hired he's like hey let me help you out let me tell you the tricks of the trade

58:06.280 --> 58:10.680
let me tell you the culture around here let me try to help you he's not just saying like I know

58:10.680 --> 58:15.960
more than you I'm wiser I'm better it's like everyone already knows the senior guy knows more

58:15.960 --> 58:20.760
but you know the senior guy who wants to condescend to men of low estate people actually

58:20.760 --> 58:24.040
want to listen to him and take his knowledge and take his wisdom

58:24.600 --> 58:26.760
because he's not beating his chest.

58:26.760 --> 58:29.120
So look, everyone in here, I believe

58:29.120 --> 58:31.600
that God has given you some sort of gift in life.

58:31.700 --> 58:33.600
and it would not be humble of you to say,

58:33.600 --> 58:36.200
I have no gifts, I have nothing I'm good at.

58:36.200 --> 58:37.940
That's not the right view of yourself.

58:37.940 --> 58:39.640
The right view of yourself is, okay,

58:39.640 --> 58:41.200
God has given me a gift.

58:41.200 --> 58:42.580
God has given me this knowledge.

58:42.580 --> 58:43.420
And you know what?

58:43.420 --> 58:45.280
The only reason I have that is by God's grace.

58:45.280 --> 58:47.440
He's given me the ability to learn this.

58:47.440 --> 58:49.680
He's given me the opportunities in life,

58:49.680 --> 58:51.360
people in my life that have set me up

58:51.360 --> 58:53.020
to succeed in this area.

58:53.020 --> 58:55.520
And okay, so I do know something in this area.

58:55.520 --> 58:56.620
And you know what I'm gonna do?

58:56.620 --> 58:59.620
I'm gonna try my best to serve God and to serve.

58:59.700 --> 59:06.260
other people with those talents. Do we want to live in a world where pastors can't preach?

59:06.900 --> 59:11.460
Pastors are not apt to teach like let's just put someone in the pastorate and they're not good at teaching

59:11.620 --> 59:15.740
We don't want to live in that world like we want to put someone in the pastorate who's good at preaching

59:15.980 --> 59:20.520
Who's good at teaching but we want to put someone in the pastorate who's humble and saying like, okay

59:20.580 --> 59:25.960
God's giving me this gift, but it's not to beat my chest. It's not you know preaching is not look at how good I am

59:26.680 --> 59:28.820
Preaching is not be awesome as I am awesome

59:29.340 --> 59:32.780
preaching is supposed to be serving and ministering unto the hearers and

59:33.360 --> 59:34.900
blessing them and no

59:34.900 --> 59:40.020
wants to be under a preacher that every time they take the pulpit it's just like you're stupid,

59:40.020 --> 59:44.420
I'm smart about everything, everything I say is right, all my opinions are right, and you know,

59:44.420 --> 59:49.540
just be awesome as I am awesome. It's like, well that's really helpful. Thanks coach, thanks pastor,

59:49.540 --> 59:53.380
thanks music teacher, thanks you know piano teacher, whatever you are, you want to have that

59:53.380 --> 59:59.140
humility and that kindness, brotherly love where you condescend to men of low estate.

59:59.140 --> 01:00:00.740
Look at verse 16, that's what the Bible says.

01:00:01.600 --> 01:00:03.600
Be of the same mind one toward another.

01:00:03.600 --> 01:00:05.600
Mind not high things, here it is.

01:00:05.600 --> 01:00:08.600
But condescend to men of low estate.

01:00:09.100 --> 01:00:12.900
Notice, be not wise in your own conceits.

01:00:12.900 --> 01:00:16.900
That word conceit is kind of close to like conceive

01:00:16.900 --> 01:00:17.940
or conception.

01:00:17.940 --> 01:00:20.780
It's kind of like your thoughts or how you perceive things.

01:00:20.780 --> 01:00:23.020
It's like, don't sit here and in your minds be like,

01:00:23.020 --> 01:00:24.660
I'm so wise.

01:00:24.660 --> 01:00:26.020
I'm so wonderful.

01:00:26.020 --> 01:00:27.460
If you know something, what you should do

01:00:27.460 --> 01:00:30.700
is you should condescend to men of low estate.

01:00:30.700 --> 01:00:32.900
So look, when we go out and go soul winning.

01:00:33.200 --> 01:00:36.700
just objectively speaking, the average soul winner,

01:00:36.700 --> 01:00:39.400
probably 100%, I would hope, of the soul winners

01:00:39.400 --> 01:00:41.900
in Anchor Baptist Church, knows more doctrine

01:00:41.900 --> 01:00:44.700
and knows more Bible than the doorstep theologian

01:00:44.700 --> 01:00:46.400
when we're out soul winning, right?

01:00:46.400 --> 01:00:50.100
But do we go soul winning so that we could beat our chest

01:00:50.100 --> 01:00:52.900
and make sure that the section eight derelict knows

01:00:52.900 --> 01:00:54.800
that we know more Bible than this person?

01:00:54.800 --> 01:00:57.000
Is that the goal of why we go out soul winning?

01:00:57.000 --> 01:00:58.400
Absolutely not.

01:00:58.700 --> 01:00:59.900
What are we there to do?

01:00:59.900 --> 01:01:01.900
We're there to help this person.

01:01:01.900 --> 01:01:04.200
We're there to pull this person out of the fire.

01:01:04.200 --> 01:01:06.600
We're there to give this person a free gift.

01:01:06.600 --> 01:01:08.600
And so what that's going to take oftentimes

01:01:08.600 --> 01:01:11.100
is condescending to men of low estate,

01:01:11.100 --> 01:01:13.900
not trying to take everything that they say wrong

01:01:13.900 --> 01:01:15.700
and make them feel stupid about it.

01:01:16.000 --> 01:01:20.160
Right, sometimes it's good to find the grain of truth that they said

01:01:20.160 --> 01:01:24.240
and try to reframe it to something more true. Do you kind of understand what I'm saying?

01:01:24.240 --> 01:01:27.600
Like, you know, for example, they give the wrong answer about what it takes to get to heaven.

01:01:28.240 --> 01:01:32.400
They say, oh, you have to live a good life. Here's what I don't do. That's stupid.

01:01:32.400 --> 01:01:37.600
You know, you're 100% wrong. You just believe the exact opposite of what the Bible says. You moron.

01:01:37.600 --> 01:01:40.960
Here's what I say. Hey, you know, doing good works is really important.

01:01:41.500 --> 01:01:43.600
God wants us to do good works.

01:01:43.600 --> 01:01:45.500
Doing good works is really great.

01:01:45.500 --> 01:01:46.760
But hey, here's the good news,

01:01:46.760 --> 01:01:48.380
is that when it comes to getting to heaven,

01:01:48.380 --> 01:01:50.300
it actually has nothing to do with your good works.

01:01:50.300 --> 01:01:52.020
It's actually about what your faith is.

01:01:52.020 --> 01:01:53.260
It's actually a free gift.

01:01:53.260 --> 01:01:56.220
You see what I've done there, is I've corrected them.

01:01:56.220 --> 01:01:57.960
I've shown them that they're wrong,

01:01:57.960 --> 01:01:59.940
but without being a jerk, right?

01:01:59.940 --> 01:02:02.420
This is called condescending to men of low estate.

01:02:02.420 --> 01:02:04.300
Now, we use the word condescending,

01:02:04.300 --> 01:02:07.100
and when we use that term, it kind of means being a jerk.

01:02:07.100 --> 01:02:07.200
you

01:02:07.400 --> 01:02:11.240
Biblical condescension means like, hey, I'm going to try to meet you where you're at

01:02:11.240 --> 01:02:15.960
without trying to make myself seem like a show off or like I know so much more than you.

01:02:15.960 --> 01:02:18.680
You know, I've heard soul winners do this. They're like, hey, it's all good.

01:02:18.680 --> 01:02:23.240
I learned that pretty recently too. Or, hey, I once thought the exact same thing that you did.

01:02:23.240 --> 01:02:25.160
What is that? Just trying to get on their level.

01:02:25.160 --> 01:02:27.960
Not just be like, do you want to know how many times I've read the Bible?

01:02:28.100 --> 01:02:29.860
You know this chapter that we're talking about?

01:02:29.860 --> 01:02:31.540
I've got the entire chapter memorized.

01:02:31.540 --> 01:02:35.300
Right? You don't want to do that because you're just going to come off as a jerk and oh,

01:02:35.300 --> 01:02:38.340
you have this gift, you have this knowledge of salvation,

01:02:38.340 --> 01:02:42.100
but it's not profiting other people when you are a jerk.

01:02:42.100 --> 01:02:46.500
Right? So use the gifts that God has given you and condescend a man of low estate.

01:02:46.500 --> 01:02:48.100
Go to 1 Corinthians 14 if you would.

01:02:48.820 --> 01:02:50.660
1 Corinthians chapter number 14.

01:02:54.200 --> 01:02:55.600
First Corinthians chapter number 14.

01:02:55.600 --> 01:02:57.940
You know, I like seeing newbies in the gym,

01:02:57.940 --> 01:03:00.680
and people are always afraid of like being a newbie in the gym.

01:03:00.680 --> 01:03:03.020
They're like, people are going to judge me, this and that.

01:03:03.020 --> 01:03:04.720
That is honestly not how it is.

01:03:04.720 --> 01:03:06.360
Usually like a newbie in the gym,

01:03:06.360 --> 01:03:08.880
they're just like getting all this help and love from people.

01:03:08.880 --> 01:03:10.880
It's like, hey, let me show you how to do this real quick.

01:03:10.880 --> 01:03:13.220
Or like, hey, have you ever thought about doing it this way?

01:03:13.220 --> 01:03:14.820
Usually people in the gym are not jerks.

01:03:14.820 --> 01:03:16.860
Like people are excited to see people getting healthy

01:03:16.860 --> 01:03:17.900
and exercising.

01:03:17.900 --> 01:03:19.360
You know, that's how we should be as Christians.

01:03:19.360 --> 01:03:21.660
Hey, we're excited that a newbie comes to church.

01:03:22.100 --> 01:03:26.100
We're excited that someone wants to start growing in the Lord. We don't look at them and just be like,

01:03:26.100 --> 01:03:29.940
well, you don't have all the fruit of someone who's been following Christ for 20 years,

01:03:29.940 --> 01:03:33.540
so you can't come here. No, it's just like, hey, praise God you're here. Let's start learning

01:03:33.540 --> 01:03:39.140
together. Let's start walking and following Christ together. Look at verse one. Follow after charity

01:03:39.140 --> 01:03:44.580
and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. Like, hey, what's the number one thing

01:03:44.580 --> 01:03:49.280
thing you should desire is preaching. Verse 2. Why? For

01:03:49.500 --> 01:03:55.340
He that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God.

01:03:55.340 --> 01:04:00.420
For no man understandeth him, howbeit in the Spirit he speaketh mysteries.

01:04:00.420 --> 01:04:09.180
Verse 3, notice this, but he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification and exhortation

01:04:09.180 --> 01:04:10.420
and comfort.

01:04:10.420 --> 01:04:11.000
So.

01:04:11.000 --> 01:04:15.400
the gift of preaching, what is the point of preaching a sermon?

01:04:15.400 --> 01:04:17.900
The point is edification.

01:04:17.900 --> 01:04:23.200
The point is glorifying God and helping people to learn a new truth

01:04:23.200 --> 01:04:25.100
or to apply something in their life.

01:04:25.100 --> 01:04:26.800
Hey, don't do this.

01:04:26.800 --> 01:04:28.100
Start doing this.

01:04:28.100 --> 01:04:29.400
Stop thinking this.

01:04:29.400 --> 01:04:30.700
Start thinking this.

01:04:30.700 --> 01:04:32.500
Stop feeling this way about something.

01:04:32.500 --> 01:04:34.500
Start feeling this way about something.

01:04:34.500 --> 01:04:36.900
The whole point of a sermon is to edify people.

01:04:37.300 --> 01:04:41.740
You know, Pastor Jack Hiles, he taught a great truth where when you preach a sermon, he said

01:04:41.740 --> 01:04:43.860
there should be one great truth in your sermon.

01:04:44.300 --> 01:04:53.300
And I love that advice. I've kind of modified it internally in my mind when I write a sermon is I think about what is my one great goal of my sermon.

01:04:53.300 --> 01:05:02.300
What am I trying to get people to do or stop doing? Think or stop thinking? Feel or stop feeling? In that sense, or what doctrine do I want them to learn?

01:05:02.300 --> 01:05:07.300
That one great goal. And it's like, if you can't figure out what the goal of your sermon is, it's a bad sermon.

01:05:07.400 --> 01:05:10.400
Or if I'm listening to a sermon and I came away thinking like,

01:05:10.400 --> 01:05:12.400
wow, well you told me how smart you are,

01:05:12.400 --> 01:05:14.400
you told me how awesome you are,

01:05:14.400 --> 01:05:16.400
you told me how all your opinions are right,

01:05:16.400 --> 01:05:19.400
but like what am I walking away from this sermon thinking?

01:05:19.400 --> 01:05:20.400
I don't know.

01:05:20.700 --> 01:05:25.500
That's a bad sermon, right? The whole point of preaching is that you are edifying other people.

01:05:25.500 --> 01:05:30.540
Men, when you preach a sermon, think about what is it that I'm trying to accomplish with this sermon,

01:05:30.540 --> 01:05:33.740
right? And look, sometimes that's scathing rebuke. Sometimes that's

01:05:33.740 --> 01:05:39.020
reproof. Other times it's exhortation, but there should be a goal and that goal should be edification.

01:05:39.660 --> 01:05:43.180
Okay. Notice what it says in verse number 18.

01:05:43.700 --> 01:05:48.340
It says, I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than you all, yet in the church I'd rather

01:05:48.340 --> 01:05:55.100
speak five words with my understanding that by my voice I might teach others also than

01:05:55.100 --> 01:05:58.500
ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.

01:05:58.500 --> 01:06:01.420
So notice, preaching is not to put on a show.

01:06:01.800 --> 01:06:05.640
This is the problem I have with many Calvinist type preachers.

01:06:05.640 --> 01:06:10.440
Is they get up and they use all these flowery, fancy vocabulary

01:06:10.440 --> 01:06:14.480
and boy they sound good and man they're so polished, their sermon is so polished.

01:06:14.480 --> 01:06:18.720
You know all the jokes are perfect, everything's just inserted perfectly into the sermon

01:06:18.720 --> 01:06:22.480
but it's like I would rather speak five words that are actually edifying people

01:06:22.480 --> 01:06:24.600
than people are walking away from the sermon

01:06:24.600 --> 01:06:26.960
and what are they walking away from the sermon thinking?

01:06:26.960 --> 01:06:28.160
Hey that guy's smart.

01:06:28.900 --> 01:06:32.580
That guy has an education. That guy's read some books. That guy knows some words.

01:06:32.580 --> 01:06:35.620
That's not what I want people to walk away from. A sermon thinking,

01:06:35.620 --> 01:06:41.140
I want them to get the one great truth. Hey, God judges in this world. Right? I want you to come

01:06:41.140 --> 01:06:45.460
away from the morning sermon and say, Hey, God is judging me right now. God is judging our nation

01:06:45.460 --> 01:06:50.420
right now. God is judging our church right now. And so act accordingly, live accordingly. No one's

01:06:50.420 --> 01:06:54.020
going to walk away from that sermon this morning and be like, I wonder what pastor always wanted me

01:06:54.020 --> 01:06:56.820
to think this morning. It's like you didn't walk away from the sermon being like

01:06:56.900 --> 01:06:58.740
That was some cool vocabulary.

01:06:58.740 --> 01:07:00.200
That was some awesome jokes.

01:07:00.200 --> 01:07:02.500
Man, it was so cool when he said soteriology.

01:07:02.500 --> 01:07:04.060
It was so cool when he said eschatology.

01:07:04.060 --> 01:07:05.900
It's like, no one cares about that.

01:07:05.900 --> 01:07:09.460
People come to church to get edified, to be built up.

01:07:10.380 --> 01:07:12.140
Go, if you would, to 1 Corinthians.

01:07:12.140 --> 01:07:14.000
If you would, 1 Corinthians, back a page.

01:07:14.400 --> 01:07:18.160
And of course also you should recognize that these gifts come from God like I mentioned.

01:07:18.160 --> 01:07:23.200
1 Corinthians 4 7 says for who make it thee to differ from another and what hast thou that

01:07:23.200 --> 01:07:28.640
thou didst not receive? Right? Okay you're you're good at a certain thing. Well God gave you that.

01:07:28.640 --> 01:07:32.320
God gave you that ability to do to do that and you should keep that in your mind.

01:07:32.800 --> 01:07:36.720
Look at 1 Corinthians 13. 1 Corinthians 13 verse 1. Notice,

01:07:36.720 --> 01:07:41.840
though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity,

01:07:41.840 --> 01:07:47.920
I am become a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy,

01:07:48.480 --> 01:07:52.880
and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith,

01:07:52.880 --> 01:07:58.080
so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, notice I am nothing.

01:07:58.800 --> 01:08:01.920
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor,

01:08:01.920 --> 01:08:04.160
that's an extreme measure there.

01:08:04.160 --> 01:08:05.120
How about this?

01:08:05.120 --> 01:08:08.320
And though I give my body to be burned

01:08:08.320 --> 01:08:12.680
and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

01:08:12.900 --> 01:08:16.980
I mean that is just extreme language the Bible is using saying hey

01:08:16.980 --> 01:08:20.340
doesn't matter really what actions you're performing if you don't actually

01:08:20.340 --> 01:08:24.420
have true charity in your heart you're nothing you're sounding brass and

01:08:24.420 --> 01:08:28.900
a tinkling symbol it profits you nothing whatsoever it's like it doesn't matter

01:08:28.900 --> 01:08:33.460
if you are the best most knowledgeable baseball coach on planet earth

01:08:33.460 --> 01:08:36.900
if you're such a jerk that no one wants to learn from you you're not going to be

01:08:36.900 --> 01:08:40.900
a very great coach are you it's like okay you know so much Bible

01:08:40.900 --> 01:08:43.600
but you're just pompous, you're arrogant,

01:08:43.600 --> 01:08:44.740
no one wants to listen to you,

01:08:44.740 --> 01:08:46.440
it's like that doesn't help people.

01:08:46.440 --> 01:08:49.340
Okay, you know, gym coach, you're really in shape,

01:08:49.340 --> 01:08:50.880
but you know, you don't love people,

01:08:50.880 --> 01:08:52.920
you don't actually want to condescend a man of low estate

01:08:52.920 --> 01:08:54.480
and help build people up,

01:08:54.480 --> 01:08:57.120
you're not gonna be an effective personal trainer.

01:08:57.120 --> 01:08:58.920
You know, it's like this in any area of life.

01:08:59.600 --> 01:09:01.440
Go, if you would, to Genesis 41.

01:09:01.440 --> 01:09:02.800
Let's look at some examples of people

01:09:02.800 --> 01:09:04.280
who did this really well.

01:09:04.280 --> 01:09:06.040
I would say that two people come to mind,

01:09:06.040 --> 01:09:08.520
and that's Joseph and Daniel, okay?

01:09:08.520 --> 01:09:10.720
Genesis 41, let's look at Joseph here.

01:09:13.300 --> 01:09:15.300
Genesis 41, look at verse 15.

01:09:15.300 --> 01:09:19.300
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream,

01:09:19.300 --> 01:09:22.300
and there is none that can interpret it.

01:09:22.300 --> 01:09:27.300
And I have heard say of thee that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it.

01:09:27.300 --> 01:09:29.300
Hey Joseph, I heard you got a gift.

01:09:29.300 --> 01:09:31.300
Hey Joseph, I've heard you've got a skill.

01:09:31.300 --> 01:09:33.200
Heard that there's something that you're good at.

01:09:33.600 --> 01:09:37.080
And notice Joseph doesn't say like, yeah, I'm the best, I'm the smartest, I'm the most

01:09:37.080 --> 01:09:38.080
spiritual.

01:09:38.080 --> 01:09:39.560
Like, of course, I know these things.

01:09:39.560 --> 01:09:41.880
I'm glad you came to me because I'm the best one.

01:09:41.880 --> 01:09:48.300
Look at verse 16, and Joseph answered Pharaoh saying, it is not in me, God shall give Pharaoh

01:09:48.300 --> 01:09:49.800
an answer of peace.

01:09:49.800 --> 01:09:52.200
Now, that's the right attitude, right?

01:09:52.200 --> 01:09:55.520
Hey, glory be to God for the gifts that we have.

01:09:55.520 --> 01:09:57.400
Someone says, hey, you're a really good soul winner.

01:09:57.400 --> 01:09:59.080
Well, I'm preaching a really good message.

01:09:59.400 --> 01:10:02.840
I'm preaching a really good gospel right here that God has given to me, right?

01:10:02.840 --> 01:10:04.280
Or, oh, you're a really good soul winner.

01:10:04.280 --> 01:10:06.520
Well, I had some great people in my life that trained me.

01:10:06.520 --> 01:10:07.960
Praise God for those people.

01:10:07.960 --> 01:10:09.800
Hey, you've got this wonderful skill.

01:10:09.800 --> 01:10:10.520
Well, you know what?

01:10:10.520 --> 01:10:15.080
God gave me the ability to learn this or to have these opportunities or to have this training.

01:10:15.080 --> 01:10:17.880
You know, praise God for the gifts that we have.

01:10:17.880 --> 01:10:19.240
Go to Daniel chapter 2.

01:10:19.700 --> 01:10:25.300
But I like that Joseph is not beating his chest about his gift. He's giving all of the glory to

01:10:25.300 --> 01:10:29.780
God. You know, that is exactly the type of person that God is going to use in a great way because he

01:10:29.780 --> 01:10:34.980
does not want to share his glory with another. God does not want to share his glory with us

01:10:34.980 --> 01:10:40.580
mere sinners. We are not going to glory in his presence. No flesh is going to glory in his

01:10:40.580 --> 01:10:44.260
presence. We should give that glory to God. Daniel 2 verse 26.

01:10:45.200 --> 01:10:49.040
The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar,

01:10:49.040 --> 01:10:54.560
Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen and the interpretation thereof?

01:10:55.200 --> 01:10:59.660
Daniel answered in the presence of the king and said the secret which the king have demanded

01:10:59.840 --> 01:11:06.040
Cannot the wise men the astrologers the magicians the soothsayers show unto the king here it is again

01:11:06.120 --> 01:11:12.440
But there is a God in heaven that reveal his secrets and make it known to the king nebuchadnezzar

01:11:12.800 --> 01:11:17.700
What shall be in the latter days thy dream and the visions of thy head upon thy bed are?

01:11:18.200 --> 01:11:23.200
These so what's the lesson from these things? Hey, even if you have a gift don't

01:11:23.200 --> 01:11:28.560
praise yourself about it. Recognize that that gift came from God. All right, you've got a gift. Hey,

01:11:28.560 --> 01:11:34.400
there's a God in heaven that can reveal these secrets to you. I want to read again. Let another

01:11:34.400 --> 01:11:41.120
man praise thee and not thine own mouth, a stranger and not thine own lips. Go back to Romans 12.

01:11:41.680 --> 01:11:45.040
So I said number one, realize you're important, but so is everyone else.

01:11:45.500 --> 01:11:48.300
Number two, use your gifts to serve others,

01:11:48.300 --> 01:11:49.800
not to beat your own chest.

01:11:49.800 --> 01:11:53.300
Number three, think of how you measure up to God's standards

01:11:53.300 --> 01:11:56.300
instead of comparing yourself to others.

01:11:56.300 --> 01:11:59.600
This is another aspect of thinking soberly,

01:11:59.600 --> 01:12:01.800
of thinking biblically about yourself,

01:12:01.800 --> 01:12:05.200
is I don't compare my talents, my abilities, my gifts,

01:12:05.200 --> 01:12:07.700
my work to what another man is doing.

01:12:07.700 --> 01:12:10.600
I compare it to God's standard that he's given me

01:12:10.600 --> 01:12:11.700
in the Word of God.

01:12:11.700 --> 01:12:13.200
Look at Romans 12 verse 3.

01:12:13.600 --> 01:12:18.240
For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think

01:12:18.240 --> 01:12:22.800
of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly."

01:12:22.800 --> 01:12:24.400
What does sober thinking look like?

01:12:24.400 --> 01:12:29.960
Notice, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith, right?

01:12:29.960 --> 01:12:33.600
So you're thinking according to what God has given you.

01:12:34.100 --> 01:12:41.220
And don't think to yourself because necessarily you're doing more quantity of work than someone else that God is more pleased

01:12:41.340 --> 01:12:43.660
Because maybe God has given you a different situation

01:12:44.180 --> 01:12:47.580
God has given you maybe five talents another person

01:12:47.580 --> 01:12:52.260
Maybe he's given four maybe three maybe two maybe one and so it'd be foolish to compare ourselves

01:12:52.980 --> 01:13:00.740
Among ourselves go to second Corinthians 10. We'll see that the Bible says that verbatim that is a foolish thing to compare ourselves

01:13:04.200 --> 01:13:06.200
2 Corinthians 10 verse 12

01:13:06.660 --> 01:13:13.640
Notice for we dare not make ourselves of the number or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves

01:13:14.420 --> 01:13:18.740
but they here it is measuring themselves by themselves and

01:13:19.500 --> 01:13:23.240
Comparing themselves among themselves are not wise

01:13:23.540 --> 01:13:29.620
So what if some people do when they think of themselves is they say well at least I'm better than this person

01:13:30.200 --> 01:13:32.600
Or at least I'm not as bad as this person.

01:13:32.600 --> 01:13:34.600
This is why a lot of people think that they're saved.

01:13:34.600 --> 01:13:38.120
They say, hey, I'm not killing anyone, I'm not doing something terrible.

01:13:38.120 --> 01:13:41.240
You know, today, a nurse told us out-soul-winning

01:13:41.240 --> 01:13:43.480
that the reason she thinks she's going to heaven is she says,

01:13:43.480 --> 01:13:45.080
I help people for a living.

01:13:45.600 --> 01:13:47.800
Right? So she's comparing herself to other people.

01:13:47.800 --> 01:13:51.000
I mean, hey, there's some people that are selling drugs for a living.

01:13:51.000 --> 01:13:53.900
What am I doing? I'm helping people for a living.

01:13:53.900 --> 01:13:57.000
But does that mean that God is automatically pleased with a nurse

01:13:57.000 --> 01:13:58.900
because they're not selling drugs?

01:13:58.900 --> 01:14:00.800
Or because they're not a prostitute?

01:14:00.800 --> 01:14:02.100
Or because they're not a murderer?

01:14:02.100 --> 01:14:05.500
No, because guess what? There are tons of nurses that are not even saved.

01:14:05.500 --> 01:14:08.400
There are tons of nurses that are living wicked lives.

01:14:08.400 --> 01:14:10.600
There are tons of nurses that are not right with God.

01:14:10.600 --> 01:14:13.400
So you don't want to be like, well, they're not as bad as this person.

01:14:13.600 --> 01:14:17.600
therefore I'm good, therefore I'm wonderful." He says, hey, people that measure themselves

01:14:17.600 --> 01:14:24.680
by themselves and compare themselves among themselves are not wise. Verse 13, but we

01:14:24.680 --> 01:14:30.200
will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which

01:14:30.200 --> 01:14:36.560
God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even to you. Verse 17, notice, but he that

01:14:36.560 --> 01:14:38.800
glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

01:14:39.400 --> 01:14:44.760
for not he that commended himself is approved, but whom the Lord commended."

01:14:44.760 --> 01:14:49.880
So right, just because you're doing, you know, better than someone else in a certain area

01:14:49.880 --> 01:14:54.760
does not necessarily mean that overall God is more pleased with you in every area of

01:14:54.760 --> 01:14:55.760
life.

01:14:55.760 --> 01:14:58.760
What you should do is you should look at your life and see how it compares to the Word of

01:14:58.760 --> 01:15:03.800
God and you should consider the different talents that God has given to you and the

01:15:03.800 --> 01:15:06.520
different opportunities that God has given to you.

01:15:07.200 --> 01:15:11.760
For example, you know, a single guy who doesn't have a wife to take care of,

01:15:11.760 --> 01:15:16.960
doesn't have kids to take care of, has a lot more free time, right? And a lot of single guys

01:15:16.960 --> 01:15:20.320
make a really great decision with their life, a really spiritual decision, and they say,

01:15:20.320 --> 01:15:25.440
hey, I'm going to use this free time to just go soul winning a lot more and serve God,

01:15:25.440 --> 01:15:28.800
you know, as hard as I possibly can. And you know what? That is awesome.

01:15:29.300 --> 01:15:30.900
That is fantastic.

01:15:30.900 --> 01:15:33.500
But what would be foolish is if a single guy said like,

01:15:33.500 --> 01:15:36.140
man, you know, I go swimming five times a week,

01:15:36.140 --> 01:15:39.300
and this mom with five kids only goes once a week,

01:15:39.300 --> 01:15:42.740
I am so much more pleasing to God than her.

01:15:42.740 --> 01:15:45.180
That's the wrong way of thinking, right?

01:15:45.180 --> 01:15:47.140
Even amongst pastors, right?

01:15:47.140 --> 01:15:50.280
Not every pastor has been given the same talents,

01:15:50.280 --> 01:15:52.380
has been given the same opportunities

01:15:52.380 --> 01:15:54.220
or the same resources to work with.

01:15:54.220 --> 01:15:57.020
You know, would it be wise, you know...

01:15:57.300 --> 01:16:01.060
me as a pastor almost going into my third year of ministry

01:16:01.060 --> 01:16:02.540
comparing myself with someone who's been doing it

01:16:02.540 --> 01:16:05.340
for 30, 40 years, would that be a wise thing to do?

01:16:05.340 --> 01:16:07.340
No, what would happen is I would just discourage myself.

01:16:07.340 --> 01:16:09.700
Like, man, you know, this guy is so much more awesome

01:16:09.700 --> 01:16:11.880
than me or, you know, just different situations.

01:16:11.880 --> 01:16:13.700
Like I'm bivocational.

01:16:13.700 --> 01:16:15.860
I've got a lot less time than other pastors.

01:16:15.860 --> 01:16:17.220
It's like, well, you know,

01:16:17.220 --> 01:16:20.140
things that anchor Baptist church aren't running exactly

01:16:20.140 --> 01:16:22.260
like, you know, first Baptist church of Hammon, Indiana.

01:16:22.260 --> 01:16:23.380
It's like, well, it would be foolish

01:16:23.380 --> 01:16:25.240
to compare these things, right?

01:16:25.300 --> 01:16:29.920
we should do is say like, Hey, what talents has God given me? What resources has God given

01:16:29.920 --> 01:16:34.920
me? What time has God given me? And how am I best making use of the things that God has

01:16:34.920 --> 01:16:39.740
given me, not other people? Right? That's how we should think of ourselves. Go to Hebrews

01:16:39.740 --> 01:16:44.660
chapter 12, Hebrews 12, while you're turning there. First Corinthians 12 29 says this,

01:16:44.660 --> 01:16:49.140
are all apostles, are all prophets, are all teachers?

01:16:49.500 --> 01:16:51.900
Are all workers of miracles?

01:16:51.900 --> 01:16:53.700
Well, I'm not, you know, the Apostle Paul.

01:16:53.700 --> 01:16:55.400
It's like, okay, that's fine.

01:16:55.400 --> 01:16:57.300
Is everyone supposed to be an apostle?

01:16:57.300 --> 01:16:59.000
Is everyone supposed to be a pastor?

01:16:59.000 --> 01:17:00.700
Is everyone supposed to be a single guy

01:17:00.700 --> 01:17:02.000
so only five times a week?

01:17:02.000 --> 01:17:03.000
No, right?

01:17:03.000 --> 01:17:06.700
So don't try to compare yourself to someone else.

01:17:06.700 --> 01:17:07.700
Okay?

01:17:07.700 --> 01:17:09.400
Hebrews 12, look at verse one.

01:17:09.800 --> 01:17:14.040
Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us

01:17:14.040 --> 01:17:20.680
lay aside every weight in the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience

01:17:20.680 --> 01:17:23.880
the race that is set before us.

01:17:24.300 --> 01:17:27.100
What does that say? Run your own race.

01:17:27.100 --> 01:17:30.900
Worry about your own race. Who cares what other people are doing?

01:17:30.900 --> 01:17:34.700
You know, if you haven't ran before and you start training for running,

01:17:34.700 --> 01:17:37.300
it's like, well, my time isn't what an Olympian's time is.

01:17:37.300 --> 01:17:41.000
It's like, who cares, buddy? Why are you comparing yourself with them?

01:17:41.000 --> 01:17:44.600
It's like, well, I want to know how many minutes an Olympian hydrates.

01:17:44.600 --> 01:17:49.300
I want to know how many minutes an Olympian, you know, has like a little carb gel or something like that.

01:17:49.300 --> 01:17:52.100
It's like, why don't you just focus on what your body is doing?

01:17:52.300 --> 01:17:54.880
and your time, and why don't you just try to get better

01:17:54.880 --> 01:17:57.400
as a runner yourself and just run your race

01:17:57.400 --> 01:17:59.520
and focus on yourself, that's how you're gonna be

01:17:59.520 --> 01:18:01.880
the most effective Christian in the Christian life.

01:18:01.880 --> 01:18:04.100
I'm running my race, not someone else's.

01:18:04.200 --> 01:18:07.000
I'm pastoring anchor Baptist Church, no other church.

01:18:07.100 --> 01:18:09.400
I'm the husband to my wife, no one else.

01:18:09.500 --> 01:18:10.600
I'm raising my children.

01:18:10.700 --> 01:18:12.280
I'm not raising anyone else's kids.

01:18:12.380 --> 01:18:14.380
And I'm focused on my race.

01:18:14.480 --> 01:18:17.180
And specifically, how is it that we do this effectively?

01:18:17.280 --> 01:18:18.440
It's there in the next words.

01:18:18.540 --> 01:18:22.780
Looking unto Jesus, not looking unto your neighbor.

01:18:23.300 --> 01:18:30.300
Not looking unto brother so-and-so, not looking unto pastor so-and-so, it's like, hey, I'm running my race and I'm looking unto Jesus.

01:18:30.300 --> 01:18:35.300
What has Jesus called me to do? What has he commanded me to do? What talents has he given me?

01:18:35.300 --> 01:18:45.300
That's the race I must run. You will be a very dissatisfied, burnt out, sad, depressed person if you're just constantly comparing yourself to someone else.

01:18:45.300 --> 01:18:48.300
Because you know what? There's always going to be someone else...

01:18:48.900 --> 01:18:51.100
that even if it's not true in reality,

01:18:51.100 --> 01:18:53.900
just you think like, oh, their life is better,

01:18:53.900 --> 01:18:55.100
they're better in this area,

01:18:55.100 --> 01:18:56.700
oh, these people are richer than me,

01:18:56.700 --> 01:18:58.700
oh, their marriage is better than mine,

01:18:58.700 --> 01:19:00.300
oh, their child-rearing is better than mine.

01:19:00.300 --> 01:19:02.600
First of all, you may not even be right about that.

01:19:02.600 --> 01:19:05.000
Oftentimes you perceive things that aren't even true,

01:19:05.000 --> 01:19:06.900
and it's like, is their marriage really better than yours?

01:19:06.900 --> 01:19:08.900
It's like, you don't even want to know sometimes.

01:19:08.900 --> 01:19:10.600
Sometimes people put on a good show

01:19:10.600 --> 01:19:11.900
and their life is a train wreck.

01:19:11.900 --> 01:19:13.900
It's like, why don't you just focus on your own life?

01:19:14.200 --> 01:19:18.440
Just focus on your own race looking under Jesus the author and finisher of our faith

01:19:18.440 --> 01:19:23.080
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and is set down

01:19:23.080 --> 01:19:26.760
at the right hand of the throne of God. I think someone who did this really well

01:19:26.760 --> 01:19:29.400
was John the Baptist. Go to John chapter three.

01:19:29.900 --> 01:19:35.240
John the Baptist was one that was not about to get caught up in the comparison game though

01:19:35.540 --> 01:19:39.640
What wicked people try to do is they try to get you in the comparison game?

01:19:39.860 --> 01:19:44.600
Because of the fact that it can derail you in your service from God it can make you bitter

01:19:44.660 --> 01:19:46.660
It can make you have all these issues

01:19:48.220 --> 01:19:55.100
John 3 look at verse 25 then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying

01:19:55.800 --> 01:20:00.440
and they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan,

01:20:00.440 --> 01:20:06.440
to whom thou bearest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.

01:20:07.200 --> 01:20:09.600
They're trying to like provoke him to pride or something like that.

01:20:09.600 --> 01:20:13.440
They're trying to get at his pride and saying like, hey, that guy that was with you who you're

01:20:13.440 --> 01:20:18.160
preaching about, man, everyone's going to listen to him preach. Everyone's going to follow his

01:20:18.160 --> 01:20:22.400
ministry. And like, what are they expecting? John to like get upset and just be like, well,

01:20:22.400 --> 01:20:26.800
they need to stay with me. This is awful. This is terrible. Okay. Look at verse 27.

01:20:26.800 --> 01:20:32.160
John answered and said, a man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven.

01:20:32.600 --> 01:20:36.600
Now John the Baptist already had a wonderful ministry.

01:20:36.600 --> 01:20:40.300
John the Baptist already had a huge, big ministry

01:20:40.300 --> 01:20:43.100
where all the land of Judea, Mark chapter one,

01:20:43.100 --> 01:20:46.100
says that they came unto him, hearing his preaching,

01:20:46.100 --> 01:20:47.940
were baptized of him in Jordan.

01:20:47.940 --> 01:20:51.020
Like John the Baptist is doing a great work of God.

01:20:51.020 --> 01:20:53.280
And people who are actually accomplishing something,

01:20:53.280 --> 01:20:54.920
they don't have like this complex

01:20:54.920 --> 01:20:56.520
where they're upset about other people

01:20:56.520 --> 01:20:57.560
accomplishing something.

01:20:57.560 --> 01:21:00.260
Like we want more people accomplishing things.

01:21:00.260 --> 01:21:00.600
We

01:21:00.600 --> 01:21:02.340
We want more people serving God.

01:21:02.340 --> 01:21:04.700
We want churches filled all over America.

01:21:04.700 --> 01:21:07.460
We want big soul winning numbers all over America.

01:21:07.460 --> 01:21:11.820
People who are doing something for Jesus Christ are not going to get offended by this envy

01:21:11.820 --> 01:21:13.500
game that people try to play.

01:21:13.500 --> 01:21:14.500
And here's what he said.

01:21:14.500 --> 01:21:18.140
He said, hey, a man can receive nothing except it's been given him from heaven.

01:21:18.140 --> 01:21:20.460
John the Baptist received a great ministry.

01:21:20.460 --> 01:21:21.860
He received a great office.

01:21:21.860 --> 01:21:26.020
And you know, he realizes that everything he's already done and everything he is doing

01:21:26.020 --> 01:21:26.820
is a gift.

01:21:27.800 --> 01:21:31.400
Right, so maybe some people they are gifted with a bigger ministry.

01:21:31.400 --> 01:21:33.160
Maybe some people are gifted with a bigger church.

01:21:33.160 --> 01:21:35.560
Maybe people have a bigger city to minister unto.

01:21:35.560 --> 01:21:36.200
But you know what?

01:21:36.200 --> 01:21:39.960
The things that we have been given to minister unto is a gift of God.

01:21:39.960 --> 01:21:42.120
And we should be thankful to God for those things.

01:21:42.760 --> 01:21:46.600
And be like, well, we only got, you know, 1,400 people say only.

01:21:47.160 --> 01:21:48.120
That's a lot of people.

01:21:48.680 --> 01:21:49.400
That's awesome.

01:21:49.400 --> 01:21:52.120
It's like, well, it's not, you know, the Philippines numbers.

01:21:52.120 --> 01:21:53.640
But yeah, I don't want to live in the Philippines though.

01:21:54.400 --> 01:21:57.440
I know Brother Theodore says the amenities are the same, but I don't believe him.

01:21:57.440 --> 01:21:59.200
Anyone else can I get a witness on that?

01:21:59.200 --> 01:22:00.400
I love Oklahoma.

01:22:00.400 --> 01:22:01.680
You know, I'm thankful for the...

01:22:01.680 --> 01:22:02.400
How many salvaged?

01:22:02.400 --> 01:22:03.360
Let me get it right.

01:22:03.360 --> 01:22:06.720
I'm thankful for the 1,466 souls that have been saved this year.

01:22:06.720 --> 01:22:07.280
Amen.

01:22:07.280 --> 01:22:10.000
Through the ministry of Anchor Baptist Church or Soul Winners,

01:22:10.000 --> 01:22:11.440
preaching for Anchor Baptist Church.

01:22:11.440 --> 01:22:13.040
Look, I'm thankful to God for that.

01:22:13.040 --> 01:22:16.880
And if there are people doing more than that, praise God.

01:22:17.520 --> 01:22:18.400
Thank God for that.

01:22:18.400 --> 01:22:22.240
I want every church in America to do more, to reach more people for Christ, to...

01:22:22.400 --> 01:22:25.300
to preach better sermons, to fill their pews even more,

01:22:25.300 --> 01:22:27.600
because you know what, we're on team Jesus.

01:22:27.600 --> 01:22:30.440
Not team one church, not team one pastor.

01:22:30.440 --> 01:22:32.400
Hey, we are the body of Christ here.

01:22:32.400 --> 01:22:34.460
We want the body of Christ to succeed.

01:22:34.460 --> 01:22:36.060
Look at verse 28.

01:22:36.060 --> 01:22:38.080
He says, ye yourselves bear me witness

01:22:38.080 --> 01:22:41.280
that I said I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before.

01:22:41.280 --> 01:22:44.200
And he's like, when did I say I'm building myself a kingdom?

01:22:44.200 --> 01:22:46.700
I told you that I was coming to prepare the way for him.

01:22:46.700 --> 01:22:51.980
So you're just telling me I succeeded, right? It's like this is great news. Verse 29,

01:22:51.980 --> 01:22:58.700
He that hath the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom which standeth and

01:22:58.700 --> 01:23:06.140
heareth him rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. This my joy therefore is

01:23:06.140 --> 01:23:11.100
fulfilled. Like a normal person when their friend gets married is excited.

01:23:11.600 --> 01:23:13.360
It's like, this is awesome.

01:23:13.360 --> 01:23:15.160
I'm the friend of the bridegroom.

01:23:15.160 --> 01:23:16.280
This is wonderful.

01:23:16.280 --> 01:23:19.680
A normal bridesmaid, uh-oh, uh-oh, ladies,

01:23:19.680 --> 01:23:22.360
a normal bridesmaid is not like, why is everyone

01:23:22.360 --> 01:23:23.840
looking at the bride?

01:23:23.840 --> 01:23:26.000
Well, how come her dress is prettier?

01:23:26.000 --> 01:23:28.400
Or how come this person got to throw the flowers?

01:23:28.400 --> 01:23:30.240
It's not about you, broad.

01:23:30.240 --> 01:23:31.920
It's about the wife.

01:23:31.920 --> 01:23:33.360
And you know, I remember when I got married,

01:23:33.360 --> 01:23:36.040
a guy literally walked up to me and he's like,

01:23:36.040 --> 01:23:37.920
I wish I was getting married today.

01:23:37.920 --> 01:23:38.760
I'm just like.

01:23:40.800 --> 01:23:44.000
That was like the cringiest thing I've ever heard.

01:23:44.000 --> 01:23:45.100
Who would say something like that?

01:23:45.100 --> 01:23:46.400
This is weird, right?

01:23:46.400 --> 01:23:47.900
It's like, all right, people say dumb stuff.

01:23:47.900 --> 01:23:50.000
But the Bible's saying like, hey, if you're the friend

01:23:50.000 --> 01:23:52.800
of the bridegroom, it's just like, go bridegroom.

01:23:52.800 --> 01:23:55.200
Right? If you're the friend of the bride,

01:23:55.200 --> 01:23:56.600
it's like, go bride.

01:23:56.600 --> 01:23:59.200
Right? It's not about, how do we apply this to ourselves?

01:23:59.200 --> 01:24:01.000
You know what? It's not about us.

01:24:01.000 --> 01:24:02.600
It's about Jesus Christ.

01:24:03.100 --> 01:24:08.300
And when Anchor Baptist Church succeeds, it's not like, well, that's awesome cuz Anchor,

01:24:08.300 --> 01:24:14.220
cuz Pastor Oz, cuz Oklahoma. It's awesome because Jesus Christ's ministry is succeeding and thriving.

01:24:14.500 --> 01:24:17.000
because people are being reached for Jesus Christ.

01:24:17.000 --> 01:24:20.400
And when Pastor Stuckey is doing a great work in the Philippines,

01:24:20.400 --> 01:24:21.600
it's not just,

01:24:21.600 --> 01:24:24.400
go Pastor Stuckey, though amen, go Pastor Stuckey.

01:24:24.400 --> 01:24:25.000
Right?

01:24:25.000 --> 01:24:27.900
And when steadfast succeeds and faithful word succeeds,

01:24:27.900 --> 01:24:30.900
it's not just like, well, go New IFB, cause New IFB.

01:24:30.900 --> 01:24:34.100
No, it's go New IFB because go Jesus.

01:24:34.100 --> 01:24:35.500
Go winning souls.

01:24:35.500 --> 01:24:36.900
Go hard sermons.

01:24:36.900 --> 01:24:38.100
Go baptisms.

01:24:38.100 --> 01:24:39.700
Pastor Mejia, I see you over there.

01:24:39.700 --> 01:24:41.700
Go subscriptions on Instagram.

01:24:41.700 --> 01:24:42.400
Pastor Mejia?

01:24:42.500 --> 01:24:45.700
Right, because of why we want to reach people for Jesus Christ. That's what we're doing.

01:24:46.420 --> 01:24:52.260
And look what he says. He says verse 30, he must increase, but I must decrease.

01:24:52.900 --> 01:24:58.180
Right. So when we look at ourselves, it's not, well, let me see how I'm doing compared to this guy.

01:24:58.700 --> 01:25:02.060
Well, you know, my preaching is at least better than the Lutherans.

01:25:02.060 --> 01:25:04.260
Well, that's not a great standard, right?

01:25:04.260 --> 01:25:07.980
It's like, hey, let's compare ourselves to the rule that God has given us.

01:25:07.980 --> 01:25:11.780
Let's compare ourselves to the race that we are running for Jesus Christ.

01:25:11.780 --> 01:25:14.100
And you know what? Let's not get envious of other believers,

01:25:14.100 --> 01:25:15.940
other churches doing great works for God.

01:25:15.940 --> 01:25:18.180
Hey, we are on the same team.

01:25:18.180 --> 01:25:21.780
And we're not going to compare ourselves to become envious of one another.

01:25:21.780 --> 01:25:22.900
Go back to Romans 12.

01:25:23.700 --> 01:25:30.820
While you're turning there, James 4 6 says, but he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith God resisteth

01:25:30.820 --> 01:25:39.780
the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Why preach a sermon like this? Because it is important

01:25:39.780 --> 01:25:45.060
how you think about yourself. Because of the fact that if you are too self-deprecating,

01:25:45.700 --> 01:25:47.140
that you're not going to be effective for God.

01:25:47.800 --> 01:25:50.600
If you're too self-deprecating and you say, I can't be used by God,

01:25:50.600 --> 01:25:53.880
well, that's going to become a self-fulfilling prophecy, and you're going to do exactly nothing

01:25:53.880 --> 01:25:59.240
for God. Or another way, if you're thinking about yourself, if you are proud, the Bible says that

01:25:59.240 --> 01:26:04.760
God Himself is going to resist you. So if we want to actually be used by God and be the most

01:26:04.760 --> 01:26:09.240
effective people that we can for Christ, we have to think about ourselves biblically.

01:26:09.600 --> 01:26:14.960
What does that look like? It looks like saying, hey, I know that I am needed for the work of Christ.

01:26:14.960 --> 01:26:21.440
I know that I am important to the cause of Christ and so are all of you. And so are all of our

01:26:21.440 --> 01:26:25.760
brothers and sisters in Christ. Thinking biblically about ourselves is saying, hey,

01:26:25.760 --> 01:26:31.840
I have been given talents by God. I have been given gifts by God. But I recognize

01:26:31.840 --> 01:26:33.920
that anything good about me has come from above.

01:26:34.400 --> 01:26:39.840
every good gift and every perfect gift, gift cometh from above. And anything that I do that is good,

01:26:39.840 --> 01:26:45.760
it's by the grace of God that I do that. And I recognize that God has given me that ability

01:26:45.760 --> 01:26:47.680
so that I could serve other people.

01:26:48.300 --> 01:26:54.380
So that I could serve God not so I could tell you wow I'm awesome be awesome as I am awesome and thirdly

01:26:54.580 --> 01:26:58.640
Realize that God sets the standard for whether or not you're doing good in life

01:26:58.800 --> 01:27:05.240
Not comparing yourself to other people Romans 12 3 will close with this for I say through the grace given unto me

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To every man that is among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think but to think soberly

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According as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for your word

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We thank you for the admonitions that you've given us tonight. I pray that you'd help every person

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to think of themselves soberly. Think of themselves the way that you would have us to think, Lord.

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I pray that no one would ever fall into the trap of thinking that they couldn't be used by you

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or that they don't matter to this church or to the kingdom of God. And I also pray that we would

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not become prideful in our hearts so that you would resist us. Lord, I pray that we would just

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seek to please you in all that we do. And I pray that you would use Anchor Baptist Church.

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mightily for the glory of Jesus Christ.

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And it's in His name we pray.

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Amen.

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For our last hymn this evening, turn if you would to 115.

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Pm 115, 115, No one ever cared for me like Jesus.

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1 Corinthians 15.

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1.15, let's sing it out together.

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I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus,

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since I found in him a prince so strong and true.

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I would tell you how he changed my life completely

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He did something that no other friend could do

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No one ever cared for me like Jesus

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There's no other friend as kind as he

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No one else could take the sin and darkness from me

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Oh how much he cared for me

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All my life was full of sin when Jesus found me

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All my heart was full of misery and woe

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Jesus places strong and loving arms about me

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And he led me in the way I ought to go

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No one ever cared for me like Jesus

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There's no other friend as kind as he

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No one else could take the sin and darkness from me

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Oh, how much he cared for me

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Every day he comes to me with new assurance

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More and more I understand his words of love

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But I'll never know just why he came to save me

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Till someday I see his blessed face above

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No one ever cared for me like Jesus

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There's no other friend so kind as he

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No one else could take the sin and darkness from me

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Oh, how much he cared for

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Men, with that you are dismissed.