you
let's give God the glory, 1, 6, 2
to God be the glory
let the earth hear his voice
praise the Lord
let the earth hear his voice
praise the Lord
let the people rejoice
O come
to the Father
through Jesus the Son
and give him
the glory
great things he
hath done
great things he
hath taught us
great things he
hath done
and great
our rejoicing
through Jesus the Son
but purer
and higher
and greater
will be
our wonder
our transport
when Jesus we see
praise the Lord
let the people
rejoice
O come to the Father
through Jesus
the Son
and give him
the glory
great things he
hath done
alright great singing let's go to word of prayer
yes heavenly Father Lord we come
to church this morning to give you glory
praise the Lord I pray you lift our hearts with joy
Lord I pray you help us not to be
distracted by the troubles
and sorrows that we have in our hearts
Lord but that we would give our
full attention to you so Lord please
utilize your Holy Spirit to touch our hearts
and minds help us to be focused upon your
word and help us to love
and serve one another this morning and to
enjoy and to rejoice Lord in the
baptisms to come after service as well we pray
all these things in Jesus name Amen
Amen
I'm actually going to ask not yet
but Matthew and Carissa if you guys can give me a
favourite soon just
again just continuing the celebrations
of your union but let's go to
hymn number 121
121 like a river
glorious 121
like a river glorious
like a river
glorious
is God's
perfect peace
overall
victorious
in its
bright
increase
perfect
yet
it flow
earth
fuller
everyday
perfect
yet
it grow
deeper
all the way
say
upon
Jehovah
hearts are fully
blessed
find it
as he
promised
perfect peace
and rest
hidden
in the hollow
of
his blessed
hand
never
folk and
follow
never
traitor sad
not
a surge of
war in
not a shade
of care
not
a blast of
hurry
touch the
spirit there
say
upon
Jehovah
hearts are fully
blessed
find it
as he promised
perfect
peace
and rest
every
joy or
trial
fall
from above
trace
upon
our
by the
sun of
love
we may trust
him fully
all for
us to do
they
who trust
him holy
find him
holy true
stay
upon Jehovah
hearts
hearts are fully
blessed
find it
as he promised
perfect
peace and
rest
alright, have you got your favourite?
96
which is?
God leads us along
hymn number 96
God leads us along
In shady green pastures
so rich and so
sweet God
leads his dear children
along
where the
hottest cold flow
babes the weary ones
feet God
leads his dear children
along
some
through the waters
some through the
flood some
through the fire
but all through the
blood some
through great sorrow
but God gives
a song
in the night season
and all the day
long
sometimes on the
mountain where the sun
shines so bright
God leads his dear
children along
sometimes in the valley
in darkest
of nights God
leads his dear children
along
some
through the waters
some through the
flood some
through the fire
but all through the
blood some
through great sorrow
but God gives
a song
in the night season
and all the
day long
rose before
us and Satan
of hosts God
leads his dear children
along
through
grace we can conquer
defeat all our
foes God
leads his dear children
along
some
through the waters
some through the
flood some
through the fire
but all through the
blood some
through great sorrow
but God gives
a song
in the night season
and all the day
long
away from the
fire and away
from the clay
God leads his dear
children along
away amid
glory, eternity
is they
God leads his dear
children along
some through the waters
some through
the flood
some through the fire
but all through
the blood
some through
great sorrow
but God gives
a song
in the night season
and all the day
long
alright great singing
we'll do one more hymn and then we'll have our Bible reading
so let's go to hymn number 166
166
I will praise him
166
I will praise him
166
When I saw the
cleansing fountain
open wide
for all my sin
I
obey the
spirit's wooing
when he said
will thou be clean
I will praise
him I
will praise him
praise the lamb for sin
a slave
give him
glory all ye people
for his
blood can wash away
each stain
though
the way seems straight and narrow
all I claim
was swept away
my ambitious plans
and wishes
at my feet
in ashes lay
I will praise him
I will
praise him
praise the lamb for sin
a slave
give him
glory all ye people
for his blood
can wash away
each stain
then
God's fire upon the
altar
of my harvest
set a flame
I
shall never cease to
praise him
glory glory
to his name
I will praise him
I will
praise him
praise the lamb for sin
a slave
give him glory
all ye people
for his blood
can wash away
each stain
bless
the name of
Jesus
I'm so glad
he took me in
he's
forgiven my
transgressions
he has
cleansed my heart from sin
I will praise him
I will
praise him
praise the lamb for sin
a slave
give him
glory all ye people
for his
blood can wash away
each stain
glory glory
to the father
glory
glory to the son
glory glory
to the spirit
glory
to the free
in one
I will
praise him
I will praise him
praise the
lamb for sin
a slave
give him glory
all ye people
for his blood
can wash away
each stain
Alright, beautiful singing. Please take your Bibles now and turn to 1 Samuel 16.
1 Samuel 16
Brother Hayden's coming up for the reading. 1 Samuel 16, thank you.
Alright, 1 Samuel 16.
And the Lord said unto Samuel,
How long wilt thou mourn for Saul,
seeing I have rejected him and go
from reigning over Israel?
fill thine horn with oil and go
I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite
for I have provided me a king among his sons.
And Samuel said,
How can I go?
If Saul hear it, he will kill me.
And the Lord said, Take an heifer with thee
and say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord
and call Jesse to the sacrifice
and I will show thee
what thou shalt do
and thou shalt anoint unto me him
whom I name unto thee.
And Samuel did that which the Lord spake
and came to Bethlehem
and the elders of the town trembled at his coming
and said, Comeest thou peaceably?
And he said, Peaceably I am come
to sacrifice unto the Lord
sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.
And he sanctified Jesse
and his sons and called them to the sacrifice.
And it came to pass
when they were come
that he looked on Eliab and said,
Surely the Lord's anointed is before him.
But the Lord said unto Samuel,
Look not on his countenance or on the height of his stature
because I have refused him, for the Lord seeth
not as man seeth.
For man looketh on the outward appearance
but the Lord looketh on the heart.
Then Jesse called Abinadab
and made him pass before Samuel
and he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this.
Then Jesse made Shammah
to pass by and he said, Neither
hath the Lord chosen this.
And again Jesse made seven of his sons to pass
before Samuel and Samuel said unto
Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these.
And Samuel said unto
Jesse, Are here all thy children?
And he said, There remaineth
yet the youngest and behold he
keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said
unto Jesse, Send and fetch him
for we will not sit down till he come hither.
And he sent and brought him in.
Now he was ruddy and with all of a beautiful
countenance and goodly to look to.
And the Lord said, Arise
anoint him for this is he.
Then Samuel took the horn of oil
and anointed him in the midst of his brethren
and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David
from that day forward. So Samuel
rose up and went to Ramah.
But the Spirit of the Lord departed
from Saul and an evil spirit from the Lord
troubled him. And Saul's servants
said unto him, Behold now an evil spirit
from God troubleth thee.
Let our Lord
now command thy servants which are before
thee to seek out a man who is a cunning
player on an harp and it shall come to
pass when the evil spirit from God is upon
thee that he shall play with his hand
and thou shalt be well.
And Saul said unto his servants,
Provide me now a man that can play well
and bring him to me.
Then answered one of his servants and said,
Behold I have seen a son of Jesse
the Bethlehemite that is cunning in playing
and a mighty valiant man and a man
of war and prudent
in matters and a comely person
and the Lord is with him.
Wherefore Saul sent messages
unto Jesse and said, Send
me David thy son which is
with the sheep. And Jesse
took an arse laden with bread and a
bottle of wine and a kid and sent them
by David his son unto Saul.
And David came to Saul and stood
before him and he loved him greatly
and he became his armor bearer.
And Saul sent to Jesse saying,
Let David I pray thee stand before
me for he hath found favor in my sight.
And it came to pass when
the evil spirit from God was upon
Saul that David took an harp and
played with his hand so Saul was refreshed
and was well and the evil spirit
departed from him. Let's pray.
Heavenly Father
Lord thanks so much Lord for another day
that we can be in church, that we can be in your house
that we can hear your word preached.
Thanks so much that we have Pastor Kevin with us
Lord that we can learn from your word.
Thanks so much that we have a church
that goes soloing regularly and is
solid on doctrine. Lord
thanks so much for the baptisms we have
after the service. Let's pray that you'd allow
things to all go well and smoothly
in Jesus name. Amen.
Amen.
Alright good to be with you here on Sunday.
We've been going through that Perfect Man series
and I'm not going to stop.
I think all these sermons are pretty important in order
for you to just think about your life.
There's a lot of influences in our life.
A lot of people trying to tell us how to live and
of course we have the Bible as well
and you know because the Bible is like
this single book, people have this idea that
if we all become Christians and serve the Lord we're going to be
identical, exactly the same.
And one thing that I've been preaching through this Perfect Man.
Perfect Man means not that you're without sin because we're
going to sin until the day we die but Perfect Man means
complete, whole, matured.
Not remaining a child but have developed
into an adult when it comes to the spiritual life.
And the last few sermons
I've been preaching through
the institutions and it's such an important topic
I think it is that we all belong
in a family or we belong in a
society, we belong in a workplace
and sometimes we have authority, sometimes
we're the ones that are subject to that authority
and so sometimes I guess
when I'm preaching on this issue
you may sometimes be left with thinking that I'm
just this cog in a machine.
God's created these machines, these
institutions and I've just got to
figure out where I fit exactly
and I'm just this cog in this machine.
And while that is true to some extent
you've got to figure out where you belong.
At the same time I don't want you to think that you're just like
any other cog.
And the purpose of the sermon that I did on Thursday
was to just highlight that
God has made you powerful, God has given you
if you're saved today, God has given you that inner man
which is powerful and God can utilise
to do some great things.
At the same time
you need to figure out where you belong but at the same time
I don't want you to lose sight of yourself as an individual.
If you look at 1 Samuel 16
this is when
God has decided to
appoint David as the next king.
We've got King Saul on the scene
and he sends Samuel to figure out who that man will be.
Samuel knows that
it's going to be one of the sons of Jesse
and so Jesse, he asks Jesse if he can bring his children
Jesse has a number of children
he brings out who he believes
the eldest children, he leaves the youngest
which is David out looking after the sheep
because in Jesse's mind
he thinks it's surely not going to be David.
When we decide who the king's going to be
it's definitely going to be one of these older men.
One of these older boys
who are developed, they've got the big muscles
they've got the maturity about them
it can't be little David down there
we'll just make sure, we need someone to take care of the sheep
so we'll just leave David to take care of the sheep.
And then we get to the passage here in 1 Samuel 16 verse 6
And it came to pass
when they were come
that he looked on Eliab
and said, this is Samuel looking at him
one of the sons, surely
the Lord's anointed is before him.
He sees son Eliab
Jesse's son Eliab goes, surely
this is the one, surely this is the Lord's anointed
surely he stands before me right now.
Now one of the things you need to understand
the current king, King Saul
who's gone wicked, who's gone far from the Lord
but he was a very tall man
he was definitely shoulders above
most people in Israel
and so I suppose from Samuel's perspective
he expected, you know
whoever this king's going to be
he has to stand out physically
as he just walks, surely everyone's just going to
oh that's the king, because he's so tall
or whatever physical
you know
not attraction, but whatever physical qualities
he might have, you know, surely he's got to look
kingly, and so Samuel's there
looking on the outward, looking, surely this is
Eliab the king to be, but then it says
in verse number 7, and the Lord said
unto Samuel, look not on his countenance
because stop looking
just on the outward, alright
or on the height of his stature
I guess he's one of the tallest ones there, alright
because I have refused
him, the Lord says he's not going to be the king
for the Lord seeth not as man
for man looketh on the outward
appearance, but the Lord
looketh on the heart
look, you might feel that you're not much outwardly
and look, if you feel that, actually you're wrong
because God's created you to be
who you are, okay
but sometimes, you know, we live in a society that
you know, we're constantly being challenged
about our appearance, I mean not so much
now, I could be wrong
because I'm older now, I don't care anymore
but I remember
just in school, you know, being a child
and you know, everyone just, they were not
happy with the way they looked
or they weren't happy
yeah, just for who they were
and it was always like, you know
does this still happen, I don't know
like the popular kids, and like the other kids
kind of want to be like those popular kids
I didn't want to be like the popular kids, I wanted to be
like Michael Jordan, okay
because Michael Jordan was good at basketball
you know, he was a
you know, he was a celebrity in the sense that he was
I just loved the way he played basketball
when I was a schoolgirl and that was my favourite sport
and I just wanted to be like Mike
I want to be, I want to be, I want to be like Mike
Remember that song on the TV?
Okay, I actually literally wanted to be like Mike
because I liked basketball
but I just remember just as a child
everyone wanted, you know, there was always something
that people did not like about themselves
and you know, I'm on the shorter side of things
and to be a professional basketball player
you need to be at least twice my height
to have any great success in the sport
and you know, that was one of my shortcomings
and as much as I like to practice
and play ball
you know, I had the limitations of my height
I had other strengths but I had weaknesses as well
and so, you know, being like Mike, that was the ideal
scenario for me
but you see the Lord doesn't look on the outward
okay, the Lord looks on the inward
you know, what are you like on the inward?
What is it like in your heart?
Do you have a heart for the Lord?
Now look, this morning I'm kind of dressed up a little nicer
than I normally am when I travel
you know, I've got a tie on, I've got a jacket on
a little bit of gel in my hair this morning
do I not care about appearance whatsoever
on the outward? Should we just not care whatsoever?
Should we just come in our
daggy, ripped clothing and who cares?
No, we should come and be presentable
don't forget we are ambassadors to Jesus Christ
and I stand behind this pulpit preaching you
God's word, I want to look professional
I want you to at least realise hey, this pastor
cared or the preacher cared enough to look appropriate
and presentable behind the pulpit
as he comes and preaches God's word
you know, there's nothing wrong with having some
element of care on the outward
but you know, you need to understand that
there is more to you than just the outward
in fact, most of what you are, it takes place on the inward
you know, this outward gets older
this outward gets the wrinkles and gets sicknesses
and gets defects
and it's going to die one day, it's going to break apart
but your soul and spirit is going to live forever
and that is what the Lord is looking at
the inward man within you
now let's keep going, let's drop down to verse number 11
1 Samuel 16, verse number 11
And Samuel said unto Jesse
I hear all thy children
because it's like he goes one by one
God says no, no, no, no
I hear all thy children
like he's kind of confused
God said one of these guys is going to be the king
and he said, there remaineth yet the youngest
and behold he keepeth the sheep
and Samuel said unto Jesse
send and fetch him for we will not
sit down till he come hither
and he sent and brought him in
now he was ruddy and with all of
a beautiful countenance and goodly to look at
and the Lord said
arise, anoint him
for this is he
David also had a pleasant appearance about him
on the outward, but you know
he was the one that they all forgot about
Jesse thought, surely not
David
and Samuel was, Eliab, surely not Eliab
that's going to be the king
and so David comes on the scene and the Lord says
arise, anoint him for this is he
see the Lord looks at the heart
there was something about David, maybe he didn't have
the bulging muscles and he didn't have the great heights
of his brothers, maybe he wasn't fully developed
at this stage in his life
and he was
humble enough to be obedient to dad
he finds out that
the prophet Samuel, the great prophet
Samuel is coming to our house
he's going to figure out who the king is
and David's humble enough
to go, I'll go look after the sheep dad
if that's what you need me to do
he's got a good heart, he's not this envious
type person, in fact
he doesn't even have this great desire to be the king
he's quite content to be the shepherd
and God chooses him
and so the point of this
sermon today, I'll give you the title right now
it's to delight in your uniqueness
you're all unique, you're all different
and as I said to you on Thursday
I would hate for you to try
to be like Pastor Sepulveda
I would hate for you to try to bring up your family
like the Sepulvedas
we're all unique, we're all different and as I've
gotten older in my life, I've actually appreciated this
more and more and more and I realised
just how special everybody is
and sometimes
you learn this lesson young
in life or you learn older
I'll tell you when I really learnt it
I learnt it when we had our third pregnancy
with Christina and
they were twins
and the twins are born
they're born on the same day, they're just a minute apart
born on the same day
same parents, same siblings
they live in the same house, they have the same influences
the same experiences
and yet even from the very moment
they were born, they were so different
I'm not just talking physically different
but just their personalities
were different
and as they grow up, one is more interested
in these kind of games
and one's interested in that and one prefers
this kind of food and one prefers that
and one's more outgoing and one's more a little bit quieter
and one learns the lessons a lot quicker
and one learns the lessons a lot slower
and you know, they're just so different
and yet they grew up in the same household
how can it be? And it really dawned on me when we had the twins
wow, God actually gives the personality
God gives the personality
and
I'll just quickly read to you, this is Jeremiah
chapter 1 verse 4
this is about the prophet Jeremiah
it says, then the word of the Lord came unto me saying
before I formed thee
in the belly I knew thee
you know, before you even existed
as a little particle, God knew who you were
He knew all about you already
He says
and before thou camest out of the womb
I sanctified thee and I
ordained thee to be a prophet unto the nations
you see, even before Abraham
sorry, Jeremiah
came into existence, God says
I know who you are and I know what your plan
what my plan is for you, my plan for you
is to be a prophet unto the nations
and Jeremiah actually became that man
he did become the prophet unto the nations
you know, that was God's plan A
for Jeremiah and he came to be
and you know
for all of us, God has a plan A
you know, sometimes
in life, and I won't go into this because this is on
sermon, but sometimes in life we make major mistakes in life
and we ruin plan A
okay, but then
when we ruin plan A, God has a plan B
okay, and then we ruin plan B
sometimes and God has a plan C
and we ruin plan C sometimes and then God
has a plan D, I'm not going to tell you that God
has a plan Z for you, I have no idea
okay, because I think
I think you can get to a point where you ruin your life so badly
that you're just not worth
you know, you just can't be used any longer
it's kind of like when Jesus Christ teaches that principle
of the salt that has lost its savour
that it cannot be seasoned again
and it's not suitable for nothing
but to be trotted on the foot of man
doesn't mean you lose your salvation if you're saved, praise God, you can't
but I guess you can get to a point where you ruin your life so bad
that you know, it's just better that you just go to heaven
because you're just not being profitable to God on this earth
but you know, God has
plans for us and you know, God knows
even before you're formed in the belly
even before, you know
the seed meets the egg
even before, you know, DNA
is even a thing, God knows exactly who you are
and so the reason I say that Brevin
is because you are unique, you are different
you know, don't try to pattern yourself
after a pastor
or a family or someone in church
or a man and if people are trying to
make you pattern themselves after their life
look, they're doing you a disservice, I kind of covered this on Thursday
it's just making you weaker
you need to figure out who you are
what God expects from you
and figure out your plan because you're unique
you're different, there's no one like you on this earth
and the proof that there's no one like you on this earth
are your fingerprints
you know, all our fingerprints are different
you know, all your toe prints are different, did you know that?
each of your eye, the iris in your eye is different
God's created you
different to anybody that's ever existed on this earth
okay, you are different
just physically, and I say
why do we need these differences? I don't really know why
okay, so you can get caught if you did a crime
I don't think so, that was the intention
but I guess it's just a reminder that when we look at ourselves
we realise, you know, God's made me unique
there's only one Kevin Sapulveda
there's only one Anthony Griffin
there's only one Tim Foley, there's only one Les
okay, there's only one, there's only one of us
so why do we want to be like Mike?
why do we want to be like whoever else
that we wanted to be like?
you know, you're very unique and you're very special
and I want you to appreciate that about yourself
you know, we all have different backgrounds
we all have different ethnicities
we all have different interests
in fact, I prefer talking to people who have different interests to me
honestly, I do
because then I can learn something from you
like, if you just have to be just like me
and every single verse of this book
you have to believe just like me
what's the point of talking to you?
we're on the same page about everything
I like it when we just have different thoughts
and different ideas, and you know, there are things in life
that I actually enjoy today
that I would not have enjoyed if I didn't talk to someone
who found enjoyment in those things
because it just enriches your life
we have a different appearance
we have different personalities
and you know, one thing that I don't
and I can't say that I never did this
but one thing that I really strive never to do
because I can be very sarcastic sometimes
and I can hurt people's feelings
and it's just, I don't know, it's one of my defects that I have
but one thing that I refuse to do
is to make fun of someone's
like, natural physical appearance
natural physical appearance
ok, the natural physical appearance
I'm not talking about someone that goes and
destroys their body
or that, you know, I don't know
you know, gets themselves on drugs
and shrivels up their body
I'm talking about just your natural physical appearance
you know, the colour of your skin
or your height
or your colour of hair
or whether your hair is wavy
or if your nose is a bigger one or a smaller one
I have no desire to
to laugh at that
because that is God's creation
like, if I were to make fun of someone's
natural appearance
I am making fun of how
God made you to be, that is how God
made you to be
and we live in a society, well anyway
when I was growing up, where it was trying to change
you know, trying to change what you look like
you know, Michael Jackson
tried to change the colour of his skin
I mean, what for?
You know, that man obviously did not love what he looked like
you know, a man who was successful in the eyes of the world
a man who produced music
that was appreciated by this world
and you know, had great riches
and great success, but he was not happy
in his own skin
I'm telling you brethren, you need to be happy
rejoice in who God made you to be, you're unique
so
while I have been teaching where you belong in the machine
you know, you're a cog in the machine
whichever institution that is
you're a unique cog, you can't be like
any other cog in that machine
you've got to learn how to delight
in your uniqueness, that's the title of the sermon again
to delight in your uniqueness
if you come with me to
Psalm 119
come with me to Psalm 119
Psalm 119
I'll read to you from Psalm 139
verse 13
which says, thou has possessed my reigns
thou has covered me in my mother's womb
I will praise thee
and that's the next words brethren
for I am fearfully
and wonderfully made
marvelous are thy works
and that my soul knoweth right well
brethren, can you say about your
own self, marvelous are thy works
you look at yourself and say, well Lord
I'm a marvelous creation
of you
and you're not praising yourself, you're not lifting
yourself up, you're just praising God for the work
that he's done, to have given you life and made
you who you are
the psalmist says
I am fearfully and wonderfully made
that's who you are, you're fearfully and wonderfully made
why would I want to change you then?
why would I want you to be like me?
or why would I want to be like you?
why would I want to be like another pastor?
a man who gets behind this pulpit
we're all going to be different with the way we present God's word
we all have different
mannerisms and we have different expressions
and we have different vocabularies
and as long as we take God's word
and do our best to teach what God says, brethren
we need to rejoice in who you are
I'm not saying we can't improve
of course we can improve in certain elements of our life
but God has made you to be who you are
you know, your personality cannot change
your personality cannot change
okay
but your character can change
some of us have bad character, some of us have bad habits
and the reason God has given us this book
is to change those bad characteristics
to change those bad habits
to teach us to change
from desire to walk in the flesh
to walk in the new man, the inner man
that God has given us
you're there in Psalm 119
Psalm 119, verse number 73
it says, thy hands
have made me and fashioned me
wow, God has made you
God's hands have made you
I mean, you don't think about that
we often despise this flesh
because
the reason we despise it is because we know
the sin that is within us, that sin nature
and that conflict that we have
that is desires to be so selfish
and against the things of God
and sometimes we can beat down this flesh
and I think it's fine because we're looking forward
to the new resurrected body to come
but don't forget, still within this flesh
God has made you, has fashioned you
give me understanding
that I may learn thy commandments
they that fear thee will be glad
when they see me
because I have hope in thy word
I just want to read just a few passages
to you about just how unique you are
and so, don't hate what you look like
you know, don't be like these people
that go out there
like, there was a time when surgery and hospitals
were for the sick
like, for you, you know, man, I've broken my arm
or, you know, my body's
breaking down and the doctor believes they can fix this
or whatever it is, but people are just fixing
going to surgery
just to change their appearance
I don't like my nose, so I'll change my nose
I don't like my lips, so these, you know
these ladies with these duck-billed lips
you know, and the selfies
look at me
I don't know about you, I find it so ugly
I find it so ugly, brethren
you know, and all the Hollywood stars
and their, you know
cosme- what do they do?
you know, the plastics
I don't know if they use plastic, anyway, they look like plastic
they look like plastic, right?
and again, you look at these people and you go
but surely, you must, you should be the happiest
you've got, you know
you're celebrities and you've got money
and you've been successful, as it were, but they're just not
happy in their skin, I want you to be happy in your skin
I want you to be happy with the person that
God has made you
and so, the world
shoves down our throats to be unhappy
you know, you see
I remember going to school
and the girls
who did the girls like? In my time, anyway
the girls liked the Backstreet Boys
alright? And it's like, well
then do I have to, like, do I have to sing like
the Backstreet Boys?
What's a song?
Does anyone know?
Alright, do I have to sing like that?
and dress like that?
Do I need to dress like that so I can
find a future wife one day
and so, you know, there's all these insecurities
that come, and then I remember
some of the guys would come to school and they would laminate
their exercise books with
supermodels, and then the girls
are looking at that and you can see that they're not comfortable
in their skin, this is the world
we live in though, like, nobody's happy, no one's
you know, it's just, we're being like
this society's just throwing down our throats that
are so insignificant and that we're
nothing but brethren, that is the furthest from the truth
you've been created by God, you're
fearfully and wonderfully made
and so, appreciate who you are
there's no one like you on this earth
come with me to Galatians 5, Galatians 5, 19
we know who Brett used to listen to when he was younger
someone go to his house and clear out his music please
Galatians 5, 19
Galatians 5, 19, I just want you to notice something here
Galatians 5, 19, now the works of the flesh
so these are not good works, these are not
righteous works, these are works that are sinful actually
the works of the flesh
are manifest, which are these?
Adultery, you wouldn't argue about that
fornication, uncleanness
lasciviousness
idolatry, witchcraft, hatred
variants, emulations
emulations
when you try to imitate
or emulate, emulation
means basically trying to
be like another, trying to imitate
or even surpass another
that is emulation, that's actually a work
of the flesh, named amongst
adultery and fornication
and all these other wicked sins there
so, I don't know if
what your hearts are like, we have young people in this church
and I know what young people are like and
the influences that fall upon you from this world
and you're going to have desire sometimes
and maybe you already have, I wish I was someone else
I wish I was more like
Mike, I wish I was more like whatever
the Backstreet Boys, I wish I was more like that supermodel
but that is a wicked work
of the flesh, that is a sinful attitude
I want you to appreciate who you are
you know the Bible says in Exodus 2017
one of the Ten Commandments
thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house
thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife
nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox
nor his ass, nor anything that
is thy neighbor's, nor anything that is thy neighbor's
you look at someone else
I wish I was more like them
I wish my wife was more like his wife
I wish my house was more like that
I wish I had his house, I wish I had his wife
and that's a wrong attitude
it's one of the Ten Commandments
this is a commandment that is written in your heart
not to be this way
so the perfect man
we want to be perfect, we want to mature and grow
then you need to appreciate who you are
be thankful for who you are
we saw earlier that God
brought us in our mother's womb
you know what that tells me?
that even if a baby is born
with some type of defect
that he's been created exactly how God wanted him to be
and if a baby has Down syndrome
or something along these lines
what does this medical world want you to do?
kill it
murder that child, abort that child now
because it's going to make your life harder
that's exactly how God wanted that child to be
and we're going through that right now
it's just because of my wife's age being over 40
they say it's a high risk that the pregnancy
is a Down syndrome child
who cares?
who cares if it's a Down syndrome?
I don't care
if that's how it is then that's how the Lord's created him to be
fearfully and wonderfully made
do we believe it?
I believe it
and you know
it's just the truth if a child is born with a defect
sometimes people say well
as long as the baby's healthy
what if the baby's not healthy?
still fearfully and wonderfully made
God still has a plan for that child
doesn't matter
and we need to just
understand that why the defects
it's because we live in a sin-cursed world
because we're sinners
because our bodies are breaking down
because we have genetic defects
and these genetic defects just remind us
that hey we're sinners and we need a saviour
this world is breaking down
and one day God promises us new bodies
a new heaven, a new earth
come with me to 1 Corinthians 11
if you know me as a pastor
you know that I'm uncomfortable with praise
if people say nice things about me
or we like this about your pastor, we like your family
we like your preaching
thanks guys I appreciate your feedback
I do appreciate it but
it makes me uncomfortable
because I know I'm a sinner
I know I'm just another man
and if not for the Lord I can not stand behind this pulpit
and teach you guys God's word
I'm just like anybody else
and the Bible speaks of this
and I want
because sometimes we're in a Baptist church
within the IFB sometimes
there can be pastor worship
where you just elevate a pastor
just way above his station
and we need to be careful of these things
the Bible says in 1 Corinthians
did I say 1 Corinthians?
1 Corinthians 11, look at verse number 1
let's just get a balance of these things
Paul says to the church
be ye followers of me
even as I also am of Christ
so is it okay to follow a man?
there's nothing wrong with that
in fact I have
again the authority in this church
I told you guys
we're going to have services at 10am
and you guys have followed a man
and you've come here
but the point is we're following Christ
we're looking at Christ and saying
Christ you're the standard
you're the one we're working towards
not to be like Paul or a man
but to be just led
it's good to have leaders
it's good to have a good example
but the point is that our eyes will be upon Jesus Christ
teams need captains
but the reason I say that brethren
is because I know I'm going to fail you
I know one day I'm going to say something
that upsets you
you're going to get upset with me
I hope not, but I know life
that's what life is
I've never had a friend where we've not had an argument
not about you
but it happens
but when that happens brethren
it's not about me
I want your eyes to be on Christ
and I learnt this the hard way myself
because my first IFB pastor
I idolized him
I loved him, I appreciated everything
I got taught great truths
and I thought wow what a man
and how God is using this great man
and then he fails
and he didn't fail me necessarily
but he failed his ministry
and I was heartbroken and I was in shock
I said how can this man that I thought was so great fail
so I'm going to commit adultery on his wife
and I was like how? How can it be?
and for a while I was just so downcast
and shocked
and I was shocked
like you know when someone has a car accident
or something major trauma happens
and people are in shock
I was like that, like in shock
and I just didn't know what I had to think
and it took me about two weeks
and then I realized hold on
I've had it all wrong this whole time
if I'm going to appreciate this man who was my pastor
who taught me great things
he taught me to look on Christ
he taught me that man fails
and so I'm getting this all wrong
instead of just having my eyes on a man
or hoping to be like a man
I need to make sure my eyes are on Christ
and then nothing matters
and I expect people to fail
because we're sinners
but when someone fails
it's not going to hurt my faith anymore
because my faith is on Christ
it's always been on Christ
but is there anything wrong with having leaders?
nothing wrong with having leaders
that we can follow
but that 1 Corinthians 11 verse 1
I'm going to read it to you now, look at it again
I'm going to read it to you from a modern version
the ESV, the English Standard Version
which says
be imitators of me
as I am of Christ
Paul says I'm imitating Christ
so you imitate me
what?
there's a big difference between following
and being an imitator
the Bible says that works of the flesh is an emulation
that's imitation, that's exactly what it means
it's a work of the flesh
you better have the right Bible
the English Standard Version is going to tell you to be an imitator
meaning, don't be happy with who you are
try to be more like this man
try to be more like Paul
Ephesians 5.1 says
be ye therefore followers of God as their children
that's Ephesians 5.1
but the ESV says
therefore be imitators of God
as beloved children
imitate God, what?
how can I imitate God?
what in the world?
do I have to go and create a world or something like this?
create a universe?
do I have to go and die for someone's sins?
you know, because that's what God did for us
no, we're not imitating
in fact, we spoke about celebrities
you know, the most famous celebrities in the world are actors
they're professional imitators
professional imitators
and these people are not happy in their own skin
so they're on drugs and alcohol
and they're always in rehab
and they've had five divorces and five remarriages
and they're just, they're not content in life
they can be in suicide early in life
you know, then you have celebrities that come
on the news, right?
and they're like, they're given their political opinions
and how to fix the world
how can I trust anything you're saying?
you're an imitator, you're an actor
you're a professional imitator
I don't know what you're saying, is it really coming from your heart or not?
and Hollywood is just
Hollywood is just a cesspool of
I don't even know what to say
give me a word
a cesspool of Jews
or that too
but a cesspool of wickedness
of
filth
filth, wickedness, amen
but this is where
the imitating lifestyle, this is where it leads
down this spiral
of acting, of not being who you are
but that's what the world likes
the world wants people to
desire to be like something else
but brethren, not in us
not within us
you know, the Bible says in 1 Peter 2.21
you see, when you read your Bible and you see
the stories of Christ, he's given us an example
to walk after his steps
I'm not saying that you're going to get there one day
and raise someone from the dead
but the way Christ taught
the things that he taught
pointing people to
the Lord God and salvation
and the good example that he was
to the people around him, brethren
we need to be more like Christ
so I want to make sure that
when you seek self-improvement
that you're not looking at some other man
or some other lady, another woman
or another family, that you set your eyes
on Christ and say, Lord, I want to be more like you
if I'm going to be that perfect man
then it's got to happen in Christ Jesus
again, on Thursday, you've given me
that power within me, the new man
the Holy Spirit of God that lives within me
Lord, you've given me this power and strength
help me to walk in the Spirit
and help me to be more like Jesus Christ
so important
seek self-improvement
don't seek imitation
because imitation does not improve your life
it's just pretending for a while
but seek self-improvement
don't forget this is a big book, it's not just salvation
it's about fixing your character
fixing your outlook, fixing your judgments
to be more like Christ-like
and at the same time
I don't want you to take the extreme view
of, well, I'm unique, God has created me
to be just how I am
and you've got these bad habits about you
or, well, I'm not going to change for anybody
whoever I find to get married
she's just going to accept me for who I am
yeah, that's fine
she's falling in love with your personality
but you probably have bad character traits
change them, fix them
figure out the things that hurt your marriage
or hurt your relationships
and improve on those things
be more Christ-like in those areas
but you can't change who you are though
your personality, that cannot change
and people get confused between personality and character
your personality, again, cannot change
your character can, okay
in fact, it is the responsibility of the parents
so when they raise their children to instruct them
to have good character
to have good character traits
to take away the bad habits and the selfishness
that they have within them
but many times, children don't learn these things
and they become adults with bad character traits
and maybe that's some of you, I don't know
well, you need to then change those things about you
and be more like Christ
can you come with me to 1 Peter 3
1 Peter 3
1 Peter 3 verse 3
this one's for the ladies, 1 Peter 3 verse 3
it says
who's adorning
so ladies, how are you going to adorn yourself
how are you going to beautify yourself
it says who's adorning, let it not be
that outward adorning
of plating the hair
and of wearing of gold
or of putting on of apparel
I'll just stop there, because I don't want you guys
to have a misunderstanding of what this is saying
this is not saying never plate your hair
this is not saying don't wear gold
okay, because some people read that
and they're like, oh, then I'm not going to wear any jewellery
you've missed the point, because then it says
or of putting on of apparel
so it's not saying don't put on any clothes
you have to put on clothes
it's not saying don't do any of these things
but that your adorning ought not to be
focused on these things
rather, in verse 4 it says
but let it be the hidden man
of the heart
what does God look upon?
the outward adorning
not the heart
let it be the hidden man
the hidden man of the heart
in that which is not corruptible
even the ornament of a meek
and quiet spirit
which is in the sight of God
of great price
some ladies spend a lot of money
on their clothing, on their hair
a lot of money on their jewellery
but you know what is of great price
in the eyes of God?
that hidden man of the heart
the spiritual inner man that you have within you
the one that causes you to feel
when you're in the flesh
and you're argumentative
and that inner man within you says
why am I doing that?
I'm a child of God, why should I care about these
silly things
and it is that new man that God has
asked you to walk in
that meek and quiet spirit
which is in the sight of God of great price
again, nothing wrong with these things
fixing your hair, putting on jewellery
putting on clothes, there's nothing sinful
but ladies, your focus and attention
should be on the inner man
or the inner woman that God has given you
and I want to quickly read to you a very familiar
passage, Matthew 6 26
these are the words of Jesus Christ
behold the fowls of the air
that's the birds, for they sow not
neither do they reap
nor gather into barns
yet your heavenly Father feedeth them
are ye not much better
than they?
I kind of like animals
I generally like animals, I'm not really a pet person
my kids are a little bit more than me
but I appreciate animals
and God says that we're better
we're more than animals
God views us of a greater value than that
and then he says in verse number 27
which of you
by taking thoughts
can add one cubit unto his stature?
certain people don't like things about themselves
and I'll be honest, when I was a teenager
I wished I was taller
why?
because I wanted to play basketball
I wanted to become really good
a professional ideally if that could happen
but
when you're lacking in height
you just can't play that sport
well it says there
which of you by taking thoughts
can add one cubit unto his stature?
God is saying why are you spending your time thinking about these things?
why give your thought
to things you can't change?
you can't change your height
it's in your DNA, so be it
and that was for me
maybe for you it's something else that you have about yourself
that you don't appreciate
why give it any thought?
you can't change it
you're more valuable than any animal
God has created you
God has made you unique
God has made you special
and if you're saved, God has given you salvation
he's given you that inner man
the power by which you are to walk by
the spirit of God
you're unique, you're special
I appreciate
each one of you
when you're different
you're going to get along with some people more than others
it's just life
but if I get along with one person in this church more than another person
I don't want you to think that I don't like you
or you're not special
because in God's eyes
especially if you're saved
you have that inner man
that is to God a great price
great value
and you're unique and you're special
and there's no one on the earth like you
so stop beating yourself up
and wishing you were more like so and so
God's made you exactly how you are
and how you're meant to be
God has a plan A for your life
seek out that plan A if you've met that plan A
seek out plan B, do what you can
with God's help
come with me to Isaiah 53
Isaiah 53
Isaiah 53 please
I want to show you just how important the outward beauty is to God
Isaiah 53 verse 1
Isaiah 53 verse number 1
verse number 1 is a very familiar passage
who have believed our reports
and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed
we know that in the New Testament this verse is taken to speak of preaching the gospel
we're given the report of the Lord God
who has believed our report, we're going out there trying to
be a witness, report of what Christ has done
seeking people to believe on that
but then it says in verse number 2
it says, speaking of Jesus Christ by the way
for he shall grow up before him as a tender plant
and as a root out of a dry ground
he have no form
nor comeliness
the word comeliness means beauty
he have no form nor comeliness
you know when Christ walked
there was nothing beautiful about him
on the outward
when he was on the earth 2,000 years ago
he looked just like any other Jewish man walking the surf
if you live in that time
and you just happen to walk past Christ and he's just making his way
not teaching, not preaching, not performing any works
just walking, you would have no idea
that you just walked past God
you have no idea
it says he have no form nor comeliness
and when we shall see him
there is no beauty
that we should desire him
how many churches and how many
artists portray Jesus with long
flowing blonde hair and blue eyes
and a halo on his head
and they try to beautify his outward
the Bible says he had no beauty, no comeliness
okay, that's how important beauty
and outward appearance is to God
God, doesn't matter
you know God
wanted people to believe on Christ
for his words and for his work
and for his sacrifice
not for his outward beauty
I just want to show you that
because why do we try so hard
try to be like other people
try to, you know, ladies
try to, I don't know
I'm not saying ladies in church, maybe you don't care
praise God if you don't care that much
praise God if you're just seeking the inner beauty
that you have within your heart
but so many ladies in society
even men now, effeminate men aren't they
you know, who pluck their eyebrows
and try to do all kinds of weird things
why would Jesus Christ have no beauty
he didn't care about that
I'm sure Jesus Christ
was not looking like a slob either
in fact we know that he wore some really nice clothes
because when he was crucified
one of the soldiers cast lots
to decide who was going to take his garments
he looked presentable
he looked tidy, he was neat and tidy
Jesus Christ, when he walked this earth
but he wasn't focused on his outward appearance
and brethren, it's the same for us
you know, life is a vapour
it's here today, it's gone tomorrow
what are you going to focus your attention on
are you going to focus on the outward
or are you going to focus on the inward
are you going to try to impress people by your
outward appearance or your
I don't know, your
what's the word I'm looking for, your charisma
or are you going to focus on people
just giving people the plain gospel
the words of God, which is actually where
people get saved, right? Faith cometh by hearing
and hearing by the word of God
not by your commonness
but by the word of God
come with me to Luke 5
Luke 5, 27
now I mentioned that we are, we're all different
we have different interests
we have different occupations
we have all different levels of education
some people are more academic than others
alright
and again, when I look at my twins
I can see that
one's more academic than the other
you know, one learns by theory
one learns by practice
one has to put his hands on something
to learn, the other can read a book
and learn it, different
and you know
the Lord wants you to serve him
regardless of who you are, regardless of your education
regardless of your ability of how you learn
and I want to just show you this
because when Christ chose his apostles
look at Luke 5, 27
Luke 5, 27
and after these things
he went forth and saw a publican
a publican is a public worker
like a government worker
sorry, it says publican
this specific publican is a tax collector
and saw a publican named Levi
sitting at the receipt of custom
and he said unto him, follow me
and he left all,
rose up and followed him
look
Levi, or Matthew
he was a tax collector
he was a white collar worker
he sat there on a table
he was a paper pusher
and he collected people's taxes
people did not like the publicans back in those days
because many of them were thieves
and they took more
it's nothing different really today
the government takes more than what is right
it's pretty much the same
some level of education
a white collar worker
Christ finds him
is Christ focused on the job that he's doing?
no, he sees what the inner man of the heart
Christ sees the heart
Levi was a good man
he was definitely saved
by this point
and Christ is following me
I'm going to go follow Christ
I'm going to go serve the Lord of my life
can we meet in Matthew 4
Matthew 4, verse 18
verse 18
you say, pastor, that's not really me
I'm not a white collar worker
I'm not good with numbers
maybe Matthew was helpful
with collecting the offering
that was given to the work of the ministry there
maybe that's why he was utilized
but Matthew 4, verse 18
so we're reading the book of Matthew
who was Levi, the tax collector
this is what Matthew writes in his Gospel book
it says, and Jesus walking by the sea of Galilee
saw two brethren
Simon called Peter
and Andrew his brother
casting a net into the sea
for they were fishers
and he said unto them, follow me
and I will make you fishers of men
and they straightway left their nets and followed him
they're just blue collar
entry level
low education level workers
they just catch fish
what does Christ see? their hearts
they're believers of Christ
they have the new man within them
they're not educated men
in fact, I know Peter's definitely not educated
he's a bit rough around the edges when you read about him
in the story, right?
and he's obviously very different to Levi
very different to Matthew
but the Lord says, hey, follow me
and they follow him
so does God care?
does Jesus care about what your education levels are?
or what your occupation is?
man cares
for some reason, man looks
you've got this education
pastor, did you graduate from Bible college?
no, some people don't like me
because I'm not a graduate of Bible college
that's what man cares about
God looks at the heart
and it doesn't matter what you've done in life
no matter what your experience is
we're all called to follow Christ
we're all called to serve him
and you've got to figure out what that is
I can see the use of Simon and Andrew
I can see them
I can see the hard days of ministry
of going near the sea and catching some fish
to have something to eat
I can see the benefit of Matthew
using his skills to count the offering
to allocate and to budget
and be careful with what is given
in their work of the ministry
to make sure they've got what they need
and I'll just quickly read to you from Colossians 4.14
this isn't one of the disciples, but this is about Luke
Luke wrote one of the gospels as well
but it says, Luke, the beloved physician
Luke was a very well-educated man
he was a very well-educated man
he was a doctor, as it were
people would come to him when they had physical ailments
they'd come to Luke
even a man like that
can serve the Lord
can do great things
so don't have this attitude
where you look down on people
or you elevate people
because of their education
or their experiences
God is not a respecter of persons
why should you be a respecter of persons?
God sees the inner man
how's your inner man today? How's your heart today?
Do you love the Lord today? Do you want to serve him today?
That's what God cares about
I think God really cares about this suit and this tie
if my heart right now is not right with him
Do you think God cares about that?
No, of course not
and men, when you get up to preach, by the way
and you put on a nice tie and you put on a nice shirt
make sure the outward matches the inward
don't look just presentable on the outward
what's your inward look like?
because you're getting up behind the pulpit
you better have a clean heart
you've got to have a clear conscience before the Lord
you better make sure you've studied
and what you're saying is correct
be humble and lower yourself
and understand that God is looking
not just on what you're doing on the outward
but what's taking place on the inward
come with me to 1 Corinthians 12
1 Corinthians 12
1 Corinthians 12, verse 14
verse 14 says
for the body is not one member but many
the body there is referring to the body of Christ
or the church
this church here, blessed by the church, this is a body
this is the body of Christ this morning
it says it is not one member
it is not just pastor Sepulveda
it's not just brother Matthew
it's not just sister Carol
it's not just one, but many
there's many of us
we all look different
praise God
I'd be worried if you're all wearing brown shirts
and black ties
and we've got the same pants
and the same shoes
and the same haircuts
I'd be like, oh man, I've failed
we've made a cult
we're many
verse 15
if the foot shall say
because I am not the hand
I am not of the body
I am therefore not of the body
the foot might look at the hand and go
I wish I was more like the hand
the foot
it steps on the dirty floor
there's a
stench that comes from wearing
socks and shoes
maybe it was just better if I was the hand
because the foot's not the hand
is it not part of the body?
just because you're not like someone else in church
does that mean you're not part of the body?
does that mean you're not important?
verse 16
and if the ear shall say
because I am not the eye
I am not of the body
it is therefore not of the body
if the whole body were an eye
where were they here in?
if the whole were here in
where were they smelling?
look, if we just all wanted to be
let's say I'm the mouth because I'm preaching right now
it's everyone at church
let's be like Pastor Sepulveda
let's all be the mouth
well great we've got a mouth
but we've got no legs to take the body out
to preach the gospel
it's only going to reach these full walls and that's it
what's the point of being the same?
we can't function as a full body
we have different parts of our body
so we can be functional
if we have someone in our church
that gets upset
and they leave our church
they may have been the foot of our church
and we can still survive, we can still operate
but we're going to be walking with a limp
if someone is the ear of our church
and they leave our church
we can still function
but we won't be able to hear very well
be partly deaf
Brevin you're all important in this body
all of you
whether you get behind this pulpit
or whether you do something secret
and behind the scenes and no one knows
you're important
if you just sit here this morning
and that's all you're able to do right now
you're encouragement to me
you know
if you just say hello, good morning brother
good morning sister
God bless you, praying for you this week brother or sister
it's not much, isn't that important though?
how many times have I gone to church
a little downcast
and then someone just greeted me at the door
good to see you brother
I've been praying for you this week and all of a sudden
I mean literally two seconds
I haven't even been able to sing a song
I haven't even heard the preaching yet
but the Lord's already done our work
you know because we're one body
we're here to support and to love and appreciate each other
and we're all unique
verse number 18
look at this
you know all of you are here
because it pleases God
God has set you here this morning to be in church
it wasn't your decision, God put you here
okay
and it's pleased him
verse number 19
and if they were all one member, where were the body
but now are they many members
yet but one body
and the eye cannot say unto the hand
I have no need of thee
nor again the head to the feet
I have no need of you
I can't say that to anyone of you here
that I have no need of you, get out of church
there's no point of you being here
if you leave, it's not the same
if you decide not to be in church this morning, it's not the same
without you
please strive to be in the house of God as much as you can
I know some of you guys travel very far
and for that I appreciate you
and some of you can't make the midweek services and things like that
and I fully understand
but when church is on and if you're able to be here
you're important
without you we can't function
we can't function as well as we could if we had you on board
this is a life lesson that I learnt
I really liked basketball
I mentioned it already
and I would practice
every single day
I'd come home from school and for the next two or three hours
I'd just be shooting hoops in my backyard
that's all I'd be doing
I'd rather do that than do my homework
and my dad
instead of getting us a basketball hoop
which is kind of wide, he got us a netball hoop
which is a lot smaller
so I'd be practicing on that netball hoop over and over again
and you needed much better aim
so I got really good at shooting
I wasn't very tall
I couldn't collect the rebounds very well
I couldn't necessarily block someone's shot
but I could definitely shoot
that was one of my strengths
and I'd practice and practice and practice
hours and hours and then
I'd play not just every lunchtime
and every recess at school
but even after school
I'd even find strangers playing basketball down the road
and I'd just try to get into the game
and sometimes I'd play competition as well with my friends
and there was a lesson that I learned
one day
when we were playing a competitive game
and the team we were playing against
I almost feel like they were almost there to be professionals
this team was extremely tall
extremely powerful
you can tell they don't just play
but they train probably every day
and we were playing this competition
and I started on the bench
I didn't start on the team, I was on the bench
and we were getting wiped out
after a minute or two
and so I get on the field
and as I mentioned this
I can't do it anymore
I've gone out there and tried to shoot
I can't do it, it's just air balls
it just doesn't happen
and I got on the field
and I guess people didn't think much of me
because I'm a shorter height
but I knocked down those shots
and I got us like ten or basically
all my shots just bang bang bang
just kept getting them in
and I remember thinking
I remember thinking
man if this team was just more like me
like instead of it being
my friend, that friend
if this team was just Kevin Sapulveda there
Sapulveda, Sapulveda, Sapulveda, Kevin Sapulveda
surely then we would just smash this team
surely then we'll be the best team
and we'll play so well
I remember just having this prideful attitude
and I'm not saying like look how good
I'm saying actually that was a prideful attitude
it's not right
and I remember just getting my team to go
we should not be losing this
like if we just shoot we should shoot and pass
and if you just play
I didn't say these words but in my head
if you just played more like me we'll win this thing
we can take on these people who cares how big they are
you know
and then after time out
the opposing team's coach
we didn't have a coach they were all professional right
the opposing team coach gets a new player on the field
but that new player
he did not touch the ball
all that guy had to do was just stay on me
like a bad smell
like this fly that you're trying to swat away
and you just never can get him away
and that was his job
just to stay on me and just stop me
and this player's bigger than me
this player is faster than me
I try to get the ball, he gets the ball off me
I try to run down, he runs faster than me
I can't play anymore
because this guy is just all over me
he doesn't care about getting the ball
that's not his job, his job is just to stop me completely
and brethren then I could no longer play
I was completely gone
I was completely destroyed
and then it dawned on me
actually not yet, it didn't dawn on me just yet
but I realised boy, you know
if this team was all Kevin Sepulveda's
we'd be completely wiped out
because all this coach has to do is bring on
another player, changes tactics
and we're destroyed
and I realised I'm not that good
as I thought I was
like if I'm being specifically targeted
I'm not a team player I realised
I'm this individual thinking
how good are you
and not appreciating my team for the strengths
they brought to the game
and I can't remember if it was straight after this game
my memory is a bit vague because it was like when I was 18 or 19
I don't know if it was this game or another game
but I had someone come up to me
I think it was the coach
and goes look, you're a good player
but you don't appreciate your team
you can play well
but you don't appreciate the others that you've got on your team with you
and for me, I realised
wow, it's true
you know, I'm so prideful
and I obviously enjoyed the game
but I just thought
man, why can't they all be more like me
and I realised if everyone was just like me
none of us would ever get the ball
none of us would ever be successful
because all they have to do is change their tactics
target my weaknesses and we would fail immediately
and so
to me this became this life lesson
it's like a shock to the system
it became this life lesson and I realised
I've got to appreciate the people that God put around me
and I've got to appreciate my team mates
yeah, they can't shoot as well as me
but they can take the rebounds
or this guy can run faster
or this guy can block shots
and we need to learn how to work together
because working together can make us more effective
and so I took that lesson
and then I realised
when I come to church
that we are a team
we are not just a team, but we're a body
we're the body of Christ
we have different strengths and weaknesses
and see, I can sit
I can sit in any church service
and as long as I can hear truth being preached
I can appreciate it
I'm not like, I just kind of wish he was a bit more like me
when he preaches, or I wish he preached a bit more like that
or I wish this person sang a little bit stronger
or a bit louder and realised we're all different
and I can appreciate that
I really can
when I look at each one of you at church this morning
I truly, if I think about each one of you specifically
there's something about you that I love
and I do love each one of you, I appreciate each one of you
because you're all special, you're all different
you're God's creation, you're his handiwork
and you're not going to be like me and I'm not going to be like you
and that's fine, that's good
if that's good actually, because we can't all be the mouth
we can't all be the ear, we can't all be the eye
we all are different parts that make up this one body
and so
when I learnt this lesson
I was also able to then go to work
and sometimes in work you work with a team
you know, like a team
and I learnt to appreciate my team
everyone's got different strengths and weaknesses
and there was one employee
at one time that wasn't as
effective yet
they got the job done, but they weren't as effective
as some of us, but I realised
this person actually brings a lot of joy to the team
like this person actually lifts the spirit
like they're not as productive
on the job, but somehow
when they're around, work is a lot more fun
a lot more enjoyable when they're not around
and when work is more enjoyable
we actually become more productive
and so everyone plays a part
even though they might have different strengths and weaknesses
so all I'm saying to you brethren
appreciate who you are, but also appreciate
each person that God has put around you
appreciate your family, they're not all going to be the same
and as much as I try to raise
my kids to have my values and
my thoughts and my ideas, still at
some point when they become teenagers and come older
they're going to have their own thoughts
I can't think they're going to be little Kevin
or little Christina, they're going to be different
they're all different, they all think differently
they all behave differently, as long as we
again, line ourselves up with God's word
and know what God expects from us
alright, I'm almost done
come with me to
come with me to, where can we go?
alright, let's go to 1 Peter 4
1 Peter 4
while you turn to 1 Peter 4
I'll read to you from Acts 10
Acts 10 verse number 34
Acts 10 34 says
Then Peter opened his mouth and said
of a truth, I perceive
that God is no respecter
of persons
whatever your strengths are
maybe you are beautiful
with the appearance
maybe you are muscular and strong
there might be certain strengths that God has
about you, but I want you to understand
it says that God is no respecter
of persons, verse number 35 says this
but in every nation, he that
fear of him and work of righteousness
is accepted with him
what does God accept?
You've got to fear the Lord
have a humility about you
say Lord, you're above all things
and Lord I'm a sinner and I don't always do things right
but help me Lord
help me to work righteousness
that person is accepted with him
that's who God likes
that's who God wants to hang around with
1 Peter chapter 4
is that where you are? Verse number 10
we'll end on this one
this is the other thing I want you to notice
as every man
every man has received the gift
okay
each of us have been given
at least a gift
you're all gifted in different places
yes you are gifted
you all have different strengths
okay, yet you have something that you can
bring to the table
and if you don't know what it is, you've just got to figure out what it is
because the Bible says you have received, every man has received the gift
but for what purpose?
even so
minister, the same
that's the same gift, one to another
the reason God has given us gifts
is that we can minister
we can serve one another
what is it that you can do so well?
what are you good at?
figure out a way that you can then serve the brethren in the church
with what God has given you
it says as good stewards
of the manifold grace of God
look at verse number 11, this is for the preachers
if any man speak
let him speak as the
oracles of God
preachers, when you get behind this pulpit
speak the oracles, the wisdom, the teachings of God
not your own wisdom
it's as if
any man minister
let him do it as
of the ability which God
giveth
see, some people have a greater ability than others
am I going to tear you down because your ability is less?
we have different abilities
okay
figure out how you can serve the Lord
with what ability you've given
been given by God
and look at this, this is why
this is so important, the next part is so important
sometimes when we're given too many gifts
or too many abilities, it's easy for man to boast
oh, I'm such a great preacher
oh man
did you guys know I travelled all the way from Sunshine Coast last night?
please pat me on the back
and reward me, brethren, please
no, please, no
I would hate that
man, I would hate that
alright
we've got different abilities, different things that we can do
okay
but this is why God has given us these abilities
that God in all things
may be glorified
through Jesus Christ
it's not to glorify man
look how good this man is
to glorify the Lord through Jesus Christ
to whom be praise and dominion
forever and ever
amen
so, I want to leave you with that one
okay, so, we're all different
God has given us these abilities
and those abilities are given so we can serve one another
so we can be part of a church
that we can glorify God
glorify his Christ
okay, and not to glorify man
and if you aren't doing anything for the Lord
ask yourself, what can you do?
God has given you a gift
ask yourself, how can you serve the brethren
ask yourself, how can I serve the church
I don't have the answer, like if you come up to me and say
pastor, how can I serve, I don't always know
because I don't know what your gift is, I don't know what your ability is
you know, there might be things in church that can be done
but I can't do it, I don't know
I can't think about it, I might be the mouth
but I'm not the ear, and you probably see things
or you see something that can be done
well, I might not be the eye, you might be the eye
and we need to work together and support one another
and love one another, appreciate one another
because God has made you unique
the title for the sermon was
delight in your uniqueness
thank God for creating you
with your strengths, your weaknesses
your personality, and your appearance
don't desire to be like another person
and be willing to change
you know, your bad characteristics
your bad habits
you know, the things that do not align yourself with God's word
be willing to change
conforming yourself to not a man
but to conforming yourself to Jesus Christ
okay, let's pray
Heavenly Father, once again Lord I thank you for the
ability to be in the house of the Lord this morning
thank you for the brethren, brothers and sisters in the Lord
thank you for making us a body
the body of Christ here
and Lord I pray that you'd be glorified, you'd be honoured
Lord I want to thank you so much for creation
thank you for giving us these bodies
Lord even the things that we struggle with
that we don't like about ourselves
help us to like it Lord, because you've given it to us
and Lord if you've given us everything
Lord if you gave us wealth and beauty
and an easy life, we know we would become
rebellious people, people that would not seek you
so Lord I thank you for even the weaknesses
that you've given us, that have led us to you
thank you so much for Jesus Christ and salvation
we pray these things in Jesus' name
Amen
Hymn number seven please
Hymn number seven
let's sing
I gave my life for thee
Hymn number seven, I gave my life for thee
What hast thou given to him?
Hymn number seven
I gave my life for thee
Hymn number seven
I gave my life for thee
Hymn number seven
My precious blood
Hymn number seven
I shed
Hymn number seven
That thou mightst ransom be
Hymn number seven
And quickered from the dead
Hymn number seven
I gave my life for thee
Hymn number seven
What hast thou given for me?
Hymn number seven
I gave, I gave my life for thee
Hymn number seven
What hast thou given for me?
Hymn number seven
My father's house of light
Hymn number seven
My glory's circled throne
Hymn number seven
I left for earthly night
Hymn number seven
That alone
I left, I left it all for thee
Hast thou left thought for me?
I left, I left it all for thee
Hast thou left thought for me?
I suffered much for thee
More than thy throng can tell
Of citrus agony
To rescue thee from hell
I've borne, I've borne it all for thee
What hast thou borne for me?
I've borne, I've borne it all for thee
What hast thou borne for me?
And I have brought to thee
Down from my home above
Salvation full and free
In my pardon and my love
I bring, I bring rich gifts to thee
What hast thou brought to me?
I bring, I bring rich gifts to thee
What hast thou brought to me?
Alright, great singing.
So, announcements. Are there any birthdays this week?
Who's got a birthday? Anyone?
No? Any wedding anniversaries?
No. Alright.
Well, don't forget that straight off the surface today
we've got full baptisms.
Good to see you, Sabi Raj.
So, Sabi Raj and Robert and
Ooh
Shania
Yeah, Shania. I'm sorry.
My first time meeting her this morning
and usually I remember her name and I can see her face as well.
Shania or Robert and Shania.
So, I've got full baptisms.
Does anyone else need to get baptised?
Because if you do, I'm more than happy to baptise you.
So, I don't have a towel. Who cares?
I actually forgot to bring a change of clothes.
I forgot to bring a towel. Who cares?
We'll get out there, right?
We'll do the baptisms.
So, it's at the usual place in Chippie Norton.
So, if you need the address, let me know. I'll send it to you.
It's only ten minutes from here.
Just be careful as well when you drive out there.
Brother Daniel's told me that there's a mobile,
he told me a while ago though,
there's a mobile camera.
Like a mobile camera.
So, if you're holding your phone, you'll get copped to like a $600 fine or something crazy like that.
I don't know if it's still out there or not, but, you know,
be careful. Be careful when you're driving out that direction in Chippie Norton.
And then afterwards, if you guys want to hang around.
My flight is, my flight is around 6 o'clock, 6pm, something like that.
So, if you guys want to hang around and have some fellowship or whatever like that,
you know, let me know if you guys want to have a chat with me about anything.
I'm free for a few hours before I have to go to the airport.
And if anyone's willing to take me to the airport later on, let me know.
Okay, let me know.
All right, I think those are the key announcements.
Yeah, I think that's it for now.
Also, the week of...