Okay, let's do it.
You can do it. No, no, I want you to do it. Go for it.
I want you to do it.
Where the water's cold flow bathes a weary one's feet, God leads his dear children along.
Some through the water, 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 mount where the sun shines so bright, God leads his dear children along.
Sometimes in the valley in darkest of night, God leads his dear children along.
Some through the water, 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, Those sorrows befall us and Satan opposed, God leads his dear children along.
Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes, God leads his dear children along.
Some through the water, 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, Alas, away from the mire, away from the clake, God leads his dear children along.
Away up in glory, eternity's day, God leads his dear children along.
Some through the water, 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.
Brother Mo, you want to pray for us this evening?
Yes, sir. Dear Father God, thank you for this day. Thank you for the souls that were saved today, Lord.
I just pray that you will be with them and guide them toward the truth and toward your word, Lord.
And I pray that you will fill Pastor Shelley with your spirit tonight and let him preach a bold sermon.
In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
Amen.
So our second song will be song number three.
Jesus paid it all. Song number three.
Jesus paid it all.
On the first.
I hear the Savior say,
Thy strength indeed is small,
Child of weakness, watch and pray.
Find in me Thine all in all.
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe.
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.
Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power and Thine alone
Can change the leper's spots
And melt the heart of stone.
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe.
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.
For nothing good have I
Whereby Thy grace to claim,
I'll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calvary's lamb.
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe.
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.
On the last and when
He bore the throne,
I stand in Him complete.
Jesus died my soul to save,
My lips shall still repeat.
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe.
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.
Very good singing. If you need a bulletin, there's still some on that back cabinet.
On the inside, we have our service and soul-winning times,
as well as the Bible memory passage. We're in Proverbs chapter 1.
As far as the salvations, did we get the full count, brother Nick?
Eight.
We had eight for today.
Praise the Lord. Was there anything outside of our group?
Thanks for working on the salvations.
We went into a foreign country, it felt like, in this apartment complex,
but there were still a lot of people that wanted to get saved.
I actually talked to a young lady, she was 12 years old,
and she was a Muslim, but she did want to accept Jesus as her savior,
and she rejected that, so praise the Lord on that.
So that was fun. You've got to get them when they're younger.
They don't know a lot about the Quran and everything like that,
because she wholeheartedly believed in Jesus Christ, and she got saved,
and so we're praying for her.
Also, please be in prayer for all the expecting mothers.
Such a blessing for pregnancy.
And also, just another announcement for households.
It's not in the bulletin, but just FYI, just some reminders.
Children need to be with their parents at all times in the building.
We want to keep a safe environment for everyone,
and children are not supposed to be coming up on the stage.
If you have a child that plays an instrument, that's fine,
but they need to be playing the instrument well,
and with respect to the instrument,
but children shouldn't be playing up here on the stage,
and we just want to keep everybody safe,
so parents would please keep that as a reminder.
Also, we have several people listed for the preaching schedule.
You should always come to every service,
but obviously, we just want to give you an update
of some of the guys that are going to be coming out here.
Please tell them thank you for coming,
and be very hospitable to all of them.
Also, any prayer requests throughout the week,
if you want to submit those and turn those in.
The only thing I'd mention midweek that I didn't say this morning again,
but we're going to have a Wichita Falls Soul Waning Marathon in the fall.
Good timing, right?
And so, I'm going to try and get that figured out on the calendar pretty soon.
I'm thinking it's most likely going to be October,
but we'll have a Soul Waning Marathon up there.
Last time, we had one in College Station,
and so, Oklahoma had to drive the extra across from Dallas.
This time, we'll do Wichita Falls,
so we have to drive the little bit of extra up there,
but a lot of people from Oklahoma will be coming from the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
I'm expecting we'll have a pretty big result,
and so, hopefully, I'll get that information.
You don't want to go to Wichita Falls in the summer,
because it's actually, if you can believe it,
I think it's more humid there most of the time than it is here.
It's one of the most humid places on the planet,
and it's just like super hot in the summer, above 100 degrees.
It's very sticky.
I've played a lot of golf tournaments there. It's rough.
And so, we want to go there in the fall.
Sometimes, it will be a lot nicer weather.
So, keep that in mind.
With that, let's go to our final song, or our next song,
56, for the brand that's going to leave for us.
Song number 56.
Song number 56, when we all get to heaven.
On the first...
Sing the wondrous love of Jesus
Sing his mercy and his grace
In the mansions bright and blessed
He'll prepare for us a place
When we all get to heaven
What a day of rejoicing that will be
When we all see Jesus
We'll sing and shout the victory
While we walk the pilgrim pathway
Clouds will overspread the sky
But when traveling days are over
Not a shadow, not a sign
When we all get to heaven
What a day of rejoicing that will be
When we all see Jesus
We'll sing and shout the victory
Let us then be truth and faithful
Trusting, serving every day
Just one glimpse of him in glory
Will the toils of life repay
When we all get to heaven
What a day of rejoicing that will be
When we all see Jesus
We'll sing and shout the victory
Onward to the prize before us
Soon his beauty will behold
Soon the pearly gates will open
We shall tread the streets of gold
When we all get to heaven
What a day of rejoicing that will be
When we all see Jesus
We'll sing and shout the victory
Second Samuel chapter number 12
Read the whole chapter as always
Verse number one the Bible reads
And the Lord sent Nathan unto David
And he came unto him and said unto him
There were two men in one city
The one rich and the other poor
The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds
But the poor man had nothing
Save one little Elam
Which he had brought and nourished up
And it grew up together with him
And his children did eat of his own meat
And drank of his own cup
And lay in his bosom
And was unto him as a daughter
And there came a traveler unto the rich man
And he spared to take of his own flock
And of his own herd
To dress for the faring man
That was coming to him
But took the poor man's lamb
And dressed it for the man
That was come to him
And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man
And he said to Nathan
As the Lord liveth
The man that hath done this thing shall surely die
And he shall restore the lamb fourfold
Because he did this thing
And because he had no pity
And Nathan said to David
Thou art the man, thus saith the Lord God of Israel
I anointed thee king over Israel
And I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul
And I gave thee thy master's house
And thy master's wives into thy bosom
And gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah
And if that had been too little
I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things
Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord
To do evil in his sight?
Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword
And hast taken his wife to be thy wife
And hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon
Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house
Because thou hast despised me
And hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite
To be thy wife
Thus saith the Lord
Behold, I will raise up evil against thee
Out of thine own house
And I will take thy wives before thine eyes
And give them unto thy neighbor
And he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of his son
For thou didst it secretly
But I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun
And David said unto Nathan
I have sinned against the Lord
And Nathan said unto David
The Lord also hath put away thy sin
Thou shalt not die
Howbeit because this deed
Thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme
The child also that is born unto thee
Shall surely die
And Nathan departed unto his house
And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David
And it was very sick
David therefore besought God for the child
And David fasted and went in
And lay all night upon the earth
And the elders of his house arose
And went unto him
To raise him up from the earth
But he would not
Neither did he eat bread with them
And it came to pass on the seventh day
That the child died
And the servants of David
And the servants of David feared to tell him
That the child was dead
For they said
Behold, while the child was yet alive
We spake unto him
And he would not hearken unto our voice
How will he then vex himself
If we tell him
That the child is dead
But when David saw that his servants whispered
David perceived that the child was dead
Therefore David said unto his servants
Is the child dead?
And they said
He is dead
Then David arose from the earth
And washed and anointed himself
And changed his apparel
And came into the house of the Lord and worshipped
Then he came to his own house
And when he required they set bread before him
And he did eat
Then said his servant unto him
What thing is this that thou hast done?
Thou didst fast and weep for the child
While it was alive
But when the child was dead
Thou didst arise and eat bread
And he said
While the child was yet alive
I fasted and wept
For I said
Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me
That the child may live?
But now he is dead
Wherefore shall I go fast?
Can I bring him back again?
I shall go to him
But he shall not return to me
And David comforted Bathsheba his wife
And went in under her and lay with her
And she bare a son
And called his name Solomon
And the Lord loved him
And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet
And he called the name Judea
Because of the Lord
And Joab fought against Rabbah
Of the children of Ammon
And took the royal city
And Joab sent messengers to David
And said
I have fought against Rabbah
And have taken the city of waters
Now therefore gather the rest of the people
Together and camp against the city
And take it
Lest I take the city
And it be called after my name
And David gathered all the people together
And went to Rabbah
And fought against it
And took it
And he took the king's crown
From off his head
The weight thereof was a talent of gold
With the precious stones
And it was set on David's head
And he brought forth the spoil of the city
In great abundance
And he brought forth the people
That were therein
And put them under saws
And under horrors of iron
And under axes of iron
And made them pass
Through the brick clean
And thus did he
Unto all the cities
Of the children of Ammon
So David and all the people
Returned unto Jerusalem
Father I thank you for helping us all
Make it back here safely
And Lord I just thank you
For the souls that were saved
And Lord I just ask that you would help
Fill Pastor Shelley with your spirit
And Lord just help him and his family
Make it back safely
And I just thank you for this church
And everything that you help us with
And in Jesus' name we pray
Amen
Let's look back at verse number 14
And read a little bit more of this story again
The Bible reads in verse 14
How be it because by this deed
Thou hast given great occasion
To the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme
The child also that is born unto thee
Shall surely die
Now David has committed adultery
With another man's wife
With Uriah's wife in the story
And because he committed adultery
With Bathsheba
He tried to cover that adultery up
He wanted Uriah to come back home
From the war
And to lie with his wife
And for it to be presumed
As Uriah's child
However Uriah decides not to lie with his wife
To go home and see his wife
And to be with her
So he ends up hatching a plan to kill Uriah
And to take her unto his wife quickly
Take Bathsheba unto him as his wife quickly
So as to cover up this adultery
And he ends up killing Uriah
And the prophet Nathan comes unto David
He gives him this story about someone stealing someone's lamb
He has plenty of lambs
But he takes this one guy's one lamb
And it's picture of David had actually many wives
Even though that's not correct
He had had many wives
And he ends up stealing someone else's wife
When he only has one
He only has one woman
And he takes this man's woman
And he also takes his life
And David hearing the story
Wanted that man to be killed
Yet Nathan looks at him and says
Thou art the man
And we have here in verse number 14
God actually tells David
That he's not going to die for his sin
Because he's worthy of death
He's committed murder and adultery
But God has grace on David
And allows him to still be king
Despite such a grievous sin
However he's going to be punished
And because of what David did
He's given great occasion
To the enemies of the Lord of Blasphemy
To say oh look at their leader David
He commits adultery and murder
And you know look at him
And really that's to show the importance
That when you're in a position of leadership
Or you're trying to serve God
And you end up being a hypocrite
It can give the enemies a reason to blaspheme God
To make God look bad
Because of your mistake
Because of your problems
And so that's why it's important
To live a clean and godly life
And David's going to suffer greatly
Because notice his child is going to die
And that's a horrible tragedy
It's a horrible thing to happen to somebody
I mean losing a child
Has got to be one of the most difficult things
To endure or to go through
And especially you know this child's
Going to be born
And then it's going to strike and be killed
I mean you get to see it
You get to hold it
You get to be with it
For just a short amount of time
And anybody that's gone through that process
They understand what a horrible loss that is
But David and Bathsheba are going to go through this
Because of their sin
Verse 15
And Nathan departed unto his house
And the Lord struck the child
That Uriah's wife
Baron of David
Who was very sick
David therefore besought God for the child
And David fasted and went in to lay all night
Upon the earth
And the elders of his house arose
And went to him
To raise him up from the earth
But he would not
Neither did he eat bread with them
And it came to pass on the seventh day
That the child died
And the servants of David feared
To tell him that the child was dead
For they said, Behold
While the child was yet alive
We spake unto him
And he would not hearken unto our voice
How will he then vex himself
When we tell him that the child is dead?
So the servants
They don't even want to tell David
That his child's actually died
Because they said, Look
He won't even eat
He won't even talk to us
I mean he's just in a constant state of mourning
I mean what's going to happen to this guy
When we tell him
When we tell him the child actually died
Because they hadn't even died yet
It was just sick
And they're afraid
They're terrified
To let David know this
But the verse says in verse 19
But when David saw that his servants whispered
David perceived
That the child was dead
Therefore David said unto his servants
Is the child dead?
And they said, He is dead
Then David rose from the earth
And washed and annoyed himself
In Jesus' apparel
And came into the house of the Lord
And worshiped
Then he came to his own house
And when he required
They set bread before him
And he did eat
Then said his servants unto him
What thing is this
That thou hast done?
Thou didst fast
And weep for the child
While he was alive
But when the child was dead
Thou didst rise
And eat bread
And he said
While the child was yet alive
I fasted and wept
For I said, Who can tell
Whether God will be gracious to me
That the child may live?
But now is he dead
Wherefore should I fast?
Can I bring him back again?
I shall go to him
But he shall not return to me
So he says there in verse 23
Wherefore should I fast?
The word wherefore means why
Why should I fast?
Now what's interesting about this story
Is that the servants
Anticipated David's reaction
They anticipated David's emotions
And how he would handle himself
Yet they were perplexed
By what he actually did
They thought wow
He was gonna you know
Go off the handle
He's gonna go off the edge basically
If we tell him that the child's dead
Yet he returned back to normal didn't he?
He went back on regular business
And he moved on with his life
And really I want to focus on that concept
I want to focus on what David did here
Because the title of my sermon this evening
Is accepting reality
Accepting reality
And this is a very important concept
For us to understand
And I have three points that we're gonna
Quickly understand from this story
And then relate this to other aspects of our life
But what did David do
In this story that's so profound
Well he accepted reality
He accepted the fact that his child had died didn't he?
And I have three quick points that I want to point out
The first point is that
If you want to be like David in this story
Which is a very important aspect of our lives
Is you have to accept the things that you cannot change
Another word for this would be serenity
Serenity is accepting things
You know that you cannot change
David can't change the fact that the child has died
The sin has been done
And the consequences of that sin is done
And what is he gonna do from now?
He needs to move on
He needs to accept the fact that the child
Didn't he do that pretty well?
He accepted the fact that the child had died
And it really helps him
He wanted to know if the child was dead too
Because he wanted to accept reality
He wanted to realize, hey, is this kid dead or not?
Because I'm fasting right now
As any kind of hope that he can survive
But once he's dead
Once that reality has sunk in
Once he realizes that's a truth fact
He wants to move on with his life
He's ready to move on with his life
And to go back to normal
So really his actions
When you think about the mourning
Why was he mourning?
So that God would spare the child
Then after the child's dead
There's no point in mourning anymore
He's just accepted reality
David's emotional state is based in reality
It's based on the circumstances
And it's not based on things that have happened in the past
It's based on things that are happening now
He's mourning now
Once the child can no longer be spared
He accepts that reality
And he moves on
He goes back to his normal business
He cannot bring the child back
Is what he points out
Another thing that he does though
Is he reminds them
He says, hey, I'm not gonna go
The child, how's he word this?
He says, I shall go to him
But he shall not return to me
Now what I like about this
Is not only does David accept the fact that he cannot change
How his child has died
He focuses on the positive though, doesn't he?
He says, but look
I can't change the fact that I'm never gonna be with him here
On this earth
It's done
You know, but I shall go to him
He's not gonna return to me
But I shall return to him
So he focuses on the positive of the situation
He says, but at least, you know what?
I am gonna go to him
And in accepting reality
You have to understand
Hey, there's certain things in my life I can't change
But what I can do is I can focus on the positive aspects
Of where I'm at
And then look at verse 24
This is the best part of this
And David comforted Bathsheba, his wife
And went in under her and lay with her
And she bare his son
And he called his name Solomon
And the Lord loved him
So my third point is this
In accepting reality
Not only do you need to accept the things you can't change
Not only, number two, do you need to focus on the positive
But number three, you need to focus on others
Because he's not the only one that lost someone here
He's not the only one that went through difficulty here
In fact, Bathsheba went through the same struggles, if not more
I think more
I personally believe that if I had to carry a child in my womb for nine months
And had to go through the birthing process
And feeding this child and then it dying
She would have much more mourning and suffering than I did
You know, men can get over those things a lot easier than women can
And at the end of the day
David not only realizes
Hey, I can't change this fact that it's dead
Number one
Number two
I can focus on the positive that I will see him again
But number three
My wife needs comforting here
My wife needs some support
My wife needs some help here
And instead of just being selfish
Instead of just concerning myself with my own pity
My own woe
I'm going to go and comfort my wife
And this is important in accepting reality
People that don't accept reality struggle in these areas
Number one
They constantly live in the past
Well, can you accept reality?
Well, can you change the past? No
But I just want to continue thinking about it
And dwelling upon it
And worrying about it
And stressing
And fretting
And crying
And mourning
It's like, move on
Number two
Focus on the positive here
You know, David could have been like
Oh, woe is me
And God's against me
And he's killing my children
You're the one to sin, David
But guess what
Even though you had a very small amount of time with that child
You still get to go see it in heaven
Isn't that better than not having the child?
I mean, at least he had the child
At least the child's going to still go to heaven
At least he gets to go see that child
He's thinking about the positive
And then number three, most importantly
Instead of worrying about yourself, David
He's worrying about other people
And their needs
And their concerns
And Bathsheba is going through a hard time
And he decides to dedicate himself to comforting his wife
Go to Numbers chapter 14
Let me show you an example of people that don't do what I just showed you
That was the good example
Now let's go to a bad example of people not accepting reality
Not accepting reality today
And unfortunately, this is a problem with our society
Our society does not like to accept reality in all kinds of different ways
But this is an important concept for us to get and to understand
Numbers chapter 14
Look at verse number 30
Now what's happening in this story
Is the children of Israel have come up to the promised land
Moses and them sent out spies to search the land
They've returned
They were given a report unto Moses about what the land looks like
And some were focused on the land with milk and honey
With the grapes, how big they were
The rest of them were focused on the giants
They were focused on all the problems, all the difficulty
And they gave an evil report of the land
Well, because they complained and belly ached and mourned
And, you know, weeped
And they got all frustrated with the giants
When they got to the promised land
God just got done with them
God just said, you know what, you're never going in
He says in verse 30
Doubtless, ye shall not come into the land
Concerning which I swear to make you dwell therein
Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun
So they come up to the promised land
They've gone through all this pain, struggle, and affliction
But because they just keep complaining and keep bellyaching
Finally God just says, like, you're done
You're not going in
The only people going in were the two spies that gave the good report
Joshua and Caleb
You know, Moses is probably thinking, like, did you forget about me?
Like, why do you only say them two?
Because you're not making it in either, Moses, all right?
But look at verse number 36
It says in the men which Moses sent to search the land in return
And made all the congregation to murmur against him
By bringing up a slander upon the land
Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land
Died by the plague before the Lord
So notice what happens to the guys that bring up an evil report that slandered
They died
That's a warning. Don't slander
Don't lie
Don't bring up an evil report
Hey, when you're sent out to do the work of the Lord
Why don't you focus on the positive?
Because they were so worried about those giants
Guess what? God killed them
They didn't think about that one, did they?
They were so afraid that a giant might kill them
That they ended up murmuring and planning against God
And then God just killed them
So when you start worrying about all your problems
And all the difficulties and the things that God wants you to do
You know, you ought to fear him more than all your problems
You ought to fear him rather than the enemies out there and the giants out there
They're nothing today
Verse 38, but Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh
Which were of the men that went to search the land
Lived still
And Moses told these things unto all the children of Israel
And the people mourned greatly and they rose up early in the morning
And gapped them up into the top of the mountain saying
Lo, we be here and we'll go up
Unto the places the Lord hath promised
For we have sinned
And Moses said
Wherefore now do you transgress the commandment of the Lord
But it shall not prosper
So what happens?
Well, they say
Well, you know, I feel like we messed up here
You know, we shouldn't have murmured with those other guys
They died
We don't even know where they are
They're dead
You know, we should have listened to Caleb
We should have listened to Joshua
We should have just gone to the promised land
Hey, we're here
We're ready now
We're gonna follow your commandment
We're gonna enter the promised land
But by saying that, they're actually rebelling
Because God had actually said you're not going in
So they say, oh, but we're gonna go in
So number one, did they accept what they could not change?
No
God says, hey, you're not going in
And instead of just saying, alright, we're not going in
They say, no, no, no, we're going in
Hey, we're ready
Hey, now we're gonna obey
Isn't that kind of how you discipline your kids?
You tell them, hey, like, you're not getting any dessert
Because you're not in your dinner
Now I'm ready to eat it
You know, now I'm ready to clean my room
Now I'm ready to obey
And it's like, the door's shut
Hey, your opportunity's been closed, my friend
You thought you had an opportunity
Hey, once you cross a certain line, sometimes it's over
And they should have just accepted the reality
Hey, we're not entering the promised land
God meant what he said
When he said only Joshua and Caleb were going in
Number two, they should have focused on the positive
But rather, what did they do?
They mourned
Notice that the people mourned
It says in verse 39, and the people mourned greatly
So when God tells you you're not going to the promised land
Yeah, obviously that sucks
Okay, obviously that's bad
Obviously that's negative news
But they didn't focus on the positive still
You say positive, what are all the positives?
Well, number one, they're not in Egypt anymore
They're still not in Egypt
He said, hey, you're not in the promised land
But guess what, he didn't say you're going back into slavery
He didn't say you're going back into Pharaoh
Number two, they still have Moses as a leader
He didn't take away Moses from them
Wouldn't that be great to have Moses as your leader?
Wouldn't a lot of people say, hey, we have Moses as our pastor
You know, Moses is our evangelist
Hey, they still have Moses as their leader
The guy who spoke to God
The guy that got the Ten Commandments delivered to him
Written with God's finger
I mean, this guy's pretty great
I would like Moses as a leader
Number three, they had received the Ten Commandments
They got those Ten Commandments
They just got all this special privilege
They got to be with the Lord
The Lord's with them
The Lord's been traveling
He's been a cloud, you know, by day
And a fire by night
I mean, they still got the Lord with them
Number four, their children are not going to be in bondage anymore
So why didn't they focus on that?
They say, hey, you know what, we screwed up
But we still got Moses as a leader
We still got the Lord with us
We still got the Ten Commandments
We're still God's chosen people
Hey, we still have the priesthood
We still have all these great things
Hey, at least our children aren't going to be in bondage
We'll raise our children godly
We'll instruct them how to go in the promised land
No, they're just like, well, dang it, we're going in there
We're ready to go in there
They weren't ready to accept the reality that they're not allowed to get in
And they are focused on the negative of, ah, I can't
Now that I can't have it, I want it
Every kid's woe
As soon as their brother gets the toy that they weren't interested in, now they want it
Right? Now that they can't have it, they want it
And in fact, sometimes, you know, we'll ask a kid, we'll say, hey, do you want to carry this inside?
And they're like, no
And they're like, okay, we'll let them carry it
And they're like, no, no, I want it now
Now I want to carry it
Now I want to do it
It's like as soon as you take something away, there's something inside that's like, oh, now I want it
You know, now I want to have it, you know
And that's what they were like
But they weren't really accepting reality, were they?
And lastly, number three, they had no concern for others, were they?
Did they really care about their children?
Did they care about the people that were going to go up and die in this battle?
Look at verse 42
So because they did not accept reality, what happened?
They went up and many of them died in battle that didn't have to happen
People didn't have to die again
You didn't have to have more people dying
But because they just couldn't accept God's commandments
Because they couldn't accept reality
Because they couldn't focus on the positive
Because they had no concern for others
They end up causing more bloodshed
They end up causing more problems
Now go over to Titus chapter number two
Go to Titus chapter two
Let's make some practical application here
Because you say, well, you know, I'm going to accept reality about the promised land
I'm going to accept, you know, my plight in life
Are you, though?
It's easier to see these people and say like, well, I would have done it
I would have gone to the promised land
Or I would have accepted God's commandments
Or if I was David, I would just quickly turn, you know, the morning of my child
But here's the thing
People are given all kinds of reality from God
And they just decide not to accept it
God gives you clear instruction
Clear commandments
Clear guidelines
Clear boundaries in your life
And then people just decide, nope, I don't want to accept it today
How many people just don't want to accept reality today?
About the gospel?
Does our society accept God's reality about his commandments?
About serving the Lord?
I mean, people just can't accept the fact that they're even a man today
People can't even accept that they're a woman today
They have to decide to be something else
They can't even focus on the positive
That they're alive, that God's given them breath
That all the things that they have
They just have to be something else
They have to do something else today
And, you know, feminism is on the rise today
Because women want to be men
And I'm thinking, like, why can't a woman just accept the reality that she's a woman?
I mean, what's wrong with being...
There's nothing wrong with being a woman today
Unless you were born a man
Then you shouldn't be a woman
You know what should be women? Women
And you know what should be men? Men today
But you know what? People have a hard time accepting that reality, don't they?
Look at Titus chapter 2 verse 4
It's talking about the aged women
That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands
To love their children, to be discreet, chaste
Keepers at home
Good, obedient to their own husbands that the word of God be not blasphemed
The Bible says, I didn't make this up
God commanded women to be keepers at home
And even teaches that the older women would teach the younger women to be what?
A keeper at home
You say, what does that mean?
They stay at home
You say, where do they work? At home
I mean, it's not hard to be understood
What's hard to be understood is the fact that people don't want to believe that
Yet, isn't this the reality that God has laid out for us?
I mean, isn't it black and white?
I mean, I didn't come up with this verse
I didn't make up this verse
Yet, women don't want to do that
Women don't want to stay home
Women don't want to raise children today
Women want to have one or two kids at most
And have their job and have their career
And go out and be this self-made woman
And have their own talk show
And drink their wine
And just gab it up
And go on the town
And, you know, gallivant
And shop
Look, that's not what the Bible teaches
The Bible teaches we're supposed to be discreet
Chase, keepers at home
Good, obedient to your own husband
This flies in the face of 99% of women in the world today
Especially in America
I mean, maybe other countries or other areas
Some women have a lot of these things better
But in America today, you would not
You'd be hard-pressed to find women that are a check mark on all those right there
They actually care about their husband
They're obedient to their husband
They want to be at home
They're chaste, which means they're disciplined
Which means they're discreet
They're not going out just sharing all their information
And they're, you know, huff and puff and whatever's going on
Go to 1 Timothy chapter 5
Let me give you another section of scripture that says the exact same thing
I'm not just taking and isolating one verse here
We're going to talk about scores of scripture here
That say women should be raising children at home
They should be keepers at home
They should be guiding the house at home today
But so many women don't want to accept that reality today
My question is why?
Why do you want to accept God's reality?
When you don't accept God's reality
You cause a lot of problems
Look at 1 Timothy chapter 5 verse 11
The Bible says, but the younger widows refuse
For when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ
They will marry, having damnation
Because they have cast off their first faith
And withal they learn to be idle
Wandering about from house to house
And not only idle
But tattlers also and busybodies
Speaking things which they ought not
I will therefore that the younger women marry
Bear children, guide the house
Give none occasion to the adversary to speak approachfully
For some are already turned aside after Satan
The Bible teaches that a woman's job is to what?
Marry
Her job is to what?
Bear children
Her job is to what?
Guide the house
Why?
So that she can give none occasion to the adversary
Who's that adversary?
The devil
The devil wants women to have abundance of idleness
The devil wants women to have all kinds of time
And all this extra availability to go out and do things
Go shopping and traveling and talking and gossiping
And doing all this, just getting into trouble
Who got in trouble in the garden? Adam or Eve?
I'm pretty sure it was Eve
I mean she was deceived by the devil
And you know what? The devil wants the same thing
He wants young women to get out of the home
And to get into trouble
They're easily led astray and you say, oh that's sexist
That's what the Bible says, okay?
That's not my opinion
Let's go to 1 Timothy chapter 2, okay?
Since we're talking about this subject
I don't want you to think I'm just bringing this stuff up with no Bible verse
This is what the Bible says, clearly
Look what it says in verse 11
Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection
But I suffer not a woman to teach
Nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence
For Adam was first formed, then Eve
And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression
Not withstanding, she shall be saved in childbearing
If they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety
So the Bible says that this woman is going to be saved from what?
The condemnation of the devil
This woman is going to be saved from the deception of the devil
From the temptations of this world
And you say, how is she going to be saved from that?
By raising kids
I didn't come up with that
God came up with that
But you know what?
Women today don't want to accept the reality of being a mother
Of bringing children into this world
But you know who's really bad at that?
Men
I can't give anybody life, okay?
I can never get pregnant
And all the other men in this room can never get pregnant
I don't care what they do in a laboratory
Mr. Mom isn't going to happen, okay?
I don't care what Arnold Schwarzenegger video you watched
It's not reality, my friend, okay?
It's not going to happen
You know who can bring children into this world?
Women
And you know who should bring children into this world?
Women that are married
Women that have a husband that's ready to provide for them
And you know what?
They're providing them in a safe home
A Christian home
They're there in the home
They're guiding the house
They're keeping the house
But today, women don't want to accept this reality
And it's a shame
It's a shame unto Christ
It allows the enemies of the Lord to speak reproachfully
And whenever women are not in the home
You know what happens?
The kids have problems
The kids are destroyed by the temptations of this world
By neglect
The Bible says
A child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame
You know there's no better person to raise my kids than my wife
There's not a single person on this planet that loves my kids like my wife does
It's not even close
It's immeasurable
Even when you take a grandparent
Grandparents don't care that much
They spoil kids left and right
They're not going to punish them
They're not going to discipline them
And you know, if you don't punish people, it's because you don't love them
You know, if your grandparents
If the grandparents loved the kids so much
Then they would discipline them
They would tell them no
They would actually get them in check
And put them in line
And tell them that they're wrong
You know, we need some grandparents today
To lay down the law
Because they love their kids
But at the end of the day, nobody loves my kids like my wife
No one's going to raise my kids
In the nurture and admonition of the Lord like my wife will
It's God's ideal plan for every single person
It's for their mother to be there
To educate them, to love them
To be a keeper at home
And what could be a better job than that?
Number one, accept reality
Accept that God made you a woman
And you're the best person to be at home
Raising the children
God literally made you for that job
I am not as good as my wife at that job
I am very impatient with the children
I'm a pretty strict, tyrant dictator
Like, get over it
That's my philosophy, you know
Why are you crying? Get over it
You know, fix yourself
You know, but the mother is nurturing
She's loving, she's empathetic
She can multitask way better than I can
She was literally made for this
God made women to be at home
He didn't say, hey, here's a job that you suck at
He said, here's a job that you're the best at
Why would I want to take a woman from that?
And you know what, the kids that God gave you
Are on purpose
Why can't you just accept the reality of the kids that you have
And love the job that you have
And think about the positive
You are a mother
One of the most important jobs on the planet today
Why don't you think on the positive of the fact that you have precious little souls
Who worship and adore you
I mean, nobody loves you like your kids do
Nobody thinks that you're the greatest person on the planet like your kids do
Kids love their mom
I mean, they love their mom so much more than they love me even
Okay, whenever there's a problem, you know what they want? Mom
Whenever they're hurt, you know what they want? Mom
They definitely want mom when they're hurt, okay
You know, whenever they have any kind of thing, they just favor mom
You know, I'd play this game, I'd be like, who's your favorite, mom or dad
And they're just like, mom, you know
It's always mom
Mom's the greatest
Mom is their whole world, okay
Why can't you just accept the fact that these kids love you
I remember, you know, and God bless my mother
My mom was a great mom and she did a lot of good things
But you know what, she didn't want to stay in this arena
And she even came to me as a young child and she said
Hey, I could go in the workforce
And we could have more money and a bigger house
And go on more trips
Or I could stay home
Which one would you rather have? And I said, I'd rather you stay home
But she'd already gotten hired
She'd already gotten a job
They were trying to sell me on something that wasn't going to happen
And I didn't want it, I wasn't buying
I'd just rather be with my mom
You know, be in a one bedroom efficiency
You know, kids don't really care
Kids don't care about
Kids think that plastic bottles are toys
They just want to be around their parents
You take a five year old, a six year old, you put them in preschool
You know what they do, they scream their head off
And they're crying for mama
And they're crying for mommy
You have to desensitize kids
And to teaching them that they shouldn't be around their parents
And you know what, they don't get over it just in that first year
First graders, second graders, third graders, fourth graders, fifth graders
Any time they're scared
Any time they're in an uncomfortable situation
You know what they're thinking inside
I want mommy
I wish mom was here
I just want to be around mom
And you know what, when you detach yourself from your kids
And they go through first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth grade
Eventually they end up saying
You know what, I don't need mom anymore
I don't need mom and dad
I guess I can just do this on my own
And when you take away the parents from the kids
You know what, you can destroy your family
Well I don't want to just be at home
Because then my husband's the boss
Well go to Colossians chapter 3
Go to Colossians chapter 3
Ephesians 5 says wives, submit yourselves and your own husbands as unto the Lord
God said obey your husband
Well if I stay home then he's going to be in charge
But let me tell you this
You not accepting that reality
It's worse for you
If you don't accept the fact that your husband's your boss
It's going to be worse for you
If you want to follow God's commandments
Look at Colossians chapter 3 verse 22
Servants, obey in all things your masters according to flesh
So if you don't want to obey your husband at home
Guess who you have to obey
Some strange man at the office
Why is that better?
How is it better to obey some random dude that's not married to you
That doesn't love you
And you have to obey every single one of his rules and commands in the workforce
How is that better than the guy that decided to marry you
The guy that decided to provide for you
That loves you and takes care of you
And you even got his own last name
I mean why would I want to obey that guy
I mean that makes more sense to me
You would think it would be easier
And you know the saddest part about this
Is the fact that women
They will give more respect to this random bozo than their husband
How does that make sense
How does it make sense
That you would say yes sir to your boss at work
And not to your husband
You would do everything the boss says at work
But you won't do it to your husband
I mean why can't you just accept reality that he's the boss
He's the one that you're supposed to be obedient to
And say hey this is better
Than the rando at you know Chick-fil-A
I mean your boss could be like some teenage punk
Your boss could be another woman
It could be Karen
I mean I'd least rather have my husband be my boss
If I was a woman than Karen
Karen really doesn't care
Karen's emotional
She doesn't always make the right decision
And you know what
Your boss at work wouldn't make the right decisions always
And guess what your husband will always make the right decisions
But you can still cement
You can still say yes sir
But you know what people don't want to focus on the positive
Why don't you focus on the positive
That you have your husband bossing you around
And not a strange person
That sounds way better to me
And number three
When we think about accepting this reality of these commandments
What do we accept
Hey just accept the fact that God made you a woman
Accept the fact that God gave you this job
Think about the positives that you have these precious children
That love you more than anything in the world
You guys out there they don't love you like your children do
Your clients don't love you like your children do
You got the best of all the worlds
You got the best boss
You got the best clientele
You got the best job
You're perfectly made for it
I mean it's just a winner winner winner chicken dinner
And that's what you're going to be making right
No just kidding
Number three though focus on your children
Isn't accepting reality
It's not just accepting
The things that you can't change
Number two focus on the positive
But number three
Your children need you more than anything
Why can't you just be that person
For them for them
And focus about your impact
On your children
This is literally the best thing for them
Is for you to embrace being a mother
Be the best mother on the planet
Be one who loves your children every moment
Train and teach yourself so that you can
Train and teach your children
Study the bible so you can teach your children
Plan things for your children
Why don't you say hey you know what I'm a mother
I'm stuck at home
Why don't I just be the best mother I can possibly be
Like David
He says you know what my kids dead
Might as well just move on
Might as well just accept the fact that I'm a mother
Might as well just accept the fact that I'm a wife
And be the best wife that I can be
The best mother that I can be
Hey you know what I'm going to teach these kids
And these kids are going to be the smartest kids on the planet
The best dressed
The best loved
They're going to know the word of God
They're going to love Jesus Christ
We're going to be the most respectful to my husband
You know why can't women just get on fire for being a mother
Why can't they get excited about being a mother
And excited about being a wife today
Why can't they just accept the reality
And focus on other people
Go to Proverbs chapter 7
Let's look at this woman who doesn't have that attitude
Let's go to the negative example here
We talked about God's commandments
You know you say oh I would enter the promised land
Well you know what your promised land looks different
Maybe it's at home with the kids
Are you focused on the giants or are you focused on the grapes?
My wife says you always cut the grapes for the kids
Because they can choke on them
But you focus on those grapes
Proverbs chapter 7
Look at the woman who doesn't have this attitude
She has an opposite attitude
Verse 10
She's not in her house
Now is she without now in the streets and lithe and wait at every corner
This is the majority of American women today
Dressed in the attire of a harlot
Her feet are not in her house
She's loud and she's stubborn
Number one she's not accepting her role is she
She's not accepting of what God has ordained for her
Who God created her to be
She wants to be this other woman
Number two she's not content or satisfied with thinking on the positive
Because if she was satisfied with who she is
She wouldn't be going out and seeking for thrills would she
Seeking for some man
And she's never satisfied with that man
Then she moves on to the next man
And the next man and the next man and the next man
She's not content
She's not focused on the positive of her life
She's looking for something else to satisfy her
She's going out
Trying to get cheap thrills
And cheap attention
And attract cheap and vain men
She's not gonna get anything special there
And number three she's not thinking about other people is she
She's selfish
She's thinking about herself
She's not thinking about her kids
She's not thinking about her dad
She's not thinking about her mother who raised her
She's not thinking about the men that she's gonna lie with
Because she's just gonna use and abuse them too
And at the end of the day we need women today
To accept the reality of who God made them to be
Why don't we teach our daughters to be godly women
To accept that hey you're a woman
You're a woman
To accept that hey you're a woman
This is a good job
This is a great job
This is a great honor that God has bestowed upon you
Why don't you be chaste
Why don't you be a keeper at home
Why don't you desire marriage today
You know there's so many women
They turn 18 and you know what they want to do
They want to go to college and get a career
Why don't you just go to church and serve God
And wait for a godly man to come sweep you off your feet
And become a mother and become a wife
You know what I've met a lot of young single men
That are trying to find a woman like that
And you know what?
If you are an on fire godly young woman
Who loves the Lord
And is ready to be a happy wife
And a great mother
You're gonna have a lot of guys knocking on your door
Have a lot of good guys knocking on your door
I promise you
You're not gonna be
They're trying to find you
They're going out looking
I mean the Bible teaches this
You know you have a lot of bozos knocking on your door too
You need to tell them to just take a hike
Hey what job do you have?
See you later
How are you gonna provide for me
You know your price is far above rubies
They better be willing to shell out the money
And look if you find a woman like this
You better be willing to pay men
You better be willing to dig in
I mean think about what Jacob did for his wife
Oh yeah he worked seven years
Think about how much money that could be
I mean if he's working seven years
And he worked overtime
I mean this could be like
700,000 bucks or something
I mean he's acquired to pay
For this woman
He loved this woman
And look when you find a woman like that
You should be willing to pay all of it
Her price is far above rubies
Go back to verse 75
You say oh man you're ragging on the women
Well let's get on the men for a minute okay
Let's help them out a little bit
Let's see if they accept their reality
First Timothy chapter number five
First Timothy chapter number five verse number eight
The Bible says
But if any provide not for his own
And specially for those of his own house
He hath denied the faith
And is worse than an infidel
Now when God says you're worse than an unsaved person
That's an insult
Now here's the thing
Men today need to take responsibility
They need to man up
And provide and lead for their home
God has decided hey
You want to be in charge?
Well guess what comes with being in charge?
Taking care of everybody
The responsibility of being a man
Of actually leading your home
Providing for your home
And notice that if you don't do this
You're worse than an unsaved person
And let me say this
When you don't accept the responsibility
Of being the leader
For your home it's going to go badly
There's so many men today
They don't want to lead their home
There's so many men today
They don't want to provide for their home today
They don't want to be the person in charge
But you know what when you don't lead your family
They will suffer that's reality
And when you don't accept reality
As you're the leader
You're the person in charge
You know what there's going to be a lot of attacks on your family
There's going to be a lot of destruction and devastation to your family
You as the man need to step up
And lead your home
Carnally and spiritually
You need to pay the bill
And you need to be the spiritual leader
The spiritual spearhead of that family
Go to Genesis chapter number 3
Let's see someone that's struggled
In this area
Of leading his home
Of taking charge
And realizing hey you know what
My wife is susceptible just like every other woman
To all those things
So you know what I need to do?
We need to bear children and she needs to guide the house
Adam didn't do that did he?
Look at Genesis chapter 3 verse 11
And he said who told you that thou was naked
Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee
That thou shouldest not eat?
And the man said the woman
Whom thou gavest to be with me
She gave me of the tree and I did eat
Notice when God comes to Adam
He's saying hey why did you sin?
Why is there sin in your family?
What's going on?
Well that woman that you gave me
Now here's the thing only Adam has that excuse
Because guess what?
He just woke up one morning
One afternoon and she was there
It was like the giraffe or Eve
He was like alright Eve
But you know what?
Anybody in this room that's married
You picked her
You picked that woman
And you know what?
You can't shift the blame to her
You need to just man up Adam
And say you know what I sinned
I didn't lead my home
And I let my wife eat it
I let my wife hand it to me and I ate it with her
We need some men today to man up
And say you know
He should have just built an entire fence around that tree
He should have said hey you're not going anywhere near it
You're not touching it
You're going to stay at home
You're not going out shopping at the tree of knowledge of good and evil
Okay
That's a bad store
Don't go into that store
It looks so cool, it's so fancy, it's so hip
It's the music that the serpent plays
It's so wonderful
Yeah, don't go in that store
It's a bad store
The apple store, no I'm just kidding
Verse number 17
Look how God responds to Adam
And then Adam he said
Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife
Let's read that again
And then Adam he said
Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife
He said Adam
You're not leading
You listen to her
You let her tell you what you're going to do
You let her put the pants on
You let her drag you around
And tell you what's going to happen
She went out and got and provided for the house
Was he providing?
Let me ask you this question
Who got the food?
Adam or Eve?
Eve got the food
What if Adam had decided where they were going to get their food
What if Adam was the sole provider
What if Adam was the one leading his home
Hey they wouldn't have that problem would they
But as soon as he lets Eve go out and find the food
Guess what she goes for
Oh yeah the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
And then problems enter in that home don't they
But you know what if we had some men today
That say hey you know what I'm going to provide
I'm going to leave my home
You're going to stay home
You're going to wear the dress
And you know what you're going to take care of the kids
It'll solve so many problems in your life
You're opening a door to all kinds of problems when you don't
And look how God rebukes Adam
Because you listen to the voice of your wife
And let me say this you know what I listen to the voice of my wife
Often because she gives me good advice
But she doesn't always have the right advice
She's like woah
She might think she does
But you know what
Sometimes she's wrong
And sometimes your wife's wrong
And sometimes you're wrong
But you know who's in charge? The man
And he just makes the rules? The man does
He needs to accept the reality of who he is
And he can't just shift the blame
Well she did it
Well she grabbed the apple
Well guess who God got mad at? Adam
He got mad at Adam for not doing that
He says thou shalt not eat of it
Now here's the thing. What was Adam's curse?
He had to work harder
Isn't that interesting? He didn't provide in the first place
Now he has to work even harder
What if he just accepted the reality of his job
in the garden?
Wouldn't his life have been a lot easier?
Hey the garden just makes the fruit for you
You just walk around and pluck it off
Now he has to go out and till the ground
He has to fight a bunch of thorns
and briars
He has to work by the sweat
of the brow of his face
It's hot in Houston
It'd be nice if it was just a paradise
It'd be nice if it was just 70 degrees
like California or something
You know then liberals ruin that
Go to Proverbs chapter 17
Proverbs chapter 17
But here's the thing. Men, you need to lead your home
You need to tell your wife where she's going
What she's wearing
What she's doing
You have to put boundaries in your life
Because if you don't
God's going to be mad at you
You're where the buck stops
You are the deciding factor in your family
You say well my wife won't do it
We'll make her do it
My wife doesn't want to eat that apple
She wants to eat this one
Well guess what you're eating
You're eating the apple that I got you
Not the one that you find
I can just get it
I can go grab one
Nope, you know the serpent delivers
Well he's not delivering today
You know
We're eating snake for dinner
That's what we're going to eat
Go to Proverbs 17, look at verse 21
Now think about this
Not only did Adam fail in his marriage
He also failed in raising his children
You know who raised Cain?
Adam
Think about that
Cain is the son
of Adam
Do you really want to raise a Cain?
I don't
Look what it says in Proverbs 17 verse 21
He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his own sorrow
And the father of a fool hath no joy
Adam obviously did not raise his first child very well
Did he?
Cain
He killed Abel
And obviously God uses this as an example
But you know what?
Adam still has to take blame in the fact of that son
Adam still has to take blame in the fact that he did not raise that child well
And you know what?
As the leader of the home
You need to take care of your children
You need to discipline your children
You need to get them in line
You need to teach them the word of God
Do you think Adam really sat Cain down and explained to him all the sacrifices
And how they're supposed to serve God
It seems like he was negligent
Because he got one son that loves the Lord
He's got one son that's a devil
He's got one son that's a murderer
Look
As a pastor, that doesn't really work out
Half of my kids worship the devil
The other half are godly
You'd be like, you're not qualified
Step down
You know, it's not right
And we as men today
We need to take charge
We need to accept the fact that we're the leader
We need to accept the fact that you're the ultimate responsible party
You're the one
That's going to make sure your family goes well
And you know what?
When it doesn't go well, it's your fault
See, I liked it when you were talking about the women doing their part
That was nicer
Well guess what?
Any problems they have, it's your fault
You say, well I hope they were listening
You don't need to listen
You need to listen and you need to instruct them
How they're going to behave
You say, well I really hope they listen
No, you're the one that has to tell them
You're the one that has to make the rules
You're the one that has to make sure your wife
Follows God's commandments
Because you know what?
She's susceptible, just like we all are
To the devil whispering in her ear
And getting her to do wickedly
But think of the positive
Let's just think about the positive
Have you ever told your wife, no I'm so scared
It's like, well look, you're in charge at least
Isn't that positive?
I mean, hey, at least you get to make the rules
At least someone else is in charge of your home
At least some other guy isn't going to make the rules for you and your wife
I mean, the government's trying
But you know what?
You can still be the man of the castle
You can still be the king
Hey, you get to control your own destiny
You get to control if your family serves God
What did Joshua say?
As for me and my house, we might serve the Lord
If she lets me
I'll have to
As for me and my house, honey
What?
No
He just said as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord
Didn't he?
He just said with certainty
Hey, I'm going to get the job done
And we need some men today that are going to get the job done
And think of the positive
Hey, you get to control your destiny, my friend
Or you can be like Aiken and go steal a bunch of stuff and lie about it and destroy your whole family
Or you can be like Adam and have a really big mixed bag
Good one, Adam
Good job, right?
Number three, what was the point of accepting reality?
You have to take care of those that cannot take care of themselves
You have to think of others
Your children and your wife are the weaker vessel
They need you to lead them
They need you to take care of them
They need you to make these decisions
Why? Because they're the ones in charge
Because God wants them to lead
And you know what, young men?
If you want to find this godly woman
You need to be someone that's willing to take the lead
Take the brunt of the responsibility
To get a job
To be responsible, to be a spiritual leader
If you want a godly woman to submit to you
She wants to find someone that looks worthy to submit to
Not just some bozo
Not just some jerk
But someone that's sober
That loves the Lord
That's going to work hard
That's going to provide for them
That cares about them
And doesn't care about just themselves
They care about others
Go to 1 Corinthians 12
I have one more practical example that I want to give you here
We could make this
We could really take this to every single area of our life, couldn't we?
And you know, I try to focus on ones that are really important
We just need people to accept reality today
Just accept who you are
And my third thing I want to talk about is just
You know, some people don't really like the idea of being a church layman
You know, the majority of people are going to be a church layman their whole life
And why can't you just accept that reality?
You know, some people have to be in charge
Or they have to be someone of notoriety
Or they have to get their name in lights
You know, I have to be, you know, the preacher
I have to be whoever
You know, I have to be the deacon
I have to be someone
You know, it doesn't matter
Why can't you just accept who you are?
Why can't you be excited about the position that you have?
Look at 1 Corinthians 12, verse 14
The Bible says that the body is not one member but many
If the foot shall say because I am not the hand
I am not of the body
Is it therefore not of the body?
And if the ear shall say because I am not the eye
I am not of the body
Is it therefore not of the body?
If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing?
If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
But now the God set the members, every one of them
In the body as it had pleased him
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
Nay, much more those members of the body
Which seem to be more feeble, are necessary
And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable
Upon these we bestow more abundant honor
And our uncumbly parts have more abundant comeliness
The Bible says that the church of God is like a body
And we need every single part
The eyes, the ears, the nose, the hair, the elbow
Every single aspect of your body is needed
And it's loved and it's appreciated
Now sometimes we don't always appreciate it as much as we should
But when it's injured we do
When it's missing, you do
When you don't have it, you really miss it
You really miss that Achilles tendon when you don't have it
You might not even think about it that much
If it's hurt, you'll think about it
Hey, you'll think about that knee
You'll think about that elbow
You'll think about
Look, just getting a splinter underneath your fingernail
You're gonna think about that one
A paper cut
Hey, you get the webbing in your fingers just cut just right
I mean, you're gonna think about it
You get something caught in your ear
You get something caught in your nose
You get something in your eye
I mean, we're talking about your whole body is in pain at that point, right?
And here's the thing
In the Christian life
You are gonna be a different body part than many other people
You might be the eye
You might be the elbow
You might be the armpit
You know, we don't know
But we need an armpit
Hey, you might be the nose
You might be the toe
You might be the fingernail
We don't know
But here's the thing
What we need people to do is accept
Who they are in the body of Christ
Say, hey, you know what?
I'm gonna be the best elbow there is
I don't wanna be an elbow out of joint, you know
That's gonna be annoying
Hey, why don't you be the best elbow
The best nose
The best ear
The best eye
And, you know, there's a flip side of this, too
Some people, they think, well, if I was an eye, you know
Then I would be excited about my life
There's some people that are an eye
And they're upset that they're the eye
They're like, why can't I just be like the knee or something?
You know
Why don't you just accept
The job that God has given to you
Why don't you just accept who you are in the church of God
And not think of yourself more highly than you ought to think
And also accepting whatever job responsibilities you have
Stepping up to the plate
I mean, do you really want, when you're driving
Your eye to be like, you know what?
I just wanna be a knee
I wanna be a knee
You know, it's like bad timing
You need to step up and be the eye
Because the knee is not gonna be as good a driver
You know
Right?
And you know what?
Sometimes you got people
You say, hey, you need to be an eye
And you're like, I wanna be, you know, an elbow
And you're like, be an eye
And then you got some people that are an elbow
And they're like, I wanna be an eye
And you're like, be the elbow
You really need to be an elbow, okay?
You really need to be the knee
But what do we have?
People just need to accept who they are
In the Lord
You know, women say, oh, I wanna be the preacher
You're not gonna be the preacher
Not in this church
Except not being the preacher
You say, oh, that's not fair
Look, most of the men in this room are gonna be the preacher
Get over yourself, okay?
You say, well, I just wanna be the...
Look, just be who you are
And be the best person that you can be
Hey, be the best piano player
Be the best song leader
Be the best Bible reader
Be the best soul winner
Hey, just be someone that's always at church
Hey, I like this person
They're always at church
They're always there
They're always comforting
They're always loving
Just be the best person in Christ
Why?
Because you just gotta accept reality
Why can't you just say, hey, this is who God made me
God wanted me to be here
God put me in this part
For a reason
And I'm gonna focus on the positive
Hey, at least I can be part of the body of Christ
Hey, at least I have a good church to go to
Hey, at least I can preach the gospel
Hey, I'm part of a great body here
We're winning championships here, spiritually
You know, some people, they just get excited to get traded to the winning team
Like, they're like the second...
They're like the backup kicker
But they get the same Super Bowl ring that everybody else got
They're like, sweet, I'm on this team
This team is great
They don't even do anything
They're never even put in the game
But they get the same trophy
And we need people today to just humble themselves
Accept who they are
Think about the positives
And you know what, realize it's about others anyways
Hey, what was the point of accepting...
Hey, there's other people here that need me
And you know what, if everybody said
I have to be the preacher, I'm not coming to this church
Well, I guess I'll just preach in an empty room
That's not gonna work out very well
Who am I gonna motivate to go out soul winning with me?
Who am I gonna motivate to sing praise to God with me?
Who am I gonna motivate... Who am I gonna pastor when it's just a bunch of chairs?
I'm gonna get like stuffed animals and be like, come on buddy, you know
I'll go down there, amen, yeah, you know
No, we need a whole body here
Go to Matthew 25, Matthew 25
I have two verses I wanna look at, we'll be finished
Accept who you are, accept what talents God has given you
And just use them for his glory
Don't get so caught up in which talents that you have
Isn't there a story when there's a man
He doles out talents to different people
One guy gets ten
One guy gets five
One guy gets one
Well, I wish I had got five
Wish I had ten
Why can't you just say, hey, I got a talent
Hey, I wanna just accept the reality that I only got one talent
I wanna think on the positive that I could do something with this talent
And realize that it's my master's talent
And so it's about him anyways
And just use it for his glory
But is that what the guy did that got the one talent?
Look at Matthew 25 verse 24
Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee
That thou art a hard man reaping where thou hadst not sown, and gathered where thou hadst not strode
And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth
Lo, there thou hast that is thine
As the Lord answered and said unto them, Thou wicked and slothful servant
Thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gathered where I had not strode
Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers
And then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury
Take therefore the talent from him
And give it unto him which hath ten talents
Now this is an interesting story
But notice this guy, he didn't want to accept the fact that he only had one talent
He's focused on the negative about his master being a hard man
And he's so scared and only concerned about himself, not his master
And so he hides the talent
Rather than just even giving his boss just a little bit of usury
Giving him a little bit of extra
Just getting any kind of profit
What a wicked and slothful servant today
And you know what, when you get caught up not accepting reality
You end up squandering the opportunity you had
He can't take this opportunity back can he?
Can he say, well I wish I had gotten ten
Well you didn't get ten, get over it
Well you know he's a hard man and I don't know
He might pun it
Hey, why don't you think on the positive
If you do good he might reward you
In fact when you read about this story
When they just get like one extra talent
He's like that's an extra city you get to rule over
That was a pretty good benefit
Think about the positive, like hey he's entrusted me with this
If I'm really good with it maybe he'll give me more
And not only that, just think about the fact that it's his money anyways
He's entrusted him to you, it's about him
Why don't you bless him with it
Whatever God has given you, what kind of person are you?
Are you sitting here, I wish I had ten talents
I wish I had five
I only got this one, well are you using it for God?
You know what, everyone that's saved has one talent
Because you can all preach the gospel
Well I just buried it in the ground
I just hid it under a bushel
You know why can't you just use the talents that God gave you
Use the resources that God gave you
And say you know what, if you give me one talent
You know what, I'm going to do the best I can with that one talent
I'm going to accept the reality of what I've got
And you know what, when you accept the reality of what God's given you
He gives you a lot more
Hey the guy that accepted that he got ten
He could have been like what if I got a hundred
He gets another one, he gets the guy that was lazy's talent
He gets to be the top earner
Accept who you are, go to Ecclesiastes chapter 9, last place I'll be turned
You know Joseph went through some hard times in his life
He got thrown into prison
But you know when he got, he got thrown in prison falsely
He was falsely accused and went thrown in prison
You know he just accepted that reality didn't he
He focused on the positive, he became the ruler in there
And he thought about others, he was helping others with visions and dreams
And then he gets elevated doesn't he
Before that in his life he was sold into slavery by his own brethren in the Potiphar
But you know what, he accepted that reality
And he worked hard
And he was diligent with what God gave him
And God kept giving him more
And you know what, I don't know what life situation you're in
You could be in a tough situation
I guarantee it's not as tough as Joseph's was though
I don't see anybody in prison right now
I don't see anybody sold into slavery
I don't know about, okay
I don't think you are
And guess what, he accepted his reality
He accepted his life circumstances
And he said you know what, I'm going to do the best with where I'm at
I'm going to do the best with what I've got
You know Daniel, he was sold into slavery and became a eunuch in Babylon
And I don't remember him complaining about it
That's a lot to complain about
He accepted his reality
Not only that, he thought about the positive of where he was at
And he was thinking about others the whole time
And in fact, it's weird in the story
But whenever they go to kill all the wise men and counselors
David wants to give the dream so that they'll be spared
These wicked, ungodly, you know, pagan counselors
He wants to spare them
He's thinking about others
And you know what, God uses that to promote and to elevate him
Ecclesiastes chapter 9, look at verse 5
For the living know that they shall die
But the dead know not anything
Neither have they any more reward
For the memory of them is forgotten
Also their love and their hatred and their envy is now perished
Neither have they any more proportion forever
In anything that is done under the sun
Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy
And drink thy wine with a merry heart
For God now accepteth thy works
Let thy garments be always white
And let thy head lack no ointment
Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest
All the days of thy life of thy vanity
Which he hath given thee under the sun
All the days of thy vanity
For that is thy portion in this life
And in thy labor which thou takest unto the sun
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do
Do it with thy might
There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave of thou goest
Why should you accept reality?
Well, you can't change the things that have already happened
Just accept them
Number two, why not focus on the positive instead of all the negative
And number three, it's always about others anyways
But think about this concept
When you're dead, it's over
All your love, all your hatred, all your envy, all your strife, everything you did
It's all gone
You lost your opportunity
When the master returns, he says, where's my talent?
It's like, there's no more, well, now I'll serve you
Now I'll go put it in the bank
Nope, the opportunity has been lost
But he's saying, hey, whatever your hand finds to do
Whatever job you've been given
Wherever you find yourself, hey, do it with thy might
This is your opportunity, this is your life
You say, well, I wish I was born at the time of Christ
You're not
I wish I was the disciple
I wish I was with the apostle Paul
I wish I was in this church
I wish I lived in this place
I wish I was there, I wish I was this one
You're not
You're you
Be the best you that you can be
Why can't you just accept who you are
And be the best version of yourself
Just say, hey, I can't change my life
I'm where I'm at for a reason
God has me here, I still have breath
And I can't change the past
You know what I can do, though?
I can accept the things that I can't change
And you say, you know what?
This is my plight in life
And I can think about the positive
And I can ultimately realize, you know what?
I can have a positive impact on others
And that's why we're here anyways
Just think about the others
And just do it for them
And do it for the Lord Jesus Christ
Let's close in prayer
Thank you, Father, so much for your word
Thank you for what you have given us
Thank you for all the blessings that we've received
I pray that we would not have an ungrateful and murmuring spirit
But rather we would be ones that would accept reality
Even when we go through difficulty
Through struggle, we see David with the loss of a child
We see Joseph in constant turmoil in prison and slavery
We see Daniel going through difficulty
These men had the ability to accept the reality that they were in a difficult spot
They were able to focus on the positive
And they were able to think about others
And to love others
And I pray that we would also have the same mindset
Of one that could just accept reality
And take what you've given us
And do it to the best of our ability
In Jesus' name we pray, amen
Amen
We'll go ahead and sing our last song
It's Psalm 150
It should be the laminated hand up
Or you could use your Bible
On the first
Praise ye the Lord
Praise God in the sanctuary
Praise him in the firmament of his power
Praise him for his mighty acts
Praise him according to his excellenness
Praise him with the sound of the trumpet
Praise him with the psaltery and harp
Praise him with the timbrel and hands
Praise him with string instruments and organs
Praise him upon the loud cymbals
Praise him upon the high sounding cymbals
Let every thing that hath crept
Praise the Lord
Praise ye the Lord
Praise God the Father
Praise God the Son
Praise God the Holy Ghost
Praise God in three persons
Have a good night