Brygram shall be taken away from them,
and then shall they fast in those days.
They spake also a parable unto them.
No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old,
if otherwise them both anew maketh a rent,
and the piece that was taken out of the new
agreeeth not with the old.
And no man putteth new wine into old bottles,
else the new wine will burst the bottles and be spilled,
and the bottles shall perish.
But new wine must be put into new bottles,
and both are preserved.
No man also having drunk old wine
is straightway desireth new,
for he saith, The old is better.
Brother Nick, will you pray for us?
Lord Father, we just thank you for this opportunity
to be here today.
We pray that you would still pass through your spirit.
Let us mend the distractions and help the offenders
as they preach with us.
To us, Lord, we pray for Sister Mariah Todd
to ever give you the doctor's wisdom,
and finally to honor her with it,
and we pray that you'll put your hand upon her,
and bring the Father of Christ into us today.
We pray these things in Jesus' name, and amen.
Amen.
Let's look back at verse number one where the Bible read.
And it came to pass that as the people pressed upon him
to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,
and saw two ships standing by the lake,
but the fishermen were gone out of them,
and were washing their nets.
And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's,
and prayed him that he would thrust out
a little from the land.
And he sat down and taught the people out of the ship.
Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon,
Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draw.
And Simon answering said unto him, Master,
we have toiled all the nights, and have taken nothing.
Nevertheless, at thy word I will let down the net.
And when they had this done,
they enclosed a great multitude of fishes,
and their net break.
And they beckoned unto their partners,
which were in the other ship,
that they should come and help them.
And they came and filled both the ships,
so that they began to sink.
When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees,
saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
For he was astonished, and all that were with him,
at the draw to the fishes which they had taken.
And so was also James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
which were partners with Simon.
And Jesus said unto Simon,
Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
Now, when we read this section of scripture,
there's a lot of different things
that we could take from it and learn from it.
But the title of my sermon this evening
is Feeling Inadequate, Feeling Inadequate.
We see a very profound statement by Peter here,
in verse number eight, where he says,
Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
We see a vulnerability in Peter at one point in his life,
where he looks at the situation,
he looks at where he finds himself,
and he feels like, I'm not the guy.
I'm not the one that you should really be trusting in.
I'm not the guy that's gonna help you out.
Lord, just find somebody else.
And we notice in this story, in verse number five,
Peter, he doesn't really understand
what the Lord's trying to ask him to do.
He says, Hey, we toiled all the night,
and have taken nothing.
Nevertheless, at thy word, I will let down the net.
And in the Christian life, there's gonna be times
where we don't understand certain things.
There's gonna be parts of the Bible that we look at,
and we think, I don't know.
I don't really see it.
I don't see how I'm gonna get there.
I don't see how this makes sense.
You know, in my own wisdom, in my own understanding,
I think it should be a different way.
I kinda see what the Bible's saying,
but I just don't know that I agree.
I don't know that I'm the person
to really fulfill the scriptures as they're laid out.
Maybe you're just tired.
Maybe, frankly, you just don't wanna do it.
I mean, they toiled all the night.
He sat there and struggled and struggled
and struggled and struggled to try and get fish in there.
They toiled all the night.
He's tired.
He doesn't really wanna do it.
But then, like his attitude says,
well, nevertheless, at thy word, I will let down the net.
So you see, even though he doesn't get it,
he doesn't really want to.
Nothing inside of him is saying, like, let's go for it.
In fact, it doesn't make any sense physically.
He's saying, well, your word says it,
so I'm just gonna do it.
And then what happens?
Well, they bring in a great harvest, don't they?
But then he finds himself in a situation
he didn't know he was gonna be in.
He was just kinda, I'll just throw the net in, right?
Then all of a sudden, they can't even get him.
They're just like, oh, man, get another ship over here.
We got so many fishes, right?
And in the moment of prosperity,
in the moment of being blessed,
and the thing that he thought he wanted,
once he gets there, he's like, whoa, I don't know.
Depart from me, oh Lord, I'm a sinful man.
And I think a lot of times,
there's a lot of areas of our life
where we find ourselves in a situation,
and we think, am I really the person?
Can I really do it?
You know, why me?
What is inside me that's gonna get this done?
And we look at the word inadequate in the dictionary.
It says this, lacking the quality or quantity required,
insufficient for a purpose, not enough,
deficient, poor, scanty, scarce,
too little, incomplete, limited.
It says of a person unable to deal
with a situation or with life.
You know, and if we were honest with ourselves,
I think all of us are put in a situation at times
where we think, I don't think I can deal with this.
I don't think I can keep going.
I don't think I can make it.
I don't know if I'm really the person
that should be doing this task.
Maybe there's a better person out there.
Maybe there's someone else that's more qualified
that's a better person.
We see, when Peter sees what the Lord's done unto him,
he's saying, I'm not your guy, Lord.
You don't realize who I am.
I'm very sinful.
I'm a sinful guy.
Choose somebody else is kind of what he's saying here.
But what does Jesus say in verse 10?
He says, fear not.
He knows who Peter is.
He's not picking Peter.
Oh, you're sinful?
I didn't, oh, I was looking for a guy that wasn't sinful.
I was looking for the guy that wasn't a fisherman.
I was looking for somebody else.
No, Jesus knew he was looking for,
and he was looking for Peter for a reason.
And I think when we have these feelings of inadequacy,
if we were really trying to boil it down,
when do we feel these?
It's when you're overwhelmed with a task.
When there's some task that's presented before you,
and it just seems large, it seems very hard,
or a very daunting task, we begin to internalize
and feel like, well, I'm not the guy.
I don't know if I can do it.
Maybe there's someone else.
So I'm gonna quickly provide the solution
to feeling inadequate, and then we're gonna apply it
to certain areas of our life.
So if you go to 1 Timothy chapter number one,
1 Timothy chapter number one,
I think when it comes to feelings of inadequacy,
the most important step, the first step
in resolving this issue is realizing no one is perfect.
Look, that's what we do when we go out
preaching the gospel, right?
But when you realize no one's perfect,
it's not like Christ was deciding between,
well, here's a bunch of perfect people, and then Peter.
Look, they're all sinful.
There's not a just man upon the earth
that doeth good and sinneth not.
God uses sinners to accomplish his will.
I'm a sinner.
I sin.
I'm not perfect.
You're not, none of us are perfect.
So if we were looking, well,
God's only gonna use people that are perfect.
We all should just quit and go home now, all right?
What are we doing here?
God wants to use sinners, and when we realize that,
it can lessen the load of feeling inadequate,
feeling like, well, maybe I'm not the guy.
Maybe there's someone that's better.
Maybe there's some other option.
What about 1 Timothy 1?
Look at verse 15.
This is a faithful saying and worthy of all
exceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
Howbeit for this cause I obtain mercy,
that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth
all longsuffering for a pattern to them
which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
Now these are some powerful verses.
The apostle Paul, what he's trying to communicate
is he's saying, look, I'm the worst of all sinners,
and God picked me to show you
that no matter where you come from,
no matter what sordid past you have,
God can still use you.
God still has a plan for your life.
God still wants you to serve him,
and he used the chief of sinners
to be one of the greatest Christians
to ever walk this earth.
The apostle Paul, writing so much
of the New Testament scripture,
turning the world upside down with the gospel,
going out and planting churches
and getting all kinds of people saved,
doing great things for the Lord.
He was chief of sinners,
and a lot of times we look at ourselves
and we think, I'm not that guy.
Well, you know what?
Paul had that opportunity to feel that way,
but you know what he said?
He says he's gonna give more glory to God
because it's a pattern.
You can show, hey, I used to be this guy,
but now I'm gonna serve the Lord.
Now I'm gonna get it right,
and there's no time like the present.
So the reality is, no one's perfect.
You know what that means?
There's room to improve.
If you're not perfect, then there's room to get better.
Go to Romans, chapter number six.
So if there's room to do better,
we need to do better.
When you're feeling the feeling of being inadequate,
you shouldn't look at it like, wow, why am I here?
What you should do is realize,
maybe I should just get better.
Because nobody's perfect.
Nobody's this ultra superstar qualified person.
Why don't I just improve?
Why don't I just get better?
Why don't I just become qualified?
Why don't I become adequate?
And you know what the Bible teaches
is that we ought to strive for perfection.
So even though we realize we're not perfect,
even though we realize that we do struggle,
even though we do realize that we are sinners,
what we should strive for is perfection.
And realize, hey, I'm inadequate.
I'm not the person that I need to be,
so I'm gonna strive to be the person that I should be.
I'm gonna strive for perfection.
And look at Romans, chapter six, verse 19.
I speak after the manner of men
because of the infirmity of your flesh.
For as you have yielded your members' servants
to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity,
even so now yield your members' servants
to righteousness unto holiness.
For when you were the servants of sin,
you were free from righteousness.
What fruit have you been in those things
where you are now ashamed?
For the end of those things is death.
But now being made free from sin
and become servants to God,
you have your fruit unto holiness
and the end everlasting life.
For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
What is the Bible saying?
It's saying, look, when you are unsaved,
you are free from righteousness.
You know what that means?
There is no obligation for you to be righteous.
You're unsaved.
Without faith, it's impossible to please Him.
You had no other option.
But He's saying now that you are saved,
you know what you need to do?
You need to yield your members to servants of Christ,
the servants of righteousness,
the going out and doing that which is right.
You should strive for righteousness.
You should strive to be holy.
You should strive to be perfect.
And then we realize when we're not,
God's mercy and long-suffering and grace will cover that.
And realizing God's still gonna use sinners.
God's still gonna use the imperfect.
You find me the guy in the Bible that's perfect.
There's one, it's Christ.
There's none good but one, that's God,
is what the Bible teaches.
So you say, man, I don't know if I can do this job
that God's commissioned me in the Bible.
You can.
But here's the thing.
You say, how can I be perfect?
How can I strive for affection?
Well, we realize that it's not by our own might.
You say, hey, I'm inadequate.
We are probably, let's just face it.
You're a sinner and you are inadequate
but you should strive for perfection.
How should I strive it?
Through the Lord.
We have to trust and lean on the Lord
to be our strength to get us there.
Go up to Proverbs chapter number three.
Proverbs chapter number three.
The Bible says, be therefore perfect,
even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
You know, no one accidentally does the right thing.
Nobody accidentally serves God.
Nobody accidentally does anything big for God.
You gotta make plans and effort
and you got to try to succeed.
So we should strive for that perfection.
You know, when you have a task to do,
when you're gonna make something or do something,
you should strive to make it perfect.
And in fact, if you're going to make it,
why wouldn't you not wanna make it perfect?
Why would you not strive to do the best job
that you possibly can?
And in every area of our life,
we should always strive to do the best that we possibly can.
But if it were by our might,
we would all fail and you will fail by your own might.
That's why we have to rest in the strength of God
in order to succeed.
Look at Proverbs three verse five.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart
and lean not on thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him
and he shall direct thy paths.
So according to the Bible,
when you think you're inadequate in the flesh,
when you feel that way, don't trust your own opinion.
Don't trust your own understanding.
What you should do is lean upon the scriptures
and let the scriptures tell you what you need to do.
Always rest upon his promises.
Always rest upon what the word says.
Go to Psalms 28, go backwards in your Bible.
We're quickly going through these
because I really wanted to just take this lesson
and then apply it to a lot of things in our lives.
But the Bible also says in Psalms 18 verse two,
the Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my strength in whom I will trust,
my buckler and the horn of my salvation and my high tower.
God is the one that's gonna give us the strength.
God is the one that's gonna get you
over the feelings of inadequacy.
God is the one that's gonna help you
be successful in your life.
God is gonna be the one to help you accomplish
everything in this book.
You say, how am I gonna do the things written?
Through God's strength, through God's power,
through God's might.
Look at Psalms 28 verse seven.
The Lord is my strength and my shield,
my heart trusted in him and I am helped.
Therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth
and with my song will I praise him.
So you say, I'm feeling like I can't do it.
You know how you get help?
Just rest your heart upon the word of God.
Rest your heart upon his promises.
Rest your heart in the commandments of God
and know even though you think you can't do it,
you probably can't, with man it's impossible,
but with God all things are possible.
And that's how we find success is through resting upon him.
Go to First Corinthians chapter number 10.
First Corinthians chapter number 10.
The Bible says in Isaiah 26, trust ye in the Lord forever,
for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.
You know, God is all powerful, but sometimes we forget that.
We think, I can't do it, you're right, but God can.
And if you just rest upon him and trust upon him,
he has all power.
You have the ability to get everything done.
What if a guy came up, you know, you're building something
or working on something, you're building a car, all right?
And this guy says, I built every single part.
I know everything about, I can put it all together.
I'll help you anytime you want.
How much confidence do you have when he shows up
to work with you?
But if you ignore him, if you don't use him,
your car's probably gonna fail.
He's like, I've never touched a car, I don't know what to do.
I'm just looking at the instruction manual, it's in German
and I don't, you know, I don't speak that.
But if you bring your friend over,
he's gonna accomplish all of it.
I built every part, I know it all.
God knows everything here, he is the word.
He's ready to help you.
You say, I don't know if I can accomplish this task,
how can I do it through God?
God is gonna show us and tell us and teach us and train us
to be able to accomplish every single one
of his commandments.
He's not giving us commandments and then laughing at us
when we fail.
He's not like, hey, try to touch the ceiling
and you just can't.
You know, sometimes you put your hand in the forehead
of the kid and you're like, come grab me.
And they can't do it and you're just kind of making fun
of them or whatever.
That's not God.
God's not just giving us these unattainable goals
that we don't, oh, I don't know if I can do it or not.
And God's like, haha, you're so weak.
He knows we're weak.
That's why he wants us to rest in him
so that he can get the glory when we succeed.
And we can realize it wasn't by my mind,
it wasn't by my power.
You know what, God's not gonna commission you
or give you a commandment that you can't do.
That's what it's important to understand.
Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 13.
There is no temptation taking you,
but such is common to man.
But God is faithful who will not suffer you
to be tempted above that ye are able,
but will with the temptation also make a way to escape
that you may be able to bear it.
God is not gonna give you a task
that you cannot accomplish.
He won't do it, and he hasn't done it,
and he never will do it.
So when you feel inadequate, you should say,
you know what I need to do?
I need to just trust more in him.
I just realized I'm not perfect.
I can't do it on my own,
but I need to strive for that perfection.
I have not just quit.
I have not just say, well, I don't think I can do it,
so who cares, nuts to it.
Nope, you need to strive for that perfection.
You know you're gonna get there trusting in his word.
And my last point of when you feel this,
how do I practically succeed?
Because it sounds great.
You know, I just trust in him.
What does that mean, Pastor Shelley?
Well, go to Isaiah chapter 28.
You know, some people don't realize
that when you trust in the Lord, your life is easier,
because the reality is some people,
they just get just fed up with life.
So I can't handle it.
I have to go to work, and I have to work hard,
and I have to make money, and I have to pay bills,
and I have to just go through the mundane activities.
Tomorrow's Monday.
I have to go to work on, I can't handle it.
I just wanna sleep.
I just wanna lay around and sleep
and just, you know, watch the TV and read
and go to the park.
You sound like a bum.
They just wake up and go sleep on the park bench
and then go walk around.
They just do whatever they want.
You know what, their life is harder than yours.
I don't wanna live that life.
That life sucks.
That life's horrible.
That life is meaningless.
And people look, I can't do it.
You know, I can't be the bum,
because that sounds horrible.
That's horrifying to have nothing to do,
to have nobody to talk to,
to have nobody in my life that cares about me.
And then people, they get so stressed.
Oh, there's all these people that want my attention
and my affection and I'm so stressed
and I feel so inadequate.
You know what, people would kill to have all that attention.
People would love to be in your position.
People would love to have the people in their life.
People say, you don't know my situation, it's so horrible.
Well, you know what, if you got a family member in your life
that loves you and cares about you,
why don't you just be excited you have that person?
You know, some people, they get disappointed
they only have a couple kids.
And it's like, some people have no kids.
Why don't you be excited about the kids you do have?
Why don't you be excited about the spouse you do have?
Why don't you be excited about the parents you do have?
Why don't you be excited about the church you do have?
Why don't you be excited about all the things
that you do have?
Instead of being, I don't know if I can handle it.
You know, I just want to be a bum.
Well, go be a bum.
Working hard every day is not gonna make your life harder.
Quitting is gonna make your life harder.
And any area of your life when you quit,
that is gonna make your life harder.
So how do I do it then?
How do I practically do it?
Well, look at Isaiah 28 verse nine.
Whom shall he teach knowledge?
And whom shall he make to understand doctrine?
Them that are weaned from the milk
and drawn from the breasts,
for precept must be upon precept.
Precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line,
here a little and there a little.
For with stammering lips and another tongue
will he speak to this people,
to whom he said, this is the rest wherewith
you may cause the weary to rest,
and this is the refreshing, yet they would not hear.
But the word of the Lord was unto them,
precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little and there a little,
that they might go and fall backward
and be broken and snared and taken.
Now, in this context,
it's not exactly what I'm trying to preach,
but we learn an important concept here.
We learn an important concept
that people learn things little by little.
And notice he says in verse 10 for precept,
must be upon precept.
If you wanna get anywhere in your life,
it's one small step at a time.
You know, I worked for an employer
and he always asked the same questions.
He had the same jokes, everything was the same.
He'd always say this, how do you eat an elephant, Jonathan?
One bite at a time.
He'd always say that, how do you eat an elephant?
Because you know, in the software programming industry,
most of your projects are very big.
Big natured, several months, maybe even years.
I've known projects that are seven year long projects.
You know, people that work in construction,
you could be working on a building for years.
There's certain things that you look at and you think,
how in the world are we gonna do this?
Well, you gotta start precept upon precept,
line upon line, here a little, there a little.
You say, how do I read this huge book?
One line at a time.
Just start with Genesis 1-1
and then work on two and then work on three.
That's the only way you're gonna get there,
is reading each, how do I memorize a chapter of the Bible?
Well, why don't you just memorize one verse?
One phrase of the verse, just start with one word, okay?
In, in the beginning, you know?
Just start, in, in, all right.
I got the one word, all right?
Just start small because then it doesn't seem daunting.
But why do people feel inadequate?
Because they try to look at the whole.
They try to look at like, memorizing the Bible.
That's just so many pages and there's just so many words.
Just start with one verse.
And oftentimes when you feel inadequate,
it's because you just feel so overwhelmed with the task.
Just start making a plan and then start taking it
one small chunk at a time.
And the Christian life is not one
where you go from unsaved to the apostle, you know, Peter.
Peter himself didn't do it, okay?
It took a lot of time, energy, effort, focus,
line upon line, precept upon precept,
here a little, there a little.
Then eventually, constantly moving in the same direction,
we eventually have the apostle Peter.
We eventually have the apostle Paul.
These guys did not just go from like, you know,
just snap a finger, oh, and all of a sudden
I'm an amazing Christian.
And the same's not gonna be with you.
You say, hey, I wanna make changes in my life.
I wanna be successful in my life.
You gotta start small and start building
and start growing and learning.
Now let's get some practical application.
Go if you would to Genesis chapter number three.
I have three areas that I wanted to look at
where I think that a lot of people feel very inadequate.
My first one is in the area of children.
Now I have a couple of different ideas
when it comes to children.
Here's one, just having children.
Sometimes it just overwhelms people.
It's terrifying, especially when they understand
that the Bible teaches to be fruitful and multiply.
They think, oh man, I don't know if I can have like 12 kids.
I don't really wanna be the Duggars.
You know, they instantly go to the most overwhelming idea.
I don't wanna be the Duggars, you know.
I don't wanna have 20 kids.
They have zero at this point, okay.
And they're like, I'm too afraid to have children
because then I'll be the Duggars.
Well, the reality is most people,
if they try as hard as possible, they won't be the Duggars.
You know, even in the 1800s when birth control
was not a thing really, when it wasn't real prevalent,
the average size of a family was seven to eight children.
These are people just trying their hardest
to have as many kids as possible, okay.
And they had about seven to eight.
Now again, that's a lot more than one.
That's a lot more than two.
But you know what, it's not 20, okay.
So in reality, some people they have
these like overwhelming ideas and it's not even reality.
It's not even something that can possibly happen.
So they get this idea, I can't do it.
I don't wanna try because I don't wanna have that many kids
so they quit on trying to have children.
It's so, I'm just gonna pop the pill.
I'm just gonna get the surgery.
I'm just gonna not be, you know, with my spouse.
We're gonna do something else and they stop trying
to have children because it just seems so overwhelming.
You know, I constantly hear people, they say,
how are you gonna pay for college for eight children?
I mean, you know, if we look at the most expensive college,
it's like a half a million dollars each and times eight,
that's like $4 million and you know,
what's the interest rate on that?
And it's like, whoa, slow down, buddy.
I don't even want them to go to college, first of all.
Second of all, they don't all enroll in college
at the same time.
If you have eight kids, okay, it's layered.
Unless you had, what is that?
Octuplets, that's not even possible, okay?
Octomom, that's like a freak of nature
from the science fair, you know?
They're trying to get all kinds of chemicals in her body
and trying to get her body to release hormones
and eggs when it shouldn't be.
That's not real, okay?
You, by following God's plan,
you're not gonna have eight children at the same time.
It's not gonna happen, okay?
Twins, maybe triplets, okay?
That's only within the realm of reality,
unless you're putting yourself on all kinds of drugs.
Other people, they'll say, well, if you have a bunch
of kids, you can't really give them all enough attention.
I've heard this one so many times.
They're like, man, you know, we love our kids so much
that we don't wanna have more and take away
from our time and attention on them.
Joke.
They feel inadequate to give enough attention
to the children.
Let me give you a secret, okay?
A good father of one child is gonna be a good father
of eight children.
You know what, a bad father of one child
is gonna be a bad father of eight children.
And in fact, if you only have one,
it's probably gonna be harder to teach them
a lot of other important lessons,
like it's not all about you.
Have you ever met an only child?
A lot of times, they're very selfish.
Now, I'm not saying not every time.
Obviously, good parents can raise good children
no matter what, but we see, hey, having lots of siblings,
a lot of times, will teach you a lot of life lessons
that are important.
And in fact, you know, if I go and play with my son
and we play basketball, just me and him, that could be fun.
But if we're playing me, him, and his brother,
and his other brother, and we got like a whole team,
it's even more fun.
You know what's more fun than playing one-on-one?
Two-on-two.
You know what's more fun than two-on-two?
Three-on-three.
Five-on-five.
I mean, let's keep it going.
That doesn't make it less enjoyable.
Oh, it wasn't fun playing with my dad and all my brothers.
It would've only been fun if it was just me.
That sounds like a selfish brat,
is what it sounds like to me.
All their analogies are stupid and foolish.
They have nothing to do with the Bible.
Well, let's realize nobody's perfect, right?
Wasn't that the first step?
You say, I feel inadequate.
How could I be irresponsible of so many souls?
Well, guess what?
God puts the responsibility of children to sinners.
No one is perfect, okay?
No one's gonna be the perfect parent.
And look, having children is very hard and difficult.
I think that's what people stress about.
You know, women especially, they'll stress,
I don't know if my body can handle all that.
I don't want my body to go through all those challenges.
Well, what did the Bible already tell us?
It told us that God was not gonna tempt you
above that which you're able.
So God's not gonna do something to you
that he doesn't want you to do.
But look at Genesis chapter three, verse 16.
Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply
thy sorrow and thy conception,
and sorrow thou shalt bring forth children,
and thy desire shall be thy husband,
and he shall rule over thee.
God said that having children's gonna hurt.
I'm not gonna lie to you, okay?
It is gonna hurt.
I have no idea, but my wife tells me about it.
No, I'm just kidding.
Obviously, if you are a woman,
you know what I'm talking about.
And a man we can only dread, all right?
We feel inadequate.
But here's the thing.
I believe this is about children.
It's the hardest thing you'll ever do,
and it's always worth it.
You'll always be appreciative that you did it.
You'll never regret it.
And that's the reality that you look at it
and you think it's overwhelming.
You think you don't wanna do it.
They try to shy away from it,
but then when they come out on the other side,
they're so glad that they did it.
They're rejoicing that they did it.
Go if you would to Psalms 127.
Realizing that you're not perfect
and realizing that there's gonna be pain involved
is the first step to that inadequacy.
They just accept it.
But you know what?
Things that are worth it in this life are hard.
Everything that's worth it is difficult.
Nothing that you really enjoy was just given to you
and it's free and just super easy.
Now, we could liken this to salvation,
but you know what?
It was difficult to obtain,
but Jesus Christ paid it all for you.
So we can't discount his pain and suffering.
And in fact, that's the only thing I know of that is free.
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.
Everything else you gotta pay for,
you gotta work for, you gotta earn.
And in this life,
the things that you're gonna really enjoy and cherish
are things that you work hard for.
But the people that, women that don't wanna do this
because of their body are just selfish.
And at the end of the day,
they're gonna reap that selfishness
when they don't have the children when they're older.
You know, I've never met an older person,
like a person that's beyond childbearing years,
all their children are grown and raised.
I've never met one that didn't say,
I wish I didn't have more kids.
They all said it.
Saved, unsaved, Christian, I don't care what it is.
There's a person that was older.
There's no way to go back to change this.
All their kids are grown and raised.
I just wish I had another one.
I wish I had two more.
I wish I had 10 more.
I wish I had more children.
All of them say that.
Now, if every single one of them is saying that,
listen up, young people.
Have as many kids as God will give you.
Why?
Look at Psalms 127, verse one.
Except the Lord build the house,
they labor in vain that build it.
Except the Lord keep the city,
the watchman waketh but in vain.
It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late.
To eat the bread of sorrows,
for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
Lo, children are in heritage of the Lord,
and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
Now, I like this verse two,
because he's basically saying all the things
you're going to miss out on by having lots of kids.
You don't get to sleep in or rise up.
You don't get to do what you want.
You have to sacrifice all that.
But it's vain.
You know what's the true reward?
Children.
Children are a reward.
They're not a drain on your life.
They're not going to make your life worse.
They're only going to make it better.
And so, the people that decide not to,
they're going to have a lot of issues in their life.
Go over to John chapter number 16.
You say, how can I handle all the pain
and sorrow, Pastor Shelley?
Well, first of all, just accept the fact
that there is pain and sorrow.
I mean, just realize it.
Sometimes when you have bad expectations,
then things are made a lot worse.
Just realize there is pain and sorrow.
You know what?
It's really hard for my wife to remember
how painful it really was.
Like, I was there, I saw it, and I was experiencing it,
and I'm like, that was horrifying.
She can't really remember exactly how bad it was,
and there's a reason why.
Look at John chapter 16, verse 21.
A woman, when she is in travail, has sorrow,
because her hours come.
But as soon as she is delivered of the child,
she remembereth no more the anguish,
for the joy that a man is born into the world.
The Bible says that there's this instant relief
after they have the child.
It's birth, it's a struggle, it's a pain, it's horrible.
There's nothing joyous about the birth part,
but you know what, it's joyous when the child is birthed,
and then you have that relief,
and then they have that child,
and they're so excited, there's so much joy.
I mean, women have so much emotion
that floods into their body after they give birth.
It's crazy.
Sometimes it is literally crazy, all right?
Just to let you know.
But according to the Bible,
you know how you get to that pain and sorrow?
Realizing the end.
The end is the child, and you'd give anything for it.
All that pain and sorrow, who cares?
Go back to Psalms 128 now.
Psalms 128.
You see, some people, they look at having a bunch of children
and they feel so inadequate.
I don't know if I could raise all those children.
Well, God's not gonna give you a whole bunch of children
that you can't handle.
Now, obviously, you can't control this.
You can't control if you have zero kids or 1,000 kids,
but let's just put God in control.
You know what?
God is gonna put you in whatever situation He wants
when you're following His commandments,
when you're doing that which is right,
when you're striving for perfection,
when you're trusting in Him and on His promises,
and there's all kinds of different people
and all kinds of different walks of life,
but I get discouraged when I see someone
deciding to go against His commandments
because of inadequacy, feeling like I can't do it,
and there's so many women, they look at it and they say,
I don't think I can give birth again.
I don't think I wanna go through that pain again.
I don't think I wanna do that for my body again.
You know what?
They're only hurting themselves.
Look at Psalms 128, verse one.
Blessed is everyone that feareth the Lord
that walketh in His ways,
for thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands.
Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.
Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine
by the sides of thine house.
Thy children like olive plants round about thy table.
Behold that thus shall a man be blessed
that feareth the Lord.
The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion,
and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem
all the days of thy life.
Yea, they shalt see thy children's children
in peace upon Israel.
You say, I don't think I'm ready, Pastor Shelley,
to have eight kids.
That sounds overwhelming.
Well, guess what?
You're not.
If you have zero kids, you're not ready to have eight.
That's gonna be a rude awakening.
You know how you do it?
One kid at a time.
Praise God we don't have litters.
You know what I mean?
Praise God you just get one at a time
and just build up your family.
And you know what one kid will do to you?
It'll teach and train you to not be selfish.
It'll teach and train you to love others,
to esteem others better than yourself,
to put other people, you know, more highly esteemed.
You know, when I go on trips, like soul-winning trips,
and I'm with two different men,
one man is married and has children.
The other man is single.
You know, I like to travel with more.
The guy that's married and has kids.
He's a much more responsible person.
And he cares about other people.
You know, young single men have a hard time
not realizing how selfish they really are.
You know, it teaches you a lot of maturity,
being married, having children.
And when you have eight kids,
that's probably gonna be a great guy.
He's probably the most selfless guy I've ever met.
Having more children is just gonna make you a better person.
Say, I don't know if I can do it.
Well, I hope you do, because you need to be less selfish.
No, I'm just kidding.
Here's another aspect of children.
Just how about raising them?
You know, raising children is a daunting task.
It can feel very overwhelming.
And I think a lot of parents,
they fear raising their children and then becoming bad.
Bad children, not loving them, not being good.
You know, all the different stages of child rearing.
But again, realize no parent's perfect.
You know, there isn't a perfect parent out there.
Your parents weren't perfect.
And guess what, you're not gonna be perfect.
I'm not a perfect parent, far from.
So what we should do is we realize
we should always try to be better
and strive for that perfection
and accept our imperfections and say, you know what?
How can I raise my child right?
Trust in the Lord.
So let's get practical application.
Go to Proverbs chapter 19.
You know, Proverbs gives you a lot of practical application
of how to trust in the Lord when raising a child.
You say, I'm afraid they're gonna be a terrible person.
Well, the Bible addresses that.
The Bible addresses how not to raise terrible children.
Look at Proverbs 19, verse 18.
Chasing thy son while there is hope,
and let not thy soul's spirit risk crying.
You know, there becomes a point
where it's too late for a child to be raised.
He's stuck in his ways, as it were.
So you need to chase in him now
while there's hope that he doesn't become a terrible person.
Flip back to chapter 17.
Look at verse 21.
He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow,
and the father of a fool hath no joy.
You know, obviously having children
is a blessing and it's a reward,
but if you do it wrong, it can end up being bad.
You still need to raise them right.
You still need to strive for that perfection.
And the people that just,
I don't feel like I can be a father, I'm just gonna quit.
How many dads did that today?
How many dads just walk away from their family?
How many dads today, they walk away from even just mentally?
I'm not gonna spend time with them.
I'm not gonna train them.
I'm just gonna go work.
I'm just gonna go do my thing.
I'm not gonna be there in their lives.
I'm not gonna teach and train them.
It's so hard.
It's hard to change the diapers.
It's hard to sit down there
and tell them the same word 50,000 times
and they still don't know it.
The, the, the, no.
I mean, look, kids need things over and over and over
and over and over and you think you train and teach them
and then, you know, a week later they forget
and you gotta train them and teach them
again and again and again and again.
You have to say no like a million times.
And it's hard because you love your child.
You don't wanna say no.
You don't wanna spank them.
You don't wanna do these things.
But go to Proverbs chapter 29, Proverbs chapter 29.
When you get outside of God's will,
when you stop trusting in God's word,
you're going to fail because you are inadequate.
You say, I am feeling inadequate.
Great, great for realizing that you are inadequate.
But you know how you get past that?
Realizing you're inadequate, realizing you're not perfect
and saying, you know what,
I'm gonna strive for perfection anyways
but I'm gonna do it through God's word.
That's how I'm going to do it and I'm gonna succeed
because I'm gonna do it one step at a time.
I'm not just, I'm not worried about college
when my oldest kid's four, okay?
First of all, I'm not worried about college period
but that's stupid to get so caught up
on all the things that you can't control.
Control the things you control now.
Worry about the things you control now.
Worry about now.
Worry about the next meal.
Worry about the next book you're gonna read to them.
Worry about what you got going on now
and if you take the right steps now,
you'll find up for the right destination.
You'll end up where you want to be.
Look at Proverbs 29 verse 15.
The rod and reproof give wisdom
but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
If you don't invest in your children,
you're gonna waste the opportunity
and you're gonna be brought to a shame.
The Bible says train up a child in the way he should go
and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Rest upon that promise.
Rest upon the promise of God saying, you know what?
If I train my child right, if I teach him the Bible,
if I'm constantly chastening and scourging them,
they're gonna turn out good.
You know what?
They're gonna take it one day at a time.
One spanking at a time, all right?
One beating of the rod at a time
and they'll turn out great.
The people that don't, they keep forsaking the rod.
They keep forsaking teaching and training their children.
They just forsake them and they turn out horrible.
Go to Romans chapter number five.
No child learns everything in a day.
It takes time, effort, energy, and a keyword, patience.
Patience, patience is a virtue.
You know, the Bible teaches this.
Look at Romans chapter five verse two.
By whom also we have access by faith and of this grace
wherein we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God
and not only so, but we glory in tribulations also,
knowing that tribulation worketh patience
and patience experience and experience hope
and hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God
is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost
which is given unto us.
The Bible teaches you that you go through this process
and when you think about it as a new parent,
if you've never had any children
and you have that newborn, you feel really inadequate
and you know what you do?
You look at it and you think, if I close my eyes,
I don't know if he's gonna take another breath.
So you sit there and you just stare at him the whole night,
the first night, and you feel like, I don't know,
I just can't take my eyes off him, I'm just so worried.
You're just so worried about their health and their safety
and it kind of is, in a way, tribulation
because it's new, it's a struggle,
but you make it through the first night
and it gives you hope, you'll make it through the next night
and you know what that's gonna do?
It's gonna give you patience
and that patience is gonna bring you that hope
so then the next night,
maybe you go to sleep a little bit sooner
and then the next night, the next night,
by your fifth kid, you're like, go to sleep already.
At first, you're just surviving the night,
you're watching everything, you know,
and you think, I don't know if I can make it.
Then the next step is just them sleeping through the night.
I mean, when you have that newborn,
it feels like they're never gonna sleep through the night.
You just feel like, oh man,
when will they just sleep through the night?
I'm never gonna sleep again,
they're never gonna sleep again.
Then it eventually happens.
Then you want them to sleep on their own.
You sleep in another room, right?
I don't want you to be in my room.
Then you have to go through the phase of weaning
and you think, oh man, I just don't know if I can do it,
they're never gonna wean.
The kid's never gonna stop weaning, then it weans.
Then you're like, well, I just want them to feed themselves.
They're never gonna feed themselves.
Then eventually they start feeding themselves, don't they?
They're never gonna talk.
Then they start talking, you're like,
I wish they wouldn't talk.
I keep telling them to shut up.
I keep telling them to keep their mouth shut.
You know, I was waiting for that talking
and now I wish I could take it back.
I wish they would just walk.
Oh, now they're getting into everything, you know?
It's just this constant struggle
and through that tribulation comes what?
Patience.
You start realizing it's gonna happen.
Eventually every woman gives birth.
Eventually every kid learns how to talk.
Eventually every kid learns how to walk.
Eventually every kid feeds themselves.
Hey, they get out of diapers eventually.
It might seem like forever.
They eventually use the bathroom by themselves.
You don't have to accompany them.
They finally buckle themselves in the car.
Oh man, isn't that great?
You know, you're eventually gonna get
to the places that you need to be
and when you go through those experiences,
it's gonna give you patience.
Go to Exodus chapter number three, Exodus chapter number three.
We gotta realize that we're gonna feel inadequate
many times in our life.
There's gonna be a lot of areas that we look at
and we think, I don't know if I can do it.
And in fact, some of the greatest men
in the Bible felt this way.
Peter felt that way.
You know who else felt that way?
Moses.
Look at Exodus chapter three, verse 10.
Come now therefore, and I will send thee an Pharaoh,
that thou mayest bring forth my people,
the children of Israel, out of Egypt.
And Moses said unto God, who am I
that I should go an Pharaoh?
And that I should bring forth the children
of Israel out of Egypt.
And he said, certainly I will be with thee,
and this shall be a token of thee,
that I have sent thee.
When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt,
ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
So Moses, he felt inadequate.
Who am I?
Why are you picking me?
I'm just some guy wandering around the wilderness.
And in fact, many times Christians feel this way.
They think, who am I to do anything?
Who am I to do the work of the Lord?
Look at verse one of chapter four.
Moses answered and said, but behold,
they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice,
for they will say, the Lord hath not appeared unto thee.
And the Lord said unto them, what is that in thine hand?
He said, a rod.
So he shows them a couple miracles.
Skip down to verse nine, and it shall come to pass
that they will not believe also these two signs,
neither hearken unto thy voice,
that thou shalt take of the water of the river
and pour it upon the dry land.
And the water which thou takest out of the river
shall become blood upon the dry land.
And Moses said unto the Lord,
oh my Lord, I'm not eloquent, neither heretofore,
nor since thou hast spoken to thy servant,
but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
And the Lord said unto them, who hath made man's mouth?
Or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing,
or the blind?
Have not I the Lord?
Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth,
and teach thee what thou shalt say.
And he said, oh my Lord, send, I pray thee,
by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.
And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses.
And he said, is not Aaron the Levite thy brother?
I know that he can speak well.
And also behold, he cometh forth to meet thee,
and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.
Now go to 1 Timothy chapter one.
He learned an important lesson.
Moses, he's told to go save the children of Israel,
to go out and bring them out of the promised land.
He's like, I'm not your guy.
Who am I?
Then he's like, uh, you're the guy.
I'm going to be with you.
I'm going to be with your mouth.
And he's like, just send who you want.
And then God gets mad at him.
And we see people today, moms today,
they think, who am I to raise these children?
Well, God gave them to you.
God opened your womb.
Why don't you just be excited that God chose you and do it
already?
Do the work that God has given you.
God is not going to tempt you above that you're able.
But you know what?
God has committed to every single one of us
something very important.
Look at 1 Timothy chapter one, verse 11.
According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God,
which was committed to my trust, and I thank Christ Jesus
our Lord, who hath enabled me for the economy faithful,
putting me in the ministry, who was before a blasphemer
and a persecutor and injurious, but I obtained mercy,
because I did it ignorantly and unbelief.
You know what was committed to the apostle Paul?
The gospel.
You know what the gospel is?
Go out into all the world and preach the gospel
to every creature.
Now, if I just walked up to you and said, hey, you by yourself
get everybody the gospel in the world,
you're like, I can't do that.
Who am I?
But we see Paul was committed.
That trust was put inside him.
And he's supposed to go out and accomplish this task.
And he realized, I'm a sinner.
I'm not perfect.
You know what, I'm going to strive for perfection.
I'm going to strive to do it.
And I'm not going to trust in myself.
I'm going to trust in the Lord.
And we'll just do it one soul at a time, one door at a time,
one church plant at a time.
And then we read in the book of Acts,
I'm pure from the blood of all men.
Why?
He didn't do it by his might.
He did it by God's might.
God is the one that helped them go out and reach
the whole world with the gospel.
And when we look at our church, you say,
how can we get all of these people saved?
Well, first of all, we can't.
How can we at least reach them with the gospel?
Well, look, it'd be impossible in our flesh.
But you've got to do it one door at a time.
We've got to just be faithful to God's promises,
to what he commanded us to do.
You think God is just sitting there like, oh, here's
a church that everybody's committed
to getting the gospel, their whole area.
They're going to fail.
Nope.
The gates of hell should not prevail against us,
because we're built upon the rock.
We're built upon his promises.
The reason why we will do it is because we limited God.
God is all powerful.
God is ready to save many through us.
The Bible says, but as we are allowed of God
to be put in trust with the gospel,
even so we speak not as pleasing men,
but God, which trieth our hearts.
You know what?
Every single moment, God is trying you.
He's saying, are you going to do it?
Are you going to accomplish it?
Are you going to get the work done?
But he wants us to put all of our faith and trust in him.
Go, if you would, to 1 Kings chapter number 3.
1 Kings chapter number 3.
The Bible says, in daily in the temple and in every house,
they cease not to teach and to preach Jesus Christ.
You might sit here in this church
and you think, how can we get the gospel, everybody, here?
How can we do it?
We can't.
But through God, we can do it, through his power
and his might and his strength.
If we all trust in his promises, we
can go out and get the gospel to every creature.
I'm ready to do it.
I'm ready to trust in his promises.
You say, I feel inadequate.
I feel like I can't do it.
Well, you know what you need to do?
Realize you're a sinner and you can't.
And realize, hey, I should strive for perfection anyways,
though.
And I need to trust in God's word,
and let's just do it one door at a time.
And let's see what we can accomplish.
I mean, if we just looked at this area,
you might not have thought that four years ago.
That's a pretty big area.
But look how much work we've already done.
How much work's already been accomplished one door at a time.
And if we keep being faithful, God will bless us.
Our Bible says, therefore, my beloved brethren,
be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding
in the work of the Lord.
We need to strive to always be abounding in the work of the
Lord, truly be steadfast.
I mean, this is not just cool.
This is who we are.
This is what we're striving for.
We're striving for perfection.
You say, are you going to be perfect, Pastor Shelley?
No.
Is this church going to be perfect?
No.
Are you going to be perfect?
Definitely not.
No, I'm kidding.
No.
But we're going to strive for it.
And we're going to trust in God.
And he's going to give us the victory.
How about my last point?
This is the last one I want to talk about.
How about a church?
So we've talked about having children.
A lot of people feel very inadequate.
Also, it could be seen that it's very inadequate
that we could get the gospel, everybody.
But we should still strive for those.
How about just church in general?
Running a church, preaching a sermon, building a church,
reaching the world with our church?
I mean, these things are some daunting tasks.
Building a church?
I mean, that sounds difficult.
We've got to realize there is no perfect church, right?
We're not perfect.
It's not going to be perfect.
But we should strive for perfection.
We should strive to be perfect in everything that we do.
And let's see what it says in 1 Kings, chapter 3, verse 5.
And Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon
in a dream by night.
And God said, ask what I shall give thee.
And Solomon said, thou hast showed
unto thy servant David my father great mercy,
according as he walked before thee in truth
and in righteousness and in uprightness of heart with thee.
And thou hast kept for him this great kindness.
But thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne
as it is this day.
And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king
instead of David my father.
And I am but a little child.
I know not how to go out or come in.
And thy servant is in the midst of thy people,
which thou hast chosen a great people that cannot be numbered
or counted for multitude.
Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart
to judge thy people.
That I may discern between good and bad.
For who is able to judge this thy so great of people?
So he's seeing three different men that all felt inadequate.
Peter feels inadequate.
He falls down before the Lord.
He says, I can't.
Moses falls down.
He's like, send somebody else.
You know what Solomon does?
He realizes he's inadequate.
And he says, give me an understanding heart.
Give me the wisdom that I may judge this so great of people.
He says, you know what, I'm ready for the task.
I know I can't do it.
That's why I need you to bless me with an understanding heart
so that I can do it.
And when you feel inadequate, ask God to help you.
When you trust in him, what we read in the Psalm, I am helped.
You really believe God's going to help you?
He will if you ask in faith with nothing wavering.
Go if you would to 1 Corinthians 16.
1 Corinthians 16.
You need to trust in the Lord because he said,
upon this rock, I will build my church.
I'm not so worried about building the church.
I'm worried about just doing my job right
and letting God build the church.
Letting the Lord Jesus Christ bring in whosoever he will.
And I get on my knees and beg and pray
that I'll bring more laborers in.
Because the harvest truly is great,
but the laborers are few.
I'm supposed to pray for more laborers
and to be a good example unto the flock.
But you know what, I know that I can't do it on my own.
I got to trust in this book.
I got to trust in his commandments.
I got to do everything.
I got to preach the hearts.
I got to tell people I hate people, you know?
That's what the Bible says.
Can I get up?
Is that how I can build a church?
I don't know.
People still showed up.
So after the morning sermon, right?
How about us?
The Bible says out of weakness,
they were made strong in the Old Testament.
You know, God likes weakness
because then he gets more glory.
The Bible says with men, this is impossible.
With God, all things are possible.
Now, here's something that happens
when it comes to inadequacy.
When people start feeling inadequate,
they make a big mistake.
Instead of just running to God,
running to his promises, trusting in him,
what they do is they have fake humility.
When they start feeling inadequate,
they say, well, I'm not really a good preacher.
And they're begging other people,
oh, you're a good preacher.
You're so good.
You know, oh, I don't look pretty today.
Oh, you look so pretty.
Oh, you're so pretty.
Oh, I don't think that my kids, you know,
are really good kids.
Oh, you have great kids.
When they feel inadequate,
they just let it come out with this fake humility,
begging people to compliment them,
begging them to tell them how special they are.
And look, it's fake crap.
You know what you need to do when you feel inadequate?
Just trust in the Lord.
Hey, realize you are inadequate.
Maybe I do suck at this.
So why don't I just strive for affection then?
And why don't I get the power and might and strength
through God's word and realize if I'm weak,
he's gonna get more glory when I do it anyways.
You say, hey, I'm not that great a preacher.
Well, God's just gonna get more glory then.
Hey, I'm not that great of a parent.
Look, no one's a great parent.
Just trust in God's commandments
and you'll have great kids, I promise,
no matter what you do.
Now, what about preaching a sermon?
Look at 1 Corinthians 16, verse nine.
For a great door and effectual is opened unto me,
and there are many adversaries.
Now, if Timotheus come,
see that he may be with you without fear,
for he worketh the work of the Lord as I also do.
Let no man therefore despise him,
but conduct him forth in peace that he may come unto me,
for I look for him with the brethren.
Now, why is this in the Bible?
It's very important.
Timothy was looked down upon.
People looked at Timothy and they said,
who's this young punk in here preaching to us?
We want Paul.
Where's Paul at, you know?
But when he has Timothy there, he's saying,
hey, you guys better not despise Timothy.
And look, when Timothy's coming into a situation,
he could very easily feel inadequate, right?
People are already looking down upon him.
He's younger, he has this opportunity.
But you know what the Bible says?
Let no man therefore despise him.
You know what, Timothy shouldn't get discouraged.
He should just rest in the word of God
and say, you know what,
I'm supposed to do the job I'm supposed to do.
And oftentimes, people that really strive for perfection,
they'll be promoted early in their lives.
And they ought not look at it and say, I'm inadequate.
I'm not capable of doing it.
They should say, I'm here for a reason.
Let's get the job done.
And not be afraid about the naysayers.
Not be afraid about what other people think.
You know, I've given a lot of people
opportunity to preach sermons.
And they think, who am I to preach a sermon?
Well look, if I'm putting somebody behind the pulpit,
doing a good job, strive for perfection.
Don't look at it and think, I'm inadequate.
You are.
You know what you should do?
You should think, hey, I'm gonna strive for perfection.
I'm gonna trust in God's word,
and I'm gonna do a good job line upon line,
precept upon precept, here a little, there a little.
I'm gonna keep doing better.
I'm gonna keep striving for his word.
You know, Timothy might have been young and inexperienced,
but you know what,
he was in a position of leadership and authority.
And when you're in a position of leadership and authority
and you're young and inexperienced, people will despise you.
People will not like, it's just gonna happen.
That's why he told him, hey,
we're not gonna let people despise you.
Let no man despise thy youth, is what he told Timothy.
Why?
Because who cares about all that?
You're in that position for a reason.
Now take advantage of that opportunity.
Don't feel inadequate and ruin the opportunity
you have before you.
Press into the Lord, press into his commandments,
and strive for that perfection.
Here a little, there a little.
Go all the way to Jeremiah chapter 12.
We only have two more places I wanna look at this evening.
Timothy was charged to keep the commandments of God.
The Bible says in 1 Timothy chapter one,
as I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus,
when I went into Macedonia,
that thou mightest charge some
that they teach no other doctrine.
Women, you are charged to be fruitful.
You are charged to not spare the rod.
You're charged to chasing your children.
You know what, we're all charged to preach the gospel.
And so when you feel inadequate,
you gotta remember, God commanded you to do it.
And God is not gonna give you a commandment
that you shouldn't do.
And you know what, God's commanded us to have church.
God has commanded us to come here and worship him
and serve him and to build a church
and to be a light into this world.
And we ought not look at it and think,
I don't know if we can do it.
You know, we should look at it and say, we can't.
But since we can't, we need to just rest upon him
and he'll do it for us.
He'll give us the victory.
He'll enable us to accomplish his will
because he charged us to do it.
He's letting us do it.
Don't look, maybe if there was someone else here,
we would get it done.
If we just had other members,
if we just had other people here,
somehow the work of the Lord would be successful.
Nope, you know what's gonna be successful?
With you, with us here,
us just being committed to God's word.
You say, well, we're weak and frail.
Great, God's gonna give more glory.
People look at our church, they're like,
wow, y'all built that church, wow.
Y'all reached us, made me be able to do the gospel.
God must have been really helping you guys.
Amen, right?
It's not in our power and our might.
The Bible says in 1 Timothy 1, verse 11,
according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God,
which is committed to my trust,
God has entrusted us with the gospel.
You know, Jeremiah felt like he was inadequate.
He said, then said I, ah, Lord God,
behold, I cannot speak for I am a child.
He went through the same struggles of Timothy.
Young men in the ministry.
Hey, John the Baptist, 30 years old.
Jesus Christ, 30 years old.
Timothy, he's young.
Jeremiah, he's young.
You know what, young men, they look and they say,
well, maybe when I'm older,
then I could do some big things for God.
No, do it now.
Say now is the time.
You say, hey, you know, maybe when I'm older,
I'll have some kids.
No, now.
Hey, maybe later we'll get some of the gospel.
No, now.
Now is the time to do the work of the Lord.
Now is the accepted time.
This is the point in your life to do it now.
There's never a time like the present.
And we have a big job to do,
but we need to start doing that one line at a time.
Start doing that precept one line at a time.
Look at Jeremiah chapter 12, verse five.
If thou has run with the footmen and they have wearied thee,
then how canst thou contend with horses?
And at the land of peace wherein thou trustest,
they wearied thee.
Then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?
You know, when you can't really be successful right now,
how are you going to be successful
when your brethren are trying to lie about you
to the government to put you to death?
When people are being sawn asunder,
when people's heads are being chopped off.
I mean, when I read this book
and I look at the tribulation and then people are like,
I can't drive 20 minutes to church.
You're not going to make it.
I mean, it's like, come on.
So petty, so carnal.
The things in this book are intense
and we're not headed for an easy time.
We're headed for great tribulation.
You say, how are we going to get there?
Well, first we need to get the gospel, everybody.
How are we going to do that?
One door at a time.
You know what?
You say, I feel inadequate.
I don't think that I can go through that.
Well, don't think about all of it right this second.
Just think about now.
Can you just give the gospel to one person right now?
Just worry about that.
Because when I think about it too, it seems overwhelming.
Can you really stand before the Antichrist
and get your head chopped off?
I hope so, but I'm not really worried about that.
I'm worried about just getting these people the gospel.
I'm just worried about tomorrow, okay?
The next day, the next step,
doing everything that's right
and just trusting in his promises.
Go to Revelation chapter three,
the last place I want to have eternal, okay?
We just realized we're not perfect.
We're all sinful.
And God is going to use sinful men
to give the gospel to the whole world.
You know who's going to give the gospel to the whole world?
Imperfect, sinful people.
But we should strive for that goal.
We should strive for that perfection.
And every moment counts.
You know we're going to get there
making plans to accomplish it?
What kind of plans?
Plans on this word.
Plans on the Bible.
Trusting in his promises, not our own.
And one step at a time.
When we have those feelings of inadequacy,
the Bible tells us what God wants us to do.
Look at Revelation chapter three verse 19.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chase him.
Be zealous, therefore, and repent.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If any man hear my voice and open the door,
I will come into him and will sup with him and he with me.
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me
in my throne, even as I also overcame
and am set down.