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["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] All right, thanks for coming and putting the seat this morning. You want to go ahead and take your seats. And again, it's yours. Go ahead and please take your seats. Turn up song number 129. Take it serious by singing song number 129. That's song number 129. ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] All right, go ahead and have a word of prayer. Thank you for the opportunity to be here now. For the preaching of your word, we pray that you would just bless the service this morning. And you would be able to know the fullness of your spirit today. And in the week to come, we ask in Christ's name, amen. All right, let's go over to song number 13. Let's Jesus bear the cross alone, song number 13. That's song 13. ["Jesus, Bear the Cross Alone"] Oh, there's a cross for everyone, and there's a cross for me. Oh, the cross of great impacts of air, till flesh shall set me free. And then, oh, all my ground to bear, for there's a ground for me. Upon the crystal, big, big town, that Jesus placed in me, Joyful, I'll cast my golden crown, in his dearing repeat. O precious cross, O glorious crown, O precious day. The angels from the stars come down, and bear my soul away. All right, this time we'll go through our announcements. If you need a bulletin, go ahead and slip up your hand, and Brother Adam will bring you one. As always, we have our service times every Sunday at 10, 3 a.m., and again at 5, 3 p.m. Thursdays at 7, we're going through the book of 1 Kings. We'll be in chapter number 10 this week. We've also got the Churchwide Soul Winning listed below that, as well as the Salvations and Bathrooms, as we go from looking here. A couple of notes about the church. We're family-integrated, so there's a nursery back there provided for mothers and nurselings, if they just need to get away with a fussy baby or change a diaper, or just to go back there. That's available to you. Also, the restroom that's inside is preserved for ladies and young children only. If you need men to use the bathroom, there's two kings hanging there for the east and west bathrooms. The sides are going to be the opposite of us. If you have any questions about that, just grab Brother Adam. He'll explain all that as well. Also, we've got a note there. Please silence your cell phones from the remainder of the service if you haven't already done so. Before I forget to, I just want to mention quickly to folks that are going out soloing, this card, I keep seeing this pop back up on the shelf back there. This has dead links on it. I'm just mentioning that. If you're handing this out, it's not new to you. It's got these are both dead links. I checked it yesterday. We have our church invites back there. That's the one I prefer to see you hand out. It has the QR code right on it, so it's kind of a two-for-one. You don't have to carry a cool white and a new two-card. You can just give them that one card that we designed and the QR codes on the back. The QR codes are really quite handy. They kind of come back. If you're going to be out there inviting people out and you're handing out the invitation, do point that out to them. Say, hey, if they don't want to hear the gospel and you're there, say there's a QR code. I tell them, just point your phone at it. There's a lot of people wanting to know that if you just open up the camera app on your phone and point it at its QR codes, it actually just brings a link up right on the screen and I just tap it and boom, you're there. It used to be you had to download another app and then scan it. It was kind of a cumbersome thing. But now that they've really kind of upgraded that technology, these things have become quite useful. But again, that's already on our card, our invite back there for Tucson Church. We really don't need to be handing these out, especially if they have dead links on them. So if they're going to hand some out, make sure it's legit. I just wanted to mention that real quick. Over on the right-hand side, you've also got the New Testament Niner Day Challenge. Now, you might notice, maybe some of you are already on me about this, but there was a bit of a, that was about a day behind, actually, I think, because of the schedule I'm using. Anyway, the point is this, is that I think Day 73 is actually tomorrow, so you kind of have a grace day. That kind of worked out. Today's the 72nd day of the year, so if you want to get ahead, this is your chance. But go ahead, just keep working away at that. This week kind of lightens up there towards the end. We've got Seth and John here. Those are all just one chapter for us. We've got kind of a lighter end of the week coming up. But who's still working on the New Testament Niner Day Challenge? Great. Okay, so keep at it. Below that, we've got our second movie night coming up. So this is going to be one that we actually push a little bit harder in the coming weeks. Probably beginning this Saturday, next Sunday, we'll have some invites to go out and actually hand out to people to invite them out for movie night. The last one we had was kind of our test run, and it was well received. I think everyone enjoyed that, so we're going to do that again. And we've got, this is going to be a double feature. Now don't let that scare you, because these aren't full length films that we're watching. That's why it's a double feature. The idiot scientists professing themselves to be wise, that's like a 45 minute relief. And the truth about Hinduism, which is a really interesting documentary by itself, is it's about 52 or 53 minutes. So it's not going to be, and if you want to go after the first one or just show up for the second one, whatever, that's why you can do that. But it is going to be a double feature. We'll have a, what do they call that when we do that between the two bones? Intermission. Intermission, yeah, we'll have that intermission. You don't even look like a thing on the screen right now. So anyway, but come on out for that. If you haven't been down already, that's going to be Friday, April 1st. Hopefully you see an audio there with the idiot scientists, April Fool's Day. With the less said and smart, there is no God. So that's kind of a big gimmick there. But that's going to be at 7 p.m. We're going to have popcorn that you can last time, hot dogs, all three of the course refreshments. So I'll have a sign up shoot for that here in the coming weeks. But just keep that on your calendar. Now on the back, we've got the weekly Bible ministry passage for the children and young people. We're working on a coverage check in between. So if you get these two verses done by next Sunday, you'll be able to collect an ice cream bar out of the freezer. How many kids here are going to get this last week's one? All right. Let me clean it up. I can see a few hands. Who's already got it? Which kid has already done it? All right, that's one. We also have a cross-country soloing marathon to El Paso, Texas, coming up Saturday, March 18th. They just got back, right? Brother Baby got back from the running trip to the one in San Diego. I think they had like 33 soul winners out, right? No, about 80. 80. Sorry, I didn't have numbers back. It was about 33. And 33 salvation. So praise God for that. Was it a lot of people from the church or were there a lot of locals there? There was not that many locals. First works and people. Oh, that's right. First works. So anyway, great turnout. A lot of salvation. So the next one is going to be El Paso, Texas. So you can speak to Brother Daniel, right? He's the one that's heading that up. You can actually just speak to me, honestly. And then we've also got the upcoming events below that. Look at the next preaching right here, the month, as well as the fact that we've got next month's birthday doughnuts and New Mexico Monday coming up as well. That's going to do it for announcements. Let's go ahead and turn over to the next song before we get to preaching. We're going to sing a song number 137 in times like these. Song number 137. In times like these, you'll be the savior. In times like these, you'll be the anchor. Be very sure. Be very sure. You'll make your host. You'll reach the solid ground. This rock is Jesus. Yes, he's the one. This rock is Jesus. The only one. Be very sure. Be very sure. You'll make your host. You'll reach the solid ground. In times like these, you'll be the Bible. In times like these, you'll be the idol. Be very sure. Be very sure. You'll make your host. You'll reach the solid ground. This rock is Jesus. Yes, he's the one. This rock is Jesus. The only one. Be very sure. Be very sure. You'll make your host. You'll reach the solid ground. In times like these, I have a savior. In times like these, I have an anchor. Be very sure. Be very sure. The anchor holds. You'll reach the solid ground. This rock is Jesus. Yes, he's the one. This rock is Jesus. The only one. Be very sure. Be very sure. The anchor holds. You'll reach the solid ground. All right, great singing this morning. At this time, we're going to pass it off until later on. As it goes around, you can follow along with other people as it reads from Matthew chapter number four. But I ask Matthew chapter number four. Matthew chapter four. The first one of the Bible reads, no one is led up of the spirits and the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, he was after all hungry. And when the tempter came to him, he said, if thou be the son of God, you might be stoned and made bread. But he answered and said, it is written, that thou shalt not live by bread alone, so that every word that proceedeth out of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city and seteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, if thou be the son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written, he shall give his angels charge concerning him, and their hands shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash that foot against the stone. He is said unto him, it is written, thou shalt not tempt the Lord our God. Again, the devil taketh him into the seething high, counting the showeth of all the demons of the world, and the Lord our God. And saith unto him, all these things will I give you, that thou wilt fall down and worship. Then saith Jesus unto him, get thee hence, for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God. In the moment shall thou serve. Then the devil leadeth the evil angels came and ministered unto him. Now Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison and took part in the gallery, and leaving Adam, he came to go and plant a bale, which was upon a sea coast, and the borders of Adam were met with it. Then he went to the field, which is spoken, by the signs of the prophet, saying, Alleluia is Adam, and Alleluia is Adam. By the way of the sea, he honors your peace, Alleluia is Adam. The people which stand darkness saw great light, and was under the shadow of the region, and shadow of death. Life sprung up. From that time, Jesus began to preach, and to say, I repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And Jesus, walking by the steam gallery, saw two brothers, Saturn called Peter, and Adam's brother, casting a net, which he could see through his vision. And he said unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fish from heaven. And they straightway left their nest, and followed. And going on up the fence, he saw the other two brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and John's brother, and the ship of Zebedee their father, and the name of the next, and called them. And they immediately left the ship, and their father, he followed them. And Jesus came about all the hours of teaching their synagogues, preaching the gospel, the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness, and all manner of disease among the people, and staying with God all serious. And he brought his name to all sick people, and was taken with adverse disease and performance from those who possessed the devil, and those who were looted, and those who had to follow him to heal them. And they followed him. And they followed him with all the great announcements of healing from God, and the kingdom that he posed, and from Jerusalem, and from the dead, and from God's work. For that, I encourage you to pray for us. Well, God be Father, just thank you for today, Lord, just thank you for your goodness, and your merciful lives. Just take a good opportunity to be in your house, Lord, and just give us wisdom, and fill us with your spirit, and come to the court with your spirit, allow us to be bold to us, and just give our understanding to you in the word, Lord. Again, we pray, Amen. Amen. So the first thing I want to point out here in this passage, beginning in verse 12, is the fact that Jesus grew up in Nazareth, which is a city in Galilee. If you notice there, it says in verse 12 now, when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee, and leaving Nazareth. So it says there that he departed into Galilee, and leaving Nazareth. So he went into Galilee, and then did what he did there, and then he left Nazareth, which shows us that Nazareth is in Galilee. Now if you would, go back to chapter number 22. Now we understand that Jesus obviously was born in Bethlehem. Most people understand that. They know that. But then you also see where he's called a Nazarene. And people get confused, and they think, oh, he took the Nazarite vow. No, there's a difference between Nazarene and Nazarite. Nazareth was a place. It's a city. Nazarite was a vow that they had in the Old Testament. I'm not going to go into all that. But Jesus was not a Nazarite. He was a Nazarene. And that shows us right there that Nazareth was a place in Galilee. That's where Jesus came from. And of course, again, he was born in Bethlehem. We know that from Matthew, that when his father fled, came back into the land, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee. And he came and dwelt in a city, it says there, your verse 23, and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth. So that's where Jesus grew up, was in Nazareth, and in that area that's called Galilee. And I'm pointing that out because I want us to understand that Galilee is a place that you see in Scripture that has a poor reputation. It's not that everyone that comes from there is bad or something like that, but it seems that it's not a very desirable land. And that, in fact, some people had even gotten to the point where they were even saying that people that came from there weren't good. It was a place that had a poor reputation in that region. If you would, go back to 1 Kings chapter 9. This is where we were Thursday night. I'm just going to kind of cover something real quick. I didn't have time for it on Thursday night and make some application, but the first thing I'm pointing out is that Galilee is a place that had a poor reputation, and that's where our Lord came from. Galilee came from Nazareth. So the Bible is very true when it says that he took upon himself a form of a servant, that he made himself of what? No reputation. That he condescended to men of low estate. That's what Jesus did. In fact, it's no coincidence, I believe, that he came to dwell in this place called Nazareth in a land called Galilee, which had in that region, amongst the people around them, a poor reputation. It just makes sense that the Lord did that. Because, of course, again, he was very humble. It shows his humility. But Galilee does have a poor reputation. I'm going to read to you from John chapter 1. It said in verse 46 that Nathanael said unto him, you know, this is when Philip found Nathanael, Nathanael said unto him, can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Remember, Philip had said, hey, we found Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And he said, wait, can any good thing come out of Nazareth? And, you know, you can kind of see even then that they already had that Nazareth, that Galilee already had this reputation, a poor reputation among the people in that region that, hey, no good thing comes out of Nazareth. You know, we would say that about certain places in the world today. You know, we like to knock. I don't know what city or state you like to knock. You know, I have my preferences. But I'm not going to go there. But we do disparage other parts of the world in the country today, don't we? Well, you know, the Californians and the Texans are always at each other's throats, right? They're always saying, oh, California is, you know, it's a land of fruit and flakes. And then they're talking about how, you know, the Texans are this and that. And Arizona is just sitting here in the middle just kind of enjoying the show. You know, we're just kind of here like, you both want to be here anyway. We both know we're the best. But, you know, a lot of people from the West Coast will disparage the Midwest. You know, and I'm from the Midwest. And I can bear witness that this witness is true. You know, the Midwest is worth disparaging, okay? But, you know, this is that kind of thing that's going on here. It's just, you know, people get territorial. People get proud about their region. They look down on other areas. Nothing new here, right? And here's where you have, you know, Nathaniel saying, hey, can any good thing come out of Nazareth, right? How could this be, how could he be the Messiah if he's coming out of Nazareth? You know, there's nothing good comes out of there. But we have to understand that this was a long-standing reputation, too. In fact, you see this in 1 Kings chapter 9. You might have caught that. On Thursday night, I looked there at verse 10. It says, and it came to pass at the end of 20 years when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord and the king's house. Verse 11, now Hyrum, the king of Tyre, had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees and with gold, according to all his desire, that then King Solomon gave Hyrum 20 cities in the land of Galilee. So it's, hey, you know what? You've done all this nice stuff for me. Let me give you 20 cities in the land of Galilee. Now, you know, real estate has always been a very desirable thing, right? If someone were to come to me and say, I'm gonna give you 20 cities in some region, you know, I probably wouldn't turn my nose up at it. You know, of course, then again, I'm not a king to begin with. But, you know, he gets these 20 cities, King Hyrum receives them, and notice his reaction about this gift of 20 cities in the land of Galilee. It says in verse 12, and Hyrum came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, and they pleased him not. So he looks at them and says, I don't like these cities. I don't like this region. And they pleased him not. And he said, what cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? Now, we might read that and say, man, what a ungrateful jerk, you know? Boy, he's turning up his nose at these cities. But really what's going on here is that, you know, we see from 1 Kings 9 and the fact that this is a reputation that this region had, even in Jesus's day, that, you know, this was kind of a warranted criticism that the King of Tyre had, that Hyrum had. He's saying, what are these cities? Oh, cities in Galilee? Thanks, you know. That would be like, you know, the California being given 20 cities in Texas. They'd be like, oh, gee, thanks, you know, Texas, you know, and vice versa. You know, because it's a land that had a reputation as, you know, maybe it just wasn't the best land situationally for things like agriculture, which obviously was a very big thing back then. That was, you know, the main thing that they did back then was agriculture. Maybe it was just not a very attractive land. You know, some cities and states are more beautiful than others. You know, very few people drive through Iowa just in awe of the natural wonders, right? You know, I was originally born in South Dakota. Now, the Black Hills are beautiful, but, you know, if you go east in South Dakota and down I-90, I mean, you might as well be in Iowa. You know, I'm from Michigan. You know, I grew up there. You know, South Dakota was the land of my nativity, but then I turned aside into the parts of Michigan later in life, right? You know, Northern Michigan is gorgeous. You got the Great Lakes. You know, it's the third coast, right? That's what they call it. So, you know, it's got all the sand dunes and the forest and the trees, but, man, if you get down near Ohio, you get in the southeast corner of Michigan, it's just kind of bleh, right? It's all flat farmlands. There's nothing really attractive. You say, oh, they got the lakes, yeah, but they have the sunrise side of the state. They don't have the Sunset Lake, Michigan, right? So, you know, some places are just more beautiful. Maybe it was something like that, but there was just something about these 20 cities in the land of Galilee, something about Galilee that when King Hyrum saw them, he said, thanks for nothing. You know, what are these cities that you gave me? They pleased him not. And he goes on and says, and he called them the land of cable unto this day, which means, you know, cable meaning like it's not desirable or even dirty. Some people say that's what that word means, that it's a dirty place. So there's just something about this land that he doesn't like. But notice in verse 14, you know, Hyrum doesn't, you know, he's not got necessarily have a bad attitude because then it goes on and says, and Hyrum sent to the king six core talents of gold. You know, and then it goes on and talks about how Solomon went on to, you know, to levy a tribute in the land, okay? And so he went along with what Solomon was doing. He didn't get insulted. He didn't get offended. But you know what he did have is he had a criticism, didn't he? He saw something that Solomon was trying to do for him and said, you know what? I see what you're trying to do. I appreciate the thought, but you know what? This isn't that great of a place. You know, you could have given me something better. You could have done something a little bit better. And what I want to preach to you about this morning is giving and receiving criticism, giving and receiving criticism. And the first thing I want to point out, and if you would keep something there in 1 Kings 9 but go to Luke chapter seven, Luke chapter number seven, is that, you know, it's acceptable to express criticism. It's acceptable to express criticism and disappointment in other people. And look, this is something, I know I touch on this from time to time, but we need to preach about this because we're living in such a sensitive generation today. You know, it started in my generation when we were coming up when I was being raised. You started to see this kind of thing creeping in where they're talking about, you know, in elementary school you should only give warm fuzzies to people. You should never give them cold pricklies. Who knows what I'm talking about? Nobody? Nobody? Man, nobody. Wow, that's a first. Well, they had this whole thing, like they sat us all down in like fifth grade and they showed us this video on bullying, you know, on a VCR. Now who knows what I'm talking about? Okay, I'm just kidding. You're all old, okay? But they showed us and there was this whole demonstration about, you know, these two kids, you know, one was saying something mean to the other one and he's, you know, on the bus or something. He said, hey, that's a cold prickly. You know, like don't say mean things because those are cold pricklies. What we only want to give is warm fuzzies to people. You know, and this was totally lost on all of us, okay? I'm telling you what, like that didn't change a thing. We went on, I mean, and we bullied each other, we picked on each other, you know, but today, you know, that philosophy, that mentality of trying to make everybody just super sensitive to everybody's feelings and never saying anything critical and never saying anything harsh, never expressing any disappointment, never expressing any criticism, that philosophy has taken over. Now we have a whole generation of people where if you say the wrong thing, they're not just going to feel bad about it, they're going to try and cancel you. You know, we live in a cancel culture. They're even going back and they're trying to, you know, delete things that they found offensive that were done like in the 80s or something. You know, they're getting rid of music and movies and things like that, which were ungodly to begin with, but I'm just using an example to show us that, you know, that's the generation we're living in. That's why I'm preaching this this morning, is that because of the fact that we're living in a world that seems to think that giving, there's something wrong with giving and receiving criticism. When actually we see criticism being given and being received quite a bit in scripture, and the Bible talks a lot about this subject, and I'm just going to touch on a few things this morning, but the first thing I want us to understand is that it's acceptable. There's nothing wrong with it. You know, if I give you a cold prickly or someone gives you a cold prickly, you know what, maybe you needed a cold prickly. You know, maybe the warm fuzzy wasn't what you needed, okay? And Jesus did this. You know, Jesus was someone who criticized people. He expressed disappointment in people. He pointed out faults all the time, and he did it to certain degrees. Sometimes he really got after people, and sometimes it was a very gentle rebuke. You know, I think about, you know, Mary and Martha, when Martha was cumbered about with much serving, and she came to him and said, Does thou now care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? And bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha. And this is him kind of, you know, saying, relax, calm down, you know, everything that women love to hear when they get upset. Never tell them relax. That's like the last thing you should tell them. Martha, Martha, he says, Thou art careful and troubled about many things, but one thing is needful, and Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her. He's saying, what is he saying? He's criticizing. He's expressing disappointment. He's saying, no, in fact, I'm not going to tell her to stop because what she's chosen is that good part. Then he didn't necessarily say, what you're doing is wrong, but he just said, you know what, you're not going to get your way. You know, what he's saying is, suck it up. And it was a gentle way of doing it. But what's he doing? He's expressing, he's giving criticism here. He's expressing, you know, probably a criticism. I wouldn't say it's necessarily a disappointment, but by the time you get to Luke 7, he's expressing some serious disappointment in some people, isn't he? He says there in verse 39, And when the Pharisees which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what man or woman this is that toucheth him, for she is a sinner. So you remember he'd been invited into the Pharisees' house and the woman came, you know, she was ill repute, right? And she's, you know, she's crying and wiping his feet with her tears and she's kissing his feet. And the Pharisees see this and they're saying, oh, if he knew what kind of woman this was, he wouldn't allow her to do that. And Jesus answering and said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. You know, that's, you know, look out, here it comes, right? That's like when people say, hey, if you got a minute to talk, we got sometimes, you know, our hearts sink. I don't know if that ever happens to you. If your supervisor, your boss says, hey, I need to talk to you. Come into my office, right? It's kind of like, okay. What's this about? That's kind of what's going on here a little bit, right? He's saying, look, I have somewhat to say unto thee, Simon, and he saith, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors, the one owed five pence and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which of them will love them most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he who he forgave us forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou is rightly judged. And now here comes the criticism. And remember, this is all a criticism of Simon. This is him, you know, this is a pretty harsh criticism, too. He's saying, look, you know, you didn't do any of this. She's done all this. He says there, verse 44, Seeest thou this woman? I entered into thine house. Thou gavest me no water for my feet. But she hath washed my feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of my head. Thou gavest me no kiss, but this woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil about it is not anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, her sins which are many are forgiven, for she hath loved much. What's he doing here? He's saying, look, you didn't do this. You didn't do this. This is him expressing a criticism. This is a disappointment that he has in Simon. This is a cold prickly, right? This is not a warm fuzzy. And remember, he's doing this in the presence of everybody. And he's comparing, he's pointing out Simon's shortcomings in comparison to a harlot. Somebody that Simon held a very low reputation. And he's saying, you know what, you might think so low of her, you might think so poorly of her, but you know what, you're the one who deserves the criticism here, because you're the one that failed. He rebukes, he offers this criticism here, but go over to Matthew chapter 18. Think about how he sternly, he rebukes Simon Peter, right? Remember what Jesus said to Satan when he tempted him? He said, get thee behind me, Satan. Get thee behind me, Satan. You know, that's something that he said to Peter as well. I'd had you go to Matthew 18, but I should have had you go to Mark 8. I'll just read to you from Mark 8. It says there in Matthew, or Mark 8, he spake that saying openly and Peter took him and began to rebuke him, but when he had turned about and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter saying, get thee behind me, Satan, for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. Again, that's a very harsh criticism that Jesus is delivering. And what I'm trying to get across is that it's appropriate to give criticism. There's nothing wrong with it. Look, if it's okay for Jesus to do it, we can do it too. He's our example. I don't want to get carried away and say that we need to just go around pointing out every flaw that somebody has or every time we don't, I just can't stand the way you chew your food or something like that or whatever. I don't like that color that you wore or something. People can go overboard, obviously. But look, there's a time and there's a place when people deserve to be criticized, when they deserve to be rebuked. Again, that's something we have to get over in this world. Now, it might be for most of the world out today in this culture that we're living in, they're too far gone. They couldn't even handle what I'm preaching right now. So many people have got such thin skin these days. But let it not be so in God's house among God's people. If you're going to live the Christian life, if you're going to come to a Baptist church where the Word of God is being preached, you're going to get your toes stepped on because none of us is perfect, self-included. No one's perfect here. We're going to preach things that are going to say, it's going to hurt. You're going to hear that and go, oof, ouch. That applies. But understand there's always a purpose behind that, not just to make people feel bad but to help them to become better Christians. Now, obviously, criticism does not always have to be harsh. We saw that kind of scale there with Jesus where he's kind of saying, Martha, she's chosen that better part. Or he's saying to Simon, Simon, actually, she's done better than you have in this instance. And then it gets to the point where he's even just calling Peter Satan to his face in front of the other disciples. And that's a pretty harsh criticism. Now, obviously, it doesn't always have to be that way. When we're going to go around, if we're going to express criticism, if we're going to express disappointment in somebody, we should be tactful in how we do it. But understand, is this even something that needs to be expressed? Or is this something I can just keep to myself? The Bible says in Proverbs 25, it says, A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold and pictures of silver. And as an earing of gold and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear. Sometimes people get this idea that, oh, reproof is good, rebuking is good. So now they're just going to go around and reprove and rebuke everybody for everything. And they turn into a little Pharisee themselves. But here's the thing, it says that it's a wise reprover upon an obedient ear. The Bible tells us that we shouldn't rebuke a scorner. Jesus said, Cast not your pearls before swine, lest they turn again and rend you. The wise reprover says, first, before he even offers criticism, before he even offers rebuke, he says, is this an obedient ear? Is this somebody that's even capable of taking rebuke? Is this anybody that's even capable of receiving criticism? Because if they weren't, it would not be a wise thing to reprove that person. Because it wouldn't be any good. It would just make them mad. It says in Proverbs 27, verse 5, I'll read to you, it says, Open rebuke is better than secret love. Open rebuke is better than secret love. It's better to have somebody in your life that will tell you the truth, that will rebuke you, that will criticize you, that will offer correction in your life openly to your face, directly, than to have somebody that just secretly loves you. If you have somebody in your life, they just love you to death. They just think you're the greatest person in the world, but they never tell you that. What good is that going to do you? None. It's not going to do you any good. But what if you had somebody who was willing to step on your toes, to say, hey, you need to fix this, you need to get this right, you need to knock that off, you need to start doing this. That's somebody that loves you. There's one relationship in particular that I think of when I'm talking about this, and that's that to parent and child. Kids often just think that their parents are just out to make their lives miserable. Like, oh, you're just always after me about this, always telling me to do this, always telling me to knock that off. But a lot of times parents are doing that because it's not just for their own sanity. Often it might be, especially with younger children. But as they get older, we offer more criticism, more tactful advice. Maybe it's harsh, maybe it's a criticism, maybe it's a rebuke, but it's done out of love because they want you to do the right thing and not to do the wrong thing. It's the same in the church house, too. The preacher gets up and he preaches some sermon and it just falls right in your lap. You feel like it's just all about me. Well, if the hat fits, wear it. But understand it's coming from a place of love. It's never the preacher's goal, at least it ought not to be, to get up and just make people feel uncomfortable and make people squirm. Look, if you're feeling uncomfortable about something I'm preaching, chances are that I feel uncomfortable saying it. Let me just go ahead and tell you. It's not a pleasure cruise for me either. But look, we need to have these things in our life. We have to have rebuke, we have to have criticism, otherwise we'll never improve. I mean, just think about all the different areas. There's so many examples come to mind where if people didn't tell you how you were doing something wrong, you would never get it right. If you had some job, some task where you're just doing it in the most inefficient way, you're botching the whole job, you're costing money, you're not doing it right, but your boss was just so nice that he never said anything. That's not going to help you, it's not going to help the business. You need people in your life to offer criticism, to offer rebuke, because that's what's going to make you better. Did I have you go to Matthew 18? If you're in Matthew 18, look at verse 12, he said, How think ye, if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them go astray, that he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of the sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went down astray, even so it is not the will of your Father in heaven, which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should not perish. Now I'm reading this because I want you to understand the context, okay? Understand the context of Matthew 18, because people love to just jump over all these verses and go right to verse 15. Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault alone between thee and him alone. They love that part, but they often forget that this is in the context of retrieving that which was lost, not letting that which was lost go astray, to restore things. You know, that's the purpose in going to your brother and telling him his fault between you and him alone. It's not so you can then go to the, then you can get your two or three witnesses and then go to the church, so you can get somebody kicked out of church. And you say, that's crazy, that never happens. Look, you'd be shocked how many times people have done stuff like this. They're just trying to Matthew 18 some other brother in Christ all the time. They're just trying to find any little fault, any, you know, he said this or he said that. You know, because here's what I'm getting at, is that, you know, criticism is something that's best expressed. You know, if it's done wisely, if it's done with tact, if it's, you know, if you're using wisdom, it's better to get things out than to keep them in, right? Because again, open rebuke is better than secret love, okay? But how is it to be done? How is it to be done? If there's, you know, it's to be done discreetly, it's to be done, you know, with wisdom upon an obedient ear, right? And here in Matthew chapter 18, look, he's saying, if that brother trespassed against him, go and tell him his fault. Go tell him what he did wrong. Now, let me just clarify this, because I don't believe that the trespass here is, you know, he gave you a dirty look, or he didn't shake your hand, or he didn't say good morning, or, you know, he gave you a cold shoulder, or a gasp, he even said something about you. You know, he might even, you know, made some comment, you know, that you didn't like. He gave you a cold prickly, you know, whatever. He didn't give you a warm fuzzy. You know, the trespass there, if you go to Exodus 22, and you're not going to go there for the sake of time, you know, it's talking about if they, like, wrong you financially, if they harm your property, it's like a major trespass. You know, it's not like, oh, that brother didn't shake my hand, I'm going to go to him and tell him his fault between me and him alone, and if he gives me any attitude, I'm going to get a witness, and then we're going to take it to the pastor, and we're going to get him kicked out of church. People do this, and it's ridiculous. The trespass there would be like, hey, you know, brother so-and-so was backing up after church, and just ran right on the side of my car, and did, like, $1,300 in damages, and refuses to pay the bill. He took off, you know, he fled the scene of an accident. I mean, right? I mean, that would be a major thing. It'd be kind of hard to just walk in here next Sunday and just shake his hand and be like, thanks, you know, and, right? That would be an issue, right? He needs to make that right. You know, you go to him, hey, you know, last week, you backed into my car, the paint's on your bumper, you know, your bumper paint is on my car, it's obvious, you know, we got footage, there were witnesses, are you going to make this right? No. Then you go get another witness, go over the whole thing again, and if he still refuses to hear them, then you take it to the church, and it says there, verse 16, or verse 17, and if you neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church, but if you neglect to hear the church, let him be as an heathen man and a publican. You know, meaning, you know, put him out from the church until he gets it right. That's what it's talking about. But see, people read that and they think, oh, now that means I can just, you know, I can just drag my brother in for every little thing that I perceive as a trespass. Now, I think the trespass there, when you look up trespass in the Bible, when you see the context that it's used in, is talking about some serious grievances. It's not just talking about little nitpicky things. And again, what's the context here? Why would you go to your brother and express this fault to him? Why would you go to him and rebuke him and say, hey, you did wrong to me? Now, look, if your brother is treating you poorly, if there's some church member who you don't like, maybe you need to go clear the air, you know, and say, hey, did I, have I offended you? Is there something wrong? Do we need to talk about something, you know, and restore that? But the point is always this, to restore that relationship. That's the context of Matthew 18, to find out, you know, that which has gone astray and bring it back so that there can be some rejoicing. You know, it's not, it's about not losing these relationships, not letting these things to just fall apart because of some, you know, some trespass. Go to Leviticus chapter 19. I should have turned to Leviticus chapter 19. So again, I'm preaching about the fact this morning that it's proper to give and receive criticism. And we're starting out, you know, with the giving, right? You know, giving criticism is something that's, if it's warranted, is good. There's a time and a place to rebuke. There's a time and a place to criticize, express disappointment, let people know that they need to improve in some area. That's right. Look at Leviticus 19 verse 15. He said in verse 15, you shall do no one righteousness and judgment. Thou shalt not respect the person of the poor nor honor the person of the mighty, but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor. You know, and this is Leviticus 19, okay? And the irony is that this is the one the liberals, they love to quote this all the time, but they don't know they're quoting it. They think they're quoting Jesus, love thy neighbor as thyself. Didn't Jesus teach love thy neighbor as thyself? You know, they hate Leviticus 2013. They hate all these other harsh sayings of Leviticus. They mock the Old Testament and they say, oh, didn't Jesus say to love thy neighbor as thyself? Yeah, he was quoting Leviticus, idiot. Right, so all of a sudden all the Old Testament's back in play when it's, anyway, I'm going off. But he's saying, look, but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor. Judge not, judge not, right? That's the cry of the liberal Christian. Judge not, lest ye be judged, right? First cast out the mote that is in thine eye, the bean that is not in thine own eye, then thou shalt see more clearly to remove the mote that is in thy brother's eye. He's saying don't judge like a hypocrite. But he does say judge righteous judgment. He does say here to judge thy neighbor. You know, sometimes they say, hey, you're messing up here. You're missing the boat here. You need to improve in this area. There's nothing wrong with judgment. You know, that was God's system of government for man. Judges, the system of judges, right? We still have judges, the people that deliver judgment today, don't we? Maybe not justice, but definitely judgment. Look at verse 16. He said, thou shalt not go up and down as a tailbearer among thy people. Neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor, I am the Lord. Now this is all, I think this is all connected here. He's saying, look, judge thy neighbor. Don't get some grudge against your neighbor. You know, somebody did something you don't like and now you're going to go up and down as a tailbearer and saying, oh, so and so said this or so and so did that and they hurt my feelings. And now they're just going around talking about it? He's saying, look, don't go up and down as a tailbearer among thy people. Neither stand there against the blood of thy neighbor, I am the Lord. Verse 17. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart. Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor and shall not suffer sin upon him. Look, what is he saying? If your neighbor does wrong, rebuke him for it. Now today, you know, you have to kind of figure out what is the wrong there. You know, like my neighbor behind me last night who was thumping his music until well after midnight. Like literally in my backyard. You know, part of me wanted to go rebuke my neighbor but then I thought, you know, midnight, you know, a bunch of drunk people, it's probably not the best time to go tell them to turn it down. Right? And I fell asleep anyway. Right? But, you know, again, I think he's talking about some serious things. You know, if your brother does something that's a serious sin that they do you wrong, you know, you need to go rebuke them. And as opposed to what? Hating thy brother in thine heart. That's what a lot of people do today is that instead of expressing disappointment and expressing rebuke or criticism to their neighbor over something they did or some perceived wrong, what they do is they just harbor that. They just hang on to it. And what they end up doing is they end up actually hating their brother in their heart. You know, and we should not hate our brother in their heart. We should love the brethren fervently. He says, thou shalt rebuke thy neighbor and not suffer sin upon him. So, you know, we all have this job of, you know, if we see our brethren slipping up, you know, if we see fellow church members and people in our lives making mistakes, you know, it's our job to correct that. Or at least warn them and say, hey, you're making a mistake here. Fix it. You know, we're warning them. In fact, I'll go ahead and just say this. You know, it's the preacher's job to criticize. I mean, it is. You know, go over to Proverbs chapter 9. Proverbs chapter 9. I mean, that's what he told Timothy. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. And reproving and rebuking are not positive things. Those are negative things. To reprove, you know, to tell somebody they're wrong, you know, that's like, hey, in a nice way maybe, to reprove somebody. To tell them they were not doing something right. Rebuke would be like, okay, it's not just that you're not doing right. You're doing wrong. You know, that's rebuke. It's harsh, right? And exhort. You know, that is encouragement. So there is that. And that's all, reproving and rebuking is always to the end of exhortation. It's always to, the criticism that comes across the pulpit, the rebuking, the reproving, it's always to exhort the brethren. That's what it's always there to do. And it's his job to do it, to criticize. Because criticizing, you know, it's just an act of passing judgment as to the merits of anything. It's an act of passing judgment. It's fault-finding, even. Now, again, we don't want to go to the extreme of picking people apart. But look, if thy brother trespass against thee, thou shalt not suffer sin upon thy neighbor. Thou shalt at any wise rebuke him. There's a time and a place, there's a line that gets crossed, we say, look, I have to take corrective action here. And here's the thing. People are so gun-shy about this, too. And I can understand why, because like I said at the beginning, you know, we're living in a culture where you can't, if you say anything negative to anybody, you don't know how they're going to react. I mean, people just get so touchy today. That's why I love the old-timers, the old-school guys. They don't hold anything back. Some of my favorite bosses were the meanest guys. They'll just tell you right to your face that you made them mad. Or they'll just say, next time I'm just going to fire you. Because then I knew where I stood. Then I'm like, hey, all right, I'll fix that, no problem. Now I know not to do that again. But I'd hear them express frustration over younger people, because it was like every time he told them anything wrong, he said, it looked like I just kicked their dog or something. And that's where they've gotten it. You have to handle people, grown men. In their 20s, you have to handle them with kid gloves, because you don't want to hurt their feelings. Look, there's a big difference between your intellect and your feelings. If someone's just thinking something through and sees a problem and needs to get you to understand the problem, it's not that they're insensitive or cruel. It's just because there's a difference between what needs to be said and how you need to feel about it. You see what I'm saying? We can't sit here and just worry about people's feelings all the time, because sometimes things just need to be said. I mean, Jesus, when Peter's taking him and saying, you're not going to go die, you're not going to go to the cross, I'm not going to let that happen. He's rebuking Jesus. Jesus was supposed to go, oh, you know, Peter, I know your intentions are good, and I know you feel like you're doing the right thing here. Let's sit down, let's pour a cup of tea, we'll talk about it. This isn't a view or something. This isn't some afternoon talk show with a bunch of women sitting around talking about feelings. He says, get thee behind me, Satan. Thou desireth not the things that be of God, but of men. Right to his face. I don't see Peter going, oh, I can't believe you said that to me. Right? Well, I quit the ministry now. The preacher said something mean, I don't like that. I'm out of here. And look, grown men are like this today. It's pathetic. There, I said it. You know, if that hurts your feelings, well, you know, maybe that shoe fits. But here's, you know, and I get why, so I get why people are gun-shy about offering criticism and about offering rebuke, and we should always be discerning, but if we think about it and we say, you know what, this needs to be said, then we need to say it. Because here's what you need to understand is that wise people, if you have a wise, obedient ear, you know, that person is going to receive that criticism. They're going to receive that rebuke and they're going to get it right. So they need to hear it, you know, because, you know, we have blind spots in our lives. You know, we all do things that are wrong or we're not doing things that are right. We're missing things. You know, sometimes it takes a third party, somebody from the outside looking in to offer that criticism, to offer that rebuke, to offer that exhortation, to say, hey, fix this. You know, and if we're wise, we'll receive that and we'll make the correction. Wise people will love the one who rebukes them. Understand that, though. If you're wise, you will love the person who rebukes you. You know, as long as it's done in the right spirit, you know, obviously if they're rebuking over something that they have no business or it's not their place or, you know, it's not even something being rebuked over, then, again, that's a different story. But, look, we all need to be rebuked from time to time. Here in Proverbs 9, let me go there, verse 8, Reperve not a scorn, lest he hate thee. You know, reprove not a scorn, lest he hate thee. Look, the person who does not have a beating ear, don't waste your time. Don't cast your pearls before swine. Don't reprove the scorn, because he's just going to hate you, right? But rebuke a wise man, it says, and he will love thee. You know, you rebuke somebody that has wisdom, they're going to love you for it. Because they're going to be wise enough to see, hey, this person loves me. This person's looking out for me. What they're saying is right. If I take the criticism, if I take the rebuke, and I make the change, that's going to benefit me. I love this person for doing that. Look, I can't tell you how many times I've been in that situation. And I'd like to say I've always loved the person for doing it, you know, that there was never a season where I didn't have to get over what they said. But, you know, in the long run, I've always tried to receive rebuke well. You know, I remember one, like this is a little practical thing. When I was working for my pastor back in Michigan, he was a roofer. And he had to come pick me up one morning, and he's driving from like 45 minutes away to come pick me up and take me to the job. I remember one morning, he pulls up, and I get in the truck, and he doesn't say anything. He just kind of looks at me, and then we just start driving. And he's got the morning talk show on or whatever. And then about 20 minutes of awkward silence, he just turns it down and says, you know, it's real hard for me to be nice to you in the morning when I show up and you're not ready to go. When I pull up in your driveway and I see you, you know, putting your socks on, putting your boots on, and that was wrong of me, you know. Let me confess my fault before you, right? And kissing your wife goodbye, take your little lunch box, and he's just saying it's hard for me to be in a good mood. And then you just turn the radio back up. And I sat there and said, you know what, he's right. He's right. And you know what I started doing? Any time somebody's coming to my house, I make a point of saying, look, when they get here, I'm going to be ready. I'm not going to, oh, they're here, let me get ready. Shortly after that, I had to go pick a guy up and take him to the job because we were both working for him, and he did the same thing to me multiple times. I'd show up, and it would be like 20, 30 minutes of him getting ready. And then I'm getting to the job late, and he's like, why are you late? I said, because of him. He's like, yeah, I should have known that. But if I had been a scorner, oh, who are you to tell me? You're just lucky I came at all, or whatever. That would have been a stupid thing to say to your boss, right? But I said, hey, this person's rebuking me because they want me to change something in my life that's actually going to benefit me. And that's just one practical little example. So when somebody comes to you and they rebuke you, don't get all bent out of shape about it. If you're wise, you'll love that person because they're trying to help you in your life. He said in verse 9, give instruction to a wise man, and you will be yet the wiser. And notice how rebuke and instruction and teaching are all being used interchangeably here. Rebuke, give instruction to a wise man, rebuke a wise man, teach a just man. These are all forms of teaching and instruction. It's just that rebuking is a form of teaching that just doesn't feel very good. It kind of goes against the grain a little bit. It doesn't always feel the best. But you know what? It's still instruction. It's still teaching. We can still glean wisdom and knowledge and understanding from it if we understand that it's coming from a place of love, and we'll reciprocate that love. He's saying give instruction to a wise man, he will be yet the wiser. Teach a just man, he will increase in learning. Go to Psalms 141, Psalms 141. But again, he says, reprove not a scorner. There's some people, it's not even worth rebuking them. It's not even worth trying to teach them or instruct them because they just can't receive it. If you're not willing, you can't sit there and tell me you're willing to learn if you're not willing to be told you're wrong. Because that's a big part of learning, isn't it? I mean, when your kids are at home, when we were all growing up doing math problems, you know, you turn in your test, it didn't always come back A-plus, a hundred percent, did it? A lot of times there was those red marks, those red circles all over it. Wrong, wrong, correction, right? That's them rebuking you, saying, what? You're wrong. And it's a form of teaching. We didn't turn the paper back and say, well, that wasn't very nice. You know, we said, oh, I see that. And what? We got smarter. Because somebody took the time to tell us we're wrong. Being told you're wrong in instruction and teaching are things that all go hand in hand. You can't learn without being told you're wrong. That's why it says in Proverbs 17, I'll read to you, Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it? Saying, why is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom? You know, oh, he's got the money. You know, he's got the intention. You know, he's there, oh, yeah, wisdom's a good thing. I would like to be a wise person, but you know what? It doesn't do him any good to have that price in his hand because he hath no heart to it. He can't receive correction. He can't receive instruction. You know, wisdom comes in the form of criticism often, doesn't it? And that's why, you know, snowflakes are generally stupid people. It's true. Because, you know, wisdom is something that's often given in the form of criticism. And if you can't receive criticism, if you're just too much of a snowflake, then just prepare to be a stupid person. Because people with real knowledge and understanding aren't going to waste their time trying to teach somebody who's just going to cry about it. And that's why, you know, we're just being overrun with a bunch of dumb snowflakes in this country today. People are just more concerned about their feelings than facts and logic. Look at Psalms 141 verse 5. He said, this is David's prayer, Let the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness. Wait a minute, you're telling me it's a kindness to let the righteous smite you? Smiting means hit, right? To be buffeted, to be smacked. He's saying, let the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness. And let him reprove me, you know? Let my dad smack me on the back of the head and tell me I'm stupid for doing something and straighten me out. You know, I don't know if I've ever told this story, but I'm going to tell this story. Maybe you've heard it. I remember throwing rocks at the side of my grandpa's house. Who's heard this story already? Nobody? I know you have, Karen, of course. And this is a lesson I learned early on, is don't throw rocks at adults. Especially when an adult is a decorated veteran of several foreign wars. And a Golden Gloves boxer. Just don't do it. My grandpa had this little house with a walkout basement. It was one of those stone basements. It was dug right in the side of the hill. And this was a steep hill. He had a whole block there in Rapid City and he had this super steep hill behind the house. I mean, it was like almost like a Tumamoc at certain parts. Like the easier parts of a Tumamoc hill over here, it was steep. You could slide down this hill. And so me and my cousin were just taking these little pieces of shale, like a clay. It was like a rock, but when you threw it, it would break because it was just a real hard clay. So we thought these were like, oh, it's like we're busting rocks, you know? So we're like five, six years old. You know how the kids are. And my grandpa comes, and we're throwing up against the basement of the house. My grandpa comes out of the door there where we're throwing the rocks. And he looks right at me and he says, don't you throw that at me because it's just something about my face. I don't know. I don't know why he felt compelled to say that. But you know, then I thought, oh yeah? So I threw one at him. Hey, foolishness is bound on the heart of a child. I can't tell you why. I was one of those kids, like if you told me not to do something, I did it. Like, don't touch that. I remember my mom saying, don't stand in that vacuum. And I stood on it, and then it was, ah! So I had some lessons to learn. Let's just put it that way. So I threw that rock. Next thing I know, I just feel this big, rough hand grab a whole handful of my hair, and I'm tumbling down the hill. I'm just like, and then I get up and I'm all coming into my senses, and guess who's there waiting for me? Grabs me again, and it was probably like 50 yards down this hill to my dad's pole barn where he did a lot of his work. My dad was down there, and he threw me probably two or three times all the way down that hill. All the way down to my dad from that door, that pole barn. And he said, hey, your kid threw a rock at me. And my dad said, okay, and he said, don't throw rocks at grandpa. And, you know, lesson learned. I don't know where I was going with that. It was a cool story. But, you know, hey, let the righteous snipe me, and it should be a kindness. Maybe grandpa wasn't the most righteous guy, but I learned to respect my elders after that. I never threw a rock at anybody after that. I didn't, you know, I respected grandpa. And you know what, a week or two later, I remember going over to that same grandpa, and spending the night at his house, and drinking milk, and eating ginger snaps, and going through his tackle box. And he's giving me all this old fish hooks and stuff. You know, I loved him after that. I loved my grandpa. You know, people want to be given boundaries, especially kids. They love it when people say, hey, don't do this, do this. Because here's the thing, how can you shoot for success if you don't know where the bar is? It'd be like telling a pole vaulter, hey, you've got to break the world record. Well, where is it? Well, we're not going to put the bar up. You've got to guess how high that is, and try to make it. They'd be like, how discouraging would that be? No, they set the bar high. They say, this is the world record. This is achievement. You've got to shoot for that. And by the way, if you trip when you're running towards it, if the pole breaks, or you don't jump high enough, you've failed. Whoo! You know, that's a criticism. We need people in our lives to show us where the boundaries are, to show us what to strive for. And a lot of times that boundary is set by being told, you did wrong, you failed. He's saying, let the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness. Let him reprove me. It shall be an excellent oil which shall not break my head. You know, being reproved, being told you're wrong, it's not going to kill you. You know, grandpa didn't kill me that day. I might have felt like I was going to die in that moment, you know. He told me, you know, he could have, but you know what, it was just a reminder of like, hey, show some respect. Listen to your elders. Don't be a punk. Right? And that's, you know, and when people are rebuking us, when they're reproving us, it's not that they're trying to kill us. You know, what they're trying to do is they're trying to make us better. Wise people can handle criticism. They can handle it. To the point of appreciating it. You know, if you would go back to 1 Kings chapter number 9. I mean, think about what took place at 1 Kings 9. You had Solomon given these 10 cities and Hyrum sees it and says, fail. Or 20 cities and he says, look, these are garbage. These are dirty. It's, you know, it's cable. That's what I'm going to call this. Thanks for nothing kind of thing, right? But notice Solomon didn't get bent out of shape. Solomon was probably like, yeah, you're right. Yeah, it was pretty cheap. You know, it's Galilee. What can I say? Nobody wants it. Here you can have it. I mean, it kind of made sense geographically because Tyre is right there next to the place. You know, but, you know, Solomon takes the criticism well. And look, Solomon was the wisest man that ever lived. The Bible says that he excelled all the kings of the earth and all the kings that came before him in wisdom. He's the wisest man that ever lived. And yet you have him being criticized. And what does he do? Over something that, you know, he thought he was doing right. He was trying to just help out and he gets told, actually, you know what, that wasn't that great of a gift. You could have done better there. You know, if you want to express your gratitude, you know, maybe some cities and a better part of land would have been nice. You know, but because he's wise, he doesn't get bent out of shape. He just takes it. And he keeps working with him. He says in, let's just pick it up again in verse 13, he said, And he said, What are these cities which thou givest me, my brother? And again, so it's not like Hyrum's just like being a total jerk. He says he calls him brother, right? He's like, hey man, what's going on here? And he called them the land of Cabel unto this day, and Hyrum sent to the king six core talents of gold. So Hyrum's not being rebuked by Solomon for this criticism that he gives him. But rather, if you noticed in the chapter, they continued to work together. Look at verse 27, And Hyrum sent in the navy his servants and shipmen that had knowledge of the sea with the servants of Solomon. You know, we covered that last Thursday. You know, Solomon builds this navy after this, in chapter, verse 12. And Hyrum, rather than going, well, you know, I've got these people that would help me or would help you out. I have these, you know, tires on the sea. I have guys that experience that area. I have, you know, men in my navy that could come help you, Solomon, but I'm not going to do that because you gave me some lousy land. You know, he didn't harbor that against them. He expressed his criticism. And, you know, and when Solomon received the criticism, he's like, he just kept working with them and said, You know what? You're right. I'll do better next time. He builds a navy and they keep working together, right? Look, when someone's offering you criticism, when someone's rebuking you, you know, it's because they're trying to make the team better. They're trying to make things better. And often that's what it is in church. You know, if I get up and I preach something that is, you know, is coming right down the pike at you, you know, if it feels like it's something that's directed at you, then it probably was to begin with, okay? But you know what? If it's for one person, it's for 10. That's what I've noticed. You know, what's good for the goose is good for the gander, as they say. But look, I'm not doing that to just be mean. I'm doing that because I want to get better as a team, right? I mean, how many here have been involved in team sports? Lots of hands. Did the coach ever come to you and say, Hey, you messed up. You did that wrong. Were they real nice about it all the time? Were they gentle? Did they care about your feelings? No, they probably came to you and got pretty harsh. Go run a lap. Drop and give me 20 or whatever. I was never involved in these sports. But you know, I've heard and seen enough to know that the coaches aren't exactly the most sensitive of people. They're not there to hold your hand. Why? Because they're just big mean jerks? No, because they want a good team. That means the people that are messing up and holding the team back need to be corrected and get on board with the program, right? So Hiram, you know, he wasn't rebuked for his disappointment. He wasn't rebuked for his criticism. They just keep working together. And again, I'm wrapping this up. I know I'm going a little long this morning, but let me just clarify something. What I'm preaching this morning is not just a pass to go and express every little annoyance at somebody. That's not what I'm saying. This needs to be something that's done with tact and discernment. If you would, go to one last place. Go to Hebrews chapter 10. This morning's sermon is a call to better teamwork. That's all it really is. In our church, in your home, with your family, on the job, this will make you a better team member. This will make you somebody who's teachable, somebody who can excel, if you learn to be somebody who can receive criticism. And maybe you're somebody who's in the place of giving criticism. Maybe you haven't been and you need to start. Or maybe you've been criticizing over things that really aren't worth criticizing over. I don't know. You tell me. But ultimately, the sermon's about making us all better people as a team, to make a better team. Go to Hebrews chapter 10 verse 23. He said, He's saying, look, we need to consider one another to provoke one another onto love and to good works. Now, what's the context here? Verse 25, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. It's talking about church. You should never get mad about the brother or sister who comes to you and says, hey, you've been missing church. Because, look, that's where you're going to get loved and provoked onto love and to good works. Look, the world's not going to provoke you into love and to good works. It's the church that's going to do that. It's the preaching of God's word. It's your brothers and sisters in Christ that are going to provoke you onto love and to good works. And look, the way they provoke you sometimes isn't always going to be the nicest way, especially when it comes to preaching. The preaching isn't always going to be this nice, gentle little sermon that's going to come and just make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Sometimes it's going to be harsh. But you know what? If it provokes you to love and good works, then it was good. It's profitable. You know, we need to be what? Exhorting one another, it says, so much more as we see the day approaching. So church is a place that should challenge us to improve as Christians. And again, that challenge isn't going to always be the nicest challenge. It's not always going to be given in the most sensitive way. A lot of times that challenge is going to come in the form of both direct and indirect criticism. You know, there might be some time when the preacher, the pastor, a brother or sister in Christ has to take you aside and say, hey, look, you need to fix this or you did this wrong. That might have to happen. That's an indirect or a direct criticism. There's going to be a lot of indirect criticism where the preacher just gets up and starts preaching things and you're thinking, oh, that was for me. It's for everybody. You know, if I'm preaching it, it's for everybody. So that's what church is here to do. Say, well, I don't know about that. I don't know about, I think church should just be a place where we go and we're just made to feel good about everything. Well, you know, that's not what I see in scripture. I mean, consider all the criticism. We read it just this last week. You know, I think last Sunday in Revelations 2 and 3 where Jesus is writing the seven churches which are in Asia. There was a lot of, there was some encouraging things said, but you know what, there was also a lot of what? I have somewhat against thee. I have somewhat against thee. I have somewhat against thee. I know thy works. Right? Where he's offering, he's criticizing and rebuking. I mean, he ends it, you know, with a lot of seeing, a lot of seeing and he signs off saying, as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous therefore and repent. That's the purpose behind criticism. That's the purpose behind rebuke. It comes from a place of love. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. And chasten is a whipping. You know, that's why we, you know, chasten our children. At least we ought to be. Right? The rod of correction shall drive the heart of foolishness far from a child. I know I'm paraphrasing there. And he's saying be zealous therefore and repent. He didn't say be sensitive and get all touchy about it and make things awkward. No, he's saying be zealous and repent. You know, realize, oh, I'm being rebuked because this person loves me. Let me get it right. That's how you'd express love for that person. You'd stop doing what's, you know, driving them nuts. And you'd start doing what's right. So look, we have to just understand this, that the people that are criticizing us, they're doing so out of love. And they're doing it, you know, in hopes of making us better people. You know, but it's up to us to receive that criticism if we want to be those better people. Let's go ahead and pray. Dear Lord, again, thank you for the Bible. Thank you for the preaching of it. Lord, I thank you for these folks that have come out. And Lord, I pray you'd help us to be people that are, Lord, not overly sensitive, especially when it comes to your word. And Lord, that we would, when we hear things in your word, in the preaching of your word, that go against the grain of what we've been taught or even how we feel, Lord, that we would understand that if it's in your word, then it's God's word. And we just have to accept it for what it is. And we hope to be willing to change, Lord, rather than to be bitter or angry, that we would be zealous, Lord, and we would repent. We ask these things in Christ's name, amen. All right, we'll go ahead and sing one more song before we go this morning. We're going to sing song number 217. That's song number 217. Yes, I'm so happy to know and sing. Jesus included me too, Lord. Jesus included me. Yes, He included me. When the Lord said, so at heart, He included me. Jesus included me. Yes, He included me. When the Lord said, so at heart, He included me. Happy, happy, useful, ever made. Come to the fountain of life today. But when I read it, I always sing. Jesus included me too. Jesus included me. Yes, He included me. When the Lord said, so at heart, He included me. Jesus included me. Yes, He included me. When the Lord said, so at heart, He included me. Never the Spirit is saying, come, hear the praise of Jesus on your own. That I am sure by the call we know, Jesus included me too. Jesus included me. Yes, He included me. When the Lord said, so at heart, He included me. Jesus included me. Yes, He included me. When the Lord said, so at heart, He included me. We may not drink with the souls who will, no one but you in your heart to fill. But when He said, so at heart, Jesus included me too. Jesus included me. Yes, He included me. When the Lord said, so at heart, He included me. Jesus included me. Yes, He included me. When the Lord said, so at heart, He included me. All right, thanks for coming, everybody. We are dismissed this morning. All right, thank you. All right, thank you. All right, thank you. All right, thank you. All right, thank you. All right, thank you. All right, thank you. All right, thank you. All right, thank you. All right, thank you. All right, thank you. All right, thank you. All right, thank you. All right, thank you. All right, thank you. All right, thank you. All right, thank you. All right, thank you. All right, thank you. All right, thank you. All right, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.