(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Good evening everyone, welcome to the 5th Ward of Athens Church, great to see you all here for us in the evening service, if you could all please have a seat and grab a hymnal and then turn that hymnal to song number 129, you can begin the singing service by singing song number 129, Rock of Ages. Let me wipe myself to death, let the water drain the blood from the room inside us cold. We have sinned on a cloud of yore, saved forever, making it whole. Could my tears flow ever flow, who was he in the land below? Please, we'll sing through mother's home, thou our Savior, thou alone. When my hand of Christ was made, sent me to the cross of peace, now that all is free and present, then my life shall go to death. When our bodies do grow to know, and we own beyond the throne, rock of ages, life for me, let me find myself in thee. Amen, one more tune, let's have a great chorus. Heavenly Father, thank you for the day, thank you so much for the opportunity to be in church this evening, may God bless the services, Lord, and the singing, in Jesus' name, Amen. Amen, thank you brother. Let's turn to hymn number 13. Song number 13, must Jesus bear the cross among us. Song number 13. Must Jesus bear the cross among us. Must Jesus bear the cross among us. Among the world of freedom. No there's a cross for every one, and there's a cross for me. The gods they bring, and gods they'll bring, their lands shall set me free. Amen, O Lord, my granting will, your hands are ground for me. In the mountain hills, so may it may howl, and trees must be so free. For long I'll cast my golden eye, and hills they may bring me high. O precious cross, so glorious crown, the winds of friendship hail. The angels turn, the stars have found, in him the soul of heaven. At this time we'll go over the arrangements, immediately following the decision of soul number 45. Would you like to turn that down at soul number 45? All right, and there in the top on our announcements, we have our service times listed, as well as church-wide soul-winning. We started at 1 Kings, we'll be in chapter 2 this week. We got the notes there about our church. Be sure to silence your cell phones if you haven't done so at this time. And we've got the salvation of baptism, so go ahead and count up the salvations going back to Friday or Saturday. Is there anything from the group Saturday? Anybody go out? No? And then today we have the two. So that's been a pretty fruitful patch down there in South Tucson, so amen for that. Then over on the right-hand side, don't forget the New Testament 90-day challenge. You've got the reading schedule there if you need it. Otherwise, just make sure you get it done by March 31st to win the prize. Operation Compensation is in full swing. Are we getting any Bibles today? Any false Bibles out there? No? All right. Then we've got the men's preaching night, beginning the last Tuesday of this month and the last Tuesday of every month thereafter until we either take a break or change the schedule. So that's gonna be open to those that are 18 years old, and just take note of the other announcements there, the details there. Don't forget on the back, the year-end giving statements are available by request for 2021, so if you need one, please just email the church at faithfulword1atgmail.com. So if you come to me after service and say, hey, I need one of those, I'm gonna tell you the exact same thing that this is telling you right now, to email the church. That's the best way to get it if you need it. And then also, Mexico Mondays, join us for a day trip to Nogales. And this is open to, you know, if there's people that aren't Spanish-speaking that wanna go, just let me know. I think brother Chris is kind of, is it taking folks that are speaking English to you as well? So if that's something anyone wants to do, just speak to me, I can speak with brother Chris and see how all that works out. So that's something you're interested in, that's available. That's, again, the first Monday of every month, so keep that one in mind going forward. And then we've also got the 2022 camping trip that's been booked. We've got the facility up there at Southern Pines Baptist Camp, and we've got the dates set, so hopefully everybody can make it out. It's gonna be great. I'll have more details to come, but we'll probably end up booking a couple of the preachers, pastors that we know, and it's gonna be an exciting camping trip. I'm already looking forward to it. It's got a lot, there's things we could do if people, I don't like to schedule everyone's day up there. I don't wanna make people, if they go up there, they kinda do whatever they want, but there is opportunity if people wanna do like a three-on-three basketball tournament or something of that nature. I don't know there's enough room really for football. I know that's what you guys are into down here, but I don't know that there's a lot of room up there for that. There might be, I don't know. We'll have to go take a peek. You might end up chasing a ball down a mountain, but there's definitely enough field goal things up there and planting trees. But there's other things going on. You could do foosball. Over the next six months, if you think of something that you would like to do as a kind of a function or activity up there, let me know, but just be prepared to volunteer yourself too because I've already volunteered myself for the kitchen and I don't, I should have my head examined for wanting to do that. I don't know why I did that, but I did that. But that's that, so I just wanted to throw that out there and that's gonna do it for announcements. We'll go ahead and sing one more song before we get into the preaching tonight. Song number 45, when I can read my title clear. 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And supper being ended, the Devil, having now been put into the heart of Judas Iscariot Simon's son, to betray Him, Jesus. Knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He was come from God, and went to God. And notice what the Holy Spirit, the narrator is pointing out to us. Before about what we're about to read. Verse 3 is important. Jesus knowing that that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God and went to God. Jesus, knowing full well who he was, the Lord God Almighty, he riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments, and took a towel, and girded himself. After that, he poureth water in a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with a towel wherewith he was girded. We're talking about God. And it wasn't like Jesus was oblivious to the fact that he was God. He knew who he was. That's what verse three is telling us. Despite that, he still lays aside his garments, girded himself with a towel, and does this very humble task of what? Of washing the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with a towel wherewith he was girded. Look, I've never washed them with feet. I barely wash my own. And they're all the way down there. Right? I can't imagine what it'd be like to wash somebody else's feet. How humiliating that some people might feel by that. They might feel humiliated. I can't believe, I hope nobody sees me doing this. Washing someone's feet. And back then, you have to understand that that was, you say, why are they washing feet? Because back then, you really did need to wash your feet. You know, I'm not saying just, you know, just splash them around in the soap when it runs down the drain. I'm saying, open toed sandals, and there's no pavement anywhere. There's animals walking around doing what they do. Your feet got dirty, and that's why I was accustomed back then, when you walked in someone's house, they would wash your feet. But here you have Jesus doing this. You know, and there's a purpose behind Him doing this at this particular time, the Last Supper. He's trying to relieve them with a message. He's trying to say, look, I'm gonna go. You know, let me teach you one last lesson here. I mean, He could have taken this opportunity to teach them anything He wanted. This is what He chose to do, to teach them and show them what it meant to be a leader. To be a leader is to serve other people. Verse 12, so after He had washed their feet and had taken His garments and was set down again, He said to them, no need would I have done unto you. Ye call me Master and Lord, and ye say well, for so I am. So you got it right, I am your boss. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done to you. You know, He's expecting us as leaders and as disciples and as followers of Christ, as His sheep, that we should all do this one to another. Now, not literally. We're not gonna break out the basics here in a minute because, you know, there was a practical application here. This is something that needed to be done. People needed to wash their feet. Obviously, it would be just ceremonial if you did something like that. But we should have the same attitude. You know, that when it comes to a brother and sister in Christ, we're willing to humble ourselves to help them. And, you know, He's doing this to the 12 disciples. He's doing this, you know, to the apostles that are gonna go on and start these churches, the early church. People that are gonna be later feared. People that are gonna be very important people. People that are gonna be leaders. And He's telling them, this is how you lead. And I'm preaching this because people understand this is the mentality that I'm trying to have up here. That I'm not coming in here to try and just boss people around or be some kind of a big shot. And so it boggles my mind when people can't come to me about things. And I start to think, is it because? Look, I know I'm big. My wife tells me, she says, it's because you're scary. Look at you. A lot of people tell me, have you ever looked in the mirror? You know, and I've had the argument. I said, honey, I want to shave the beard because it makes me look nicer. But she likes the beard, so it's staying on. And other people have told me, don't ever shave the beard. I'll be like, that's a nod, man. Right, but I think about that because, you know, I want to be somebody that's approachable because honestly, I'm not trying to just big myself up. But this is the attitude that I try to have as somebody that rules, that I'm there to serve you. You know, and we're all here to serve one another. At least we ought to be. And I think that we have that. I think that I've seen that in this church where we're willing to help one another, where people have objections or concerns. You know, we can resolve issues. And I hope that I do not perceive as somebody who's unapproachable. And I understand why some people might feel that way and not just because of the way I look. You know, it's because you see the preacher get up there week in and week out and start spitting all over the place and getting red in the face and yelling and pounding the pulpit, and you can think, well, boy, if I go to talk to him about some issue, am I going to get another sermon? You know, I get that. I understand that. But you have to understand that, you know, what we do in the pulpit and what we do, I don't, do you think this is how I live my life? Go around just, this is how I talk to my wife at home or talk to people on the phone or when I go about my business, it's a sermon everywhere I go. I'm just, no, you know, I'm not ranting or anything. I'm actually a pretty quiet person. I like to kind of keep to myself. But sometimes I wonder, it's like, is that why people feel like they can talk, they want to talk to everybody else but me when they have some kind of an issue? And I hope that we never have, that doesn't become the pervasive attitude in this church, and I don't think it will. And I'm just preaching this because, look, I want people to understand that they can come to me about things that I'm not going to bite your head off. You know, I'll talk to you about things. I'll sit down. We can crack the Bible open. We can work things out. The Bible says, if you would, I had you start in Hebrews 13. I should have had to keep something there. Go back to Hebrews 13. I'll begin reading in verse seven. He said, remember them which have the rule over you, right? He said, we read in the beginning at the end of verse 24, he said, salute them, right? He says to remember them, to obey them, and to salute them that have the rule over you. There's a three-point sermon if you ever need one. Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. What's this getting back to? It's getting back to servant leadership, leading by example. You know, you should follow the people that rule because of the end of their conversation, the way they live their life. They are supposed to be an example to the flock. Verse 17, obey them which have the rule over you, and submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls. And I could say that honestly. That is my heart up here. I watch for people's souls. I really do. And I care about the people in this church. I love the people in this church. I hope that we can all know each other until we're all old and gray and gone. I honestly mean that. And that's my heart. Again, I'm just trying to put people at ease. If there's anyone in this church that feels like I'm just some unapproachable jerk, I hope I'm dispelling them tonight. Because that's not really, and I don't know that anybody does feel that way. But that's what I'm up here doing. So why salute me as the ruler here? Because you know what? This is what I'm trying to do, watch for your soul. If I get up and I have to preach or say something or do something that steps on your toes, it's not because I'm just trying to make you uncomfortable. It's because I care about who, as a Christian, as a child of God, I care about the flock that God has given me here in Tucson. And I'm watching for the souls that are here. And notice, he goes on, obey them which have the rule over you and submit yourselves for they watch for your souls as they that must give an account, that they may do it with joy and not with grief. That, for that is unprofitable for you. You know, and this is something that I think about from time to time is that, you know, sometimes I think people get this attitude that they're doing me a favor by coming to church. And look, but coming to church is something you're supposed to be doing as a Christian. And look, I know you can go to other churches and if people wanna go to other churches, by all means, go. If you can get blessed somewhere else, if you're gonna fit in better somewhere else and they're right on doctrine and they got the right Bible and you can serve God there and I know they're out there, then by all means, go there. And I honestly, I won't harbor any ill will. I've had people do it. But look, it says there that if you don't obey them, if you don't submit, if you don't understand that they're watching for your souls, you know, if you just blow off leadership, if you blow off those that rule, if you don't consider the end of their conversation, if you don't follow their example, that's gonna be unprofitable for you, for you. Well, I'm just not going back to that church anymore. Well, where are you going to church? Well, I just know church is good enough. Look, that's unprofitable for you. Everybody else in this room will be fine. I'll be fine. The people that suffer, the people that don't want to submit to leadership and people that are ruling the house of God, they're the ones that are gonna lose out. Now, obviously the body's gonna suffer to some degree. You know, if people don't come, we won't get as much done. One less soul owner is, you know, more work for the rest of us. I get that. But you know who's gonna suffer the most? The families of those people, those individuals, those people that don't want to just get them out of shape. They can't accept the fact that there's people that are making rules and they're ruling or taking the church in a direction or doing things. That's gonna be unprofitable for you. Yeah, I'll give an account, but it's gonna be with grief. And I believe that day there will be a mix. It's not gonna, you know, it's not gonna be, well, every person that I give an account for is gonna be just joy, or it's gonna be everybody's grief. It's gonna be a mix. You know, it's up to you when that day comes, you know, when I say, well, what about brother so-and-so? What about sister so-and-so? Give an account about them. I'm either gonna do it with a smile on my face or a tear in the eye and say, you know what, let me try. But notice it's gonna be a grief. You know, it should bother leadership when people get out of church, when people quit on church. You know, and it does bother me. I don't wanna ever get this, you know, people think that I'm just some callous guy and it doesn't bother me. It does bother me. And not because I care about those people that quit churches. Because I know that, you know what, it's not gonna profit them. So it says in verse 24, salute them that have the rule over you and all the saints. Salute all of them. But salute them that rule over you. Understand that there are people that are called to rule in the house of God, but they're not there to serve themselves. They're there to lead the church, to serve you, to help you. Acknowledge leadership by obeying, by following their example. And I wanna just close by getting a little specific tonight. You know, specifically, you know, acknowledging leadership means this, that come to me when you have disagreements about decisions. If you're uncomfortable with something that I'm doing, come to me, to me about it. Because here's the thing, and I'm not saying every little thing you have to come to me about. And I understand sometimes people just need to talk to other people just to kind of, hey, am I thinking about this right? Am I not understanding something? And people can resolve things with other church members without having to come to me, I get that. But when you're coming to the place saying, well, I'm not thinking about coming to church anymore because of what the deacon's deciding, then come to me. And not several other people in the church. Because for several reasons, one, it's not a good look. It's not a good look. When people are going to everybody else but me, when I'm the last to find out that you went to everybody else in the church or several other people in the church before you quit about something, you know, you had a problem with. That's not, and I'm not saying that people that do that are bad people, but it's suspect. Let me just see how many ways I can make before I quit the church by going to everybody else and letting them know how upset I am. And not going to the one guy that can actually right the ship or help me to see things clearly. You can see how that's kind of frustrating for me? Oh, I see, you're just gonna talk to everybody else about the problems you have, the church, and then just leave. And then I'll be the last to find out. Well, yeah, they talk to me, and they talk to me, and they talk to me, and it's like, oh, thanks. Because here's the thing, you say, well, you know, what are you gonna do about it? I'm the only one who can do anything about it. I'm the one who made the decision to do what we do. Whatever it is, if there's something I do that makes you upset, then come talk to me about it. You know, and I get sometimes you wanna talk to other people just so we can get our heads right. But I don't want people to think they're ever inconveniencing me. I always kind of laugh when people call me, like, hey, sorry to bother you. It's like, that's literally my job. That's literally what I'm here to do, to take your call, to talk to you, to care for you. That's what, and they're like, I know you're busy. It's like, yeah, but I'll drop everything to talk to you. That's what I'm here to do. Here's the thing, other people, they don't have the authority to make the changes. You know, and maybe I am wrong. Maybe I got something wrong. Maybe I'm not seeing things right. But, you know, if everybody's just nodding their head and saying, yeah, and going along with it, you know, how am I gonna know? And I assume I try to do things that I think that are right. But if people, you know, are put out by something that I do, going to people that can't make any changes about it isn't gonna accomplish anything. You gotta come to me. And look, if you have something, and this is why I'm preaching this, I'm not gonna bite your head off. I'm not gonna jump down your throat. I'm gonna listen. I'm gonna be slow to speak, slow to rap. I'm gonna hear what you have to say. I'm not saying I'm gonna agree with you. I'm not saying, you know, maybe you won't convince me. But you'll actually have, I'm the one person that can actually do something about it. It just makes sense to come to me. And it'll keep you from looking like somebody, oh, I'm sorry, who's trying to sow discord in a local church. And can you see how that might look when you're talking to everybody else about me, about an issue you have at the church? You know, and people who are sowing discord don't typically quit. They stick around and keep going as long as they can. But I'm just saying it's a bad look for people. And let me just speak for all the other people that get approached all the time. You know, there's always those few people wherever there's an issue that that's the person they go to repeatedly. Other people don't wanna do my job for me. You know, there's people in the church, they'll take your call, they'll talk to you, but you know what they always end up saying? Talk to deacon. Talk to the deacon. Because they understand that I'm the one person that can do something about it. You know, I was talking to brother Adam about it. It'd be like if one of his customers called me and started talking about something they didn't like that he did on one of their jobs. Because he's a contractor, right? He goes out, he does home remodels. And just, you know, one of his customers called me up on the phone and said, you know, he put that countertop in and it was a little off and I really don't like how he, you know, did the baseboard or whatever. I'm like, well, why are you calling me? I mean, I can sit there and say, you know, I know how you feel. I understand that, yeah, I'd be upset too. That's not the shade of color I, that's what you told me, huh? I can see where you come from, but you know what? I can't do anything about it because I'm not Adam. I can't cut you a refund. I can't come back and make it right, that's his job. And when Adam's the one that's getting all the calls all the time about deacon this and deacon that, and he said, call him deacon, it's because you know what? He doesn't want to do my job. And I don't expect him to. And look, and I appreciate people that do talk to others and counsel. And I'm not saying you can't ever talk to anybody else. Don't run away with this, what I'm saying tonight. But when we have a serious issue with something that I've done or said or I'm taking the church at something I'm doing, you know, go ahead, bounce an idea off somebody, talk to them, but you need to talk to me. I'm the only one who can do anything about it because I'm the one that made the decision, I promise I won't bite your head off. I'm getting it all out right now. I'm getting it all off my chest right now, right? I should have had you go to 1 Peter 4. Go to 1 Peter 4, we'll close there. So that's why I wanted to draw attention as to salute them that have the rule. You know, acknowledge the fact that there are people in the local church whose job is to rule and care for the church, that are there to make decisions, maybe even reverse decisions, maybe take things in a different direction. And those are the people that you need to go to when you have an issue with the church, with something that the church is doing. Not with people who aren't ruling. You need to go to the leadership. But understand that that's what leadership's there for, it's not to just serve themselves. And that's the greater takeaway in this sermon, is that we're here to serve others, all of us. That's the example I'm trying to set, that's the example that Jesus set, is that we are here to serve other people. And that should always be our mentality. First Peter 4, verse seven, but the end of all things is at hand. Excuse me. Be therefore sober and watch unto prayer. And above all things, have fervent charity among yourselves. Fervent charity among yourselves. You know, charity is another word for love. You know, we should be fervently loving one another, looking out for one another, caring for each other. For charity shall cover a multitude of sins, using hospitality one to another without grudging. Without grudging, well I guess I'll help you if I have to. I'll show mercy, you know, so I'll show mercy with cheerfulness. Put them at ease. You know, use hospitality without being, you know, bent out of shape about it. You ever have somebody do you a favor and you can tell they just didn't want to do it? It's like, I'd rather you just didn't do me the favor. Do without grudging. As every man hath received the gift, so even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. You know, God has been very gracious to us. We've received that gift. We should do the same to others. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God. If any man minister, let him do as the ability which God giveth. Again, so he's talking about the different, you know, gifts that we have, the different roles that we fill. Some of us speak as oracles, some of us minister. We all minister. Let him do it as ability which God giveth. Why? You know, there's different roles, different diversities of gifts and offices, but it's all the same end. Again, that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ to whom he prays in communion forever and ever, amen. The end of everything that we're doing in this church is to bring glory to God, to glorify God, to glorify his word, to do the work of the Lord. That's why we're here. You know, that's my goal. You know, that should be all of our goal, to be a minister to the end that God will be glorified. Look, if we have fervent love and charity and not to just ourselves but to all men, God will be glorified. God will be glorified in this church. When we have unity, when we come together and we sing praises unto God, when we leave this place edified and go out there and live a life that's pleasing to God, God will be glorified. When we go out and preach the gospel, God will be glorified. That's the end of everything that we're doing in this church and we need to do that with what? With humility and with love going toward another. You know, that's the example I'm trying to set here, you know, as one that rules, you know. Let's go ahead and pray. Dear Lord, again, thank you for this church. Thank you for this group of people that you've assembled together here. Lord, I pray that you would help us each to just desire to live our lives in a way that pleases you, Lord, that glorifies you, not just when we're gathered together but every day of the week. And Lord, I pray that you'd help me to be the kind of leaner that you were. Lord, somebody that is patient and long-suffering and loving and Lord, I pray that we would all be that way with one another. We ask these things in Christ's name, amen. All right, we're glad to sing one more song before we go tonight. Amen. Song number 63. Song number 63, what a day that will be. Song number 63. It's a lovely day With the heart of our nation strong No more clouds in the sky No more tears to dim the eyes All is peace forevermore What a happy, golden shore What a day, glorious day that will be What a day that will be When my Jesus, I shall see And I look upon His face The Lord is saving by His grace And He takes me by the hand And leads me through the promised land What a day, glorious day that will be There'll be no sorrow there No more burdens to bear No more sickness to pain No more worrying over there And forever I will be With the One who died for me What a day, glorious day that will be What a day that will be When my Jesus, I shall see And I look upon His face The Lord is saving by His grace And He takes me by the hand And leads me through the promised land What a day, glorious day that will be What a day, glorious day that will be What a day, glorious day that will be What a day, glorious day that will be What a day, glorious day that will be What a day, glorious day that will be