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["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] Good evening, everyone. Please pick up a songbook and turn to song number 143. Song 143, and we'll sing Blessed Assurance. Blessed Assurance, 143. ["Blessed Assurance"] Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste the glory be thine. Heir of salvation, purchase of God. Born of his Spirit, washed in his blood. This is my story, this is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. Perfect salvation, perfect delight. Visions of rapture now burst on my sight. Angels resend me, great from above. Heir comes of mercy, whispers of love. This is my story, this is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. Perfect salvation, all is at rest. I am my Savior and happy and blessed. Watching and waiting, looking upon. Filled with his goodness, lost in his love. This is my story, this is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my song. Let's turn to song number 74. It may be at morn when the day is awakening. When sunlight through darkness and shadow is breaking. Then Jesus will come in the forest of harm. To receive from the world his harm. Oh, Lord Jesus, how long? How long? Mary shall love that song. Christ returneth. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Amen. Hallelujah. Amen. It may be at winter. It may be at twilight. It may be for chance and the brightness of midnight. He'll burst into light in the place of his glory. When Jesus receives his own. Oh, Lord Jesus, how long? How long? Mary shall love that song. Christ returneth. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Amen. Hallelujah. Amen. Oh, joy or divine. Joy may go without dying. No sickness, no sadness, no dread, no crying. Caught up through the clouds with the morning to glory. When Jesus receives his own. Oh, Lord Jesus, how long? How long? Mary shall love that song. Christ returneth. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Amen. Hallelujah. Amen. We'll go through our announcements. On the inside of the bulletin, we have our service times. The mornings at 1030 is our preaching service. Sunday nights at 630. Put up your hand if you need a bulletin, we'll get one to you. And then Wednesday nights at 7 is our Bible study. This week we're in 2 Corinthians chapter 3. We've been going through the book of 2 Corinthians and we're on the third installment tonight. Below that, we've got the soul winning times listed as well as salvations and baptisms. The baptism number there is incorrect. It actually should be a 9 there instead of a 1 if you were wondering how it went from 5 to 1. It's actually supposed to say 9 baptisms for January so far. And is there anybody tonight who needs to be baptized so that we would get the water flowing? There is somebody? So you've got it set up? Alright, great. And then across the page there, congratulations to the Henderson family on the birth of their baby. How do we pronounce the name? Just call it May? Baby May Henderson. Alright. So congratulations to them. I'll wait for the official pronunciation on that first name. I'd rather just not pronounce it than to pronounce it wrong. And then the baby was born on, Baby May was born on January 16th at 607 AM. Weighing 8 pounds, 20 inches long. So congratulations to the Henderson family. And then ladies, the baby shower already happened. So that ship has already sailed. Hope you had a good time. On the back. Caution, do not speed in the parking lot at any time, especially in the dark. So watch out that you don't run over anybody in the parking lot. And then covered parking spots are for complex tenants only. So please park in the uncovered spots. And then below that is the Fort McDowell Yavapai Soul Winning Day. That already happened. From what I heard, it wasn't as receptive of a place, but they still were able to get eight people saved with the crew that they had there on Monday. And I've noticed that the Indian reservations that are right here in Phoenix are not as receptive like when you go to the Salt River Pima or Fort McDowell. When you go on the ones that are a little further out, typically they're more receptive. But still, eight people saved is great for Monday. So thank you to everyone who participated in that. And I'm really sorry about the false advertising about the fountain. Because I guess it was too windy, so they didn't operate the fountain. After I built it up and talked about the fountain, the wind was over so many miles an hour and they did not do the fountain. So I think the fountain would just be cooler the windier it is. Because then it would really spray and blow and everything. I mean, that seems like the best time to run the fountain. But hey, I'm not one of the city elders up there, so I don't know. And then below that, the other upcoming events. Don't forget about the Indio, California Soul Winning Marathon. That is coming up just next Saturday. And I've got some details on that. We'll put more details in the bulletin this Sunday. But we're going to be meeting here for breakfast from 6.30 to 7 a.m. Okay, on Saturday, February the 2nd. Okay, so 6.30 to 7.30 a.m. we're going to have breakfast catered by Panera. Then we're going to head out at 7.30 Arizona time. Now there's a time change when we get to California. So even though it's a three and a half hour drive and we'll say we'll factor in about a half hour for Murphy's Law. Then we'll still get there by 10.30 a.m. California time. And so we'll do some soul winning from 10.30 to 11.30. Then we'll have lunch at the park, round table pizza, from 12 to 1. And then soul winning from 1.30 to 4.30. Again, that's California time. And then back to the park for fellowship and pizza from 5 to 6. Okay, but the time change helps us out on the way there. But it messes with us on the way home. So therefore, if you like to get to bed at a reasonable hour, you might want to just grab your pizza to go. You know, you might finish soul winning at 4.30 and then around 4.45, 5 o'clock, just kind of grab your pizza. Take it for the road and head on back if you want to get back at a reasonable hour. Because if you stay for the full fellowship all the way until 6, you're probably not going to get home until around 10.30 or 11 at night. But if you just kind of grab your pizza to go, you could get home by 9.30, 10 o'clock, which is a more reasonable hour. I know that's what I'm going to be doing. So I'm going to grab my food to go and get out of there. But anyway, if you have any questions, see Brother Segura. He's the main guy who's organizing this in connection with Brother Bruce Mejia because he's going to be bringing a big group from the LA church. So it's the LA church and our church kind of meeting in the middle and going soul winning in Indio. And I think it's going to be a pretty receptive place. I know the pizza is going to be good. So the day is not going to be a bust, friend. Now, some people were saying that the pizza at Rosati's yesterday was better than Round Table. His name starts with a J and ends in Brother Lee, okay? So anyway, and then some other people. But here's the thing. They thought I was going to be offended by that. I'm not offended by that because I love Rosati's pizza. I picked Rosati's, okay? So I'm for it, alright? And so I'm glad that you guys enjoyed the pizza, alright? But Round Table is the best pizza, alright? But it's the last honest pizza, amen? So anyway, that is going to be February 2nd. If you're not signed up, be sure to get signed up. I know a ton of people are already signed up for Indio on the clipboard. But get signed up so that we'll know how much pizza we need to order, how much Panera we need to order, and stuff like that. So that's coming up. And then other events that are coming up. Keepers of the Faith. Then the San Carlos Soul Winning trips that are coming up. That's the super receptive reservation, the Apaches. That's on February 16th and February 23rd. And then also, uh-oh, another typo in the bulletin. That's supposed to say March 2nd. So don't think that you have all this extra time to prepare for the Potluck 50 event. March 2nd is when that's happening. Saturday, March 2nd, alright? Somebody's trying to push this back. Somebody's not ready. It's coming on March 2nd, alright? So anyway, that's about it for announcement. I do have one other negative announcement to make. Thank you for watching. You you you you Let's go ahead and sing our Psalm of the Week here. Psalm 67 off the blue sheets. Psalm 67. Let's sing it out on that first verse. Oh, Oh, Oh, All right. We got one more him to sing tonight. Looks like song number 144. A mighty fortress is our God. 144. Song number 144. Let's go ahead and just write down the soul winning numbers quickly. Going back to find my paper to write it on here. It's in here somewhere, folks. All right, I'm just gonna write it on a different piece of paper. All right, so going back to Monday, which was the 21st. It looks like anything from Monday. Anything from Monday? Four out on the Apache Reservation. One. And then, of course, the trip to McDowell. That was eight for that group. Anything else besides those for Monday? All right, how about Tuesday? Anything from Tuesday? One for the surprise group. One over here with Brother LeBlanc. And then anything else for Tuesday? One more over here. Anything else from Tuesday? Okay, how about today? Wednesday? I didn't get a total for the church van group or anything. So did any soul winning yield any fruit today? I know we were in kind of a rough area. Anybody get any salvations out there or was it a big goose egg? Well, we shaded a lot of doors orange, though, for the map. Amen? All right, so zero out there in Awatukee today. All right, very good. Let's sing it. 144, a mighty fortress is our God. A mighty fortress is our God. A bold word never failing. Our helper, he amid the flood. A mortal will prevail him. For still our ancient foe Does seem to burn God's flow. His breath and power are rare And aren't let cruel end. On earth is our busy war. Did we in our own strength confide Our striving would be losing? We're not the right man on our side. The men of God don't choose him. God's last truth that may be Christ Jesus, it is he Bourns our way of his name. Knowledge to wage us same. And he must win the battle. And though this world, the devil's will Should threaten to undo us, He will not fear for God at will. This world will triumph through us. The crisp of darkness bled. We tremble not for him. His brains we can endure. For love is through this shore. One little word shall tell him That word above all earthly clouds Felt thanks to them upon him. A spirit in the pits are ours. Through them who with us I am. Let good strength and strength grow. This mortal life also, The body made me new. God's truth the finest still. His kingdom is forever. All right, this time we'll pass our offering plate quickly, And as the plate goes around, let's turn our Bibles To 2 Corinthians chapter number three. 2 Corinthians chapter number three. As we always do, we'll read the entire chapter, Beginning in verse number one. Follow along silently with brother nick as he reads. 2 Corinthians chapter number three, Starting in verse number one. 2 Corinthians chapter three. Do we begin again to commend ourselves, Or need we, as some others epistles of commendation to you, Or letters of commendation from you? Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, Known and read of all men. For as much as ye are manifestly declared To be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, Written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, Not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. And such trust have we through Christ to Godward, Not that we are sufficient of ourselves To think anything as of ourselves, But our sufficiency is of God, Who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament, Not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, Written and engraven in stones, was glorious, So that the children of Israel could not steadfastly Behold the face of Moses, for the glory of his countenance, Which glory was to be done away, How shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, Much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory, For even that which was made glorious Had no glory in this respect, By reason of the glory that excelleth, For if that which is done away was glorious, Much more that which remaineth is glorious. Seeing then that we have such hope, We use great plainness of speech, And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, That the children of Israel could not steadfastly look To the end of that which is abolished, But their minds were blinded. For until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away In the reading of the Old Testament, Which veil is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, The veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless, when it shall turn to the Lord, The veil shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit, And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding, As in a glass, the glory of the Lord, Are changed into the same image from glory to glory, Even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Amen. 2 Corinthians 3, verse 1, the Bible reads, Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you? Or letters of commendation from you? Year our epistle, written in our hearts, Known and read of all men. So he starts out saying, do we begin again To commend ourselves? Now the Bible tells us, Let another man praise thee, And not thine own mouth, Strangers and not thine own lips. So it is not seemly, it is not comely or right For us to praise ourselves. So the Apostle Paul is saying, You know, I'm not going to sit here and praise myself to you And tell you how wonderful I am. Now the reason he's saying that is because He has come under attack from a lot of people In the church at Corinth. And so in 1 Corinthians and in 2 Corinthians, He has to defend himself from attacks in multiple places. But he says to them, look, I'm not going to sit here and praise myself to you. You know, you know the proof of my ministry. He's saying, look, you are that proof. He's saying, look, I've won you guys to the Lord. I've borne fruit among you. The proof is in the pudding. I don't need to sit here and commend myself to you. And I certainly don't need, as some others, Epistles of commendation to you, Or letters of commendation from you. What's he saying? First of all, he's not going to praise himself Because the Bible says, Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth, Strangers, and not thine own lips. But then he also says, Other people might need an Epistle of condemnation, But we don't. I don't need it. Okay? What is he talking about there, Epistles of commendation? I think that one of the modern-day equivalents of this Would be a Bible college degree. Right? Because what's a Bible college degree? It's some kind of a certificate. Hey, look at me, I'm the master of theology. Master of divinity. Bachelor of theology. Or whatever. It's basically an Epistle of commendation. It's basically someone else Putting their stamp of approval on you. Hey, look at me, I'm certified. I'm ready to preach. Now, this doesn't make any sense Because biblically, there's no such thing as Bible college. And biblically, there are no Bible college degrees. And there is no pastoral theology program. And there is no master of divinity program Or all these other masters of the universe type degrees That they give out. It's not a biblical program. It's patterned after the world's system And their education system. And it's foreign to scripture. Now, you say, well, what's wrong with that program? Well, I'll tell you what's wrong with part of that program Is that no child is left behind. If I went down to Bible college And I paid the money, Showed up at the classes, and did the work, I'm going to get that Bible college degree. Does that make me a good person? Does that mean that I love the Lord? Does that mean that I'm filled with the spirit of God? No. But it's a sure thing, isn't it? If you show up, pay the money, do the work, You are declared to have this master of theology, Pastor degree in this, degree in that, And then you can use that to go get hired here Or there or everywhere, or to get ordained over here Or ordained over there. And let me just take this moment To explain something about our church And that is that we reserve the right To not ordain anyone. You know, recently I just told somebody, Hey, I'm never going to ordain you. And he left the church 24 hours later. Okay? Because as soon as he found out he wasn't getting ordained, He left. Okay? Fine. But guess what? If I'm not going to ordain somebody, Who's going to tell that to them? And even if somebody is on the schedule to be ordained, Even if we're planning on ordaining someone Or sending them out to be a pastor, Or, hey, we're going to start this church in this place, You know, at any time, We might pull the plug on that ordination If that person is found to be unworthy. Let me give an example. Tyler Baker. Okay? He was scheduled to start a church in Jacksonville, Florida. And about five, six weeks Before he was going to be ordained, He was found to be secretly teaching heresy in the church, Denying the trinity. And he's a total unsaved, bogus Judas Iscariot heretic. And so guess what? We pulled the plug on that. And threw him out of the church. And he did not get ordained. And you know the story. Okay? The bottom line is that getting ordained in a local church Should never be a sure thing. Now the Bible has certain requirements For being a pastor or being a deacon. And it lists those requirements in 1 Timothy chapter 3 And in Titus chapter 1. In addition to that, Our church has certain minimum requirements That are based on interpreting those passages. You know, the Bible says that they should not be a novice. Right? So the way we interpret that, Because novice means new or beginner or young, The way we interpret that is, We wouldn't ordain somebody who's been saved for less than seven years. Okay? Now the Bible doesn't put a number on what it means not to be a novice. That's how we interpret it. We say, hey, if somebody's been saved for less than seven years, That's a novice. Okay? It also says that they should be married and have faithful children. And so we interpret children literally as children. Not one child, but children. So people that are young, married, and they only have one child, They're not ready to be ordained yet. Okay? Because they don't have the children that the Bible requires. Because they have to show that they can rule well their own house. And so they need to demonstrate that by being married for a certain amount of time, Having kids, and demonstrating that. So there are certain things that we interpret into the Bible. Like, for example, the fact that, you know, Obviously, the man of God who's ordained should be apt to teach. So one of the things that we require is that anybody who gets ordained Have read the Bible ten times cover to cover. Because that's a minimum, folks. If you haven't read the Bible ten times cover to cover, How can you be ready to be a pastor? Okay? That's a minimum. But see, a lot of people, when we put down minimum requirements like that, Or when the Bible lays down minimum requirements, You know what they think? They think, oh, as long as I hit those requirements, I get ordained. They just think, oh, saved for seven years, married for four years, I got two kids, I've read the Bible ten times, Alright, it's a sure thing, ordain me now. Wrong. Wrong. That's a minimum. Okay? Then we decide whether you're going to get ordained or not. Okay? And you know what? If you are a person who meets all the requirements on paper, But we don't believe that you're cut out to be a pastor, We don't believe that you're fit to pastor, You're not going to get ordained. It's that simple. And let me explain something to you. People who just are hell-bent on being ordained as a pastor or deacon Are bad people. Let me say that again. People who are just dead set, They have to be a pastor, they have to be ordained, They have to have that title, they are bad people. Period. You say, why would you say that, Pastor Anderson? And I grew up in church hearing people say, You know, if you can be happy doing anything else, You're not called to be a pastor. Who's heard that before? If you can be happy doing anything else, you're not called. Folks, it's the opposite. If you can't be happy doing anything else, You're a bad person and should never be a pastor. Because good pastors and good deacons can be happy doing everything else. They could be happy being a servant. They could be happy just being a faithful church member. They could be happy being a missionary. They could be happy being an assistant. Just serving the Lord in whatever the capacity. People who just have to have that position, They have to have that title are bad people. Because they're doing it for the wrong reasons. It's about ego. It's about whatever. To get that title. So if you tell a good person, Hey, you're not cut out to pastor. They're not going to get mad at you. They're not going to just turn around and freak out. And just go off the deep end. And go all Adam Fanon on you. Because their ordination is getting delayed. Folks, that's wickedness. The right motive to be a pastor is that you are trying to serve the Lord. Fill a need. Stand in the gap. Make yourself available to the Lord. Here am I, send me. And if He counts you faithful and puts you in the ministry, great. And if you don't get into the ministry, so what? It's okay, friend. You can serve God and live a happy, productive, godly Christian life without being a pastor. Look around, there's hundreds of people here tonight doing it. Everybody here is not a pastor. Everybody here is not going to become a pastor. That's okay. But bad people are hell-bent on that. And you know what will happen? They'll go into the ministry and then they'll end up getting divorced from their wife. And you know what they want to do? Keep on pastoring. Why? Because they can't be happy doing anything else. Because they're bad people. I mean, when you see a pastor who gets divorced, his marriage fails. Hey, the Bible says you have to rule well your own house to run the church. And if you get divorced, well, it was her fault. Yeah, it's always the other person's fault, isn't it? But at the end of the day, if you get divorced, you didn't rule well your own house, any way you slice it. And by the way, the Bible doesn't just have requirements for the pastor. It has requirements for the pastor's wife. It says that she needs to be sober, not a slanderer, faithful in all things. It gives requirements for the wife, too. See, my wife's not qualified, just trade her out for another one. What is this, wife-swap Baptist church? Folks, that is wrong. And so these epistles of condemnation that are handed out by these Bible colleges, they're not even worth the paper that they're written on. That you have some title, that you're the bachelor of theology, master of the universe. It doesn't mean anything. Because of the fact that it's an unbiblical title being issued by an unbiblical institution, and it's a participation trophy because everybody gets one. There's no evaluation from the congregation saying, okay, we approve you, or we don't approve you. So we don't need to commend ourselves, and we don't need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you. I wonder who these others are that need that. You know who people are that need that? It's people who can't stand on their own two feet. They can't show the actual fruit in their lives. They can't actually show their works, so they need a piece of paper to show that they know what they're doing. You know, there are plenty of people who do a lot of jobs in this world, and they get hired at those jobs without a college degree. Did you know that? There are electricians who excel in their field, and they get hired, and they make great money because they're a great electrician. And they don't need a piece of paper to prove that. They just show up and do the work, and their boss looks at it and says, wow, this guy knows what he's doing. This guy is excellent. Or somebody fills out a test or something and proves their knowledge some other way. But people who actually can't prove their skills spiritually, they need that Bible college degree, or they need that thing to persuade people, hey, everybody, look at me, I'm qualified. Well, the church will be the judge of that, not some Bible college. And I know there are people who move to our church because their goal is to someday become a pastor. They want to move here, get trained, and get sent out to start a church. Hey, that's great. I'm glad you have that dream. I'm glad you have that vision. But let me just warn you, it's not a sure thing. You might come here and spend a few years here, and we might just say, no, you're not cut out for the ministry. No, I don't believe you're qualified. No, you're not getting ordained. It's wasting my time. You know, only a wicked person would consider it a waste of time to serve the Lord in Faithful Word Baptist Church. Serving the Lord in Faithful Word Baptist Church is never a waste of time. And you know what, if you just see the church as a stepping stone for your ambitions or your career, then why don't you just move on right now? Just move on right now. You're not cut out for the ministry. You have the wrong motives and the wrong attitude, period. So the Bible says in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 1, Do we begin again to commend ourselves, or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? Ye are our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men. And if you remember back in 1 Corinthians chapter 4, he had stated to them, hey, you have a lot of teachers, you have a lot of instructors, but you don't have many fathers. I begat you in the Gospel. He's basically saying to them, I won you to Christ, so you're sitting here and demanding proof of me being an apostle. He's saying, look, didn't I win you to the Lord? So why do I have to prove anything to you? Why do I need some epistle of commendation to or from you? You are our epistle. He's saying, you're my Bible college degree. Here's the fruit. Here's the work. Here's the actual proof in the pudding. It's known and read of all men. For as much as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. Okay, now let's learn something else from this passage. So we get that primary application. But when the apostle Paul here says, you are the epistle of Christ, how about this? You are a representative of Jesus Christ. You are the epistle. And in fact, I've heard it said this way, you're the only Bible that some people will ever read. Have you ever heard that before? You're the only Bible that some people will ever read. Meaning that people at your work, people at your school, people in your family, they don't necessarily read the Bible. So their exposure to the things of God and to the Word of God is not going to be from picking up a Bible and reading it. It's going to be their interaction with you. So you're like the human walking, breathing, living epistle unto them, right? The epistle of Christ unto them. You are that ambassador. So you speak God's Word to them. And you shine the light of the glorious gospel. And you represent Jesus Christ. So think about that when you go to work. Are you being a good ambassador? Are you being a good ambassador to your family? Are you a good ambassador at school or wherever else you go? He says you are the epistle of Christ written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. Look at verse 4. And such trust have we through Christ to Godward. Such trust have we through Christ to Godward. He's saying, you know what? I believe that that's the case. I believe that you guys are a good epistle of Christ. Not that we're sufficient of ourselves, verse 5, to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God, who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the Spirit, for the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. The Bible says there in verse 6 that God has made us able ministers. Our sufficiency is from God. It's not of ourselves. It's from God. What is he saying here? The power to serve God, the power to preach, the power to go soul winning, the power to minister to your brothers and sisters in Christ and to help them and be a blessing to them, it comes from the Lord. It's the power of the Spirit. It's not done in the flesh, right? So God makes us able ministers of the New Testament, right? To bring not the letter that killeth, but the Spirit that giveth life. Now, I've known a lot of people who in the flesh are not great conversationalists. They're not graduating from Toastmasters anytime soon. They're very quiet or shy or reserved. They're not very social people. They're maybe introverted or a little bit awkward sometimes even. But I've seen these people go out and do great soul winning. Why is that? Because the Lord has made them an able minister, right? God has empowered them. God has given them the ability to do the work that he has done. Paul said, I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who hath enabled me for that he counted me faithful putting me into the ministry. So the God who calls is the God who enables, okay? So when God gives us a commandment to go out and preach the gospel to every creature, he's going to enable you to do that. When God calls someone to do this work or that work or when you go out and you want to preach or be a pastor, missionary, evangelist, whatever. You know, God is the one who can empower you to do that. And he can actually empower you to do things that you never thought were possible. You know, if you're a godly, humble servant of God who loves the Lord and wants to serve him for the right reasons, you may not have all the talent on the surface, but God can still use you greatly. And you may be the one who becomes a pastor someday. And then the other guy who had all the talent and all the skill and he was a great speaker, he might crash and burn because of a lack of character. Okay, look, if you have the right heart, if you have the right spirit and the right character, you know what? God can give you the skills you need. God can enable you. But if you're a rotten person, all the fleshly skill in the world is not going to be greatly used by God. It's just not going to happen. God uses the spirit, not the flesh. So you can have all this great skill and charisma and talent, but if you're rotten, you're going nowhere. If you're walking in the flesh, you're going nowhere, okay? But if you're in the spirit and maybe you have not been endowed with a whole lot of talent and ability, look, did you know that God frequently uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise? God frequently uses the weak to defeat the mighty. God loves to use a little David against a giant Goliath because then he gets the glory and so he frequently uses people that are under-qualified but they have the right heart and the right spirit. He enables us, right? He has made us able ministers of the New Testament. He enables us, putting us into the ministry. He said here, not of the letter but of the spirit, for the letter killeth but the spirit giveth life. What does that mean, the letter killeth and the spirit giveth life? Well, all we have to do is keep reading and he explains it to get the context. We don't want to take this verse out of context. I've heard people just kind of quote this statement all by itself, hey, the letter killeth but the spirit giveth life, and they don't put it in context and then they would abuse this statement. What does it actually mean? Look at the next verse. But if the ministration of death written and engraven in stones was glorious. Okay, so what is the ministration of death? What is the letter that killeth? What is it? It's the law of Moses, right? Because he says it's engraved in stone. He talks about Moses. So the letter that killeth is the law of Moses, right? The Bible says in John 1, the law was given by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. So we are not ministers of the Old Testament. We are ministers of what? The New Testament. So he says here, we are able ministers, verse 6, of the New Testament, not of the letter, which is another way of saying not of the Old Testament, because that law of Moses is known as the Old Covenant or the Old Testament. But of the spirit, for the letter killeth but the spirit giveth life. What does it mean when it says that the letter killeth but the spirit giveth life? The reason that the letter killeth is because it's by the law that we have the knowledge of sin. The reason that we're doomed, the reason that we're damned is the law of God. If there were no law of God, there'd be no such thing as sin and we wouldn't be doomed, would we? No. We are doomed because of God's law condemning us. That letter of God's law kills us because we are unworthy according to God's law. We are doomed and damned and cannot go to heaven because of God's law. But then it's the spirit that gives life, right? When we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, the Holy Ghost regenerates us and saves us and creates a new creature that is now worthy to go to heaven. The new creature is worthy to go to heaven. The old man is unworthy. Okay, now when we get saved, we've got the new creature but we still have the old man too. The old man doesn't disappear. We don't get saved and all of a sudden the flesh is gone and we're 100% righteous. No, the new man is 100% righteous. The spiritual man, inwardly we're righteous but we still have the flesh. So now there's a war going on between the flesh and the spirit, right? And so we have the flesh warring against the spirit, the spirit warring against the flesh so that we cannot do the things that we would because of that battle that's going on. So it's the spirit that gives us life. Look, it's not following the commandments that gives us life. How many times have you asked somebody, how do you know that you're going to heaven? And they say, well, I keep the Ten Commandments. Folks, the letter killeth. You think the Ten Commandments are going to save you. The Ten Commandments have the power to damn you. They have the power to condemn you and show your error but they do not have the power to save you, okay? The spirit must give you life. You have to believe on Christ and receive the spirit. Be saved by the spirit, okay? So the Bible says the letter killeth but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death written and engraven in stones was glorious so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance, which glory was to be done away, how shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? Now what's he talking about? Well, back in the Old Testament, Moses, when he went up on the mountaintop and spake with the Lord, he was shown a vision of the rear parts of the Lord himself, even God the Father, okay? So he went up to the mountain and spoke with God and God told him, no man shall see my face and live. But he said, I'm going to put you in the cleft of the rock, I'm going to pass by you and I'm going to move my hand away and you will see my rear parts, my hinder parts. And Moses was able just to see the back of the Lord and his glory, not the face of God the Father but the backside. And when he saw that, it made Moses' face shown. And when he came down from the mountain, he didn't know it. He did not realize that his face shone. But when he came down from the mountain, people were, you know, unable to look at Moses. It was so bright, it blinded them. It was like looking into the sun to look into Moses' face. So he had to actually put a veil over his face so that people could even be around him because his face shone like the sun. Now that glory was temporary. He didn't spend the rest of his life with a veil over his face because it says here in verse 7, for the glory of his countenance, at the end of verse 7, which glory was to be done away. It was a temporary glory, right? Glory is another word for shining. So his face was shining. The glory and brightness coming off of it blinded people. They had to cover his face because he'd seen that vision. Now look, the Bible's crystal clear. No man can see God's face and live. But yet, how is it that there were people in the Old Testament who saw the face of God and lived? You know, I'm not going to do a whole big, long spiel on this because I've already preached it so many other times. But let me just bring up what I think is the best example, which is Jacob, who wrestled with the Lord. And he flat out said, I have seen the face of God. And he called the name of that place Peniel, which is Hebrew for the face of God. And he said, therefore, he called the place Peniel because he said, I've seen the face of God and my life is preserved. So how did Jacob see the face of God and his life was preserved? How did Abraham speak with the Lord when the Lord came and told him about the destruction of Sodom that was coming? And throughout the Bible, there were other people who were face-to-face with God and didn't die. Folks, it's obvious why. Because they were face-to-face with the Son of God. Okay? When Jacob wrestled with a man and said, I've seen God face-to-face. Was he right? Had he seen God face-to-face? Yep. Because he saw Jesus, saw the Son of God. Okay? And the Son of God is also God because God is comprised of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, eternally existing as God. And so it's God the Father that no one can see. That's why the Bible says, no man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he had declared him. So you can see the Son, but you can't see the Father. That's why people in the Old Testament are confused. Because they're like, we've seen God, we're going to die. And they're like, yeah, but we're not dead yet. What's going on? Why are they confused? Because you can see the Son and you can't see the Father. They didn't understand that. We understand that perfectly. Why? Because we have the New Testament. They saw through a glass darkly. We see clearly. We have the whole Bible to explain that to us. And so we understand the Trinity and things that are laid out in the New Testament. Folks, the Son of God was in the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. That was the Son of God in the Old Testament, right? So don't say there's no Son of God in the Old Testament. Otherwise, how could these people see God face to face and live? And how could the Son of God be in the furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego if there was no Son of God back then, folks? The Son of God's eternal. Yesterday and today and forever the same. Jesus. Amen? So he says here that Moses, because he saw that vision, the glory of his countenance, made it so that they could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses. Meaning that if they looked at him, they had to look away. It's like you can't steadfastly look into the Son. And kids don't try that because you can go blind if you stare into the Son. He says if that was glorious, if the Old Testament was glorious, if the Old Covenant was glorious, if the tables of stone were glorious, hey, we know they were glorious because Moses came down and his face shined. That's glory. How much more, verse 8, how shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious? Rather glorious, meaning even more glorious. If the Old Testament's glorious, the New Testament's even more glorious. Let me explain something to you. The New Testament is called the better testament. That's what the Bible calls it. I didn't come up with that term. You know, the Jews will say, what you folks call the Old Testament, we call the only testament. Well, what you folks call the only testament, we call the better testament. No, that doesn't work, sorry. But the New Testament that you reject is the better testament, folks. It's better. I don't think it's better. Okay, well then, I guess God was wrong in Hebrews chapter 8 when he said it was better. Jesus is the mediator of a better covenant which was established upon better promises, right? It's better. Case closed. Amen? The Jews are wrong and you say, why bring up the Jews? Why get on them? Well, because the whole rest of the chapter is getting on them. So I'm just getting warmed up for that. Okay. Because what does he say here? He says in verse number 9, for if the ministration of condemnation be glory, that's the old covenant, the law of Moses, much more that the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect by reason of the glory that exceleth. He's saying, look, if you put the ministration of death under the old covenant, if you put that glory next to the glory of the new covenant and salvation and redemption and righteousness, it's like it's not even shining. It's like the glory is not even, because it would be so outshined by the new covenant. That's what he's saying here. He's saying it had no glory in this respect by reason of the glory that exceleth. The glory that exceleth, it means it has more glory. It excels. It goes beyond. It's sort of like how the moon looks really bright at night. But in the daytime, does the moon look bright? No, because of the glory that exceleth. The sun's glory is so much greater than it really puts the moon in the shade, right? So it says here in verse 11, for if that which is done away was glorious, what's done away? The old covenant. The Bible says, and that he saith the new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away, Hebrews chapter 8 verse 13. Much more that which remaineth is glorious, the new covenant. Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech. What does it mean to use great plainness of speech? It means to say exactly what you mean. Not to beat around the bush or try to hide what you believe or what you... No, just to say it exactly how you believe it. Just plainness of speech. And not as Moses. Not as Moses which put a veil over his face that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished. So he's saying here, we don't hide the new covenant under a bushel, right? We don't put a veil over it. We use great plainness of speech. We explicitly preach the New Testament. We explicitly preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. We don't use parables and dark sayings. We make it clear. We make it plain. We make it manifest, okay? We use plainness of speech. Not like Moses who put a veil over his face trying to what? Hide the glory from people. He's saying, no, no, no, we want to just let it shine in the New Testament. Don't hide it under a bushel. Look at verse 14. But their minds, whose minds? Well, verse 13 said, the children of Israel, halfway through verse 13, could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished. What's abolished is the old covenant, okay? The children of Israel couldn't look at Moses' face. Verse 14 says, but their minds were blinded. For until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament which veil is done away in Christ. So he goes from talking literally about Moses and the veil and the glory. Now he starts to use it as an illustration. And he's saying, you know what? Just like the children of Israel couldn't look at Moses' face because he had a veil over it. He's saying, that's how it is when the Jews today, the children of Israel, when they read the Old Testament, the veil is there. So they can't see it. They can't understand. They can't see the glory of it. So therefore, when a Jewish person, when we say Jewish, we're talking about the religion of Judaism. The Christ-rejecting religion known as rabbinical Judaism, whether it's an Orthodox Jew or a Reform Jew or a Conservative Jew or whatever the denomination of Judaism or the Hasidic or whatever. Because they don't believe in Jesus, there's a veil over their face when they read the Old Testament. So just imagine if, does somebody have something I can use as a veil? You know what? I can just use my coat, right? Just take my coat here and say, okay, I'm going to simulate Jews reading the Bible, okay? So this is a Jew reading the Old Testament. Okay, now look. What sense would it make to ask that guy to explain the Bible to you? You know, oh, excuse me, sir, sir, can you explain to me what the Bible really means? Can you, oh, can you help me go back to the Hebrew? And can you help me to interpret the Jewish wedding? But folks, today we have Christians that literally will go to a Christ-rejecting rabbi to try to get advice on how to interpret the Old Testament. And he'll expound to them the Old Testament. They'll literally go to the Talmud. They'll go to the Mishnah. They'll go to these wicked sources, and they'll use that to interpret the Old Testament. In fact, they'll use it as authoritative. Like, well, it says in the Mishnah, well, case closed. Well, I mean, if you ask the Jews, you know, look, folks, if I want to know what the Bible teaches about alcohol, well, I'm going to go ask a Jewish rabbi. Well, I mean, because they're, you know, they're the ones who are the Jews, and they have the culture, and the, they're blind. They're blind, folks. I don't want to hear what they have to say. I have no interest in getting the interpretation of the Bible from Jews. There was an article this week in the New York Times about this Christ-rejecting Jew in Berkeley, California, a real godly place. University of California, Berkeley, the Jewish Studies Department. He's been working 30 years on a translation of the Old Testament that will rival the King James Version. Well, isn't it funny that here we are in 2019, all these bogus Bible translations, and what are people still trying to rival? The King James. The King James has always been the standard. Isn't it funny how these Bibles, they call it the New American Standard? Yeah, in your dreams, you wish it would be the New American Standard. It's not even popular anymore. Nobody's even buying it anymore. It's practically going out of print, because now the Calvinists have moved on to the English Standard Version, the ESV. It's not the standard, and it never will be. Funny how the New York Times didn't say, hey, this new version's going to rival the ESV. Because the ESV's junk, folks. The NIV's junk. Nobody's trying to rival the NIV. They're trying to rival the King James. And you know what? This unbelieving Jew, his version doesn't rival the King James. He changed Psalm 23, thou anointest my head with oil, you moisten my head with oil. Because he said he wanted to de-Christianize it. He changed it where Jonah said the waters have come in unto me, even unto the soul. Hey, I'm in water up to my neck. Translated nefesh as neck instead of soul. In fact, he completely eliminated the word soul from his whole Bible. Just completely got rid of the word soul. Man, that brother's got no soul. Because his soul is evil. His soul's rotten. His soul's like a stone. You know, he's reprobate. Exactly. Well, when you start twisting the word of God, you're a reprobate at that point. But this guy, he'd take out the word soul, and he's so smug about it, moisten my head with oil. I'm trying to remember some of the other examples that the article gave. You know, a bundle of myrrh is my well beloved unto me. He shall lie all night betwixt my breasts. A sachet of myrrh is my well beloved unto me. A sachet? Come on. Bundle's better. He made fun of some other version that said a bag of myrrh is lodged between my breasts. It's like, what in the world? Look, folks, the King James is done. We don't need an improvement on it. It's done. It's the finished product, folks. It rules. For 400 years, it's been the standard. And this Berkeley professor is not going to do anything to take it out of the number one slot as being the ultimate Bible translation of all time. But they'll try, won't they? But look, why would I want a Bible translation from a guy who reads the Bible blindfolded? You're going to trust that guy to interpret the Bible for you? No, thanks. The Jews cannot understand Scripture. The natural man received not the things of the Spirit of God for their foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. They have not the Spirit. The veil is done away in Christ, the Bible says in verse 15. But even unto this day when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless, when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. So as soon as a Jew believes on Jesus Christ, the veil is lifted. Now they can actually understand Genesis. Now they can understand Exodus. Now they can understand Leviticus, right? You can't read it blindfolded. It's not going to work. Now, the Lord is that Spirit. You know, because we're talking about the ministration of the Spirit. The Spirit giveth life. Hey, the Lord is that Spirit. Because the Holy Spirit is God, amen? And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Now that's a very profound verse in verse 18, so I want to spend the rest of the time just explaining this one last verse. But we all, with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord. Now what does that mean? Well, when the Bible says as in a glass, what the Bible is referring to is what we would think of as a mirror, okay? So the Bible often will use the word glass for what we would consider a mirror. Like, for example, in James chapter 1, the famous verse that says, and if you would, keep your finger in 2 Corinthians 3 and go to James 1, because it's interesting how these two passages kind of connect. Because what did the Bible just say in verse 17? The Lord is that Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, right? Now let's compare that with another passage on the law of liberty. It says in James chapter 1, verse 25, who so looketh into the perfect law of liberty. So do you see the connection there between that and 2 Corinthians 3? Okay, let's back up in James 1 to verse 23. For if any be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man, beholding his natural face in a glass. For he beholdeth himself and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. He's saying, how ridiculous would it be to say, oh, let me go check myself in the mirror, and you go and you behold your natural face in a glass, and then as soon as you walk away, you forget what manner of man you are. You forget what you looked like. Like, you check your clothing, your hair, and then the moment you look away, you have no recollection of what you just saw. Now I think the best way I could illustrate this is that I've done this a bunch of times where I pull out my phone to see what time it is, and then I look at the time and then put it back in my pocket, and I still have no idea what time it is. Who's ever done that before? You know, you pull it out, you read it, and you put it away, and you're just like, I have no idea what time it is. I've done that like twice in a row before, you know, and I have a lot on my mind. So you say it's like somebody who just absentmindedly looks at themselves in a mirror, doesn't do anything with what they saw, you know, that maybe something's wrong. You know, maybe they have something weird hanging off their face or something. They don't fix anything. They don't do anything about it, and they walk away. Look, folks, if you're standing in front of a mirror and you have a serious problem, and you don't fix it right then and there, do you think you're going to fix it a half hour from now? No, because the most obvious time to fix it is when? While you're looking in the mirror. Okay, so he's saying, look, if you're a hearer of the word and not a doer, it's like you're looking in the mirror, the Bible tells you what's wrong, and you don't fix it. Five minutes later, it's not even on your mind. So what the Bible's saying is when we hear the word, we need to be a doer. Do it right away because the longer you wait, the less likely you are to do it, to fix things, right? To make the changes necessary. So the reason I took you to James 1 was to show you that a glass is a mirror. Do you see that? Beholding your face in the glass is to figure out what manner of man you are. You're looking in the mirror at yourself. Well, in 2 Corinthians 3, 18, if you want to go back there, but we all with open face, what does open face mean? As opposed to what? The veil. Remember, Moses had a veil over his face. Do we have a veil over our face? No, so we have what? Open face. And look, 2 Corinthians is kind of a difficult book, so you've got to kind of slow down and read it and understand it, and that's what I'm trying to do in these sermons. But we all with open face, beholding means looking at, beholding as in a glass, which is actually a mirror, the glory of the Lord. So, here's the thing. What if Moses, when he came down from the mount and his face shined, his face shone, what if he would have looked in a mirror at that point? What would he have seen? The glory. He would have seen the glory of the Lord that was shining off his face, right? If he looked in a mirror, he would have seen that. Now, Moses didn't do that because he put a veil over his face, and, you know, didn't want to hurt anybody, and I don't think anybody handed him a mirror to see what would happen, you know. So, basically, it says, but we, on the other hand, we're not like Moses. We're New Testament believers. We don't have a veil. We're not hiding it under a bushel. We all, meaning all believers in Christ, those that are saved, we all with open face, beholding as in a glass, the glory of the Lord. Like as if we would look in a mirror and see the glory of the Lord shining off of us and coming right back at us, right? Are changed into the same image from glory to glory, meaning we're changed into the image that we see in the mirror. Does everybody understand? We're changed into that same image of the glory of God from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Okay? So, basically, we look into the perfect law of liberty. We look into the Word of God, and we see a reflection of ourselves. Why is that? Because we're saved, and if you're saved, you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you, but not only that, your personal spirit has been transformed, has been regenerated, has been saved, has been changed. You are a new creature, and you are a new creature begotten by God. And so because you have been begotten by God, the Bible says we've been begotten again unto a lively hope, or born again, begotten again, we have a resemblance to the Lord. His imprint is left upon us, right? The Spirit of God lives inside of us, and our spirit actually reflects the glory of God. Now, we are changed into the same image from glory to glory. As we walk in the Spirit, we become more like Jesus Christ, right? We become more like Jesus. Now, the more that we walk in the flesh, you know, we're covering up the glory. We're hiding it under a bushel, right? But when we walk in the Spirit, we're letting it shine. And then we can actually see that in ourselves. We can actually look at ourselves and see, okay, this is the glory of the Lord, okay? Not a prideful thing, because obviously it's His glory. It's the glory of the Lord manifested in us as He changes us, as His Spirit works in us, as our spirit that's the new creature shines through, then we are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. That's a pretty powerful verse when you think about that. That's a pretty amazing thing. We are partakers of the divine nature. Isn't that great? I mean, we actually have the fruit of the Spirit. I mean, that's great, because you know what? In my flesh dwell with no good thing, the apostle Paul said. We don't have the potential to be great people. We don't have the potential to be able ministers of the New Testament. Hey, without Christ, we're nothing. Without the Spirit, we're nothing. We'd be out doing all the same things that the world does. We'd be out drinking and fornicating and partying and making stupid decisions and doing all kinds of things. And look, even people that are saved, if they walk in the flesh, they're going to go out and do those stupid things, folks. But we have the ability to be like Jesus. Isn't that great? I mean, we have the ability to go out and do the works that Jesus would do, to preach like Jesus would preach, to reach people like Jesus would reach them, to help people and have compassion and pity on people the way that Jesus would be merciful, the way that Jesus would be merciful, to love the way Jesus loves, to rejoice the way Jesus loves. We can be like Christ. We could look in the mirror and see a reflection of the glory of God if we walk in the Spirit. But we've got to go through the process of being changed. It's something that's ongoing. We all, with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed. Right? It's something that's ongoing. We are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. So we need to let Christ shine through in our lives. We need to let the New Testament shine. And then we'll be what? Back to the beginning of the chapter. What? We'll be the epistle of Christ. You know, then when we show up at work, when we show up at school, when we show up at whatever the family gathering, we're the epistle of Christ. We can shine the light of the Gospel and people will see Christ in us. And we will see Christ in ourselves. Christ in you. The hope of glory. Amen. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for this great chapter, Lord. And Lord, I just pray that we would seek the things that are above, not the things that are on this earth. Not seek the glory of this world, the accolades, the money, the prestige, the riches, the wealth, the fame. Lord, help us to seek for the glory that excelleth, Lord. Help us to desire, to look into that mirror and see the glory of God. Help us, Lord, to draw an eye to you, to love you, to read the Bible, to walk with you, to walk in the Spirit, Lord. And Lord, I pray that you would help us to shine the light of the Gospel to the lost. Lord, the Jews are damned. And Lord, I just pray that we would be able to win some of them unto Christ. Help us to win the Jews to Christ. Help us to win the Muslims to Christ. Help us to win the atheists and agnostics. Help us to get as many people saved as we can, Lord. Help us to be that epistle, that ambassador. And help us to shine the light of the Gospel in a dark and dying world. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Alright, one more song before we go. Song 225, nor silver nor gold. 225. 225. The death of my Savior, thou may give me more. I am green, but not with silver. I am odd, but not with gold. Off with the Christ, the blood of Jesus, precious Christ of love adored. Long silver nor gold hath obtained my redemption, the gift of my conscience to heaven and Earth. The blood of the Cross is my only condition. The death of my Savior could only unfold. I am green, but not with silver. I am odd, but not with gold. Off with the Christ, the blood of Jesus, precious Christ of love adored. Long silver nor gold hath obtained my redemption, the holy commitment forbade me from you. The blood of the Cross is my only condition. The death of my Savior can move with my fear. I am green, but not with silver. I am odd, but not with gold. Off with the Christ, the blood of Jesus, precious Christ of love adored. Long silver nor gold hath obtained my redemption, the way into heaven could not last before. The blood of the Cross is my only condition. The death of my Savior, redemption and more. I am green, but not with silver. I am odd, but not with gold. Off with the Christ, the blood of Jesus, precious Christ of love adored. The blood of the Cross is my only condition.