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Holy Word roused and soldiers rally round the banner ready steady pass the word along onward forward shout aloud hosanna Christ is captain of the mighty throng song 419 on the second strong to meet the foe marching on we go while our cause we know must prevail shield and banner bride gleaming in the light battling for the right we never can fail rouse then soldiers rally round the banner ready steady pass the word along onward forward shout aloud hosanna Christ is captain of the mighty throng oh thou God of all hear us when we call help us one and all by thy grace when the battle's done and the victors won may we wear the crown before thy face rouse then soldiers rally round the banner ready steady pass the word along onward forward shout aloud hosanna Christ is captain of the mighty throng great singing let's see this evening let's open up with a word of prayer Heavenly Father thank you so much for this day and thank you for a full house this Wednesday evening pray that you bless every person here that you bless our service help us just sing out to you in our hearts Lord and pray that you bless the service in Jesus name amen all right for our second song go ahead open up your white handouts to Psalm 67 Psalm 67 in your white handouts or in your King James Bible Psalm number 67 Psalm 67 God be merciful unto us and bless us and cause his face to shine upon us that thy way may be known upon earth thy saving health among all nations let the people praise thee Oh God let all the people praise thee oh let the nations be glad and sing for joy for thou shalt judge the people righteously and govern the nations upon earth the nations upon earth see love let the people praise thee Oh God let all the people praise thee oh let the nations be glad and sing for joy then shall the earth yield her increase and God even our own God shall bless us God shall bless us and all the ends of the earth shall fear him let the people praise thee Oh God let all the people praise thee oh let the nations be glad and sing for joy great singing thank you so much coming to steadfast Baptist Church if you don't already have a bulletin slip of your hand nice and high and our ushers gonna be coming up and down handing out bulletins just keep your hands up nice and high and we'll be getting a bulletin to you and it's good to be here this evening back from the surface of the Sun and oh I mean Phoenix I'm sorry and really had a good time there at Faith Ward Baptist Church going back and visiting and it was a lot of fun to be back I haven't been there in a while as far as preaching is concerned and there's a lot of great people there brother Segura had everyone raised their hand that had not been there since I had and there was like hundreds of hands so definitely the church has a lot of new people and a lot of familiar faces too it is great to see them preach for them if you have like four or five hours you can listen to both my sermons from there and so as pastor Anderson said he would like all four or five sermons I preached that day so but it was a lot of fun being back there and I'm glad to be back here and we're definitely honored to have a special guest tonight pastor Anderson's preaching for us and he's been traveling throughout the country preaching at a lot of churches a lot of our friends churches he brought his family with them at least some of his family they can't all fit in one car so unless you have like a school bus or something but they he did bring some of his children with him so definitely thank pastor Anderson and his family for being here after the service I think we're gonna break a record but even if we didn't we were planning on having ice cream after the service so I definitely think we did but that'll help cool you down a little bit all right so stick around have an ice cream after the service and on the inside of our bulletin this is a really long binary passage but if you if you kids can quote it we'll keep an extra tally and maybe you'll get an extra treat on Sunday okay so that way you don't get gypped you're like I memorized that verse it was hard you're gonna get ice cream tonight and you can get a special treat on Sunday how about that all right on our inside we are service and soul winning times as well as our church stats on the right we have the list of expecting ladies we also have our prayer list which we go over every Wednesday if you have any prayer requests you would like added to our bulletin you can email that to steadfastbaptistkjv.com and we'll try to put that in our bullets and we try to update it every single week as well so if you have a an ongoing prayer request or something like that please continue to send those in or updates we do have here on the list continue to pray for the Negara family for their health miss Lucy's mother's tumors for their halls leg we've been praying for our friends abroad Verdi Baptist Manila and pastor Kevin Sepulveda and his church also continue to pray for the Goodwin family pray for brother Suhail who's traveling all over so I don't know where he is right now but hopefully God willing he'll get back here and then pray for a brother Oz's grandmother Doris who is recovering from a heart attack and a broken arm and then pray from his holders husband and so I think that's all I have as far as prayer requests in the bulletin again like I said if you have others submit those I'm gonna just say a quick word of prayer for those that were mentioned thank Heavenly Father for this gathering thank you for our church I pray that you would just bless all the expecting ladies in our church and that you would help them with their pregnancy you would help them with their delivery and help those babies to grow I pray that you'd also bless our various church members that are struggling with health issues and concerns that you could just strengthen them bless them with health and you'd help to bless our friends from abroad that they would have courage and strength that they would go out and preach the gospel you'd open doors for them you'd be with them and we just thank you for everyone that's here and those that couldn't make it I pray you just bless them as well in Jesus name we pray amen on the back we have a list of upcoming events you made it for July 6 pastor Anderson preaching we have on the 10th exciting announcement an ordination service for Brother Urbana and that's going to be immediately following the morning service so I'll be preaching a sermon and then immediately following the morning service we're gonna have a little quick ordination for Brother Urbana and then we're gonna have a celebration it's gonna be a potluck the church is gonna be providing meat so you can bring all the other stuff so sides and whatever and it is a potluck now I remember when I grew up I went to church politics all the time and I was always scared about what was there so that's why I'm bringing the meat so that way I'm guaranteed I'm locked in to have something that I enjoy and then you guys can pick but you know that was going to like the nom the nom potlucks it's weird food okay Baptist potlucks are the best food so I have a lot of I have a lot of faith in you guys I've already seen it before and I believe you can deliver again also the song leading class we had one previously this Sunday we're gonna have another one coming up July 10 24 31st it is from 9 15 to 10 a.m. if you do plan on coming to church early please just be respectful of that time or especially if you have children that way those that are practicing learning and playing that they can pay attention to the song leading you're still welcome to participate show up or sing it's just we want you to be either quiet or singing and participating and then we have our men's conference August 18th to the 20th and so that's definitely a lot of fun that's pretty much all I have on these now so one other I want to make one announcement then I want to go to some private announcements just real quick but we are starting to try and do like an email list for the streaming of our services and stuff like that so especially if you're listening online or you know people that are trying to find our sermons just email us and just say preaching or something in the title or whatever I want to be out of the preaching list or something and then we're just collecting emails for that so if you want to cut the audio you you you you you you it's again for being here if you need any water or anything our fridge is completely stocked with water bottles so please don't hesitate or if you don't want to run back there just grab an usher point an usher or yell at them or something say hey will you give me some water and our ushers would love to get you some water okay so let's go to our third song for the evening 208 in our hymnal song 208 grace greater than our sin 208 grace greater than our sin song 208 grace greater than our sin and our guilt yonder on Calvary's mount out poured there where the blood of the lamb was spilled grace grace God's grace grace that will pardon and cleanse within grace grace God's grace grace that is greater than all our sin sin and is spared like the sea waves cold threat in the soul with infinite loss grace that is greater yes grace untold points to the refuge the mighty cross grace grace God's grace grace that will pardon and cleanse within grace grace God's grace grace that is greater than all our sin dark is the stain that we cannot hide what can avail to wash it away look there is blowing a crimson tide wider than snow you may be today grace grace God's grace grace that pardon and cleanse within grace grace God's grace grace that is greater than all our sin marvelous infinite matchless grace freely bestowed on all who believe you that are longing to see his face will you this moment is grace receive grace grace God's grace grace that will pardon and cleanse within grace grace God's grace grace that is greater than all our sin as the offering plates go around if you would please turn to your Bibles to Psalm 12 Psalm chapter 12 and we'll read the whole chapter before the sermon you can follow along silently starting at verse number 1 Psalm 12 the Bible reads in Psalm chapter 12 help Lord for the godly man sees it for the faithful fail from among the children of men they speak vanity everyone with his neighbor with flattering lips and with the double heart do they speak the Lord shall cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaketh proud things who have said with our tongue will we prevail our lips are our own who is Lord over us for the oppression of the poor for the sighing of the needy now will I arise saith the Lord I will set him in safety from him that puff it at him the words of the Lord are pure words as silver tried in a furnace of earth purified seven times thou shalt keep them O Lord thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever the wicked walk on every side when the vilest men are exalted let's pray father we thank you for the service this evening and for Pastor Anderson I just pray that you would fill him now with your spirit and also just protect him as he goes on his way after the service and also Lord I just prayed you would soften hearts in the room and help us to apply the message to our lives in Jesus name I pray amen men well it is great to be here tonight and we're on a road trip as you know and we've been traveling all over the country we've gone well over 4,000 miles and visited a lot of churches we didn't really get to see anything in Fort Worth because we just got in last night so it was nice of the Fort Worth Zoo to bring some of the zoo animals to the property we didn't get to go to the zoo or anything so that was fun and I'm preaching on this trip through the twelve sons of Jacob as some of you might know so I preach the sermon on Reuben Simeon Levi I'm going in the order that they were born and so tonight I'm on Zebulun which is not a guy that the Bible says a whole lot about and the Zebulunites as a tribe aren't necessarily the most mentioned tribe in the Bible either but there's this one cool verse that I really want to focus in on tonight and I'm going to use that as a springboard for the sermon on Zebulun and that is 1st Chronicles chapter 12 verse 33 so if you would turn to 1st Chronicles chapter number 12 verse 33 and I'll just give you a little bit of the context of this chapter in this chapter King David is not yet King David he's David and he's just consolidating power because you know the house of Saul still has a lot of people that are holding on to it even though Saul and his sons were killed there are still people that are kind of pulling for that side and so David is in the process of being made king and ruling over all of Israel being the king of Israel and different people from different tribes are separating themselves unto David and making it clear that they're on David's side they're gonna join his army they're gonna fight with them they want him to be the king and this was of course ordained by God because God had already ordained and had Samuel the prophet anoint David as king of Israel so he's the legitimate king that's that's coming into power and we have a specific group from Zebulun mentioned in verse 33 so if you're there in 1st Chronicles chapter 12 verse 33 it says of Zebulun such as went forth to battle expert in war with all instruments of war 50,000 which could keep rank they were not of double heart and that's what I want to preach about these attributes for which the Zebulunites are being praised because God praises different groups in this chapter for different things and the Zebulunites are praised for being expert in war and for keeping rank and not being of a double heart so the two things I want to focus on tonight are keeping rank and not being of a double heart now what does it mean to keep rank well when you're in a battle it's very important that everyone is in their place doing their job and when armies go forth to war you don't want everybody just kind of running into battle doing their own thing every man for himself successful military campaigns involve the leadership from a general or some other officer and he's got everybody lined up and he's got everybody doing a certain job and keeping rank basically means that you know you've got the guy to your left you got the guy to your right and you're marching into battle and you stay in that spot you don't break rank meaning you know separate from the guy to your left or the guy to your right leaving a gap leaving an opening in the ranks so that the enemy could break through and defeat you because it's very important for strategy that you not break rank okay and this goes hand in hand with not being of a double heart because why would someone break rank well often it's because they might get scared they might panic and just start running instead of maintaining the formation following the orders executing the commands of their officers so we as Christians are in a spiritual battle this is talking about a physical battle in the Old Testament we're in a spiritual battle and instead of following King David we're following the Lord Jesus Christ who also is in the future going to receive a great kingdom and he's going to rule and reign on this earth for a thousand years and we are following Jesus Christ and we need to be like this Abulanites where we keep rank now if you would go to Psalms 133 Psalm 133 because the devil today wants us as Christians to break rank and the devil's minions are constantly trying to drive a wedge in between brethren in Christ trying to drive a wedge in our forces and separate us so that they can find an opening where they can attack but you know God wants us to keep rank and as a local church you need to keep rank meaning you need to have unity and not allow the devil and his minions to separate you from your brethren and to drive a wedge between you because he's always looking for that opening look at the Bible says in Psalm 133 verse 1 behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity it's like the precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon the beard even Aaron's beard that went down to the skirts of his garments so the Bible says it's so pleasant it's so wonderful such a beautiful thing to see brethren dwelling together in unity and of course the devil's crowd they hate a church that's unified that has unity that's all in one accord with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel and so they want to so as much discord as possible now it's interesting that it's compared to the ointment upon the head of Aaron the ointment upon Aaron's head represents the Holy Spirit just as we as New Testament Christians are anointed by the Holy Ghost also Aaron the high priest was to be spirit filled and anointed by the Holy Ghost now is pictured by pouring oil upon his head or ointment upon his head and the Bible says that the unity of the brethren is like that precious ointment and it's interesting because in Ephesians 4 3 it says endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace so notice how unity is associated with the Holy Spirit why because if we all are in dwell by the same Holy Spirit we've all got the same Word of God and we're all walking in the Spirit and not walking in the flesh we are gonna have unity if I'm filled with the Spirit and you're filled with the Spirit we're gonna get along great aren't we it's when we get in the flesh it's when we get carnal and walk in the old man that we would start to clash with one another why because only by pride cometh contention if we're actually walking in the Spirit we're gonna you know the Holy Spirit's gonna lead me to the same doctrines he's gonna lead you we got the same scripture we're gonna believe the same things for the most part and we're gonna be able to get along great because we're not gonna have egos and pride clashing we're gonna be humble walking in the Spirit we're gonna have unity we're gonna get along well and then if you're still there in Psalm 133 verse 3 it says as the dew of Herman and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion for there the Lord commanded the blessing even life forevermore so if we have unity if brethren are dwelling together in unity the result of that is that we are going to lead many people unto everlasting life the blessing is going to go forth from that group of brethren dwelling together in unity and that blessing is going to be life evermore you know when we have a church that's unified around biblical doctrine that church is an effective soul winning church going out and winning souls to Christ getting people saved and so that's what we see in Psalm 133 now if you would go to Proverbs chapter 6 Proverbs chapter 6 what are we talking about we're talking about keeping rank keeping rank means having unity right being unified we're all marching to the same drum we're all doing the same thing we're following the same rule we're minding the same thing we're striving together for the faith of the gospel and we don't break ranks and just everybody go do our own thing our own separate idea no no we need to get in the group and be a part of the team that's what it means to not break rank okay and God said it's a beautiful thing when we dwell together in unity but look at Proverbs chapter 6 verse 16 these six things that the Lord hate yea seven are an abomination to him it's those seven people standing out there no I'm just kidding but he says these seven are an abomination unto him a proud look a lying tongue and hands that shed innocent blood on heart that deviseth wicked imaginations feet that be swift and running to mischief a false witness that speak it lies and he that so a discord among brethren now often in lists in the Bible we don't want to make the mistake of thinking that these are in order of importance in fact often the last thing mentioned in a list can be the most important but all of these things are important they're all things that the Lord hates they're all things that are an abomination and the Bible says that the person who sows discord among brethren is an abomination unto the Lord there are people out there that want to separate chief friends they want to separate Bible believing Christians they would love to split the church and give people separated from their pastor brethren separated from one another and break up the rags drive a wedge because then they can win the battle if they can isolate everyone and let me tell you how the enemy will try to provoke us to break rank is he'll appeal to pride and ego often now remember the first thing that the Lord hates is the proud look the last thing he hates is he that sows discord among brethren but often that's the tactic to sow discord among brethren is to appeal to pride or ego here's the type of things that people will say to try to get you to break rank well you're following a man you guys are following man at that church and then you're like oh you know I'm not following anybody you know I'm my own man I do my own you know that's pride and ego talking you know if somebody told me when I was a church member hey you're following a man I'd say you better know I am following the man of God following the pastor you know but the thing is today we got a bunch of prideful arrogant egotistical people today in our country because our culture is becoming so prideful they have all month to celebrate being prideful and don't let that pride and arrogance and ego enter into our Christian culture we need to have a humble attitude today and a team player attitude and look at the church as God's institution that we're a part of and you know what it doesn't always have to be us just doing our own thing for our own glory no no don't be vain glorious be humble get on the program get on board serve the Lord as a part of the team known as the local church you're following a man well didn't the Apostle Paul say follow me be ye followers of me and mark them which walk so as you have us for an example said follow us follow me even as I follow Christ hey we all throughout the Bible see God's people following man of God following examples following leaders following judges and kings and priests that were godly but that's what the enemy will try to appeal to your ego by saying well you're following man you can't think for yourself huh you don't think for yourself you know you're just gonna believe what they tell you and then you're I well no you know I'm gonna think for myself and then you start just disagreeing for the sake of disagreeing just to prove that you're thinking on your folks that's immature and childish this is similar to the guy who comes to you on the playground and he tries to get you to do some dangerous thing and when you don't want to do it he'll tell you what's the matter you chicken you know and then and then it's like well I'll show you you know he's just trying to get you to do something stupid trying to get you hurt trying to get you in trouble hopefully you learn since you were in first grade or second grade not to fall for that stupid trick the oldest trick of the book but I see grown adults falling for it all the time when somebody said well you're not thinking for yourself you're falling him in then they have to prove well I'll show you how I can disagree with the pastor I'll show you how different I can be I'll show you how I can you know go an opposite direction of what the church is going folks you're being foolish you're being prideful you're being arrogant hey if you got a good church got a good program get on board serve the Lord in that church hey do you think I agreed with everything at every church I've ever gone to I mean every church I went to before I started faithful about search they were all pre-trib but I just went along with it I didn't obviously I didn't preach it because I've never believed it since I was 12 but you know I didn't go around making trouble or trying to argue with people or anything I just you know I just kept it to myself because I was so happy about how great the church was that I was a part of and the great soul winning they were doing and the great preaching I was hearing and you know I just focused on the 99% I agreed with and I didn't worry about the 1% I didn't agree with because it just wasn't a big deal no church is ever gonna be perfect no group of people is ever gonna be perfect but you know what good Christians they join the church and they participate in the program of the church and they keep rank with their brethren and they're a part of the team and they they seek and strive for unity if you're walking in the spirit you're endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace that's what the Bible teaches you're not striving for unity in the local church you know you're not following the Bible you're not walking in the spirits what the Bible says the spirit is doing you know down at that church you guys aren't even allowed to disagree with the pastor down at that church that's stupid everybody who's actually been at our church or your church you know they would know that's ridiculous all kinds of people in in in in all of our churches disagree or have their own opinions about things but that kind of a statement is designed to sow discord among brethren it's just to try to get to your ego and your pride and to try to get you to disagree just for the sake of disagreeing okay now the Bible says if you would flip over to John chapter 13 in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 1 the Bible reads I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you're called with all lowliness and meekness with longsuffering forbearing one another in love endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace notice lowliness and meekness is what leads to unity in the church not being high minded arrogant prideful which is an abomination to the Lord look at John chapter 13 verse 34 it says a new commandment I give unto you that you love one another as I've loved you that you also love one another by this shall all men know that you're my disciples if you have love one to another hey we are supposed to be humble love one another put other people first esteem other better than ourselves and with that kind of an attitude it's easy to get in the Lord's army and march straight ahead and not break rank because I can think of two reasons to break rank one would be to run ahead of the group because you're gonna go do it all on your own and and you're better than everyone well then you know what you just opened up a spot for the enemy to break through the ranks because you got ahead or falling back because you're a coward and scared and we don't want to do either one of those things we love our brethren we want to be there right by their side we don't want to break rank we want to stay with them stay unified stay in the fight go if you would to Hebrews chapter number 13 Hebrews chapter number 13 let me tell you something you know I know your church is going through a lot of persecution right now and you got a bunch of weirdos out there tonight and from what I've heard there are even more weirdos out there on Sundays and it's just been a continual process for well over a year of just continual harassment and and and persecution not to mention all of the other lawsuits and things the media I mean you know we could I don't need to tell you about all the things that have gone on all of the persecutions but let me just say this it will end everything comes to an end okay the grass withers and the flower fadeth you know but he that do it the will of God abideth forever that's me that's you those people are grass they're whatever is grass and God's the lawnmower all right and we today we're God's people we're serving the Lord we are going to endure forever and those people are just for a moment these people are flashed in the pan not only in eternal point of view but honestly these people are gonna get sick of being out there because eventually they're gonna realize that they're not doing any good now I'm not just speaking from a theory I'm speaking from my own experience you know back in 2009 we first started to be persecuted and and really have people attacking us and and protests we've never experienced anything to the degree that you guys have because you know frankly our country just wasn't as weird back then it as it is now in 2009 things were so much more normal than they are now okay but back then you know we had all the media coverage and we were just getting lambasted in the media I lost a lot of customers for my business you know I ended up going through a lot of you know things professionally and we had all kinds of just threats and protests and just weird stuff and media stuff and you know that went on like on and off from 2009 until 2015 but in 2015 you know the protesters and the weirdos and the politicians of our area and the media outlets they all got together and they had a big meeting they had a what do you call it a press conference and they said we're not going to talk about pastor Anderson ever again it's kind of ironic because they were like talking about me how they're not going to talk about me but they're like this is the last time you know they're like you know we're not going to talk about him again starting now but they they said at this press conference you know what you're just you're just helping people find out about his church they said we had a big protest plan for tomorrow it's canceled because he thrives on it he loves it he enjoys it more people are coming to the church and people just advertising the church and so we need to just just black blacklist this guy and just media blackout and just and you know what it's been amazing how they've kept to that because it's 2022 now so for over seven years now they have kept that promise and they have just left us alone we haven't had any protests we've had no media coverage or anything and so my point is that you know if you resist the devil he'll flee from you that's what the Bible says now the Bible doesn't say that's going to happen in a single day or in a single week you know we dealt with it for years but we resisted the devil and eventually he fled from us so the question is you know who is going to last longer who's going to be more persistent well it ought to be us because we're standing on the rock you know we're the ones who have the Holy Spirit inside of us we're the ones who are on the right side and we've got the power of God why should we be the ones who give in and buckle and and falter let it be them who can't handle the heat or the humidity you know or whatever out there let them get AIDS and die before we get worn out of serving God let's just keep serving God let's not break rank and you know what if you faint in the day of adversity your strength is small that's what the Bible says and you know what I have a hunch that the tribulation is gonna be a lot worse than this I mean that group out there is kind of a joke to be honest with you you say well they're naked out there that girl's got black X's on each nipple okay folks so quit exaggerating why you gotta exaggerate like that but the point is you know there are a lot worse things that God's people have gone through throughout history haven't they in Fox's book of martyrs you know there's no chapter about little miss X's out there you know there's not even a chapter like that in Fox's book of martyrs the point or I don't know if that's mister or what that is but whatever cousin it out there whatever it is but the point is you know we need to not break rank right and and you know when you start breaking rank you know you're gonna do your encourage the enemy because if the enemy sees you breaking rank they think hey we're getting to these guys we're winning charge let's go for that open hey I see an opening there let's get in that opening let's drive a wedge in the opening folks don't break rank don't be a coward don't be scared and realize that weeping may endure for the night but joy cometh in the morning and it may and look whenever you're going through any trials and tribulations they feel like they're gonna last forever folks every time I get the flu I feel like I'm never gonna be healthy again anytime I pull a muscle or sprain an ankle or something I just feel like I'm done my running career is over you know and you just feel like you're never gonna be the same but isn't it interesting how all of these things eventually go away well guess what this virus this fungus this bacteria whatever it is out there it's gonna go away and you're gonna win you say well how do you know because the Bible says you're gonna win because we're on the winning side we're more than conquerors the victory is ours and and folks people are watching and I guarantee you that no normal straight person is driving down the road and sees this woman like beating a plastic with a stick I don't know what she's doing but she's beating something with a stick right now nobody drives and sees some lesbian beating a piece of plastic with a long stick and just says like you know what that's it I'm renouncing Christ and and becoming and becoming a sodomite that doesn't happen nobody's gonna read an article about steadfast and be like you know I was gonna be a Baptist I was just thinking about I was just thinking about becoming a Baptist I changed my mind to be a lesbian that's not what's going on folks but I will say this you know when people hear about all this stuff in the news let's say 99% of people are just kind of brainless idiots that just believe whatever the media says is fun but that means 1% are actually paying attention and maybe 1% actually say hey it's my time somebody start telling like it is and then that 1% let's say 10,000 people read the article 1% 100 people you know that's a hundred people that then jump on the website and they start listening to pastor Shelley's preaching and guess what they're gonna hear when they listen to pastor Shelley's preaching they're gonna get the gospel of Jesus Christ they're gonna get the Bible way to heaven they're gonna get the plan of salvation and people will be saved and all things even this weirdness all things will work together for good to them that love God to them who are the called according to his purpose but here's the thing about that is that all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are the called according to don't miss these last two words his purpose see maybe his agenda is not the same as your agenda his purpose his purpose is that the earth would be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea that's his purpose his purpose the people get saved his purpose is that the gospel goes forth and you know what if these battles help the gospel to go forth and help somebody to click on that link and listen to the gospel then you know what that's his purpose and if we can be a part of it praise God that we can participate in his purpose now it works out good for us too but but keep in mind it works out good for us but it's his purpose that's why we even exist for his purpose we're the called according to his purpose and so we need to keep rank you know not only did he say of the Zebulunites specifically that they could keep rank and we're not of a double heart at the end of the passage kind of speaking corporately about all of these Israelites that joined it said all these men of war that could keep rank came with a perfect heart to Hebron to make David King over all Israel and all the rest also of Israel were of one heart to make David King so he's kind of saying in general the kind of people that helped David achieve his mission were guys in general that could keep rank and they came to make David King and there they were with David three days eating and drinking for their brethren had prepared for them moreover they that were nigh them even unto Issachar and Zebulun let it not be said that I didn't preach on Zebulun tonight and Naphtali brought bread on asses and on camels and on mules and on oxen and meat meal cakes figs bunches of raisins wine oil oxen and sheep abundantly for there was joy in Israel let me tell you something there's joy in being a part of a unified church that doesn't break rank whenever something little happens or something big happens they just don't break rank it's a joy it's a pleasure but isn't it refreshing when somebody actually stands up for what's right isn't it refreshing to be around a bunch of people that love Christ and love God and love each other and take care of each other and want to serve God as a team not for some vain glory but for his purpose it's a blessing it's beautiful it's like the oil and the ointment that ran down Aaron's beard it's like figs raisins wine oil sheep oxen you know it's it's like a wonderful meal it's pleasant it's joyful it's refreshing we love the local church Christ died for the local church he didn't die for a YouTube channel he didn't die for your basement man cave where you live stream sermons he died for the church the assembly the congregation you know God has given us this wonderful institution where we can be a part of a team we could be in the Lord's army don't break rank but second of all the Bible says they were not of double heart what does it mean to not be a double heart obviously this goes hand in hand with breaking rank because if you're a double heart like I don't know you know you're not really committed and if you're not that committed you might break rank because you're not really that committed the people that are committed they're not gonna break rank they're not of double heart well if you would I know I told you to turn to Hebrews 13 but go ahead and abort the mission and go to Psalm 12 okay let's go to Psalm 12 the Bible said of Zebulun such as went forth to battle expert in war with all instruments of war fifty thousand which could keep rank they were not of double heart hey I want an army of soldiers that can keep rank Pastor Shelley wants an army of Christian soldiers that can keep rank because that's what's gonna be effective in a carnal battle that's always what's effective the guys the guys who who get confused and everybody's going a different direction they lose the ones who can keep rank win well it's the same way spiritually you know we've got to keep rank let's know what we believe let's get on the Lord's side let's not pick each other apart let's not pick the pastor apart let's just get on board and keep moving straight ahead and not give an inch and not break rank but we don't want to be of double heart here's a scripture that mentions a double heart you know because that term isn't something that's used a lot in the Bible but actually the term double heart is used in another place it's used in Psalm 12 so look at Psalm 12 verse 1 help Lord for the godly man cease it that sounds like a guy breaking rank quitting ceasing bailing out so we'll pastor Anderson nobody could be expected to deal with this the Bible says be faithful unto death that's the level of commitment that's expected if you could be faithful unto death you should be able to be faithful unto whatever this is that you're dealing with help Lord for the godly man sees if he stops he fails the faithful fail from among the children of men the word fail there means they are lacking the faithful are lacking from among the children of men they speak vanity everyone with his neighbor with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak you know this double heart and flattering lips is this idea that sometimes the people who talk the biggest talk are the ones who end up buckling under the pressure and breaking rank you know and I'm going to show you some examples of that in fact but it says with flattering lips and with a double heart they speak the Lord shall cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speak of proud things go if you would to Luke chapter 9 Luke chapter 9 I'm going to show you some examples of the double heart here the flattering lips what what is it what are flattering lips it's when they tell you one thing but their hearts not with you you know oh I just love you brother and and you're such a blessing but in there in their heart they don't really love you they don't really care about you they're just saying that to make you like them or get some advantage from you or whatever but sometimes the people who talk that big talk end up being ponies end up being bogus and then there's the people who just week after week they just show up and they don't break rank and they just stay by the stuff and five years later ten years later fifteen years later they're just still serving God they're still supporting the church they're still doing what God has called them to do look at Luke chapter 9 verse 57 it came to pass that as they went on their way a certain man said unto him Lord I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest that's a great statement I mean he's telling Jesus hey wherever you're going I'm following you I'll follow you where I'll follow you to the ends of the earth and Jesus said unto him foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head and you know the implication in this story is that this guy doesn't go with him after talking that big talk and then it says he said to another so Jesus says to another follow me but he said Lord Lord suffer me first to go and bury my father Jesus said unto him let the dead bury they're dead but go down preach the kingdom of God and another also said Lord I will follow thee but let me first go bid them farewell which are at home at my house and Jesus said unto him no man having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God now it sounds to me like God expects us to have a single-minded commitment that doesn't look back and that doesn't break rank just because there is some kind of a opposition or trial or tribulation or problem you know I love the song I've decided to follow Jesus I have decided to follow Jesus no turning back no turning back right that song is being inspired by this kind of a scripture right here when it says hey any man who puts his hand to the plow meaning he's gonna go serve God in the field he's gonna win souls to Christ he's gonna preach the kingdom of God if he looks back he's not fit for the kingdom of God now some people try to say oh if you look back you're not even saved well here's the thing about that then then like very few people be saved you know these people that say hey to be saved you gotta you gotta deny self and take up the cross every single day and follow Christ well you know what then heavens gonna be pretty lonely place you know because Jesus and his disciples they won thousands of people the Lord but in that early church in Acts chapter 1 there were only 120 people there because most people aren't really that committed you know look there are churches all over this area if you're just looking for a church where the pastor's saved and where the members are saved there are so many options for you like besides steadfast if you're just looking for a church that's filled with saved Christians saved pastor if that's all you're looking for let me tell you something there are many many many saved Christians in other churches and you'll meet them out soul-willing you know you'll go out soul-willing you knock on doors and you'll ask people oh yeah I know for sure I'm going to heaven I'm I believe in Christ and they'll they'll tell you all that and they go to some other Baptist Church or non-denom Church or whatever but you know what just because somebody's saved doesn't mean that they're fit for the kingdom of God you know you could preach a sermon called saved but not fit now look not everybody in here is fit tonight I'm getting a little out of shape myself you know from this road trip because I'm in the car and you know eating is the best activity on a long drive I've discovered and here's the thing about that you know just because you're not fit doesn't mean you're not human if my children are fit or not fit there's still my children brothers and sisters in Christ I'm just joking talking about physical fitness but we're talking about spiritual fitness because bodily exercise profit a little but we're to exercise ourself rather on to godliness and let me tell you something many Christians today if we could look at them through spiritual glasses of course they're saved because they believe on the Lord Jesus Christ but if we looked at them through their glass through spiritual glasses they're not fit they're out of shape right they would not be fit for the kingdom of God there's a big difference between just being saved and actually being a disciple of Christ actually being one of his elite troops in the Lord's army that knows how to keep rank that's not of a double heart that is denying self and taking up the cross and following Jesus hey how many Christians today in Texas they just don't want to sacrifice anything they want to they want a Christianity that cost nothing they want to walk with God that cost them nothing they want to have everything that the world has to offer and just add Jesus as an icing on the cake but the reality is today that we as Christians must be willing to sacrifice for the Lord and and whatever that sacrifice is that he calls upon us to make we need to be ready to make that sacrifice and not just the first little bit of tribulation or affliction we just fall away we just faint you know the Sun comes up and the wind blows and we're just kind of just scorched and we get smoked and we blow away no no we need to be rooted down deep in the things of God steadfast unmovable and always abounding in the work of the Lord because we know that our labor is not in vain in the Lord and so we ought not to be of a double heart we ought not put our hand to the plow and then look back no turning back you say well you know first I better count the cost you know what whatever the cost is and and I don't think I've I don't think I've ever shared this before in fact in my preaching you know somebody can correct me if I'm wrong after the service who's listened to the back catalogue but I don't think I've ever shared this before because this is kind of something personal for me I remember one time not even one time many times I remember praying as a young man when I was around 17 18 or 19 I used to pray to God I used to get on my knees and pray to God I said God I want to be used greatly by you and I know that there's a cost to be paid to serve you and there's there's like a cost to be paid I'm gonna have to go through hard things that make sacrifices and I prayed to the Lord and I said God don't ever ask me if I'm willing to pay the cost or don't ever give me the choice just make me pay and use me greatly because I said maybe later I'm not gonna feel this way maybe later in the heat of the battle I'm gonna change my mind so right now I'm willing to pay it make me pay just make me pay and use me greatly God that's why I prayed you know because I just knew that if you're gonna be used greatly by God you're gonna have to pay a price for that and I I said I don't know what that cost is I don't know if you showed me what it is and if I saw what it was if I'd be willing to pay I don't know but I'm just deciding right now like because I just said you know souls are at stake it's heaven and hell it's too important somebody's got to do it make me pay and I prayed that to the Lord you know and and I don't know maybe it's still coming you know but it's a scary thought but you know what I don't know have I paid over the years have I you know obviously I've been through some stuff I've gone through some stuff I've been through some pain and and woe and trials and tribulations and suffering but you know honestly though I I feel like what I've gone through is a light affliction you know and it's funny because whenever I'm talking to Pastor Shelley and Pastor Mejia and some of these other guys I'm always really downplaying any persecution that I've ever gone through but that's but I'm just I'm honestly just telling the truth about how I feel about it because honestly like over time you get to the point where you realize like this stuff isn't as big of a deal as the glory as the payoff as the reward you know like I you know I was I was telling Pastor Shelley I was like you know well you know you know we've been through some stuff our church but I said but you know no one's ever come to my house you know I've never had anything happen at my house so that's a blessing and he's like wait a minute didn't the cops like raid your house like three weeks ago when you got swatted and I was like okay yeah that's true that I guess they did come out but I you know that wasn't you know okay you got me but the point here's the point the point is that you know once you go through stuff after a while you just it doesn't looking back like think about the worst things you've gone through time kind of heals those wounds doesn't it and five years go by and ten years go by and it's like yeah that was a thousand that was a bad time that was a dark time in my life but here I am you know and then you're enjoying and having a good time everything ends and and the Bible says that our affliction that we go through in the book of first Peter calls it a light affliction and Peter went through some stuff and yet he called it a light affliction he was going to prison and he received beatings you know legend has it that he was ultimately crucified upside down I don't know if that's true or not but he definitely was martyred somehow because Jesus told me would in John chapter 21 that he was somehow gonna be martyred and and killed and he's gonna glorify God through his death so we know that happened and yet Peter said man whatever I'm going through is light affliction he was actually you know probably physically tortured in his death as Christ was you know Christ wasn't just guillotined or something I mean Christ was tortured right I mean he was beaten and whipped and any died a horrible death on the cross and you know Peter seems to have probably died a similar death of torture but he said hey whatever I go through on this earth is a light affliction you know I reckon that the sufferings of this life are not even worthy to be compared with the glory we shall be revealed so don't be double minded don't be of a double heart don't turn back don't look back you know just have that attitude that just says you know what whatever the price is let's pay it for Christ if Christ did what he did for us you know if Christ laid down his life for us we ought to lay down our lives for the brother now what the Bible says and if you would turn to James 1 did I have you turn to James 1 go to James chapter 1 here's another verse that comes to mind when you think of the double heart because what's the sermon about sermons about keeping rank and not being of a double heart right keeping rank not allowing the enemy to divide us or drive a wedge between us because you know when you're going through hard things together you can sometimes start to get irritated with one another get at each other's throat as stress goes up you know then you start having infighting or or or just people clashing over stupid things and stuff like you know we need to real we need to remember who the true enemy is remember that we're on the same side here there you know there's a true enemy out there we need to support the man of God who is a say well you know the haters make fun of us for you know following the man of God you know you're always gonna be made fun of by some bozo for doing what's right you know if you're gonna let that stop you then you're weak you know the Bible says in James chapter 1 verse 6 but let him ask in faith nothing wavering for either waiver it is like a wave see that's where that word waiver comes from my friend he that waiver it is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed for let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord but I'd hate to be on this earth and God's up in heaven like well that guy's not gonna receive anything for me it's of a double heart he's double minded he's breaking rank all the time let not I mean that's a scary verse let not that man was think that he shall receive anything in the Lord I'd hate to be on my knees praying and God's like I'm not gonna give you anything mr. double minded mr. double heart let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways we need to be stable we need to be single-minded of one mind and that's when we're gonna receive the bounty of blessings from the Lord and it's worth it whatever pain or affliction or tribulation of keeping rank and staying in the hottest part of the battle with Christ is gonna pay off rewards that we can't even imagine the sufferings of this life are not even worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us and you know when these men of Zebulun went out to David in 1st Chronicles chapter 12 again David has not yet received the the full kingdom of Israel yet but he's going to it's already as good as done it's a done deal he's already been anointed by Samuel prophecy has been fulfilled Saul and his sons have died it's obvious to everyone that David is going to reign it's inevitable okay but the Bible says in 1st Chronicles 12 that they went out into the wilderness to David so they're not going to him in the palace or in a fancy dwelling they're going out into the wilderness with David they're going out into the desert places with him because they know that if we go out and get on his side now we're getting on the winning side you say well you know they just joined up with David because they knew David was the winning side you got it right that's why I'm joined up with Jesus because he's the winning side and so Jesus kingdom is just as inevitable today as David's kingdom was in 1st Chronicles chapter 12 there's no doubt that Christ is going to conquer there's no doubt that Jesus Christ will return there's no doubt that he will rule and reign on this earth for a thousand years there's no doubt that if we suffer we shall also reign with him this is a sure thing and you say well I mean you know I'm reading 1st Chronicles and it's like you know they join up with him in chapter 12 it's totally inevitable that he's gonna be the king anyway and then it's just like it just seems like he's just immediately king and then it's like next chapter it's just he's just king just happening he's just let me tell you something my friend in the scheme of things our life is like a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanished at the way you know we join up with Christ in the wilderness now how many nights do we have to spend in the wilderness before we're in the palace with David before we're enjoying the bounty with David you know we are on this earth for such a short time in comparison with eternity that it is like like a few nights in the wilderness and then you can enjoy David's reign for the next 33 years you know we spend a few nights in the wilderness quote-unquote in this life and then we rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years and and Christ's Kingdom here's what you need to understand about the millennium a lot of people misunderstand the millennium the big thing about the millennium is not that just Christ is raining for a thousand years the big thing about the millennium is that the devil is bound for a thousand years and the reason why it's important to make that distinction is because Christ's reign does not end after a thousand years okay Christ's Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom that's what the Bible tells in the book of Daniel chapter 7 that Christ's Kingdom is everlasting Kingdom and he shall you know the kingdoms of our of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign forever and ever now there's a special thousand years where the devil is bound and and there are mortal men living on this earth and we're ruling and reigning over mortal man on this earth but you know after that thousand years are expired the devil comes out and he deceives people and he ends up getting destroyed his minions are destroyed and then the rain continues the party continues eternity my friend is what we're talking about here now it's a pretty good deal to join up with David in the 11th hour out in the wilderness spend a few nights camping in the wilderness with David and his men and then you know he kind of remembers that for the next 33 years you get to enjoy him as a leader his kingdom and you're remembered as one of the guys who supported him you were on the right side you were on the right team you weren't trying to hold out for Saul's house after the kingdom had already been transferred by God to David and Saul was killed as a punishment from God we today are on the right team we're on the winning side we are more than conquerors through him that loved us and no one can really be against us if Christ before us who could be against us no weapon that is formed against us shall prosper this is what God has commanded and so if you break rank you're full the battle is almost over you know what you're like if you break rank you're like the guy who runs a marathon he runs 26.1 miles is I can't finish I can't do that last tenth of a mile I quit you'd say that's stupid you just ran 26 miles can you just run the last few feet you just walk classic can you imagine just walking off the course and just being like I'm done man I'm choosing a new sport because distance running hurts too much you're like you're so close you know it's like you know reminds me of when like elderly people get divorced and I'm just you're just like dude you're probably gonna die soon stay with it it's till death do us part just hang in there you're gonna be dead just do it like what's the point you know you eventually you think we would just get to a point like okay we've been together for 30 40 50 60 years we might as well finish we ran 26 point mile you know people always joke you know the hard part about Maryland it's not the 26 miles that point to that's just a joke though that's not real the point to you're probably gonna be re-energized because you see the finish line you're probably gonna you know be excited and start sprinting that last part just because you're so happy to be almost done well you know what that's where we are in the scheme of things Christ has done all the hard work you know we've already been saved we've already been serving God you know why don't we just stay with it because it's gonna be over our life is like a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away why don't we just stay with it you know what wouldn't you feel like an idiot if you quit because of persecution and then the persecution stopped like a week later and then you be like oh do I go back to church now you'd be like awkward like you know like now I'm embarrassed to go back because I just quit what if you quit and then like two weeks later it's all over all of a sudden everything's just going great everything pastor Shelley touches is just turning to gold and it's just everything's just great and you quit wouldn't that be super lame think about that that's how it often is you know the children of Israel in the wilderness they're like murmuring and complaining about Moses you brought us out to die in the wilderness and then you know he gets angry at them and everything and then they go just like a tiny bit further and there's all these palm trees and pools of water and just everything's right there that they could have wanted if they would have just ground it out for just a little further they would have made it you never know when deliverance is coming you know people as a pastor I'm constantly trying to explain this to people because they come to me and say I just can't do this for the rest of my life I just can't do this for the whole year I just get it it's like hey nobody's asking you to do this for the rest of your life nobody's asking you to do this for all of 2022 nobody's asking you to do this for the whole week hey you just do it for one day one day at a time can you do it one more time one more day I remember in the early days of our church you know I was I was really having a hard time the first year of pastor I was really discouraged because the church was growing a lot slower than I expected you know very few people were coming to the church and it wasn't growing like I expected and my job was extremely demanding so I was doing a very demanding job and trying to pastor at the same time and I was stressed out I was exhausted I just felt like I can't keep doing this and I remember praying so many times on a Sunday morning this is the prayer that I would pray back in 2006 I would pray God just like you strengthened Samson one more time before he died strengthen me for one more Sunday please allow me to just get through one more Sunday of doing this because it was just it was just wearing on me the preaching and the the workload and I just prayed just said God strengthen me for one more Sunday and then on Monday we'll talk about whether you know I can keep going but it was like just strengthen me for one more Sunday you know and I had to just look at it just one Sunday at a time you know and again you know back to like a long distance running illustration you know sometimes when you're running a long distance instead of thinking about how far you have to run sometimes it's like you know what I'm just gonna run to that tree and then I'm just gonna evaluate things at that point and then you get there and then you kind of feel like you know I can go a little further you know and sometimes you just have to just do it one piece at a time just one little piece that's how life is my friend you don't you know how long are we supposed to deal with this you know how long are we gonna deal with these protesters how long do we have to meet and you know bounce around hotels or you know whatever you know just one more service that's it the only thing and even that's not even guaranteed because you might just die and then you'll never have to do it again I mean if you die on like Friday you'll never have to deal with this crap ever again because you'll be dead point is no nobody knows what a day is gonna bring forth you don't know when it's gonna end you know I look you know hey we went through some hard things for like six years and then we had like seven years of rest from 2015 to 2022 you know I'm not saying that there's some kind of a mathematical formula you know it's it's it when when your trials will end and you know I'm not just talking about what the church is going through what about what you're going through in your personal life because you know there's what the church is going through as an institution but you know what what about the stuff you're going through you might you might be going through a health problem right now or maybe you're going through a financial problem maybe you're going through a relationship problem that feels never-ending well guess what that's gonna end too and it could end tomorrow you don't know when it's gonna end take it one day at a time it's too overwhelming it I mean if I if I sit and think about you know how many more miles I have to drive on this trip not okay but you know if I sit and think about how many times I have to preach before the end of the year it's kind of an overwhelming thought to think like I you know I'm gonna preach like 70 sermons or something I mean coming up with sermons is kind of stressful for me as a pastor it's kind of the hard thing about pastoring is you know coming up with three sermons a week you know when you're preaching from the heart and you're coming up with real sermons and you're you're studying the Bible and and trying to feed the people with something fresh and keep it fresh you know it's it's a lot of work but but man if I if I even sometimes if I just think about I gotta preach 13 sermons this month you know those kind of thoughts stress me out a little bit like how am I gonna come up with 13 sermons and it might sound stupid but people who preach know what I'm talking about your pastor's nodding his head because he knows the struggle is real but like the way I think of it is just I just have to I just have to preach tonight in Dallas and and and then I'm preaching tomorrow in Houston and like beyond that you know I'll figure it out you know I you know Sunday is gonna take care of itself like right now it says I just need to get through the sermon tonight get through tomorrow night you know it's like well what are you preaching you know and people will ask me sometimes like what are you preaching at the Red Hot Preaching Conference like that's way out it's like later this month or something you know and I mean I'm not worried about it you know because it tomorrow's gonna take care of itself the Bible says take no thought for tomorrow the marshal take thought for the things of itself so don't be double-minded don't look back don't break rank stay in your place keep on pressing forward don't let the enemy drive a wedge between you and your pastor and try to get you bitter against your pet love your pastor love your bet love those who labor among you love those who preach the Word of God unto you love your pastor and when I say love you know what I mean love I'm talking like from your heart have good feelings toward him and then love your brothers and sisters here from the heart have a good feeling toward them love them care about them okay love one another love the pastor love the Lord right and if you do you will want to keep rank because you won't just be in it for yourself either to flee for yourself or to run ahead for yourself for your own vainglory no no you want to do what's best for the team what's best for the church with spires and have a word of prayer father we thank you so much for the Zebulunites Lord that they were able to keep rank and not have a double heart because they give an example for us who are following Jesus help us Lord to love one another to have unity to strive for unity to dwell together in unity Lord to have that that beautiful thing called unity in the local church and Lord help no one to get bitter or disgruntled or just just fatigued with all of the the strife and and tribulation Lord but help everyone here to stay strong not look back and do it for the sake of Christ do it for the sake of the brethren and it's in Christ's name I pray men all right for our final song this evening we'll go to 441 great is thy faithfulness 441 great is thy faithfulness sing it out from the heart 441 great is thy faithfulness great is thy faithfulness Oh God my father there is no shadow of turning with thee thou changest not thy compassion's they fail not as though has been now forever will be great is thy faithfulness great is thy faithfulness morning by morning new mercies I see all I have needed thy hand have provided great is thy faithfulness Lord unto me summer and winter and springtime and harvest Sun Moon and stars in their courses above all nature in manifold witness to thy great faithfulness mercy and love great is thy faithfulness great is thy faithfulness morning by morning new mercies I see all I have needed thy hand have provided great is thy faithfulness Lord unto me harden for sin and a peace that endureth thy own dear presence to cheer and to God strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow blessings all mine with thousand beside thy faithfulness greatest I faithfulness morning by morning new mercies I see all I have needed thy hand have provided great is thy faithfulness Lord unto me great singing remember to stick around for ice cream we had 187 in church tonight which is our Wednesday record and our all-time record so praise God for that stick around