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You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You Good evening and welcome to Verity Baptist Church Can I please have everyone find their seats and grab their song books and turn to page number 159 Please find your seats grab your song books tonight. We're gonna be singing blessed be the name That's page one five nine blessed be the name and let's sing it out on the first Me That he my man Blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name of the Lord page 159 on the second His name above all names shall stand exalted more and more at God the father's own right hand where Blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name of the Lord Redeemer, Savior, friend of man, once ruined by the fall Thou hast it by salvation's plan, for thou hast died for all Blessed be the name blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name of the Lord blessed be the name blessed be the name of the Lord blessed be the name blessed be the name of the Lord blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name Blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name of the Lord. Page number 370. We'll be singing Throw Out the Lifeline. Page 370. And let's sing it out on the verse. Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Peace then my brother, no time for delay, But throw out the lifeline and save him today, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Someone is drifting away, Throw out the lifeline, Throw out the lifeline, Someone is sinking today. Great singing. Amen, all right. Well, let's take our bulletins. We'll look at some announcements this evening If you do not have a bulletin Just raise your hand and one of our ushers can get one for you If you need a bulletin just put your hand up and we will get one for you the verse of this week Psalm 27 1 the lord is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear? The lord is the strength of my life of whom shall I be afraid and that's a good verse there We like that if you open up your bulletin You'll see our service time sunday morning service 10 30 a.m And we do invite you to of course be with us on sunday morning on the lord's day for church sunday evening service 6 p.m We're glad you're here for the wednesday evening bible study If you look at our sewing times our main sewing times on saturday mornings at 10 a.m And then we have additional sewing times on thursdays fridays and sundays at 2 p.m And we of course are a family integrated church What that means is that children and infants are always welcome in the church service We do not separate children from their parents for any reason we do have mother baby rooms and daddy rooms available for your convenience So if you have a child that's been distracting during the service So if you need some privacy, we encourage you to use those rooms as needed if you need to be baptized Please let us know on your communication card You can check off that you'd like information about baptism and we'll follow up and talk to you about that If you look at the announcements and upcoming events, of course We've got our journey with jesus series that we're going through a verse by verse study through the gospel of luke And we have our harvest party coming up on monday october 31st at 6 at 6 p.m And it's the we'll have our annual chili cook-off 50 gift card for the first place winner 25 gift card for the second place winner And then bag of treats for all of the kids in attendance. We'll have games and fun on that night So make sure that you plan to be here Uh for that and also if you'd like to volunteer to bring cornbread or desserts, we've got sign-up sheets in the main foyer We've got some clipboards where you can sign up And then of course we have our striving together new members class on sunday november 6 at 12 30 P.m. If you've not yet signed up if you've not attended a new members class We'd love for you to do that. You can sign up on your communication card. We have the next generation youth rally Next year march 7th through 8th. This one should be aware Uh that that is on the calendar and we'd like you to register already if you're able to And uh, it is open for ages 13 to 19 years old parents are always Uh welcomed of course and younger siblings are welcomed But only the teens will be participating in the activities Teen 16 years old and under must be accompanied by an adult so you can register your team On our website readybaptist.com or you can do it on a communication card homeschool group They've got a field trip on thursday october 27th at 10 a.m And pe class on thursday, november 10th, and then there's other things there for you to look at Please don't forget to turn your cell phones off or place them on silent during the service That they're not a distraction to anybody If you look at the back of the bulletin birthdays and anniversaries for the month of october this week We had brother adam gessler's birthday was yesterday october 18th. And then today is brother edgar's, uh birthday edgar de dios On october 19th and also miss nicole johnson perez on october 19th and also michael lessees on october 19th So happy birthday to all three of those. Uh tomorrow's brother oliver gonzales's birthday our deacon october 20th And uh abraham and karen jimenez have an anniversary on october 21st And leliana perez has a birthday on october 22nd praise report money matters All those things are there for you to look at I do have a one baptism certificate to hand out Uh, so i'll go ahead and reach read this this certificate of baptism is awarded to stephan hofer in recognition of his baptism on the 16th day of october of the year 2022 Presented by verity baptist church with the verse romans 6 6 4 therefore We are buried with him by baptism into death that like as christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the father Even so we should walk in units of life and we have some pictures here for stephan to remember the day Of his baptism and let's go ahead and give him a round of applause Good all right, and let's take our song books and go to page number 164 We'll sing page number one six four As we prepare to receive the offering tonight. Praise him. Praise him Jesus our blessed redeemer singing out on the first Praise him. Praise him. Jesus our blessed redeemer Sing over this wonderful love proclaim Hail him Highest archangels in glory Strange and honor Give to his holy name like a shepherd Jesus will guard his children In his arms, he carries them all day long Praise him tell of his excellent greatness 164 let's sing it out on the second Praise him. Praise him. Jesus our blessed redeemer For our sins he suffered and bled and died Down his Strong Praise him. Praise him. Jesus our blessed Crown him prophet and priest and he cries Tell of his excellent Praise him Amen good singing. We'll have the guys come up and help us with the offering At this time and let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word prayer. Heavenly father lord We do thank you for allowing us to gather together tonight lord We pray that you'd bless the offering the gift and the giver lord We ask that you'd meet with us as we take time to Pray through these requests from our church family and then of course as we take time to study your word together in jesus name We pray. Amen So So So So Amen All right. Well, let's take our prayer sheets tonight. We'll go through our prayer list If you did not receive a prayer sheet on your way in just raise your hand And one of our ushers can get one for you. If you need a prayer sheet just put your hand up And we'll get one for you And of course, I want to remind you the way you add a request to the prayer sheet is through your communication card On the back of the cards is a place for you to write Down a request make sure you mark whether it's private or public if it's private only I will see it if it's public Uh, we'll put it on the prayer list if you don't mark it We'll do our best to figure it out But we usually don't put those on they are added in the order that they are received and they are removed after a couple of weeks And let's go ahead and take this request to the lord. I'll pray out loud and I ask that you'd Pray alongside in your mind in your heart with me. Let's pray together. Heavenly father lord We come to you tonight asking for these requests from our church family lord We thank you that you are the god that hears prayers And that you've given us the privilege to come to you in prayer and what we begin with these that have health requests praying for Brother vj and miss joy specifically miss joyce who had surgery today And lord, we pray that you would help her to have a speedy recovery from her knee surgery and help her to be able to get Well soon. We also pray for brother joe maples praying for his son joe junior to be healed to have better sleep to gain weight Lord we just pray for his health in general that you put your healing hand over him help him to Get better and we pray for miss. Amy cortez who's praying for her health and also for the health of her son lord asking that you would Touch their lives lord and help them to be strengthened. We pray for brother joshua gustelum The second praying for the healing of his grandmother Guillen minas left knee asking lord that you would heal Um the injury that she has there lord to get better soon pray for miss christine ortiz praying for her health and for the results of her kidney biopsy Regarding cancer lord. We pray for the sabro for his health And we thank you for the praise report. That is mri's Result came back clear and he's still cancer free and we thank you for that We pray for miss dogma for her pain That you'd heal her pain lord to relieve her pain and for her son-in-law's recovery from surgery We pray for a little urezi that she would continue to be healthy and strong But we ask for all these individuals that you put your healing hand over them That you would strengthen them that you would heal them if it's your will lord that you would help them Lord, we pray for the ladies in our church that are expecting for miss esther miss antonina miss katie Miss may and miss aijana praying that you give them healthy pregnancies with no issues no complications lord, we also pray for These that have requests for their friends and family miss amy cortez praying for her friend sharon smith And miss cricket praying for her sister aileen and her son weston And brother sabro praying for his family as well lord, and we pray for these individuals We ask that you'd help them that you'd be with them that you'd guide them We also pray for these that have a request for salvation miss natalie praying for her husband and her family's salvation Uh brother ron praying for his mom and his family's salvation Miss christine ortiz praying for her children and grandchildren's salvation And miss dogma praying for her daughter and her family's salvation lord. We pray for all these individuals We just ask that you'd help them You guide them that you bring them to the place where they would be willing to hear the gospel and lord We ask that they might be saved we pray for Also miss christine and brother salvador for their walk with you their faith Lord, we pray for their finances and work and that you would take care of them regarding that lord We also pray for these that have unspoken requests miss Laura beth having an unspoken request miss natalie having an unspoken request brother george having an unspoken request And uh also brother salvador having an unspoken request miss dogma having an unspoken request lord Do you know what their petitions are? You know what they're asking for? We pray that you'd answer according to your will and lord We ask also for our church for the prison ministry that you continue to bless that ministry and help us to Reach people disciple people and we pray for our church here in sacramento And for our church plants in manila and pampanga and be cool lord. We thank you For giving us a church that we go to that We could fellowship with god's people with and hear preaching from your word but we ask that you'd meet with us tonight as we take another portion of scripture and Learn it and study it together lord. We pray that we would not only learn it But that we would have ears to hear lord I pray that you prepare our hearts even now lord to be able to hear what we need to hear to apply it to our lives lord That we might draw closer to you In jesus name we pray. Amen Please open roads to luke 17 Luke chapter number 17 if you need about to put your hand up and I know she might be in your bible luke chapter number 17 If you need about to keep your hand up or she'll come by Luke 17 we're reading the entire chapter as our custom Luke chapter number 17 beginning verse number one Then said he into the disciples it is impossible, but that offenses will come But well into him Through whom they come it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck and he cast into the sea And that he should offend one of these little ones Take heed to yourselves if thy brother trespass against thee rebuke him and if you repent forgive him And if you trespass against thee seven times in a day and seven times in a day turn again to thee saying I repent Thou shalt forgive him The apostle said unto the lord increase our faith And the lord said if he had faith as a grain of mustard seed you might stand to the sycamore tree Be thou plucked up by the root and be thou planted in the sea and it should obey you The which of you having a servant plowing or feeding cattle will say into him by and by when he has come from the field Go and sit down to meet And will not rather say unto him make ready wherewith I may sup and gird thyself and serve me till I have eaten and drunken And afterward thou shalt eat and drink Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded of him? I tro not So likewise he when he shall have done all these those things which were commanded you say we are unprofitable servants We have done that which was our duty to do And it came to pass as he went to jerusalem But he passed through the midst of of samaria and galley and as he entered into a certain village there met him ten men That were lepers which stood afar off And he lifted up their voices and said jesus master have mercy on us And when he saw them he said unto them go show yourselves into the priests and it came to pass That as they went they were cleansed And one of them when he saw that he was healed turned back and with a loud voice glorified god And fell down on his face at his feet giving him. Thanks and he was a samaritan and jesus answering said Were there not ten cleansed but where are the nine they are not found that return to give glory to god save this stranger And he said unto him arise go thy way. Thy faith hath made thee whole When he was demanded of the Pharisees when the kingdom of god should come He answered them and said the kingdom of god cometh not with observation Neither shall they say lo here or lo there for behold the kingdom of god is within you And he said unto this unto the disciples The days will come when you shall desire to see one of the days of the son of man and he shall not see it And they shall say to you see here or see there go not after them nor follow them for as the lightning that lighten lighteneth Out of the one part under heaven shineth unto the other part under heaven. So shall also the son of man be in his day But first must he suffer many things and be rejected of this generation And as it was in days of knowing so shall be also in the days of the son of man They did eat they drank they married wives They were given in marriage until the day that no he entered into the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all Likewise also as it was in the days of lot He did eat they drank they bought they sold they planted they builded But the same day that lot went out of sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all Even though shall it be in the day when the son of man is revealed in that day He which shall be upon the housetop and his stuff in the house. Let him not come down to take it away And he that is in the field, but i'm likewise not returned back remember lot's wife Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it I tell you in that night. There shall be two men in one bed The one shall be taken and the other shall be left two women shall be grinding together The one shall be taken and the other left Two men shall be in the field the one shall be taken and the other left And they answered and said unto him where lord and he said unto them Wheresoever the body is thither will the eagles be gathered together. Let's pray heavenly father. Thank you for this evening God, I thank you for your word and for our church. I ask you meet with us tonight Give us all tender hearts with a message tonight. God, please be with our pastor strengthen him from the spirit We love you in jesus name pray. Amen Amen All right, we're there in luke chapter number 17 and we are beginning, uh Tonight chapter 17 in this series that we've called journey with jesus It's a verse by verse study through the gospel of luke. We've been on a journey with the lord jesus christ studying the life of christ And tonight we're going to be looking at the first 10 verses of this chapter in uh luke chapter 17 And what we're going to do tonight Is we're going to look at these 10 verses under two different headings and they they really have to deal with uh being a a disciple of the lord jesus christ And the lord jesus christ is teaching his disciples if you notice they're the first phrase of verse one It says then said he unto the disciples and this is of course jesus turning his attention back to his disciples And training his disciples the training of the 12 is something as a theme that we find throughout the gospels and in these 10 verses the lord jesus christ is training the 12 and we're going to Look at the the training that he provides in these 10 verses under two different headings, uh tonight So if you want to just write this down or be ready if you're taking notes And of course I always encourage you to take notes we're going to look at uh, the first heading will be that of dealing with sin and the second heading will be that of dealing with service jesus is Teaching his disciples training the 12 and he teaches them about the subject of dealing with sin and then he teaches them about the subject of Dealing with service and we'll begin Here in verse number one and we'll start with this idea of sinning against others There in verse one, he says then said he unto the disciples It is impossible But that offenses will come and that uh phrase Offenses there in our king james bible. It means it is not necessarily the same thing that you and I How we would use the word offend usually when we use the word offend or that we are offended uh, it means that somebody did something to Upset you or insult you or uh in in in that sort of phrase and the bible does use the word offend In that way, but here When the term offense is used it's used anonymously throughout the bible Uh with this idea of to cause someone to stumble cause someone to trip to put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall it's the idea of Putting out your foot in front of someone as they're running by to cause them to trip You have created an offense and jesus says here it is impossible But that offenses will come and what he's saying when he says that is that it is inevitable That stumbling blocks will be laid to cause others to fall and to cause others to sin Obviously, we're human beings and as we deal with each other and as we have relationships with each other We are going to offend each other and hurt each other in such a way Not just that we offend you in in the sense that you know, you're offended and you're upset Because you're insulted but in the sense that we might do You know something someone may do something in somebody else's life that causes them to trip up that causes them to be tempted That causes them to be uh to to that that to stumble as a result of a stumbling block Being laid before them and this is what jesus is referring to he says it is inevitable that the stumbling blocks will be laid It is impossible, but that offenses will come now jesus states that as a statement of fact, and then here is the uh, The warning at the last part of verse one. He says but woe unto him Through whom they come and what jesus is saying is this though? We know it is impossible that stumbling blocks will it is inevitable. I should say That something blocks will be laid It's impossible to stop that because it's going to happen what jesus is teaching his disciples and teaching all of us here tonight Is this that you better make sure that you are not the one laying stumbling blocks before other people that you're not the one That is causing others to stumble and to be offended he says but woe unto him through whom They come and we often refer to this The these two verses in in a little bit of a different context and i'm going to cover that tonight But I want you to just understand the plain meaning of what jesus is saying here Keep your place there in luke chapter 17 if you would and go go to uh, john chapter 21. John 21 You're there in luke. You'll just flip over to john the book of john. John 21 And what jesus is saying is that look you and I need to be careful That we don't live our lives in such a way Obviously, there's responsibility. Everybody is responsible for their own actions. Everyone will be held accountable for what they've done But jesus says we need to live our lives in such a way that we are not causing others to sin That we're not causing others to stumble that we're not causing others and jesus says this is a big deal He says woe unto him Uh through whom they come if you're there in in john 21 Keep your finger right there and just go back real quickly to luke 17 Because I want you to notice verse two. I want you to notice how seriously jesus takes this luke 17 2 It were better for him That a millstone were hanged about his neck and he cast into the sea Then that he should offend one of these little ones and this is how seriously jesus takes this idea That you better make sure that you're not the one who's being used of the devil to try to put a stumbling block and look You know if you are and especially in a church like this if you're hanging out with other christians You're spending time with other christians and there's there's a christian that maybe Does not feel comfortable with something that uh, you you know, you guys are out somewhere or whatever, especially you young people Uh, and somebody turns on some music and and so and one of you guys is like, hey, you know I don't think we should be listening to that You better make sure that you're not the one saying. Oh, no. No, it's fine. You should listen to this or watch this It's not a big deal here. Watch this on my screen. It doesn't matter your dad will be fine with that Hey, make sure that you're not the one that's being a stumbling block to other people Because jesus takes us very seriously and he says look it would it'd be better for you to have a millstone I mean, this is a pretty extreme statement Jesus sounds like like like a mafia guy here I mean it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck and he cast into the sea, you know Make him sleep with the fishes is what he's saying And he says then that he should offend one of these little ones and look in our lives We need to be careful and I know for me, especially obviously for for me and and for my wife being in ministry uh It's a common theme with pastors when pastors quit or fail Or or mess up that that that will become a stumbling block to to other people. In fact, I want to show you here in john 21 Because you need to realize that your life in your life. You could be a stumbling block to others You know, the bible says that no man liveth unto himself and no man dieth unto himself You're not you're not an island your life is connected to other people your life influences other people I want you to notice here in john 21 Uh, this is after the death of christ, of course, he's already resurrected but it's in that time, uh in which uh, peter has sinned uh, he he he has uh sinned against the lord jesus christ and uh, He's he's uh in a backslid and state and I want you to notice here in john 21 in verse 2 The bible says there were together simon peter and it's interesting that whenever the disciples are listed simon peter is always listed first And the reason for that is because he was the leader He was the one with influence there were together simon peter And thomas called didymus and nathaniel of cana in galilee and the sons of zebedee And two other disciples so we have simon and we have thomas and we have nathaniel That's three disciples the sons of zebedee, which is two more that would be five And then the bible tells us here and two others of his disciples that gives us a total of seven Seven of the 12 disciples are here with simon and notice in verse three the bible says simon peter saved unto them I go a-fishing Now for you, that might not sound like a big deal But for simon for peter and for the disciples, this was a big deal because jesus had actually forbidden them These were men who were fishermen by trade and he had forbidden them from going fishing ever again He told them you're not going to go fishing anymore. He said from henceforth thou shall catch men He called them into the ministry. He said I don't want you to go back to your old job now You're going to be a full-time, uh disciple and apostle of the lord. Jesus christ You're not going to fish for fish anymore You're going to fish for men and the bible says that they straightway left their nets and followed him They forsook their father and forsook their nets and they followed him But I want you to notice when when peter gets backslidden here He says I go a-fishing and what he means by that is i'm going to go back to my old life I'm going to go back to my old job. I'm done with this jesus stuff. I'm done with this ministry stuff I mean he's quitting and he's getting he's backslidden here in verse three simon. Peter saith unto them I go a-fishing But I want you to notice that peter did not live on an island his testimony influenced others because the bible says That they say unto him who's the they the other six? Apostles that are with them disciples that are with them There's a total of seven seven of the twelve six other not including peter say unto him we also go with thee I want you to notice that here in this instance. Peter was a stumbling block when he quit on jesus six other guys followed him And six other guys quit with him as well And i'm here to tell you that when you decide to get backslidden and you decide to quit on jesus You might be a stumbling block that causes others to sin I'm reminded of net uh, nathan the prophet saying to david after he committed adultery with basheba And he had uraya the hitsite killed where he told him that you have given offenses, uh, uh opportunity to the enemies of the lord To blaspheme his name and we just need to realize that our lives and our testimony You you can't just you know decide you're going to be uh, get saved Obviously, we hope everybody makes that decision but after salvation decide i'm going to live for god i'm going to do right I'm going to live a separated life. I'm going to become a soul winner. I'm going to become three to thrive I'm going to pull my kids out of the public school. We're going to homeschool them We're going to you know change our life do all these things and then just decide to quit And not think that that's not going to cause an influence and have an influence on other people And especially you dads out there and your moms out there You better realize that god takes it very seriously when you become an offense in a stumbling block Look at it. Go back to luke 17 Look at verse 2 it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck and he cast into the sea Than that he should offend one of these little ones You know before I do something in my life that would cause my children to to Quit on god or get backslidden or or get bitter towards god. The bible says that it would be better for me to just kill myself Now usually we apply this to pedophiles and child molesters and that definitely applies Here it says that we're better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck and he cast into the sea Then that he should offend one of these little ones and that that definitely is an application Obviously when somebody molests a child, they are definitely putting a stumbling block And an offense before them and and and hurting that child and and of course we have jesus here in verse 2 affirming the death penalty This is this is a jesus that people don't don't want to acknowledge But jesus here in his affirmation of the death penalty Now jesus did not teach that we should take the law into our own hands He says look We should not Go after others and try to have justice an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth He said not because that's wrong because that's what the old testament taught But he said it's wrong for us to put that into our own hands That's something that the government is supposed to do the government has been instituted by god to bring justice to bring judgment But here jesus is affirming the death penalty. So obviously yes this applies to the pedophiles The homosexual pedophiles out there and a If you've never heard me preach that before in your life what let me just explain something to you every homosexual is a pedophile All right, you say oh no, they they say that you can be a homosexual today They try to teach that that you could be a heterosexual and not a pedophile and i'm here to tell you something The bible does not teach that the bible is very clear if you read genesis 19 That all homosexuals are pedophiles and not only that history teaches you that Just go back and look at the roman empire the greek empire Pretty much every empire that has ever been destroyed by that filthy sin of homosexuality And you know what you always find connected homosexuality and pedophilia And today in our culture, they try to separate that well They tried to separate now they're trying to you know, just make being a wicked Disgusting pedophile normal But what jesus thinks about it is he says look if you offend one of these little ones It'd be better if you killed yourself And i'm here to tell you any pedophile it'd be better. They do the world a favor. They just killed themselves That's what the bible says But I want you to understand that that is not the only application here the application is not only to Pedophiles and sodomites In fact, the application is just to anyone that would put a stumbling block in front of anyone if anyone Offers a joint of marijuana to somebody else and says try this. Hey, it'd be better for you to To to hang a millstone around your neck and throw yourself into the seat Offer a drink of alcohol or booze to some young person offer drugs to some young person offer pornography to some young person You're offending them You're putting a stumbling block before them And you're and you're causing them to stumble and jesus takes that very seriously So jesus teaches us here in verses one and two That we should be very careful to make sure that we are not sinning against others And that we are not putting stumbling blocks before others and that we are not doing things and saying things And and and taking positions And telling people oh don't worry about that your mom won't mind if you watch this your dad won't care if you watch this Hey be careful that you're not the stumbling block It upsets jesus it has upset him to the point where I mean he's speaking like like a organized crime Mafia member here and saying let's just take a millstone and hang it about your neck and cast you into the sea He said that would be better Then that he should offend one of these little ones so in verses one and two we see this idea Of sinning against others and making sure that we are not sinning against others and that we are not Putting a stumbling block before others and of course we see jesus affirming the death penalty And of course we understand that there's many applications to that Then I want you to notice that in verses three and four He continues with this idea of dealing with sin but instead of Dealing with sinning against others Which is what he talked about in verses one and two and us sinning against others in verses three and four He talks about when others sin against us So verses one and two has to do with the fact that we should make sure that we're not laying a stumbling block before others And causing others to stumble But then in verses three and four he says well what happens when others sin against you look at verse three He says take heed the word heed means to pay attention Pay close attention to this. He says take heed to yourselves If thy brother now, what's a brother a brother is another believer another saved individual if thy brother Trespass against thee the word trespass is used synonymously With the term sin the bible tells us that sin is the transgression of the law When we transgress or go beyond the law or break the boundaries of the law of god's law that is a sin Trespass is the same idea. You've heard of trespassing on somebody's property You've crossed a boundary that you should not have crossed So the word trespass simply means sin and jesus says if my brother Trespass against thee what is it that you're supposed to do when your brother has sinned or? Transgressed or trespassed against you notice what he says he says rebuke him And if you repent forgive him Now when the bible says here rebuke him what it means is that we are to go to that individual And tell them a rebuke is when you tell somebody hey you did something wrong It doesn't necessarily mean that you're supposed to go up to them and start yelling at them and telling you know But the idea is that you confront them With what has been done wrong now i'm not going to go to matthew 18 if you would matthew 18 you're there in luke Because this is the same thing that jesus taught in matthew 18 matthew 18 goes into more detail Keep your place there in luke, but go to matthew If you go backwards you go past the book of mark into the book of matthew matthew chapter 18 And let me just say this when it comes to dealing with others sinning against you This is not the only option This is one of two biblical options And I preached a lot about this so i'm not going to have you run the verses or anything like that But there's another option that jesus says is a better option and it's this to suffer yourself to be defrauded He says to esteem others better than yourself He taught it in the sermon on the mount as turning the other cheek Somebody, you know smacks you on the on on one side you turn the other cheek You suffer yourself or allow yourself to be defrauded you esteem them out of other better yourself. So look you You have an another option Which is that you just let it go you just forget about it You just forgive that in your heart and you don't even bring it up and that's definitely an option And and I would say look, you know, oftentimes people ask me, you know, so and so did something against me What should I do and I always tell them well, here's the thing. Can you just let it go? If you can let it go And it doesn't produce bitterness It doesn't produce You know just you getting depressed or discouraged or bitter or angry in your heart then then just let it go And that's that's the most christian thing to do You know if you say yeah, they were kind of rude to me But you know, maybe they're having a bad day or or they said this or they said that but I don't think they meant it I don't even think they really knew what they were saying Hey, if you can let it go just let it go the bible says that sometimes we should just suffer ourselves to be defrauded We should esteem others better than ourselves. We should turn the other cheek We should just look if they're suing us for our coat. Give them your cloak Also, just just go with them the extra mile just it's fine Love your enemies bless them that curse you do good to them and hate you pray for them Which despitefully use you that's definitely an option. In fact, that's option number one but If you say no, I can't let this go or i've tried to let it go But I just find myself getting bitter about it and angry about it and I keep thinking about it Then you've got another biblical option biblical option number two, which is that you confront your brother For the purpose now don't don't miss this Because you're there in matthew 18, but let me read to you again luke 17 3 take heed to yourselves If thy brother trespass against thee rebuke him so that I can feel better That's not the purpose of the rebuke rebuke him and if you repent forgive him What is the purpose of you confronting this individual who has sinned against you or done you wrong? The purpose is reconciliation That's why you want to go to them And if you say oh, I can't let this go i'm bitter about it I'm angry about it Then the bible says that you are to go to them and confront them about it and talk about it Not so you can tell them off and yell at them But so that you can have the purpose of being reconciled unto your brother look at matthew 18 and verse 15 Jesus taught it here in a lot more detail matthew 18 15 moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee Notice in matthew 18, he gives us a three-step process Really a four-step process. He says number one go and tell him his fault Go and tell him his fault. That's the rebuke Hey, you did me wrong you sinned against me when you did x y and z now I want you to notice something it says go and tell him his fault and notice the next little phrase This is the key phrase in this passage between thee and him alone Notice it doesn't say go tell his fault off on facebook Go tell all the faults on instagram Go tell all your faults on social media Go tell everyone at the church go tell him his fault and everybody else the fault as well. That's not what the bible says And by the way, if you're if you have an issue with somebody in this church and you're going to anybody but that person Then you're a gossip That's called gossipy That's not what the bible says Bible doesn't say to let everybody else know let everybody know all the issues you have with brother so-and-so Let everybody know all the things that sister so-and-so has done. That's not what the bible says The bible says go and tell them his faults between thee and him alone And you know why the only reason that you would go to someone alone is because you want to reconcile You know why you would go around and tell everybody except them because you don't want to reconcile Moreover if thy brother shall try to suppress against thee go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone If he shall hear thee thou has gained thy brother Now there are situations where they you go to them and you say hey you wronged me here You sinned against me when you did x y and z and they don't receive that well and they won't hear it Then there's another step the bible says verse 16 But if he will not hear thee number two then take with thee one or two More This is referring to two more to help judge the situation And let me just say this, you know at verde baptist church when you get to this step You better be involving your pastor or your pastor's wife Because you're going to need me for step number three And and if you get to step two without involving me then you're going to have another matthew 18 process where you'd now piss me off So let me just be clear about this don't go to step two Well, I got my little buddy here my 18 year old buddy and we went and went what I don't want to hear that You bring that to me or you ladies bring that to my wife. You say I don't like that. Well then go start your own church Then take with thee one or two more Then in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established Verse 17. This is where your little buddy's not going to help you and if he shall neglect to hear them tell it unto the church That's where you need me Because the bible says if it gets so bad that they won't Listen to you. They won't listen to other two the bible says ye that are spiritual other two a spiritual People oftentimes in these situations. I like to use ordained leadership. So it'll be like me and our deacon or whatever Dealing with the situation if it's a lady if it involves a lady i'll use my wife, of course If he shall neglect to hear them, then the bible says you take it you tell it unto the church But if they neglect to hear the church then let them to be to be unto thee as an heathen man And as a publican you you throw them out of church is where this ends up if it gets that bad But we're not trying to get there step. Number one is just go tell them his fault between thee and him alone For the purpose of gaining thy brother Reconciling the relationship. We're not trying to throw people out of church. We're trying to reconcile relationships Now here's what i've learned about this process That jesus refers to go back to luke chapter 17 It's interesting to me because in matthew 18, he gives us this this this three-step really four-step process Go and tell him his faults between him and thee alone Then take with thee one or two more And then tell it unto the church and then If they won't hear the entire church then throw them out He gives us that entire process matthew 18 in luke 17, he just gives us the first step Look at it again luke 17 3 take heed to yourselves if thy brother trespass against thee rebuke him And if you repent forgive him and it's interesting to me that jesus Only gives us step number one in luke 17 while in matthew 18 He gave us the whole process and I think the reason for that is because what i've learned is that this whole matthew 18 thing Usually falls apart right at the very first step And and I think jesus just gives the first step because he's like just try to get this one down I mean just try to work on this because here's here's what i've learned It takes maturity spiritual maturity To be able to go to someone and in the in the spirit of love Speaking the truth and love say to them Hey brother so and so or sister so and so when you did x y and z you sinned against me That was wrong. You should not have done that It takes a lot of maturity to do that. And here's what i've learned in church. Very few people are mature enough to do this And unfortunately what i've learned Is that it takes a lot of immaturity And it's very easy to decide i'm not going to go to them One on one and try to deal with this. I'm just going to go tell the whole church about it And i'm going to go talk to everybody about it except the person that god told me to talk to about it And because that requires that that can be done with a lot of immaturity. Unfortunately, that's usually the step people take People usually bypass the biblical step of just hey if you have a problem with someone, can you let it go? No, I can't let it go. Well, then you should go to them and talk to them. I don't want to do that either I just want to talk to my little friends my four and no more And I want to call all everybody let them know what they did to me. Can you believe that? Can you believe that? That requires a lot of immaturity Which is why it's often done Telling everyone requires very little Spirituality in fact requires no spirituality. It requires someone living in the flesh, which is why it is what often happens Now, please understand this because I spent a lot of time explaining this to people People When it comes to conflict within the church you have two options One option is you say You know what? It's not a big deal. I'm just gonna let it go And if that's true, then you should let it go You should turn the other cheek. You should love them and just say it's fine. Not a big deal. I'm gonna let it go But if you can't let it go and you grow bitter then you should confront them Those are the only two options you have i'm here to tell you something i'm pastor of this church I've read the bible over 20 times and i'm here to tell you something. Those are the only two options you have But here's what i've learned Is that people usually like to create this third option? And the third option is this i'm not going to let it go And i'm not going to talk to them about it I'm, just going to grow bitter and angry and try to turn people against them and become a gossip. That's not an option That's not allowed If you want to follow and be a follower lord, jesus christ Here's what you get to do you get to let it go or you get to deal with them You don't get to not let it go and not deal with them and just grow bitter and just grow angry and just gossip That's not an option for you It's not an option to just gossip about people talk crap about people and look at verity baptist church I do not allow any church members to allow to speak negatively about any other church members ever I don't I just you know, just if you haven't been to our new members class I don't allow church people to talk bad about other church people I don't allow church people to talk bad about other pastors. I don't even care what pastor it is And I don't care what church member it is. It's just not allowed If you have a problem with someone go to them, you know, I don't want to go then let it go Well, I can't let it go then go to them. I don't want to go to them then shut up Go to them or let it go. Those are your options There is another option. Well, i'm going to talk to my friend about it. That's not an option I'm going to talk to my girlfriends about that's not an option Mom was spread on social media. That's not an option And when you go down that then you open yourself up to matthew 18 18 So we see that there's this option of let it go or confront them And if you confront them notice verse 3 Take heed to yourselves if thy brother trust was against thee rebuke him and if you repent forgive him If he repent forgive him This is the only option you have Please understand something and I know people don't like this and I I understand why you don't like It sometimes I don't like it either but my job is not trying to make you like the bible My job is to tell you this is what the bible says Whether you like it or lump it that's between you and god There is a requirement in christianity for forgiveness You are not allowed you you can say this I refuse to forgive but you're not right with god God requires Jesus requires that you forgive he says if he repent forgive him You say now how how is it? Why is it that god could just require us to forgive other people? I mean, doesn't that sound kind of messed up? Like god's gonna say I require you to forgive go to effigyans effigyans 4 We could go to a lot of passages to talk about this and i've done that in the past I'm, not going to do it. I'm just going to show you one passage from effigyans effigyans 4 luke john acts roman's first second gryndians galatians effigyans luke john acts roman's first second gryndians galatians effigyans And look this is not about some reprobate pedophile they need the millstone hung about their neck and be thrown into the sea This is if your brother trespassed against you effigyans 431 Notice what he says, I love the context of the bible Let all bitterness and wrath and anger And clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. It's almost like paul was in ministry And he knew people Because this is what I often tell people. Can you let it go without growing bitter? No Can you just forgive them? No, can you talk to them about it? No Well, they look those are your only two options So you're not going to talk to them about it or if you did talk to them about it and they apologize and said i'm sorry Then you need to let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice Verse 32 and be kind one to another tender hearted Here's the command god commands us from you. God requires us from you If somebody asks for your forgiveness god requires that you we would be forgiving one another you say how can god Require me how can god, you know, tell me that I have to forgive here's why even as god for christ's sake hath forgiven you God says after everything i've forgiven you after everything i've looked I've not punished you for after all the sins that I sent my son to die on the cross for your sin He says you can forgive them In fact, he requires it He says and if you repent forgive him And if you're here tonight, you say there's so and so in the church and i'll never forgive them. You're not right with god And it shows it shows That you're an immature christian Because he says look confront them if they repent forgive them There's a requirement for forgiveness, but I want you to notice not only is there a requirement for forgiveness. There's a Limitlessness to that requirement go back to luke 17 look at verse four Say well how long you know? How many times I have to forgive somebody luke 17 4 and if you trespass against thee seven times in a day And look, this is an extreme example Could you really somebody just envision somebody seven times in one day Just offending you in the same way Obviously, this is an extreme example from the lord jesus christ And if he shall trespass against thee seven times in a day and seven times in a day turn again to these take I repent Notice what he says thou shall forgive him That's a command thou shalt He says you are commanded if you say well, what if they do it a second time? What if they do it a third time jesus? I don't care if they do it seven times in one day if they turn to thee saying I repent thou shalt forgive them And obviously he's talking about a genuine repentance not some fake apology You know here I always love the fake apologies, you know, i'm sorry you took it that way that's not an apology You know It was true. I'm just sorry. It's just shut up All right, that's not apology. That's not repentance. I preached on that other times. But look if somebody genuinely says i'm sorry You know, I I didn't mean to offend you and I realized that I did that and that was wrong. They take responsibility. They don't minimize it. They don't make excuses Then thou shalt forgive them That's what the bible says Go back to matthew 18 matthew 18 look at verse 21 Because the disciples this is hard look this is a hard saying Even for us, you know, obviously not just for disciples, but for us it's hard. You say oh it's not that hard. Yeah, right You try to teach people to forgive each other and see how easy it is it's not easy Matthew 18 21 then came peter to him and said lord how also my brother sinned against me and I forgive him so seven times It's funny Because I don't peter is kind of like, you know seven times in a day. So is that the limit seven times? Jesus say jesus says unto him verse 22. I say unto thee until seven times He said until until seven times, but he says until 70 times seven He says I say not unto thee until seven times but until 70 times seven. He says It's seven times the limit. He says no 70 times seven And he's not doesn't mean 490. He just he's just saying he's saying, you know, it's limitless Yes Don't don't go home and start, you know, take a little three by five card one I think I think we might get to 490 by the end of the week here. That's not what he's saying He's saying look we are required to forgive And we are required to forgive as many times as as we're asked to And the bible says that we are to resolve conflicts within christianity in a matter That is fitting of mature christians Go back to luke chapter 17 And let me just you know be clear about my position and the position of verity baptist church and it is this Don't you know, nothing pisses me off more than gossip and and You know, don't let me catch or hear that. There's gossip if you're gossiping about other church members. I don't care who it is It's We will not allow it at this church You you if you and look if you're the one being gossiped to here's the proper response Let me tell you what so-and-so did to me. Have you talked to so-and-so? Are you asking me to be a witness here? Why are you bringing this up to me? No, i'm talking. Well, you're supposed to luke 17 matthew 18 You don't get to talk negatively about other church people publicly in this church it's not allowed You don't get you you say well, what are my options they did me wrong here's your options Go to them. I'm not willing to do that. Let it go. I can't do that. Go to them I'm not going to do that. Let it go. Look it's only two Well, I can't I i'm still bitter but you're not mature enough then you better get mature Read the bible pray Grow and get to the place where you're mature enough. Look, I don't understand this. It's not that hard I literally i'm here to let me tell you something I do this for a living This is what I get paid to do Like you guys think I get paid to preach. I don't get paid to preach. I would preach for free In fact, not only would I preach for free I preach for free Like three and a half years, you know what I actually get paid to do confront people My job is to go to people On a weekly basis around here me or my wife are take are going to somebody and saying hey, that's not okay You're not allowed to do that That's wrong. And you know what? I never cuss at them I never raise my voice I never insult them I just go to them and say hey you cross the boundary here. That's not allowed You need to stop that don't do that anymore You need to stop that don't do that anymore And you know if they're mature enough to receive it we pray and we go on our merry way It's not that hard People act like it's this end of the world It just shows how immature you are Just going to somebody and saying hey brother. Hey sister. I love you I'm telling you this because I love you when you did x y and z that was wrong You know, you hurt me You sinned against me And I don't want this to be a thing between us and I want us to be able to reconcile because I love you You know and i'm bringing this up to you and the other and that's what a mature christian does And and hopefully the mature christian on the other side says wow, you're right. I'm, sorry. I didn't realize that You know, i'm sorry about that It's okay. I accept your apology. Praise the lord. Let's pray and they pray and they go on the bitter on their merry way And they're not bitter That's how it should work One day one day. I don't know when it's going to happen. I've been doing this for 12 years Maybe when i've been doing it for 24 years or 34 years or 44 years or maybe i'll have to wait to heaven Till this happens, but one day I hope to pastor a church mature enough where people can actually do this Without involving half the church in their gossip Without involving everybody in their big mess and I know you some of you drama mamas Just love the drama. I mean I am convinced that there are some people out there They cannot live without drama constant drama in their life But let me explain something to you barony baptist church is not your junior high school This is not high school It comes to a point and i'm we're going to get to it in the in the sermon It comes to a point where you're more trouble than you're worth And then we'll have a problem and you don't want you don't Want I mean, you know take this however you want. I don't mind I don't I don't mean to sound arrogant, but you don't want me pulling the matthew 18 process on you because i'm a professional I do this for a living So there's no anxiety going into this meeting. It's like it's just tuesday So watch yourself luke 17 We talk about dealing with sin versus one and two us sinning against others Not putting stumbling blocks before other people So Then versus three and four when others sin against us What are we supposed to do go tell all your friends? That's not what it says Get on the phone and get a conference call going with everyone. That's not what it says Go on facebook and social media. That's not what it says Go to him alone Go to your brother alone And try to resolve it And if they repent forgive them So we saw the dealing with sin Then I want you to notice in verses five through ten He talks about dealing with service He talks about a couple of different areas regarding service here In verse five and six he talks about the faith required for service Verse five he says and the apostles said unto the lord increase our faith Now, why did they say that they said that because he just got done telling them what I just got done telling you And they're like, man, it's gonna require some faith to do this increase our faith You know, they're like you want us to what? Go to them and be nice and and speak the truth and love You know, like there are verses in the bible it says, you know faithful are the wounds of a friend Because a friend will go to someone and tell them hey you're not doing right here This is wrong And they'll do it in the right spirit So they said increase our faith and that's that's there that's just kind of them, you know, I always love it when people like you teach them something and then they just try to like You know Act like oh well that's for somebody else Because they're because jesus gets done teaching this and he's like, what do you think and they're like increase our faith Like they're saying like we don't have enough faith for this Like you're gonna have to increase our faith So then I love jesus response to them because their their response to him is increase our faith And then jesus responds to that Is you don't need a lot of faith And and let me just let's just run a couple verses real quickly. Go to roman chapter 3 just real quickly roman chapter 3 Let's talk about faith real quickly Usually when we talk about faith, we talk about salvation and we know that we need faith for salvation Romans 3 28 therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law romans 5 1 therefore being justified by faith We have peace with god through our lord. Jesus christ. We know that Faith is required for our salvation We're justified by faith through the lord. Jesus christ, but I want you to notice that that is just the beginning We not only we are not only justified by faith. We also the bible says are to live by faith Or walk by faith go to romans one real quickly verse 17 for therein is the righteousness of god revealed from faith to faith As it is written the just shall live by faith So notice you're not only saved by faith or justified by faith You are to live by faith go back to luke 17 while you go there. Let me read to you from second corinthians 5 7 The bible says for we walk by faith and not by sight So we realize that the christian life requires faith to be saved And then to live the christian life or to walk the christian life also requires faith So here the disciples luke 17 5 they say increase our faith and I love jesus's response to that Verse six and the lord said if he had faith as a grain of mustard seed Now in matthew 13, you don't have to turn there in verse 32 Jesus called the grain of a mustard seed. He called it the least of all seeds So he's referring to the smallest seed in their culture They say increase our faith and he says you don't need a lot of faith He said if you have faith as a grain of a mustard seed He says ye might say unto the sycamore tree be thou plucked up by the root and be thou planted in the sea And it shall obey you here's what jesus is saying We don't need a lot of faith a little faith would yield great results If we would just practice a little faith We like to say oh if I had more faith if I had more faith I'd go slow winning if I had more faith I'd be a tither if I had more faith i'd go into the ministry if I had more faith and jesus says you don't need a lot of faith Just a grain of mustard seed Just a little faith that you practice in the right person the lord jesus christ will produce a lot Ye might say unto this sycamore tree be thou plucked up by the roots and be thou planted in the sea and it should obey you So don't tell me oh if I had more faith, you don't need a lot That person must have a lot of faith they probably don't Probably have a little bit of faith that they acted upon That they lived by that they walked by So he talks about the faith of service verses five and six And then in verses seven and ten, he talks about the duty of service notice verse seven but which of you having a servant A servant would be our you know, the way that we would apply it today would be like an employee Obviously they had servants and in the roman world slaves and stuff like that He says but which of you having a servant Plowing or feeding cattle will say unto him by and by when he has come from the field go and sit down to me And will not rather say unto him make ready Wherewith I may stop and gird thyself and serve me till I have eaten and drunken and afterwards thou shalt eat and drink I want you to notice what jesus says here He says which of you which of you being a master being a boss being the one authority having a servant a subservient an employee someone under your authority If that servant has been working plowing or feeding cattle What kind of master is going to say unto him? When he's done by and by? When he has come from the field You know go and sit down to me What kind of master is going to look at a servant who's been working all day? And then when he comes in he says here you sit down and let me serve you Let me get you something to eat. He said that's not what a master is going to do He says in fact a master is going to do this verse eight and will not rather say unto him Make ready wherewith I may stop and gird thyself and serve me The boss says hey I'm, glad you're done with the field work, you know get dinner started Make ready wherewith I may stop that I may eat and gird thyself and serve me till i've eaten and drunken And afterwards thou shalt eat and drink verse nine. Does he think that serve it? Because he did the things that were commanded him and then I love this little phrase it says I tro not The word tro means to think And what he's when he says I tro not he says I think not He said I don't think so Does he thank the servant because he did the things that were commanded him and here jesus is teaching This idea of service and duty and the idea is this that in doing what we ought We deserve no praise because it is our duty And when a boss has an employee and this applies to whatever area of authority husbands with wives wives with children bosses with employees whatever area of authority it is he says look when you have done that which has commanded you You do not deserve to be thanked Now I want you to understand something That jesus is teaching something and I I feel like if people just understood these things it would make the world a better place And it's this look obviously when dealing with peers Then we need you know, the bible says the bible teaches that we should be polite We should be cordial bible teaches things like that young people should stand up in the presence of a hoary head If somebody walks up to you and they have white hair which means they are older and more mature than you are you know and they greet you, you know, don't just No You stand up You look them in the eye. You should give them the honor that they deserve Especially if it's found in the way of righteousness So the bible is very clear about us being polite and kind Jesus is not teaching here that we should be rude. He's not teaching that but he is teaching this idea and it is this that between peers We should be grateful to each other If I work in a position and i've got another peer who's my equal Then obviously i'm not his authority. I shouldn't be bossing him around I should be kind and right when I go to something I mean just me in ministry when I go to some conference or i'm at somebody else's church and there's another pastor there I should show them the same respect as a pastor and authority Because of their position But here's what jesus teaching that A boss does not necessarily have to thank his employee For doing what he's paying him to do Now look it's good To to thank your employees or to show appreciation Your kids, you know, it's good to do that. I'm not saying it's wrong to do that But I am saying this the bible says it's not needed You know, I've got teenage sons and i'm constantly telling them what to do At home and do this and do that And you know, I I do thank them and I said, can you please take care of this? Okay, but there are times when I don't I just say take the trash out and you say well, you're not gonna think them they live here They eat my food all of it They live in my house I clothe them I clothe them You know, it's not they're not doing They're not doing me a favor when they take the trash out. That's the point that i'm making And look at work. You're not doing your boss a favor when you do what you're getting paid to do He doesn't need to thank you Does he thank that servant because he did that thing which were commanded him? I throw not I said look if your boss thanks you praise god for it If you have a boss that thanks you and gives you bonuses and writes you thank you cards and appreciates you Then you should get on your knees and praise the lord for that You say my boss never thanks me. He doesn't need to Does he pay you? No, well then find another job But if he pays you then Then you say why don't get paid? Well, that's your fault That's not your boss's fault that you don't get paid one That's your lack of ability your lack of training your lack of you've not read books you've not grown you've not made yourself more valuable That's not his fault. That's your fault Verse 10 so likewise ye When ye shall have done all those things and notice how jesus now is applying it to christianity He talked about it within the servant relationship or the boss employee relationship, but then he says so likewise ye Talking to the disciples when ye shall have done all those things which were commanded you say We are unprofitable servants We have done that which was our duty to do Now don't don't miss this. He says when we have done so likewise ye when he have done all those things which are commanded you Here's what he's saying When an employee does Everything that they they were paid to do They are an unprofitable servant Now usually when we read that we see we do that in a negative connotation and there is a negative Connotation to it, but I want you to send it's not it's not like jesus saying like you're just worthless Because an unprofitable Simply means that you have done only that which you were paid or if you're a servant that you're purchased to do Meaning he's only breaking even on you Being unprofitable Simply means that your boss is not making a profit on you Unprofitable means that you have done nothing extra nothing above Unprofitable means that you have done nothing worth being thanked for That's what unprofitable means and look let me just help you out especially you men Please understand these concepts biblically. There's a profitable servant an unprofitable servant And then the worst type of servant What jesus calls a good for nothing? And I didn't say I know that sounds like a hispanic culture thing, but that's what jesus said Matthew 5 13 that's a quote from jesus The the salt that has lost a saver is good for nothing You say what does this mean? Well? unprofitable It's not necessarily the worst thing. It just means that look and let's apply it to our world It means that it costs your boss Whatever it is that he pays you it costs him fifty thousand dollars a year to keep you employed, right? Sixty thousand dollars a year seventy thousand dollars a year eighty thousand dollars hundred thousand whatever it is He pays you that certain amount and by the way if that's your salary just realize that that it costs him a lot more than That to keep you employed There's a lot more cost to having employees than just their salary, but let's just let's just start there just for round numbers You say I make fifty thousand a year sixty thousand a year seventy five thousand a year well, here's the thing if it costs your boss seventy five thousand a year to keep you employed and you produce seventy five thousand dollars worth of Income for the company you are an unprofitable servant You have not made him a prophet He broke even on you Really you should be thanking him. He's doing you a favor. He's just provided a job for you Where you bring in the same amount of money that it costs to keep you that's what Jesus is saying When we have done all those things which are commanded when the employee has done all the things that he was paid to do He is he should say we should say we are Unprofitable servants you say what's a profitable servant a profitable servant is the guy that is bringing in more money Than what it costs to have him You know this is easy and look This is the way the real world works for some of you But you know it's easier to see this in like a sales type aspect if it costs $75,000 to employ you or let's say a hundred thousand or two hundred thousand or two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to employ you But you're selling a million dollars worth of equipment. You're a profitable servant understand that If they pay you five hundred thousand a year But you're selling a million dollars worth of profit You're a profitable servant because you're making the business money if you're like well I'm just getting I'm just doing what I'm paid to do Then you're in on you're just breaking even you're on a profitable circuit, but there's a worse employee, which is the good for nothing which actually cost you more to keep employed than what they're producing and For some of you, maybe you need to just understand this concept maybe it'll help you be a better employee if You go to work and ask yourself am I making the boss any money am I profitable or am I just? You know well. He won't thank me. I true not Why would he? What are you doing? That he should be all thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you very much It cost me $70,000 to employ you and it cost me and you brought in sixty nine thousand nine hundred ninety nine dollars Thank you. What is what? He says look we should say when we have done that which is commanded we are unprofitable servants We have done that which was our duty to do It's it's it's Unproper and look when it comes to ministry and when it comes to church. Let me just say let me say He's about employees. You know be careful about this when you become More of a household than your worth and look in church life This happens to and look maybe I shouldn't say this maybe you don't Aren't gonna like me saying this. I will tell you this I run this search like a business And Sometimes I look at some church people and I think myself like you are more trouble than your worth keeping here and That's that's saying a lot because we don't really expect much from you I mean if you can't show up to church and just sit there and It's like yeah, but when you're sitting there You're just gossiping and causing drama and causing it it comes to a point where some church people. I'm just like We need to get rid of this person They're they're not they're not even an unprofitable servant. They're just a good-for-nothing. They're they're costing us more Their presence is causing other people to get offended and leave Because they're so rude because they're always causing problems because they're always causing issues like I realize some of you people This is offensive to you. You don't think this way, but you should start thinking this way You should go to work and ask yourself am I profitable Am I making a profit? And by the way, let me just let you in on a little secret when you start making your boss money You'll make more money When you start making your boss money, he's gonna value you. He's gonna give you those races. He's gonna give you those promotions He's not just gonna be when you're like, well, I'm gonna quit. He's like I can find 10 other guys I'll do the exact same thing you're doing. That's not his fault. That's your fault Verse 10 so likewise ye when ye have done all those things which are commanded you say we are Unprofitable servants and let me just let you in on a little secret When it comes to Christianity we are unprofitable servants It doesn't matter what you do It does not matter what you do You will never God will never be in your debt You're never gonna be like I'm such a great Christian that God's looking down thinking like I am I owe them something look how great They are no. No, he has done so much for us God will never be in my debt. God will never be in your debt Let me just cue in on this little word and then we'll finish up verse 10 our duty to do our duty to do Let's run a couple verses real quickly go to Romans chapter 12 Romans off just real quickly Matthew Mark Luke John Acts Romans Romans 12 First of all, what is our service? What what am I supposed to do? Because let me just be honest with you. Here's what Jesus teaching the average Christian is not even breaking even You're not even an unprofitable servant he said when we have done all things which are commanded at that point you break even and Here's the truth. None of us is doing everything that we're commanded to do He said what does it take to break even Romans 12 1 I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present Your body is a living sacrifice holy acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service What's my reasonable service? I Mean, I'm here on a Wednesday night Aren't I like an you know, don't I get like a gold star aren't I like an a-star student or something? No, you're here on Wednesday night. God bless you. Look. Listen me. This is pastor Amanda speaking. I'm thankful you're here As far as God is concerned. You're an unprofitable servant Being Here on a Wednesday night and being here on a Sunday morning and being here on a Sunday night and being here every time the the house of God is open and tithing and soul winning and living for God and forgiving and forgetting and And and all those things that's your reasonable service When you have done all those things you can say we are unprofitable servants Because what Jesus has done for us is so much greater than anything we could ever do for him But I want to talk about this word duty real quickly Go to Ecclesiastes chapter 12 If you open up your Bible just right in the center you're more than likely found the book of Psalms right after Psalms you have Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes chapter 12 Jack Heil said And I agree with him obviously Jack Heil said if there was one concept he could teach Church people it would be this word duty So likewise ye when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you Say we are unprofitable servants. We have done that which was our duty to do Now look I believe That we should go soul winning because we love the Lord Jesus Christ, and we love the lost I believe you ought to read your Bible because you love God I believe you ought to pray because you love communicating with God I believe you ought to forgive your brothers and sisters in Christ because you love God's people I believe that all the things we do ought to be motivated by love and And by serving God love the Lord thy God with all thy heart with all thy soul with all thy might and love thy neighbor as thyself But the truth is this that every once in a while. You're not going to want to read the Bible You're not going to want to show up to church on a Sunday night or Wednesday night You're not going to want to forgive your brother or sister in Christ. You're not going to want to pray You're not going to want to do those things you say What do I do at that moment when I no longer want to do what I'm paid to do what I've been saved to do What I've been purchased to do at that point you do it out of duty Say what do I want to show up for soul winning show up anyway? What if I don't want to read the Bible read it anyway? What if I don't want to pray pray anyway you said, but it's not coming from the heart Then let it come out of character let it come out of integrity let it come out of duty Rescue the parisheep duty demands it strain for thy labor the Lord shall provide You know what I found? Is that when you do things out of duty? The love will come back The fire will come back You'll be glad you did you'll never read the Bible not be Say I was waste time you always be glad you read it You always be glad you want soul winning you always be glad you spent time in prayer look there comes a point in our lives And we live in this American video game just microwave Just every I only do what I want to do and that's why you're not getting paid more That's why your life's a mess We need to learn this word duty When we do what the right it's the right thing to do out of duty We'll finish right here please yes, it's 1213. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. This is a book Where Solomon has been telling us for 12 chapters? Why life sucks? He's like I had all the riches I had all the wealth I had all the fame I had it all and he said it's all vanity of enemies and Then he says he ends the book by saying this let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter the conclusion of life The purpose of life how to not have an empty shallow life here It goes two things Solomon says number one fear God number two keep his Commandments, and then he says this for this is the whole duty of man Should you serve God because you love him yes But when you don't feel like you love him that much do it out of duty Live for God out of duty Look, I think you should stay married because you love your wife And you love your husband and you should work at that thing and you should love each other and work at your marriage But there are times where you should just stay married out of duty Because it's the right thing to do Because the right thing to do for your children Yeah, you know I I hope you come to church because you love us And you love the Word of God and love the preaching, but there's sometimes would you just show up out of duty look Let me let you in all those secrets. There are many a Wednesday night that I don't want to come to church I'm talking about me past three minutes. I'm just like I'm telling my wife like I don't want to go She's like you kind of have to You know why do you do it when you when you don't want to do it, how do you do it? one word duty So likewise ye when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you say We are Unprofitable servants we have done that which was our duty To do let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. How many father think you look for your word? think of these ten verses Lord help us to Understand them and apply them into our lives Lord I Pray you'd help us to be Christians that are mature Or die I so wish That we'd be a church filled with people That just love you and that actually just build their lives on the Bible That actually just do what the Bible says Go to Scripture and Bible says here's what you should do in this situation. They just do it and Sometimes they do it because it's the right thing to do and sometimes they do it because they love you and other times they just Do it out of duty? Lord I pray you to help us in the matchless name of Christ we pray Amen We're not brother Moses come up and lead us in a final song just want to remind you That if you've not signed up, or if you'd like to sign up to bring cornbread or desserts we've got some sign-up sheets in the foyer for the harvest party and Also, if you've not yet signed up for the striving together new members class make sure you do that on your communication card We appreciate you taking care of that if there's anything we do for you Please let us know why the Moses come up and lead us in the last song Please send her songbooks page number 173 Page number 173 Singing love Let's sing it out on the first From the peaceful shore Very deeply stained with The master of the sea heard my despairing cry from the waters lifted me now say Oh When nothing else When Me 173 on the second all my heart to him. I give ever to him So my parents my soul Oh On the last Oh Oh great singing can I please have brother Jacob closes in order prayer Amen You You