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

Amen, we are in Romans chapter 16, we're finishing the book of Romans tonight and so I really enjoyed preaching through Romans, there's so much good truth found in Romans and I learned a lot even as I studied it, I hope you learned a lot and so we're concluding it tonight. Romans chapter 16 is a salutation chapter where the Apostle Paul just really recognizes he uplifts or what the Bible would say he commends a lot of his fellow laborers in Christ and so we're going to go through a lot of this and just explain briefly some of the names that we see here and what they're being commended for but I think even there's a lot of great truths found in Romans chapter 16, not just in regards to their names but where they're from, who they are, of course they're mentioned multiple times, some of them are mentioned multiple times in the Bible but let's go ahead and start in verse number one, the Bible reads here, I commend unto you Phoebe our sister which is a servant of the church which is at Centria, so first and foremost he starts off by naming Phoebe which if you don't have it noticed is a woman, right? Now we obviously know that women are not allowed to preach behind a pulpit, okay, that should never take place in the church, the Bible speaks very much against that, it even speaks against women speaking out in the church, okay, that's why in our church for example we don't have women who say amen, now they may say amen inwardly, they may even say it under their breath or something, they may agree, I know ladies in our church that when I rip on something they're just like, they want to say it, it's nothing bad with wanting to say it but they don't, why? Because the Bible tells them not to, okay, it's forbidden in the church, however that doesn't mean they're a lower class than the men, okay, that's just the order that God has in a church and it doesn't mean that women are inferior to men in any matter, okay, especially in the things of God, it just means that there's an order to the things of God and it doesn't even mean that women can't do anything for the Lord because we see in verse number one, Phoebe was a servant of the church and she's the first name mentioned in Romans chapter 16, so as Paul the apostle through one of his helpers is penning this down, he remembers first and foremost Phoebe, the servant of the Lord, okay, and so I think that's a blessing, I think that's great and it goes to show that women can do something great for God still, you know, they can still see a lot of people saved, they can be a blessing in the church and God can still highly esteem them and reward them for doing something big, but he says that she's a servant of the church which is at Centria which is significant because in the book of Acts, Centria is actually the place where Paul was where he shaved his head after the vow that he had made, you see that in Acts chapter 18, now verse number two says that you receive her in the Lord as becoming saints and the assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you, for she hath been a secourer of many and of myself also, so I think we can safely assume that Phoebe was obviously a soul winner, but the Bible says that she was a secourer, okay, now when I read that verse, when I read that word in the Bible, I immediately knew what it was, simply for the fact that in Spanish there's a similar word said socorro, okay, and if you know Spanish, socorro means to help, that's what it means, and what does a secourer mean, it means someone who helps, or excuse me, a secourer means help, okay, and so it says that for she hath been a secourer of many and of myself also, now go with me if you would to 2 Corinthians chapter number six, 2 Corinthians chapter number six, so you just learn a Spanish word, right, socorro, and you say how do you know socorro means help, well when I was a kid, you know, growing up as a kid, your family watches channel 34, okay, or these Spanish channels, Univision, and sometimes they play movies from like 30 years ago, English movies, and the funny thing about these movies are, you know, they have dubbings in Spanish, so they'll have a kid, you know, he's like running away from the bad guy or something, and but it's, you could obviously tell it's an older man impersonating his voice, but he's trying to do the voice of a child, and one of the most common phrases you'll hear is, I socorro, which means help, you know, so you always hear that in these movies, you know what I mean, now don't watch movies, but I'm just saying, when I was a kid, I remember that a lot, that was like, you know, auxilio, you know, they always say these words, and that's how you knew it meant help, because the kid was running away from the bad guy, and they needed help, and that's what he would say, he's like help, so that's what it means, but it's also a word that we see in the Bible that is actually defined in the Bible as well, 2 Corinthians chapter 6 and verse number 2, the Bible says here, For he saith, I have heard thee in the time excepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee, behold, now is the excepted time, behold, now is the day of salvation. Now, we're gonna go to Isaiah 49, where this is quoted from, go to Isaiah chapter 49, so it says, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee, or suckered thee, behold, now is the excepted time, behold, now is the day of salvation, now it doesn't mean like you're suckered, okay, someone suckered someone, they conned someone, it literally means help, and the reason we know that is because Isaiah 49 verse 8 defines that for us, it says here in verse 8, Thus saith the Lord, in an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in the day of salvation have I helped thee, so that is the parallel verse to what we see in 2 Corinthians chapter 6 and verse number 2, where it says suckered therein Isaiah 49 verse 8 says helped, and I will preserve thee and give thee for a covenant of the people to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages. Now go back to Romans chapter 16, by the way in Hebrews 2 18 says, for in that he himself had suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted, the Bible says, so we see that Phoebe was a woman who helped the men of God, okay, and that's great, that's awesome, in fact I'm sure she was rewarded much because of that, you know what we need today, we need ladies of God is what we need, okay, in the church women who are godly, women who are willing to help, women who can win souls to Christ, we need ladies who are very much able and mature to do the work of the Lord, to know their place, amen, and don't get offended when we say something like that, that just means know your place in God's will according to the word of God, that's an honorable thing to do, okay, now Romans chapter 16 we'll read on here, it says verse number 3 talks about a couple, okay, now this is an awesome couple in the Bible, it says there are Greek, Priscilla, and Aquila, my helpers in Christ Jesus who have for my life laid down their own necks unto whom not only I give thanks but also all the churches of the gentiles, now if there's anybody you should try to emulate in the Bible if you want to be a couple, it's Priscilla and Aquila right here, I mean these people, you know, they weren't pastors, they didn't have leadership position in the church but you see them over and over again in the New Testament, always being mentioned by the apostle Paul, always being honored, always being given honor in different epistles, why is that? Because they did something great for God and it goes to show you that you don't have to be a pastor to do something great for the Lord, okay, you can be a team with your wife, you can be a team with your husband and still do great exploits for the Lord and in fact this couple right here, the Bible says they're willing even to lay down their own necks, so they're there through thick and thin, you know what we need at Faithful or Baptist Church, we need couples who will stick it out through thick and thin, people who are there to support not just the pastor but be there to do the work of the Lord when we're being persecuted by the homos or whatever it may be, through whatever trial comes their way, hey they're solid, they stick it out, they're like we're here, we're going to be in our place, we're singing the hymns, we believe doctrine, we teach doctrine, we disciple, we want to be a blessing, and by the way single guys, that's why it's important you get married, so you can be a powerhouse, so you can have someone, a help meet to help you do the work of the Lord, okay, and that should be the, that Aquiline Priscilla ought to be a template for couples, a team, you need to be a team, there can't be division between you two, there can't be that you're doing one thing and your wife's doing another, no, you need to be a team, and obviously it starts with the man leading his wife, okay, that's where it starts, okay, but this is a great template to follow, now go to Acts chapter 18, Acts chapter number 18, that says a lot, to lay down their necks even for, they're like Paul, we're here till death, you know, they kill you, they're going to kill us too, alright, we're here for you, that's awesome, I mean I'm sure that created a lot of security, a lot of encouragement for the apostle Paul to have this couple as friends, as fellow laborers in the Lord, Acts 18 verse number 1 says after these things Paul departed from Athens and came to Corinth and found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontius, lately come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome and came unto them, and because he was off, excuse me, and because he was of the same craft, he abode with them and wrought, for by their occupation, they were tent makers, so these, we obviously know that there are fellow laborers in the gospel, but they're just workers in general, they were tent makers, that's what they were doing, and they shared an affinity with Paul because Paul was a tent maker as well, so they were workers, they were laborers, that's how they supported Paul as well, go to verse number 24, it says in a certain Jew named Apollos, now, this is one of the reasons I think that the apostle Paul really elevated and commended Aquila and Priscilla, okay, because these weren't just regular, like a regular couple in the church who were just faithful, they knew their stuff, they were what you would call an asset to the church, okay, and look, let me just say this, you want to make sure in a church that you're an asset and not a liability, okay, what is a liability? It's just like, you know, obviously every single Christian who comes into our church, brand new Christian, or they just get saved, to a certain extent there'll be a liability, and don't get offended by that, it just means like, you know, we got to take care of you, we got to teach you the ways of the Lord, you know, help you to grow, but it gets to a point that you need to grow on your own, and then, you know, we don't need to necessarily follow up on you to come to church, it's like you come already on your own, you take care of business on your own, you're reading your Bible, and you're actually able to help someone else, okay, now look at, look what it says here in verse 24, in a certain Jew named Apollos, born in Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the scriptures came to Ephesus, this man was instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in the Spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John, now I believe that this man was saved, Apollos, simply for the fact that the Bible says he only knew the baptism of John, well if you read Acts chapter 19, it explains what the baptism of John was, or the preaching thereof, it's to believe on Christ, okay, that's what it meant, so this man was saved, but he only knew the baptism of John, so he didn't necessarily know a whole lot of doctrine, is what it's saying, okay, verse number 26, and he began to speak boldly in the synagogue, whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly, so they took him, and they're like, hey, you're saved, you're doing a great job, but let's just go ahead and teach you some more doctrine, so this, these were your run-of-the-mill couples of the church, these people knew their doctrine, to the point where they can disciple someone, and instruct them more perfectly in the ways of the Lord, and here's the thing, we need couples in our church who can do just that right there, who, they'll see a brand new couple, or a brand new Christian, and they say, hey, let us take you out, let us work with you, and teach you the ways of the Lord more perfectly, but you know what that takes, that takes someone who knows the Bible too, right, it takes someone who knows the Scriptures, who can, who can teach the Scriptures, who's apt to do something like that, to teach someone else the Word of God, that's why they were valuable, amen? They were valuable because they took Apollos, and they just matured him is what they did, okay, now I think of this, and obviously there's so many applications that we can apply to this, but just getting off the whole couple thing, I think of people, when I think of Apollos, to be honest with you, maybe it's because it's where I come from, I think of Bible college students, sometimes, I'm serious, I think of Bible college students because, you know, I've had Bible college students, they're saved, you know, and they're zealous for the things of God, but they don't know a whole lot of Bible, you say, why is that, because they're not teaching a whole lot of Bible in the Bible college, okay, they're teaching a lot of commentaries, and you know, all these other things, but they're not teaching the Bible, okay, they make you read everything but the Bible sometimes, okay, and therefore they're not learning the Bible, well you know, I think of Apollos, it's like, man, we need to bring in the Apollos, you know, these Bible colleges, and just teach them the word of God more perfectly, okay, and you know what, I'm thankful that there's a lot of Bible college students listening to us online, on YouTube now, they're listening to us online, they're contacting me, they're contacting Marcos, they're contacting different people, I think it's great, you know, and hey, if you're a Bible college student, we welcome you, come visit, visit Faith Forward Baptist Church of El Monte, California, you'll enjoy it, what did you say? Summer's coming, you know, come on, yeah, summer's coming, so you know, the semester will be done, you can't get demerits, come by and visit, so we can show you the word of God more, you say, oh, you're being prideful, Aquiline and Priscilla weren't prideful, they said come here, let us show you the way of the Lord more perfectly, that wasn't them being prideful, they established him in the Lord, in the word of God, you know, so there's a lot of Apolloses in these Bible colleges that just need to come to a Faith Forward Baptist Church and just be taught the word of God even more, you know, I believe that in verse 27, look what the result was of this meeting between Aquila, Priscilla and Apollos, and when he was disposed to pass into IKEA, the brethren wrote exhorting the disciples to receive him, who, Apollos, who when he was come helped them much, which had believed through grace, for he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly showing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ, I mean, this guy went out and he was on fire, you know, the Bible says he was mightily convincing the Jews, and why, because Aquila and Priscilla brought them under their wing, they taught them the ways of the Lord more perfectly, and he was able to go out and be more effective, okay, and look, Bible college students, you know, some of them are just lukewarm and effeminate as the day is long, and I want nothing to do with the refuse of the Bible colleges, most of the Bible colleges, you know, they're just there because their mom and dad sent them, they can care less about the things of God, forget you, I don't want you to, don't come visit, stay where you are, I'm talking about those who do want to do something for God, and feel like they need to grow in the things of the Lord, they want to do something big for God, you need to come to one of our churches, okay, and no, you're not sinning if you come here, okay, you're not like a heretic if you come here, and look, come here and I'll show you why you're not a heretic for coming here, I'll open up the Bible, you ask me anything you want, by the way, DM me on Instagram, if you want, ask me any question you want, I'll answer, I'll give you nothing but scripture, so you know that I'm not some sort of false prophet heretic, you know, because I know that's what they're all saying about me over there, you know, that I'm some sort of heretic false prophet, he's going down the wrong path, well let me just show you the path that I'm going down, okay, because the path is the Bible path, okay, the old paths, okay, that's the path, so contact me, shoot me a text message, say hey, I don't want to get in trouble, but I want to come down and visit, you know, we'll get a basket like they did to Paul or something and just drop you in, I don't have a problem with that, you know, you're welcome here, Apollos, you know, if you want to do something for the Lord, contact me, you know, and visit, we'll do some, look, I'll even say this, maybe don't even come to a church service, why don't you just come sowing with us, right, yeah, I'll go sowing with you, you come visit, if you say hey, I don't want to join the church service, but I'd like to go sowing with you, come on, hey, we have sowing at 1.30 in the afternoon, if you can't make it for that, we'll be here at 4.30, if you can't make it for that, we'll be here at 5.15 on Thursday, and if you can't make it for any one of those, just call me and I'll make time to go with you any time in a week, we'll go sowing, and look, you don't even have to come to one of our church services, if all you want to do is learn how to sow in, come on through, I'll teach you, I don't have a problem with, I'll give you my time, okay, to teach you how to do sowing, alright, Apollos, because that's what I think of when I look at this verse, Apollos is just those Bible college students who are paying a bunch of money to learn commentaries, you know, they're paying a lot of money to pay more money to buy more commentaries, you know what I mean, you know, you don't have to pay me nothing, okay, I will pay for you, I will pay attention to you, is what I'll pay, okay, and give you my time if you need it, but I think of that, so Aquila and Priscilla man, they did a great job, these are people who are mature in the Lord, they were apt, and that's what we need today, we need couples who are apt, and obviously look, the husband obviously should know more than the wife, okay, so let me just say that again, the husband should always know more than the wife when it comes to the Bible, always, okay, I'm not saying the wife just doesn't know anything, you know, but obviously the husband is teaching the wife, etc, so these were, this is a powerhouse couple right here, they're a great team, something we can template ourselves according to, verse number five says, likewise, greet the church that is in their house, salute my well-beloved Epinadus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ, so Aquila and Priscilla hosted the church at their house, now I remember before all this took place, as far as the church is concerned, I was, I remember I was thinking to myself, man, you know, I know my church said they'll send me out, but I highly doubt they'll give me the money to go start in a building somewhere, and I remember even having conversations with my wife, you know, because I wanted to start a church in L.A. one day, and I remember speaking to her and saying, we need to make sure we save up to buy a house, or to rent it apart, something big enough to house our church, you know, the people we're going to be reaching, and I remember thinking to myself, you know what, I'm going to go to my pastor and I'm just going to tell him, hey, if it's finances that's keeping me from being sent out, don't worry about it, just send me out, I'll go start in my house if I have to, you know, we can work our way after that, and by the way, that's a template you see in the Bible, okay, now there is a house church movement out there that will use this verse to prove you should do house church, but their house church is not like this house church, okay, you see, what they're doing is they're using their house as a place to meet in, whereas the people who believe in this house church movement are people who say we should only meet in a church with no leaders, you see, a church who meets in a house has a leader still, there's a pastor, okay, it's just a building to meet in is what it is, whereas the house church movement, what they say we need to meet in a church, they're talking about all of us should be pastors, they have this democracy mindset where everyone should be a leader, and there should not be one shepherd, there should be multiple ones, and just come into agreement with what the Bible says, that's garbage, okay, and the house church movement is just a bunch of fools who don't want to be under someone's authority is what it is, okay, but meeting in a church is biblical, and it's really just practical in a sense if you're just starting out, now thankfully, oh, I was going to say we didn't have to, but we did for the first two weeks, right, when we first started the church, we're at Dr. Rita's house, right, because we didn't have a place to meet at, and she said, hey, you know, Phoebe, right, Phoebe said, hey, you can meet at my house, you know, I said, great, we'll meet at your house, and she said, until you find a place to meet in, you guys can meet at my house, I said, great, now we have to drive all over to test him for that, and it was a wide ways, but hey, it was a blessing, that's where we started off, and I think the first services were great, but these people, man, they're a powerhouse, why is that, because, I mean, they're discipling people, they're teaching people the word of the Lord, they're allowing their house to be used for church, that's awesome, let's see here, go to 1 Corinthians chapter 16, so how do we know that, obviously, by Romans 16 verse 5, we understand that there is a church that met at their house, and of course, the church is the people, it's not the building, that's why, you know, the old IFB, they got it messed up in that area, okay, they felt like they had to have this fancy just building with all the bells and whistles, and that really took away a lot from the ministry of reconciliation, which is soul winning, Pastor McMurtry, we spent time discussing that at the soul winning conference, and number one, hindrance to soul winning nowadays is simply a building program, so much money that's put into a building program, and that money could be used for other things, like getting the gospel out, became materials, or even this, starting more churches, you know, that would be a wiser investment of God's money, okay, and remember, I think what it is is Christians were just getting away from the definition of what a church is, it's the people, that's the church, we're just using this place to meet in, that's it, 1 Corinthians 16, 19 says the churches of Asia salute you, Aquil and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house, so I don't think Aquila was a pastor, I think he was just using his house, he said hey, you guys can use my house if you want, you guys can meet here, these are very mature people, now go back to Romans chapter 16, and look, if they ever shut us down, okay, and you know, something ever happens, we ever get shut down, we'll meet at my house, okay, I'll move all the furniture into my office, sit Indian style, or whatever it may be, we'll just meet at my house for a while until we can get a building, I don't think anybody cares, and I'm thankful that the people who are being reached in our movement are being conditioned to understand, hey, this isn't important, this is important right here, okay, we're just using the building, verse 6 says greet Mary who bestowed much labor on us, salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow prisoners who are of note among the apostles who also were in Christ before me, now I honestly believe that Andronicus and Junia were apostles, okay, now I don't believe there was only 12 apostles, alright, I believe there was more, based upon Luke chapter 10 and verse number 1, I'm gonna read it to you, it says after these things the Lord appointed other 70 also and sent them to and to before his face into every city and place where he himself would come, and then so on and so forth, go to Acts chapter 14, so I think there was other apostles other than the 12, now I think the 12 are the most prominent ones obviously, they're the most spoken about, the leaders in a sense, but I believe there's other apostles and I believe that Junia and Andronicus were among them, but it says that there were fellow prisoners, it says that they were in Christ before Paul, obviously we know that the apostle Paul was the last apostle, and if you read in Acts chapter 1, it gives the qualifications of an apostle, see one of the primary qualifications of an apostle is that they had to have seen the risen Christ, okay, well no one has seen the risen Christ after Paul, so bishop, apostle, Raymond, whatever, you know who's pastoring the Pentecostal church, he's not an apostle, the apostle of La Luz del Mundo is not an apostle, he's a pervert false prophet, okay, and he may claim to be an apostle, but you know what, he's an angel of light, or he clothes himself as an angel of light, okay, he comes as an angel of light, but he's a devil, okay, he has not seen the risen Christ, I've heard people, people have told me, man, you don't know the apostle, he, man, when you see him, when I see him, I see Jesus, that's wicked, no one even in the Bible would say that about the apostles, okay, that's wicked, so there is no apostles after the apostle Paul, but there were quite a bit even before him, Acts 14, 14, look what it says, which when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of, they rent their clothes and ran in among the people crying out, so Barnabas wasn't of the twelve, you know, you don't hear his name mentioned, but it says here that the apostles Barnabas and Paul, showing that he was one of the apostles, go to Galatians chapter number 1, Galatians chapter number 1, now obviously the Lord showed himself to around 500 people, right, after the resurrection, and I don't think all those 500 were apostles, I believe it was probably subject to only about 70, I might be wrong, I don't know, I believe that, but I believe when it talks about apostles there was more than 12, Galatians 1.18 says, then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter and abode with him fifteen days, but other of the apostles saw I none save James, the Lord's brother, now there's a couple of James, Jameses, I guess you could say, right, there's a couple of Jameses in the Bible, okay, you have James the son of Alphaeus, and then you have James the son of Zebedee, and then you have James the Lord's brother, now James the son of Zebedee, if you remember in the book of Acts was killed, okay, he was persecuted, he was killed, so I don't think he's the one who actually wrote the book of James, I believe it was the Lord's brother who wrote that, Jesus had four brothers, one was Judas, Judas is scary, okay, you have Simeon, you have James, and I'm missing one, yeah, Joseph, he's from Compton, you know, he's a Jose, yeah, it's the same thing, right, and of course he had sisters, so I believe they were apostles, obviously, because they saw the resurrected Christ, but I believe the one who wrote the book of James is actually the Lord's brother, so my, what I'm trying to get across here is there was more apostles, but the last one was Paul, okay, after him there was no apostles after that, so I don't care who comes up and they say that they're able to do miracles, they're false, it's not true, okay, no one saw the Lord Jesus after the apostle Paul. Verse number 8, go back to Romans chapter 16, verse number 8 says, Greet Ampleis my beloved in the Lord, salute Urbain our helper in Christ, and Stachys my beloved, salute Ampleis approved in Christ, salute them which are of Aristobulus' household, salute Herodion my kinsmen, greet them that be of the household of Narcissus which are in the Lord, salute Tryphina and Tryphosa who labor in the Lord, salute the beloved Persis which labored much in the Lord, salute Rufus chosen in the Lord and his mother in mind. Now, one thing you notice from verses 8 through 12 is all these guys are workers, they're laborers, so why do you think he's commending them? Because they knew how to work, okay, these were people and you said, well what kind of work were they doing? The Gospel, probably the greatest one was that they were soul winning, okay, and I'm sure there's a bunch of stuff even aside from that that they're accomplishing, but the biggest, the primary one I'm sure is that they were soul winning, okay, but I want you to notice in verse 13 says, salute Rufus chosen in the Lord and his mother and mine. So, I think this is interesting because it basically leads to believe that Paul's mom was in Rome, and I don't think that's hard to believe simply for the fact that Paul is of what, he's of Tarsus, of city of Cilicia, which is in Rome, okay, and you always hear him say, my kinsmen, my kinsmen, so I'm sure he probably had a lot of family in Rome, okay, because he's always talking about these people, but Paul's part of Rome, so I'm sure he's referring to his actual mother there. Go to Acts 22, Acts chapter 22, and we can see that by this verse that we're going to read right now, Acts 22 verse 3 says, I am barely a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day, so the apostle Paul was a Roman, but religiously speaking he was a Jew, which goes to show, right, that though he was in Rome, he was a Jew, his religion was a Jew, it was Judaism is what it was, of course the Judaism of that time. Now, go in verse 28, it says there in verse 28, and as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman and uncondemned? When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest, for this man is a Roman. Then the chief captain came and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea. And the chief captain answered, With a great sum attained I this freedom. He paid for that, and Paul said, But I was free born. So that means he was born there, so he was a Roman. He was simply a Jew by religion, which goes to show that people were converting to Judaism without being an actual Jew themselves. You can't talk about by blood, you understand? Now verse 14, go back to Romans chapter 16. So I thought that was interesting that his mom was actually in Rome, you know, we don't know too much of his mother, but she was in Rome, and it looks like he had a lot of family in Rome as well. He was talking about his kinsmen. Verse 14 says, Salute Asincritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Petrobas, Hermes, and the brethren which are with them. Salute Phylologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympus, and all the saints which are with them. Salute one another with the holy kiss, the churches of Christ salute you. So one thing that we see here in regards to these verses is that no church, no ministry is built by one man. The work cannot be accomplished by one man. Now the apostle Paul did an amazing job, you know, he was one of the best missionaries out there of course, but this chapter shows that there is a lot of people who are working behind the scenes, okay? And they will be forever in the Bible. They will be forever in the word of God. And look, let me say this is that we need to work together as a team, right? We need to work together as a team and everyone needs to pull their weight. Everyone needs to do their part. Everyone needs to preach the gospel. You say, well I can't preach the gospel as good as X, Y, and Z, but you can preach the gospel. You can do your part. Everyone needs to do their part because not one, this great work that we're going to do in the city of Omani, that we're doing in the city of Omani cannot be done by one man, not even by two. It needs the entire church to get involved and to participate in that. And what we don't need, what we need as participants not just spectators, okay? Spectators are those who are watching everyone else do the work and join the sermons, whatever it may be. No, you need to get involved. You need to get with the program. You need to start earning yourself some rewards, okay? To get involved in the work of God, about your Father's business, preaching the gospel, doing something great for the Lord, okay? Why? Because not one, a great thing cannot be done by one person. It requires a team, okay? It's based off of the efforts of many people. The Bible says in Philippians 1-27, only let your conversation be as it become at the gospel of Christ, that whether I come and see you or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel. We need Christians who are striving together, fighting together to get this job done. Amen? Now, let's see here. Okay, so go back to Romans, chapter 16. Let's see here, verse 17 says, Now I beseech you, brethren. Okay, so now we see here, okay, now he kind of segues here. So I want you to pay attention to this part right here. He spent verses 1-16 just calling out a lot of names, right? I mean a lot of names, some of those I was struggling to pronounce, okay? It was like, good night. Okay, but he called out a lot of names, okay? Now, go with me if you would to Philippians, chapter 3. Hold your place there, of course, in Romans 16. And he called out the names, he commended them so that others would see who they should associate with. Say, hey, these guys right here, they're laborers. These guys are workers. You know of these people, you know? He's giving honor where honor is due, right? Look at Philippians 3, 17 says, brethren, be followers together of me, and look what it says, and mark them, which walk so as ye have us for and in sample. So what is he doing in Romans 16? He's simply doing what he told him to do in Philippians 3, 17. He's marking them, marking Rufus and Aquila and Priscilla, marking Phoebe, marking Mary, marking all these people so that you know who you should follow as an example. So he's looking at it and he says, look, here's the list, verses 1 through 16, these are the people you should follow. This is a good example to go by, okay? If you want to learn how to be a good couple, follow Aquila and Priscilla. If you want to learn how to be a single person, follow Phoebe. If you want to learn how to be a great man of God and all these things, follow these people, mark them. You know, it wasn't like, yeah, I know some good people for you to follow. I just don't want to say the names, you know? I think it'll be too embarrassing for them to say the names. But there's, I'm just, let me just say this, okay? I'm not going to say any names. I just want to let you know you've got to follow these people. If you are a great, well, who? I can't say, you know? No, he said the names. He, I didn't, does anybody number how many names there are here? Someone count that while I'm talking here. From verses 1 through 16, someone count how many names he named right there, okay? And what is he doing? He's marking them. Mark basically means, hey, right here, this guy right here, okay? That's what he's doing. Anybody finish numbering them? What we got? Who's counting? Alex is counting, Mark's counting. Are you, did you stop, did you give up? You give up. Mark marked them? So, I want you to understand this, because this is very important. He's calling the laborers by name. I'm giving you some time, Mark. There you go. Come on. Remember, some of those names, you know, they may sound like two, but it's actually one, okay? Now, while he's doing that, look at verse 17. The Bible says here, Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them, which cause division. Did you find out? 28 names. He called out 28 names. That's cool. Now let's, now, now let's read verse 17. Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them, which cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which he have learned, and avoid them. So he just got finished marking 28 people for doing that which is right. And then he contrasts and he says this, So make sure that you mark them which cause divisions, people who are heretics. So what is Paul the Apostle saying here? We should mark those who labor, call them out by name, but guess what? We should also call out the names of those who are wrong in heretics. It's a biblical thing to mark them. And the reason they say this is because people get so mad when you call the names. When you mention John MacArthur, when you mention Ray Comfort, Pastor Parada, Jack Rodriguez, Jack Treiber, you know, all the Jacks. And they get mad about these things. But you know what the Bible says? Mark them. Why? As an example of what not to follow. So I'm to take the one who's laboring for Christ and say, hey, I'm marking this guy. Hey, follow him. You know, this guy's legit. You know what I'm doing with Ringo Ayala, Pastor Ringo Ayala? I'm marking him. I'm telling, hey, this guy's legit. He has the right doctrines. He hates homos. He's post trip. He's replacement. If you want to get some good Spanish preaching, listen to him. I'm marking him. But then I go to the other person and say, hey, stay away from this fool. I'm marking this person as well. Jack Rodriguez, I'm marking him. Lest anyone should go to his church and think that he's a proper gospel preaching pastor. No, he's not. He said, you shouldn't call out the names. He told me to. Mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which he have learned and avoid them. So the reason the Bible says to mark them is so that you would avoid them. Okay? So you don't go near them. So it's a biblical thing. It's biblical to do both. You see what I'm saying? But I like how he contrasted both because he spent 16 verses calling out 28 names and he said, you see what I did? Now you mark them which cause divisions. Okay. For they, there are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. So these are bad people. Okay. And look, if you don't like it, when I call out the names, I'm doing it for your own good. Okay. Cause I've heard a lot of preaching back in the day where it was just like, look, I know this one guy, I'm not gonna say who it is. And it's just like, Oh, I'm like, crap. So how am I supposed to stay away from him? Who is it? You know, it's like, look, I'm just saying, I got, I'm staying away from him. He should too. Who is it? I, you know, I can't. And here's the reason why. Because people are afraid to make enemies. I ain't scared of none of that. I could care less I've had enemies my whole life. Ain't nothing new under the sun. Amen. It just comes with the territory, but you know what? Gaining an enemy and warning the, warning the flock of God is far greater. Okay. It's better to warn the flock, protect the flock and get an enemy. And over the last couple of weeks, we've got a lot of enemies now, you know, I don't care. Say what you want. As long as the flock is warned. That's what I'm concerned about. Okay. And look, I'm not going to just call out random people just to call them out. I'm talking about people who teach heresy. Okay. These, these false pastors, you know, and by the way, Paul, the apostle in Philippians chapter three, we're reading just a little bit. He talks about how he mentions them often. He repeats it. So he's always called, I mean, Alexander, he was called out like how many times, you know, you know why? Because it needs to be said. So if you ever get tired of me calling out the same name, just show some grace because the Bible says that's what I need to do, unless you should be deceived otherwise into something else. But I'm just marking them. I'm grabbing a marker and I'm just like, stay away from this person. Okay. Now the Bible says here that they by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. Okay. These are the people who go after unstable souls as the Bible would say. Okay. But with fair speeches, what does that sound like? Swelling words, false prophets is what it's talking about. These aren't people who are teaching doctrine. You know what? A lot of people like to criticize me and say that I'm teaching heresy, but everything that comes out of my mouth comes from the Bible. But yet when it comes to them, it comes from the opinions of other people. They're not even using the Bible. And they call me the heretic. Shame on them. Go to First Timothy chapter one. But the Bible says they deceive the hearts of the simple. Now what is someone that is simple? Someone who is simple is a child in Christ. That's what the Bible says in Ephesians chapter number four, that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro, carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive. So they deceive the children, people who don't know anything about the Bible. Okay. And they said, don't listen to someone. So look, if you are raising such good Christians in your church, why don't you let them listen to me and judge for themselves whether I'm speaking heresy or not? Because if I'm preaching the Bible, then you don't have to worry. I'm preaching the Bible. You know, I'm using the Word of God. I understand if it's like I'm just giving my opinion and I'm teaching the Word of God's salvation, but I'm not. I'm preaching just what the Word of God says. And I'm backing everything up according to God's Word. Where do I have you turn? First Timothy chapter one in verse 20 says, go to verse 18. This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war good warfare, holding faith in a good conscience, which some, having put away concerning faith, have made shipwreck, of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. You don't have to turn there, but 2 Timothy 4.14 says, Alexander, the coppersmith, did me much evil. The Lord reward him according to his works. Sorry, Alex. Every time I talk to Alexander, Alex always smiles. Now go to 2 Timothy chapter 4. So, Hymenaeus and Alexander, they're false prophets. You know, these are people who are not Baptists, as you would say. And I know some people would say, you know, I think you should call out the names, but not Baptists. You know, I just, I'd stay away from calling Baptists out. People who are part of the company, you know, part of our group. Well, let's see if Paul did that. Look at 2 Timothy 4.10. For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world and is departed unto Thessalonica, crescents to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. By the way, Demas is named in other portions in the Bible in the New Testament where he's doing the work of the Lord. He was with Paul. He was a Baptist. He was in the same church. They sung the hymns together. You know, they did the work of the Lord together. But guess what? When he got away, he says, man, Demas forsook me. He didn't say, ah, I can't call him out. You know, that guy's like my friend and stuff. That's my homie. No. He says, Demas forsook me, having loved this present world. You see, we should not be respecter of people. Okay. You say, well, you know, obviously you don't respect anybody. No, what I'm saying is you shouldn't, you shouldn't admire someone over someone else or favor someone over someone else. Just based upon your relationship with them. You know, Demas was doing a great work, but then he got away from God because he loved the present world. And he got called out by the Apostle Paul. Okay. So this matter of marking them is very much a biblical concept. Calling out the names is a biblical concept. Okay. Go to verse 19 of Romans 16. Now, why is it that he was telling them to mark them? Obviously, so they can be warned of these guys. And why do we call out other Baptists so you can be warned of them? Because there's a lot of people who call themselves Baptists, independent fundamental Baptists, and they're not. You know, people get all upset when like Baptists take Baptists off their name. I'm like, good riddance. Take it off. You know, do it faster. Call yourself a community church. Call yourself the great vine, you know, tabernacle, something else. Don't, don't call yourself a Baptist. I'm happy when they do. But why is he telling them to mark them? Verse 19 says, For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad, therefore, on your behalf, but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good and simple concerning evil. So what is he saying here? He's, you know, I've heard a lot of sermons preached on be wise into good simple concerning evil. And I don't think it's a bad application, but they often say, you know, you shouldn't know a lot about evil things. You know, don't watch, don't watch, you know, YouTube videos on ghosts or whatever, you know, spirits and demons. You know, you should be simple concerning evil. But in context, what is he saying? I want you to be wise unto that which is good, verses one through 16, the good laborers and simple concerning evil. I don't want you to know about the doctrines of these fools right here. Know who they are, but avoid them. That's why we shouldn't get into debates with these people. You know, we shouldn't like just research them to get, to just find out what they believe, you know. No, we ought to just say, that's what the Bible says, avoid them. Call them out from the pulpit and that's it, you know. And if someone comes in here teaching a false doctrine, here's the solution. We just boot them out, point blank. So he says there, wise unto that which is good and simple concerning evil. Don't associate with people who are teaching false doctrine. He's a good man though. No. If he's teaching false doctrine, he's not a good man. Go to Philippians chapter three. I know we're going back and forth, but we're, it has some good points in here. Philippians chapter three. Be wise concerning the right kind of preachers and simple concerning the evil kind of preachers. Okay. We shouldn't try to just dig into what they're doing and know all the, all the, all their practices. No, just look. Oh, okay. Mark them. I'm avoiding that guy. Okay. Philippians chapter three, verse number one says, finally, my brother rejoiced in the Lord to write the same things to you. To me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs. Beware of evil workers. Beware of the concision. So verse, verse one shows us that he's, he told them before verse number two, he goes, I'm going to write the same thing. Beware of dogs. Homos. Beware of evil workers. Beware of the concision. What is that? The Jews. He's constantly saying, Hey, beware of them. Warning you of them. Stay away from them. You know, people always say, are you say fag like in every sermon? Yeah. Cause I'm warning for to me, it's not grievous to write them to say the same thing unto you. Okay. I want to get it ingrained in you regarding these homos. Okay. Because we live in a world where homosexuality is just pumped through the television and through the media. And you can easily become conditioned to sympathize for these freaks. You know, no better to just for me to say, Hey, beware of those dogs. And for you to learn that go down to verse 18 it says for many walk of whom I have told you often and now tell you even, even weeping that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. So it says right there, he's told them often about these things. He's like repeated this over and over again. And look over the next couple of decades, however long this church lasts until the coming of Christ, you're going to hear a lot of things very often. You're going to hear a lot of the names often, the doctrines often, often, and it's not grievous for me to say it over and over again. I learned from my father-in-law, you got to repeat things like 15 times before people actually start getting it. You know, you'd be surprised. You may get it, but some people, they just don't get it until like, like the 16th sermon. And they're like, Oh, I get that now. Okay. It's just the way the mind works sometimes. And that's important. So we are to avoid it. Go to Titus chapter three, Titus chapter three. Why does the Bible say avoid them? Why doesn't it say just debate them? You know, because there's no profit in debating anybody. Okay. I'm not for any type of apologetics where you're just debating someone to prove them wrong. I don't believe in that. Okay. I better things to do with my time. And the Bible says to avoid them. Okay. You know, again, we're not going to stand up here with two barstools and a referee with a little timer and a prize at the end of the event of who wins the debate. That's stupid. Okay. Look at Titus three nine says, but avoid foolish questions and genealogies and contention strivings about the law for the unprofitable. They are unprofitable and vain a man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject knowing that he, that is such excuse me, know that he, that is such is subverted and Senate being condemned of himself. So he says, look, don't waste your time with heretics. You know, I'm not wasting my time researching Jack Rodriguez. I know he's a heretic. I know what he said. I said his name and I'll say it again and again and again and again. So that, you know, but I'm not going to debate him. If he calls me, Hey, I want to click. I don't want to talk to anybody like that. I know what he believes already. Okay. And that goes for it. And look, don't be afraid to say the names. Don't be afraid when I say the names. That doesn't have to be like, we're fair. Oh, what are they going to do? They're past. They're so-called pastors. What are they going to do? They're going to kill me. You just make me that much more popular. If you kill me, you know, what are they going to do? Like post mean things on the YouTube comments, sticks and stones may break my bones, but comments will never hurt me. I'll just hit the thumbs down. I'm like thumbs down. This guy's an idiot. You know, most of the people who post comments, they didn't post their pictures because they're so scared. You know, a bunch of cowards, you know, how do you know someone's a coward when they don't post, when they've used a fake name on their YouTube account and they don't even post their pictures, you know, it's like, they don't want you to know who they are or when they preach a sermon and then they delete it. They don't even post it. They take it down because they don't know where to hear it. You're a coward, okay? If you're going to preach something and put it online, just leave it on there, okay? Let us know who you are. Don't be afraid. You see, they want us to react the way they react, which is afraid, you know? No, we ought to fear God and keep His commandments for this is the whole duty of man, okay? Go to Acts chapter 20. Acts chapter 20. And verse number 28, this is the verse that I used for the teaser trailer about, psych, I'm not going to say it. You guys know but, you know, the people on the videos who are watching the video won't know. Verse 28 says, take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers to feed the church of God which He hath purchased with His own blood. Now, what is the shepherd supposed to do? Because technically I'm a shepherd of the church. What is my responsibility as a shepherd? Well, it's to feed the flock, right? To feed you, give you the Word of God. But what's another responsibility of the shepherd? To protect you from wolves, right? To say, hey, watch out with that wolf right there. That guy, I know he looks like a sheep, but he's not a sheep. It's a wolf. Verse 29, for I know this that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock, also of your own selves, also of the independent fundamental Baptist. Shall men arise speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them. Therefore, watch and remember that by the space of three years I cease not to warn every one night and day with tears. That's a lot of warning. He says night and day, hey, false prophet, false prophet, mark them. That guy, Hymenaeus, Alexander, Demas, I mean, for three years, he's just calling out the names. He's marking people. He said, how do you know he called out names? Because that's what it means to mark. We just saw that in Romans 16. That's what it means. If he knew the name, he would call it out. Okay? And look, there's Baptists who agree with us under cover, and they don't like the false prophets that we're talking about either, but they're afraid to say something. You know, they're scared because they might get an enemy. Look, get yourself an enemy and you get yourself a reward. You know, it just makes life that much more exciting. It increases the prayer life, helps you to read the word of God more, and it just makes life that much more exciting. Okay? Jesus had enemies. Don't you want to be like Jesus? You've got to be just like Jesus, amen? You've got to be just like Jesus. You've got to be meek, lowly, and hated. You've got to be hated. Well, how does that take place? When you preach the truth. When you preach the truth and you call out the names, you take off a whole lot of people. You know? But look, Paul, man, he's like, I cease not to warn everyone. How do you do that? By calling out the names, by marking them. Go back to Romans, chapter 16. I just want to say that because I thought it was very interesting, Romans 16, the contrast between the two. Verses 1 through 16, he's marking the good ones. And then in 17, he says, hey, mark them which cause divisions, right? Mark the heretics. Make sure you call out the names. And marking means to call out names. That's what it means, okay? Verse 20, otherwise, how would you even explain marking? I want to know what the Baptists who don't believe you should call out the names, why don't you interpret Romans 16, verse 17 for me? What does that mean? It doesn't mean like, yeah, I know about someone, but, you know, see me after the service. I gave you $5 and I'll tell you who it is. Man, you're leaving the flock. It's like me, it's like a shepherd going to a sheep and saying, okay, there's a wolf right over there. Where? I can't, I'm not going to say. He's here though. He's like right there. You ever had someone try to inconspicuously show you someone in the crowd? And like, oh dude, he's right there. Where? He's like, right there, dude. Don't even look. He's like, oh, he's right behind you. He's like, when it's already too late. That's not the way to do it. It's like, he's right there. You're supposed to show everyone. You don't tell the sheep, hey, there's a wolf like right there. He's about to eat you up like right now. He's looking at you right now. No, you got to say, hey, the sheep, that one right there by the tree, the one with, he's like black and white right there. He's like drooling. You see him? You stay away from him right there. Keep your eye on that wolf. You got to be descriptive. You got to let them know who they are. And you just tell them, they say, well, why should I stay away from the wolf? Because he's going to eat you. He's going to devour you. And he's not going to spare you. He's there to hurt you. Okay. That's what the shepherd's supposed to do. So tell me what Mark means in the Bible, if that's not what it means. Okay. It doesn't mean grab a marker. No, it means that person right there. Verse 20, and the God of peace shall brew Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. Timotheus, my fellow worker, or excuse me, work fellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Saucipiter, my kinsmen, salute you. Now go to Acts 17, because I thought this was pretty cool. Obviously we know who Timotheus is. Timotheus is obviously a well-known character in the Bible, but I want to talk about Jason. Okay. Jason is also known. And in fact, Jason is mentioned along with one of the most famous verses in the Bible. Okay. This is a very famous verse, and it's associated with him. And we use this verse often, especially when it comes to soul winning. Look at verse five of Acts 17. But the Jews, which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the base resort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren to the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also, whom Jason hath received. And these all do contrary to decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus. Who's the one saying that? Jason. So Jason was the one who was associated with these guys who are turning the world upside down. That's awesome. You know, so for all of eternity, he's going to be known as the guy. Yeah. He was one of the guys who was turning the world upside down for Christ. Him and his house. You know what that means? Him and his family. I mean, that's what I want to template my family after. They say the Mejias are turning the world upside down for Christ. You know, and may you want, do you have the desire for your family to be testified like that as well? You say, man, these people, they're turning the world upside down. Okay. Go back to Romans chapter 16, and verse 22 says, I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord. Gaius, mine host, and of the whole church saluteth you. Erastus, the chamberlain of the city saluteth you, and Cordus, a brother. Now, obviously, we know Gaius, he's mentioned quite often. Gaius, obviously, is of Derby, according to Acts chapter 20. By the way, he was the one who was also baptized in First Corinthians, right? When Paul said, I baptized none of you, and he talks about Gaius. Now, thankfully, he mentioned Gaius, because we use that a lot, right? Against those who the Church of Christ reject us when we preach against them. Verse 24, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Now, to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith. To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen. What an awesome chapter. Obviously, a tongue twister in some of the names, but just a great chapter of what a balance it is to mark those who are laboring. There's nothing wrong with honoring people. It's good to honor people and say, man, this guy is a blessing. Why is that? Because first and foremost, the Bible says to give honor where honor is due, but it's also good because then we mark those who you should have as an example to follow. Not just in our church. Pastor Donnie Romero, we marked that guy. He's an example for you to follow. Brother Fanon, St. Fats Jacksonville, listen to him. He's a brother you can follow. Pastor Jason Robinson in West Virginia, Mountain Baptist Church, we're marking that guy. Hey, that's a guy that you should follow. He's sound in the faith, and so many more that we can say that of. That's a good thing to do, but in like manner, we should also mark those who are heretics and mark them as, hey, but stay away from these guys. You know, why? So we can, we spare the flock by doing that. Amen. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Lord, thank you so much for Romans chapter 16 and those 28 names that were named right there. What a wonderful chapter to just hear about all these people who maybe they weren't pastors. Some of them were apostles, but they were all laborers for Christ. And at the end of our life, may someone say of us that we labored for the Lord and we could be an example for others to follow. And I think of Aquila and Priscilla, what a great testimony that they had and just great servants of God and of course, others that we read about. But may we also understand that that's why it's important to mark those who are heretics as well. And if someone gets upset because we call out a name, Lord, may they understand that we do it to help them, to protect them from those wolves who would desire to devour them and destroy them. And thank you so much for your word. Thank you for the example of the apostle Paul who did both. And in Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.