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Okay, so we're looking there at Genesis chapter 23. Now before I get into the sermon, can you please turn to Hebrews chapter 11 as well. Turn to Hebrews chapter 11. We'll just look at these two passages side by side a little bit here. Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11. Now we start off Genesis chapter 23 with the death of Sarah, okay. If you guys turn to Hebrews chapter 11 verse 11, let's have a look at what the Bible says. The New Testament says about Sarah, Hebrews chapter 11 verse 11. The Bible says, through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child when she was past age. Why? Why? Because she judged him faithful who had promised. So we see this great reputation that Sarah has made for herself. We've seen how, you know, she's been a faithful wife to Abraham. You know, she had some disbelief about the promise of giving birth at such an older age. But the Bible says she had faith. And because of her faith, because she believed in God that he would be faithful to commit his promise, she was able to fall pregnant, she was able to conceive child. And we've seen last week, or on Wednesday I should say, that, you know, they were able to, sorry, two weeks ago, they were able to give birth to Isaac, to Isaac. And if you guys, just keep your finger there, keep your finger there in Hebrews 11 and go back to Genesis 23, Genesis 23. I want you to notice this here, Genesis chapter 23 verse 1, the Bible says, And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old. These were the years of the life of Sarah. Okay? So like I said, we begin with the death of Sarah. How old was she when she passed away? This is a hundred and seven and twenty years old. So she was a hundred and twenty seven years old. You guys remember how old she was when she gave birth to Isaac? She was about ninety years old if you remember that, okay? So she was able to see thirty seven years of Isaac's life. Pretty good, considering how old she was when she gave birth to her son. Go back to Hebrews chapter 11 please, Hebrews chapter 11 verse 39, Hebrews chapter 11 verse 39. And of course, you know, this chapter mostly has men, men in it, but we do have Sarah here as a lady mentioned in this great chapter of Faithful Men. And look at verse number 39, it says, And these all, so including Sarah, including Sarah that we saw in Hebrews chapter 11, and these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise. What I want you to notice in verse number 39, that they all, all of these here that are mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11, obtained a good report. How? Through faith. The title for the sermon this morning is A Good Reputation, or A Good Report, okay? We need to be people that are striving to have a good report of faith, a good reputation amongst the people that we deal with. And we see that Sarah here, she was someone of good report, she was someone of good reputation. Look at Hebrews chapter 11 verse 1, drop up to verse number 1, Hebrews 11 verse 1. It says, This is what Hebrews 11 is about. It's a list of believers that had a good report. We start off there, the start of the chapter, they had a good report, toward the end of the chapter, again a reminder, they had a good report because of their faith. This is another way of saying, you know, a good reputation, alright? The first thing, I've got a few points here about having a good reputation. Point number 1 is that we need to be people that have a good reputation of faith. Or a good reputation before God. Look at verse number 6, Hebrews 11 verse 6. Hebrews 11 verse 6, look, Do you want to be someone that pleases God? Do you want to be someone that has a good reputation before God? Not just a reputation before man, but a reputation before God. Well you need to be someone who has faith. It says without faith, it is impossible to please him. We're not talking about here the faith of salvation. Now that's one aspect of it, of course. We must have faith in order to be saved. What we see here in the list of Hebrews 11 are the great works, the great achievements these believers were able to accomplish because of their faith. And we see because they walk in faith, because they were people of faith, they were able to please God, and please God so much that he puts them there in the New Testament. Hebrews chapter 11, just in case you had any doubts about where they stood before God, God says no, these were people of a good report, people of a good reputation. We need to be striving to be people that have a good report of faith. I want people to be able to look at New Life Baptist Church, I want people to look at Pastor Kevin Sepulveda, or Brother so-and-so, or Sister so-and-so of this church and say these are people of good reputation. These are people of a good report, and I can see it in their faith. I can see that they strive to please God in the way they walk. I can see they strive to please him because they have a great faith in the Lord. I can see them walking in faith. I can see them, you know, fellowshiping in faith. I can see them coming to church in faith. I can see them soul winning in faith. I can see them reading their Bibles in faith. I can see them doing every aspect of their life because they're seeking to please God. We see that with Sarah. Sarah was a lady who was faithful to her husband. Ladies, how hard would it be for you to know that, you know, God had promised you a child, but the years are going on. In fact, the years have gone on so far that you've gone through menopause. You've gone past childbearing age saying how can God come through with this? We see that she was a woman of faith. You know, we can see that the Lord was pleased with her because she's recorded there in Hebrews chapter 11. So the first point that I want you to understand is we need to have a good reputation of faith. And one way for you to check this out, I know you're faithful because I see you in church. You know, I know you're a believer because I know your testimony is. But what about the people you deal with on a daily basis? What about your families, you know, your co-workers? Do they recognize you? Or the people you interact with, your neighborhood, your community, do they recognize you as someone of faith? They recognize, hey, I can see this neighbor and whether or not I agree with what they do and go into church and all these things, but I know there's someone that's faithful to the things of God, you know. And that's a reputation we need to build for ourselves, guys. We have a good report amongst all, but primarily beginning by pleasing the Lord God. So you're not going to always please men. You're not always going to have a good reputation amongst men. Now, that's one of my other points. We need to strive to have that, okay? But you're not always going to be able to achieve that because you have that reputation before God. Some people don't respect that. Some people don't acknowledge your faith before God, but the key thing is we want them to see your faith. They need to see it, okay? And your faith won't necessarily be recorded in Hebrews chapter 11, but we want to make sure that it's seen before God, that it's seen before the host of heaven, that others can see your great faith and your good report before God. Let's go back to Genesis chapter 23, please. Genesis 23 verse 2. Genesis 23 verse 2. The Bible says, And Sarah died in K'ja'faba. The same is Hebron in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. So we see the effect that this has on Abraham. He's lost his wife. What does he do? We'll see later on in this chapter. He finds a place for burial, and he mourns and he weeps for his wife. And the next point that I have for you, first point was have a good reputation on faith. The next point that I have for you to think about is have a good reputation within your family. Have a good reputation or a good report within your family. You see, Sarah dies and Abraham's mourning for his wife. He was able to spend so many years with her, go through so many experiences with her, go through this trial of this child, and to see the promises of God together in their lives. As husbands and wives, I want you to live together, I want you to strive together, I want you to be walking in faith together, I want you to be able to turn around to one another and say, wives to the husbands, we've had a great life together, we've seen the promises of God in our lives. I want husbands to turn around to their wives and know that one day I'm going to lose my wife, one day I may very well bury my wife, and I want you to have an emotional attachment to that woman that's been at your side all those years, that one that's seeing you through the promises of God that's been that help, you know, suitable to you, that's been that help meet to you. We need to strive to have a good reputation within the family, and we see that Sarah indeed did have a great reputation. Please turn to Genesis 25 verse 10, Genesis 25 verse 10. I'm skipping ahead a little bit here, but the story you'll see later is that Abraham purchases a piece of land and buries his wife in Hebron. And it says here, in Genesis 25 verse 10, it says here, the field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth, there was Abraham buried and Sarah his wife. One thing that you'll notice is that this place of burial, it's a cave actually, is a place of memorial. Not only does Abraham weep and mourn over his wife, but then his desire is to be buried with his wife. That's how much he respected his wife, okay? And he said, look, I want to be buried there with my wife. Go to Genesis 49 please, Genesis 49 verse 31, Genesis 49 verse 31. We're fast forwarding here to the grandchild of Abraham and Sarah, which is Jacob, you know, the son of Isaac later on. It says here in Genesis 49 verse 31, and these are some of Jacob's last words before he passes away. He says, there they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife. And there I buried Leah. So we see this land, it begins with Sarah. It's the burial of Sarah, this faithful woman. She has a great reputation amongst the family. Abraham says, I want to be buried there with my wife. That's where I want to be buried. And not only Abraham, but then Isaac, their child says, you know what, when I pass away, I'm going to be buried there with mum and dad. You know, that was mum's burial place to begin with. And even his wife Rebekah gets buried there. And Jacob's first wife, Leah, you know, who was a mother of 10 of the sons, 10 of the tribes of Israel that become the 10 tribes of Israel, she was also buried there by Jacob. And so you can see that Sarah had this great reputation. It's not just a place of burial, but they say, I want to be buried in the same place as my ancestors. It wasn't Abraham that was buried first, it was Sarah. Sarah was the one of reputation. Sarah was the one that had a good reputation within the family. They all wanted to be buried in the same place. They all wanted to share the same area of memorial when it came to their burial place. We need to strive to have a good reputation within our family, you know, fathers, mothers, a good reputation before our children, you know, and children, a good reputation before your parents, your uncles, your grandparents. We need to strive for people that have a good report amongst people that we deal with, especially our family. If you guys can please turn to Hebrews chapter 11, you guys were there not long, I should have told you to stay there, but Hebrews chapter 11 again. And look at verse number 16, Hebrews chapter 11 verse 16, because we know this includes Sarah in the mixed. It says here, Hebrews chapter 11 verse 16, Hebrews chapter 11 verse 16, But now they desire a better country, that is, and heavenly. Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he have prepared for them a city. Okay, now this is what's beautiful about having a Christian family, okay, believers in the faith, is we look at these, these patriarchs of the faith, and we see that they passed on, they passed on, okay. But what was their desire? They were seeking this heavenly city, right? That was a desire. And what we can understand then is that they believed in the resurrection, okay? Because when does the heavenly city come into play? It's the new heavens and the new earth. At that point, after the millennial reign of Christ, when God creates the new heaven, the new earth, there we see the heavenly city descend from heaven, okay? And they believed in the resurrection. They were buried, okay? They were put into the ground, yes, Abraham mourned, yes, he weaved. Because for the rest of his life, he couldn't be there with his wife, right? He couldn't spend that time with his wife anymore. But they had the hope of the resurrection. They said, this is not the end of our living. One day we're going to be resurrected, and we're going to enter those heavenly gates, you know, the physical place, the new heavens and the new earth. I'm not saying that obviously they went to heaven when they passed on, but I'm saying that heavenly city that they're looking forward to, they're going to come back from the grave. And this is just a minor point that I want to mention. It's just because it's been brought up recently in conversation. But I believe that we should strive, you know, we have different ways of disposing, I suppose, of the dead body, you know, some people still bury. Probably the most popular option these days is cremation. You know, it's probably the cheaper, the quicker way to, you know, dispose of the, you know, the dead body, you know, of a loved one. But I believe as a believer, you should strive to be buried. Okay, we see the example of this in the Bible. We see the example of this in Jesus Christ. You know, his body was buried. And the whole picture behind that is that those bones that are in the ground, the hope is one day, that body will come back to life. The new resurrected body will be resurrected in the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. You know, what we see in the Bible is that it's actually pagan practice to bury bodies. Sorry, to burn bodies and to do these kinds of things. Now, I'm not saying that that's going to change your resurrection in any way, shape or form. Okay, I mean, you might pass away in a plane crash or, you know, your body might sink at the bottom of the sea or something. You know, obviously, you may not get a proper burial in life if you're, you know, if you're to suffer one of these deaths, okay. You're still going to be resurrected from the dead, all right. Well, whatever the minerals, the materials that still exist of your body, God's going to use that and create a brand new body for you. So it doesn't change the facts. But I think as believers, as people that are trying to develop a good reputation, you know, a good report to others, I think it's a good example to strive to have your body buried when you pass on. And I know it's more expensive these days to do that kind of, you know, that kind of burial rather than cremation. But I want you to consider that. And I'm not going to be dogmatic on that and that's what you must do. But I think it's a good, what's the word I'm looking for, example, a good example, you know, of following after the patriarchs. A good example of following after Jesus Christ and knowing that promise that this body will one day be resurrected from the dead, you know. So just keep that in mind. But Hebrews chapter 11, oh no, sorry, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, I'll read to you quickly. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 13. And of course, this is the famous rapture passage. It says, but I would not have you to be ignorant brethren concerning them which are asleep that you sorrow not even as others which have no hope. Okay? So should we sorrow? We saw Abraham, he weaked. He did sorrow for the passing of his wife. But we shouldn't sorrow as those that have no hope. You know, when our loved ones are buried, when our loved ones, you know, our believing brethren, this is why it's so important to get the gospel to your family. You don't have to mourn like others that have no hope. You can mourn and say, well, I know that right now I won't be with that loved one. But I know one day I'm going to be with them in heaven. I know they're going to be resurrected from the dead. And we're going to spend all eternity together, you know, serving and worshipping the Lord. It's such a great thing to be thinking about. And it says here in verse number four, and I love how the Bible says, they're just asleep, all right, which are asleep. The body's going to come back. They're just having a long nap right now. Okay? God does not want us to think about them just being dead and long gone. No, they're still there. They're still alive. Don't worry. They'll wake up one day, you know, when the resurrection happens. Verse number 14, for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. So if they're asleep with Jesus, and God's going to bring them at the resurrection, they're with Him, right? They're in heaven right now, praise God. You know, their soul, their spirit is with the Lord God. And when it comes to the resurrection time, God's going to bring them with Him to receive their resurrected bodies. Verse number 15, for this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent or come before them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them, with the loved ones that have gone before with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. You notice how God here tells us, hey, not only is it exciting to be caught up in the clouds with Jesus Christ, but we'll be caught up together with them, with the loved ones that have gone before with them that have believed in Christ. You know, He's comforting us. That's why in verse number 18 it says, wherefore comfort one another with these words. You are going to see, you know, your believing loved ones once again, once again, when they pass on. And one day when I pass on, hopefully I pass away before my children, I hope I don't see their deaths, but hopefully I pass on before they do. Oh no, one day that I'm going to see my kids again. You know, I know that's going to happen. And it's going to happen in the clouds probably. Or, you know, depends on the timing of where things take place. But I want to bring that to your attention because yes, we see Abraham weeping, but he's someone that had hope, okay. He knows that Sarah was saved. They were looking for the better country. They knew that they'd be reunited once again. Please go back to Genesis 23. Genesis 23 verse three. Genesis 23 verse three. So point number one was to have a good reputation of faith. Point number two was to have a good reputation within the family. Let's keep reading verse number three. And Abraham stood up from before his dead and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying. Now the sons of Heth, Heth was one of the sons of Canaan. Okay, so this is the land of Canaan. And sometimes in the Bible you read about the Hittites. The Hittites are basically the sons of Heth, the descendants from this line. Verse number four. This is the words of Abraham. I am a stranger and sojourner with you. Give me a possession of a burying place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight. And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him. Look what they say about Abraham, okay. They say, hear us, my lord. Thou art a mighty prince among us in the choice of our sepulchres, bury thy dead. None of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead. Did Abraham have a good reputation amongst the neighbors, amongst the people? Absolutely. Point number three is that we need to strive to have a good reputation amongst the people. Now I did say we need to have a good reputation of faith first, pleasing the Lord first, okay. Make sure you don't compromise pleasing the Lord to have a good reputation amongst the people. But once you've pleased the Lord, once you know you're walking in faith, once you know you're walking in his ways, the next job for you to do is to think about the people around you. Not just your family, your direct family, but those that you interact with on a daily basis. We need to strive to have a good reputation amongst the people, okay. Look at verse number seven. How does Abraham respond to them? They call him a mighty prince. They're all like, you know what, you can have all our graves, anyone you want, Abraham. Look, their God was not the God of Abraham, okay. They were not on the same page as him spiritually, okay. But did he go and create enemies? Was he going around being opinionated with his beliefs and his doctrines and causing enemies out of the people? No, they all respected him. They all knew he was a great man. He got along with the people, okay. Look at verse number seven. And Abraham stood up, look at this, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth. Do you see the respect that Abraham has to the people of the land? See, he did not own the property. He did not own that land at this point in time, okay. He never did, he never did, okay. It was promised to him, it was promised to his seed, and those that are in Christ, this land is promised, and I believe the fulfillment of that will be in the millennium, okay. And again, I've taught on this, I believe this is a type, a picture of the heavenly Jerusalem, you know, receiving that. But look, he respected the people of the land. He knew, look, you own this, I'm going to respect your ownership. I'm gonna respect your authority here that you have on the land. And he bows down to them, verse number eight, and he communed with them. What does it mean to commune? It's like the word community. He got along with the people, you know, even though they weren't on the same page with him, in faith, he got along with them. Look at this, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat for me to Ephron, the son of Zoah, that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field, for as much money as it is worth, he shall give it me for a possession of a burying place amongst you. And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of the city, saying, nay, my Lord, hear me. Look what this person says. Abraham's asking, look, can I have that cave that you got at the end of your land, Ephron? And look at how he responds, he goes, nay, my Lord. He says, Lord, he calls him Lord, like, sir, you know? He gives him a flood, even though he's just a sojourner in the land. He says, hear me, the field give I thee. He says, look, don't worry about paying for it. I'll give it to you, all right? And the cave that therein is, I give it thee in the presence of the sons of my people. Give I it thee, bury thy, just have it, Abraham. You know, have it, you're a great prince. You've got a great reputation amongst us. You know, you've been walking this land for decades. You've been so journeyed here, but you've been a great friend to us. You're someone that has a good reputation amongst us. We get along with you, we get along with your servants, we get along with your people. Just take it, Abraham, give it to you, you know? Look at verse number 12. Again, and Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land, okay? Now Abraham's been given great promises by God. He's a rich man, he's a powerful man, he's a mighty man. He's able to win war, okay? He has servants that are trained to fight. He's powerful, okay? But does he look for, you know, to fulfill his pride? Is he looking to fulfill his ego, his big head? Does he think these people are under him? He's been given promises by God. No, he bows himself to the people. He's respectful to the people he comes across. And they're like, just have it, Abraham. Just have it for free, you know? And I want you guys to please go to the book of Acts now, Acts chapter 10, verse 21. Acts chapter 10, verse 21. I want you to just think about the people you interact with, you know? How do they like you? Do they get along with you? Do they think you're a bit of a jerk? How do the people feel about you? You know, people that you interact with. Did Abraham have strength? Absolutely. You know, if you're a Bible-believing Christian, as you grow in the Lord, you're gonna have stronger opinions as you mature in the Lord. You're gonna have doctrines nailed down. You're gonna be walking after the Lord in faith and you're going to go about life differently to the rest of the world. You know, you're going to stand out as you mature in the Lord, okay? But you know, there's a big difference between having strong opinions and being opinionated. You know, there's a difference between that. I have strong opinions. You know, the way I live life is very contrary to the world, okay? And it stands out. And again, you know, I used to be, you know, people will bring things up about my life and challenge me, all right? But was I a jerk about it? Did I say you need to be more like me? No, no, no. I'm like, this is how I do things. This is what the Bible says. This is how I'm going to live my life. And if you choose not to do that, so be it. That's your business. That's between you and God. That's between you and your family. Got nothing to do with me. I'm going to live according to the way I wanna live. And you know, when you do that, when you're able to respect people and let people do as they want, because it's their life, it's their family, you know, you're going to be able to build a respect amongst the people because you stand strong on your faith. You stand strong on your opinions. You stand strong on how you live your life. But you're not doing it to be an idiot. You're not doing it to be arrogant and to be a jerk. You're just doing it to set a good example, all right? And you know, we need to be mindful about how we interact with other people. We all have strong opinions, okay? Does that mean your opinion needs to be forced upon others? You think Abraham's forced in the way he lives? You know, you think he's out there forcing it upon them? Hey, they respect him. They respect him. I see you're a strong man. I can see the Lord's with you. But you know what? That's your life. That's your faith, you know? Abraham wasn't forced in his way on the people of the land. Abraham was responsible for his family. He was responsible for his wife, his children, his servants. He was responsible for his own kingdom that he had, you know, as a sojourner on the land, and he didn't go around bothering the people, you know? Look at verse number, you guys are in Acts chapter 10. Acts chapter 10, verse 21, please. Acts chapter 10, verse 21. Let's have a look at this story here of the story of Cornelius. And Peter was sent by God to go and preach the gospel to Cornelius. But it says here in Acts chapter 10, verse 21, Then Peter went down to the men, which were sent unto him from Cornelius, and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek. What is the cause wherefore ye are come? Verse number 22. And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that fearth God, look at this, and of good report amongst who? A good report among all the nation of the Jews was warned from God by holy angels to send for thee to his house, and to hear words of thee. What do we see about Cornelius? You know, he's not saved at this point in time, but he's a man that fears God, okay? He's seeking the Lord. He wants to know the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He wants to know the God of the Bible, but not only was he someone that feared the Lord, he was someone that had a good report around who? All the nation of the Jews. Man, Cornelius is a man who has a good report with God, but he also has a good report with the people that he dealt with. He's a Roman centurion, okay? They weren't liked by the Jews, but he was able to do his job. He was able to be a strong man, you know, a strong soldier for the Roman Empire, but yet somehow he was able to get along with everyone. That's what we need to strive to do, guys. Get along with the people that we deal with in our lives. Go to Acts chapter 22. Acts chapter 22, verse 12. Acts chapter 22, verse 12. We read about Ananias here, who was instrumental to getting Paul saved and getting involved with the brethren, but Acts chapter 22, verse 12, it says here, and one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, look at this, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there. Look, the Jews, when the Bible says the Jews here, obviously it's talking about those that do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, okay? It's not saying that he has a good report amongst the brethren or amongst the churches. It says here he's got a good report amongst the Jews. These are the same Jews that reject the Lord. These are the same Jews which hate Christianity. He was able to have a good report against those that were not even saved, okay? He was able to have a good report amongst them that he lived amongst. And I'll just quickly read to you from some other passages here. 3 John 12 says Demetrius, this is speaking to a churchy, Demetrius have good report of all men and of the truth itself. Yea, and we also bear record and ye know that our record is true. So John says, man, I know Demetrius. I'm giving you my record of him. He has a good report, he has a good reputation. But not only does he have a good reputation in the church, he has a good reputation, a good report of all men. Everyone Demetrius dealt with in his life, they all said, man, this guy's a good person. This guy has a good reputation. He's got a good report. I just want to challenge you guys. Do you have a good reputation with the people that you deal with? I'm not just talking about your family. I'm not just talking about your church. I'm talking about your extended family. I'm talking about your coworkers. I'm talking about your neighborhood, your community. Do you have a good report? Do you have a good reputation amongst these people? Okay, when the Bible uses this word good report, it's talking about everybody that they deal with, everybody that they deal with. And this is so important as a pastor. If you're seeking to have the office of a bishop one day, being a pastor, one of the qualifications, one of the requirements is that you have a good report. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 3.7, Moreover, he must have a good report of them which are without, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. A good report, a good reputation to them which are without, outside of the church, those in the community, in the places that he deals with, he must have a good report there. Before I ordain anybody into the office of a bishop, I wanna know what kind of worker is this person? I'm gonna call that man's employer and say, how is he as an employee? I'm gonna call maybe other churches he's been involved with and say, how was he as a church member? Does he have a good report? Now again, you know what? If they say, well, he's got some weird beliefs because of the Bible, that's good. That's a good report to me. But I'm saying just the way you deal with people, have you been someone that has a good reputation? And I've been desiring the office for a bishop for a long time. And I always knew I need to make sure I have a good report everywhere I go. I wanna make sure that anybody, you can call my sending church and I don't even fellowship with them anymore. But I guarantee you, you call them, they're gonna give you a good report of my time there. I guarantee you call the church that I was in that I was serving for nine years, they disagree with me on the rapture. In fact, we've bumped heads a little bit with the pastor there, but I guarantee you call him, he's gonna give you a good report of my time in that church. I guarantee you the church I got baptized in, the church that I got married in, you call them, I don't think many of them will know me now, but you call them, they're gonna give you a good report. You call my previous employers or my job player, I'll give them all to you. I'm open to it. They're all gonna give you a good report. You can call my extended families. They'll give you a good report. I'm not boasting, I'm just telling you, this is something that I knew I had to strive for as a pastor, because it was one of the qualifications that I knew that was there. I had to work hard toward these things. And you know what? We need to, not just a pastor, all of us need to have a good report with the people we deal with. Now this is how you do it, guys. This is how you do it. You stand strong in the word of God. People are gonna get offended just by your position. And I've offended many, many people in my life. I've done it. But even those that I've offended will tell you I have a good report. I've had to manage a lot of people in my life. And they knew that I was different. They would bring it up, but I've never forced them upon them. Because if I'm dealing with non-believers, I don't care if they live like I live. I don't care if they believe certain things like I believe, like on vaccinations, on homeschooling. I don't care about that. If they're a non-believer, all I care about is their soul. Are they going to heaven? Are they going to hell? That's all I drove home if we were able to have that conversation. You know, I'd be challenged. Why do you homeschool your kids? You know, are they gonna turn out to be antisocial? You know, whatever things they come up with. And I'd be like, well, I believe that's best for my kids. If you want to do something else with your kids, that's your business, you know? But it bothered them with what I did, but I never tried to change their thoughts. I never tried to change how they live their life. What's the point? What's the point of them living just like me if their soul's in hell at the end of the day? You know, all I care about those that I deal with if I have the opportunity is to give them the gospel. That's it, you know? And sometimes I might set a good example. They might follow up with my steps, great. But I wasn't a jerk about it. You know, there's a lot of things that people do. There are things you do, guys, in this church, things that you do with your families that I don't approve of, okay? There are a lot of things that you might go about and I say, look, I wouldn't do that for my family. I don't think that's wise or, you know, good. But I don't go to your house and command your house. I don't go on Facebook and challenge your thoughts on how you need to do. I don't care. That's your business. You know, husbands, you're the head of your wife. You're the head of your home. That's your business. You know, I don't need to go tell another family how to live their life. I'd be a jerk if I did that, okay? I'd be a jerk to say, hey, you gotta be more like me. No, you need to be more like God. You need to open up the word of God and see how God wants you to live your life and walk according to that way. Now, at least I get to preach every now, like, often. I get to get things off my chest. Praise God, all right? But look, I'm not going to go into your house and tell you how to do things, even if I don't approve. It's not my business. Man, if I did that, you will think I'm a jerk. You will think, you know, this man, you'd say, this guy's got a bad reputation. You know, I'm going to, look, it's between you, your family, your God, you deal with it. I don't have to go and challenge you, you know? All I need to do is challenge you from the word of God and make sure everything I preach lines up with the Bible. That's my goal as a pastor in this church. But as soon as you leave the church, none of my business. That's for you to work out. For you to work out, how do I apply these things that I learnt? Do I agree, do I disagree? If I don't agree, well, I don't need to change that about myself. If I do, Lord, help me, how do I change these things that I saw in the Bible? Okay? Be careful with how you deal with people, especially non-believers. You don't need to challenge all their Facebook posts, okay, and create a bad reputation. You don't need to go and challenge it. What's the point? I mean, all I care, I don't care about getting the approval of men. That's not what I'm aiming for. Our aim should be to please God, to have that good reputation of faith, okay? That's who we need to be pleasing, all right? Then have a good reputation amongst men, all right? But you don't do it by challenging every little thing they do. If they're not saved, your focus should just be get them saved. That's your focus. That's it, okay? And even if they don't believe, at least they can take, appreciate this person cares for my soul. Sometimes I go door-knocking. They say, look, I don't believe what you're doing. I don't believe what you're teaching me, but I respect the fact that you actually care. I respect the fact that you actually want to tell me the way of heaven, even though I don't believe any of this. Hey, at least they're able to come away with that and say, well, this person at least cares, all right? And if I knock on the door and say, look, I'm not interested, I'll move on. You're not interested, fine, I'll move on. I'm not gonna keep challenging, trying to get you interested. If you're not interested, there might be someone down the road that's interested in hearing the gospel. Okay, I'm not gonna waste my time. I'm gonna respect their decision to not be interested and move on, okay? Let's make sure we have a good reputation amongst the people that we deal with. Good to have opinions, but don't be opinionated. Opinionated is when you're trying to tell people to live more like you, to be more like you, to think more like you, to live like you. No, no, don't do that, don't do that, unless they've come to you and asked for advice. If people have come to you for advice, people have come to you with a question, that's your time to tell them, I think you should do this, I think you should do that. But then this is what I always say, this is what I think you should do, this is what I believe you should do, but at the end of the day, it's your decision. Whether you do it or not, I'm not upset with you, it's your decision. Yeah, that's when people come to me for advice, that's what I tell them, okay? I don't give them advice if they don't ask for it, okay? First Corinthians chapter 10, verse 32 says, I'll just read it to you, give none offense, neither to the Jews, okay? Non-believing, Christ-rejecting Jews. Don't go purposely, go offend people. Neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, look at this, nor to the church of God. And then he says, even as I please all men, Paul says, look, he's striving to please all men. Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many that they may be saved. This is why we need to have a good report amongst our community, our friends, our coworkers, our extended family, is so we can get them saved. That's why. Man, if you just offend everyone that you meet, you know, you have a bad reputation amongst everyone, why do you think they're even gonna listen to you when you try to give them the gospel, okay? Paul was mindful, I'm aiming to please all men, okay? I'm not aiming to offend people because I want to see them saved. I want to profit other people. Please go back to Genesis 23. Genesis 23. Genesis 23, verse 13. Genesis 23, verse 13. And he spake unto Ephraim, this is Abraham, in the audience of the people of the land, saying, but if that would give it, I pray thee, hear me, I will give thee money for the field, take it of me, and I will bury my dead there. So Abraham says, look, yep, you know, even though you're willing to give it to me, I want to pay for it, I want to pay for it, I want to give you money, okay? Verse 14. And Ephraim answered Abraham, saying unto him, my lord, hearken unto me, the land is worth 400 shekels of silver. What is that betwixt me and thee? Bury therefore thy dead. So he says, look, it's worth 400 shekels of silver, but what's that between you and me? Don't worry about it, Abraham, is what he's saying. Well, you can have it for free, okay? Bury therefore thy dead, verse 16. And Abraham hearken unto Ephraim, and Abraham weighed to Ephraim the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, 400 shekels of silver, current money with the merchant. This is what I love about Abraham. Even though it's been offered to him for free, he is the one that came seeking a piece of land. He says, you know what? It's worth 400 pieces of silver, shekels of silver. What's that? Yeah, shekels of silver. I'm gonna pay 400 shekels of silver. The fourth point that I have for you guys is, have a good reputation with your finances. Have a good reputation with your finances. They will offer it to him for free. He goes, no, I'm gonna pay for it. The guy's like, look, it's nothing between you and me. Don't worry about it. He goes, no, I'm gonna pay. I asked for it. You're offering it. I'll pay you what is just. I'll pay you what is due. And we see that Abraham had a good reputation with his finances, okay? Now, I'm going to get, please turn to, let's see, Romans 13, turn to Romans 13, verse six. Romans 13, verse six. And I just wanna cover finances. I do plan on preaching a full sermon on money one day, but not just yet. Let's just touch upon these things here. And the Bible says in Romans 13, verse six, speaking of the government and speaking of paying taxes, it says, for this cause pay ye tribute also. This is a reference to taxes. For they, the government, are God's ministers attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues, tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. So this is beyond money. If you're required to respect someone, make sure you respect them, those kinds of things. If there's a custom toward doing the things, make sure you keep that custom. Verse number eight, it says here, Owe no man anything but to love one another, for he that loveth another have fulfilled the law. Now, some people take verse number eight, though, it says, Owe no man anything, and they sort of have this view. I've come across a few Christians that believe that borrowing money or owing anybody anything is always wrong, is always sinful, okay? Now, that's not what it's teaching. It's teaching that owe no man anything, okay? It doesn't say don't borrow something, because here's the thing, you know, let's say there's a situation where you were in a financial difficulty, okay, and you came and you wanted to borrow money off me, okay, and I was willing to do that. I was willing to give you something. You don't owe me that yet, okay? The agreement is, okay, yeah, I'm willing to lend you this, and the agreement is, let's say, you need to pay this back by the end of six months, okay, now, if someone pays that back within six months, they owe no man anything, you know? They've paid it when it's due, what I'm trying to say. It's only when you break that commitment, if you can't pay it within the six months, let's say, now you owe a man something, okay, because the agreement was, there was an agreement there. You can pay this, but you have this long to pay it, okay? And I've come across some believers that just, and look, I don't believe it's, I try to avoid borrowing money as much as I can, okay? There's only been ever two times that I've personally borrowed money. Number one was to buy a car, and I took out a seven-year loan, which I paid in two months, okay? Because it wasn't the borrower that, I just needed it right now, because there was a special deal, so I wanted to take advantage of the deal, and that's why I went and got a lender, but I paid it immediately, okay? The second time I borrowed money is basically to buy my house in Sydney, okay? Because obviously I can't afford, at the time, $400,000. I didn't have that on me, so I had to borrow, you know, have a mortgage, have a mortgage. But here's the thing. Every time I've paid the mortgage on time, every time. I don't owe the bank anything, okay? Because this is an agreement we're with. This is what you need to pay on a monthly basis, whatever it is, and it's always been paid, okay? Sometimes I've even paid more than what they want, okay? And this is, you know, so I want you to be just mindful about this. There's nothing wrong with borrowing as long as you remain within the commitment of paying it back. We all borrow to some extent, you know? We all have, you know, rates and utilities, so, you know, your electricity bill that comes, you know, that's from your previous month. And they'll normally say, so you've kind of borrowed electricity if you wanna look at it that way. And then they'll say, well, now it's due by the end of this, whatever, this date, you know? It's due on the 20th of September. Well, as long as you pay it within its due time, you don't owe anyone anything, okay? And we need to be people that have a good reputation with our finances. If you've borrowed, if there are bills to pay, pay it on time. Even pay it earlier, if you can, okay? If you've got the finances there, pay it earlier. I'm going to, if you guys go to Proverbs 22, please, go to Proverbs 22. We'll look at a few proverbs here quickly. But while you're turning there, I'm going to read to you from Psalm 37 verse 21. Psalm 37 verse 21. The Bible says, the wicked borroweth, say, see, it's wicked to borrow, no, no, no. The wicked borroweth and payeth not again. That's when it's wicked. When you borrow and you don't pay it back, that's being wicked, okay? But the righteous showeth mercy and giveth. So if you're someone that is able to give, you're able to lend, you're able to do things for the brethren, that's being righteous, showing mercy and giving. Go to Proverbs 22 verse seven, please. Proverbs 22 verse seven. Proverbs 22 verse seven. There's also another reality that you need to understand. If you're going to be borrowing from people, okay, you become a servant to that person. So just keep that in mind. Nothing wrong with being a servant, okay? But just keep in mind that now you're under a bit of their rule, okay? Proverbs 22 verse seven. The rich ruleth over the poor and the borrower is servant to the lender, okay? Now let me give you an example of where, you know, what I'm trying to say is, you got to build you, you got to pay your mortgage, you pay it, you're a servant, okay? You need to make sure you, you know, you're not the one in charge of that situation. The one that borrowed, the one that lend it to you is in charge of that situation, okay? Now, you know, I don't know if you've ever had examples where you've lent money to people and you know, they've delayed to pay you back. It's almost like they believe they have a thought, well, I can choose to pay whenever I want, you know? Or you know what, I don't have to pay you back. That's been wicked, that's been wicked. They haven't understood the concept that they are actually the servants to the lender, okay? Now be mindful about how you borrow. You know, I would get rid of all your credit cards. I reckon credit card debt is one of the worst things that you can possibly have. I mean, the interest rate is so high and you know, and it also develops bad practice. I believe you should only spend the money that you have, okay? And of course, buying a house, I mean, that's one of the rare cases where, you know, because of our, the way our financial system is set up that, you know, it's kind of unrealistic for someone to just buy outright. But there was a time, only a few generations ago, we could actually buy a house outright. You know, I think my father-in-law, your first house, you know, just paid it in cash, you know? One hit because, you know, obviously the house prices were lower, things went out of whack, but you know, these days, sometimes you have to borrow. But again, if you're a borrower, guess what? I'm a servant to the Commonwealth Bank. When they say you've got to pay, I've got to pay. All right? You know, I'm the servant, I've got to be obedient to that agreement that we have. Look at Proverbs 22 verse one, Proverbs 22 verse one. A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches and love in favour rather than silver and gold. The rich and poor meet together, the Lord is the maker of them all. Okay? So, you know, one thing that we should be striving to do is have that good name, okay? You know, you shouldn't be someone that makes decisions because of finances. You know, you might be offered a great job, paid, you know, a lot of money, but there's no good church there. And there's no believers there that you can be with. And some people make bad decisions in life because they're chasing after riches, they're chasing after money, okay? That's not having a good reputation, you know? You know, you'd rather be someone that's poorer but knows I'm in a church that I can be in. You know, I'm someone that I can follow the commands of God, you know, amongst brethren that can encourage me to go soul winning and preach in the gospel. You know, when you bypass what God's will is for your life and you go after finances, you're going to develop a bad reputation even with your finances like that as well, okay? And the Bible said there in verse number two, the rich and poor meet together, the Lord is the maker of them all. So on our earth, we think of the rich as powerful and poor as needy, but in God's eyes, if you're saved, no difference between the rich and the poor. No difference, okay? Please go to James chapter four, James chapter four, verse 13. James chapter four, verse 13, we're wrapping up now. James chapter four, verse 13. James chapter four, verse 13, the Bible says, go to now ye that say today or tomorrow we will go into such a city and continue there a year and buy and sell and get gain. So we have an example of someone that would want to go into a city, want to go and live in a certain place in order to make a profit. Nothing wrong with making a profit, okay? We all need to, you know, jobs and make an income and make some type of profit, but we see this as an example of someone who goes to the city in order to make a profit. That's their priority. Their priority is to make a profit. Verse number 14. Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow for what is your life? It is even a vapour that appear for a little time and then vanish away. So we shouldn't be worried about making, you know, profits and making a lot of money. That shouldn't be our goal. Look at verse number 15. For that ye ought to say, if the Lord will, we shall live and do this or that, but now ye rejoice in your boastings. All such rejoicing is evil, you know? So if you're someone that makes again decisions because of finances, rather than what God wills, okay? You bypass God's will in your life because you can make riches somewhere else. The Bible taught us there that you're rejoicing. Verse 16, you're rejoicing in your boastings. All such rejoicing is evil, okay? An evil report, an evil reputation. We're striving to be people that have a good report, a good reputation with our finances, okay? So let me just summarise that area. Number one, nothing wrong with borrowing, but make sure you pay when things are due. Have a good reputation with the lender. In fact, you're a servant to the lender, okay? That's what the Bible teaches. You're a servant. You should be fulfilling the agreements, the obligations that you have made. And let me tell you this. I've told this to my wife. If there was ever a time that we could not pay our mortgage, I told Christina, I'm just gonna sell the house. I mean, I don't care about material wealth. I just don't want to break my word. I don't wanna break my commitment. Who cares? We just saw life is a vapour. I just wanna make sure that I'm walking according to God's will, even if I can't have some of the nice things in this life. I know that if I walk according to God's will, I know that if I strive to pay everything that is due, the Lord's gonna take care of me because he knows, hey, this is a servant. This is my son seeking to walk after my ways. Of course I'm gonna please the Lord. I'm gonna have a good reputation with the Lord, okay? I don't care. Oh, you don't own a house? Who cares? I want a good reputation with God, a good reputation of faith, a faithful person. Go back to Genesis 23. We'll wrap it up. Genesis 23, verse 17. Genesis 23, verse 17. And the field of Ephraim, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field that were in the borders roundabout were made sure. And Abraham, for a possession in the presence of the children of Heph, before all that went in the gate of the city. And after this, Abraham buried Sarai, his wife, in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre, the same as Hebron in the land of Canaan. And the field and the cave that is therein were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a burying place by the sons of Heph, okay? So just in conclusion, guys, in conclusion, Proverbs 15, verse 30. The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart, and a good report maketh the bones fat, okay? The bones fat. Success, you know, having joy, satisfaction, you're gonna find that with having a good report, having a good reputation. What are the four areas that we should be striving to have a good reputation through this chapter? Number one, have a good reputation of faith, or a good reputation before God, pleasing the Lord. Number two, have a good reputation within the family, you know, your direct family. Number three, have a good reputation amongst the people. Then number four, have a good reputation of your finances, let's pray.