Faithfulness Brings Promotion_EP7S2

This podcast episode discusses the importance of faithfulness and obedience in bringing promotion. The speaker references the story of Joseph in Genesis and emphasizes that Joseph's favor from God came from his faithfulness and obedience. The speaker encourages listeners to be faithful and obedient, trusting that God will lift them up in due time. The speaker also highlights the importance of using one's gifts and letting God's light shine through their actions. Towards the end of the podcast, the speaker charges two individuals, Jose and Liz, with specific responsibilities and quotes verses from 1st and 2nd Timothy. The podcast concludes with a prayer and an anointing ceremony for Jose and Liz. Welcome to CCI Fellowships podcast. Thank you for joining us. At CCI Fellowship, we are reaching God, reaching each other, and reaching our community. We pray that this week's message challenges you in your walk with the Lord, causes you to grow in your faith, and encourages you in your love for the Word of God. Open your Bibles to Psalm chapter 75. In Psalm 75, I want to talk for just a few moments on the topic that faithfulness brings promotion. Faithfulness brings promotion. You can also title this, that obedience brings promotion. And in verse 6 and 7 of Psalm chapter 75, it says, This I know, the favor that brings promotion and power doesn't come from anywhere on earth. For no one exalts a person but God, the true judge of all. He alone determines where favor rests. He anoints one for greatness and he brings another to his knees. Let's pray. Father, we recognize, we absolutely take a moment to recognize your presence here tonight. To recognize that the King of Kings is in this room. That the Lord of Lords has come. That you, Lord God, have visited us tonight and caused your presence to be known for what is going to happen this evening. You have placed already your seal of approval, having spoken by the Holy Spirit and having directed us, Lord God. And now, by your anointing that is present, you give your confirmation that these steps, that these changes in assignment, that these changes that you will do across this whole church, Lord God, are from you. And we thank you for what is to come as a result. We glorify you, Father. But we take a moment to humbly bow before you, to recognize you as the supreme God over everything. And we, simply your servants, doing what is required of us to do. Speak to us tonight from your word. May we learn that our lives are in your hands. That you are the one that lifts up. You are the one that brings down. You are the one that exalts. You're the one that brings low. We are simply to be faithful, simply to obey. We praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. So, jumping off of what we have been talking about regarding the life of Joseph, we see very clearly in the story of Joseph, especially in chapter 39 of Genesis, that Joseph was a faithful servant. He was a faithful steward. He was a faithful son. And out of that fidelity, out of that obedience before God, out of his desire to stay true to God, to honor God in everything that he did, that God's favor was upon him. That God's presence was with him. And it says multiple times in chapter 39, and even when he was in Pharaoh's palace, that he prospered in all that he did because the Lord was with him. And we've been talking about Joseph's character and what was it about his character that brought such favor from God. And what was it about his character that brought this declaration upon his descendants. And it all comes down to faithfulness and to obedience. It's not a difficult formula. He faithfully obeyed the Lord his God. And that brings us to this verse in Psalm. The promotion comes from the Lord. You may be praying about a promotion in your job. You may be praying for God to promote you in ministry or to promote you here or there, to cause you to be noticed in this place or that place. Don't strive. Be obedient. Don't try to make it happen. Just be faithful. And God will cause you to be seen. In the story of the talents in Matthew, chapter 25, verse 21, and the parallel passages in the other Gospels, Jesus explains that those who are faithful over little will also be entrusted with more. Those that show themselves faithful will, in the end, find themselves responsible for more things, will find themselves entrusted with more things. I think sometimes we find ourselves in a place that we're like, God, I'm barely surviving with what you've already put on my plate and you want to give me something else? But he's the one that brings promotion. He's the one that exalts. So the encouragement to us tonight is no matter what circumstance you find yourself in, be faithful. No matter what situation you are facing and going through, be faithful. No matter what the difficulties are, no matter what the trials are that you are facing, just be obedient. And in time, in God's perfect time, he will lift you up. He will exalt you. And many times it's in those unexpected moments that he brings that about. James 4, verse 10 says, Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he will lift you up. We don't have to seek it out. We just have to keep our focus on God and he makes those things happen. Joseph's first promotion, ironically, was to the prison. Doesn't seem like great promotion there. But that was his first promotion into a lot of hard work and into a situation that was difficult. But he eventually found himself in the palace, second in command of the whole nation. Proverbs 18, 16 says, A man's gift makes room for him and brings him before great men. If you're not using your gifts, if you're not walking in obedience and fidelity to God, if you're not allowing God to flow through you in the gifts that he's given you, then how shall others see that you have those gifts? And how shall those gifts bring you before great people? My desire is to make use of the gifts that God has given me. Not to be in front of great people. Because in all reality, when we think about the people that God could bring us in front of, and we think about their status here on earth, and we think about the titles that surround them, we have one of the greatest titles above every other title on this earth, and that is that we are children of the Most High God. Somebody clapped. So to me, whenever I get, I've met presidents, I've met ministers, I've met vice ministers, it doesn't matter. Who are they? Who am I? I'm a child of God. They might have a high title in this land, but I have a title in eternity. I have an identity in eternity. Therefore, I'm not worried when I go and meet people like this. Why? Because God will cause your gift to bring you before great men. And God will bring you into a place of promotion, if you allow him to use you in those gifts and you stay faithful to them. Matthew 5.16 says, Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. So we come tonight because the gifts of a few people have been noticed and have come before God and have come before other people of great authority. And the example that we find is in Paul with his spiritual son, Timothy. He writes two letters to Timothy. In the first couple of verses, in verse 3, he tells Timothy, I left you in Ephesus to do a really hard job. I left you in Ephesus to straighten out the bad doctrine that is being taught in that church. That's not a small task. But you see, Paul knew in that moment when he left Timothy there, that Timothy's gifts were exactly what the church in Ephesus needed. And so as Pastor Jose and Liz come up, Adriana and Francis and Ishmael, if you will come up as well. Three times in these two letters, Paul says to Timothy, I charge you. In other words, I instruct you. I lay upon you the responsibility. I confer upon you the trust that you will complete the task. And tonight we're going to, if you'll come up closer please. Tonight we're going to do the same for Jose and Liz, for Sergio and Josela. Now I typed all of this out of what I'm going to say, because I didn't trust myself to actually get through it without notes. So if you guys will face me. For each one of you, I have a charge for you guys. And the Lord, as I prayed, specifically gave me verses for each one of you. So many that I could have chosen throughout 1st and 2nd Timothy for you. So many. I had to filter it down and not just read all both letters to you. But this is what the Lord has given me for you. Pastor Jose, you have been a true son in the faith. You have served faithfully and diligently in the responsibilities that were conferred upon you three years ago to carry with me the promises that God has given CCI Fellowship. You've exemplified a trustworthy and honorable character. Therefore, God has directed that you be released from this body of believers and commended to another for your gifts and anointing are needed there. You carry with you the very DNA of CCI Fellowship. Therefore, I charge you, Pastor Jose, according to 2nd Timothy 2, verse 1, verse 2, verse 15, and 2nd Timothy 4, verse 2. You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with all patience and teaching. Will you do that? Elizabeth, your character is one of unwavering fidelity and commitment. From the moment you came on with your husband, you have given your all. Not even once displaying a hesitation to use your gifts for the benefit of others. You have served faithfully. You have served willingly. And you have served without reservation that any of us have seen. Your gifts have blessed many people in this congregation. Therefore, I charge you, Elizabeth, according to 1 Timothy 4, 12-16. Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things. Give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this, you will save both yourself and those who hear you. Will you do that? Let's pray. I'm going to anoint them. If you would stand with me, I would appreciate it. Stretch your hands toward them. Father, you have blessed this congregation with two servants who are faithful and who passionately love the things of you. You have blessed this congregation with people who fear you, with people who are filled with your spirit and gifted by you. You have blessed this couple, Lord, in their anointing to serve, but in their anointing to serve each other as well. So Father, as we obey the instruction you gave us a long time ago to bless and send out, we bless Pastor Jose and Elizabeth, and we pray, Lord God, that as they are sent out from this place, that they be sent out accompanied by your angels and by your anointing. That as they have received the charge given to them today, that they would faithfully do those things and perform the assignment that you have given them, trusting in you day by day for the strength, for the wisdom, for the understanding, for the words, Lord God, that they would, as much as they have affected lives in this congregation, greatly affect lives in the other congregation. God, we send them out with our love, we send them out with our support, we commission them, Lord God, into this service that by your Holy Spirit you have directed us to do. And we praise you and we thank you for it. In Jesus' name, amen. You can be seated. Thank you, Pastor John, for those very kind words. So I asked Pastor John if I could have a few minutes to give you one final word of exhortation, and he graciously accepted, so I'm always thankful for the opportunity to share. So what to share? So many things that we could say, and if you guys know me and have heard some of my sermons, I'd rather ask the Lord and ask him, Lord, what do you want to say through me than try to figure out what to say. I'd rather come here and say two words from the Lord than a hundred that are not from him. And so the Lord had placed something in my heart throughout this week, but then this morning he gave me two words and he said, devote yourself. And so my word of exhortation to you, I want to quickly share, and I promise this is going to be the shortest sermon I ever preached, just going to take a few minutes, but to devote yourself simply means to continue to do something with intense effort in spite of great difficulty. It doesn't say to do something, it says to continue in it over and over and over again, to give yourself to something with intense effort, not half-heartedly, but wholeheartedly. That's what devoting yourself means. So the first word of exhortation to you is to devote yourself to the Lord. After King Solomon had presented the temple and they dedicated all the furnishings in the temple, he started reminding the people of all the things that God had done, of how great and majestic and glorious and splendorous and how good God was. And then he said in 1 Kings 8.61, he said, in light of all this, devote yourself wholeheartedly to the Lord. So that is one of the last charges that I give you, CCI Fellowship, is to devote yourself wholeheartedly to the Lord. Do not compromise. Don't let anything draw you away from pursuing the Lord with all of your heart. Number two, be devoted to one another. Romans 12.10 says, be devoted to one another in love, give in preference to one another in honor. One of the best ways that we can be devoted to one another and give preference to each other in honor is to serve. And I know that many of you have been serving here at CCI Fellowship for many years. We've served along together for many years, and there are some of you who haven't. And I charge those of you who are not right now serving in the church, that this passage was spoken by Paul to the church. It doesn't just say, go out and help other people. Our live verse for CCI Fellowship is doing good to those in the family of faith. That is our first charge. And so to be devoted to one another is to serve one another. And I cannot tell you how much I personally started growing in the Lord when I started serving in church and serving other people, putting my interest above them, giving people preference and honoring them. So if you are not yet serving here in church, I beg you that you will, so that you will grow and put to use all the talents and the abilities that God has given you, and that you will not bury them, because people need them. There's people that the Lord is bringing to this congregation that will be enormously blessed by the gifts and the talents that God has given to each one of you. So I charge you to be devoted to one another. And lastly, and this is not going to surprise many people, but be devoted to prayer. Colossians 4.2 says, devote yourselves to prayer. Another version says, continuing earnestly in prayer, being alert and focused with an attitude of thanksgiving. So as you give yourselves to prayer, as you continue giving yourselves to prayer with intense effort, in spite of difficulty, do it with an attitude of thanksgiving, because that is going to keep your heart in the right posture of reverencing God and honoring him and honoring the call that God has for you. There's no call individually that God has placed upon each one of you that is less important. Every call is extremely important. Just because you're not here in the pulpit, just because you're serving back there, doesn't mean it's less important. I served many years as a greeter, and I loved it. And I love what I'm doing right now, but it's not about the position. It's more about the obedience and the function that God has. So my dear brothers and sisters, in this last word of exhortation, I beg you, I charge you, or whatever adjective we can use, but be devoted with all of your heart. Be devoted to the Lord, be devoted to one another, and be devoted to prayer. These things do not happen by accident. You need to be diligent. You need to be intentional. And so the idea there is that you rearrange the activities and the things of your life to make room for, I'm going to move this as a distraction, or this person or this place is not beneficial for me, I need to make room in order to be devoted to the Lord, to each other, and to prayer. So that is the last word of exhortation. We are leaving this congregation with a heavy heart, because we've been here for fourteen years, but we are so joyful. We are so joyful that we are going to the place where the Lord has sent us, and there's no better place we can be than that place, which is where the Lord has selected. So, I thank you all, in all sincerity I can say we love you, in the love of Christ. Thank you. Amen. Pastor Sergio and Josela, if you'll come up, please. Sergio and Josela have been a part of CCI for a long time, serving in the other congregations faithfully, before they were actually sent here by Pastor Saul into fellowship. So we thank you, Pastor Saul, for sending them, and didn't know you had this planned for us. If you guys will face me, are you ready? No? Seth Hill, your character and your gifts have been witnessed by many, and most importantly by the Lord. You are a faithful man, faithful to your Savior, faithful to your wife and your son, faithful to your church, and faithful in your job. You bring with you the DNA of Iglesia Sese. Your gifts and your experience, things that this congregation will benefit from, have already been placed inside of you. What we do today is just recognize those things, as we confer upon you this position. Before I charge you, Seth Hill, as you have already agreed that you would carry with me these promises God has placed on CCI fellowship, according to 2 Timothy 4.2 and Titus 2, verse 1 and 7 and 8, preach the word, be ready in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, all patience and teaching. Speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine, in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works, in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility. Sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you. Will you do that? Hosella, your gifts and your joy are a blessing to CCI fellowship, as well to your husband and family. The role of a pastor's wife is not for the weak. Through your support of your husband, may your leadership and influence grow within this congregation. I charge you, according to 1 Timothy 3.11 and Titus 2, verse 4 and 5, that you be reverent, temperate, faithful in all things, that as your influence grows in your example, that you would admonish the other women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed. And that is the key to this whole charge, that the word of God may not be blasphemed. Will you do that? Will you, CCI fellowship, receive them as assistant pastors? If you will stand one more time, I would appreciate it. The tears are flowing up here. Father, your instruction through Paul to Timothy was not to lay hands hastily on anyone for leadership. Father, we thank you for that warning and that instruction, and we thank you that this is not that circumstance. There is nothing hasty about this. There is nothing rash about this. You, Lord God, have set them up. Promotion comes from you, and your gifts that you have placed in them have caused them to be seen by you and seen by other leaderships. Therefore we confer upon Sergio the assignment of assistant pastor in CCI fellowship. Father, you have already equipped him and will continue to equip him with everything he needs to do your will and to accomplish the task that you have given him. You have already placed in Hosella the gifts and the anointing, Lord, to support her husband and to be an example in this congregation, to lead, Lord God, through the character that you have given her, to honor you first, to honor her husband, and to honor others. Father, thank you for the anointing you are placing upon her to be a pastor's wife. And we thank you, Lord God, of what you are going to do through them for the benefit of this congregation and the advancement of your kingdom among the people that attend here. In Jesus' name, amen. I'd like to invite Pastor Saul to come up and share some closing comments. You may be seated. Pastor Saul. Thank you, Pastor John, and all the team, loved pastors, it's beautiful to be in this afternoon. I'm very happy to see these new assignments to these new leaders. I want to read from 1 Peter, chapter 4, verse 10. I want to read from 1 Peter, chapter 4, verse 10. This is a scripture I want to leave in the heads and hearts of our leaders. This is a scripture I want to leave in the heads and hearts of our leaders. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. The heart of a Christian ministry is this, serve others and to give the gift, to steward with faithfulness what God has given us, and to do everything for God's glory. And this is the assignment for both of you couples, as you are leaving CCI Fellowship and you are coming in and serving as assistant pastors, we are joyful to see what God is doing in the whole church, as a whole church. Because this is part of what God is doing in the whole church. Because this is part of what God is doing in the whole church. And I would love to make a prayer of blessing for what God is doing. Lord, we give you thanks in this afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity, for all the callings, for your grace that you give us, and that you give in our lives. Thank you because you called us faithful to serve you, to do something in your kingdom, and to contribute to this work of evangelization. We give you thanks, Lord. Thank you for the lives of Pastor Jose and Elizabeth, and Sergio and Josela. They are extraordinary couples. We know that you are going to do great things among them and through them. Thank you for their disposition to serve you, and in this transition in our church. Thank you for Pastor John and Adriana's hearts, for planting in them, and make them grow as children of God and disciples. We thank you, Lord. I pray that you will also bless them, their lives, and give them joy and satisfaction through this process. Because they are like fathers of a generation. We give you thanks, Lord. Bless CCI Fellowship membership, every one of you by name, every family, every woman and every man, every teenager and every child. We thank you, Lord, and we ask you for a new time of revival for CCI Fellowship. We thank you in advance, Lord, for what you are already doing, but also for what you will do. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we say Amen. Alleluia. In Colonial Trepici, just off Boulevard Sollapa, near Una. If you would like prayer or more information about our church, contact us at fellowship.cci at gmail.com That's fellowship.cci at gmail.com or follow us on social media. We hope to see you or hear from you soon. Blessings. ♪ ♪