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2023-12-17- Sunday School- Paul Meets with Church Leaders
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This transcription is about a church meeting where the topic is Paul meeting with church leaders. The main idea is that Paul's exemplary ministry should inspire preachers and laity alike. The lesson emphasizes the importance of consistency in one's faith and actions, as well as the need to be a positive example to others. It also touches on the value of the soul and the worth of one's ministry. Overall, the message encourages individuals to strive for a deeper commitment to God and to be consistent in their faith. It's getting smaller all the time. Y'all be in prayer for Camden and Christy, they're still sick, been a couple of weeks now for Christy at least and a little bit for Camden, they sure hate to miss. Welcome to In Your Holiness' Heritage to Lesson 3 and opening your Bibles to Acts 20 and 17 this morning. Topic this morning is Paul meets with the church leaders. The theme is, in this meeting with church leaders, we can see the depth of character that Paul possessed, his exemplary ministry should inspire preacher and laity alike. The golden text comes from Acts 20 and 27, for I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. We'll read that introduction this morning. Many years ago it was told that the value of the human body was just a few cents. Others have come out with greater figures. Robert Shannon cited a 1980 almanac that raised the figure of $7.28 and a Los Angeles Times reporter that stated that seven chemicals in the human body were worth almost $170,000. I could have made a lot of money over the years in my profession, but just thought about that. While we may be able to calculate the value of the physical part of man, is there any way to truly understand the worth of one's soul? Paul seemed to grasp the importance of the eternal part of a man more than most. In these verses we will see the heart of the Apostle as he administers to those for whom Jesus died upon the cross. His tireless, sincere efforts should inspire us, as well as convict us of our shortcomings as so-winners. As I said, our reading day starts in Acts 20 and 17. Bible scholars call this area here in Paul, as we read about Paul, his third missionary tour. He's been going around strengthening churches around the western and central part of the Roman Empire for several years, and this area is actually the modern-day Turkey, not really the Asia as we know it. He just left Troas where we stopped off last week. You may remember that he preached until midnight, and Eutychus fell asleep and dropped three stories to his death. Paul stopped preaching and brought the man back to life, and they all went back to what they were doing and broke bread until the break of day. Paul then went about his journey on foot for a while and sailed a few places and found himself in Miletus, and that's where we pick up this morning. So Acts 20 and 17. Acts 20 and 17 says, And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church Paul was on his journey back to Jerusalem for the day of the Pentecost. He no doubt would have liked to visit with Ephesus again, but time wouldn't allow it, Brother Alston, so he called for the elders to come to him. He was in Miletus, which seems to be about 36 miles south of Ephesus down the coast there. And Acts 20 and 18 says, And when they were come to him, I wouldn't like to fly past that park this morning. So these elders came to Paul about 36 miles away, as I read it. We can gather from these words alone why our worship services might not look like theirs. These men loved God, and they loved the man of God, Brother Ronnie. From Miletus to Ephesus is almost exactly from here to Hodgenville Pentecostal Church. It's 37 miles from here to HBC. I looked it up. And I thought, I want to go see Brother Snow when time comes, but I probably wouldn't even consider it if I had to walk there, Brother Alston. Often we get up in the morning, give God a few minutes of devotions, rush about our day, get home, throw on some different clothes, rush out the door, jump in the car with the day still in our minds, pull into the church in the nick of time, and try our best to put aside everything that is on the forefront of our minds and conjure up the Lord, Brother Ronnie. To be able to conjure up God. That might get us through a service. We might even have that unexpected shout down and testify about the goodness of God because we're so thankful that He'd come by when we haven't even given Him much of ourselves that day. But to see a true demonstration of the Holy Ghost in a way that our church needs will not come by that lifestyle. These men lived and breathed God. Their main goal, day in and day out, was furthering the church. God wasn't a fleeting thought in the morning alongside a cup of coffee. Their thoughts was, Paul's in Miletus, hey, that's walking distance. He may have learned something that he hasn't taught us yet. We may glean something else from the Lord. We don't have any evangelists here, and I understand that we all have outside responsibilities, Brother Alston. I'm not ignorant to that fact. But if we took an honest look at ourselves, we could all see room for improvement. Acts 20 and 18, as I said, and when they were come to him, he said of them, you know from the first day that I come into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons. So Paul begins to have a meeting with these elders, Brother Tim, and our lesson today is to reflect upon these things that Paul teaches the church leaders and use those principles in our ministry. These are not just lessons for the elders of the church alone or those that are called to preach, but for each and every child of God, Brother Ronnie. If you're a blood-bought child of God, you do have a ministry. Paul first tells them, you know from the first day that I came into Asia, what manner I have been with you at all seasons. Plainly speaking, Paul says, from the first day you met me until now, you know what kind of guy I am. You know what my mission has been. When we were in the temple, when we were at the school of Tyrannus, when we were eating together, when we were working together, there may have been some distractions along the way, things might have come up, but we were together three years or so. Seasons have changed, friends have come and gone, storms have come and gone, there were times of celebration, but through it all, there's been a greater purpose in my life. I have always been a soldier for Christ. I have always been the same man, consistent in my actions. I wonder if we can say that this morning. I want to be consistent, don't you? I want to be the type of man my family can depend upon. I want my mom and my brother to come back to church. That won't happen if I give up now and then. If I'm in church and out of church, that'll never happen. If my conversations aren't what they should be. If an unexpected storm comes my way, they might be watching how I handle it. If I handle it wrong, they won't want what I got. Paul might be thrown in prison, but it didn't stop him from doing the Lord's work. It didn't take him two or three months to land back on his feet after prison. He was an encouragement while he was in prison. Circumstances will change, but God never does. So the child of God shouldn't change. Turn with me to John 10 and 1. Hold your places there in Acts 20, turn to John 10 and 1. John 10 and 1 says, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. Verse 2, But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name and leadeth them out. And when he put forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them, but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. Be by me. If any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture. Jesus says here, I am the door. If any man enter, he shall be saved. I've heard many people say it, and Brother Anthony said it a while back here, I might be the only Bible that someone ever reads. I thought if Jesus is the door, then I can think of myself as a door greeter. We can't open the door for someone, they will have to do that themselves, but what kind of door greeter are we this morning? If we're about the father's business, what kind of associates are we? How well do we speak of our place? We are the face of the operation. Would anyone want what we're selling? Do they come by once in a while and see the door shut? Are we selling something else sometimes? Are we helpful one day and grumpy the next day? We've all ran into those door greeters at Walmart that sometimes they're having a good day, sometimes they're not so much. So the first principle we learn from Paul is consistency. If you're going through financial difficulties, how are you handling it? Your lost loved ones are watching. Is there sickness in your home? Did peace and assurance leave with the good bill of health? We are all human and we aren't expected to handle everything perfectly, but let's not forget that we are going through things that our lost loved ones will sometimes face themselves. Let's try our best to be consistent. When they are going through it, will they look back and say, well, Brother Ronnie dealt with that a couple of years ago and it seemed like he kept peace the whole time. What did he do? Will they want to go see what Brother Ronnie had? Titus 2 and 7 says, In all things, shewing thyself a pattern of good works and doctrine, shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you. A while back, the Lord saved a backslider and some of you will know who I am talking about. It doesn't really matter who it was, but they had gotten saved, Brother Quentin, and I saw them at church and I was very happy for them. I shook their hand after the service and as I reached for their hand, they reached back and apologized to me. And I said, For what? You didn't do anything. And they said, Yes, I did. I said some awful, awful things about you. And I'm glad that they were able to get that off their chest. And I'd heard that they had talked bad about me at some point when I wasn't living right. But all I had ever been concerned with was that I had given them something bad to say about me. I didn't hold that against them. But I'm glad that they were able to get that off their chest because they felt like they needed to. I'm sure that everything that they had said was probably true. Maybe not, but there was enough that they could have talked about. But I was concerned with my side of it. But I told God, Thank you for fixing that problem and help me to never be a fence to someone again. I want to be consistent. I'm glad that God is consistent. There might be a new version of God's word on the shelves every year, but his word never changes. I've listened to a few preachers outside of the wholeness movement. They can say some pretty awesome things. There's some smart men out there that don't line up exactly with the way we believe. You've got to be careful of those things, but there are some that I do enjoy listening to. But I've heard them, two people I have in mind, and I won't tell you who they are because I don't like to promote them, but in case I don't want you to hear something that maybe leads you down the wrong path, and I'm the one that kind of told you to go that way. But I've listened to a couple of men recently, and both of them said almost exactly the same thing. They would be preaching down this road, and they'd say, I like what the King James Version says on this part. I like to go back to the King James. I like the way they said it, but I thought, why don't you just read the King James Version to begin with? If it's so great, why just use it over here or over there? You can have the watered-down version if you want, but I like the original version. Acts 20 and 19 says, Serving the Lord with all humility in mind, and with many tears and temptations which befell me by the lying and weight of the Jews. Paul says here, He served the Lord with all humility of mind. Humility is the freedom of pride and arrogance. This is something that we all have to be wary of. If we aren't careful, we will be freed from sin only to step into the ministry and be bound by pride. We'll not be able to do a great work for the Lord worrying about ourselves if we sang really good or we played really good, Brother Austin, or I preached well, or if I testified to somebody's amazement. Sin can find its way into anything, even the worship of God. If approval of man is what is feeding your ministry, it will soon fade, and it will not be fruitful. Has anybody ever asked you to listen to a sermon and said it was the greatest thing they'd ever heard, and you listen to it and you think, you know, that happens to me a lot if I'm being honest. I've listened to some of the greatest men to ever preach God's Word and been distracted the whole time by something really small. I found myself in the middle of a, just for example, Brother Quentin, a Shad McDonald message and cut it off about 10 minutes in because I couldn't even get into it. And I'm sure he was saying some great things. So I should never assume or care that I blow everybody's socks off when I get behind this pulpit. That shouldn't be my goal. I'm not always going to be able to do that. It's not just going to happen. I want to seek out what the Lord wants me to say, deliver it to the best of my ability while seeking his anointing and not worry about the rest of it. It's OK to look back on a sermon or a song or a testimony and say, well, praise God, that went over pretty well. We should attempt to do a good job for the Lord. But pride and arrogance will not come from God. You may do something from God and feel discouraged and think, well, I definitely missed it. You may also do something in church and feel like I nailed it tonight, but the truth be told, you completely missed what God wanted you to do. Don't testify to your satisfaction or to the satisfaction of your spouse, brother or even pastor. Testify according to God's satisfaction. I try my best to be an encouragement to Camden, and he does me as well. But if I ever forget to say, you've done a great job tonight, son, I don't want that to shake him one bit because I may fail to give him praise. I may fail to pat him on the back, but I don't want him to be looking for that. I do want to be an encouragement to him. It encourages me. We'll get in the car. I'll come up here and preach. And sometimes I feel like I've definitely missed it and I'll get in the car and my children, my wife will be like, oh, you're doing good. That was great. And I'll be thanking myself. Eh, not really, you know, but I appreciate the encouragement, but that's not what I'm looking for and it shouldn't be what I'm looking for. If they fail to say it, I don't want to be like, well, I guess I didn't do good. Nobody told me I did good. I should preach to God's satisfaction. Paul said he was free from humility in serving the Lord, but there has been many tears. Some can have both. Have you ever seen an arrogant man get up here, maybe not up here, but seen an arrogant man and they find it very easy to shed tears. It's about a stomach turning as a woman preacher when you see a man that's full of arrogancy and they can put on the tears. Paul's second principle was serving the Lord in humility. Arrogance and pride goes out the door when you're chained to a prison wall, but if you're fueled by humility and tears, you can go on serving the Lord no matter your circumstance. Turn with me to John four and five, if you don't mind, a little bit of reading here. John four and five says, Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's whale was there. Jesus, therefore, being wearied with his journey, set thus on the whale, and it was about six hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink, for his disciples were gone away into the city to buy meat. Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldst have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. From whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which giveth the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again. But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. But the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. And Jesus saith unto her, Go call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband, for thou hast had five husbands. And he whom thou now hast is not thy husband, and that saidst thou truly. The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain, and you say that Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh when you shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father. You worship ye know not what. We know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is the Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. Brother Ronnie, I think here's a great example of a woman that has had many changing circumstances in her life. We can read this story and almost physically feel for this woman. I get excited when I read it. She's had a heartbreak after heartbreak, no doubt, and we know the kind of man that she just ran into. We know her circumstances about to change. We can feel that coming on. If you read it, you know what's about to happen for her, and you can get excited about it. We don't know her name, but we all probably know a woman like this, unfortunately. Christ first humbles her, but doesn't destroy her in condemnation as well as he could have. Verse 17 says, the woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, thou hast well said I have no husband, for thou hast had five husbands, and whom thou now hast is not thy husband, and that saidst thou truly. This very well could have been a young woman that started out with pride, using her looks to get what she wants. Over time, this world has used her up. After five husbands, and probably little use to this world, pride and arrogancy has failed her, but Christ won't. He has a use for her. If you skip down to verse 28 there in chapter 4, the woman then left her water pot and went her way into the city and said to the men, come, see a man which told me all things that ever I did. Is not this the Christ? Then they went out of the city and came unto him. Skip down to 39, and many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman which testified, he told me all that ever I did. So when the Samaritans were coming to him, they besought him that he would tarry with them and he abode there two days. And many more believed because of his own word. And said unto the woman, now we believe, not because of thy saying, for we have heard him ourselves and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world. And Ronnie, I believe that she went from a Samaritan woman that this world has used up to a door greeter for Christ. Some believe because she said, come see. But once they came and saw, many more believed. So we don't have to be some great preacher to spread the gospel. We just need to be willing to serve him humbly and telling people about what he did for us. Don't depend on a Paul to come to your family's house and compel your loved ones to come. Paul hasn't even been converted yet when we get to this story. But this woman with a reputation goes back home and says, you've got to see who I met. Let's go back to Acts 20 and 20. We have to be willing ourselves to be in the ministry, to be humble. Acts 20 and 20 and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house. Paul said he kept back nothing that was profitable. He knew that he could not always be with him. So it was his desire to set them up for success and serving the Lord for the church to grow. So what is profitable? First Timothy four and seven says, but refuse profane and old wise fables and exercise thyself rather on the godliness for bodily exercises, exercise profit is little, but godliness is profitable unto all things. Having a promise of life that now is and of that which is to come. Godliness or simply Christian obedience is profitable. And this is what he taught them. Paul said, everything that I have learned has helped me in my walk with God. I show you. I didn't just tell you, but I showed you. We've got a lot of ministers telling people how to live, but far less showing people how to live. He didn't just preach it publicly, but he rather went to their houses and showed them. He had a deep love for the Ephesians that comes across. He wanted them to make it. When you love someone, it's hard to just tell them what's profitable to them. There's a tendency to sugarcoat things and look the other way when they're doing wrong things. I thought about this when my dad got sick, he had a brain deterioration, much like Brother Gerald. He kept wanting to get up and walk around the house and he would fall. And Brother Gerald would do the same thing. Sometimes he would fall. I found it hard to say, Dad, you need to sit down. He was my dad and I still looked, he still looked like my dad. Everything about him said, I'm your dad. And it was hard for me to say, sit down, Dad. It's best for you. You need to sit down. Because he wanted to get up and run. He didn't understand. It was, it was uncomfortable for me to correct him like that, but it was profitable to him. It was best for him. There was a lady, and everybody in here knows them, Brother Gerald, one time, she was watching Brother Gerald for just a short time. And I wasn't there, but I was told about it. And it embarrassed the lady. So I was told not to tell who it was at this point. It probably doesn't matter so much now, but she, Brother Gerald said, he was getting out of his chair and the lady said, where are you going, Brother Gerald? You need to have a seat. And the way it was told to me, Brother Gerald looked at her and told her in so many words, you need to mind your own business. And I thought that was funny, but if you love someone, you tell them what will profit them and not what will please them. In Paul's second letter to Timothy in verse one, he tells them, I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing in his kingdom, preach the word, be in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering in doctrine. Preach the word, Timothy, reprove and rebuke when you have to, but also exhort with long-suffering in doctrine. Long-suffering doesn't mean to excuse sin, but rebuke with mercy. It's easier to be long-suffering when we are reminded of the mercy that was afforded to us. Another principle that Paul shared with these elders is to not withhold the truth. Acts 20 and 21 says, testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. The next principle, Christ came to save whosoever will, so don't limit your audience. We shouldn't be selective who we witness to. 1 Timothy 1.14-16 says, and the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all exception, uh, exception, uh, exceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. How be it for this cause, I obtain mercy that in me first, Jesus Christ might shoo forth all long-suffering for a pattern to them, which should hereafter believe in him, believe on him to life everlasting. We, we read these verses last week, Paul calls himself the chief of sinners. I think he's saying, if God did it for me, he can do it for you. Do you feel that way this morning? I sure do. I'm convinced no matter what you're going through or where you, where you've been, God is able to save and pull you out of that place. I know by experience, I don't have to guess at that. Paul says that the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love, and this is a faithful saying, worthy of all exception. It means that everybody should find that exciting. Nobody should doubt it. His grace is exceeding abundant. It was a great love that he loved us with far greater than the sin of this world, reaching farther than the depths of my sin, stronger than death in the grave, worthy of all exception. But still yet there are men that won't accept it. The mention of the name of Jesus can make someone mad. I was listening to a podcast the other day and a US pastor was interviewing an Israeli minister or a minister over in Israel. They were talking about those torturous acts that was committed against Israel by Hamas on October 7th. The man asked the minister, why do you think they did such atrocious things to God's people? And you know, just to kill them, Brother Ronnie, or to kidnap some of them would be bad enough, but we've all heard some of those atrocious things that they've done to them. That Israeli minister said, we are God's chosen people. And as a Christian pastor, you have a supernatural love for us. We have a love, a supernatural love for those, for God's children. And in much the same way, the enemies of God hate us with a supernatural hatred. And I believe that this morning, Matthew 10 and 22 says, and you shall be hated of all men for my name's sake, but he that endure to the end shall be saved. Not everyone accepts the name of Jesus. Some will hate you just because you love him. But no matter how wicked this world gets, we are to endure until the end, and it will be worth it. Christ came to save all. Turn with me to 2 Peter 3 and 8, if you choose to, we've got a long ways to go, so I'm trying to rush through here a little bit, but sometimes I jumble my words, so it's probably not good for you. It's probably for your benefit to read it yourself. 2 Peter 3 and 8 says, But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years is one day. The Lord is not slack in concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, and the witch, the heaven, shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. The earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned up. The Bible says that he's not willing that any should perish. Let's stick to this principle that Paul teaches here, salvation is for all. Turn back with me to Acts 20 and 22. 20 and 22 says, And now, behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there. Let's read in the Holiness Heritage there, Roman numeral 2, Paul's danger in the Spirit, off of verse 22, I go bound in the Spirit, Paul's danger in Jerusalem. Reverend Matthew Vance says, God's perfect will is not important to many people today. They will break their promises to the Lord on an impulse. To give up comfort or luxury because of the call of God is out of the question for many, but it wasn't for Paul. He was going to Jerusalem because he had a conviction placed in his spirit by the Holy Ghost that this was the will of the Lord. He was bound to go to the holy city, not out of a sense of duty to the Jews or of homesickness for that city that he loved. There was a higher purpose in his travel. He was to testify of the gospel of Jesus Christ there. God's perfect will is not, see, that's what I, okay. The next principle is follow God's will no matter the cost. I read it and I wrote it in my notes, I'll start to read it again. Paul knew the difference between God's warning and God's simply just saying no. There's a difference. It's not for us to always know what is up the road, but it's for us to always depend upon the Lord. In Acts 1 and 6, the disciples asked the Lord a question. Acts 1 and 6 is, when they therefore will come together, they asked of him saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power, but you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you. You shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in Aljudea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth. He doesn't tell us everything that we're going to face, but he does let us know that his grace will be sufficient, Brother Quentin. You very well may have a trial up ahead, whether you step out of the will of God or not, but you'll find it easier facing that trial if you're walking with the grace of God applied to your life. Paul's conversion didn't shield him from every trial. It quite possibly gave him a few trials that he may wouldn't have otherwise faced, but God's grace was sufficient. By way of reading God's word, we know before Paul knows that there will be suffering along the way. The Bible makes us privy to those things. Acts 9 and 13 says, Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem. And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call not thy name. But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way, for he is a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. There will be suffering for Paul along the way. We read about much of it. Acts 20 and 23 says, Say that the Holy Ghost witness in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God. Paul is fully aware now that this suffering is worth the cost. Bear with me to Romans 8 and 18. We'll also read, while you're turning there, we'll read in the Holiness Heritage 23 and 24, Afflictions Abide Me. Afflictions Abide Me says, The Holy Ghost was faithful to reveal to Paul the problems that were ahead for him. This was done through the gifts of the Spirit that were in the church. An example of this is found in Acts 21 and 11, where a prophet named Agabus spoke about the apostle being bound and delivered unto the Gentiles. These warnings were not meant to keep Paul from going to Jerusalem, but only to prepare him for the persecution that awaited him there. 24, None of these things move me, says, His joy was in finishing his course, not in some temporal blessing that the world could give. Eternity was in his heart, and he must live for eternal blessings. The apostle was also conscious of the fact that his ministry came as a gift of grace from Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 15 and 9 he stated, For I am the least of the apostles that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. His unworthiness was something that must have haunted him from time to time. However, this did not lead him to depression, but rather gratitude for the Lord who chose him. He gratefully and responsibly fulfilled his duty to testify the gospel of the grace of God. We surely go through things in this life, and being a child of God is not going to keep us from that. Sometimes we will suffer for the cause of Christ, but it shouldn't bring us to a state of depression. That's just part of it. We need to learn to lean on God, and through those times sometimes we do learn to lean on God even more so. Turn with me to Romans 8 and 18, if you haven't already. Romans 8 and 18 says, For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who has subjected the same in hope. Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creature groaneth and travails in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruit of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man seeth, why does he yet hope for? But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities. For we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is in the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose. Paul has been on a physical journey, brother Ronnie, but it's led by a spiritual journey. He's on his way to Jerusalem, but his final destination is heaven. His life is not his own. And our lives are not our own either. We have been bought with a price. We're not here to please ourselves, to give provision for the flesh. This is God's vessel. If it needs healing, God will heal it. If not, his grace is sufficient. Paul says, I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Turn with me to Hebrews 9 and 26. Hebrews 9 and 26 says, For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world. But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment, so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. Jesus has defeated death in the grave, taking the second death and removing the sting. It is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment. Once we wrap our heads around this, it puts this life into perspective. People have the tendency to keep an earthly mindset. But the older I get, Brother Tim, and you're probably the same way, the shorter this life seems and material things seem to be trivial. We don't worry so much about these worldly things. Brother Gerald would often testify about how short life is, a warning of how short life may be, that it's but a vapor. I can sit back and remember a place, I could take you to the place right now, it's still there, Linville Elementary, pretty close to where you live. I was in third grade and Miss McCoy was teaching. I was four desks back and I can remember the sun shining through on my desk and it was distracting me and I was looking out there and I was thinking about my life ahead and how many years I have left and I was counting the years of getting out of elementary school and then into middle school and then high school and I really just thought I was never ever going to get out of there. I mean, it just felt like eternity. And I feel that right now, I mean, I could take you to that place. But that was 36 years ago and it just seems like a blink of an eye. We have the tendency to see this world, death and some mysterious afterlife. But the writer of Hebrews takes the mystery away. This vessel is going to give out and then we are going to face judgment. Use this vessel to do a work for the Lord. That's what we're here for. Let this old man that Brother Tim has preached about many times that cries out what he wants, just let him cry, let him go. Don't give in to that. That's not what we're here for. We're not here to please the flesh. Turn with me to Matthew 10 and 38. We're not here to live after the flesh. There's a work to do. Matthew 10 and 38 says, and he that taketh not his cross and fall after me is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. Have you ever been to Walmart? I'm sure you have and see a kid crying or hear a kid crying in another aisle. I run to those situations. I love it. I think most people probably try to get away from it. But I love I love that stuff. I'll sit there and stalk somebody like that. My wife would be shopping. I'll be bored to death and I'll find somebody. I'll find a situation like that, Brother Ronnie. It'll just entertain me until my wife's done shopping. But you can see a kid have a total meltdown when his mom, you know, there are people around their mom would be like, no, you can't have that. And you can you can tell that they've not been told no very often in their life, if not ever. And I love that. And I love to just kind of hang back and just wait to see the mom give in and hand that thing back to them, because it usually inevitably happens if a kid's having that much of a meltdown because they just want them to shut up. And I love stuff like that, but our flesh is much the same way. You can spoil it really bad, really fast. It'll do you good to tell your flesh, no, once in a while, always. We're not here to please our flesh. Our flesh is a spoiled brat. And the more you give into it, the more it'll want. Those saying is you give an inch, it'll take a mile. And that's the way our flesh is. And I don't want I don't want to be here to give provision to the flesh. I'm not here to serve myself. I'm here to serve the Lord. And he gave me a job to do. And I want to do it. Sickness, pain, loss of a family member, temptations, trials. They're all they're all part of life, but they're not worthy to be compared to the glory that should be revealed in us. Don't lose the faith when we're going through things like that. There's going to be heartache, worry, stress, but just hold on. Life will go on until it doesn't. Then we will lay this body down and face judgment and we must be ready for it. Turn with me back to 24, Acts 20 and 24. We must be ready for that day of judgment. Acts 20 and 24 says, but none of these these things move me. Neither count I my life dear unto myself. He doesn't count his life dear because of what he tells Timothy in First Timothy one and twelve. First Timothy one and twelve says, and I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has enabled me for that. He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry so he doesn't count his life dear unto himself. But God, Christ, Jesus, our Lord, has enabled him and counted him faithful, putting him in the ministry. We read that last week, he's no longer counting himself faithful to the flesh, but Christ has counted him faithful, putting him into the ministry. Jesus can't count on you if you're always counting on yourself, you're always counting on your own flesh. Jesus can't count on you. I was I looked up this song. I like the song. It's kind of an old Isaac song. But it's it's called Paul's ministry, so it goes along well. It says the Lord said, stand up, Paul, and dry up your tears. You must preach my gospel for many long years. Go to Damascus, the street that's called straight. You'll meet Ananias. And there you must wait. And the course is I counted on Jonah. I counted on Cain. I counted on Adam, but he was the same. I counted on Judas, but he proved untrue. So go tell the world, Paul, I'm counting on you. Three days have gone by, Lord. And yet I don't see. But here stands my brother talking with me. He said, Brother Paul, the Lord in the sky has sent me to heal you and open your eyes. I'll send you to the Gentiles. I'll send you to Rome. But Paul, you must suffer till I call you home. You'll sleep in the desert. You'll be shipwrecked at sea. But keep right on preaching my gospel for me. I counted on Jonah. I counted on Cain. I counted on Adam, but he was the same. I counted on Judas, but he proved untrue. So go tell the world, Paul, I'm counting on you. He counted on Paul and Paul held out to the end. I want him to be able to count on me. But I've got to count on him, I can't count on myself. Acts 20 and 25, we're almost done here. Acts 20 and 25 says, And now, behold, I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. Wherefore, I take you to record this day that I am pure from the blood of all men, for I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. That gives us our last principle that Paul shares with the elders, it's to lead this life with a godly testimony. I've been to hundreds of funerals, as you can imagine. I've talked to thousands, I'm sure, of loved ones at the bedside of a dead person. Almost everyone has someone that is willing to claim that their loved one made it home. For 50 to a $75 honorarium, Brother Ronnie, you can buy a preacher in town to tell a whole congregation of people that your loved one is resting in the arms of the Lord, no matter what kind of life they lived. I've seen it over and over. The last funeral that I arranged at Manakee was with a mom about her dead son. He was 38 years old when he passed, Sister Shelly. Her son had been dead for almost a month. There had been some confusion because he'd been living in a homeless shelter in Louisville. Apparently, his drug buddy that looked very similar to him had placed his license in his pocket trying to run from the law. They had called the wrong family in and that family said, that's not my son, when they tried to identify him. So it was up in the air for a while and her son had been dead for a month. She had no idea. They ended up running fingerprints and used tattoos to finally discover who he was. The mom was really disappointed, Brother Ronnie. I had to tell her that he wasn't able to be embalmed and she had the right to see him, but I didn't recommend it and it was bad. She asked us if we could at least take some pictures of his tattoos so that she could have full confidence that it was him laying in the casket. She wasn't going to be able to see him. And that man was identified. I thought about this, Brother Ronnie, that man was identified by the marks that he had made on himself. That's the only way his mom could even know that it was him. That's how he was identified. When I leave this world, I don't want people to identify me by the marks that I've made on myself. I want them to say God made a change in his life. And I certainly don't want to be identified on that day of judgment by the marks that I've made. But I want the evidence applied to my case by the marks that are on my savior. Near the end of those arrangements, I always take some personal information down to build an obituary and I say, you know, did he have any hobbies, anything he was interested in, any mile markers in his life that you would like to, any milestones that you would like to put there? And Brother Tim with tearful eyes, she looked at me and she said, well, when he was nine years old, he got baptized in a missionary Baptist church. And I thought about that and it was heartbreaking. That's all that she had that could connect him with heaven. And it been almost 30 years later. She didn't see the adult male that laid back there in a body bag. She wasn't thinking of the man that ran away from home. She wasn't considering the drugs that stole his life away. He wasn't just another tattooed homeless man to her. She didn't smell the stench of death that was coming from that embalming room. He was that little boy that got baptized on Sunday morning just years ago, full of hopes and dreams, wondering, is he going to be a preacher? What's he going to be? I can remember when Camden got saved about or got saved. And he got baptized about that same time. And and I can look back on those pictures that we always take it on the baptism morning. I can feel that joy that I had in that piece and that wonderment. And what's he going to be? Is he going to continue to serve the Lord? Is he going to? I'm assuming he's going to. But is he going to be a preacher? What's he going to do with this life? What's he going to do with this ministry and all those hopes and dreams? And I remember Bryson getting baptized down here just just down the road not too long ago. And the joy that came with that and all the all the excitement and that he gave his life to the Lord. And this boy had that at one time. And the devil stole that away from him. And I will not let that happen with my son. And I'm not going to let it happen to me. Who would have ever thought it would have ended that way? She couldn't even give him a proper funeral. She couldn't even see him in the casket. The devil had stolen everything away from her and it didn't have to end up that way. Let's not forget Paul's last principle here. Leave this life with a godly testimony. I not only want to make it, but I want people to know that I made it. And in closing, I'll share this with you. John 10 and 10 says the thief cometh not but for to steal and to kill and to destroy. I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.
