[0:00] These messages were recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfreda, Georgia. This was a very special time for Robert Canfield's coordination service.
[0:14] Okay, once you're shaking hands, you can start making your way back to your seat. I am so glad to see each of you tonight. It is a wonderful night to be in the house of God. I like all that noise you make when you're saludando.
[0:28] That means when you're greeting each other. I like that. I like to hear that God's people ought to be happy at God's house. Amen? It's a good thing to do. I'm glad you're here. Well, tonight's a special night.
[0:39] Obviously, Brother Robert's going to be ordained. But to start things off, I want to ask Robert and his bride to come up here. And today is their fourth anniversary.
[0:51] Jonathan, I need your help. They have been married four years today. And since he is on pastoral staff, I can ask this. I think you should have to kiss her even with that ugly, woolly face.
[1:04] How many of y'all want to see a kiss? Amen. All right. Lead us there, Brother Jonathan. Happy anniversary to you. Happy anniversary to you.
[1:17] Happy anniversary. God bless you. Happy anniversary to you. All right. Thank you very much. Man, I don't know what Kelly did wrong in her last life to deserve that.
[1:34] But anyway, man, it's a good time to be in God's house, isn't it? And good to see what God's doing. I'm excited to see you. You're so kind. I'm glad you came for the Lord Jesus first and then also for Brother Robert tonight.
[1:47] It's a very special night. And we have a visiting missionary. We support him. But he hasn't been showing up around our church. Brother Jeff, would you come forward, please? And you're preaching 10 minutes now.
[2:02] Just come on up. You can say a word and then lead us in our opening prayer, if you would. And Brother Jonathan, if you'll lead us in the next song. Great. Well, good evening to everybody.
[2:13] Amen. What a blessing it is to be here. And I am very happy to see many friends, wonderful people. Once again, it's a blessing.
[2:24] And I'm excited to be part of this service for Brother Robert's ordination tonight. And I want to say hello from my family, my wife Mindy and my daughters.
[2:35] And just a few weeks ago, we have four girls. Just a few weeks ago, we found out that we're having our first boy. Amen. I mean, that's just wonderful news for me. And, you know, everybody knows that Bible verse, right?
[2:48] Those that persevere until the end, they shall have a boy. Amen. I mean, so I finally got one. But Lord's been good to us and so thankful. We've been back to the United States for a little under two months now.
[2:59] And my family's in Indiana right now as I'm traveling a little bit around here. And I'm thankful to be with you all this evening. Let's go ahead and pray. And then we'll continue on with the service. Father, we thank you so much for your goodness, for your kindness.
[3:11] Lord, I ask that you bless everything that's done this evening, the songs and the special service for Brother Robert. And as your word is open, Lord, I ask that you would touch our hearts in a special way and that you convict us where it needs to be convicted.
[3:25] And you would show us what needs to be shown. And, Lord, we would continue on. We would leave this place this evening. We'd be encouraged in you and that we'd all serve you in a better way. Thank you, Lord, so much for the opportunity to be here.
[3:35] In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you very much. I'm sure you at least have an idea that the guy that's getting ordained, we let him pick the different fellows that will preach tonight.
[3:45] And the first preacher is David. And God has used David in a special way to find some young men. He got in touch with Kyle Shreve. And Kyle is here studying.
[3:56] And God is using him in the ministry. And he also ran into a guy named Robert Canfield one time several years ago. And so God has used David in his life.
[4:06] And so David's going to come and preach the first message tonight. Well, it's good to be here this evening. Open your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Where's Wayne Cook at?
[4:19] Where's Wayne Cook at? I love you, brother. I love you so much. For those of you that didn't understand that joke, just go to the summit this year. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. And I definitely think it's kind of surprising to think of the first time I met Robert.
[4:34] I knew that he was weird, a little different. When after only knowing me for one hour, I said, hey, man, come to Peru with me. And he said, okay. And the next week we bought plane tickets.
[4:45] And the week after that he bought or got his passport. And just long story short, God got him here and God did the work. Amen. And Robert, I appreciate you. You've been one of my best friends.
[4:56] I love you. And I'm not going to pull up, brother Tony. I'm going to try not to cry. But God's using you greatly. Open your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. And we'll see what Paul says is the emphasis of our message.
[5:08] And Paul says it's the emphasis of who we are and why we do what we do. And we'll start in verse 22. And it says, for the Jews require a sign and the Greeks seek after wisdom.
[5:21] But we preach Christ crucified. Amen. Amen. That's our message. That's the message that we preach. And honestly, there is a world full of religions. And there's a world full of philosophies.
[5:31] And there's one thing about us that separates from every other religion and every other cult and every other thing that happens. Any other kind of philosophy or human idea that is in this world.
[5:42] There's one thing that separates us. And it's those two words. Christ crucified. And to the Jews and to the moral and to the religious, it might be just absolutely an abandon of self.
[5:53] And a religious person might look at it and say, if I choose to believe in Christ and I choose to believe in these claims of Jesus, it is an absolute abandon of who I am and my self-righteousness.
[6:05] And to the Greeks, it says in verse 23, it says, and unto the Greeks foolishness. And it is an absurdity to think to the immoral person, to the person that's been in sin.
[6:16] And it is an absurdity to think that one man that came to this earth and died for our sins and paid the price for our sins can give me peace and just take everything away.
[6:28] For the Greeks, it might be absurdity. And for the Jews and the religious and the moral people, it might be an abandon of self. But that's who we are. Amen. That's who we preach. It's Christ crucified because he does do those things.
[6:40] He takes away religion and he takes away sin. And he takes all of these things to where we can have access to God and we are absolutely reconciled to God. Amen. That's the message that separates us.
[6:51] And, Robert, I'll tell you, that's what we need to stick with. The one thing that we do and the one thing that we preach is Christ and him crucified because in him, in our abandon of all of that religion and that absurdity of finding peace and righteousness and reconciliation in God.
[7:05] Look at verse 24. It says, but unto them which are called, that's you and I, unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God.
[7:17] And in my abandon and that absurdity, I find power and I find wisdom because that's who our God is. Amen. And we go to him and that's the message that we preach. 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 3 says that there will come a time when there will not endure sound doctrine.
[7:34] But the message that we continue to preach is Christ and him crucified. Amen. You look through the book of Acts and every time the apostles stood, it came to Christ and him crucified.
[7:44] And so when I preach, no matter what I preach, no matter what I say, my morality is not because of who I am or because of my self-righteousness. Everything goes back to the cross. Let me remind you that you're here tonight.
[7:56] Every one of us, not just Robert, not just me. We stand here and we sit in our seats because of the grace of God. Amen. It's nothing more, nothing less. If we were to preach more than Christ, it would be legalism.
[8:08] If we were to preach less than Christ, it would be humanism. We are nothing more and nothing less than preaching Christ and him crucified. Amen. Amen. That's who we are. And the bad thing is, Robert, is that our qualifications aren't good.
[8:20] You know, I signed an ordination paper just earlier with a few men. And honestly, it's really just admitting I'm a dummy and I'm approving of this dummy.
[8:33] Because if you look at, I know that sounds awful, but let's just read the Bible. Paul says it a lot nicer than I do. It says, There's nothing good in us.
[9:12] The only thing that's good in us is Jesus Christ. And he did that on purpose. And he chose that on purpose. Because, you know what, our message might be Jesus Christ. But if we were to have the wisdom of the world and we were to have the might and the nobility of the world, we could rely on our wisdom and on our power and our nobility.
[9:32] But he says, I did that on purpose. And your qualifications might be very poor. And anybody can come and anybody can be used by me because it is my grace. And our purpose is this.
[9:42] Look at verse 27. It says, And you know what our purpose is as preachers and as ministers?
[10:06] We are not to boast in our name. We are never to boast in our name or who we are. And Christian, I know you think this is a message to just a preacher that's getting ordained.
[10:16] But the book of 1 Corinthians was written to a church. And we are not to boast in who we are and nor our career and our education. No, we boast in Jesus Christ. And he chose those things.
[10:27] And the reason he chose it is because we are a magnificent display of his grace. When I stand and I can say that I'm foolish and I am base and I am despised and I'm all these things, I can stand and I can say that I am just pointing to the one that made me who I am.
[10:44] Amen? I am pointing to the Jesus Christ that has made me whole and that has made me pure. And I am foolish. And it is foolishness. And the Jews and the Greeks might not understand it. But it is Jesus Christ that has done this in me.
[10:56] And look at verse 29. And this is what he says. It says that no flesh should glory in his presence. And that's why he uses us.
[11:07] So that no flesh, neither you nor the people that are unsaved, could glory in his presence. Because when people see me, they will understand that it is not their righteousness that makes them who they are.
[11:18] It is only Jesus Christ. And that's how he brings to naught those things that are. And God uses us in amazing ways. And honestly, I've been able to see the grace of God in Robert's life.
[11:29] The day I met him, he was 20 years old. We were in Butler, Ohio. And we went to Raiders, which was a great restaurant with a buffet of chicken, chicken, and chicken. And they had, you know, fried chicken and fried chicken and fried chicken.
[11:42] And to meet a young man from rural Ohio that God just used in great and mighty ways. And see him stand and preach the word of God and see God's grace displayed through him. It's nothing of you, Robert.
[11:54] It's all of him. That's all of him and who he is. And he works in us that way so that no flesh could glory in his presence. But the most beautiful part of this whole passage is the next verse.
[12:06] But of him are ye in Christ Jesus. So, man, I might be useless. And I might be foolish. And I might be unwise. And I might not be noble.
[12:17] But I'm his. And I am a son of Jesus Christ. And I am in him. And my life is hid with Christ in God. And I am a child of the king. And through him he gives me all these things.
[12:28] And his promise to me as a preacher. And his promise to me as a child of God. He says, but of him are ye in Christ. Who of God is made unto us. Wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
[12:40] I am sanctified. I am redeemed. I am righteous and I am wise through him, Jesus Christ. And let him that glorieth glory in the Lord. Look at the next verse. That according as it is written, he that glorieth let him glory in the Lord.
[12:54] And so everything, once again, from verse 22 to verse 31, it all goes back to Christ. And it all goes back to who he is. And we as Christians and, Robert, we as preachers, everything goes back to Jesus. Everything I do, everything I am goes back to Jesus.
[13:07] I am a good husband because Jesus is a good husband of the church. Amen. And I am a good father because he's a good father to me. And he made me good. And everything goes back to Jesus. And let him that glorieth.
[13:18] Let him glory in the Lord. So, Robert, I would challenge you. As you stand to preach, let it always point to Jesus Christ. And as you sit to disciple, let it always point to Jesus Christ.
[13:28] And as you live your life as a father and as a husband and a preacher and a minister and a servant, let it always point back to Christ. And church, that goes for all of us. Amen. Because God is good.
[13:39] Thank you. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. All right. We have Robert's family here. Would you all hold your hand up? Where's Robert? There's Robert.
[13:49] Hold your hand up. Everybody say, Robert's family. Hold a little higher. They can't see you. All right. There's Robert's family. Now, let's have Kelly's family. Hold her hand up. Kelly's family. I guess that makes y'all Robert and Kelly's family.
[14:01] And glad to have them here down from Ohio and up from South Georgia. Now, south of Atlanta. Glad to have all of them here. Brother Tony Howarth has been instrumental in everything that's been done at Vision up until now.
[14:13] Been a blessing to these young men. Brother Tony, come. Pastor of the Newton Baptist Church is going to preach tonight. Amen. I love you. Take your Bibles and turn to Judges chapter 6.
[14:24] Judges chapter 6. For the family that knows Robert, we're not making fun of him. We're just telling the truth. That's supposed to have been funny. I didn't come across with it, huh?
[14:37] Wow, that's bomb. We were in class one day. Robert had just come. We were in another building. And I forgot what Robert was doing that irritated me.
[14:51] Not that I get irritated often. And not that I'm not high strung, Brother Jason. Yeah. But I'm high strung. And Robert irritated the daylights out of me one day. And I said, why don't you just go build something?
[15:04] He gets up out of his chair. He walks up out of class. I'm like, where's he going? So I'll run down the hallway. He says, where are you going? He says, well, you told me to go build something. I was thinking about you last night.
[15:17] Sounds a little different, I know. But I was like, you know, the guy that we used to pick at, make fun of, is the very man that we look to now to help us with everything that we do.
[15:30] And to reach the world with the gospel of Christ. I was thinking about your life. And I was thinking about just 10 minutes today. I thought of Gideon. Judges chapter 6, we look at Gideon's life.
[15:44] I'll start reading in verse 11. And it says, And the Lord looked upon him and said,
[17:19] But what could a man do coupled up with God? And God told him, he says, Thou art a mighty man of valor. And this would be more for Robert than maybe anybody else, but y'all can listen as I talk to him.
[17:31] I'll try down the word valor. He was a man of valor. A man of might. A man of courage. A man that was able to do something that is beyond himself. Robert, I pray. I pray that you would do many things that are so beyond yourself.
[17:44] We stand in a day and age of men that will be courageous. Men that will be powerful with and for our God. We need men. One of the things that you came here, you may not have been hiding behind a wine press.
[17:57] You chose to hide behind a hammer. And there's things that you chose to bring into your life to maybe keep you from doing exactly what God in heaven wanted you to do. I'm so proud of you that you have stepped to the front and you've told God that, God, I will do anything, go anywhere, be anybody that you want me, that I might be able to serve and honor you.
[18:14] That same manliness man that you brought with you from hammering and building and carrying and loading. May you carry it into the ministry. May you carry great loads for our God.
[18:26] I want you to look at me and understand this. We need mighty men of valor. We need men that will stand for our God when everybody else backs away. We need men that will weld the sword when other men want to go play video games.
[18:37] We need men that will stand toe to toe with hell and that will fight hell. We need men that will know how to sweat, not on the outside, but men that know how to sweat upon the soul. We are in a day and age where we have an army that has come against the church of the living God.
[18:52] And we need, my man, we need men that will be valiant for our God that will stand and having done all will stand. Men that will dress themselves in the breastplate of righteousness.
[19:03] They will have their loins girt about with truth. They will have their feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. They will take the sword of God's spirit and they will carry high the shield of faith.
[19:14] We need men that are valiant, full of valor for our God. He says, thou mighty man of valor. You stand, you fight. Your respect before God is more important than your respect before men.
[19:27] And may you always stand for our God. He was a man of valor. And then number two, write this down, he was a man of vision. We have an army that has taken them over. We have an army that has defeated them.
[19:38] We have an army that, Brother Jason, they've obliterated everything in sight. But yet notice with me in verse 13 and 14. He says, And Gideon said to him, O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?
[19:52] And where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord hath forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. And the Lord looked on him and said, Go in this thy might.
[20:05] And now watch this next. And thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. See, the first word you wrote down was the word valor. The second word I want to write down is the word vision. Vision. What could God do with your life?
[20:19] You say, Well, I've gotten to the point and place that I'm in the ministry. Well, may you never lose vision for what God wants with your life. May you never lose vision for what God wants to do with you and your dear wife.
[20:30] Of what God wants to do with you and your family. Of what the God of heaven could do through your life. See, he says, I realize this army has destroyed you. I realize this army has brought fear into your life. I realize this army has made you captive.
[20:42] I realize this army has done all of this. But I want to give you something that is beyond yourself. I want to plant a seed thought in your mind that possibly, Gideon, you've never thought of before.
[20:54] You are going to destroy the Midianites. Brother Austin talks about dreaming a dream. Wild thoughts. What could God of heaven do in your life?
[21:06] What is it that brings fear? Nobody else understands it. I mean, the honest truth is as long as we make decisions in everybody's comfort zone, they're happy for us. When we make decisions for God that's outside of their comfort zones, then they think you're crazy.
[21:21] But what could God in heaven? Vision. Valor. Vision. Number three, victory. Victory. He says in verse 16, if the latter part of that verse is, he says, and thou shalt smite the Midianites.
[21:34] He says, thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. Victory is not something, Robert, that we try to strive for. It's not something that we're continually trying to attain within our life.
[21:44] Victory has already been won through the Lord Jesus Christ. Boy, David, you did a tremendous, tremendous job. Victory has already been won. We work from victory within our life, my dear brother. And your life should be from one victory to victory.
[21:57] From faith to faith, from grace to grace. And my brother, from victory to victory, may you live your life. And so we look at those three words. We think about valor. Woo! I mean, man, to be honest with you, I like these three words.
[22:10] Valor. Vision. Victory. Amen. Amen. Amen. Huh? But as I was studying this, and maybe this comes with just a little bit of time of getting my teeth knocked down my throat. Can we go back and look at these three words of what they're used in the Bible?
[22:25] He says in verse 12, is it up on the screen? He says, thou mighty man of valor. But is that not the second part of the sentence, friends? Is that not the second part of the sentence?
[22:37] Are you with me? Is that not the second part of the sentence? What does the first part of the sentence say? And the only way that you're ever going to be a mighty man of valor is understanding that it's got to be the God of heaven that rests and abides and moves and works within your life.
[22:54] You must always allow God in heaven to move through your life. Because if it wasn't for the first part of that sentence, my dear brother Robert, if it wasn't for the Lord is with thee, then there could not be a punctuation mark and there could not be a following to that sentence.
[23:08] Without the Lord is with thee, there is no mighty man of valor. There is none. But now watch this. Now watch this. So that's the valor part. But then the vision. He said in verse 14.
[23:21] Could you put verse 14 up there? And it says, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. But now sandwiched between that vision of you're going to save the Midianites.
[23:33] Sandwiched between those is the Lord looked upon him and said. And the Lord looked upon him and said, go in this thy might. Thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites.
[23:45] That's your vision that you would do great things for our God. But it's the God of heaven that has told you to go. And it's the God of heaven that says, have not I sent thee? So we thank God for a man of valor.
[23:56] But if the Lord is not with you, then you cannot be a man of valor. And we talk about vision. But if the Lord has not given you your vision, then you cannot have a vision. And so let's look at the last one. And I close.
[24:07] Can we look at verse 16 now? And thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. My soul, does that not, Brother Hugh, bring up the amen within us?
[24:18] Oh, victory, victory, victory. But the Lord said unto him, surely I will be with thee. And if there is not a surely I will be with thee, then there's not going to be thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
[24:35] You realize that before the valor is the Lord. And before the vision is the Lord. And before the victory is the Lord. Before everything that we get excited about in the ministry that we're going to do and be for God.
[24:46] Before every one of those. It is the Lord. And so as you're having this special day. Be a man of valor. Be a man of vision.
[24:58] Be a man of victory. Man, that sounds, I like it. But all of those are sounding brass. And a tinkling cymbal. Without the Lord.
[25:09] In your life. Amen. All right, brother Robert, if you would come forward. Robert's been a tremendous blessing to me personally and in our church.
[25:20] And I'm so excited about what God's doing in his life and has done in his life. And I just honestly believe that he's been like a gift of God to our church.
[25:31] And he's going to share a word of testimony with us right now. And I had planned out what I was going to say. But I don't know what to say after all this stuff. Saved at a young age.
[25:43] I was a freshman in high school. The Lord began to work with me. But I never accepted him. And he saved me. Shortly after that, maybe like four or five years that he started working in my life.
[25:55] That I knew that life was a little bit more than what I was doing. And he moved me down here. And I thank you to all my family and my friends in this church.
[26:08] My mentor. I wouldn't be where I was at. But, man, they've said a lot of nice things about me today. That's not really true if you actually knew me. I appreciate that, Brother Jeff.
[26:26] But I look back and I see all this stuff. It was God working through me. And I was talking to Bo. I think it was Bo, yeah. Bo on Saturday night. I had this little illustration.
[26:37] I was going to get to you. It was pretty good. When I was in kindergarten, I bought my first BB gun. And my grandpa and my dad went out rabbit hunting.
[26:48] And for those of you who know, they had dogs. And I think it was my grandpa was running the dogs. And they were trying to jump out the rabbits. And I stood on top of the hill. And I had my BB gun. My dad had a shotgun.
[27:00] And that rabbit came around. And I pulled up the gun. And my dad pulled up the gun. And he shot and I shot. And my dad turned to me. He said, I think you got him. I think you got him. So I ran home. And I told mom.
[27:10] I was like, mom, I shot the rabbit. But in all reality, it wasn't me. And I'd be foolish to stand here and say, look what I've done. Look what I've done. But it wasn't me. It was God that was working in me.
[27:22] It was God that was doing the work the entire time. Philippians chapter 2 verse 13 real quick. This was a verse that David used when I was battling fears and doubts.
[27:35] It says, for it is God which worketh in you both to will, and that last phrase, and to do of his good pleasure. I stand before you as just a man.
[27:49] I appreciate all the nice things, but it wasn't me. It was God that was working through me. And can I say, this has been the most exciting time. God allows me. God allows me to partake in some of this, even though it was all him that was doing it.
[28:02] And just remember that. If there's anything that's good in us, it's him that does it. And I just want to give him all the glory. Thank you very much. All right, gentlemen, if you will, we're going to take the offering now.
[28:13] And if you want to give a special offering to Robert, you can be sure and put that in your handshake and give him one of those handshakes with a little bit of money. Because the men of the church voted to give him $500 tonight.
[28:25] We're giving Robert a special love offering tonight on part of Vision Baptist Church. And so this will be our regular offering. And if you have something special that you'd like to give, you just be sure and pass that to him.
[28:36] Or if you need to go through the church, you somehow write it on a check or something. Let's have a word of prayer. Father, I love you. I thank you so much for the wonderful privilege tonight of just magnifying you because of your work.
[28:50] We know that it's you that has done the work. We know that it's you that has called forth your men. We know that it's you that has built everything that's built around you that's of any value.
[29:00] And we give you all the praise. I praise you, Lord, for the way you raised Robert. I praise you, Lord, for the way you saved Robert. I praise you, Lord, for the way you've trained Robert. God, none of us can take any credit.
[29:12] We know it has been you and your work. And it's all for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we love you and praise you. God, use this offering to help us further the work. Help us to carry the gospel further.
[29:23] Help us to get missionaries out. Thank you, Lord, for all you're doing. In Jesus' precious name, amen. Those of you around this church a long time ago, and Brother Philip was used of God to help us start everything here.
[29:34] So glad to have him singing in the service tonight. Well, Brother Trent, if you'd come. You know, I often I'm with people. I was with people this very week. I was preaching in another church Monday night through Wednesday night.
[29:48] And a mention was made of Brother Trent. And I just told them I am honored to work with some of the best men of God I've ever known. And you ought to be blessed.
[29:59] I'm blessed by what God's doing in this church. I'm blessed by the men God's put here. And Trent is an integral part of every person that goes through here. And I just thank God for him. Brother Trent, you preach for us.
[30:10] Thank you, Pastor. If you will join me in Joshua chapter number 23 and chapter number 24, I'd like to share a couple of verses tonight from the life of Joshua, who was a soldier that had the heart of a shepherd.
[30:25] As we think about Brother Robert, I'm thankful that I don't have to describe the type of man that he is. You know him as a church. The day in the Ordination Council, we didn't have to ask him any questions about what he thinks because we know what he thinks because he teaches and preaches it here in the church.
[30:40] We don't have to ask him any questions about his lifestyle because we've seen it and he is constantly serving. We don't have to talk about his worth ethic because if you've ever been here and served on a weekend or any time, you know that he was here when you showed up and he was here when you left.
[30:54] And so we fully know this man. Say amen to what Brother Tony said about him being a man of valor and a vision of victory. And I'm thankful for Brother Robert. We all have our own stories about him, but I think when he first came here, how he was always telling us what his dad said, Miss Canfield.
[31:08] He would say, my dad said an empty hand is a wasted hand. My dad says, and we heard all kinds of little Canfield proverbs from him, and we're thankful for family that taught him a hard worth ethic, and that's one thing we know about him.
[31:21] One time he came to the church and he had a flannel shirt on and a two-by-four, and he walked in. My son Thatcher looked at me and said, was that Bob the Builder? And I said, it's kind of like Bob the Builder.
[31:32] And he has built around here many things, but he's also built this church, and there's no mistake it, he's built some lives, and there's some things that he has built that you can't see that God has used him to do.
[31:43] And I count it an honor to serve with him, and I'm thankful. I've had the honor to serve with the pastor now almost 10 years and to serve with some world-class leaders as I see them, and I'm very thankful that I get to serve day in and day out with Brother Robert.
[31:57] And it truly is a gift from God. Ephesians 4 tells us that God will give people like Brother Robert to a church to equip the saints. And so when you think about the vision of this church tonight, we ought to know that God has big plans in store as we think about the life of Brother Robert and how he sent him here to serve with us.
[32:14] And I'm very thankful that God gave us a gift to man like Brother Robert and the family. Before I get to Joshua chapter number 24, I'd like to tell you that Joshua, he's known as a great soldier, but he also had the heart of a loving shepherd.
[32:28] He had a concern for people. And we find this to be true all throughout the Bible of men of God, that they were tough men, that they're soldiers, that they can work hard, but they also have the heart of a shepherd. And 2 Peter chapter number 1 and verse number 12, it said like this, this is Peter speaking, it said, Wherefore I will not be negligent, but put you always in remembrance of these things, though you know them and be established in the present truth.
[32:53] Yea, I think it means as long as I am in this tabernacle, the stir up in you by putting in remembrance. So it talks about a person that brings into remembrance the things that we know. And so much of the ministry, Brother Robert, as you know, as you are being ordained tonight, and I thought as you were telling that hunting story, that you must be ready to be ordained here in the South, now that you've got a good hunting story under your belt with all your other qualifications.
[33:18] Yea, I should have listened to my wife on that one. That wasn't, that was so great. But all the things that we've seen in your life, to know that God's qualified you, but your heart of a shepherd is something I thank God for.
[33:28] And it's that you just have to constantly remind people. So maybe I'll speak to the church now and let you know about the gift that we have. God gave us a man that's going to remind us of some truths, that he's going to stand between us and God, and he's going to point us to the cross that Brother David preached about.
[33:44] And we should thank God for that. We should never take it for granted that he is here in our lives and reminding us. I heard a story, and I was thinking about how Brother Tony and Brother Robert were trying to grow beards like mine, and they want to be lumberjacks.
[33:55] I read a story about how a man, he went out, he quit his accounting job, and he went and bought a chainsaw, and he bought the nicest one, and he said you should be able to get six or seven cords a day through this new chainsaw.
[34:06] So he went out and he worked and worked, and he came back to the man, and he brought the chainsaw back and said, I work from sun up to sun down, and I can't get more than two cords of wood cut during the day.
[34:17] So the man took the piece of equipment, he looked at it, it had gas in it, the blade was sharp, and everything was fine on it. And he went to start it up, and the man jumped back. And he said, what was that noise? And so apparently this man had been using this chainsaw.
[34:29] Brother Frick enjoyed it, all right? He had been using this chainsaw, but he didn't ever start it. And sometimes you need a person in your life, somebody that's there to equip you, to remind you of something that you know was already true.
[34:41] And so much of the ministry is reminding God's people of something they were already taught when they were younger on a flannel graph, but we have to faithfully remind them of it. And that's what Joshua does. First, in chapter number 23, Joshua called the leaders together, probably at Shiloh, and we won't look at that chapter, but in verses 3 and 4, he reminds them of the past.
[35:01] Here he's shown a sincere devotion to the Lord. He's going to die, but he wanted what would be left to carry on in the work, and Joshua wanted them to be faithful to God. So in verses 3 and 4, in speaking to leaders, he reminds them of the past.
[35:13] Verse 5, the promises of the future, then the remainder of the chapter, he tells them about their responsibilities. But I want us to look real quickly at verse number 6 and verse number 14 of chapter 23.
[35:25] And this is Joshua here speaking to the leaders. In verse number 6, it says, Be therefore very courageous, and we've heard the charge tonight from Brother Tony, to be a man of valor. Be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that you turn not aside therefrom to the right hand to the left.
[35:42] Be courageous and keep all the law that God has written. Remember the word of God. Verse number 14, about halfway down, it says, That no one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you.
[35:54] Not one of the words of the Lord hath failed us. So to the leaders there, he is reminding them, preaching, if you will, the saying that we must remember the book. To the leaders here, he is telling them that we've got to be courageous and we have to follow it.
[36:08] You don't know this, but throughout the week, Brother Robert is with the students in the training center. He's up in his class, and he is constantly reminding them to be men and women of the book.
[36:19] And the gift that God gave us, he gave us a man that is going to remind us to be people of the book. As he has opportunities to preach in the church, oftentimes to 1st or 2nd Timothy, he'll tell us to preach the word, to be constantly in the word.
[36:32] And I'm thankful for that. But then in chapter number 24, as he goes and he gathers now the people, not the leaders, but just all the other people, and he brings them a shechem, which would be a very important place to them.
[36:43] This is a place that Jacob had built an altar. It was a place that God had given that first promise to Abraham. It was a place that Jacob gathered his family around and exhorted his family to put away idols.
[36:54] And then at the beginning of the chapter, he talks about what God's done in the past. And towards verses 16 through 21, he talks about the discipline. He says that he reminds them if you continue in your ways with the idols, then you will not be able to serve the Lord.
[37:10] At the end of the chapter, he reminds them of the covenant. But right in the middle of the chapter in verses 14 and 15, we have some verses that you should know. And Joshua 24, 14 and 15 says, Now therefore, fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your father served on the other side of the flood and in Egypt, and serve ye the Lord.
[37:30] And it seemed evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your father served that were on the other side of the flood, or the God of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.
[37:40] But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. As he gathered the children around, he said, Now I want to charge you, we're about to go forward, and I want to prepare you. And he says, As for me and my house, we're going to serve the Lord and put away idols.
[37:54] And that's the challenge that Brother Robert, Miss Kelly, and his growing family says to us, is in his example before us all the time. He preaches seven days out of the week. Don't mistake it at all.
[38:06] He doesn't only preach up there in children's church, but his life is preaching a message. So my message tonight is to me and to the rest of the church. Ephesians 4 tells us that God gave us a gift. And we should know that we have a man of God that's going to remind us to preach the word, to teach the word, all the leaders of the church.
[38:21] And those of us in the church that make up the congregation, we should know that his life is preaching, and that he said he is going to serve the Lord with his life. And we should follow an example. And tonight, I just want to thank God for the gift that he has given us.
[38:35] Heavenly Father, I thank you for the life of Brother Robert. Lord, I thank you for all that you've done in his life before we met him some years ago, the influence in his life and his family, and in church growing up, all the countless Sunday school teachers that he would have had.
[38:48] Lord, for a family that taught him a hard work ethic, and I thank you for giving him a love for your word. And Lord, tonight we don't take for granted that he is a gift from God that you have given us to equip the saints.
[39:00] And he is a man of the book, Lord, and he is a man that leads by example. And Lord, we are so honored to get to serve with him in this time, in this church, and in this generation. In your son's precious name we pray.
[39:11] Thank you very much. Take your Bibles, if you would, quickly, two verses. 2 Timothy 1, verses 13 and 14. 2 Timothy 1, verses 13 and 14.
[39:23] And Robert, I know this is your heart already. I know you believe this. I know this is what you want. But I want to remind you of these words. There are two major verbs I wish you'd make note of.
[39:36] Hold fast in verse 13. Hold fast. And in verse 14, keep. Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
[39:51] Hold fast the word of God, the truth, the way it is in the Bible. Don't try to find anything new. Don't try to find anything cute to say we have true sound words.
[40:04] Hold on to them. Paul said, Timothy, you heard them from me. Now use them in faith and in love. It's interesting. In verse 12, he says, in verse 12, he says, we can trust God.
[40:16] And he says, I've committed unto him against that day. And in verse 13, he says, now, Timothy, it's your turn. Hang on to the book. Hang on to the truth. Preach it in faith.
[40:26] Preach it in love. You get both of those from Jesus Christ. Verse 15, you're going to need them. Because in verse 15, people will turn away and people won't want to listen and so on.
[40:37] And then in verse 14, he said, that good thing which was committed unto thee, keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us. And the truth of the matter is, I doubt there's very much that we're going to do that's going to make us notable or rise up on a pedestal or have people think very highly of us.
[40:56] But we got the book. It was given to us by guys that preached it before us. It was given to us by guys that fought and died to preach it and to say it. And now it's our turn.
[41:08] And hang on to it. Fifty years from now, if the Lord allows you to still be alive and still be preaching, I hope you're just preaching the book. I hope you're preaching it in faith.
[41:20] Believe it. Believe it. Believe it. It'll be hard to believe on a lot of days. It'll be hard to believe when problems come and they're coming. They come to all of us. It'll be hard to do it in love when people attack you and people leave you.
[41:32] But make sure you don't ever get out of that. And then keep it. The Holy Spirit gave it to you. This church tonight's not making a preacher out of you. The Bible school hasn't made a preacher out of you. These preachers can't make a preacher out of you.
[41:44] That was God that did that. And so hang on to it. Let's bow our heads for prayer. Father, I love you and I pray that you would work tonight. I thank you for what you've done. God bless Brother Robert.
[41:54] Lord, magnify your name in him. Glorify yourself. Thank you for the men in this room that you've called and placed in the ministry. None of us are worthy. Every one of us can do all we do only through the grace of your grace given to us and the way you've worked in our lives.
[42:12] And I pray, God, that tonight you'd help Robert to grab a hold of you and to grab a hold of the word and to go forward as he preaches and teaches here at our church and wherever you might take him over the rest of his life.
[42:24] I pray, God, that tonight he's made some solid decisions that were already made before tonight that he is saying, I'm going to serve the Lord Jesus. I'm going to do all the things that we've heard.
[42:35] I want to magnify Jesus. I want to serve him. I want to honor him. And we'll give you praise and glory and honor for all that you do in Jesus' precious name. Amen. Well, Brother Robert, if you'd come and they've got a chair here for you and then all the guys that are ordained, if you would come up here and kind of gather over in that corner if you're an ordained preacher tonight.
[42:54] And I think we have some music people that need to be coming up here. And it's all of you fellas lined up over there. And, Robert, you can kneel in front of that chair.
[43:06] We're not going to let you sit. Just a good formal picture of that. And we'll be praying, and they'll be singing here tonight. And I hope you'll pray for Robert.
[43:17] I hope you'll pray. You know, nothing happens tonight. We don't have any power in our hands. We don't have any special thing that we can do except this. We can ask God. We can ask God to work in Robert's life.
[43:27] So you pray with us as these men pray. Brother Mark. I think those ladies know how to work around here. They are just waiting on me. I said, hurry up and pray. They're waiting. All right.
[43:38] Can I get all the men just to lay hands on, Brother Robert, if you'd come forward and stand up here. And Brother Frick is going to present the Bible. And then I think, I believe it's Mark, will present the certificate.
[43:52] And I just thank God. I was just sitting there thinking as they laid hands on him, I don't know if you realize what a blessed church we are. The God of heaven has blessed us.
[44:03] Two of the men behind me aren't members of this church. Brother Tony is a pastor of another church. And Brother Jeff is a member of Whitfield Baptist Church. Everybody else is a member here, right?
[44:14] Except Brother Trent. We'll vote him out tonight. But it's a blessed thing to have all these men of God as part of our church. Isn't it? Amen. Brother Frick. Robert.
[44:25] It's my privilege to present to Robert tonight a Bible. Every man has a bag of tools with which to do his work. Often he has one tool that is his favorite, the one he knows well and uses the best.
[44:40] For a mason, it is his trowel. For a surgeon, it is his scalpel. For a dentist, it is his drill. For a soldier, it is his gun. For David, it was his sling and a stone. For a minister, it's his Bible.
[44:52] As a tool, the word of God has many aspects. It is a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces. It is a sword. In fact, sharper than a double-edged sword. Dividing asunder joints and marrow, soul and spirit.
[45:04] And is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. It is water that satisfies a thirsty soul. It is milk that nourishes the young. It is meat that builds a strong, mature Christian.
[45:15] It is light that illumines our way. A lamp unto our feet. A light unto our path. It's for both hearing and speaking. It tears down the strongholds of Satan and builds up the work of God.
[45:27] A minister is commanded to study the word. Study to show thyself approved unto God. A workman that needeth not to be ashamed. Rightly dividing the word of truth. A minister is to hide it in his heart.
[45:37] And ultimately, a minister is to preach. Preach the word. This Bible is presented to you, Robert, as a reminder that God's word is your primary tool to do God's work.
[45:51] May it be just one that you wear out over your lifetime. Use it well. Amen. Amen. Well, it is a joy to be a part of the ordination service for Brother Robert today.
[46:09] You know, in Matthew, or I'm sorry, Mark chapter 10 and verse 44, the Bible says, And whosoever of you will be the chiefest shall be servant of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be ministering to, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many.
[46:24] You know, a goal for every Christian should be, you know, they want to be like Jesus Christ. And I'm glad to say that I know Brother Robert has a desire and a heart to be like Jesus Christ.
[46:35] And as he's worked and has been a servant to all of us, he's been a great blessing to my family. And I just praise the Lord for him and Kelly and just looking forward to how the Lord is going to use them.
[46:46] Have an opportunity to give them their certificate of ordination that were signed by these men behind me. And the certificate reads as this. We, the undersigned, upon the recommendation and request of Vision Baptist Church of Alpharetta, Georgia, which had full and sufficient opportunity for judging the God-given gifts, and after satisfactory examination in regard to the Christian experience, call to the ministry, and view of Bible doctrine, hereby certify that Robert Scott Elliott Canfield was solemnly and publicly set apart and ordained to the work of the gospel ministry by authority and order of Vision Baptist Church of Alpharetta, Georgia, on the 27th day of October, 2011.
[47:21] If you're in agreement with that, say amen. I guess it's a little late. We've already done it, haven't we? Praise the Lord for tonight. Praise the Lord for Brother Robert. Praise the Lord for each of you.
[47:33] And thank you for all that you do. I'm not sure. Kathy's not here anymore. So who has the camera? All right. There's a camera. Could you guys, Robert, could you come up here front and center, and could you guys do whatever she tells us to do so we can get a picture?
[47:48] Get in the middle there, big boy. Can you get all of us? You need them to do something. You need a wide angle. Me and Robert are in this one. All right?
[48:04] All right. I don't think, Jason, have you signed yet? You signed it? You did? All right. Has everybody signed all this? If you have, you can leave. If you hadn't, put $100 down and signed. All right.
[48:16] Well, it ought to be good. You ought to think it's good. God has blessed. Amen? You might wonder, well, where's Robert going?
[48:27] He's going to Vision Baptist Church Alpha Drive. That's where he's going. And that's his mission field. That's where he's working. And I think the Lord's put together some men that are going to stay here.
[48:39] We got men going everywhere, and I'm excited about that. I was telling Robert during the, when we had supper tonight, looks like maybe three or four more will get ordained next year.
[48:49] Just God keeps blessing. Amen? And it's a wonderful thing. Let's all stand to our feet, if you would. And let's thank the Lord Jesus. Be sure and give Robert a big hug and handshake.
[49:03] And Kelly, married now four years. And that's exciting. And then the parents are here. And the in-laws are here. And outlaws are here.
[49:14] And everybody's here. So you be sure and greet them. Thank you all for being here. Let's bow for prayer. Father, we love you. We magnify you. You're so good to us. Thank you for everybody who did everything.
[49:25] Thank you for those that worked to get the meal ready. Thank you, Lord, for those that sang the songs tonight. Thank you for those that cleaned the building, prepared everything. Thank you, Lord, for the Canfield family that did such a job as parents raising a boy to love you.
[49:42] Thank you for them. God bless them. Bless Robert's dad who's not here tonight. May he watch this at some time. I pray you bless him, God, for his investment in your kingdom.
[49:53] Raising a son to honor you. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for that. Thank you for every person that's here. Thank you for a wonderful, wonderful Savior. Thank you for a wonderful, wonderful church. Thank you just for being so good to us.
[50:04] In Jesus' precious name, amen. You have been listening to Robert Canfield's Ordination Service.
[50:15] For more information, log on to www.visionbaptist.com. Thank you.
[50:28] Thank you.