Truthfully, I never thought that this day would come.
And for you who are probably relatively new to this ministry,
!
I had moved down here before my family had moved,
and I was staying in the parsonage, right,
the house that is right in front of the church.
And I remember looking out across the field that was there at that time
with a sober sense of frailty and fear.
I remember distinctly thinking to myself,
I won't last here six months.
I had been pastoring in a small rural church in northeastern Ohio
that, truthfully, when I went there,
I intended to be buried in that community.
I am one who has believed from childhood on
that lasting relationships take work but also are worth it.
I was called by this congregation.
Judith and I had been members here
before I was called to the pastorate in northeastern Ohio.
And so it was the only call I received as a young pastor
that I attended to.
And I can remember arguing a little bit with God
and saying I don't want to leave where I was.
Maranatha was a larger church and a much bigger ministry,
and I truthfully didn't think I would make it for six months.
I am here today because of the grace of God,
because of the persistent prayers of God's people.
No pastor will ever endure without that.
I'm also here because many of you over and over again gently admonished me
and corrected and instructed,
and God gave me a willingness to hear.
As a younger man, I was rather brassy.
I still can be that way.
As I'm leaving the home this morning,
I said to Judith,
please pray for my humility.
It's a lifelong battle.
And you have ministered to me.
I'm thankful.
Ah, well, there's a part that I really like to say.
Turn in your Bibles.
I trust that John's prayer this morning,
which I found to be reflective of things that you should pray
when the Word of God is opened,
I trust that it will not be the only prayer
that will take place in the remainder of our time together.
With that said, I want you to turn to John chapter 17,
and we're going to look at verse 18 as a frame.
We're going to think this morning about setting our course for 2017.
This month, January, the remainder of it,
at least for the next four weeks,
what is going to happen is I'm going to preach this Sunday.
Pastor Shearer will preach next Sunday.
I will preach the Sunday after that,
and then he will preach the Sunday after that.
First and third, Kenoyer.
Second and fourth, Shearer.
After that, we will work on a preaching rotation
that will bring each of us to the pulpit
roughly about 50% for the remainder of the year,
give or take.
Please don't keep a tab on how many times we are in,
because I just tell you up front,
there's always going to be little hiccups in life.
Pastor Shearer is going to be going to California
where Sarah's family is.
They're going to be gone for three full weeks,
so you may have me for three weeks extra there,
but bear with it.
It's all right.
We'll get there.
He'll make it up.
But the purpose of this process of transition
is an illustration of this congregation's
very deliberate approach to ministry.
And while I am going to address what we would call
strategic initiatives this Sunday,
and Pastor Shearer will follow up with that next Sunday,
I want you to understand that it is not something
that we discuss only on this Sunday,
because if you were to think in any frame
of what has taken place over the last several years,
you would understand that this congregation
and its prayer life and the energy of your thoughts
and affections in part have been part of a strategic initiative
of deliberately seeking a man that will take the ministry
into our next phase and place.
It has been something that we prayed about.
You as a congregation agreed to over two years ago.
A search committee that was framed at that time
spent about two years seeking out a man
that we would call our senior pastor-elect,
and God brought him to us about, give or take,
nine months ago.
That was a strategic initiative.
I can't say that the transition has been finished,
but I will say that I am thankful for the process
and progress and blessing that it has been to all of us.
And when Pastor Shearer and I began praying and thinking together,
one of the things that we began to discuss very early in our time
as companions in the gospel was,
okay, what are the things that we believe together
God wants us to focus on?
Pastor Shearer, in particular, was the one who set the frame
of the matter of our working at being the kind of neighbors
that God wants us to be.
And he is going to take next week to kind of dive into that
in greater detail and lay out an overview
of what our small group ministries are going to be studying together
for the next 12 weeks.
Providentially, it will end up that the conclusion
to the neighboring lessons that we're going to study
are going to land right up against, guess what,
national, spiritual, significant day, Easter.
And I trust that we as a fellowship make our efforts
and interest in ministering to other people
that God puts us around more than just an event activity,
but something that ends up being part of our DNA
as a family of believers.
So as we come to this matter of strategic initiatives,
let me break it down into very, very simple terms
and say, for one, we are committed to follow His instruction.
We are committed to find the particulars of what He has for us.
And then we are here also to affirm the affection
that God wants us to have one for another in the family of God.
I want us to think, first of all, this morning
about following a command.
We have some responsibility of recognizing
a responsibility that He's put on us.
And that's the reason I had you look there
in John chapter 17, verse 18.
Let me read the passage for you there.
As you sent me into the world,
so I have sent them into the world.
That little word, as, is one that carries
a tremendous amount of significance and value.
And the reason I say that is because that word
communicates to us just exactly what Jesus meant
when He said, hey, I'm sending you out into the world.
We get sometimes lost up in the details of our lives
and the business of making a living or raising a family
or seeing to it that our kids receive an education,
and we forget that we are here fundamentally
for something more significant than that.
We are here because Jesus saved us.
And we are here for His agenda and His objective.
And so when we look at this passage
and we recognize what Jesus is praying for here,
just hours in front of the cross,
we understand that these words communicate
a very significant responsibility
and instruction that He has.
He's praying for me.
He's praying for you.
And He says, listen, Father,
in the same way, that word as means
in the same way or in the same manner,
for the same purpose,
that You sent me into the world,
so I have sent them into the world.
So I ask you this question this morning
just to kind of stop and think about it for a moment.
When you think about what you're going to do tomorrow,
how often do you actually stop and realize
that tomorrow is a day that really is to be governed
if we are thinking biblically
and we're thinking in the light of eternity,
tomorrow is a day to be governed
by its value and effect
upon the testimony and the glory of Christ?
That's the way we should be thinking.
When you walk in to work,
your thoughts should not be,
okay, how do I get through this day
so I can get to Friday, which is payday,
so I can have money for whatever it is
that I'm here to do.
No, no, no.
When you walk into work,
you're thinking to yourself,
this day is a day that I have the opportunity
of lifting up the glory
and the supremacy of Christ
and modeling the power of the gospel around me
in the environment that He has placed me.
How many of you recognize
that you are where you are by divine appointment?
You may think to yourself,
well, I got it because of my education
and because I had a better interview than so-and-so.
No, no, no.
You have what you have
and you are where you are
because God in His grace and His purpose
puts you there if you're a believer
for His glory and for His purposes.
I'm not going to spend a lot of time
on the text here this morning,
but I just want to remind you
that in blessing us with salvation
and giving us life,
it is not so that we can go about
spending our energy for our own glory
and our own significance, but for His.
And so I want to put it here to you
in very candid terms.
We are here to do the same work
that Jesus came to do.
We are here to do the same work
that Jesus came to do.
And I want you to fix that in your mind
as you think about why we are,
when we gather together here
as a body of believers
to sit under the teaching of the Word of God,
it is so that our minds and our thinking
can be framed properly
in the light of the Word.
There is a natural tendency in all of us
to have our hearts drift away
from that which God would desire
be the characteristic of our life.
I think about that,
the words of the song that says,
prone to wonder,
Lord, I feel it.
Prone to leave the God I love.
And so we need the reminder
of the Word of God that says,
here's what you're here for.
Here's why I draw breath
and I'm still present here
among the living and not in eternity.
And so I want you to think for a minute
just for practical terms
that when you go out the door
tomorrow morning to go to work,
you are going out the door
not so you can have necessarily
a second vacation home.
You're not going out
so you can spend the rest of your days
kind of in indolence
and self-centered ambition,
but you are going out the door
to serve the Lord Jesus Christ
that someday you are going to stand before
and give an account.
And so when Jesus said these words here,
there in John chapter 17, verse 18,
just like you sent me,
can you imagine Jesus talking to the Father
and saying, hey, you know what?
I'm glad you sent me down here.
I am just having a whale of a time.
I'm just enjoying the fact
that everybody loves me.
No, he was actively engaged
in the mission and the ministry
that the Father sent him
to be engaged in
for the testimony
and the glory of the cross.
We who are his children
and called to be ambassadors
are here for the same mission
that he sent us on.
And I want you to recognize
that in relationship to that command
that we have to be sent for his purposes,
I want you to understand
that there is a day coming
when each of us as a believer
is going to give an account for this life.
How many of you recognize
that such a day is coming?
Think with me just for a moment.
Turn in your Bibles.
You're there in John,
but I want you to turn
to 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 10.
Jesus said,
I'm sending them for this reason.
I want you to recognize
that the day is coming
when your energy
and your effectiveness
in the mission that he sent you for
is going to be given an account.
You're going to give an account for it.
Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 10.
So whether we are at home
or away, verse 9,
we make it our aim
or ambition to please him.
Question?
Do you actually stop
and think about that
when you are at a baseball game
and you're engaged
in rooting on your particular child
and saying,
man, the most important thing
is that he hit a home run
or that he snagged that fly ball
or that he looked spectacular
or is your primary man.
I want to be sure
that I bring glory to Christ
in what I'm doing.
How many of you fathers here
have ever stepped across the line
and had to ask forgiveness
for getting too wound up
about the game?
I'm one of them.
I have to remind myself,
this is for the glory of Christ.
And here in verse 9,
it says,
I make it my ambition
to please him.
Verse 10,
for,
why do I make it my ambition
to please him?
For,
we must all appear
before the judgment seat of Christ
so that each one
may receive what is due
for what he has done
in the body,
whether good or evil.
The day is coming
when I am going
to give an account
and you are going
to give an account
for the way in which
you use the life
that he gave you
and use the abilities
and resources
the energy
that he has appointed
to you.
He's going to say,
what did you do
with what I gave you?
I want you to look
at another passage
in relationship to this.
If you will,
go to Romans chapter 14,
go back a little bit
to Romans chapter 14,
verse 10 through 12.
Part of what my point
is in relationship
to these different passages
is that this issue
of being accountable
to the Lord Jesus
for my life
is not just a single statement
made in one passage,
but it is a theme
running through
the scriptures.
Romans chapter 14,
verse 10.
Why do you pass judgment
on your brother?
Are you?
Why do you despise
your brother?
For we will all stand
before the judgment seat
of God.
For it is written,
As I live,
says the Lord,
every knee shall bow to me
and every tongue
shall confess to God.
So then each of us
will give an account
for himself to God.
The day is coming
when you,
when I,
will stand before the Lord
and give an account
for our life.
And in relationship to that,
I want you to understand
that we are going
to be judged
on the basis
of the gifts
that we've received
and the responsibilities
we have.
And so if Jesus says to me,
Tim,
I am sending you out
to do basically
the same thing
that my father
was sent out to do.
How's it going to go
when he finally says,
and how did you do
at the job I gave you?
And I say,
well, you know,
I didn't have much time.
The truth of the matter is,
is I was really interested
in my retirement home.
I really didn't have much time
because I was so deeply invested
in athletics.
I didn't have much time
because,
you know what,
you made me the way I am
and I really like deer hunting
and so I,
you know,
I can't do deer hunting
and help people move
at the same time.
You know,
I just have to decide
which is more important.
Do you follow that?
Yeah,
you think he's going to say,
attaboy, Tim,
that's a good guy.
I really appreciate
the fact you were self-focused.
No.
I want you to turn
to one more passage.
Let's get very practical
about this.
1 Corinthians 3,
verse 13.
Each one's works
will become manifest
for the day will disclose it
because it will be revealed
by fire
and the fire will test
what sort of work
each one has done.
If the work that anyone
has built on the foundation
survives,
he will receive a reward.
If anyone's work is burned up,
he will suffer loss,
though he himself
will be saved,
but only as through fire.
Hey,
ask yourself the question.
When the day comes
that you will give an account
for the way you have
used your life
and your resources
are some of the things
that you have invested
your energy
and your resources in
going to amount
to a hill of beans
in the scope of eternity?
And the answer is
for some,
no.
For some,
no.
And so as we think
about being intentional
as a body of believers,
it's appropriate
to call us to the task
to recognize,
hey,
he sent me,
he sent you
for the same thing,
for the same purpose.
My life
is to draw attention
to the glory of the gospel
and the power of the cross
and at the end of the day
what I do
to bring testimony
to the supremacy of Christ
is all that counts
in the scope of eternity.
A little sign
in our home,
a reminder to me,
my wife put it up,
it says,
only one life
will soon be passed.
I remember looking at that
in my early 30s
and think,
what?
How many of you
remember being 30?
How many of you
aren't there yet?
For you who aren't there yet,
you're thinking,
it will take forever.
I remember looking at that sign
in my 30s,
only one life
will soon be passed,
only what's done
for Christ will last.
And I thought,
yeah,
I'm 30.
A little poem
you can remember
and remind yourself
that the day is coming
that you will give an account
to the Lord Jesus.
And so,
with a firm understanding
of the fact
that you're going to give
an account to the Lord
and that the things
that you do
that have no eternal value
and significance
are not going to last
and are not going to bring credit
to His name
nor give you a crown
of glory
that you can give
to the Lord Jesus.
Let's think secondly,
one is we're going to be judged,
but secondly,
I want you to find
some direction
for what we do
in relationship
to this matter
of accounting
and responsibility.
I want you to turn
in your Bibles
to Luke chapter 10
verse 25
through 37.
I'll tell you
that next week
Pastor Shearer
is going to teach
on this passage
in a far more extensive fashion,
but we're looking
at a little text here
where Jesus has
an attorney come to Him.
Verse 25,
Behold,
a lawyer stood up
to put Him to the test
saying,
Teacher,
what shall I do
to inherit eternal life?
Hey, hey,
what do I need to do
to be saved?
And I want you
to understand
that in the thinking
of the majority
of the culture
in which this question
was posed,
the way in which
you worked your way
into heaven
was by being a good person,
doing good works,
doing the right things.
And Jesus answered him
in essence
and said what?
He said,
You know,
you are to love
the Lord your God
and to love your neighbor
as yourself.
The first
and second commandment.
It's interesting
to see there
in verse 29,
but he,
desiring to justify himself,
what does it mean
when it says
to justify himself?
What he was trying
to do
was set
very specific
boundaries
on just how
loving he really was.
Hey,
everybody smile
just for a minute
because I'm talking
to you.
Huh?
You listening?
There are some people
we're great at loving.
Did you know
that the Lord Jesus
intends to bring people
into your sphere
of influence
that you are really
going to struggle
at loving?
How many of you
learned that already?
And how many of you
learned that
when you do your best
to push them
out of the circle,
hello,
Jesus hates a vacuum
and he replaces them.
Does that make sense?
Sometimes we try
to push them out
by being snarky.
Sometimes we try
to push them out
by just avoiding.
They're all different
kinds of strategies
and he keeps on
bringing replacements.
The attorney was saying,
okay, okay,
I get this loving deal
but can I draw
a little circle,
us four and no more
kind of thing?
There are some people
I do love.
Oh,
I'm really good at it.
And so what happens
we find here
when this guy
puts his foot in his mouth
and tries to justify himself
that Jesus tells
a little story.
Now you always know
you're in trouble
when Jesus uses a story.
Isn't that right?
Huh?
You got that one figured out?
He's trying to ding you
and he's trying
to do it gently.
Okay?
It's like,
Bubba,
you're not getting this one
so I'm going to use
a little story
to kind of let
the thing sink in.
And Jesus tells the story
about the good Samaritan.
who actually
steps in
where two other individuals,
a priest,
if anybody
had formal responsibility
to show mercy
to a wounded fellow Jew,
it would have been
a priest
and a Levite.
You follow that?
I got to tell you,
when it comes to moves
on Saturdays,
pastor will be there.
One of the reasons
that I'm going to be there
and Pastor Shearer
and Pastor Andrew,
it's not because
we're paid to do it,
but we are examples
to the flock of God.
Does that make sense?
I shouldn't expect you
to do something
that I'm not willing to do.
Now I'm telling you,
I'm at the point
where I don't carry
washing machines
like I used to.
And that's why
I like heavy lifters.
Do you know
who a heavy lifter is?
The guys between,
I was reading this morning
in my devotions
where that the Levites,
they started working
at 25 and they quit at 50.
Does anybody know
why they did that?
That was the heavy lifting phase.
Some of you are maybe 24,
but I give you an exemption.
You can go ahead.
Join the crowd.
The point that I want you
to recognize here
in this passage
is that this business
of who we love
is something that
he has charged us
with a responsibility to.
And the way we go about
doing that love
is something
that's pretty significant.
He wants us
to recognize this.
The story of the Good Samaritan
is an illustration
of just how far
biblical love takes us.
And by the way,
who is it that we're
responsible for loving?
Not just those
that we're familiar
and friendly with,
but all those
that God puts in our path.
And so as you look
at this passage,
you recognize
that the responsibility
we have of loving
and serving other people
is something that is
far more significant
than we may think.
I want you to recognize
that often what you do
precedes what you say.
And the way in which
we behave
and serve one another
is a gospel testimony
long before we have
an opportunity
of actually sharing
the truth
of how salvation
is only through
the Lord Jesus Christ.
Do you understand that?
Most of the time,
people come to Christ
not because of
drive-by witnessing.
What does drive-by witnessing
reference?
Truth of the matter is,
I'll tell you,
I remember in India
when we would go out
in the cars,
and there weren't
very many cars
when I was growing up
in India,
I can tell you that,
and just the car
driving down the road
was a media event.
And we thought
that one of the
very efficient ways
of passing out tracks
was to just kind of
take a wad of them
and kind of fan them
out in the slipstream
of the car.
Do you know what
happened with tracks
when you put them
out the window
in a slipstream of a car?
Today, we would call it
littering here in America,
but out in India
was track passing.
I mean,
hundreds of them,
people would pick them up.
I'm not real sure
what they did with them,
but we passed them out.
I've got to tell you something.
Drive-by ministry like that
is grossly ineffective.
You follow that?
People don't need that.
What people need
is they need to see people
that are willing
to be good Samaritans
to the needs
that people have
and it is when
we are being good Samaritans
that God opens up
the gospel opportunities.
So I want you to stop
and realize
that when you look
at this passage
and we're going to deal
with this matter
more carefully,
in this coming year,
we want our fellowship
to be more intentional
in our efforts
to meet the needs
of people who need Jesus.
I want it to be something
that is a conversation point,
not just for talking,
but because we're sharing
things that we're going
to be praying about together,
that we are ministering
to our neighbors.
Let me ask a question
just for a second.
How many of you can name,
let's try this,
just raise your hands
if you can,
how many of you can name
at least six different families
that are within
eyeshot of your home?
Just six.
Six.
You can name
six different families
that are within
eyeshot of your home.
I'm not going to have you
raise your hands
on this one.
How many of you
are consciously
and deliberately
praying for those
six different families?
Would that be
an appropriate thing
to do?
How many of you
are actively engaged
in doing acts
of ministry
and service
that show them
that you love them
and are interested in them?
By the way,
we've only had one snow
so far this year
that was worthy
of my snowblower.
But guess what
I was doing
with my snowblower
after I got it
fired up?
Oh, we have three
snowblowers in the garage
that we're trying
to give away.
There's no cost
associated.
Just take them.
Done.
After I got it
fired up,
I'm scampering up
and down the neighborhood.
Guess what I'm doing?
Blowing snow.
Why am I doing that?
Because I'm a
Baptist pastor.
No, because God
wants me to be
a Samaritan.
And by the way,
those activities
end up being things
that resonate
significantly
in the lives
of unbelievers
because they want
to know,
why are you doing this?
So when we think
about the direction
for this fellowship,
one of the things
that we are going
to work at,
we are going
to recognize
that Christ brought us
here into this world.
He kept us here.
He brought us
to salvation
and we are here
for the well-being
and the gospel testimony.
And so how are we
going to go about
doing it?
We're going to
minister people's needs.
We are here
to show his heart.
We are here
to show his heart.
And this coming year,
consciously and deliberately,
we are going to
consciously set aside
time.
We're going to be
engaged in
activities that are
going to allow us
to minister
more directly
in the neighborhoods
that he has put us in.
give you an illustration.
On July the 4th,
it is a big holiday weekend
here in our community.
Isn't that right?
I mean,
I live on the west side
and people,
I'm not sure
if it's gunfire
or firecrackers,
but I got to tell you,
it goes on
for a solid week
and a half.
Judith is in the nursery,
but she'll testify.
She says,
is that gunfire
or is that firecrackers?
I don't know.
But July the 4th
is a great time
to invite people
over for a barbecue,
right?
Okay?
It's a great time
to build relationship.
Memorial Day,
Labor Day,
there are times
that we are going
to consciously
and deliberately focus
on how do we develop
closer relationships
with our neighbors.
Why?
Because we're here
to show his heart
and to minister to people.
The other thing
that we're going
to focus on this year
is to affirm
our distinction
as a group of people
that know Christ.
I want you to look
in your Bible.
You're there in Luke,
but I want you
to turn over
to John 17,
verse 23.
John 17,
verse 23.
Here's Jesus praying,
I in them
and you in me
that they may become
perfectly one
so that the world
may know
that you sent me
and love them
even as you love me.
Now, I want you
to have an underline
that you place
under that little statement
so that the world
may know
that you sent me.
How will the world
know
that the Father
sent Jesus?
In that passage,
how will the world
know
that the Father
sent Jesus?
Banner?
Public testimony?
Passing out tracts?
Pass.
No.
It will be the way
in which we get along
with one another
in the family of God.
Isn't that right?
How many of you
have noticed
that some of the neighbors
that you have
really don't like each other?
Have you noticed that?
I'm amazed
at how quickly
people in my neighborhood
are ready to tell me
other things
about my neighbors
that I don't need to know
and how irritated
they are
at the fact
that when they walk
their dogs,
their dogs don't have
social etiquette.
Did you read
the tea leaves
on that one?
And they're concerned
about the way
some people
mow their lawns.
I mean,
do I need to know?
No.
The unbelieving world
is at odds
with each other
all the time.
And the thing
that should characterize
believers
is that we have
relationships
that are marked
by affection
and by unity.
So what's it going
to take
for us to have
a better testimony
to the unbelieving world?
Let me kind of
rattle off a quick one.
Number one,
by being quicker
to show our love
and not in going
out gossiping.
How's that one?
Can you write
that one down?
Just tag it there.
Be quicker
to show our love
and not going
out gossiping.
Galatians chapter 6
verse 1 and 2.
Does anybody
know what it says?
It says,
when you see
a brother overtaken
in a fault,
you don't bring it
up in a prayer room.
What do you do?
You go to that person
alone and let him
know the concern
that you have.
I said to the deacons,
yesterday morning,
I said,
you know what?
A pastoral ministry
would be easier
if God's people
consistently practiced
Matthew 18 verse 15.
Does anybody know
what that passage is?
If you've got a problem,
do what?
Ask a neighbor
to pray with you
about it.
Tell three other people
so they can kind of
share with you
their concern
and their similarity.
No, no, no.
Go talk to that person
privately and say,
hey.
So we're going
to work at that.
We're going to work
at helping one another
not let things fester.
We're going to work
to be conscious
and deliberate
in encouraging
one another
to love each other.
In 1 John chapter 3
verse 14
and again in 1 John
chapter 4 verse 20,
the apostle makes
this very,
very clear connection
that the thing
that proves
the authenticity
of our conversion
is not
our theological
quiz score
but our genuine
affection
for one another.
And by the way,
when there is
genuine affection,
one of the things
that characterizes
that genuine affection
is that we tell
the truth in what?
What?
In love.
We don't let the sun
go down on
our wrath.
I've got to tell you
one of the things
that blows me away.
When I hear about
a believer that has
had some problem
festering with another
believer for decades,
a situation where
a person was not
willing to go into
a room to work
on a project
with another person
because the person
in that room
they were irritated
with,
that's not effective
gospel living.
Amen?
And we're going
to work at that.
And all God's people
said,
yes,
that's a good idea.
Let's try that again
because I know I'm
a little enthusiastic
about that
and you guys are
coming close to
going to sleep.
Let's try that again.
We're going to work
at that.
Yes!
So,
if you have a problem
with me,
and I'll give you
an opportunity,
not on purpose.
If you have a problem
with me,
don't tell everybody
else,
come and tell me.
And,
if I come to you
and I'm having
a problem with Jack,
so you understand this,
if I come to you
and I'm having
a problem with Jack
and you figure out
that I'm having
a problem with Jack,
what you say,
Jack's my friend.
I'm using him
as an illustration
so that you don't go out
and put on something
on Facebook
about Jack and I
not getting along together.
I had to stop.
Well,
we'll try Pastor Saul too.
Jack and Pastor Saul,
I'm talking to you
about both of them.
you say,
Pastor,
here's the standard thing
God's people need to say.
How did it go
when you talked to Jack?
Let's try that.
How did it go
when you talked to Jack?
I'll say it slower
so you can get it.
How did it go
when you talked to Jack?
You guys are with it.
Hey,
I'm going to get
to retire early.
You get this
Matthew 18,
15 thing down,
it won't be a problem.
I can go out
and deal a whole lot more
with people
that don't know Jesus.
Amen?
There are some of us here
that need to be convicted
about not being doing this
right now.
Do you understand
that point?
Why would a pastor
preach on something
that has no relevance
to the God-fearing people
that he stands
in front of?
I don't want this
to be a problem
in the future, beloved.
And all God's people
said,
Amen.
Let's close.
Father,
I think about the words
of Zechariah,
not by might
nor by power,
but by my spirit,
saith the Lord.
You intend
for us to be
a godly,
holy,
gospel-passionate
people
that were drawn
out of the pit,
ruined,
broken,
called to be servants
of the living God,
to live holy,
passionate
lives
for the glory
of Christ,
loving the lost
and loving one another.
And we are convicted
that we need to grow
in this area
this year.
we ask for the power
of the spirit
to break our hearts
and to energize us
for the testimony
of Christ.
We ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen.