Setting the Course

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,

John 17 · chapter mention

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.

John 17:18

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,

John 17:18

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.

2 Corinthians 5:10

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.

2 Corinthians 5:10

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,

Romans 14 · chapter mention

go back a little bit

to Romans chapter 14,

Romans 14:10–12

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,

Romans 14:10

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,

1 Corinthians 3:13

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

Luke 10:25–37

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,

John 17:23

verse 23.

John 17,

John 17:23

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

Galatians 6:1

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.

Matthew 18:15

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

1 John 3:14

verse 14

and again in 1 John

1 John 4:20

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.

Amen.