Character

It's our first Sunday in 2025, and so we're starting something that we're going to be

doing every year, Lord willing, and that is asking the Lord what he has to say about our

church for the year.

If you look at the book of Revelation, there's seven churches in the beginning of the book

of Revelation, and Jesus has thoughts about all those churches.

He has a lot of corrections.

He has some affirmations to some of those.

But what he doesn't, you can't say that he doesn't have thoughts, okay?

He has thoughts on all of those churches, and he has thoughts on our church as well.

And so what we want to do is seek the Lord and say, Lord, what do you think about our

church?

What do you have for us in this new year?

So that's something we did together, prayed towards this new year, asked the Lord, what

are three words that you have for us for this year?

And the three words that God gave us are character, family, and order.

Character, family, and order, okay?

And so I'm going to speak on all three of these.

I'm going to start today by speaking on character, okay?

We're going to talk today about character.

You can turn to 2 Peter chapter 1 if you want to look at the main scripture we're going to

2 Peter 1 · chapter mention

come off of.

But one thing I wanted to say by way of intro as well is that something I've been thinking

about is that a lot of times when people think of church, they think it's very complicated,

very difficult.

And because so many churches don't grow or because so many churches close their doors,

that it must be really difficult to have a healthy church and for having a healthy church

grow and thrive.

But I think it's really important for us to look at it no different than you would look

at anything else that's healthy.

If something's healthy, it grows.

If something that is alive always needs certain components to stay alive and to be healthy

and to continue to grow, and the church is no different from that, okay?

The church is no different from that.

And most often, we tend to overcomplicate this in our hearts and minds.

And so what it does is it breeds unbelief in us when we're trying to be the church and

do church together.

And we just need to be transformed by the renewing of our mind because when it really comes down

to it, church isn't all that complicated on what makes it healthy because Jesus, and it

would be one thing if we just didn't know and we had to figure it all out.

But if you read the Bible, there are clear communications from the Bible on what it means

to be a healthy church.

There are clear components and different people, gifts that God has given to the church who

are gifted in certain ways to build the church.

When apostles are apostling and prophets are prophesying and being prophets and pastors are

pastoring and teachers are teaching and evangelists are evangelizing,

the church builds itself up and it grows, okay?

That's just one aspect of it.

That's just one verse.

But there's multiple verses like that.

There's multiple ways that the Bible says, hey, this is how you should build.

There's multiple verses that say this is the way church should function.

This is what a healthy church looks like.

This is the components necessary.

This is God's will.

And it's important for us to get faith around the building blocks of God's kingdom in the

context of his church.

And instead of having our kind of default be, oh yeah, church is really hard to be healthy.

Church is really hard to grow in a healthy way.

Church is really hard to thrive.

Well, is that true?

Is it really as hard as we make it out to be?

Or is it just that very often we're just missing the components that God so specifically, clearly

gave us in his word to build the church his way?

Does that make sense?

I think it's an important question to ask.

And it's something that I think God was stirring in my heart even this morning to ask you.

And to ask you, where is your faith when it comes to the church?

And is it based on what you have seen?

And not to mention that so much of our faith ends up being on what has been called church

and how successful or unsuccessful it's been.

When most often in our culture, what has been called church is not church in fact.

It's not.

It's not the way God wanted it to be.

It's not the way God prescribed it to be.

It's not the way God's laid out in the scriptures for the church to be.

And therefore, we should not let those churches in name only that end up being very weak,

very feeble, that end up closing their doors, that end up not being thriving, alive churches,

determine whether or not we're going to have faith that this church, Christ's church,

is going to be in an alive and a thriving church.

If you're doing that, I got a word for you this morning.

It's a different word from the three words.

Stop.

Stop doing that.

Okay?

Don't do that.

Don't think that way.

Change your mind.

Repent.

And start thinking in faith according to the word of God, according to the ways of God.

All right?

So, 2 Peter 1, 3-10.

So, character is one of those things that's very important to a healthy church.

Character is extremely important to a healthy church.

If you don't have character, you might say you.

I'm talking about the people of the church because the church is people.

Okay?

If the people that comprise the church don't have character, it's not going to be healthy.

It's not going to thrive.

Okay?

Let's look at the main text on this.

2 Peter 1, starting in verse 3.

Okay?

His divine power is granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.

Through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence,

by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises,

so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature,

having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desires.

Okay?

Verse 5, He says,

For this reason, so all that He just laid out there, now He says,

For this reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue.

Virtue with knowledge.

Knowledge with self-control.

Self-control with steadfastness.

Steadfastness with godliness.

And godliness with brotherly affection.

And brotherly affection with love.

All character issues.

Okay?

Verse 8, He says,

For if these qualities are yours and are increasing,

they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he's blind,

having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.

Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election.

For if you practice these qualities, you will never fall.

Wow!

Right?

That just lays it out there.

Some really direct, specific things.

All right?

Some really direct, specific things.

First, it starts off by saying these great things we've been given.

His divine power has granted us all things that pertain to life and godliness.

So, most often people say,

Well, I just don't feel like I have everything I need for life and godliness.

Well, your feelings betray you.

What does the Bible say?

Will you submit to your feelings when the Word says something different?

What is your standard?

Your feelings or the Word?

God's Word says that his divine power has given you most things?

No.

All things that pertain to life and godliness.

Well, I'm trying to do my life.

I'm trying to be godly.

Both things are difficult.

Sometimes I don't feel like I have what I need.

Well, the Bible says you have all you need for life and godliness.

Do you believe that?

Right here.

And he said that that's through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.

He's revealed himself.

He's shown himself.

Have you seen Jesus?

Have you seen the Father, he said?

The exact representation of the Father is Jesus.

He's God in bodily form so that we could know him and see him and understand what he is like.

Okay?

Through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,

and then it says in verse 4,

by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises,

so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature.

Wow.

Okay.

Now he's saying you have everything you need,

then I'm going to give you these promises.

I got these promises for you.

It helps you become partakers of the divine nature,

which goes with what Judah was sharing when we took the Lord's table.

I can't do it on my own.

I need to partake of the divine nature,

because my nature is not getting me anywhere.

Right?

So of course I need to partake of the divine nature,

which what does it do?

That is what's caused me to escape from the corruption that's in the world because of sinful desire.

Now in light of all this,

because he says for this very reason,

essentially he's saying,

now that I've laid that all out,

for this very reason,

make every effort to supplement your faith.

Now this is where a lot of times you have the two ditches in Christianity, right?

There's the ditch where it's just like,

oh no,

the Lord has done everything.

I don't need to do anything.

I'm not going to get into your workspace religion.

You know,

it's Christ.

It's all Christ.

It's Christ,

Christ,

Christ,

Christ.

It's Christ church,

man.

That's what we call it.

Right?

But he says in light of all this,

make every effort.

Whoa,

whoa,

whoa.

Effort?

Doesn't depend on man's effort,

but God's mercy.

Don't you know that verse?

Yes,

but take it into,

that's,

that's not the only verse in the Bible though.

There's a lot of other verses like this one.

Okay?

So it's both of us.

The other ditch is that,

oh,

it's all on me.

I don't need,

I just need to do everything.

And I'm constantly feeling anxious.

And I'm constantly like,

I'm not doing enough.

And did I do enough?

Am I pleasing?

And no,

it should be somewhere in the middle where you're saying,

listen,

I can't do anything apart from Christ,

but I have to do things because of Christ.

Okay?

And that's what he's saying.

In light of all this stuff,

for this very reason,

make every effort.

So I would assume that

probably everyone who professes Christ in this room

is making some effort,

but is everyone who professes Christ in this room

making every effort?

It's a good question,

right?

He didn't say,

you know,

give a little effort in this.

A little spit and polish.

Right?

He says,

no,

make every effort.

Make every effort.

To what?

Supplement your faith.

Why does he start with faith?

Because that's where it all starts.

Without faith,

it's impossible to please God,

Hebrews 11,

6 says.

Okay?

So,

grace comes through faith.

Faith is where it starts.

But he's saying,

you've got to make every effort to supplement.

You guys know what a supplement is.

Many of you take supplements,

right?

We take supplements.

Why?

Because we're not getting what we need in our food,

so we take a supplement to add to it.

Okay?

We're adding to our faith and saying,

okay,

I'm going to supplement it with virtue

and knowledge

and self-control

and steadfastness,

godliness,

brotherly affection,

love,

which all these things,

in essence,

are really saying,

character.

Character.

Make every effort to supplement

your faith

with the character attributes,

with things that are noble things to pursue.

And then,

he gives this,

in verse 8,

it's such a great statement.

This is what I'm talking about

when I'm saying,

you know,

sometimes we overcomplicate church

and our life together

because he says,

if these qualities are yours

and are increasing,

they keep you from being ineffective

or unfruitful

in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We know of people in churches

who are ineffective

or unfruitful

in their knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Some of us are saying,

yeah,

that's me.

Not just that I know someone,

that's me a lot of times.

I feel ineffective,

unfruitful.

And you might say,

well,

what do I do about that?

It lays it right out here.

If these qualities,

these character qualities,

are yours

and are increasing,

they keep you from being ineffective

or unfruitful

in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Okay?

How do you,

how are you kept

from being ineffective

or unfruitful?

Have these things

in increasing measure.

keep going.

Keep going.

He endures to the end

we'll be saved.

Matthew 24, 13, right?

You don't just start.

It's not just about starting.

You got to persevere.

You got to keep increasing.

You got to keep pursuing.

Say,

God,

I want you more

than the things of this world.

I don't just start with you

and then I just

live this selfish,

comfortable life

and expect that that's Christianity.

No, no, no, no, no, no.

I possess these qualities

in increasing measure.

I'm making every effort

to supplement my faith

with these things.

This is a focus of my life.

We put a lot of effort

into a lot of things

but do we put a lot of effort

and maybe even go even further

to say every effort

into supplementing our faith

with the character qualities

that God wants?

And again,

please hear me.

I'm not saying

you just muster it up,

pull yourself up

by your own bootstraps

and get it together, man.

I'm saying

you realize

you don't have it together.

You'll never have it together

on your own.

You trust

with everything within you,

God's power

working within you.

You partake

of the divine nature

and then you give

everything you got

towards it

in light of it.

Right?

And you make every effort.

This keeps us

from being ineffective

or unfruitful.

Everybody hates

when they're ineffective.

Everybody hates

when they're unfruitful.

What are you doing about it?

Sometimes we complain about it.

Sometimes we whine about it.

Sometimes we're bummed about it.

Sometimes we're even

depressed about it.

Sometimes that's all

we can think about

is how ineffective

and unfruitful we are.

Or we could do

something about it.

Bible lays it

really straightforward,

pretty clear.

Right?

I mean,

am I missing something here?

It seems really

straightforward right here.

Right?

It says,

if you,

if you,

these qualities are yours

and are increasing,

they keep you

from being ineffective

or unfruitful

in the knowledge

of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I'm looking at that.

I'm saying,

this is good info.

this is important stuff

right here.

I don't want to be ineffective.

I don't want to be unfruitful.

And so if you have an area

where you are

ineffective or unfruitful,

ask the question,

is it because

I've grown complacent?

That I've just,

I've let

a specific area

of my life

not be increasing

in the virtue

of

Christ,

the character of Christ.

I'm just

going through the motions.

And this is the great reminder

is verse 9.

Forever lacks these qualities

is so nearsighted

that he's blind.

Why?

Because he's forgotten

that he's been cleansed

from his past sins.

That's why we take

the Lord's table every week.

Why?

So we don't forget

that we've been cleansed

from our past sins.

Because when you forget

that you've been

cleansed from your past sins,

you're nearsighted and blind.

And when you're nearsighted

and blind,

you stop

increasing.

increasing.

And when you stop

increasing,

you're ineffective

and unfruitful.

When you remember

who Jesus is

and what he's done for you.

When you remember

the gospel,

glad tidings of great joy

that we just talked about

this Christmas season.

You remember

the good news

of the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

That there's nothing

in you that's good.

That everything,

that all the things

you do

are for your own glory

and fall short

of the glory of God.

No matter how much

you attempt,

you can never be good enough.

It's never,

ever,

ever,

ever,

ever,

ever,

ever,

ever enough

so Jesus came,

paid the price,

lived the perfect life,

was the perfect sacrifice

so that in trusting

in his atoning sacrifice

and his resurrection

from the dead,

we could be made new

and Jesus Christ

could live inside of us,

live through us,

and we could be saved.

We could be saved.

We could be saved

from the penalty of sin.

We could be saved

from the power of sin

and we trust

and get excited

about being saved

from the presence of sin

when he returns.

We trust these things.

Have you forgotten

these things?

If you're not increasing

or you've forgotten

the good news

of the gospel

of Jesus Christ,

these things

will cause you

to become blind,

ineffective,

and unfruitful

in your knowledge

of Jesus Christ.

Isn't it interesting

that it says

in the knowledge

of Jesus Christ

because most people

would say,

oh,

if I have the knowledge

of Jesus Christ,

I'm good.

Uh-uh.

Not according

to this verse.

Do you see how it says

this will keep you

from being,

it doesn't just say

they keep you

from being ineffective

or unfruitful,

period.

It says they will

keep you from being

ineffective or unfruitful

in the knowledge

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Have you thought

that you can have

knowledge of Jesus Christ,

the Lord Jesus Christ,

and still be ineffective

and unfruitful?

Don't just be comfortable

because you say,

oh,

I've known Jesus

for a long time.

I've been saved

since I was a kid.

I've been professing

Christians for a long time.

You can have knowledge

of Jesus Christ

for a very long time

and still be ineffective

and unfruitful.

That's clearly

what it's saying here.

But we don't want that.

I don't want that.

Do you want that?

We didn't,

we didn't start this church

so we could just coast.

We wanted to,

we didn't want to be

ineffective or unfruitful.

We want to see fruit.

We want to see fruit.

Well,

then we got to do it

God's way.

That's why he says,

therefore,

verse 10,

therefore,

okay,

after laying all this out,

he lays out the reasons,

says make every effort.

These will keep you

from being ineffective

and unproductive

in your knowledge

of the Lord Jesus.

It makes sure

that you're not

so nearsighted

that you're blind

and forgot that you

can cleanse from

your past sins.

He goes through all that

and then he says,

therefore,

so because all that's there,

now be all the more

diligent

to confirm your calling

and election.

For if you practice

these qualities,

you will never fall.

Whoa!

Another great promise.

You'll never fall.

How often do we

confess falling

or we're afraid

of falling

or we think,

oh,

I'm just afraid

I'm going to fall

into sin.

Here's the way.

Be all the more diligent

to confirm your calling

and election.

If you practice

these qualities,

you will never fail.

You never fall.

Okay?

Continuing to increase.

Trusting God

to do it.

Pressing in.

Being diligent.

Making every effort.

This is the language

that Peter uses.

That's great stuff.

Okay?

So where are you at

with that?

Where are you at

with your relationship

to this concept

of character?

Character.

What is your attitude

towards the development

of character

not in your friend,

not in your spouse,

not in your kids,

although that's

all important?

Me.

Where am I at

with pursuing character

in me?

Not just being consumed

with everybody else

and all their problems.

My problems.

Galatians 2.14

says,

when I,

this is

Paul talking

about Peter,

he said,

when I saw

that their conduct

was not in step

with the truth

of the gospel,

I said to Cephas,

he saw

that their conduct

wasn't in step

with the gospel.

This is just like

what Peter's saying.

He said,

you've forgotten

that you've been

cleansed from your past sin.

Paul saw that Peter

was living that way

and he confronted him.

He said,

I saw that your conduct

wasn't in step

with the gospel.

James 3.13

asks the question,

who is wise

and understanding

among you?

Then he says,

by his good conduct

let him show his works

in the meekness of wisdom.

And they say,

well,

are you wise?

Do you have understanding?

Prove it.

By what?

Your character.

Your good conduct.

It always shows.

It always shows.

1 Thessalonians 2.9-12

For you remember,

brothers,

our labor and toil.

We work night and day

that we might not be

a burden to any of you.

While we proclaim to you

the gospel of God,

you are witnesses

and God also,

how holy and righteous

and blameless was

our conduct towards you believers.

For you know how

like a father with his children

we exhorted each one of you

and encouraged you

and charged you

to walk in a manner

worthy of God

who calls you

into his own kingdom

and glory.

Okay?

You are witnesses

how holy and righteous

and blameless

was our conduct.

How is your conduct?

How is your character?

How is it when people

are looking?

How is it when people

are not looking?

Someone once said

your character is who you are

when nobody is looking.

We love doing things

to be praised by people,

to be thought well of by people.

Everybody wants to be

thought well of by people.

But what's most important,

what will be most motivating

is when you want to be

thought well of by God,

when you want to please Him.

God, I want my behavior,

my character,

my conduct to please You.

I want to live in a manner

worthy of the gospel,

the good news,

the free gift of eternal life

that You gave me.

I want to live in a manner

worthy of that.

And Paul's saying,

you're our witnesses

and God also,

how holy and righteous

and blameless was our conduct.

How holy and righteous

and blameless is your conduct?

How holy and righteous

is it not just on a Sunday morning

or some gathering

during the night of the week?

How holy and righteous

is your conduct

when nobody's looking?

1 Peter 1, 15-16.

He says,

But as He who called you

is holy,

you also be holy

in all your conduct,

since it is written,

You shall be holy,

for I am holy.

1 Peter 2, 12 says,

Keep your conduct

among the Gentiles honorable,

so that when they speak

against you as evildoers,

they may see your good deeds

and glorify God

on the day of visitation.

And 1 Peter 3, 1-2 says,

Wives, be subject

to your own husbands,

so that even if some

do not obey the word,

they may be won

without a word by what?

The conduct of their wives.

When they see your respectful

and pure conduct.

Okay?

Again, same principle.

Conduct, character

is very powerful.

Very powerful.

So if we think of conduct

for us as a church,

I want to look at 14 specifics

for us as a church.

These are 14 things,

I think,

knowing the different people

in the church,

these are 14 things,

I think we should be asking the Lord,

are these things,

character issues,

that we could increase in,

be diligent in.

Okay?

Don't worry,

I'm not going to spend

a ton of time on each,

but first one.

Number one,

being self-controlled.

Being self-controlled.

There's so many verses

on self-control.

Proverbs 25, 28 says,

A man without self-control

is like a city broken into

and left without walls.

If you plant a church

or you have a church

and the people in that church

are not self-controlled,

it's not going to be

a healthy church.

Okay?

It's like a city broken into

without walls.

It's not going to stand.

It's going to fall.

It's going to fall.

Again, it goes back

to what I was saying

in the beginning.

It's like,

how do you have

a healthy church?

It's not rocket science.

It's not super complicated.

You build his way,

he'll grow it his way.

You build his way,

he'll breathe life

into it his way.

That's what he does.

He loves to do that.

He's not apprehensive

about that.

But we got to get down

to the nitty gritty

and say,

are we self-controlled?

Are we steady?

Are we erratic

and prone to extremes?

Up and down constantly?

Are we saying,

no, I'm self-controlled.

My emotions are controlled.

My self is controlled.

I'm controlled.

I'm not,

I'm like a person,

like a city broken into

and left without walls.

I have self-control.

It's a fruit of the spirit.

So as I deny myself

and live towards the spirit,

the self-control

will become more and more

evident in my life.

But is there specific areas

where you're not self-controlled in

that you're just kind of

letting go

and just become

something you've been

comfortable with?

Sometimes what happens

is we become comfortable

with character,

with bad character.

Like little things.

We just become comfortable

with them.

We just say,

well,

this is just my thing.

We've to God

that he would,

that he would make us holy

and he would set us apart

and he would put his finger

on those things

that all of us,

every single one of us,

that he would put his finger

on those things

and say,

I want to purify my church.

I want my church to be holy.

I don't want them to

have any area

where they're not self-controlled.

I want them to be self-controlled.

Number two,

commitment

or being committed,

right?

Not flaky.

Psalm 15,

Psalms 15:4

verse 4

in the CSB says,

who may ascend

the hill of the Lord?

He who keeps his word

whatever the cost.

He who keeps his word

whatever the cost.

Are you someone,

character-wise,

who can be counted on?

Are you someone

who keeps his word

no matter what the cost?

Okay?

This means

you don't keep your word

unless something else

becomes more enjoyable,

including sleep,

including other relationships,

including other things

you'd rather do.

Okay?

Let's be honest.

That's the stuff

that keeps us

from keeping our word.

Something we'd like

to do better.

Right?

It's typically

not some horrible thing.

It's just something

that we would rather do.

And so,

we flake out.

We don't keep our commitment.

We can't be counted on.

We can't truly be a partner

who can be counted on

because the commitment

we weighed,

well,

there's something else

more important to me.

And sometimes,

it's just as simple

as sleep.

Sometimes,

it's just as simple

as my own laziness.

Just say,

no,

I want

to be counted on.

I want to be

a committed person.

I want to have that

as a character attribute.

I want to be

the kind of guy

who truly can ascend

the hill of the Lord

because I keep my word

even when it hurts.

Okay?

I keep my word

whatever the cost.

Right?

Are you someone

who keeps his word that way?

Are you someone

who can be counted on?

Sometimes,

we end up developing

a reputation

for being counted on

to be flaky.

That's not the kind

of counted on

you want to be.

All right?

Don't be counted on

to be flaky.

Don't be counted on

to be late.

Don't be counted on

to not be counted on.

Don't be counted on

to be a person

who doesn't keep their word.

Don't be counted on

to be a person

who doesn't do

what they say

they're going to do.

Be counted,

be a person

who can be counted on

to do what you said

you were going to do.

You can be counted on

to do what God

wants them to do.

Be a committed person.

Okay?

That's a character

attribute that,

again,

if you have a church

that isn't committed,

that can't be counted on,

this is why

we call our membership partnership. This is why we even have that as a part of our church. Why?

Because how in the world? I mean, I've had people over the years, they've criticized the concept of

membership or partnership. And I'm always like, hey, I'm all ears. I would love to hear how you

would attempt to do church without the basis of people who are committed. Tell me. I'd love to

hear. I've yet to hear a good answer to that question. And I've yet to be in one quote-unquote

healthy church that has ever been filled with a group of people who are not committed. It can't

be counted on. I don't know that one exists. I don't know how it could. There's a reason God

calls us to keep our word, even when it hurts, even when it costs. Number three, good stewardship.

Good stewardship. 1 Corinthians 4 verse 2 says, it is required of stewards that they be found

1 Corinthians 4:2

faithful. That they be found faithful. All of us have been given gifts, stuff, things,

things, and all these things. Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of the heavenly

lights, James 1 17. Okay. 1 Peter says, each person should use whatever gift they've received

to serve the Lord. Okay. Stewardship. What are you doing with the gift you've been given? Are you using

it? Do you know that you have gifts, but you just know that it would be a lot of work to use your

gifts so you don't use them? What about the way you steward your finances? What about the way you

steward your time? What are the way you steward just the talents that God's given you? Some of you

are very talented in specific areas. Are you being a steward? Are you being faithful to the Lord?

Again, imagine, I mean, just looking around this room, there's not a lot of people in this room.

It's a very small group of people. A lot of very gifted people. A lot of very talented people.

A lot of resources here. A lot of awesome things in this one room. Again, it doesn't matter if you

have a room full of talent and giftings if there's not stewardship. You don't get a healthy church by

just getting a bunch of talented, gifted people because what you build with your gift, you'll

destroy with your character. You don't build with giftings. You build with character. You build with

character. Okay? And character stewards giftings. But don't be impressed with giftings.

We could go down a whole list of people who seemed very impressive with their giftings,

even in recent celebrity Christianity. Okay?

It looked like, wow, that person's really gifted. How impressive is their gift?

Not very impressive when they don't have character.

When you have Bible teachers who are known for their Bible teaching and speak all over the country

because of their Bible teaching, you find out they had a secret life of adultery.

You think, isn't their gift impressive? No, I'm not impressed.

You think their family's impressed that dad's sleeping with somebody else and found a younger,

better model because mom was older?

I mean, that's the kind of stuff that happens. This is why character matters.

You don't build church on gifting. God gives tons of gifting. Okay?

Where's the character? Where's the character that can carry gifting?

When you combine those two together with stewardship, it's an amazingly powerful thing.

When you have gifts combined with character, stewarding the gifts that you've been given

by having character, undergirding them, foundationally established below them,

now you have a healthy church. You have a healthy church.

Number four, being unafraid or not being anxious.

Okay? Philippians 4 verse 6 says, don't be anxious about anything.

Philippians 4:6

Don't be anxious about anything. Well, come on. Surely I could be anxious about some things.

No, don't be anxious about anything.

But in everything, by prayer and petition, offer your request to God.

Okay?

Anxiety is so rampant and so accepted and so medicated nowadays,

it's become totally acceptable behavior that even in the church people think nothing of it.

And we've turned what the Bible calls a sin into just an acceptable form of our everyday life.

When the opposite of anxiety is trusting in God.

Right?

And so when we have an anxious culture, people are anxious about all kinds of things,

there's no health to that church.

When we lack the character of trusting in our God and are filled with anxiety,

don't be anxious about anything.

But offer your request to God. Why? Because God can be trusted.

Because God can be trusted. Do you know that? Do you believe that?

Which brings me to the fifth one. Be trusting and not controlling.

Psalm 37 verse 5 says, commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him, and He will act.

Psalms 37:5

See, what happens is if we become anxious and we're not trusting in the Lord,

we end up thinking that it's on us.

And we have to control our circumstances. We have to control our situations.

If I see, oh, that, if I start to worry about my finances, then I gotta control.

If I start to worry about my spouse and how they're acting, I gotta control.

If I start to worry about my kids and what's gonna happen to them, I have to control.

If I start worrying about my church, then I have to control.

No, no. If you know that God's in control, that He is kind and good and sovereign and loving and faithful,

and we could go on with a million other things He is,

if you know that, then you trust.

But you trust to the degree, a friend of Manning once said,

you trust to the degree that you know that you're loved.

When you have the character of trusting in God,

you're unshakable, you're unmovable.

You're only as strong as what you put your hope and your trust in.

If you put your trust in something that can be taken away from you,

if you put your trust in something that can be shaken, then you will be shaken.

If you put your trust in the one who is unshakable,

the unshakable King who gives us an unshakable kingdom,

and you build your house on the rock,

then when storms rage and the wind blows,

your house and this house, this church, will stand.

What is this church built on?

Is it built on anxiety, control, fear?

Or is it built on trust in God,

who makes all things grow for His glory?

Number six.

This is a different one, but I think it's an important one.

Holistic.

Okay?

What do I mean by this?

Well, Matthew 7, 18 says,

A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit,

nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.

Okay?

So what I mean by this is,

you ever see a person where it seems like they have a,

you look at their life and you say,

wow, tons of fruit in this area,

and a bunch of bad fruit in this area?

I always ask the question,

is the good fruit as good as it seems to be?

Because the Bible says,

a healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit,

nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.

And we've almost kind of normalized

this unholistic, uneven behavior

and think, oh, this is a good thing.

No.

When you see that, that's a sign.

That's a sign for you to say, be concerned.

The fact that there is so much lack of consistency

in their life is telling you that maybe the good

isn't as good as it seems to be.

Because wisdom is always proved true by her actions.

Right?

We just read that before about how,

who is wise and understanding among you?

By his good conduct, let him show.

And so it seems like,

wow, this person has a lot of wisdom,

but man, they have a lot of bad conduct.

You might say,

maybe they don't have a lot of wisdom.

And I've seen over and over again,

this scriptural truth proved true multiple times,

where it seems like, wow,

there's over the top development in this particular area,

but severe underdevelopment in the other area.

It makes you wonder how overdeveloped

they actually are in that area.

Oftentimes you'll see this with someone

who knows the Bible extremely well.

It seems like they can teach

and know everything about the Bible,

and yet they have no self-control in their life.

And they'd say,

how in the world can they know the Bible so well

and have no self-control in their life?

I would say,

well, maybe they know the Bible,

but they probably don't know God.

They know the words of God,

but they don't know God himself.

They search the scriptures looking to find life,

but they don't come to Jesus to have life,

just like the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Okay?

So we need to have,

when there is a holistic approach to character,

because basically what it is,

is what essentially happens

and what it usually is

when you see this,

a bunch of good fruit

and a bunch of really bad fruit

in the same person,

that means what you're seeing is,

is ornaments on a dead tree.

It's like a Christmas tree, right?

It's like,

it's dressed up by the person.

It's not the natural fruit of the tree.

Okay?

It'd be like you have a dead tree

out in your yard,

a dead apple tree,

and you start hanging alive apples on your tree.

You know, it's like,

wow, it looks like a really good apple tree.

It doesn't have leaves,

but it has a lot of apples on it.

It's really weird.

A lot of apples,

but no leaves.

Surely it's good, right?

It's got a lot of apples on there.

No, there's no leaves.

That's probably because somebody

attached to those apples.

In the same way,

when you see a life that's not holistic,

that's not consistent,

typically what that is,

is evidence of self-made religion.

It's propping yourself up.

It's building yourself up

and presenting your own kind of

good or religious version of yourself

rather than yielding to the power of the Spirit

to birth and transform you

into the character and nature of Christ.

Okay?

Number seven, being teachable.

One of my favorite direct verses,

I love direct verses,

is Proverbs 12, verse one.

He who hates reproof is stupid.

Right?

You don't get any more direct than that, right?

He who hates reproof or hates correction

is stupid.

Don't be stupid.

You know?

You might say,

man, I don't know how you have

a good, healthy church.

Well, you hate reproof,

you'll have a pretty stupid church, right?

People who are corrected

but just don't listen.

People who have heard the truth

and just don't obey it.

People who hear the Word

and forget,

you know,

it's like looking in a mirror

and forgetting what you look like.

James 1, 22 says,

you know,

don't be hearers of the Word only,

but be doers.

Okay?

Be teachable.

Someone brings something to you

and there's multiple people saying,

hey, I think this is something

you need to work on.

We need to work on those things.

We need to work on those things.

We need to supplement our faith

with whatever character attribute

they're saying I need to work on.

We need to be teachable.

Number eight,

selfless.

Luke 9, 23 says,

he said to all,

if anyone would come after me,

let him deny himself

and take up his cross daily

and follow me.

Like, how do I have a healthy church?

Well, let's flip it around.

How do you have a really unhealthy church?

Have a bunch of selfish people.

Have a bunch of people

not denying themselves.

Like, we could do a little experiment

and figure out

what would Christ's church look like

after the end of this year

if we all just gave in to ourself.

Would anybody want to be a part of this church?

Any of us.

Do you have to think about that

for a long time

to answer that question?

Why?

Because it's essential to be selfless.

Do you see what I'm saying?

I'm saying that so often

we complicate things

that are so simple

and what is really just missing

from a healthy church's character.

is character.

It's us making every effort

to just say

things like selflessness.

It's like what

Seth was just talking about

with the kids.

Like, imagine how transformed

all of our kids would be

if they just had this one attribute

that they were really making effort in.

Being selfless.

Like, Seth was saying,

how many times

is there strife and fights

and crying and whining

and all this

because of one thing?

I want what I want now

and I don't care

what anybody else wants.

I'm not going to look

to other people's needs first.

I'm looking to me,

old me, number one.

Right?

It's the same in the church

with adults, right?

Number nine, gentle.

Philippians 4 verse 5

Philippians 4:5

in the NIV says,

let your gentleness

be evident to all.

Let your gentleness

be evident to all.

Okay?

I have offended,

hurt,

and sinned against people

multiple times in my life

because I wasn't gentle.

All right?

That's a bad character

attribute of myself.

That's an area

where I have to make

a stronger effort

to be gentle.

Okay?

That doesn't mean

I can't be strong.

It doesn't mean

I can't be forceful

and convicted.

But like someone once said,

it's like being

a velvet brick.

Okay?

There should be

gentleness with it.

And you should let

your gentleness

be evident to all.

If your gentleness

is only evident to you,

it might be a problem there.

Okay?

But again,

if you have a church

that's not gentle,

you think a lot of new people

are going to be like,

I really like this church.

They're really harsh.

No.

They're very gentle.

They spoke hard truths

in a gentle way.

Number 10,

mature.

Hebrews 6.1 says,

let us leave

the elementary doctrine

of Christ

and go on to

maturities.

Okay?

Immaturity

is

a lacking

in character

that causes

all sorts of problems

and the root

of all kinds

of problems.

Maturity

is knowing when.

Maturity

is having

the wherewithal

to know

what is appropriate

for that particular

time and place.

Right?

It usually comes

through experience.

It usually comes

through knowledge

of what God wants

and the truth.

But maturity

is huge.

And again,

you might look

at different churches

and you might say,

wow,

that church

is really unhealthy.

How many churches

do you say

that church

is really unhealthy

because they lack

maturity?

Probably a lot.

If we're mature

and the way we,

if we,

if we make

every effort

to add to

our faith

maturity,

that's going to

make a big difference.

Number 11,

sexual purity.

Ephesians 5.3

in the NIV

says,

among you,

there must not

even be a hint

of sexual morality

or of any kind

of impurity

or of greed

because these

are improper

for God's

holy people.

Again,

you're thinking

about a church,

you're thinking

about how do we

build a healthy

church together?

If I'm going

to build a healthy

church together,

I can't give myself

to that which is

improper for God's

holy people

because the church

is made up

of God's holy people.

And if it's made up

of God's holy people,

then a healthy church

would not be made up

of people who are

doing that which is

improper for God's

holy people.

And God says

that what is improper

for God's holy people

is to even have a hint.

It's to even have a hint.

Have you ever had

the beverage

that's called hint

where it just has

a hint of a,

it tastes like water.

You barely have

anything in it.

It's like,

well,

this is raspberry.

Is it though?

I mean,

it's basically water.

Okay?

That's the whole point.

It's a hint.

It's just a little hint.

A hint is not much.

He's saying,

among you,

there must not be

even a hint

of sexual immorality.

So he's not saying,

you know,

well,

you can have a little bit.

He's saying,

not even a hint.

Not even a little bit.

It's not an option.

Christians in a church

who say sexual immorality

is not an option.

It's not an option.

The problem is,

a lot of times,

Christians actually believe

it's an option.

You might say,

well,

yeah,

but that's just the way

people are.

It's like,

well,

no,

because there's certain things

that every single person

thinks are not an option.

I would assume most of you

think murder is not an option,

right?

Like,

it's not something

you're entertaining

about committing.

You're probably not plotting

to kill anybody right now.

And if you ever even thought

about it at one point in time,

you quickly just said,

no,

that's not an option,

right?

Okay?

It's not an option.

We have things like that.

Rape is typically something

you think,

no,

not an option,

right?

There's all kinds of sins

like that.

Well,

what if we said

all kinds of sexual immorality

are not an option?

Looking at pornography,

not an option.

It's just not,

it's not,

I can't do it.

Now,

you can't,

like,

avoid seeing images

in this world

because they're everywhere.

But,

you can have the character

that says,

no,

no,

not an option.

I'm not going there.

Yes,

very attractive person,

moving on.

And it's important to know

that being attracted

is not a sin,

okay?

Finding a woman attractive,

finding a man attractive,

that's not sin.

That was actually a gift

given by God to you,

okay?

Some people

are so defeated

by their attraction

that they give in to sin

because the devil

has defeated them

by lying to them

about attraction,

being attracted to

an attractive person

being sinned.

No,

you can notice

that someone's attraction,

don't lust over the person.

Oh,

that person's really attractive.

That person has a really

attractive body.

Not going to lust.

Moving on.

Not even a hint.

Not even a hint.

That's the kind of character.

Sexual morality

is one of the number one things

in the Old Testament,

spoken of in the New Testament,

and in our modern day culture.

How many leaders,

how many prominent people

in the church,

outside of the church,

in business,

in politics,

how many people

have been taken up

by this one sin

of sexual morality?

Character matters.

Character matters.

Three more.

Number 12.

Kind of four,

because this is like a double.

Marriage and parenting.

Okay?

Marriage and parenting.

1 Timothy 3, 4-5,

I'm talking about

the qualifications

of an elder,

says,

he must manage

his own household well,

with all dignity,

keeping his children submissive.

For if someone does not know

how to manage

his own household,

how will he care

for God's church?

Okay?

I really could have just said

this is household management,

would have been maybe

a better way to word it.

That includes

if you're single,

just managing your household well.

If you're married,

managing your marriage well.

And if you have children,

managing your kids well.

And you say,

well,

that's the qualifications

of an elder.

Well,

first of all,

we should all

ascribe to the nobility

of the character qualities

of an elder.

D.A. Carson says

one of the most remarkable things

about the qualifications

of an elder

is how unremarkable they are.

You know,

is it really that remarkable

to say that we should

have healthy families?

Not really.

Well,

that's just for elders.

Everybody else

can have a bad family.

No.

Right?

Because he says

that he puts a principle

in here that supersedes

just eldership.

He says,

he asks a rhetorical question.

He says,

if someone does not know

how to manage

his own household,

how will he care

for God's church?

Okay?

And again,

if you have a church

where people don't have

good marriages

and they don't have

good parenting

and they don't manage

their single life well,

they don't manage

their households well,

are you going to have

a healthy church

in that context?

No.

How could you possibly?

If you can't even take care

of your own household,

how will you take care

of God's household?

We've got to start

with our household.

How's it going

in your household?

Is there a character there?

Good management,

good stewardship,

good faithfulness,

doing the work.

Doing the work

in your marriage,

doing the work

with your kids,

doing the work

as a single person

to be godly

and for the glory

of Christ.

Okay?

Number 13.

Diligent,

hardworking,

not lazy.

James 4, 17

in the NIV says,

if anyone then

knows the good

he ought to do

and doesn't do it,

sins.

If you know the good

you ought to do

and don't do it,

sin.

You sin, right?

This is like the ultimate

verse on laziness

in my opinion, right?

Because isn't that

not what laziness is?

I know the good

I ought to do.

But I'm not

going to do it, right?

I know the good

I ought to do,

but I think there's

something I'd rather do.

But I know the good

I ought to do,

but I'm not going to do it.

Well, the Bible

just says real straight,

you know,

people get so hung up

on all the things

in the Bible

that seem cryptic

and hard to understand.

There's a lot in here

that's not.

That's just a

little disclaimer

I wanted to make there.

Like a verse like this.

If you know the good

you ought to do,

but you don't do it,

that person sins.

Well, that's pretty

straight talk right there.

And what sin is it?

It's the sin of laziness.

Laziness sees what

needs to be done,

knows what needs to be done,

and says I'm not

going to do it.

And that kind of

lack of character

in a church

is a big deal.

Because there's a lot

of things that need

to be done.

A lot of things

that need to be done

in our own households,

a lot of things

that need to be done

in the church,

a lot of things

that need to be done

in the world,

a lot of things

that need to be done

just for practical things

like making money

and taking care of

putting food on the table.

There's a lot of things

that need to be done.

And when you know

the good you ought to do

and you just don't want

to do it because

that would cost you more,

that's called sin.

And if any of you

in this room

have one of those things

or a couple of those things,

things you know

you should do,

things that God's

been telling you to do,

things that the Word's

telling you to do,

things your spouse

has been telling you to do,

things your friends

have been telling you to do,

and you just won't do it,

you're in sin

and you need to repent.

Repent of your laziness.

Last one, 14.

Faith, not unbelief.

Hebrews 3 verse 12 says,

Hebrews 3:12

Take care, brothers,

lest there be in any of you

an evil, unbelieving heart

leading you to fall away

from the living God.

It's so easy to get an unbelief.

It's so easy to have more faith

in things not happening

than things happening.

It's so easy to have...

Most unbelief really isn't

a lack of faith.

It's just faith

in the wrong direction.

Have you ever thought about that?

Right?

If you have unbelief,

you typically really have

a strong faith

that something's going to go bad.

I have a strong belief

that something's not going to work out.

It's not that you lack faith.

It's just you're placing

in the wrong thing.

You actually think

there's more sense

in putting your faith

in something going poorly

based on what you've seen

rather than something going

the way God says it's going to

because of God's power

and promise.

Where does your faith lie?

Be careful that you don't have

a sinful, unbelieving heart.

When it comes to the church,

we need faith.

Faith is the substance

of things hoped for.

It's the substance

of things not seen.

Faith is looking into

what you don't see

and trusting that it's real.

It's more real

than what you don't see.

Can we have faith

for this coming year?

Can we have faith

for our own character

and make every effort

to have these qualities

in increasing measure

so that we're not ineffective

and unproductive

in our knowledge

of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Not forgetting that we've been

cleansed from our past sins.

being diligent

to make our calling

and election sure.

If we practice

these qualities,

we will never fall.

That's a great way

to look at this next year.

And again,

one last time

just to be clear.

Please don't do this

in your own strength.

This isn't some

you-ra-ra,

be a better person

for the new year.

This is you-ra-ra,

you're a really bad person