Staying Faithful to Christ

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Well 11 years ago today Pastor Jeff and Pastor Luke planted this church today, so it is their 11 year anniversary

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Yeah And look what the

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Lord has done. I just thought I'd take a couple moments And I think it's perfect perfectly suiting because they're out on the mission field

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Putting their hands in the plow and plus they would hate me to do that, and that's what I love about him Just to honor them and honor the church

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Romans 12 10 says love one another with brotherly affection Out do one another and showing honor and so when

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I think of our church because this is not Apology is not built on any single man. There's a lot of ministries that are built on a single charismatic

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Personality, but they're not of the Lord the Lord says he builds his house, and he does it within his body

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There's no nomadism There's no one man shows within the kingdom of God and what he blesses this what

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God has done Here has been a special thing what he continues to do is is incredibly special But it's built upon the church and the leaders

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I think when I think about our church to think about sincerity of faith things are praiseworthy or to be worthy of honored

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Hospitality is huge devotion to Christ Devotion to one another care for one another that I've never seen a more caring church when somebody's in need

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They just kind of clobbered them with all of their help and love unity sacrifice

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Generosity deep commitment rich fellowship and just tough people I can't tell you how many people inside and outside of the church that have tried to Quote -unquote raise this church to the ground and so with all that God is doing and all that the enemy is doing to stop us

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I'm so thankful that he's made our body Tough I think when I think of our elders and deacons.

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I think of guys that are consistent that are tenacious They are competent,

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I think they're hugely gifted people I mean if you just look to your right or left God just seems to bring gifted people in here

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And what's amazing about our deacons is that you don't have to be able to teach to be a deacon

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Actually the one distinguishing factor from an elder to a deacon is able to teach but all of our deacons can teach

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Just hugely I think quality guys You got balanced lives or hard workers are bold and courageous

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That's kind of what attracted me to Apologia is pastor Jeff and Luke as well as everybody else leading them kind of leading the church out on the front lines preaching the gospel talking to Colts Kind of bullet -catching

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Leaders the guys that need to be at the tip of the spear and that's what we have to do as pastors

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We don't do it to be braggadocious or receive the praises of men Some people do that we do that because we have to teach the sheep and lead by example

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And I don't think I've seen anybody do it so well as pastor Jeff and pastor Luke genuineness

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I think these guys are genuine hugely disciplined absolutely hilarious little weird in a good way, but I'm I'm so honored to To be able to serve with you guys and do my part as one of the pastors

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But I think the most important part of this equation Is faithfulness all apologia has been found

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Faithful and so I've gotten this before but why has God so richly blessed

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Apologia in such a short period of time and I would say number one. He's a God of grace.

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I mean we were we are sinners not having achieved but focusing in on Christ and God is chiefly supremely gracious and merciful to us and all the glory goes to him as much as I Honor the church and honor the elders and no way am

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I giving them the glory that Goes to God in him alone. He's a merciful and a gracious God and we boast in him

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Number one, but I would say number two Why is he blessed us is because the leaders as well as all the people have been found faithful That's how you have an impactful ministry.

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That's how you have a ministry with longevity like Dolphin Omega You continue to be faithful to God and I think as leaders this faithfulness is best exemplified

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Faithful to protect the sheep and to lead the sheep to feed the sheep To preach and teach the pure and adulterated

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Word of God and this is crucial here faithful to lead the church out of the four walls Into the culture to be salt and light so it's about faithfulness

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Internally when it comes to the upkeep of the sheep Leading them and protecting them and caring for them and then faithfulness

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Externally when it comes to the duty not just to come and fill your mind with God's truth

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Which is a part of the equation, but then to apply that truth into the culture with the gospel

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God always blesses faithfulness right look at Psalm 101 six says

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I Will look with favor on the faithful in the land and they that they may dwell with me

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He who walks in the way that is blameless shall minister to me Psalm 31 23 says love the

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Lord all you his saints the Lord preserves the faithful But abundantly repays the one who acts in pride

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Proverbs 28 20 says a faithful man will abound with blessings, but whoever hastens to be rich will go unpunished

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So we are an especially blessed church again because of faithfulness if we remain faithful God continues to bless

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I'm not talking about Salvificly as if we're doing this to gain salvation or justified by none of these things

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But it's just the temporal blessing that God bestows upon his people. We remain faithful.

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He continues to bless And if we don't he won't it's just as simple as that So I thought

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I'd just kind of see here on this topic of faithfulness when it comes to the sermon sermon title the sting

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Faithful to Christ and there is just so much to cover if you go to Bible study tools comm or some

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Bible study Internet website and just put in faithful just type in faithful so many verses and there's just so much to this

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So there's no way that I'm ever going to touch any of this I'm gonna do I think I'm gonna apply the the greatest

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Kind of wisdom I've ever heard number ones. Don't be an idiot. But number two is Stand up speak up shut up and sit down And it's so funny that guys say that, you know,

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I I borrowed this from somebody else I just want to let you know everything I have to say to you. I've stolen it from everyone

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Dr. Y Doug Wilson Toby Sumter pastor Jeff, but we've all stolen it from the Bible So, I don't know.

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Why do we even say that we're all thieves of the scriptures as we get up here and preach the word

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So I'm getting to the point or what I kind of want to stress is that we must resolve That regardless of whatever circumstance we're in Rain or shine good times or bad preferable or not rich or poor persecuted or not?

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We are going to remain faithful to Christ We're resolving and I'm resolving as I've studied through that said in my thinking and my speaking in My doing and my decision -making my outlook my goals.

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I'm going to be faithful to Christ It's just gonna come before all those things. I'm gonna be faithful to Christ Before anybody else in my life until he ends my life

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If staying faithful to Christ cost me my wealth my career my freedom my comfort even my family my relationships

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Then I'm going to remain faithful to him Somebody said the most important thought that ever occupied my mind is that of my individual responsibility to God?

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Some other guys said this let us think often that our only business in this life is to please

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God and perhaps all besides It is but folly and vanity so really kind of the crux of The message today and really what

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I want to take the remainder of the time to do is just exhort you to remain faithful in the little things because when time gets

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Times truly get tough and comparatively to our brothers and sisters all around the world and of course in history past who have suffered true

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Persecution we've got a good here. We do But we want to be faithful in the very little things now so that when the things get tough for us that we will

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Keep course and remain faithful what it may cost us everything Luke 16 10 says

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One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much and one who is dishonest in a very little

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Is also dishonest and much if massive upheaval which could be on the right horizon

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Persecution comes our way, then we have to drill down on faithfulness now.

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We have to be practiced in faithfulness or We're not going to be

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They may be on the negative way of looking at this if we're not faithful in our everyday lives when life is to to a degree sweet and comfortable

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Then again when it costs us We're not going to do it Daniel was faithful not to eat unclean foods before he was faced with being thrown to lions

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Joseph was faithful to run from Potiphar's crazy old wife before he led an entire nation through famine

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David was faithful to take care of some sheep before he could manage a giant and then govern an entire nation

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I think faithfulness is so important, especially for us, of course talking to a faithful Church Because we see just a massive decline in faithfulness all around us

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What's a root of unfaithfulness all around us? Maybe not the root of unfaithfulness, but what is a root of the unfaithfulness that we see especially in the broader?

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American Evangelical Church Well, if the state of the culture is the report card of the church and we've heard that a thousand times here at Apologia Then we could know for sure that looking at the state of the

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American Evangelical Church That there's a very minimal kind of faithfulness output from the

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American Evangelical Church And if the culture flows downstream from the activity and the worship of the church

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Then we really have to examine the spiritual leaders the pastors of a nation Because they preside over the worship and the activity of the church so simply and we've said it again

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So goes the church so goes the nation, but maybe a little bit more Explanatory as so goes the pulpits so goes the pews

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So goes the church then so goes the nation if our culture is decaying and eroding all around us

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It's really because of the unfaithfulness of God's people taught to them and exemplified to them by their shepherds a couple examples of pastoral of faithfulness and again

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I'm a pastor. God's had me kind of in and out of pastoral roles on my life

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This is not some brow -beating taking pastors in my sermon out to the woodshed for no reason

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But we really when you when you look at the state of the culture and you see that this is because of the negligence in Church, we have to figure out what's going on.

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We have to find a solution. So again, this isn't about brow -beating anybody Hurting the bride of Christ, but it's about finding a solution.

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I think a failure in pastoral duties Massive failure is a failure to protect the flock from insidious heresies things like critical race theory social justice movement on and on and on It's a failure to feed the flock the pure and the undiluted full counsel of God's Word It's preachers had and this bugs me so much.

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It's preachers of the zeitgeist it's preachers of the spirit of the age and if you don't know what that means the spirit of the age or The spirit of the times is the sets of ideas beliefs and aims that is typical of people in a particular period in time

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You see it all around us. These guys just preaching what the world preaches They're quick to jump on board with what the world is

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Fascinated about or or declarative about but they won't preach the Word of God The problem is that the spirit of the age is anti Christ That's the big problem

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Ephesians 2 1 through 2 says and you were dead in the in your trespasses and sins In which you once walked following the course of this world, which is synonymous with the spirit of the age following the prince of the power of the air the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience so many you'll see pastors who are quick to raise a

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Black live matters fist and tell their congregants that they need to repent of their whiteness and crimes that they've never committed

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But they will not publicly preach just a simple gospel message. That is massive massive unfaithfulness

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Massive Pastoral unfaithfulness can be seen in seeking in shameful gain and domineering first Peter 5 2 3 2 3 man, pleasing and praise -seeking 2nd

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Timothy 4 2 3 John 12 43 just absolute rank narcissism and Narcissism if you don't know isn't it's an inordinate fascination with oneself

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Excessive self -love vanity you see a lot of the American Evangelical Church is just built on this kind of celebrity platform as if The pastors had more value than any one of you

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You see it in the mega church You sit in this big old giant room with chairs that just lead down and you get one

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Individual that everybody's fawning over and how could this guy not turn? Insanely narcissistic, you know, they've been doing studies in Europe that I think 90 % of pastors suffer with some sort of narcissism self -love

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Wanting to be in the spotlight wanting and craving after the praises of men. This is massive massive unfaithfulness

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We're not supposed to be yearning for that. Just like John the Baptist said that we must Decrease and he increases we're supposed to lay down our lives for the sheep.

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We're supposed to wash those dirty sheep Not promote ourselves as men of God. It's a travesty, but it's a massive picture on a faithfulness

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I think the worst thing is bowing the knee to the state as spiritual leaders and allowing the state to govern the worship of God's people and What we do is we now we place the state over the headship of Christ You know, you see that all throughout history when the church does that it destroys the church

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But it absolutely destroys the nation when that kind of stuff happens and you mess up there.

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It's a pretty deep mess up and because spiritual leaders and pastors are failing to Fulfill their duties their primary duties.

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You can absolutely expect to see that in the pews, right? One of the great quote here it says the characteristics of the kingdom emanate from the character of the king spiritual leaders have such an a massive influence on their people and then their people go out into the world and We are kind of like I was thinking about this quote or the kind of this thought we are kind of what we set the

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The lights, you know every you buy a light bulb and it has some sort of wattage you know as spiritual leaders we set that within the people that we

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Govern over and the people that we lead and if there's no light there, there's no light going out into the culture.

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I Think what we do is we see this unfaithfulness the prime primary duties duties of the man of God and then that creeps on into The home and then we have husbands not providing for Their their house.

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They're not protecting their home. They're not governing their home as they should If wives not managing their homes or submitting to the headship of their husbands got children not honoring their parents submitting to their authority or living self -controlled lives and Then we have of course the church not being salt and light to the culture as a family

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Led by the dad. So what's the answer to all of this? What turns this nation around?

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It's faithfulness a a consistent intentional humble faithfulness

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Faithfulness and the pulpits begets faithfulness and the pews which begets of gospel impacted and transform culture

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If faithfulness is is the answer. I guess the huge question is well, what is it? I think we all kind of understand but just to kind of break it down biblically the faithfulness that word

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Definitionally, it means strict or thorough in the performance of a duty to be dutiful when we are faithful We are dutiful

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And Jesus, of course as we calm Lord He mandates that we do submit to his lordship in his authority over life over our lives

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Luke 6 46 Jesus says this why do you call me Lord and do not do what I tell you to do the very basis of our

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Confession is the lordship of Jesus Christ and being a lord means that he is our boss and we no longer govern our lives

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We submit to his lordship and we are slaves and he is the master

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John 14 15 says if you truly love me You will keep my commandments. You will be dutiful to keep my commandments

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It's being dutiful to the Lord and those that he's placed over you like your boss your husband your dad or your mom

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Faithfulness is not only strict or thorough in the performance of duty to be dutiful, but it's also being true to your word

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Matthew 5 37 says let what you say be simply yes or no anything more than this comes from the evil one

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If you say you're gonna do something you just simply do it It's also steady allegiance or affection.

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It's loyal and it's constant first Corinthians 15 58 says therefore My beloved brothers be steadfast

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Immovable always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain

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So maybe just to summarize those that definition of faithfulness, it's consistent attendance to our duties

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I'm doing I'm going to do what the Lord requires of me and I'm gonna do it with the best of my abilities joyfully and gladly

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I'm gonna be a man and I'm gonna be a woman. I'm not gonna be a woman Super ugly one.

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I'm a woman I'm gonna be a child of my word. That's huge Man, if you know men man, if we are not men of our word, then who

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I'm who are we the faithfulness? A lot of times is to stop the the gum smacking and just say what you're gonna say and be a man

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You say you're gonna do something you do it And it's also steady allegiance to Christ above all else. No matter what is thrown at me

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My faithfulness will be seen in my steady allegiance to Jesus Some can just real quickly some scriptural examples of faithfulness

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It's it's faithfulness is dutifully giving to God what he commands like Abel in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 4

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Faithfulness is living a life pleasing to God like Enoch in Hebrews 11 verse 5 Faithfulness is building and continuing to build even though it takes a long time to accomplish like Noah In Hebrews 11 6 faithfulness is praying three times a day

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With your window wide open for all to see when the state forbids you to do so like Daniel Daniel chapter 6

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Faithfulness is refusing to kill the babies Even though the state commands you to do it like the Hebrew midwives in Exodus 1 so maybe a little bit narrowed down to us

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Faithfulness is protecting your flock Discarding any and every heresy that's infected your church teaching them

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God's word Getting back to the basics and the fundamentals of just simply his word and leading not only doing that but leading them out of The church into the culture to be salt and light.

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That is the great great great in our time of living here And God's this kind of part of God's redemptive history

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We just see just a massive amount of churches not leading their church into the culture with the gospel

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It's managing your home It's letting your husband lead and pouring your life and God's word into your children.

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It's honoring your mom and dad Do your joyful obedience serving your family and helping to create a peaceful home?

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The faithfulness is everything the Lord commands us to be but faithfulness is everything everybody else needs us to be

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We want to have faithful wives. We want to be faithful husbands. We want to be

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We want our kids to be faithful your flock needs you to be a faithful Shepherd Your wife needs you to be a faithful husband.

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Your husband needs you to be a faithful wife and your parents needs you to be a faithful child

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If we're not faithful to attend or again everyday duties, then we will break faithfulness

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When it requires a cost from us So the next question in this is how do I remain faithful?

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I think number one, it's just it's gonna have be daily communion with God It's gonna be be and I know he said it's constantly or in his word.

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It's intimacy with God. It's communing with him Faithfulness is being full of faith and faith comes by hearing and hearing by the

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Word of God We are not going to be faithful at any degree if we're not commuting through God through study

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Constant study family worship and prayer You can't white -knuckle this type of faithfulness when the rubber meets the road and you're staring down the barrels of true persecution

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You absolutely cannot white -knuckle Faithfulness in your own strength that it's not gonna happen

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I think if you as you see and I'm gonna share a Historical example here in a few minutes that biblical and historical examples of the church being faithful.

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These people had deep Deep communion with the Lord extremely intimate with him.

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You cannot Be separated from him and him in your daily communion and think that you're gonna have the spiritual power to be faithful to him

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When the going gets tough when it comes to being true to To God's Word in our faithfulness

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How do we remain faithful in being a being a man and a woman of our word like I like? Pastor Luke mentioned like I wonder how many times he said shut up in his sermon last week.

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I Think we just need to and I know this is big for me I need to close my mouth and work on closing the mouth work on being quick to listen before I'm Quick to speak

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Calvin said this he said when there's a whole lot of talking There's a whole lot of sinning going on.

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So when it comes to be faithful in our words We just maybe zip it up a little bit And I think that's the first thing we could do to help

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Proverbs 10 19 says this when words are many Transgression is not lacking but whoever restrains his lips is prudent

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Number three when it comes to being faithful, we have to cast off the fear of man Proverbs 29 25 the fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the

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Lord is safe Number four we have to cast off people pleasing. We cannot stay true to Christ When we aim to please people and not him and you think about fear where most of our fear comes from It's just it's because we're trying to we're trying to please everyone even the fear maybe of coming up here and speaking in front of 600 people and Being on the live stream.

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You got to ask yourself. Why you know, why am I nervous? Why am I fearful? It's because I want to be thought well of it's because I want to have your approval

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It's because I want to please you but we cannot be faithful to God and be people pleasers

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But the good thing is is and will you kind of die to yourself in that people -pleasing effort? Then that fear gets sucked right out and there's nothing like being a free from this type of people -pleasing focus

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Galatians 1 10 through 11 says For I am NOT seeking the approval of man or of God for him

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I now sorry for am I now seeking the approval man or of God or am I trying to please man?

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If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ number five we have to cast off the love for our comfortable lives and pursuit of ease and pleasure

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Revelation 12 11 says and they have Conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony for they loved not their lives even unto death

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And you know when you work hard You should be able to go home and eat a good meal and enjoy the things that God has given you

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And no means to him am I saying hey just go sell everything and be a bum on the street No, that's not what it's all about.

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You enjoy what God is So richly blessed you with but if our as Americans of the of our ideal is in line with the

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American dream Which is just the pursuit of comfort and that is our goal. That's what we have our eyes focused on that's what

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I'm saying when when that is your pursuit when it's when faithfulness is when you have to leave that you're gonna

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You're gonna run to the comfort and not be unmovable in your steadfastness Number six we have to be willing to let go of everything

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If that's the cost of faithfulness and that's and like I said, it's kind of hard for us materialistic

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Americans, but Hebrews 10 30 forces for you had compassion on those in prison and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property

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Since you since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one

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So just a couple points on really what does it mean to be faithful? I think also and what's been just so amazingly encouraging for me is

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Just looking at historical examples of people that have been faithful So about a year ago today We were all over in Ireland and then we went to Scotland right after and we didn't know in that trip

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We had three different places. We were preaching out We were we were helping the church understand about abortion clinic ministry and equip them to be effective in abortion clinic ministry

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But we didn't know on I think one of the last days when we went over to Edinburgh Scotland that we were going to go on the

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Covenanters tour and If you don't know who the Covenanters were they were

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Scottish Reformers back which mean about 1508 or so to 1638 the

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Scottish Reformers and then after that the Scottish Covenants but we went on this tour of their lives and just the massive amounts of persecution and then through that persecution the massive amounts of faithfulness that they that they just lived in under Pain and torture and death like you could not even imagine a lot of the stuff that happened to our brothers and sisters back then

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I can't even mention from the pulpit But it's been so enriching and informative and so didactic for me to be looking into the lives of these guys in their faithfulness

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I'm just going to talk about one Tonight I would encourage you. There's so many good resources out there

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The stories of the Scottish Church by Thomas McCrye is an awesome resource for you to kind of learn about these

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Scottish Covenanters But the first Scottish martyr was Patrick Hamilton He was one of the first Scottish Reformers and his account here has been taken from a book called

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Scottish Martyrs and Covenanters an interesting series of narrative tracks Illustrative of the doctrines which led to the

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Reformation from potpourri So they were really concise and their titling of their books back then

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Patrick Hamilton, I mean this guy was amazing. He was born in about 1504 And he was connected to royal family.

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So he's born into nobility He was a nephew of the Earl of Iran and the Duke of Albany He was given as a baby title and Abbessy Affirm Which just means he had land and title and he was just insured wealth and prosperity

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He was just born with a silver spoon in his mouth And so while everybody expected him to pursue a life of worldly pleasure and prestige

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He just went down to a different path and he began to put all of his energy into studying the scriptures

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And he after doing so he just opened his mouth He just began to severely denounce the corruptions of the

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Roman Catholic Church, which of course back then caught the eye of the priesthood so feeling the pressure of the priesthood he goes over to Wittenberg, I think that's the right way to pronounce it and he he becomes really good friends with Martin Luther And he begins to study the doctrines of the

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Reformation So after he studies the doctrines of the Reformation, doctrines of grace with Luther Of course gets very learned in that and then he wants to go back to Scotland So he comes back to Scotland and then he just begins just to be a thunder.

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He begins to thunder forth the Word of God in the country of Scotland And everybody wanted to hear him.

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He was a good -looking guy And of course being born of nobility He just caught he was incredibly influential and then he gets caught the attention of Cardinal James Beaton Does anybody know who

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Cardinal James Beaton is? He's just one of the really wicked guys in history If you go to Edinburgh, there's a massive monument

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Honoring him while there's just a little piece of rock almost honoring John Knox underneath a car there

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But he was a Cardinal Beaton was a Archbishop of st. Andrews And he was wicked

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He didn't he didn't go to any low or any end to persecute as many Scottish Reformers and Scottish Covenanters as he can

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So what they did is they learned that Patrick was going throughout of the country and he was preaching the

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Word of God Of course, he was exposing the heresies of the Roman Catholic Church. And so they just decided well,

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I guess we'll just murder him and so what they did is they Invited him invited him in there's a guy named

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Alexander Campbell and it's just a just a Wicked man a guy, you know kind of a wolf in sheep's clothing so he invited

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Patrick to come to his house and Patrick began to teach to him Calvinistic doctrines and The guy acted like he was interested and acted like he was agreeing with Patrick So as these meetings continued

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Patrick would just go over to his house and open up the Word of God preached the Word of God Do Bible studies all you know under the premise that the guy was maybe coming to the

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Lord You know something, you know something that we pastors do go and and teach and then one day

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They just grabbed him up and stuck him in the castle at st. Andrew So the very next day after he had it got apprehended

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He stood before the Archbishop and a convention of bishops and abbots and priors and they charged him with heresy

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And on that spot they sentenced him to death to be carried out that very same day

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So they erected a massive pile of wood and a wooden stake and they rushed Patrick Right to his death right to his horrible death.

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I can't even go into What the body would what trauma happens when you die through being burned to death?

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Sometimes we think you know, these people got burned to death. It was horrible. Just what happens to an individual individual, you know

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Physically as that fire burns you I can't mean I can't have explained it here I would encourage you to kind of study that out because you'll see the pain that they went through So he's about to go get burned to death and he actually disrobes

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But he has a really faithful servant that has been good to him all throughout his kind of short ministry

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He takes off his garments and he gives it to a servant and he says this the stuff will not help me in the fire but will profit thee

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After this you can receive for me no more good But the example of my death which

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I pray thee keep in mind for albeit it'd be bitter to the flesh and fearful in man's judgment

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Yet is the entrance into eternal life and none shall possess that denies

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Jesus Christ before the wicked generation So they strap him to the metal. Sorry the wooden stake

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They get the kindling up The problem was the kindling had just become all waterlogged so it's massive rain

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Of course if you go to Scotland, it just constantly rains there It's just the rain waterlogged all of the all of the kindling all of the wood there

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And so what they did is they set just kind of a line of gunpowder to try to ignite this big pile of wood

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But it it just it just went light. So what would happen is as they lit the gunpowder it would just explode in his face

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Causing explosions all over this man's face and they kept on doing it because it couldn't get in light So you hear you have him in agony?

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You know with people just heaping scorn scorn on him Hatred and abuse and then these these idiots are trying to light this fire.

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They can't do it So they're causing these massive burn wounds and explosion wounds all over his body

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So finally after six hours of this six hours Of these explosions and these pain just ripping his body apart burning him down to the bone.

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He dies He says finally the fire was kindled And Patrick's last words were how long the

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Lord shall darkness cover this realm. How long will thou suffer this tyranny of men? How long will thou suffer?

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Lord Jesus received my spirit. So Patrick Hamilton dies the first martyr 1528 at just 24 years old.

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That's how old he was 24 Then his death even though as painful as it was at mass

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It just sparked a massive interest in why would this person get put through this amount of pain?

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And it created in which which is awesome. It's just God's goodness and it's faithfulness as you would persecute the

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Scottish Governors I think this is true across the board when it comes to the persecution of God's people as you would persecute them

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They only grew in number and it created this massive hunger for the doctrines of the

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Reformation so he was faithful to Christ even though it cost him his entire life and from about 15 the hottest part of the persecution against the

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Scottish Governors was about 1638 to 1658 no, sorry 68.

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No, no, no 1638 to 1688. So 50 years of incredible persecution

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Eight almost I think they say and upwards to 18 ,000 were persecuted a lot by Cardinal Beaton here

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But can you imagine? thinking that you're gonna go to a Bible study and you're gonna go share your faith and you're gonna go fellowship with maybe a potential brother or a sister and Then that very same day that you go to that house to preach the

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Word of God do everything you can to help somebody that Seemingly is interested in the things of God within hours the next day.

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You're walking to your death You're walking to a stake and then you use your last words all through the pain and all through the torture as a young Extremely young person you use your last words to bless those that are hurting you and to give

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God the glory and preach The gospel to everybody that can listen that's pure Undiluted a hundred proof faithfulness right there and that's just one of the stories

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I would really like I said encourage you get a book and read these stories to your kids It is it's just gonna bless your socks off.

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We definitely experienced persecution here I think you can't say we don't because I think in any time within any body of Believers in any nation you're going through persecution.

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It's just at a certain degree We're just at a lower degree, of course a much lower degree than what these guys had to go through and Our brothers and sisters all around the nation, but we really don't have any excuse right now to be faithful with the little thanks

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Hebrews 12 forces in your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted at the point of shedding your blood

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We are fat and we are happy. We are surrounded by Comforts we have just no excuse whatsoever to be unmovable now and to have

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Our full allegiance to Jesus Christ no matter what happens so the facts

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Faithful or not in large commodity the faithful are Hard to find

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Proverbs 26 as this many a man proclaims his own steadfast love But a faithful man who can find we have to answer the question as men as women as women as wives as husband as children

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Am I gonna be found? Faithful am I gonna focus on being faithful to Jesus above all else and in all else not just thinking okay if If harm was coming in my way, then

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I'd be faithful to Christ But right now with just the little things the daily duties, which he's called me to do am

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I being faithful? Am I preparing myself for the future? that I don't know about I think the primary motivation what massive motivation when it comes to faithfulness is

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The blessing of God's flock again, we're here because of faithfulness There's a lot of motivations

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But the primary motivation has to be just simple love for Christ the desire to please him

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Matthew 25 23 says this His master said to him well done good and faithful servant.

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You've been faithful over a little I will set you over much Enter into the joy of the master you think about what

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Jesus did for us his perfect life living a perfect Law obedient life something that we couldn't even do for 33 seconds

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He does for 33 years and he does that not out of any need within himself God the

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Son becoming Christ He doesn't not in he doesn't need anything that God would condescend to do this for us

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To live this life on our behalf and what he did What does he do on the cross? He receives in himself for punishment for sins that we deserve, but he doesn't deserve and Then he says what do

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I want to see I want to see in you? Faithful servitude so that when we stand before him he says well done good and faithful servant

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Revelation 2 tense is be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life Christians do not have to live

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They have only to be faithful to Jesus Christ not only until death but unto death if necessary So I thank you as a church for your faithfulness

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I thank you for teaching me faithfulness. I kind of came out of a church or maybe church backgrounds that did not

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Weren't faithful. It was a kind of a lopsided Faithfulness, it's faithful to teach

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Faithful to gather very internally faithful, but externally faithful nothing and that's just the story of the

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American Evangelical Church When are we going to get outside of our walls? When are we going to be something in light to this culture?

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Not just a few of us all of us Not because we want the praise of people

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But because that's what our master commands us to do we do that as a church pastors are dutiful

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Then their pews will be dutiful and then we're gonna see transformative effect. It's gonna happen

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So be faithful. Let's continue to move forward. And if you can I would give pastor

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Luke a big old kiss on the cheek Maybe you know, you have to greet your brother with a holy kiss

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So it's not that far off or maybe pastor Jeff's to say thanks for being faithful. Thank you for your faithfulness.

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Let's go ahead and pray Father I thank you for our faithful church. I thank you for Those outside of our church.

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They're hearing your message. I pray in this message would have only given you glory Lord, we do desire as your people to love you and you say that if you love me, you're gonna be my commands

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You say why do you call me Lord and do not do what I tell you to do? So we want our love to be exemplified in faithfulness

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Lord, I pray that you would spark the hearts maybe through this message and many others that we preached He would spark the hearts of pastors to leave faithfully to turn away from any philosophy of ministry or any blueprint

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That's not your word to be the men that God has called them to be Pray for dads that they would provide continue to provide

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Protect their flocks making their primary ministry their family ministry pray for wives

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Lord that they would live submissive lives They would let their Their husbands lead that they would manage their homes

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Well pray for the children that they would leave peaceable lives self -controlled lives But they would submit to the authority of their parents honoring their parents

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And I pray Lord that you continue to bless us It's all because of your grace and all because of your mercy

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But I pray that we would throughout our existence. However long that may be we would be found faithful We thank you