Shepherds' Conference Update

Bethlehem Bible Church

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March 27, 2011

00:01: So when asked to speak about the Shepherds Conference I was thinking about what is the Shepherds Conference or what was the
00:08: Shepherds Conference? These are some of the things that I came up with It was soul -penetrating.
00:13: It was Christ glorifying. It was the singing of 3 ,200 men singing nothing but the blood of Jesus To the point where he felt like the only proper position of worship was lying on the ground prostrate
00:27: Where the weight of God was just that heavy It was if we had entered it into a preview of the throne room of God the 3 ,200 men singing from the congregation and the
00:38: Choir of about two to three hundred singing at us all surrounding kind of this middle area
00:45: Basically a little preview of the throne room of God if you multiply that by infinity or so That may be exactly what the throne room of God is
00:54: So that was just kind of the general sessions not to mention kind of the individual sessions So what did
01:01: I learn what changed in me? That's kind of what I'll talk about next Well, eventually I'd like to preach at some point after this.
01:08: Maybe not I Went through the preaching track and the first one was called how to prepare for the task of preaching
01:18: It was it was presented by Bill Barrick So I went in thinking, all right, what commentary should
01:24: I be using? How am I gonna do the outline? How should I prepare that sort of thing and he comes out with this?
01:30: basically the sole Thing that we need to do when we're preparing for a sermon is besides spitting into the microphone consecrating purifying actively pursuing
01:42: Obedience to Christ in the inner man. So speaking of the inner man the purity of the inner man
01:48: So this struck me as if like I was on a highway In the middle of the highway with a
01:54: Mack truck coming directly at me. It just it killed me Completely ruined my notion of what
02:00: I was thought I was going to be learning For his intro. He used first Timothy 416
02:07: It is keep a close watch on yourself and the teaching Persist in this for by so doing you will save both you and your hearers so one of the things that he set up this conversation with was a quote from Richard Baxter a
02:23: Puritan pastor in His words were this take heed to yourself lest you unsay with your lives what you say with your tongues
02:33: Basically another Mack truck just hit me. I thought to myself What do I have in my life that basically diminishes my ability to preach the
02:42: Word of God to share the gospel and for? God before the foundation of the earth to Be used as an instrument to save his elect
02:52: If there's any if there's any pleasure I mean Steve talked about this morning alcohol if there's any pleasure from anything that We do in this life.
03:00: It pales in comparison to the ability to be used by God to save his elect
03:07: So thinking about this a little bit more we go through and Looking at the the verse
03:13: It's a simple if -then statement basically It says I'll read it once again.
03:19: Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching persist in this basically Paul urging Timothy to Immerse himself in this and watch himself
03:28: For by so doing you'll save both yourself and your hearer. So it's a simple if -then statement if a then be
03:34: So being kind of a math geek, I basically said alright if not a then not be
03:41: Meaning what should I not do in order to make sure that I am NOT used by God to save both myself and my hearers
03:49: Here are some of the things I came up with from the qualifications Of the elders and the deacons
03:58: First of all, don't be above reproach that will that will make sure that your ability to preach the gospel and the effect of the
04:05: Gospel is diminished. Don't be the husband of one wife Don't be sober -minded Do not be self -control.
04:12: Do not be respectable. Do not be hospitable Do not care if the person you're witnessing to understands
04:20: Make sure you're a drunkard Be violent not gentle. Make sure you're looking for a fight all the time be quarrelsome
04:27: Love money above all else be dignified be undignified Be double -tongued and always make sure you're speaking out of both sides of your mouth
04:36: Be addicted to much wine be greedy for dishonest gain So these are some of the things that I came up with I'm like, alright
04:42: Am I doing any of these things to not be used by God in order to save his elect? So what do
04:48: I what do I do that ruins destroys negates the message? I Preach the gospel.
04:54: I preach when I proclaim it to my family to my friends to my neighbors It's kind of a this
05:01: Mack truck just completely ruined me to the point where I examined myself I said, all right, what Christian liberties are not
05:07: Christian liberties. How am I sinning? That is diminishing my ability to Preach the gospel and share the gospel with people and have
05:15: God use me as a tool to save his elect So that's kind of the lesson
05:21: I learned in order for personal application There's two things that kind of came to mind right away at number one
05:28: We my wife and I went to Napa Valley and we enjoyed wine past tense
05:33: And just thinking, you know The pleasure of wine doesn't even compare to the pleasure and joy of being used by God to save his elect
05:42: The second one was coming from a church that kind of dressed down I really enjoyed wearing like cargo pants and all that kind of stuff and I just thought you know what when
05:51: I'm going to a Wedding or a funeral or anything like that. I usually dress a suit.
05:56: Well dressing the suit. Well When we come here Who we celebrating we're celebrating the
06:03: King of Kings and the Lord of Lords Enough said So what happened to me in this conference?
06:10: I got a preview of the Saints gathered around the throne room of God number two Helped me understand how to best prepare for teaching and preaching in the future focusing on the inner man and purity and Then convicted me to the core
06:24: That the joy of Christian liberties or the pleasure of Christian liberties pale in comparison to the honor and Privilege of being used by God to save in time those who he elected before the foundation of the earth
06:39: So do you unsay with your life what you say with your tongue or to again quote
06:46: Richard Baxter? Taking it to yourself lest you unsay with your lives. What do you say with your tongues?
07:17: It's amazing you stand in front of a corporation and you are doing presentations and it doesn't bother you but you stand in front of And in the preacher's pulpit and it's kind of like suddenly your heart races your mouth gets dry
07:30: So bear with me if I get a bit dry, so I've got some more here so Following the instructions from my shepherd.
07:38: I was supposed to take five or eight minutes, but it's kind of tough If you think that you have to deliver Such a impactful week in five to eight minutes, so I'm gonna try and do it justice but I think it's gonna be injustice to just give it five or eight minutes, so I believe
07:53: I'm gonna get the sign to to cut it, so So instructions
08:01: I've gotten was that I need to kind of give you an update of what it was Something I've learned what is something that has encouraged me and also what has convicted me and then also
08:10: Kind of give you kind of one of the key Sermons or lectures that really had an impact on me.
08:17: So in following the fashion of being goody two -shoes I'm gonna stick to those and also not to talk too much
08:24: So it's something I've learned. So first of all, I've learned that Harry has a very contagious laugh and a sense of humor and You have a great time with him
08:35: Tim in fact can give Pavarotti a run for his money So for those of you who sit here in his room, you might want to take some lessons from him when it comes to seeing
08:46: Brian Brian is the person that I Found that at nighttime falling asleep is the person that falls the fastest sleep and I promise you literally 60 seconds
08:56: That man is out. We will not go into the story Well, Kevin Can give
09:02: Harry a good run for his money when it comes to the laughter and the two of them together boy Your muscles will ache
09:10: Then Steve didn't think I'm gonna forget about you Steve. Well, what can I say? I Don't know where he got his driver's license
09:20: Because he gave a new meaning to follow my lead You wonder how he has the flock following him or keeping up with him so and then
09:33: Dave well, Dave You know how to pack in a in -and -out burger four by four animal style.
09:41: I was impressed man Like a little guy like this. He knows how to do it And for those in the room here who doesn't know when
09:48: I'm a four by four animal style in -and -out burger. That is very Indigenous to California and is really something to be experienced
09:59: So on a that was the lighter notes trying to get my nerve into tact before I go into the more serious things
10:05: Okay, so encourage what encouraged me was the fellowship by these men
10:14: And These men's desire to learn
10:20: God. I Was also convicted to study
10:25: God And even more so that I might shepherd those that are entrusted to me
10:43: Hope I have enough water So When you look at what was the famous or The sermon that I really liked was
10:55: Tom Pennington He spoke about pride So, let me ask this question, what do you believe is the greatest danger to you or your ministry and each one of us have a ministry and Tom stated or Tom Pennington stated that we would have to say with one voice all of us in this congregation tonight
11:17: It is pride He continued to say that pride has become a virtue for today, unfortunately
11:26: Something he had learned and I for that matter was that we live in a world with a lot of phony phony athletes with their drug enhancers
11:37: Phony beauty with their plastic surgery, which we saw a lot of in, California Phony economy credit card debt that goes out of control
11:46: Eleven trillion dollars in debt and that was when we were there. It's much likely higher phony houses in terms of interest only mortgages phony feelings children having a feeling of being special with parenting focusing on self -esteem and Phony friends
12:08: Using social media and for those of you in the room that uses myspace Facebook Twitter YouTube It gives you the illusion that people care what you are doing or providing a running commentary of your life
12:22: When it really doesn't We live in an era of the me generation
12:30: Now I'm not bashing That new technology in fact
12:36: We know that it can be used for the good use. We are listening to a podcast. We listen to People like MacArthur Piper and everything.
12:45: So it's how we use this to our advantage But what is the new technology doing for us in today's life is an encouragement of narcissism self -promotion and pride on the grand scale
13:02: Narcissism has even found its way into the church or the so -called Church of all thing with things like God didn't create you to be average
13:12: Now I was going to try to do a Steve Lawson impression impersonation, but I'm not going to try that But the question is if we all as Christians are not made to be average
13:25: Doesn't that change the level of average? Something to think about well,
13:35: I want to also turn to the scripture because Tom obviously then went and preached out of 1st
13:41: Peter 5 Verses 1 to 11, but he turned to be 1st Peter 5 and he focused mainly on 5 to 11
13:48: So I'm going to read it for us Likewise you are younger be subject to the elders
13:56: Clothes yourself all of you With humility towards one another for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble
14:07: Humble yourselves Therefore under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you
14:15: Casting all your anxieties on him Because he cares for you
14:20: Be sober minded Be watchful Your anniversary that your ever adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion
14:30: Seeking someone to devour resisting firmly in faith knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world and Then after you have suffered a little while the
14:45: God of all grace who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ Will himself restore?
14:52: Confirm strengthen and establish you To him be the dominion forever and ever
14:59: Amen So what does pride that do? It isolates us from God It isolates us from the grace of God and the
15:09: God of grace In verses 5 to 11 Peter's talking about our relationship as a congregation
15:15: To the church as a and the church to authority Peter gives us three imperatives and These pair comparators are in the present indicative time, which means it means that we have to do it still today
15:30: And those three things that we can read out of Peter is be subject to the elders Clothe yourself with humility and lastly
15:40: Humble yourself before God Tom went to explain how pride was the first sin in the universe and we know that Satan Is to blame and how that became also man's first sin.
15:54: I like the example of where he talked about the book that was written the ten most humble people
16:00: I know and The other nine I taught Tom reminded us of all what
16:08: Paul said in Corinthians 1 first Corinthians 4 What you have you did not receive did you not receive it from God?
16:16: In addition he further went on to say that God only bestows grace where there's humility and He even quoted
16:24: Spurgeon if we can do anything in Christ God will allow us the opportunity to try it
16:34: Am I doing for time So that was a turning point for me so I have another half an hour to go
16:46: There's a path to humility and Tom pointed out three steps based on the scripture
16:52: Obviously, the first thing is just to submit to human authority that's placed over you Become a slave or a servant, but I like the word slave because we all are born slaves to God Are we serving our wives our children by feeding them with God's Word or have our burdens become too much for us?
17:16: As we are trying to solve them instead by our own power three embrace
17:24: God's governance his providence a Test for us. What do
17:29: I cast on God and prayer? And what do I try to do myself?
17:36: And this is where it is Excuse me, and this is where it hit really hard home
17:46: For me Prayerlessness is the believers declaration of independence.
17:56: So I want to conclude We may not called to serve our wives at as this is true as a true act of Love and it was demonstrated by Jesus when he washed his disciples feet
18:20: Serving our wives is where we feed them with God's Word The shepherd conference is a place where the shepherds are given the opportunity to worship together
18:34: As you heard from Tim with 3 ,200 men and if that's only a glimpse of what it will be to be in front of the eternal throne then
18:43: I want to be there and lastly
18:49: To study under to study God under the great God fearing men So that they can feed the flock
19:03: So brothers come to the shepherds conference and feed the flock
19:51: Good evening. First, I would like to thank God for a safe journey and secondly thank
19:57: BBC for this most memorable trip This has been a goal of mine to attend the conference since I came to BBC.
20:08: I Church and want to attend with them I was not a member of the church at the time
20:15: But I was praying that God willing next year at this time. I will be one of those men attending the conference
20:22: One year later by the grace of God I was one of those men getting prepared to leave for the conference
20:29: The effort the opportunity to attend the shepherds conference has been such a blessing to me and to all the men who attended as well
20:37: Upon arriving at the airport. I began to take in my surroundings of palm trees and feel the warm air
20:43: I was glad I was away from all the snow and cold And media I began to see brothers helping one another
20:51: With loading their luggage and belongings. This was something that I began to see more and more during the past few days
20:58: This kind of service was not only contagious, but you could not help but see everyone partaking in some form of helping one another
21:06: From our beloved pastor guiding us and making sure all was taken care of to the buzz themselves
21:13: It was a reoccurring theme all over campus at Grace Community Church The service was amazing.
21:19: They had volunteers All offering everything from food to even sunblock
21:26: Also hearing God's faithful servants preach his word to us so that we may be equipped to be more effective servants of our
21:33: Lord Jesus Christ There was so much conviction felt throughout the conference Although there were so many different topics being spoken.
21:42: Each one was present presented clearly and biblically I was very encouraged by these men of God with this kind of encouragement
21:50: Lord willing I strive to be like one of these teachers. I understand the seriousness of Teaching the true
21:57: Word of God like Christ. I would like to follow his example The conference as a whole was about strengthening and equipping men for better service in the body of Christ As for me the conference was about leadership
22:12: I learned so many different aspects on leadership from teaching and leading as a biblical husband and father
22:19: Which I hope Lord willing to apply sometime in my future to teaching and leading within the church
22:24: I learned that it's not easy to lead biblically, but with God's grace and faith in Christ.
22:29: I'm up to the task And Jesus said to him if you can all things are possible for one who believes mark 923
22:39: The Lord presented a unique opportunity to open up and to get to know my brothers in Christ in a more intimate level
22:46: It was amazing to hear the different backgrounds and testimonies But still seeing the same grace that God has given each and every one of them leading them to salvation
22:58: Specifically, I'd like to thank Dave Farrar for his leadership and counsel throughout the conference.
23:04: I Usually struggle being in new places, but they was really an asset to make me feel at home amongst brothers
23:11: This has been a wonderful opportunity that we are all blessed with to get to know each other better and encourage and strengthen one another
23:20: I've learned so much in the past few days The conference has made an impact on me bringing me closer to the
23:25: Lord in prayer and teaching and in his word Hearing all the men sing together and being drowned out by the singing of the hymns was definitely a highlight to the conference
23:34: You couldn't help but think that this was a glimpse of what heaven would sound like continuously praising our maker
23:40: I would definitely recommend and encourage all to attend the next conference As it is a great opportunity to serve the
23:48: Lord and one another by not only being hearers of the word but doers of the word
24:29: I'm not preaching this evening either, but I want to share with you a wonderful blessing that was mine
24:37: I'm thankful for the privilege and the opportunity I had to be able to go to the shepherds conference
24:44: I know that I can speak for the other men and that I don't think we'll ever be the same
24:50: It was truly a blessing I believe we have a greater desire to serve our
24:57: Lord While at the conference and since these words keep coming to me from Matthew 4
25:05: Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from our
25:13: God Well we had plenty of bread And time after time we had words from godly men
25:23: Oh how wonderful to be fed three days on the word of God I was impressed with Grace Community Church They have a wonderful gift of just caring for people
25:37: The gift of hospitality My numbers don't quite agree with Tim, I guess we counted a little different but There were some 3 ,000 men who preregistered and a few others that came in later
25:53: The sanctuary seats 3 ,000 Grace had some 750 volunteers
26:02: So they had one volunteer for every five of us So they were there to care for us and supply our many needs
26:13: Another blessing which Tim mentioned was to be a part of a choir of 3 ,000 men
26:20: Singing the hymns and the praises of our Lord It was just unbelievable
26:26: I don't know what you think when occasionally in our services we have maybe 100 men come forward to sing
26:35: And what a blessing that is and I pray it is for you as well But just think 30 times that It was a joy to be with Pastor Steve Brian and Tim and Harry and Ferdy and Kevin We had such a wonderful time together, we bonded as brothers
26:58: And then I can't say enough Pastor Steve His learning or his qualities of himself as he ministered to us, pastored to us
27:12: As he was our shepherd It was truly a thrill to be with him
27:19: And with the rest of the men We had our serious times of listening and learning
27:32: At the sessions and the seminars, there were times for one -on -one fellowship And for conversation, there were times of laughter
27:43: Laughter is good medicine, isn't it? We laughed together until our sides hurt Now a word to you men at BBC who have not had the opportunity to go to the
27:54: Shepherds Conference I want to encourage you to mark your calendars, I believe it will be in March of next year
28:02: For some of you, a week out of your vacations is a lot But it will be a blessing, long -endured, to you and to your wives
28:16: So I just pray that you begin now planning and thinking and talking with your wives about this opportunity
28:24: Along with the general sessions, there were several seminars that we could choose from I chose four seminars in leadership
28:33: I chose these leadership seminars because I was sure they would help me in my visitation ministry
28:42: Most of the seminars were really directed to pastors But they were applicable to each and every one of us in whatever role that we have
28:51: Inside and outside the church So whether you're a parent or a teacher or a leader in your work
29:00: These lessons would have been helpful to you The seminars in leadership were the marks of godly leadership
29:08: The maturity of godly leadership The mandate for godly leadership
29:13: And the ministry of godly leadership So I just want to spend a few minutes talking to you about one of these
29:20: The marks of godly leadership Scripture reference, and I won't read it
29:26: But it's 1 Corinthians 4, verses 14 to 21 And Paul is talking and teaching the
29:33: Corinthians here by a letter that he wrote And what he wrote applies to us
29:38: He really uses a little irony in this section of scripture
29:47: But in it we see five marks which apply to each one of us as we minister to other people
29:55: The five marks of godly leadership are concern, character, courage, conviction, contentment
30:04: And let me just say a few words about each one of them Paul teaches that concern be shown out of love for the
30:12: Corinthians He loved these Corinthians And he was trying to get them to be the kind of people that he taught them to be
30:24: That they would change their talk and their walk Paul is saying that we are nothing without Christ Character Paul says in verse 16
30:38: This is one that really hits home with me I urge you then be imitators of me
30:46: That is why I sent Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord To remind you of my ways in Christ Can I say this?
30:56: Can you say this? Christ, examine my life and let others examine my life
31:03: Can they see Christ? Or you can ask my wife or my children or my grandchildren what
31:10: I'm like Do I have Christ -like character? This is my desire
31:16: It's my sole desire to be more and more like Christ Do I build contentment and character?
31:27: Courage As leaders, as parents, we are not to run from problems
31:34: Approach people with patience and lead Always rely upon the word of God Conviction Make your decisions with true convictions
31:46: Lead with a conviction that Christ is the only way Contentment Paul didn't send
31:54: Timothy as a cop -out So that he didn't have to visit the Corinthians Paul made sure by saying,
32:02: I will come if the Lord wills Paul was content in his trust in the
32:08: Lord Paul says in verse 7 in 1 Corinthians chapter 4
32:13: What do you have that you did not receive? Be content with what you have
32:22: I'd just like to share with you in closing The words of a chorus that we sang together
32:30: And Harry and I who roomed together Would hum this tune
32:36: And it's called The Power of the Cross And it goes like this
32:42: Oh, to see the dawn of the darkest day Christ on the road to Calvary Tried by sinful men, torn and beaten
32:53: Then nailed to a cross of wood This, the power of the cross
32:59: Christ became sin for us He took the blame, bore the wrath
33:05: We stand forgiven at the cross Oh, to see the pain written on your face
33:12: Bearing the awesome weight of sin Every bitter thought, every evil deed
33:20: Crowning your blood -stained brow This, the power of the cross
33:26: Christ became sin for us Took the blame, bore the wrath
33:32: We stand forgiven at the cross And now the daylight flees
33:37: Now the ground beneath quakes As its maker bows his head Curtain torn in two
33:45: Dead and raised to life Finished the victory This, the power of the cross
33:51: Christ became sin for us Took the blame, bore the wrath
33:57: We stand forgiven at the cross Oh, to see my name written in the wounds
34:03: For through your suffering, I am free Death is crushed to death
34:10: Life is mine to live Won through your selfish love
34:16: This, the power of the cross Son of God, slain for us
34:22: What a love, what a cost We stand forgiven at the cross
34:30: I don't know how you add anything to that I think we should just all close in prayer
35:01: Thanks, Dave I love all you men It was a great time of bonding
35:13: Martin Lloyd -Jones once said Preaching should make such a difference to a man who is listening
35:19: That he is never, ever the same again At the Shepherds Conference, you find just this kind of preaching
35:27: We'll never, ever be the same again The word of God, which thankfully is faithfully preached here at BBC Has such power that even 3 ,000 miles away
35:42: I was convicted I was in awe I was changed
35:50: I was motivated to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ You know, the
35:55: Shepherds Conference, you guys all know They bring in lots of big -name preachers Steve Lawson, Al Mohler, Bill Johnson And draws men from all over the globe, literally
36:07: And sometimes, there's this misconception Maybe it's only me But sometimes, all these big -name preachers
36:16: One might think might make John seem And I cringe to even say it
36:23: Not so over -the -top when you bring in all these other preachers I'm happy to inform you though That even at 72 years old
36:31: After 42, 43 years of faithful preaching John can bring it And he did
36:40: I will never be the same again after listening to a message that he titled The False Coronation of the
36:45: True King Preached from the very text that we actually read this morning,
36:51: Mark Chapter 11 I thought, well that's really ironic The way that God worked that out
36:56: Wasn't that lucky? I don't intend to encapsulate that message for you here in the next five minutes
37:03: You can listen to John's message online It's listed under General Session Number 3 If you don't listen to any of them, please listen to that message
37:11: And I would strongly urge you to listen to that What I will say is this I have a new passion for preaching and teaching
37:19: In Christ Church For that's what he called it By the way, in Verse 17 of Chapter 11
37:25: Quoting from Isaiah 56 -7 He said, My house should be called a house of prayer for all the nations
37:36: Listening to John exposit this text from Mark 11 Made me see Christ in a whole new light I was breathless
37:44: Do you know that this passage records for us the only destructive miracle Of Jesus' entire ministry?
37:51: There's actually two destructive acts recorded here But they're linked, and they represent one and the same thing
37:57: By analogy I'm not going to give it away I'll just pass along the warning that John gave when he said
38:04: Please don't call this passage, talking about Mark 11 Please don't call this the cleansing of the temple Because it wasn't any different after Jesus ransacked it
38:13: Rather, this was an attack And a preview of coming judgment What this passage does show
38:21: In Mark 11 Is that Jesus was concerned with how God is to be worshipped Now follow this
38:29: Christ is passionate for man to be in a right relationship with God, right? So when the temple is corrupt
38:38: Which is why Jesus was running through there Tipping tables over When the temple is corrupt, worship is corrupted
38:47: And when worship is corrupted Man's relationship to God To Christ himself
38:53: Is corrupt And isn't that the very reason that Jesus took on frail humanity? So that he could restore men back to a right relationship with himself
39:02: That would cost him His life On the cross Okay It's hard to boil down the entire experience of the
39:13: Shepherds' Conference Into one or two points And yes, I did say the word experience A word that we tend to shy away from here at BBC Along with words like feelings
39:22: But that's not a pretty accurate representation of the whole conference It's an experience unlike any other
39:30: As has already been mentioned The conference is as close to what I envision heaven might be like As I might be able to get 3 ,500 men
39:41: Okay, guys, we have three different numbers here Tim said 3 ,200 Dave said 3 ,000
39:46: Here's the deal There was 3 ,200 men that were registered An additional 300 men just walked in And said, hey, we're here
39:52: You know, we want to hear the word preached And so there's about 3 ,500 men That did attend the conference
39:59: I don't know how many If we've got them all in there or not, but So you have 3 ,500 men singing hymns of loudest praise
40:08: I don't think any of us can hardly do it justice To try to explain what that was like And the best analogy that I could think of was this
40:17: Imagine, if you will, you're on a battlefield With thousands of other men And the trumpet has just sounded
40:23: The battle has been won And you are victorious So you and your comrades band together
40:29: And you begin to march home And because of the euphoria of the victory And the rest at knowing the battle is won
40:37: You and your comrades begin to sing And as you sing There is a sense of camaraderie
40:43: There's a sense of brotherhood There's a sense of pride There's a good pride and bad pride now
40:50: So hold on Now that pride as you sing with your brothers Is in praise and adoration
40:56: Of your fearless leader Who led you through the battle To this victory
41:03: You might be singing praises to your great general The general who brought you through the battle
41:09: So that's the closest thing that I could think of To what the worship was like 3 ,500 men all banded together in unison
41:16: Not just in their singing But in their thoughts And while they're thinking about the words That they're singing
41:21: And enjoying as I did Listening to one another Sing At the same time
41:27: I would venture to say That the majority of those men All united in singing praises Were singing to their one true general
41:35: The divine general Jesus Christ It gave me goosebumps
41:42: It literally did I said to Tim, hey look at this In fact,
41:48: I think one of the men actually said It might have been Tim It might have been one of the other guys But after we sang
41:54: On that first day One of the men said This is worth it Even if we didn't do anything other than this
42:03: This is worth it And so The reason I liken the Shepherd's Promise to heaven
42:09: Is because in heaven We'll all be doing what? Singing the praises of our
42:15: God I heard it Singing the praises of our God and Savior Jesus Christ Our general who has won the battle
42:22: And I think We'll be talking theology the whole time Something else that we do
42:28: At the Shepherd's Conference Just the sweet fellowship of brothers in Christ Who love to talk about our great
42:33: God I'm sure we talked about other things But it was a good fellowship Here's my second and final point
42:42: If you've ever thought I don't know my pastor very well Or I don't know my associate pastor very well enough
42:51: Or if you haven't had the opportunity To be in Pastor Mike's discipleship Or to spend some good quality time with Steve To get to know him a little bit better And you're wondering
42:59: When is that time ever going to happen To be able to get to know my pastor better And to see the other side of him a little bit better Have you ever wanted the opportunity
43:08: To get to know your pastor a little bit better Might I suggest to you That you sign up for the Shepherd's Conference Just to be able to do that Because the
43:18: Shepherd's Conference is a time Where your pastors have an opportunity To let their hair down I'm sure they shepherd you
43:24: I'm sure they disciple you And I'm not saying that sin runs rampant
43:32: But that you would just see a side of them That would I'm not saying that you would see a side of them That would be shocking to you But I just want to say that I thoroughly enjoy the fellowship
43:41: That I have with my pastor at these conferences This is actually my second conference Steve was actually gracious enough
43:47: To Steve and his wife Were gracious enough To house us at their place the first time
43:52: Back in 2002 And Mike was there that time But listen, it's just such a joy
43:58: To see your pastor enjoying himself It's a joy to see him
44:03: In a different light as it were It's a joy to see him Because listen
44:08: You have to remember something Our pastors are here to serve us Let me explain
44:16: You must remember That we are their mission field As it were Remember Our pastors have crossed the country
44:25: To minister to God's people In a place that's not their home Steve, I'm not sure where you originated from But I'm sure it's not
44:31: Massachusetts Los Angeles Three thousand miles Okay, now
44:37: Steve would tell you His eternal home is in heaven But this is Steve and Mike's And Kim's And Dave's And Perdeep's This is their mission field
44:47: You guys, to serve you guys Yes, they serve the Lord But they're here to serve you So remember that we have pastors
44:58: Who have crossed the country To minister to us In a place that's not their home We have a pastor in his element
45:10: Right here behind the pulpit And it's another thing to see him When he's just being a guy Enjoying doing the same things
45:16: That you enjoy I thoroughly enjoyed that The fellowship was sweet The men were a joy to be around And boy, do
45:27: I love my pastors Sharpest Commons is a place
45:34: Where fellowship is cultivated In a way that isn't always Opportunistic around here Around here we all have jobs
45:42: Wives, families, kids And it's not easy to be able To say, hey hon, kids
45:47: I'm going to go hang out With the guys for a week And just sing hymns It's hard to do that But the
45:53: Sharpest Commons And while it is in a bubble You are in a bubble there I think it's worth it
46:00: To be able to be in that bubble To remember that To be able to come back here
46:09: To be faithful preachers and teachers And appreciate the faithful preaching That we have here at BBC I've come with convictions
46:16: That I don't ever want to forget And the last thing I want to say is Thank you
46:21: Bethlehem Bible Church Thank you so much for this opportunity It is really a real joy
46:29: And I appreciate it very much Thank you Two years ago
47:05: I was sitting in our living room As a disheartened
47:11: Bivocational pastor And so I decided to go On the Grace to You website Received some encouragement
47:18: From the Lord Through Pastor MacArthur And I looked at the 2008 Shepherds Conference And I said to my wife
47:26: What an opportunity that would be To go there someday And I had that opportunity this year
47:31: And words are beyond What I can express To spend the time
47:39: To accurately study The Word of God And preach the unadulterated
47:44: Word of God Trying to work bivocationally Doing that And something Pastor MacArthur Said then in the 2008 conference
47:52: He said give your time As a bivocational minister To your people But not to the neglect
48:00: Of the Word Because the best you have Never thought
48:08: I'd be able To go to the conference So I'm so eternally grateful For that opportunity It began with a bang
48:14: As some of the men Have said already I'm not going to get Into the numbers How many men were there It began with a bang
48:22: Because the 300 male choir The first day Saying all hail
48:28: The power of Jesus name I couldn't sing
48:40: I couldn't sing A verse
48:51: All hail the power Of Jesus name So powerful
48:56: I was welling up with tears By the end of the conference At least on Friday Pastor MacArthur said
49:03: Let's sing all hail the power Of Jesus name And he picked the right version So Ferdinand is singing
49:08: The right version The true light version
49:17: Everybody else All other 3 ,498 However many there were
49:22: Were singing All hail the power Of Jesus name And so was the organist
49:28: So Pastor John being sharp Even at 72 stopped us After the first verse And I looked at Ferdie And I said alright
49:36: He's going to bring us Back to the true version The bonding
49:47: I would have to say As many of the men mentioned already Was unbelievable Between the men
49:53: And what was most interesting to me Was what God used To bond us together
50:00: On the flight out there Because they don't serve Much food on the flight It was fun to watch
50:07: Tim who was sitting next to me Drool As I described the
50:12: Greek lamb I had been eating the previous week Off the bone The bonding also occurred
50:22: With Brian Many of the main sessions He would sit next to me And of course my laughter
50:28: Has been already expounded about Earlier today So as I would burst out laughing
50:34: At a joke one of the preachers would say I turned to Brian to see his reaction But I hadn't stopped laughing
50:41: So my laughter would just Explode in his ear So my deepest apologies
50:48: I know it has caused Major marital communication problems But I think the greatest bonding
50:55: For me was I've never gotten Not only a spiritual workout
51:00: But a physical workout My abs were in so much pain And God used a new
51:08: Instrument A new exercise equipment To do that for me And that was Ferdie Through the laughter he put us through But to say the least
51:16: The bonding was tremendous On a serious note Three things that I took away from myself
51:21: The importance of having A pastor's heart I knew Pastor John through his teaching
51:27: I've read just about every one of his books I've heard his teaching through the radio
51:32: Through CDs But what I saw there I knew he was a great teacher I knew he was a great expositor
51:38: I saw his pastor's heart He said in the Q &A If God were to take away
51:45: The master seminary ministry If he were to take away The Grace to You radio ministry
51:51: He wouldn't mind He loves the people of his church He really does
51:57: I saw that And somebody quoted actually One of my favorite authors Dr. Martin Lloyd -Jones
52:02: Who said at one point To love what you preach is one thing To love those to whom you preach
52:09: Is quite another And so I was encouraged
52:15: That the great men of God Had feet of clay That encouraged me I think one of the men mentioned it earlier
52:22: When Pennington was talking about pride He mentioned an illustration From Spurgeon's life
52:27: He said that one time After Charles Spurgeon Came down from preaching An old lady came up to him
52:33: And said that was the finest sermon You have ever given And Spurgeon's response I'm Dr.
52:46: Rick Arthur And I know he will be here in May Pastor Jones said that A .W. Pink known for a lot of I .e.
52:53: the attributes of God Said towards the end of his life He was a recluse Because he wasn't able to see
52:59: How the difficulties and hardships He went through in life God could actually use that When I shared that story with my wife
53:06: She looked at me and said Are you telling me you're going to End up being a recluse of time in his life, he was kind of melancholy and depressed.
53:19: So his wife came down in the black gown she used to wear at funerals. Luther looked at her and said, who died?
53:28: She said, God. He looked back at her and said, that's foolishness.
53:35: She said to him, it's true. Otherwise, Dr. Luther would not be so sorrowful.
53:41: Great men of God with feet of clay. So if in the next few weeks you do see my wife in a black gown, you'll know why.
53:50: The final thing that I took home for me is the balance of ministry.
53:56: The balance on the one hand of the seriousness, the sacredness, the solemnness of ministry, pastoral ministry, but the joy of pastoral ministry also.
54:05: The solemnness was brought forth over and over again by all the preachers. And of course, they didn't do it in concert with one another.
54:12: The first day, Phil Johnson spoke from 2 Timothy 4. Preach the word. And he said the intro where Paul says there, in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, and in view of his appearing in kingdom, and Jesus Christ who will judge the living and the dead,
54:27: I give you this charge, preach the word. He said that is the solemn oath, a sacred commission from God himself.
54:35: If that wasn't enough, the same night, Pastor John talked about that when he talked about, I'm sorry,
54:40: Brian, the cleansing of the temple. But he said that pastoral ministry is serious business, and it should not be taken flippantly or trifled with the stewardship that God has given us.
54:52: And if that wasn't enough about the seriousness of pastoral ministry, then the next day, Rick Holland spoke from the first part of 1
54:59: Peter 5, where Peter says shepherd God's flock. And he said pastoral work is serious responsibility.
55:07: It's not for wimps and for the fainthearted. He actually went to a passage of scripture that hit home with me.
55:16: Ezekiel 34, a couple of verses, I'll just read for you. He says, son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, even to the shepherds, thus saith the
55:26: Lord. Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves, should not shepherds feed the sheep?
55:33: You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep.
55:42: Thus says the Lord God, behold, I am against the shepherds and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep.
55:51: No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. The seriousness of God's commission in our lives.
56:01: And then Pastor MacArthur on Sunday morning, for those of us who stuck around, talked from Colossians and he mentioned that God is looking for people to be placed in his ministry who tremble at this responsibility.
56:15: So over and over again, God is hitting home to me, the seriousness, the solemnness, the sacredness of this, but he didn't leave it there.
56:21: Pastor John said from Colossians that Paul said he rejoiced in suffering for the sake of the church.
56:29: That the spirit of the ministry is joy. There's on the one hand the balance of we are to be serious about this.
56:35: This is not games we're playing, but on the other hand, it's something we love to do in serving our
56:41: Lord and Savior. To say the least, I was so pumped after, I'm like, Lord, I need to preach.
56:49: So we were on the beach of Santa Monica and God gave me an audience of one, along with Dave and Kevin.
56:59: Dave and Kevin had engaged a young man, well, middle -aged man on the pier there in Santa Monica and I'd come on and kind of join them and they were talking about church very openly with the man.
57:10: Dave asked him, I remember what church he goes to and he says, well, I don't go to church anymore. I go sometimes when my girlfriend drives him.
57:17: So I was listening in to the conversation. I leaned in and I said to them, well, obviously you've been in church around.
57:23: I said, do you know the 10 commandments? Yeah, I said, can you list them for me? So he starts listing them. Should not murder, should not steal, should not commit adultery.
57:31: I kind of brought in the first half of the decalogue. Oh yeah, and don't have any other gods besides me, I said, right? Yeah, sure, he said.
57:37: I said, have you kept them? He hesitated just a little and he says, yeah, I'm a pretty good guy.
57:44: I said, so you're claiming to be perfect. He grabbed his fishing pole, walked through the middle of the three of us, he said,
57:50: I don't want to talk this about anymore. But that's okay. The law of God.
57:56: Through the law, we becomes the knowledge of sin. And I know that no one can come to the Father unless, no one can come to Christ unless the
58:03: Father who sent him draws him. And all who are appointed for eternal life will believe.
58:11: So I thank the Lord for the opportunity to be there and I praise his name for it, thank you. I'll be brief, as brief as I can be.
58:31: Just a couple of points of clarification. You know,
58:40: I just want to be clear about the driving. You know, if I could just say something about that. There were a lot of road closures.
58:49: I mean, I was telling the guys, you know, all the way, oh, you're going to love this. It's going to be easy to get to the church.
58:54: And we're just going to take this off ramp. Concrete barriers blocking it closed, you know.
59:01: Okay, we'll go to the next one. Closed, closed, closed, closed, closed, closed, closed. You know, et cetera, et cetera. So we're coming back after the day there at Grace Community Church, we're on our way back and we're taking some unfamiliar roads to me because,
59:14: I mean, these are detours. Everything's closed. And so we make a right -hand turn and I'm thinking we're going to be making another right to get on the freeway and all of a sudden it's a left.
59:23: So I get over to the left -hand lane. You know, what can I say? Ferdie couldn't hang with the big boys.
59:29: I don't know what to say. What can I say? You'll have to ask
59:40: Dave Farrow, but I don't think Dave ever thought his life was in jeopardy. Of course, he did have his eyes closed a lot.
59:51: But just a terrific time. The men were really great and, you know, I just, I jotted down a few things and I'm not going to go through everything that I have here but I just, you know, we've kind of painted a picture about what it's like, but let me tell you, from the time you get into the parking lot, which is a little bit of work there, at Grace Community Church, you know, there are people riding their bikes in the parking lot.
01:00:16: You get to the front of the church and there are a bunch of greeters there, including, by the way, the man who built the building.
01:00:26: Millionaire out there, standing out there in the sun, handing out things, saying, welcome, how are you?
01:00:33: Then you go in, registration, pastor's wives, the associate dean of the seminar, his wife out there, just a bunch of people volunteering to hand out registration, your registration badges.
01:00:49: People out there serving food. This is all in the morning. Not talking about anything else yet. The concierge, not only with sunblock, breath mints, whatever, you know,
01:00:59: Band -Aids, whatever you need, they get it for you. Volunteers in the bookstore, in shipping, cleaning up the bathrooms for haircuts, shoe shines, lattes, you name it, it's there.
01:01:15: That's, it's unbelievable. When you talk about a bubble, yes, it is a bubble, and it's a wonderful bubble to be in.
01:01:23: If that's a bubble, give me more bubbles. I like bubbles too.
01:01:30: See, he wants to go next year. Might be a little young,
01:01:35: I don't know. But I, you know,
01:01:40: I will just say this. I have some scripture and some things I was gonna do tonight. I would just say this, that I was really encouraged by the men that I met in ministry who were there.
01:01:55: You know, men who I knew as deacons at Grace Community Church who are now elders. But I was just encouraged by the common difficulties we all face in ministry and the way we were able to exhort and encourage one another.
01:02:11: It was just really a very good time for that. Obviously the great teaching, fun with the books, a little sidelight here, every once in a while I'd get a little email and I'd look at it.
01:02:23: It's Brian. Brian wants to ask about another book. He'd take pictures, you know, send me an email.
01:02:29: What do you think about this book? And I'm like, I don't know. But it was, those are good emails to get.
01:02:35: It's just an absolute blessing, and I would have to say the highlight for me of the conference was just looking at the men who were sitting there from Bethlehem Bible Church.
01:02:45: I remember looking at Dave, looking at Harry, and just going, guys, God, you came. I mean, what a joy it is.
01:02:56: What an absolute joy to be there. And we just had a great time, great fellowship. You know, it really is something that we don't get to do that often.
01:03:05: It's kind of like, you know, for me, that is the ultimate camping trip, all right? We get to stay in a hotel, we get to go have great food, get to go have great fellowship, get to have great teaching.
01:03:17: We just had a wonderful time. You know, for the ladies, well, here's what
01:03:23: I would say. I would say the wives ought to almost demand that their husbands go. You know, when we talk about, well, that's a week of vacation, well, these people who are volunteering their time do it on their own vacation, too.
01:03:38: It's just an amazing thing. And for, you know, I even thought, and I kind of skipped this this morning,
01:03:44: I thought, you know, young ladies ought to be here tonight because they ought to be, you know, wanting to know who the young guys are who are going to these things because it's a great thing in a young man's life.
01:03:55: Happy to have a Kevin there. Anyway, I would just encourage everyone to go. And I'll just close with this because this really, for me, this summed up the conference because I just sit there and I think, how did
01:04:10: I even get here? How is it even possible for me to be here? Colossians 1 verses 21 to 23.
01:04:18: And you who were once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.
01:04:35: If indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven and of which
01:04:46: I, Paul, became a minister. These things are too wonderful.
01:04:55: I mean, these truths and recognizing that it's not just me, but it's every man from BBC who was there and every man who got up in the pulpit.
01:05:05: Once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, but God has reconciled us.
01:05:12: Let's pray. Father in heaven, what a great
01:05:18: God we serve. What a glorious God you are. How awesome you are in all your ways.
01:05:28: Father, we are amazed that you would condescend, that you would stoop to those who are your enemies, and that you would reconcile us to yourself through the work of your son,
01:05:44: Jesus Christ. Father, I pray that next year we would have twice as many men wanting to go.
01:05:53: I pray that we would have difficulties trying to figure out how to arrange to have so many men going.
01:05:59: Lord, I pray that you would use this time not just as a mini vacation, but even as these men said tonight, as a time of refocusing their attention on the
01:06:10: Lord Jesus Christ, on the gospel ministry, on the preaching of his word. Father, would you raise up leaders here, servants, deacons, elders, those who would fill out, flush out all the ministries here that we,
01:06:28: Bethlehem Bible Church, might be a mighty weapon wielded by you. Father, would you make these things happen, we pray in Christ's name.