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00:35 Good morning, friends, welcome again
00:36 to Sabbath School Study Hour here at the Granite Bay 00:39 Seventh-day Adventist Church in Sacramento, California. 00:42 Very warm welcome to our online members 00:44 and our friends who are joining us 00:45 across the country and literally around the world 00:49 on the various television networks. 00:51 We're just delighted that you have joined us 00:53 for our special Bible study time 00:55 here at our church. 00:57 Very warm welcome to the members 00:58 and the visitors that are here as well, 01:00 ready to study together. 01:02 Over the past few weeks, we have been studying 01:04 through a lesson theme, entitled, "Oneness in Christ." 01:08 We're nearing the end of our lesson quarterly. 01:10 Today, we are on lesson number 12, 01:12 which is entitled 01:13 "Church Organization and Unity," 01:16 very important subject that we'll be looking at today. 01:19 But before we get to our lesson, 01:21 we'd like our friends to know 01:22 about a free offer that we have. 01:24 It is a book entitled, "The Church, Is It Babylon?" 01:28 People have questions about that today. 01:31 We'll be happy to send this to you. 01:32 All you need to do is call us on our resource phone line. 01:35 That number is 866-788-3966. 01:39 And you can ask for offer number 712. 01:43 For those of you outside of North America 01:45 that would also like to receive a copy of this book, 01:48 you can download it for free. 01:51 All you'll need to do is text the code "SH116" 01:55 to the number 40544. 01:59 And, of course, by the way, if you're in North America, 02:01 you're also welcome to text that code 02:04 and you can download a copy of the book, 02:06 "The Church, Is It Babylon?" 02:08 We'll be happy to make that available for free 02:10 to anyone who contacts us. 02:12 Well, before we get to our study, 02:13 we always like to begin by lifting our voices in song. 02:16 I'd like to invite our song leaders 02:18 to come join me. 02:20 We're going to begin our worship 02:22 singing before Sabbath school with some Christmas songs 02:25 because it is that wonderful time of year. 02:27 And we're going to sing this morning number 119, 02:30 "Angels from the Realms of Glory." 02:32 We'll sing all four verses so you can follow along at home 02:35 in your Adventist Church hymnal. 04:42 Thank you so much for singing. 04:45 Dear Father in heaven, once again we are grateful 04:47 for the opportunity to gather together 04:48 and study Your Word, 04:49 we're also grateful for the rain that's falling. 04:51 And just pray that the Holy Spirit 04:53 would fall upon our hearts and minds 04:55 to guide us into a clearer understanding 04:57 of this very important subject talking about church unity. 05:00 For we ask this in Jesus' name, amen. 05:04 Our lesson this morning is going to be brought to us 05:06 by Pastor Doug. 05:09 Happy Sabbath. 05:10 We've got a good lesson today 05:13 talking about church organization and unity. 05:17 And we're continuing in our study 05:20 on Oneness in Christ. 05:21 But before we get to that, I got an exciting announcement. 05:23 We're doing lesson 12 today 05:26 and who knows what comes after lesson 12? 05:28 Lesson 13. 05:31 And then we're going into a new quarter 05:33 with the New Year. 05:34 Now here at Granite Bay, 05:36 because we record the lesson in advance 05:38 for our satellite friends that broadcast the study, 05:42 we're going to get into it in December. 05:44 But do you know what the lesson is? 05:46 It's on Revelation. 05:49 So we're really going to be excited about that, 05:52 and Pastor Ross and I are probably going 05:54 to descend into some wrestling matches 05:56 to see who gets to teach certain chapters. 05:58 I know this is his favorite. 06:00 His favorite study is Revelation. 06:03 So I just wanted you to know about that. 06:04 We'll probably have our local ones 06:06 that will be out here at the table next week 06:08 for those that attend here. 06:10 But today, talking about Oneness in Christ, 06:12 we're in lesson number 12, 06:14 and we're talking about Church Organization and Unity, 06:17 very practical subject and important. 06:20 Have a memory verse. 06:21 Memory verses from Matthew 20:26-27. 06:25 I always appreciate if you want to say that with me. 06:28 Matthew 20:26-27. 06:30 If you do it right here out of the quarterly, 06:33 it's in the New King James version. 06:35 You ready? 06:37 "Yet it shall not be so among you, 06:40 but whoever desires to become great among you, 06:44 let him be your servant. 06:46 And whoever desires to be first among you, 06:49 let him be your slave." 06:52 The theme, the attitude 06:55 of servant leadership in the Christian Church 06:59 is the principle that operated in the life of Jesus 07:04 and one that is followed in the life of His believers. 07:08 We believe in servant leadership. 07:10 Now when we talk about Church Organization and Unity, 07:15 we've had some sections in here, like the first section 07:17 talks about Christ the head of the church. 07:19 And because Jesus is the head of the church, 07:21 it doesn't mean that there's no organization in the church 07:23 and we're all just sort of, you know, go around like ants. 07:27 You know, the Proverb says ants have no master or overseer 07:31 but they all seem to know how to work together. 07:34 And it'd be wonderful if we said, 07:35 let's just all be spirit-filled, 07:37 then we won't need any structure in our church. 07:39 We'll all know like little ants somehow supernaturally know 07:42 what their little job is 07:43 and where they're supposed to carry their food 07:45 and guard the trail or whatever it is they do. 07:48 You know, bees have a queen but we don't know 07:49 that the queen is issuing email directives 07:52 about what all the bees are supposed to do, 07:53 but they seem to know. 07:55 Isn't that amazing? 07:57 And some suggest that if we just have a church 08:00 that's spirit-led, 08:02 we can all work like bees and ants, 08:05 and where everyone's just going to show up 08:06 and the spirit's going to tell us what to do. 08:09 Well, that's a little idealistic, 08:10 I don't think that's what the Bible is saying. 08:13 We are all supposed to be servants, 08:17 and we all have our role, 08:18 we use our various spiritual gifts, 08:19 but God does have structure in organization. 08:23 Now you notice that it says here in the introduction 08:26 that we really don't follow a hierarchical. 08:30 That's where you get the word hierarchy, 08:32 form of governance. 08:35 You know, if you were to point to the Catholic Church, 08:37 Catholic Church in some respects, it is amazing 08:43 because they've got like 1.2 billion members 08:47 in the Catholic Church 08:49 and they've got five levels of administration. 08:53 There are a lot of companies that marvel 08:55 when they look at the Catholic Church 08:56 and think, "How do they operate 08:58 this international organization 09:01 with only five levels of structure?" 09:05 But they do it quite effectively. 09:08 There are varying levels of structure in God's Church. 09:12 We're going to talk about some of that. 09:14 But the first thing we want to establish is 09:16 who is large and in charge in the Church of Jesus Christ. 09:20 Who is the leader? 09:22 And under the first section, under Son, it talks about, 09:25 Christ, the head of the church. 09:27 You already knew the answer to that, right? 09:29 So someone's going to look up for me 09:31 in just a moment Ephesians 1:22, 09:34 and I'm going to read Colossians 1:18. 09:39 "And He is the head of the body." 09:42 Church is called the body of Christ. 09:43 "He is the head of the body, the church, 09:45 who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, 09:48 that in all things, He might have the preeminence." 09:52 So in how many things does He have the preeminence? 09:55 In all things, Christ is the head of the church. 09:58 I thought that would be God, 09:59 the Father as the head of the church. 10:02 But the Bible says Jesus is. 10:04 Now why can it say that? 10:06 I want you to look with me. 10:08 I tell you what, before I get to that in just a second. 10:12 Let me give you one more verse, 10:13 then we're going to go to the Ephesians verse. 10:15 Philippians 2:10-11, "That at the name of Jesus, 10:19 every knee should bow, of those in heaven, 10:23 and of those on earth, of those under the earth, 10:26 and that every tongue should confess 10:28 that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father." 10:31 So is there any question? Who is the head of the church? 10:35 Is it a pastor? Is it a pope? 10:38 Is it a bishop? 10:40 The head of the church is Jesus. 10:42 He has not surrendered the headship of the church 10:45 to any individual. 10:48 Please read for us your verse. 10:50 Ephesians 1:22-23, 10:53 "And He put all things under His feet, 10:56 and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 11:00 which is His body and fullness of Him 11:02 who fills all in all." 11:05 You know, when you pay 100% of the cost of something, 11:10 you take title of it and you become the owner. 11:14 And so what right does Jesus have 11:16 to be declared the head of the church all in all? 11:19 He bought it, 11:21 if you want to just put it in the simplest terms. 11:23 He paid for it. How much did He pay? 11:25 Did He pay 50% down or did He pay 100%? 11:30 So how much does He own? 11:32 He owns 100%. He is the head of the church. 11:35 Now I want to give you something else to think about, 11:37 another principle that by virtue of this principle 11:40 makes Him the head of the church 11:41 if you go in your Bibles to the Gospel of John. 11:44 I think everybody knows this. 11:46 John 1:1. 11:50 You know, you look in Mark and you look in Matthew, 11:55 they introduce the birth of Jesus. 11:59 John goes right to the birth of everything. 12:03 He doesn't go to the birth of Jesus, 12:05 he goes to the birth of everything 12:06 when he starts his gospel. 12:07 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 12:11 and the Word was God. 12:14 He..." Now it's telling us the Word is a He. 12:15 Who is the He? 12:18 Who is the Word? Jesus. 12:20 You'll notice your Bibles probably all say 12:21 capital W-O-R-D 12:23 'cause it's a title, it's not a word. 12:26 The Word is not just a word. It's talking about a name. 12:30 That's one of His names. 12:31 "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." 12:34 It says, "The Word was with God and the Word was God. 12:39 He was in the beginning with God." 12:41 And here's a point I want to especially emphasize, 12:43 verse 3. 12:44 "All things were made through Him, 12:48 and without Him nothing was made 12:52 that was made." 12:53 By the way, some people wonder if Jesus is eternal God. 12:57 I believe He is eternal God because of this verse. 13:00 Because if Christ at some point was made 13:02 way back in the infinite recesses of history, 13:06 some argue, you know, who don't accept the Trinity. 13:08 They say, "Well, you know, Christ, He came into being. 13:10 He was somehow made." 13:11 They don't like to use the word made, 13:12 "He was begotten." 13:13 It's the same thing. 13:15 If you were not, then you are, you've been made by the Father. 13:20 But if all things were made by Christ, 13:21 He didn't make Himself. 13:24 So one reason He's the head is because He redeemed it. 13:28 Another reason He's the head is because He created it. 13:33 And so it's like that story we tell sometimes to the kids 13:38 about the little boy that made a little sailboat, 13:41 he used to sail in a pond, and he loved it. 13:45 But one day, a breeze came along 13:47 and it carried it away and he couldn't get it 13:50 and he had to leave. 13:52 Well, a few days later, he saw that his little sailboat 13:55 was in the local pawn shop in the window. 14:00 And then he went in and he said, "That's my boat." 14:02 And he said, "Well, someone brought it in, 14:03 sold it to him, so it's mine now." 14:06 And so the boy worked so he can get enough money 14:08 to buy his boat back. 14:09 Now after he bought his boat back, 14:10 on the way home, 14:11 he said "You're mine for two reasons." 14:13 He said, "I made you and I bought you back." 14:16 And so we belong to Jesus by virtue of creation 14:19 and redemption. 14:21 And so He is the head, 14:23 He has earned the right to be the head. 14:27 Another verse here, Hebrews 2:7. 14:33 "You've made him a little lower than the angels." 14:35 Now I want to pause right here. 14:37 Who knows "You made Him 14:40 a little lower than the angels?" 14:41 Is that a New Testament verse or an Old Testament verse? 14:45 Paul in the New Testament is in Hebrews 14:48 quoting from the Psalms in the Old Testament 14:51 that's talking about man 14:53 being made a little lower than the angels. 14:55 Humans are made a little lower order 14:57 in power and strength than the angels, 15:00 the ministering spirits. 15:01 We're better than the angels 15:03 and that we're made in the image of God, 15:04 but angels have more power than humans do physically, 15:08 and they may have some abilities we don't have. 15:11 Angels can't procreate like we can. 15:13 We're made in the image of God in a special sense. 15:17 But now in Hebrews when Jesus is quoting David Psalm, 15:21 "You made Him a little lower than the angels," 15:22 is he talking about humanity or is he talking about Jesus? 15:27 This is a verse about Jesus. 15:30 He is saying that He became a man 15:33 made a little lower than the angels. 15:34 So the one who made the angels made Himself, 15:37 not only equal with man 15:39 but lower than the angels that He made. 15:41 The angels are the ministering spirits of God 15:44 and yet Christ made Himself lower than the angels. 15:48 "You've crowned Him with glory and honor," 15:50 he's still quoting the Psalm, 15:51 "and set Him over the works of your hands. 15:54 You put all things in subjection under His feet, 15:57 for that He put all things under Him, 16:01 He left nothing that is not put under Him 16:04 but now we do not yet see all things yet put under Him." 16:07 In other words, the world is still in rebellion, 16:09 but the day is coming when every knee will bow, 16:11 everything will be in subjection to Christ. 16:13 Jesus is the head of the church. 16:16 1 Corinthians 11:13 "But I want you to know 16:19 that the head of every man is Christ 16:21 and the head of woman is man and the head of Christ is God." 16:25 So even in heaven, does it seem that they recognize an order? 16:34 Now are God, the Father, Son, and Spirit equal in power? 16:38 Are they eternal? 16:40 Are they all knowing? 16:42 But do they seem to recognize 16:44 that there is a difference in authority somehow? 16:51 Christ always looks to the Father 16:54 as the final authority. 16:56 Why does the Bible say, 16:57 "God so loved the world He gave His Son?" 17:00 God, that would be the Father, correct? 17:02 "So loved the world He gave. 17:04 So does He have the prerogative to give? 17:08 When it says, "The Father has committed 17:11 all judgment to the Son..." 17:13 Well, in order for the Father 17:14 to commit all judgment to the Son, 17:15 the Father must have some kind of authority to do that. 17:19 You're still with me? 17:21 And so... And you always see... 17:23 Never do you have the Father and the Son saying, 17:25 "Worship the spirit." 17:26 Do you know that? 17:27 There are some denominations that make a big deal 17:29 about worshiping the spirit, but please show me in the Bible 17:31 where we are to worship God, the Spirit? 17:36 We had songs about it, I said, "Show me in the Bible." 17:40 Silence 'cause the Father and the Son 17:44 are always talking about... 17:45 Well, if the Son is always saying, 17:46 "Worship the Father," 17:47 the Father says, "Worship the Son," 17:48 but you never hear where the Father and the Son say, 17:50 "Worship the spirit," 'cause the spirit's purpose 17:52 is to direct worship to the Father and the Son. 17:56 That's His office not to draw it to himself. 17:58 So now we're delving into things 18:00 that are way over our head. 18:01 But let's get into the next section 18:04 where it talks about servant leadership. 18:07 Now this is where you see things 18:09 that are a little different. 18:12 The concept of servant leadership 18:14 did not begin with Jesus. 18:16 The concept of servant leadership 18:19 is where you got a general in an army, 18:22 and the general says, 18:24 "We need to dig foxholes here along the frontline," 18:28 and the soldiers salute and they get their shovels, 18:31 but the general picks up a shovel too 18:34 and he starts to dig. 18:36 Those soldiers will work the hardest for that general 18:41 because he identifies with them. 18:43 It doesn't mean he stops being the leader, 18:46 but he is also a servant leader. 18:49 And I remember, I had a friend, he still is a friend, that... 18:54 a talented musician... 18:56 Before he was a Christian, 18:57 he played with groups like Chicago, 18:59 and some of you know who that is. 19:00 I mean he was a tremendous guitarist. 19:02 And I was doing an evangelistic meeting with him one time 19:06 and after the meeting, people were breaking down 19:08 and taking up the speakers and the wires 19:09 'cause we had to vacate the premises, 19:12 and I'm visiting with the interest 19:15 and my friend was helping break down. 19:16 He came over and said, "Doug, you're goldbricking it." 19:19 And goldbricking is sort of a term 19:21 that's used in the concert music industry 19:24 where that the "performer" 19:27 was acting like a useless gold brick 19:30 and all the other people did the work. 19:33 And so he used to always tease me. 19:34 If I was not helping break down with everybody else 19:36 after the evangelistic program, he says, 19:38 "You're being a gold brick." 19:40 Now God's servants are not to be gold bricks. 19:47 Now does a pastor have some authority in the church, 19:51 or an elder, or a deacon? 19:53 I mean we're not the deacons 19:55 invested with a degree of authority. 19:57 You remember, there was a dispute 19:59 that certain widows felt like the Jewish widows 20:01 were getting more than the gentile widows 20:04 and there, you know, Peter and the apostles 20:06 were getting caught into these disputes 20:07 and having to mitigate the problems and finally 20:10 they said, "Look, it's not appropriate 20:11 that we leave the Word of God," 20:13 by the way, this is Acts 6, "and serve tables." 20:17 So they said, "Let's choose out among you seven men 20:20 that we respect for their judgment, 20:22 their dedication to point them over this business." 20:25 And so they prayed, they laid hands on them. 20:27 What was meant by that? 20:29 They invested them with some leadership authority. 20:32 Does that make sense? 20:34 So once Peter, James, and John, and the apostles 20:36 went off to do their preaching and their praying 20:39 and there was some contest or some problem to be resolved 20:44 about the distribution of the offerings 20:46 to the various widows, 20:48 did the deacons have authority? 20:50 Yes. They did. 20:52 But what does the word deacon mean? 20:55 It's Greek for servant. 20:58 They were servants. 21:00 They were leaders but they were servant leaders. 21:04 And you know, the deacon is actually... 21:08 two of them... 21:09 Well, there's three of the deacons 21:10 that appeared later. 21:12 Do you know what their names are? 21:15 They're all named when they were ordained 21:17 in Acts 6. 21:18 But three of them, their names pop up later. 21:24 Barnabas wasn't a deacon. He was a good man. 21:27 He became almost an apostle, but he was not a deacon. 21:30 So you got Stephen. 21:32 Remember that name, first martyr? 21:34 Stephen ends up becoming a preacher 21:36 and he gets killed for his preaching. 21:39 Philip is not only called the deacon, 21:42 but later he's called the what? 21:47 An evangelist. 21:48 Come on, you guys, read your Bibles. 21:50 This is... 21:53 An evangelist, right? 21:55 And the Bible says, "Philip had four daughters 21:57 that did prophesy." 21:59 That means they taught also. 22:02 And so Philip, he starts out as a deacon 22:04 but later you see him preach. 22:05 Philip's the one who baptizes the Ethiopian treasure. 22:09 So did they have some authority? 22:12 They were given that, right? 22:13 Did Jesus invest the apostles 22:16 with authority above the regular disciples? 22:20 Did He? He did and that was recognized. 22:24 And so saying that Christ is the head of the church 22:27 does not mean that it is a church 22:29 without structure or organization. 22:32 So that's the point we're wanting to make here. 22:35 Let's talk a little more about servant leadership. 22:38 Matthew 18:1, "At that time, 22:42 the disciples came to Jesus saying, 22:45 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?'" 22:46 Now why were they asking that question? 22:49 Why did they want to know who was the greatest? 22:51 Did they want to know if Jesus was greater than the Father 22:54 or was Jesus greater than angels? 22:56 Or were they asking about among them? 23:00 They're wondering where they're going to be. 23:02 Now keep in mind, they're picturing something 23:07 on the biblical model of King David. 23:11 You know, David started out through killing Goliath. 23:13 He worked his way up, pretty soon he's king. 23:15 The mighty men around David 23:18 who started out as this ragtag group, 23:21 the ones who came to David, have you ever read that? 23:23 It says, "Everybody in debt and everybody discontent, 23:26 they followed him." 23:28 And he becomes like this Robin Hood 23:30 and he turns this group of misfits into mighty men. 23:33 They're later called David's mighty men, 23:35 and they end up holding positions of leadership 23:37 in his kingdom. 23:39 They become his captains, and his generals, 23:41 and his counselors, and this scribes, 23:43 his mighty men. 23:44 So the apostles are thinking, "Hey, 23:46 I wonder what role I'll have in the new kingdom." 23:49 And you know, Peter's thinking, "I want to be general. 23:51 I can use a sword." 23:53 And you know, John is thinking, "I want to be the chief scribe, 23:56 the secretary for the nation." 23:58 And Judas said, "I want to be treasurer," right? 24:01 And so they're all wondering 24:02 what their position is going to be in this kingdom. 24:04 And they're thinking on, you know, a king's cabinet. 24:08 So that's what they're asking. 24:09 "Who's going to be greatest in the kingdom?" 24:11 Jesus knew what they were thinking. 24:13 "He called a little child to him 24:16 and set him in the midst of them 24:18 and said, 'Assuredly I say to you, 24:20 unless you are converted and become as little children, 24:24 you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 24:27 Therefore, whoever humbles himself as a little child, 24:31 he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'" 24:34 So the emphasis here... 24:35 Now you and I have all known 24:36 some children are not 100% humble. 24:40 But Jesus is, you know, talking about children 24:42 that back then were taught to, 24:44 you know, be seen and not heard, 24:46 be respectful, and humble and... 24:51 So He's addressing a problem. 24:53 What's the opposite of humility? 24:56 Pride. 24:57 What causes problems in relationships? 25:02 Pride. 25:03 I've done a little bit of marriage counseling 25:05 and in almost every case, 25:07 you know what causes the arguments? 25:10 Pride. 25:11 Someone's got to have the last word, 25:13 someone's got to be right, 25:14 someone can't say they're sorry, 25:16 and pride's at the foundation of that. 25:17 But it's not just in marriages, it's in organizations. 25:21 Someone doesn't get the promotion, 25:22 they think they should have, 25:24 someone doesn't get elected to the office, 25:26 they think they should retain, 25:28 and there are feelings, their pride is hurt 25:31 and you have all kinds of discontent and problems. 25:34 And so Jesus is saying, "No, in My kingdom, 25:37 whoever is going to be the greatest, 25:38 he needs to be like a little child." 25:40 Another similar verse. 25:41 Matthew 20, 25:44 "Jesus called them to Himself and said, 25:46 'You know the rulers of the Gentiles 25:48 lord it over them, 25:49 and those who are great, exercise authority over them.'" 25:51 They order each other around and they flaunt their authority 25:55 and they abused their authority. 25:58 "Yet it will not be so among you, 26:00 but whoever desires to be great among you, 26:02 let him be your servant." 26:04 Now you notice, He's not saying, 26:06 nobody is a great. 26:08 He's saying, "Whoever is great, 26:10 he must be a servant." 26:13 See, in the world, we always think 26:15 God's best gifts are on the highest shelves. 26:18 But in God's economy, the best gifts 26:21 are on the lowest shelves. 26:23 You don't get them by reaching higher, 26:24 you get them by kneeling. 26:28 In the world, we think you measure success 26:30 by how many people serve you, but in God's Kingdom, 26:34 you measure success by how many do you serve. 26:38 And so it's just a whole different way of thinking. 26:41 But it doesn't mean there is no authority, 26:43 or organization, or leadership, there is, 26:47 but the leaders must be servants. 26:49 I worked with a pastor, I will not name, 26:51 in a church and that I will not name. 26:54 And the people love this pastor because... 26:58 He was an associate I worked with. 27:01 Whatever was happening, he was not a gold brick. 27:05 After potluck, he was in the kitchen 27:07 doing dishes with everybody. 27:09 Before the potluck, he was setting up. 27:12 When there was a work be, 27:13 he was out there working on the grounds. 27:15 When there was no work be, 27:18 he was out there working on the grounds. 27:21 He would be the one who would stay behind 27:23 and fold the bulletins. 27:25 He was somebody who just... 27:27 You could always see him very happy being a servant 27:31 and yet he had authority as a pastor. 27:35 And people respected him 27:37 because he proved his authority 27:42 as a Christian leader by his willingness to serve. 27:47 And so this is the principle that Jesus is giving us here, 27:49 and we've got some more scriptures on that 27:51 we're going to share. 27:52 Matter of fact, in a moment, 27:53 someone's going to read 1 Peter 5. 27:57 You'll have that one, okay? I'm going to read... 28:01 And then the final part of this is in Matthew 20:28. 28:05 "Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, 28:09 but to serve, and to give His life 28:10 a ransom for many." 28:13 You notice that Jesus didn't travel around 28:16 with attendants that were carrying him on the leader 28:19 and shining his shoes and... 28:25 A lot of you... 28:28 I've been places to preach, 28:30 I got to be careful what I say here. 28:31 I've been places to preach before 28:34 where the church leaders were assigning me bodyguards. 28:39 It kind of made me nervous. 28:41 I said, "I don't want any bodyguards." 28:43 And I had fun sometimes, they'd give them to me anyway. 28:46 I tried to run away from them, 28:48 and they're trying to chase me around. 28:50 They were so afraid for my safety 28:52 'cause they're so used to other evangelists 28:54 from their divisions coming in and they want to be served, 28:57 like they're, you know... 28:59 "Can we do this is or this?" 29:01 It's like they get their own little entourage of servants 29:03 that run around do whatever they ask. 29:05 And I thought, "I don't think Jesus operated that way." 29:10 Philippians 2:7, "But He made Himself," 29:15 Jesus, "made Himself of no reputation, 29:18 taking the form of a bondservant, 29:21 and coming in the likeness of men 29:23 and being found in the appearance as a man, 29:26 He humbled Himself 29:27 and became obedient to the point of death." 29:30 Now who was the greatest of Jacob's sons? 29:38 Joseph. Good. 29:40 Who of Jacob's sons understood best 29:44 what it was to be a servant? 29:47 Joseph. 29:49 Did Joseph become a slave? 29:52 Did Joseph serve in a prison? 29:55 He learned... 29:56 He served there on a farm, he served in Potiphar's house, 29:59 he served his father, 30:00 he was out doing an errand for his father 30:02 when he was betrayed by his brothers. 30:04 Joseph spent years, rigorous years, 30:08 finding out what it meant to be a slave. 30:11 And because he learned 30:12 how to serve in the lowest positions, 30:16 he was qualified to serve in the highest position. 30:20 He went in one day from being a slave in a prison... 30:23 Think about what slaves in prisons do. 30:26 I don't think too long about it 30:28 'cause I'm sure it's not pleasant. 30:30 And he went from that to having 50 men run before him 30:33 with a chariot, probably golden chariot. 30:36 So... 30:38 But God prepared him for that position 30:40 because he understood what it meant to serve. 30:44 You know, the reason that the soldiers of Alexander the Great 30:47 were willing to follow him into battle 30:49 is because he would get right down in with the troops 30:53 and helped them haul firewood and helped them build the fire 30:56 and he'd charge off into battle. 30:57 He would be in the front of... 30:59 He'd go point in a battle. 31:02 Alexander the Great, one historian says, 31:03 "He would try to be the first one over the wall 31:05 to conquer a city," and that's the one... 31:07 And he did get wounded once or twice. 31:09 But his soldiers were so afraid that they'd lose him, 31:12 they would not let him get ahead of him 31:14 and they would charge ahead 31:15 because he was willing to serve with them. 31:18 And so like I said, the concept of servant leadership 31:20 is not totally new. 31:22 All right, please read for us your verse. 31:25 1 Peter 5:2-3, 31:29 "Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, 31:32 serving as overseers, 31:34 not by compulsion but willingly, 31:37 not for dishonest gain but eagerly, 31:39 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, 31:43 but being examples to the flock." 31:45 Amen. 31:46 There's something that Peter is saying here 31:48 that is very important about church organization. 31:53 In a lot of worldly organizations, 31:55 you've got different levels 31:57 and there's different pay scales 31:58 according to those levels 32:00 and different benefit packages according to those levels. 32:02 And with the more authority, there's more pay 32:04 and ostensibly more benefits. 32:07 But Peter said that should have nothing to do 32:11 with your service for Christ. 32:13 It is still a wonderful thing to me, 32:15 I've never fully gotten over, that I got involved in ministry 32:18 before I was hired as a pastor, 32:20 and they weren't paying me anything. 32:22 And I was happy as I could be. 32:24 Don't tell them that 32:25 'cause they might want to change their mind. 32:26 But I was happy as I could be doing it for nothing 32:30 because I enjoyed it so much, 32:32 to be able to teach and preach and now get paid to do it. 32:36 I just, it's like, I pinch myself, 32:38 "Am I really actually getting paid to do 32:40 what I was doing for nothing?" 32:41 That's wonderful. 32:42 I think it was Will Rogers who said, 32:44 "Figure out what you want to do 32:45 and find a way to get paid to do it." 32:49 But in the church, something I've noticed is 32:55 the more that it becomes a profession 32:57 and people get paid, 32:58 they start doing it as a career and not from the heart. 33:02 We can't lose the spirit of volunteerism 33:06 and service in the church. 33:08 If everybody get paid for everything, 33:10 you end up with hirelings. 33:13 What I mean by that is they're not doing it 33:14 'cause they love the sheep, they're hired shepherds, 33:18 they're doing it for a career. 33:19 And if the wolf comes, they say, 33:20 they'll find another job, "Not my sheep." 33:23 But if they love the sheep... It's like David. 33:26 He loved his father, he loved his father's sheep. 33:29 And when the bear came, 33:30 he put his life on the line to save the sheep. 33:33 That's what Jesus said. 33:34 "The good shepherd, 33:35 he'll lay down his life to save the sheep" 33:38 'cause he's not a hireling. 33:40 In the church, you don't want people that are doing it 33:42 for what Peter calls filthy lucre. 33:45 You don't want people to be doing it for gain, 33:47 you want people to be doing it 'cause their hearts are in it, 33:49 it's a ministry. 33:51 And I've noticed, you know, 33:52 as soon as you start paying volunteers, 33:56 the other volunteers start saying, 33:58 "Well, that guy was a volunteer, 33:59 now he's getting paid, I want to get paid." 34:01 And pretty soon the whole spirit 34:03 of sacrifice and service can be destroyed. 34:07 People need to be doing it. 34:08 The early churches, I mean they all did it 34:11 just because of love. 34:13 There are a lot of places in the world 34:14 where the church is entirely run by the members 34:17 and there is no money that comes from outside. 34:21 They do it because they love the message, 34:23 they love the Lord and just got to be careful 34:25 that we don't get where it's a career. 34:29 He says, "Not for dishonest gain, 34:31 but eagerly, 34:33 not as being lords over the flock, 34:35 but examples to the flock." 34:39 Luke 9:46, 34:41 "Then a dispute arose among them 34:43 as which of them would be the greatest. 34:45 And Jesus perceiving the thoughts of their heart." 34:49 Now this is giving you a little more insight 34:51 into what we read there in Matthew. 34:54 Evidently, and this is probably during the last week or so 34:58 of Christ's ministry. 35:01 They were on their way to Jerusalem, 35:02 they figured Jesus, 35:03 you know, maybe it was after the triumphal entry, 35:05 and He's getting ready to establish Himself as a king, 35:08 and the disciples were thinking, 35:09 "Any day now He's going to hand out a list 35:11 and tell us what our cabinet positions are. 35:14 And you know I want to be 35:16 on His right hand and His left hand." 35:18 Remember, James and John, they went, one place says, 35:20 James and John came, from the other places, 35:22 the mother... 35:23 They sent their mother and said, "My sons," 35:26 you know, how could He say no to Mom? 35:28 And she said, "They want to sit on your right hand 35:30 and your left hand in Your kingdom. 35:31 I mean they started out following You 35:33 before You picked all the other apostles. 35:34 They were right there at the very beginning 35:36 and hopefully You're not going to forget that. 35:38 You'll be loyal and give them a position 35:39 on Your right and left," that meant great authority. 35:43 And Jesus said, "You don't know what you're asking. 35:46 Are you able to be baptized with my baptism 35:48 and drink the cup I must drink?" 35:50 "Oh, yeah, yeah, sure. Yeah, yeah." 35:52 They had no idea what He was talking about. 35:55 They wanted the authority, 35:56 they didn't want the baptism that comes with the authority. 35:58 The baptism was a baptism of suffering. 36:01 And I always thought it was interesting, 36:03 of those two apostles that came to Jesus saying, 36:06 "We want positions on your right hand 36:07 and on your left hand." 36:08 What were their names? 36:10 James and John. 36:12 Who was the first apostle to die? 36:14 Beside Judas. 36:16 Judas died at his own hand. James. 36:19 You can read in Acts 12. King Herod beheaded James. 36:23 Who was the last of the apostles to die? 36:25 John. Isn't that interesting? 36:28 So they did. They were... 36:29 And John was a prisoner, 36:30 they both suffered for the Lord. 36:33 So it needs to be done from that Christ like spirit. 36:39 So they're arguing, "Who is the greatest?" 36:42 And Jesus perceived their thoughts. 36:43 He knew what they were arguing about. 36:46 And He said, "Whoever receives 36:48 this little child in My name, receives me. 36:50 Whoever receives me, Him who sent me, 36:53 for he who is least among you, he will be great." 36:59 The one who is willing to serve. 37:01 Again, Mark 9, "He came to Capernaum. 37:05 And when He was in the house, He said, 37:06 'What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?' 37:10 But they kept silent," they were ashamed, 37:12 "for on the road, they disputed among themselves 37:14 who would be the greatest. 37:16 And He down and He called the 12 and He said, 37:18 'If anyone desires to be first, 37:20 he shall be the last of all and servant of all.'" 37:23 And then again, He puts the child in them. 37:25 So servant leadership is not the same thing 37:30 as no leadership. 37:33 Some people say, "Well, in the Christianity, 37:34 you know, we just have servant leadership, 37:36 it means no one's really the leader." 37:38 Servant leadership means they're all leaders 37:40 but they should lead by example willing to serve. 37:45 Now we're talking about organization, 37:48 we're talking about unity in and through the organization. 37:52 There are a couple of extremes. 37:54 One extreme is that a person 37:55 has a very hierarchal church model 38:00 where the pastor sees himself as the pope, 38:02 or dictator, or the conference leaders, 38:05 you know, it's very heavy handed administration, 38:08 everyone's ordered around, and it's not through example 38:12 and consensus and praying together 38:14 that you come to your vision. 38:17 So that would be one extreme. 38:19 The other extreme is, there's really no leadership 38:21 that we all just kind of pray and we, you know, say 38:25 "All right, you know, what should we do today?" 38:27 Have you ever run into someone that says, 38:29 "You know, I believe in Jesus, 38:31 but I don't believe in church organization. 38:34 I don't believe in religious organization." 38:35 Have you ever... 38:37 "I'm spiritual, 38:38 but I don't support religious organization." 38:41 People who say 38:42 they do not support religious organization 38:44 are really saying, "I support disorganization," 38:47 because you only have two choices. 38:50 If you say, "I don't want to be part 38:51 of any religious organization," 38:53 you're saying, "I want to be part 38:54 of a disorganized religion." 38:57 But is God disorganized? 39:00 God is not the author of confusion. 39:03 The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 14, 39:04 "Let all things be done decently and in order." 39:08 There should be an order, there should be a function. 39:10 But I tell you, things work a lot better 39:14 when we're organized. 39:16 Have you noticed that? 39:17 If you've got people that have the gift 39:19 of organization, administration 39:21 and they can get everything organized, 39:23 it's great when... 39:26 A little later today, if you don't know, 39:27 we're having a special Christmas program, 39:29 everyone's invited, 6 o'clock here. 39:31 And those involved, 39:32 it's quite an active organization to have 39:34 the choirs come up, 39:35 sing the notes at the right time, 39:37 the musicians change places, 39:39 and you'll have a beautiful program, 39:41 I'm trusting, 39:42 because there's a lot of organization and planning 39:46 that goes into it, right? 39:47 It's true of God's work in His church, 39:50 in our plans for outreach, in our plans for in reach, 39:54 and discipleship, and mentoring people, 39:57 it's great to have a plan and be organized 40:00 and then implement the plan. 40:02 So being spiritual 40:04 and believing in the headship of Christ 40:07 does not mean that we don't believe 40:09 in church organization. 40:11 We can't get anywhere without that. 40:15 For example, Exodus 18, Moses, believe it or not, 40:22 when he first led the children out of Egypt, 40:24 they were a nation of slaves, 40:25 they had been ordered around by the Egyptians 40:27 for hundreds of years, they had no internal organization. 40:30 Now they've just escaped, they're in the wilderness, 40:33 and it's a little bit of chaos. 40:34 I'm so glad to hear 40:35 that even they struggled with a little chaos. 40:39 Moses' father-in-law comes along, 40:41 and he's someone who has given Moses advice, 40:43 so he's older than Moses. 40:46 He watches what's going on. 40:48 He sees everybody milling around, 40:50 they don't even get into a line, you know, 40:51 and they're all trying to get Moses' attention, 40:53 they get all these different disputes 40:54 that are happening in the various tribes 40:55 and in their families, 40:57 and their goat ran off with my sheep, 40:59 and whatever's happening, you know. 41:01 And it's probably a lot of chaos. 41:02 They got all the goats and herds and sheep inside, 41:04 they're all co-mingling, 41:05 they're fighting over water and resources. 41:07 So he's disputing these things 41:09 and he sits from morning till night 41:12 trying to advise them on how to resolve all their conflict. 41:16 And Jethro, very kindly, he takes his son-in-law aside, 41:18 now his son-in-law is 80 years. 41:21 He takes Moses aside, he says, "Son, 41:22 let me give you a little advice." 41:24 He says, "You are going to wear yourself out. 41:25 This is not how to run an organization." 41:29 He said, "You need to delegate." 41:32 He said, "Here's my advice..." 41:34 You find this in Exodus 18, 41:37 "You shall select from all the people able men, 41:39 such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness," 41:42 'cause you don't them to be bribe, 41:44 you want them to have good, unbiased judgment, 41:48 "hating covetousness 41:49 and place them over the people to be rulers of thousands, 41:52 rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, 41:54 rulers of tens," have these different levels 41:57 so they can spread out the concerns. 41:59 "Let them judge the people at all times 42:01 and it will be that every great matter, 42:03 you're the Supreme Court, 42:04 they'll come to you with the big matters, 42:06 they'll bring you every small matter, 42:07 they themselves will judge. 42:09 It'll be easier for you 42:11 for they will bear the burden with you 42:12 as God will be with you, God will bless you." 42:14 And you know what, God told Moses, 42:16 "Listen to your father-in-law. 42:18 That's good advice," and he did it. 42:20 Now they then had a special meeting. 42:22 They prayed and the Spirit of God 42:23 came down on the 70 elders. 42:25 Some of you remember that story in the Bible. 42:27 God gave them His Holy Spirit, 42:30 combined with their natural gifts 42:31 of administration, judgment, and leadership, 42:33 they became organized. 42:35 They had to get organized 42:36 'cause it was a mess up to that point. 42:40 So does God believe in organization? 42:43 And it's through organization, you often have unity. 42:46 But the organization must be spirit and servant driven. 42:52 Jesus said, "If I your Lord and master 42:53 have washed your feet, 42:55 should you wash one another's feet?" 42:58 Is there anything a leader in the church should say, 43:00 "Well, I'm the pastor, I don't do that," 43:03 or should all of us be willing to do anything 43:06 that needs to be done? 43:08 See, we're all on a level playing field, 43:10 nobody is worth more or better than 43:13 or more valuable to God than anybody else. 43:17 Salvation is equal within the Christian Church. 43:20 It doesn't matter if you're a male or a female, 43:23 slave or free, black or white, Greek or Jew or barbarian, 43:29 the Bible tells us that we're all equal 43:32 when it comes to the availability of salvation, 43:34 and we should demonstrate that. 43:37 There's a quote here in the lesson 43:39 from the book Desire of Ages, I thought was good, page 550. 43:42 "Christ was establishing a kingdom 43:44 on different principles. 43:46 He called men not to authority but to service. 43:49 The strong to bear the infirmities of the weak, 43:51 power, position, talent, education 43:53 place in their possessor under the greatest obligation 43:55 to serve his fellows." 43:59 Whatever power, ability a person might have 44:01 is given to serve. 44:04 All right, preserving the unity... 44:06 Now someone's going to read for me in a moment, 44:08 Titus? 44:10 2 Timothy 2:15, 44:12 "Be diligent to present yourselves 44:15 approved to God 44:16 a worker who does not need to be ashamed 44:19 rightly dividing the word of truth." 44:21 What is one of the most sure ways to preserve unity? 44:26 I just gave you the answer in that verse. 44:28 Rightly dividing the word of truth. 44:32 God wants us to be united in truth. 44:36 The truth will set you free. 44:38 You know the Bible actually says... 44:39 I know it sounds like kind of cookie-cutter theology 44:42 but Paul says, "Be sure you speak the same thing." 44:46 God wants us to have a united message. 44:49 Is that right? 44:50 Now does that mean 44:51 that we should never have any freedom 44:52 to think differently about anything? 44:54 No. 44:56 And you know, within our church, 44:57 there is some diversity of thought on something, you know? 44:59 You ask 10 pastors 45:00 what they think about Daniel 11, 45:02 you might get 11 answers. 45:06 You ask, you know, about 1,44,000 45:09 or some of these difficult chapters 45:11 you might find in Zechariah 14 or in Ezekiel, 45:15 people I respect might have a little different slant 45:17 because, you know, 45:18 some things are a little foggier than others. 45:20 But there are foundational truths 45:23 that we should be united on. 45:25 And if we're united on those truths, 45:26 there will be unity. 45:28 All right, you see what I'm saying? 45:30 They're the ones that, you know, 45:31 are really going to make a difference from day to day 45:33 in how we live and operate. 45:35 If someone here says, 45:36 "Well, I think the Sabbath should be Sunday," 45:38 someone says, "I think, it should be Saturday." 45:39 Is that right away going to cause a problem? 45:42 Yeah. We're not going to be meeting together, are we? 45:45 So I mean we got to be agreed on some basics 45:48 or you're going to have all kinds of chaos. 45:50 Please read for us. 45:52 Titus 1:9. 45:55 "Holding fast the faithful Word as he has been taught 45:59 that he may be able, by sound doctrine, 46:02 both to exhort and convict those who contradict." 46:06 So there should be the elders, Titus is being told, 46:10 should have some leadership 46:11 to be able to teach sound solid doctrine. 46:14 There should be exhortation that takes place. 46:17 I'm going to read 2 4:2. 46:20 "Preach the word. 46:21 Be ready in season and out of season. 46:23 Convince, rebuke, exhort..." 46:27 Now what's encompassed in the word rebuke? 46:32 That would talk about a parent maybe telling their child, 46:35 "You're not supposed to shoplift." 46:38 You're admonishing them, you're telling them 46:42 "That's not the right behavior," 46:44 you're confronting them. 46:45 That's what's encompassed in the word rebuke. 46:47 Is there some authority 46:49 connected with being able to rebuke? 46:51 Yeah. 46:52 Should parents be rebuked by their children? 46:55 Sometimes, we are, but I think 46:57 that would be a little disrespectful. 47:00 And so he said, "You know, exhort," and how do you do it, 47:04 "with long suffering and teaching. 47:07 Be patient for the time is coming 47:09 when they're not going to endure sound doctrine. 47:11 A good teacher will tell them 47:13 what their ears are itching to hear." 47:15 But he's saying, "We should preserve the unity 47:18 by clear biblical teaching." 47:20 We make a big emphasis on that here at Granite Bay. 47:24 Church discipline, now this is a difficult section 47:29 because you do have an organization, 47:30 at some point, 47:31 you need to make tough decisions 47:33 and there needs to be discipline, 47:34 there needs to be accountability. 47:36 Jesus said in Matthew 18, if there's a brother, 47:39 after you talk to him personally, 47:40 and then you take with him two or three... 47:43 Matthew 18:16, "You take one or two more 47:47 that by the mouth of two or three witnesses, 47:48 every word might be established. 47:50 If he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. 47:54 If he refuses to hear them... 47:55 You have church business meeting... 47:57 Let him to be to you like a heathen 47:59 and a tax collector." 48:00 He is out there in the world, 48:01 he's no more part of your organization. 48:05 They would call that being disfellowshipped. 48:09 "We know there was authority," Acts 15:6, 48:11 "Now the apostles and elders came together 48:14 to consider a matter." 48:15 When they had a difficult subject, 48:16 they'd bring together the leadership, 48:18 they would debate what the issues were, 48:20 they'd come to some resolution, 48:21 they always did it in a servant leader spirit. 48:26 And you can read... 48:27 Here's a difficult verse in 1 Corinthians 4:7 48:30 background... 48:33 Or 1 Corinthians 5:4-7. 48:36 Young men in the church 48:37 was having an affair with his stepmother, 48:41 and the church was just laughing about it. 48:43 They weren't doing anything about it, 48:45 and Paul was outraged and he said, 48:47 "You got to deal with that person." 48:49 He said, "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 48:51 when you are gathered together along with my spirit 48:54 with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 48:56 deliver such a one to Satan 48:59 for the destruction of the flesh 49:00 that his spirit might be saved in the Lord." 49:02 That means put him out of the church. 49:04 If he's going to go live according to the flesh, 49:06 but hopefully he'll come to his senses and be saved. 49:09 If you let him continue in the church 49:10 thinking this is okay, you can destroy him. 49:13 You put him out of the church, 49:14 it's the redemptive thing to do, 49:15 there's some consequences. 49:17 He will hopefully say, "You know, what have I done?" 49:22 He'll repent and he can be saved. 49:24 It says, "Your glorying is not good. 49:25 Do you not know that a little leaven 49:27 leavens the whole lump? 49:28 Therefore, purge out the old leaven." 49:30 He's saying, "Purge this out of you," 49:33 because it's like having an akin in the camp. 49:35 God cannot bless 49:37 when the church knowingly ignores outright 49:41 and open apostasy in its ranks. 49:44 It's kind of like you're endorsing it. 49:46 So he said, "You have to have church discipline." 49:48 I mean, what does it do when a person says, "Hey, 49:52 praise the Lord, I just got baptized. 49:53 I'm a member of the Granite Bay Church." 49:55 And they're telling their friends in the bar 49:56 and they've got a cigar in one hand, 49:57 their drink in the other, 49:58 and they're listening to their worldly music. 50:01 "Oh, so that's what they believe over there." 50:04 And if a church never takes any kind of stand 50:06 on things like that, 50:07 what does it do to your witness in the community? 50:10 You have to... There has to be standards. 50:12 Now you work with the person, you're patient, 50:15 you're redemptive, 50:17 but at some point, you've got to say, 50:18 "Look, brother, sister, 50:20 you either believe or you don't." 50:23 And the Bible very clearly tells us that. 50:27 Titus 3:10-11, "Reject a divisive man 50:31 after the first and the second admonition, 50:34 knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, 50:36 being self-centered," 50:37 giving them some opportunities but eventually 50:41 you need to deal with it. 50:43 And then finally, and I talked about this, 50:45 Organizing for a Mission. 50:47 It's so important that we get organized. 50:49 When they sent out the apostles, 50:50 Jesus sent them out two by two, He gave them clear instructions 50:54 about how to go, where to stay, what to take. 50:58 The apostles, when they prayed as they set out, 51:01 Paul and Barnabas or Silas and Paul, 51:04 there was an organization, 51:06 they had a mission, marching orders, 51:08 Jesus in the Great Commission. 51:09 Matthew 28, Mark 16, 51:12 he tells us what our mission is. 51:13 And we are to be organized and trained for that mission. 51:18 And so it's through being organized 51:20 that God is able to accomplish it, so. 51:23 But we want to be a spirit-led organization. 51:27 If the church gets to the place where we think, 51:30 "If we only had more money, we could do more good." 51:34 Well, money is helpful. 51:35 Or if we think if we had better machines, 51:37 better equipment, better buildings, 51:40 most cases, you know what the Lord is waiting for? 51:43 Better men and women. 51:45 And there's no limit to what He can do 51:46 if He's got better men and women for the mission. 51:48 Amen. 51:50 Well, I think we've run out of time for today. 51:52 Next week is going to be 51:53 our last lesson in this quarterly. 51:55 I want to remind you, before I go off the air, 51:57 we do have a gift book. 51:59 I've got it buried here somewhere. 52:01 You'll enjoy this. The Church, Is It Babylon? 52:04 The Church, Is It Babylon? 52:06 Do you want me to answer that? You got to get the book. 52:10 Ask for offer number 712 when you call. 52:12 If you call the phone number, it's 866-788-3966. 52:17 And you can download this also for free 52:19 right now and read it. 52:21 Just text "SH116," 52:24 you text "SH116" to 40544 52:29 and you can download this, read it. 52:30 And if you order a hard copy, 52:32 read it and share it with a friend. 52:34 God bless you, friends. 52:35 And Lord willing, we'll study His Word together 52:37 again next week. 52:39 Did you know Amazing Facts has a free Bible school 52:42 that you can do from the comfort 52:43 of your own home? 52:45 It includes 27 beautifully illustrated study lessons 52:48 to aid in your study of God's Word. 52:50 Sign up today for this free Bible study course 52:53 by calling 1-844-215-7000. 52:56 That's 1-844-215-7000. 53:07 Amazing Facts changed lives. 53:15 My life was in turmoil. 53:17 My wife and I were fighting all the time. 53:19 I got away from everything and everybody. 53:22 I don't know. I just... 53:23 I always had this emptiness in my heart. 53:26 I don't want it filled. 53:27 I just felt like I went through my whole life, 53:29 you know, just searching for something. 53:32 And my father died. And that ruined me a lot. 53:35 My father didn't believe in suicide 53:37 and I didn't want to live but rather than disrespect him, 53:41 I decided I would just become so mean 53:43 if someone else would do it to me 53:44 and I wouldn't have to. 53:45 So I joined the army thinking, 53:47 "What better placed to get killed 53:48 than in the army?" 53:49 And while I was in the army, my daughter got injured, 53:52 she was in an accident. 53:55 And she was blind and paraplegic, 53:58 and it's just like I felt 54:00 the whole world was coming down on me. 54:02 One morning, I just really got mad 54:05 and I gave God a cuss like you wouldn't believe. 54:07 I said, "I'm not Moses, not Abraham, you know, 54:11 I don't put my sandals on just like they do. 54:14 I'm a man." 54:15 I don't want to know why this is happening to me. 54:18 I just want to know if it's happening for a reason. 54:21 If you tell me right now this is all for a reason, 54:23 then you can stacking on me from here to the end of time, 54:27 and I would never complain again. 54:31 And then a little TV came on. 54:33 I'd been sitting here just static all night long. 54:36 And there is this minister, when he pops up and he says, 54:39 "Today's lesson is from the Book of Job. 54:41 God only lets those suffer that He loves the most." 54:44 And I said, "Well, that's all you have to say, Lord, 54:46 I appreciate it." 54:47 From that day forward, I knew that He was there 54:50 and He was in my life, and that He would help me. 54:54 I went to prison just almost immediately after that. 54:58 I was in prison for aggravated assault. 55:00 I was in one of the worst prisons 55:02 in the state of Kansas City. 55:03 It was full of gang activity. 55:06 I got my throat cut, 52 stitches. 55:09 In my neck, I could take those fingers 55:11 and stick them all, could come out of my mouth. 55:13 I'd gone to the library that day 55:14 because it was probably about the only thing to do. 55:18 When I ran across this little book 55:19 called The Richest Caveman. 55:21 This book is hilarious, but it is great. 55:25 I'm sitting here with this big beard and thinking, 55:27 "Hey, I know what it's like to look like a caveman," but... 55:30 I'm not an educated person, I guess, you should say, 55:33 but I'm a simple guy. 55:34 I'm just really a simple guy. 55:36 That's what I loved about Doug Batchelor 55:38 because this guy is just straight out as you can get. 55:43 And my wife and I, 55:44 we've kept contact through all these years, 55:47 and so much was going on. 55:52 And I told her, I said, "Listen, 55:54 this is the center of my world right now." 55:58 And I said, "I really want you to be involved in it with me. 56:01 I need it." 56:02 And I said, "You will too 56:03 if you ever just take hold of it." 56:05 I told my wife, I said, "Listen, 56:06 I've got this Amazing Facts Bible study going here, 56:10 and this is the best way for you 56:12 to get this information, I think, 56:15 because it's broken down and they give you questions 56:20 and to make you look for these things, you know? 56:25 It's not anyone telling you, you find it on your own, 56:28 and they teach you actually use the Bible." 56:31 She was there faithfully, every Wednesday 56:34 until we decided, you know... 56:37 She wanted to be baptized also. She saw it coming around. 56:41 The choice was made. 56:43 In October 4, 2014, my wife and I were baptized 56:47 in the water at the same time. 56:50 And we started our walk together, I guess, 56:54 you would say. 56:55 I went through everything 56:57 that a man could possibly go through, I guess. 57:00 From marital trouble, loss of family members, 57:04 death in my family, my children were harmed, 57:07 and my daughter was handicapped for life, 57:11 I went to prison, 57:13 but still I kept my word to God 57:16 that He could stack it on me as much as He wanted 57:19 and I'd never question Him again 57:21 and I didn't. 57:23 But I can say this much, 57:25 He never put nothing on me that I couldn't handle, 57:28 and He walked with me through it all. 57:31 And I like to say that anyone who is in prison 57:36 not to give up, don't lose hope. 57:39 Put your faith in the Lord and study. 57:42 You seek Him and He will seek you. 57:44 And my name is Charlie Green, and I want you to know 57:47 that you and Amazing Facts have changed my life. |
Revised 2018-12-17