Focus on These Things - Charles R. Swindoll

well good morning let me add my word of welcome to those of you who are guests on our campus today you may have heard of the four laws that Campus Crusade now called khru came out with under bill brights leadership we have a fifth law and that is that god loves you but we have a wonderful plan for your life as well if God wants you here we want you here and we're glad that you've taken the time to come to visit us and to spend the day with us it's a special privilege for us to have our Chancellor most of you know him by the name Chuck Swindoll that dr. Charles Swindall serves not only as our Chancellor here at ETS but also as the senior pastor of the Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco Texas the voice of insight for living that's heard all around the world many of you may be here today because of his voice and his encouragement and his association and his allegiance and affection for DTS and we deeply appreciate that he served the seminary as our fourth president and is known around the world for his practical exposition of the scriptures in its application to everyday life he now serves as I said as our Chancellor the pastor of a local church in Frisco he's married to his wife Cynthia and they reside in Frisco love to spend time with their four grown children there are 10 grandchildren and now six great-grandchildren they just got back from leading the insight for living tour to Israel where they had how many buses Chuck ten thousand ten thousand some of them are still over there they don't know how to get him back but would you welcome Chuck Swindoll to our platform it just seemed like 10,000 some of our faculty were there as our teachers and others of you were a part of our shepherding team with us in Israel who's a great trip we just loved it we're still getting people's responses to it I'm so enthusiastic about ministry I can hardly stand it all right was up at 3:30 this morning and excited about being with you almost called mark Bailey and chose not to but yeah I didn't want to talk to voicemail and I came across a great great quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson who date dates back to 1803 to 1882 by the way graduated from Harvard age 18 not bad huh he wrote this enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success when you do a thing to it with all your might put your whole soul into it stamp it with your own personality be active be energetic be enthusiastic be faithful and you will accomplish your objective and then this great line nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm you believe that yes two of us believe that that that is that's the truth these people earned their doctorate because they stayed enthusiastic about their academic pursuit they stay engaged as faculty members because they are enthusiastic about what they do their classes have students in them because they are enthusiastic about what they're teaching it's not just content it's it's not just good stuff they have to say it's that they say it with passion and if they're like me they think if it in the daytime and they dream of it at night and I have never lost the joy for ministry and I think I'm in a room full of people just like that you who are looking at us wondering if this is the place you ought to be we want you to know we'd love to have you as a student mark said it so well if God wants you here we want you here if he doesn't we don't want you here you know what I mean by that if it's his plan then get out of the way and get engaged and with enthusiasm step into it full of anticipation for what God can do yesterday I wrote down some thoughts regarding ministry that I've never put together before and because of that I want to I want to glance over them as I share them with you and then I want to look at two verses out of Philippians 4 and then I want to give you some practical things to noodle on for the rest of your life as you think about ministry but first let me go here without glamorizing it I can say that the most enriching and fulfilling and meaningful of all careers is the ministry at the same time it could be the most exasperating exhausting and frustrating of any work on the planet the demands and the responsibilities are enormous the dangers and the occupational hazards are numerous and they can lead to scandals and heartaches and broken homes and personal disasters in my years in ministry I've not kept a book but I could have pretty well filled a small book with names of people whose lives have become disasters many of whom studied right here said in the very chairs you will sit in as students but because they fell victim because they lost their enthusiasm because of their drifting into the hazards and because no one is immune to them their lives became shipwrecked and it's heartbreaking it's heartbreaking to think of that at the same time the accomplishments and the rewards are marvelous we're able to touch lives so deeply and so permanently that they are changed forever I don't know of another career that could say that maybe the closest would be teaching or coaching but that would not be in the realm of eternal things we touch people in the temporal as well as the eternal dimensions and they're not the same think of that or we can be such an offense obstacle in other spiritual lives that they walk away defeated and disillusion our calling gives us that much influence which is both invigorating and frightening we can have that kind of impact on people's lives they can move forward or they can retreat often depending on us what we say and even more importantly what we do whether we like it or not being in this calling means that we are someone's example to follow we are someone's model to emulate and you won't like to hear this but you are and or you will be someone's hero they will quote you they will remember you even above many things about their own parents tremendous influence on people's life that explains why Paul would say to Timothy pay close attention to yourself first Timothy 4:16 pay attention to yourself Timothy the implication is other people do I could go on but that's enough to get everyone's attention in this room it's also enough to justify justify my decision for us to turn our full attention to two verses toward the end of Philippians or really toward the center the core of Philippians chapter 4 so if you got a Bible or an app with the it sits in your phone please turn to Philippians 4 verses 8 and 9 this is what I call an excellent checklist for ministry believe it or not I go back to it frequently Cynthia and I talked about it as much as we do any of Scripture in the Bible this sort of sums it up and helps us stay on target because let's face it there are days you feel disappointed underappreciated and lacking in that enthusiasm I've been talking about so you need to return to a checklist that will keep you on target I'm going to read the verses and then we'll go back and we'll pull them apart and draw some application from them Philippians 4:8 finally brethren brothers and sisters finally my friends in Philippi whatever is true whatever is honorable whatever is right whatever is pure whatever is lovely whatever is a good repute says the new American Standard meaning whatever leads to a good reputation or a good report whatever leads to a good report if there is any excellence and if anything worthy a praise dwell on these things look at how he puts that focus focus focus come back to these six things again and again and again I memorized that verse when I was working years ago alongside a navigator representative I was 8,000 miles from home and the Marine Corps and we were in a scripture memory a program and he tossed in Philippians 4:8 Bob Newkirk my friend did and I'm so grateful I have used it over and over and over and over again like today the repetition of whatever whatever whatever whatever is helpful because it sort of drives home each one and then the next verse comes to the practical look at what he says and the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me practice these things quite a statement Paul he doesn't say and you've seen in Christ because they've not seen the Christ he's gone he's been raised and ascended but now on this earth is a model that they can follow his name is Paul and Paul isn't hesitant to say these are things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me practice them and the God of peace will be with you I want to take these six words and amplify them just enough just enough for us to understand what they mean we understand the English word but perhaps we don't we haven't thought through the meaning of each one someone do that with you when you expose it the scriptures you go to the Word of God you put your finger on the verse you you develop the verse you explain the verse and help those who are listening to the teaching understand what it says what it means and how it applies you do it in a way that is interesting and as much as possible creative even at times colorful and illustrative but so that the the truth of the script well burst alive in the minds of those who are hearing the truth proclaimed it isn't about you the same word that you are opening up for them you're under as that's your authority as well and so under the authority of the Scriptures we're gonna find out what these words mean first the word true whatever is true since we're to focus our mind on this we need to know what that means it's opposed to anything that is deceptive funny today's words full of hot air unreal as a minister of the gospel and whatever capacity you serve may you be known as a truth teller you talk truth someone comes for counsel you talk truth you listen to them you help filter out the things they are dealing with always using the truth as your standard because some are so confused they've lost touch with truth be a truth seeker in your life teach and preach truth be known as that kind of individual where folks can rely on you to tell the truth it's a good time for me too just as a little sidebar here get into the realm of your home talk truth with your spouse if you are married say the truth we we win them during our dating months or our weeks or maybe years by in Cynthia's of my experience days you we fell in love and I mean it was just in our case it was quick we really we really knew that we are meant for each other and it wasn't that complicated I just had to let her get out of junior high school that's the only but when you're dating you say things that that you hope will help win the person over so you hedge on the truth and you act like you like opera art or you act like you like in that particular sport or fishing or whatever then you get married and you roll your eyes when that is mentioned because you didn't tell the truth marriage will bring out the truth yet no one knows the truth of you like your spouse or you with your spouse talk truth I find all the time couples lying to each other we give half-truths we hold back information what we are not good communicators and as a result difficulties arise this says whatever is true go there go there you don't want to be committed to the truth you don't want to be in ministry if you want to fiddle around with what isn't true don't go into ministry it's it's not for you but if the truth draws you and if you're challenged by it and if you find yourself down deep inside loving it this is for you whatever is true the word honorable is a little tough word from the Greek to handle in the English it carries with it what says one writer the dignity of holiness I like those words the dignity of holiness it includes having proper motives manners and morals our world is filled with filthy things and stuff that's flippant and shallow and frivolous and cheap and vulgar most late-night talk-show hosts model all the above I think to be funny you have to be filthy and my dad used to say when you have to use dirty words it means your vocabulary is limited I when you are person who is honorable you don't a weaken your reputation by dipping into what's coarse and questionable and cheap this is always a wonderful standard for us in ministry perhaps the best idea of this word is being worthy of others respect I like that being worthy of others respect it's honorable the third word is just whatever is just I would call it being fair and square in our dealings with others whether they're believers or unbelievers whether it has to do with turning in your papers or paying your bills being just with others there's an old word that comes from this upstanding the ritz-carlton has as its motto you can ask anyone who works for the organization very simple model they carry a card either in a purse or in their pocket that they can bring and show you when you ask what's the model of this hotel we are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen I call that adjust motto how's that for ministry I'm a gentleman serving other gentlemen my wife our and and I are a lady and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen we care about lifting the standard of those we're around not this isn't a pious kind of thing this is a real thing I'll say more about reality in the in a few minutes just as treating others with respect the next word is pure and you've got that one it means morally undefiled maintaining a mind that is scrubbed clean disciplined enough to resist even the thought of sexual compromise having a mind that can stand up under the scrutiny of God deliberately resisting all sensual excursions you are trusted in this career you will be given privacy that very few careers will allow in certain positions in the ministry you're really on your own and if accountability is to happen it must be volunteered on your part and I urge that to help maintain this sense of purity because we can so easily drift and hormones being what they are and and physical beauty being what it is there's a there's a great temptation to move into this realm mentally and before long the image becomes actions that works its way out into prana affion on the internet as well as secret of the secret life that's lived out only to be found out believe me if you get into that you will be found out and the heartbreak is beyond description for your family for your circle of friends for your children who trusted you for your congregation who believed in you for the husband of the wife you mess around with or vice versa and all the more reason to guard against whatever may lead to compromise and it is always appropriate always so I said this when I was a younger man and now that I'm older I say it with the same if not more vibrant passion resist those sensual excursions stay out of conversations that are sensual don't get into them in counseling situation stay away from it and if it is moving in that direction that person needs to be seeing someone else we have a situation at our church where we don't see anyone over a long period of time if it requires long-term counseling we refer them to someone who is qualified and and a reliable Christian counselor and they go to see them every door has a large open glass every room can be seen into I don't spend time in my study with another woman I do not put have another woman alone with me in my car I do not have dinner with another woman alone I do not spend time with another woman without my wife there and even on those cases it's rare why not only because I do not trust my own flesh but because the appearance of evil is so obvious and even when we don't think of it it's there so purity there's no there's no wobble room there these last two words are what we call hop Oxley Hammond on that means one time only in all the Bible and and in this case the word here in our list is lovely the Australians have that word oh I always like it when I'm when I'm in Australia and I hear these big hairy guys talk about how lovely this man is that is a great expression and and there is nothing effeminate in it there's everything beautiful about it is these Aussies way of saying the person is pleasant and winsome it's yeah it's uh one reliable author writes this there are those whose minds are so set on vengeance and punishment that they call forth bitterness and fear in others others whose minds are so set on criticism and rebuke they call forth resentment in others but the minds set on things lovely kindness sympathy forbearance is a winsome individual it's what I call one of those magnetic qualities when you have this loveliness about you people want to be with you they're drawn to you there is a warmth and a and a rare sense of caring about you that they want to be around whatever is lovely and finally whatever is good report the turn literally means fair speaking the Greek word can be broken into fair speaking the word attractive would be a good synonym whatever is attractive appealing this quality by the way makes a good impression on others and it's an impression that is a true one finally we get to one of my favorite words and it's the word gracious or grace-filled I remember back with a great deal of gratitude to individuals that were at the school when I was here and I'll say more about that in just a minute but I do want to mention this man his name was Richard sue me dr. sue me was the chaplain here for awhile and came from a church in Richmond Virginia and then was at a church in in Wheaton and then finally came to our school at dr. Wahlberg's invitation Richard sue me of what was some kind of man and the older faculty members remember him he he carried himself you know you know there's our word lovely in a you know in a beautiful way you just wanted to be near him he he he had a dysfunctioning kidney disease and so he was on dialysis and when I would visit with him in his office every once in a while I'd see the cuff of his sleeve go up and I'd see the loop that carried his blood right here that they would plug into on the dialysis and and he said Chuck every once in a while when I'm alone I can look down and I can see my life passing right there in my blood and he said I I am always grateful for the gift of life and I never take it for granted you're gonna pass through this journey once you'll never have the same birthday twice you'll never be in a meeting exactly like this with exactly the same people again this is a unique experience being with Richard Sumi was was a unique experience for me he was one of those men that I didn't idolize but I greatly respected never once let me down never once though he lived with this disease Paul says now as he turns the corner the things you've learned and received and heard and seen in me practice having just listed six qualities he now turns to the practical side and says there are things that my life represents to you people of Philippi and I want to urge you to practice them that's quite a statement it's not said in Pride I've come to the age in my life where I see things a lot more clearly than I used to when I was younger I have Lawrence Annie not gone but for many years president of navigators who said when he turned 70 I remember asking him is there anything different now he said yep he said I'm not afraid of anybody I like that answer I've reached that place it's not that I don't respect it if I respect probably more than I ever have many people but I'm not afraid of anyone I'm not intimidated by anyone you reach a place where your walk with the Lord is such that he's the one that is so magnificent he's so significant that all other faces and reputations pale when compared to him and his greatness so you can say without any sense of pride follow me as I'm following Christ Sara Teasdale the poet put it in these words when I have ceased to break my wings against the faultiness of things and learned that compromises wait behind each hardly opened gate when I can look like in the eyes groan calm and very coldly wise life will have given me the truth and taken an exchange my youth I'll be 84 in October so I've lived long enough to have made that exchange I've exchanged my youth for truth what a marvelous exchange I wouldn't be younger if you could make it happen I sometimes I look at myself in full-length mirror I not take that back but there are other other times besides the physical ugliness there there's something great about aging I've been in ministry since 1963 and if I include my years of dollar seminary I would say since 1959 my math is right that amounts to 59 years 59 years of learning and growing and changes and challenges and accomplishments and mistakes disappointments days of great pleasure and times of enormous pain relationship with people that I just had been grateful for and others that have been such a disappointment I've been on a long learning curve and I'm grateful that the lessons don't stop when you turn 45 or 57 or 74 or once you've had your last grandchild or you preached your 55th Easter sermon as I did last Sunday lessons keep coming and you keep realizing you didn't know that before you wish you would have known that earlier the Apostle Paul told his friends in Philippi the things you've already received and heard and seen in me do even though I'm light-years out of his league there are some things I've learned and received and you're able to hear and see and me that you can do and perhaps in my style some of it comes across in a way that makes you want to be better or different you don't want to be me you want to be who you are with some of the qualities that I'm emphasizing and hopefully modeling if I figure correctly graduation is 36 days away might as well cut to the chase some of you will be graduating most of you won't others of you haven't even begun your journey but when that day comes you are going to be on your own you'll no longer have the security of a faculty to turn to or a library this well-equipped your library will be your books and the books you've built into your library your future will be the future you build you will face life's challenges without any crutches to fall back on the comfort of an academic setting will be gone gone and you'll be fully responsible for your own decisions actions and mistakes that's when the things I'll be sharing will mean more to you you you think I'm wrapping it up but I'm really I got another whole page so sit tight I want to click these off I've shared these before and another setting and you maybe we're in that setting so you may remember some of them maybe you weren't I think most of you weren't so I want to share with you as I said some things I've learned over the years I won't dwell on them I could tell a story about most each about virtually every one of them but I won't do that but here are some practical things I've learned in my 59 years involved in ministry there are 15 of them one I've learned us to tell people how about feel about them now not later every time I bury somebody and it seems like they're younger every year I wish I would have told them while they were alive how I really felt so if your mom and dad are still alive tell them now if you got a real good friend and you really do love that friend tell him tell her you got a great mate let that mate know it I've learned I should tell people how I feel about them now not later second I've learned that things I'm not even aware of in my life are being noticed and remembered I've had that happened so many times I didn't even notice I didn't even know people were noticing and they'll later comment on it something they observed or they heard me say or they watched me as I was doing it whether it's at a restaurant I don't even know they were in and I was at the same restaurant or I was with one of my children and they saw me in a relationship dealing with something they're not even always being watched I've learned that things I'm not even aware of in my life or being noticed and remembered third I've learned that being real is always better than trying to look or sound pious I'm sorry but it's cemetary you can learn to be a phony you could pick it up and get real good at it but it'll catch up with you so I've learned that nothing touches people deeper than authenticity just be what you are number four I've learned there's a huge difference between letting things flow and forcing them I've learned if when the Lord is in it there's a flow that's beautiful when I'm driving it there's force and usually the result is a big regret 5 I've learned that it's unwise to talk someone into or out of a big decision you are looking at the school have a big decision don't count on me to talk you into it or to try to talk you out of it that's God's job I used to be real good at that or real bad about that and I've learned to to back out and leave someone alone let them wrestle through it it's your decision especially if it's a big decision talk nobody into marrying anybody I will admit I have cautions some about marrying some people and never regretted that I've sometime regretted not cautioning that's another subject number 6 I've learned that some people aren't going to change no matter what they're just on root to the bone and they're going to be that way when you come to minister to them and they'll be that way when you leave they're not changing and it's not your fault and it's not your responsibility I've learned that too I used to worry myself sick over people that wouldn't change and now you'll notice the silence years ago I would have said something and I would have later regretted number seven here it is I've learned that saying less is always better than saying too much I've seldom felt sorry for things I did not say number eight I've learned that perception overshadows reality what people perceive is usually more powerful than what really is and they're often wrong happens in fake news all the time it happens in public figures all the time if our president could ever learn that he'd be a lot better and relax a lot more but he feels like he has to run every errand down when people say things against him come on Donald you're bigger than that number nine I've learned that grace is worth the risk by the way especially with my children I've learned that grace is worth the risk most of you are too hard on your kids take it from one who was if I'll regret anything in my life it said I wasn't as good a dad as I could have been and should have been I was too busy I was at times too demanding and I was too rigid so I'll tell you I've made up for it with my grandkids I mean unless you're Charles Manson grandkids think you're fabulous and just let it all out and you know what they turn out great and amazingly so do your kids grace is worth the risk number 10 I've stopped I've learned to stop saying always and never when it comes to the future Oh always do so and so well I'm never gonna do so much every time I do that I have to eat my words I'm not gonna use those words to you you know what I said soon out of seminary three places I'm never gonna minister Texas New England California there are three places I've ministered in my life Texas New England California so never say never and get rid of always number 11 I've learned that I time spent with my family is always an excellent investment never wasted time 12 I've learned that days of maintenance are far more than days of magnificence just maintaining ministry that's what most of its about I don't leave here to go back out to Frisco to step into a fantastic ministry I go back to difficult situations and demands and responsibilities and a few things that seem to be kind of bright on the surface and hopeful but it's maintaining the ministry it's maintaining the budget it's maintaining day in and day out purity maintaining a relationship with my my wife of 62 years it's maintaining it's not magnificent some of it is but that's the exception number 13 I've learned that forgiveness is essential if you're dragging up if you're dragging a grudge get rid of it for you come to the school get rid of your grudge get rid of your hatred get rid of your resentment get rid of it if you need counselling get counseling if you need a year of it for you start here get it because an unforgiving spirit will come out in a dozen different ways all of them ugly it's a great day incentives in my life when we decided no matter what we'd forgive no matter what no matter who did what or said what we're gonna forgive them and I can honestly say right now I don't know of anyone I've not yet forgiven what a great way to live it's like living out of debt whatever that's like I can only imagine it's wonderful fourteen and one more I've learned to give credit where credit is due it's easy for the pastor to get the credit people thank you for the brochure you had nothing to do with and you go well thank you I'm glad you enjoy it yes it was it is a nice brochure isn't it you lying hound you had nothing to do with brochure oh how beautiful the music well thank you we worked on that along we you can't even play the C scale you dodo quit acting like you're the one that's running the music say Don McMahon gets a credit for the music cuz Don McMahon is the one who runs it say the orchestra is the one that gets it because they're the ones who practice the choirs the one that ought to be given thanks because they're the one that worked on that number week after week after week God gets the glory you're just as grateful as everybody helps but you don't get the credit I've learned finally stop trying to get the credit I feel very comfortable saying that I I really do and when you do it's amazing how at ease you could be you don't worry because your name doesn't appear somewhere finally I've learned that you can't beat having fun how's that for a spiritual ending you can't beat having fun when I came to seminary I showed up and everybody around me was so I said to my executive assistant whom I later got rid of ah I didn't stop thinking she's still alive and so I worked that through anyway I said where is the fun she said to what I said the fun where's the laughter she's a duck swindle this is a seminary and I said to her the question is still the same where's the laughter where's the fun I think the happiest people on earth and not the people at a bar they're the people who are going to heaven I don't think heavens gonna be filled with people like you know Jesus yellow he changed your wife no don't wait to have fun I finally decided even in messages I can have a little fun thanks to my wife we said to me you kind of kind of wear us out in your preaching so blame her if you don't like my humor listen to this story my brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister's bureau and lifted out a tissue wrapped package this he said this is not a slip this is lingerie he discarded the tissue and handed me the lovely slip it was exquisite silk handmade trimmed with a cobweb of lace price tag was astronomical the tag was still attached Jan bought this the first time we went to New York at least eight or nine years ago I said she never wore it she was saving it for a special occasion well I I I guess this is the occasion he took the slip from me and put it on the bed with the other clothing we were taking to the mortuary his hands lingered on the soft material for a moment then he slammed the drawer shut and turned to me don't ever ever save anything for a special moment every day your alive is a special moment I remember those words through the funeral and the days that followed when I helped him and my niece attend to all the sad chores that follow an unexpected death I thought about all the things that she had not seen or heard or done I thought about the things that she had done without realising how special they were I'm still thinking about his words and they've changed my life I'm reading more and dusting less I'm now not saving anything we use we now use our good China and Cristal for every special event that is losing a pound getting the sink unstopped the first camellia blossom I'm not saving my good perfume for special parties clerks and hardware stores and tellers and banks have noses that function as well as my party going friends Sunday and one of these days are losing their grip on my vocabulary it's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew that my hours were limited angry because I put off seeing good friends whom I was going to get in touch with someday because I hadn't written certain letters that I'd intended to write and on and on he goofs and every morning when I opened my eyes I tell myself today is special isn't that good I don't care how how many degrees you earn that's fine that's good I care about how many days you find fulfillment and enthusiasm and excitement in life if it's ministry live it out who knows it may be your last day in our lives Lord I pray that you'd be glorified in the way we live the way we think the way we respond the way we treats people the way we handle pressure the way we deal with the things you send our way to test us be glorified and whatever is true and honest and just and pure lovely and of good report help us to focus on those things in the name of Jesus everybody said amen [Music]

Channel: Dallas Theological Seminary

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Length: 56min 39sec (3399 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 12 2018