Herb Reavis "The Glory of the Church" 3-21-17am

well praise the Lord I'm gonna ask you to take your Bibles please and turn with me to the book of Ephesians in the New Testament the book of Ephesians chapter 5 Ephesians chapter 5 and this morning I want to preach on this subject the glory of the church the glory of the church from the book of Ephesians chapter 5 and I'll begin to read in verse 25 Ephesians 5 and verse 25 and the Bible says husband's love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word that he might present her the church to himself a glorious church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that she should be holy and without blemish god I asked you to put your words in my mouth I asked you to put your thoughts in my mind Lord I must decrease and Jesus you must increase I pray that the Word of God that has been preached in this place today will shape us and mold us into the likeness of you the Lord Jesus Christ's Holy Spirit give our hearts ears to hear what you have to say to us and lord will give you the praise for what you do in our hearts today and Jesus name I pray Lord amen there's strange voices speaking about the church in our world today some say that the church as we've known it is obsolete that the church is irrelevant that in the future people are going to be discipled and have a relationship with God outside what they called organized religion well I don't believe in organized religion but that's what these folks call the church so the church like we've been a part of they say all of this is past and in the future you're going to grow in your Christian life and be discipled apart from a connection or an involvement in the church still others say that the church is an option that the church is not for everybody if it's your thing that's okay but you worship God in your best boat you worship God in your deer stand you worship God in your backyard you can worship God on the beach you don't have to be connected or affiliated or plugged into a church you can run over this Bible study in this adjacent County on a Thursday night you can go to this prayer breakfast over in a another community on Saturday morning and on Sunday you can just sort of sit around the house and commune with your inner spirit you don't have to be attached to a church you don't have to join a church you don't have to be involved in a church so because of that in America today we've got a group of people that you cannot find in the book of Acts you can't find them in the Bible you can't find them in the New Testament I call them Church less Christians they don't affiliate with the church they don't attend a church they're not plugged into a church but they will tell you that they're Christians who know Jesus Christ as their Savior well I would just simply say to all these experts that the church was not man's idea the church was not invented by human the church was God's idea born in his heart the word is first found in the book of Matthew chapter 16 where our Lord Jesus himself said upon this rock I will be my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it now I want you to notice some things in these scriptures today about the church first of all I want you to notice something about the value of the church the value of the church how much is the church worth now if we're going to understand the value of the church we got to understand what I mean when I use the word Church what am I talking about when I use the word church I understand I understand that on a few occasions in the Bible that the word church describes the invisible body of Christ the church is all around the world they're safe folks all around the world you can be in China not know the language you arrived you woken around all of a sudden you're trying to talk to somebody but there's something in them that's that's that's really connecting with you and there's something in you that's connecting with them and even though there's a language barrier you suddenly discover you're both believers and the Holy Spirit is raising up and bearing witness you're both a part of the body of Christ this invisible body of believers that Reps around planet Earth but the majority of the time you find the word Church in the Bible it's not talking about the invisible body of Christ is talking about a visible local assembly of believers you see that word Church that we find there in verse 25 it means a called out assembly this is how the Lord builds the church the Holy Spirit is dispatched to this center brings them under conviction convinces them that they got a sin nature that separates them from a holy God convinces them that they don't have righteousness but Jesus does draws them to the cross where they by grace through faith having trusted Christ as their Savior the Bible says they are born again and the Spirit of God has raised them from the dead their placement the holy spirit into the body of the Living God the Living Christ the Bible says he has called these people out of darkness into light he's called him out of death into life and he's called them out of the family of the devil into the family of God they're not what they used to be and they're not what they're gonna be they are a born again blood wash band of believers indwelt by the Holy Ghost of the Living God and Jesus calls them the church now the Bible teaches us that the church is - a symbol together locally so in the Bible we read of the churches in Galatia and the churches in Macedonia and the churches in Asia those were churches that had a pastor churches that assembled on the Lord's Day churches that made disciples it was a church that meant at a specific time at a specific address on a specific day for a specific task to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ in that local community so this is a church you could attend a church you could join a church you could be affiliated with attach to loyalty to a church that you could serve the Lord Jesus Christ through so the Bible teaches the concept of the local visible church that assembles together at a specified time at a specified address on the Lord's Day to do the work of God for his eternal glory and the Bible teaches that every born-again blood wash believer is to be attached to a local church plugged into a local church sir Jesus to the local church be loyal to a local church they are to be known as a participant in a part in a servant in that local church well you say well I still don't believe that I'm a free spirit I I just I love all the churches won't tear down all the walls and I'm not gonna get attached to a church not going to affiliate with the church not just gonna be identified with the church I'm just telling you what my my spirits just broader than one Church I'm just not gonna get tied down to one Church what if when I arrived at this meeting and you got your new pastor and you know he's he's seeking to lead this church but I arrived at this meeting and someone was to stop me out there and say a brother Herbert are you married and I was to say to that person well I'm kind of a free spirit you know uh I don't I don't believe in getting tied down to one woman to be honest with ya I'm just too much of a man for one woman you've got to understand man I I love all the women in the world I'm sometimes I'm with that woman over there and sometimes I'm with that woman over there I just kiss them all love them all spend money on all of them you'd be going to this new pastor saying this guy's a nut job man you got to get him out of here now I'm going to show you something in the Bible I want you to see right here in the Word of God the Bible says husband's love your local visible tangible wife and that same verse says Christian love your local visible tangible Church so I've established what the church is how much value should we place on the church well the key in understanding the value of the church is in a a particular word in verse 25 it's that word love says husbands love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her now you know the Greeks they had more than one word for love in the English language we just got one word for love in the context in which we use it defines what we mean by the word love and we just understand that in our conversation I'll say I love homemade ice cream I love my wife my grandkids and my dog and the Lord and you understand that I meant something different by the word love with with each one of those ways that I used it but they had specific words for love they had a word that talked about friendship love and talked about physical love but this word for love is the word that was not of this world it's a love that begin in the heart of God this is the particular word we find in first John 4 where it says God is love not that just God loves it says God is love it's the same word we find where it says in Romans 5 the love of God is shed abroad in her heart by the Holy Spirit the same word we finally Glacius 5:22 the fruit of the Spirit is love and it's the same word we find in John 3:16 where the Bible says for God so loved the world that He gave himself for this world and the Bible says right here in the Word of God that Christ loved the church and gave himself for her now there are two unique features of that word love and this is the value were to put on our local church and the way we are to love our church you say oh I love my church now let's just wait a minute let's see if you really do first of all it is a word that means to love without conditions aren't you glad that Jesus loves us without conditions folks I've never got saved if the Lord didn't love without conditions that's what grace is all about I don't deserve to be saved he didn't say well his weights right and his heights right is like Hughes right he's handling his money right and so I think I'll save him no I was lost gonna bust hell wide open but Jesus loved me in spite of me knew what he was getting when he got me and not only was it that grace that got me it's a grace that keeps me he not only loved me unconditionally we sought me he loves me every day and nothing can separate me from the love of Christ child of God there there's no failure there is no mess up that you can do that will ever cost Jesus to love you any less he loves without conditions so he loves me on the days that I do devotions he lets me on the days when I get in a hurry and I don't he loves me when I'm good to my wife and he loves me when I get mad and I smart off to her he loves me when I'm in the spirit driving for Jacksonville traffic and he loves me when the old man takes over and I get carnal and I hung my horn and I don't know when people do crazy stuff you know they're doing crazy stuff in there that they're doing crazy stuff and I honking my horn and I have this it drives my wife crazy when I get in the flesh now don't look at me like you don't ever get in the flesh my friend let me tell you something I get in curtain that Jacksonville traffic I get in the flesh and I have this this thing I do I go like this she said stop that they're gonna think you're doing something else with your hand you're a preacher the word now I want to tell you when I pitch a fit in traffic and have to confess the sin all the way home God let you're not getting this aren't you glad you say well brother herb I just never do anything then you need to thank God that he loves you even though you a liar sitting right here in the house of God [Applause] so means to live without conditions and that's the way I'm supposed to love my local church without conditions you say I love I love my church no you love your church until they sing a song you don't like you know what I never understood people kind of say they'll leach it we we never heard that song before well Kenny Chesney sing a song you've never heard before and you beat a path down to the Walmart you heard that new Kenny Chesney so can't wait to get this why is it people only at goofy when they get to the house of God then they get all goofy on us let me just tell you this my friend not only a lot of places I go to preach I don't have wonderful music like we've had here such a breath such that's just a great move just just music that just is such a blessing in Christ iron man I go to some places listen it's not the style of the music that gets you indistinct you know what I'm saying it's bad man it stinks I don't get mad I love the church without conditions I don't write some little tacky note and put it in the offering plate and don't sign it you know man I had a church that did that to me years and years and years ago every Monday more than the count committees coming in with a whole new handful of mail man it's always and I always noticed it was always tucked in the dollar bills that should have told me something right there man shooing me out man when I went to North Jacksonville Baptist Church I thought about that one day and I just stood up and said let me tell you something my friend these offering plates are not post office boxes that's not a legitimate way to communicate with me or any staff member and when that offering plate passes in front of you I don't want your tacky notes I want your cold hard cash do we have an understanding so if I if they sing a song I someplace one night and a little boy got up and sang the devil's in the phone booth dial nine-one-one I never heard that that's not in the Baptist Imanol I don't think that's in the Baptist in me you know what I do if somebody sings a song that it's weird or strange or may not be my cup of tea I just smile life's too short to get mad and grumpy and sour pitch fits and grab and comply I just don't waste my time Allah I just fixed my gaze on them I'll be polite I believe Jesus was polite I Pillai it and I just go to my happy place it's only folks it's not a kidney stone you understand what I'm saying it's only gonna last about three minutes at the most I just smile said I was going to love all and before it was made into a movie do you understand what I'm saying man service in back man man I got the joy of the Lord in my heart I'm not sitting around griping about the music grief or you you you love your church until the preacher rubs you the wrong way Baptist people they can't take my preaching they really can't bread they move in their letter because of the announcements I just didn't like the way that announcement was made and they're moving them much less get to the preaching man they won't just kind of touchy-feely just kind of you know just don't don't don't don't don't don't mess with me I don't understand that I'm telling you when I go when I hear preaching I'm a big boy man I got my big boy britches on I don't got lace on my Levi's man I'm sitting out there hey are you hearing what I'm saying I haven't say him brother bring it on bring it on me man do surgery I can handle the weight of God these little old little Christians in the church gotta got their feelings a chip on their shoulder walking around just all offended you don't get a findit wall I didn't mean to get off on this but I'm just gonna play have you ever notice the only place people get offended anymore is it Church they don't get offended the ball game like the band it was a little loud and did you notice the coach FA was yelling at the team you get offended at the Walmart you don't get offended at the ballgame but you come into the house of God and every little thing rubs you the wrong way I'm just saying this brother when when it comes to the Word of God I want it red hot I want it unvarnished without compromise don't tell me what I want to hear tell me what I need to hear love in the church without condition but the word also has the idea of sacrifice did you notice it says Jesus loved the church and gave himself for her that's what the the word agape that agape love means you give and you sacrifice and you listen you expect nothing in return you demand nothing in return your only regret is you don't have more to give and today in churches we're trying to dumb down the demands of discipleship listen to appeal to a bunch of consumer consumer church folks who are just bouncing from one church to the next asking this question what does your church have to offer me and you believe that they'll feel that visitation card we got to get in the car drive all the way to these people that are born-again blood washed children of God for them to ask us this question what does your church have to offer me that's not the question the question is what do you have to offer Jesus through the Ministry of the local church so they get in the church they take and take and once they've sucked all the life out of it they can they move to another church and they say what does this church have to offer me let me tell you how much Jesus loved the church he loved the church so much he left the hallways of heaven and came down to this sin cursed earth and died in in shame he gave his very life for the church so so listen you may have to walk a little further from the parking lot and when you get here somebody may be sitting in your seat but I want you to understand it's not your seat it's God's seed so you take your seat and sit in another seat and have a grown-up attitude about worship in the house of God and I didn't mean to spit on your brother I promise this may not be helping you this is helping me to get some of this out of me I'm gonna be a better pastor when I go home man nobody wants to do anything let us think about this on visitation night we sit we got it we got in most every visitation we got a table of sweet people writing cards to people who say they're saved but who have dropped out how do you drop out of a relationship with Jesus Christ and so they're writing a card we miss you nobody has ever had to send me a postcard since I got saved and then you get there and they say things like this well I hadn't been there in six weeks and I can't believe you're just showing him now we shouldn't have to show up at all man nobody ought to have to send you a card or beg you to come to the house of God you're a follower of Christ he says take up your cross and follow me Shadrach Meshach and Abednego walk through the fire I want you to know Daniel walk through the lives Oh God hand cut off and you need to stop pounding and start shouting and stop fighting and start shining rise and Sun and give God the glory for goodness sakes good grief [Applause] said some bet the value of the church then I won't say something better the vitality of the church either the most alive place in a community ought to be the church the most alive place you know there's a there's a popular I don't watch it but there's a very popular show it's based on comic book it's and it's very popular and they even got a show after this show where they sit around and discuss this show that was just on that's how it's captured the imagination of some Americans and it's called The Walking Dead another what's the big deal about that I've been pastoring since 1979 I've been dealing with the Walking Dead for over 35 years I shouldn't say this they call them zombies I just call them carnal church members you know what I'm saying it's the same thing man now let me tell you this we don't want we don't want wildfire in the church we want real fire and we want life that's not just the emotions getting stirred up but ghosts deep down into the heart and soul there's only one way to have vitality in the church first of all the church has to be grown by the word grown by the word then those what says in verse 26 that he Jesus might sanctify and that works sanctify means to set apart set apart from sin set apart for the exclusive use of God that is the progressive work in the heart of a Christian whereby the Holy Spirit is shaping and molding our conversation our character our attitude our all into the likeness of Jesus and that's an ongoing process your whole life now the bible's it's discipleship it's following Christ learning that he might sanctify how does he sanctified by the word the Word of God the Bible says in verse 26 now we pastors and evangelists in this day are under a lot of pressure because there's a lots of folks saying that since folks don't want the word anymore we got to substitute other stuff for the word to reach to hold to teach the disciple and yet the Bible says the only way you can be sanctified like Jesus Christ in his likeness is to the washing of the water of the word of God and you go to these conferences and they got nineteen ways to do it and fifteen ways to do it and you're supposed to then say stuff there's some of you that hadn't been there don't know this but this will help some of the preachers here that are into the gun about all this stuff I mean they're saying that you need to color outside the lines what does that even mean I mean when I did that in grade school they slapped my hand and took away my crayons I'm not supposed to color outside the line then they fears go they're talking about we need to change it you know we need to get rid of the word nothing wrong with change but the words were sanctified by the word they said we need to have you were having a paradigm shift I never did figure that out I can't drive a straight shift rather much less a paradigm shift I don't even know what that is and they said we're supposed to get out of the box think out of the box so one Monday morning I was my paradigm was shifting and Hema crayons out coloring outside the lines I sitting outside the box I thought how can I get a bigger crowd because in the eyes of some it's all about getting a crowd but let me tell you a friend it's not about getting the crowd it's about getting the cloud that's your kind of glory of God because when he shows up brother you want to worry about the crowd in fact you may have to lose some of the crowd to get the cloud you know what I'm talking about so I was just thinking outside the box and I thought what could I get do here in Jacksonville get a bigger crowd then it man I my light bulb went off brother two things in Jacksonville guaranteed to dry crab both of them legitimate and I've been a participant in both of them the first is a professional wrestling match I've got three sons man over the years when they were young I take them down to the Jacksonville cause I'm not talking about college stuff I'm talking about real wrestling folks I'm talking about heroes like Ric Flair I'm talking about the Undertaker the bushwhackers as a young as a young boy in Texas brother I was raised on dory funk jr. and the spinning toehold you know I'm talking about I'm talking about men in swimsuits and peroxide blonde hair that I'm talking about real athletes man I take them to that Coliseum that place would be filled to the roof and the second thing and I and I and I I love it the second thing guaranteed to draw a crowd is a is a gospel quartet singing now I mean you bring in a quartet that's got a center the center that says Pro it's got a a tenor I fell into the spirit of prophecy I didn't mean to do that just got the prophesy in there got a tenner that can sing hiring a woman and a bass that sings solo you know what you get you feel it right down here in your guts man they'll come from five states we had the Cathedral quartet two or three times a Friday night we couldn't get him in the building man they were coming they came from surrounding states and man it all merged together I thought one Sunday morning at the North Jack's for a Baptist Church I'm going to book two gospel quartets to wrestle right there in the church my only regrets was that the happy good ones wasn't still it they could have taken anybody man well you know I'm sorry I got off on that foolishness but the point I'm trying to make there is no substitute for the Word of God you may tell you what the devil wants the Word of God out of the church because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word no word no faith you meet anyway wants to get the Word of God out of the church because the Word of God in the hands of the Spirit of God is the only thing that can restrain your flesh you owe me tell you what's the word he got out of the church because what was that the Jesus Christ used what was it that he used to repel let me tell you some I love praise and worship I love music but when the devil was attacking Jesus Christ Jesus didn't say all right devil buck his seat belt and get ready here comes no siree brother Jesus whipped out the sword of the Spirit and said the word says and it was the Word of God that caused the devil to retreat so that's why the devil don't want the word so the church has got to be it's got to be grown by the word it the word needs to be preached from the pulpit needs to be taught to everybody that singing needs to be taught in all the small groups that assemble needs to be the core the children's ministry and the student ministry it needs to be in the fabric of the church top to bottom backwards in for words it needs to be a Bible teaching Bible preaching Bible living church to have vitality the Word of God is alive with the church now listen I'll just get this for the sake of time but probably not even an issue in these parts probably not even issue the church needs to be governed by the word I said run by the word not you see the word washing there in verse 26 but the washing of water by the word that word washing harkens back to the Old Testament Laver it was a basin and those Old Testament priests would would ceremonially wash their hands and forearms before they ministered in the temple so what it's saying there is everything in the church has to pass the word test and what happens in churches and what most of the fights in churches today people are fighting on stuff don't have anything to do at the Bible because people elevate their preferences and their personal opinions to the level of Bible convictions and they spend all their time fighting over the herb I'm I believe the church ought to be run by the word let me tell you a young pastor and be going to a new church and they just kind of been sitting there dead in the water and he can be walking down through the educational building listening to one of the doors and hear a man in there saying he's teaching the Bible and they're saying now there is no hell and Jesus is not God and for he said that gospel teaching job was witness doctor so he gathers the leaders of the church and says brother so-and-so back there he's teaching Jehovah's Witness doctrine I heard it with my own ears they sitting that preacher don't be uptight don't be so uptight beef be flexible he's been in this church 50 years and we know he's kind of mixed up in his Bible knowledge but he means well and he's sincere don't don't be all uptight in that same church you can move that flower pot six inches and brother when you move it you gonna have a group of guys to send on you with the Constitution and bylaws as big as a ping-pong table say whoa whoa whoa whoa you cannot move that potted plant according to our bylaws it says over here on page 454 now right there in that last paragraph that you can't move a potted plant until the Committee on committees appoints a committee to study the feasibility of moving a potted plant and then they'll have to get 15 bids and bring their recommendation back to the church according to our bylaws in a business meeting that according to our bylaws can only be held in a leap year on a full moon and you got to have two forms of government photo ID to be a valid voter hey this is not my first rodeo folks I know what's going on in churches across America the Bible says we're to be governed by the word let me just say real quick that means the ordinances of the church have got to be governed by the word you know people say well I don't go to church we get saltine cracker and some we get some orange juice and had the Lord's Supper with a guy on TV on Friday that's that's that's that's not biblical it's a the Lord suppers an ordinance of the church not a sacrament a sacrament is a means of grace brother we're saved by grace through faith it doesn't become the blood of Jesus He shed his blood once and fro the sin that's been paid doesn't become the body of Jesus it's a memorial it's a message an illustration a sermon an act of worship a way of proclaiming the gospel until he comes baptism it's got to be Washington the word the Bible says there's only one valid baptism for believers comes after you get saved by immersion Jesus comes straightway up out of the water you can't come straightway up out of a dish a Dixie cup a spittoon or anything else brother you've got to go all the way under to come straight that's the only mode of baptism it pictures his death bear and resurrection so it's by immersion after you're saved at the hands of a local New Testament church and I could talk about our giving our stewardship has to be Washington the word I believe in storehouse tithing I've been tithing since I 16 my godly grandmother taught me to tidy before understood it you say well brother herb I don't tithe it's under the law no you messed up you need to take another correspondence course from that God's got you messed up because before Moses ever got the law the Bible says whale were there in the book of Genesis that Abram who is the father romans four of all those who have true faith in Christ the Bible says he he believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness the Bible says he paid tithes till Melchizedek and Hebrews seven says Melchizedek is a type of Jesus himself and Jesus identifies himself with his local church because when Saul was persecuting the church before it became name Paul Jesus said Saul Saul why do you persecute me so when I bring my tithes into the storehouse I'm bringing it as an act of worship and a confession of his lordship over all my money into the hands of his local church I believe the way you come into the church got to be washed in the word I believe in giving a public invitation and people should publicly respond to confess their faith publicly I mean Moses said to all in people they got messed up with that golden calf when he got down there and burned it up and ground it up and put it in water and made him drink it he said now I'm hearing the gate of the camp but everyone who's on the Lord's side take a public stand they come over here and stand with me Jesus was baptized publicly Jesus died on the cross publicly and he says if you confess me before men I'll confess you before my father who is in heaven and listen the Bible says in Revelation 12:11 they overcame the devil the wicked one by the word of their testimony I'm telling you when a young man or a young Gator they stand down here they've trusted Christ it made this be a little boy a little girl and the pastor stands up here and says Susie she trusted Jesus as her Savior she wants to follow the Lord in baptism that stirs this preacher up that stirs her family up that stirs her sunday-school teacher that stirs the Christians up that stirs the angel and it pumps the devil right in the mouth where he needs to be popped again and again so I said somethin bout the value of the shirt said something of the vitality of the church now I will say something about the victory of the church I want to still look just real quick at verse 27 the victory of the church now let me just tell you right now I know churches are not perfect I know that preachers we're not perfect you're not perfect we're not none of us are perfect and that Jesus had 12 and and one of them was a doubter one of them denied him some rant got their mama to go to him and said can can we sit closest to you in the kingdom it's not like I was a perfect starts one of them when saved sold him out me and it wasn't a perfect Church those churches described in the book of the revelation you know I got to thinking about it one day like the church that that had lost its first love Jesus didn't tell the people you need to leave that church because it's not perfect no he said what the church needs to do is get right with God so there's no perfect churches listen churches they got honest people and they got dishonest people nice people mean people I mean they've got sensible mature sober minded people and I'm just gonna pin if this offends you I'm not gonna be here that long it's not worth your getting offended some people are just nuts man I've just all of a sudden I'll just be you know standing down front I turn around where'd you come from man some guy just sent some weird and the guy asked an old preacher one time a young preacher said well there's so many nuts in the church he said well son the gospel is light and light does two things it dispels darkness but it attracts bugs and that explains a lot doesn't it brother but I love them nuts and all really what I'm saying I know they're lumps in the gravy I know the church has hypocrites I know there's tears in the weeds but let me tell you why I'm gonna stick with the church because I know where she's going notice what the Word of God says in verse 27 that he Jesus the bridegroom might present her himself a glorious church her is the bride the church and notice he loves the church so much he won't entrust her into the hands of anybody else to walk her down the aisle at that great wedding in the sky he walks her down the aisle and it says when he presents the church up there in heaven she's not going to have spot that means that the stain of sin or wrinkle that means any evidence of old AIDS or any such thing any imperfection any blemish she's going to be holy and glorious so folks this is where the church is going one of these days King Jesus is going to rip up in the sky and every one of us that make up the true church are going to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air and we're going to land safe in a heaven and in a pure atmosphere impure bodies we're gonna offer pure worship but for the Lamb of God and we're going as a glorious victorious Church shout his victory for ever and ever so I'm gonna stick with her I'm gonna stick with her have you ever heard about somebody and you thought boy I wish I did I wish I could have met that guy you hear about somebody I gonna make a confession here I do not read now before you say amen to this statement here the whole thing I'm going to say I do not purchase the National Enquirer the globe the star are those things don't know named in me yet the confessions not finished yet but when I go in my wife to the grocery store and I'm putting stuff up on that conveyor belt I read the front of them because they cover news stories nobody else covers nobody else covers I was reading a headline on one of those windows putting groceries up there and it said pregnant woman's shot in stomach baby born clutching bullet in hand oh wow if I was a football coach I'd have been right neck that kids named sin we're going to recruit you someday holding a bullet in this kid was holding a bullet in his hand Wow well I want to tell you about a man that actually existed he's not the product of fake news he actually exists and that was another day another time another generation but there was a man named David Dugan he was a self-made multi-millionaire in another part of the country a building contractor he built a business empire from nothing self-made multi-millionaire he was bonded even in those days years ago to carry up to a half a million dollars in cash on his person and they usually carried large amounts of cash for instance he made instant business deals he was he was he was decisive he carried a lot of money in a briefcase had a concealed weapons permit kept a pistol when he was carrying that money in that in that briefcase well he came in he heard about the Lord and came into the ministry of a local church through the preaching of a famous TV preacher of that day and when he joined that church in that part of the country that church was governed by a board they called them the board and every month they had a board meeting and they wanted him to be a member because of his financial success and he said well I I give a hundred percent I have to be gone a lot on business they said well would you just be an ex-officio member and just come and if we need your advice we'll consult you with those board meetings drove him nuts because they just sit around and talked about nothing man stuff that didn't matter you no just crazy stuff one one one board meeting they were arguing over how to use a certain amount of money there was a faction on the board that wanted to put speed bumps out in the front drive in front of the auditorium because people were driving too fast there was another faction that wouldn't take the money and fill in some potholes that were sort of adjacent to the word they wanted to put the speed bumps and they said we need to first fill those potholes in these people gonna tear their cars out and so they argued he couldn't take it anymore he finally stood up and he said I will give you the money to do it this is my suggestion you leave the potholes you dig matching potholes on the smooth side put a little line of tar to make them all match you see we'll call them speed holes to his shock they took him seriously and argued another 45 minutes about it about his recommendation finally couldn't take it anymore he got up with his briefcase he slammed that briefcase down on the conference table he said to the treasurer I want to buy the church how much is it how much is it he was in charge said what he said how much is this church worth and the guy said will the last appraisal was $300,000 he said I'll take it he opened that briefcase whip that pistol out and pitched $300,000 out there on the table well they were shocked and one of them said mr. Dugan what would you do if you bought this church he said let me tell you what I would do I would bring in all my construction crews we would tear all these facilities down we would we would haul the debris off to it to the to the dump and I would turn this piece of real estate into the cemetery that these meetings of the Living Dead are driving this church to and they said what would you do with that he said if it was legal I'd shoot every one of you and put you out of your misery having made his point to listen he took the money gun put it all back the briefcase he walked to the door and he turned and he said I do not come to church to argue about potholes and speed bumps and Dixie Cups and styrofoam plates he said I come to church to do God's work and when you want to do God's work you give me a call so I believe it's burning down in my heart that God this morning wanted me to make this appeal will you commit this morning to be faithful to do God's work God's Way for God's glory through God's local church let's bow our heads and close our eyes and with our heads bowed and eyes closed let's all reverently stand to our feet everyone's standing heads are bowed eyes are closed gonna ask our instrumentalists take their place our singers to begin to prepare to to sing a time of invitation and we'll ask the pastor to come staff to come we never want to assume ever assume that everybody here saved you say I'm not sure if I died I'd go to heaven I'm not sure I'm saved I want you to come down here and take one of these member the hand and say I need to get saved they'll tell you how to get saved some something in one of these three messages touched your hearts touched your heart you have fainted in your commitment to Christ you're not working out your own salvation you're just sitting there vegetating on that chair and you've lost your fervor to serve Christ through his local church but I'm gonna I'm not asking you if you will ever preach a sermon like Billy Graham I'm not asking you if you'll be able to sing a song like some great famous gospel singer I'm asking you could you get on your knees and say lord I can't speak for anybody else in the church I go to but Lord I'll be faithful to serve you without complaint I don't have to have my way it's not about me Lord I will be faithful to serve you through this local church is there anybody that can get on their knees at this altar and make that commitment this morning Holy Spirit of God moving this invitation time God we all wanna be faithful Jesus name we pray Lord amen y'all sing guys y'all singing as they sing here's these altars you obey God today

Channel: Milldale Baptist Church

Views: 648

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: IqOtYV6yqEk

Length: 47min 13sec (2833 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 07 2018