Everyone in this room can have a ministry.
The reason is this, and here's why this
is so important.
God calls us to make a difference.
Everybody in here has a ministry, and when
you don't have a ministry and you don't
do what God has called you to do
or want you to do, you become dissatisfied
and discouraged and you don't feel like, I'm
doing, God, what you've called me to do.
And depression can set in, anxiety or fear
or complacency, and God, I know you have
something for me, but why am I not
doing it?
And for a Christian to live like that
is pretty difficult because you're not doing what
you're supposed to be doing.
And it's like fitting a square peg or
square image into a round hole, right?
Have you ever tried that?
It's like something's not working.
Here's what happens.
All of you are called to be in
ministry, but we look at, oh, the pastor,
that's our minister.
No, I'm just supposed to equip you to
go out and minister.
And the reason many people don't do ministry
is, here's why.
I'll just tell you up front.
I've fallen prey to this myself.
We measure it by the size, not the
faithfulness of the heart.
Is there any difference from me speaking to
you than somebody going out and reaching two
or three homeless people after church?
Or going to a hospital home and sitting
with somebody for an hour, hour and a
half?
And that's why I said Jesse's here this
morning.
Sitting with him for an hour and a
half was the highlight of my week.
I left there in tears.
I left there changed.
And I'm like, that's ministry.
What Shane does, that's ministry.
Or if I have a big ministry, that's
ministry.
And we get discouraged because we start something
and it's not flourishing because we're rating it
by the numbers and not faithfulness.
Jesus would often go to one person.
Think about that.
I need, I must go to Samaria.
A man, a woman at the well changed
her life.
I need to go and challenge a demoniac.
Or some accounts of the gospel say two
demoniacs.
And he stepped out of the boat and
released that man from demonic oppression.
His ministry, if you think about it, read
through this.
His ministry was as much for the individual
as it was for the masses.
The man by the pool, do you want
to be made well?
Yeah.
Then get up, take up your bed.
One man.
He would go to one person.
But here, and pastors get real discouraged.
You know, I can imagine sometimes these pastors
at big churches.
Oh, we're down to 3,000 people now.
We were at 3,500 last year.
What happened?
I'm so discouraged.
I'm like, really?
Because we start to measure it.
And don't you, you get discouraged.
You want to start a ministry.
The youth ministry.
And that's why I just really appreciate Luke
is because it's hard to grow that.
And if you get down to five, six
kids, he says, I'm loving it.
I want to do it next year.
It's like, what?
How do you measure that?
Because you measure it by faithfulness, not by
numbers.
Now, Shane, last week you said numbers happen
in a healthy church.
Yes, it does.
Because it works both ways.
I think a healthy church, a healthy ministry
will grow at some point.
But God often uses the smallness of something
to fulfill what he says in his word.
That if you are faithful in the little
things, I will make you ruler over much.
And I've learned that God is more concerned
about our heart than what we think.
We, man, if I could get 100 people,
or if I could get.
In the Bible studies, I've seen this probably
more than anything else.
We're down to five couples.
And we're just, God maybe is calling us
in something different.
Well, are the five couples being built up?
Are they being strengthened?
See, we start to rate it by numbers.
So if you all leave here, there's not
somebody in your sphere of influence that you
could not minister to?
At work?
Your neighborhood?
Friends you know?
We all, God will put us in that.
So all of you are called to the
ministry.
I hate to burst your bubble this morning.
It's not, you know, the church and go
talk to Pastor Shane.
Or go talk to the elders, they'll tell
you.
No, you sometimes, it's okay for you to
pray for somebody.
You know, God's not going to go, Shane's
praying now, I'm going to hear.
He hears the prayers of all the saints.
Praying for people.
Oswald Chambers said, God buries His men and
women, I put that in parentheses, in the
midst of paltry things.
No monuments are erected for them.
They are not, actually they are ignored.
Not because they are unworthy, but because they
are in the place where they cannot be
seen.
See, our American culture has created something very
dangerous called idolatry.
There are shows called American, and it's all
about, even in the Christian music industry, I
know people in that industry have hosted radio
stations and put on events, and it's amazing
how the lure of wealth and money will
be there.
And they'll come to an event if there's
over 5,000 people.
Now, I know it's important to be good
stewards of your time.
You know, I have to turn down speaking
engagements sometimes, and I just counseled one on
the east coast at a men's conference.
I didn't counsel, I never committed to it,
because I felt I would be gone here
too many Sundays.
And maybe God will call me to do
that more often.
And the donation they were going to give
paid my truck payment for many months.
But you can't measure it by, Lord, what
do you want us to do?
And I tell people now, if there's anything
in your budget, if there's not anything in
your budget, I'm leaving it up to God,
I'll pay you to preach.
I'll tell that Mormon church, I will pay
their rent, I will pay your rent for
a month if you let me preach the
gospel.
The real gospel.
Now, I haven't told them that, I haven't
told them that, but I'm saying, you see,
you go to where God has called you.
Now, before you put me on a pedestal,
I am challenged by this just as much
as you are.
There's not a week that goes by that's
like, go stop by the hospital homes, they're
right there on K4.
You're right there in East Palmdale, you're right
there in Rancho Vista, you're right there, and
you're fighting that flesh.
But if we just look at ministry as
one person, go to one person, you will
see your ministry and your life flourish, because
then you're doing what God told you to
do.
You're being filled up, and then you're being
emptied into others.
You're being filled up, and you're being emptied
into others.
What happens, let's look at it a different
way, what happens when I fill up with
too much food, and I don't burn it,
right?
And I don't feel good.
I don't feel good.
I've told my wife this morning, I haven't
weighed this low in like three years, and
I feel incredible, because the physical and the
spiritual often go together.
I don't want to take a nap as
much, I want to stop by hospital homes,
I want to be more involved, because that
excess is leaving, and it gives me more
energy to do what God's called me to
do.
Same with you.
Same exact thing applies.
Well, let's get started.
This might be a long one.
You guys ready for this?
If you need to leave, remember I told
you the trick, you tell your wife, or
if you need to leave, I'm going to
go to the bathroom, in a couple minutes,
you just follow.
And I'm of course halfway joking, I know
a lot of people here are hungry for
God, and it's actually very encouraging, because I've
been at places, I've had a pastor at
one point told me, can you get your
message down to 25 minutes?
We've got a lot going, and it's okay,
I'm flexible, and it actually was really good,
and then I'll get to other places.
You know, when I opened up, it was
funny, when I opened up for Cutlass, at
the Lancaster Performing Arts Theater.
You know, yeah, give a sermon, just kind
of tie it in, something not too long,
and then it went from 20 to 15,
then I get there and the guy's like,
keep it under 10, so I'm like, I've
got to go out there in 10 minutes,
what am I going to take out?
And so it's funny though, because we often
want to watch the clock, and not what
God wants us to do.
So I'm just going to let loose, let
the chips fall where they may, but on
this quote of Oswald Chambers, be careful in
this area, because I do actually more for
God, and so do many people, than what
they see.
So you see this, but you don't see
Monday through Friday, or Monday through Saturday, same
with you.
And a lot of missionaries on the field,
I'm reading a book I'm almost done, An
Asia Harvest, it's about smuggling Bibles into China,
I actually have 40 copies we just got,
if you're interested in one.
Smuggling Bibles into China, he can't even put
his picture on the book, or on websites,
I don't even know who this guy is,
I talk to him on email sometimes, and
you don't know who these people are, yet
they're bringing the word of God into these
areas, they're crossing borders, they're getting arrested, and
I put the book down, and just started
crying at one chapter, because I didn't realize,
there's many people in China, Christians, but they've
never even seen a Bible.
And when they get it, it's like their
child was just born.
They're crying.
They're crying, and he's like, people will get
through the whole Bible in a month or
two, a month or two, I can't get
people to get through it in a year.
But they're so hungry, and that's convicting for
me, but these people, they're doing far more,
than many of us are doing, sitting here
in the limelight, in the spotlight, they are
actually going out and doing that, and you
don't have to do that, unless you're called,
but I believe that the more you do
something, here's what happens too, you'll go, like
say, to the hospital home, and you want
to tell everybody, right, oh, it's great, but
then you just keep it to yourself, and
then God begins to bless you, and it
begins to well up, and you begin to
be blessed, because you gave to others.
So Acts 14 verse 8, Paul just began
a ministry, we've been reading about Paul, and
he's been ministering to people, now he gets
to Lystra, Acts 14 verse 8, and he
got to Lystra, and a certain man without
strength in his feet, was sitting, a cripple
from his mother's womb, who had never walked,
he was born unable to walk, so, and
I went through this, and I just stopped
at key points, because we're talking about forming
your ministry, and leaving here with a better
plan of action, your ministry will involve going
to the needy, just telling you right now,
because we want to pick and choose who
we minister to, don't we?
I mean, when I start to pick and
choose, Lord, I'll just, I'll take the affluent,
I'll take those who just had a shower
today, and I don't have to do too
much, right, not going to get in a
long conversation, just let me pick, see, when
you pick and choose your ministry, you pick
and choose comfortable, but when God calls you
to the ministry, when God calls you to
certain areas, you will go to those who
are needy, it's not comfortable, but then we
see that God restores the humble, and those
who see their need, and as we go
through this, and we look at ministry, God
will restore those who are humble, and who
see their need, so it's your job, it's
my job to point them in the right
direction, what ministry is, you go to a
need, you help to fulfill that need, and
you point that person in the right direction,
I've commented many times before, I wish we
had something, maybe right in the middle of
Lancaster, or somewhere where it was just an
acre, acre of farming, or hoeing weeds or
something, I could, all these homeless people I
run into, be here tomorrow morning at 8
o'clock, just grab a hoe, and I'll
hoe weeds with you, and let's get these
guys working, and point them to a solution,
and you also see the sincerity of their
heart, and it's wonderful to watch God work
in the heart of those who are humble
and teachable, and something on this, humble and
teachable, when you begin to walk in your
ministry, and what God has called you to
do, I believe that all of you can
leave here, with some type of ministry, things
you aren't even aware of, many people you
could start ministering to, be careful you don't
say this, it's my ministry, it's my ministry,
sometimes in the past, when we started Westside
Christian Fellowship, not here, but in Lancaster, I've
had to talk to people, where I'm talking
with them, and say yeah, but my ministry,
okay, well, let's back up a little bit,
it's God's ministry, it's Jesus, we represent him,
because what happens when it's my ministry, when
it's my church, when it's my, you begin
to put too much emphasis on you, and
who's not in charge, that being God, and
the emphasis becomes you, and not what God
has called you to do, so be careful,
people are like, is that Shane's church?
No, that's not Shane's church, that's God's church,
he planted, the church is still going to
be there, when Shane goes bye bye, so
it's God's church, it was planted years ago,
and we're just stewarding, what he has called
us to do, and I think of Psalm
107, I read it to the men yesterday,
we had a great men's walk, about 35
guys showed up to walk on the aqueduct,
and then we had about 70 guys and
kids, and their sons here, and I talked
about the story of Samson, it's going to
be on video, I think at some point,
so we'll get that to you, if you're
on the email, a bulletin, but I read
this scripture, and I felt the need to
read it again today, Psalm 107, 27, 28,
in the NIV, they reeled, and they staggered
like drunkards, they were at their wits end,
you're going to find many people, like that
in ministry, just like this, suicidal, at their
wits end, then they cried out to the
Lord, in their trouble, and he brought them
out of their distress, he'll often use you
to help them in that area, and then
what's ironic, is when he pulls somebody out
of their distress, he calls them to that
type of ministry, we've got ministries, right now
they're going to be starting marriage ministries, where
the marriage was falling apart a year ago,
now they're on fire for God, now they
want to help others, we've got recovery groups,
where people have came out of addiction, they've
been set free, now they want to, so
be careful, don't let your weakness throw you
a curve ball, in that weakness, God can
use you to minister to others, that's why
I think he brought me through so much,
I can relate to the person who has
had an abortion, I can relate to the
person who has went through a divorce, I
can relate to the person who has been
cheated on, I can relate to the person
who has been addicted, addicted from everything, to
IPA's, to sugar, to chocolate, to coffee, the
list goes on, addiction personality, I can relate
to these people, but then you go and
you help them, because that's part of the
ministry, people are like, you're addicted to sugar?
Yeah, you can be addicted to sugar, did
you know that?
No, you didn't know that, well I bet
you should try not having any for the
day, and you'll find out very quickly how
addicted you are, take your favorite thing and
avoid it for the day, you will become
a monster, a monster, right?
And it's, of all the things too, this
is funny, when I was on my fast,
I walk in, there's a little welcome basket,
oh, wow, Frito chips, chocolate things, Hershey's, Twix,
Snickers, whatever it is, Fig bars, like, you're
going in the closet, you're going in my
truck, you're getting out, devil, you are a
liar, because it's this, and that's a whole
other sermon, I'm actually going to wait for
that one, but let me get back on
track, verse 9, Phil, you know it's coming,
huh?
It's coming out, it's going to come at
some point, this man heard Paul speaking, so
the man who was born, unable to walk,
he heard Paul speaking, and Paul observing him
intently, and seeing that he had faith to
heal, said with a loud voice, stand up
straight on your feet, and he leaped, and
he walked, it's like Paul is preaching, Paul's
filled with the Spirit of God, he sees
this man, he's looking at this man, he
sees that the man, there's this element of
faith in this man, and he activates that
faith, and calls that man to walk, but
we see a few things here, God was
his focus, God was his focus, and Paul
was open to what God wanted to do,
see, Paul was open to what God wanted
to do, but I think in many of
our cases, especially in America, read some of
these missionary books, you'll be, that still happens,
God still moves, God still raises people from
the dead, little babies, no, that doesn't happen
anymore, that couldn't happen anymore, God still heals,
I mean, when you're counting witch doctors, on
the mission field, and you're contending for a
real spiritual battle, you will see amazing things
happen, but now we tend to doubt what
God wants to do, like, well, Paul did
that, but if I see somebody who can
never walk, I'm just too scared to, you
know, I don't want to go there, I
mean, that would be embarrassing, wouldn't it in
front of all of you?
But I also believe that this is a
gift of faith, that the Bible talks about,
that God will give you a gift of
faith, and if you've ever had that, you
know exactly what I'm talking about, you feel
as if you could just speak it, and
it's going to happen, you are so confident,
you know that God's going to work, you're
sure of it, and you are faith-filled
and strong, it's a gift of faith, and
we see Paul activating that.
He surveyed the situation as well, Paul surveyed
the situation, and Jesus would, and this is
interesting, when I read that story about the
man at the pool, Jesus, was there other
people around the pool?
Jesus would often just go and heal certain
people, and I immediately came to Matthew, to
my Matthew 7-6, I'm going to paraphrase
it, Jesus said, don't waste your time on
things or people who will throw it back
in your face, don't throw your money or
assets to those who act like pigs, they
will trample those resources and then turn on
you.
The verse is, you know, giving your pearls
to swines, and things like that, but wait
a minute Jesus, you said, pray for my
enemies, go and help those, and now you're
saying this, I don't understand, well that's why
I would encourage you to spend your time,
a lot of times, reading the whole counsel
of God, because scriptures that you think contradict
each other, don't when you understand the heart
of God, for example, Jesus said turn the
other cheek, but when Jesus was slapped, he
didn't turn the other cheek, he confronted the
man, wait a minute, you're going to get,
no he's not, because the whole point of
turning the other cheek is personal insults, and
just, you know, I'm going to let that
go, I'm going to let that go, but
there comes a time, when there's time to
be bold and to confront, because if not,
if you're just always turning the other cheek,
then you become a doormat, the wife who's
constantly getting beat up, becomes a doormat, and
her husband is never challenged, you see how
that works, it's a principle here, so yes,
we're to reach out and help others, but
you know those people, I know there's people
right now, that I need to avoid, and
I'm not going to reach out, I know
that might sound harsh, but because you know,
you've been, one example is that group that
was at the atheist debate, the satanic group,
and he Facebooked me this week, he said,
I'll be at your men's breakfast, hail Satan,
I said, no you won't, you're not coming,
I didn't even respond, I said, no, I'm
going to take you to prayer, you're not
coming, guess who didn't come, I'm not going
to throw, because I don't feel that God
is leading, at some point, you don't just
keep being a passive doormat, come and run
this place, no, you're coming to my ground
now, you're coming here, you're not welcome here,
if your heart's not right, see that's the
difference, you can come, if you're open, and
teachable, and are wanting to listen and learn,
and want some fellowship, and you have some
questions, no problem, but if you're coming to
bring dissension, and turmoil, and conflict, you are
not welcome here, I mean, you can look
throughout scripture, that's biblical, when did God say,
we cower down like a little puppy, okay
Satan, you have your way, you threat us,
and now we're going to go and walk
on eggshells, no, by the authority of Jesus
Christ, you're not welcome here, we're going to
preach the gospel, and let your heart be
challenged and changed, so see it's the heart
of God, it's the heart of God, but
here's the thing people won't understand, with something
like this, well Shane, that sounds like you're
mean spirited, no, because I have a history
here, I talked to this person, for an
hour after the debate, and he was not
teachable, and humble, and willing to listen, he
was wanting to throw this garbage in my
face, and if you're going to come here,
and throw this garbage at other people, no,
we will shut that down, that's just biblical,
that's actually good leadership, and my flesh is
to say, okay, just whatever, but bold leadership,
the elders would agree, that we say no,
you're just not welcome here, if you're not
willing to be open and teachable, see that's
the difference, and I just got an email
this week, from a friend out of state,
gosh I don't even know if I should
go here on these things, but it's important,
because of this issue, they have a homosexual
couple, two women, lesbians, that want to serve,
at the church, so one, there's some fruit
there in their faith, the other there's not,
Shane should we let them serve, we don't
want to discourage, and maybe they're growing, and
we don't want the church to come, and
I said personally, that's not too hard biblically,
because you're endorsing a lifestyle, you're affirming a
lifestyle, that the Bible actually says come out
from that, and repent and believe, and then
as a church, you're not watering down the
message, because they serve, you're actually holding a
standard, by which God wants us to lovingly
judge people, now if there's repentance, and there's
fruit, and there's separation, give it some time,
give it some time, let's see if there's
genuine fruit, but if people shouldn't run your
church, we're going to offend, that God should
run your church, and what does God want
to do, so if it's coming from a
humble attitude, a loving attitude, would I let
somebody say, I just left my wife last
week, can I pass out bulletins and be
a greeter, no you can't, no you can't,
well that's mean, no it's not, I'm not
going to affirm their lifestyle, I'm hooked on
pornography, can I help in youth, no you
can't help in youth, we actually ask the
men helping in youth these questions, because we
have a responsibility, see that's not mean spirited,
that's bold leadership, that wants to protect the
flock, now do we get everything right, of
course not, and there has to be some
grace with people, but we're not going to
affirm, we're going to help, we're not going
to offend on purpose, but if the truth
of God offends, then there's not much we
can do about that, so that's what Jesus
meant when he said, don't throw your pearls
to swine, I'm not saying these people are
swine, that I've been mentioning, but I am
saying be careful with who you invest your
time, there are some people, I'll invest my
time, I'll talk with them, but then as
the week goes on, I'm like okay, not
going to do that again, because they're not
open to that, so careful in this area,
and it's interesting, this man, this man who
was healed, he had faith, and it was
healed, then in Mark 9 24, we see
a man who says, I believe Lord, but
help my unbelief, and his son is healed,
and then we see in Matthew 8 8,
a man comes and says, Jesus just speak
the word, and my servant will be healed,
so he's an intercessor, the man who was
healed, didn't even know Jesus was around, he
didn't pray anything, so is it his faith,
is it her faith, is it Jesus faith,
and in ministry, you'll have to do this,
you'll have to exercise tremendous faith, you will
struggle with faith, and you'll need to intercede
for people, all three of those, die off
and pray, I'll just admit to you right
now, I prayed in hospitals, I prayed when
people are on their death bed, and Lord
I believe, but help my unbelief, because we're
not perfect on this side of heaven, we
struggle with that, even praying for healing, I'm
like Lord I believe, but are you really
going to do this, and you struggle with
that, and that's part of ministry, here's the
key though, you also have to be an
intercessor, and this is where it gets difficult,
one of my concerns, now for where I
see America and the world in general, is
such atrocities can happen, and we've grown numb
and cold to it, we can no longer
intercede for the single mom who's struggling, or
the person who's lost something, or look at
all these, when I first heard about beheadings,
I was shocked, now it's on the news
every week, look how callous and cold we've
become, and to truly be an intercessor, you've
got to feel the heart, and the pain
of the person, Jesus was, he interceded on
behalf of us, and then verse 11, now
when the people saw that Paul, now when
they saw what Paul had done, they raised
their voices, so the people who are not
believers, they see that this man's healed, and
they raised their voices, saying in the Lycanian
language, that means they weren't Greek, they weren't
Roman, in the Lycanian language, the gods have
come down to us, in the likeness of
men, so they see a genuine healing, they
go clearly, the gods have come down off,
what is that, Mount Olympus, right, they've come
down off Mount Olympus, and they've visited us,
and Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul Hermes,
because he was the chief speaker, so a
few keys to ministry from this, Proverbs 27
.2, let someone else praise you, and not
your own mouth, now many years ago when
I read that, I'm like that doesn't even
sound good, let somebody else praise you, well
look up the word in the Hebrew language,
and it means this, let someone else give
an accurate acknowledgement, of what you're doing, and
not your own lips, so it would be
like somebody involved in, let's say, gosh, I
don't even know what, we just talked about,
so let's say a homeless ministry, right, such
and such, I so appreciate what you're doing,
we see what you're doing, the life's changed,
thank you for doing that, and they can
humbly acknowledge that, give credit to God, but
if they're coming around, hey, look at what
we did, look at what's going on, look
at what I did, look accomplished, and let
someone else acknowledge your ministry, let someone else
acknowledge what you're doing, and not your own
lips, because that keeps you humble, because it's
a heart issue, right, isn't it a heart
issue, now, don't follow prey to the other
side, though, you ever seen that person, oh,
shucks, little old me, me, oh, me, oh,
but inside, they're eating up, they're eating, they're
just, oh, praise me more, praise me more,
but they're hiding by the, oh, shucks, right,
just me, oh, I'm just serving God, brother,
but inside, their heart is just a mess,
right, their heart is just pride, and arrogance,
and they're starving for more of that, so
be careful, don't say, oh, little shucks, little
old me around here, right, but it's okay
to acknowledge, like, we just acknowledge the team
back there, the media and sound, Christine, Jake,
thank you so much, because the only time
we really notice you is when something goes
wrong, right, it's not working, where are you,
but when everything's right, we forget, so we
acknowledge those, we thank those, we thank all
the ushers that are serving, the children's ministry
helpers, let me publicly acknowledge the 40 people
or so that help keep this going every
Sunday morning that are donating their time, so
we just follow Proverbs 27, let someone else
acknowledge you, and here's a good test, when
you start to get mad, like, nobody's acknowledging
me, be careful, be careful, the enemy, that
is a stronghold, now, for a minute here,
this is just fun, who were Zeus and
Hermes, who were, right, who were Zeus and
Hermes, well, they were two of 12 Greek
gods who lived on Mount Olympus, I think
if you go there, that belief system has
faded now, right, I don't know if we
think there's, Thor is out, right, a movie
I haven't seen, but I've heard he's got
a big something and throws it, and it's
like thunder, and it's like these Greek gods
and they make movies out of it, but
you really don't believe it anymore, I hope,
right, that's not true, who were these people,
and God just, man, this point I told
my wife too when I got home from,
this point was just, lit up the page
on me, and I got so excited, I
just said, God, you are so good, here
it is, who were Zeus and Hermes, but
we don't do that with Jesus, we say,
who is Jesus Christ, who is, he's here,
he's real, he's alive, he's our savior, who
is, not who was, rarely we say, who
is Jesus, isn't it, watch even unbelievers, watch,
who is Jesus, they'll interview somebody on CNN,
or better back up, I might get a
little loud here, Fox News, they'll interview somebody,
who is Jesus, but they don't even believe
in him, see they can't get past it,
who was Jesus, no, who is he, who
is this person, everybody bows to, or everybody's
upset at, or people are losing their lives
for, who is Jesus Christ, you better answer
that question correctly, because he still exists, that
is the God, who was from everlasting to
everlasting, the alpha and the omega, that's why
he's called that, from the beginning to the
end, the wonderful counselor, the prince of peace,
the mighty father, the lion from the tribe
of Judah, my banner, my shield, my butler,
my Sabbath rest, he's everything, he still exists,
not my butler, can't you hear, butler, it's
an old testament imagery, of strength, that was
a close one right, boy you wouldn't believe
the emails I get, if I misquote, that's
Psalm 27, 12, not 22, you belligerent person,
don't you study well, I'm like guys, give
me some grace here, remember dyslexia has a
problem with numbers, and it did happen, she
doesn't go here anymore, she's back in Lancaster,
drove me crazy, every week I get an
email, you misquoted this one, or you said
this word, I'm like oh, Lord is this
genuinely, somebody who wants to help, or is
it a critical heart, it's a critical heart,
okay thank you, moving on, but I'm open,
if I misquoted something, let me know, because
we change it on the nose, we change
it, I'm all for that, but we shouldn't
come to church, looking for these things, yeah
that was just a tiny event, just bear
with me for a minute there, but I
asked my wife, I am so bad on
numbers, you can give me a phone number,
and I'll forget it, I'll dial the wrong
number, I'll put the wrong thing in the
bank account, I just, numbers are just so
confusing, I can sit here and quote scripture,
for the next couple of hours, but when
it comes to numbers, it's just something is
off, and I didn't do good in math,
and algebra was not even an option, it's
not even on the radar, so every time
my kids aren't doing good in math, I
say, but look how I turned out, right,
I don't need to come up here, and
go E equals MC squared, that's going to
help me here, the ratio of water to
hydrogen, and 22 times 412, you need to
have that real quick, no I don't, my
phone has a calculator on it, so make
sure you know who Jesus is, the bible
says he's the son of God, he's a
sinner savior, he's the only way, the only
truth, the only life, which is funny, I
got criticism on saying that too, because it
doesn't say only, it doesn't, the bible says
he is the way, the truth, the life,
and I want to emphasize the only way,
the only truth, the only life, nobody comes
to the father, except through him, so he's
everything, he's the reason we're here, he's the
reason I'm here, he's the reason we worship,
he's the reason I put this together, he's
the reason that we exist, and we are
saved because of Christ, then the priest of
Zeus, whose temple was in front of their
city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates,
intending to sacrifice with the multitudes, they were
going to sacrifice to Paul, and his helper
here, now keep this in mind, nearly all
religions make a sacrifice, all religions, Hindu, Buddhist,
they'll sacrifice something, go online, most religions have
a sacrificial system, why?
Why?
Because we know inside that we've fallen short,
we know that we owe something, there's something
in our DNA, I don't know if it's
in the little strands and things, but I
know it's there from our Adamic nature, our
nature from Adam, that we know something is
not right, I have to sacrifice something, I
have to give something, something has to die
in order for me to live, now people
actually try to use that against me, and
say see all religions do that, and I
say see that actually confirms God to me,
because it's the same heartbeat, that has to
worship something, in the six, whatever billion people
on the planet, they have to worship something,
they feel that there is something out there,
greater than them, I mean listen, atheists who
doesn't want to admit to it, but I
know in their heart they know, that they're
not that, they're not all that, right, what
the kids say, I'm not that in a
bag of chips, whatever that means, but we
know there's something beating in us, that knows
something is not right, or I have to
worship something, why, because we are created in
God's image, and that image, Norman Geisler, he's
a theologian, he said God's image in us
is effaced, it's not erased, effaced means it's
damaged, it's marred, so God's image in us,
I mean this is amazing, if you just
sit and think about it for a while
at home, you are made in the image
of God, that young adult that wants to
take her life, tell her she's made in
the image of God, the abortion industry that
likes to pull out arms and legs and
sell things, those are made, those children are
made in the image of God, that will
change how you treat yourself, that will change
your life, you focus, but that image is
effaced, it's damaged, it hasn't been erased, it's
still there, that image, that broken marred relationship,
that's why so many people feel broken, because
they are, they are struggling, they are running
to this addiction, or this prescription, or this
relationship, and they are running to the next
thing, because they are broken, so part of
the ministry is you point people to Jesus
Christ, you point people to Christ, and on
that note, make sure you have the right
sacrifice, make sure you have the right sacrifice,
because many people, they are going through life,
they are sacrificing, I hope God sees my
good deeds, many religions, I hope my good
deeds outweigh my bad deeds, so they are
making a sacrifice, and it's the wrong one,
the price is already paid, the sacrifice has
already been made, we just repent and we
acknowledge that, and then verse 14, but when
the apostle Barnabas and Paul heard this, they
tore their clothes, see the difference, we read
earlier Herod when they said, the voice of
a God and not a man, the voice
of a God and not a man, Herod
said yes, thank you, and he was killed,
these men go running into the crowd, no,
we are not gods, we are just like
you, men why are you doing these things,
we are just like you, the same nature,
and we preach to you, that you should
turn from these useless things, to the living
God, who made heaven, the earth, the sea,
and all the things that are in them,
turn to that God, that's part of ministry,
you turn to that God, I just ran
into another homeless guy this morning, early this
morning, 630, I've known him for a few
months, he got his truck back, I helped
him a little bit, and then he lost
his truck again, it's been impounded, now it's
been sold, and I said you got to
turn everything over to God, no, he said
no, I know God, I said yeah, but
that bottle's got you, see that's what's got
you, you go back to that useless thing,
you go back to that thing that's bringing
the depravity, but in our pride, in our
arrogance, we say we got this, I'm right
with God, you might be right with God,
but you've got a lot of things, you
need to work on, and get rid of
those useless things, Shane how would I know
if they're useless, are they drawing you closer
to Christ, or are they drawing you away
from Christ, I've got family members, I won't
say how close, you'll know who they are
if I say how close, maybe distant, maybe
who knows, but I tell them, I say
you've got to end that relationship, oh she's
a good friend, all she's doing is posting
stuff about being drunk, and high, and flirting,
and all these things in Vegas by the
pool, that's not a good friend, that's pulling
you back into the misery, that you're wanting
to get out of, turn from these useless
things, what is useless in our life, that
is keeping us from following Christ, fully surrendering
our life to Christ, a man said to
D.O. Moody, he said D.O. Moody,
the world has yet to see what God
will do with a man, fully consecrated to
him, the same call goes out today, God
is waiting for those who will fully surrender
their life, and the enemy comes in and
says you can't do that, you're not perfect,
guess what, I'm not either, but I'm not
going to let that side track me, useless
things, what useless, the guy could stay here
20 minutes, what you turn from these useless
things, useless things that have no, no spiritual
health whatsoever, and you know why it's so
hard, let's just be honest, this morning, it's
so hard because we love them, and we're
addicted to them, aren't we, try it today,
the thing that is just useless, Facebook, the
negative news, every time I go to the
news, I'll just tell you right now, I
just leave that page, the world is falling
apart, what's that little chicken little, sky is
falling, sky is falling, I mean look at
everything, conspiracy theories, and this, and the Obama
administration, the Trump administration, ISIS, North Korea, now
I've got to worry about North Korea, there's
a good chance they're going to try to
hit Los Angeles, with a nuclear bomb, is
the wind going to be blowing this way,
do we just go outside and go, all
right we're done Lord, come take us, God
what are we doing, and you just get
paralyzed, or time on Facebook, or YouTube, there's
YouTube videos, there's a lot of you shouldn't
be watching, that's why you're coming up with
weird things in your mind, because not everything,
not everything is edifying, not everything builds you
up, it actually pulls you away from Christ,
because it's useless, that's one of the primary
goals of the ministry, is to help people
turn from these useless things, and on that
note, ministry isn't always about wiping away tears,
sometimes it creates them, because we think of
ministry like, kumbaya, let me just hold you
and help you, sometimes it's challenging and confronting
the person, your ministry sometimes will produce tears,
there's nothing more effective, in my opinion, now
this happens maybe 20-25% of the
time, not normally you're comforting, but there are
times when in your ministry, you will lovingly
confront that person, and you will tell them,
you are hurting your family, you are hurting
your children, you are distant from God, you
need to turn around, and you might not
hear from them for a while, but that's
okay, they needed to hear it, also
part of ministry is, we can't just feed
the stomach, but neglect the soul, that's not
ministry, it's compassion, and it's outreach, and it's
good, but be careful, we sometimes gloss over
ministry, by okay, I handed out sandwiches, or
I painted their house, or I picked up
trash, and that's good, don't get me wrong,
but that's not necessarily the main focus, go
through this whole book of Acts, Paul's main
focus is the gospel, his main focus is
the gospel, everywhere he went, that's the main
focus, because that, here's why, because what you
focus on becomes the priority, verse 16, I'm
gonna try to get through this, who in
bygone generations, allowed all nations to walk in
their own ways, so Paul's saying, I better
kind of give you, fast forward here, Paul's
talking to this group of people, he's saying
in bygone generations, mainly in past generations, God
allowed all nations to walk in their own
ways, nevertheless, he did not leave himself without
a witness, see this is why nobody has
an excuse, in that he did good, he
gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons,
filling our hearts with food, and gladness, he's
telling the people, where do you think those
crops came from, where do you think that
perfect balance, of nitrogen, oxygen, helium came from,
and where do you think the rain created
the soil, where do you think all this
came from, you are not without a witness,
you know that there is a one true
and living God, stop following these little idols,
these little carved images, that you make out
of a tree and worship, and you have
this little Buddha, this little whatever it is,
and you just go through life, bowing to
the wrong God, the pagans had no knowledge,
the pagans had no knowledge of the Old
Testament, so Paul couldn't say, this is the
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he just
said, this is the God who has given
you everything you need, who has provided for
you, and then Paul, because of this, the
people still wanted to sacrifice to them, but
then the Jews, the good old unbelieving Jews,
from Antioch, and Iconium, they came to where
Paul is, now if I'm not mistaken, where
Paul is, Lystra is down, and these Jews
are up in an area about 20 miles
away, and they decide to do this, we're
just going to go tell them Paul, we're
going to stir up some controversy, so be
careful, ministry is not always fun, and glamorous,
there is an enemy who hates what you're
doing, he hates what you're doing, you think
he likes what I'm doing, you don't have
to answer that one, or what you're doing,
or what my wife is doing, and helping
us, and all of you, he doesn't like
what we're doing, so the Jews came down
from Antioch, and Iconium, and they persuaded all
the multitude, to stone Paul, so you go
from praises to stoning, and I remember Jesus,
hallelujah, the Savior is here to crucify him,
the next day, riding on this donkey, and
people are praising him, hallelujah, hosanna, and then
crucify him, and that is the tides of
ministry, be careful, never measure it by the
praises of men, because you will be defeated,
and discouraged every single time, I've noticed, here
come the praises, well get ready for the
valley of defeat, that's just part of it,
that's part of ministry, Satan does not go
on vacation, when you decide to get involved,
I talked to the men yesterday, discouragement has
a purpose, the purpose of discouragement, is to
discourage, and get you sidetracked, and going in
the wrong direction, think about it, the harvest
for a farmer, comes after the work, the
athlete wins, after afflicting and disciplining the body,
the soldier celebrates after the victory, so there
is constant pressure, and constant chaos sometimes, control
chaos in ministry, it's difficult, however, when the
disciples gathered around him, he rose up and
went into the city, well this is obviously
some type of miracle, these aren't little stones,
you ever see a kid, you know, I've
talked to you about this before, throwing little
rocks at somebody, don't throw rocks out back,
this is stones, stoning, they're big, and the
person will be down, it would be easy
to stone somebody right here, you're just throwing
stones at Paul, so he just got up
and went in the other city, that's a
miracle, that's a huge miracle, some type of
miracle took place, and when they had preached
the gospel to that city, and made many
disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, Antioch, and
they strengthened the souls of the disciples, exhorting
them to continue in faith, and saying we
must, through many tribulations, enter the kingdom of
God, I've got another 25 minutes, but I'm
going to save that for you, that way
you have to come back, you're going to
want to know how this ends, and also
I just feel that we've said enough, and
we just need to go into a time
of worship, but let me focus on this
last point, he went, you'll see Paul often,
now this is something that's interesting, shipwrecked, beaten,
stoned, dragged around the cities, molested, spiritually, by
the religious leaders, they would tear him down,
he would go to the churches, and I
never read where Paul came in to discourage
them, and now he would let them have
it sometimes, if they need to repent, and
things, but he would go and he would
encourage, he would encourage the people, he would
strengthen them, in your ministry, in your ministry,
you will do this, strength is found, and
continuing on to the next ministry opportunity, and
encouraging people, in your ministry, and you're saying,
acting like you, Shane, you're acting like I
have one, you do, can't we all name,
a person, or 10, that we could minister
to, the neighbor that you know is just
lost, as lost as they come, there's a
few in my track, right, where you work,
in your spirit of influence, there's ministry everywhere,
so we learn here from Paul, remind people
about the goodness of God, here's how you,
here's all you have to do, you open
the conversation, you talk to them, you begin
to tell them, what God has done for
you, that's why many people don't have a
ministry, God hasn't really done anything for them,
I'm a, I hate when I hear this,
I'm a self created man, that breath you
just took, is a gift from God, more
Christians need to be filled, with the spirit
of God, so they can speak about the
power of God, that's why many people don't
minister, I don't know what to say, you
don't because you haven't been changed, and challenged,
because when you've been changed, by the word
of God, you have to tell people, you
have to tell people, what about the song
we love to sing, I was blind but
now I see, I was lost but now
I'm found, I didn't have a loving father,
but God loves me, and you even have
to encourage them, I tell people, many times
when I pray, I pray that God come
into the midst of my pain, I can
relate to you, because sometimes they think pastors,
everything's going great, or they think of you
right, everything's going great, no you have to
tell them, I even pray in the midst
of my pain, you have to encourage them,
in the midst of your pain, that's why
I love the song we sing, Lord where
will you find me, will God find you,
honestly will he find you grateful, and thankful
and full of his spirit, and broken before
him, how will God find us during worship
this morning, how will he find us, the
heart means everything, the heart of the person
means everything, so the final encouraging word is
this, ask God what he wants you to
begin today, we have ministries, we have dozens
of ministries in this room, Shane how can
I reach out to those, who are divorced
or separated, Shane how can I reach out
to the homeless, I see off the freeway,
Shane how can I reach out to the
single moms, who are barely getting by, how
can I reach out to the person, who's
struggling in this, how can I reach out,
a guy recently we have it going on
still, he said I want to help men,
who struggle in the area of sexual purity,
I want to help them, we've got a
class pure desires, now here's interesting, he said
something to me, he goes you know, we
won't have a lot of guys show up,
really so that place should be full, he
said no, nobody wants to admit it, who
doesn't struggle with purity, you want to know
why, because God has created us, to lust
for our spouse, and when that lust is
redirected, it becomes a perversion, and the purity
that God designed, then becomes polluted, so something
that is good and God ordained, the devil
perverts it, and then it becomes unpure, and
then we struggle with the impurity, instead of
focus on the purity, that God has called
us to, so I would encourage you, get
more information on that, because all of us
can benefit from that class, I've never met
any, I asked a 75 year old, when
do you stop struggling with it, you have
to ask somebody older than me, I mean
it's like, it's an issue, we can't just
go like this, because what happens when you
go like this, it just grows, and grows,
and grows, and the sin loves to grow
in that darkness,