1 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:42,040 1 Corinthians chapter 3, give 2 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:43,900 the children time to find it, nice to 3 00:00:43,900 --> 00:00:45,580 see them turning it up in their Bibles. 4 00:00:50,020 --> 00:00:52,800 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and commencing to read 5 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:53,760 from verse 1. 6 00:00:54,660 --> 00:00:57,140 And I brethren could not speak unto you 7 00:00:57,140 --> 00:01:00,200 as unto spiritual but as unto carnal, even 8 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:01,940 as unto babes in Christ. 9 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:04,360 I have fed you with milk and not 10 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:06,880 with meat, for hitherto ye were not able 11 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:09,380 to bear it, neither yet now are ye 12 00:01:09,380 --> 00:01:09,800 able. 13 00:01:10,740 --> 00:01:12,100 For ye are not, for ye are yet 14 00:01:12,100 --> 00:01:12,660 carnal. 15 00:01:13,140 --> 00:01:15,340 For whereas there is among you envying and 16 00:01:15,340 --> 00:01:19,120 strife and divisions, are ye not carnal and 17 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:19,900 walk as men? 18 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:23,020 For while one saith, I am of Paul, 19 00:01:23,380 --> 00:01:26,200 and another, I am of Apollos, are ye 20 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:26,860 not carnal? 21 00:01:27,740 --> 00:01:28,860 Who then is Paul? 22 00:01:29,180 --> 00:01:32,220 Who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye 23 00:01:32,220 --> 00:01:34,740 believed, even as the Lord gave to every 24 00:01:34,740 --> 00:01:35,140 man? 25 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:39,840 I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave 26 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:40,620 the increase. 27 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:44,060 So then neither is he that planteth anything, 28 00:01:44,620 --> 00:01:48,340 neither he that watereth, but God that giveth 29 00:01:48,340 --> 00:01:49,300 the increase. 30 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:52,220 Now he that planteth and he that watereth 31 00:01:52,220 --> 00:01:54,960 are one, and every man shall receive his 32 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:57,660 own reward according to his own labor. 33 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:01,640 For we are laborers together with God, ye 34 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:04,040 are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. 35 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:06,820 According to the grace of God which is 36 00:02:06,820 --> 00:02:09,820 given unto me as a wise master builder, 37 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:14,080 I have laid the foundation and another buildeth 38 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:14,720 thereon. 39 00:02:15,420 --> 00:02:18,520 But let every man take heed how he 40 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:20,240 buildeth thereupon. 41 00:02:20,920 --> 00:02:25,000 For other foundation can no man lay than 42 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:27,760 that is laid, which is Christ Jesus. 43 00:02:28,700 --> 00:02:31,520 Now if any man build upon this foundation, 44 00:02:31,820 --> 00:02:39,260 gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, every 45 00:02:39,260 --> 00:02:41,220 man's work shall be made manifest. 46 00:02:41,740 --> 00:02:44,300 For the day shall declare it, because it 47 00:02:44,300 --> 00:02:46,020 shall be revealed by fire. 48 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,040 The fire shall try every man's work of 49 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:50,780 what sort it is. 50 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:54,280 If any man's work abide which he hath 51 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:58,080 built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 52 00:02:58,740 --> 00:03:01,220 If any man's work shall be burned, he 53 00:03:01,220 --> 00:03:05,280 shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be 54 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:08,600 saved, yet so as by fire. 55 00:03:12,780 --> 00:03:15,480 I'd be glad if you turn in the 56 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:19,580 New Testament to the letter to the Colossians 57 00:03:19,580 --> 00:03:23,960 and I read to you just a few 58 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:26,820 verses right at the end of the third 59 00:03:26,820 --> 00:03:33,900 chapter from the 18th to the first of 60 00:03:33,900 --> 00:03:35,540 the fourth chapter. 61 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:40,600 Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands as 62 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:42,160 it is fit in the Lord. 63 00:03:42,260 --> 00:03:44,740 Husbands love your wives and be not bitter 64 00:03:44,740 --> 00:03:45,480 against them. 65 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:48,620 Children obey your parents in all things, for 66 00:03:48,620 --> 00:03:50,480 this is well pleasing unto the Lord. 67 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:53,960 Fathers provoke not your children to anger lest 68 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:54,960 they be discouraged. 69 00:03:55,420 --> 00:03:58,760 Servants obey in all things your masters according 70 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:01,180 to the flesh, not with eye service as 71 00:04:01,180 --> 00:04:04,480 men pleases, but in singleness of heart, fearing 72 00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:06,600 God and whatsoever ye do. 73 00:04:07,420 --> 00:04:09,240 And do it heartily as to the Lord 74 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:11,600 and not unto men, knowing that of the 75 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:14,360 Lord ye shall receive the reward of the 76 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:17,760 inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ. 77 00:04:18,540 --> 00:04:20,720 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for 78 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:22,900 the wrong which he hath done, and there 79 00:04:22,900 --> 00:04:24,700 is no respect of persons. 80 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:27,660 Masters, give unto your servants that which is 81 00:04:27,660 --> 00:04:31,120 just and equal, knowing that ye also have 82 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:33,100 a master in heaven. 83 00:04:34,260 --> 00:04:36,840 Well, we continue working our way through this 84 00:04:36,840 --> 00:04:42,140 remarkable letter full of good doctrine and of 85 00:04:42,140 --> 00:04:46,360 choice, practical teaching for the Christian believer. 86 00:04:47,840 --> 00:04:50,020 And in these last few verses, as you 87 00:04:50,020 --> 00:04:52,480 will remember from our study, those of you 88 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:55,100 who are regularly with us in the tabernacle 89 00:04:55,100 --> 00:04:59,280 last week, the Apostle projects a very familiar 90 00:04:59,280 --> 00:05:02,540 scene in front of his readers. 91 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:07,400 They are aware of the ordinary domestic situation 92 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:12,240 in the average Roman household, with mother and 93 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:16,120 father and children and the slaves, the latter 94 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:20,340 category occupying, so we are told, some one 95 00:05:20,340 --> 00:05:24,280 -third of the members of the Roman Empire. 96 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:28,300 And Paul is concerned to take the message 97 00:05:28,300 --> 00:05:32,340 of Christianity and to apply it within the 98 00:05:32,340 --> 00:05:35,060 context of the family circle. 99 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:39,860 Now, as we continue to look into what 100 00:05:39,860 --> 00:05:43,040 he is saying, let me remind you that 101 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:46,180 this is, in one sense, very specialized teaching. 102 00:05:47,220 --> 00:05:50,160 I say that because, as I told you, 103 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:52,860 there are those who dip into certain parts 104 00:05:52,860 --> 00:05:55,280 of the New Testament, and they extract its 105 00:05:55,280 --> 00:05:58,400 ethical comments, and they say, that's very fine, 106 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:00,640 this is how we are to live, let's 107 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:02,740 just go to it, and let's apply these 108 00:06:02,740 --> 00:06:06,580 teachings to our own lives, to societies in 109 00:06:06,580 --> 00:06:07,880 the 20th century. 110 00:06:08,700 --> 00:06:11,160 But I say that nothing is more disastrous 111 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:13,920 than that approach to the Word of God. 112 00:06:14,780 --> 00:06:18,280 I say this for this reason, that when, 113 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:21,480 for instance, Jesus was giving the teaching that 114 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:23,260 we refer to as the Sermon on the 115 00:06:23,260 --> 00:06:26,400 Mount, He was setting down a code of 116 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:31,600 ethics, practice, a manner of conduct for people 117 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:33,760 who had trusted Him. 118 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:37,080 This was not for the ordinary unbeliever. 119 00:06:38,220 --> 00:06:41,440 These were ethical teachings for those who were 120 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:44,160 members of His kingdom, the kingdom that He 121 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:45,640 had come to found. 122 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:50,020 And a member of Christ's kingdom, what is 123 00:06:50,020 --> 00:06:50,260 he? 124 00:06:50,860 --> 00:06:52,920 Well, he is the person who has trusted 125 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:54,420 Jesus as Lord and Master. 126 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:57,460 He has received the implanting of the Holy 127 00:06:57,460 --> 00:07:00,420 Spirit, he has confessed his sins, he has 128 00:07:00,420 --> 00:07:02,980 offered the stewardship of his life to the 129 00:07:02,980 --> 00:07:06,780 control of Jesus, like asking someone to drive 130 00:07:06,780 --> 00:07:09,080 your car, and to take command of the 131 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:09,820 steering wheel. 132 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:13,500 So the Christian has asked Jesus Christ to 133 00:07:13,500 --> 00:07:17,820 control his life, and it's to that person, 134 00:07:18,540 --> 00:07:21,660 who has known the new birth, who has 135 00:07:21,660 --> 00:07:25,820 entered into the experience of conversion, that these 136 00:07:25,820 --> 00:07:30,660 practical teachings of the New Testament are addressed. 137 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:33,100 So you see the absurdity of looking at 138 00:07:33,100 --> 00:07:35,060 the Sermon on the Mount and working out 139 00:07:35,060 --> 00:07:36,800 some practice of conduct, shall we say, for 140 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:39,920 the Trade Union Congress, or for Parliament, for 141 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:40,440 that matter. 142 00:07:41,180 --> 00:07:44,400 What is basic to the outworking of New 143 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:47,880 Testament principles is a handing over of one's 144 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:51,100 complete life to the Lord Jesus, and the 145 00:07:51,100 --> 00:07:56,420 resurrection of His Spirit, and practicing a close 146 00:07:56,420 --> 00:07:59,980 walk with the Lord God, so that day 147 00:07:59,980 --> 00:08:02,600 by day you receive sufficient strength and enabling 148 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:04,700 to be able to live up to these 149 00:08:04,700 --> 00:08:05,340 precepts. 150 00:08:05,380 --> 00:08:07,620 Now, nothing can be more clear in the 151 00:08:07,620 --> 00:08:10,020 teaching of the Apostle Paul than what I 152 00:08:10,020 --> 00:08:11,140 have just brought before you. 153 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:13,440 To whom is he addressing these remarks? 154 00:08:13,500 --> 00:08:14,820 To the whole of the Roman Empire? 155 00:08:15,140 --> 00:08:15,820 Not a bit. 156 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:17,740 Look at the third verse of the third 157 00:08:17,740 --> 00:08:18,160 chapter. 158 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:20,840 He is addressing those who are dead. 159 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:26,160 Spiritually, they have renounced the type of life 160 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:28,600 that they used to live, and in a 161 00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:32,919 dramatic fashion, this can be illustrated only in 162 00:08:32,919 --> 00:08:34,400 the metaphor of death. 163 00:08:35,039 --> 00:08:38,539 You are dead, and your life is hid 164 00:08:38,539 --> 00:08:41,299 with Christ in God. 165 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:44,160 The life that you are now living is 166 00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:47,700 a life through which, and in which, God 167 00:08:47,700 --> 00:08:48,880 is in control. 168 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:51,780 Again, it's made clear in the first verse, 169 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:53,600 and also in the fourth verse of this 170 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:54,000 chapter. 171 00:08:54,560 --> 00:08:57,580 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek 172 00:08:57,580 --> 00:08:59,160 those things which are above. 173 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:01,840 And the fourth verse, when Christ, who is 174 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:05,320 our life, shall appear, then shall ye also 175 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:06,620 appear with him in glory. 176 00:09:07,220 --> 00:09:09,720 The Christian is the person who has renounced 177 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:12,820 control of his life, who is not living 178 00:09:12,820 --> 00:09:15,160 according to the standards of many people in 179 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:19,680 this world, and whose one controlling factor is 180 00:09:19,680 --> 00:09:23,180 the thought that Jesus Christ shall return and 181 00:09:23,180 --> 00:09:27,540 rejuvenate the heaven and the earth, and bring 182 00:09:27,540 --> 00:09:29,360 in the eternal age. 183 00:09:29,560 --> 00:09:32,360 Now, in the interim, in the time in 184 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:34,440 between these two things, the first and the 185 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:37,400 second appearance of Jesus, there is a life 186 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:39,360 to be lived, a testimony to be born. 187 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:40,760 How are Christians to live? 188 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:42,780 How are they to behave in the domestic 189 00:09:42,780 --> 00:09:43,440 situation? 190 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:45,960 How is the Christian employer to treat his 191 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:46,420 employee? 192 00:09:47,100 --> 00:09:50,140 Well, all these very practical matters the apostle 193 00:09:50,140 --> 00:09:53,120 takes up in this chapter and elsewhere in 194 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:55,720 the epistles that he writes, and he spells 195 00:09:55,720 --> 00:09:58,540 out so clearly what should be the pattern 196 00:09:58,540 --> 00:10:00,680 of Christian behavior. 197 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:03,780 Now, the fact that Jesus is in control 198 00:10:03,780 --> 00:10:06,960 in the domestic situation becomes obvious from a 199 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:09,700 cursory glance, for instance, of verse 18, still 200 00:10:09,700 --> 00:10:10,580 in the same chapter. 201 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:13,320 He's speaking to wives, is the apostle, the 202 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:15,380 authority of the Spirit, and he tells them 203 00:10:15,380 --> 00:10:19,040 to love their husbands and to submit themselves 204 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:22,540 to their husbands because it is fit in 205 00:10:22,540 --> 00:10:23,040 the Lord. 206 00:10:23,900 --> 00:10:25,220 Come down to what he has to say 207 00:10:25,220 --> 00:10:26,980 to children in the 20th verse. 208 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:29,940 Obey your parents in all things, for this 209 00:10:29,940 --> 00:10:32,740 is well-pleasing unto the Lord. 210 00:10:33,500 --> 00:10:36,140 Now, in the 22nd verse, he's addressing slaves, 211 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:39,680 or if you please, employees, and he's telling 212 00:10:39,680 --> 00:10:42,900 them to obey those who have authority over 213 00:10:42,900 --> 00:10:45,680 them, not with eye service, as men pleases, 214 00:10:45,980 --> 00:10:49,200 but in singleness of heart, fearing God. 215 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:55,060 Three particular categories of life's experience, wedlock, childhood, 216 00:10:55,860 --> 00:10:59,940 employment, and when the apostle addresses Christian people 217 00:10:59,940 --> 00:11:03,320 who are in these categories, he says that 218 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:06,540 they are to rise to their responsibilities, enter 219 00:11:06,540 --> 00:11:10,220 into their relationships as men and women who 220 00:11:10,220 --> 00:11:13,780 are completely dominated by, controlled by, the living 221 00:11:13,780 --> 00:11:14,140 God. 222 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:18,080 And all this can be wrapped up into 223 00:11:18,080 --> 00:11:19,300 one injunction. 224 00:11:19,540 --> 00:11:24,360 It all converges into one logical proposition, which 225 00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:26,400 is clear in the 23rd verse and is 226 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:28,120 a repetition of what you find in the 227 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:28,920 17th. 228 00:11:29,580 --> 00:11:33,120 Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to 229 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:36,420 the Lord and not unto men, knowing that 230 00:11:36,420 --> 00:11:39,460 you, Christian people of the Lord, you shall 231 00:11:39,460 --> 00:11:43,080 receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye 232 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:46,220 serve the Lord Christ. 233 00:11:46,460 --> 00:11:49,020 I want to break open those two verses, 234 00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:51,860 the 23rd and the 24th, for our consideration, 235 00:11:52,220 --> 00:11:55,260 with a context that already is in our 236 00:11:55,260 --> 00:11:55,580 mind. 237 00:11:56,700 --> 00:11:58,640 And the first thing that it seems to 238 00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:01,700 me, as I have reflected upon the teaching 239 00:12:01,700 --> 00:12:04,760 of these two verses, is that here is 240 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:06,680 an enlarging of the priesthood. 241 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:10,360 Here is an enlarging of the priesthood. 242 00:12:11,420 --> 00:12:14,100 Christian people are being addressed, whatsoever ye do, 243 00:12:14,660 --> 00:12:19,060 whatsoever situation you found yourself in, realize this, 244 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:24,260 verse 24, you are serving the Lord Christ. 245 00:12:25,900 --> 00:12:28,200 In the Old Testament, the priesthood was a 246 00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:30,360 very specialized group of people. 247 00:12:31,180 --> 00:12:34,180 Members of the tribe of Levi were automatically 248 00:12:34,180 --> 00:12:35,640 priests unto God. 249 00:12:36,540 --> 00:12:39,040 But one of the great distinctions between Old 250 00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:41,600 Testament teaching and New Testament teaching is this, 251 00:12:41,780 --> 00:12:45,280 that the concept of priesthood is taken up 252 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:47,580 in the second part of the Bible, and 253 00:12:47,580 --> 00:12:49,760 it is developed, it is widened, it is 254 00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:54,660 broadened, to the extent that the Apostle Peter, 255 00:12:54,780 --> 00:12:57,460 when he is writing the letter that bears 256 00:12:57,460 --> 00:13:00,540 his name, speaks of Christian people in terms 257 00:13:00,540 --> 00:13:04,460 of being a holy nation, a royal priesthood, 258 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:08,240 a people who are set apart for the 259 00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:10,200 service of the Living God. 260 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:11,700 1 Peter 2 and verse 9. 261 00:13:12,220 --> 00:13:14,760 Revelation 1 verse 6 is exactly the same 262 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:15,040 thing. 263 00:13:15,360 --> 00:13:17,560 We are priests unto the Lord. 264 00:13:19,020 --> 00:13:22,620 In other words, the New Testament is saying 265 00:13:22,620 --> 00:13:26,420 that every man, every woman, who belongs to 266 00:13:26,420 --> 00:13:30,740 Jesus Christ is a priest, and offers priestly 267 00:13:30,740 --> 00:13:34,280 service, be it in the context of wedlock, 268 00:13:35,100 --> 00:13:38,060 of childhood, or of employment. 269 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:42,020 Now it's here where we would differ very, 270 00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:43,980 very much from the Roman Catholic Church. 271 00:13:45,140 --> 00:13:46,600 Martin Luther had great problems. 272 00:13:47,100 --> 00:13:49,000 One of the reasons why he went into 273 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:52,300 the monastery in Germany, was because the Catholic 274 00:13:52,300 --> 00:13:55,520 Church had determined that there were two orders 275 00:13:55,520 --> 00:13:56,260 of life. 276 00:13:56,480 --> 00:13:58,700 There was the religious, and there was the 277 00:13:58,700 --> 00:13:59,120 ordinary. 278 00:14:00,320 --> 00:14:02,640 And for a person to be religious, well 279 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:05,220 it meant, in the case of Luther in 280 00:14:05,220 --> 00:14:08,840 particular, that he took up holy orders, that 281 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:11,440 he went into his monastery, that he became 282 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:11,900 a priest. 283 00:14:12,940 --> 00:14:14,780 But later on he was to realize the 284 00:14:14,780 --> 00:14:17,000 doctrine of the priesthood of all believers, that 285 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:19,340 this distinction between the secular and the sacred 286 00:14:19,340 --> 00:14:20,560 was an artificial one. 287 00:14:20,820 --> 00:14:23,080 It is not within the heart of Scripture 288 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:24,800 itself. 289 00:14:27,380 --> 00:14:29,680 Now as far as the Church is concerned, 290 00:14:29,820 --> 00:14:33,160 the RC Church, we heard the Pope, Pope 291 00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:35,300 John Paul II saying not so long ago, 292 00:14:35,420 --> 00:14:36,480 priesthood is forever. 293 00:14:37,380 --> 00:14:39,220 And that caused a shudder to come across 294 00:14:39,220 --> 00:14:41,800 certain sections of the Catholic Church, inasmuch as 295 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:43,820 there are those who would like to move 296 00:14:43,820 --> 00:14:44,860 away from the priesthood. 297 00:14:44,940 --> 00:14:46,740 There are many thousands of priests who are 298 00:14:46,740 --> 00:14:49,500 resigning from the priesthood year by year. 299 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:51,700 And many of the conservative Catholics were glad 300 00:14:51,700 --> 00:14:53,720 to hear the Pope saying, priesthood is forever. 301 00:14:54,060 --> 00:14:56,760 You cannot discharge yourself of the obligations of 302 00:14:56,760 --> 00:14:57,380 being a priest. 303 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:04,160 Now we would agree, as we come to 304 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:07,500 the Bible, that the true priest of God, 305 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:10,300 the true priest of the Lord Jesus Christ, 306 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:12,280 cannot discharge himself of his obligations. 307 00:15:13,700 --> 00:15:17,460 Because priesthood belongs not just to a special 308 00:15:17,460 --> 00:15:19,900 elite within one religious body. 309 00:15:21,180 --> 00:15:25,540 Priesthood embraces, describes every person who belongs to 310 00:15:25,540 --> 00:15:26,320 Jesus Christ. 311 00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:30,920 Some while ago, I conducted a series of 312 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:32,460 Bible studies on the Christian home. 313 00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:35,900 And I talked about the priestly responsibilities of 314 00:15:35,900 --> 00:15:38,940 a father, and the priestly responsibilities of a 315 00:15:38,940 --> 00:15:41,580 mother, and the priestly responsibilities of a boy, 316 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:42,400 and of a girl. 317 00:15:43,100 --> 00:15:44,240 And this is what I believe. 318 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:47,740 That whatever I am engaged in, whatever I 319 00:15:47,740 --> 00:15:51,120 am doing, if I am a Christian, then 320 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:55,100 I am offering service to the Lord God 321 00:15:55,100 --> 00:15:55,580 Almighty. 322 00:15:56,820 --> 00:15:57,800 I am a priest. 323 00:15:59,100 --> 00:16:00,520 Priesthood is comprehensive. 324 00:16:01,660 --> 00:16:05,660 It applies to everyone who is a Christian, 325 00:16:06,200 --> 00:16:09,200 and who has confessed his need of Jesus, 326 00:16:09,780 --> 00:16:11,460 and has had his sins forgiven. 327 00:16:12,300 --> 00:16:14,940 And that priesthood is forever. 328 00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:19,240 We shall always be serving the Lord our 329 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:20,340 God. 330 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:23,580 So in this 23rd verse, you see the 331 00:16:23,580 --> 00:16:26,040 enlarging of the priesthood. 332 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:29,300 Whatsoever ye do, you Christian people in Colossae, 333 00:16:29,540 --> 00:16:33,120 whether you're slaves, whether you're employers, whether you 334 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:36,200 are parents, whether you are children, whatever context 335 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:39,620 you find yourself in in life, know this, 336 00:16:40,180 --> 00:16:42,980 you are priests of the living God. 337 00:16:44,580 --> 00:16:48,440 And yours is the honor of serving him 338 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:50,760 now, and always. 339 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:56,720 Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as unto 340 00:16:56,720 --> 00:16:57,240 the Lord. 341 00:16:58,140 --> 00:17:01,160 Here is the enlarging of the priesthood, referred 342 00:17:01,160 --> 00:17:02,080 to in Scripture. 343 00:17:03,119 --> 00:17:05,160 But stay with me for a moment or 344 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:05,960 two, longer. 345 00:17:06,740 --> 00:17:09,980 Still in these verses, for we discover something 346 00:17:09,980 --> 00:17:12,780 else that is equally of importance, and indeed 347 00:17:12,780 --> 00:17:14,640 is latched on to, hinged to, what I've 348 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:16,780 been teaching you a few moments ago. 349 00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:19,819 Here is the elevating of the ordinary. 350 00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:22,760 The elevating of the ordinary. 351 00:17:23,220 --> 00:17:26,859 Whatsoever ye do, do it unto the Lord, 352 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:30,540 and not unto men. 353 00:17:31,700 --> 00:17:33,640 If I am a priest, then all my 354 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:35,060 service counts for God. 355 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:40,060 That means that certain deductions can be drawn 356 00:17:40,060 --> 00:17:42,120 from that proposition, from that premise. 357 00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:46,640 If I am a priest, then all false 358 00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:49,060 distinctions between what is religious and what is 359 00:17:49,060 --> 00:17:50,340 irreligious are broken down. 360 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:55,540 What I'm arguing is this, that the lady 361 00:17:55,540 --> 00:17:58,500 who is attending to domestic affairs in her 362 00:17:58,500 --> 00:17:59,880 kitchen is serving God. 363 00:18:00,100 --> 00:18:02,300 Hear me, I mean this without qualification. 364 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:04,760 Is serving God as much as I might 365 00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:06,880 claim to be serving God, trying to explain 366 00:18:06,880 --> 00:18:07,940 the Scriptures this morning. 367 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:12,420 There is no distinction between the spiritual and 368 00:18:12,420 --> 00:18:13,060 the secular. 369 00:18:13,980 --> 00:18:16,180 Here is the elevating of the ordinary. 370 00:18:17,900 --> 00:18:21,380 All types of service in which we engage 371 00:18:21,380 --> 00:18:24,160 is worship to the Lord God. 372 00:18:24,940 --> 00:18:27,300 Some people think that worship is just attending 373 00:18:27,300 --> 00:18:29,680 services, but that's not so. 374 00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:35,840 Attending services is a lovely privilege, but worshipping 375 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:39,700 God is offering service in everything that you 376 00:18:39,700 --> 00:18:42,320 engage in in your day-by-day life. 377 00:18:45,590 --> 00:18:47,550 Out on the streets of Calcutta you will 378 00:18:47,550 --> 00:18:54,080 find the colleagues of Sister Teresa, and they 379 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:57,180 will be picking up the down-and-outs, 380 00:18:58,360 --> 00:19:06,600 literally the dying, of that vast, fascinating, awful 381 00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:07,600 city. 382 00:19:09,020 --> 00:19:10,560 They will do it in the name of 383 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:11,000 Jesus. 384 00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:16,180 Mother Teresa sometimes teaches and perhaps goes too 385 00:19:16,180 --> 00:19:20,280 far in her mystical approach, that when she 386 00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:27,220 is ministering to someone who's dying, she's ministering 387 00:19:27,220 --> 00:19:27,840 to Christ. 388 00:19:29,020 --> 00:19:31,780 When she's helping someone who's in a desperate 389 00:19:31,780 --> 00:19:35,280 situation, she's helping the Lord. 390 00:19:36,380 --> 00:19:40,760 And the basis for her own thinking, and 391 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:42,460 as I say I think it needs a 392 00:19:42,460 --> 00:19:45,260 little bit of qualification, is at the end 393 00:19:45,260 --> 00:19:48,760 of the 25th chapter of Matthew's Gospel, where 394 00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:51,220 Jesus refers in these words, and I'm not 395 00:19:51,220 --> 00:19:52,860 reading them all, you'll have to slot it 396 00:19:52,860 --> 00:19:54,840 into context later on as you read the 397 00:19:54,840 --> 00:19:56,020 whole passage yourself. 398 00:19:56,320 --> 00:19:59,040 Jesus says, I was a stranger and ye 399 00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:01,420 took me not in, naked and ye clothed 400 00:20:01,420 --> 00:20:03,560 me not, sick and in prison and ye 401 00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:04,540 visited me not. 402 00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:08,280 And the idea in what Jesus is here 403 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:11,560 teaching is that the person who is ministering 404 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:17,620 to the sick, who is giving hospitality, is 405 00:20:17,620 --> 00:20:20,920 offering worship to the living God. 406 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:26,460 It's the Apostle James, who when he defines 407 00:20:26,460 --> 00:20:29,900 what true religion is, has to say this, 408 00:20:30,240 --> 00:20:33,660 pure religion and undefiled before God and the 409 00:20:33,660 --> 00:20:36,720 Father is this, to visit the fatherless and 410 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:39,380 widows in their affliction and to keep himself 411 00:20:39,380 --> 00:20:40,720 unspotted from the world. 412 00:20:41,900 --> 00:20:45,500 There is no mention of attending church, though 413 00:20:45,500 --> 00:20:47,680 obviously it doesn't preclude that sort of worship. 414 00:20:48,420 --> 00:20:50,900 Here is dealing with the practicalities of life, 415 00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:55,500 of offering hospitality, of ministering to those who 416 00:20:55,500 --> 00:20:56,020 are in need. 417 00:20:56,380 --> 00:20:58,880 The person who does that is offering worship 418 00:20:58,880 --> 00:20:59,560 to the Lord. 419 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:02,560 So we come back to what the Apostle 420 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:05,280 here has to say, here is the elevating 421 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:08,320 of the ordinary, whatsoever ye do, do it 422 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:11,440 heartily as unto the Lord. 423 00:21:14,390 --> 00:21:16,170 Let me make a further deduction. 424 00:21:18,150 --> 00:21:23,170 Evangelism can continue from a variety of pulpits. 425 00:21:24,410 --> 00:21:26,330 There are those who seem to think that 426 00:21:26,330 --> 00:21:28,790 evangelizing is just preaching and teaching and coming 427 00:21:28,790 --> 00:21:29,410 to church. 428 00:21:30,950 --> 00:21:34,630 That is one aspect, but it's only one 429 00:21:34,630 --> 00:21:41,650 aspect What becomes the greatest evangelical factor for 430 00:21:41,650 --> 00:21:44,250 winning men and women for Jesus Christ today? 431 00:21:44,870 --> 00:21:46,710 It cannot be the Christian pulpit. 432 00:21:46,830 --> 00:21:48,470 One would wish that this was the case, 433 00:21:48,550 --> 00:21:50,070 but logically it cannot be. 434 00:21:50,890 --> 00:21:53,150 In the United Kingdom for instance, only 10 435 00:21:53,150 --> 00:21:55,530 % of the people will be along in 436 00:21:55,530 --> 00:21:57,110 a church at any one time. 437 00:21:57,890 --> 00:22:00,150 So how are the other 90% going 438 00:22:00,150 --> 00:22:00,990 to hear of the gospel? 439 00:22:01,270 --> 00:22:02,410 Not through the likes of me. 440 00:22:06,170 --> 00:22:12,510 Evangelism can be the living of the life 441 00:22:12,510 --> 00:22:16,970 before the ordinary unbeliever, doing what you have 442 00:22:16,970 --> 00:22:21,490 to do, rising to your responsibility on the 443 00:22:21,490 --> 00:22:26,270 workshop, in the workshop, in the school, in 444 00:22:26,270 --> 00:22:31,310 the home, doing it heartily as to the 445 00:22:31,310 --> 00:22:34,550 Lord, so that other people look upon your 446 00:22:34,550 --> 00:22:37,010 life and your behavior and your manner of 447 00:22:37,010 --> 00:22:39,590 deportment, and they see something that is completely 448 00:22:39,590 --> 00:22:43,170 different to what they experience in other situations, 449 00:22:44,330 --> 00:22:46,050 and they ask the reason why. 450 00:22:47,430 --> 00:22:49,190 You say, well this sounds all so very 451 00:22:49,190 --> 00:22:50,670 nice and so very idealistic. 452 00:22:50,770 --> 00:22:53,150 Well that may be so, but it's a 453 00:22:53,150 --> 00:22:54,170 practical idealism. 454 00:22:55,410 --> 00:22:57,330 Go back to the Old Testament story of 455 00:22:57,330 --> 00:22:57,630 Joseph. 456 00:22:58,010 --> 00:22:58,990 Here is this man. 457 00:22:59,030 --> 00:23:01,370 He is in the employment of Potiphar. 458 00:23:01,570 --> 00:23:02,530 He's really a slave. 459 00:23:02,690 --> 00:23:04,810 He's been sold into servitude by his brother, 460 00:23:05,170 --> 00:23:06,570 by his brothers. 461 00:23:07,390 --> 00:23:10,190 And after the passing of the months, what 462 00:23:10,190 --> 00:23:11,130 happens to Joseph? 463 00:23:11,270 --> 00:23:12,210 He's elevated. 464 00:23:12,410 --> 00:23:13,130 He's promoted. 465 00:23:13,510 --> 00:23:16,010 Potiphar sees something different about this man. 466 00:23:16,190 --> 00:23:17,970 He's never had such a slave like this 467 00:23:17,970 --> 00:23:21,110 one, and so he entrusts him with responsibility. 468 00:23:22,230 --> 00:23:24,150 You see his life is speaking for him, 469 00:23:24,830 --> 00:23:28,510 whilst he's engaged in a domestic situation. 470 00:23:29,650 --> 00:23:31,850 Joseph then falls foul of Potiphar, and he's 471 00:23:31,850 --> 00:23:32,570 thrown into jail. 472 00:23:32,810 --> 00:23:36,070 And exactly the same principle is seen outworking 473 00:23:36,070 --> 00:23:38,190 what he did, even in the prison. 474 00:23:38,430 --> 00:23:40,270 He did it heartily, as to the Lord, 475 00:23:40,370 --> 00:23:41,030 not unto men. 476 00:23:41,270 --> 00:23:42,190 What was the consequence? 477 00:23:42,470 --> 00:23:45,190 The jailer comes along, and he promotes Joseph, 478 00:23:45,370 --> 00:23:47,810 and he gives him the responsibility of the 479 00:23:47,810 --> 00:23:48,670 rest of the prisoners. 480 00:23:50,290 --> 00:23:54,070 I say it's the Joseph principle that is, 481 00:23:54,350 --> 00:23:59,210 if not mentioned by that actual phraseology, is 482 00:23:59,210 --> 00:24:02,230 prominent in the New Testament as a means 483 00:24:02,230 --> 00:24:03,490 of evangelizing. 484 00:24:05,170 --> 00:24:07,330 The elevating of the ordinary. 485 00:24:07,710 --> 00:24:09,570 It does matter what type of wife I 486 00:24:09,570 --> 00:24:09,850 am. 487 00:24:10,070 --> 00:24:12,490 It does matter how I control myself as 488 00:24:12,490 --> 00:24:14,090 a mother in front of my children. 489 00:24:14,390 --> 00:24:16,750 It does matter how I conduct my family 490 00:24:16,750 --> 00:24:18,070 affairs as a husband. 491 00:24:18,670 --> 00:24:20,850 All these things are not distinct from what 492 00:24:20,850 --> 00:24:22,690 happens here on a Sunday morning. 493 00:24:22,930 --> 00:24:25,710 They're vital to it, for worship is a 494 00:24:25,710 --> 00:24:26,270 big word. 495 00:24:26,590 --> 00:24:29,010 It's a comprehensive term, and those who will 496 00:24:29,010 --> 00:24:31,930 serve Jesus Christ must serve him Monday through 497 00:24:31,930 --> 00:24:33,970 to Saturday, and not just on a Sunday. 498 00:24:35,030 --> 00:24:36,630 For if the latter is the case, then 499 00:24:36,630 --> 00:24:39,390 it's a cosmetic Christianity that does not bear 500 00:24:39,390 --> 00:24:40,810 analysis at all. 501 00:24:44,130 --> 00:24:46,230 There have been people who have been won 502 00:24:46,230 --> 00:24:49,430 for Christ by those who have been doing 503 00:24:49,430 --> 00:24:51,250 the most menial of tasks. 504 00:24:52,550 --> 00:24:55,410 How did the slave in Paul's day continue? 505 00:24:55,530 --> 00:24:57,550 Here he was, one-third of the Roman 506 00:24:57,550 --> 00:25:00,790 Empire, given over to servitude, and he comes 507 00:25:00,790 --> 00:25:02,910 to Jesus Christ, but he's still manacled. 508 00:25:03,230 --> 00:25:04,550 He's still got his problems. 509 00:25:04,670 --> 00:25:05,950 His life is not his own. 510 00:25:06,490 --> 00:25:07,950 How does he manage to continue? 511 00:25:08,570 --> 00:25:10,930 How does he cope with his frustration? 512 00:25:11,930 --> 00:25:14,790 Well, he does so by realizing this, that 513 00:25:14,790 --> 00:25:17,010 it's only at one level that he's serving 514 00:25:17,010 --> 00:25:18,210 his earthly master. 515 00:25:18,710 --> 00:25:21,370 He's only serving him according to the flesh, 516 00:25:21,430 --> 00:25:24,070 verse 22, but he realizes that there's another 517 00:25:24,070 --> 00:25:24,530 master. 518 00:25:25,410 --> 00:25:26,830 There's a greater person. 519 00:25:27,870 --> 00:25:30,970 There is the Lord Jesus Christ, and he 520 00:25:30,970 --> 00:25:33,950 is working for him. 521 00:25:34,930 --> 00:25:36,810 You remember that great hymn which says, a 522 00:25:36,810 --> 00:25:39,810 servant with this clause makes drudgery divine. 523 00:25:40,230 --> 00:25:44,030 Who sweeps rumors from thy laws makes that 524 00:25:44,030 --> 00:25:45,670 and the action fine. 525 00:25:47,110 --> 00:25:49,170 Here is not only the enlarging of the 526 00:25:49,170 --> 00:25:52,630 priesthood, here is the elevating of the ordinary. 527 00:25:53,690 --> 00:25:56,610 Whatever I do, I can offer it to 528 00:25:56,610 --> 00:25:59,750 the Lord God as worship, and I do 529 00:25:59,750 --> 00:26:00,330 it heartily. 530 00:26:01,790 --> 00:26:04,010 So here I am as a wife, as 531 00:26:04,010 --> 00:26:06,390 a husband, as an employer, as an employee, 532 00:26:06,930 --> 00:26:10,350 as a child, as a parent, and in 533 00:26:10,350 --> 00:26:13,010 those relationships I want success. 534 00:26:13,290 --> 00:26:15,030 I want a successful marriage. 535 00:26:15,250 --> 00:26:16,990 I want a successful home. 536 00:26:17,310 --> 00:26:19,650 I want to be successful in my employment, 537 00:26:20,390 --> 00:26:23,550 but the most important thing in those categories 538 00:26:23,550 --> 00:26:25,910 is not the pleasing of my wife, the 539 00:26:25,910 --> 00:26:28,070 pleasing of my parents, the pleasing of my 540 00:26:28,070 --> 00:26:28,690 employer. 541 00:26:29,770 --> 00:26:32,830 The most important thing is the pleasing of 542 00:26:32,830 --> 00:26:35,970 the Lord God, who says in those situations, 543 00:26:36,670 --> 00:26:37,270 worship me. 544 00:26:38,070 --> 00:26:42,950 Offer me the sacrifice of your heart and 545 00:26:42,950 --> 00:26:43,510 your life. 546 00:26:44,690 --> 00:26:48,810 The enlarging of the priesthood, the elevating of 547 00:26:48,810 --> 00:26:49,530 the ordinary. 548 00:26:50,610 --> 00:26:54,190 Finally, our accountability in the future. 549 00:26:55,090 --> 00:26:57,170 Our accountability in the future. 550 00:26:57,470 --> 00:27:00,350 Look again at the 24th verse, knowing that 551 00:27:00,350 --> 00:27:03,530 of the Lord, ye shall receive the reward 552 00:27:03,530 --> 00:27:06,130 of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord 553 00:27:06,130 --> 00:27:06,690 Christ. 554 00:27:09,890 --> 00:27:12,530 A Christian does not control his beliefs, he 555 00:27:12,530 --> 00:27:13,850 is controlled by them. 556 00:27:14,630 --> 00:27:15,690 Let me repeat that. 557 00:27:16,570 --> 00:27:19,090 A Christian does not control his beliefs, he 558 00:27:19,090 --> 00:27:20,390 is controlled by them. 559 00:27:21,250 --> 00:27:24,330 What is the controlling factor in my life 560 00:27:24,330 --> 00:27:25,010 as a Christian? 561 00:27:26,370 --> 00:27:31,090 It's the thought that God is sovereign in 562 00:27:31,090 --> 00:27:33,990 my experience and Jesus Christ is coming back 563 00:27:33,990 --> 00:27:34,310 again. 564 00:27:35,570 --> 00:27:38,970 And an even equally wonderful thought is the 565 00:27:38,970 --> 00:27:41,310 fact that in the future that Jesus will 566 00:27:41,310 --> 00:27:44,470 bring into this scene of time when he 567 00:27:44,470 --> 00:27:47,110 rejuvenates the heavens and the earth, I've got 568 00:27:47,110 --> 00:27:47,830 a program. 569 00:27:48,790 --> 00:27:50,850 I'm going to be involved in this. 570 00:27:52,090 --> 00:27:55,570 This doctrine is hated, it's scorned, it's despised 571 00:27:55,570 --> 00:27:57,170 by secularist philosophers. 572 00:27:57,990 --> 00:28:01,130 It made Lenin speak of the opium of 573 00:28:01,130 --> 00:28:01,890 Christianity. 574 00:28:03,130 --> 00:28:07,030 But despite all the scorn that's heaped upon 575 00:28:07,030 --> 00:28:10,430 it, Christian people are told in both the 576 00:28:10,430 --> 00:28:13,910 Old and in the New Testament that this 577 00:28:13,910 --> 00:28:16,790 life that they now know is not going 578 00:28:16,790 --> 00:28:17,810 to last forever. 579 00:28:18,650 --> 00:28:20,870 They are but strangers going through. 580 00:28:21,870 --> 00:28:25,730 It was Abraham's beliefs that controlled his lifestyle. 581 00:28:26,690 --> 00:28:29,250 He was seeking for a city whose maker 582 00:28:29,250 --> 00:28:31,210 and whose builder was God. 583 00:28:31,890 --> 00:28:34,690 He wasn't concerned with the here and now 584 00:28:34,690 --> 00:28:36,350 in number one position. 585 00:28:37,030 --> 00:28:39,650 He was concerned with the ultimate that God 586 00:28:39,650 --> 00:28:40,770 had in store for him. 587 00:28:41,310 --> 00:28:43,490 It's the same with our Lord Jesus Christ, 588 00:28:43,770 --> 00:28:46,010 who for the joy that was set before 589 00:28:46,010 --> 00:28:50,450 him, he assumed the cross. 590 00:28:51,050 --> 00:28:53,330 He assumed the the position of one who 591 00:28:53,330 --> 00:28:56,710 would offer his body as a substitutionary sacrifice 592 00:28:56,710 --> 00:28:58,790 for those who would trust in him. 593 00:28:58,970 --> 00:29:01,210 He went through the here and now for 594 00:29:01,210 --> 00:29:03,450 the joy that there was in the future. 595 00:29:04,390 --> 00:29:06,690 And the controlling factor of my life is 596 00:29:06,690 --> 00:29:10,250 this, in this 24th verse, I am accountable 597 00:29:10,250 --> 00:29:14,650 to the Lord from whom I shall receive 598 00:29:14,650 --> 00:29:18,930 the reward of the inheritance as I serve 599 00:29:18,930 --> 00:29:19,970 the Lord Christ. 600 00:29:21,370 --> 00:29:24,810 Ian in the reading earlier on referred to 601 00:29:24,810 --> 00:29:27,330 the fact that Christians will one day be 602 00:29:27,330 --> 00:29:29,530 brought before the judgment seat of Christ. 603 00:29:31,090 --> 00:29:33,550 And the life that we have lived will 604 00:29:33,550 --> 00:29:34,150 be assessed. 605 00:29:34,310 --> 00:29:35,890 This has got nothing to do with our 606 00:29:35,890 --> 00:29:36,850 salvation at all. 607 00:29:37,850 --> 00:29:40,410 We are saved through simple trust in Jesus 608 00:29:40,410 --> 00:29:40,810 Christ. 609 00:29:41,050 --> 00:29:43,630 But in the interim between our salvation and 610 00:29:43,630 --> 00:29:45,330 being called into the presence of the Lord 611 00:29:45,330 --> 00:29:48,910 Jesus, we have opportunities for service as husbands 612 00:29:48,910 --> 00:29:51,450 and wives, as children, as employers, as employees. 613 00:29:52,390 --> 00:29:54,530 And that service is going to be assessed. 614 00:29:55,310 --> 00:29:56,710 It's going to be evaluated. 615 00:29:57,770 --> 00:30:00,010 The apostle here makes reference to those who 616 00:30:00,010 --> 00:30:03,070 will receive the reward of the inheritance because 617 00:30:03,070 --> 00:30:05,790 they serve the Lord Christ. 618 00:30:06,590 --> 00:30:09,270 I want to ask you, do you really 619 00:30:09,270 --> 00:30:10,330 appreciate these things? 620 00:30:10,990 --> 00:30:13,050 Do you understand that this is the teaching 621 00:30:13,050 --> 00:30:13,550 of Scripture? 622 00:30:14,650 --> 00:30:16,750 That one day you shall stand before the 623 00:30:16,750 --> 00:30:19,090 Lord God and he will ask you how 624 00:30:19,090 --> 00:30:21,050 you have lived your life even as a 625 00:30:21,050 --> 00:30:21,390 Christian. 626 00:30:23,170 --> 00:30:25,470 And the Bible talks about degrees of reward 627 00:30:25,470 --> 00:30:27,430 as it talks about degrees of punishment. 628 00:30:28,710 --> 00:30:30,330 There will be those as the apostle Paul 629 00:30:30,330 --> 00:30:32,370 who shall be saved as by fire. 630 00:30:32,930 --> 00:30:34,830 There will be nothing to show, no gold, 631 00:30:35,310 --> 00:30:39,350 no silver, no precious stones of service illustrating 632 00:30:39,350 --> 00:30:40,790 what they have done for Jesus. 633 00:30:41,030 --> 00:30:42,630 They will be saved but by the skin 634 00:30:42,630 --> 00:30:43,310 of their teeth. 635 00:30:46,150 --> 00:30:49,270 And the Bible says that we are to 636 00:30:49,270 --> 00:30:53,090 realize right now the fact that there are 637 00:30:53,090 --> 00:30:54,050 rewards. 638 00:30:55,210 --> 00:30:58,350 There are reasons beyond and above our love 639 00:30:58,350 --> 00:31:01,690 for the Lord God that should promote us 640 00:31:01,690 --> 00:31:04,450 to live lives that are pleasing to him 641 00:31:04,450 --> 00:31:08,550 in the domestic categories in which we find 642 00:31:08,550 --> 00:31:09,250 ourselves. 643 00:31:10,430 --> 00:31:13,550 Oh to live for Jesus in such a 644 00:31:13,550 --> 00:31:16,170 way that brings pleasure to him. 645 00:31:16,970 --> 00:31:18,770 Oh to be a priest of the Living 646 00:31:18,770 --> 00:31:21,170 God in the way that I control my 647 00:31:21,170 --> 00:31:25,710 house, look after my children, look after my 648 00:31:25,710 --> 00:31:26,150 husband. 649 00:31:26,950 --> 00:31:28,390 Oh to be a priest of the Living 650 00:31:28,390 --> 00:31:30,590 God in the way that I go up 651 00:31:30,590 --> 00:31:33,150 to London on a Monday and a Tuesday 652 00:31:33,150 --> 00:31:35,610 and so on and attend to my business 653 00:31:35,610 --> 00:31:36,330 commitments. 654 00:31:37,030 --> 00:31:39,470 Endeavoring by my life to illustrate the very 655 00:31:39,470 --> 00:31:41,710 virtues of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 656 00:31:42,730 --> 00:31:45,050 Oh to be a priest unto God who 657 00:31:45,050 --> 00:31:48,950 one day when I enter into the eternal 658 00:31:48,950 --> 00:31:52,670 age shall receive the award of the inheritance 659 00:31:52,670 --> 00:31:57,370 having served the Lord Christ to have his 660 00:31:57,370 --> 00:31:58,190 accolade. 661 00:31:58,870 --> 00:32:02,330 Well done you good and faithful servant. 662 00:32:02,570 --> 00:32:06,130 Enter into the joy of your Lord. 663 00:32:06,970 --> 00:32:10,390 Here in these two verses is the enlarging 664 00:32:10,390 --> 00:32:11,190 of the priesthood. 665 00:32:11,890 --> 00:32:14,910 Here is the elevation of the ordinary. 666 00:32:15,690 --> 00:32:18,890 Here is a reminder of our accountability in 667 00:32:18,890 --> 00:32:22,850 the future that one day, come next month, 668 00:32:23,230 --> 00:32:27,470 come next year, come this decade, we shall 669 00:32:27,470 --> 00:32:30,930 be called into the presence of God to 670 00:32:30,930 --> 00:32:33,350 give an account for the way that we 671 00:32:33,350 --> 00:32:36,530 lived our lives as Christian people. 672 00:32:37,190 --> 00:32:41,190 Let's serve the Lord Christ then with all 673 00:32:41,190 --> 00:32:42,730 our hearts. 674 00:32:43,750 --> 00:32:44,090 Amen. 675 00:32:46,650 --> 00:32:49,570 Father we pray that during this week we 676 00:32:49,570 --> 00:32:53,910 shall know the elevating of the ordinary, that 677 00:32:53,910 --> 00:32:57,530 in every task in which we're engaged we 678 00:32:57,530 --> 00:33:00,390 shall realize that it directly affects our service 679 00:33:00,390 --> 00:33:00,950 for you. 680 00:33:02,170 --> 00:33:04,790 Help us to do it heartily unto yourself 681 00:33:05,630 --> 00:33:08,950 even those boring and dull jobs that otherwise 682 00:33:08,950 --> 00:33:10,190 would frustrate us. 683 00:33:10,950 --> 00:33:13,090 At times when we're at wit's end because 684 00:33:13,090 --> 00:33:16,830 of our responsibilities within our homes, help us 685 00:33:16,830 --> 00:33:19,770 Lord to realize that you're involved in what 686 00:33:19,770 --> 00:33:20,290 we're doing. 687 00:33:21,110 --> 00:33:23,610 You want us to be successful and you'll 688 00:33:23,610 --> 00:33:25,250 grant us your peace and you'll give to 689 00:33:25,250 --> 00:33:25,890 us your wisdom. 690 00:33:26,710 --> 00:33:29,410 So we pray that as you've enlarged our 691 00:33:29,410 --> 00:33:32,950 concept of the priesthood this morning elevate the 692 00:33:32,950 --> 00:33:36,430 ordinary as we attend to it during the 693 00:33:36,430 --> 00:33:38,970 days that are yet to be for Jesus' 694 00:33:39,430 --> 00:33:39,530 sake. 695 00:33:40,050 --> 00:33:40,370 Amen.